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This World Cup is thrilling. That’s a problem.
Morocco players celebrate after defeating Spain in a penalty shootout at the World Cup on Dec. 6. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Soccer’s quadrennial World Cup, reaching its climactic stages this week in Qatar, demonstrates an inescapable, regrettable fact: “Sportswashing,” the use of athletic competition to shine up a tarnished image, almost always works.
There are good reasons Qatar should not be staging the planet’s biggest sporting event. According to the Justice Department, officials of soccer’s governing body, FIFA, were bribed to select the Persian Gulf petro-state as host. Qatar has a long record of human rights abuses, including horrific treatment of migrant construction workers, thousands of whom reportedly died building facilities for the tournament and other infrastructure. And holding the World Cup in late fall, when professional leagues are in midseason, instead of the summer — because of Qatar’s punishing heat — poses unnecessary risk of injury to the players.
Yet none of these factors have prevented the tournament from offering thrilling matches, shining stars, unlikely heroes and compelling storylines — including that of a Cinderella team, Morocco, whose players are being buoyed by the hopes of both a continent and a culture.
Television ratings, as FIFA had predicted, seem likely to set a record, with the association anticipating that 5 billion of the world’s 8 billion people might tune in at some point. With the U.S. team performing well enough to make it out of the group stage into the knockout rounds, viewership in the United States has been huge for soccer (though still just a fraction of the television audience for even a mediocre Super Bowl).
And no wonder. The quarterfinals were stacked with teams from powerhouse soccer countries, including Brazil, England and Croatia, the runner-up four years ago.
That might make for a predictable competition, were it not for Morocco. Unheralded and not expected to go far, the Moroccan squad became the first team from the African continent and the first team from the Arab world to get this far in the competition, and in the process, has surrendered just one goal.
Their success comes despite a real injustice: FIFA allocates the 54 nations and 1.2 billion people of the soccer-mad African continent just five slots in the 32-team field, while Europe gets 13. And 23-year-old Kylian Mbappe, of Cameroonian and Algerian origin, is representing France on the field with a performance that’s cementing his reputation as the greatest player on earth, illustrating the diaspora’s contributions.
But what of the injustices that built the stadiums where Morocco asserted itself; where Argentine great Lionel Messi pursued the final laurel in his astonishing career; and where Messi’s rival, Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo, wept after Morocco eliminated his team in a match in which Ronaldo was benched in favor of players with younger legs?
At that moment, surely marking the great Ronaldo’s last World Cup match, none of the commentators paused to mention that the new stadium, and seven others, had been built by imported workers, mostly from South Asia, whose appalling plight has been well-documented — dangerous and sometimes lethal working conditions, squalid living quarters, restrictions on their freedom of movement and their freedom of speech. It’s hard to think of a more vivid illustration of how sportswashing works. All those lives, all those abuses, are obscured by a few galvanizing stories; the triumphs and disappointments of a small number of very famous men tower over the terrible sacrifices made by those whose names history will not record.
It was up to journalists and human rights organizations to remind the public, however fleetingly, what was at stake.
In its 2021 report on Qatar, Amnesty International said that “curtailment of freedom of expression increased in the run-up” to the World Cup. Regarding migrant workers’ rights, the report said: “Despite its stated commitment, the government failed to implement and enforce reforms, enabling abusive practices to resurface and reviving the worse elements of kafala,” referring to the sponsorship-based system that gives employers near-absolute control over the workers’ lives.
Grant Wahl, one of this country’s most prominent soccer journalists, showed up to cover the first U.S. match wearing a rainbow T-shirt to express support for LGBTQ rights — which Qatar manifestly does not respect — only to be turned away, in contravention of the atmosphere of tolerance FIFA and the tournament’s hosts had promised. (Wahl, 49, collapsed and died while covering another match Friday.)
All of this will be remembered, but as footnotes. The Qatari government wagered that the athletes would produce a spectacle that even critics would not be able to resist, and it was a good bet. Argentina, Croatia, France and Morocco are the four teams left, and the whole world is watching. | 2022-12-12T23:36:08Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | The World Cup did exactly what Qatar wanted - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/12/world-cup-qatar-sportswashing-morocco/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/12/world-cup-qatar-sportswashing-morocco/ |
My bittersweet return to Azeroth for ‘World of Warcraft: Dragonflight’
Review by Diego Nicolás Argüello
(Blizzard Entertainment /Washington Post illustration)
Developed by: Blizzard Entertainment | Published by: Blizzard Entertainment
Up at the peak of the Ruby Lifeshrine lays a massive plateau. It serves as a window to some of the lush valleys, ancient ruins and sparkling waterfalls of the Dragon Isles. Playing through the “World of Warcraft: Dragonflight” expansion has you traversing from one battle to the other with little breathing room. But it’s on this plateau that the dwarf Veritistrasz invites you to stop for a second and just enjoy the view. As the name of the optional quest indicates, he wants you to “Stay a While,” and take it all in.
I played “World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King” for the first time back in 2010, clocking exactly 333 hours during the summer break. My subsequent visits to Azeroth over the years were sporadic, diving into the “Mists of Pandaria” and “Cataclysm” expansions for a grand total of over 1,000 hours. It had been many years since the last time I played “World of Warcraft,” a period in which much has happened both inside and outside of the game. Hearing the dwarf’s story, in which he laments having to leave his home after a war that took place thousands of years ago, I couldn’t help but relate to the very first sentence of his tale: “This view,” he says, “it may look beautiful to you. To me, it reminds me of how long we have been gone. I barely recognize this landscape.”
His words echo my conflicted feelings playing “World of Warcraft” again given the current state of Blizzard. The studio and its parent company, Activision Blizzard, are facing multiple ongoing sexual harassment lawsuits as well as reports of unhealthy work culture and incentivized crunch. As much as I enjoyed the prospect of coming back to a world I previously devoted so much time to, I found it impossible to divorce the experience from everything that has been brought to light from the studio since. After getting to know about the conditions in which some of my fondest memories in “World of Warcraft” were made, it’s hard to ignore it; the beauty is still present, but much of the landscape has changed.
From the beginning, the story of “Dragonflight” seems eager to explore the hardships of reconciling with past traditions and how to build upon them. The campaign’s quests, divided across multiple chapters, center on the Aspects — ancient beings that lead the Dragonflights, centuries-old emblem dragon factions. It’s the player’s task to search for aid from these historical beings at the Dragon Isles, where a long-dormant enemy has broken free. While there are plenty of minions to right-click on and bosses to group up for, the main focus is on reuniting these characters and amending bonds lost over time.
The Dracthyr, a race of shapeshifting humanoid dragons made playable in the new expansion, are living proof of this initial concept. They were first created as soldiers, carrying the ability to wield the magic of all five main factions, as well as shapeshift between dragon and humanoid forms. After an ancient battle, the Dracthyr remained in stasis for a long time. It’s throughout “Dragonflight” that we get to explore the resurgence of the race when they’re awoken upon the upcoming conflict. Simultaneously, we get to see them take the reins of their future and form a new path in both the Alliance and the Horde.
Playing as a Dracthyr is as epic as their own history, and it’s clear that their grandiose nature is put on a pedestal. From the very first moments, the character creator presents you with dozens of options to embellish the dragon and humanoid forms, the latter called Visage in the game. Most of the classic races got a subtle makeover with the “Warlords of Draenor” expansion in 2013, which updated several race models with a modern look, followed by a new range of aesthetic options with “Shadowlands.” The Dracthyr, however, have dozens of customizable options from the get-go: body markings and patterns, spikes, 20 different types of horns — the list goes on.
Dracthyr can fly on command, an ability unique to their race. The skill is fairly limited, mind, and has an arduous three-minute cool-down upon landing. Yet the feeling of spreading your wings and taking flight outside of combat is joyous. After you plunge through the air, you can use two skills to give yourself another jump to gain some extra height, as well as a quick dash forward to gain speed. You can’t fly unlimitedly, but if you jump off from a tall vantage point like the Ruby Lifeshrine plateau, taking a dive will incrementally provide speed so you can fly upward again and keep the momentum going.
Experiencing this mechanic provides a glimpse of Dragonriding, which is a revamp to flying mounts. Across the “Dragonflight” campaign, you gain access to four dragons that showcase this mechanic. It’s a bit disappointing that this isn’t a complete overwork for all existing mounts, but at the very least, all races can gain access to these mounts.
Similar to the Dracthyr, the dragons are all fully customizable, and not just visually. There is a modest but thorough talent tree to increase your Dragonriding capabilities. This is more than welcome, as flying can be quite restrictive at first. Even without a cool-down to worry about, actions require Vigor, which is represented by spheres that are depleted completely upon use and have to slowly recharge while you’re on the ground or traveling at high speeds. There were many times in which running out of Vigor while trying to get to a tall ledge left me waiting on a structure nearby until I could fly off again, which can be frustrating. You can purchase these talents with Dragon Glyphs, floating items you pick up while flying around the Dragon Isles. Each talent requires multiple glyphs to activate, however, which leads to being stuck with the more restrictive (and less cool) version of Dragonriding for quite some time.
At the very least, hunting down Dragon Glyphs is the perfect excuse to explore the four zones across the Dragon Isles. Playing as an Evoker, the expansion’s new class, had me exploring the continent at level 58 after a short introductory set of quests — just 12 levels shy of the new level 70 cap. It definitely saves a ton of time, but I always enjoyed exploring new areas in “World of Warcraft” due to how different they are from each other. The Dragon Isles’ strength lies in this aspect, as there are dozens of towns, valleys and coasts to visit in pocket-size fashion.
Beyond sightseeing, there is plenty to do as well. I had an overwhelming backlog of quests accepted at all times throughout the 20 hours I spent playing through the expansion. Most follow the usual structure of hunting enemies down or grabbing a specific material. But others had me fishing, throwing ingredients into a massive cauldron to make soup with dozens of random players and then defending the chef from enemies, and responding to a personality quiz. Even if the rewards weren’t always worth it, the variety made for a decent change of pace.
All the while, the campaign does a ton of legwork in setting the stakes and reintroducing the Aspects to the world. Although there are a few key moments, the story so far is more like the first grand chapter of conflicts to come. This structure isn’t new for “World of Warcraft,” as previous expansions have also unraveled story events through updates and weekly resets instead of opting for a linear approach. But by the end of the last few quests, I couldn’t help but feel that the help I provided to the Aspects had been a mere introduction to their struggles. Current players might be used to the lack of grand confrontations or cliffhangers to latch onto, but as someone who hasn’t played in years, I was left craving for the hook that would motivate me to return and see the actual conflicts play out.
This is on par with the slower pace that the expansion seems to present. The more I explored “Dragonflight,” the more that initial concept of stopping in place and enjoying the sights materialized. There is plenty available for veteran players who are looking for new challenges in dungeons and other group activities, but the experience feels accommodating for newcomers who just want to explore the new setting and actually tackle all of the small tasks it has to offer, regardless of the rewards in return.
As for myself, I’m left conflicted with my overall experience. Engaging with “World of Warcraft” in a professional capacity prevented me from straying off the main path as often as I would have in the past. Yet, now that my work is over, I don’t feel the excitement I had all those years ago to inhabit this world and make returning to it part of my routine once more.
It was nostalgic to rememorate past moments and step into familiar locations again, but to me, the initial essence is now forever tainted after learning about the culture of Blizzard. Finding a quest literally called “Quality Assurance,” in which you help an artisan test some mining tools before the trading company fulfills the order to their client, didn’t help with this feeling. Whether the developers added it as a nod to the real-life Blizzard quality assurance testers who recently won a union bid is uncertain, but it felt more like yet another snap into reality.
I still haven’t made up my mind if I’m going to be returning to “World of Warcraft” any time soon, whether it is to see how “Dragonflight” evolves from here or to try out future expansions. But after all these years, I’m glad I returned to witness the start of a new journey for a group that spent decades in stasis. Seeing the Dracthyr regaining control of their fate gave me hope that the next time I visit Azeroth, the people behind this world might have freed themselves from their historic shackles.
Diego Nicolás Argüello is a freelance reporter from Argentina. His work has been featured at Polygon, NPR, the Verge and others. You can follow him on Twitter @diegoarguello66. | 2022-12-12T23:38:39Z | www.washingtonpost.com | My bittersweet return to Azeroth for ‘World of Warcraft: Dragonflight’ - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/reviews/world-of-warcraft-dragonflight-blizzard-azeroth/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/reviews/world-of-warcraft-dragonflight-blizzard-azeroth/ |
A TV screen at the Seoul Railway Station shows an image of BTS member Jin with buzz cut on Dec. 12. (Ahn Young-joon/AP)
Some 270 riot police have been deployed, and ambulances are on standby around the Key Recruit Training Center, where Jin enters boot camp at a front-line division in Yeoncheon County on the border with North Korea.
Jin told the “BTS Army” — the official name of the boy band’s millions-strong fan base — to refrain from coming to his enrollment day. Despite his plea, fans are expected to show up and HYBE warned in a statement on Monday about possible overcrowding.
The K-pop heartthrob sent social media abuzz earlier when he revealed his freshly shaved head. The South Korean army maintains rigid grooming standards, including hair length regulations. “It’s cuter than I thought,” he said in a message posted on the Weverse fan community on Sunday.
Jin will undergo a physically demanding five-week basic training course before being assigned to a military unit. Army trainees learn basic skills such as how to march, shoot guns and throw a grenade.
The six other members of BTS are expected to fulfill their draft obligations based on individual timelines. BTS, hailed as the world’s biggest boy band, plans to reconvene as a group in 2025 after they complete their service.
Jin made his solo debut in October with the hit single “The Astronaut,” which sold more than a million copies. | 2022-12-13T00:23:30Z | www.washingtonpost.com | BTS's Jin to start mandatory military service in South Korea's army - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/12/bts-jin-military-service-south-korea/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/12/bts-jin-military-service-south-korea/ |
African leaders, whose nations face food shortages resulting from the war, attend a White House summit this week
President Biden shakes hands with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House in September. (Alex Brandon/AP)
With more than 40 African leaders visiting Washington this week, President Biden has a rare opportunity to court a group of nations that have been ambivalent about, and increasingly frustrated by, his global effort to rally support behind Ukraine and mount a unified front against Russia.
Biden this week will host the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, an event last held eight years ago under President Barack Obama. This time, the event comes as the White House is working, with mixed success so far, to coax support from African nations that have been hit especially hard by the consequences of the war in Ukraine, especially a wheat shortage and a disruption in the food supply but also rising fertilizer and fuel prices.
The African Union has condemned Russia’s aggression, but many nations on the continent have otherwise tried to remain neutral because they have long-standing ties with Russia as well as the United States and depend on aid from both, though the United States makes far greater investments. That has played out starkly at the United Nations, where many African countries have declined to vote in favor of U.S.-backed initiatives on Ukraine despite lobbying by the Biden administration.
African leaders have made clear to White House and administration officials that they simply want an end to the war, said a senior administration official familiar with the discussions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations. The two sides disagree on what tactics to use to get to a settlement, the official said, as the Africans oppose the idea of punishing Russia or insisting that Kyiv must agree to any resolution.
“The Africans want to see a diplomatic solution to this conflict. We generally do, too, but ‘nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,’” the official said. “The disconnect comes when some of the countries have expressed discomfort with sanctions and critiques of Russia that they think make it more difficult to get to a diplomatic solution.”
Rallying a broad global coalition behind Ukraine ranks among Biden’s top foreign policy achievements, especially now that many European countries are bracing for a cold winter and face a disruption of Russian oil and gas supplies. But African countries have persistently been among the holdouts, arguing that they suffer the some of the worst effects of the conflict and see little benefit in angering Russia.
Even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there had been a slow-building food security crisis in many nations. The United States has long been the largest provider of food assistance globally.
Biden’s courtship of African leaders also unfolds amid a sharpening struggle between the United States and China for influence on the continent. Ahead of this week’s summit, the White House announced Biden’s support for having the African Union join the Group of 20 major world economies, a major step long pushed by African leaders.
Beyond that, the White House has sought to secure Africans’ patience with the anti-Russian effort — or at least prevent them from siding with Moscow — by providing aid for food and other priorities. The summit will include sessions on food security and agriculture, issues that African leaders are eager to discuss. The White House also announced Monday that the United States would commit $55 billion to Africa over the next three years in economic, health and security support.
But it remains unclear how long Biden can maintain the tenuous agreement with African nations as the war nears its 11th month with no end in sight. Biden and other European leaders have made clear they will not force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into negotiating with Russia and will let Kyiv decide on the timing and conditions of any talks.
Biden earlier this month said he was prepared to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the war but stressed that he had “no immediate plans” to do so because Putin has not shown a willingness to seek a peaceful resolution and has employed brutal tactics against Ukrainian civilians.
“The challenge becomes when [the United States] is asking Africans to take specific sides," said Mvemba Dizolele, a senior fellow and director of the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Africans are saying, ‘We believe there is another way to solve this problem. Global North, United States, Western Europe — sit down with your neighbors and try to bring this to a peaceful resolution.’”
Biden’s expected announcement this week that the United States supports the African Union’s bid to become a permanent member of the G-20 would give African nations a long-sought prize. African leaders have for years expressed frustration at being left out of discussions on global affairs and crises that affect them, including the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden has spoken with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in an effort to combat what the United States sees as misinformation on the continent about the war in Ukraine — including the notion that the food crisis is caused by Western sanctions on Russia — and to try to rally support for the U.S.-led effort. But South Africa, currently the only African nation that is a member of the G-20, remains among the countries that have not supported U.N. resolutions condemning Russia.
There is also a sense of resentment among many nations, Dizolele said, about the amount of money and resources going to Ukraine. The United States has so far committed more than $60 billion, and the administration has requested just under $40 billion in the most recent congressional budget deal, which is still being negotiated. Many Africans feel such resources and attention have never been devoted to their problems, whether the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the civil war in Ethiopia or warfare in the Central African Republic.
Russia’s invasion, meanwhile, affected Africa only indirectly. “They believe while there are global implications, it’s primarily a Western problem, and Africans are used to being told when they have problems, they should find an African solution to their problem,” Dizolele said. “That’s part of the mind-set: Why is it that your problem has to be the entire world’s problem?”
To counter such sentiments, the Biden administration is seeking to emphasize partnership rather than paternalism in its interaction with African countries, officials said, highlighting what the United States can offer amid a deepening worldwide competition for influence with other world powers, chiefly China and Russia.
As Beijing invests billions in African infrastructure projects and Russian-backed paramilitary forces help train African armies, the United States has countered with promises of food assistance and investments in farming and green power.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who launched a new strategy for sub-Saharan Africa during a tour of the region in August shortly after a similar visit by his Russian counterpart, stresses that Washington is not asking African leaders to choose between East and West. But many African countries feel there is an implicit choice.
Ebenezer Obadare, an Africa scholar at the Council on Foreign Relations, said most African nations would have reflexively sided with the United States and its allies if Russia had launched its war in Ukraine a decade ago. But Moscow has stepped up its engagement with the continent, and today, he said, “many African leaders didn’t feel like they had to automatically line up with the West. There are alternatives there.”
While the continent’s leaders appreciate Biden’s decision to hold the first U.S.-African summit since 2014, Dizolele said, they will also be measuring the scale of any aid or investment announcements, and will look to whether Biden commits to holding a subsequent summit or making a presidential visit to the continent.
Dizolele said the impact of the Biden administration’s apparent decision not to hold any formal, scheduled bilateral meetings with visiting leaders — in contrast to the recent state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, his second in less than five years — will probably depend on the scope of those commitments.
Complicating Biden’s effort further is his stated commitment to put human rights at the core of his foreign policy. Administration officials have occasionally issued public criticism of African countries including Egypt, Rwanda and Ethiopia, and they say they routinely raise these matters in private.
But on other occasions, such as Biden’s recent visit to Egypt, that message has not been readily apparent. Nicole Widdersheim, deputy Washington director for Human Rights Watch, said she did not expect the White House to use the summit to openly criticize African leaders guilty of human rights abuses.
The administration “is going to talk about things they and the African countries mutually care about: democracy, trade, investment, food security,” Widdersheim said. “They’re not going to risk publicly pressing on human rights, because they don’t want to lose influence on the continent to China.” | 2022-12-13T00:54:01Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Biden scrambles to keep African countries in anti-Russia coalition - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/12/biden-africa-ukraine-coalition/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/12/biden-africa-ukraine-coalition/ |
He collaborated with director David Lynch on movies including ‘Blue Velvet’ and ‘Mulholland Drive’ as well as the cult TV series ‘Twin Peaks’
Filmmaker David Lynch, left, singer Julee Cruise and composer Angelo Badalamenti in 1989. (Michel Delsol/Getty Images)
But it was his symbiosis with Lynch that left the most enduring mark. Mr. Badalamenti cast a spell of dreamlike melancholy, dread and jazzy humor in the director’s surreal body of work, epitomized in “Twin Peaks.” Set in a fictional small town in the Northwest, the series mixed elements of murder mystery and bizarro soap opera, and aired for two seasons on ABC in the early 1990s before being resurrected on Showtime in 2017.
