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Douglass football makes the most of its chances, beats Largo, 29-8
A swarming Douglass defenses stymies Largo's Mikhal Sarpong in the second half. (Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post)
Frederick Douglass football lacks the high-end facilities of some other top programs in the area.
Rainbow bunting decorates a divot-filled field, which has rusty goal posts on either end. The team’s defensive coordinator — rather than a trainer — tapes players’ ankles before games, and the head coach ices player’s necks during timeouts. Even the cell phone reception in this part of Upper Marlboro is iffy.
But the defending Maryland 2A state champions maximize their limited resources. Saturday’s contest against previously undefeated Largo was no different, as the Eagles made the most of their few offensive opportunities to secure a 29-8 victory.
“Man, we are here to play football,” Douglass Coach Monty Sutton said. “We don’t need all of the bells and whistles to make you feel us. It’s honestly a badge of honor that we can get it out of the mud and go toe to toe with any team.”
While Douglass may not need much to operate, they most definitely needed senior MyShawn Holmone. On a day when the offense accumulated less than 150 yards, Holmone could do no wrong.
After Largo opened the game with a three and out, Holmone returned the ensuing punt 57 yards to give Douglass (3-0) an 8-0 lead. He then opened the second half with a 96-yard kick return to push the lead further.
“There’s no big secret to what we do, [Holmone] is our guy,” Sutton said. “He’s just so dynamic when he has the ball in his hands that you almost want to give it to him every time and just watch what happens next.”
Trailing 22-0, midway through the third quarter, Largo (2-1) found its footing. After moving the ball relatively well for much of the game but failing to score, the Lions finally broke through on a seven-yard touchdown run by Tymond Foxx.
Foxx’s score, which was set up by Justin Mcilwain’s 43 yard punt return, was the first point Douglass allowed this season. Coming into the game, the Eagles had outscored opponents 80-0.
“To be honest, I don’t really care that the streak ended tonight; I’m more impressed that we held a powerful offense like Largo to eight points,” Sutton said. “At the end of the day we are aiming to play 14 weeks this year, so worrying about a Week 3 touchdown is pointless. With that being said, there will be more opportunities to start a new streak, and I’m sure we’ll take advantage.” | 2022-09-17T23:43:48Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Douglass football makes the most of its chances, beats Largo, 29-8 - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/17/douglass-football-makes-most-its-chances-beats-largo-29-8/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/17/douglass-football-makes-most-its-chances-beats-largo-29-8/ |
CLEVELAND — Shane Bieber allowed one run over eight innings, Amed Rosario had four hits and the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians won their seventh in a row against the Minnesota Twins, 5-1 in a doubleheader opener.
ST. LOUIS — Yadier Molina hit a two-run drive while Albert Pujols went hitless in his quest for 700 homers, and the Cardinals beat the Reds 5-1 in the first game of a doubleheader. | 2022-09-17T23:45:33Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Blue Jays strengthen hold on top AL wild card spot - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/blue-jays-strengthen-hold-on-top-al-wild-card-spot/2022/09/17/c906c292-36d8-11ed-a0d6-415299bfebd5_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/blue-jays-strengthen-hold-on-top-al-wild-card-spot/2022/09/17/c906c292-36d8-11ed-a0d6-415299bfebd5_story.html |
Colton Herta was poised to become F1′s only U.S. driver. What happened?
Colton Herta holds the trophy after winning an IndyCar race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Darron Cummings/AP)
IndyCar driver Colton Herta represented promise for several reasons, not least of which was the belief that he would become the only American driver on the Formula One grid next season.
Herta was expected by many to become the first American driver to compete in Formula One since Alexander Rossi in 2015. His inclusion could have shaped the outlook of the 2023 grid and, more broadly, attracted American sponsors and viewers to a sport that wants to expand its reach in the United States.
But those ambitions stalled this week after the push to bring Herta to Formula One hit a wall that will likely keep the 22-year-old stateside for another season, raising questions about the sport’s accessibility to drivers who look to join from certain racing leagues.
“He’s basically in a situation where most people think he’s talented enough, competent enough for Formula One, but he doesn’t have the points needed,” said Nate Saunders, a U.K.-based journalist who covers Formula One for ESPN.
Formula One, fueled by Netflix and ESPN, revs up courtship of U.S. fans
Herta was first tabbed as a potential Formula One driver in 2021, when Andretti Autosport, the outfit that oversees his IndyCar team, was reportedly in advanced talks to purchase Sauber, which runs the Alfa Romeo Formula One team. That takeover did not materialize, and the spot linked to Herta was filled by another driver.
The California native saw renewed interest earlier this year, with Red Bull taking a closer look at him. The conglomerate known for its energy drinks owns a pair of Formula One teams in England-based Red Bull Racing (see: defending champion Max Verstappen) and the Italian AlphaTauri team. AlphaTauri serves as a “junior team” to Red Bull Racing, and Red Bull hoped to make Herta one of its two AlphaTauri drivers ahead of the 2023 season.
The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the sport’s governing body, requires prospective drivers to obtain a “super license” to compete in Formula One. The problem? Herta fell short of the points required to obtain that super license and has no way of meeting that requirement in 2022.
Formula One CEO doesn’t see ‘a girl coming into F1 in the next five years’
Per FIA regulations, success in an open-wheel racing league such as IndyCar is weighted lower than success in Formula 2, the tier below Formula One.
AlphaTauri hoped the FIA would grant Herta an exemption, but that appears unlikely. Beyond that, Herta could compete in one of several international “winter series” events to earn the necessary points, but if he did so and failed to earn enough points, Herta and the teams involved would be left in a precarious position just weeks before the start of the 2023 season. Red Bull has now ditched the effort altogether, according to multiple reports.
“It’s a shame that they do not realize what value an American driver, especially a guy like Colton Herta, would have for booming, three-race America,” Red Bull development head Helmut Marko told German website Motorsport-Total in an article published Friday, referencing Formula One’s races in Miami, Las Vegas and Austin.
Herta is not the most accomplished driver in IndyCar, but as an 18-year-old in 2019, he became the youngest person to win an IndyCar Series race. His best season came in 2020, when he finished third in points.
Given that success, Marko said it’s “incomprehensible” that Herta would need to prove his qualification for Formula One through a bureaucratic points system. Rossi said as much Saturday, decrying that system on Twitter.
Formula One’s Miami Grand Prix — 57 laps of cosmo and glam — was oh so Miami
Still, Formula One remains keen to add an American driver as it expands stateside — the United States is slated to be the only country to host three races next year, with a new event in Las Vegas joining the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin and this year’s inaugural Miami Grand Prix.
“If Colton Herta was a Hungarian driver or a Mexican driver with the same results, I don’t think you’d have the same interest in him, but I think the clamor for an American driver in F1 right now is huge,” Saunders said. “You have a [Williams Racing] academy driver named Logan Sargeant who is American, and there’s very real talk that they might fast track him into a Formula One seat because the marketing opportunities that’ll be in the States are huge. That’s not to say Herta is undeserving of an F1 seat, but I think he’s kind of found himself in a position where he’s the best young American driver.”
Herta’s potential move to Formula One has had a broader impact on the driver lineups taking shape ahead of next season. A move to AlphaTauri would have allowed the team to more comfortably part ways with Pierre Gasly, who has been linked to the vacancy at Alpine.
ESPN reported that Nico Hülkenberg could also be a candidate for Alpine, although the German driver has been linked to the American-owned Haas team — which has yet to renew Mick Schumacher’s soon-expiring contract.
Elsewhere, Sebastian Vettel’s impending retirement opened the door for Fernando Alonso to jump from Alpine to Aston Martin, precipitating an awkward episode in which Alpine announced reigning Formula 2 champion Oscar Piastri as Alonso’s replacement before Piastri publicly rejected the announcement and later joined McLaren.
Christina Brause contributed to this report. | 2022-09-18T00:44:40Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Colton Herta's bid to join Red Bull as only American F1 driver falls through - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/17/colton-herta-f1-american-driver-red-bull/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/17/colton-herta-f1-american-driver-red-bull/ |
Sandra Bagwell holds a photo of her late son, Ryan Bagwell, during the Lost Voices of Fentanyl rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 17, 2022. (Eric Lee for The Washington Post)
April Babcock and Virginia Krieger both lost children to the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl and have pleaded with lawmakers and officials to ramp up enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border to stop the flow of illicit drugs.
U.S. surpasses record 100,000 overdose deaths in 2021
The mothers’ group, Lost Voices of Fentanyl, which has more than 19,000 members on Facebook, argues that the Biden administration has not done enough to stop fentanyl from being brought across the border, or to raise awareness of its dangers.
“We want a covid-like response to fentanyl,” Babcock said, adding that grief stricken parents should not need to be “standing on street corners, having to hold rallies and carry signs.”
On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of 18 state attorneys general, led by Florida’s Ashley Moody (R) and Connecticut’s William Tong (D), joined that call, writing to Biden to also request the weapon of mass destruction classification and warn of the dangers that would be posed if fentanyl gets into the hands of an enemy of the United States.
In response to questions from The Washington Post about the group’s demands, Rahul Gupta, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said in a statement that beating the overdose epidemic is “a top priority” for Biden.
“We are laser-focused on immediate actions that will save American lives quickly,” Gupta said. “We’re taking decisive steps to reduce the supply of illicit fentanyl, increase prevention efforts, and provide law enforcement and public health officials on the front lines with the resources they need.”
The Opioid Files
The Biden administration is asking Congress for $42.5 billion, a $3.2 billion increase over this year, for drug control programs. The White House has pushed for greater efforts in harm reduction — the practice of providing overdose reversal naloxone, clean needles, fentanyl testing strips and other tools to limit death and injury caused by drug use.
Supporters of the administration’s efforts say that a multipronged effort is required, but Babcock and Krieger said that attention paid to reducing the harms of drug use would be better spent cutting off supply.
Lost Voices of Fentanyl does not speak for everyone who has lost a loved one to fentanyl — at a time when the drug has seeped into urban and rural communities across the country, leaving virtually nowhere untouched.
“It’s a complicated, multifaceted issue,” he said. “But I think the administration is sincerely trying to get their arms around it. It’s just going to take more time than some of us want.”
Frustration was evident Saturday as a group of parents gathered in front of the White House, shouting that Biden should “wake up.” Using a megaphone, each person announced the names of their lost loved ones. At 1 p.m., they held a moment of silence and the one-block stretch on Pennsylvania Avenue fell quiet.
Marissa Caballero flew from Arizona with a homemade sign saying, “It’s not safe to be a teenager in America.”
Fentanyl, the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 45, claimed her 15-year-old son, Issaiah Gonzales, in January 2021. Issaiah, who played football in high school with dreams of becoming a professional player, took a pill at a friend’s house and then passed out, she said. An hour passed before 911 was called, she said, and he died that night.
Lost Voices of Fentanyl says the word “overdose” is no longer accurate when describing what is happening when people are unwittingly taking a deadly drug they have little or no tolerance to. Their loved ones were poisoned, they say.
“He wasn’t a drug addict,” Caballero said. “He was deceived. He was poisoned.” | 2022-09-18T00:53:23Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Families destroyed by fentanyl deaths rally near the White House - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/17/fentanyl-deaths-rally-white-house/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/17/fentanyl-deaths-rally-white-house/ |
An acrobatic plane flies over F-16s at the air show at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for The Washington Post)
On a perfect day for flying, thousands of spectators traveled to suburban Washington to watch some of the world’s best pilots do just that.
The display in the sky Saturday was the highlight of the Joint Base Andrews Air & Space Expo, one of the largest air shows in the country. For seven hours the airspace above the base was a stage as military and civilian aircraft performed breathtaking aerial feats that seemed to defy physics, engineering and sanity.
Steve Kutalek, 68, and his son Harrison, 14, a Civil Air Patrol cadet, flew down from southern New Jersey in Kutalek’s single-engine Mooney airplane, which they landed at a nearby airfield to attend the expo.
“There’s just nothing like being at a show and hearing the roar of the planes flying by,” Kutalek said.
Moments later an F-35 flew overhead, approaching in near-silence and passing with a bone-rattling boom. At an air show the sound is thrilling. In war, one could only imagine the fear it would induce.
The plane put on a spectacular display, flying close to the ground and then shooting straight up like a rocket, looping upside down and screaming back toward the ground.
Held every two years, the expo was scheduled to take place last year but was canceled because of the pandemic. Having it this year meant that it coincided with the Air Force’s 75th anniversary, almost to the day. The Air Force was established as a separate branch of the military on Sept. 18, 1947, through the National Security Act of 1947.
There was plenty of top brass on hand to celebrate, though mostly in the VIP tent closest to the runway. Generals, colonels and majors hobnobbed with guests, including a number of their counterparts from other nations.
On the vast concrete parking area behind them, spectators at the free event were able to climb aboard or get up close to an alphabet-and-numbers soup of planes and helicopters including the UH-1N Huey helicopter, the F-22 Raptor, the KC-46A Pegasus and the HC-130J Combat King II.
Maj. Kory Cookson greeted visitors as they climbed aboard the C-5M Super Galaxy on the Andrews flight line. The cargo and troop transport plane is the largest aircraft in the Air Force and, at seven stories tall, the tallest aircraft in the world.
Cookson, 32, the aircraft commander, said that flying the monster plane is similar to flying other planes. “You lose sight of how big it is in the air.” But on the ground, he said, “it feels like you’re moving a building.”
For all of their awe-inspiring feats and thrilling aerobatics, these are, of course, weapons of war. And pricey ones. The Biden administration’s proposed 2023 budget for the U.S. Air Force and Space Force is $194 billion, up $12 billion from 2022, according to Defense News Weekly.
The event is a showcase for what much of that money has purchased — such as the B-2 stealth bomber — and is also a publicity tool for the military. In addition to the scores of hot dog, hamburger and ice cream stands at the expo, there were also recruiting stations for each branch of the military.
It is also a way for the Air Force to pay tribute to its history with flyovers by vintage planes including a World War II-era B-17 and a B-25.
Narongrit Dulsaeng, 19, a University of Maryland student enrolled in the Air Force ROTC program, brought his classmates Dinh Huynh, Veerapetch Petchger and Jeff Tran to the show with him.
“I wanted to bring my friends and share what I know with them,” Dulsaeng said. “Obviously, it’s cool to see the planes, but it’s also very powerful to see how far we’ve come with these technological advances.”
Tran noted that with the war in Ukraine and tensions in Eastern Europe, this year’s event will have a far-reaching effect.
“When we put up a display like this, definitely other countries are noticing,” he said.
If there was a star performer at the air show — and every show needs a star — it was the Thunderbirds, the U.S. Air Force’s F-16 demonstration squadron, which creates mind-bending aerial displays that demand a combination of exquisite precision and ice in the veins.
The planes fly at speeds up to 600 mph, generating closure rates of 1,200 mph as they head toward one another before veering off in designed passes.
In some formations, the F-16s roar through the air in precipitous proximity to each other. About 18 inches at points.
“It is extremely tight,” the team’s commander, Lt. Col. Justin J. Elliott, 40, observed in the cool-calm way pilots master when talking about situations others would find stomach-churning. “Significant wingtip overlap, which means if they miss — up, down — we will hit. So the challenge is not just the closeness of the formation but the stability of it.”
Is he ever terrified?
“I wouldn’t call it terrified, but I would call it 100 percent focused,” Elliott said in an interview last week with a laugh. “You can’t take your eye off the ball.”
The team, based at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, flies twice a day during training season to prepare for events such as Saturday’s exhibition.
Elliott said his squad hopes to leave the crowd watching the maneuvers with a sense of pride and belonging.
“This demo is meant to show you that we are your Air Force no matter where you come from or how many generations you’ve been in this country,” he said. “If we get this right, we unite in divided times and we encourage and inspire people to give the best version of themselves to something bigger than themselves. That’s what this is all about.”
Organizers said they expect about 75,000 visitors over the weekend for the free event, which continues Sunday at 9 a.m. | 2022-09-18T00:53:29Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Joint Base Andrews Air Show 2022: The latest updates and what to know - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/17/joint-base-andrews-air-show/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/17/joint-base-andrews-air-show/ |
Fraught school board meetings have become more common as the country has become more polarized
Within five minutes of the start of the school board meeting Friday evening, multiple board members were shouting at one another. Within the next five minutes, a board member’s attempt to speak was repeatedly interrupted by another member loudly saying, “It’s disgusting,” and, “Shame on you,” and, “Shame, shame, shame.”
The chaos came as the Spotsylvania County School Board met for one of their most important decisions: choosing the next leader for the public schools in the Virginia district. And it encapsulated a dramatic shift at many such meetings across the country, in which once-sleepy, well-mannered procedural meetings have become flash points for communities polarized over cultural issues such as parental and transgender rights.
The deeply divided board voted Friday to offer a contract for superintendent after several weeks of turmoil, including several volatile meetings.
The decision to offer the top schools job to Mark Taylor came the day after some parents raised concerns about what they called questionable social media posts by the candidate at a Virginia Board of Education meeting this week. The board was considering granting a license to Taylor, who lacks educational experience but has been promoted by some supporters as a proven leader with business acumen.
Earlier this week, the county sheriff’s office announced that after mid-October it would no longer send deputies to provide security at school board meetings.
Last fall, the then-interim-leader of the National School Boards Association sought federal help in providing protection at local school meetings, citing threats and disruptions that had been reported across the country. The group quickly apologized for that action, emphasizing the importance of local control, and replaced its leadership. But the kinds of events that had prompted concern — extreme language, threats and physical altercations — have continued to disrupt communities as the pandemic and cultural rifts intensified.
Parent-activists, seeking control over education, are taking over school boards
In Spotsylvania, the hotly contested superintendent search began this year after the longtime schools leader was abruptly fired by a board that included a new bloc of members, a move many saw as a symbol of the rising clout of parents advocating for a greater voice in school decisions.
The new majority has led to several 4-3 votes.
They are staunch in their religious and political mandate and beliefs, board member Nicole Cole said by phone Saturday of the majority bloc. “It’s a wall on their side.”
Board members Rabih Abuismail, Lisa A. Phelps, April Gillespie, the vice chair, and Kirk Twigg, the chairman, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Saturday.
This week was particularly intense. On Monday, people packed into a board meeting, some having to stand, some holding up notepads with messages when they wanted to object without disrupting the meeting, according to a board member, some booing when people tried to make public comment were cut off by the board.
On Wednesday, the sheriff announced deputies would no longer be involved in routine security at the meetings.
Spotsylvania Sheriff Roger L. Harris wrote in a letter to board members that the department would still respond in emergency situations but that “ … our deputies have on numerous occasions been put in a position to side with one or more members, regarding ‘disruptive’ citizens.”
Harris and a spokesman for the department did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Saturday.
“I am concerned because I have had cause to be fearful,” because of threats made against her on the board, Cole said. “At [the] same time I am also glad the sheriff took that stance,” she said, because deputies shouldn’t be there to prevent people from speaking their opinion at a public meeting.
On Thursday, supporters and detractors of Taylor traveled to Richmond where the Virginia Board of Education was considering granting a division superintendent license to Taylor.
Rich Lieberman, a parent who ran an unsuccessful campaign for one of the school board seats last fall, said Taylor had posted things on social media that were racist and homophobic and opposed to public schools.
“My kid deserves better,” Lieberman said in a phone interview Saturday. “All kids in Spotsylvania deserve better.”
Taylor did not immediately return requests for comment Saturday. In an interview with ABC-7 News this week, Taylor said he hadn’t seen the posts in question, so he couldn’t tell the reporter whether those were his or not. He said he would never knowingly or intentionally post something that was racist, saying, “that’s not my values system. I don’t believe in that.”
He has said that parents should have a greater voice in schools and have a choice about how their children are educated.
Laurie Szymanski, a substitute teacher, said at the state board meeting that Taylor had been maligned and his character assassinated. She praised his positive track record as a county administrator, his intelligence, and his commitment to transparency. “His accomplishments speak to his ability to provide the leadership and results that Spotsylvania needs right now,” she said.
The state board voted Thursday to grant the license.
On Friday, Spotsylvania school board member Cole sparked a dispute at the board meeting as she attempted to read aloud an email that she said was from one of Taylor’s daughters, writing that he was unfit for the job because of his opposition to public schools, lack of experience and religious and political agenda — and that he was only being considered because of his close friendship with the board’s chairman. The letter also criticized the home-school education the woman said she had received from Taylor.
The minority bloc of board members attempted to adjourn the meeting, but were outvoted.
The vote on the contract was taken: Four to three. | 2022-09-18T00:53:35Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Spotsylvania superintendent vote shows how charged school meetings have become - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/09/17/spotsylvania-schools-superintendent-offer/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/09/17/spotsylvania-schools-superintendent-offer/ |
Amid confusion, advocates vow to better protect, inform migrants of their rights
Migrants sit outdoors at the City of San Antonio Migrant Resource Center in San Antonio on Friday. (Jordan Vonderhaar/Reuters)
SAN ANTONIO — After an arduous journey to reach the United States from Venezuela, migrant Israel Garcia thought he’d found safe haven when federal immigration officials said he could stay in the United States while his case was pending.
But as he stood outside a migrant shelter in Texas this week, he struggled to navigate where to go and what to do next. Agents had told him he couldn’t work, but a man approached him offering a free flight to Washington, plus housing and a job.
Garcia, 27, a carpenter, was suspicious.
“To me, it was a false promise,” he said.
Migrant leaders say efforts by GOP governors from Florida and Texas to bus and fly out new arrivals to places like Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts and D.C., have created an added level of confusion for migrants and stirred fears that they are being coerced with misleading offers to go elsewhere.
The city of San Antonio — where Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis chartered flights to transport 50 migrants out of state this week — said Saturday that it is advising migrants “not to accept rides or any other assistance from strangers” outside the Migrant Resource Center. Some of those who took the DeSantis flights say they were approached by a woman named Perla near the shelter. The city said signs have been posted providing a national human trafficking hotline number.
The shelter can house 700 people and has served more than 24,000 migrants since it opened in July, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Administration through December. But Catholic Charities is taking over operation from the city on Monday, after the group’s chief executive Antonio Fernandez expressed concerns about migrants being recruited at the site under false pretenses.
Fernandez said he plans to install security cameras and has instructed staff to be on the lookout for recruiters lingering outside.
“I am concerned. Who has been recruiting them? I don’t truly know,” he said. “It shows how the system is: They can take them anywhere by lying to them.”
The organization has hired 145 staff, plans to do away with the center’s three-day stay limit and offer more services. They will also rename it the “Centro de Bienvenida,” or welcoming center, and will offer food, clothing and case management. Fernandez said the shelter will not host buses provided by Gov. Greg Abbott.
Other migrant advocate groups are also jumping in to step up vigilance.
The League of United Latin American Citizens posted “Wanted” fliers at San Antonio shelters with a $5,000 reward for “information leading to a positive identification, arrest and conviction” of Perla, the woman migrants said approached them outside the city shelter.
The group’s national president, Domingo Garcia, said nine Venezuelan migrants in Martha’s Vineyard on Friday told him they spoke with Perla before boarding the flights.
“She promised them that they would get three months of work paid. Under immigration law, they are here under parole. They have a court date. It is illegal for them to work. So she is enticing them to work which is a federal offense. She is enticing them to break the law,” Garcia said.
Garcia said all of the migrants crossed the Rio Grande and were detained near the border city of Eagle Pass, Tex., before traveling to San Antonio. His group is sending volunteers to Eagle Pass this week to advise migrants of their rights, he said. They also plan to erect billboards for migrants along I-35 outside Eagle Pass and San Antonio, he said, “Warning stranger danger with people offering jobs and free transportation who are not legit refugee services.”
Other advocates have raised concerns about how the migrants in places like Cape Cod, Mass., will navigate their cases from afar. Rachel Self, a Boston lawyer aiding the migrants, said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released the migrants with forms falsely stating that they would reside at homeless shelters from Washington state to Florida, and then told them to check in at nearby immigration offices once they arrived.
She said the DHS forms, and Florida’s decision to fly them to Martha’s Vineyard, left migrants “terrified” of missing mandatory appointments and being ordered deported without a hearing.
In an interview Saturday, Self said immigration lawyers had managed to get extensions for the migrants to check in with immigration officials, and were trying to find lawyers to defend them against being deported. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which represents the government in deportation proceedings, did not respond to requests for comment Saturday.
Homeland Security officials pushed back on any notion of wrongdoing, saying Saturday they have nothing to do with the states’ transportation efforts and did not know which migrants had been taken to Martha’s Vineyard or what their forms said. Officials said migrants must declare a U.S. address before they are released and check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) until their cases are resolved.
Any information on the forms is based on what migrants have told the authorities, officials said.
Officials said they are also giving migrants electronic devices with instructions to use them to update their new addresses quickly to avoid missing appointments. DHS conducts background checks on migrants before releasing them to local shelters, nonprofits, or city services for help finding housing or transportation.
DHS officials criticized the Republican governors for failing to coordinate the arrival of buses and planes with state and local governments.
“DHS officials work around-the-clock to enforce our laws, process migrants appropriately, and care for those in custody. Unlike these governors, they are not in the business of using vulnerable men, women, and children as props for a political stunt,” said DHS spokesman Luis Miranda.
Self said lawyers have also called for a criminal investigation into the Florida flights and anticipate filing legal action in federal court “to prevent this from happening again.” She said advocates are also warning migrants in Texas and other border states to exercise caution when accepting rides, and avoid scenarios that sound “too good to be true.”
“They’re preying on a vulnerable population,” she said of the people who recruited the migrants to the Vineyard. “There were a lot of misrepresentations made here.”
Republicans have defended the action, saying border cities were experiencing influxes in even greater numbers. Federal border agents have made nearly 2 million apprehensions on the southern border this fiscal year, exceeding last year’s total.
Migrant bus transports from Texas to Washington continued Saturday: About 50 migrants, including a one-month-old baby, arrived to the residence of Vice President Harris. The bus sent by Abbott dropped the migrants, mostly Venezuelans, outside the Naval Observatory on Saturday morning. The Texas governor also sent three buses of migrants to New York City on Saturday.
Migrant advocates on the border were scrambling to ensure migrants were better informed about their rights and travel options, but said there were limits to what they could do.
Tiffany Burrow, operations director for the Val Verde Border Humanitarian Coalition in Del Rio, Tex., said she had “major concerns” about the Martha’s Vineyard flights, calling them, “deceptive.”
“There’s nothing transparent with how that operation took place,” Burrow said.
She said her group is, “incorporating awareness of these kinds of possibilities within our orientation.” But she doesn’t discourage migrants from taking the free buses provided by Abbott.
“Ultimately the migrants decide if it is a good fit for their needs,” she said, noting the day shelter in the tiny border city, “can only do so much. Migrants are with us for such a short amount of time. Often less than half an hour … wherever the final destination is makes the most sense to gather that kind of in-depth assistance.”
The Rev. Gavin Rogers said volunteers from Travis Park Church’s Corazón Ministries try to help migrants they meet at the downtown bus station, but, “political operatives are finding people to recruit migrants to travel.”
“It’s really a form of human trafficking,” he said. “We try to tell people to follow what’s on their asylum paperwork, get to the city they need to get to,” to check in with federal immigration officials. “Ironically, migrants need transportation. The governors of Texas and Florida are so close to helping — if they just looked at the piece of paper that says where they need to be.”
Venezuelan migrant Mike Betancourt Vivas was outside the city shelter Saturday, trying find a ride to Washington state. He had crossed the border in Eagle Pass, but never saw the state buses. If he had the option, he said, he would take one.
“We need a way to get to our destination directly. People here shut the door and don’t give us opportunities, just like other countries, like Panama and Costa Rica,” he said.
Betancourt, 26, a construction worker and composer with a wife and two daughters stuck in Colombia, said he doesn’t care about being a political pawn if it gets him a free ride to Washington.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “I just want to go.” | 2022-09-18T01:58:42Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Martha’s Vineyard flights leave migrant advocates scrambling - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/09/17/texas-migrants-desantis-bus-flights/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/09/17/texas-migrants-desantis-bus-flights/ |
Live updates Canelo Álvarez faces Gennady Golovkin to complete trilogy
Austin Williams beats Kieron Conway to remain undefeated
Canelo Álvarez and Gennady Golovkin meet again after four years
Four years have passed since Canelo Álvarez and Gennady Golovkin last met in 2018. (Isaac Brekken/AP)
Canelo Álvarez and Gennady Golovkin return to the ring Saturday night in Las Vegas for the long-awaited third bout of their trilogy. The rivals fought to a draw in 2017, and Álvarez won the first rematch by majority decision the following year. Follow along for live updates and analysis.
When: Main event begins at approximately 11:30 p.m. Eastern
How to watch: Streaming is on DAZN pay-per-view.
In the first bout on the main card, Austin Williams defeated Kieron Conway via 10-round unanimous decision to win the vacant WBA international middleweight championship. Two judges scored the fight 97-92 and a third 96-93.
Williams (12-0-0, nine knockouts), a resident of Houston, landed blows to the body consistently and assumed command in the later rounds. Kieron (18-3-1, four KOs), a native of England, lost for the second time in his last four fights.
Four years after their last bout, Canelo Álvarez and Gennady Golovkin are set to face one another for the third time Saturday night in Las Vegas, with Alvarez’s undisputed super middleweight championship on the line at T-Mobile Arena.
Álvarez, 32, won the most recent matchup on Sept. 15, 2018, via majority decision following a controversial split draw a year earlier. Both fights were contested at 160 pounds.
Since the rematch with Golovkin, Álvarez (57-2-2, 39 knockouts) has won titles at super middleweight and light heavyweight. He also is coming off a loss to Dmitry Bivol in May via a 12-round unanimous decision for Bivol’s 175-pound WBA championship. | 2022-09-18T03:17:05Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Canelo vs. GGG in Las Vegas: Live updates - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/17/canelo-vs-ggg/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/17/canelo-vs-ggg/ |
Hi Carolyn: I am recently married, and many of my close friends are single. I find that several of my friends are wanting to complain about being single, but that nothing I say to comfort or empathize with their complaints seems to be the right thing.
Recently I was with some of them, and they were talking about not envisioning a future for themselves where they can be happy with someone and how sad it makes them. I tried to respond empathetically, saying things like “I’m sorry, that’s hard,” and, “Yeah, it’s so rough to be feeling that,” while also reminding them that they have so much going on for them besides romantic love and that you never know what’s coming in life or who you’ll meet, etc.
One of the friends suddenly snapped at me and told me she knows she’s being bitter, but people who haven’t been single in a long time lose sight of what it’s like, so I just can’t understand and can’t act like I get it. It stung, especially since I am going through all kinds of things that aren’t about my relationship and never lash out at my friends that they can’t understand what I’m feeling.
So now I’m trying to figure out what some right things are to say when this comes up, or do I regard them silently or say just, “Mmmm,” for however long they talk about this topic? That doesn’t sound like a very good friend to me and I want to continue to be close and be there for them. I just don’t seem to be doing it right?
— The Source of Bitterness
The Source of Bitterness: There is no “right” way to say something people don’t want to hear, and people with complaints about being single don’t want to hear from the recently married person unless they say otherwise by asking your opinion directly. That part is straightforward, and, yes, your role is to “Mmm” and “Ugh” and “Yeah” at all the appropriate times to demonstrate that you’re listening and you care. When in doubt, ask whether they want your “reminders” or just your ears.
But there’s a part of this that isn’t as simple — there has to be, or else we couldn’t talk about any experiences that aren’t precisely shared.
It starts with humility: recognizing that your value to your friends isn’t as a source of life knowledge but instead as a source of knowledge of your friends themselves.
So whenever the urge bubbles up to say something general from your experience, redirect it into something specific to theirs or specific to them as people.
And if you’re not sure what to say, then let your friends tell you what they want from you. “So, what do you think?” Or, “What’s your plan?” Or, “Is there anything anyone can do?” Ask your way toward being the “very good friend” they want to have.
It also takes humility to own it when they let you know the wisdom of your experience, even generalized, is not what they’re looking for here, as your snapping friend just did: “You’re right, I’m not in a position to know what you’re feeling. I am sorry for suggesting I did.” Nothing kills a good message faster than a defensive messenger, so drop all defenses upfront. Even though it stings.
But also don’t be afraid to articulate your message clearly as a way of standing up for yourself: “When there’s something going on in my marriage, I’m going to talk to you guys about it — whether you’re single at the time or dating or cohabiting or married or divorced or widowed. Because to me it’s our experience with each other that counts.”
Your being paired while they’re single is merely one group snapshot of multiple changeable lives. (As you were attempting to point out to the friend who didn’t want to hear that. But you asked me. Ha.) Friendships manage to run unbroken through these changes when all parties understand implicitly that who’s up or down relative to whom can change in a day — and you are there for and committed to each other regardless. I hope that proves true of you and these friends.
Dear Carolyn: My spouse and I agree politically, mostly, but I have a need to talk about it and express my opinion — usually anxiety, for the past few years — and he “doesn’t want to hear about it.”
This is very stressful for me, on top of the existing stress. What should I do?
Anonymous: Respect his wishes — and his boundary — find someone else to vent to, and be very, very thankful you two mostly agree. | 2022-09-18T04:09:26Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Carolyn Hax: Can a married person comfort unhappily single friends? - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2022/09/18/carolyn-hax-single-friends-married/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2022/09/18/carolyn-hax-single-friends-married/ |
Rakim Jarrett sprints to the end zone on a 48-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter, but it was Maryland's defense that saved the day Saturday in College Park. (Scott Taetsch for The Washington Post)
In the waning moments of this messy game, the Maryland Terrapins had to show they could deliver when the outcome depended on their ability under pressure. No penalty flags, only poise. That’s what the Terps needed.
Southern Methodist had 85 seconds to go 61 yards for a tying score, but the Maryland defense held firm. After a barrage of penalties handcuffed the Terps all evening, a student section that spent much of the College Park night in torment finally had reason to celebrate. Maryland’s defense forced an incompletion on fourth down, sealing the Terps’ 34-27 victory Saturday night.
Minutes before, SMU faced a fourth down at the Maryland 9-yard line and again the Terps held. But their offense stalled, and the ensuing punt left the door ajar. So the Terps (3-0) had to muster another stop before claiming a win in their first significant test of the season.
The victory came covered in yellow flags — 15 penalties for a loss of 141 yards for Maryland. The Terps created their own adversity, then overcame it.
The Terps tied the score at 27 early in the fourth quarter with Roman Hemby’s short touchdown run. As the Mustangs (2-1) tried to reclaim the lead, Dante Trader Jr. grabbed a critical interception, the Terps’ third takeaway of the game.
Tight end Corey Dyches had a key 10-yard reception to convert on fourth down — making up for Dontay Demus Jr.’s drop on what could have been a deep touchdown pass on the previous play — and then Dyches scored the go-ahead touchdown with 7:30 remaining for Maryland’s first lead in the second half.
Maryland’s offense — even with a modest performance from quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa (17 of 23 for 214 yards) — mustered 7.2 yards per play. But a strong day from the running backs and key defensive plays kept the Terps from being undone by their mistakes.
The Terps struggled to generate scoring opportunities because they struggled on third down (converting just 5 of 13), lost a drive because of Tai Felton’s fumble on a kickoff and held themselves back with penalties throughout.
Consider Maryland’s trip to the red zone just after the halftime break: The Terps had a few positive plays, propelling them down the field, and then a barrage of penalties. Maryland picked up illegal formation and illegal snap penalties on back-to-back plays inside the red zone. Wide receiver Jeshaun Jones caught a pass in the end zone, but lineman Mason Lunsford was flagged for holding, and Jones received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taunting after what he thought was a touchdown. The Terps settled for a 43-yard field goal to tie the game.
On the defensive end, the Terps gave up 369 passing yards, yet managed to keep the game within reach thanks to junior defensive back Beau Brade’s standout showing with an interception, a forced fumble and a team-high 15 tackles — one of the few bright spots in the messy game.
The defense struggled to contain standout SMU wide receiver Rashee Rice. He recorded his third consecutive game with at least 130 receiving yards by picking up a season high of 193 against the Terps’ defense.
Both teams entered in the top 25 nationally in scoring offense, but the Terps found themselves playing from behind through much of the first half with their defense unable to limit the Mustangs’ explosive plays. In the first half alone, SMU had eight receptions of at least 15 yards and two rushes for a gain of at least 10.
The Terps eventually got going by stringing together a series of powerful runs from the trio of backs — Hemby, Antwain Littleton II and Colby McDonald — capped by Littleton’s one-yard, highflying leap into the end zone. The Maryland defense then forced its first turnover of the season with Brade’s interception, which set up a 48-yard touchdown pass from Tagovailoa to receiver Rakim Jarrett on the next play.
The Terps’ laundry list of penalties, often at inopportune times, grew to an extent that would make a coach groan if they had been compiled over the course of a month, let alone in a single game.
In three instances early in the game when Maryland faced a third- or fourth-and-short, an offensive lineman picked up a false start. Once, the Terps had to settle for a field goal, which Chad Ryland hit from 36 yards out. The next time, Maryland couldn’t convert the third down and had to punt. The third flag derailed the Terps’ fourth-down attempt from their own 34-yard line, forcing the punt team to take the field instead.
After Maryland generated back-to-back touchdown drives but still faced a 20-17 deficit in the final minutes before halftime, Tagovailoa scrambled past the first-down marker, but Jones picked up a personal foul. Two plays later, Jones was called out of bounds on a third-down sideline catch that, upon replay on the videoboard, prompted the student section to boo with gusto. The Terps had to punt and head into the locker room down by a field goal.
Then came the atrocious trip to the red zone that ended with a field goal and set the stage for continued trouble in the second half. With the Maryland defense on the field in the third quarter, the unit picked up three penalties — unsportsmanlike conduct, roughing the passer and pass interference — but avoided damage thanks to Ahmad McCullough recovering a fumble forced by Brade when SMU had plowed inside the 5-yard line. | 2022-09-18T04:18:02Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Maryland's defense rises to the occasion in victory over SMU - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/18/maryland-football-beats-smu/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/18/maryland-football-beats-smu/ |
Man slain in Fairfax County, police say
Shooting was near Route 1
A man was fatally shot Saturday near Route 1 in Fairfax County, police said.
He was found about 10 p.m. in the 8400 block of Madge Lane, with a wound to his upper body. He died at a hospital, according to police.
Officers were trying to find four people, reportedly wearing black clothing.
The site of the shooting is a residential street of garden-style apartment houses in the Mount Vernon/Woodlawn area, just north of Route 1. | 2022-09-18T05:49:28Z | www.washingtonpost.com | A man fatally shot Saturday night in Fairfax County - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/18/man-slain-fairfax-saturday-shot/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/18/man-slain-fairfax-saturday-shot/ |
The coffin carrying Queen Elizabeth II is placed in the Palace of Westminster in London on Wednesday. (Christopher Furlong/Pool/Reuters)
The proceedings will begin at 10:44 a.m. British Summer Time (5:44 a.m. Eastern), when the Royal Navy will hold a procession to transport the queen from Westminster Hall, where she is “lying at rest,” to nearby Westminster Abbey. Elizabeth got married there in 1947 and was coronated there in 1953.
Here’s what we know about where to watch.
The Washington Post will stream the funeral and related events at this link beginning Monday at 5:30 a.m. Eastern (10:30 BST).
Major television networks will also air the proceedings. NBC News’s Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Lester Holt will anchor live coverage starting at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time. ABC’s coverage will begin at 5 a.m. Eastern and can also be streamed live on Hulu.
BBC television coverage will air on several of its channels, led by Huw Edwards, Kirsty Young, Fergal Keane, David Dimbleby and Sophie Raworth, beginning at 8 a.m. BST; Martha Kearney will lead radio coverage. BBC World Service English will carry the events to radio stations around the world. The broadcaster’s iPlayer service will stream the events as well.
Fox News will begin live coverage at 4 a.m. Eastern with anchor Martha MacCallum and hosts Ainsley Earhardt and Piers Morgan reporting from London.
The app, website and YouTube channel for the British news outlet Sky News will also broadcast the proceedings, beginning at 5 a.m. BST and ending at 11 p.m.
Sirius XM radio will broadcast several outlets’ coverage, including from BBC World Service (Channel 120), CNN (116), Fox News (Channel 114), MSNBC (Channel 118) and NPR (Channel 122). Local member stations will also carry NPR’s coverage.
At the British Embassy in D.C., mourners stopped by to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II and leave flowers and handwritten cards. (Video: Jorge Ribas/The Washington Post)
Russian President Vladimir Putin will be notably absent, according to state-run media. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russians respected the queen for her wisdom and global authority but that the Kremlin was “not considering” sending Putin to the funeral. The Russian leader has a tense relationship with the West and has drawn intense criticism and economic sanctions since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February.
Ellen Francis and Adela Suliman in London contributed to this report. | 2022-09-18T05:50:36Z | www.washingtonpost.com | How to watch Queen Elizabeth II's funeral service live - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/18/how-to-watch-queen-elizabeth-funeral/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/18/how-to-watch-queen-elizabeth-funeral/ |
Queen Elizabeth II live updates Biden, world leaders pay final respects as London prepares for funeral
With queen’s death, Commonwealth realms consider severing ties
President Joe Biden (C) and first lady Jill Biden (2nd L), with U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, Jane Hartley (R), arrive at London Stansted Airport on September 17, 2022, to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
Updated September 18, 2022 at 3:08 a.m. EDT|Published September 18, 2022 at 12:05 a.m. EDT
LONDON — Hundreds of foreign leaders — among them President Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern — have arrived in London ahead of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Monday.
Thousands of people lined up overnight in the chilly weather along the River Thames to pay their final respects to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, as she lies in state at Westminster Hall. Her eight grandchildren — among them Princes William and Harry — briefly stood vigil at her coffin last night. President Biden is expected to pay his respects there Sunday before attending a reception hosted by King Charles III at Buckingham Palace this evening. Millions are expected to watch the funeral with crowds gathering near Westminster to secure a coveted spot as major disruption is expected throughout central London.
A national minute of silence will be held across the U.K. at 8 p.m. local (3 p.m. ET) to encourage private reflection on the queen and her legacy.
The state funeral is expected to be the U.K.'s biggest security detail post-WWII. Find out the details here.
A royal surprise was in store for Britons lining up in “The Queue” this weekend as King Charles III and Prince William paid them an impromptu visit.
Here’s how you can watch the queen’s funeral service Monday starting around 5:30 a.m. ET.
Queen Elizabeth II was head of state and commander in chief of the British armed forces for more than seven decades. Her late husband gave up his career to support her and dutifully walked a few paces behind her in public. Her staff called her “The Boss.” Her face is on the money.
It is the queue to end all queues. The line to see Queen Elizabeth II lying in state stretched from Westminster Hall, across the River Thames and then onward, past the London Eye Ferris wheel and the Tate Modern museum and Tower Bridge. On Thursday evening, it reached as far as Southwark Park in Southeast London.
A government tracker on YouTube said Thursday night it was nearly 5 miles long. That was an underestimate, though. A government spokeswoman confirmed to The Washington Post that the distance measured was “as the crow flies” and didn’t include the labyrinthine zigzag section in the home stretch. On Friday, the queue had grown so long that the government said it would have to temporarily prevent new people from joining it.
When Prince Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, visited Antigua and Barbuda in April, the country’s prime minister told him that the nation, one of 15 in which the British monarch is head of state, wished to “one day” become a republic. After the queen’s death last week, Prime Minister Gaston Browne revealed a timeline: He plans to hold a referendum on casting off the monarchy “probably” within the next three years.
“This is not an act of hostility,” Browne told ITV News, but a “final step to complete the circle of independence.” The passing of Elizabeth, a unifying figure more beloved than her son, King Charles III, comes as several Commonwealth realms are reassessing their relationships with the crown. | 2022-09-18T07:22:03Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Queen Elizabeth II live updates: Biden, world leaders in London for funeral - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/18/queen-elizabeth-ii-live-updates/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/18/queen-elizabeth-ii-live-updates/ |
Biden Can Make Trump’s Mideast Peace Plan Work
Since March, more than 19 Israelis have been killed and more than 50 wounded in armed attacks by Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank. The wave of violence is unlike anything seen in years. But it was all too predictable, as political paralysis afflicting both Israel and the Palestinian Authority and a hands-off attitude in Washington have diminished prospects for a long-sought diplomatic solution.
In response to the attacks, the Israeli army has been conducting almost daily incursions into Palestinian hotspots in the West Bank. Upward of 80 Palestinians have been killed in the resulting firefights. Some of them, Israel’s domestic security chief Ronen Bar conceded, have been innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire.
The new wave of militants, inspired largely by Palestinian social media, are too young to recall the bitter fruits of the Palestinian uprising against Israel in the early 2000s. Bar calls them “a generation of sheep without shepherds.”
This isn’t a bad description of the Israeli government or the Palestinian Authority. On Nov. 1, a bitterly divided Israel will vote for the fifth time in three and a half years. According to the latest polling, this election, like the previous ones, will end in a tie and the creation of a weak coalition, unable to do more than muddle through and kick the West Bank can down the road.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority’s 87-year-old leader, Mahmoud Abbas, was elected to what was supposed to be a four-year term in 2005 and is still in the job. On his watch, Palestinians have split into rival factions in Gaza and West Bank. Abbas’s eventual departure will almost certainly precipitate a bloody succession battle. Some Israeli experts believe that the Palestinian Authority won’t survive such a struggle.
The situation in the West Bank hasn’t reached intifada-like proportions, but it could.
“It is important for us not to lose sight of what could happen if the Palestinian situation gets worse, especially in the West Bank,” US Ambassador Tom Nides said recently. “I fundamentally believe that to keep Israel a democratic state, we need a two-state solution. I want to change the situation on the ground to make that possible, to keep that vision alive.”
The two-state solution is less a vision than a mantra. After more than 40 years, it is a perennially unfulfilled New Year’s resolution. The Arab world has lost patience with the ideal of a Palestinian state. Europe is too caught up in its own existential problems to offer more than an occasional two-state sound bite. And the US, the only country with real clout out in the region, has so far stayed at arm’s length.
It is hard to blame President Joe Biden for his caution. He watched as the administration of President Donald Trump wasted four years of active diplomacy trying to strike a West Bank deal. That offer included 70% of the West Bank for a disarmed Palestinian mini-state and massive foreign investment. Abbas turned it down flat. Biden can’t offer more. Israel — no matter what weak government is in office — would almost certainly refuse to go along.
And yet, the US needs to get involved. A retooled version of the Trump plan, under a different name, could at least get people talking again. An infusion of American aid might assuage Palestinians and buck up the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to keep order in the West Bank. That, in turn, could relieve Israel of the need for aggressive military operations.
These are palliative measures, to be sure. But they are better than the alternative. Left to their own devices, the feckless political leaders of Israel, the headstrong president of the Palestinian Authority and the young warriors of the West Bank could drift, sheeplike, into a conflict that might light up the Middle East. And, for better or worse, the US is the only shepherd available.
Texas and Florida Are Going Full Belarus on Migrants: Andreas Kluth
Punishing Russians Won’t End the Ukraine War: Ian Buruma
Former Colonies Should Do More Than Just Abolish the Monarchy: David Fickling | 2022-09-18T08:52:20Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Biden Can Make Trump’s Mideast Peace Plan Work - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/biden-can-make-trumps-mideast-peace-plan-work/2022/09/18/b489591a-3728-11ed-a0d6-415299bfebd5_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/biden-can-make-trumps-mideast-peace-plan-work/2022/09/18/b489591a-3728-11ed-a0d6-415299bfebd5_story.html |
E.U. moves to suspend billions in funding for Hungary over corruption
EU commissioner for Budget and Administration Johannes Hahn addresses a press conference on the protection of the EU budget in Hungary (Rule of Law Conditionality Mechanism) at the EU headquarters in Brussels, on September 18, 2022. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images)
BRUSSELS — The European Commission on Sunday proposed the suspension of billions of dollars in funding for Hungary over concerns about corruption, a first-of-its kind move that could deepen the stand-off between Brussels and Budapest.
The commission will ask European Union countries to approve the suspension of 65 percent of funding from three programs, amounting to roughly $7.5 billion, according to E.U. officials. However, the commission appeared to leave the door open for Hungary to make certain reforms — and keep the money in the end.
This is the first time the E.U. is using measures introduced two years ago in response to concerns about the erosion of democracy in Hungary and Poland. The measures aim to protect the E.U. budget by making funding conditional on certain standards.
“Today’s decision is a clear demonstration of the Commission’s resolve to protect the E.U. budget, and to use all tools at our disposal to ensure this important objective," said Johannes Hahn, commissioner in charge of Budget and Administration said in a statement.
The move comes just days after the European parliament declared the country has become “a hybrid regime of electoral autocracy” under the current government and after years of acrimony between the E.U. and Orban’s government.
E.U. member states will have a month to decide whether or not to proceed, with the possibility of extending by two months. | 2022-09-18T09:35:52Z | www.washingtonpost.com | E.U. moves to suspend billions in funding for Hungary over corruption - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/18/eu-hungary-corruption-budget-suspension/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/18/eu-hungary-corruption-budget-suspension/ |
After declining ratings and an exodus of VIP guests, these Washington institutions are looking for ways to tweak an old format.
In February 2003, NBC's "Meet the Press" boasted a VIP lineup of retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright and then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, just weeks before the start of the Iraq War. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
For the past few months, viewers of “This Week” — ABC’s Sunday-morning public-affairs program — have watched anchors Martha Raddatz and Jonathan Karl roam far beyond the studio, doing interviews with newsmakers in places like Lviv, Ukraine, and Arizona’s border with Mexico.
Remote broadcasts are hardly a new concept in TV news, but they’re unusual for Sunday morning panel shows — a genre built around the concept of a cozy Washington-insiders conclave. These on-the-road segments reflect a bit of rethinking and tweaking after years of drift and decline.
For decades, Sunday morning’s Big Four — NBC’s “Meet the Press,” CBS’s “Face the Nation,” ABC’s “This Week” and “Fox News Sunday” — were an integral part of the Beltway news ecosystem. Leading political figures, hungry for the big soapbox and establishment cred the shows conveyed, clamored for bookings and sometimes made agenda-setting news.
The conventional wisdom was that no pol could launch a viable presidential campaign without first passing “the Russert Primary,” a lengthy grilling by the late Tim Russert on “Meet the Press.” In their day, Bob Schieffer and David Brinkley commanded similarly powerful positions as moderators on what insiders liked to call “Face” and “Week,” respectively.
Washington’s most newsworthy VIPs once scored bragging rights by achieving what became known as a “Full Ginsburg” — an honorific named for William Ginsburg, Monica Lewinsky’s lawyer during the scandal leading up to President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, who set a new standard for media exposure by appearing on five major Sunday news broadcasts on the same day.
But while the four most highly-rated shows still reach a relatively large audience — a combined average of about 9.3 million per week over the past year — there’s not nearly as much clamoring. Producers of the programs acknowledge that they often struggle to book the people who were once regulars in the greenroom on Sunday.
The programs’ shifting fortunes tell a tale about the changing media landscape, and about politics, too.
Political leaders now have multiple opportunities to deliver their message — cable-news live hits, podcasts, talk radio, social media — and they don’t have to wait until Sunday.
“Trump established the reality that he could address a very large audience very quickly just by using his thumbs alone” on Twitter, says Mark Lukasiewicz, a former ABC and NBC News executive who is now dean of Hofstra University’s communication school. “The Sunday shows are no longer the gatekeepers for political conversations on TV. They were born at a time when politicians needed TV to reach their audience. That’s far less true today.”
How breaking news got panelized: On cable, journalists and pundits increasingly share space
There are friendlier forums for a politician to deliver a message, with sympathetic moderators and like-minded viewers, he said. That leaves little incentive for a newsmaker to face probing questions from tough, seasoned interviewers.
And the message doesn’t travel as far as it once did. Although the Big Four programs increased their audiences during the first two years of the Trump administration, the trend has been downward since then. The four broadcasts collectively lost about 16 percent of their viewers during 2021-22 compared with four years earlier, according to Nielsen figures.
The number of younger viewers — the 25-54 age group valued highly by advertisers — has dropped by one-third, weakening the shows’ financial viability.
The smaller audience creates a kind of self-perpetuating downward cycle, said another former TV executive: Leading political figures have less incentive to show up, creating fewer compelling interviews and thus even less incentive to watch. (When Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia achieved a Full Ginsburg this summer, it barely made a ripple in Washington.)
“It used to be, if you were Sen. X or Y and you had big news on Wednesday, you kept your mouth shut until Sunday,” said this individual, who asked not to be identified to preserve relationships with former colleagues. “Who does that now?”
Hence, the need for a little re-invention.
“I think our show has become less stuffy,” said Dax Tejera, the ABC program’s executive producer. The point of having Raddatz and Karl, who share rotating hosting duties with George Stephanopoulos, do more segments from outside the studio “is to make the show more accessible. We don’t have to stick with the old norms of what a Sunday show is supposed to look like. We want to offer a wider aperture on the news.”
“Fox News Sunday” and “Meet the Press,” which each lost about a quarter of their audience over the past four years, have both been doing some tinkering, too.
“Fox News Sunday,” which airs live on Fox broadcast affiliates before being repeated on the Fox cable channel, lost its longtime moderator Chris Wallace to CNN in December. Last month, Fox tapped its chief legal correspondent Shannon Bream — a former late-night news anchor a generation younger than Wallace — to take over. She debuted in her new role last week with a roster of guests including Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Jane Hartley, the U.S. ambassador to Britain, and former Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte — and ratings that the network touted as a promising increase over the year to date.
“Meet the Press” has been virtually synonymous with NBC News since its debut in 1947, the longest continuously aired program on network television. Hosted since 2014 by Chuck Todd, it has spun off a variety of brand extensions in recent years, including single-topic specials (“Meet the Press Reports”), a podcast, a blog and a newsletter. There’s even a Meet the Press film festival.
But efforts to expand its Sunday franchise have lately taken a few swerves. After launching a weekday version of the program on MSNBC in 2015 with Todd, NBC News last year demoted “Meet the Press Daily” from late afternoons to a less-watched midday timeslot — and then in June moved it to the NBC News Now streaming service.
Carrie Budoff Brown, hired last year from Politico to become NBC’s senior vice president of “Meet the Press,” says the move was designed to extend the franchise to a younger audience, and as a hedge against the ongoing decline of traditional “linear” TV. “The audience is in many places, not just in front of the TV on Sunday morning,” she said. “There’s a lot of competition, but I’d rather be in our place, with a familiar and trusted brand, than where our competitors are.”
But streaming news has yet to catch on with audiences in a big way, which suggests that “Meet the Press Daily” now has a far smaller audience and lower profile than it did on MSNBC. (NBC News does not break out audience numbers for its streaming platform.) The shift triggered new speculative headlines that Todd’s tenure is in jeopardy; NBC has publicly expressed its support for him.
The Sunday morning shows were also jolted by the pandemic, which for months placed limits on the traditional mingling of VIPs in news studios.
“Face the Nation,” which has aired on CBS since 1954 and is currently hosted by Margaret Brennan, suspended its weekly roundtable discussions with Washington journalists and pundits. Executive producer Mary Hager said that format may return as the news demands.
But in the meantime, the new ease of connecting with guests remotely has expanded the pool of interview subjects — allowing the show to reach beyond Washington, and to address an array of topics beyond politics, such as climate change.
“We do less political analysis, but we are still looking at what are the politics that have gone into policy and what are the politics that have come out of the policy,” Hager said.
Despite the various headwinds, Hager believes the Sunday shows are a durable and necessary part of television. “There’s always going to be an audience for making sense of the noise,” with experienced anchors leading the proceedings, she said.
Lukasiewicz isn’t so sure. “I don’t want to suggest less [news and political] dialogue on TV is a good thing, so I hope they have a reason to live,” he said. “But the jury is out.”
Elahe Izadi contributed to this story. | 2022-09-18T10:06:22Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Can the Sunday morning talk show be saved? - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/09/18/sunday-morning-talk-shows-washington-media-meet-the-press/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/09/18/sunday-morning-talk-shows-washington-media-meet-the-press/ |
Another French bulldog stolen in the District
Thief slipped into hotel room, according to police.
Another French bulldog has been stolen in Washington, according to the D.C. police. The breed is both popular and relatively expensive, and the theft appears to be at least the third involving a French bulldog in the city this year.
In the latest incident, the dog was taken about 6 p.m. Friday from a hotel room in the 1200 block of 22nd Street NW, in the West End area of the city.
The thief took the dog and fled, police said.
The dog, Hugo, is described as 6-months old, and gray and white. Hugo’s left ear does not always stand up straight, the police said.
In a previous incident, a French bulldog named Bruno was taken at gunpoint in April in Washington and found dead in August in Prince George’s County.
Bruno’s owner described him as a $6,000 dog.
It was unclear how Washington compares with other cities in the frequency of French bulldog thefts.
However, the dogs have been the targets of thieves elsewhere; in one high profile incident in Los Angeles last year, robbers took two French bulldogs that belonged to Lady Gaga.
Earlier this month, a French bulldog stolen in San Leandro, Calif, was reported to be found in Arizona.
In August, a man in Buford, Ga., reported that four French bulldog puppies were taken at gunpoint from his house.
The dogs are considered to be ideal for city living because they do well in small space, show fondness for people and make little noise.
Prices for puppies may run from $1,500 to $3,000. Rare specimens are said to be valued as high as $100,000. | 2022-09-18T10:10:43Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Another French bulldog stolen in Washington, according to police - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/18/french-bulldog-stolen-washington-again/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/18/french-bulldog-stolen-washington-again/ |
Ending child poverty is among his chief pursuits
Erin Cox
Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore speaks during a rally for the Democratic National Committee at Richard Montgomery High School on Aug. 25 in Rockville, Md. (Alex Brandon/AP)
Talk to most top Democratic officials in Maryland about Wes Moore and many are almost giddy about what the future could hold if the state elects a Democratic governor for the first time in eight years.
Big investments in transit and clean energy. Fully funding and implementing a multibillion-dollar plan to reform public education. Ensuring residents have health care, housing and good-paying jobs, women have access to abortions, and communities are cleansed of violent crime.
Moore, 43, is heavily favored to win in the deeply blue state, which would return Annapolis to the one-party dominance Democrats enjoyed for most of the past 50 years. He’s a best-selling author and former nonprofit chief who lacks a record in public office, a political newcomer who bested nine candidates in the July primary on the strength of his charisma and personal story. On the campaign trail and in debates, he was never forced to lay out plans in detail because there were few policy differences between them.
In the ramp-up to Election Day, he’s sharpening policy pitches to voters and targeting lofty goals, including ending child poverty and closing the racial wealth gap, systemic problems that have long been intractable not only in Maryland, but across the country.
His proposals span the political spectrum, weighing tax cuts alongside big initiatives.
He spells out particular — and potentially costly — ways to meet his goals: implementing Maryland’s $15 minimum wage two years earlier than scheduled; creating a “baby bonds” program that deposits an amount, based on family income, into an account for each baby born; turning Morgan State University into a top-flight doctoral research institute; routing more state contracts to minority and women-owned businesses; aggressively ending discriminatory housing appraisals that undervalue Black-owned homes; and pouring cash into a long-underfunded affordable housing program, among many other particulars in 15 annotated policy documents on his website.
He’s outlined, in similar detail, ideas for climate change, transit, education, LGBTQ+ issues, the economy, public safety and civil rights, saying in a recent interview: “There’s a cost to not doing these things."
Decisions will be made to “prioritize certain investments," he said, noting some elements of his platform already have money earmarked to pay for them. For others, he plans to work with lawmakers and local leaders to “invest” (he doesn’t use the word spend) in the programs and would likely use some of the state’s surplus, federal funds and discretionary state funds.
He said he does not anticipate raising taxes.
“For our state to be able to win we have to be more competitive and also make it more equitable,” Moore said. “Gone should be the days of people who are working, and in some cases working multiple jobs, and still living below the poverty line. That’s a leave no one [behind] agenda,” referring to his political slogan and an idea he said is rooted in his military service in Afghanistan.
His political philosophy, however, is more of a convener than a progressive ideologue. In the interview, he said he wants to examine eliminating either the estate or inheritance tax, since perhaps the state doesn’t need both and he wants Maryland to become more attractive to retirees.
His Trump-endorsed Republican opponent, Del. Dan Cox, casts him as a “socialist,” a label Moore rejects, noting his military service and his stint as an investment banker working on Wall Street.
At age 28, Moore described himself in an interview as “probably one of the more independent people that you’ll ever find. … I’m a social moderate, a strong fiscal conservative. … I have a little bit of Democrat in me and a little bit of Republican in me.”
Sixteen years later, the former Rhodes Scholar and White House fellow under George W. Bush said he would have phrased his position on fiscal issues differently. “I’m fiscally responsible,” he said.
Liberal and moderate Democrats nonetheless say they are eager to have Moore. Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) said the caucus doesn’t have specific policies waiting in the wings they need a Democratic governor to pass. But with Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in office for the past eight years, Ferguson said, the Democratic-controlled General Assembly has been able to attack few complex, systemic problems. With Moore, Ferguson said, that changes.
“We’re able to tackle big questions that we don’t have answers to right now,” Ferguson said of the prospect of a Moore administration working with a Democratic legislature. " … We can start putting together bigger plans.”
Moore said his agenda and approach as convener means “everyone’s voice should be heard. I don’t believe in the idea that when I walk into a room, I should ask people to separate themselves by their political party.”
While Moore gained the endorsement of the teachers union and many members of the establishment during the primary, he was not the choice of most unions or other progressive groups. (He has since gained their backing.)
He’s promised to glean data and ideas from lawmakers, members of the public, private and nonprofit sectors and that includes, he said, people he may not necessarily agree with.
To the chagrin of some of the liberal members of the Democratic Party, Moore said that also includes giving the state Fraternal Order of Police, whose endorsement he received after his primary win, a seat at the table.
“I don’t think that you can be serious about actually implementing reforms if the agencies that have to be reformed are not part of process,” said Moore, adding that he told the organization the same thing he has previously said about policing: “We need to have a police force that moves with appropriate intensity and absolute integrity and full accountability.”
Zakiya Sankara Jabar, co-founder of Racial Justice Now, a grass-roots, parent-led organization in Montgomery County, said she knew Moore was not promoting a progressive agenda, in her view, after learning early in the primary that he was not firmly opposed to police officers in schools.
“He sounds a lot like President Biden did during his State of the Union” when he talks about policing, Sankara Jabar said. “It’s disappointing. … The problem is the other side is worse.”
Sankara Jabar said she doesn’t see people in her organization overly excited about Moore. Members of other progressive groups, who are more reliant on the establishment, are quietly grumbling, she said. “I think the motivation is more so we can’t let this other guy in, who Trump endorsed,” she said.
But Jared Schablein, an ardent Sen. Bernie Sanders supporter in his 2016 presidential bid and one of the founders of the Lower Shore Progressive Caucus, said he trusts Moore on issues important to the progressive movement — jobs that provide a livable wage, accessible health care and schools where teachers are highly paid and students learn skills that prepare them for college or careers.
Moore’s poverty-fighting plan includes free pre-K for every child in need, larger investments in apprenticeship and trade programs, having a more diverse teaching pool and closing the racial wealth gap by, among other things, addressing the “unfair appraisal values in historically redlined neighborhoods” and “fixing the broken procurement policies” affecting minority businesses trying to obtain state contracts.
Moore has said his tenure at the nonprofit Robin Hood Foundation, where he was chief executive, informed his commitment to targeting child poverty. The rate of children living in poverty varies widely across Maryland, from more than 1 in 4 children in Baltimore City and Eastern Shore’s Somerset County to just over 1 in 20 children in Howard and Calvert counties, according to 2020 data from the Annie B. Casey Foundation.
Wes Moore outraises Dan Cox by 10 to 1 in Maryland governor’s race
He sees an intersection between it and his plans to expand transportation options, increase affordable housing units and improve public education, among other things.
Cheryl Bost, the president of the Maryland Education Association, which endorsed Moore in the primary, said teachers are thrilled to know that with Moore they would have a pro-public-education governor in Annapolis.
Bost said Gov. Larry Hogan (R) never met with MSEA in his eight years in office. “With Wes Moore as governor and Aruna Miller as lieutenant governor, educators will have a voice at the table. We’ve seen that through the campaign. … Our members have met and talked to Wes and they then see that come out in speeches or as part of his platform. So they’re saying he’s listening to what we’re saying.”
Moore said he plans to work with the legislature at what he described as the state’s “upside-down taxation system. … We have to make sure that people are paying their share, their fair wages when it comes to taxes …
“It’s something that I intend to be able to do in partnership with local jurisdictions and with the legislature,” he said. “It’s not really simple, but it’s something that I know is eminently doable and it’s the way we’re going to think about our government.”
House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore), who routinely stays out of primary contests, endorsed Moore in the spring because she said he “gets it.” She said she considered his background and asked herself: “What does the state need?”
Jones, who is the first Black person and first woman to serve as a presiding officer in the legislature, said Moore, who could become the first Black governor in Maryland, is a candidate who has used his own experiences and the experiences of others to help guide him on policy positions.
“I have met with various persons and they would be telling me ABC but their body language and facial expressions tells me XYZ,” she said. “I can attest your character when I have a one-on-one.”
But Moore’s sweeping approach to systemic problems could face head-winds in a legislature where policy changes on the environment, criminal justice and education have often come slower than in other Democratic strongholds.
“Incrementalism is disrespectful to the families that continue to fall under the weight of poverty, the weight of inequity, the weight of failed policies,” he said.
On the campaign trail, Moore often tells the story of how he lost his father at age 3 when he died because he didn’t receive proper health care and of how his mother received her first job with benefits when he was a teenager.
“I would be disrespectful to my own history if I somehow thought that I was trying to govern and be an incrementalist,” he said. | 2022-09-18T10:10:49Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Md gov hopeful Wes Moore has lofty goals, including ending child poverty - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/18/wes-moore-governor-poverty-platform/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/18/wes-moore-governor-poverty-platform/ |
Pelosi, in Armenia, condemns Azerbaijan’s ‘illegal’ attacks as cease-fire holds
Head of Armenian National Assembly Alen Simonyan, center right, and U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, center left, walk together upon her arrival at the International Airport outside of Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, Sept. 17. (AP)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) accused Azerbaijan of “illegal and deadly" attacks on Armenia that led to clashes along the border, saying “we strongly condemn those attacks.”
Pelosi, according to Reuters, said it was clear the attacks were initiated by Azerbaijan and must stop — and that the United States should use its influence and leverage to show support for Armenia.
Pelosi this weekend traveled with a congressional delegation to Armenia, where a fragile cease-fire has temporarily halted border fighting with neighboring Azerbaijan that killed more than 200 soldiers in recent days. Pelosi and the delegation are also scheduled to hold a news conference Sunday afternoon.
Her office said that she is the highest ranking U.S. official to visit the country since its independence in 1991 from the former Soviet Union. Pelosi told reporters in Berlin that the visit “is all about human rights and the respecting the dignity and worth of every person,” according to the Associated Press.
On Saturday, Pelosi tweeted she was heading to Armenia to “highlight the strong commitment of the United States to security, economic prosperity and democratic governance in Armenia and the Caucasus region.”
Other members of the U.S. delegation include U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., (D-N.J.) chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee; U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D.-Calif.), who is of Armenian descent; and Anna G. Eshoo, also a Democratic representative of California, who is of Armenian Assyrian descent.
Deadly clashes erupted Sept. 12 along the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia near the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh in a flare-up of a decades-long conflict, as Azerbaijan may have been trying to take advantage of Russia’s preoccupation with its invasion of Ukraine.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, explained
The Southern Caucasus region has long been a source of diplomatic sensitivities for the United States. But after lobbying by members of Congress and Armenian Americans President Biden in 2021 formally recognized a massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century as a genocide — a term that the United States had long avoided for fear of harming its relationship with Turkey. Historians estimate that 1.5 million Armenians were killed in a campaign of forced marches and mass killings during World War I.
“It is the moral duty of all to never forget: an obligation that has taken on heightened urgency as atrocities are perpetrated around the globe, including by Russia against Ukraine," Pelosi said in a statement ahead of her trip. | 2022-09-18T10:23:59Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Nancy Pelosi, in Armenia, condemns Azerbaijan’s ‘illegal’ attacks - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/09/18/nancy-pelosi-armenia-visit/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/09/18/nancy-pelosi-armenia-visit/ |
Maryland women’s college to go fully coed starting in fall 2023
Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore currently has a women-only undergraduate program
Students at Notre Dame of Maryland University participate in a sit-in on Sept. 16 in response to the school's decision to admit men. (Aniyah Plumer)
Notre Dame of Maryland University, a private institution in Baltimore, said it will begin admitting male students to its traditional women-only undergraduate program starting in fall 2023, a shift that has surprised some students and faculty.
Once NDMU makes the shift to coed, there will be 29 colleges in the United States and one in Canada with women-only programs, according to The Women’s College Coalition. Many others have closed or decided to admit men in recent decades, the organization said.
The university is Maryland’s sole women-only undergraduate institution and was the nation’s first Catholic college to award a four-year degree to women, according to the Associated Press. The institution established a weekend college for adult undergraduates open to men in 1975 and coed graduate programs have been offered since 1984.
On Monday, the university’s board of trustees voted unanimously on the coeducational shift after reviewing enrollment trends at women’s colleges and data on high school graduation rates. “We know that there will be some decline there, so we need to continue to innovate, and Notre Dame has had a history of innovation since its founding,” university President Marylou Yam said.
The school said data show that fewer than two percent of female students enroll in private, nonprofit women’s colleges.
The university had about 2,200 students in fall 2021, including about 800 undergraduates, according to federal data.
The shift to coed had been previously discussed through public forums in 2004 and 2007, but the decision was not made until this year.
According to the university, only voting members of the board participated in Monday’s meeting and the work of an enrollment task force studying the issue was confidential.
The board’s faculty representative, Mark Fenster, and student representative, Alycia Hancock — who are nonvoting members — said they were not aware the vote was taking place and learned of the news alongside fellow campus members on Tuesday afternoon.
Fenster said faculty are upset with the decision-making process. “There was no consulting and no transparency,” he said.
Fenster pointed out that women’s college enrollment has been plummeting for a while. The institution has seen growth in coed graduate programs, including pharmacy, nursing and education, but saw room for expansion on the undergraduate level.
“I don’t think they’re going to get a lot of men on campus, but I don’t think that was the rationale,” Fenster said. “The rationale was to make the program more appealing to females by admitting men. That’s where I think the increase is going to be.”
The university plans to incentivize bringing men to the current women-only campus by promoting its small class sizes, NCAA Division III athletics, and proximity to downtown Baltimore.
Many professors canceled classes on the Baltimore-based college campus after the decision, according to student organizers, Hancock and Alexandria Malinowski.
Aniyah Plumer, a sophomore, specifically sought a women’s college. After attending Little Flower Catholic High School for Girls in Philadelphia, Plumer valued an education in an all-women environment.
“The shift to a coed environment is saddening,” Plumer said. “To find out that after reaching 125 years as an establishment that educated women, we were ‘celebrating’ by allowing males to enroll in the university felt like a betrayal.”
Kamiya Britton, a 2022 graduate, believes the decision to go coed will alter the conversations that take place on campus and cause women to be less comfortable.
“Women come to Notre Dame to be a part of a women’s community that embraces women and their unique qualities,” Britton said.
To address student concerns and questions on the board’s decision, Yam held two student listening sessions on Thursday and Friday. At Thursday’s session, a few students wore blue tape on their mouths and masks to symbolize how they felt their voices were not heard when the decision was made.
Hancock and Malinowski hosted a silent sit-in outside of Yam’s office on Friday to protest the decision.
“It was kind of disgusting, to be quite honest,” Hancock said. “Our voices were not considered.”
Graduates of the university were also given opportunities to speak with Yam after the announcement. But some say they are still outraged that they weren’t given any insight before the decision was finalized.
“President Yam and the Board of Trustees are long known among members of our community for their lack of transparency, but this week’s cloak-and-dagger decision is a new low,” 2019 graduate Caroline Máire O’Donnell said.
Patricia McGuire, president of Trinity Washington University in Washington, said the school and other women’s colleges aim to serve historically underserved populations of women and some men who want to join in different programs without losing the mission of empowering women.
“It’s about reorienting and transforming to serve new and different populations in new and different ways,” McGuire said. | 2022-09-18T11:55:13Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Notre Dame of Maryland University women's college to go co-ed - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/09/18/notre-dame-maryland-university-coed-college/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/09/18/notre-dame-maryland-university-coed-college/ |
A page from the order granting a request by former president Donald Trump's legal team to appoint a special master to review documents seized from his Mar-a-Lago estate. (Jon Elswick/AP)
If you still had doubts that Donald Trump’s relentless court-packing poses profound challenges to the legitimacy of the judiciary, U. S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon’s ruling in favor of the man who appointed her should resolve them.
No one is above the law, we once comforted ourselves. Even if Trump could not be indicted while he was president because of a (questionable) Justice Department policy, he would certainly face full accountability after he left office. He would be treated just like everyone else.
Meaning that, even if no other American would enjoy the right to have a special master examine secret and top secret documents that any of the rest of us would likely be indicted for possessing, Trump is “inherently” above us. This is a ruling tailored for one man, which is not supposed to happen in a free society.
Trump’s assertions that, like a high priest, he magically declassified everything with a virtual wave of his hand are for talk shows, not a legal proceeding. Trump, in any event, should not have possessed documents that are the government’s property, not his.
The Justice Department could not let Cannon’s nonsense stand. It filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on Friday night arguing that the judge “fundamentally erred” in her decision, but focusing on only about 100 documents “bearing classification markings.” The department asked that they be kept out of the special master process (and away from Trump’s lawyers) so the FBI could continue its criminal investigation and “identify and mitigate potential national security risks.”
From her first ruling earlier this month, Cannon’s judgments have been described by respected outsiders with words such as “unprecedented,” “untenable,” “radical,” “oblivious,” “deeply problematic” and “stupid.” And also “wrong” and “deeply flawed.” Those last two characterizations came from Trump’s former attorney general, William P. Barr, whose own efforts to protect the president could lead to congressional scrutiny.
Cannon’s legal antics come at an awkward time for those — led by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. — who scold anyone questioning the judiciary’s legitimacy in the wake of the unparalleled efforts by Trump, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) when he was majority leader, and the conservative Federalist Society to stuff the courts with conservatives.
Roberts said earlier this month that “simply because people disagree with an opinion is not a basis for criticizing the legitimacy of the court.” Perhaps true in a vacuum, the statement is suffused with a faux innocence about how the current right-tilting Supreme Court majority — and similar majorities on many circuit courts — were created.
If McConnell and his allies had really cared about judicial legitimacy, they would not have denied Merrick Garland of even a hearing when President Barack Obama named him to the Supreme Court more than seven months before the 2016 election. (It’s either irony or tragedy that a Justice Department now lead by Attorney General Garland is battling Cannon’s Trumpfication of the law.)
Nor would conservatives have turned around four years later and rushed Justice Amy Coney Barrett through the Senate just eight days before Trump lost the 2020 election. You can’t engage in nakedly aggressive power politics and then insist: “Nothing happening here, it’s all on the level, move on.”
Let’s stipulate: There’s always politics in a system involving presidential appointments and Senate confirmation. What we have not seen before is what Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) calls “The Scheme,” the title of his forthcoming book on how dark money conjoined with Senate and presidential actions to transform the judiciary. The legitimacy crisis Roberts mourns was triggered by the success of a relentless political struggle for judicial supremacy.
Maybe the 11th Circuit — even some in its majority named by Trump — will decide that Cannon’s ruling is too much of an embarrassment. Maybe Raymond Dearie, the special master she appointed, will save the day, allowing her to retreat. But Cannon has already shown why there is reason to shudder whenever we hear the words “Trump-appointed judge.” | 2022-09-18T11:55:25Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | The Trump-appointed judge delivers the goods for her patron - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/18/aileen-cannon-trump-special-master-ruling/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/18/aileen-cannon-trump-special-master-ruling/ |
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sept. 16. (Christophe Gateau/AP)
A recent New York Times analysis found that at least 97 current members of Congress or their families bought or sold stock, bonds or other financial assets that overlapped with the lawmakers’ work. A continuing Insider investigation has discovered that 72 members have neglected to report trades as required by the 2012 Stock Act — which isn’t surprising, given the penalty for such lapses is usually a mere $200. Examples abound of behavior that at the least bears the appearance of corruption, from Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) dumping more than $1 million worth of shares a week before the 2020 coronavirus market crash to Ms. Pelosi’s husband pouring tens of millions of dollars into high-profile technology companies regularly scrutinized by the body his wife leads; to the four children of Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) all becoming minority owners of a Major League Soccer team even as MLS lobbied on an immigration proposal.
Those examples show why it’s important that any congressional stock-trading ban apply to spouses and children. The inclusion of senior congressional staff makes sense, too, because top aides can have access to the same market-moving secrets as their bosses, and, even though they’re not the ones voting on bills, they’re often the ones writing them.
The question of what officials should do with stocks they already own is trickier, but Ms. Lofgren’s proposal might point in the right direction: Lawmakers should either divest or start a blind trust — which could be made blinder still with a mandate that its manager gradually sell off the original assets.
While allowing officials to invest in diversified assets, such as mutual and exchange-traded funds, still leaves some room for malfeasance, a prohibition on trading individual stocks would eliminate the easiest and most egregious modes of exploiting one’s position. That’s a big change, and it’s likely the best Congress can do today. Tougher and more tailored strictures regarding disclosure would also help.
The bill’s success is not guaranteed. Opposition could form around certain parts of the plan Ms. Lofgren proposes; in particular, the expansion of a stock-trading ban to the judicial branch. That shouldn’t get in the way of passing the rest of the legislation. Good government is as important in the courts as in Congress, but the priority for legislators should be cleaning up their own act. | 2022-09-18T11:55:32Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | Congress might finally ban members from trading individual stocks - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/18/congress-stocks-insider-trading-ban/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/18/congress-stocks-insider-trading-ban/ |
A photo from Dec. 6, 2013, shows high water at the Eastern Scheldt Storm Surge Barrier in Oosterscheldekering, Netherlands. (Agence France-Presse/Getty Images)
As this month’s unseasonably high temperatures drove unprecedented melting of the Greenland ice sheet, experts delivered a chilling message: Get used to it. Massive stores of ice sit atop land in Greenland and Antarctica, and if even a small fraction melted into the oceans, sea levels would rise dramatically. Scientists are still figuring out how fast this might happen. But new research leaves little room for optimism.
Over the course of this century, countless millions of people will have to reckon with rising seas. There are few easy answers, but humanity must — with urgency — prepare now.
In a new paper in the journal Nature Climate Change, researchers estimated that Greenland’s “zombie ice” — immense chunks destined to melt because of the changes that have already occurred — will boost sea levels by nearly a foot. The scientists calculate that some 3.3 percent of the island’s ice sheet is bound to disappear into the oceans, much of that over the course of this century, which equates to 110 trillion tons of ice. These estimates, based on direct observations of Greenland, are more pessimistic than previous projections, which relied on computer modeling. According to the researchers, their new estimates represent the minimum that could happen if global warming were to continue.
These estimates do not take into account melting occurring in other areas, particularly Antarctica — and news from scientists on that end of the world, announced this month, was not good. A study published in Nature Geoscience revealed harrowing new details about Antarctica’s gigantic Thwaites Glacier — a frozen, Florida-size expanse also known as the “doomsday glacier” because its collapse could raise sea levels by 3 to 10 feet. Scientists are still figuring out how the glacier will respond to global warming. So researchers used an underwater robotic vehicle to map how the ice behaved when it encountered different sorts of circumstances in the past, particularly where it interacts with the seabed on which it is anchored. They found evidence that the ice responds quickly to adverse conditions, suggesting that “pulses of rapid retreat are likely to occur in the near future.” “Thwaites is really holding on today by its fingernails,” said the British Antarctic Survey’s Robert D. Larter, one of the co-authors.
What is rapid in geological time seems slow on human time scales. The most severe consequences of melting ice caps might not come for decades or even longer. Given how little the experts know about the dynamics of these behemoth ice formations, their predictions could still be off. But the world is already suffering the effects of a relatively modest rise in sea level. One example: New York City’s catastrophic flooding during Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Melting land-based ice is one of the most predictable repercussions of global warming. Accordingly, the earlier communities prepare, the more likely they are to minimize the damage of future disasters. Moreover, early preparation will cost less than responding too late.
Expensive engineering efforts will be justifiable for critical areas. Hampton Roads, for example, is home to expansive naval facilities and will require substantial investment in water-management projects. Manhattan, which Hurricane Sandy inundated, causing some $19 billion in damage, is even more vital to the U.S. economy. Construction has already begun on a $20 billion project to build raised parks, esplanades and barriers along Lower Manhattan. Local and federal officials are discussing other options, such as massive sea gates that would close off New York Harbor during big storms.
Even that grandiose plan might not make sense for Manhattan as it considers various ways to keep the water out. Proposals of this sort would be less justifiable for other places. A 2019 report from the Center for Climate Integrity found that the country could spend $400 billion building sea walls to protect coastal communities. As harsh as it sounds, there are certain places where it will not make sense to spend lots of money trying to keep back the tides. Some will have to be abandoned.
Smart planning is essential. State and local governments should impose building codes that account for ever-increasing flood risk, as Houston did after Hurricane Harvey flooded the city in 2017. Meanwhile, government at all levels should refuse to subsidize risky waterside development, such as by providing favorable flood insurance rates for flood-prone areas.
A recent reform to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance Program brought premiums more in line with the risks homeowners face, substantially raising monthly costs for some property owners and eliciting howls of opposition. FEMA projects that far more coastal areas will face high flood risk by 2100, the high-risk zone expanding 55 percent, so it will be a perpetual challenge for property owners and the government to correctly gauge various places’ exposure.
Leaders must be tougher. At some point, localities will have to refuse to keep up roads, sewers and other services in areas people should not be living. States and localities such as New Jersey, following Hurricane Sandy, are buying up real estate in high-risk areas and converting it into floodplains and wetlands, natural flood barriers. Buyouts can be expensive for cash-strapped towns. But there are public-private models that show promise. Norfolk has explored ways to condition new construction in safer zones on developers helping to buy out properties in riskier areas. The federal government should also invest further in buyout efforts, enabling the National Flood Insurance Program to buy out homeowners rather than continually paying them to rebuild.
Yet, no matter how well-funded buyout programs are, some people will refuse to move, regardless of the risk. This will cause political problems, as people in battered communities demand government aid to rebuild in areas better abandoned. This will be true, too, in other zones that climate change renders more perilous, such as on the edges of forests increasingly liable to catch fire. The more the government shelters people from the true and increasing cost of the choices they make in the face of global warming, the bigger the eventual bill for society at large.
The world has been amply warned. Scientists have raised the alarm: sea-level rise is not a matter of “if” but a matter of “when and how much.” The nation’s leaders must not wait for the floodwaters to inundate their communities — or the wildfires to get worse, or the droughts to become more severe — to plan for the new reality. | 2022-09-18T11:55:38Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | Climate change is melting Greenland and Antarctica's ice. Time to act. - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/18/greenland-antarctica-ice-climate-change-prepare/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/18/greenland-antarctica-ice-climate-change-prepare/ |
Distinguished pol of the week: He helped fend off a crippling strike
President Biden shakes hands with Labor Secretary Marty Walsh at the White House on Sept. 15. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
As a former labor lawyer, I can attest that when heading into the final hours of a labor negotiation, after months if not years of haggling, both parties can be frustrated, tired and angry. The intervention of a third-party mediator can therefore be critical to avoid a work stoppage.
In the case of the averted railway workers strike this week, that role was played by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh.
By all accounts, Walsh and his deputy Julie Su made a huge difference, helping to facilitate the final 20 hours of talks. As Politico reported:
On Thursday, a bleary-eyed Walsh told reporters, “It’s a contract that respects the workers. It’s a contract that helps the carriers and allows us the opportunity to avert what would be, I think, a national catastrophe.”
He stressed that his role was keeping the parties at the table. “This contract negotiation has been going on for over two years so it wasn’t necessarily a lovefest when we started the night,” Walsh said of the 20-hour negotiations. “But at the end of the night, as we got towards the end of the contract, there was a lot of mutual respect there.”
Walsh brought credibility to the talks with his mild manner and his grasp of the details in the complex, multi-contract arrangement. His past experience as head of the Building and Construction Trades Council and as mayor of Boston (where unions often sat on the other side of the table) was critical. This is a reminder that picking Cabinet members with expertise and people skills, rather than simply throwing seats to political cronies, can be a vital part of — pardon the pun — keeping the trains running.
The union workers got significant gains from the talks: a 24 percent pay raise over three years, a lump-sum payment to catch their salaries up (after the last contract expired two years ago), time off to see a doctor (a key concern of workers) and an additional day off. But the real winner was the U.S. economy. With up to 40 percent of American products moved by train, a strike would have been devastating, especially at a moment when the Federal Reserve is furiously working to bring down inflation and the White House has been trying to untangle supply chains.
The deal allowed President Biden to take a victory lap in the Rose Garden. He said, “This agreement is validation — validation of what I’ve always believed: Unions and management can work together — can work together for the benefit of everyone.” He added, “To the American people: This agreement can avert the significant damage that any shutdown would have brought. Our nation’s rail system is the backbone of our supply chain.”
He closed with a reminder of the economic progress the economy has made. “With unemployment still near record lows and signs of progress in lowering costs, this agreement allows us to continue to rebuild a better America with an economy that truly works for working people and their families,” he concluded. “Today is a win — and I mean it sincerely — a win for America.”
The contracts still must be ratified by the respective unions, but after such an arduous negotiation and a collective sigh of relief, union members will be hard-pressed to turn down a deal that the White House — which describes itself as the “most pro-union” administration ever —has backed.
For rolling up his sleeves to broker a critical deal and avert an economic disaster, we can say, well done, Secretary Walsh. (And get some sleep!) | 2022-09-18T11:55:44Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | Thank you, Marty Walsh, for fending off a crippling railway strike - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/18/marty-walsh-labor-railway-strike-deal/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/18/marty-walsh-labor-railway-strike-deal/ |
As Queen Elizabeth II died, one artist reunited her with Prince Philip
HANDOUT PHOTO: An illustration commemorating Queen Elizabeth II’s death. (Courtesy of Murphys sketches)
LONDON — As news travelled across the world that Queen Elizabeth II’s health was deteriorating, one British illustrator picked up a packet of watercolor pencils and began to draw.
Kerri Cunningham, an artist and mother-of three from Lancashire in England, sketched the queen’s late husband Prince Philip sitting on a picnic blanket with his arm placed lovingly around his wife’s back. She penciled in a corgi alongside them and a bright blue sky above them. There were three words underneath the image that would soon go viral with the news of the queen’s death hours later: “Hello again Lilibet.”
When Buckingham Palace made the formal announcement that Britain’s longest serving monarch had died at the age of 96, Cunningham was putting one of her three children to bed. The image, which she uploaded to her Instagram account, began to travel far and wide. It was resonating with tens of thousands of people, who soon began asking where they could buy a copy.
Cunningham said she was surprised but also “really touched" at the reaction to her artwork, which she drew while wearing her “mom jeans” at her kitchen table.
The 34-year-old said that the queen’s death made a lot of people around the world think about losing their own grandparents. Many people told her they were moved by the the idea of the royal couple reuniting.
“Lilibet is the only ‘thing’ in the world which is absolutely real to me," Philip wrote to the queen mother in a note shortly after he married her daughter Elizabeth in 1947.
Cunningham said she has long used Instagram as a platform to share her art, though she usually sketches about parenthood. Her posts are often about overflowing laundry baskets and the joys — and trials — of being a mother. | 2022-09-18T12:38:45Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Artist envisions Queen Elizabeth II, Philip reunited in death in viral sketch - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/18/queen-death-philip-reunited-instagram-sketch/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/18/queen-death-philip-reunited-instagram-sketch/ |
What’s Dangerous Is America’s Lack of Crime Data
Contrast this state of affairs with the amount of data available on the US economy. There are monthly updates on job creation, the unemployment rate and multiple indexes of inflation. Commodity prices are publicized on a daily basis. Reports on gross national product come out quarterly, with timely revisions as more data comes in. Policymakers benefit from a deeply informed debate, enriched by commentary from academics and other observers.
But on crime the US is, to a shocking extent, flying blind. As a July report from the Brennan Center for Justice noted: “More than six months into 2022, national-level data on crime in 2021 remains unavailable.”
For 2022, researchers tell me the best source is the data assembled by a private company called AH Datalytics. Its team basically looks at 92 large cities that publicly report murder data in a somewhat timely matter and puts the numbers into a spreadsheet. This ends up pretty messy, since as of this writing some cities (Kansas City, Washington) have updated information from as recently as Sept. 14, while others (San Antonio, Shreveport, La.) are updated only to March 31. And of course this rough-and-ready calculus doesn’t allow for comparison of crime trends in central cities with suburbs and rural areas.
What all this anecdata fails to recognize is that the US is a gigantic country, so even in a very low-crime year like 2014, there were multiple people being murdered every day. A person could have issued daily updates painting a terrifying portrait of life in the US even at a time when violence was at its lowest ebb.
What makes this all especially maddening is that collecting this information in a timely manner shouldn’t be that difficult. Police departments know how many murders are committed in their jurisdiction. That information is stored on computers. It doesn’t need to be delivered to the Department of Justice via carrier pigeon.
The DOJ should be given some money to create a system that can be easily updated by law enforcement agencies, and actually filing that information in a timely way should be a condition of receiving federal police grants. A small team at the Bureau of Justice Statistics could have the job of phoning up departments who haven’t done it and “reminding” them to update the numbers. And then the data could be released on a regular basis in a machine-readable form — the same way numbers for jobs, inflation, and other major economic statistics are.
• Don’t Blame Progressive Prosecutors for Rising Crime: Jennifer Doleac
• New York’s Crime Wave Is Showing Signs of Breaking: Justin Fox
• Drugs Are Fueling Urban Crime. Will Democrats Pay Attention?: Jim Hinch | 2022-09-18T13:26:46Z | www.washingtonpost.com | What’s Dangerous Is America’s Lack of Crime Data - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/whats-dangerous-is-americas-lack-of-crime-data/2022/09/18/eb307966-3751-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/whats-dangerous-is-americas-lack-of-crime-data/2022/09/18/eb307966-3751-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html |
By Tamela Baker, The Herald-Mail | AP
HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Her research into healthy aging convinced Bernadette Wagner long ago that women who connect with each other are healthier, happier and more productive.
So four years ago, she founded a nonprofit organization designed to foster those relationships for women in their “prime.”
“When we founded Prime Time for Women, it was this idea based on the science that social connections have a greater ability to improve physical health, emotional well being and longevity than diet and exercise combined,” Wagner said during a recent interview at her Hagerstown home.
“And it was kind of like, OK, so how do you do that in real life? How do you make those connections? Prior to the pandemic, we were doing lots of group programming — we did belly dance classes, and we did the Prima Donna dancers, which was a hip-hop group for women over 50” and other activities.
By 2019, she’d developed a TV program by the same name for Antietam Broadband. Wagner, a former Washington County Board of Education member, was a natural. She recorded 20 shows in two seasons, featuring local women in each episode.
“We really had to shift to outdoor and more one-on-one stuff,” she said. And Wagner’s “Year of Hikes” blog was born.
They’d spend that time walking and talking, and Wagner would learn a little about each of her companions and share their stories in the blog.