“I worked some three or four hours with [Rossellini] at the keyboard and recorded her singing the song ‘Blue Velvet,’ ” the composer told the New York Times in 2005. “We went over and played it for David Lynch, who was shooting the last scene. He put his earphones on and said, ‘That’s peachy keen.’ ”
“I said to Fred, ‘What does that mean?’ You know, I’m from Bensonhurst — we don’t use those words,’ ” Mr. Badalamenti later told Rolling Stone. “Fred responded, ‘He adores it.’ ”
The director soon asked Mr. Badalamenti to compose the score. When Lynch was unable to license the Mortal Coil’s “Song to the Siren,” he also commissioned an original song and advised him, “Make it like the wind, Angelo. It should be a song that floats on the sea of time.”
Julee Cruise, the whispery voice of David Lynch films, dies at 65
Their music helped forge the “dream-pop” subgenre, later influencing such artists as Lana Del Rey. It also informed the sound of “Twin Peaks,” which repurposed an instrumental version of the Cruise song “Falling” as the show’s hit title theme.
Luck with Nina Simone
Mr. Badalamenti’s name conjured the image of an old-world maestro, but he was in fact a wisecracking, golf-playing grandfather with a rough-hewed Brooklyn burr. On paper, he was a strange match for Lynch, the coifed, Midwestern oddball Mel Brooks once described as “Jimmy Stewart from Mars.” But somehow they formed a singular artistic mind, and a brotherly bond.
“We just adore each other,” Mr. Badalamenti told a reporter in 2017. “It’s the best marriage of all — never one harsh word between us. Sometimes, as we’re working together, we don’t even have to talk about what’s going on. There’s just a look between us, without words, and we know what we’re thinking and where to go from there. It’s a beautiful thing, man.” | 2022-12-13T01:02:44Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Angelo Badalamenti, composer of unsettling film soundtracks, dies at 85 - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/12/12/angelo-badalamenti-composer-david-lynch-dead/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/12/12/angelo-badalamenti-composer-david-lynch-dead/ |
Ahead of shift to EVs, auto industry makes slow progress on efficiency
Greenhouse gas emissions for U.S. cars and trucks fell just 5% from model year 2016 through 2021 as the Trump administration eased federal requirements
Traffic builds up on the Capital Beltway in Virginia in September. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)
American automakers are starting to reduce tailpipe emissions again after several years of stalled improvements in fuel efficiency, according to new federal data released Monday, a product of the Biden administration restoring rules eased by Trump officials.
U.S. passenger cars and light duty trucks are on course to get about 5% more efficient in the most recent model year, 2022, averaging more than 26 miles per gallon for the first time, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA released these estimates Monday as part of an annual report on the country’s auto fleet, a leading source of greenhouse-gas emissions.
The data shows the industry made very little progress on efficiency from model year 2016 through 2021, as cheap gasoline prices lured new buyers to purchase sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks, making them the dominant choice for consumers. Nationwide fuel economy gained just 5% in that span, at a time when a deal with automakers originally struck during the Obama administration was supposed to require gains of more than 20%.
“It seems since the previous administration announced their intent to rollback … standards, automakers have basically done nothing,” said Chris Harto, a senior policy analyst for transportation and energy at Consumers Reports. “Policy is playing a role. If policy was driving automakers to do more, they would do more.”
Cars and trucks from model year 2021 — the most recent with complete data, according to the EPA — averaged 25.42 miles per gallon, up slightly from the 25.38 of model year 2020 and higher than the figure for model year 2016, 24.7.
At the behest of industry executives, the Trump administration had eased efficiency rules on passenger cars and trucks, saying changing consumer demands were making the old standards impractical. The Obama administration had made those rules — following rules first pushed by California — a cornerstone of its climate agenda, its primary response as the transportation sector become the country’s top source of emissions. Passenger cars and trucks alone accounted for 15% of all U.S. emissions in 2020, according to EPA data.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the lobbying group for automakers and suppliers, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In recent years, the industry has been making a huge shift in manufacturing more electric vehicles, which have no tailpipe emissions and, according to the EPA, now regularly get the equivalent of more than 120 miles per gallon.
But it could be years before those changes produce major improvements, analysts said. EPA said sales of electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles and fuel-cell vehicles are projected to reach 8% of production in model year 2022, up from 4% in the prior model year.
“With the transition to electric vehicles, there’s a lot less resources being put into better fuel efficiency than 10 years ago,” said Jessica Caldwell, lead analyst at Edmunds, a car-shopping support company. “Automakers have hit sort of the ceiling on the levers they can pull to get better fuel efficiency for gas-powered engines that aren’t hybrid or plug-ins.”
Both the Biden administration and analysts said improvements estimated for model year 2022 are a sign that new rules are having an effect on the industry. The Biden administration last year effectively restored the Obama-era requirements starting for model year 2023. It requires 5% to 10% efficiency increases annually through 2026, up from the 1.5% annual requirements set under the Trump administration.
“Today’s report demonstrates the significant progress we’ve made to ensure clean air for all as automakers continue to innovate and utilize more advanced technologies to cut pollution,” the EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement. | 2022-12-13T01:07:12Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Auto industry makes slow progress on efficiency - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/12/12/cars-trucks-fuel-efficiency-climate/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/12/12/cars-trucks-fuel-efficiency-climate/ |
By Scott McFetridge and David Pitt | AP
In her statement, the governor expressed disappointment the law approved by the Legislature wasn’t allowed to take effect, but she noted an appeal to the state Supreme Court was always expected, regardless of the judge’s decision. The current court is far more conservative than in 2018 when it declared a right to abortion, with five of the court's seven members named by Reynolds. | 2022-12-13T01:07:49Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Iowa judge blocks effort to ban most abortions in the state - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/iowa-judge-blocks-effort-to-ban-most-abortions-in-the-state/2022/12/12/d7a46192-7a76-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/iowa-judge-blocks-effort-to-ban-most-abortions-in-the-state/2022/12/12/d7a46192-7a76-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Pistons guard Cade Cunningham will undergo surgery to address a shin injury, ending his second season after just 12 games. (Charles Krupa/AP)
Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham will undergo surgery to address a stress fracture in his left shin, ending the 2021 No. 1 draft pick’s second season after just 12 games, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed Monday.
The 21-year-old has been sidelined since Nov. 9 with the injury, an absence that has contributed to Detroit’s fall to the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Since losing Cunningham, a do-it-all playmaker and active defender, the Pistons are 4-13, including losses in the first six games that he was sidelined.
The Pistons initially diagnosed Cunningham with left shin soreness, announcing Nov. 12 that he would be sidelined for at least a week. ESPN first reported that Cunningham and the Pistons had decided to pursue surgery after an extended period of rest to see whether his condition would improve.
Cunningham, who missed 18 games in his rookie season, had improved his production across the board this year, averaging 19.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6 assists. The Oklahoma State product drew comparisons to James Harden and Luka Doncic during the pre-draft process, and he finished third in the 2022 Rookie of the Year voting behind Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley.
This is shaping up to be a lost season for the Pistons, who had hoped to pair Cunningham with Jaden Ivey, the No. 5 pick in this year’s draft, to form one of the NBA’s most dynamic young backcourts. Instead of making a push for the play-in tournament, Detroit has a league-worst 7-22 record.
The silver lining for the Pistons is that they are in poll position to land the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, which is headlined by French phenom Victor Wembanyama and G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson.
If Detroit finishes with one of the NBA’s three worst records, it would have a 14 percent chance at the No. 1 pick. Wembanyama, a 7-foot-4 center who dazzled NBA executives during a pair of showcase games near Las Vegas in October, is the presumptive top selection. In 12 French League games this season, the 18-year-old has averaged 23.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.8 blocks. | 2022-12-13T01:07:55Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Pistons' Cade Cunningham will have season-ending shin surgery - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/12/cade-cunningham-surgery-shin/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/12/cade-cunningham-surgery-shin/ |
Gio Reyna speaks out amid reports of rift with USMNT coach, teammates
“I let my emotions get the best of me and affect my training and behavior for a few days after learning about my limited role [in Qatar],” Gio Reyna wrote. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Gio Reyna, a talented young member of the U.S. men’s national soccer team who received scant playing time in the World Cup until its round-of-16 loss to the Netherlands, responded to recent comments from Coach Gregg Berhalter and sourced media reports that indicated Reyna was a disruptive element on the American squad in Qatar.
Expressing disappointment that what unfolded during the four-match run did not remain “private,” Reyna admitted to having behaved in an “emotional” manner that merited an apology and pledged his commitment to the sport and his national side.
“I am disappointed that there is continuing coverage of this matter (as well as some highly fictionalized versions of events),” Reyna wrote Monday in an Instagram post, “and extremely surprised that anyone on the U.S. men’s team staff would contribute to it. Coach Berhalter has always said that issues that arise with the team will stay ‘in house’ so we can focus on team unity and progress.
“I love my team, I love representing my country, and I am focusing now only on improving and growing as a soccer player and a person,” continued the 20-year-old attacker. “I hope that going forward each person involved in U.S. Soccer focuses only on what is in the best interest of the men’s national team so we can enjoy great success at the World Cup in 2026.”
With experience as a player for the Bundesliga’s Borussia Dortmund and an offensive skill set that stood out on the U.S. roster, Reyna was expected by many to make a major impact in Qatar. He had been slowed by injuries for much of the past year but showed he was rounding into form during the run-up to the World Cup.
When the tournament began, though, Reyna made just one seven-minute appearance in the Americans’ three group-stage matches. He then came on as a halftime substitute against the Netherlands and played the final 45 minutes.
During the group stage, with many American fans wondering why Reyna wasn’t being featured, former U.S. star Eric Wynalda said in a Twitter Spaces discussion that the young attacker’s on-field absence was causing “a massive controversy” and “internal strife” within the team. Wynalda, who said he had spoken with Reyna’s father, former U.S. national team captain Claudio Reyna, said Berhalter “did lie to the media” when the coach claimed an injury contributed to the younger Reyna’s lack of playing time in the first World Cup match against Wales.
At a subsequent news conference in Qatar, Berhalter said: “That’s not what I represent. If you have to take my word or Eric’s word, feel free, but I know what happened.”
Back on U.S. soil last week following his team’s World Cup ouster, Berhalter told an audience at a leadership conference in New York that one particular, unnamed U.S. player “was clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field” during the tournament.
“As a staff, we sat together for hours deliberating what we were going to do with this player,” Berhalter said, per a transcript of his comments. “We were ready to book a plane ticket home, that’s how extreme it was.”
The coach went on to say the unnamed player was told to apologize to the other U.S. players, who responded by letting him know he had not been “meeting [their] expectations of a teammate.”
“They really took ownership of that process,” Berhalter said of the other players. “And from that day on there were no issues with this player. … It’s difficult to send a player home. It was going to be a massive controversy.”
Apology accepted https://t.co/Ua3SJV0OP3
On Sunday, the Athletic cited sources close to the U.S. team in reporting that players were highly frustrated with Reyna’s alleged “lack of effort” during training for the World Cup. The outlet reported that Reyna “threw his shin guards” out of anger at not entering into the Wales game, in which the Americans lost a lead late and settled for a 1-1 draw. The Athletic’s account specified Reyna was the player who apologized to teammates, after which tensions eased.
ESPN reported Sunday that, per sources, Reyna was nearly sent home early from Qatar because of poor effort in training.
In his Instagram post Monday, Reyna acknowledged letting “my emotions get the best of me and affect my training and behavior for a few days” after being told by Berhalter that his role at the World Cup “would be very limited.”
“I apologized to my teammates and coach for this, and I was told I was forgiven,” Reyna wrote. “Thereafter, I shook off my disappointment and gave everything I had on and off the field.”
In a recent text message to ESPN, Berhalter wrote: “It’s not really important who it was [in comments made at the leadership conference]. The important thing is that the group had very clear standards and they were prepared to communicate if the standards weren’t being met. Sometimes that communication leads to positive change and a clear pathway forward.”
Berhalter, whose contract as U.S. coach is set to expire at the end of this year, said his comments in New York were meant to be off the record. The website that published his comments subsequently added in an editor’s note that Berhalter’s remarks “were erroneously greenlit for publication by someone representing the event organizers.” | 2022-12-13T01:08:06Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Gio Reyna responds after Gregg Berhalter's USMNT comments spark controversy - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/12/gio-reyna-gregg-berhalter-usmnt-world-cup/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/12/gio-reyna-gregg-berhalter-usmnt-world-cup/ |
The founder of the FTX crypto currency exchange was slated to testify to a congressional committee Tuesday
Steven Zeitchik
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and former chief executive officer of FTX, shown at Senate hearing in Washington in February, was arrested in the Bahamas on Monday. (Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg)
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was arrested Monday in the Bahamas after U.S. prosecutors filed an indictment against him.
“Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the U.S. Government,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.”
FTX and Bankman-Fried have been under investigation by U.S. law enforcement agencies after his company imploded in November, losing billions of dollars of its customers’ money. He was slated to testify in front of the House Financial Services Committee Tuesday.
Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), a member of the House panel, tweeted Monday night that his committee was “ready to grill” Bankman-Fried “six ways to Sunday.” Zeldin still wanted that opportunity: “Why not allow him to 1st testify tomorrow and answer our many questions?,” he wrote on Twitter.
Spokespeople for Bankman-Fried, the prime minister of the Bahamas, the attorney general of the Bahamas and the House Financial Services Committee did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Bankman-Fried has spent the past few weeks in his Bahamas estate, giving numerous interviews to reporters and making dozens of social media posts trying to explain how his company went from being one of the biggest and most-respected crypto exchanges to filing for bankruptcy after it could not meet its customers’ withdrawal requests. The company owes its top creditors $3 billion, according to bankruptcy filings, and investigators have sought answers on whether it used customer funds to lend money to Bankman-Fried’s investment arm, Alameda Research.
The chief executive brought in to handle the restructuring, John J. Ray, has described a chaotic environment at FTX with “a complete absence of trustworthy financial information.” In prepared remarks for the congressional testimony, Ray said his initial investigation of the company showed “gross mismanagement, excessive leverage” and “failures of internal controls.”
Bankman-Fried founded FTX in 2019 as an exchange that made money by facilitating trades of cryptocurrencies and taking transaction fees. As the crypto boom unfolded and prices for bitcoin, ethereum and dozens of smaller tokens and coins exploded, the company grew to a valuation of $32 billion and received funding from major investors such as venture capital firm Sequoia and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
As Bankman-Fried, who owned the majority of FTX, saw his own net worth balloon, he amassed political influence as well. He was the second-largest Democratic donor in the 2022 midterm elections. Before FTX’s collapse, Bankman-Fried frequented Capitol Hill, urging lawmakers to regulate the crypto industry. This put him at odds with other crypto industry leaders who oppose government intervention.
He was also a major proponent of effective altruism and longtermism — philanthropic ideologies that emphasize efficiently using money to help others and considering the impact of philanthropic projects on the lives of future humans who aren’t born yet. He also poured millions into pandemic prevention initiatives.
Many of the charities and organizations that had took money from him were left in the cold after his company collapsed and his fortune evaporated. | 2022-12-13T01:08:52Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Sam Bankman-Fried arrested in Bahamas on U.S. request - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/12/12/bankman-fried-arrested/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/12/12/bankman-fried-arrested/ |
Former Twitter official leaves home after threats unleashed by Musk attacks
Yoel Roth’s family and friends have had to delete their Twitter accounts after Musk adopted QAnon-style tactics
Elon Musk at the opening of a Tesla factory in Germany in March. (Patrick Pleul/Pool/AP)
Yoel Roth, Twitter’s former head of trust and safety, and his family have been forced from their home by a tide of harassment unleashed by Elon Musk’s tweets that misrepresented Roth’s academic writing about sexual activity and children.
The online mob also sent threats to people Roth had replied to on Twitter, forcing some of Roth’s family and friends to delete their Twitter accounts, according to a person familiar with Roth’s situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to concerns about Roth’s safety.
Musk’s followers also directed harassment at professors who reviewed the dissertation that Roth wrote in 2016, as well as at his graduate school, the University of Pennsylvania, the person said. The university did not respond to a request for comment.
Musk’s tweets to his tens of millions of followers have for years prompted his supporters to deluge the targets of his ire with online threats — famously, a participant in the rescue of a boys soccer team trapped in a cave in Thailand, whom Musk branded “pedo guy.” But now that Musk owns one of the most powerful social networks in the world and has gutted the company division that previously policed online harassment, the stakes are even higher.
Musk tweets about Roth recalled the QAnon conspiracy movement, which claims incorrectly that Democratic Party leaders direct a child sex abuse network.
“Looks like Yoel is arguing in favor of children being able to access adult Internet services in his PhD thesis,” Musk tweeted Saturday, attaching a screenshot of Roth’s dissertation.
Elon Musk boosts criticism of Twitter executives, prompting online attacks
In the text, Roth suggested that services like the gay dating app Grindr should adopt safety strategies to accommodate teenagers using their platforms, rather than drive them out entirely. Musk also commented on a 2010 tweet in which Roth wrote, “Can high school students ever meaningfully consent to sex with their teachers?” Roth then linked to an article about a Washington State Supreme Court ruling about what age students can consent to having sex with their teachers.
Musk’s critical comments about Roth are something of an about-face from his early days at the company, when Roth appeared to be one of the few high-level Twitter executives Musk supported. On Oct. 30, the billionaire tweeted, “I want to be clear that I support Yoel. My sense is that he has high integrity, and we are all entitled to our political beliefs.”
And Roth appeared measured in his comments on Twitter’s new owner, seeking to reassure the public about company efforts to fight hate and protect elections. He even appeared alongside Musk in a call intended to reassure advertisers.
Even after he left Twitter in November, Roth was muted in his criticism. He warned in an op-ed in the New York Times that there was “little need” for a trust and safety function at a company where “policies are defined by edict.” But he also said publicly that it wasn’t accurate to depict Musk as the “villain of the story” in his takeover of the company.
“I think one of the things that is tricky about Elon, in particular, is that people really want him to be the villain of the story, and they want him to be unequivocally wrong and bad, and everything he says is duplicitous,” Roth said during an interview at the Knight Foundation conference. “I have to say ... that wasn’t my experience with him.”
Still, Roth is the most visible former Twitter executive assessing Musk’s actions, and his role at the company has been highlighted in the Twitter Files.
Twitter employees have long been wary of Musk’s ability to stoke online criticism. Shortly after he announced his plans to take over the company in April, he tweeted a meme to his tens of millions of followers with the face of Twitter’s top lawyer, Vijaya Gadde, that appeared to suggest the company’s decisions are affected by a “left wing bias.”
Twitter users quickly piled on — calling on Musk to fire Gadde or using racist language to describe her. Gadde was born in India and immigrated to the United States as a child. One user said she would “go down in history as an appalling person.”
Such harassment is part of a years-long pattern for Musk, with few legal consequences to date. Musk ultimately was not held liable in a defamation suit brought after he made his “pedo guy” remarks. | 2022-12-13T01:09:06Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Yoel Roth flees home after Musk criticism results in online harassment - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/12/12/musk-twitter-harass-yoel-roth/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/12/12/musk-twitter-harass-yoel-roth/ |
For Lockerbie victims’ families, an anguishing wait for justice
Paul Hudson, whose daughter Melina was one of the victims in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing, holds up a banner of pictures of victims outside federal court in Washington. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
In the days after Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over the Scottish countryside, Paul Hudson sifted through the fields of wreckage, searching for any trace of his teenage daughter.
He knew Melina was gone. Nobody survived what was then one of the world’s deadliest terrorist attacks, leaving 270 people dead, the majority of them Americans, just before Christmas in 1988, when a bomb detonated on a plane heading from London to New York over Lockerbie, Scotland.
He vowed then to protect Melina’s memory. He lobbied authorities in rural Lockerbie to store the debris in a warehouse, rather than toss it, so grieving families could recover the victims’ belongings. There he found one of Melina’s notebooks, with a message scrawled between doodles on the cover: No one dies, unless they are forgotten.
“It was a call to action,” said Hudson, 75. “How could I let it go with that staring at me in her handwriting?”
Thirty-four years later, he sat in a Washington courtroom, waiting for one of the men implicated in Melina’s murder to make his first appearance before a judge. Decades of investigations into the Lockerbie attack had finally led to the detention of Abu Agela Mas’ud Kheir al-Marimi, a Libyan citizen who the United States has accused of building the bomb.
He and other relatives of the victims filled the benches.
The families have watched for decades as justice seemed to draw closer then fell out of reach. Some took it upon themselves to unearth details about what happened and present them to investigators. Some died waiting for answers. Children with faint or no recollection of deceased parents searched for ways to pay tribute to the mother or father they never knew.