“One of the things I learned when I was hiking is that — I coined this phrase, I don’t know if it’s a real phrase or not — but I called it ‘trail intimacy.’ When you’re walking, you know, your breathing kind of catches up and syncs, and your footsteps fall in a rhythm because you’re trying to stay near the person as you’re talking and walking. And I think that there’s this calming effect.
“And I think that there was the ability to share on a more intimate level, partly because you weren’t looking eye-to eye.”
Now, she’s connecting through another activity: cooking.
“For this year, we’re doing a blog called Cultures, cooking and connections,” she said. “And each month I’m cooking with a different woman from a different ethnic background.
“I love to cook and I love to explore different ethnic foods,” Wagner said. “So I thought what if, instead of reading a darn cookbook by myself, I cooked with women who do this all the time and know the history behind it, and could share their cultures and their stories?”
“I had never made homemade pasta before. I thought about it, but I never had done it … she said, ‘Do you have a pasta maker?’ I said no. She said ‘I’ll bring mine.’ And so it was this whole experience that I would have never done.
“And then I cooked with a woman from Pakistan who came here, married a man that she didn’t know — it was an arranged marriage — and just got to hear about that and her children. As a result of that whole whole thing, two weeks ago I went to her daughter’s wedding down in Chantilly, Va. I was probably one of like, 10 non-Muslims … it was this great experience that I would have never had, and my husband had — and he would have never had it.”
Since then, she’s shared culinary confabs with a woman from Cuba, who, having fled the Castro regime, “really had an interesting perspective on what’s going on in our political climate in this country.”
Last week, she was cooking with a neighbor who’s originally from Brazil.
“It’s fun for me to cook with people,” Wagner said, “but I really do believe that it’s the stories that come out while we’re cooking. The cooking is the vehicle to connect … to find that common ground and that shared humanity. And so for me, that’s why I like doing these different projects.”
“It’s a little bit of word of mouth,” she said. “A couple of women reached out to me and I set up hikes, and then they posted about their experience, and then other people reached out.”
Many were just getting into hiking and hadn’t been on the Appalachian Trail; they saw it as a personal challenge, Wagner said.
“And, of course, I wrote about the natural world and how it changed over time,” she said. “But really, the gist of the blog was highlighting that woman’s story. And I think through the process, I became a much better listener … I was really focused on what they were saying and thinking, ‘Oh, that, that’s a nugget I want to put in the blog.‘”
Hiking with these women also gave her a glimpse into their varied perspectives. Some were politically conservative while others were not. Wagner “was just trying to sit in the middle ground and really hear their stories,” and maybe understand “how did they get to where they were?”
Prime Time for Women still sponsors group activities — including a reunion hike in June for last year’s participants that helped raise money for Micah’s Backpack, which provides food for children, in conjunction with the Hagerstown Area Religious Council’s Hike for Hunger and Hope.
The Prime Time for Women television show went on an indefinite hiatus with the pandemic, although it’s still available from Antietam Broadband. Will it come back?
“Maybe,” Wagner said.
“What I want to do now, I think, I want to highlight female entrepreneurs of a certain age and bring them on and give them a chance to talk about their stories … I read this statistic that the average age of female entrepreneurs in the U.S. is like 43 — they’re ready for the next thing.
“That’s definitely what ‘prime’ is — this idea that ‘I have more to do. And maybe now I have a little bit of time to focus on me.’
“And I think that for the majority of women, they don’t give themselves that space until they are of a certain age, but I don’t think that it can’t be young.”
Wagner’s daughter, for example, deferred her admission to law school after COVIID hit, and during that gap year got involved in the Fair Housing Program in Washington — and discovered law school wasn’t the direction she really wanted to go.
“I would say she’s in her prime,” Wagner said. She’s pursuing graduate work in a different field now.
“That would have never happened without this pause,” Wagner said, but “I think for a lot of women, you don’t get that pause until your kids leave the house.”
Call it a second chapter, perhaps. Or even a third. Right now, Wagner is involved with Meritus Health’s Walking to Wellness program, again, making connections between the participants.
And that’s become a mission.
“When you have a purpose, your life is more meaningful,” she said. “There’s a quote, it’s something like the purpose of life is to find your passion; the meaning of life is to give it away.” | 2022-09-18T13:27:17Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Prime Time for Women founder finds ways to connect - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/prime-time-for-women-founder-finds-ways-to-connect/2022/09/18/147b4936-3752-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/prime-time-for-women-founder-finds-ways-to-connect/2022/09/18/147b4936-3752-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html |
Solution to Evan Birnholz’s Sept. 18 crossword “In Other Words,” and a Q&A with Jim Quinlan
Today we’re going to do things a little bit differently. I’m lucky to be joined in this space by Jim Quinlan, a friend and fellow traveler in the puzzle world.
I’m going to introduce Jim and then present an interview with him before discussing this weekend’s crossword. If you want to see the solution to the Sept. 18 puzzle “In Other Words,” scroll down and you will find it at the bottom of this post. For any readers who are here primarily because you wanted to read the interview, please note that I will be revealing the solution to “In Other Words” after the Q&A with Jim, so go solve the puzzle first if you wish to avoid spoilers.
Jim Quinlan lives in Westtown, New York in the Hudson Valley. He teaches high school English in Goshen where he also directs plays and musicals. In addition to being an avid solver and occasional puzzle constructor, he plays piano (as an accompanist and solo performer) and he is a cyclist who has traversed extremely long distances. In his words, he has “never seen ‘Star Wars’ and knows embarrassingly little about sports.”
In February 2017, Jim joined the team at the blog, Diary of a Crossword Fiend, which reviews puzzles from several different publications (including this one). In November of that year, he started reviewing my crosswords, and he did so almost every week for the next five years. He approached every review with fairness, good humor and a kind spirit, and I couldn’t wait to read them. What I appreciated most from his write-ups was that he often noted enjoying the chance to solve puzzles of varying themes and difficulties. As he colorfully put it this past April, “I’d rather have a scoop of something crazy once in a while than week after week of vanilla.” That has been key to my own values as a crossword constructor, and Jim’s insights and enthusiasm were real gifts that I believe have helped me grow and become better at my work.
Jim has constructed puzzles for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Universal Crossword. In late 2014, he and I made a collaborative crossword for my old website Devil Cross that we called “Wasted Time.” It was a strange puzzle, featuring an odd grid and even odder theme answers. It’s one of the very few published co-constructed puzzles I’ve ever worked on, and I still have fun memories of building it.
After five years of blogging at Crossword Fiend, Jim announced on Aug. 28 that he would be stepping down as a member of their blogging team. He generously volunteered his time and effort to providing a spotlight for my puzzles, so I wanted to give him a spotlight of his own.
Evan: How did you originally get involved with Diary of a Crossword Fiend and what drew you to analyzing puzzles in further detail?
Jim: Long before I wrote my first post for Crossword Fiend, I had seen a pitch from Stanley Newman, who edits and often constructs for Newsday, asking if anyone was interested in blogging about his publication’s puzzles. At the time, I was solving as many puzzles as I could get my hands on and I was beginning to construct them myself. I figured writing about puzzles and analyzing them might help me to understand the construction process better. That particular pitch, however, was posted long before I had stumbled on it, and the position was not available. But the blogging seed had been planted so I sent an email to Amy Reynaldo, who manages Fiend, offering to fill in as a substitute blogger should she need anyone. It wasn’t until several years later that she took me up on it.
Evan: Did blogging about crosswords each week influence your work as a teacher, and if so, how? Like did your analysis of puzzles feel similar to how you would grade students’ assignments, did you ever incorporate puzzles or even just modes of thinking about crosswords into lesson plans, have any of your students become interested in puzzles themselves, etc.?
Jim: Blogging about crosswords is very humbling, at least for me. It’s a very sensitive thing, to be writing about someone’s work, especially when a constructor has put heart and soul and an incredible amount of time into a puzzle that may only take a couple minutes for a competitive solver to complete. On more than a few occasions, my tone came across more negatively than I’d intended, or I’d focus solely on things that personally bothered me about a puzzle. If I was rushed, or in a bad mood, or tired, that might unintentionally affect how I assessed a puzzle, which is, of course, unfair. On the bright side, Fiend welcomes a dialogue, and commenters are not shy about challenging bloggers’ opinions. And most of the time, they are rational, well-thought out challenges. I take critiques of my critiques very seriously, especially from a community I truly respect. I’m not always right. To the contrary, I’m frequently wrong. I like to think that blogging and engaging in dialogue has helped me to become more introspective and see myself as fallible.
When it comes to school, I’ve always tried to avoid the I’m-The-Teacher-Therefore-I’m-Always-Right mind-set. Almost all of the teachers I know try to avoid that. But I’m not sure we always succeed. I believe that I’m much more sensitive now to the manner in which I give feedback than I was a decade ago. Just because I see similar themes again and again, each student’s work is still an individual effort, and it is unique to that student, and that student should be rightfully proud of it. You can substitute the word “student” in that last sentence with “constructor” and it is just as valid.
Evan: Do you have a particular favorite puzzle that you’ve constructed?
Jim: My favorite puzzles that I have constructed have not been for publication. They’ve been for friends. One set of puzzles in particular led a friend on a bit of a scavenger hunt for her birthday. I made five mini puzzles and each had a meta answer. It would lead her to a location to find the next puzzle. And they collectively had an overall meta answer for her to solve to discover what her birthday present was. That was so much fun. I make them for my colleagues and occasionally have contests at school. I make them for the school newspaper. While it’s really cool to see your own work in major publications, the submission process alone is incredibly time consuming and laborious, and for me, that can take a big chunk of the fun out of it.
I was extremely lucky that the first puzzle I ever constructed was accepted by the New York Times. I mistakenly thought it would be that easy every time. Nope. Not even close. And about that puzzle, it was panned by Amy Reynaldo at Fiend before I started writing for that site. The bad reviews (hers wasn’t the only one) stung for a little while. But in actuality, I ended up appreciating the constructive criticism. I think it’s important to embrace feedback, even when it’s not the feedback you were hoping for.
Evan: I want to ask about your work as a musician. I remember you had mentioned to me that you would sometimes solve crosswords while you were waiting to play the piano during high school musicals. I’m pretty amazed by this because I used to play classical piano before I took up crosswords as a hobby, and every time I had a recital, I was a nervous wreck and couldn’t focus on anything else except getting ready to perform. First, did you ever solve puzzles during the actual performance, or was it only during rehearsals? And second, how were you able to stay relaxed to solve crosswords while the musical was happening?
Jim: Ha! The only puzzles I’ve ever “solved” during an actual performance have been Matt Gaffney’s meta puzzles. That’s because it’s often more of a thought exercise once the grid is filled in. I’m likely to miss a cue if I’m focused on anything other than the performance. Multitasking isn’t my thing. Besides, it would be rather unprofessional for an audience to see the accompanist filling in a grid, say, right before Javert jumps to his death in “Les Misérables.” I do really need to focus on the production. Rehearsals, though, are another story. I always need something to do. Otherwise I’m the type who is going to want to start fixing the staging and start stepping on the director’s shoes, which is decidedly not the role of an accompanist. Solving crosswords makes me behave.
Also, many people have come over during rehearsal breaks to help with a solve. It’s so much fun. There’s been many times where a whole cast gets involved and I end up bringing a bunch of copies of crosswords. Cast members huddle together and solve backstage. The entire orchestra pit gets involved before a show or during intermission. It’s become an expectation that I show up, puzzles in hand.
Evan: How has your life as a musician inspired your own work as a crossword solver and constructor?
Jim: I’m not so sure it has! Although I’m an English teacher, I actually think I’m better at math. I notice a lot of musicians are quite good at math. And from what I’ve noticed, a lot of math people are very drawn to crosswords. So maybe they’re all correlated somehow? I did have an idea to construct a puzzle with a “crescendo” theme, but I couldn’t get it to work and I never revisited it. I’ve got a bunch of puzzles in the one-day-I’ll-get-back-to-that pile.
(Note from Evan: Jim did once construct a Sunday puzzle for the LA Times called “Slightly Off Broadway,” so I’d say his work as a musician did shine through in his crosswords!)
Evan: You’ve been an avid cyclist for several years. You also blogged for a long time about your cross-country biking adventures at The Green Saddle. How did you get involved with that?
Jim: I’m no athlete. Not by a long shot. But for some reason, I absolutely love long-distance cycling. It was something my father instilled in me at a young age when we would go on a long trip on a tandem bicycle. Around Ireland once. Up to Niagara Falls. Down the East Coast.
One summer, when I got back from one of those tours, I entered a local race. It was about sixty miles or so. I never finished that race because somewhere around mile 40, I ran a stop sign and was hit by an oncoming vehicle. It’s quite remarkable that I survived (helmets are very useful) and even more remarkable that I was relatively unscathed. Nonetheless, I gave up road cycling then and there. Twenty years later, my father suddenly fell ill with pancreatic cancer and he passed within months of his diagnosis. He had always talked about wanting to cycle across the United States, coast to coast, and I promised him we would do it. So I got back on a bike and did it the following summer after his death. I went solo, but I never felt alone. I blogged about the experience day by day, and I’ve blogged about subsequent trips. It’s a blast to do that. Sometimes you don’t realize just how hilarious, wondrous, difficult or frustrating something is until you write about it.
Evan: Did you get to solve puzzles regularly while you were on your biking trips? Or did you go … completely off the grid?
Jim: Yes, I solved at least one crossword every day. I’m always looking for an excuse to take a break. I even constructed one while I was waiting for a repair.
Evan: To borrow from Andrew Kingsley’s regular question during Boswords interviews, do you have a happiest crossword memory?
Jim: My happiest crossword memories all involve introducing people to crosswords. As a teacher, I get to do that a lot. When I was teaching middle school, I used to project the Friday NYT themeless puzzle during study hall. You’d be shocked at how well a group of seventh-grade kids can collectively solve a difficult puzzle with little experience.
Now, at the high school level, my room is never empty during the four periods when I am not teaching. They come there to solve crossword puzzles together. It’s extremely welcoming, and with a well-clued puzzle, everyone and anyone can bring something to the table. Students who might be shy or have difficulty fitting in have found their “friend groups” in my room simply because of crossword puzzles. And this happens again and again and again, year after year. I get to see students’ first aha moments, even when it’s due to a simple letter substitution theme. This past summer, four newly graduated students and I rafted down the Delaware River together as a last “hurrah” before they went off to college. Oddly enough, that never would’ve happened were it not for crosswords. They became friends in my room, solving together. How cool is that?
Thanks for giving us your time, Jim!
Now, here’s the solution to the Sept. 18 Post Magazine puzzle “In Other Words.”
Three phrases have pairs of circled words, and these circled words are described by the synonyms in three separate revealer answers:
17A: [North, south, east and west] is CARDINAL DIRECTIONS. The circled DIN and IRE are described by “THE SOUND AND THE FURY” at 38A: [1929 novel by William Faulkner, or a hint to 17 Across’s circled words].
46A: [Pine Tree State town with the same name as a European capital] is PARIS, MAINE. The circled PA and MAIN are described by “THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA” at 64A: [1952 novella by Ernest Hemingway, or a hint to 46 Across’s circled words].
83A: [Diner dish served in the morning] is BREAKFAST PLATE. The circled FAST and LATE are described by “THE QUICK AND THE DEAD” at 95A: [1995 western starring Sharon Stone and Gene Hackman, or a hint to 83 Across’s circled words].
This is a spiritual successor to a previous puzzle of mine from May 2019 called “This and That.” That puzzle had a similar theme but used revealers with the format “X and Y,” where today’s puzzle it was “The X and the Y.”
Finally, although I got to interview Jim for this blog post, I couldn’t resist throwing another friend of mine from the crossword world into this puzzle. 102D: [Wall Street Journal language columnist Zimmer] is BEN Zimmer. I’ve gotten to chat with Ben at various crossword tournaments over the years; he’s not only incredibly knowledgeable about the origins of words and phrases, but quite the nice and personable fellow. In addition to all of the impressive work he does as language columnist, Ben contributes essays for the word blog “Beyond Wordplay,” he makes frequent appearances on the crossword podcast “Fill Me In” (where he’s been given the nickname “The Barnacle”) and he has constructed crosswords for various outlets, too. | 2022-09-18T13:27:24Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Solution to Evan Birnholz’s Sept. 18 crossword “In Other Words,” and a Q&A with Jim Quinlan - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2022/09/18/solution-evan-birnholzs-sept-18-crossword-other-words-qa-with-jim-quinlan/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2022/09/18/solution-evan-birnholzs-sept-18-crossword-other-words-qa-with-jim-quinlan/ |
This is how a former journalist took a viral meme and turned it into a million-dollar campaign to support the Ukrainian resistance. (Video: Joshua Carroll, Leila Barghouty/The Washington Post)
Saint Javelin doesn’t grace the stained-glass windows of any church. Her halo is a shade of yellow closer to that of sunflowers and wheat than the golden orb on a traditionally canonized saint. Instead of an infant, she tenderly cradles a Javelin — an American-made, handheld antitank missile.
The Mary knockoff might not be a church-sanctioned saint, but in just a few months, she’s developed a following with devotion that rivals that of any high-holiday worshiper. More impressively, she’s raised over 1 million dollars for the Ukrainian resistance against the Russian invasion.
The business is the brainchild of Christian Borys, a former journalist based in Canada, who spent years covering conflict in Ukraine and beyond. A portion of the profits is used to support Ukraine. Borys helped create the image as it’s known now — one that’s now on countless laptops, T-shirts, flags, murals, and even tattoos around the world. His growing team has expanded the roster of weapon-toting saints, selling branded stickers, accessories, and apparel primarily online. On the company’s website, he’s boiled down the mission into a single sentence: “We are in business to re-build Ukraine.”
Ukrainian artist turns antitank ‘hedgehog’ into symbol of resistance
He’s not an artist, but more a specific kind of storyteller keen on hooking people into an issue by catching their attention with something absurd, funny, or shocking. The campaign has been so effective it earned Borys a spot on Russia’s official blacklist.
“It just shows the significance of what you can do with something that’s, in reality, so silly,” Borys said in a phone interview in July. “And then the Russians got so pissed that they banned us.”
Still ticking upward, the funds raised by the Saint Javelin campaign have gone toward everything from mental health charities to armor purchases for Ukrainian forces to the country’s drone program through United24, an initiative headed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The blueprint for Saint Javelin came from artist Chris Shaw’s line-towing series of Madonnas in 2012. Shaw painted images of Mary holding items like a 40-ounce bottle malt liquor, a suicide vest, and a rifle. Online, the image evolved into a meme and the rifle was replaced by a javelin. It was that version Borys came across in early 2022 and used as the jumping off point for his campaign. In February, Saint Javelin went viral, and in April, Shaw released his own version of her.
Women artists tell an ugly truth: The war within may never be over
“Perhaps it was a futile attempt to reclaim my art from the internet somehow,” Shaw wrote on his personal website on April 3. “Or maybe it was just that the first viral alteration was a bit sloppy in places.”
Shaw’s painting is on loan to the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Mo. In its description of the piece, the museum notes Saint Javelin’s place in a long history of images of Mary used in times of war. “Use of Christian saint and Virgin Mary imagery to inspire action and foster hope in war dates back centuries,” they write.
Pseudo-prayers and earnest messages of thanks to Saint Javelin are easy to find online, but despite the cult following, the campaign isn’t without its critics. When a Saint Javelin mural was completed in Ukraine’s capital in May by Kyiv-based art group, Kailas-V, the saint’s halo was mysteriously erased. The group reportedly blamed the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko.
“Saint Javelin the Scandalous,” Borys quipped on Twitter in response to the criticism in May.
The question of whether the image is blasphemous is a centuries-old one, according to Nora M. Heimann, an associate Professor of Art History at Catholic University.
“You’re stepping into a slipstream as long as the Marian imagery has been in existence: is it even okay to portray Mary?” Heimann asked. “I mean, these are centuries old sources of discourse,” she said.
Because the style of Saint Javelin is clearly drawn upon Byzantine and Orthodox portrayals of Mary, Heimann said it makes sense that some might find it offensive or blasphemous. Borys maintains the decision to use the image of Mary wasn’t one borne out of blasphemy or disrespect.
“Obviously it’s a joke image, right?” Borys said. “It’s a meme. It’s the way that people speak on the internet.”
What started off as a highly-niche online joke on weapons group chats has become a global brand. Borys has a brick-and-mortar office and storefront in Toronto, rents a co–working space in Lviv, and has manufacturers across Ukraine. Saint Javelin is now his full-time job. He’s hoping to continue to grow the movement, and garner more support for the resistance.
“A million bucks is just a drop in the bucket when it comes to fighting a war,” he said.
Joshua Carroll contributed to this report. | 2022-09-18T13:28:13Z | www.washingtonpost.com | How the St. Javelin meme raised a million dollars for Ukraine - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/18/ukraine-war-meme-fundraising/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/18/ukraine-war-meme-fundraising/ |
A woman takes a photograph of a shop window near Buckingham Palace that features Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 15. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)
LONDON — She was Queen by the Grace of God. She was a granny. She was Defender of the Faith. With a stable full of racehorses. She was Queen of this Realm and many other realms. Who loved her nipping corgis and stood astride a century of cataclysmic history and a sprawling royal family notorious for its tabloid dysfunction.
The world is demonstrably fascinated by Queen Elizabeth II. Her funeral on Monday is expected to draw nearly 500 foreign dignitaries, with hundreds of thousands of people lining the streets to see her coffin pass by and many millions watching on television.
Why? What accounts for an outpouring of affection that has stunned even her most devoted courtiers?
No one is enthralled — to be honest, no offense — in the same way by the king of the Belgians, the sultan of Brunei, the emperor of Japan, Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein, or the so-called “bicycling royals” of northern Europe — interesting and colorful as they may be.
The BBC and the royal biographers — alongside the world leaders, British rappers and the public — have hit the repeat button in praise of Elizabeth’s duty, service, steadfastness.
But that alone can’t explain her transcendent appeal.
Perhaps it’s because her long life allows people to pick which memories they want to embrace: the young queen, in the black-and-white movie star head shots of the 1950s; or the middle-aged, more matronly queen, struggling with her children’s divorces and scandals; or the “dear Grannie” era, suggested by Millennial Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice in statement Saturday, when she offered comfort and tea and kitsch against a world of dizzying change.
The queen was a TV show the whole family could agree to watch.
Or maybe it’s this: She never quit. No ballplayer could best her record.
She served, she survived, the longest reign in Britain — and the second-longest reign of any monarch in the history of monarchs.
A queen from the Greatest Generation
Elizabeth’s tangible legacy is harder to pinpoint.
As a constitutional monarch, she did not build Britain’s postwar welfare state or create the National Health Service. She cut ribbons on new hospitals; she didn’t pay for them. Elizabeth was the head of the Armed Forces; she didn’t send British troops to war. She took pains not to say or do anything remotely political.
But she embodied a tireless work ethic that earned her admiration. Even the pope retired. The queen never did.
By royal yacht, by propeller plane, then jets, Elizabeth ceaselessly traveled the globe. The Telegraph newspaper counted 290 state visits to 117 different nations.
“We have to be seen to be believed,” the queen is quoted as saying, and it is remarkable that in interviews with people standing in the queue to view her coffin many recall her visits — to Nepal, Mexico, Iceland, Australia, Ethiopia, Japan, Oman, Norway, etc, etc.
Just two days before she died, at age 96, she ceremonially appointed her 15th prime minister.
That commitment harked back to the soldiering-on mentality of the Greatest Generation, to the good old days.
Elizabeth was the long-lived embodiment of those who endured the Blitz, defeated fascism, won the war. She was just a young princess during World War II, but she served on the home front, trained as a army driver and mechanic with the rank of Second Subaltern.
She kept calm and carried on and on.
Her funeral is drawing a global who’s who — showing again how the queen’s stature allowed Britain, an island nation that is the second largest economy in Europe, to consistently punch above its weight.
“Even in death, she’s still working, isn’t she?” mused Christopher Matthews, a cabbie in Edinburgh, when the queen’s coffin passed through the Scottish capital.
The queen of a shrinking empire
There’s clearly nostalgia at work, too. Elizabeth was a link to the past that bled into the present — connecting Winston Churchill to the Beatles to the internet age.
Of course, looking back also offers many reasons to dislike — even despise — the figures of the British monarchy, especially if you live in the former possessions, in the former colonies, in India, in Ireland, in the Caribbean.
But unlike previous monarchs, this queen wasn’t conquering new lands. In the post-war years, the British Empire wasn’t expanding. It was shrinking.
The queen’s job was very different from her predecessors. “She's the first one who comes to the throne with the writing on the wall that the reign is going to be about handing all this stuff back,” said Robert Hardman, a royal biographer.
“And you’ve got to get rid of it in a nice way, with a smile and a handshake, and try and keep everyone happy,” he said.
The result was the Commonwealth, a global club of 56 nations, 15 of which chose to keep the queen as their monarch. Some of those realms are now, following the death of Elizabeth, reassessing their relationships with the crown.
“Her Majesty was the anchor that held our country within the Commonwealth,” the prime minister of Papua New Guinea, James Marape, wrote in a eulogy.
The Royal Family website declares that as head of the Commonwealth, she was a link “for more than two billion people worldwide.”
Fascination with royalty and all its trappings
As to why many Americans remain in thrall with the queen?
The short answer may be the popular Netflix series “The Crown.”
But all these years after revolting against the British monarchy? Boston Globe columnist Renée Graham was among those said she didn’t get it.
“The House of Windsor is beholden only to its own bloodlines and the absurd notion that their family has been divinely chosen to rule with the people as their subjects,” she said. “Until the queen’s death, I don’t think I realized how appealing that concept is to some Americans.”
For millions globally, the queen held another mystique — the fantasy of a glittering European dynasty, and the spell of real royalty. The House of Windsor has certainly swaddled itself in a History Channel come alive, with its “invention of tradition,” its bejeweled symbols and kitsch, of scepters, crowns, orbs, with the queen attended and guarded into the 21st century by ladies in waiting and yeoman warders from the Tower of London.
Unlike in the Netherlands, where royals get around by bike, the Windsors have always kept up appearances, rolling in Rolls Royces and Bentleys, Jaguars and Land Rovers.
The queen was known for frugality and unfussiness. But she was one of the richest people in Britain, and her royal estates, golden carriages, formal gardens and crown jewels suggested her grand station, and held the gaze of day dreamers and Hello magazine subscribers.
Artist Henry Ward, 51, describes meeting with the queen, in preparation to paint her portrait, as an almost mystical event.
At Windsor Castle, Ward said he was granted access to a yellow drawing room where she would she later sit for him in heavy regalia.
“Nothing can prepare you for the sort of the beauty of the place,” he said of Windsor. “I mean, you know, everything dripping with gold from floor to ceiling to window. Wonderful paintings by Gainsborough and Constable everywhere.”
That paled, he said, to the woman herself.
The day of their meeting in 2015, he recalled, “she was diminutive in stature, you know, quite short. And yet, she was the biggest person I’ve ever met, like she had an almost palpable aura about her.”
Ward said, “you had to steel yourself” to focus on the work to be done: “Because it’s been said that heads of state and world leaders have been reduced to speechlessness when meeting her.”
A master image-maker
President Ronald Reagan made horseback riding with the queen a top priority during his 1982 tour of Europe, according to Foreign Office files. President Obama called her “truly one of my favorite people.”
Churchill, her first prime minister, had declared her the champion of the future. Boris Johnson was emotional in professing how her death punched him in the gut. He saw her when she accepted his resignation two days before she died, and he reported that she was “clearly not well,” but “bright” and “focused” and quoting statesmen from the 1950s.
But what the public knew about the queen was most often precisely what the royals wanted us to know.
The members of the House of Windsor — a line of the German House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, its name changed to convey Britishness amid anti-German sentiment in World War I — were the original influencers, who mostly embraced being celebrities, even as they shrank from the tabloid glare.
In the queen’s home movies, she was, essentially, doing Instagram before Instagram, a curated image. Happy kids on the lawn. A day in the countryside.
The images of the queen were micromanaged, designed to stir patriotism, convey a sense of national identity, and always to perpetuate a hereditary monarchy into the modern time.
From the queen’s home movies (she personally approved the release of hundreds of reels) to her star turns with Paddington Bear during her Platinum Jubilee or James Bond during the 2012 Olympics, what the public saw might be considered empire-building for hearts and minds.
“Almost all royal ‘work’ is a staged photo opportunity,” said Hannah Yelin, senior lecturer in media and culture at Oxford Brookes University. “All of it is image management to manufacture consent for their continuation as an institution. Every single charity photo op is a reproduction of power. The queen was always acutely aware of this and adept at cultivating an image underpinned by concepts like ‘duty’ and ‘sacrifice.'”
Yelin added, “this is essential to diffuse public anger at the inequality the monarchy represents. As part of this, the queen has been a pioneer of public image management, understanding that the monarchy needed Twitter, then Instagram and then TikTok. These newer media platforms are at odds with the queen’s traditional stance of dignity and distance.”
The royal family’s TikTok account has 1.4 million followers.
Andrew Ross, 27, from Cambridge, was in the queue on the very first night possible to see the queen lying-in-state at Westminster Hall. He said the queen united families, “as a monarch over us for 70 years, me, my parents, my grandparents, my great grandparents, we all experience the same feeling.”
“She’s the world’s queen,” he added. “She’s incredibly special not only our small, wee country, but to the entire world.”
He suggested that her appeal was related to her inscrutable politics — that no one really knew what the queen thought.
She entertained many leaders deemed controversial over the years. Visits from Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping, Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe’s all raised eyebrows at the time. Protesters launched a “Trump baby blimp” above London when President Trump arrived for his state visit.
The queen rolled out the red carpet for all.
“She was very welcoming even to leaders that most would say wouldn’t deserve it,” Ross said. “She showed complete grace and decorum to whomever she met.” | 2022-09-18T14:10:13Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Millions will watch Queen Elizabeth II's funeral. Why the fascination? - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/18/queen-elizabeth-funeral-watch/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/18/queen-elizabeth-funeral-watch/ |
Growing up, I hid my hair pulling. It was a sign I needed help.
Perspective by Haruka Aoki
For some time now, I’ve been wanting to share my journey with trichotillomania, a mental disorder involving compulsive hair pulling. Sometimes shortened to “trich,” it’s a condition that can be hard to talk about, as it can be shocking and confusing for both the person going through it and the people around them.
When I learned the term in my 30s, more than 20 years after I first experienced the condition, I started to understand that hair pulling was not an innate problem with me, but an attempt to feel more in control in a stressful environment. I hope by sharing my story, I can play a part in breaking the social stigma around the condition. | 2022-09-18T14:58:14Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Growing up, I hid my compulsive hair pulling. It was trichotillomania. - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/09/18/growing-up-i-hid-my-hair-pulling-it-was-sign-i-needed-help/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/09/18/growing-up-i-hid-my-hair-pulling-it-was-sign-i-needed-help/ |
YouTube creators who sounded the alarm years ago say the company still has a problem
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki at the introduction of YouTube TV in 2017. (Reed Saxon/AP)
LOS ANGELES — In April 2016, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki took the stage in front of rows of creators at the company’s second ever “Creator Summit” in Los Angeles. The event was a gathering of some of the internet’s biggest stars, and Wojcicki was there to listen to their concerns and feedback. | 2022-09-18T14:58:45Z | www.washingtonpost.com | YouTube filled with mysogyny and harassment, creators say - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/09/18/you-tube-mysogyny-women-hate/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/09/18/you-tube-mysogyny-women-hate/ |
In Oakland, closing schools opens questions about a city’s soul
A city historically known as a vanguard of Black politics and culture is changing quickly with gentrification
An activist arrives at the entrance of Parker Elementary School in Oakland, where parents and community organizers occupied the building after it was closed by the school district. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)
OAKLAND — There are few sights more poignant than empty classrooms that should be full, playground basketball courts with no games, a “School Crossing” sign where there is no longer a school. Just breeze-block walls and nearly 100 years of history.
Parker Elementary School, in the words of the Oakland Unified School District, was “unsustainable,” no longer a place that drew enough children from a viable surrounding neighborhood to fill its now-dim classrooms and a dark gymnasium that had doubled as the school cafeteria. So it was shuttered last spring.
More than half the students who attended Parker were Black, kids such as Rochelle Jenkins’s 12-year-old twin daughters, Zoraya and Zariah, who navigated a few side streets to class each day. Now they walk farther, along avenues featuring stripped-to-the-rims cars and medians full of trash, to a new school with new teachers and new kids they do not yet know.
“We were devastated,” said Jenkins, a bus driver who shuttles Facebook employees to and from work each day. “We have begged them not to do this because of the ripple effect it will have on our neighborhood. This was a place that truly supported the lives of Black and Brown children.”
Oakland is closing public schools, a precise and grim measure of a city’s health. In the case of this proud city, the trend has clarified for many that Oakland, traditionally a place of radical blue-state politics, barricade-and-bullhorn protests and a grass-roots character, has fallen from vanguard to some rung far below.
Black Oakland is simply withering, overwhelmed by the steady arrival of White and Latino residents, by low Black birthrates and a cost-driven exodus, and by the uneven but pervasive gentrification transforming this city of 434,000 people.
There are not enough children to keep seven schools open after this academic year, district officials say, and it happens that the children no longer there to keep them open are predominantly Black in a city where race has defined its local identity and its national outlook for generations.
Parker Elementary, with a student body of roughly 300 children, was one of two schools that closed at the end of the last academic year. Five more will close at the end of this one, out of a total of roughly 80 campuses. Four of the seven closing schools have majority-Black student bodies. In two others, Black enrollment is disproportionately high compared with others in the district. Four other schools will partially close or merge, forcing many students elsewhere.
The Black population’s decline has been precipitous. Four decades ago, African Americans accounted for a near-majority in this city. Today Whites are the single largest racial group, followed by Latinos.
The school closures kindled persistent protest by a core group of Black parents, who occupied Parker Elementary, the only kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school in all of East Oakland, for much of the summer. While the spirit of resistance may endure, the campaign is over now, the school’s halls silent and stifling.
“I grew up in the shadow of the Panthers here,” said Oakland school board member Michael Hutchinson, 49, referring to the Black Panthers Party, which was founded by a pair of students who attended a local community college. Hutchinson, whose Black father and White mother met while integrating schools in the South, has opposed the district plan to close any Oakland schools.
But as an Oakland native and graduate of its public schools in which his mother taught kindergarten for four decades, he is also aware that he is part of an increasingly small group, and steeped in the city’s particularly on-the-edge brand of left-wing politics.
“There’s not many of us from here left, but it’s this constant battle,” Hutchinson said. “Are we trying to hold on to what we remember that was really good? Or are we being too resistant to change? Do we need to be more involved with what the change is?”
Nationally, similar debates are taking place from Baltimore to suburban Denver. In Southern California the Los Angeles Unified School District, the country’s second largest, is staring down precipitous enrollment declines and considering whether school closures might be in the offing.
Here in Oakland, though, the school discussion implicates race in a way it does in few other cities. White gentrification hovers over the East Bay, even if the White population is concentrated far from Parker Elementary and the city’s rough “deep east.”
The traditional dividing line — Interstate 580 — splits the wealthy Oakland hills from the struggling “flatlands” where Parker and other affected schools are located. Much of the new housing is being built downtown where mostly White newcomers are settling, along streets that host farmers markets.
Hutchinson, the school board member, recalls that when the crack epidemic decimated the flatlands in the 1980s his mother “moved us as far up the hill as we could.” He still lives in the family home, unable to afford much else on the part-time salary of a school board member. The house a few doors down, though, recently sold for $2.4 million.
“And believe me, we’re really not that far up the hill,” Hutchinson said.
Murals of Malcolm X and Michelle Obama, Panthers founders Bobby Seale and Huey Newton, and Oaklander and former National Football League star Marshawn Lynch are ubiquitous in some neighborhoods. There is more Malcolm than Martin here, at least displayed in technicolor paint along scruffy International Avenue and other main strips in the east.
But as the traditional community anchors of neighborhood schools and Black churches lose purchase, it is hard to see Oakland as the city it once was.
The district also has been whiplashed over the years, by education trends and population changes, leaving many schools under annual threat of closure. The district says that 35 percent of its schools have fallen to “unsustainable” enrollment levels.
“We’re on life support right now,” said City Council member Carroll Fife, who has been fighting school closures. “Because our priorities are so inverted, unfortunately, you have communities that are in the most need receiving the fewest resources.”
Fife, who is in her first term representing a fast-growing, racially mixed sector of West Oakland, sent three children through its public schools. She is among those critics of the closure plan who believe enrollment and attendance — which the state uses as factors to fund public schools — are the wrong measures and only serve to “attack the most vulnerable.”
“But people here haven’t given up,” she said.
The problems facing Oakland schools are old and new — new, that is, in the size and scope of what the board approved earlier this year in what some school officials said was an effort to stave off bankruptcy.
What has remained a constant for decades is that the school system has been inextricably tied to the region’s politics and to a sense, emanating from outside Oakland’s boundaries, that the city is unable to solve its own problems.
In 1970, the Oakland school board appointed Marcus Foster as superintendent, recruiting an educator with a record of success in Philadelphia to become one of the first African Americans to run a big-city school district.
Foster navigated the city’s volatile politics skillfully for three years, focusing on poverty, in particular, as an obstacle to education. Then, in 1973, Foster was shot eight times, dying as he departed a school board meeting.
The killing was claimed by the Symbionese Liberation Army, the group that later kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst. The group’s given reason was that Foster’s request that students get identification cards was “fascist.”
In the following decades, the African American population first rose in Oakland, then began a precipitous decline following its near-majority high in the 1980s.
By 2003, the city’s Black population had fallen to a little more than a third of the population. School district finances had declined, too.
Gary Yee, the current Oakland school board president, worked in the system for decades, rising as high as school principal, and still places flowers on Foster’s grave regularly. He also once served as the district’s interim superintendent.
“I’ve seen the expansion of programs because of enrollment demands, and I have seen the enrollment declines,” said Yee, 76, who grew up in East Oakland. “But, to be honest, there has just been a clear path of declining enrollment and, in my view, I’m not convinced that resisting gentrification is enough reason to keep a school open.”
In 2003, with the district facing a roughly $35 million budget deficit, the state Department of Education took over the operation of Oakland’s public schools, laying off hundreds of teachers and eventually shuttering more than two dozen schools. The state’s day-to-day management ended six years later, but the education department still has what is effectively veto power over fiscal decisions.
At the time of the takeover, the state extended the district a $100 million line of credit, which has yet to be paid off entirely. The district’s uncertain finances and poor performance also opened the door for experimentation from wealthy, mostly White philanthropists with no ties to Oakland.
One initiative was the “small schools” movement, financed in large part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The idea was to break up big campuses into more intimate places for learning. The money — about $25 million before it ran out — helped open about two dozen schools. But the state administrator at the time also closed 14 others over several years.
More lasting was the charter school movement. At the time, billionaires Mike Bloomberg and the late Eli Broad spent tens of millions of dollars promoting charter schools nationally, including large sums in Oakland to support charter schools and to ensure pro-charter candidates were elected to the board.
But in a state that funds districts by student, every pupil who enrolled in a charter school meant money lost to the broader public education system.
Over the time of the state’s hands-on running of the district, more than 30 charter schools opened pulling out almost half of Oakland’s students, most of them Black and Latino, from the main public school system. The shift cost the district an estimated $57 million annually in state money.
Despite the initiatives, student performance in English and math for the last decade in Oakland’s conventional schools has lagged significantly behind those of other Alameda County districts and the state as a whole. Students enrolled in the nearly 40 charter schools operating within the district have fared little better, if at all, according to state records that are difficult for parents to navigate and hold scant historical data on performance or closures.
One charter elementary school that the state rated as “low performing,” Roses in Concrete, closed recently. It was in Parker Elementary’s Zip code.
“Oakland feels like a laboratory where people come to experiment with the latest thing,” said Pecolia Manigo, a 40-year-old single mom who has guided one child through the district schools and has two others still in them. “And navigating this as a student or parent is very, very difficult.”
Manigo has been active at Parker Elementary, where a handful of parents offered their own curriculum during their summer takeover until the district recently moved to clear them out. She is now running for school board in November, and this ballot will include enough open seats on the seven-member panel to potentially elect an anti-closure majority.
“This school didn’t have to close because of enrollment problems,” Manigo said. “This was done by the district’s approach to charters.”
The district had seemed to have recovered until, in February, district parents got a letter from Schools Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell listing the seven schools scheduled for closure, including the two whose doors would shut within months.
The district’s books looked balanced. But school administrators said the black ink hid a river of future red ink as one-time spending — much of it from pandemic relief funds — disappeared. It also did not take into account an estimated $3.2 billion in necessary improvements to school buildings and the need to make teachers’ salaries more competitive.
The Oakland school district still owes the state about $30 million on the original 2003 loan, a debt that state lawmakers have declined to forgive despite a current $97 billion budget surplus and pleas from the Oakland City Council.
As the push for budget cuts began in early January, district officials initially proposed a longer list of closures, mergers and reconfigurations. But the board whittled it down under parent pressure. Some Zoom meetings at the time drew more than 2,000 people, many of them people of color protesting the plan.
Oakland allows parents to pick their district schools provided there is space on campuses outside their assigned enrollment area. But the district does not provide bus service to students, making it nearly impossible for working parents to pick schools far from home.
For parents and students, still infused with the protest politics of historic Oakland, the decisions on what schools to close and why are unsatisfying. By the district’s analysis, the changes affect 36 percent of African American students and only 6 percent of the White student body, a stark ratio given Oakland’s recent efforts to focus attention on the dire needs within Black schools.
Following George Floyd’s 2020 murder by police in Minneapolis, the board eliminated the Oakland school police force, redirecting the millions of dollars a year to youth programs. And in March 2021, the board passed a resolution calling for reparations for black students, citing two decades of “school closures in Black neighborhoods and the gentrification it has spurred, the over-criminalization of Black youth, and the failure to adequately resource schools serving black families.”
The resolution also committed the board to “identify and invest” in historically Black schools where 40 percent or more of enrolled students are Black — criteria Parker Elementary fit. Yet it was closed a year after the resolution was approved.
“The passing of the resolution was an acknowledgment that you have caused harm,” said Manigo, who was involved in the reparations movement. “But it also means you stop creating harm going forward.”
Rochelle Jenkins’s twins now walk downhill along 98th Avenue to get to their new school, Elmhurst United Middle School.
Where the walk gets frightening is when the girls come to the intersection with MacArthur Boulevard, which despite the hopeful streetlight banners declaring “Black Love Is Alive a Vibe” is an unwelcoming strip of mostly empty storefronts and busy smoke shops.
The two faced nothing like it on their walk to Parker, nor have many others from the school’s student diaspora. Violent crime is rising in Oakland — overall the city is on pace to surpass its homicide rate of last year — and the “deep east” is a fraught place to let children out on the streets alone.
Late last month, 9-year-old Black student Juanaeh Newton, 4-foot-7 and 100 pounds, got lost on his way home from his new school after years at Parker Elementary. He was disoriented, then flustered. Police issued a community bulletin and soon, frightened but safe, Newton was found.
Jenkins tracks her girls by cellphone during stops along her route dropping off Facebook employees. She said she does it relentlessly.
“Now my kids get to walk through a war zone to get to school,” she said. “Just because we live in a low-income neighborhood doesn’t mean we sit around twiddling our thumbs.” | 2022-09-18T15:37:19Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Oakland's Black residents face closed schools amid demographic changes - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/09/18/oakland-black-schools/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/09/18/oakland-black-schools/ |
Aivar Ruukel steers a dugout canoe through a flooded landscape in Soomaa in Estonia. (Mati Kose)
The sign on the construction fence ringing the Embassy of Estonia made me suspicious. It wasn’t so much that the embassy’s message was self-serving — every diplomat must believe his or her country is the best in the world — it’s that it seemed impossible.
Facing the intersection at 22nd and Massachusetts Avenue NW was a sign reading: “Visit Estonia. There’s so much to see, there’s an extra season to see it.”
An extra season?
For as long as humans have watched the plants grow and the animals migrate, we have divided the year into four seasons. In case you’ve forgotten them, they are spring, summer, winter and fall. And here was this Baltic state declaring that it had somehow gotten an extra season.
What is this season? If the Estonians are crowing about it, it has to be a good one, right?
Is it an especially sublime spring? Something like, “Spring 2: The Reawakening?” Is it “Summer: The Sequel?”
Is it an amalgam of two noncontiguous seasons, a conjoined summer and winter, say, with days balmy enough to strip down to swimsuits and nights cold enough for mittens and hot chocolate? Or a fantastically fine fusion of spring and autumn: trees heavy with blossoms at the same time their leaves are turning red and yellow?
I had to know. So I contacted the Estonian embassy here. They put me in touch with Aivar Ruukel, who introduces the fifth season to the world as a guide in the Soomaa National Park in southwest Estonia.
Over the phone, Aivar told me that “fifth season” in Estonian is “viies aastaaeg.” As for what exactly that season is, it’s “ujutus.”
And just what is an “ujutus?”
“It is actually a flood,” Aivar said.
A flood? That’s what Estonia is putting on its tourist materials? Come for our flood?
Is this a reflection of a uniquely northern European disposition, unable to be comprehended by the sunny American mind?
“I understand very well what you are saying,” Aivar said. “Normally, a flood is a catastrophe.”
Well, normally, a flood is a surprise, an unpleasant one. But Estonians in and around Soomaa expect their fifth season, which comes between winter and spring, when water from melting snow fills Soomaa with floodwater, swamping the forest and creating a tracery of waterways perfect for canoeing.
“You know it is coming,” Aivar said. “There is this old saying, ‘It’s like a distant relative is coming to visit you.’ ”
The water rises about nine feet, though in some years it can be twice that. The flood can occur at other times of year, too, if there is enough rain.
Added Aivar: “It is really fun to go to the forest in a boat. That’s what you can do if it is flooded. Another nickname journalists use is ‘Estonian Amazon.’ ”
It’s the Amazon without the crocodiles, snakes or piranhas.
When Estonia was under Soviet control, not much of the outside world knew about the flood season. It wasn’t all that well known in Estonia, either, Aivar said, except among the people who lived near Soomaa.
“In Soviet days, nobody came here,” Aivar said. The region was primarily farmland, with 95 percent of the residents working in agriculture. People actually looked forward to the ujutus, Aivar said, since it meant it was impossible for them to work. Party time!
“There are nice photos from the 1920s and 30s of local people using these dugout canoes that are a living culture here,” said Aivar. “Local people are using their boats and celebrating it in a way.”
The flood comes every spring, the depth of the water varying from year to year. The three-year period from 2010 to 2012 was especially high.
“It became really popular,” Aivar said. “All Estonian media was here. Many people visited us. After that it is becoming more and more known.”
Not many people live in the park. Those who do know to move their belongings to higher ground and live on the second floor of their houses during the fifth season. That’s when Aivar leads canoe tours, paddling through the drowned world.
And during the other four seasons?
“I am actually working year-round,” he said. “Right now, we have mushroom season. And walking on the peat bogs. During winter, when everything is frozen, we do kicksled and snowshoeing.”
Aivar invites you to visit Estonia during any season. Nature, he said, is open “24/7, 365 days a year.”
The construction work on the country’s embassy that prompted the fence and the sign is almost over, meaning that tourist slogan is coming down. I guess it did its job. | 2022-09-18T16:16:30Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Estonia's so-called 'fifth season' floods its tourist push - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/18/fifth-season-estonia/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/18/fifth-season-estonia/ |
Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical coming-of-age drama “The Fabelmans" won the Toronto International Film Festival’s top prize, the People’s Choice Award, solidifying its early status as Academy Awards frontrunner.
Toronto’s audience award was announced Sunday as the largest North American film festival wrapped up its 47th edition and first full-scale gathering in three years. The return of crowds at TIFF brought the world premieres of a number of anticipated crowd pleasers, including the Viola Davis-led “The Woman King,” Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” and Billy Eichner's “Bros.”
Toronto’s audience award, voted on by festival moviegoers, is a much-watched harbinger of the coming awards season. Each of the last ten years, the TIFF winner has gone on to be nominated for best picture at the Oscars — and often won it. Last year, Kenneth Branagh's “Belfast” triumphed at a much-diminished hybrid Toronto International Film Festival. The year before that, Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland" took TIFF's award before winning at the Academy Awards. Other past winners include “12 Years a Slave,” “La La Land” and “Green Book.”
This year, no film came into the festival more anticipated than “The Fabelmans," Spielberg’s memory-infused film about his childhood. In the movie, which Universal Pictures will release Nov. 11, Michelle Williams and Paul Dano play the parents, with newcomer Gabriel LaBelle as teenage Spielberg, Sammy Fabelman. The film scored rave reviews after its premiere.
The first runner-up to the prize was Sarah Polley’s “Woman Talking,” about the female members of a Mennonite colony gathered to discuss years of sexual abuse. The second runner-up went to Johnson’s “Glass Onion,” the director's whodunit sequel for Netflix.
Audience in other sections of the festival also vote for People’s Choice awards. The festival’s audience prize for documentary went to “Black Ice,” Hubert Davis’ film about the history of Black hockey players executive produced by LeBron James. The midnight section winner was “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story,” Eric Appel's music biopic parody co-written with Yankovic and starring Daniel Radcliffe. | 2022-09-18T16:29:59Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Steven Spielberg's 'Fabelmans' wins Toronto audience award - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/steven-spielbergs-fabelmans-wins-toronto-audience-award/2022/09/18/21afbcb4-376a-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/steven-spielbergs-fabelmans-wins-toronto-audience-award/2022/09/18/21afbcb4-376a-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html |
Of the 19 GOP candidates questioned by The Washington Post, a dozen declined to answer or refused to commit. Democrats overwhelmingly said they would respect the results.
Hannah Knowles
Annie Linskey
Attendees await for Republican candidate for Wisconsin governor Tim Michels at a primary election night event on Aug. 9, 2022 in Waukesha. Michels did not respond to when asked by The Washington Post if he would accept the results of his contest. (Joshua Lott/The Washington Post)
No evidence has emerged that Benson, the Michigan secretary of state, broke any laws in 2020. Dixon’s campaign added that if authorities “follow the letter of the law” this year, then “we can all have a reasonable amount of faith in the process.” She pointedly did not say whether she will accept the results.
Biden, in a speech earlier this month railing against “MAGA Republicans” for their refusal to accept the 2020 result, said: “Democracy cannot survive when one side believes there are only two outcomes to an election: either they win or they were cheated.”
Election results under attack: Here are the facts
Dixon was the only candidate who responded to the survey with an explanation of why she would not necessarily commit to accepting the result. The campaign of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) responded that he would have nothing to say. Ten other Republicans did not respond to the survey despite repeated inquiries. And seven pledged to accept the results, including Colorado Senate contender Joe O’Dea.
O’Dea, who is behind in the polls as he attempts to unseat incumbent Colorado Sen. Michael F. Bennet (D), did not reference Trump by name, but used his response to offer notably sharp criticism of candidates who refuse to concede when they lose.
“There’s no polite way to put it. We have become a nation of poor sports and cry babies,” said O’Dea. “We’ll keep a close eye on things, but after the process is done and the votes are counted, I’ll absolutely accept the outcome. If the Senator is up for it, we can certify it over a beer. It’s time for America’s leaders to start acting like adults again. Loser buys.”
“Ohio is blessed to have a fantastic Secretary of State who has made election security a top priority - we have no doubt Ohio’s election in 2022 will be run with integrity," a spokesperson for Ohio Senate contender J.D. Vance wrote in an email. “J.D. encourages other states across the country to follow Ohio’s lead by implementing common-sense measures like voter ID and signature verification.”
Matthew Brown in Atlanta and David Weigel in Washington contributed to this report. | 2022-09-18T16:30:13Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Republicans in key battleground races refuse to say they will accept results - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/18/republicans-refuse-accept-results/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/18/republicans-refuse-accept-results/ |
Woman killed in hit-and-run in Prince George’s
A woman was struck and killed in a hit-and-run early Sunday in Prince George’s County, police said.
Authorities said they found the body of a woman in the road in the 5300 block of Indian Head Highway, also known as Route 210, in the Oxon Hill area at about 2:40 a.m.
The route is known to be one of the county’s most lethal for pedestrians and bicyclists, and a hub for speeders.
Police said Sunday that investigators have yet to determine the cause of the collision, but added that “the driver of the striking vehicle did not remain on scene.”
The collision happened just south of the line between Prince George’s and the District, along one of the county’s busiest routes. Earlier this month, a bicyclist riding on the center lane of the road at about 11 p.m. was struck and killed by a driver in Fort Washington. | 2022-09-18T17:47:57Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Woman killed in hit-and-run in Maryland - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/18/hit-run-fatality-prince-georges/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/18/hit-run-fatality-prince-georges/ |
Three kidnapped puppies recovered; $7,500 reward up for remaining four
Link, one of seven puppies that were kidnapped in D.C., was reunited with his mother and two siblings. Rescue officials are asking for the public's help to find the rest. (Humane Rescue Alliance)
A 5-week-old puppy was reunited with his mother and two siblings on Saturday, about two weeks after being kidnapped in the District, officials with a D.C. humane rescue group said.
The Humane Rescue Alliance is still looking for four of the puppy’s siblings, who were also separated from their mother in late August at the “extremely vulnerable age of 3½ weeks.” Officials believe the pups were sold or given to buyers or adopters who did not know they had been stolen.
Link was the third pup to turn up and was reunited with his mother, Godiva, at a foster home. Officials said a resident who had bought him in without knowing Link was stolen returned the pup.
“We are super fortunate that we had some good Samaritans come forward, who have seen the media attention and recognize that they unknowingly came into possession of these puppies and wanted to do the right thing,” said Chris Schindler, vice president of field services at the Humane Rescue Alliance. “We hope that the other four will turn up in a similar way.”
Schindler said Link will be returned to the family that turned him in Saturday once he gets older and strong enough to be away from Godiva and his littermates.
Another pup named Aries was returned Thursday morning by a woman who said she had gotten it from someone at a gas station. The woman had seen the new reports about the missing dogs. Last weekend, officials obtained a search warrant for a home in the 4800 block of North Capitol Street NE where they thought the puppies could be. They found only one of the seven, named Glitter.
Rescue officials said they hope for the safe return of the remaining four puppies, “who need their mother, siblings and follow up veterinary care.” The group is offering a reward of up to $7,500 for information that leads to the recovery of the puppies.
“While we take a sigh of relief each time one of Godiva’s puppies is brought in, we’re worried sick over the four puppies who are still missing and who desperately need to be with their mother during this critical developmental period,” the group said in a statement.
Schindler said the rescue group is also continuing its investigation into how the seven puppies went missing from a foster home in late August. He declined to provide more details about the investigation, including how much the puppies were being sold for.
The case dates to mid-July, when Godiva was picked up by the Humane Rescue Alliance in Northwest D.C. She was malnourished and pregnant, and her rescuers were worried about her health. But with good care, she successfully bore seven puppies in early August.
Godiva is 1 year old and believed to be a Labrador mix. She and her puppies were transferred to a foster home. But in late August, rescue officials said, they got a call about a dog that had been abandoned and tied to a pole on Crittenden Street NE. That dog was Godiva, and the pups were nowhere to be found.
The Humane Rescue Alliance said the pups “need to be with their mothers and littermates until they are 8 to 10 weeks old” and noted that the kidnapped dogs are in need of veterinary care.
Anyone who was given or bought one of the puppies without realizing it was kidnapped will not be held liable, officials said. Tips can be reported anonymously, officials said. Anyone with information on the puppies’ whereabouts is asked to call rescue officials at 202-723-5730. | 2022-09-18T17:48:03Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Four kidnapped puppies still missing in DC - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/18/kidnapped-puppies-dc-returned/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/18/kidnapped-puppies-dc-returned/ |
During closely watched visit, the president focused on the royal family, opting to a push meeting with new Prime Minister Liz Truss to next week
President Biden prepares to sign a condolence book for Queen Elizabeth II at Lancaster House in London. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
As he stood before the coffin, Biden took a deep breath before making the sign of the cross and then placing his hand over his heart. With the visit, Biden and his wife, Jill, became the latest—and highest profile—visitors to the royal lying-in-state that has drawn thousands of people in queues stretching for miles.
“She was the same in person as her image," Biden said Sunday after signing a condolence book for her. "Decent, honorable and all about service.”
Why is the world so fascinated by Queen Elizabeth?
White House officials said Biden’s trip would largely be a show of respect for the queen and the British people rather than a a political or diplomatic mission, even as the gathering of hundreds of heads of state and dignitaries could surface a number of global flashpoints and highlight emerging tensions between London and Washington.
He will attend the queen’s funeral in Westminster Abbey on Monday before returning to Washington and embarking on a week of high-stakes diplomacy at the U.N. General assembly. White House aides say Biden will wait until UNGA—which he will attend in New York starting Tuesday—to push his foreign policy vision among his fellow world leaders.
The gathering of so many global leaders—including officials from France, Germany, India, Poland and China—has already prompted discussion of issues including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, stubbornly high global inflation, China’s growing sphere of influence, climate change, colonialism and the threats to democracy around the world. Many of the faces in the crowd at the funeral will be familiar ones to the president.
While Biden has spoken with Truss, he has not yet met in person with the 47-year-old prime minister who took office earlier this month. It is rare for an American president to visit the United Kingdom without meeting with the prime minister, but the circumstances of this visit—the funeral of a queen who served for 70 years—are also rare. It remains possible that the Bidens and Truss will meet by chance, as they will be attending many of the same events in London.
Biden respected the queen. But his Irish roots made it complicated.
“She had that look like ‘Are you okay, anything I can do for you, anything you need?’” he said. "But also, ‘Make sure you do what you’re supposed to do.’” | 2022-09-18T18:31:30Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Biden meets royals, new British leader at fraught moment in US-UK ties - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/18/biden-charles-truss-britain-queen/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/18/biden-charles-truss-britain-queen/ |
Hurricane Fiona tracker: Map and projected storm path
Tropical Storm Fiona intensified into a hurricane on Sunday as it battered Puerto Rico. A hurricane warning was in effect Sunday for the entire U.S. territory, including Vieques and Culebra, and has been expanded to include the eastern Dominican Republic as well.
Fiona strengthens to hurricane while blasting Puerto Rico
As of Sunday afternoon, tropical storm warnings covered the U.S. Virgin Islands and the north coast of the Dominican Republic west to Puerto Plata, regions that are also under a hurricane watch to account for Fiona’s possible intensification. | 2022-09-18T18:40:12Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Mapping Hurricane Fiona - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/09/18/hurricane-fiona-tracker-map/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/09/18/hurricane-fiona-tracker-map/ |
Post Elizabeth: Why the queen fascinated
Tributes left in Green Park, near Buckingham Palace in London, on Sept. 17. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)
LONDON — To understand the scale of events involved in laying to rest Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, consider some of the preparations both visible and invisible here: Hundreds of foreign leaders have arrived from capitals elsewhere — and agreed to be transported not in their typical luxurious vehicles but crowded shuttle buses. Representatives from 23 royal families will be seated ahead of government dignitaries at Westminster Abbey, per royal protocol, which differs from diplomatic protocol, which is just one of the many elements of logistics planning being hashed out in an area of the U.K. foreign office dubbed “the Hangar.” Before troops began rehearsing at 2 a.m. last week, royal gardeners started prepping the streets four hours earlier — among other things, pouring thousands of pounds of sand to ease the passage of the gun carriage ferrying the queen’s coffin.
My Post colleagues William Booth, Anthony Faiola and Karla Adam dive here into the question of why the world is fascinated by Queen Elizabeth. There are lots of other royal families, they note. Yet people aren’t similarly enthralled by the king of Belgium, the sultan of Brunei “or the ‘bicycling royals’ of northern Europe — interesting and colorful as they may be.”
My take? The queen’s funeral is a reminder to millions of the relentless passage of time and how one mortal spent it: Her parents were the last emperor and empress of India. She was on the cover of Time magazine at age 3. She was raised not to show emotion, certainly not in public. She was born in an era when women did not wash their own hair, in a class where a nanny was a more regular presence than a parent. She was also taught to be humble; when as a child she remarked about crowds waiting outside for a glimpse of their royal presence, her grandmother Queen Mary ordered young Elizabeth to be taken home by a back door.
She was an upper-class Englishwoman — happiest in the countryside with her dogs and horses — who made a straightforward commitment to her role. The extraordinary thing is how long and how consistently she kept it.
Royal record: The British military jet that carried Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin from Edinburgh, Scotland, to London last week is the most tracked flight in history, Guinness World Records has announced. Some 6 million people tried to click on Flightradar24 within the first minute of the plane’s transponder activating — an “unprecedented strain” on the flight monitoring site, The Post reports. Ultimately, 4.79 million people viewed the queen’s final flight, and 296,000 followed along on a YouTube livestream, Guinness said.
See it all: More details here on the queen’s funeral service and how to watch it. The Post will stream the funeral here, with coverage from our teams in London and D.C. starting at 5:30 a.m. Eastern (that’s 10:30 a.m. in London).
ICYMI: The queen made corgis famous, writes Maura Judkis, but to their owners these fluffy-butt canines will always be royalty.
On Sunday, the queen’s second son, Prince Andrew (yes, he of scandal notoriety) released a statement to his “Dear Mummy, Mother, Your Majesty, three in one.” His daughters shared their tribute to “grannie” (“Thank you for making us laugh, for including us, for picking heather and raspberries, for marching soldiers, for our teas, for comfort, for joy.”) in an Instagram post Saturday. These come many days after the queen’s death because royal seniority dictates who goes before whom.
Regal reading: The Post has reviewed many books on the Windsors over the years. (Full disclosure: I’ve written a bunch of those reviews.) Some recent good ones include Tina Brown’s “The Palace Papers,” a dishy yet substantial look at the monarchy’s evolution since Princess Diana. (Pro tip: Try the audio version, which Brown reads herself; her voice — and occasional scorn — is even more pronounced than on the print page.) For those wanting to know more about the queen’s iconic rainbow wardrobe, there’s “The Queen: 70 Years of Majestic Style,” by Bethan Holt, fashion news and features director at Britain’s Telegraph newspaper. For sartorial scoops and some behind-the-scenes anecdotes, pick up “The Other Side of the Coin,” by Angela Kelly, the official keeper of the queen’s clothes. An updated edition out this spring touches on pandemic life in “HMS Bubble,” the palace operation to minimize covid-19 risk to the queen. This is Kelly’s second book on the queen’s fashion. What to notice: Kelly got permission from the queen, but royal approval for a staffer’s book is exceedingly rare; after Elizabeth’s childhood governess, Marion Crawford, published “The Little Princesses” in the early 1950s, the palace revoked the courtesy home she had been allotted and cut off contact. (Crawford’s book, a far cry from hard-hitting, provides a lot of the publicly known details of Elizabeth’s early life.)
Handy 411: Get up to speed on the new king.
Watch for it: BBC will air a video tribute to the late queen from Camilla, the new queen consort, at 3 p.m. Eastern (8 p.m. in London). The message will come as part of an hour-long documentary broadcast Sunday evening, timed to coincide with a national minute of silence at 8 p.m. in Britain.
The story behind that viral sketch: Kerri Cunningham, an artist from Lancashire, England, was putting one of her three children to bed last week when her Instagram post caught fire, reporter Jennifer Hassan writes. Cunningham was inspired by a photo she had seen of the royal family sharing a picnic in 1960. She’s now selling copies and says all proceeds will go to a children’s charity.
All eight grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip stood in somber vigil in Westminster Hall on Sept. 17. (Video: The Royal Family)
Watch scenes from the queen’s eight grandchildren standing vigil around her coffin Saturday evening. Princes William and Harry wore the dress uniforms of the Blues and Royals, a cavalry regiment of the British army in which both served. The youngest of the cousins, James, Viscount Severn (son of Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex) is 14; social media was quick to note James’s resemblance to William from around the time of his mother’s death.
The meaning of 142 sailors, the sovereign’s scepter and other symbolism. This explainer by Bonnie Berkowitz, Shelly Tan and Júlia Ledur touches on the significance of items on display and some of those taking part in Monday’s events.
Queen queue decorum: Get a wristband. Do not push or shove. Do not cut. London correspondent Karla Adam writes about her 7½-hour journey to see the queen lying in state. “Americans like to call it a ‘line,’ but that word doesn’t quite encompass the almost holy rule-bound nature the British have developed of waiting patiently behind someone to achieve a goal.”
Can you name who’s third in line to the throne? The Post has charted the line of succession, with some details about those in the first 10 spots. (And the answer was Princess Charlotte.) | 2022-09-18T18:40:18Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | Post Elizabeth newsletter: Why Britain's Queen Elizabeth II fascinated - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/18/post-elizabeth-newsletter-queen-fascination/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/18/post-elizabeth-newsletter-queen-fascination/ |
A commitment to democratic principles should be the guiding force
Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman speaks Sept. 11 at the “Women for Fetterman” rally at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pa. (Rachel Wisniewski for The Washington Post)
The logic of the Sept. 13 editorial “Settle this debate,” demanding that John Fetterman “debate more than once for U.S. Senate,” was flawed. Ideas can be infectious. And this infection will be trumpeted as a right-wing talking point in the lead-up to the midterm elections.
We already know who Mr. Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for Senate from Pennsylvania, is. And we know his Republican opponent, Mehmet Oz. Mr. Oz is keen to have several debates because he wants to foster the impression of physical and mental disability in his opponent. Franklin D. Roosevelt was a front-runner for the presidential nomination in 1932. Though he was careful not to appear in public in his wheelchair, there was a whispering campaign that Roosevelt was not physically fit for the presidency.
I don’t mention Roosevelt to compare him to Mr. Fetterman as a historical figure. The important takeaway is that Mr. Fetterman’s beliefs and commitment to democratic principles are more important than his display of physical prowess.
Bud Houston, Williamstown, W.Va. | 2022-09-18T19:32:47Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | A commitment to democratic principles should be the guiding force - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/18/commitment-democratic-principles-should-be-guiding-force/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/18/commitment-democratic-principles-should-be-guiding-force/ |
Kenneth Starr was a committed and respected jurist
Kenneth Starr outside the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 3, 2020. (Alex Edelman/Getty Images)
I was shocked and saddened by Eugene Robinson’s Sept. 15 op-ed about the life of Kenneth Starr, “Ken Starr’s tragic misjudgment lives on in our politics.” In one sentence, he wrote that Mr. Starr’s investigation led to the admission that President Bill Clinton lied under oath and that uncovering this vindicates Mr. Starr’s pursuit of the truth. In another sentence, Mr. Robinson wrote that, retroactively, none of this vindicates Mr. Starr’s pursuit of Mr. Clinton.
Mr. Starr was respected as a jurist, attaining an appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit at the age of 37 and serving later as solicitor general with distinction, arguing 25 cases before the Supreme Court. He was a staunch defender of the First Amendment and respected by lawyers throughout the country.
Paul Shiffman, McLean
Opinion|Ken Starr’s tragic misjudgment lives on in our politics
Opinion|Queen Elizabeth decided to be boring — for Britain’s sake | 2022-09-18T19:33:06Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | Kenneth Starr was a committed and respected jurist - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/18/kenneth-starr-was-committed-respected-jurist/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/18/kenneth-starr-was-committed-respected-jurist/ |
Pakistan is drowning
Flooding on Sept. 9 in Dadu District, Sindh Province, Pakistan. Dadu is one of the worst hit parts of Pakistan, where nearly a third of the country is underwater and more than 33 million people have been affected. (Susannah George/The Washington Post)
I strongly echo the sentiments in Hamid Mir’s Sept. 14 op-ed, “By no fault of its own, Pakistan is paying dearly on climate change.” Because of colonial and neocolonial forces, Pakistan is suffering climate displacement at a level that has never been seen before as it is affecting more than 33 million people. Pakistan is flooded, leaving thousands dead and millions displaced. As Mr. Mir wrote, children and women are more vulnerable to facing the effects of displacement such as hunger, drowning, disease and deprivation at a greater disparity.
However, Mr. Mir was oblivious when he wrote that having aid from the United States is enough for climate justice. This is far from the truth. The United States is very complicit. Financial aid is not enough. This injustice is not one we can bandage with money. We need people on the ground providing food, blankets, water, shelter, life jackets and other emergency services.
More so, we need public discourse on climate injustices, because the floods in Pakistan are not isolated, as climate catastrophe will continue to affect the Global South. Lawmakers, activists and the greater global community need to start thinking and speaking about this current event, as similar and more intense disasters will ensue in the upcoming years.
Pakistan is drowning, and it is a shame that the whole world has turned its back.
Arzina Lakhani, Washington
Opinion|Pakistan is drowning | 2022-09-18T19:33:12Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | Pakistan is drowning - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/18/pakistan-is-drowning/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/18/pakistan-is-drowning/ |
(Washington Post illustration; Lance Skundrich/Riot Games)
ISTANBUL — In front of an audience of millions, the Brazilian esports team LOUD defeated North America’s OpTic Gaming in the capstone event of the 2022 Valorant Champions Tour on Sunday, marking the first victory for LOUD on the international stage. The grand final treated fans in Volkswagen Arena in Istanbul to a 3-1 slugfest, with multiple maps going into overtime.
Visibly emotional, LOUD players wiped away tears as they stood up from their desks, yanking off their headsets and in-ear headphones.
As the winners, LOUD will take home $300,000; OpTic will receive $150,000. The third place team, South Korea’s DRX, walked away with $110,000. The event’s final weekend was a good representation of the esport’s global reach, with the final four rosters hailing from North America, Brazil, South Korea and Europe.
“Valorant” is a 5-v-5 first-person shooter in which teams compete to be the first to win 13 rounds. The game has developed a huge following: In April, the game’s developer, Riot Games, announced that “Valorant” had attained 15 million monthly players. On the live-streaming platform Twitch (which is owned by Amazon, whose founder, Jeff Bezos, also owns The Washington Post) “Valorant” is among the most watched games. The title’s release right at the beginning of the pandemic likely contributed to its success; the video game industry saw a huge boost in audience interest and engagement as people increasingly stayed indoors.
Online, the grand final’s concurrent viewership peaked at just under 1.5 million (not including Chinese platforms) according to the analytics and tracking service Esports Charts, setting a record for “Valorant” esports viewership. Last year’s final peaked at just over 1 million viewers.
That popularity was evident both within and outside the venue as well: Long lines of spectators led up to the entrance, and the seats were packed when the games began. (A Riot spokesperson put the grand final’s in-person attendance at 2,200 people). Fans cheered as the final two teams arrived in white Mercedes vans and crowded around barricades to gawk at influencers, players, Riot executives and popular Twitch streamers like Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek and Tarik Celik on a makeshift red carpet. Many of the streamers later set up in skyboxes above the venue to co-stream the games, providing unique running commentary over the game footage and further boosting viewership numbers. The singer Ashnikko also made an appearance, performing their song “Fire Again” onstage before the match began.
OpTic and LOUD have what is arguably “Valorant’s” most prominent and high-stakes rivalry. Before Sunday, the teams had faced each other five times at international events in 2022, with OpTic winning three of those matchups. At an earlier event held in Reykjavik, Iceland, in April, OpTic faced LOUD under similar circumstances, losing to LOUD in the upper bracket, then winning the grand final against them after a lower bracket run. But OpTic was unable to replicate that performance Sunday.
On Sunday, OpTic fans were in full force, with cheers of “Let’s go OpTic!” ringing throughout the space at the beginning of the matchup; the first arena-wide LOUD chant came only during map three. But as LOUD inched closer to victory, cheers for the eventual winners increased in frequency and intensity.
The day before, during OpTic’s lower final matchup against DRX, one Turkish fan, Ulas Yilmaz, fashioned an elaborate billboard out of multiple signs given out to fans, taping the letters O-P-T-I-C across his arms and chest. On Sunday, he wore the signs down his back as a cape.
“When I saw all the signs [being given out by Riot], I thought to myself, I’ve got to do something special,” Yilmaz said.
A fan of the Europe, Middle East and Africa region from Jordan, attending his first international esports event, took the opposite tack, waving an “Anything but NA” sign.
“I’m a hardcore EMEA fan. … They hate us. We hate them,” he said, smiling. His older brother, sitting one row ahead, turned around to chide him.
“We don’t hate them. It’s not hate,” he said sternly. “It’s rivalry.”
Inside the arena, the competitors sat on a stage made of screens — and were surrounding by massive screens that beamed out footage of the players’ perspectives in-game to the fans. The sounds of in-game equipment animated the venue. The floor and seats hummed in tune with the sound effects of grenades and other in-game equipment; bass-boosted gun shots could be felt and heard in equal measure. After particularly dramatic wins, the cameras cut away to the players and coaches, as crunched and compressed audio of their screams were transmitted from their headsets microphones into the crowd.
At TSM and Blitz, staff describes toxic workplace and volatile CEO
Flanking the stage and elevated above the action, casters and analysts tasked with explaining the game broadcast to an audience of hundreds of thousands of viewers on YouTube and Twitch. When they weren’t on air, they watched the feed, going over and updating their notes, working through cues and bantering among themselves. Running commentary in Turkish echoed through the arena.
Besides their winnings from a $1 million prize pool, teams will also be granted an even bigger sum: a slice of sales from an in-game skin bundle released at the start of the Champions event. On Saturday, Riot Games announced that the bundle had brought in over $16 million — with sales continuing through Sept. 21. That preliminary figure, split between 12 organizations, bumps each team’s take-home cash by $1.3 million. After 2021′s Champions event, participating teams netted $500,000 as part of a similar cosmetics promotion.
At a post-match news conference, OpTic’s players looked subdued, staring down at their feet and up to the ceiling. Victor Wong, a player for OpTic, swiveled back and forth in his chair.
Still, there was some spark left in the defeated roster. One reporter asked if the team’s first, third and second place finishes at international events throughout the year meant that OpTic was the year’s best “Valorant” team.
Pujan “FNS” Mehta, the team’s in-game leader, leaned forward toward the microphone. “Yes,” he said, after a beat. Then, he leaned back into his seat. | 2022-09-18T19:34:20Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Valorant Champions: LOUD beats Optic Gaming in Istanbul grand final - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/esports/2022/09/18/valorant-champions-optic-loud-final/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/esports/2022/09/18/valorant-champions-optic-loud-final/ |
PM Update: Hotter and more humid on Monday
A colorful sunrise over the Capitol on Sunday. (Jeannie in D.C./Flickr)
Just a few more official days of summer left, and the weather has been quite cooperative. A massive high pressure system, which will keep Hurricane Fiona away from the U.S. mainland, has set up shop over the eastern half of the country. That means we are in store for several days of sunshine, warm temperatures and manageable humidity levels. So, not such a bad way to close out the summer season.
Through Tonight: A rather lovely night, with mostly clear and dry conditions. Temperatures will settle into the upper 50s to mid-60s, with just light wind from the southwest.
Tomorrow (Monday): Another mostly sunny day, with a noticeable uptick in temperatures and humidity. Winds from the southwest at 5-10 mph will help push temperatures into the upper 80s and close to 90 degrees in some spots. Humidity levels will be on the rise as well, especially toward the afternoon and evening hours. Mostly clear, warm and a bit muggy tomorrow night, with lows in the 60s. | 2022-09-18T20:50:50Z | www.washingtonpost.com | PM Update: Hotter and more humid on Monday - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/09/18/pm-update-hotter-more-humid-monday/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/09/18/pm-update-hotter-more-humid-monday/ |
Members of the Commanders' defensive line sit dejected on the bench during the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss to the Lions. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post)
DETROIT — Ron Rivera stood at the 40-yard line, arms folded across his chest and his jaws clenched. A week after his Washington Commanders had rallied for an uplifting win, they came unglued in staggering fashion during the first half against the Detroit Lions, seemingly leaving their coach perplexed by what he was seeing.
Hope he brought his antacids.
Against a revamped Lions team that, like the Commanders, has toiled near the bottom of the NFL in recent years, Washington turned in another roller-coaster performance that reached mind-boggling extremes Sunday afternoon before resulting in a 36-27 loss.
Detroit dominated every facet of the first half to take a 22-0 lead — the third-largest halftime deficit of the Rivera era. But the Commanders returned from the break a revived team to score four second-half touchdowns that ended up not being enough.
The suspense faded with a failed two-point attempt by Washington after its second-to-last touchdown, keeping Detroit ahead 29-21 with 10:39 left. An ensuing touchdown by the Lions (1-1) expanded their lead just enough that the Commanders (1-1) couldn’t find an answer, even after one more late score. They had dug themselves a hole that was too deep to climb out.
Washington arrived in Detroit with a chance to build momentum at the start of Rivera’s critical third season with Washington. Despite the respectable second-half response, it left with more questions about the offense, a quarterback whose play bounces from one extreme to the other, concerns about its play callers and more.
Carson Wentz lost a fumble for a safety in the first half, then threw three touchdown passes in the second. He finished 30 for 46 for 337 yards and an interception for a 99.6 rating. He was sacked five times.
In the first half, Washington couldn’t sniff the red zone, and its first first down didn’t come until more than half of the second quarter had elapsed. But then it collected 340 yards and scored four touchdowns in the second half.
This wasn’t “a tale of two halves.” It was a debacle followed by an attempted recovery that came up short.
The Commanders’ defense, which consistently pressured Trevor Lawrence and stymied the Jacksonville Jaguars in coverage during a Week 1 win, was brutalized by the Lions’ ground game and fell apart in coverage early. The Lions had 109 rushing yards in the first half and finished with 191. They also had three plays of 49 yards or more.
But it was the breakdown — and then the second-half turnaround — of the offensive line that shocked the most. The group had held up despite injuries and a rotation of backups over the past two seasons, but it was a sieve to start Sunday’s game.
Wentz took four sacks in the first half, each time getting to his feet a little slower than the last. Late in the first quarter, he was taken down in the end zone and fumbled for a safety that made it 5-0, a painful and disturbing start for an offense that showed plenty of promise a week ago.
The Commanders failed to cross their 40-yard line until late in the second quarter and ended the first half with just 56 yards.
During the week, as the Commanders rode the wave of their season-opening win, Rivera lauded his players for not clinging to the “here we go again” mind-set and letting one bad play snowball into multiple miscues. But the Commanders’ first half Sunday was nothing shy of disastrous, bringing back memories of their meltdown at Dallas in December. The difference: The defense late last year was depleted by the coronavirus and had endured a string of personal tragedies.
Rivera joked after the Week 1 win that, to get through the roller coaster of the Wentz experience — with his impressive deep throws and baffling turnovers — he would take antacids. Despite the turnovers, he was pleased with the play on both sides last week. Finally, it appeared the Commanders had the personnel to exploit their skill set.
But it wasn’t until the start of the second half Sunday when Terry McLaurin, their star receiver who landed a lucrative contract extension this summer, notched his first catch. He finished with four receptions for 75 yards.
Washington did stop the bleeding after halftime. The pass protection improved, and Wentz began to air it out, first finding rookie Jahan Dotson for a 40-yard grab to set up a 15-yard touchdown catch by fellow wideout Curtis Samuel, who dived across the pylon for a score that made it 22-7.
The momentum slowed when Wentz was picked off on the Commanders’ next drive. A pass up the middle intended for Logan Thomas slipped through the tight end’s hands, and the ball deflected off one Lions defender before falling into the hands of cornerback Will Harris.
The defense held to force a punt, giving Wentz another shot to pare the Lions’ lead. And he did, finding McLaurin deep for a diving 35-yard catch, then threading the needle on a 20-yard touchdown pass to Thomas. Wentz found Dotson for two points and, with the Lions leading 22-15 and 2:58 left in the third, the blowout turned into a ballgame.
For a few minutes, anyway.
The Lions responded with a four-play scoring drive capped with a 22-yard touchdown catch by running back D’Andre Swift. But the Commanders stayed in it, marching 83 yards downfield for a one-yard touchdown run by Antonio Gibson that brought them within 29-21.
Rivera opted to go for it; two points would have brought Washington within six. But the attempt failed — Wentz was intercepted in the end zone — and left the Commanders in need of two scores to grab the lead.
Detroit closed the door on the comeback less than four minutes later with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jared Goff (20 for 34 for 256 yards and four scores) to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, his second of the game. The Commanders tried to stay in it — Dotson scored their final touchdown on a one-yard Wentz pass with 1:56 remaining — but couldn’t go far enough. Joey Slye missed the extra point to leave Washington trailing by nine — the final dip on the Commanders’ stomach-churning Week 2 roller coaster.
NFL live updates: Commanders fall to Lions, 36-27 | 2022-09-18T21:04:00Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Commanders can't rally past Lions after ugly first half - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/18/commanders-lions-first-half-rally/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/18/commanders-lions-first-half-rally/ |
Police identify teen fatally shot in Fairfax
A teen was fatally shot after an argument Saturday night outside an apartment complex in the Woodlawn area of Alexandria, Fairfax County police said.
Police identified the victim as Darlin Ariel Diaz Flores, 19, of Annandale.
Officers responded to a reported shooting at about 9:34 p.m. in the 8300 block of Grave Street after a community member heard gunfire and saw a person laying on the sidewalk, police said. When officers arrived, they found Diaz Flores with gunshot wounds. He was taken to a hospital, where he died a short time later.
Police said their initial investigation found that the shooting was sparked by an argument when Diaz Flores was with a group of friends outside of an apartment and there was a confrontation with a passerby. | 2022-09-18T21:16:58Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Darlin Ariel Diaz Flores fatally shot in Fairfax County, police say - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/18/teen-fatally-shot-fairfax-county/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/18/teen-fatally-shot-fairfax-county/ |
49ers’ Trey Lance carted off with ankle injury, replaced by Jimmy Garoppolo
San Francisco's Trey Lance (5) gestures while being carted off the field. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance was taken off the field on a cart Sunday after suffering an injury against the Seattle Seahawks. Lance was soon ruled out for the rest of the game and replaced by former 49ers starter Jimmy Garoppolo.
Lance, the No. 3 overall pick of the 2021 draft who was effectively given the starting job early in the offseason, was listed with an ankle injury. He was wearing an air cast on his right leg as he was carted off. Lance was hurt while running with the ball in the first quarter.
Garoppolo completed a short pass on the next play, which led to a fourth-down field goal try converted by San Francisco’s Robbie Gould. On the 49ers’ next possession, Garoppolo hit tight end Ross Dwelley for a 38-yard touchdown and a 13-0 lead over the Seahawks. Lance led the 49ers on a field goal drive during their opening possession Sunday.
The 22-year-old Lance was making the fourth start of his career, having done so twice as a rookie when Garoppolo missed games because of various injuries. Last week, Lance struggled in poor weather in Chicago as San Francisco lost its 2022 season opener to the Bears.
That Garoppolo was still with the 49ers to start this season came as a surprise, given that he was widely expected to be traded to clear the way for Lance and avoid possible awkwardness in the locker room. Instead, Garoppolo agreed in late August to a revised contract that lowered his salary this season but gave him a no-trade clause. By counting for less against the salary cap — although per-game roster bonuses and incentives based on playing time could push the total number to nearly $16 million — Garoppolo might have made himself more attractive to a team looking for an in-season trade.
That kind of scenario, though, would normally emerge in case of a major injury to a starting quarterback, and in this case it may be the 49ers themselves in sudden need of Garoppolo’s long-term services. The 30-year-old former understudy to Tom Brady with the New England Patriots has been with San Francisco since a midseason trade in 2017 and has helped the 49ers to two of the past three NFC championship games, with a Super Bowl appearance after the 2019 season. Garoppolo entered Sunday with a 33-14 record as a starter for the 49ers. | 2022-09-18T21:38:44Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Trey Lance carted off with ankle injury, replaced by Jimmy Garoppolo - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/18/trey-lance-injury-49ers-jimmy-garoppolo/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/18/trey-lance-injury-49ers-jimmy-garoppolo/ |
Young Ukrainian dancers line up before performing for hundreds attending the Annual Ukrainian Festival held at the Saint Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Silver Spring, Md., on Sept. 18, 2022. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)
As glow sticks spun in the night sky, the dance-pop singer told an audience of thousands to look at the stars — and remember all the young men who will never see them again.
Seven months after Russia invaded Ukraine, the three-day festival that St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral has held for the past 19 years is no longer a celebration of an obscure culture, but a consolation for a people infamously besieged. Ruslana, a Eurovision winner and former member of the Ukrainian parliament who performed at the festival, was not the only one balancing happiness and despair.
“Everyone is tired from depression,” said violinist Vasyl Popadiuk, another performer at the festival in Silver Spring, Md. “We need a little break. After, we will have more power for fighting.”
His mother and brother are still in Kyiv, and his bandmates there have “traded their instruments for weapons … it will never be like before.”
The traditional shirts called vyshyvanka that were lined up for sale outside the church came labeled by regions now better known for battles than embroidery: Chernihiv, Donetsk, Luhansk. Pointedly, there was a shirt for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014.
Along with handicrafts for sale at the festival, there was a shipping container of medical supplies to be sent to the front. After weekly services, there’s now a line to light candles for the dead, said Tamara Woroby, president of the parish council. Father Volodymyr Steliac said that about 20 percent of parishioners are now refugees.
But as in years past at the festival, kids lined up excitedly to recite poetry in stumbling Ukrainian and dance in bright red leather boots, velvet red vests and flower crowns of pink and blue, gold and green.
“You want to see the soul of a nation, look at the colors,” said Steliac, who dreamed up this festival two decades ago. “Look at the clothing, look at the dance. You see beauty. Anything that interferes and tries to take from them, they will resist.”
Some of those helping run the festival expected to be in Ukraine. Natallia Korolchuk and Mykolenko Yaroslava met while folding some of the 15,000 varenyky dumplings for sale. Korolchuk, 55, made a mean joke, which reminded Yaroslava, 32, of her mother. On Friday night, they were at the church until 11 p.m. slicing pliatsok and honey cake.
Korolchuk was visiting her son in D.C. when the war began. Now she doesn’t know when she might return. Yaroslava was home in Cherkasy, but planning to go back to Maryland in March for work. Instead, her mother came to the door in tears on the morning of Feb. 24.
“It’s war,” she said.
Yaroslava wanted to stay. But “my parents pushed me,” she said. With help from strangers, she made her way to the United States through Poland, hiding from rockets while she waited for transport across the border.
Their hearts beat faster when they hear Ukrainian music and see people waving their flags. There is some comfort in no longer being confused for Russians. (Now, Yaroslava’s boyfriend gets warnings about Ukrainians’ fearsome reputation.) They have also met more Russian natives, some of whom started coming to the church in solidarity.
Others never expected to be in the United States. Vladyslav Zhaivoronok, 29, lost a leg and an eye defending Mariupol. He woke up in a Russian prison. Freed in a prisoner exchange, he and his regiment are now in America advocating for help getting more captives released.
“All of my friends still in Russian prisons have died,” he said. He and other freed prisoners of war spoke to the crowd in Ukrainian between childrens’ dance groups. As a teary-eyed line formed to shake Zhaivoronok’s hand, smiling teenagers ran onto the stage and began to swing each other around in circles.
“Last year, we were celebrating, having fun. This year, we’re doing it more so people don’t forget there’s a war going on, there are people dying,” said Khrystyna Preutesa.
The 26-year-old came to the United States five years ago for a master’s degree at American University; she’s now married and expecting a baby with her husband. Jordanian by birth, he was manning a huge charcoal grill in yellow and blue. Preutesa wasn’t wearing anything Ukrainian; she said she wanted to buy the traditional clothes in Ukraine. She had planned to visit this year. Now she talks to her family in Chernivtsi while sirens wail in the background.
“This year the feeling is so different. Still … you can be happy for a moment,” she said. | 2022-09-18T22:35:27Z | www.washingtonpost.com | D.C.'s Ukrainians celebrate heritage amid grief over war - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/18/ukraine-festival-silver-spring-russia/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/18/ukraine-festival-silver-spring-russia/ |
Las Vegas Aces defeat Connecticut Sun to win first WNBA title
Chelsea Gray and the Las Vegas Aces claimed the franchise's first WNBA title Sunday. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Breaking: The Las Vegas Aces have won their first WNBA championship, defeating the Connecticut Sun in four games.
Led by league MVP A’ja Wilson and the backcourt of Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum, the Aces closed out the series Sunday in Connecticut. Head coach Becky Hammon earned a title in her first season with Las Vegas. It’s the first championship for a major pro sports franchise in Las Vegas. | 2022-09-18T22:35:58Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Las Vegas Aces defeat Connecticut Sun to win first WNBA title - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/18/wnba-finals-las-vegas-aces-connecticut-sun/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/18/wnba-finals-las-vegas-aces-connecticut-sun/ |
Herm Edwards is out at Arizona State after nearly five full seasons with the Sun Devils. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)
Herm Edwards is no longer the football coach at Arizona State. In a statement Sunday, ASU Athletic Director Ray Anderson portrayed it as a “mutual agreement” on a parting of ways that represented “doing what is best” for the Sun Devils.
ASU fell to 1-2 with a 30-21 home loss to Eastern Michigan on Saturday that had some fans calling for the ouster of both Edwards and Anderson. Edwards, 68, was in his fifth season with the Sun Devils. The former NFL coach departs with an overall record of 26-20 and one bowl win in three postseason appearances.
“We have made the decision to make a change in the leadership of our football program, effective immediately,” Anderson said in a statement released by the Sun Devils. “By mutual agreement, Coach Edwards and I have determined that he will relinquish duties as our head coach. At the core of this is doing what is best for our current team, staff and university. I understand the frustrations out there. We must do better and starts with our decision today.”
Shortly after Saturday’s loss, in which the Eagles never trailed and became the first Mid-American Conference team to defeat a Pac-12 opponent in the regular season, ASU President Michael Crow said school officials would “have to decide where we’re going from here.”
“They showed up to play, and we didn’t,” Crow, who met with Edwards and Anderson on the field just after the final seconds ticked off, subsequently told the Arizona Republic. “That’s basically the outcome.”
Asked after the loss to EMU where the Sun Devils would find “confidence that you guys can turn this thing around,” Edwards replied: “Well, we’ve got to fix it. We’ve got to fix it with the players we have. That’s how you’ve got to fix it.
“No one else is coming in the building,” he continued. “We have to find a way to fix it, that’s what I told the team. We have to figure out who we are now, what you want to become, and what we’re going through. That’s the bottom line.”
Running backs coach Shaun Aguano will reportedly take over as interim coach. A pair of former NFL coaches brought in by Edwards as advisers, Marvin Lewis and Brian Billick, remained listed as Sun Devils staff members Sunday evening.
Edwards was a coach for two NFL teams, the New York Jets and the Kansas City Chiefs, with whom he notched a record of 54-74 over eight combined seasons. He made the playoffs three times in five seasons from 2001 to 2005 with the Jets, but is perhaps best remembered for his “You play to win the game” tirade during a midweek news conference.
After Edwards was fired by the Chiefs following the 2008 season, he spent nine years as an ESPN football analyst. His hiring by ASU in 2017 was seen as an unexpected development, although Edwards had a long-standing connection with Anderson, who had previously represented Edwards as an agent.
In addition to lackluster results on the field with the Sun Devils, Edwards’s stewardship of the program included alleged recruiting violations during a pandemic-related quiet period. The NCAA investigation into those allegations is still ongoing.
After Saturday’s loss, Edwards was asked for a message to dissatisfied fans.
“We’re all disappointed. I’m probably more disappointed than anybody, because I talked about it all week,” he said. “As much as I can do in my power to reach the team and say, ‘Man, you can’t fall into this trap.’ And we did.” | 2022-09-18T23:18:53Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Herm Edwards is out as Arizona State football coach after 1-2 start - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/18/herm-edwards-arizona-state/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/18/herm-edwards-arizona-state/ |
Commanders cornerback Kendall Fuller (29) watches Lions running back D'Andre Swift (32) run for a touchdown. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post)
DETROIT — Dear Washington Commanders defense: Feel free to be good. Not great. Just good.