In 1991, the United States and Britain announced criminal charges against two other suspects: Libyan intelligence officers, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah. But Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi — whose inner circle was likely involved, investigators said — refused for years to hand them over. Eventually, a Scottish court located in the Netherlands was able to try both men. Megrahi was given a 27-year sentence and Fhimah was acquitted.
On Monday afternoon, Hudson saw what he felt was another chance at justice: The alleged bombmaker stepped into Magistrate Judge Robin M. Meriweather’s courtroom, wearing a green detention uniform. Mas’ud sank next to a public defender. Hudson clutched a photo of Melina in his lap. She’d been studying abroad in England.
“She was a very beautiful and very strong-willed 16-year-old,” he said. “She was coming back for Christmas holiday.”
Nearby was Stephanie Bernstein, 71, who lost her husband Michael in the attack. She, too, stared right at Mas’ud.
“It was surreal,” Bernstein said. “I don’t know what I expected, but he was where he should be, and this is what we have been working toward for a long time.”
Mas’ud’s arrest, she hoped, would remind Americans of an event that has faded from minds.
The explosives hidden in the Boeing 747 jumbo jet’s luggage compartment made it blow up “almost instantaneously,” federal investigators said. Witnesses described seeing parts of the aircraft tumbling from the sky. One piece exploded soon upon impact, leaving a 40-foot-deep crater where homes had stood. Only the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001, has wrought more death against American citizens.
“I hope that people will come to understand how this act of mass murder came to be,” she said. “Two-hundred seventy people, including 190 Americans, were just blown out of the sky.”
Dozens of relatives of the victims called in to listen to the hearing. One was Mary Kay Stratis, who lost her husband, Elia, in the attack.
Elia had been on a business trip to London. He was supposed to fly back to the United States on the day after the bombing. But he rebooked to Flight 103 to spend more holiday time with his children.
“I watched them graduate from elementary school without their dad, then high school, and college and post college degrees,” Stratis said, “and I walked them down the aisle without their dad.”
Mas’ud’s arrest was helping to ease years of anguish, she said, but she worried the case could fall apart somehow. She’d been let down before.
Al-Megrahi’s 27-year prison sentence, for instance, ended prematurely. He was released in 2009 after getting diagnosed with prostate cancer and died three years later.
“We had been given justice, but it was snatched away from us,” Stratis said. “We felt it slip away.”
Mas’ud is the first person prosecuted in the United States in connection with the attack 34 years ago. The Justice Department years ago charged Megrahi and Fhimah in connection with the killings, but Libyan officials never agreed to allow them to appear in an American courtroom. Officials so far have declined to say what agreement they struck with Libya to bring Mas’ud to the United States.
For some relatives, news of Mas’ud’s arrest has left them feeling as though the U.S. justice system is at last working.
Victoria Cummock, whose husband John died in the attack, said she wasn’t sure if she’d see a suspect brought to a U.S. courtroom in her lifetime. She said that over the past three decades she repeatedly shared information with the Justice Department and successive U.S. attorneys general about Libyan officials’ alleged role in the bombing.
As the years passed by and Cummock “heard nothing” about the investigation, she and other family members increasingly felt “betrayed” by the U.S. government.
“This was the love of my life, and I had promised him that I would make sure, until my dying breath, that I was going to do what I could to pursue justice,” she said.
To Hudson, the Monday hearing didn’t go as expected.
The judge informed Mas’ud of his rights and the charges against him, which could carry a penalty of life in prison. Prosecutors surprised Hudson by announcing they would not pursue the death penalty. (Their argument: Capital punishment wasn’t an option for Mas’ud’s charges back in 1988.)
Melina’s father wasn’t sure how to feel. He’d built an archive in her memory. Her notebook was stored near their home in Albany.
He’d served as the chairman for Families of Pan Am 103/Lockerbie, organizing news conferences to keep the victims’ names in the national consciousness. He brought a banner of all their faces to the courthouse. He’d testified on Capitol Hill. He’d met with President George H.W. Bush, urging him to invest more in the Lockerbie probe. He’d longed for a day like this.
Yet he didn’t feel hatred toward the man in front of him. Hudson noticed that Mas’ud looked elderly. He had a white beard and walked with a limp.
“I felt in a way not quite sorry for him,” Hudson said. “But I think he is someone who needs to realize the enormity of what he did.”
Perhaps he’d been a pawn in something far larger. Libya, he said, seemed to obstruct the investigation for years. Finally, a suspect was in court on American soil.
“That’s a huge accomplishment,” Hudson said. | 2022-12-13T01:55:04Z | www.washingtonpost.com | For Lockerbie victim families, an anguishing wait for justice - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/12/lockerbie-families-justice-court/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/12/lockerbie-families-justice-court/ |
Four taken to hospital after Prince George’s County jail incident
An investigation is underway, officials say
Four inmates of the Prince George’s County jail were taken to the hospital Monday after what the corrections department described as “an incident” at the facility.
The conditions of the inmates were not given, and no details of the incident were provided. The county police and the corrections department are investigating, the department said.
The jail is located on Dille Drive, south of King’s Grant Park in the Upper Marlboro area. It is west of Brown Station Road.
In fiscal 2018, the most recent year for which the department provided data on its website, the jail housed 920 inmates in a facility with a capacity of 1,564.
Questions about injuries, conditions and treatment were referred by the county fire department to the corrections department.
Earlier Monday, the corrections department said on Twitter that evening visits were suspended until Saturday, “effective immediately.”
It was not clear whether the suspension played any part in the violence. | 2022-12-13T02:38:43Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Inmates taken to hospitals after incident at Prince George's jail - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/12/12/jail-inmates-hospital-/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/12/12/jail-inmates-hospital-/ |
FILE - Angelo Badalamenti performs at the David Lynch Foundation Music Celebration at the Theatre at Ace Hotel on April 1, 2015, in Los Angeles. Badalamenti, the composer best known for creating otherworldly scores for many David Lynch productions, from “Blue Velvet” and “Twin Peaks” to “Mulholland Drive,” has died. He died of natural causes on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022, his family said in a statement. He was 85. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File) | 2022-12-13T02:38:48Z | www.washingtonpost.com | ‘Twin Peaks' composer Angelo Badalamenti dies at 85 - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/twin-peaks-composer-angelo-badalamenti-dies-at-85/2022/12/12/e06d993e-7a84-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/twin-peaks-composer-angelo-badalamenti-dies-at-85/2022/12/12/e06d993e-7a84-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma and the Nets' Yuta Watanabe chase a loose ball in the third quarter Monday. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)
The previous time the Brooklyn Nets came to Washington, they were at the height of their dysfunction. Kyrie Irving was mid-suspension after unapologetically spreading antisemitic content, Steve Nash had been fired days before, and Kevin Durant was starting alongside players who generally populate the second unit.
The Nets trounced the Wizards in that early November matchup anyway.
Monday was a different story in every way but the ending — another Brooklyn win, this one by the score of 112-100 to hand the Wizards their seventh straight loss.
The Nets (17-12) have executed an about-face and arrived at Capital One Arena as one of the hottest teams in the NBA, and they now have won 11 of 14. If Durant and company had little trouble with the Wizards at the Nets’ nadir, it often felt as though they were merely toying with Washington (11-17) into the fourth quarter Monday as the hosts played for the fourth straight game without Bradley Beal (hamstring) and the second without starting point guard Monte Morris (groin).
Brooklyn didn’t hold a double-digit lead until the third quarter, though it was clear its offense was a class above the Wizards’. Irving skittered across the lane juking defenders on his way to 24 points, six rebounds and five assists. Durant shot 11 for 17 from the field to lead all scorers with 30 effortless points despite occasional moments of commendable one-on-one defense from the Wizards’ Deni Avdija.
Last time out: In John Wall’s D.C. homecoming, a warm embrace and a loss for Wizards
The Wizards didn’t get embarrassed as they did in the teams’ first matchup; 11 three-pointers kept the game close for much of the night. But the disparity in talent and cohesion on both ends was clear — especially without Beal’s scoring prowess — in Brooklyn’s offensive movement and flair. A whopping 20 turnovers created far too many opportunities for a team with Brooklyn’s star power.
Will Barton led the Wizards with 22 points off the bench in a surprising rejuvenation after a struggle-filled start to the season. Kyle Kuzma added 20 points and seven rebounds. Kristaps Porzingis had 20 points and three rebounds before leaving the game with back tightness in the third quarter.
Here is what else to know about Monday’s loss:
Beal remained sidelined with a hamstring strain but has been cleared to resume on-court activities, the Wizards announced. Coach Wes Unseld Jr. said before the game that Beal will need time to recondition, but the plan was for him to travel with the Wizards on their six-game, 10-day trip through the Western Conference that starts Wednesday in Denver.
The Wizards’ other longtime stays on the injury report, Rui Hachimura (ankle) and Delon Wright (hamstring), are also progressing but still have no timetable to return, Unseld said. Hachimura sprained his right ankle Nov. 18, and an MRI exam revealed a bone bruise.
“He’s able to do some contact stuff, one-on-one at this point. The duration has been expanded as far as his workouts,” Unseld said. “It’s going to take some time — after every workout, there’s a determination of how he feels, are there any other issues. But he’s trending in the right direction. We’re just going to take our time on it.”
Wright has not played since Oct. 25, when he suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain.
Barton bounces back
After missing two games with foot soreness, Barton came back with gusto. The 31-year-old wing has had a shaky season, entering Monday averaging 7.3 points and shooting a career-low 35.6 percent, but he rebounded against the Nets to score in double figures for the first time since Nov. 23. He had 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting, including two three-pointers, in the first half and carried on without trouble in the second. | 2022-12-13T03:13:36Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Surging Nets hand Wizards their seventh straight loss - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/12/wizards-nets-losing-streak/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/12/wizards-nets-losing-streak/ |
India says soldiers were injured in clash with Chinese troops
An Indian Air Force fighter jet takes off from an airbase in Leh, the capital of Ladakh bordering China, on Sept. 9, 2020. (Photo by Mohammed Arhaan Archer/AFP via Getty Images/file) (Mohd Arhaan Archer/AFP/Getty Images)
NEW DELHI — Indian and Chinese troops clashed and injured each other in recent days, the Indian government said Monday, marking the most serious incident along the contested border since the two giant nations’ soldiers were killed and captured in June 2020.
On Dec. 9, People’s Liberation Army soldiers approached the notional border in the Tawang Sector of Arunachal Pradesh, a state in far northeastern India claimed by China, leading to a face-off and “minor injuries to few personnel from both sides,” the Indian government said in a statement. The statement added that both sides quickly withdrew from the area and local commanders met to discuss the dispute.
In recent years, soldiers from both sides have patrolled up to the “Line of Actual Control” (LAC), which effectively serves as a notional border. But in some parts of the border, the LAC and its patrol points are under dispute and encamped Indian and Chinese soldiers are locked in a stand-off. In other stretches, such as Arunachal, it is loosely defined and opposing soldiers often come into contact.
In May 2020, the two sides began tussling over Indian road construction work on a barren plateau in Ladakh, at the far northern tip of India. That June, 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese died in a bloody brawl in Ladakh’s Galwan River valley. Soldiers bashed each other using stones, clubs and other weapons short of firearms — and hurled each other off cliffs, according to media reports in both countries. That September, gunshots were fired for first time.
Friday’s clash, which involved hundreds of soldiers, according to Indian media reports, would be the most serious incident since 2020. It’s not clear whether the flare-up will seriously derail ongoing talks to lower border tensions.
The Chinese government and state media have so far not addressed the reported clash.
Since 2020, corps commanders from the two militaries have met 16 times to negotiate a pullback from the LAC in Ladakh. The talks led to troop withdrawals in September from several patrol points where they have been encamped — a development that has been hailed as a breakthrough in India-China relations.
But there is “no significant reduction” in Chinese troop levels in Ladakh, Indian army chief Manoj Pande said in November. He called the border situation “stable but unpredictable.”
Meanwhile, Arunachal Pradesh in the northeast has seen less of a military buildup but remains contested. Opposition politicians and even local leaders of India’s ruling party have warned about steady Chinese encroachment on their territory and a buildup of Chinese infrastructure and settlements near the border.
China, for its part, has complained about India’s growing closeness with the United States, including in the realm of military cooperation. This month, the U.S. Army’s 11th Airborne Division held exercises with their Indian counterparts in exercises known as Yudh Abhyas. The exercises are scheduled annually but were seen as symbolically significant this year because they took place 65 miles from the Chinese border and focused on mountain warfare and disaster relief operations.
The exercises with U.S. troops “violate the spirit” of border agreements between the two countries, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said last month. “It is not conducive to mutual trust between China and India.”
In its annual China Military Power Report published on Nov. 29, the Pentagon said Chinese officials “have warned U.S. officials to not interfere with [China’s] relationship with India.”
Shams Irfan contributed to this report. | 2022-12-13T03:31:02Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Indian and Chinese troops clash along contested Arunachal Pradesh border - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/12/india-china-arunachal-border/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/12/india-china-arunachal-border/ |
Ask Amy: My roommates got together and moved out. I feel left behind.
Dear Amy: I lived in a place with my two best friends as roommates. We were the Three Musketeers. Then my two roommates started getting together. Once they started doing their thing, I felt like they completely dropped me, and suddenly, I was living in a house where I almost felt like a stranger.
Missing: If two points of a relationship triangle form an alliance, the other point is left hanging.
Susan is insisting and demanding to my father's face and in the presence of other family members that the only way she and her family will attend is if my dad pays for it, as this is what “everyone does” in a similar situation.
We are accustomed to this behavior and have tried to focus on the grandkids/nieces/nephews to deal with her entitlement, rudeness, and purposeful exclusion in favor of her family. All of my parents’ children are doing very well, and my siblings and I are grateful for all our folks have done for us.
We are used to Susan’s behavior, but these comments are hurtful and frustrating, and have hurt my parents’ feelings. My perspective is that if they don’t want to come, fine!
What would be appropriate to say if she makes this demand again? She has now done this two times in front of everyone. My brother is silent, which summarizes the last 10 years.
Bewildered: I suggest that you reach out to “Susan” privately (email might be best), saying something like: “You’ve brought up our folks’ 40th anniversary vacation a couple of times now so I thought it would be good to clarify how the plans are starting to shape up. We siblings are going to plan and give this family vacation to our folks as an anniversary gift. It’s well-deserved for two hard-working people who are celebrating this milestone anniversary. It would be nice if you could join us, but your family would be expected to pay your portion, so that will be up to you. I hope this clears up any confusion.”
Been There: Exactly. | 2022-12-13T05:42:01Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Ask Amy: My roommates got together and moved out. I feel left behind - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2022/12/13/ask-amy-roommates-couple-friends/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2022/12/13/ask-amy-roommates-couple-friends/ |
Miss Manners: I said no to a late-night business meeting at a hotel
He explained that he would be otherwise occupied all day and could only meet me at his hotel — after 10 p.m. He would be leaving the following day, so he could only see me then, face to face, to discuss working together.
I was understandably reluctant, yet he insisted the meeting could only be at his hotel. This seemed like something of a red flag. I could not find someone to accompany me, and my friends all urged me not to go under the circumstances. I ended up declining and have always had some painful feelings about it. My discomfort with being placed in that position tainted what limited interactions we had after that.
Do you not read the news? Or are you basing this scenario on a notorious case that happened to someone else?
Your relative is indulging in what is known as insult collecting: searching for insult where obviously none was intended. Some people are quite skilled at this, and they can turn the most innocuous remarks into a grievance. | 2022-12-13T05:42:13Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Miss Manners: I said no to a late-night business meeting at a hotel - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2022/12/13/miss-manners-work-meeting-hotel/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/advice/2022/12/13/miss-manners-work-meeting-hotel/ |
Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) shoots as Oklahoma City Thunder’s Aleksej Pokusevski (17) and Luguentz Dort, right, defend in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Dec. 12, 2022, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
DALLAS — Luka Doncic had 38 points and 11 rebounds in his return from a one-game absence, and Spencer Dinwiddie added 20 points and 10 assists as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-114 on Monday night. | 2022-12-13T05:43:36Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Doncic scores 38, Dinwiddie 20 as Mavs beat Thunder 121-114 - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nba/doncic-scores-38-dinwiddie-20-as-mavs-beat-thunder-121-114/2022/12/12/0a7dde4c-7a9d-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nba/doncic-scores-38-dinwiddie-20-as-mavs-beat-thunder-121-114/2022/12/12/0a7dde4c-7a9d-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Analysis by Antony Sguazzin | Bloomberg
Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president, left, and Gwede Mantashe, South Africa’s mineral resources and energy minister, during an event to present a hydrogen-powered truck, part of Anglo American Plc’s NuGen carbon-neutral project, at the Anglo American Platinum Ltd. Mogalakwena platinum mine in Mogalakwena, South Africa, on Friday, May 6, 2022. Anglo American unveiled the worlds biggest green-hydrogen powered truck at a platinum mine in northeast South Africa where it aims to replace a fleet of 40 diesel-fueled vehicles that each use about a million liters of the fossil fuel every year. (Bloomberg)
Mantashe -- who is also the powerful chairman of the ANC -- has dragged his feet on getting more renewable energy onto the grid. This is needed to replace coal plants that are nearing their end of life. Indeed, he has repeatedly championed South Africa’s abundant coal resources in the face of opposition from environmental activists and a lack of enthusiasm from banks for the dirtiest of fuel. The minister has all but called for the removal of Eskom’s Chief Executive Officer, Andre de Ruyter, saying he’s unsuited to the job.
• South African Woes Go Deeper Than Ramaphosa’s Sofa: Daniel Moss
Antony Sguazzin is a reporter for Bloomberg News based in Johannesburg, South Africa. | 2022-12-13T07:13:40Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Who Unplugged South Africa? - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/who-unplugged-south-africa/2022/12/13/33128cb8-7aac-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/who-unplugged-south-africa/2022/12/13/33128cb8-7aac-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Bilal Sufi, left, owner of Baking Virsa eatery, serves traditional kebabs and naan bread in Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022. No menu. Baking Virsa, a hole-in-the-wall in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore described as the country’s most expensive restaurant for serving household favorites like flatbreads and kebabs at exorbitant prices. (AP Photo/K. M. Chaudary) (K.M. Chaudary/AP) | 2022-12-13T07:13:41Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Exclusive dining: Pakistani hole-in-the wall dishes up faves - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/exclusive-dining-pakistani-hole-in-the-wall-dishes-up-faves/2022/12/13/d6dd783a-7aac-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/exclusive-dining-pakistani-hole-in-the-wall-dishes-up-faves/2022/12/13/d6dd783a-7aac-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Two Cheers for the Tyrant in the Corner Office
Management gurus have been preaching for years against the evils of autocratic management. Successful managers thrive on feedback, the argument goes; autocrats don’t listen to anybody but themselves. Successful managers bring out the best in their employees; autocrats turn them into shivering chihuahuas. The imperial CEOs of yesteryear — “Neutron” Jack Welch at General Electric Co. and “Chainsaw” Al Dunlop at Sunbeam Products — earn mention in business schools today only as examples of how not to manage.
The anti-autocrats can hardly control their glee at having a real-time example of the evils of autocracy — Elon Musk’s troubled takeover of Twitter. Since Musk’s arrival, the social media company has been in such turmoil that its imminent death is repeatedly announced. Having already sacked half the company’s 7,500 employees, Musk sent out a midnight email giving the remaining employees a choice between going “extremely hardcore,” by which he meant “long hours at high intensity,” or taking a three-month severance package. Another 1,200, or half the remaining workforce, quit. Musk is even in trouble with the San Francisco city authorities (who apparently don’t have anything else to do, given the impeccable state of that city’s streets) for turning conference rooms into bedrooms without planning permission. William Klepper, of Columbia Business School, has described Musk’s approach to management as “a case study of failed leadership.” Peter Coy, of the New York Times, says that “it’s hard not to draw parallels between Musk’s problems at Twitter and Vladimir Putin’s problems in Ukraine.”
But is autocratic leadership such a recipe for disaster? And is the current fashion for bleeding-heart CEOs really a recipe for success? A glance at business history suggests at the very least a nuanced answer to both questions. A striking proportion of the greatest CEOs have been autocrats — sometimes to the point of carpet-biting derangement.
Henry Ford was so obsessed with exercising personal control that he brought out all seven minority stockholders in a dispute and refused to create a proper bureaucracy (one department calculated its costs by weighing invoices). Organizational charts were verboten since everybody reported to Ford. He was so hard to please that he drove his son and heir to an early death and so obsessed with conspiracies that his henchmen lived in fear of him. He was both the greatest businessman of the 20th century and an appalling human being.
Thomas J. Watson Jr. ran International Business Machines Corp. like a cult of personality. He demanded not just obedience but complete adulation. In the IBM Rally Song, employees sang about his virtues: “The name of T. J. Watson means a courage none can stem/And we feel honored to be here to toast the ‘IBM’.” There were regular lengthy awards ceremonies in which his employees gave him awards for his various achievements. For years he boasted the longest entry in Who’s Who in which he recorded even the most Ruritanian honors (Eloy Alfaro Internat. Found. Cross, Republic of Panama.”) If he was thwarted in any way, his temper was volcanic. If his subordinates questioned his decision, they were “managed out” of the company.
Steve Jobs was a more recent example of the imperialism of the soul. Egotistical and moody, he wouldn’t accept anything less than total devotion from his employees. Apple Inc. products had to be technically and aesthetically perfect; anything less was a dereliction of duty and a personal betrayal. Nothing was too small for him to obsess over: He once called a Google executive on a Sunday about fixing the color gradient of the yellow “O” in the Google logo as it appeared on the iPhone. And no challenge was too big to deter him from his mission of turning his vision into reality.
These autocratic habits were not just incidental to these great men — the warts on otherwise unblemished faces. They were quintessential. Capitalism is at its core a bet on the future. Great businesspeople (as opposed to routine managers) are in the business of dragging a bit of the future kicking and screaming into the present.
To do this they need rare qualities. They need to be able to distill the future into its essence — putting the world on wheels in Ford’s case or bringing the power and beauty of technology to the public in Jobs’s. They need to be willing to stick to their vision even when everybody tells them that they are nuts. And they need to create organizations that will turn that vision into reality. Doing all these things requires the personality traits of the autocrat rather than the servant-leader or empathizer-in-chief: stubbornness, arrogance, monomania, a willingness to turn other people into objects of your will. Those might not be the best qualities in a dinner companion. But they are necessary if you are going to change the direction of history.
Autocracy certainly has its downsides. The mix of qualities that companies need to succeed changes as they mature from start-ups into regular businesses: The very qualities that made Ford a great entrepreneur — his intolerance of other people’s doubts and his conviction that he knew what people wanted better than they did — condemned his company to relative decline.
Lord Acton’s dictum about power corrupting and absolute power corrupting absolutely applies to corporations. A host of studies show that even in regular people power produces over-confidence, risk-taking, insensitivity, intolerance and a higher likelihood of treating other people as means rather than ends. The so-called “cookie monster study,” conducted by psychologists at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, shows that randomly assigned “powerful people” are more likely to help themselves to second cookies, eat with their mouths open and get crumbs on their faces. A handful of autocratic CEOs get better with age (Jobs) or sense when it is time to hand over power (Jeff Bezos) or shift their focus to another great project (Bill Gates). Many more, like Ford in the past and perhaps Mark Zuckerberg today, become victims of the qualities that made them great in the first place.
Still, the downside of corporate autocracies is nothing compared with the downside of corporate democracies. The idea that companies need to import the democratic spirit in order to thrive in today’s world of knowledge-workers and opinionated citizens rests on a category error. We are born into citizenship. We choose to work for this and that company. The point of companies is to do things collectively that can’t be done individually or by the market. They need clear directions from the top and clear systems of command and control. Leaders need to be willing to take unpopular decisions when times are tough as well as to stroke egos when they are easy. Empowerment is fine if it increases the creativity of the whole. But too often it means people pursuing their own interests or wasting time in endless meetings or, in the most self-indulgent companies, consciousness-raising sessions. Peter Drucker would undoubtedly rethink his argument that companies should model themselves on voluntary organizations if he could look at the way that many progressive groups in America have been brought to a standstill by navel-gazing, recrimination and internal witch hunts.
Which brings us back to our supposed showpiece of the evils of autocratic management, Elon Musk and Twitter Corp. Musk was probably wrong to buy Twitter given the clash between his own values and those of the company’s established employees. He was certainly wrong to pay $44 billion for it. He is unlikely to be able to turn it into a revenue source any time soon if at all. Musk buying Twitter was more like Jeff Bezos buying the Washington Post or Laurene Powell Jobs buying The Atlantic than a commercial activity. Musk’s other interests, particularly Tesla Inc., have paid a heavy price for his obsession with Twitter. Notwithstanding all the hyperventilating, there is a significant chance that the platform will collapse, or that the ever-mercurial Musk will lose interest.
That said, there is also a plausible argument in favor of Musk’s authoritarian style. His authoritarian techniques have served him well in other areas. He has repeatedly used the same playbook: Create a sense of existential crisis (the world overheating or humanity having a reserve planet in Mars); unveil a bold solution (the electric car or a private spaceship); work like hell to get the idea off the ground; obsess about minor details; and ignore little things like turning a profit. During the early days of Tesla, he worked 120 hours a week, sleeping in the factory, popping Ambien, to get the first car out of the door. (“Nobody ever changed the world on 40-hours a week,” as Musk likes to say.) In 2012 he fixated on the ugliness of the car’s sun visor and declared that “we have to decide on the best sun visor in the world and then do better.” His techniques have always brought crisis and chaos — staff resigning, share-price yo-yoing, bankers losing patience, conflicts with the authorities. They have also helped to bring the future into being: Tesla’s market capitalization is five times as great as Ford’s and GM’s put together, and SpaceX’s Starship is the largest launch system ever constructed.
Applying the same technique to Twitter will be harder. In Twitter’s case, it’s harder to find a compelling vision that everybody can get behind in the way that they can get behind reducing pollution — Musk is discovering that free-speech absolutism must be compromised when it comes to anti-Semitism or hard-core pornography or the crazier conspiracy theories. It’s also harder to persuade advertisers to stick with you when you’re potentially playing with fire.
On the other hand, Twitter was ripe for tough love, having gone from start-up to decadence without the intervening period of success. Twitter lost money in eight of the past 10 years and seldom launched new ideas or products. Facebook, by contrast, enjoyed twice the revenue per employee than Twitter despite having more workers devoted to longer-term products. Under-employed workers spent their time in meetings or helping themselves to various corporate perks rather than coming up with new ideas. The urgent task of acting as a fair monitor of content was handicapped by liberal groupthink. Musk was undoubtedly right to cut the size of the staff (though he may have lost good people in the chaotic way that he did it), and undoubtedly right to give a complacent culture a shake-up.
There is nothing wrong with applying the smack of firm government to Twitter and trying to inject a culture of hard work and incessant innovation into a prematurely decadent organization. The best advice for Musk is not to change his autocratic management style but to know when it’s time to finish with Twitter and focus on more important ventures, not least the company that turned him into the world’s richest man in the first place, Tesla.
• The Curse of the Iconic CEO Is Bigger Than Disney: Beth Kowitt | 2022-12-13T07:14:02Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Two Cheers for the Tyrant in the Corner Office - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/two-cheers-for-the-tyrant-in-the-corner-office/2022/12/13/33c4af38-7aac-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/two-cheers-for-the-tyrant-in-the-corner-office/2022/12/13/33c4af38-7aac-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Marijane Meaker, trailblazing author of lesbian novels, dies at 95
Her 1952 book ‘Spring Fire,’ written under the name Vin Packer, helped pioneer the genre of lesbian pulp fiction. She was also acclaimed for her sensitive young-adult novels.
Author Marijane Meaker outside her home in Springs, N.Y. She was known for her 1952 book “Spring Fire,” one of the first lesbian paperback novels. (Zoe Kamitses)
Marijane Meaker, a witty and incisive author who wrote dozens of books under multiple pen names, but who was best known for helping pioneer the genre of lesbian pulp fiction and for writing sensitive and realistic young-adult novels, died Nov. 21 at her home in Springs, a hamlet in East Hampton, N.Y. She was 95.
The cause was cardiac arrest, said Zoe Kamitses, a longtime friend.
A colorful raconteur who said she always loved pen names and disguises, Ms. Meaker wrote children’s books as Mary James and young-adult novels as M.E. Kerr (the pseudonym mimicked the pronunciation of her surname), addressing issues including racism, sexism, mental illness, disability and homophobia.
Author and critic Anita Silvey once wrote that she was “one of the few young adult writers who can take a subject that affects teenagers’ lives, can say something important to young readers about it, and can craft what is first and foremost a good story, without preaching and without histrionics.”
Ms. Meaker also wrote a few books under her own name, including the well-received memoir “Highsmith: A Romance of the Fifties” (2003), about her two-year relationship with Patricia Highsmith, the author of psychological thrillers including “Strangers on a Train” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” as well as the lesbian novel “The Price of Salt.” The two women met in 1959 at a lesbian bar in Greenwich Village — Ms. Meaker said that Highsmith “looked like a combination of Prince Valiant and Rudolf Nureyev” — and lived together for six months, much of it fractious, near New Hope, Pa.
Although Highsmith was the more critically acclaimed, Ms. Meaker was by then making far more money, as she told it, writing paperback thrillers, mysteries and romances, including sharply observed novels about lesbian life in America. At the time, gay men and lesbians were considered “abnormal” and “perverse,” and many of her friends were still closeted.
“There were no magazines or newspapers about us, no clubs for us to belong to,” she recalled decades later, adding: “The churches and synagogues called us sinner, as they still do, and the law called us criminals. We had no legitimacy.”
But Ms. Meaker’s breakout novel “Spring Fire” (1952), a paperback original about lesbian romance at a college sorority, demonstrated the enormous appetite for books about lesbians, selling some 1.5 million copies and flabbergasting her publisher, the Fawcett imprint Gold Medal Books.
“They had never seen such mail,” she told the Chicago Tribune. “We suddenly realized that out there were a lot of women with these feelings who had absolutely no way to express them, deal with them, or cope.”
Written under the pseudonym Vin Packer, “Spring Fire” had a sultry cover showing two women sitting on a bed in slips, and a title that Ms. Meaker’s editor conceived to boost sales, intending to confuse readers thinking of James A. Michener’s novel “Fires of Spring.” It was not the first American paperback bestseller about lesbians — two years earlier, French writer Tereska Torrès found a large audience with her novel “Women’s Barracks” — but it kick-started the lesbian pulp genre, which continued with books by Ann Bannon, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Valerie Taylor and Ms. Meaker herself.
Over the next two decades, she published almost 20 mystery novels and thrillers under her Packer pseudonym, at times incorporating gay characters and storylines into novels about murders and kidnappings. Inspired by Edward Sagarin’s “The Homosexual in America” (1951), she also wrote nonfiction books about lesbian life, including “We Walk Alone” (1955) and “We, Too, Must Love” (1958).
The books were published under the pen name Ann Aldrich, following her editor’s suggestion that she use “a soft, all-American name, like that young man in the radio serial, Henry Aldrich.” Although some lesbian reviewers criticized Ms. Meaker, accusing her of perpetuating negative stereotypes about gay men and lesbians, and focusing too much on the Greenwich Village party scene, the books also found a sizable following.
Ms. Meaker said that she received a flood of letters from women seeking to tell their own stories, to ask how they could meet lesbians in their own cities, or to request directions to bars in case they ever made it to New York. Usually the author was quick to respond, although she warned that lesbian bars often closed so quickly that her readers would have to discover new ones for themselves.
“She read everything written on queer life, from psychoanalysis to Sappho, and there was very little she didn’t have an opinion on, and very little that would keep her from giving that opinion,” said Stephanie Foote, a literary scholar who wrote the afterword to 2006 editions of the Aldrich books.
“She was such a lightning rod in those days … but she was never apologetic about any of the choices she made in her work,” Foote added in an email. “It’s dated, sure, and sometimes problematic, but it’s also vibrant and funny and shrewd, and it shows us a gay world in the ’50s that is nothing like the shameful, repressed, furtive world we might imagine.”
Mary Jane Meaker was born in Auburn, a city in the New York state region of the Finger Lakes, on May 27, 1927. Her birth certificate listed her given name as two words, although by the time she got a passport in the 1950s, it was spelled “Marijane,” according to her friend Kamitses. At some point she began using the middle name Agnes, after an aunt.
Her father ran a company that manufactured mayonnaise (during World War II, they made dehydrated onions for soldiers’ rations), and her mother was a homemaker and neighborhood gossip who “would begin nearly every conversation the same way,” Ms. Meaker recalled: “ ‘Wait till you hear this!’
“Even today, when I’m finished with a book and sifting through ideas for a new one,” Ms. Meaker continued, “I ask myself: Is the idea a ‘wait till you hear this’?”
Ms. Meaker told NPR that after realizing that she was a lesbian, she schemed to be sent away, having read that “boarding schools were filled with perversion.” She was rewarded with an education at Stuart Hall, an Episcopal school in Staunton, Va., where she was briefly expelled for using faculty photos as a dartboard.
She later attended Vermont Junior College in Montpelier and studied English at the University of Missouri, receiving a bachelor’s degree in 1949.
After moving to New York, she submitted stories to women’s magazines including Ladies’ Home Journal, writing under pen names and promoting her work by pretending to be a literary agent, meeting with publishers and editors to talk about her pseudonymous “clients.”
She also worked as a secretary for Dick Carroll, who became her first editor at Gold Medal Books. Sitting down for drinks at the Algonquin Hotel one evening, he asked her, “What kind of story is a young girl like you burning to tell?” — leading to the publication of “Spring Fire,” albeit with a different ending than what she had originally envisioned.
Because the novel would be circulating through the mail, Carroll told her, it was open to government censorship, which meant that she could not be seen as proselytizing for homosexuality. Ms. Meaker was happy to oblige, so long as it meant getting the novel published: At the end of “Spring Fire,” one of her female protagonists has a car accident and a nervous breakdown. The other visits a doctor and decides that she was straight all along.
With encouragement from her friend Louise Fitzhugh, the author of “Harriet the Spy,” Ms. Meaker turned toward young-adult fiction in 1972, publishing the novel “Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack!,” about an overweight teenager struggling to attract her mother’s attention.
Ms. Meaker “has an ear for catching the sound of real people talking,” wrote New York Times reviewer Dale Carlson, “and a heart for finding the center of real people’s problems.”
Her later novels often featured ordinary characters in extraordinary situations, like a boy who discovers that his grandfather was a Nazi war criminal in “Gentlehands” (1978) and a 17-year-old who confronts his brother’s AIDS diagnosis in “Night Kites” (1986), one of the first young-adult novels to address the AIDS epidemic.
Ms. Meaker’s other books include “Shockproof Sydney Skate” (1972), a coming-of-age novel written under her own name; “Shoebag” (1990), which reversed the plot of Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” to tell the story of a cockroach who transforms into a boy; and “Deliver Us From Evie” (1994), a lesbian romance set in rural Missouri.
In 1993, she received the American Library Association’s Margaret A. Edwards Award for contributions to young-adult literature. “When I think of myself and what I would have like to have found in books those many years ago,” she said at the time, “I remember being depressed by all the neatly tied-up, happy-ending stories, the abundance of winners, the themes of winning, solving, finding — when around me it didn’t seem that easy. I write with a different feeling when I write for young adults. I guess I write for myself at that age.”
Ms. Meaker leaves no immediate survivors. She had lived since the early 1970s on the East End of Long Island, where she started a writers’ organization, the Ashawagh Hall Writers Workshop, which she continued leading into her 80s. By then, members of the group — including crime novelist Vincent Lardo — had published more than 20 novels.
Many of her own books were drawn from memories of her own childhood and adolescence, as she acknowledged in a memoir, “Me Me Me Me Me: Not a Novel” (1983).
“Whenever you find a little smart-mouth, tomboy kid in any of my books,” she wrote, “you have found me from long ago.” | 2022-12-13T07:14:26Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Marijane Meaker, trailblazing author of lesbian novels, dies at 95 - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/12/13/marijane-meaker-dead-lesbian-fiction/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/12/13/marijane-meaker-dead-lesbian-fiction/ |
Famous Los Angeles cougar, P-22, is captured after killing Chihuahua
Los Angeles' famous mountain lion, P-22, was neutralized in a residential neighborhood by wildlife officers on Dec. 12 after attacking a neighborhood dog. (Video: The Washington Post)
A mountain lion who made a name for himself in Hollywood, navigating busy freeways and establishing a home range in a sprawling city park, was captured by Californian wildlife authorities on Monday after he killed a dog that was being walked in the park.
P-22, as he is known, was tranquilized by wildlife officers, who found him in a residential neighborhood in the Los Feliz area, south of Griffith Park. He was taken to a care facility for wild animals for a full health evaluation after authorities received an anonymous tip-off that he may have been struck by a vehicle.
“After an initial assessment by qualified veterinarians, the lion was deemed to be in stable condition and is undergoing additional veterinary evaluation,” the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the National Park Service said in a news release.
Resident Sarah Picchi was working from home when her doorbell rang just before 11 a.m. “There’s a lion in your backyard,” the wildlife officer at the other end of the line declared. Their house is nestled on a quarter-acre section of Los Angeles hillside, covered in trees and bushes — typical of the city’s mix of wilderness and urban areas.
Picchi and her husband watched from their balcony as a group of wildlife officers cautiously approached the mountain lion with a tranquilizer gun, careful not to startle the animal, which was sheltering behind some bushes in the corner of the yard.
Once he was subdued, the wildlife officers checked to make sure he was breathing okay, took his temperature and checked his teeth, before carrying him on a tarp to an awaiting vehicle, she said. By 11.32 a.m., he had been loaded into a container and was gone, leaving Picchi to contemplate her brush with a Los Angeles legend.
“It was by far my most interesting Zoom interruption and work-from-home day ever,” she recalled over the phone on Monday evening. “It’s cool to be part of L.A. history.”
Grizzlies once thrived in these wilds. The U.S. may bring them back.
P-22 for years made the nearby Griffith Park his home, strutting around with the Hollywood sign in the background and endearing himself to many Los Angeles residents.
Wildlife officials believe he came from the Santa Monica mountains, somehow crossed the 101 and 405 freeways, and entered the park in February 2012. He established what wildlife experts say is the smallest known home range ever recorded for a male mountain lion.
Famous mountain lion P-22 made himself right at home under a Los Angeles porch
Recently, though, authorities have become increasingly worried about his behavior. He is estimated to be about 12 years old — which wildlife officials said is “remarkably old” for a cat in the wild. Last week, they announced plans to capture the mountain lion and bring him in for a medical examination. Lashing out and killing a Chihuahua being walked by its owner in the Hollywood Hills last month indicated he may be in distress, officials said in a Dec. 8 news release.
“This is an unprecedented situation in which a mountain lion has continued to survive in such an urban setting. As P-22 has aged, however, the challenges associated with living on an island of habitat seem to be increasing and scientists are noting a recent change in his behavior,” officials said last week. “This underscores the consequences of a lack of habitat connectivity for mountain lions and all wildlife.”
Normally, the mountain lion — who shot to global fame after being captured on hidden camera by National Geographic a decade ago, skulking beneath the Hollywood sign — would hunt deer and coyotes.
The recent incident in which he killed a pet dog and another suspected attack in which a Chihuahua was injured are possible signs of his frailty, wildlife experts say. In the latter incident, the dog’s owner reportedly fought off the cougar.
“P-22 has always been in an unprecedented situation. Never has a mountain lion lived in such an urban setting in one of the world’s most populated cities,” Beth Pratt, a regional director for the National Wildlife Federation, said in a recent statement. “He likely would not have lived this long if he didn’t reside on an urban island, as he probably would have been displaced by a younger male mountain lion seeking territory as is more typical.”
Following his capture, biologists will determine the best next steps for the animal, while considering the safety of the surrounding communities, California wildlife officials said Monday.
Picchi, a dog owner herself, said she can empathize with the concerns of some city residents, but she hopes the mountain lion doesn’t end his days in captivity.
“He has nine miles to roam [in Griffith Park] and he’s supposed to have, like, 150,” she said. “But the idea of going, even from having nine miles of freedom, to captivity, that just sounds really awful and sad.” | 2022-12-13T07:39:46Z | www.washingtonpost.com | L.A. mountain lion P-22 captured in Los Feliz after killing pet dog - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/13/p22-captured-mountain-lion-los-feliz/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/13/p22-captured-mountain-lion-los-feliz/ |
Ukraine live briefing: U.S. sends power supplies to Ukraine; Washington to discuss Whelan with Moscow
Apartment buildings are left without electricity during a power outage after critical civil infrastructure was hit by Russian drone attacks in Odessa on Dec. 10. (Stringer/Reuters)
A U.S. shipment of power equipment worth $13 million was on its way to Ukraine on Tuesday, with a handover expected in Poland, as part of the Biden administration’s effort to help rebuild Ukraine’s battered electrical grid. Two additional planes with equipment will depart from the United States this week.
Civil infrastructure will also be a topic of an international donor conference Tuesday in Paris, where representatives of dozens of countries are expected to address Ukraine’s need for electricity, heating and water heading into winter. French officials say that the conference aims to provide quick support, following criticism that other pledges made by the international community in recent months may only have a noticeable impact after the winter is over.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials will engage with Russia this week on efforts to free Paul Whelan, an American corporate security executive who has been held in Russia for four years and is imprisoned on charges of espionage. The United States had tried but to secure his release along with Britney Griner, the WNBA star who returned home last week in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
France will host an international donor conference in Paris on Tuesday that will focus on keeping Ukraine’s civil infrastructure working throughout what could be a dark and cold winter. The conference comes after French President Emmanuel Macron was widely criticized for saying that at the end of the war, Russia should be offered security guarantees.