Yes, you have a first-round draft pick — the second overall choice two years ago — wearing sweatpants, not pads, and Chase Young as a cheerleader doesn’t have the potential of Chase Young as a pass rusher. But you also have a first-round pick at one tackle and a first-round pick at another tackle. You have a first-round pick at the end opposite your injured first-round pick, and you have a first-round pick at linebacker. You have a guy who is paid like a top-10 cornerback in the league. And you felt good enough about the group that you essentially made no moves via free agency or trade to improve it.
Some of those players do their jobs with regularity and distinction — hello, Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne. Some, well, don’t.
But this isn’t completely about — ahem — Jamin Davis or William Jackson III. This is a group that, collectively, can’t funnel its talent into anything that resembles consistency. Which makes you wonder about the coaching. Which makes you wonder about Jack Del Rio.
And that assessment isn’t just from one Sunday afternoon at Ford Field, though the 36-27 loss to the Detroit Lions provides plenty of examples. Here, Washington’s offense somehow brainwashed itself into forgetting an absolutely horrific first half and twice clawed its way within a score of the Lions. The defense responded thusly: 75 yards in four plays to allow the Lions to go up 14 again, then 70 yards in six plays for Detroit’s final points.
Why does a unit that believes it can be so good so infrequently play that way?
“We definitely have a lot of talent,” said defensive back Bobby McCain, in his eighth NFL season. “We have great continuity. We communicate very well. There’s nothing that changed in that aspect.
“We’ve just got to be better on the little things, be more detailed in practice and understand, man, everybody’s got to do their job.”
This was said Sunday, when the Lions gained 425 yards and averaged 7.0 yards per play — and 8.0 yards per rush. But it could have been said after so many games over the past year and change.
“You want to blame anybody?” Coach Ron Rivera said. “Blame us all.”
In this case, “all” includes Del Rio, in his third year on the job. The No. 1 Commanders character who faced something of a referendum on his career coming into this season had to be quarterback Carson Wentz, because he was on his third team in three years, with questions about his leadership and decision-making following him into town. But there’s a solid argument — and it’s the belief here — that the figure facing the next most scrutiny in Washington is Del Rio.
Take away the offseason fiasco in which he was fined for calling the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol “a little dust-up.” Just concentrate on the football.
The football would tell you that what used to be the strength of this team no longer is. That can be on everybody, as Rivera would prefer. But some of it has to be on his coordinator. Fifty-four weeks ago, heading into the 2021 season opener, this defense — playing under a different name, but with much of the same personnel — wasn’t hyped as a top-five defense in the NFL. It was a top-five defense in the NFL.
That unit had Young coming off a season in which he was the defensive rookie of the year. It had committed more capital by taking Davis, a linebacker, in the first round of the draft and adding Jackson as a high-priced corner in free agency. And it had ranked second in the NFL in both yards allowed per game (304.5) and yards allowed per play (4.9) in 2020.
Those numbers ballooned a year ago to 359.2 yards per game (22nd in the league) and 5.7 yards per play (26th). Through two weeks this year, Washington is giving up 404 per game and 6.6 per play. Yeah, small sample size, and those might not be the best metrics. But the trend isn’t upward.
So now it’s the offense that has to bail out the defense? It feels like there’s acceptance that this has become a mediocre unit. Not by the coaches and players, who expect better. But if you’re sitting at home on the couch thinking, “Well, maybe Wentz and his group of dangerous receivers can pull this one out,” you’re not alone.
Sure, the offense — which gained just 56 yards and gave up four sacks — was more responsible for Sunday’s 22-0 halftime deficit. But the Lions’ lead was also built on a blown coverage that left receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown with what amounted to a cow pasture around him. It was also built on a 50-yard romp by running back D’Andre Swift.
“I saw that we gave them big plays, explosive plays,” Rivera said. “You can’t give up those plays. You allow an explosive play, and it throws you off.”
For Ron Rivera, ‘the judgment starts with winning or losing.’ That’s progress.
Here’s the difference right now for Washington: The offense, with Wentz and coordinator Scott Turner unlocking a more creative version of the playbook, seems to have the ability to get thrown off, correct mistakes and adjust.
Del Rio’s defense just doesn’t pivot in the same way. It’s telling that, after Wentz’s touchdown pass to tight end Logan Thomas pulled the Commanders with 22-15 late in the third quarter, the defense seemed to react to the Lions’ first play with a combination of admiration and awe, rather than just going and tackling the guy. It was a jet sweep to the dynamic St. Brown, and it went for 58 yards.
“Just being probably out of position, maybe not as gap-sound as we should be,” Payne said. “It’s just all things we’ll look at when we look at film tomorrow.”
It’d be nice to be able to more frequently recognize them in real time. Three plays later, quarterback Jared Goff — under pressure from Davis, who Rivera said played with “a little inconsistency,” which has become a defining characteristic — found Swift in the flat. The back made the catch, fell down — and had time to get up, dust himself off and wander through what remained of Washington’s secondary for a touchdown.
That, unfortunately, is the identity of this defense. Not just Sunday. But over the course of the past year and change. Antonio Gibson’s 1-yard touchdown run with just under 11 minutes remaining pulled the Commanders within 29-21. The defense forced the Lions into a third and 2.
“Everybody [is] out there with the mind-set, ‘We got to get the ball back for the offense. We got the ball back for the offense,’” second-year safety Darrick Forrest said. “That was the mind-set.”
It was not the result. Instead, Goff emptied the backfield — a bold move, given the Lions’ obvious strength. It seemed to surprise the Commanders, because why wouldn’t it? And it led to a 25-yard completion down the seam to backup tight end Brock Wright. Goff hit St. Brown in the flat on the next play, and that was that.
Look, this isn’t a result that means the season is lost. That’s not possible in Week 2. Plus, as Rivera said both to the media and to his team, “There’s a lot of football ahead of us still to play,” which is both a cliche and the truth.
But it’s worth wondering: Are Del Rio’s players going to get better? Is his unit going to improve to become the team’s strength again? They can talk about their talent. Someone has to get it out of them not just occasionally, but every week. | 2022-09-18T23:49:22Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Against the Lions, the Commanders defense faltered and never adjusted - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/18/commanders-defense-lions/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/18/commanders-defense-lions/ |
Connecticut Ave NW on Sept. 16 became the first street in Washington to be affected by Mayor Muriel E. Bowser's plan to reduce the speed limit of major thoroughfares to 25 mph. The new speed limit is in effect for the entire length of the road, from Montgomery County line at Chevy Chase Circle to downtown. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)
The speed limit on some of D.C.'s major commuter corridors is dropping from 30 mph to 25 mph, in the latest effort by Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) to curb the rising number of serious traffic crashes in the nation’s capital.
The speed reduction went into effect Friday on Connecticut Avenue NW and will be effective this week on New York Avenue NE, two busy routes that combined carry nearly 100,000 vehicles daily, and ferry significant traffic from Maryland into downtown.
Two other corridors — North Capitol Street/Blair Road NW and Wheeler Road SE — will see the speed limit reduction in coming months, the District Department of Transportation said.
The Bowser administration has claimed that slower speeds can help improve safety and has cited successes in other cities that implemented lower limits. Pedestrians are less likely to die when hit by a car traveling at the lower speed, according to research cited by the city.
“DDOT joins peer cities including New York City and Seattle by reducing the speed limit in key corridors because we know reducing speed by even five miles per hour makes a big difference in avoiding crashes and serious injury,” DDOT director Everett Lott said in a statement.
Despite signage, D.C. drivers aren’t slowing in school zones, study says
The move comes in response to calls for speed reductions across the city, and particularly in routes that cut through neighborhoods and areas with heavy pedestrian and bicycle traffic. In recent years, those calls have grown in response to a rash of fatal high-profile collisions involving pedestrians. Law enforcement officials cite speed as a factor in many of the District’s deadly crashes.
It is unclear, however, how effective the new posted limits would be without the city first implementing any physical improvements to the routes, some residents and elected leaders said, noting that new signs can be easily ignored in routes conducive to higher speeds and absent of enforcement.
“Our roads are not properly designed to keep speeds at or below the speed limit,” said Josh Jacobson, a Pleasant Plains resident running for an Advisory Neighborhood Commission seat in Ward 1, on a platform that calls for safer roads. “We need to add physical infrastructure to make it harder to speed and endanger our children — more raised and high-visibility crosswalks, more bollards, and reductions in lane width will slow down cars and save lives.”
Council member Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1) welcomed the change to the speed limit, but said more work is needed for it to work, including designing the streets for 25 mph speeds, clearer speed limits and better speed camera signage.
“While this won’t solve all our problems … this is a great step” she tweeted.
Two years ago, Bowser set the default speed limit on D.C. streets at 20 mph, down from 25 mph, citing concerns about speeding and other dangerous driving behaviors that are a factor in a higher rate of traffic fatalities.
D.C. traffic crashes this year have claimed 24 people, including 13 pedestrians and three bicyclists, according to city data. The number of victims is down by five compared to the same time last year, but fatalities have trended upward in recent years. The District last year recorded its highest number of traffic deaths in 14 years, bringing increasing attention to the number of injuries and fatalities on city streets.
Bowser pledges safer roads through transportation budget
Bowser is also pushing a large-scale modernization and expansion of the city’s automated enforcement program, promising to more than triple the number of traffic cameras by the end of next year to target speeding, drivers who run red lights and stop signs and those who illegally use bike and bus lanes or pass school buses.
Transportation officials said city engineers used a federal tool known as USLIMITS2 that helps cities set safe and consistent speed limits to settle on the 25 mph limit on the key corridors. However, they did not disclose any traffic engineering studies justifying the speed limit reduction. The District in recent years have conducted other studies of Connecticut and New York avenues as part of planned changes in those corridor.
Along Connecticut Avenue NW, the city is moving forward with a plan to add a northbound and southbound bike lane and remove reversible rush-hour lanes that had been a source of confusion for drivers for years. The proposed configuration for a corridor that carries an average of 32,000 vehicles daily will result in fewer car lanes.
In Northeast, work is also advancing on the redesign of the old “Dave Thomas Circle,” a treacherous crossroad where First Street NE and New York and Florida avenues converge. City officials said that redesign includes adjustment to traffic-light timings, the addition of a speed camera, and the speed limit reduction. The changes at the intersections, which should be complete in two years, are expected to affect traffic flow in a route that carries an average of 65,000 vehicles daily.
The new speed limit will be in effect for the entire five miles of Connecticut Avenue NW, from the Montgomery County line at Chevy Chase Circle to downtown. Along New York Avenue NE, the 25 mph limit is planned to extend from roughly the Prince George’s County line to downtown. | 2022-09-19T00:08:19Z | www.washingtonpost.com | D.C. lowers speed limits to 25 mph on major roads - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/09/18/dc-lowers-speed-limits-crashes/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/09/18/dc-lowers-speed-limits-crashes/ |
Commanders center Chase Roullier (73) is helped to the cart after he was injured on one of the last plays of the game against the Detroit Lions. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post)
DETROIT — In the final seconds of a frustrating loss, Washington Commanders center Chase Roullier tried to sit on the black training table and slipped. Roullier’s weight shifted to his right leg, which had buckled on the field moments earlier, and he collapsed in front of the team’s medical staff.
On one of Washington’s last plays of the game, a 36-27 loss to the Detroit Lions, linebacker Julian Okwara had beaten right tackle Sam Cosmi on an inside pass-rush move. When Cosmi lunged to stop him, the lower half of the tackle’s 6-foot-6, 309-pound frame essentially rolled on top of the back of Roullier’s legs. Roullier struggled to stand, clutching the back of his right knee in pain, and eventually limped off the field.
For about two minutes, Roullier was facedown in front of the training table as training staff members crowded around to help. Eventually, he rode a cart back to the locker room and left on crutches. It’s unclear how much time he’ll miss, if any — Coach Ron Rivera didn’t have an update after the game — but the prospect of losing the smart, athletic center integral to the team’s protection for any amount of time is a serious concern.
Washington’s line, led by highly regarded coach John Matsko, has established itself as one of the league’s best over the past two years, but Sunday’s performance signaled potential concern. The unit struggled against Detroit’s aggressive defense, particularly in the first half, when nothing on offense worked. The Commanders allowed pressure on 21 of 53 dropbacks (39.6 percent), according to TruMedia, the second-highest rate of Week 2 through Sunday’s late afternoon window.
Rivera said the line in the first half was “a little late” picking up some of the Lions’ stunts, when defensive linemen rush off one another instead of just straight ahead. In the second half, Rivera thought the group played much better.
“The guys on the offensive line really buckled in and hunkered down,” he said. “To their credit, too, [the Lions] knew that we had to throw the ball, and we were still able to move it the way we did. We were still able to protect the way they did, for the most part.”
One of the biggest reasons Washington allowed so much pressure was because Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn sent so much. Detroit blitzed 18 times and got 11 quarterback hits. In Week 1, Washington parried blitzes with a combination of the line adjusting protections, offensive coordinator Scott Turner calling timely plays and quarterback Carson Wentz making quick, short passes. But this week, the Commanders occasionally stumbled in each facet.
On Washington’s second drive, Turner called a shot downfield on first down, but the pressure got to Wentz. And when he threw it away, he was flagged for intentional grounding. Washington’s defense kept the team in it — allowing just three points on two early red-zone drives — but the line couldn’t capitalize.
On the third drive, Wentz dropped into his own end zone to pass, but defensive end Charles Harris beat left tackle Charles Leno Jr. for the strip sack, which rolled out of the back of the end zone for a safety.
After the game, Leno blamed himself for the play and called it “a bad set.”
“I can’t do that. I’m better than that. That’s unacceptable on my part,” Leno said. “I look at that as contributing to a slow start for the offense. We had momentum at that point, and then … the defense got back on the field, and they give up a score, you put yourself in a hole. We got to start faster, but I’m just going to put that on myself because I’m better than that and I know that.”
In the past, Wentz has hurt his line by holding on to the ball too long and trying to make plays downfield. It looked as though he did that again a few times — especially early in the second quarter, when Lions rookie edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson sacked him on second and 10 — but the data suggests none of Wentz’s efforts to extend plays were egregious.
In the second half, as Washington dropped back to pass often, trying to make up for a big deficit, the line held up better. The new guards — Andrew Norwell on the left and Trai Turner on the right — looked more cohesive, even though they sometimes struggled with blitzes. Things seemed to be trending up until Roullier’s injury.
In the locker room afterward, as Roullier passed on crutches, Leno said the line took the performance personally and wouldn’t let it happen again next week.
“I just know for a fact that we’ll come out there with a better sense of urgency,” he said. | 2022-09-19T00:59:02Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Commanders O-line caves to pressure vs. Lions, loses center to injury - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/18/roullier-commanders-offensive-line-lions/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/18/roullier-commanders-offensive-line-lions/ |
Woman killed after crashes on I-270 in Montgomery
A woman died after successive car crashes Sunday morning on Interstate 270 in Montgomery County, Maryland state police said.
Sandra Lorena Morales De Arevala, 35, was a passenger in a car that was struck twice in the northbound lanes near Montrose Road about 3:35 a.m., the police said.
First a car struck the rear of the vehicle she was riding in, police said. After that collision, police said, she remained in the car, and another car also hit the vehicle from behind.
The woman died at the scene, police said.
Two other people in the car she was in were injured and taken to a hospital, according to police.
The incident remained under investigation, police said. | 2022-09-19T02:34:49Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Woman killed in I-270 crashes in Montgomery, state police say - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/18/woman-killed-interstate-montgomery-crash/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/18/woman-killed-interstate-montgomery-crash/ |
Westminster Abbey will host the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 19. (Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters)
Buckingham Palace has released new details about the elaborate proceedings planned for Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, who thought carefully about how the world would see her off.
The 11 a.m. service at London’s Westminster Abbey, where Elizabeth was married and crowned, aims to pay tribute to her “remarkable reign and lifetime of service as Head of State, Nation and Commonwealth,” Buckingham Palace said in a news release Sunday. The Very Rev. David Hoyle, dean of Westminster, will lead the state funeral, with the sermon given by the archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. and Right Hon. Justin Welby.
Readings will be given by Patricia Scotland, the secretary general of the Commonwealth, and British Prime Minister Liz Truss. Music will include a specially commissioned piece, along with an anthem composed for Elizabeth’s 1953 coronation.
The queen would have been closely involved in planning the service, said Ian Markham, dean and president of the Virginia Theological Seminary.
“She took a real interest in this service,” said Markham, an Episcopal priest. “She is a very devout Christian. She saw her service as her vocation, and she did so as a person who really believes there is a God and wants to be faithful to that.”
Markham, who studied religion in England, called the queen’s service “resurrection-focused.”
“There’s a lot of talk about the life to come, and that would be who she was: She was a person who had a deep faith and a very settled faith, and therefore was confident that this is just a season and it’s part of a longer journey into the life of God. That’s what I take away from the service.”
John Sentamu, a retired Anglican bishop who was involved in the royal funeral planning during his time as archbishop of York, told the BBC that the queen didn’t want her funeral to be “boring.” He called it “English at its best.”
“The queen does not and did not want what you call long, boring services.”
Before the funeral, the Westminster Abbey tenor bell will toll once a minute for 96 minutes, with each toll representing a year of Elizabeth’s life. Representatives from Jewish, Bahai, Jain, Buddhist, Muslim and other faith communities will enter in a procession, along with those from the Churches of Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England. Also present: the subdean of the chapel royal and the dean of Windsor.
Markham called the inclusion of other faiths significant and noted that King Charles III has stressed that the monarchy cannot be solely Anglican. Including other religions, Markham said, is “recognizing a changing Britain.”
Prince George, 9, and Princess Charlotte, 7, will participate in their great-grandmother’s procession with their father and mother, Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, the palace said. Their brother, Louis, 4, is not listed on the funerary program.
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, will also be in the procession behind Charles, despite stepping down as senior members of the royal family in 2020.
As the queen’s coffin is carried into the abbey, the choir of Westminster Abbey will sing the Sentences — lines of Scripture set to music that have been used at every British state funeral since the 18th century. The Choir of the Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace, will join in singing the final two Sentences.
Hoyle will recall Elizabeth’s “unswerving commitment to a high calling over so many years as queen and head of the commonwealth,” according to the plan, referred to as an “order of services.”
“With admiration we recall her lifelong sense of duty and dedication to her people,” he will say. “With thanksgiving we praise God for her constant example of Christian faith and devotion. With affection we recall her love for her family and her commitment to the causes she held dear.”
The choir will sing a specially commissioned piece called “Like as the Hart,” composed by Master of the King’s Music Judith Weir. The piece was inspired by the queen’s “unwavering Christian faith,” according to the funeral plans, and is a setting of Psalm 42 to music.
Queen had ‘immensely detailed knowledge’ of music, says royal composer
After the reading from Truss will come the hymn “The Lord’s my shepherd,” which was sung during the 1947 wedding of then-Princess Elizabeth and Lt. Philip Mountbatten. Other musical selections include the anthem “My soul, there is a country,” which the palace described as “an anthem of great hope.” Markham said the queen would have been the one to choose it.
The choir will also sing “O Taste and See How Gracious the Lord Is,” a composition by Ralph Vaughan Williams for the queen’s coronation in 1953.
“You’re going to hear angelic voices of the choir,” Sentamu told the BBC.
Toward the end of the funeral, the last post will play. The short bugle call is similar to taps as played in the United States. It will be followed by two minutes of silence across the United Kingdom. Later, the congregation will sing the national anthem, “God Save the King.”
It symbolizes the passing of one monarch and the arrival of the next, Markham said.
“There’s the mantra the monarchy never dies,” he said. “A monarch dies. The monarchy never dies.” | 2022-09-19T03:22:42Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Order of service for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral released by palace - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/18/queen-elizabeth-funeral-order-of-service/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/18/queen-elizabeth-funeral-order-of-service/ |
Queen Elizabeth II funeral live updates World watches Britain lay its longest-reigning monarch to rest
Funeral is Britain’s biggest security detail since WWII
What to expect: A timeline of key events at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral
Britain's King Charles III and his sister Anne, Princess Royal, attend a vigil as people pay their respects to the coffin of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II inside Westminster Hall in London, Britain, September 16, 2022. (Roger Harris/Hoc/Via Reuters)
LONDON — Britain is paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth II on Monday with a grand state funeral, featuring a service at Westminster Abbey, where she was coronated almost 70 years ago, and a procession through the crowd-lined streets of central London. Almost 2,000 guests are attending — among them more than 90 world leaders, representatives of about two dozen royal families and members of the House of Windsor, including the queen’s great grandchildren George and Charlotte.
The day is a national holiday in the United Kingdom, and tens of thousands of people have camped out overnight, securing spots to catch a glimpse of the historic event. Millions more will watch from around the globe. Britain’s last state funeral was held in 1965 for wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
The final mourner will view the queen’s coffin lying-in-state at Westminster Hall at 6:30 a.m. Wait times on what became known as “the Queue” were as long as 14 hours.
Guests will begin arriving at Westminster Abbey starting at 8 a.m. local time. The abbey’s bell will toll once a minute for 96 minutes, representing the years of the queen’s life.
The religious service, starting at 11 a.m., will incorporate choral music used at state funerals since the early 18th century and a sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury. It will conclude with the national anthem, now sung with the words “God save the king.”
An elaborate procession will make its way from Westminster to Wellington Arch, with members of Britain’s royal family walking behind the coffin. Police are calling it their biggest security operation since World War II.
The queen’s coffin will then be transported by hearse to the royal Windsor estate, where she will be buried at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, near the remains of her parents and husband, Prince Philip.
With more than 90 heads of government and members of two dozen royal families attending, and as many as 2 million people expected to line the streets — while the royal family walks in the open behind the queen’s coffin — this funeral poses London’s biggest security challenge since World War II.
A massive security team is trying to strike a balance between safety and pageantry. Snipers are stationed on rooftops and surveillance drones are flying overhead. Ten thousand uniformed police officers are on duty, with another 2,500 military personnel on hand, and thousands of plainclothes officers interspersed among the crowd. For days, police with bomb-sniffing dogs have been patrolling key areas. British intelligence agencies have been reviewing terrorist threats. And a special unit has been monitoring “fixated” people — those identified as having potentially dangerous obsessions with the royal family.
The day of the funeral has been long-planned and is finely choreographed. Here’s what to expect. All times are local, five hours ahead of Eastern time.
6:30 a.m.: This is the end of the queen’s lying-in-state in Westminster Hall.
8 a.m.: Guests can begin entering Westminster Abbey. Royals and world leaders, among them President Biden, will arrive from a location in Chelsea.
10:44 a.m.: The queen’s coffin will be lifted onto the state gun carriage and transported in a short procession from Westminster Hall to nearby Westminster Abbey. Behind the coffin will be King Charles III and members of the royal family.
11 a.m.: The service will begin. It will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster, with a sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The prime minister and the Secretary General of the Commonwealth will also read short passages.
11:55 a.m.: Toward the end of the service, a trumpet call will sound and then two minutes of silence will be observed throughout the country.
12 p.m.: The national anthem and a lament played by the queen’s piper will bring the funeral to an end. Her coffin will move in procession through the great west door returning to the State Gun Carriage. Charles, Camila, and senior royals will walk to Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner. Visiting dignitaries will be travel to London’s Church House for a reception hosted by Britain’s foreign minister.
1 p.m.: The procession will end and the coffin will be transferred to the state hearse and begin its journey to Windsor Castle, while being give a Royal Salute. The king and family will follow in cars.
3:06 p.m.: The hearse will approach Shaw Farm Gate at Windsor and join another procession route to St. George’s Chapel.
3:40 p.m.: The king and family will walk behind the Windsor procession in the castle’s quadrangle.
3:53 p.m.: The procession will halt at the bottom of the west steps of St. George’s Chapel in Horseshoe Cloister. The coffin will be lifted from the hearse into the chapel. The majority of those attending St. George’s Chapel will not have attended the earlier service at Westminster Abbey.
4 p.m.: The Committal Service will begin. It will be conducted by the Dean of Windsor. Prayers will be said and a choir will sing a final hymn. The Lord Chamberlain will “break” his Wand of Office and place it on the coffin. It will then be lowered into the Royal Vault as the Dean of Windsor reads a Psalm and a royal piper will play a Lament. The royal family will depart to “God Save the King,” ending the public events.
7:30 p.m.: Elizabeth will be buried privately at the King George VI Memorial Chapel near her husband and parents. This service will not be televised and is conducted by the Dean of Windsor and attended by Charles, her children and other members of the royal family. | 2022-09-19T04:32:22Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Queen Elizabeth II funeral live updates: Britain's monarch laid to rest - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/19/queen-elizabeth-ii-funeral/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/19/queen-elizabeth-ii-funeral/ |
President Biden, accompanied by first lady Jill Biden, are welcomed by Master of the Household Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt at Buckingham Palace in London on Sept. 18. (Markus Schreiber/Pool/Reuters)
In a redux of a bygone age, Buckingham Palace was at the apex of global power — if just for a day. Hundreds of world leaders and dignitaries called on King Charles III at the chief London residence of Britain’s royal family ahead of the funeral of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on Monday. Top-level representatives from close to 200 countries and territories are expected to attend the funeral, including President Biden and first lady Jill Biden, heads of government and state from near and far, and a diverse cast of kings and queens from other nations.
Authorities in London believe around 1 million mourners will come to the central areas of the city, packing the streets in an attempt to watch the queen’s coffin progress on a gun carriage to Westminster Abbey, before later reaching its final resting spot at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor. Britain hasn’t hosted proceedings like this since the 1965 state funeral of Winston Churchill. The world hasn’t witnessed a commemoration of this scale likely since December 2013, when tens of thousands of people packed a stadium in Johannesburg to celebrate the life and legacy of anti-apartheid hero and former South African president Nelson Mandela.
The uniqueness of the moment is compounded by its timing. Many of the world leaders gathering in London have had to scramble originally planned travel to New York, where the annual high-level session of the U.N. General Assembly is about to get underway. The throngs of VIPs are creating all sorts of headaches for palace protocol staffers and those at the U.K. Foreign Office fielding requests from the delegations of nearly 500 visiting foreign dignitaries. They have been compelled to place eminent figures like the emperor of Japan in shuttle buses to the funeral amid severe logistical constraints.
“All the world leaders are on a field trip,” British comedian Jimmy Carr joked to my colleagues. “And you know who is actually in charge? For that 45 minutes, the leader of the world is the bus driver. ‘My bus, my rules! Sit down in the back. North Korea, get along with South Korea. Sit down! China, what are you doing in the back? Sit down!’”
"In tomorrow's world, we must all work together, as hard as ever, if we are truly to be United Nations."
-- Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, speaking in the General Assembly Hall in 2010, one of two memorable visits she made to UNHQ. https://t.co/DsIobCncy9 pic.twitter.com/mSmLyB1h3N
In reality, North Korea was not invited, while China is sending Vice President Wang Qishan, not President Xi Jinping, to the funeral. There are some other notable, if not unsurprising, absences: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were not invited to the funeral, yet another mark of the Kremlin’s isolation since launching its major invasion of Ukraine. The Russian Foreign Ministry described the lack of invitation for Putin as “deeply immoral.”
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman appears to have opted not to attend amid a backlash from activists over the royal’s checkered human rights record. But for those who have made the trip, the gathering — not unlike Mandela’s funeral when former president Barack Obama shook hands with his Cuban counterpart — may prove fertile ground for geopolitical encounters.
Already, some leaders have landed in hot water for their lack of decorum or for skipping the much-valorized queue to pay their respects to the queen lying in state. Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan roiled the British tabloids when he was seen posing for a photo taken by one of his associates in front of the queen’s coffin. The right-wing Daily Mail scoffed at Antigua and Barbuda’s “rebellious” Prime Minister Gaston Browne, who shook hands with the king in Buckingham Palace days after reviving plans for a referendum to decide whether to convert his nation into a republic.
For Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, the event offered the far-right firebrand an opportunity to strut on the world stage in the last weeks of a deeply divisive and heated election campaign. Bolsonaro has previously rebuked Charles for the latter’s environmental campaigning. On Sunday, Bolsonaro addressed local supporters from a balcony in Mayfair about the evils of abortion and “gender ideology.” Domestic politics will also shadow his use of the bully pulpit in New York later in the week.
-- @antonioguterres at General Assembly commemoration in remembrance of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. https://t.co/EDRO62NIfz pic.twitter.com/1ZnltkFzfv
For British Prime Minister Liz Truss, the moment has offered her something of a reprieve. The queen died just two days after appointing Truss as prime minister and the national outpouring of grief at her passing has subsumed what may have been an unforgiving first few weeks in power, amid an inflation-driven cost-of-living crisis and looming industrial action.
Truss used the weekend before the funeral to quietly host a number of visiting world leaders at 10 Downing Street, kick-starting her prime ministerial turn at geopolitics. That included a somewhat encouraging sit-down with the prime minister of Ireland, which is locked in tense discussions with Britain’s Tory government over their differences surrounding the post-Brexit agreement that governs conditions in Northern Ireland.
“The fact that so many leaders from around the world … are flooding to London gives the new prime minister ample time for soft diplomacy, those quiet conversations before and after the funeral, which will help her achieve her objective — if it is achievable — of ‘global Britain,’” British political historian Anthony Seldon told the Associated Press.
The funeral did force Truss and Biden to defer a planned meeting this weekend to later in the week as world leaders make the trip across the Atlantic to the United Nations. The world’s preeminent international organization did its part honoring the queen as well with a day of speeches and remembrance at a General Assembly session last Thursday.
Secretary General António Guterres described Elizabeth as a figure who “defied geopolitical gravity” and “a pillar without peer on the world stage” for seven decades.
“When our institution and Queen Elizabeth were both young, she stood at this very podium and called on leaders to demonstrate their devotion to the ideals of the United Nations Charter,” said Guterres, before citing her last speech to this body in 2010 where she urged that, “in tomorrow’s world, we must work together as hard as ever if we are truly to be United Nations.”
A version of that now assembles itself at her funeral. “Even in death, she’s still working, isn’t she?” mused Christopher Matthews, a taxicab driver in Edinburgh, to my colleagues. | 2022-09-19T04:32:28Z | www.washingtonpost.com | The queen’s funeral becomes its own United Nations - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/19/queen-global-leaders-royals-united-nations/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/19/queen-global-leaders-royals-united-nations/ |
Heartbroken: I’ll start by affirming the strength of your emotions and your curiosity about whether your feelings are reciprocated.
On the Sidelines: Some women will not care about your marital status because they might not be interested in a longer-term relationship.
Anyone can state that they are separated, and people looking for a no-strings-fling might be attracted to someone they perceive as unavailable.
— Been There, Cleaned Out
Cleaned Out: Thank you for the helpful recommendation. | 2022-09-19T04:41:04Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Ask Amy: I have feelings for the married dad whose kids I babysit - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2022/09/19/ask-amy-nanny-dad-feelings/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2022/09/19/ask-amy-nanny-dad-feelings/ |
Dear Carolyn: My husband normally is a very loving, caring guy, and we have a very happy marriage, but occasionally he blows up in a very awful way. He is hard-working, does more than his share of his work around the house and is a very involved father. I rarely have occasion to get upset at him. But if I do, I can’t predict how he’ll react.
Yesterday, I got upset at him about trash in the kitchen and glared at him and whisper-hissed that I had asked him three times and he hadn’t taken out the trash. I kept my voice low, because kids were in the next room, and we never argue in front of them. In response, he grabbed me and shook me hard while yelling at the top of his voice that I don’t get to behave like that and to fix myself. I yelled back at him to stop manhandling me and our angry argument escalated.
I am horrified that the kids saw this. A few minutes later, he said sorry for his behavior, but I don’t think that is okay. He is angry at me for still being upset about it.
This is certainly not the norm in our relationship, has happened maybe five times in our 10-year marriage, but I can’t overlook that he shook me in front of the kids over something so little. The last time it happened was two years ago, in front of my visiting sister, in the parking lot of a restaurant.
How should I react to this? He feels justified because I was rude and he did say sorry and that should end the matter. Am I overreacting here?
— Horrified
Horrified: Oh my goodness, no. 800-799-SAFE. Please. Today. And here’s a primer on healthy/unhealthy relationships from the One Love Foundation.
There isn’t a threshold for a “safe” or “okay” or “very loving, caring” amount of violence in a relationship. Or for the amount it’s okay for a child to witness. Any amount is a dangerous amount. Take care of yourself and kids and make the call.
· Please, please reread what you wrote and think about how you’d react if a friend was telling you. You’re in a loving relationship, but:
1. You don’t know how he’ll react if you get upset him, so you tiptoe;
2. You can’t argue in front of the kids, which suggests that you don’t have very constructive ways of working through differences of opinion;
3. He has physically assaulted you at least five times, and your primary concern is that he did it in front of people, not that he did it.
What do you think your kids are learning? That you can’t have disagreements. That being physically aggressive is an appropriate response to being asked to do your chores. Yelling is normal. Physical abuse is normal.
· Please get out and soon. I could have written this letter when my kids were young. As they got older, he got worse, and this led to a disaster of a divorce, where he was allowed joint custody for a few years and abused the children until a kind judge saw the problem. You will never forgive yourself when he does this to your child. HE WILL DO THIS TO YOUR CHILD. And you will never, ever completely forgive yourself. I have not.
· Your husband needs anger-management counseling, and if that makes him angry, seek outside help at reaching an agreement from him on this. Your whole family is in danger without you taking decisive action now. | 2022-09-19T04:41:10Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Carolyn Hax: Husband sometimes 'blows up in a very awful way' - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2022/09/19/carolyn-hax-husband-blows-up/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2022/09/19/carolyn-hax-husband-blows-up/ |
Dear Miss Manners: A friend of mine who lives in the same city recently contacted me: She had invited guests to stay with her the coming weekend, but the number of guests meant that she had nowhere to sleep, so she wanted to know if she could stay with me.
As you know, you should have said no. Your friend doesn’t know how to say no, either, or she would not find herself crowded out of her own home.
Acting against your own interests is not a violation of etiquette, but Miss Manners believes that you would both profit from learning to say, “I’m so sorry, but … ”
Dear Miss Manners: Our daughter graduated from college earlier this year, and if we send out the announcements we purchased, some family members and close friends will probably send her something. I understand that the announcements should have been sent following the ceremony, and I don’t intend them to be a gift grab.
As these are relatives and close friends, why do you need the formality of a printed announcement? Can you not just tell them that your daughter graduated and is now working overseas? | 2022-09-19T04:41:17Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Miss Manners: Friend asked to stay with me when guests filled her home - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2022/09/19/miss-manners-friend-guests-stay/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2022/09/19/miss-manners-friend-guests-stay/ |
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, in his first U.S. media interview, said that the Biden administration’s promise to adhere to a new nuclear agreement was “meaningless” without guarantees that the United States would not again unilaterally withdraw from the deal in the future.
“If it’s a good deal and fair deal, we would be serious about reaching an agreement. It needs to be lasting,” Raisi, speaking through an interpreter, said in an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” conducted last week in Tehran and broadcast Sunday evening. But he added: “We cannot trust the Americans because of the behavior that we’ve already seen from them. That is why if there is no guarantee, there is no trust.”
Tehran’s demand for guarantees that the United States would stay in a new agreement has become a principal sticking point in the failure of Iran and world powers to negotiate a new deal to replace the 2015 version from which the Trump administration withdrew in 2018. Negotiations that began nearly a year and a half ago have now sputtered to a virtual stop.
Administration negotiators have made clear from the beginning of the talks, which include Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China — all signers of the original deal, along with the United States and Iran — that no U.S. administration has the power to bind the actions of its successor.
Raisi, elected in June 2021 and widely considered a hard-liner, said that there would be no benefit in meeting with President Biden — something the White House has not expressed interest in — when both leaders attend the U.N. General Assembly this week. “The new administration in the U.S., they claim that they are different from the Trump administration,” he said. He added: “But we haven’t witnessed any changes in reality.”
On ‘60 Minutes,‘ Biden says U.S. troops would defend Taiwan in event of attack by China
Instead, Iran has gone far beyond the limits imposed by the agreement, increasing the quantity and quality of enriched uranium that is necessary to build a nuclear weapon. Iran has repeatedly said it has no intention of developing such a weapon. Raisi said Iran’s nuclear program is intended for medical and agricultural use.
As the possibility of a new deal has become increasingly doubtful, the administration has added to the list of sanctions against Iran, while attacks against U.S. interests in Syria and Iraq that it charges are the work of Iranian proxies have increased. Iran has worked to circumvent U.S. sanctions by exporting much of its oil to China, and selling weapons to Russia — including what the United States have said are weaponized drones being used in Ukraine.
Biden says ‘pandemic is over‘ in ‘60 Minutes‘ interview
Raisi said that Iran was “not going to forget” the January 2020 assassination of Qasem Soleimani of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who was killed by a U.S. drone strike. Calling it a “heinous crime,” he said that “we want justice to be served.” | 2022-09-19T04:41:29Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Iranian president says U.S. must guarantee it would stay in nuclear deal - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/09/19/iran-president-raisi-nuclear-deal/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/09/19/iran-president-raisi-nuclear-deal/ |
We’ve Got Two Tribes
It’s a binary world. To an extreme extent, opinions on the market are divided, and they are split on one key issue: Will the Fed have to “pivot” toward easier monetary policy in the next few months, or won’t it? This question vitiates investment decisions in almost any asset you care to mention. Everywhere you look, choices are contingent on that central call of whether the Fed has to reverse. Meanwhile, prices of most assets are set at some mid-point, based on a set of conditions nobody expects.
Absolute Strategy Research Ltd.’s latest quarterly survey of global asset managers, managing $4.3 trillion, suggests “bulls” and “bears” are almost exactly in balance. Overall, optimism is low. The survey’s composite optimism indicator, based on answers to several questions about the economy and markets, is just above 50% and barely higher than it was three months ago:
But this conceals deep differences. First, although there is much pessimism or bearishness about the economy, that doesn’t translate into similar negativity toward markets. To quote Absolute Strategy’s David Bowers:
There still seems to be something of a disconnect between respondents’ macro assumptions and the readthrough to financial markets. Investors expect the world to be in recession a year from now (probability 62%); the US unemployment rate to be higher (probability 76%); and Global monetary conditions to be tighter (probability 71%). These parameters do not spell soft landing.
The contradiction is resolved to an extent by a belief that bad news is good — that the economy will be slow enough to push the Fed into reversing course early and starting to cut rates. In such circumstances, markets can prosper despite a poor economy. Those who feel that way make a narrow majority in what Bowers calls a “bimodal” or tribal division.
Absolute Strategy’s Charles Cara breaks down the survey responses using machine learning to find clusters of opinions. Usually, there are several distinct schools of thought. This time:
Our panel divides neatly into just two groups. But the debate has moved on from being about the severity of any upcoming recession, to being about when the recovery in the economy and risk assets might occur. It may seem a cliché, but the hackneyed labels of “Bulls” and “Bears” do, for once, seem appropriate. Most respondents are “Bulls” but it is a narrow majority, with just 57% of the panel. This group sees business confidence higher in 12 months’ time, but they are not confident that there will not be a recession and they still think unemployment will be higher next year.
Broadly, the bulls think that there will be a recession, but a shallow one that is already over by the end of 2023 thanks to the Fed. Bears think the Fed will still be tightening the screws a year from now and that the economy will be slow. “Bears” by this definition have grown in strength over the last few weeks. Also, note that the Absolute Strategy survey was taken just before last week’s awful inflation report for August. Judging by the fed funds futures market’s implicit projection of the rate as of the end of 2023 which briefly hit 4%, the latest CPI could have shifted opinions significantly:
How seriously should we take the bullish case that the Fed will not need to force the economy into recession to bring inflation down? It’s maddeningly difficult to dismiss. Despite contemporary fashion for hurling abuse at our fellow humans, both bulls and bears have good arguments on their side. This is from one bull, Brent Schutte, chief investment officer at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management:
Do you believe that the Federal Reserve has to eviscerate the economy to get inflation back down? I don’t. I think a lot of inflation is still tied to the aftershocks of Covid and will naturally wear off as time passes by as spending shifts from goods and services, as the inventories are rebuilt, as the consumer pulls back spending, which is exactly what has happened... The question to me is how much more does the Federal Reserve have to go? And those rate hikes to me are largely geared towards making sure they don’t lose their inflation fighting credibility, which I don’t see any evidence that they have lost any inflation fighting credibility.
For this week, less important for the broader asset allocation picture, swaps continue to price in a 75 basis-point hike, with some betting on a full 100 basis points. Once again, it’s binary. This is from Tom Hainlin, national investment strategist at US Bank Wealth Management:
We’re thinking this is setting up to be a fairly binary outcome next week. 75 basis points would confirm that we’re on a tightening path that’s much more aggressive than we anticipated at the start of the year but consistent with recent Fed messaging. And we think the capital market participants would sort of take that in stride. The other side of that binary outcome, which would be the much less sanguine, would be the 1%. And given the improved but still weak consumer confidence number... sluggish retail sales and concerns about global growth, we think that part of the binary outcome would not be digested well by capital market participants. And you have a potential further leg down for riskier assets like equities.
Beyond the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Wednesday, the critical issue is how long rates keep rising, and when they start falling. This creates problems for investors. Generally, when investing you want an “edge” — a reason to believe you know better about what you’re investing in than the rest. That’s not possible on an issue where so much information is publicly available as is the case for the Federal Reserve. And it’s easy to be wrong for the right reasons, and vice versa. You never want to be in a position where a macro call makes so much difference, but it’s unavoidable.
It’s cowardly not to make a call, so I’ll make one. I believe that inflation is too well entrenched for the Fed to be able to ease much if at all by the end of next year, so that makes me a “bear.” But it’s a low conviction call as I could very, very easily be wrong. It’s possible to hedge bets in finance, and more or less all of us should be doing that. It hurts not to put all the money on the winning side, and sometimes it can hurt not to go along with the rest of the tribe. But in this case, it’s the right course.
Questions of Timing
Now that we’ve identified just how pivotal monetary policy is to the stock market outlook, it’s worth looking at attempts to quantify it. History offers some clues. Ned Davis Research has published an analysis of past Federal Reserve tightening cycles dating back to 1955 to determine the time horizon between the beginning of an easing cycle and the end of a bear market. (Tightening cycles are defined as three or more hikes without an intervening cut, whereas as easing cycles are two or more cuts without an intervening hike. Full cycles include both tightenings and subsequent easings.)
On this basis, NDR found that the market and the Fed lined up perfectly only about half the time. The table below shows the start and end dates of tightening cycles compiled by the firm. The main takeaway for stocks: Bear markets roughly end about the same time as easing cycles — the timing just widely varies, sometimes differing in years. The main takeaway for those hoping for an imminent pivot by the Fed is that (again with much variation), rates tend to stay at the top for eight months before cuts start:
This year saw only the fourth time that the bear cycle in equities started even before a rate increase (indeed, it started as the Fed was still buying bonds). On average, bear markets don’t start until a median of 6.8 months after the first Fed hike, making this one very different.
After two consecutive 75 basis-point hikes, the Fed has raised rates by 225 basis points already since kicking off its most aggressive tightening campaign in decades in March. The hike that the FOMC will announce on Wednesday will lift the benchmark target rate to either 3.25% or 3.5%. On the crucial question of how the equity market interacts with the finish of tightening cycles, NDR found that bear markets end a median of 13.6 months after a cycle has ended. Only three times in the past have bear markets ended before the tightening cycle: 1978, 1987 and 2016. In those cases, another bear market ensued before the subsequent easing cycle had finished. So the historical precedent strongly suggests that the low for the equity market is probably not yet in.
This bears repeating: For each of the three bear markets that ended before the completion of the tightening cycle (which needs to be the case this time for the low really to be behind us), there was a second bear before the subsequent easing cycle had finished. “The implication is that even if the June low was the start of a cyclical bull market, history suggests the Fed will inflict more pain on equity investors,” Ed Clissold and Thanh Nguyen added. Still, they found that bear markets in the past have ended even before easing cycles finished in all but one case: 1960. “As of today, the end of the easing cycle seems a long way off, but it is important to keep in mind moving forward.”
Amid all the numbers and dates to digest, NDR warns “not all tightening cycles are created equal.” Equities, they noted, have seen downturns sooner during fast tightening cycles (Fed raising rates at most meetings) compared to slow ones. They also take longer to recover:
This is, of course, a fast cycle so far. Probably best not to bet too much on an imminent Fed pivot.
Blacker Wednesday
Last week’s anniversary of sterling’s 1992 ejection from the European Monetary System’s exchange rate mechanism, a key moment in British history, has brought some interesting analysis in its wake. I find the chart below from Adam Cole of RBC Capital Market particularly interesting. The general belief at the time was that the pound was unrealistically high. Thirty years later, with the pound its weakest against the dollar than at any time since 1985, the conventional wisdom is that it’s undervalued.
In nominal terms, Cole’s chart shows, that’s broadly true, albeit somewhat overstated. But in real terms, adjusting for changes in inflation, the picture is different. The real effective exchange rate in the following chart is calculated comparing increases in unit labor costs in the UK and the rest of the world. British labor costs have risen much faster than in the rest of the world since the Global Financial Crisis (because productivity hasn’t improved as much as it has elsewhere), and that leaves the pound very overvalued:
This casts Britain’s pursuit of austerity since 2010 in a negative light. It has rendered the country much less rather than more competitive. Cole also points out that in 1992, the UK’s current account was close to balance, compared to a deficit of 4% of gross domestic product in the last four quarters. This again suggests overvaluation now compared to then.
Just as overpriced stocks can grow more overpriced, overvalued currencies can grow richer. But valuation cannot be ignored. To quote Cole:
Valuation alone is not a reason to be bearish GBP and deviations from competitive fair value can be sustained for long periods without correcting. But looked at through the most meaningful measures, it is clear that the current level of GBP is not an impediment to further significant falls.