U.S. and Russian officials will discuss efforts to free Paul Whelan this week, White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan said in a briefing Monday, adding that U.S. officials have been in frequent communication with Russia about securing Whelan’s release. “We have had regular engagement, of course, along the way, and the next conversation at a high level will take place this week,” he said.
Leaders of the Group of Seven met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, condemning Russia’s “unprovoked war of aggression” and nuclear brinkmanship, reaffirming commitments to move away from Russian fossil fuels and pledging ongoing support for Ukraine’s economy and military.
Bakhmut, a city in the Donbas region, is facing heavy fighting, a senior U.S. military official said in a briefing. Describing a “very tough fight," the official noted that Moscow has prioritized Bakhmut, with the mercenary organization Wagner Group “particularly committed” to the area.
Russia has been drawing from an aging ammunition stockpile, with some ammunition more than four decades old, a senior U.S. military official said in a Monday briefing. The official predicted Russia will run out of “fully serviceable artillery and rocket ammunition" by early 2023 unless it seeks replenishment from foreign suppliers or uses older ammunition.
Ukraine will continue counteroffensives in the winter months once hard freeze happens and the “ground is firmer,” Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Sunday in a news conference.
The International Olympic Committee is trying to ease its bans on Russian and Belarusian athletes ahead of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. Thomas Bach, IOC president, has expressed concern that the bans, which were imposed shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, have needlessly punished athletes for the actions of their governments.
President Biden is trying to gain support for Ukraine from African countries at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit this week. Many African nations have been hit hard by the effects of the war — wheat shortages, food supply disruptions and rising fertilizer and fuel costs. But many also depend on both Russia and the U.S. for aid and have attempted to remain neutral in the conflict.
They survived Russian occupation, then got hit by explosives left behind. When Lyudmila Ivanenka rushed outside to see Russian forces withdraw from her town, she was ready to celebrate. But on her walk home, the 69-year-old stepped on an explosive that was left behind. It tore off her right foot and injured her arm, leaving her permanently disabled, with no work and little chance of getting a prosthetic.
Ivanenka is one of many Ukrainians who have lived through the horrors of Russian occupation, only to find themselves severely injured by explosives left behind after Russian retreat, write Siobhán O’Grady, Michael E. Miller and Anastacia Galouchka. Their plight is echoed by generations of war survivors — from Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam and elsewhere. | 2022-12-13T08:14:39Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Russia-Ukraine war latest updates: U.S., Russia to discuss Paul Whelan - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/13/russia-ukraine-war-latest-updates/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/13/russia-ukraine-war-latest-updates/ |
They survived Russian occupation, then got hit by explosives left behind
Michael E. Miller
Anastacia Galouchka
Lyudmila Ivanenka lost her right foot when she stepped on a land mine in September after rushing outside to watch Russian forces retreating following months of occupation. (Wojciech Grzedzinski for The Washington Post)
IZYUM, Ukraine — The day Russian forces withdrew from her Ukrainian town, 69-year-old Lyudmila Ivanenka rushed outside to see which way they were headed.
But her celebration over their unexpected retreat was cut short when, on her walk home, she stepped on an explosive she believes the troops scattered on their way out: a land mine. The blast ripped off her right foot and badly injured her arm.
Terrified that Russian troops would shell any moving vehicles, witnesses pushed Ivanenka to the hospital in a shopping cart. The journey took hours, and she nearly bled to death.
“The foot was gone,” she said from her hospital bed a few days later. “Just a piece of meat hanging at the heel.”
When she heard Russian forces were evacuating her Ukrainian town, Lyudmila Ivanenka ran to see which direction they going. Then, her life changed in an instant. (Video: Whitney Shefte/The Washington Post)
Mines and other explosives that troops leave behind have haunted generations of war victims, maiming and killing civilians in Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam and many other countries, even decades after peace treaties were signed and troops withdrawn.
In Ukraine, such hidden ordnance is tormenting civilians who — often after surviving the horrors of prolonged Russian occupation — are wounded or killed in explosions after the Russians retreat.
Ivanenka said she stepped on what she described as a PFM1 anti-personnel mine — also known as a butterfly or petal mine. These mines, which are around the size of a fist, can be triggered by a footstep on or near them.
Typically green or brown, they can be dispersed by aircraft or through mortars and are often hard to discern in forests and fields. They, like other anti-personnel mines, are banned by international law due to how easily they harm civilians.
Landmine Monitor, a publication that tracks efforts to abolish land mines, confirmed in a November report that Russia has used at least seven types of antipersonnel mines in Ukraine this year. It also found that Russian-backed separatist forces used antipersonnel mines since 2014.
Russia is not a signatory of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, which prohibited anti-personnel mines and mandated that countries destroy their stockpiles. Ukraine signed the treaty in 1999 and joined as a state party seven years later, but has been in violation of the accord, Landmine Monitor reported, for failing to fully destroy its stockpile of antipersonnel mines by a 2010 deadline.
While Ukraine still possesses stockpiles of such mines, which are expensive to eliminate, a previous Landmine Monitor report found no evidence that Ukraine had used antipersonnel mines in its conflict with Russian-backed separatists since 2014.
Landmine Monitor also said “there is no independent confirmation … as of yet” of Russian allegations that Ukraine has used such mines in the war this year, but “a final assessment and attribution of use of PFM-type mines in Ukraine is not possible at this time.”
And in a separate report published in June, Human Rights Watch said: “There is no credible information that Ukrainian government forces have used antipersonnel mines in violation of the Mine Ban Treaty since 2014 and into 2022.”
Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented posthumous awards to four police officers, including the chief of the national police in the Cherkasy region, who were working to clear mines from recently liberated territory in Kherson.
“This is the form of Russian terror that will have to be countered for years to come,” Zelensky said in a speech. “Terrorists deliberately try to leave behind as many death traps as possible. Buried land mines, tripwire mines, mined buildings, cars and infrastructure.”
Zelensky said Russian mines were now spread across more than 100,000 square miles of Ukraine. “I am sure this will be among the charges against Russia for aggression — precisely mine terror,” Zelensky said. “Which is even more cruel and meaner than missiles, because there is no anti-mine system that could destroy at least part of the threat, as is done by our air defense.”
In Izyum, warnings that civilians should watch their step had circulated long before the Russian withdrawal, Ivanenka said. She knew to look for mines in grassy areas but never expected to step on one on a main road. Now she is disabled, with no work and few prospects for a prosthetic in the near future.
“We were looking forward to them leaving, we were waiting for it, you can’t even imagine,” she said of the Russians, describing how they shot her dog dead in front of her during their occupation. “And isn’t it frustrating for such a thing to happen at the very end of the war? At my old age?”
Even as Ivanenka was being treated at Izyum’s main hospital, explosions could be heard just outside as a demining team discovered more mines scattered across the hospital property, where the Russians also had a clinic. Staff warned visitors not to walk through grassy areas.
In August, weeks before Russian troops retreated, Viktor Naidenko walked his goat through the field behind his house in Izyum. On his walk back, he took a slight detour and stepped on what he also described as a petal mine. Like Ivanenka, his foot was torn off and he lost part of his leg.
“We don’t even know where it got here from and whose mines these were,” Naidenko said. “But there were plenty of them scattered all around Izyum.”
Because the Russians were still in control, they flew him on a helicopter to Russia for treatment. With no working phone network in Izyum, he was nearly left stranded across the border, where hospital staff would not let him leave alone. At home, his family did not know if he had survived.
With the help of volunteers, he made the long trek back to Izyum in late August — where he began to learn to live and farm with just one foot, using knee pads to chop wood and crutches to do chores. He has even taught himself to climb a ladder.
After stepping on a landmine in Izyum, Ukraine, Viktor Naidenko was flown to a hospital in Russia. His family had idea where he had been taken. (Video: Whitney Shefte, Whitney Leaming/The Washington Post)
Stories like his were common in the region, Naidenko said. He met another man in the hospital in Russia who stepped on a mine just inside his own front gate. “They drop a whole bunch of mines, and they just fly all around. They could fall anywhere,” he said.
For more than eight months, Zelenyi Hai, in Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv region, was close to the front line, and its potato and onion fields were sown with ordnance.
As Ukrainian forces drove the Russians out this fall, locals began returning to the town, and many farmers began plowing their fields again. Ukrainian soldiers stationed there said a local man recently brought them two buckets containing parts of what appeared to be undetonated Russian grad rockets.
Another man, Oleksandr Pashchenko, 42, had collected a half-dozen large pieces of grads and cluster bomb tubes from his crater-scarred fields.
Pashchenko, a farmer, had set the twisted metal in his yard, not far from a storage shed that also had been struck by a bomb, roasting 20 tons of potatoes stored inside. “In the beginning, everyone was scared of picking it up,” Pashchenko said of the ordnance as he casually handled a chunk. “But now the shrapnel is everywhere. We’re used to it.”
Such familiarity had almost proved deadly just a few days earlier, when a young man spotted something shining in the wheat furrows. Mykola Osadtseva, 19, stopped his tractor and picked up the baseball-sized metallic object. Thinking it was shrapnel, he put it under his seat and kept plowing.
When he returned home, he tossed the object out of the tractor. When it hit the ground, it detonated. The explosion shattered the tractor window and sent shrapnel flying. Pieces tore into Osadtseva’s face, chest and leg, severing his femoral artery.
Shrapnel also hit his 12-year-old brother-in-law, Oleksandr Lupashchenko, who idolized him and had come by to say hello. Osadtseva’s wife, Natalya Reznichenko, was in the kitchen sorting through humanitarian aid when she heard the blast. Reznichenko thought a missile or mortar had fallen from the sky. But when she ran outside, she saw no crater, only her husband in a rapidly growing pool of blood.
Neighbors came running to help, including Osadtseva’s boss, who used a belt to tourniquet his leg and then frantically drove him to a hospital in the city. Osadtseva feared he would die on the way. They arrived just as he was losing consciousness, and doctors rushed to operate and stop the bleeding.
Lupashchenko’s injuries were less severe: doctors removed most of the shrapnel from his leg, and the rest was quickly working its way out on its own. The 12-year-old had been told to stay off his feet, but a few days after his release from the hospital, he was already walking and itching to get back on his bike.
Osadtseva wasn’t as fortunate. He spent three days in a coma. When he woke up, he found that doctors had saved his left leg, but it would be a long time before he would be able to walk the fields again.
Worse, he couldn’t see out of his right eye. Doctors said they did not know if he ever would. On his first day home from the hospital, he lay weak and still on his bed.
Osadtseva was worried about how he would provide for his family now. He recently became a father for the first time, and his 1-month-old daughter lay silently at his side.
But the baby was to his right and Osadtseva couldn’t see her.
Miller reported from Zelenyi Hai, Ukraine. Galouchka reported from Zelenyi Hai and Izyum. | 2022-12-13T08:14:45Z | www.washingtonpost.com | They survived Russian occupation, then got hit by explosives left behind - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/13/ukraine-mines-ordnance-injured-russia/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/13/ukraine-mines-ordnance-injured-russia/ |
BOTTOM LINE: Charleston Southern visits the Tennessee State Tigers after Tyeree Bryan scored 23 points in Charleston Southern’s 76-65 loss to the Kennesaw State Owls.
The Tigers are 5-0 on their home court. Tennessee State has a 1-0 record in games decided by less than 4 points.
The Buccaneers have gone 0-4 away from home. Charleston Southern is 1-1 when it wins the turnover battle and averages 11.8 turnovers per game.
Claudell Harris Jr. is averaging 16.9 points for the Buccaneers. Taje’ Kelly is averaging 11.3 points and 6.5 rebounds for Charleston Southern. | 2022-12-13T08:45:42Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Bryan and Charleston Southern host Tennessee State - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/bryan-and-charleston-southern-host-tennessee-state/2022/12/13/d3b59568-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/bryan-and-charleston-southern-host-tennessee-state/2022/12/13/d3b59568-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Citadel hosts Davis and North Carolina
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: North Carolina -26; over/under is 144.5
BOTTOM LINE: North Carolina takes on the Citadel Bulldogs after RJ Davis scored 22 points in North Carolina’s 75-59 victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
The Tar Heels are 5-0 in home games. North Carolina is second in the ACC scoring 79.0 points while shooting 45.4% from the field.
The Bulldogs have gone 2-2 away from home. Citadel averages 11.9 turnovers per game and is 2-1 when winning the turnover battle.
TOP PERFORMERS: Caleb Love is shooting 40.6% and averaging 18.1 points for the Tar Heels. Pete Nance is averaging 1.3 made 3-pointers for North Carolina.
Stephen Clark is averaging 16.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks for the Bulldogs. Austin Ash is averaging 15.1 points for Citadel. | 2022-12-13T08:46:00Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Citadel hosts Davis and North Carolina - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/citadel-hosts-davis-and-north-carolina/2022/12/13/486dd460-7aba-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/citadel-hosts-davis-and-north-carolina/2022/12/13/486dd460-7aba-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Florida Gators and the Ohio Bobcats meet in Tampa, Florida
Ohio Bobcats (5-4) vs. Florida Gators (6-4)
BOTTOM LINE: The Ohio Bobcats and the Florida Gators meet at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
The Gators have a 6-4 record in non-conference play. Florida ranks third in the SEC shooting 37.5% from deep, led by Alex Klatsky shooting 100.0% from 3-point range.
The Bobcats have a 5-4 record in non-conference play. Ohio leads the MAC with 12.0 offensive rebounds per game led by Dwight Wilson averaging 3.8.
Wilson is scoring 12.5 points per game and averaging 10.0 rebounds for the Bobcats. Miles Brown is averaging 10.6 points and 3.3 rebounds for Ohio. | 2022-12-13T08:46:49Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Florida Gators and the Ohio Bobcats meet in Tampa, Florida - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/florida-gators-and-the-ohio-bobcats-meet-in-tampa-florida/2022/12/13/f2a05710-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/florida-gators-and-the-ohio-bobcats-meet-in-tampa-florida/2022/12/13/f2a05710-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Jackson State hosts Smith and No. 17 Mississippi State
BOTTOM LINE: No. 17 Mississippi State plays the Jackson State Tigers after Tolu Smith scored 20 points in Mississippi State’s 69-51 victory against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
The Bulldogs are 5-0 in home games. Mississippi State is 7-0 in games decided by 10 or more points.
The Tigers are 1-8 on the road. Jackson State is third in the SWAC with 10.4 offensive rebounds per game led by Romelle Mansel averaging 2.4.
TOP PERFORMERS: Smith is shooting 62.0% and averaging 16.7 points for the Bulldogs. Dashawn Davis is averaging 2.2 made 3-pointers for Mississippi State.
Ken Evans is averaging 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals for the Tigers. Trace Young is averaging 12.3 points for Jackson State. | 2022-12-13T08:47:31Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Jackson State hosts Smith and No. 17 Mississippi State - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/jackson-state-hosts-smith-and-no-17-mississippi-state/2022/12/13/56fd0384-7aba-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/jackson-state-hosts-smith-and-no-17-mississippi-state/2022/12/13/56fd0384-7aba-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Louisville hosts Western Kentucky following McKnight's 32-point outing
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (8-1) at Louisville Cardinals (0-9, 0-2 ACC)
Louisville, Kentucky; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Western Kentucky visits the Louisville Cardinals after Dayvion McKnight scored 32 points in Western Kentucky’s 64-60 victory against the Wright State Raiders.
The Cardinals have gone 0-5 in home games. Louisville allows 74.0 points and has been outscored by 17.1 points per game.
The Hilltoppers are 2-0 in road games. Western Kentucky is eighth in C-USA scoring 30.0 points per game in the paint led by Jordan Rawls averaging 5.3.
TOP PERFORMERS: El Ellis is shooting 35.8% and averaging 15.6 points for the Cardinals. Jae’Lyn Withers is averaging 1.0 made 3-pointers for Louisville.
McKnight is averaging 14.3 points, 5.3 assists and 2.1 steals for the Hilltoppers. Emmanuel Akot is averaging 13.1 points and 3.2 assists for Western Kentucky. | 2022-12-13T08:47:49Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Louisville hosts Western Kentucky following McKnight's 32-point outing - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/louisville-hosts-western-kentucky-following-mcknights-32-point-outing/2022/12/13/d0443e02-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/louisville-hosts-western-kentucky-following-mcknights-32-point-outing/2022/12/13/d0443e02-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Loyola (MD) faces UMBC, aims to stop 3-game slide
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Loyola (MD) -3.5; over/under is 138.5
BOTTOM LINE: Loyola (MD) heads into the matchup with UMBC as losers of three games in a row.
The Greyhounds have gone 2-1 at home. Loyola (MD) ranks fourth in the Patriot with 8.0 offensive rebounds per game led by Golden Dike averaging 1.9.
The Retrievers are 2-3 on the road. UMBC has a 1-0 record in games decided by less than 4 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jaylin Andrews is averaging 11.1 points and 1.7 steals for the Greyhounds. Kenny Jones is averaging 11.0 points over the last 10 games for Loyola (MD).
Matteo Picarelli is shooting 50.0% from beyond the arc with 3.1 made 3-pointers per game for the Retrievers, while averaging 12.5 points. Colton Lawrence is averaging 15.4 points over the past 10 games for UMBC. | 2022-12-13T08:47:55Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Loyola (MD) faces UMBC, aims to stop 3-game slide - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/loyola-md-faces-umbc-aims-to-stop-3-game-slide/2022/12/13/215e24d8-7aba-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/loyola-md-faces-umbc-aims-to-stop-3-game-slide/2022/12/13/215e24d8-7aba-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Marshall visits UNC Greensboro after Kinsey's 26-point game
Marshall Thundering Herd (9-1) at UNC Greensboro Spartans (4-6)
Greensboro, North Carolina; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EST
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: UNC Greensboro -3.5; over/under is 141.5
BOTTOM LINE: Marshall faces the UNC Greensboro Spartans after Taevion Kinsey scored 26 points in Marshall’s 69-60 victory over the Robert Morris Colonials.
The Spartans are 2-1 on their home court. UNC Greensboro is seventh in the SoCon with 13.3 assists per game led by Kobe Langley averaging 4.0.
The Thundering Herd are 3-1 on the road. Marshall is seventh in college basketball with 19.1 assists per game led by Kinsey averaging 5.5.
TOP PERFORMERS: Keondre Kennedy is shooting 40.2% and averaging 13.9 points for the Spartans. Keyshaun Langley is averaging 11.3 points for UNC Greensboro.
Kinsey is averaging 20.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.3 steals for the Thundering Herd. Andrew Taylor is averaging 18.8 points for Marshall. | 2022-12-13T08:48:07Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Marshall visits UNC Greensboro after Kinsey's 26-point game - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/marshall-visits-unc-greensboro-after-kinseys-26-point-game/2022/12/13/40936cfa-7aba-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/marshall-visits-unc-greensboro-after-kinseys-26-point-game/2022/12/13/40936cfa-7aba-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
The Bearcats have gone 5-1 at home. Cincinnati is second in the AAC shooting 35.1% from downtown, led by Viktor Lakhin shooting 100.0% from 3-point range.
The RedHawks are 0-1 on the road. Miami (OH) is fourth in the MAC scoring 75.2 points per game and is shooting 42.8%.
TOP PERFORMERS: Dejulius is scoring 16.7 points per game and averaging 1.6 rebounds for the Bearcats. Landers Nolley II is averaging 2.3 made 3-pointers for Cincinnati. | 2022-12-13T08:48:19Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Miami (OH) hosts Dejulius and Cincinnati - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/miami-oh-hosts-dejulius-and-cincinnati/2022/12/13/fdcfc422-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/miami-oh-hosts-dejulius-and-cincinnati/2022/12/13/fdcfc422-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Morehead State visits Georgia Southern on 4-game road skid
Morehead State Eagles (5-5) at Georgia Southern Eagles (6-4)
Statesboro, Georgia; Wednesday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Morehead State will aim to stop its four-game road skid when the Morehead State Eagles face Georgia Southern.
The Georgia Southern Eagles are 4-1 on their home court. Georgia Southern averages 70.5 points and has outscored opponents by 6.3 points per game.
The Morehead State Eagles are 0-4 on the road. Morehead State is second in the OVC with 34.6 rebounds per game led by Alex Gross averaging 7.6.
TOP PERFORMERS: Tyren Moore is shooting 37.8% from beyond the arc with 1.7 made 3-pointers per game for the Georgia Southern Eagles, while averaging 8.1 points. Carlos Curry is shooting 78.0% and averaging 10.3 points for Georgia Southern.
Gross is shooting 64.9% and averaging 12.8 points for the Morehead State Eagles. Mark Freeman is averaging 12.0 points for Morehead State. | 2022-12-13T08:48:25Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Morehead State visits Georgia Southern on 4-game road skid - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/morehead-state-visits-georgia-southern-on-4-game-road-skid/2022/12/13/de142e98-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/morehead-state-visits-georgia-southern-on-4-game-road-skid/2022/12/13/de142e98-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
No. 20 Maryland hosts No. 16 UCLA after Clark's 24-point game
BOTTOM LINE: No. 16 UCLA faces the No. 20 Maryland Terrapins after Jaylen Clark scored 24 points in UCLA’s 87-64 victory over the Denver Pioneers.
The Terrapins have gone 5-0 at home. Maryland is 7-0 in games decided by 10 points or more.
The Bruins are 1-0 on the road. UCLA is second in the Pac-12 scoring 81.3 points per game and is shooting 49.9%.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. is scoring 17.4 points per game and averaging 5.3 rebounds for the Bruins. Clark is averaging 15.1 points for UCLA. | 2022-12-13T08:48:44Z | www.washingtonpost.com | No. 20 Maryland hosts No. 16 UCLA after Clark's 24-point game - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/no-20-maryland-hosts-no-16-ucla-after-clarks-24-point-game/2022/12/13/8fffdd46-7aba-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/no-20-maryland-hosts-no-16-ucla-after-clarks-24-point-game/2022/12/13/8fffdd46-7aba-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Norfolk State hosts Bowling Green after Bryant's 24-point game
Bowling Green Falcons (4-5) at Norfolk State Spartans (6-4)
BOTTOM LINE: Norfolk State hosts the Bowling Green Falcons after Joe Bryant Jr. scored 24 points in Norfolk State’s 67-53 victory over the William & Mary Tribe.
The Spartans have gone 3-0 at home. Norfolk State is fourth in the MEAC scoring 74.7 points while shooting 47.3% from the field.
The Falcons have gone 2-3 away from home. Bowling Green is third in the MAC with 10.2 offensive rebounds per game led by Rashaun Agee averaging 2.1.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bryant is scoring 14.9 points per game and averaging 3.9 rebounds for the Spartans. Kris Bankston is averaging 13.0 points and 7.1 rebounds while shooting 71.4% for Norfolk State.
Leon Ayers III is averaging 15.9 points and 1.7 steals for the Falcons. Samari Curtis is averaging 13.4 points and 3.9 assists for Bowling Green. | 2022-12-13T08:48:50Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Norfolk State hosts Bowling Green after Bryant's 24-point game - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/norfolk-state-hosts-bowling-green-after-bryants-24-point-game/2022/12/13/d73f87de-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/norfolk-state-hosts-bowling-green-after-bryants-24-point-game/2022/12/13/d73f87de-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Russell leads Southeast Missouri State against Arkansas State after 25-point showing
BOTTOM LINE: Southeast Missouri State faces the Arkansas State Red Wolves after Phillip Russell scored 25 points in Southeast Missouri State’s 89-68 loss to the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons.
The Red Wolves have gone 5-1 at home. Arkansas State scores 67.9 points while outscoring opponents by 4.4 points per game.
The Redhawks are 2-3 on the road. Southeast Missouri State ranks fifth in the OVC shooting 33.7% from 3-point range.
TOP PERFORMERS: Caleb Fields is shooting 56.3% and averaging 12.3 points for the Red Wolves. Malcolm Farrington is averaging 11.6 points for Arkansas State.
Russell is averaging 16.8 points, 4.7 assists and 1.7 steals for the Redhawks. Chris Harris is averaging 11.2 points for Southeast Missouri State. | 2022-12-13T08:49:20Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Russell leads Southeast Missouri State against Arkansas State after 25-point showing - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/russell-leads-southeast-missouri-state-against-arkansas-state-after-25-point-showing/2022/12/13/daa893d4-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/russell-leads-southeast-missouri-state-against-arkansas-state-after-25-point-showing/2022/12/13/daa893d4-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Seton Hall hosts Washington and Drexel
Drexel Dragons (5-5) at Seton Hall Pirates (6-4)
Newark, New Jersey; Wednesday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Drexel plays the Seton Hall Pirates after Coletrane Washington scored 21 points in Drexel’s 65-58 overtime victory over the La Salle Explorers.
The Pirates are 3-1 in home games. Seton Hall is 2-0 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.
The Dragons are 1-1 on the road. Drexel is sixth in the CAA scoring 29.8 points per game in the paint led by Amari Williams averaging 9.0.
TOP PERFORMERS: Al-Amir Dawes is scoring 11.4 points per game with 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists for the Pirates. Tyrese Samuel is averaging 10.8 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting 52.7% for Seton Hall.
Williams is averaging 15.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, two steals and two blocks for the Dragons. Washington is averaging 13.0 points for Drexel. | 2022-12-13T08:49:44Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Seton Hall hosts Washington and Drexel - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/seton-hall-hosts-washington-and-drexel/2022/12/13/5b1da536-7aba-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/seton-hall-hosts-washington-and-drexel/2022/12/13/5b1da536-7aba-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
South Dakota hosts Coastal Carolina after Brown's 20-point showing
BOTTOM LINE: Coastal Carolina takes on the South Dakota Coyotes after Jomaru Brown scored 20 points in Coastal Carolina’s 102-39 win over the Regent Royals.
The Coyotes have gone 3-1 at home. South Dakota allows 72.5 points to opponents and has been outscored by 5.3 points per game.
The Chanticleers are 1-3 in road games. Coastal Carolina leads the Sun Belt scoring 16.4 fast break points per game.
TOP PERFORMERS: Paul Bruns is averaging 11.7 points for the Coyotes. Kruz Perrott-Hunt is averaging 10.7 points over the last 10 games for South Dakota.
Brown is averaging 16.3 points and 2.3 steals for the Chanticleers. Essam Mostafa is averaging 12.9 points and 10.4 rebounds for Coastal Carolina. | 2022-12-13T08:49:50Z | www.washingtonpost.com | South Dakota hosts Coastal Carolina after Brown's 20-point showing - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/south-dakota-hosts-coastal-carolina-after-browns-20-point-showing/2022/12/13/ef42a078-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/south-dakota-hosts-coastal-carolina-after-browns-20-point-showing/2022/12/13/ef42a078-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Southern Miss Golden Eagles (9-1) at Lamar Cardinals (4-6)
BOTTOM LINE: Southern Miss visits the Lamar Cardinals after Austin Crowley scored 24 points in Southern Miss’ 95-59 win over the Lamar Cardinals.
The Cardinals are 3-1 in home games. Lamar is 2-0 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.
The Golden Eagles are 2-1 on the road. Southern Miss is sixth in the Sun Belt with 11.0 offensive rebounds per game led by DeAndre Pinckney averaging 2.3.
Crowley is shooting 49.3% and averaging 16.5 points for the Golden Eagles. Felipe Haase is averaging 16.2 points for Southern Miss. | 2022-12-13T08:49:56Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Southern Miss visits Lamar following Crowley's 24-point outing - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/southern-miss-visits-lamar-following-crowleys-24-point-outing/2022/12/13/cce23f5c-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/southern-miss-visits-lamar-following-crowleys-24-point-outing/2022/12/13/cce23f5c-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Tubelis leads No. 9 Arizona against Texas A&M-CC after 21-point outing
BOTTOM LINE: No. 9 Arizona hosts the Texas A&M-CC Islanders after Azuolas Tubelis scored 21 points in Arizona’s 89-75 victory against the Indiana Hoosiers.
The Wildcats have gone 4-0 in home games. Arizona has a 1-0 record in one-possession games.
The Islanders are 0-3 on the road. Texas A&M-CC is second in the Southland with 11.1 offensive rebounds per game led by Isaac Mushila averaging 4.4.
Ross Williams is shooting 41.8% from beyond the arc with 2.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Islanders, while averaging 11.4 points. Mushila is averaging 15.9 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals for Texas A&M-CC. | 2022-12-13T08:50:15Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Tubelis leads No. 9 Arizona against Texas A&M-CC after 21-point outing - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/tubelis-leads-no-9-arizona-against-texas-aandm-cc-after-21-point-outing/2022/12/13/12839146-7aba-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/tubelis-leads-no-9-arizona-against-texas-aandm-cc-after-21-point-outing/2022/12/13/12839146-7aba-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
The Golden Gophers have gone 3-3 at home. Minnesota is 1-5 in games decided by 10 points or more.
The Golden Lions are 0-8 in road games. UAPB has a 0-1 record in games decided by less than 4 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jamison Battle is shooting 31.8% from beyond the arc with 2.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Golden Gophers, while averaging 11.8 points. Garcia is shooting 44.8% and averaging 13.9 points for Minnesota.
Shaun Doss is averaging 17 points and 1.6 steals for the Golden Lions. Chris Greene is averaging 11.5 points and 1.5 steals over the past 10 games for UAPB. | 2022-12-13T08:50:27Z | www.washingtonpost.com | UAPB hosts Garcia and Minnesota - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/uapb-hosts-garcia-and-minnesota/2022/12/13/ebddc9d0-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/uapb-hosts-garcia-and-minnesota/2022/12/13/ebddc9d0-7ab9-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
BOTTOM LINE: Long Beach State visits the USC Trojans after Joel Murray scored 21 points in Long Beach State’s 76-74 loss to the Sacramento State Hornets.
The Trojans are 5-1 in home games. USC is ninth in the Pac-12 with 7.6 offensive rebounds per game led by Joshua Morgan averaging 2.5.
The Beach have gone 1-3 away from home. Long Beach State ranks seventh in the Big West with 23.8 defensive rebounds per game led by Lassina Traore averaging 5.1.
TOP PERFORMERS: Boogie Ellis is shooting 36.5% from beyond the arc with 1.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Trojans, while averaging 14.4 points. Drew Peterson is shooting 45.3% and averaging 13.8 points for USC. | 2022-12-13T08:50:57Z | www.washingtonpost.com | USC hosts Long Beach State following Murray's 21-point game - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/usc-hosts-long-beach-state-following-murrays-21-point-game/2022/12/13/1dc35b18-7aba-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/usc-hosts-long-beach-state-following-murrays-21-point-game/2022/12/13/1dc35b18-7aba-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Williams leads LSU against North Carolina Central
North Carolina Central Eagles (5-5) at LSU Tigers (8-1)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: LSU plays the North Carolina Central Eagles after K.J. Williams scored 35 points in LSU’s 72-70 victory over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
The Tigers are 5-0 on their home court. LSU scores 72.0 points while outscoring opponents by 9.7 points per game.
The Eagles are 0-5 in road games. North Carolina Central is 2-5 against opponents with a winning record.
TOP PERFORMERS: Williams is shooting 54.9% and averaging 18.7 points for the Tigers. Adam Miller is averaging 2.9 made 3-pointers for LSU. | 2022-12-13T08:51:15Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Williams leads LSU against North Carolina Central - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/williams-leads-lsu-against-north-carolina-central/2022/12/13/2f30a82e-7aba-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/williams-leads-lsu-against-north-carolina-central/2022/12/13/2f30a82e-7aba-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
These musicians are on a mission to make a global tribute song for Ukraine
Mariana Thielen sings “Our Place in Time” at the Teatro Nacional in Caracas, Venezuela. (Courtesy of Rafael Rico)
Back in February, Mike Wolf watched in horror as videos of bombs raining down in Ukraine flooded his television screen. Wolf sat in front of his piano to channel his emotions and, within minutes, his hands were creating a song.
“I was watching my hands compose it. I wasn’t doing the work. It was like my hands had a life of their own. My brain wasn’t in it, but my heart sure was,” Wolf, 76, told The Washington Post. Though the business owner and composer had no personal connection to the war raging nearly 5,000 miles from his home in Wisconsin, he decided he had to do something — anything — to support Ukraine.
The result was “Our Place in Time,” a ballad in which hope, joy, grief and anguish collide, he said.
“It’s all of these emotions that everyone in the world can relate to,” Wolf said. “We’ve heard about conflict and division for so long, and I just thought, ‘what’s happening in Ukraine is so treacherous that if we forget, shame on the world.’ This is my attempt at making sure that doesn’t happen.”
Now, Wolf said, his plan is to enlist artists from across the globe to sing “Our Place in Time” in unison. A chance online encounter led him to his first partners, who were far from both Wisconsin and Ukraine.
A Minnesota publisher just gave away his newspaper to fight in Ukraine
Rafael Rico, a songwriter and music producer in Caracas, Venezuela, has yet to meet Wolf in person. But he was so moved by Wolf’s vision for his song that he set out to find the right singer to launch the global project.
“I knew we needed to get someone with the right type of voice for it — something angelic and with these sort of Disney music vibes,” Rico said.
That led him to contact Mariana Thielen, a Venezuelan radio anchor who began singing when she “was in diapers,” and has gained a social media following for her Disney song covers. Thielen, 23, said her response was an immediate and resounding “yes.”
“Music has this universality to it that everyone understands,” Thielen said. “Even if you don’t speak the language or don’t know music theory, you can still relate to what you’re hearing. That’s why it’s so powerful and that’s why I knew I really wanted to sing this song.”
For Thielen, seeing millions of Ukrainians forced to flee hit close to home — and singing a song that asks “Where are all our people now? Where did they go?” felt personal. Though Venezuela isn’t caught in a war, the South American country is facing one of the largest immigration crises in the world. According to United Nations figures, many of the world’s refugees are from Ukraine and Venezuela — with displaced people from each nation surpassing 7 million.
Watching the war from afar prompted a Chicago artist to help. So he built a Zelensky ‘Lego’ to raise money.
The chance to sing Wolf’s tribute to Ukraine also felt like a way “to highlight all the talent that exists in Venezuela,” she said.
Rico and Thielen spent about five months recording a track and video for “Our Place in Time,” sending updates to Wolf, who was supervising from afar. The video was shot in the Teatro Nacional in Caracas, a 117-year-old landmark theater, and was released on YouTube last month.
Scenes from the Teatro Nacional’s gilded rotunda are juxtaposed with imagery from Ukraine. An orchestra plays inside the dimly lit theater, where Thielen performs in a flowing red dress.
In one scene, Thielen raises her arms, resembling the angel atop Kyiv’s Independence Monument. It’s a moment that, in a way, symbolizes the relationship between Venezuela and Ukraine, Rico said.
“Back in 2014 both our countries were fighting for democracy,” he said, recalling the videos of Ukrainians showing solidarity for Venezuela at the time. Now, he said, they can show their solidarity for Ukraine.
With the English version of the song already released, Wolf, the composer, said he has enlisted people from Australia, Mexico and Japan to sing their own renditions. A woman also sent him a Ukrainian edition, which he hopes will inspire those defending their nation, he said.
“I want people to hear it at least one time,” he said. “And I hope that Ukraine is ingrained in their hearts and minds after listening to this song.” | 2022-12-13T09:06:59Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Musician wants 'Our Place in Time' to be a global tribute song for Ukraine - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/13/ukraine-tribute-song-venezuela-mariana-thielen/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/13/ukraine-tribute-song-venezuela-mariana-thielen/ |
A critique of a GAO report on charter schools
Flags decorate a space outside the office of then-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Aug. 9, 2017, at the Education Department in Washington D.C. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
In October, the U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) released a report titled “Charter Schools That Received Federal Funding to Open or Expand Were Generally Less Likely to Close Than Other Similar Charter Schools” in response to a congressional request. The report looked at data about the federal Charter School Program, which over several decades has awarded billions of dollars in grants for the expansion or opening of charters. These schools are publicly funded but privately operated, often with minimal or no oversight from a governmental agency. The GAO said in part:
The Department of Education awards Charter Schools Program (CSP) grants to help open new charter schools or replicate and expand high-quality charter schools, among other things. While few charter schools closed overall, charter schools that received CSP awards closed at lower rates than similar charter schools that did not receive an award between fiscal years 2006 and 2020. GAO’s analysis found, for example, that within five years after receiving CSP awards, CSP-recipient charters schools were about 1.5 times less likely to close than similar non-CSP charter schools—with an estimated 1.4 percent and 2.3 percent closing, respectively. Within 12 years of receiving CSP grants, the same pattern generally held. The pattern also generally held for CSP-recipient charter schools regardless of the schools’ grade level, locale, student body racial and ethnic composition, or percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch.
This post, written by Carol Burris, an award-winning former New York high school principal and now executive director of the advocacy group called Network for Public Education, raises questions about the report, saying that the GAO “used outdated charter school status data as the basis of their descriptive analysis.” She explains below how she came to that conclusion. Burris has written previously on the charter school program on this blog (for example, here and here), and in the following piece she takes issue with some of the GAO’s data and report results. The Network for Public Education is an alliance of organizations that advocates for the improvement of public education and sees charter schools as part of a movement to privatize public education.
The GAO denied that it used outdated data and said it stands by the report. It said that it needs “to use rigorous methodologies that are acceptable to social scientists and statisticians and can withstand scrutiny.” You can see its full response at the end of the piece.
The Department of Education was also asked for a comment and provided a short one that not directly address the GAO report or Burris’s critique. It said in an email: “Our administration is committed to supporting high-quality public charter schools, as reflected in the president’s budget. And we’re committed to accountability, transparency and fiscal responsibility in the federal charter school program, as reflected in our regulations.”
Burris said her data shows significant undercounting by the GAO of charter schools that closed after receiving federal grants from the Charter School Program — either through state governments or from the Education Department. She said she shared her data with the GAO on numerous occasions.
After repeated scandals in the charter school sector and negative fiscal impacts on public school districts from charter expansion, the Biden administration this year made changes to the Charter School Program in an effort to stop waste and fraud and bring more transparency to charter school operations.
Is the Charter Schools Program financing white-flight academies?
In September, the U.S. Education Department’s Office of Inspector General released an audit of the nearly 30-year-old federal Charter School Programs that found, among other things, that charter school networks and for-profit charter management organizations did not open anywhere near the number of charters they promised to open with federal funding. Previous investigations by an education advocacy group, the Network for Public Education, which opposes the growth of charter schools, had found similar problems. (You can read my stories about their “Asleep at the Wheel” reports here and here.)
Audit of charter school program finds big problems
By Carol Burris
Congress last year directed the Government Accounting Office (GAO) to investigate the controversial federal Charter Schools Program (CSP), which was the subject of regulatory reform by the Biden administration this year. In a 2021 appropriations bill, the House Committee on Appropriation said:
The Committee requests GAO to provide a report to the Committees on Appropriations on the Department’s oversight over CSP and whether the program is being implemented effectively among grantees and subgrantees. The report should include an analysis of CSP grant amounts over time that supported charter schools, with a particular focus on schools that eventually closed or received funds but never opened; the relationships between charter schools supported by CSP grants and charter management organizations; and an analysis of enrollment patterns at these schools, especially for students with disabilities. The report should examine ways to improve the Department’s oversight of CSP as well as make recommendations on potential legislative changes to the program that would reduce the potential for mismanagement and ineffective operations.
The GAO report published in October does not address all of Congress’s mandate to, and, according to my research conducted over several months, severely undercounts the number of closed CSP schools and the federal dollars spent on them. In addition, that error has a ripple effect on findings throughout the report. What follows explains what went wrong, and the facts that back up these conclusions.
GAO’s numbers don’t add up
The published report, which covered only a small part of the congressional investigatory request, examined three programs, which they refer to as (1) the State Educational Agencies/State Entities Awards, (2) the Charter Management Organizations (CMO) Awards, and (3) the Non-State Educational Agencies/Developers (Developers) Awards. The report contains a descriptive analysis of grants to schools that closed or never opened and a comparative probability analysis of grant recipients (new schools only) closing during their first 12 years. The comparative probability analysis, which became the headline for the report, was not part of the congressional request. Its findings are misinterpreted in the headline of the report.
This post, however, focuses on the requested descriptive analysis, which reported the present status (open, closed, future, will not open) of CSP awardee schools and how much was spent on those that never opened or closed. Its source was a data set given to the GAO by the U.S. Department of Education. That data set includes program information, school names, award years and amounts, identifying details, and a status for each grantee school — open, closed, opening in the future, will not open, or undetermined (as indicated by a blank) when their grant is complete.
In 2019, the department published a detailed data set of CSP awards, which you can find on the department’s website here. Most of that data set, specifically awards from 2006 through 2018, is a subset of the data set given to the GAO. The data set provided to the GAO also includes the 2019 and 2020 awards, however, we estimate that upward of 80 percent of the grantee information is in the public data set.
Let’s begin with a few examples of awardee schools and their status in the 2019 data set to understand why the report got it wrong.
Path Academy Charter School in Connecticut was a school that received a grant directly from the department. According to the 2019 data set, it received $585,800 in a three-year grant from 2013 to 2015. The data set reports the school’s status as open, but Path Academy closed in 2018 after the state discovered that the school and its charter management organization, Our Piece of the Pie, defrauded “the state of nearly $1.6 million, billing the state for 128 phantom students, operating unauthorized schools, and tolerating excessive absenteeism.”