The best solution for the UK at this point is to improve its productivity and competitiveness. As that’s very difficult, we should assume that another course is more likely — that the pound will fall further.
Monday will be a national holiday in Britain for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, while much of the world will be watching on television. For all the pageantry, and the diplomacy on the edges, it is at its core about the universal attempt that we all make to come to terms with mortality. As such, here are some suggestions for music that attempts this. For contemporary music, I think Funeral by Arcade Fire, their debut album written when several of them were suffering family bereavements, remains a remarkable statement; for the most mesmerizing musical meditation on mortality I know, I find it impossible to get beyond the minimalist composer Arvo Part’s Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten; for more traditional religious reconciliations with death, try this version of the Nunc Dimittis by Geoffrey Burgon (slightly incongruously written for the BBC’s great dramatization of John Le Carre’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), or other versions by Orlando Gibbons, or Rachmaninov (in Old Church Slavonic), or Arvo Part again, or Palestrina. Or you could watch the entire 90-minute service of remembrance for the Queen staged Sunday at Christ Church, Oxford. Or you could tap into another great religion’s relationship with mortality and listen to the beginning of Leonard Bernstein’s Kaddish Symphony (as performed at Hiroshima on the 40th anniversary of the first use of a nuclear weapon).
Have a good week, everyone. And farewell Queen Elizabeth.
• Martin Ivens: The Monarchy Is Britain’s Most Successful (Re)Invention
• Hal Brands: Ukraine War Shows the US Military Isn’t Ready for War With China
• Stephen L. Carter: Federer and Williams Were the Best Ever. Or Maybe Not | 2022-09-19T06:12:29Z | www.washingtonpost.com | As Binary As It Gets: Bulls, Bears and the Pivot - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/as-binary-as-it-gets-bulls-bears-and-the-pivot/2022/09/19/ba36a952-37d8-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/as-binary-as-it-gets-bulls-bears-and-the-pivot/2022/09/19/ba36a952-37d8-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html |
The Washington Post Fact Checker is 15 years old today, though strictly speaking that statement might merit a Pinocchio.
With a burst of four fact checks on the morning of Sept. 19, 2007 — of statements by Osama bin Laden, former senator Mike Gravel (D-Alaska), Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and former senator Fred D. Thompson (R-Tenn.) — our former colleague Michael Dobbs launched the Fact Checker.
So that’s the caveat — there is a 26-month gap in our 15-year history. But we’re pleased to be one of the pioneering fact-checking organizations in the United States (along with FactCheck.org, launched in late 2003).
The growth of political fact-checking since 2007 has been astonishing and also gratifying.
As of June, nearly 400 fact-checking organizations have been formed in more than 100 countries. Annual meetings of fact-checkers from around the globe that started in 2014 led to the creation of the International Fact-Checking Network, housed at the Poynter Institute and eventually the adoption of an international fact-checking code of principles. Members of the organization that abide by the code are assessed by independent experts to ensure compliance.
As for the Fact Checker, we’ve published about 4,000 fact checks on meaty policy issues such as health care and the federal budget, complex social issues such as abortion and gun rights, and even arcane subjects such as the economics of a child tax credit and government “march-in” rights that some believe could lead to lower prescription-drug prices.
At its heart, the Fact Checker is intended to explain complex policy debates, using quotes by politicians and advocacy groups as a jumping off point. Politicians often speak in code or shorthand. We have found that the more complex a subject is, the more likely a politician will try to hoodwink voters about it. Our goal is to make people better informed, not change votes.
Over the years, we have also delved into fact-checking biographical claims and offered timelines and explanatory articles about issues in the news. More recently, we have tried to not only debunk false claims but to trace the flow of misinformation. We also developed a universal language to label manipulated video and hold creators and sharers of this misinformation accountable.
During Donald Trump’s presidency, we started a 100-day project to document every false or misleading claim made by the president — which turned into a four-year behemoth that recorded 30,573 claims. It proved to be too much for our small staff to handle, so for Biden we limited it to a 100-day project, to the dismay of some readers.
Our rating system of Pinocchios remains controversial — readers often disagree with our rulings — but, as the video above shows, there is no denying that Pinocchios have become part of the political lexicon. Trump on 20 occasions mentioned getting Pinocchios — and Biden has as well. One political ad-maker once famously quipped he was not doing his job right if his ad didn’t earn Four Pinocchios.
The biggest change since 2007 has been the rise of social media — especially as a conveyor belt for misinformation. Increasingly, many Americans appear content to remain in left or right-wing information silos. A 2017 study found that two-thirds of liberals and conservatives surveyed were uninterested in hearing views of the other side on contentious issues such as guns and climate change — even when they were offered extra money to do so. Sometimes, fact checks are deliberately misconstrued or twisted in social media posts, replete with misleading screenshots, in an apparent effort to discredit fact checks or shape perceptions of them.
One constant is that about half of the fact checks result from tips or questions from readers. We appreciate everyone who reads our reports, even if the findings annoy them. | 2022-09-19T07:44:07Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Happy 15th birthday, Fact Checker! - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/19/happy-15th-birthday-fact-checker/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/19/happy-15th-birthday-fact-checker/ |
MILWAUKEE — Aaron Judge hit his 58th and 59th home runs of the season to move within two of Roger Maris’ American League record with 16 games remaining and lead the New York Yankees over the Milwaukee Brewers 12-8.
BALTIMORE — Tua Tagovailoa threw for 469 yards and six touchdowns, four of which came during a spectacular fourth quarter, and the Miami Dolphins rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens 42-38.
NEW YORK — Washington made its season debut in The Associated Press college football on Sunday at No. 18, and Penn State and Oregon moved into the top 15 after all three had decisive nonconference victories.
NAPA, Calif. — Max Homa chipped in from nearly 33 feet for birdie on the closing hole, then watched as Danny Willett shockingly three-putted from inside 4 feet to give Homa his second straight title at the Fortinet Championship.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Chelsea Gray scored 20 points to lead the Las Vegas Aces to their first WNBA title in a 78-71 road win over the Connecticut Sun in Game 4. | 2022-09-19T07:44:19Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Weekend Sports In Brief - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/weekend-sports-in-brief/2022/09/19/f38b9b00-37e6-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/weekend-sports-in-brief/2022/09/19/f38b9b00-37e6-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html |
In the epic queue to see Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin, she was the last
Christina Heerey, the last person to visit Queen Elizabeth II lying in state, photographed in London on Monday. (Karla Adam/TWP)
LONDON — For Christina Heerey, the last person in the miles-long queue to view Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin, it was so important to see the queen lying in state that she did it twice.
Heerey, who works for the Royal Air Force, waited in line on Sunday and finally entered Westminster Palace to see the queen’s coffin at 1:15 a.m. on Monday.
“It went really really quickly so I thought I’ll try to see if I can go around again, just to save the moment more,” she said on Monday morning just before 7 a.m. after the viewing had ended.
“The queue was amazing, both times I went round it was amazing people out there. And all the people that helped out they made it today, they were all very cheerful and tried to keep everybody’s spirits up, saying it’s not much further, it’s not much further. They were very good,” she said.
A media scrum for the very last person in The Queue. pic.twitter.com/Criv4wm0f8
Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin was laid out for public viewing for a little over four days inside Westminster Hall during what’s known as a laying-in-state period. Tens of thousands of people waited in line, at times for nearly 24 hours, to pay their final respects to the sovereign ahead of her state funeral on Monday.
The line, affectionately dubbed “The Queue,” became an object of fascination both at home and abroad, with a dedicated government tracker and parody social media accounts. Celebrities, including soccer star David Beckham, joined the queue, while King Charles III and Prince William stopped by unexpectedly on Sunday to greet well-wishers.
At some point, the line got so long authorities had to temporarily close it.
Late Sunday, the British government’s culture department announced that the queue was at final capacity. Sky News captured the moment the last person was given a wristband to join the queue as disappointed mourners were turned away.
Heerey, who said she met the queen a few times through her work at the air force said she was a very special person.
“She was very inspiring as a female, she was very inspiring as a world leader, a mother, a grandmother,” she said. “There’s a side to her that the public don’t always see. From everything I see lately she’s such a witty person, she’s an amazing lady.” | 2022-09-19T07:56:58Z | www.washingtonpost.com | In queue to see Queen Elizabeth II's coffin, she was the last mourner - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/19/queen-elizabeth-coffin-queue-last-person/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/19/queen-elizabeth-coffin-queue-last-person/ |
Britain's Prince George of Cambridge, Britain's Prince Louis of Cambridge and Britain's Princess Charlotte of Cambridge travel in a horse-drawn carriage back to Buckingham Palace during the Queen's Birthday Parade, the Trooping the Colour, as part of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, in London on June 2, 2022. (BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II’s great grandchildren, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, will attend her historic state funeral in Westminster Abbey on Monday, according to Buckingham Palace.
The two eldest children of Prince William and his wife Catherine, will walk behind their parents and ahead of their aunt and uncle, Prince Harry and Meghan, in the funeral procession following the coffin in the church packed with a congregation of two thousand. Their grandfather King Charles III will lead the royal family along side his wife, Camilla, Queen Consort.
Their younger brother Prince Louis, 4, will not be attending. This summer he captured hearts and headlines after a series of emotional displays on the balcony of Buckingham Palace amid the pomp of the queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. He spawned memes and online commentary as he cheekily made faces, clasped his hands over his ears, waved and restlessly yawned.
Queen Elizabeth II’s royal family tree, visualized: George V to Lilibet
The state funeral service begins at 11 a.m. local time in the same 13th century church where Elizabeth was married and had her coronation. Readings will be given by religious figures alongside the British Prime Minister Liz Truss and Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland.
The Westminster Abbey tenor bell will toll once a minute for 96 minutes — each toll representing a year of Elizabeth’s life. Representatives from the Jewish, Bahai, Jain, Buddhist, Muslim and other faith communities will also take part in the event.
George celebrated his 9th birthday in July, with the release of a new photo showing the young royal wearing baby blue and beaming with a toothy grin. The image was taken by his mom at a beach in Norfolk, eastern England, in what has become an annual tradition for the birthdays of the children of William and Catherine.
The future king was born to much fanfare on July 22, 2013, as reporters and pundits waited outside London’s St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington to catch a glimpse of the royal couple’s firstborn child and heir. Christened a few months later as George Alexander Louis, he is formally known as Prince George of Cambridge, it’s unclear if his title will now change as his parents become the new Prince and Princess of Wales.
Like millions of other schoolchildren across the nation, the royal siblings began their new school term earlier this month. No longer based in London, they attend the private school Lambrook School near Windsor. Images of them meeting their new head teacher and holding their parents hands were released.
However, like other young royals before them, they will be largely kept out of the public eye as they grow up. Their family moved from London’s Kensington Palace to Adelaide Cottage, a property near Windsor Castle this summer, among other homes they keep.
Queen Elizabeth II funeral live updates: World watches Britain lay its longest-reigning monarch to rest | 2022-09-19T08:27:28Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Prince George, Princess Charlotte attending Queen Elizabeth II's funeral - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/19/george-charlotte-attend-queen-funeral/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/19/george-charlotte-attend-queen-funeral/ |
The queen’s funeral will embody centuries of royal mourning rituals
In the past, the funeral of a British sovereign provided an opportunity for the new monarch to assert their royal authority
Members of the public pay their respects as they pass the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II as it lies in state inside Westminster Hall on Sept. 17. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)
The state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II is being held Monday at Westminster Abbey. It will mark the first time a British monarch’s funeral has been held at the abbey since 1760 for that of King George II, who died at 76, having lived longer than any of his predecessors. And while there have been many royal funerals in past years, most recently for the queen’s husband, Prince Philip, in April 2021, the last funeral for a British sovereign was held 70 years ago for George VI at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
The funeral of a sovereign is certainly a state affair, although state funerals (those that publicly honor individuals of national significance) need not be held exclusively for monarchs. One example is the funeral for Winston Churchill on Jan. 30, 1965, at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Yet royal funerals specifically are a matter of great importance to the nation and its people, as evidenced by the crowds that have already paid their respects to the queen.
Monday’s funeral marks the culmination of numerous royal funerary and mourning rites that have taken place over the last 10 days all over the United Kingdom, from Queen Elizabeth’s lengthy coffin procession from Scotland to her lying in state at Westminster Hall. Indeed, the rituals around royal funerals are inherently ceremonial and very visual affairs that date to the medieval period. Originally a social and political necessity, the royal funeral has evolved into a highly orchestrated event rich with symbolism for royals and non-royals alike.
Royal funerals were only ever possible when the succession to the throne was firmly established before the death of the monarch. In medieval Britain, the succession was typically less secure, so possible claimants to the throne might be too busy gathering support or preparing their own coronation. For example, after the death of William the Conqueror in 1087, there was no time for a grand funeral, as the late king’s second son rushed from Normandy to claim the crown. In the ensuing chaos, William’s body was left naked on the floor for a time as his servants ran off with the royal silver.
The line of succession became clearer by the 16th century with the Tudor dynasty, although anxiety and infighting continued well into the next century. But it was critical for the new dynasty to legitimize its right to rule. The funeral of a British sovereign provided the perfect opportunity for these new monarchs to assert their royal authority. As the incoming king or queen, it was their exclusive right to plan the ceremonies for their predecessor — the bigger and more expensive, the better.
Queen Elizabeth I had an elaborate funeral thanks to her successor, King James I of England, the first of the Stuart sovereigns. Elizabeth I, the last Tudor monarch, was laid to rest April 28, 1603, as her body was carried from Whitehall Palace (where she was lying in state) to Westminster Abbey for the funeral ceremony. Thousands of mourners attended the procession, while more than 200,000 spectators observed along the London streets. The queen’s horse was led riderless in the procession, a modified version of the ancient custom of burying or burning the departed’s mount with the owner. Her coffin, covered in purple velvet, featured a colorful and exquisitely carved wooden effigy of the queen, complete with the symbols of monarchy: the crown, orb and scepter. In today’s money, her funeral cost more than $3 million.
In early modern Britain, funerals provided the opportunity for royal and aristocratic families to publicly display their wealth and status, and even improve it. Some nobles were able to raise their social standing by putting on elaborate and expensive funerals for relatives. As funerals grew more extravagant, so did other death rites, including funeral feasts, processions, gravestones and mausoleums. Funeral etiquette became increasingly intricate, as nobles attempted to outdo each other and ensure that those further down the social ladder could not compete with such outlandish expense.
However, by the 19th century, these funeral rituals filtered down, as industrialization gave rise to the new middle class. These up-and-comers were eager to prove their place in society by putting on grand funerals for their own relations. Skimping on funeral and mourning costs was viewed as a lack of respect for the dead as well as for the established social order. Contemporary records reveal that families were constantly anxious regarding the painful costs of funerals and mourning, although they could be somewhat satisfied knowing that they would be held in high esteem for spending so much.
Funerals also developed specific rules and customs. Those who participated in the funeral proceedings were required to wear special mourning robes, and occasionally commemorative funeral tokens were distributed (such as swords). The established dress guidelines were this: dark tones (preferably black) only, and absolutely nothing shiny. All jewelry was either removed or had to be dull or matte. Even shoe buckles had to be altered to fit these rules.
Mourning was not limited to the funeral itself. By the 17th century, there were three distinct stages or periods of mourning, each of which had strict time frames and complicated fashion rules that required the wearing of dull and dark garments and accessories from head to toe. Over time, one’s everyday clothes and accessories could be slowly added back, but only at specific intervals. This even extended to a noble’s household and servants, who, by extension, were required to don mourning dress.
Today, black has become the established shade of mourning, a practice first promoted by the Catholic Church in the 11th century. Yet royals have historically worn other colors too. During the early Middle Ages, purple was worn exclusively by royalty, while royal widows donned white. Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587), popularized this trend with her signature white mourning cap and veil. This style survived the Victorian period and was even worn by Queen Mary at the funeral of her son George VI (the father of Elizabeth II) in February 1952.
While royals participated in a public mourning process, the actual appearance of British monarchs at the funeral itself is a relatively new practice. British monarchs may have planned the funerals of their predecessors, but traditionally they didn’t attend. The sovereign was never to be associated with death; it was believed that a king or queen’s royal presence could bring into question their own mortality, an unthinkable possibility. King William IV was one of the first to forgo this tradition when he attended the funeral of his older brother and predecessor George IV, who died in 1830 without any living children. Although monarchs occasionally went to funerals after this, it remained rare. More recently, royals’ absences from funerals may be primarily due to their avoidance of anything that could be interpreted as political.
Some traditions have been discarded over time, but many endure. The history of British royal funerals helps us understand many of the customs and traditions on display at Monday’s funeral, and potentially any deviations from the established order, as the royal family continues to modernize the monarchy in the spirit of their matriarch. | 2022-09-19T09:15:28Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Queen Elizabeth's funeral embodies centuries of royal mourning rituals - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2022/09/19/queen-elizabeth-funeral-royal-mourning-rituals/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2022/09/19/queen-elizabeth-funeral-royal-mourning-rituals/ |
We learned of the queen’s death instantly. That wasn’t the case in 1760.
Back when monarchs had much more power and news was far from instantaneous, it had major implications in the American colonies
Perspective by Helena Yoo Roth
TV vans in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Sept. 9 for coverage of the queen’s death. (Adam Vaughan/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
Take New Jersey. With rumors becoming increasingly widespread, on Jan. 12, 1761, Gov. Thomas Boone wrote to the Board of Trade to complain. He accused Benjamin Franklin, deputy postmaster for North America, of mismanaging the postal route in New Jersey and of having “alter’d its Route … upon some Pique” and begged the Board of Trade to ask the metropolitan postmaster general to intervene. In fact, the cause of the delay was not malice, but sheer folly: The governor of New York had sent New Jersey’s copy of the royal instructions to Philadelphia by mistake. When the Pennsylvania authorities discovered the error, they routed the dispatch back to New Jersey not by express mail but by regular post. As a result, New Jersey did not proclaim the king’s death until Jan. 26, 1761 — three months after it had taken place. | 2022-09-19T09:15:34Z | www.washingtonpost.com | We learned of the queen’s death instantly. That wasn’t the case in 1760. - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2022/09/19/we-learned-queens-death-instantly-that-wasnt-case-1760/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2022/09/19/we-learned-queens-death-instantly-that-wasnt-case-1760/ |
Just three months ago, the Federal Reserve chief described a three-quarter point hike as “unusually large.” The third one of the year is expected this week.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell at a news conference in Washington in July. The central bank has been raising interest rates by a previously unheard of 0.75 percentage points at a time, and it's widely expected to do so again this week in its effort to fight inflation. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg News)
Poorer nations could suffer from U.S. efforts to slow inflation | 2022-09-19T10:46:48Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Federal Reserve to raise interest rates 0.75 points to fight inflation - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/09/19/fed-rate-hike-inflation/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/09/19/fed-rate-hike-inflation/ |
The $24 trillion US Treasury market has gotten too big for even the “Masters of the Universe.” As the Federal Reserve reverses its bond purchase program and more government securities flood back into the hands of dealers, banks, investors and traders, the chances of extreme, unhealthy volatility are rising. We’re at the moment that regulators and market participants have been fearing, which is that there will be more episodes like in March 2020 and September 2019 when parts of the market seized up and prices went haywire. This matters because the Treasury market is considered the most important of all as the foundation for financial assets priced in dollars the world over.
The Securities and Exchange Commission just made the first official move to keep the market from breaking. It proposed on Wednesday to force more trading in government bonds through central clearinghouses. Clearing reduces the risk that either party to a trade will fail to deliver their end of the deal. It can also allow multiple parties to net-off exposures against one another at the same time, which should give everyone more capacity to trade.
If enough banks, investors and other dealers can and do use clearing it will help, but it is no panacea. There are many other changes that should be pursued with the longer term goal of encouraging more market players to be able to trade directly with each other rather than rely so heavily on the 25 primary dealer firms that are obligated to bid at Treasury auctions and authorized to trade with the Fed. The giant US bond fund manager, Pacific Investment Management Co., came out in support of so-called all-to-all trading last week.
The capacity of dealers to intermediate Treasury trading is the core problem and it is making episodes of market stress and dysfunction more frequent, according to a report last year from former central bankers, regulators and academics known as the Group of 30. The panic of March 2020 was particularly extreme: It was when the US and Europe woke up to the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic and led investors to sell almost everything and load up on cash. Instead of acting in their usual role as a haven in times of turmoil, Treasury prices unexpectedly collapsed as liquidity dried up, sending yields soaring
Events like that are likely impossible to guard against, but the seizure in money markets in September 2019, which saw huge spikes in overnight borrowing rates, was down to the Fed pursuing tighter monetary policy, something that it needs to be able to do without blowing up markets. No-one is sure exactly how today’s quantitative tightening is going to play out, but it’s very likely to be a rough and unpredictable ride.
Also, the Treasury market is expected to keep growing and reach $40 trillion by 2032 as the government borrows to finance big budget deficits. If banks are struggling to intermediate today, it would be crazy to rely solely on them to handle a much larger market in future. That’s the argument from non-bank market makers such as Citadel Securities and it’s hard to disagree.
The volume of trades that banks process has shrunk dramatically versus the size of the Treasury market: Before 2008, primary dealer volumes were equivalent to about 15% of the value of Treasuries outstanding; now that is just 2.5%, according to Bank of America Corp, which is a primary dealer.
Banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., also a primary dealer, argue that the problem is rule changes imposed after the financial crisis to make banks safer and less vulnerable to sudden losses of funding. The new rules have made it more difficult for banks to quickly absorb extra assets during an explosion of market activity, especially during times when everyone wants to sell. The biggest banks want the calculation of leverage ratios, which measure the size of their balance sheets, to be changed to exclude the safest assets – something the UK and other jurisdictions have already done. They also want the extra capital charges for being systemically important banks to be cut. Such changes would cut their capital requirements and improve their returns, but it’s hard to say they would definitely ensure the smooth functioning of the Treasury market.
More important in 2019 were the rules on the amount and type of highly liquid assets big banks have to hold, which include Treasuries and central bank reserves. These rules led some banks to prefer reserves over Treasuries — and that made them less willing to lend against Treasuries in money markets, which helped contribute to the mayhem that year.
Tweaking rules to help banks handle more trading and financing would definitely benefit Treasury markets, but making it less reliant on banks as intermediaries should be the bigger goal. Banks may argue that many electronic market makers or principal trading firms are “fair weather” liquidity providers that disappear when markets get tricky, but they will also always have a limit to how much they will trade during the most stressful times. That was true long before 2008.
The Fed could lend against Treasuries to more market participants than just banks, which could help smooth trading stress in a crisis. It would need the right risk management to protect taxpayers, but such a “dealer of last resort” role for Treasuries makes sense for the toughest moments. Ultimately, the best way to avoid frequent crises would be to promote more diversity in the size and types of traders, dealers and market makers that can trade with each other. A greater variety of balance sheet types and motivations ought to help ensure that some remain active when others are pulling back.
More central clearing as the SEC proposes should help with that, but more transparency on what trades are being done and at what prices and sizes is also necessary to give different parties a better idea of where their holdings should trade. It works in other assets so it should help in the most important market in the world, too.More From Other Writers at Bloomberg Opinion:
• Will Central Banks Kill or Nurture the Polar Bear?: John Authers | 2022-09-19T10:47:00Z | www.washingtonpost.com | The $24 Trillion Treasury Market Needs More Than Just Clearing - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/the-24-trillion-treasury-marketneeds-more-than-just-clearing/2022/09/19/a5fcd9e6-3802-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/the-24-trillion-treasury-marketneeds-more-than-just-clearing/2022/09/19/a5fcd9e6-3802-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html |
Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin made its way from Westminster Abbey to its final resting spot at St. George’s chapel today as scores of people came out to mark the historic day.
Top-level representatives from close to 200 countries and territories are expected to attend the funeral, including President Biden and first lady Jill Biden, heads of government and state from near and far, and a diverse cast of kings and queens from other nations.
King Charles and William, Prince of Wales, arrive at the Westminster Abbey for the state funeral and burial of Britain's Queen Elizabeth.
Camilla, Queen Consort,Prince George of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales travel down The Mall ahead of the State Funeral Service of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive at Westminster Abbey.
President Macron and his wife Brigitte arrive at Westminster Abbey.
Israel's President Isaac Herzog.
Former British Prime Ministers Gordon Brown, left and Tony Blair.
Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Carrie Johnson.
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Prince Michael of Kent, right, and Prince Edward of Kent.
Prime Minister Liz Truss arrives to take her seat at Westminster Abbey.
The Yeoman of the Guard arrive in Westminster Abbey.
Gareth Cattermole/AP
Members of the armed forces march during the funeral procession for Queen Elizabeth II.
Rupert Frere/AP
People gather on the day of the state funeral.
Members of the public gather on The Mall to watch the state funeral.
Mourners at Westminster Abbey.
The crown is seen as the coffin of Britain's Queen Elizabeth is carried into the Westminster Abbey.
The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is carried.
William, Prince of Wales and Harry, Duke of Sussex.
Queen Elizabeth II's coffin arrives at Westminster Abbey.
Queen Elizabeth III's coffin is carried by pallbearers.
The coffin is placed near the altar.
Prime Minister Liz Truss speaks at Westminster Abbey. | 2022-09-19T10:47:31Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Photos of Queen Elizabeth II's funeral procession - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/photography/interactive/2022/queen-elizabeth-ii-funeral-photos/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/photography/interactive/2022/queen-elizabeth-ii-funeral-photos/ |
Mike Evans again knocked Marshon Lattimore down with a running shove
The Bucs' Mike Evans is making something of a habit of decking the Saints' Marshon Lattimore between plays. (Jonathan Bachman/AP)
You can argue endlessly about which NFL teams have the most bitter rivalries, but there is little debate about the unusual intensity of the individual feud between Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans and New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
The bad blood between those two burst again to the forefront Sunday when both were ejected after Evans came from near the sideline to slam Lattimore to the ground, setting off a melee in New Orleans.
The sequence began with Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady jawing at Lattimore after throwing an incomplete pass. When the Saints cornerback responded verbally, he was shoved by Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette. Lattimore returned the shove, at which point Evans sprinted over and sent his least favorite opposing player sprawling with a two-handed push.
It was not the first time Evans has taken a running shot at Lattimore during a dead-ball situation in a game. During a 2017 contest, also in New Orleans, Evans ran up from behind and bashed the cornerback after Lattimore gave then-Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston a shove.
Evans was suspended one game by the NFL for that, and the league could hand down a similar punishment for Sunday’s episode. Evans said after the game, a 20-10 Tampa Bay win, that he did not see himself being forced to miss more time.
“In 2017, I didn’t even get ejected and that was really a cheap shot,” he told reporters. “This wasn’t. He punched my teammate in the face, and I just pushed him to the ground.”
Replays of the incident appeared to show Lattimore delivering a shove to Fournette, not a punch, but Evans claimed he saw “something like that,” plus a shove of Brady, when he decided to retaliate.
“I was just trying to have my teammates’ back,” he said. “All I seen is him punch somebody in the face, and I’m like, ‘I ain’t gonna let that happen.’ ”
“It gets spicy when you come to New Orleans,” the ninth-year wide receiver added.
Noting that Evans “was the first one to push and shove Lattimore,” Saints Coach Dennis Allen added: “I’ve been around this league long enough. Usually they don’t get the instigator; they usually get the responder. I think what happened after that was a little bit excessive, so we will see how that goes.”
Asked if the fracas changed the momentum of the game, given the score was tied at 3 in the fourth quarter at the time before the Buccaneers quickly took charge thereafter, Allen replied: “I don’t think that was a factor. I mean, we lost momentum, and we lost momentum because we turned the ball over. I don’t think that [fight] was the factor.”
Following the ejections of Evans and Lattimore, the Buccaneers punted, but two plays later they intercepted Winston, who is now the Saints’ starting quarterback. Over the next four possessions, Tampa Bay scored a touchdown, picked off Winston again, kicked a field goal and returned a third straight Winston interception for a touchdown to take a 20-3 lead with less than five minutes to play. Winston threw a touchdown pass after that, but New Orleans could get no closer.
Buccaneers Coach Todd Bowles echoed Allen afterward in disagreeing with a suggestion that the Evans-Lattimore incident was the game’s “turning point.” He cited several key ensuing plays, including a fumble by Saints wide receiver Chris Olave with less than three minutes to go.
However it came to pass, the win gave Brady his first in the regular season against the Saints since joining the Buccaneers in 2020. He led Tampa Bay to a victory over New Orleans in a playoff game in 2021, but Sunday his frustration with a balky offense through three quarters showed on multiple occasions. At one point during the third quarter, Brady was shown slamming down a tablet computer while on the sideline.
As for the fight, which began a few minutes following the tablet spike when Brady and Lattimore exchanged heated comments, Bowles said afterward he “didn’t see the whole thing.”
“I just saw a lot of pushing and shoving and flags flying,” he told reporters, “and then the next thing I know, everybody was storming the field. We lost a good player, and they lost a good player. It was a physical ballgame.”
Given they are on division rivals, Evans and Lattimore have had plenty of opportunities to match up against each other since the latter was drafted by the Saints in 2017. A four-time Pro Bowl selection, as is Evans, Lattimore has frequently gotten the best of their encounters during the run of play. On Sunday, Evans was performing well with 61 yards on three catches — although not all of that production came at Lattimore’s direct expense — when he was disqualified from the game.
Winston said later he didn’t think NFL officials in New York made the right call in ejecting Lattimore along with Evans, but he also understood “these referees get put in a tough position.”
“I think he bit the bullet,” Winston said of Lattimore. “He made a huge sacrifice for this team, because it was not on him, but when the emotions get to flaring, they’re humans — the referees are humans, and they’ve got to make a decision.” | 2022-09-19T10:47:43Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Mike Evans and Marshon Lattimore ejected after Bucs-Saints brawl - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/19/mike-evans-marshon-lattimore-bucs-saints-brawl/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/19/mike-evans-marshon-lattimore-bucs-saints-brawl/ |
Monday briefing: Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral; Hurricane Fiona hits Puerto Rico; Biden calls the pandemic over; and more
Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral ceremonies are being held today in London.
The latest: Hundreds of world leaders, including President Biden, gathered at Westminster Abbey to honor Britain’s longest-serving monarch. You can follow and watch the events here.
What else to know: After the service, the queen will be buried at Windsor Castle, next to her husband, Prince Philip. Today is a public holiday in the U.K., and daily life is largely paused.
Hurricane Fiona knocked out all the power on Puerto Rico.
What happened? The Category 1 storm made landfall yesterday afternoon, bringing destructive winds and life-threatening flash floods to the U.S. territory.
What’s next? Conditions aren’t expected to improve much today, with up to 30 inches of rain forecast. It could take several days to restore power, officials said.
Fiona’s path: It’s expected to cross between western Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic today before moving north. We’re tracking it here.
President Biden declared the coronavirus pandemic “over.”
What he said: That the U.S. still has a “problem with covid,” but the pandemic stage is finished. He made the apparently off-the-cuff remark on “60 Minutes” last night.
Is he right? New daily infections are down to just over 57,000 — although that’s probably a big undercount — and hundreds of Americans still die of covid every day.
Ukraine hit military targets in Russia this weekend.
Where? Along the border between the two countries. Ukrainian forces are able to strike these targets after pushing back Russian troops in the northeast in recent weeks.
Why this matters: It puts more pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin following steep military setbacks and public criticism from normally friendly world leaders.
Attempts to ban books from U.S. school libraries have reached record levels.
The numbers: There were 681 attempts to ban or restrict access to a record 1,651 different books in schools through August of this year, according to a new study.
What books? Mainly those written by or about people of color or that deal with LGBTQ issues, the study said. Hundreds of laws to restrict access to books have been proposed nationwide.
The Las Vegas Aces won their first WNBA championship.
How they did it: By beating the Connecticut Sun last night in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, 78-71, led by league MVP A’ja Wilson, who had 11 points and 14 rebounds.
It’s historic: This is the first championship for a major pro sports franchise in Las Vegas.
Cheetahs have returned to India after going extinct there decades ago.
The history: A local king in central India shot three cheetahs in 1947, killing what were thought to be the last of the world’s fastest land animals in the country.
The comeback: Eight cats were flown in from Namibia on Friday as part of an effort to reintroduce cheetahs into the country and help save them from global extinction.
And now … some tips to help you start the workweek: Eight ways to feel less anxious, and how to better measure your workplace happiness. | 2022-09-19T10:47:49Z | www.washingtonpost.com | The 7 things you need to know for Monday, Sept. 19 - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/the-seven/2022/09/19/what-to-know-for-september-19/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/the-seven/2022/09/19/what-to-know-for-september-19/ |
Ask a Doctor: Why are so many viruses popping up again?
Reports of monkeypox, Ebola, polio and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic are unnerving but not surprising
Advice by Jay K. Varma, MD
Jay K. Varma is an internal medicine physician, epidemiologist and professor of population health sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine.
Q: It feels like viruses are all over the news, whether it’s monkeypox, Ebola, polio or the coronavirus. Are there more outbreaks now than usual?
A: Several factors help explain why we’re hearing so much about viral outbreaks. Shifts in migration and travel patterns, global eating habits and the effects of climate change have created new opportunities for microbes to spread. Better testing and monitoring methods also mean we’re detecting these outbreaks sooner than in the past.
What we’re experiencing right now is likely to become the new way we live, forcing us to adapt to a riskier world, much like we did after 9/11. We’ve accepted that we have new rules around air travel, security and identification to prevent terrorism. We’re also going to have to accept changes in how we live and cope in this era of emerging infectious diseases.
Most infectious diseases that we consider “new” already exist in animals. Some animals don’t get sick from them but host them in their bodies. For example, the HIV epidemic started when humans came into contact with an animal (in this case, chimpanzees). The virus spilled over from chimpanzees into humans and began spreading from human to human. With HIV, that spillover likely occurred in the early 1900s, but it took decades until scientists realized it was killing people.
Our ability to detect new diseases through laboratory testing is getting better every day, so public health agencies are detecting new threats faster. But this doesn’t completely explain why so many new infections have emerged or why so many old infections, such as polio, have returned.
What does explain it? One way to think about this is like a sports competition: The bacteria, viruses and other microscopic threats are playing offense, and the systems we’ve created to detect and respond to infectious diseases are playing defense. Over the past 20 years, the offense has gotten stronger, but our defense simply has not kept up.
Here are five reasons the microbes appear to be winning now.
Humans are encroaching into animal environments, such as forests and jungles, at a greater frequency. Research has shown that the highest-risk place for new diseases to emerge is at the edge of forests and jungles. The animals that survive and thrive there are also those most likely to carry infectious diseases that are dangerous to humans: rats and bats. (The coronavirus is an example of a virus that most likely originated in a bat.) Sometimes, the spillover is not direct but goes through an insect. For example, a tick or a mosquito bites an animal that picks up the infection, then it bites a human and passes the infection onto them, as with Lyme disease.
Humans are growing, trading and consuming animals in greater numbers. As economies grow and lift people out of poverty, people want to eat more protein, which means a greater need to grow animals in large numbers and sell and ship them around the world. The more animals are concentrated together, the more likely a new disease is to spread among them, then spillover into humans, including through contamination of food or water. New drug-resistant “superbugs,” such as strains of salmonella, often arise this way.
Humans are concentrating in cities more than ever before. If you want a disease to spread person-to-person, there’s no better place than one in which lots of people are packed into small homes, living next to other families in small homes and rubbing up against each other every day. In fact, most major cities around the world have been shaped in one way or another by previous epidemics.
Humans are moving more. This includes people migrating across borders and flying around the world for business or pleasure. It’s no surprise that, in the United States, the city with the most international connections — New York — is always the first or hardest city to be hit by new infectious diseases, such as Zika, covid-19 and monkeypox.
Climate change has supercharged all of these factors. Extreme weather events, droughts and changes in temperature are leading humans to migrate to cities, cross borders and chop down forests and jungles to look for new land for growing crops or finding food. Those changes are not unique to humans. Animals, mosquitoes and ticks are also finding new places to settle, leading to “tropical” diseases now occurring in places no one ever thought of before as tropical.
So what can we do to stay safer? Make sure you and your family members are all up-to-date on vaccinations. You need to also make sure you stay as healthy as possible, including from chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. Keeping good sleep habits, exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet, taking your medications as prescribed and seeing your doctor can keep you safer.
Stay aware of the news so you know what threats are on the horizon and take some time to think about what you would do if there is another respiratory virus pandemic or a massive contamination of the water supply: It turns out that thinking about these scenarios deeply for even a brief period can reduce anxiety and help you prepare if those events happen, like a fire drill.
You can also contact elected officials and ask them to support measures that strengthen public health and mitigate climate change. No matter how scary the world may seem right now, you do have the ability to do something about it. | 2022-09-19T10:47:56Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Why are so many viruses popping up again? - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/09/19/virus-outbreaks-ebola-monkeypox-coming-back/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/09/19/virus-outbreaks-ebola-monkeypox-coming-back/ |
Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the State Funeral Service for Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, at Westminster Abbey in London on September 19, 2022. (Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images)
LONDON — They were in the United Kingdom from California for a brief trip and charity event when news broke that Queen Elizabeth II was gravely ill in Scotland.
Prince Harry rushed to be with his dying grandmother but arrived moments after she passed away on Sept. 8 in Balmoral Castle, surrounded by her only daughter Anne and heir Charles. Since then, the country has been plunged into 10 days of national mourning.
On Monday they walked in separately behind the queen’s coffin, in a solemn procession at London’s Westminster Abbey. They followed the new Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Catherine, and their two children, George and Charlotte.
Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have returned to center stage in the royal family since the queen’s death, although in somewhat muted fashion, two years after they stunned Britons by stepping back from working royal duties.
In his first national address as King Charles III, the new monarch paid special tribute to his son and daughter-in-law: “I want also to express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas,” he said in a televised speech.
Another memorable moment for royal watchers came in Windsor this week as Prince William and his brother Harry, along with their spouses, reunited to greet the public and inspect floral tributes in a rare show of unity. Body language experts tried to glean insights into relations among the four, who were once a common sight at public events.
The brothers have reportedly been estranged since Harry and Meghan moved to the United States. In a bombshell 2021 interview with host Oprah Winfrey, Harry said their relationship was best described as one of “space.” The brothers were last photographed publicly together following the death of their grandfather Prince Philip in April 2021 and then again in July of that year for the unveiling of a statue of their late mother, Princess Diana, to mark what would have been her 60th birthday.
Meghan, dressed in black, and Harry in a civilian morning suit were also seen holding hands as they visited the late queen lying in state in Westminster Hall this week. Thousands of hardy Britons have braved cold weather and overnight lines to join a queue to pay their own final respects.
On Saturday, Prince Harry, this time wearing a military uniform, flanked the queen’s coffin mournfully in a vigil along with William and the queen’s other six grandchildren, as she lay in state.
When they lived in the United Kingdom, Harry and Meghan had a bitter relationship with many of Britain’s tabloid newspapers. They accused the papers of inciting racism against the duchess and targeting the couple for abuse.
They continue to fascinate newspapers and royal commentators on both sides of the Atlantic, and their presence was closely watched as they attend the queen’s state funeral on Monday with other members of the royal family.
Harry is now fifth in line to the throne. His two children, Archie and Lilibet, following the queen’s death and the accession of Charles as monarch, are entitled to the titles “prince” and “princess,” although it remains unconfirmed whether they will actually take those titles.
A bittersweet moment will come later Monday as the couple bid a final farewell to the queen at St. George’s chapel in Windsor, where they enjoyed a fairy-tale wedding watched by millions globally in 2018. | 2022-09-19T10:48:02Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Meghan and Prince Harry bid farewell to Queen Elizabeth II at funeral - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/19/meghan-prince-harry-queen-funeral/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/19/meghan-prince-harry-queen-funeral/ |
Post Politics Now It’s a big week on the world stage for Biden
The latest: Biden, in London, honors the queen and avoids diplomatic disputes
Noted: Biden says ‘the pandemic is over’
Noted: Biden says U.S. troops would defend Taiwan in event of attack by China
Take a look: On the Sunday shows, guests debate transporting migrants
Analysis: Happy 15th birthday, Fact Checker!
President Biden arrives at Westminster Abbey in London for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. (James Manning/Pool/AP)
Today, President Biden plans to return to Washington after attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London. It’s a big week on the world stage for the American president: He is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly, hold a meeting with new British Prime Minister Liz Truss and host a reception for world leaders in New York.
On Sunday night, Biden made multiple headlines in an interview that aired on “60 Minutes,” declaring that the coronavirus pandemic is over and saying U.S. troops would defend Taiwan in the event of an attack from China. Biden also hedged about whether he plans to seek reelection in 2024, saying that is his intention but that “it’s just an intention.”
5 a.m. Eastern time (10 a.m. in London): Biden and first lady Jill Biden attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
5:05 p.m. Eastern: The Bidens return to the White House.
President Biden said in an interview that aired Sunday that it’s “much too early” to make a firm decision about running for president again in 2024, leaving open the possibility that another Democrat could appear atop the ticket in two years.
“Look, my intention, as I said to begin with, is that I would run again,” Biden told CBS’s Scott Pelley on “60 Minutes.” “But it’s just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen.”
“I’m a great respecter of fate,” Biden added. “And so, what I’m doing is I’m doing my job. I’m going to do that job, and within the time frame that makes sense after this next election cycle here, going into next year, make a judgment on what to do.”
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrived Monday morning at Westminster Abbey in London for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Post’s Toluse Olorunnipa reports that Biden on Sunday visited Westminster Hall in London to view the queen’s coffin, his first official act of condolence during a brief visit to the United Kingdom to attend the funeral of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.
Per our colleague:
As he stood before the coffin, Biden took a deep breath before making the sign of the cross and then placing his hand over his heart. With the visit, the president and first lady Jill Biden, became the latest — and highest-profile — visitors to the royal lying in state that has drawn thousands of people in queues stretching for miles.
Biden’s itinerary is being closely watched by the British public, from his arrival on Air Force One on Saturday night, to which British officials he chooses to engage, to his use of the presidential limousine known as “The Beast” while other world leaders are relegated to buses.
“We still have a problem with covid,” Biden said in a “60 Minutes” interview that aired Sunday night. “We’re still doing a lot of work on it … but the pandemic is over.”
The Post’s Dan Diamond reports that Biden made the remarks Wednesday during the interview at the auto show in Detroit, referencing the crowds at the event. The annual auto show had not been held since 2019. Per Dan:
President Biden has again confirmed that U.S. troops would defend Taiwan in the event of an attack from China, the clearest recent statement that Biden has made about how far the United States would go to support Taiwan militarily.
The Post’s Amy B Wang reports that in an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday evening, Biden told host Scott Pelley that the United States would defend Taiwan “if in fact there was an unprecedented attack.”
Amy writes:
China claims Taiwan, a self-governing democracy that is home to 23 million people, as its own territory, and has asserted it could one day use force to take control of the island.
You can read Amy’s full story here.
Democratic officials responded to Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas transporting migrants to Northern U.S. cities on Sept. 18. (Video: The Washington Post)
The decisions by Republican governors Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida to transport migrants north to largely Democratic areas were an intense topic of conversation on the Sunday talk shows. Democrats accused the governors of engaging in cruel political stunts, while Republicans argued that the Biden administration needs to overhaul the nation’s border policies.
The Post’s Mahlia Posey pulled together the highlights, which include appearances by Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and New York Mayor Eric Adams (D).
The Washington Post Fact Checker is 15 years old today, although strictly speaking that statement might merit a Pinocchio.
The Post’s Glenn Kessler writes that with a burst of four fact checks on the morning of Sept. 19, 2007 — of statements by Osama bin Laden, former senator Mike Gravel (D-Alaska), Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and former senator Fred D. Thompson (R-Tenn.) — our former colleague Michael Dobbs launched the Fact Checker.
You can read Glenn’s full piece here. | 2022-09-19T11:26:20Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Biden has a big week on the world stage - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/19/biden-london-united-nations-truss/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/19/biden-london-united-nations-truss/ |
Then-Princess Elizabeth greets Winston Churchill at a reception in London on March 23, 1950. (AFP/Getty Images)
Both have an end-of-an-era feel to them — as well as lead-lined coffins in elaborate processions. But by most measures, the queen’s farewell is a bigger event than Britain’s last state funeral, for Winston Churchill, whose powerful send-off took place during a bitterly cold January in 1965.
Churchill lay in state for three days, during which more than 320,000 people waited in lines lasting two to three hours to pay respects to a man who became a firewall against fascism.
The queen lay in state for four days. In a metropolitan area whose population has nearly doubled in size since Churchill’s time, waiting time in the “queue to end all queues” reached 14 hours — so long that the government warned well-wishers to stay away on the last day. That didn’t deter the hundreds of thousands who braved it earlier. Millions more watched by live stream.
Churchill’s coffin was draped in the Union Jack, the queen’s in the Royal Standard. Churchill’s funeral — at St Paul’s Cathedral — saw delegations from just over 110 countries. The queen’s — taking place at Westminster Abbey in an era of more independent states — is more of a gathering of the global Who’s Who, and is being attended by representatives of nearly 200 countries and territories.
Live updates: A grand funeral and procession for Elizabeth II
Among them are approximately 90 presidents and prime ministers, including President Biden. By comparison, Churchill’s had six presidents and 16 prime ministers. U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, ill with a respiratory problem, stayed home at the time.
Six monarchs attended Churchill’s send-off. The front rows of the queen’s funeral will be lined by the members of 23 royal families. More than 1,000 police and security personnel stood watch over Churchill’s funeral. The queen’s is the biggest security operation in Britain since World War II, complete with snipers on rooftops, surveillance drones, 10,000 uniformed police officers and thousands more in plainclothes.