Spirit Prep was a proposed “blended” school powered by the for-profit K12 (now Stride) online programs. It received a grant for over $186,000 in 2011 to plan for its opening. Although K12 announced in April of 2012 that Spirit Prep would open that fall, by July, the New Jersey Department of Education decided that the school would not open and denied its charter. In 2019, the department still had it listed as a “future” school with a note that it would open in 2012.
Tallulah Charter School, a Louisiana 2013 grantee, closed in 2017 following a cheating scandal. Its status is listed in the data set as open.
Hope Academy, a 2008-2010 grantee that received more than a half-million dollars, shut down in 2014 and was later sued by the state of Missouri for $3.7 million after “an audit found inflated attendance numbers.” Again, its CSP status was listed as open in 2019.
These are not isolated examples. They are representative of the hundreds of such cases that we found. Why do there appear to be so many errors?
The answer is that once the grant is finished (most end within three or fewer years), the department says it no longer checks to see if they are open. Therefore, the status of the school is frozen in time in the data set. A school open when the grant was complete may be shuttered today. The department requires that state entity, charter management organizations and developer grantees report twice a year on the operational status of all CPS-funded schools — but only for active and open grants.
This also explains why the Department of Education cautiously reports numbers of closed CSP schools using the term “closed prematurely.”
But the GAO did not check on the current status of schools, with the exception of the 189 schools that had no status in the data set. This is explained in Appendix I on pages 22 and 23 and was communicated to me in an email on Oct. 27 from GAO Assistant Director Sherri Doughty.
Recall that the GAO’s congressional mandate was “to report on CSP grants, with a particular focus on charter schools that eventually closed or never opened” (emphasis added). By accepting the department’s status in the majority of cases, it was using data that had not been updated in years, with the exception of 189 of 6,023 awards. Yet in the report, the GAO reports closures as current as of May 2022. Footnote 11 on page 11 says that the GAO defined “open” as currently open schools.
Despite my sending extensive file after file of correct information, their response was, “we stand by our report.”
Now, I will describe what they got wrong.
Extensive under-reporting of CSP awardee closures
For the Network for Public Education’s analysis, we used the public 2019 CSP data set, which is a subset of what the GAO received. The vast majority (exceeding 80 percent) of the CSP awards from 2006 forward are in the data set, which covers 13 of the 15 years examined by the GAO.
Using the procedure outlined below, NPE’s Marla Kilfoyle and I identified the extent to which the GAO underestimated the number of closed and never opened schools, which were the categories of interest to Congress.
1. We isolated those awards in the 2019 data set made in 2006 and beyond, eliminating all awards made before 2006.
2. For all charter school awards with an NCES number (91.2 percent of all awards), we checked the school status against the 2020-2021 Common Core of Data (CCD). We marked charter schools as closed if they were no longer listed in the CCD, or if they converted to public schools while retaining the same NCES number. If a charter remained a charter with the same NCES number but changed its name, that school was marked open. In some states, including California, we double-checked with the state database. [NCES numbers are the unique 12-digit school identifier found in the Common Core of Data of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). We used the charter school filter in the CCD database to include awards that went to charter schools that closed as a charter and became public schools and to identify public schools that took CSP money but never converted to a charter school.]
3. If a public school received an award to convert to a charter school but did not, we marked it as “will not open.” If schools were listed as future schools in the data set that ended in 2018 but could still not be found in the CCD, we checked outside sources and, if not found, marked it “will not open.”
4. For the remaining 8.8 percent of schools, we accepted the school status as reported in the 2019 data set, knowing that would result in an underreporting of closed and never opened charter schools and an inflated number of open and future schools. We, therefore, erred on the side of caution.
Grantee closures
Let’s start with the smallest of the three programs, the Non-State Educational Agencies (SEA)/Developers awards, which I will refer to as non-SEA awards. These awards are given directly to charter schools by the Department of Education.
According to the GAO, the department gave out 235 non-SEA awards between 2006 and 2020. The 2019 data set, from 2006 on, contains 178 of those awards. According to Table 5 of the GAO report, only six went to schools that have closed, and four went to schools that never opened, resulting in a closure rate of 3 percent and a never-opened rate of 2 percent.
Using the CCD and additional outside sources to determine the status of schools, we found 29 — not 6 — schools that received a CSP award between 2006 and 2018 that had closed. Here we provide the names, date of grant, dates regarding the school’s closing, news stories about the closure, and other verification of closure.
Some charters closed due to low enrollment or poor test scores. Others closed, as confirmed by linked news stories, due to fraud.
We also identified 13 — not four — non-SEA grant schools that never opened between 2006 and May 2022.
Even if all of the 57 awards given after 2018 went to schools that opened and thrived (which is highly unlikely), closure rates would be 12.3 percent, and the never opened rate would be 5.5 percent of the non-SEA awardees, not 3 percent, and 2 percent.
SEA/SE grantee award closures and never-opened schools
The underreporting was even more dramatic when it came to the oldest and largest of the three CSP programs (SEA/SE).
According to the GAO, the CSP (SEA/SE) program gave 4,616 school awards totaling nearly $2 billion between 2006 and 2020. The 2019 data set identifies 4,351 SEA awards as sub-grants between 2006 and 2018. Almost all (3,992) have an NCES number associated with the school.
Within the data set, there is some duplication of schools. To catch those duplications, we identified and reported the number of unique closed or never opened schools. If we had reported by award, the number would be substantially higher. The GAO report is fuzzy in its tables and narrative, sometimes referring to schools and at other times to awards. It is possible for schools, especially longtime open schools, to receive more than one award; therefore, if the GAO counted awards, not schools, its “open school” number is inflated by more than error.
If the charter school did not have an NCES number in the data set, we again accepted the status listed by the department in 2019. As stated above, this likely results in an underreporting of closures.
GAO states in Table 2 that 429 SEA/SE awards went to now-closed charter schools—a number quite similar to the 2019 CSP data set non-updated number (409). However, we found that more than twice as many, 951 closed charter schools, received one or more awards. In addition, while the GAO reported that 209 schools never opened, we identified 230. These numbers do not include closed and unopened schools given grants after 2018. The total number is higher than what we report; it cannot go lower.
Note that we did not analyze the closures of charter schools that received Charter Management Organizations (CMO) awards since the department only required CMOs to report their schools beginning in 2012. The report lists 37 percent of that CSP CMO-grant funding going to “future schools.”
Our complete analysis is available upon request. It was sent to the GAO and the department along with a tool developed by data expert Ryan Pfleger that allows one to examine the history of schools by enrollment and status across the years of the CCD. I received an email acknowledgment and thank you from a representative of the Department of Education. I received no response from the GAO.
The CCD can be an imperfect source and may have generated minor errors in our final numbers. Nevertheless, it would have provided a far more accurate accounting of “schools that eventually closed” than the outdated status in the data set of the department they were asked to audit.
The ripple effect
The error described above directly affects the number of charter schools listed as open, closed, future, and will not open. It also affects the calculation of the total taxpayer dollars that have been wasted on CSP charter schools. For example, if more than twice the number of charter schools that received CSP grants closed, the GAO report’s estimation of $152 million spent on closed and never opened SEA/SE schools during those years is only capturing less than half of that cost since more funds went to closed schools than schools that never opened.
The state-specific numbers set forth on pages 13-15 of the report similarly need correction. Some of the states identified as the biggest wasters in the report’s Figure 15 may not deserve that identification. Other states may earn the dubious honor of being in the chart.
It is difficult to track charter school closures. Some schools close as charters and become public schools. We have seen schools switch between charter and public several times. At other times, a school shuts, and a new management organization takes it over. Sometimes the school’s name, staff, and students are different; sometimes not. Charter schools merge. In some states, information is easy to find; in others, information is obscure. It doesn’t have to be this way; states and the federal Charter School Program can demand better record-keeping and reporting.
The GAO’s descriptive analysis needs to be checked, verifying whether a school is currently open using the CCD. Claims regarding closed and open schools in their report need to be revised so that it is clear those are only closures during the active years of the grants. The stakes are even higher, however, for families. The closure of any school, whether public, charter, or private, is a painful and disruptive event in a child’s life. Families deserve honest information regarding closure risk when they enroll their children in a charter school. It is time for the GAO to revise its report to Congress and the public.
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This is the response from the GAO:
We need to use rigorous methodologies that are acceptable to social scientists and statisticians and can withstand scrutiny. Practically speaking, we cannot Google the status of 6,000 schools and call that proper research. When we spot checked some of what Ms. Burris cited, we came up with conflicting results. As with any methodology and any data set, ours had limitations and they were disclosed clearly in the report.
In addition, GAO is an independent agency. We do work for Congress, but they do not dictate our research objectives, methodologies, or scope of work. GAO determined that the best way to meet Congress’s needs in this case was to conduct a descriptive analysis, which examines trends and relationships, and to pair that with a much more sophisticated model with rigorous controls in place. This was done to properly examine underlying issue at hand: the effectiveness of CSP awards. We laid out this approach to the relevant Congressional stakeholders prior to the work beginning, and they determined that it met their needs. And then it was laid out in our report as well.
We know critics who do not like our message will cherry pick at different statistics. But the message is based on a sound analysis and we stand by it.
Here is Burris’s response:
The GAO used outdated charter school status data as the basis of their descriptive analysis. The use of that data was confirmed in an email sent to me by the GAO and in the appendix of the report. The rationale for not using the Common Core of Data rather than the data provided by the Department they were auditing was illogical, especially given that they used the Common Core of Data for what they referred to as their “more rigorous model.”
The charter school status data they used is not updated once a grant is closed. This was confirmed in an email from a Department of Education spokesperson to Ms. Strauss. Therefore, when the GAO report states that its information is current as of May 2022, it is providing false information to both Congress and the public.
One does not need to “google” schools. The GAO is well aware that this is not the methodology I used. If their spot check resulted in conflicting results, I invite them to send those examples to me. | 2022-12-13T10:16:57Z | www.washingtonpost.com | A critique of a GAO report on charter schools - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/12/13/critique-gao-report-charter-schools/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/12/13/critique-gao-report-charter-schools/ |
Alexandra Pelosi is not eager to hear Nancy’s critique of her new film
“My mother will probably say, ‘Why did you put that in?’” says Alexandra, whose HBO documentary “Pelosi in the House” nevertheless paints a flattering portrait of her famous mom
By Ellen McCarthy
Nancy Pelosi and Alexandra Pelosi are seen in “Pelosi In The House,” Alexandra's latest documentary film for HBO. (Hbo)
Alexandra Pelosi gets a call from her mother every day.
By 11 a.m. one day the week before she was set to release a documentary about her mother, Nancy Pelosi, she’d already spoken to the first female speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives twice. Nancy Pelosi had called “at the break of dawn” to wish Alexandra’s teenage son a happy birthday. And when Alexandra’s Christmas tree toppled over a couple hours later, as she was preparing her New York City apartment for a celebration, she phoned her mom to vent.
But for all their closeness, despite what Alexandra describes as their “glorious, beautiful relationship as mother and daughter,” the filmmaker failed to brief her mom on one little detail: that she was, uh, making this movie about her. “Pelosi in the House” premieres Tuesday on HBO.
The House speaker wasn’t the only one who didn’t get a heads-up about the film. Pelosi accompanied her mother to the state dinner at the White House two weeks ago and ran into Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.). In footage of Alexandra’s that was shown publicly earlier this fall by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, Schumer is seen working the phones (in Schumer’s case, an old-school flip phone) alongside Nancy Pelosi as they tried to get a handle on the chaos from a secure location. “I was like, ‘Oh, sorry about the whole January 6th thing.’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, I didn’t know you were filming,’” Alexandra told The Washington Post in an interview.
“I was sitting in the corner, you know, and he had much bigger problems than what I was doing,” she said. “And he’s a guy with a flip phone, so he doesn’t understand.”
In addition to the Jan. 6 footage, Alexandra Pelosi also shows her mom in bed, in a bathrobe, makeup-less with a bandage stretched across her nose. It shows her doing math to tally the probable votes of members on the Affordable Care Act bill. It shows her dancing in socks, with a grandbaby on her hip. At one point, Nancy Pelosi stands in her office, applying mascara in front of a gilded mirror. She sanitizes her hands and turns to a staffer with a request. “There’s one thing I want to ask you to do,” she says. “Somewhere in here I have a birthday card for my granddaughter, Madeline, 21 years old.” Then she strolls through the halls of the Capitol, steps to a lectern and opens the debate over impeaching the president of the United States.
Alexandra Pelosi, 52, does not pretend that her film is an unbiased documentary. How could it be? It’s about her mom, whom she loves and admires. “She has five very-high-maintenance children and she has nine grandchildren and she can’t just call it in. She can’t outsource that,” Alexandra said. “No matter what anybody says about her, the one thing they can never take away is the fact that she has five children who actually adore her.”
Alexandra Pelosi’s documentary portrays the speaker as a disciplined political tactician but also as a mother and grandmother who is caring for her family even as she leads a house of Congress. The film, described by the San Francisco Chronicle as a “one-of-a-kind document of one of the most important women in American history,” makes the argument that Nancy’s political career wasn’t the result of a decision so much as a destiny. “I didn’t really choose this life,” Nancy Pelosi tells her daughter in the movie. “It chose me.”
The same might be said of the filmmaker and her subject. Alexandra Pelosi told The Post she never wanted to make a movie about her mom — fearing that anything she put out would be “weaponized against my mother.” But, she says, “filming is a reflex” for her, and by virtue of the access privileges that came with being family she had amassed thousands of hours of footage of a notoriously private historical figure. In 2018, while Donald Trump was president and Democrats were poised to retake control of the House of Representatives, setting Nancy Pelosi up for another stint as speaker, the younger Pelosi decided it was time to begin working on a film in earnest.
Alexandra Pelosi got her start as a documentarian with “Journeys with George,” which is based on footage she shot using a handheld video camera while covering George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign for NBC. She had the greenlight from neither NBC nor the campaign to do a movie. It was Karl Rove (of course) who pegged her strategy. “He walks over to me and goes, ‘I get it. It’s better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission.’ And then that was that. I was like, ‘That’s my motto.’”
Sure enough, Alexandra said, she never got permission to film in the Capitol. Her mother never signed a release. She says she never explicitly told her mother she was filming for a movie. “Why would I say to her, ‘Mom, I’m making a film.’ Then she would never let me film again.” (Nancy’s Pelosi’s office declined to comment for this article.) Alexandra was simply around a lot, often with her sons in tow, and often with her iPhone set to record. And though she thinks some of her mother’s aides may have “a Voodoo doll with my face on it,” she did get some of them to talk on camera. (Of course, they didn’t go off-message: “She’s a heat-seeking missile on votes,” one Nancy Pelosi staffer says of his boss.)
She insists that she’s “not in the Nancy Pelosi propaganda game.” Alexandra, the youngest of Pelosi’s five children, predicts that her family will be a tough audience. A screening was planned for Monday night at the National Archives. The Pelosi siblings were scheduled to attend, but the filmmaker planned it specifically to conflict with her mother’s congressional obligations. “My sisters will probably say, ‘Why did you put that in?’ My mother will probably say, ‘Why did you put that in?’” She is half-hoping her mother never gets around to watching the movie though suspects she will eventually, and “I don’t look forward to her critique of it,” she told The Post. She expects Nancy will be especially sensitive to scenes that involve other Democratic members of Congress.
And the filmmaker wants to be clear: “I’m not speaking for the Pelosi family. Nobody would want me speaking for the Pelosi family.” (Asked for a response to that statement, older sister Christine Pelosi was diplomatic: From her ex-boyfriends “to her hairstyles to her movies, Alexandra has always been her own unique self,” she wrote.)
One thing the film does not show is Nancy Pelosi expounding at length on her path or her process or the meaning of her historic life. Alexandra said she attempted, at one point, to get her mother to tell her life story. That didn’t go well.
“I’m sure all your colleagues have tried to sit Nancy Pelosi down for an interview and get her to emote or overshare. It’s not who she is,” Alexandra Pelosi told The Washington Post in a Zoom interview from her apartment, after getting the Christmas tree back upright. “The only way to make an honest film about Nancy Pelosi was to make a verité film, because she is her work. So you watch her work. She doesn’t do exposition.”
The film traces the speaker’s origin story back to Baltimore and the tutelage of a father who served as both congressman and mayor. “I learned from my father that it was important to know how to count,” Nancy Pelosi says. Later, she adds, “Some people count sheep at night. I count votes.” Those vote-herding skills are on display in her daughter’s footage from 2009, as she led an effort to pass the Affordable Care Act. When a Democratic congressman from Indiana wavers on voting for the bill, Pelosi pulls the most Catholic of all power moves: she calls the priest who’s serving as the president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame and gets him to agree to lean on the member. “Thank you, Father,” she says at the end of the call. “I’d love to come to get your blessing.”
The documentary feels more personal than ever. Nancy Pelosi likes to tell the story of being asked to run for Congress when 16-year-old Alexandra was her only child still at home. Before agreeing to run, Nancy asked for Alexandra’s blessing. “I said, Mom, get a life,” Pelosi recalled. “What teenage girl doesn’t want their mother out of the house three nights a week?”
Over the course of her political career, Nancy Pelosi, now 82, became an extraordinarily hated figure on the right. Earlier this year, a man entered the family’s San Francisco home searching for her, and attacked Nancy’s husband, Paul Pelosi with a hammer, fracturing his skull. As the family sat by his hospital bed in the intensive care unit, Alexandra wished, at least in that moment, that she could take back her blessing of Nancy’s decision to enter public life years earlier.
“My father looks like Frankenstein, and I’m so angry,” Alexandra recalled. “I say to my mother, ‘If I knew then what I know now, I never would have given you my permission,” the filmmaker told The Post.
It was Paul, she said, who protested. “You can’t undermine her accomplishments,” she remembered her injured father saying. “That’s not fair to her. You have to say, ‘If you came to me in this social media environment, I would never give you my blessing.”
Alexandra said that she hasn’t slept much since her father’s attack and that the threats to her family have only escalated. She suspects those threats will intensify with the release of this movie. But that didn’t make her want to pull the plug on a film that she hopes will reveal something about the sausage-making nature of the legislative process and her mother’s ability to navigate that process “backwards, in high heels.”
Alexandra Pelosi doesn’t think her film will entice many people into political life. But it might reveal what it takes to survive it. “In the end,” she said, “you have to be a true believer for this job.” | 2022-12-13T10:16:57Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Alexandra Pelosi talks about Pelosi in the House, her doc about Nancy - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/12/13/alexandra-pelosi-hbo-documentary-about-nancy-pelosi/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/12/13/alexandra-pelosi-hbo-documentary-about-nancy-pelosi/ |
Officials in Minnesota are investigating after more than a dozen sick or dead birds were found near the site
One of the 11 bald eagles that were brought to the University of Minnesota's Raptor Center last week. At least a dozen of the birds were poisoned by pentobarbital, likely from scavenging on the carcasses of euthanized animals, according to officials. (Photo courtesy of the Raptor Center)
Last Sunday, police in a Minneapolis suburb brought a sick bald eagle they’d found lying in the snow near a landfill to the University of Minnesota’s Raptor Center.
The eagle was barely moving when it was picked up, which is abnormal behavior for the revered birds — and a sign of poisoning from pentobarbital, a chemical used to euthanize animals.
At first, the case seemed typical to the Raptor Center staff, who help care for thousands of birds — from eagles and hawks to owls and vultures — each year. They’d even seen a few cases of pentobarbital poisoning before.
“That set off alarms for us, especially because there was a landfill nearby, which can often be the culprit for how these birds get exposed,” said veterinarian Victoria Hall, executive director of the center.
Under Minnesota law, animal carcasses must be disposed through incineration, rendering, composting, burial deep enough to “prevent scavenging” or other methods approved by the state.
“We’ve definitely seen volumes of sick birds, but not from pentobarbital before like this,” Hall said.
Raptor Center workers began intensive care on the birds, drawing blood samples for toxicology and lead testing. The eagles were given fluids and any food in their crops — the storage area beneath their chins — was removed in case it had poison in it.
One of the 11 eagles that had symptoms of pentobarbital poisoning also had avian flu and died. But Hall said she is “optimistic” that the other 10 will recover. Three also have lead poisoning, which eagles can pick up from scavenging on deer that were shot with ammunition containing lead, Hall said.
“Just like pentobarbital, that’s coming completely from humans, which means we have the ability to impact it and address it,” she said.
Previously included on the national endangered species list, bald eagles are protected under federal laws. The incident in Minnesota, Hall said, is a clear example of how human actions can negatively affect the national bird — and the ecosystem as a whole.
“We see hundreds of cases of poisonings every year with the raptors that come into our center for care,” she said. “Lead, rodenticide, in this case pentobarbital, and these are all things that we as humans have an ability to prevent from happening in the future, if we’re aware of it.”