Churchill’s funeral saw at least 1 million people line the streets on a procession day so cold that some feared for the health of Churchill’s young descendants as one marched hatless behind the coffin. On a fortuitously mild September day, the queen could draw as many as 2 million.
Perhaps the biggest difference is the global audience. About 350 million watched Churchill’s funeral worldwide — a still-startling figure given the era, and considering 650 million watched the Apollo 11 moon landing four years later. Some observers predict the queen’s record-breaking global viewership, however, could top 4.1 million today.
Judging from the unyielding respect Churchill had for then-young Queen Elizabeth II, that sounds like the way Sir Winston would have wanted it.
“He saw Elizabeth and her dedication to public service as the future of the monarchy,” said Justin Reash, executive director of the International Churchill Society. | 2022-09-19T11:30:21Z | www.washingtonpost.com | The last state funeral was Churchill’s. Queen Elizabeth II’s is a bigger event. - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/19/state-funeral-elizabeth-churchill-numbers/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/19/state-funeral-elizabeth-churchill-numbers/ |
The scene after Hurricane Fiona battered Puerto Rico
By Kainaz Amaria and María Paúl | Sep 19, 2022
Hurricane Fiona battered Puerto Rico on Sunday, cutting power to the entire island, while bringing destructive winds and life-threatening flash flooding.
The storm made landfall along the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico at 3:20 p.m. local time, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The center warned that both Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic should expect “catastrophic flooding” from the slow-moving storm.
Sept. 18 | San Juan
The effects of Hurricane Fiona during its passage.
Sept. 18 | Yauco
A car sits in flood waters after Fiona affected the area.
Sept. 18 | Villa Blanca
A flooded road is seen during the passage of Fiona.
Puerto Rico’s governor, Pedro Pierluisi, confirmed in a tweet on Sunday afternoon that power was out on the entire island, impacting all 3.2 million people.
Fiona’s strength was enough to trigger memories of the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Maria in 2017, which severely weakened Puerto Rico’s already outdated energy infrastructure.
Sept. 18 | Cayey
A man walks on a road.
Since then, habitual outages, which can often extend into weeks, have become the norm.
In Utuado, a bridge that was constructed soon after Hurricane Maria was swept away.
People clean debris from a road after a mudslide caused by Fiona.Photo/Stephanie Rojas)
People clear a road from a fallen tree.
“We just know this is going to happen,” said Mariana Ferré, a 23-year-old medical student from San Juan. “This isn’t a one-time occurrence. It’s every year.”
A Sept. 18 | Cayey
worker cuts an electricity pole that was downed by Fiona as it blocks a road.
Gov. Pedro Pierluisi hinted as much during a Sunday news conference, when he said that the grid’s failure during the storm “shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.”
“That’s how sad it is,” Ferré said of Pierluisi’s remarks. “It’s so normalized and it shouldn’t be. It shouldn’t be normal for people to lose power all the time. People literally depend on electricity to live.”
A gas station sign damaged by Fiona lies on the ground.
“It breaks my heart to see Puerto Rico’s people suffer all the time,” Ferré said. “Because it’s people with so much desire to make things better. Puerto Ricans have so much resilience, and we keep going obstacle after obstacle — but at some point that’s going to end.”
Sept. 18 | Vega Baja
Firefighters work to remove a fallen tree from the road.
Fire Department Bureau of Puerto/AFP/Getty Images
“La gente no puede mas,” she added. People can’t take it anymore.
Editing and Production by Kainaz Amaria. Photo editing by Troy Witcher. | 2022-09-19T12:05:11Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Photos: Hurricane Fiona wipes out power across Puerto Rico - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2022/photos-hurricane-fiona-puerto-rico/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2022/photos-hurricane-fiona-puerto-rico/ |
Biotech, social media and cryptocurrencies are the usual hotspots for crazy asset prices. This year, though, one of the highest valuations offered in any US acquisition is for the sewer system of a tiny township in Pennsylvania.
NextEra Energy Inc., the world’s biggest utility by market capitalization, announced in June it was buying the wastewater system of Towamencin township, a community of some 18,000 people about 30 miles north of Philadelphia. The price, $115 million, made it pocket change for a company valued at $169 billion. But at 21 times revenue, NextEra offered a higher multiple than all but two US deals announced this year, both of which were in biotech.(1)
This raises questions. Why is an electricity and renewables powerhouse paying a tech-like premium for roughly 8,000 sewer accounts in some patch of Pennsylvania? And why is this township selling its biggest asset in the first place? The answers blend strategy, state privatization laws and small-town politics — and the profits to be made in water.
The US water and wastewater sector is a giant made up of Lilliputians. Of those Americans relying on centralized pipe networks — as opposed to private wells or septic systems — about 85% are hooked up to municipal systems, according to Bluefield Research, a Boston-based water intelligence provider.(2) These can be enormous, like New York City’s, but most are small, like Towamencin’s, or even tinier. This doesn’t leave much market share for private companies. The market cap of the entire listed water utility sector is only about $50 billion, less than one-third that of just one electricity utility: NextEra.
This is one reason why a company such as NextEra would likely be interested. (The company declined to comment). Fragmented industries delivering vital services make rich hunting grounds. Another attraction may relate to credit. NextEra derived 59% of its earnings from regulated utility operations in the 12 months ended in June and 41% from its unregulated business, mostly contracted renewable energy projects. As noted by CreditSights, which calculated the figures, credit rating firms would prefer regulated operations to be at least 60% of earnings, since charging utility bills is akin to collecting taxes. Yet NextEra’s renewables business is growing at about twice the rate of the utility operation, meaning that ratio will continue to deteriorate absent the acquisition of new regulated businesses. NextEra has tried repeatedly — mostly in vain — to buy other large electricity utilities in recent years.
But water is also a regulated monopoly and, with systems that are, on average, a half-century old, an investment opportunity. Americans now spend more on their water rates than on natural gas bills.
Still, given NextEra’s trailing adjusted earnings of $5.3 billion, it would take a lot of Towamencins to make a difference: The town’s wastewater system generates only $2 million a year after expenses. That’s a literal drop in the bucket, especially when you consider the time and effort taken; NextEra has been involved in the township’s sale process for at least 18 months.
And then there’s the political blowback.
Water, whether as fresh supply or treating the waste, is a foundational element of any community. That’s one reason why the current crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, and the many before it attract national attention. Even where such problems don’t exist, people are touchy about tinkering with such a vital service. In Towamencin, opposition centers on cost. Projections published by the township’s administrators show annual wastewater rates for residents more than doubling within five years to more than $1,000 and continuing to rise from there.
The issue isn’t so much that bills are likely to go up — that’s a fact of life with most public infrastructure. By all accounts, though, Towamencin’s wastewater system is in relatively good shape. And the township’s projections show that, if it retained ownership, rates would increase 79% by year 10, below the levels anticipated by all of the private bidders in the chart above (Franconia is a neighboring municipal authority).(3)
Rather, opponents don’t want to have to compensate NextEra for the premium it’s paying.
At almost $14,000 per customer account, NextEra’s bid is close to four times the average for similar deals this year.(4) The company even noted in its bid that it didn’t expect state regulators to allow it to recoup all of that premium. It’s also tough to see how even NextEra could strip much cost out of an operation with only a dozen full-time employees, especially when it lacks other operations in the state over which to spread expenses. By any reasonable measure, NextEra appears to be overpaying.
That’s partly because it can. In most of the US, municipalities thinking about selling their water systems would be forced by state laws to do so at book value. And since these are generally old, depreciated assets, that wouldn’t be worth it. The book value of Towamencin’s sewer system is less than one-sixth NextEra’s bid. However, 13 states have passed laws allowing localities to sell their water assets at fair market value. One of them is Pennsylvania.
These laws are ostensibly helping hands for small towns too poor to pay for system upgrades, allowing them to attract a big upfront payment and offload maintenance to a private operator. Yet Towamencin doesn’t fit that description. As noted earlier, its sewer system is in decent shape. Median household income is a third higher than for the state and the poverty rate, at 3.7%, is lower than for both the state and the county.
One fly in the ointment is debt. While Towamencin’s obligations aren’t that high relative to property values, the 14% of its general budget going to service that debt is troubling, says Matt Fabian, a partner at Municipal Market Analytics Inc.. An optimal level is below 10%. More pertinent, according to Fabian, is the sewer system kicking $2 million into the general fund each year. “Dividends of this type are frowned upon because they show the government keeping sewer rates higher than they should to subsidize other spending,” Fabian said.
That last point chimes with something pointed out to me by Joyce Snyder, the first Democratic candidate elected to Towamencin’s board of supervisors in several decades (she won by 13 votes last year). An opponent of the sale — she was the one dissenting board vote out of five — Snyder claims she only found out NextEra had been selected as the favored bidder when it was announced at a town hall meeting. As for why sell, Snyder said: “It boils down to the fact that the board of supervisors for the past 10 years have not been willing to raise taxes.” The township administration declined to comment for this column. Its own website does confirm that, until an increase in 2021, the real estate tax rate had been flat since at least 2012.
Moreover, the board proposes putting more than $50 million of spare proceeds into a “permanent” reserve, generating interest income. To put that in perspective, the annual budget runs around $16 million. The deal with NextEra isn’t saving Towamencin, which hardly needs saving, but recapitalizing it — and then some. It’s the sort of offer any small township’s administrators might find hard to refuse. They get to fund all sorts of popular projects without the unpopular resort to raising taxes — overtly, that is.
There’s no such thing as free money. Doubling water rates within five years may not involve the word “tax”, but that is how it would work, and regressively so given the flat fee structure. In addition, the initial rate freezes baked into the bids look like teaser mortgage rates. While any rate-hikes require approval by state regulators, the latter have already agreed to big increases by private operators who bought wastewater systems in neighboring townships. In addition, it beggars belief that a township could sit on a permanent fund worth three times its annual budget without it ultimately being bled away by pet projects. “People are literally lining up already for the money,” Snyder said, adding that “I’m one of them.”
Local activists, grouped under the banner of Neighbors Opposing Privatization Efforts, or NOPE, are seeking to change the township’s charter to block the sale. State attorneys have filed a protest with the Public Utilities Commission seeking to block NextEra’s application to become a public utility in Pennsylvania — necessary for the deal — because it wants to contract with another company to actually run Towamencin’s sewer. Some other sales have been successfully opposed, such as in neighboring Norristown and, more recently, the proposed $1.1 billion acquisition of Bucks County’s sewer system by Essential Utilities Inc.’s Aqua Pennsylvania, which would have been the largest such privatization to date.
The mismatch between the potential revenue on offer and the trouble and expense taken suggests Towamencin represents something of an experiment for NextEra. It has also bought a scattering of already privatized water and wastewater systems in Texas, collectively with just 2,700 connections. It’s possible the utility sees potential synergies with its energy business, given the large quantities of water used in conventional power plants. There is even the possibility of using heat pumps and heat exchangers to recover heat energy from wastewater for home heating.
Still, building a water business at a scale that would move the needle, municipality by municipality, looks borderline Sisyphean. It seems more likely such deals, if successful, would tee-up an eventual tilt at one of the big private players.
NextEra’s ultimate objectives aside, its outsized bid in the context of spreading fair-market value laws demonstrates the desirability of these assets. Even though Towamencin’s sewer system is in good shape now, it will require expensive upgrades as time goes on and water regulations tighten. These include potentially swapping out chlorine-based disinfection for ultraviolet light technology and dealing with so-called “forever chemicals,” or PFAS: perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (see my Bloomberg Opinion colleague Lisa Jarvis’ recent column on these).
The condition of the US wastewater system, with 800,000 miles of public sewer networks and 16,000 treatment plants, is graded just D+ by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Since utilities earn a return by building stuff, the push to privatize more of these systems isn’t going away. Conventional wisdom dictates private hands run things more efficiently than public officials, and that bigger is better with networks. But the rate hikes associated with these deals suggest that, if such efficiencies exist, they aren’t necessarily trickling down to the end of the pipe. A study published in March in the Journal of the World Water Council of the 500 largest community water systems in the US concluded that private ownership correlates with higher water prices, citing “regulatory capture” as a factor in particularly expensive states, including Pennsylvania.
For places like Towamencin, it seems good on paper to take an asset folks barely think about and use it to fund a whole set of public goods. Unlike a private company, however, where taking an offer like NextEra’s is a no brainer, these assets make the township possible and are held in trust for both current and future generations. That question of trust is at the heart of the deal: trust in a new owner; trust in the regulator to actually hold that new owner in check; trust in officials up for election every few years to avoid short-term thinking; and trust in the township as a whole to use its resources, including cash, responsibly. A big check often seals the deal but, in this context, is also its own red flag.More From Other Writers at Bloomberg Opinion:
• Iowa’s Water Crisis Offers a Glimpse of the Future: Adam Minter
• Lead-Tainted Water Is Worst Infrastructure Failure: Tim O’Brien
(1) As per a screen of mergers and acquisitions conducted on the Bloomberg Terminal’s MA function on September 16, 2022. Includes all deals announced (but not withdrawn or canceled) in 2022 between US targets and acquirers valued at $100 million or more.
(2) Bluefield estimates that, on the wastewater side, 75-80% of the population use centralized systems and, of those, 85% are on a municipal network. On the drinking water side, 90% of the population use centralized systems and 86% of those are on municipal networks.
(3) That would appear to include $36 million of capital projects and running costs rising 5% each year. The township didn’t release a working model or detailed output for its scenario of retaining ownership. However, some assumptions in an FAQ document allow some calculations to be made. After grants and other revenue, about $27 million of capex needs funding; 20% under pay-as-you-go rate increases and the rest from borrowing. Assuming 20-year amortizing bonds at 4.2% (implied by the township’s assumptions), that incremental annual cost is about $2.2 million. Factor in cost inflation and an extra 1,500 accounts by year 10 (the township’s assumption, applied linearly) and the all-in rate rises by $425. That is higher than the township’s estimate of $356, so my crude calculation clearly isn’t fully aligned with their model. However, it would appear to confirm those extra costs are included in the township’s projection and even my crude, higher figure is lower than for the NextEra or American Water projections.
(4) The average amount paid by private buyers of water systems in the first half of 2022 was $3,743 per connection, according to Bluefield Research, a Boston-based water-sector intelligence company. NextEra’s offer for Towamencin’s wastewater system implies $13,815 per connection. | 2022-09-19T12:18:21Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Small-Town Sewers Are Getting Tech-Like Premiums - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/small-town-sewers-are-getting-tech-like-premiums/2022/09/19/073d866c-380b-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/small-town-sewers-are-getting-tech-like-premiums/2022/09/19/073d866c-380b-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html |
The median economist(1) surveyed by Bloomberg now gives even odds of the US experiencing a recession in the next 12 months, up from about a 33% probability at mid-year. Economists are concerned that the Federal Reserve’s efforts to rein in the worst bout of inflation in 40 years will ultimately come at the expense of the job market and resilient consumption trends. The hard data suggest that the economy hasn’t buckled yet, but history suggests that it will eventually, and there’s little chance that stocks would be immune.
Since 1960, the average peak-to-trough earnings drop in a recession is about 31%, based on Yale University professor Robert Shiller’s data. Yet sell-side equity analysts aren’t even close to incorporating such a drop. In fact, estimates for both 2022 and 2023 still imply that rolling 12-month earnings will maintain their steady upward slope, implying something close to a best-case scenario.
It’s not just the analysts who are optimistic, though; markets appear to be buying this optimism to a large extent, even after accounting for last week’s 4.8% slump in the S&P 500 Index. The S&P 500 earnings yield — the ratio of expected EPS to price, or the inverse of the P/E ratio — has continued to track Treasury yields throughout the year, indicating that it’s the latter that’s truly driving the market.
At some point, the emphasis will necessarily shift to earnings, but that transition still hasn’t happened. If markets were actively questioning the earnings outlook or generally anticipating more risk in equities, that would be reflected in a wider earnings yield-Treasury spread. On the few occasions when the earnings yield has broken stride with 10-year Treasury yields, it’s often been because traders applied a more bullish bias to equities.
So why do investors appear content to stay so upbeat on earnings despite all the apparent headwinds? First, market participants may have reason to doubt that the 50% odds of a recession are correct. The resiliency of earnings and macroeconomic data so far this year have bolstered the belief that this rate-increase cycle will be unlike most others and that the Fed will deliver the elusive “soft landing.” The unemployment rate remains close to its all-time lows; household leverage ratios remain very low; and retail sales are mostly humming along, at least nominally. Many traders may find it hard to square economists’ pessimism with the facts on the ground. It may take a clear turn in the hard data to change their minds. Alternatively, a series of companies abandoning or revising down their earnings forecasts might do the trick.
Second, not all recessions are catastrophic. Although an average recession zaps 31% off EPS, the mean is weighed down by the dot-com bust and the financial crisis, as my Bloomberg Intelligence colleagues Gina Martin Adams and Gillian Wolff noted recently in their research. Given the many financial advantages households have to withstand a downturn, traders may believe that any recession and subsequent earnings trough would be shallower than other recent ones — and perhaps more like the downturns in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Of course, investors should be careful what they wish for: The ’70s and ’80s may have had shallower recessions, but the slumps were also more frequent.
Even if you split the difference between the mildly optimistic and the mildly pessimistic — 50% odds of the Wall Street status quo with ho-hum earnings growth, 50% odds of a mild recession — a probability-weighted approach would have traders betting on single-digit earnings declines in the next 12 months, but the market isn’t quite there yet. Historically, recessions have also coincided with lower forward P/E multiples from the current 16.5 times. But even if you’re somewhat generous with the multiple, it’s clear that market pricing still sits on the optimistic side of the earnings fence. As the following table shows, there are plenty of paths for the S&P 500 to break through the June low of 3,667, and probably fewer paths higher.
The FedEx news had the market on edge heading into the next Fed monetary policy decision on Wednesday, in which policy makers are expected to raise the upper bound of the fed funds rate by 75 basis points to 3.25%. For all the strength in the economy, the famous “long and variable lags” of monetary policy are likely to bite at some point soon, and the equity market looks ill prepared for what’s coming. None of that means that the US is heading for some kind of 2008-style earnings calamity, but you don’t have to believe that to acknowledge that the market looks overly sanguine. The FedEx development may well be the first in a series of catalysts that help traders realize that.
(1) Economists as a group have a poor track record at predicting recessions, but that’s usually because they’re too conservative. Very rarely do they forecast ones that don’t come to pass, as an IMF working paper found. | 2022-09-19T12:18:46Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Stocks Are Courting a Nasty Surprise on Earnings - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/stocksare-courting-a-nasty-surprise-on-earnings/2022/09/19/3897ae1e-380f-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/stocksare-courting-a-nasty-surprise-on-earnings/2022/09/19/3897ae1e-380f-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html |
Long concerned about what it calls the erosion of the rule of law in Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the European Union sees getting him to change course as vital to bolstering democracy and EU unity -- especially as it confronts Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. Failure may increase polarization in the 27-nation bloc or even rekindle talk of Hungary’s potential exit. In April, shortly after Orban notched up a fourth landslide election win at home, the EU triggered a probe that may ultimately deprive his government of billions of euros in funding. In September it moved a step closer to withholding funds, while also recognizing some progress.
Since 2010, Orban has made it harder for outsiders to hold the government to account. He’s appointed loyalists to the courts, the chief prosecutor’s office and the media authority. A big parliamentary majority allowed him to write a new constitution that opposition critics condemned as an attack on democracy and human rights. He’s sought to limit the rights of some minorities, including the Roma and LGBTQ communities. And he’s been the closest EU leader to Russia even after President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, exploiting exemptions to EU sanctions he demanded to secure increased imports of Russian gas. The European Parliament has passed a resolution that no longer considers Hungary a full-fledged democracy. Transparency International, a not-for-profit graft watchdog, rates Hungary as among the most-corrupt countries in the 27-nation bloc.
3. What can the EU do?
The European Parliament voted in 2018 to trigger a rule-of-law probe against Hungary into what it called “a clear risk of a serious breach” of the EU’s democratic principles. A new legal process adopted in 2020 allows the EU to potentially cut off funding when its financial interests may be undermined. The European Commission, the EU’s executive, triggered that so-called conditionality mechanism in late April.
The two are intertwined but the commission must limit its probe to areas that could affect the EU budget and undermine the financial interests of the bloc. So while Orban’s comments on racial purity, his clampdown on independent media and his restrictions on LGBTQ rights have triggered condemnation from others within the EU, they aren’t the focus of the investigation. The independence of the judiciary, however, is in the spotlight as it’s seen as central to a country’s ability to tackle graft and issue unbiased judgments.
5. Where are we now?
In an unprecedented move, the commission on Sept. 18 recommended the suspension of 7.5 billion euros ($7.5 billion) of Hungary’s EU funding due to corruption concerns -- about a fifth of the money earmarked in the 2021-2027 EU budget. Separately, Hungary is still waiting for the commission to approve its pandemic recovery plan, which would pave the way to 5.8 billion euros in EU money. If Hungary’s recovery plan isn’t implemented by the end of the year, it stands to lose 70% of that funding.
6. So will Hungary’s EU funds be cut?
It’s too early to say, because EU member states have to vote on the commission proposal. They have one month to decide but they can extend that deadline by up to two months. Crucially, unanimity isn’t required, but the decision to suspend funds has to be backed by at least 15 of the 27 member states representing 65% of the EU population. The European Commission also said that Hungary had made progress in its proposed remedial measures, and is due to report back on these by Nov. 19.
The Hungarian government has said it’ll implement all of the measures it had offered in talks with the EU’s executive and therefore sees no chance of funding cuts. Those steps include setting up a new anti-graft agency and amending legislation making public procurements more transparent. Many in Hungary’s opposition ranks are skeptical that the EU will force real change, saying the EU’s demands fall short of what’s required. Investors also took the EU’s threat in stride, with the forint gaining against the euro the day after. The currency has been among the world’s worst-performers this year as the uncertain outlook for EU funds weighed on the forint. | 2022-09-19T12:18:52Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Why the EU Is Getting Tough on Hungary’s Orban - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/why-the-eu-is-getting-tough-on-hungarys-orban/2022/09/19/e108f0b4-3808-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/why-the-eu-is-getting-tough-on-hungarys-orban/2022/09/19/e108f0b4-3808-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html |
Perspective by Tim Carman
Co-founder Arianne Bennett and her dog, Dax, at Amsterdam Falafelshop in Adams Morgan. (Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post)
As soon as you enter Amsterdam Falafelshop, you can see the changes the pandemic has wrought to this late-night institution, the place that helped wean Adams Morgan off its 3 a.m. diet of pizza slices the size of twin mattresses. You spot the usual pumps of hand sanitizer and Plexiglas dividers, of course, but mostly you notice what’s missing: the exuberant, 22-option spread of dips, salads and pickled vegetables, all of which tempted you to drown your falafel balls in a sea of coral-colored toppings.
The pandemic ruined all that. The number of toppings has been scaled back, and the staff now packs your pita or bowls based on your selections, a sign that self-serve bars have not come all the way back.
Yet something else is missing at Amsterdam Falafelshop, too. Or, more precisely, someone else. You might have watched him, pre-pandemic, working behind the counter, or you might have seen him camping out on the shop’s patio when the coronavirus tried to drain the life out of everyone in the neighborhood, and beyond. He radiated megatons of energy, as if this shop and this world could not contain him.
He was Scott Bennett, co-founder of Amsterdam Falafelshop and the unofficial ambassador of cool, an artist, musician, scuba diver, restaurateur, storyteller and the center of gravity wherever he stood.
He is no longer among the living, and I wanted to take a moment this week to acknowledge his death and the hole it has left in Washington’s restaurant community — and in the life of the woman who continues to hold Scott’s dream.
For 2½ years now, the dining community has mourned the things the pandemic has taken from us: our neighborhood restaurants, our beloved bars, our favorite dishes, our sense of restoration in public places, our ability to sink into pleasure without worry. Yet as profound as these losses may be, many will eventually be replaced by other restaurants and bars, by favorite new dishes or by the healing nature of time itself.
Scott, however, is a pandemic casualty whose loss is impossible to measure and, based on the sheer amount of mourning for him on Facebook, impossible to replace. I don’t mean he was irreplaceable as a restaurateur — because who is truly irreplaceable in their job? — but as the kind of person who embraced the essence of the industry: He had this ability to translate his passions, whether for food or Calvados or restaurants, into something that friends, family and diners could grasp. He had an innate talent for bringing people together in what many would eventually call “Scottie’s World.”
“Scott brought people along in everything in life,” says Arianne Bennett, his wife and business partner. “Scott would say, ‘Oh, you haven’t been scuba diving before? Well, I’m going next month. You should go with me.’ The dude would go, ‘But I’m not certified.’ ‘Well, you have five weeks, man. Let me tell you where you get certified.’ There was no saying ‘no’ to him.”
Scott died Jan. 13 at age 70 from complications of covid-19, even though he was fully vaccinated and boosted. On the day he died — alone, unconscious, paralyzed on a ventilator — Arianne was beside herself. She had survived her own bout of covid, only to lose the person who had been by her side for decades, even before August 1991, when she and Scott were married on the grounds of the Maryland Renaissance Festival. She had lost, as she explained to me, the man who “brought the light and the happiness and the joy.”
Eight months after Scott’s death, Arianne, 53, is still figuring out how to move on. Their shop, which continues to produce superb falafel despite its self-imposed limitations, remained open on the day Scott died, not because Arianne was in any shape to work but because the employees, led by manager Beatriz Ortega, demanded it. They told Arianne that Scott “would not want us to close.”
People continue to ask Arianne whether she wants to keep running the shop. The question seems to be laden with assumptions: that operating the business will only remind her of Scott, that she will have to shoulder more responsibilities, that the shop was Scott’s brainchild, not hers. As Arianne will attest, she didn’t even like falafel before she tried it in Amsterdam during a trip with her husband.
Yet to Arianne, the question is naive. It doesn’t understand the complex relationship between her and Scott. She met him at Center Cafe inside Union Station, where they both worked. She was 20 and still in college. He was 38 and previously married with children. He had served time for selling drugs in California. She attended Catholic schools, including Georgetown Visitation and Catholic University (from which she graduated with a degree in psychology). She was a rule follower. Scott, mostly self-taught, was a rule breaker. They complemented each other in ways neither could have predicted.
“He wasn’t a guy to be kept in by boundaries. He wasn’t the guy to be told, ‘That can’t be done,’ ” Arianne says. “He was the guy who was like, ‘Let’s try it.’ I was the girl who was like, ‘Okay, but let’s try it a little more legally. Let’s try to observe the rules a little bit because I don’t want to go to jail.’ ”
Arianne, she remembers, was sometimes affectionately known as “le petit commandant.”
Scott was the visionary, and Arianne was the one who could execute that vision. That’s how it worked with Amsterdam Falafelshop, which they launched in 2004. The shop was Scott’s baby, but, as Arianne quips, she was “the babysitter.” She still is. She handles payroll, social media, purchasing, basically all the administrative work. When Scott and Arianne decided to franchise Amsterdam — a plan that, in retrospect, wasn’t worth the struggle, she says — it meant even more work for Arianne. She negotiated contracts. She wrote manuals. She taught franchisees.
“This was his passion and his dream, and I did everything I could for the entire time to support him in it,” Arianne says. “I would not put it down because he’s gone.”
As we sit on the patio in front of Amsterdam on a warm afternoon in September, Arianne picks gnats from her coffee and tries to put the couple’s working relationship into perspective for me. Yes, Arianne shouldered many of the day-to-day burdens, but Scott had his roles. He made shopping runs. He developed ideas. He represented Amsterdam at all events because, as Arianne says, she doesn’t drink and doesn’t like to stay out late. Scott also gladly played the role of househusband when she was swamped with work.
Mostly, though, Scott brought the joy to their relationship, and right now, Arianne is struggling to create that for herself. The memories are still too thick, like the last time she saw Scott in person at George Washington University Hospital, where the couple was admitted when they contracted covid in December. Someone had briefly parked Scott’s bed next to Arianne’s, with a curtain between them, while the staff searched for a room for him. Once the couple realized they were together, Arianne crawled into his bed. She didn’t realize it would be the last time she’d touch him.
Arianne says she cries all the time. But she doesn’t cry alone. She has a therapist to help with the grief. She also has her dog, Dax, who has become more protective of her since Scott’s death. She even has her Adams Morgan friends and neighbors, several of whom greet Arianne from the sidewalk during our interview. One tells Arianne that she looks great. Another spontaneously blurts out that she loves her.
“I can’t imagine my life without [Scott], and yet I’m 53 years old and I know that there’s at least 30 years of life in front of me, as many years as we were married,” Arianne says.
So she’s working on making herself happy. Joy, Arianne is learning, doesn’t come from religion or exercise or some tangible object. It comes from moments of spontaneity, which was Scott’s specialty. She’s playing a lot of music, loud, in their apartment above Amsterdam Falafelshop to generate a little joy. But that only works, she says, if she follows one rule: She can’t play any music that she and Scott listened to together.
Amsterdam Falafelshop, 2425 18th St NW. 202-234-1969. | 2022-09-19T12:19:01Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Amsterdam Falafelshop, a symbol of loss and hope - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2022/09/19/amsterdam-falafelshop/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2022/09/19/amsterdam-falafelshop/ |
A plane flies near smoke from the Mosquito Fire in Foresthill, Calif., on Sept. 13. (Fred Greaves/Reuters)
In the past decade, a growing body of research has shown that air pollution harms older adults’ brains, contributing to cognitive decline and dementia. What hasn’t been clear is whether improving air quality would benefit brain health.
One report, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that the risk of dementia declined significantly in women 74 and older following a decade-long reduction in two types of air pollution: nitrogen dioxide, a gaseous byproduct of emissions from motor vehicles, industrial sources and natural events such as wildfires; and fine particulate matter, a mix of extremely small solids and liquids arising from similar sources.
A second report in PLOS Medicine, relying on the same sample of more than 2,200 older women, found that lower levels of these pollutants were associated with a slower rate of cognitive decline. In areas where air-quality improvement was most notable, the rate of cognitive decline was delayed by up to 1.6 years, depending on the test.
The most-fit are 33 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s, report says
Both studies are national in scope and account for other factors that could affect results, such as participants’ socioeconomic status, neighborhood characteristics, preexisting medical conditions and lifestyle choices such as smoking.
What might explain their results?
“We think that when air pollution levels are reduced, the brain is better able to recover” from previous environmental insults, said Xinhui Wang, an assistant professor of research neurology at the University of Southern California’s medical school. The hypothesis needs to be examined further in animal studies and through brain imaging, she suggested.
There are several theories about how air pollution affects the brain. Extremely tiny particles — a human hair is at least 30 times as large as the largest particle — might travel from the nasal cavities to the brain via the olfactory (smelling) system, putting the brain’s immune system on high alert. Or, pollutants might lodge in the lungs, causing an inflammatory response that spreads and leads to the brain.
Also, pollutants can damage the cardiovascular system, which is essential to brain health. (Links between air pollution, stroke and heart disease are well established.) Or tiny particles can cross the blood-brain barrier, wreaking direct damage. And oxidative stress may occur, releasing free radicals that damage cells and tissue.
Yet recognition of the potential cognitive consequences of air pollution is relatively recent.
The first national study demonstrating a link between air pollution and cognition in a diverse sample of older men and women was published in 2014. It found that seniors living in areas with high levels of fine particulate matter were more likely to experience cognitive problems than people living in less polluted areas.
Air pollution is only one of many factors that influence cognitive decline and dementia, researchers said, and results of this kind establish associations, not causation.
Is my memory going or is it just normal aging?
Newer research suggests that older adults’ cognition is affected even when exposures are below standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
“With older adults, there really is no level at which air pollution is safe,” said Jennifer Ailshire, an associate professor of gerontology and sociology at the University of Southern California.
“It’s important to keep on reducing the standards for these pollutants,” said Antonella Zanobetti, principal research scientist for environmental health at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. With colleagues, she has received a National Institute on Aging grant to study how air pollution affects the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias among Medicare beneficiaries. In 2019, her work showed that higher levels of fine particulate matter are linked to more hospitalizations among older adults with dementia — a marker of disease progression.
Last year, in one of the largest U.S. studies to date, a set of researchers examined the link between long-term exposure to fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide among 12 million Medicare beneficiaries with diagnoses of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Exposure to high levels of these pollutants appeared to accelerate cognitive decline that was already relatively advanced, leading to an increase in diagnoses, researchers concluded.
In addition to population-wide studies, nearly 20 scientific laboratories across the world are studying how air pollution contributes to dementia in animals. At USC, Caleb Finch, a professor who studies the neurobiology of aging, is co-principal investigator for an $11.5 million, five-year grant from the National Institute on Aging to study how air pollution in urban areas affects the risk of dementia and accelerated brain aging.
Among the questions that need to be addressed, Finch said, are: Which areas of the brain appear most vulnerable to air pollutants? When are people most at risk? How long does the damage last? Is recovery possible? And do lifestyle interventions such as diet and exercise help?
Recognizing this, the Lancet’s Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention and Care in 2020 added air pollution to a list of modifiable risk factors for dementia and estimated that up to 40 percent of dementia cases worldwide might be prevented or delayed if these risk factors were addressed.
For her part, Ailshire is optimistic that public policies can make a difference. From 2000 to 2019, she noted, average annual fine particulate matter pollution decreased 43 percent nationally because of efforts to improve air quality. “I’m very hopeful that these efforts will continue,” she told me.
On hot days, go for a walk in the morning instead of the afternoon, when ozone levels are higher, said Anthony Gerber, a pulmonologist at National Jewish Health, a medical center in Denver specializing in respiratory diseases. Ozone, a toxic gas, is formed when various chemicals interact with sunlight and heat.
If you live in the western United States, where wildfires disseminating fine particulate matter have become more common, “wear a KN95 mask” on days when fires are affecting air quality in your area, Gerber said.
Also, if you can afford it, consider buying air purifiers for your home, he advised, noting that fine particulates can get into homes that aren’t well sealed.
To check air-quality levels in your area, go to AirNow.gov, Ailshire said. “If it’s a high-risk day, that might not be the day to go out and do heavy yardwork,” she said.
But don’t stay inside all the time and become overly self-protective.
“It’s really important for older adults to be outside and exercise,” Gerber said. “We don’t want seniors to end up sick because they’re breathing lots of particulates, but we don’t want them to become inactive and stuck at home, either.” | 2022-09-19T12:19:13Z | www.washingtonpost.com | A potential connection between dementia and air pollution - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/09/19/dementia-pollution-connection/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/09/19/dementia-pollution-connection/ |
University of Oregon apologizes for anti-Mormon chant at BYU football game
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox denounced the obscene chant as ‘religious bigotry’
Oregon students and fans cheer the during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Brigham Young University on Sept. 17 in Eugene, Ore. (Andy Nelson/AP)
University of Oregon students erupted in a chant trashing their opponents just moments after the Brigham Young University Cougars scored their first touchdown during Saturday’s football game.
They didn’t mention the Cougars or the university, specifically. Instead, the students homed in on something intrinsically tied to BYU — religion — in an obscene, anti-Mormon chant in the sold-out crowd of 54,000 packed into Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore.
The chorus marred a 41-20 victory for the Ducks, who were No. 25-ranked entering the game against the No. 12 Cougars. Hours after the game, Utah’s governor denounced the chant as “religious bigotry.” On Sunday afternoon, University of Oregon officials apologized, calling the chant “offensive and disgraceful.” Students said they were “ashamed” of their classmates.
BYU, located in Provo, Utah, was founded in 1875 by Brigham Young, who served from 1847 to 1877 as the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Nearly all of the more than 30,000 students at BYU are Mormon.
A BYU alum sat next to the student section and captured the chant in a seven-second video that has since been viewed more than 988,000 times on Twitter. Aubrey, the alum identified only by her first name, told KSTU that she attended the Cougars-Ducks game with a close friend from college as part of their tradition of visiting an opposing team’s stadium for a BYU away game.
Aubrey said the student section had shouted the chant twice before she recorded her video with 14:53 left in the second quarter. BYU scored a touchdown and was preparing to kick an extra point that made the score 10-7. She told KSTU that she heard the chant two more times, but didn’t confront the students “because I felt that would make the situation worse.” Instead, she told the station, she alerted a stadium staffer who said she was upset by the chant.
Aubrey agreed. “It was really disappointing,” she told the TV station, adding that “there’s an unfortunate acceptance in a lot of areas that you don’t make fun of a lot of religions, but Mormons are free game to make fun of. And I would like that to stop.”
Aubrey’s video caught the attention of Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R), who just hours after the game said that “[r]eligious bigotry [is] alive and celebrated in Oregon.”
That’s not true, or at least it shouldn’t be, his counterpart in Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown (D), said.
“In Oregon, we strive to be a welcoming, inclusive state to all, regardless of race, religion, gender, or background,” Brown said in a statement. “Our state and nation have an ugly history of discrimination and bigotry. The chant at yesterday’s Oregon-BYU game was unacceptable.
“We must do better.”
Officials at the University of Oregon agree. On Sunday afternoon, they apologized for “an offensive and disgraceful chant coming from the student section during yesterday’s game.”
“These types of actions go against everything the university stands for, and it goes against the spirit of competition,” university officials said in the statement. “We can and will do better as a campus community that has no place for hate, bias or bigotry.”
Kris Winter, the university’s interim vice president for the Division of Student Life, told the Associated Press that officials would investigate what happened.
The Oregon Pit Crew, the official Twitter account of the Ducks student section, also said it was sorry, adding that it does “not condone or support any hateful speech directed towards one’s religion.”
An almost identical incident happened last college football season on Nov. 27 when the Cougars beat the University of Southern California Trojans, 35-31, in Los Angeles. Several BYU fans at the game told the Deseret News that on at least five occasions, USC students yelled the same obscene, anti-Mormon chant that Ducks fans would engage in less than a year later.
USC officials apologized a day later, denouncing the chant as “distasteful” and saying that it did “not align with our Trojan values.”
Last month, BYU found itself under fire when a Duke women’s volleyball player accused a Cougars fan of repeatedly yelling a racial slur at outside hitter Rachel Richardson “every time she served” during an Aug. 26 match in Provo. Richardson was later “threatened by a white male that told her to watch her back going to the team bus,” her godmother, Fort Worth attorney Lesa Pamplin, tweeted after the match.
While BYU initially apologized to the Blue Devils and banned the student accused of yelling racial slurs at Richardson, it announced on Sept. 9 that an investigation into the incident didn’t find “any evidence to corroborate the allegation that fans engaged in racial heckling or uttered racial slurs at the event.” | 2022-09-19T12:19:34Z | www.washingtonpost.com | University of Oregon apologizes for anti-Mormon chant at BYU football game - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/09/19/oregon-byu-anti-mormon-chant/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/09/19/oregon-byu-anti-mormon-chant/ |
GOP senator says he won’t back Graham’s proposed national abortion ban
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said abortion policy should be left up to states. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)
Another Republican senator says he won’t support the bill Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) introduced that would ban most abortions nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said abortion policy should be left up to states during a Sunday interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“At this point, to have Congress step back and to tell all of the states that we know better than them how to handle this is probably not the right direction to go,” Rounds said, adding: “I think the states are in a better shape to explore and to find the right direction on a state-by-state basis.”
The senator, who as South Dakota’s governor signed a bill in 2006 that sought to ban most abortions there, is the latest in a growing list of Republicans to have voiced opposition to Graham’s bill. That bill, introduced Sept. 13, would allow some states’ stricter abortion laws to remain, but impose new restrictions on other states.
Though the GOP has traditionally championed limiting the procedure, the party is split on whether Congress should impose abortion rules on states. Previous attempts to do so have been unsuccessful, and Rounds said Graham’s latest bill is unlikely to pass the House and Senate.
Neither senators’ office responded to a request for comment from The Washington Post late Sunday.
The overturning of Roe v. Wade earlier this year made it so that states set their own abortion policies — and that’s how it should remain, Rounds said.
Since the Supreme Court struck the long-standing precedent, legislators in 22 states have moved to further restrict abortion access. Now almost one-third of women ages 15 to 44 live in places where the procedure is banned or mostly banned. But the cascade of legislation prompted by Roe’s overturning stands in stark contrast to the opinions most Americans hold.
Several polls indicate that the majority of Americans favor abortion rights. A July Pew Research Center poll showed that 62 percent of those surveyed said abortion should be legal in all or most cases. In a Washington Post-Schar School poll from that same month, 65 percent of respondents indicated that the end of Roe v. Wade represented a “major loss of rights” for women, and almost a third said abortion will be one of the “single most important” issues when they vote in November.
Still, Graham on Sunday said he was “confident the American people would accept a national ban on abortion at 15 weeks.”
“And to those who suggest that being pro-life is losing politics, I reject that,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.”
However, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) last week distanced himself from Graham’s bill, saying “most of the members of my conference prefer that this be dealt with at the state level.” Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin also said states should set abortion policies.
With a 15-week benchmark, Graham’s bill is less restrictive than some of the most hard-line abortion laws — such as the near-total bans in Indiana and West Virginia or the heartbeat bills in Texas and Georgia. However, if it was to pass, Graham’s bill would roll back access in some blue states that have laws protecting abortion rights — for instance, in New York, California and Illinois.
As Republicans speak out against Graham’s bill, Democrats have seized on the party’s divisions.
“Republicans are twisting themselves into pretzels trying to explain why they want nationwide abortion bans when they said they’d leave it up to the states,” Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer said last week.
Two days after the Supreme Court struck down Roe, Graham said that “there’s nothing in the Constitution giving the federal government the right to regulate abortion.”
“Let every state do it the way they would like,” he told Fox News’s Martha MacCallum. | 2022-09-19T12:19:40Z | www.washingtonpost.com | GOP Sen. Mike Rounds opposes Sen. Lindsey Graham’s national abortion ban - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/09/19/senator-rounds-national-abortion-ban-graham/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/09/19/senator-rounds-national-abortion-ban-graham/ |
By Julius Oatts
Julius Oatts is a pediatric ophthalmologist and assistant professor at the University of California at San Francisco.
Near the beginning of the pandemic, I performed eye surgery for an infant born with cataracts. To prevent irreversible blindness, it is necessary for children to start wearing eyeglasses immediately after surgery. For this child, I was told that the glasses would take at least six weeks to arrive — a serious and vision-threatening delay.
The reason for the delay? Coronavirus-related shutdowns of an optical shop in a nearby prison, staffed by incarcerated people, who in California are generally paid between 8 cents and 37 cents per hour. I grappled with conflicted feelings: Alarm over the delay in obtaining eyeglasses for my patient and concern about the welfare of the people making them — because of substandard prison health care and the scandalously low wages.
This child, like many of my patients, was insured by Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid health insurance program serving low-income children, families and seniors, typically those making below 138 percent of the federal poverty level (currently $38,295 annual income for a family of four). In the current fiscal year, the California Department of Health Care Services, which oversees Medi-Cal, agreed to pay up to $37.9 million for optical services for adults and children run by the California Prison Industry Authority, a semiautonomous prison labor agency under the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The arrangement dates to the 1980s.
The California penal code requires that the state purchase products, such as eyeglasses, made by imprisoned people overseen by the prison industry authority. Colleagues and I recently published an article in the American Journal of Public Health examining the relationship between taxpayer-funded health care and prison labor in California. We found, through a public-records request and confirmed with the California Prison Industry Authority, that the state’s Medicaid contracts account for up to 74 percent of the authority’s approximately $13 million annual revenue from optical services.
Thus do taxpayers and a state health-care program for poor children help subsidize an agency overseeing prison labor. The practice is not unique to California; other states using it include New York and Pennsylvania.
Prison labor is often uncompensated or minimally compensated. The 13th Amendment allows the government to compel incarcerated people to work without compensation — which many critics today view as a modern-day extension of slavery. I’m among them.
I recognize that prison labor, in particular the manufacturing of eyeglasses, teaches job skills that can theoretically help with reintegration after leaving prison. What I object to is the minuscule compensation paid to the imprisoned workers — typically a political sop to companies and labor unions worried about competition.
In recent years, Colorado, Nebraska and Utah have banned “involuntary servitude,” opening the way to improving prison pay and working conditions. Paying prison workers the minimum wage seems like it would be the minimally acceptable policy, but an effort in June by California legislators on that front failed amid concerns about the estimated $1.6 billion cost. That is not a small sum, but it represents less than 1 percent of California’s $110.4 billion budget for 2022-2023.
The state Senate attempted last spring to target the prison-made eyewear arrangement, unhappy over reports of long waits by Medi-Cal recipients for eyeglasses. (The state attributed the delays, like the one I experienced, to pandemic-related illness and lockdowns, but an industry association says the delays persist.) A bill proposed to allow Medi-Cal to pay for eyeglasses obtained from private optical labs, but the legislation was derailed in committee. In any case, some legislators were prepared to bless paying what a state analysis found would be a 141 percent premium to private-sector sources above the rate for prison-made eyewear.
Earlier this year, California “employed” 295 incarcerated people in optical programs at three prisons, with that number set to rise to 420 over the summer as another operation fully opened. Fairly compensating them — and even expanding their number to meet demand or speed delivery times, if needed — seems eminently preferable to paying a bonus to private labs.
If incarcerated people were being paid the minimum wage for producing eyeglasses, I’d still feel conflicted, but would be relieved of the sense that simply through prescribing sight-preserving glasses to my state-insured patients, I am an involuntary participant in an exploitive system.
As for that infant who had cataract surgery and whose urgently needed eyeglasses were delayed, I ultimately was able to obtain them in a more timely way through a philanthropic organization that allows families to bypass the prison-based optical labs contracted by Medi-Cal. Such workarounds can help children avoid preventable vision loss, thankfully, but they’re not a long-term solution. Eventually, the current arrangement’s fundamental inequities will need to be addressed.
In medical school, I took an oath to “do no harm.” Since then, I’ve had the chance to reflect on the meaning of harm and when it can occur far from the doctor’s office doors. | 2022-09-19T12:19:52Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | Why are prisoners paid a pittance to make glasses I prescribe for poor kids? - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/19/california-prison-labor-minimum-wage/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/19/california-prison-labor-minimum-wage/ |
By Felix Mormann
BlackRock headquarters in New York in October 2021. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg News)
Felix Mormann is a professor at Texas A&M University School of Law.
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar on Aug. 24 issued a list of 10 financial firms and nearly 350 investment funds and directed the state’s pension funds to divest from any companies on the list. The order will reshape the pension funds’ portfolios, because the firms singled out include financial heavyweights such as BlackRock, BNP Paribas and UBS.
Hegar was acting in eager execution of a bill passed last year prohibiting state investment with financial firms that “boycott energy companies.” The comptroller’s move was just the latest pushback by oil-producing states against the corporate embrace of ESG — the shorthand for taking environmental, social and governance aspects into account when assessing the value of companies.
The efforts on this front by Hegar and the Texas legislature are noteworthy both for their ingenuity and their futility.
The comptroller’s blacklisting is ingenious insofar as it turns one of climate activists’ favorite weapons in the war on carbon — divestment — against them. For the past decade, the divestment movement led by Bill McKibben and his 350.org platform has urged investors to drop some, if not all, of their fossil-fuel holdings — to stigmatize the hydrocarbons industry and limit its access to capital.
Dozens of major institutional investors, including pension funds, university endowments and financial institutions, managing more than $40 trillion in assets, have answered the call for divestment from fossil fuels. Hegar’s blacklist attempts to give these entities a taste of their own divestment medicine.
Yet it is far from clear what exactly constitutes an energy “boycott” by these now-targeted firms. Consider BlackRock — the Wall Street giant’s leadership may advocate vocally for wind, solar and other low-carbon renewables, to the possible detriment of oil and gas companies in Texas. But BlackRock, responding to the comptroller’s announcement, noted that it “does not boycott fossil fuels — investing over $100 billion in Texas energy companies” on behalf of its clients.
Apparently, that is not enough to earn Hegar’s approval. But his blessing may not matter as much as he or Texas legislators would like to think. That is because they have a problem of scale. In this case, the adage that “everything is bigger in Texas” does not hold true. It’s many of the firms on Hegar’s list that are the behemoths.
BlackRock alone manages a portfolio of about $8.5 trillion — that’s trillion with a “t.” UBS has $3.1 trillion in assets under management. The assets managed by the Texas pension funds tasked with divestment from blacklisted entities, meanwhile, are measured in hundreds of billions of dollars — that’s billions with a “b.” It matters that two orders of magnitude, or two zeros, separate Texas pension funds from the blacklisted global financial giants: When the state withdraws its pension fund assets, it will hardly move the needle in the global financial marketplace.
Moreover, Hegar and the Texas legislature are effectively asking pension fund managers to breach one of the fundamental rules of U.S. trust law. Pension funds such as the Teachers Retirement System of Texas and others subject to the divestment mandate are set up as trusts because their leadership manages the pension fund’s assets for its members — the state employees paying into the fund.
For such entities, the sole-interest, or fiduciary, rule requires trustees to maximize the fund’s bottom line. This means they cannot prioritize other, non-monetary investment criteria, such as a social or political agenda, over profit maximization.
Does the sole-interest rule preclude investment in Texas energy companies? Not at all, if the latter offer solid returns. But neither does trust law’s profit-maximization requirement preclude investment in wind farms, electric vehicles, smart thermostats and other low-carbon ventures vying to end our addiction to fossil fuels. That hasn’t prevented conservative critics of ESG as “woke capitalism” from increasingly citing the fiduciary rule in their attacks.
From the solely relevant profit perspective, these sustainability-oriented technologies and funds deliver attractive returns to their investors, often outperforming the very fossil-fuel assets that Texas seeks to protect. Hegar nonetheless is ordering Texas pension funds to divest from a large number of financial firms and funds pursuing these profitable investments — possibly at the expense of the state’s employees of today and retirees of tomorrow.
The Texas divestment mandate is unlikely to usher in the Lone Star State’s next oil-and-gas boom, given that pension fund managers may well look beyond their own state’s oil and gas companies as they comply with U.S. trust law by seeking the most lucrative investment opportunities for their members.
If anyone, it is these members — teachers, firefighters, municipal workers and others — and their retirement savings that will bear the financial burden of the comptroller’s blacklist. It is a list that reveals him and the Texas legislature as modern-day Don Quixotes, literally and figuratively fighting windmills. | 2022-09-19T12:20:04Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | Texas’s war against ESG investing is ingenious but futile - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/19/texas-pension-funds-pointless-esg-divestment/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/19/texas-pension-funds-pointless-esg-divestment/ |
FILE - In this photo made available from the twitter account of UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and ruler of Dubai, Emirati officials brief Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum about a possible moon mission, Sept. 29, 2020, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The UAE will launch its first lunar rover in November 2022, the mission manager Hamad Al Marzooqi said Monday. Al Marzooqi told The National, a state-linked newspaper, that the “Rashid” rover, named for Dubai’s ruling family, would be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida sometime between Nov. 9 and Nov. 15. (Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Twitter account via AP, File) (Uncredited/Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Twitter account) | 2022-09-19T12:21:08Z | www.washingtonpost.com | United Arab Emirates to launch first lunar rover in November - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/united-arab-emirates-to-launch-first-lunar-rover-in-november/2022/09/19/c3ca34ac-380f-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/united-arab-emirates-to-launch-first-lunar-rover-in-november/2022/09/19/c3ca34ac-380f-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html |
Sea lion dies at National Zoo in Washington
Calli, 17, was recently pregnant but lost the pup. She died due to lesions in her gastrointestinal and respiratory systems.
Calli, a 17-year-old California sea lion, died two weeks ago at the National Zoo in Washington. She had been pregnant but lost the pup and suffered from lesions on her gastrointestinal tract and respiratory system, zoo officials said. (Rebecca Sturniolo/Smithsonian’s National Zoo)
Calli, a sea lion that was rescued after her mother died and hand-raised by people, has died at the National Zoo in Washington.
Officials at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute said Calli died Sept. 7 at the age of 17. The median life expectancy for California sea lions like her is 15 to 20 years.
Calli was remembered by zookeepers as having a “calm and accepting personality” and was considered to be a leader of the other sea lions at the zoo’s facility. She enjoyed playing with a tub and would flip it upside down and wear it on her head while she swam in her exhibit.
She had been trained to voluntarily allow zookeepers to do radiographs and ultrasounds on her. In May, keepers found in an ultrasound that she was pregnant, but she lost the pup two months later. On Sept. 6, experts did an exam on her, and it was found to be normal and that evening she “behaved and ate normally,” zookeepers said in a statement.
The next afternoon, zookeepers found her dead. A necropsy found she had lesions in her gastrointestinal tract and respiratory system. A full pathology will be done in the coming weeks and give more details, officials said.
Calli was born in 2005 in the wild. When she was just a few days old her mother died after eating a toxin that comes from marine algae, zoo officials said. She was rescued and hand-raised by people before coming to the National Zoo in 2006.
During her life at the zoo, Calli was bred with a male sea lion named Jetty. They had two pups, including Catalina — who was born at the zoo in 2016 and was the first sea lion pup to be born there in 32 years — and Celia in 2019.
Zookeepers said she was a “protective, attentive and caring mother” to her pups.
Sea lions are found in the wild from Baja, Mexico, to Vancouver Island, British Columbia. They were once hunted for their skin and are now classified as a “species of least concern,” according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. | 2022-09-19T13:01:48Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Sea lion dies at National Zoo in Washington - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/19/sea-lion-died-national-zoo-dc/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/19/sea-lion-died-national-zoo-dc/ |
The Southern Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant near Yuzhnoukrainsk. (Olga Yakimovich/Reuters)
Pugacheva, who has been married five times, used the post to defend her current husband, comedian Maxim Galkin, who has been branded by Russian authorities as a “foreign agent” — a designation given to hundreds of activists, journalists, opposition figures, human rights lawyers, and news organizations. | 2022-09-19T13:40:59Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Kyiv alleges 'terrorism' after rocket hits near second nuclear power plant - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/19/ukraine-russia-war-nuclear-plant-pugacheva/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/19/ukraine-russia-war-nuclear-plant-pugacheva/ |
What we really mean when we say ‘woke,’ ‘elites’ and other politically fraught terms
Since it’s election season, you’re probably reading a ton of stories about Politician X appealing to Voting Bloc Y with Z-ish rhetoric. Journalists, political strategists and even politicians themselves deliver much of this information in a kind of code — terms and phrases that show up only in coverage of politics. Here’s a guide to the election-speak — and a plea to move on from it.
What we say
Culture wars. Cultural issues. Identity politics. Social issues.
What we mean
Abortion. The rights of people who are bisexual, gay, lesbian, queer and/or transgender. Racial issues. Women’s issues.
The “culture wars” are usually invoked in reference to gender, LGBTQ and racial issues and those who advocate for them. So Black politicians condemning police brutality are described as practicing identity politics, but White ones who strongly defend the police are not.
The bias in the use of these terms isn’t the only problem with them. They are vague. Their meanings are not universally shared. They often obscure more than they explain (perhaps intentionally). Speaking of intentionally vague …
Woke, wokeness.
Left-wing/very left-wing on issues of gender, LGBTQ and race.
This term could have been in the previous section, but it is newer and merits its own explanation. “Woke” was once used largely by Black people, invoking the idea that they should stay mindful of racism in America. The term is now used by political figures on the center-left, center-right and right as a kind of epithet against those they view as too left-wing on racial, gender and LGBTQ issues.
Like “identity politics” and other similar phrases, “woke” and “wokeness” are vague. They don’t have a broadly agreed-upon meaning. It’s fairly clear that using the term “Latinx” is considered woke or too woke by those in the political center and on the right. But I’m not sure if supporting reparations is woke, too woke or not part of wokeness.
How ‘woke’ became the least woke word in U.S. English
I suspect that lack of clarity is why some people like using these terms. Slamming wokeness allows people to oppose left-wing views on very fraught issues without spelling out their specific objections.
Elites. Establishment.
Democratic and Republican Party leaders. Elected officials. Political pundits and commentators. The wealthy. Political operatives.
There are individuals in America with much more power than ordinary people — and those individuals are usually elected officials, wealthy people and those who are employed by them. We should name them, as opposed to implying there is some anonymous, powerful elite controlling the country.
Evangelical, White evangelicals.
Conservative Christians. White and Latino Christians with conservative views on issues such as abortion, LGBTQ rights and race.
What actually constitutes evangelical Christianity or makes someone an evangelical is somewhat contested. But generally, evangelical Christianity denotes a specific set of religious views and practices, such as believing that the Bible is the authoritative word of God. People who hold those beliefs often describe themselves as born again or simply Christian instead of evangelical. Churches with evangelical beliefs use terms such as “biblical” to describe their theology.
Also, in part because the term “evangelical” has become synonymous with the Republican Party, many Christians who vote for Democratic candidates, particularly Black people, have evangelical views but don’t describe themselves as evangelicals. On the other hand, some Republicans describe themselves as evangelicals even though they don’t actually hold those views or even regularly attend church.
So “evangelical” is a term used more by reporters than churchgoers. And reporters are almost always invoking evangelicals in reference to White and Latino Christians who oppose abortion and transgender rights and who vote Republican.
Far-right, far-left.
More conservative, very conservative. Right-wing. Aligned with former president Donald Trump. More liberal, very liberal. Progressive. Left-wing. Aligned with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
Attaching “far” to political beliefs has a negative connotation, implying views that are on the fringe and therefore bad. There are less loaded terms to describe politicians who are further from the ideological center than others.
Mainstream. Moderate.
Centrist. Center-left, center-right.
This is the flip of above — “moderate” and “mainstream” are words with positive connotations. What is more accurate and less loaded is that some politicians (including President Biden) are closer to the center than others (Sanders). “Center” and “centrist” have positive connotations as well, but they aren’t quite as complimentary as “mainstream” in particular.
Nationalist. Populist.
Trump-like, Trump-style, Trump-aligned. Sanders-aligned. Left-wing, left-wing on economic issues.
“Nationalist” and “populist” are often invoked in reference to Trump and his political style. But those terms have had a lot of meanings in various contexts, both in the United States and abroad. In recent years, both Trump and Sanders have been described as populists. A term that is being applied to such different politicians is of limited analytic use.
It was hard to define Trump’s political approach in 2015. But now, describing a Republican politician as Trump-aligned or Trump-like is much more useful than calling her a populist or a nationalist.
Suburban women, White suburban women.
White women, White women who are swing voters, White women with ideologically centrist views, White women with middle or high incomes.
About 55 percent of Americans live in suburban counties, as opposed to urban or rural ones, according to the Pew Research Center. So saying a politician should appeal to women in the suburbs isn’t that much more descriptive than saying he or she should appeal to women.
Also, it’s not as though the suburbs aren’t filled with very partisan voters. Black women who live in the suburbs are likely to be stalwart Democrats. So are the White women who live in suburbs such as the D.C. area’s Montgomery County that are close to big, left-leaning cities. White women who are Christian conservatives and live in the suburbs are typically Republicans.
Got more words to add to this guide? Submit them to Perry Bacon Jr.'s Thursday Q&A at noon.
In political contexts, the phrase “suburban women” is usually code for White women with middle or high incomes who swing between the parties, particularly those who might support abortion rights but be more conservative on economic issues.
Voters in the heartland, voters in the Midwest. Voters in the South. Coastal voters.
Swing voters in the Midwest. Republican voters in the South. Democratic voters who live on the coasts.
“Heartland” is usually code for GOP or swing voters, but heavily Democratic Chicago is in the Midwest. Thirty-four percent of the people in California voted for Trump, and 41 percent in Missouri for Joe Biden. There is no need to cast states and regions as one-party monoliths.
Working-class voters, working people, White working class.
Lower-income voters. Voters without a bachelor’s degree. White voters without four year-degrees. Ideologically centrist and conservative White voters.
There are no formal classes in America. There is no agreed-upon definition of what constitutes a person in the working class, the middle class or the upper class. You could argue that, say, dishwashers in restaurants are clearly in the working class. But we don’t have much data that drills down on the voting preferences of people in specific jobs, to distinguish between, say, dishwashers and factory workers.
The term “working class” evokes a lower-income person. And we do have data on voters in households with incomes below $50,000 — about 53 percent backed Biden in 2020, compared with 44 percent for Trump, according to Pew.
You might be surprised to learn that Biden, not Trump, won the votes of more lower-income Americans, because news coverage often describes Democrats as out of step with the working class.
Where the Republicans have gained ground and Democrats have lost it over the past decade in particular is among White Americans without four-year college degrees, a group that the news media often shorthands as the White working class. But “working-class” and “non-college-educated” are not interchangeable phrases. Many people with college degrees don’t make a lot of money, and some people without degrees do.
“White without a college degree” isn’t that useful of a description, either. Most Americans are White, and most Americans don’t have bachelor’s degrees. Trump won about 80 percent of White Americans without degrees in Georgia in 2020, but only about half of that bloc in Maine.
American voters are best understood by looking at ideology, geography and race, not education, income or class. The Republican base is White Americans with conservative views, particularly those who live in the South, not the White working class.
The voters who have swung the last three campaign cycles are moderate, centrist, liberal on some issues but conservative on others, or not particularly ideological at all, which explains why they back politicians as different as Trump and Barack Obama. Saying that the parties are fighting over “ideologically unmoored” voters isn’t as compelling as talking about class or education, but it is way more accurate.
I don’t expect politicians, political operatives or pundits with a clear ideological lean to start using this more honest language. In politics, defining the terms is part of the fight. So if you are a Republican, you want to suggest that the Democrats are out of step with “working-class voters,” as opposed to “White and Latino people with centrist or conservative views.” If you are a Biden-aligned Democrat, describing yourself as part of the party’s “mainstream” wing and the Squad as “far-left” is very useful.
But if you’re a reporter or just a regular voter, you don’t have to speak in code. Say what you actually mean.
More from Perry Bacon on the media
Opinion|How media coverage drove Biden’s political plunge
Opinion|How Twitter became the media of America’s left | 2022-09-19T13:50:07Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | What does ‘woke’ mean? Use this political dictionary. - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/19/decoding-political-phrases-midterms-perry-bacon/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/19/decoding-political-phrases-midterms-perry-bacon/ |
By Travis Voyles
Dominion Energy power lines are pictured in July in Culpeper, Va. (Zack Wajsgras for The Washington Post)
Travis Voyles is acting secretary of the Virginia Department of Natural and Historic Resources.
With the budgets of Virginians stretched thin from rising costs across the board, an additional tax on household energy use is a bad deal for working families.
When Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) was elected last year, he pledged to bring down taxes and reduce the cost of living for all Virginians. His push to withdraw Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) — a cap-and-trade scheme with liberal states — is a fulfillment of that promise.
Even if you agree with the principles of the cap-and-trade system, RGGI provides no incentive and no choice for consumers, enables energy generators to simply pass through all costs, and does not reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Previous administrations misrepresented the arrangement and made unfounded decisions that forced Virginia to have an uncertain outlook on our energy future. As a result, we are seeing significant and negative impacts on the lives of our citizens. Virginia’s participation in RGGI gives way to unnecessary, regressive and direct energy taxation. Even by the most progressive liberal standards, this program in Virginia is not effective.
As the Youngkin administration continues to take decisive actions to address the burdens on Virginians, the fact that RGGI operates as a regressive and direct tax on consumers is reason enough to have serious doubts about our future participation in the program. This tax, combined with the flawed structure and incentive of RGGI as implemented in Virginia, has resulted in higher electricity rates for all Virginians — rates that are projected to further increase.
Unlike in the other, more liberal states that are members of this pact, Virginia’s electricity providers are noncompetitive monopolies. Virginia’s regulated rate structure provides no incentive for utilities to reduce emissions or compliance costs. When Virginia joined RGGI, a very different General Assembly hastily abandoned responsibility for our own energy policy and forfeited our most important decision-making ability to other states. The policies of New York and Vermont are not anywhere close to the model we want for Virginia. More than this, we are paying RGGI more than half a million dollars every year just to run the program that supports the functioning of the tax.
Additionally, RGGI was sold to commonwealth residents as a deal that returned the “proceeds” to the ratepayers to offset the costs of the program. Surprise! Virginia’s previous administration did not make good on that promise, either. If anything, the General Assembly decided to hide the tax through our utilities and their ability to pass along any cost of RGGI to consumers. This unknowingly appeared as increases to the base rate of electricity charged, specific rate adjustment clauses or as riders added to electricity bills.
Youngkin’s decision to remove Virginia from RGGI is part of a real plan to reduce energy costs, make our energy economy competitive, bring new investment into the state and conserve our commonwealth’s treasured natural resources. And, importantly, it will put Virginians back in charge of our energy future. It is evident that RGGI is a barrier that prevents Virginia from attaining these freedoms.
As for the claims of the importance of RGGI “proceeds,” we need to remember that these earnings come at a price. This is funding that is coming directly from the pockets of every citizen. Not industry, not utilities, not polluters, not any source that actually has an impact on emissions reductions — just a tax on all Virginians.
A regressive and direct energy tax tied to participation in RGGI is not necessary to fund important programs on resiliency and energy efficiency. Though these programs are important, they do not achieve the goal of directly reducing greenhouse gasses. Separate from any involvement in RGGI, this administration will continue prioritizing and advancing resiliency efforts in a comprehensive, transparent way.
We can do this without imposing an RGGI tax on Virginians. RGGI is a bad deal for Virginia. | 2022-09-19T13:50:13Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is a bad deal for Virginia - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/19/virginia-regional-greenhouse-gas-initiative-bad-deal/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/19/virginia-regional-greenhouse-gas-initiative-bad-deal/ |
These climate actions make the biggest difference, book says
Good morning and welcome to The Climate 202! ICYMI, Friday was Gina McCarthy's last day as President Biden's top climate adviser. We appreciated that the cake at her going-away party said “less carbon, more charging” — or “cah-bon” as McCarthy would say in her signature Boston accent. 🎂😂 But first:
Citizens can act on climate change. Here's how to start, according to a new book.
For many Americans, climate change can feel like a vast and insurmountable problem. And individual actions to combat the crisis, such as buying an electric car, can seem like they will barely register on a planetary scale.
A new book aims to counteract this mind-set and empower all Americans to become climate activists. In “The Big Fix: Seven Practical Steps to Save Our Planet,” energy expert Hal Harvey and journalist Justin Gillis argue that we can all become “green citizens” and take grass-roots political actions that will make a difference for our climate.
Some of the most meaningful actions, they write, can happen at the state and local level. In Montgomery County, Md., for instance, a group of local citizens persuaded the school board to replace all of its diesel buses with electric buses. The move will protect children from diesel fumes, which can trigger asthma, and will slash carbon emissions from the transportation sector, the nation's biggest source of planet-warming pollution.
The Climate 202 spoke with Harvey, CEO of the think tank Energy Innovation, and Gillis, a freelance writer formerly with The Washington Post and the New York Times, before the book's release on Tuesday.
The following Q&A has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity:
Climate 202: What was the motivation for this book?
Harvey: Because the carbon budget is nearing exhaustion, we don't have time to make choices that are either the wrong choices or nice ideas that can't be scaled up. So one of our goals was to ensure that people who are interested in the climate world have very clear paths to action that will scale. It's a sad dissipation of energy to work on projects that just don't deliver. We can't afford that.
Gillis: For years, Hal and I have heard from people, “This problem just seems so big, and I'm so small. What can I possibly do about it?” People feel really disempowered by the climate problem. So we wanted to open up people's imagination and help them realize that decisions are being made all around them, every day, to perpetuate the fossil fuel economy. There's actually a lot of opportunities for people to intervene.
Climate 202: In the book, you give a lot of examples of climate activism at the state and local level. Can that have more impact than activism at the federal level, such as lobbying members of Congress?
Harvey: States set the regulations under which utilities operate. So whether your utility bill goes to a coal-fired power plant or offshore wind turbine, those are regulations set by states. And they're usually set by public utility commissions. There are 50 of them, and they have immense power. And they don't get that much attention. They should, because they are the single most important decision-making body in America with respect to our climate.
Gillis: Of course, Washington is quite important. This recent climate law is quite important. But it turns out that a whole lot of the political traction is not necessarily in Washington. A lot of the barriers that we face right now need to get solved at the state and local level.
For example, we have to build a huge amount of renewable energy, but we're already seeing a lot of pushback on land use from “not in my backyard” people. Land use decisions are local decisions, with significant oversight by the state. If citizens don't get involved in this, then the naysayers and the NIMBY people are going to win and stop us from doing what we need to do.
Climate 202: What is a good example of a climate action that an individual can take to make a meaningful difference?
Harvey: Whenever the federal government wants to set air quality regulations, they have to go through a public hearing. These are often obscure forums where industry representatives say the rules will be cost-prohibitive. But people who are affected by the decision can show up. So when they're permitting a new natural gas power plant, for example, there should be moms and dads of asthmatic kids in the room. There should be people from the front-line communities who are downwind of the pollution. And that can be fantastically powerful.
Hurricane Fiona knocks out power to all of Puerto Rico, creates dangerous conditions
Hurricane Fiona rammed into Puerto Rico on Sunday as a Category 1 storm, cutting power to the entire island, bringing 100 mph wind gusts to some areas and causing life-threatening flash flooding, Matthew Cappucci, Jacqueline Alemany and Praveena Somasundaram report for The Post.
As the winds and rain escalated Sunday, all 3.2 million people on the island were without power, according to PowerOutage.us, a site that tracks power failures. As of early Monday morning, more than 1.3 million residents were without power. Luma Energy, the private energy company contracted by Puerto Rico to manage its electrical transmission and distribution system, said it could take several days to restore power and asked customers for “patience.”
The National Hurricane Center has warned of “catastrophic flooding” from the storm for both Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. President Biden approved an emergency declaration for the island on Sunday, freeing up federal resources to support local disaster relief.
Since Hurricane Maria left Puerto Rico without power for months in 2017, residents have called on the local and federal government to improve the territory's disaster response and recovery efforts, as well as its beleaguered power grid.
On Monday morning, Fiona made landfall in the Dominican Republic, Elizabeth Wolfe and Melissa Alonso report for CNN. The storm came ashore at 3:30 a.m. Eastern time with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Groups lobby Congress to create national clean fuel standard
An initiative representing utilities, renewable fuel producers, environmentalists, electric vehicle charging companies and other interests is calling on the next Congress to pass legislation creating a national clean fuel standard.
Members of the DriveClean initiative, which launched Monday, include the EV start-up Rivian, the Renewable Fuels Association and the New York League of Conservation Voters. The initiative has hired Lot Sixteen, a bipartisan lobbying and communications firm.
California and Oregon have already implemented a clean fuel standard, which requires fuel suppliers to reduce the carbon intensity of their products, including gasoline and diesel. In May, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed legislation to establish a clean fuel standard on Jan. 1, 2023, after suffering several defeats in his years-long quest to enact the policy.
The DriveClean initiative argues that a national standard is necessary because the Inflation Reduction Act will have minimal impact on cutting carbon emissions from transportation by 2030, according to modeling by the Rhodium Group, an independent research firm.
Opponents of a clean fuel standard have argued that the policy would raise gasoline prices for consumers. But Mary Solecki, a consultant for the DriveClean initiative, said on a Thursday call with reporters that California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard has had “no discernible impact on fuel prices” since its enactment in 2007.
For decades, the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program has helped Americans with the costs of heating their homes during winter. But now, scorching summers and growing cooling costs are running up people’s energy bills for longer periods of time, straining the federal safety net and showing how the government is struggling to keep up with the ways climate change affects some of the most vulnerable Americans, The Post’s Dino Grandoni and Anna Phillips report.
Already, about 85 percent of the $3.8 billion in funding given to the program this year has gone to winter heating bills, leaving very little for those enduring an extremely hot summer. While most federal and state lawmakers can agree that a warm home is essential, some still see cooling as a luxury, despite rapidly rising temperatures tied to human-caused global warming.
On Tuesday: The House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment will hold a hearing on the Clean Water Act on its 50th anniversary.
The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will meet to examine the Public Lands and Waters Climate Leadership Act, which was introduced last week by Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and would ban new fossil fuel leasing and permitting on public lands and waters until the Interior Department and the Forest Service can prove that the emissions from additional oil and gas projects are consistent with President Biden’s near-term climate targets.
The House Science, Space and Technology Committee will hold a hearing on scientific solutions to climate change and the rapidly changing Arctic, which has warmed at least four times as fast as the global average.
On Wednesday: The House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on the resilience of the nation's water infrastructure amid a prolonged drought in the American West and increased extreme precipitation events.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a business meeting to consider multiple nominations, including Joseph Goffman to lead the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Air and Radiation and six candidates to be members of the board of directors for the Tennessee Valley Authority. Immediately afterward, the committee will hold a hearing on state and local implementation of the bipartisan infrastructure law.
The Senate Energy and National Resources National Parks Subcommittee will meet to assess 16 pieces of legislation to designate new national monuments and historical sites.
On Thursday: The House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy will meet to examine whether certain industries — including the fossil fuel sector — have raised prices for consumers and driven inflation.
The House Natural Resources Committee will hold an oversight hearing on Luma Energy’s contract to manage, operate and rebuild Puerto Rico’s power transmission and distribution system. The hearing was scheduled before Hurricane Fiona slammed the island.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will meet to examine the benefits and challenges of deploying new battery and non-battery technologies for energy storage.
Western Alaska confronts damage after historic storm — Taylor Telford for The Post
As farmers split from the GOP on climate change, they're getting billions to fight it — Scott Neuman for NPR
The scene after Hurricane Fiona battered Puerto Rico — Kainaz Amaria and Maria Paul for The Post
People in LA today enjoying the mid 70°s: pic.twitter.com/xIrNSWWy0f
— Americana at Brand Memes (@americanamemes) September 17, 2022 | 2022-09-19T13:50:25Z | www.washingtonpost.com | These climate actions make the biggest difference, book says - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/19/these-climate-actions-make-biggest-difference-book-says/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/19/these-climate-actions-make-biggest-difference-book-says/ |
Hail or Fail: Offense comes alive, but special teams, defense let Commanders down
Lions rookie Aidan Hutchinson sacks Carson Wentz in the second quarter of Sunday’s game. Hutchinson, the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft, finished with three sacks. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post)
A look at the good (Hail!) and bad (Fail!) from the Washington Commanders’ 36-27 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
Hail: No. 1 vs. No. 2 QB showdown
Sunday marked the third meeting between quarterbacks Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, the first and second picks, respectively, in the 2016 NFL draft. The friends, who split their first two meetings in 2017 and 2020, both had big days. Goff was 20 for 34 for 256 yards and four touchdowns. Wentz overcame an ugly start to finish 30 for 46 for 337 yards, three scores and one interception, becoming the first quarterback since at least 1950 to pass for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns in each of his first two games with a new team. Next up for Wentz? A reunion with the Philadelphia Eagles, who drafted him out of North Dakota State.
Fail: Commanders vs. 2022′s No. 1 and No. 2 picks
Washington has faced the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in this year’s draft in consecutive weeks, and it has not gone well for the Commanders. Former Georgia standout edge defender Travon Walker had an interception and a sack in Washington’s season-opening win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. On Sunday, former Michigan star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson set a Lions rookie record with three sacks in the first half. The good news for Washington is it won’t face the No. 3 pick in the 2022 draft, Houston Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., until Week 11.
Hail: Washington’s wide receivers
They were quiet along with the rest of the offense for most of the first half, but Curtis Samuel (seven catches, 78 yards), Terry McLaurin (four catches, 75 yards) and Jahan Dotson (four catches, 59 yards) combined to finish with 15 catches for 212 yards and two touchdowns. Samuel got the Commanders on the board with a 15-yard scoring grab in the third quarter. Dotson had a catch on a two-point conversion and recorded his third touchdown of the season with a one-yard grab in the final two minutes. The rookie used some fancy footwork at the line of scrimmage to create just enough separation from veteran cornerback Will Harris on the play.
Fail: Special teams
Joey Slye made all 12 of his field goal attempts after Washington signed him to replace Chris Blewitt last November, but he missed an extra point wide right late in the fourth quarter Sunday to prevent the Commanders from making it a one-possession game. Slye’s ensuing onside kick traveled all of five yards. Dax Milne had a 33-yard kickoff return to help spark a touchdown drive on Washington’s first possession of the second half, but the second-year pro, who is in his first year as the team’s primary return man, otherwise struggled, failing to take three kick returns back to the 20-yard line. A 52-yard return by Kalif Raymond on a free kick set up Detroit’s first touchdown.
Hail: The Lions’ underdog streak
Before this week, Detroit had been an underdog in 24 straight games, the longest streak in the Super Bowl era. The Lions opened as a 2.5-point favorite, but after two starters along the offensive line and starting cornerback Amani Oruwariye were ruled out for the game with injuries, the line moved and Dan Campbell’s team was a one-point underdog at most sportsbooks by kickoff. It’s hard to imagine Detroit will be favored at Minnesota next week, but the streak could come to an end when the Lions host the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 2.
Fail: All the teams who passed on Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
St. Brown finished with nine catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns (plus two rushes for 68 yards), becoming the first receiver with at least eight catches and a touchdown in six straight games. The 2021 fourth-round pick out of USC also joined Antonio Brown and Michael Thomas as the only receivers with at least eight receptions in eight consecutive games. In an interview on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series during training camp, St. Brown said the draft was a disappointing experience. He then rattled off the names of the 16 wide receivers taken ahead of him and where they went to college, including Washington third-round pick Dyami Brown, who has 12 catches in 15 career games.
We don't talk enough about this incredible Amon-Ra St. Brown moment from Hard Knocks pic.twitter.com/DDRv9Bc2MH
— Mallory Rubin (@MalloryRubin) September 19, 2022
Hail: Scott Turner’s offensive adjustments
Offensively, the Commanders’ first half couldn’t have been much uglier. Washington’s first five possessions included four three-and-outs and a safety after Wentz was sacked and fumbled the ball out of the end zone. The visitors didn’t manage a first down until more than halfway through the second quarter and entered the break with zero points. The Commanders’ offense was virtually unstoppable in the final two quarters; their 27 points after halftime were their most in a second half since they scored 29 in a 42-24 win over the Green Bay Packers in 2016.
Fail: Jack Del Rio’s defense
Containing St. Brown was far from the only problem for Del Rio’s unit. No play epitomized the sorry state of the Commanders’ defense more than D’Andre Swift’s 22-yard touchdown catch late in the third quarter. Less than two minutes earlier, Washington had cut the Lions’ lead to seven. Rather than getting a stop and giving the ball back to the offense, the defense allowed Detroit to go 75 yards on four plays. On third and 15, Goff was pressured and floated a pass in the flat to Swift, who lost his balance and fell to the turf after corralling the low throw. The third-year running back immediately popped up and avoided diving attempts by safety Bobby McCain and cornerback Kendall Fuller to bring him down before outracing everyone to the end zone. | 2022-09-19T13:50:49Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Highlights and lowlights from Commanders' loss to the Lions - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/19/commanders-lions-highlights-and-lowlights/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/19/commanders-lions-highlights-and-lowlights/ |
FILE - Pakistani opposition leader and former prime minister Imran Khan addresses his party supporters during a rally in Peshawar, Pakistan, Sept. 6, 2022. A judge Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, ordered police to drop terrorism charges against Khan for verbally threatening police officers and a female judge at a political rally last month. The charges followed a speech Khan gave in Islamabad last month in which he vowed to sue the city of Islamabad police chief and a judge for allowing police to question Shahbaz Gill, who is chief of staff at Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf political party. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad, File) (Muhammad Sajjad/AP) | 2022-09-19T13:51:45Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Court orders charges against ex Pakistani PM Khan dropped - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/court-orders-charges-against-ex-pakistani-pm-khan-dropped/2022/09/19/ccb94988-381c-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/court-orders-charges-against-ex-pakistani-pm-khan-dropped/2022/09/19/ccb94988-381c-11ed-b8af-0a04e5dc3db6_story.html |
Biden’s most hawkish comments on Taiwan yet
President Biden speaks with the Chinese President Xi Jinping virtually in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on Nov. 15, 2021. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
The steady erosion of the long-standing U.S. policy of “strategic ambiguity” toward China and Taiwan has now resulted in its rhetorical — if not official — demise, with President Biden firmly committing to send troops to defend Taiwan if China invades.
Even as U.S. presidents generally avoided taking a position on the subject, Biden has gestured in the direction of the United States defending Taiwan militarily. Each time, the White House insisted there was no change in official policy. Each time, that was undermined by Biden’s own comments — and by Biden’s pressing on in that direction.
And now those assurances are virtually impossible to square with Biden’s comments.
In an interview with “60 Minutes,” Biden was decidedly unambiguous. Asked twice whether U.S. forces would defend Taiwan, he said they would.
“So unlike Ukraine, to be clear, sir, U.S. forces — U.S. men and women — would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion?” Scott Pelley sought to clarify.
That’s a U.S. president firmly committing to go to war. And it’s the latest in a series of increasingly hawkish comments on the matter.
In August 2021, Biden lumped Taiwan in with countries where we have firm mutual-defense commitments.
“We made a sacred commitment to Article Five that if in fact anyone were to invade or take action against our NATO allies, we would respond,” Biden said. “Same with Japan, same with South Korea, same with — Taiwan.”
“Respond” could be taken a number of ways. But by October 2021, Biden agreed the United States would “protect” Taiwan and come to its “defense” from a Chinese invasion:
Q: China just tested a hypersonic missile. What will you do to keep up with them militarily, and can you vow to protect Taiwan?
BIDEN: Yes and yes.
Q: So are you saying that the United States would come to Taiwan’s defense if China attacked?
BIDEN: Yes. Yes, we have a commitment to do that.
Again, we didn’t — and don’t — actually have a mutual-defense commitment. But as the White House again insisted there was no change in official policy, one could perhaps have argued Biden was simply talking about an action akin to sending military aid, as it has in Ukraine.
That was further undermined in May 2022, though, when Biden agreed he was “willing” to defend Taiwan “militarily”:
Q: Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if it comes to that?
BIDEN: That’s the commitment we made. ... The idea that [Taiwan] can be taken by force, just taken by force, is not just appropriate. It will dislocate the entire region and be another action similar to what happened in Ukraine, and so it’s a burden that is even stronger.
Again, this hinges on how you define the words involved, including “militarily.” But Biden’s comments in the new “60 Minutes” interview erase any doubt: This could go as far as sending U.S. forces to defend against an invasion by one of the most powerful countries in the world.
With some isolated exceptions, presidents and would-be presidents have avoided speaking in such stark terms. The United States has a long-standing “one-China policy” which means it doesn’t challenge China’s position that Taiwan is part of China. It has only informal diplomatic relations with Taiwan and has long engaged in a policy of “strategic ambiguity” when it comes to whether it would defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion. The United States has a commitment to provide Taiwan with the ability to defend itself, but no commitment to send troops.
The idea is that China knows it’s possible the United States would come to Taiwan’s defense, but without the United States committing to defend a place China regards as its own. The policy is aimed to keeping the peace and promoting stability in the Taiwan Strait.
As we noted after the May comments, Biden’s steadily more hawkish evolution is particularly striking against where he was two decades ago. One of those isolated incidents in which a president strayed from “strategic ambiguity” was when George W. Bush offered a Biden-esque response to such a question. Asked whether the United States would respond “with the full force of the American military” if China attacked Taiwan, he responded, “Whatever it took.”
Biden in a Washington Post op-ed called it “startling new commitment.” He said that “we now appear to have a policy of ambiguous strategic ambiguity. It is not an improvement.”
Effectively, Biden has now echoed the same sentiment he criticized 21 years ago. The question from there is why. Tensions in the area have steadily ratcheted up, with U.S. lawmakers including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) visiting Taiwan and China responding by launching military exercises around Taiwan. Taiwan warned a month ago that the drills showed China is prepared to invade. The Post later reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping had called to request that Biden find a way to keep Pelosi from visiting. Biden declined, citing separation of powers, though other officials in the Defense Department and White House expressed concern to Pelosi about the risks of her trip.
Certainly, the White House continuing to suggest this is nothing new and downplaying Biden’s assurances might keep China guessing. But if it came to war, Biden is now on record saying that war would include U.S. forces. Not backing that up would be a huge black mark on U.S. foreign policy.
One commonality you’ll notice from all of these comments, including Bush’s: They were in response to questions. In each case, U.S. president wasn’t proactively detailing their policy; they were being asked to commit to something in a hypothetical scenario. The response, in keeping with the long-standing policy, would be something along the lines of, “We’ll see.” But that could be seen as irresolute.
Biden has certainly demonstrated a capacity for gaffes. But he’s also a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who once had pretty strong and apparently well-considered feelings about the importance of “strategic ambiguity.” And the progression here is unmistakable. To the extent anyone is actually telling him to slow his roll, he’s not listening.
The implications for that are huge. This is still in the realm of the hypothetical, but it’s a majorly consequential hypothetical that now includes a firm commitment — whether that firm commitment is technically official policy or not. | 2022-09-19T14:37:36Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Biden’s most hawkish comments on Taiwan yet - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/19/biden-taiwan-china-defense/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/19/biden-taiwan-china-defense/ |
Prominent pro-Trump couple to fundraise for Senate candidates
Former president Donald Trump stands with Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters at a “Save America” rally in support of Arizona GOP candidates on July 22 in Prescott Valley, Ariz. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, and his wife, Mercedes, a former director of strategic communications in the Trump White House, are hosting Blake Masters, the Republican nominee for Senate in Arizona, for a high-dollar fundraiser on Wednesday, according to an invitation obtained by The Washington Post.
The couple are prominent allies of former president Donald Trump. Matt Schlapp told The Post that they’re also hosting an event for Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee for Senate in Pennsylvania, on Tuesday night and Adam Laxalt, the nominee in Nevada, for a cigar reception after the event with Masters.
The invitation for the Masters fundraiser identifies additional hosts, including Chad Wolf, Trump’s former acting Homeland Security secretary, and Duke Buchan, the finance chairman of the Republican National Committee.
Event co-chairs will contribute $5,800 apiece, co-hosts $2,900 and general attendees $1,000.
Masters is seeking to narrow a yawning cash gap with his opponent, Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, who had nearly $25 million in his main campaign account as of the middle of last month. Masters, by contrast, had $1.5 million in his main account.
Masters also has a fundraiser scheduled this week with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), according to a person familiar with the plans. The event is the second this month with the Republican leader, who is vying for control of the Senate. At the same time, a McConnell-aligned super PAC earlier this month abandoned about $8 million worth of TV, radio and digital ads originally booked to boost Masters, saying it was redirecting the resources to other competitive races.
McConnell and a top fundraiser for the PAC asked Peter Thiel, the billionaire investor who had bankrolled a super PAC supporting Masters in the primary, to split the cost, among other proposals — suggestions rebuffed by the investor. Masters is a longtime friend and former employee of Thiel’s. The super PAC, Saving Arizona, has since received significant contributions from other entities, including $5 million from a super PAC associated with Heritage Action for America, the conservative nonprofit and advocacy organization.
The Schlapps have not contributed major sums to candidates so far this cycle, according to federal records. Matt Schlapp previously endorsed Masters’s primary opponent, businessman Jim Lamon, and gave him $2,000 last year. Lamon’s campaign paid $180,000 over the course of the primary to Schlapp’s lobbying and communications firm, Cove Strategies.
The American Conservative Union’s flagship Conservative Political Action Conference also endorsed Lamon, though an online announcement of that move can no longer be found. Axios, which previously reported on CPAC’s endorsement of Lamon, quoted an ACU board member who said Schlapp’s consulting role was disclosed during the endorsement process, which is carried out by the board.
Masters ultimately won Trump’s endorsement and beat Lamon by more than 10 percentage points. | 2022-09-19T14:37:43Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Prominent pro-Trump couple to fundraise for Senate candidates - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/19/trump-senate-masters-oz/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/19/trump-senate-masters-oz/ |
Being a good person is great. Having good taste is better.
This should come to no surprise to anyone reading this, or anyone who knows me, or anyone who has clicked on a Zoom I happened to be on, or anyone who has driven behind me on I-376 East for more than seven minutes any time between 7:37 and 7:52 on a Tuesday morning, but I am not a good person.
Am I a bad person? No. I don’t think so, at least. I obey the laws that I consider to be reasonable, I am kind to most babies, and I have never purchased or worn any professional sports team apparel. But good is a high standard to reach. It means, to me, that you exist above and beyond expected human behavior. I do not. At most, if “expected human behavior” is a field of grass, I am a dandelion occasionally hovering above it, easy and cocky, until the slightest of winds crashes me back to the dirt.
For years I considered myself to be good. At least I thought I did. What was actually happening was an extended conflation of “wanting to be good” with “actually being good.” And also, mixed in there, a conflation of “the performance of goodness.” (It was a mass conflating event.) I think I wanted to be seen as good more than I wanted to actually be good. Because each time I had a choice between a quiet goodness and a quiet assembly line humanity, I chose the conveyor belt.
For instance, in my book I have a paragraph devoted to all of the mishaps and mild discomforts I wish on a particular someone who once — literally just once — teased me in high school. It’s been three years since the book was released. In that time, I’ve done yoga (twice), I’ve gone to therapy and I started intentionally drinking lukewarm water. Do I still hold this useless, 25-year-long grudge? Absolutely. I’ve even thought of more mild discomforts I wish on him. I hope that tomorrow he rushes out of the house because he’s late for an appointment. But when he’s a mile away from home, he can’t remember if he turned off the iron, so he rushes back home, only to see that he did turn it off. I am objectively ungood.
Thinking about goodness and ungoodness led me to a revelation — or perhaps less a revelation and more an acceptance of something I’ve always felt in my soul but didn’t want to admit because it might jeopardize my goodness. Being a good person is good, but it’s mostly not worth the effort, and it’s usually indistinguishable from the median. What is worth the effort? Good taste.
I know, I know, I know. Without actively good people to balance the actively bad, the world would collapse. The world is already collapsing; I get your point! But listen: Good taste is underrated. It’s associated with snobbery (which also gets a bad rap) when it’s really just a practice of intentional discernment developed into a hard personal edict. It’s less about appreciating only “good” things and more about having a quicker recognition of objectively bad things, and choosing not to partake.
There’s no more efficient way of avoiding unnecessary annoyance and self-induced trauma than developing good taste, and allowing it to be your lodestar. You won’t waste time attending disappointing events, because you’ll be able to tell, just from the font on the flier, that it’s not worth your time. You’ll make quicker and better decisions about the people you choose to have in your life. Even if you, like me, are not a good person, the possession of taste helps you surround yourself with good people, to balance out your gentle depravity. Just think of how many disastrous relationships and romances you would have dodged if you, at the time, simply had better taste. Of course, bad decisions are a necessary stop on the taste-possessing journey. But taste, once it develops, prevents unnecessary repeats.
Good taste is less about appreciating only “good” things and more about having a quicker recognition of objectively bad things.
Ultimately, taste is people-based, because it’s discovering and prioritizing the care that people put into doing and creating things. It’s an appreciation of intention. And nowhere is the possession of taste more important than when deciding whether a person is a suitable long-term romantic partner. Sure, things like kindness and empathy and responsibility and sexual compatibility matter or whatever. Fine. But a shared appreciation for and possession of taste is the lubricant that reduces the inevitable friction of the endless mundane. The vast majority of the time you spend with each other will be sitting together on a couch, or standing next to an open refrigerator, or lying together in a bed, counting the thread count of a top sheet. In those tens of thousands of moments, would you rather spend them with a good person with the taste of broken mulch, or a dandelion who makes you laugh?
(That question was rhetorical. The answer was obvious, to people with taste.) | 2022-09-19T14:59:24Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Damon Young: Being a good person is great. Having good taste is better. - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2022/09/19/damon-young-being-good-person-is-great-having-good-taste-is-better/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2022/09/19/damon-young-being-good-person-is-great-having-good-taste-is-better/ |
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