Last week, the eagles couldn’t sit up on their own during their medical exams and treatment, so the center’s staff used rolled-up towels to help support their bodies.
But over the weekend, the birds started “acting up,” Hall said. They sat up on their own, flapped their wings, made noise and stuck their heads up inside their crates, looking around suspiciously as the staff worked.
In short, Hall said, they’ve started to get their “spunk” back.
“It just lifted everybody’s spirits so much because we know these birds are going in the right direction,” she said.
Soon, they’ll be taken from their crates to flight rooms so they’ll have space to spread their wings. From there, the birds will graduate to outdoor flight pens, where they can fly and to get used to the weather again.
And once they’ve been tested and cleared, they’ll be released to fly back into the wild. | 2022-12-13T10:17:06Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Bald eagles poisoned near landfill where euthanized animals were dumped - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/13/bald-eagles-minnesota-euthanized-animals/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/13/bald-eagles-minnesota-euthanized-animals/ |
Former WNBA star Alana Beard dreams of having a stake in a WNBA expansion franchise. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)
Just when Alana Beard was really getting into her Duke Athletics Hall of Fame speech last week, the crowd interrupted with applause.
As one might do when accepting a lifetime achievement award, Beard, who became the leading scorer in Duke basketball history before playing 14 seasons in the WNBA, told her story from the beginning. Coming of age in Shreveport, La., and playing backyard ball with her brother and his buddies. Knowing she had it when she began dominating those boys. Then she started dreaming.
Beard recalled that as a girl she was obsessed with becoming the first woman to play in the NBA. After saying this — her eyes already diverted back to her notes — those audacious words seemed to latch on to the guests. Many in the room began to clap; some even whistled. Beard chuckled, then kept on with her speech.
Years have passed since the girl fantasized about becoming the first, and Beard, now 40, has moved on to bigger and bolder dreams.
Beard, who played with the Washington Mystics and won a WNBA title with the Los Angeles Sparks, retired from professional basketball in 2020. Since then, she has founded the 318 Foundation, a mentorship program for girls based in her hometown that takes its name from the Shreveport area code. And she started Transition Play, a talent development firm that aids women during the professional adjustment period when their athletic careers come to an end.
And while providing opportunities to girls who are coming up in a city with almost a quarter of its residents living below the poverty line, as well as being a bridge for female athletes who might struggle as they transition out of sports, Beard is chasing another dream: owning a WNBA expansion franchise.
Maybe if Beard had announced this to the crowd in the Washington Duke Inn on Friday night, it might have wildly cheered — or remained in shocked silence. Her dream is that audacious: the former athlete who dares to run a professional team. Not only run a franchise, but do it from the ground up. Find a viable market that will support a team. Pitch her vision to investors. Build the ownership group. And, finally, convince the WNBA to take her seriously.
And the cherry on top of this challenge: There’s no blueprint. No one in Beard’s position has ever tried to turn a dream like hers into reality.
She is not Magic Johnson, whose Hall of Fame NBA career opened doors for him in Los Angeles to buy into the Lakers, Sparks, Dodgers and Los Angeles FC. She isn’t Derek Jeter, the former New York Yankees captain who acquired an ownership stake in the Miami Marlins three years after retirement. Nor does she possess the celebrity of actor Ryan Reynolds.
Reynolds, who already co-owns a Welsh soccer club and made a documentary about it, can go on a late-night talk show and publicize his desire to find an investor with “deep pockets” so he can buy the NHL’s Ottawa Senators.
But remember: Beard is not Reynolds. So she sometimes has to make cold calls and sell her dream to any investor willing to listen.
“Coming from [Reynolds], that’s normal. Coming from me, purchasing a WNBA team? Eh, no one really wants to hear it,” Beard told me last month. “I’m not complaining by any means. I’m just stating the facts. On top of that, I’m a Black woman, which makes it that much harder for people to trust that I have the capacity and the desire and the ability to bring a group together to pursue a WNBA team.”
So she has taken the next step, a critical one in this journey toward sports ownership. She’s sharing her dream out loud. Reluctantly.
“I work in the background,” she said.
Speaking on something that has yet to come to fruition — that isn’t her. Others might be in awe of her designs, but she’ll keep her head down and move on to the next topic. But Beard understands that to attract that potential lead investor, she needs to speak publicly. So when a mutual acquaintance reached out to me with a pitch and connected me to Beard, she agreed to take part in the story.
We met at a coffee shop near Shaw. Beard looked anonymous among the other patrons sipping caffeine while glued to their laptops. The only difference: Hers held the do-it-yourself action plan for owning a sports franchise.
Step 1: Believe in yourself.
She already knows the WNBA has plans on expanding. During this year’s WNBA Finals, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert restated a desire to announce potential expansion cities by the end of this year.
“You need to find the right owners with the right capital,” Engelbert said in September while ticking off a long list of steps in the process.
And that’s exactly what Beard has been doing. She found a target city: Oakland, Calif. And she reached out to Ray Bobbitt, founder of the African American Sports & Entertainment Group, about the company’s development of the Oakland Coliseum site. Though the two had never met, Bobbitt responded within an hour. Beard and the group are now partners in the pursuit of an expansion team.
Next up: Beard has to find more friends with money.
She estimates that an expansion fee for a WNBA franchise would cost upward of $20 million. She doesn’t have that kind of cash, but her network does.
While she was still playing, Beard began making her own life shift from athlete to entrepreneur. She moved into the world of venture capitalism following retirement and worked for Silicon Valley Bank Capital, where she was responsible for investment research and underwriting funds managers. It was the kind of transition she now wants to help women like Violet Alama make.
Alama, 30, played professional basketball for three seasons in Israel. An injury prematurely ended her career at 24, and only now, six years out of the game and working as a strength and conditioning coach at a private school in Hawaii, can Alama admit she is retired. Her transition, which included a stint as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Hawaii, wasn’t easy.
“When I’m reaching out for possible employment, it’s, ‘What experience do you have?’ ” Alama recalled. “I felt inadequate in comparison to my peers. … It’s a very tough transition going from walking around in public and everybody knowing you and lots of people wanting a piece of you, and just kind of being on top of the world, to I’m the one getting the warmup shirts thrown at me when someone was checking into the game.”
Alama is one of the 112 women in Transition Play and has connected with companies affiliated with Beard’s program for potential employment. Whether it’s girls in Shreveport, women in sports or an expansion team in Oakland, a common thread runs through Beard’s vision.
“On the outside, it looked like she had several disparate ideas but … it came clear to me it was really one big idea,” said Mubuso Zamchiya, co-founder of Transition Play. “She didn’t see why men should have all the fun. Not quite her words, but … she wanted to change that. She kept on saying, and I believed her, this is not about her. This about using her privilege and opportunity to widen the lens and open the doors.”
As Beard attempts her own transition from athlete to owner, she can relate to the women she’s helping. Imagine starting over from being one of the top performers in your kingdom (Beard is a two-time WNBA defensive player of the year) to being a neophyte in a world that you’re still learning. Recently, she has had meetings with potential investors, and as much as Beard has to share her vision, she also has to sell herself.
“And that’s hard,” Beard said, because she had been accustomed to the fruits of her play speaking for her.
Still, she has to do it. She has approached the WNBA and has conducted multiple conversations with people within the league’s counsel, basketball operations and finance teams.
“Do they take me serious? I don’t know,” Beard said. “But at the end of the day, I have to come to the table with the capital.”
She’s now a year into her search, and her dream remains her obsession.
“Someone recently asked me, ‘What gives you the audacity to dream big?’ ” Beard said during her Duke hall of fame speech. “When you come from where I’m from, there’s a responsibility that comes with opportunity, and I take that seriously.” | 2022-12-13T10:17:26Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Alana Beard's dream: To own a WNBA franchise - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/13/alana-beard-wnba-expansion/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/13/alana-beard-wnba-expansion/ |
A demonstrator holds the music score while singing "Glory To Hong Kong" protest song during a flash mob protest at the International Finance Center Mall in Hong Kong, China, on Sept. 12, 2019. (Justin Chin/Bloomberg)
HONG KONG — U.S. tech giant Google is under increasing pressure by the Hong Kong government — and so by association China — to bury a politically sensitive pro-democracy song in its search results.
The move shows the rising tensions between multinational tech giants and Chinese authorities as Beijing seeks to bury any lingering dissent from the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong that began in 2019.
The Hong Kong government’s renewed concern over the song came after at least two instances over the past few months where it was mistakenly used to represent Hong Kong athletes at sports matches.
The appearance of the song at sports events abroad triggered angry reactions from Hong Kong authorities. On Monday Chris Tang, the security minister, said the government will use “every means to rectify the situation.”
On Tuesday, Hong Kong leader John Lee said that the government will continue to correspond and follow up with Google, and that it is “possible to rearrange the search results via advertisements and remove items” that have violated the law.
“Setting aside its legal status, the national anthem represents the dignity and feelings of a country and its people,” Lee said. “It’s a moral issue. I believe any responsible institution must take it seriously.”
Since Hong Kong’s handover from British rule to Beijing in 1997, Hong Kong’s official anthem has been the same as China’s — the “March of The Volunteers.”
During the 2019 protests, however, demonstrators popularized the pro-democracy song, “Glory to Hong Kong,” which widely came to be seen as the “anthem” of the movement — apparently confusing Google’s search algorithms.
Millions marched in peaceful protests against an extradition bill that year, but increased violence amid a heavy-handed police response, and the protesters’ shifting goals, saw Beijing in 2020 impose a national security law that has been used to crack down on freedoms of protest, speech and academic research.
A Google spokeswoman declined to comment, but confirmed the company does not manipulate rankings of organic search results, which are determined by algorithms. The company says it only removes content that violates their policies or are deemed illegal in different jurisdictions.
The top results of an English search of “Hong Kong national anthem” on Google, is the Wikipedia page for “Glory to Hong Kong” with text saying that some have dubbed it the “national anthem of Hong Kong.” The next result is the Wikipedia entry for “March of the Volunteers” and the video offerings are clips of the pro-democracy song on YouTube.
Hong Kong’s once-vibrant movie industry now walks a fine China line
In November, a lawmaker staged a protest at the Google Hong Kong office, delivering a letter at reception saying Google as a big corporation has a “responsibility” to delete the “song about Hong Kong independence.”
Several other members of Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing legislative council flagged the severity of the incident and demanded the government to regularly inspect search results and inform the service providers to remove “inaccurate information involving national sovereignty.”
The anger toward an international tech firm is a bit out of character for Hong Kong where access to information online remains largely free as opposed to that in the mainland, and is part of its attraction for multinational companies.
In Dubai two weeks ago, the pro-democracy song was played and then cut short when the Hong Kong gold medal winner at a weightlifting competition alerted organizers.
In November, an instrumental version of the song was played in full at an international rugby match featuring the Hong Kong team in Incheon, South Korea.
Hong Kong authorities immediately launched a police investigation and the chief secretary summoned the South Korea’s consul to tell him the government “strongly deplores and opposes the incident” and request an inquiry.
On Monday, the police arrested a 49-year-old man under a sedition law for allegedly sharing the footage of the South Korea incident and expressing gratitude to Incheon for “recognizing the Hong Kong national anthem.” | 2022-12-13T10:29:51Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Hong Kong tells Google to bury protest song in anthem searches - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/13/hong-kong-google-anthem-search/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/13/hong-kong-google-anthem-search/ |
Here’s a primer on the increasingly popular, energy-efficient alternative to your fossil-fuel-powered furnace
If you’ve been hearing a lot about heat pumps but you still don’t really understand what one is, you’re not alone. In places like Sweden and Switzerland, they’ve long been a common option for controlling the temperature of homes. But heat pumps have only recently gained traction in the United States thanks to a global energy crisis and rising awareness that the all-electric systems are more efficient than typical furnaces and air conditioners. Their profile also got a boost last summer with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes incentives for adopting them.
Advances in technology have made heat pumps more effective in colder climates, and with energy costs expected to keep rising, more American homeowners are now considering installing them as a possible way to reduce their utility bills. Whether a heat pump makes sense for your home will depend on several variables. Here’s a primer.
What is a heat pump and how does it work?
Why are heat pumps more energy efficient?
What are the different types of heat pumps?
Should I get a heat pump? | 2022-12-13T11:35:17Z | www.washingtonpost.com | What is a heat pump and should you get one for your home? - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/home/2022/12/13/what-is-a-heat-pump/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/home/2022/12/13/what-is-a-heat-pump/ |
‘If anyone wants to go in on renting a bus or a van, come over!’ Amy Sadd shouted in an Orlando airport
Thirteen passengers from canceled Frontier Airlines Flight 1222 crammed into a 15-passenger van and drove all night to Knoxville, Tenn., from Orlando on Dec. 4. (Adolf Froese)
Alanah Story was headed home to Knoxville, Tenn., after a family vacation in Orlando when she and other passengers waiting to board Frontier Airlines Flight 1222 received some bad news: Their flight had been canceled and there wouldn’t be another flight to Knoxville for 48 hours. Story said a customer service agent told them it was because of a staffing issue.
One of them, Amy Sadd, shouted out, “If anyone wants to go in on renting a bus or a van, come over!” Story recalled. She and her family hurried over with nine other passengers.
Before they piled in at around 10 p.m., Story posted a short video on TikTok with comments from everyone in the group. Most of them seemed excited about the idea of taking a road trip with people they’d only met just minutes before.
“We’re going to do planes, trains, trucks and automobiles — we’re going to get us where we’re going tonight!” Sadd, 54, said in the video.
“I’m the Farm Babe from Florida, and I’m the keynote speaker [at a convention] in Knoxville on Tuesday,” said another passenger, Michelle Miller, 40. “So we’re going to go and I’m going to make my speech.”
“They canceled our flight, but you know what? I don’t argue,” said Carlos Cordero, explaining he was on his way to Knoxville with his fiancee and her daughter for a campus tour at the University of Tennessee.
“We’re renting a van and we’re headed out there!” he said.
Cordero took the wheel, noting that he was “the number one driver,” and as they headed north on the interstate, Story noticed that her video was quickly racking up views.
“It was crazy — we could hardly keep up with it,” she said. “It seemed like the whole world wanted to track our trip.”
That two-minute video and several updates have now been viewed about 5 million times, Story said, noting that they made headlines around the world. They’ve even received calls from people in Hollywood who are interested in the story of how 13 strangers formed a bond on an unplanned road trip in the middle of the night.
“In the van, we shared what we do for a living and talked about our aspirations, but we mostly discussed all of the comments that were showing up on Alanah’s TikTok post,” she said. “People are hungry for goodness and were happy to see a feel-good story.”
As “Farm Babe,” Miller travels across the country to help promote the importance of farming, she said. When her flight was canceled, she knew she had to find another way to make it to Knoxville, where she was scheduled to deliver an address at an agricultural event.
“When I saw the long line at Frontier’s customer service desk, I started thinking about other options,” she said. “I asked them to put us on a bus, and they said they’d call a supervisor. But nobody showed up.”
Several days after Story’s videos got traction online, Frontier Airlines issued a statement: “We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by the flight cancellation. All customers had the option of waiting for the next available Frontier flight or receiving a full refund.”
Miller said she couldn’t wait for the next flight. And it was impossible to get solid answers because Frontier recently did away with its customer service phone line, she said.
When she heard Sadd call for volunteers to chip in on renting a van, she didn’t hesitate to raise her hand.
“Carlos said he’d put the rental on his credit card, so we all gave him $60 through cash or Venmo,” she said. “There were five rows in the van and I sat in the very back.”
“Everyone was getting to know each other,” she said. “One of the passengers, Seth, was a minister, so he talked about religion and God for a little while. And a couple of the guys were farmers, going to the same conference that I was.”
There was no need to turn on the radio, since Amy Sadd kept everyone entertained by shouting out how many views Story’s post was getting, Miller added.
“We were all laughing at the comments and we couldn’t believe the attention it was getting,” she said. “If there was any music, it wasn’t on for more than 30 seconds.”
“We were grateful to have had the experience of being part of something that brought a lot of smiles to people,” she said. “We’re all different, but we had a great time.”
“When we first set out in the van, I was thinking, ‘I don’t know these people — is this safe?’” Story added. “But we all came together and formed this mutual trust. I’m happy now to call any of them my friends.”
But this time, they’ll probably leave the van behind and book a flight that hopefully won’t be canceled, she said. | 2022-12-13T11:35:18Z | www.washingtonpost.com | 13 strangers rented a van together when their flight was cancelled - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/12/13/flight-cancelled-road-trip-strangers/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/12/13/flight-cancelled-road-trip-strangers/ |
Jen Pauliukonis, who was a high school English teacher in Parkville, Md., before staying home to raise her two young sons, has worked to combat gun violence since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)
Jen Pauliukonis was at home with two toddlers when the images began to appear on her television screen, indelible and sickening.
Alla Lefkowitz was in her office, struggling to comprehend what she was seeing.
Amber Gustafson was in her kitchen, rooted to the spot in horror.
Twenty children and six educators were dead, killed by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
It was Dec. 14, 2012, a day of rupture and unimaginable loss.
For these three women — a stay-at-home mom, a lawyer and a yoga instructor in different parts of the country — it was also the start of profound changes in their own lives. None had any connection to Newtown, nor had they given much thought to gun violence. Now they felt compelled to act.
Within months, they decided to devote themselves to a movement they knew little about, a choice that would alter their professional trajectories. Their journeys would be marked by flares of progress and days of heartbreak.
In the decade since Sandy Hook, mass killings — including repeated assaults on schools — have traumatized more American communities. The rate of gun homicides and suicides rose to a 28-year high last year. In June, the Supreme Court struck down century-old state-level restrictions on gun owners.
But the movement to combat the epidemic of gun violence grew, and continues to expand. New groups have mobilized young people across the country. More than a dozen states have passed laws to temporarily prevent people in crisis from accessing guns, and this year the first significant federal gun regulation in a generation was passed.
Nearly 10 years to the day after Sandy Hook, the women reflected on the unexpected turns their lives have taken, their feelings of failure and what keeps them going.
Each had messages for their younger selves. “I would just tell myself, the work is going to be really, really hard,” said Lefkowitz, now 39. She paused, briefly overcome with emotion. But “it’s going to become, in some way, your life’s work.”
‘My despair was not going to help anyone’
After the disbelief and the tears, there was shame.
In 2012, Pauliukonis had left her prior job as a high school English teacher in Parkville, Md., to raise her two young sons. She remembers weeping as she looked at the pictures of the children killed at Sandy Hook. She memorized their names.
She had always assumed that the country’s leaders would do something to prevent such tragedies. Now she felt an overwhelming regret, as though her passivity had made her complicit.
“I realized that I couldn’t turn away from this,” said Pauliukonis, 42. “But I did need to do more than just being upset, because my despair was not going to help anyone.”
Pauliukonis — whose only prior participation in politics was voting — became a full-time volunteer activist. The day after the shooting, she found a Facebook page created in response to the killings by Shannon Watts, a mother and former public relations executive living in Indiana. The group grew into a nationwide grass-roots organization: Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
Initially, Pauliukonis thought she would attend a few meetings, participate in a demonstration, perhaps help write a monthly newsletter. She did all those things — and kept saying yes to more. She met with her representatives in Congress and Annapolis, often pushing her double stroller. She organized events for fellow parents and activists.
In April 2013, she was sitting in the gallery of the Senate when the Obama administration’s push to expand background checks foundered. Two women near her yelled out, “Shame!” but Pauliukonis was shocked into silence. She had believed with all her heart, she said, that it would pass. She felt angry and realized how much she had to learn.
The next month, Pauliukonis went to a peace vigil for Carter Scott, a 1-year-old shot and killed in the Cherry Hill neighborhood of Baltimore. It was an event that would shape her work in the years to come, a reminder that the vast majority of gun violence is not mass shootings in predominantly White suburbs but daily homicides and suicides, many of them in disadvantaged communities.
Gradually Pauliukonis shifted her focus from the federal level, where gun-control legislation appeared blocked, to the state level, where progress seemed possible. She became the legislative director and then president of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence. One of her proudest accomplishments was helping to pass Maryland’s “red flag” law in 2018 to keep guns away from individuals deemed a danger to themselves or others.
She also completed a master’s degree in public health to deepen her understanding of the policies she was advocating. Today Pauliukonis is director of policy and programming at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions.
Some days are extraordinarily hard. “There’s a kind of numbness that I think comes over you over time, that we can’t help,” she said. Then she feels anxious about growing numb to something so horrifying.
After the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Tex., earlier this year — which took place just days after a racist shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo — Pauliukonis wasn’t sure she could go to work.
The day after the shooting, she was scheduled to meet with policymakers in Delaware. As she sat in meetings that seemed like business as usual, she was torn. One part of her wanted to scream and stop everything. But she also felt the best thing she could do was to keep pushing forward.
In June, Pauliukonis was invited to the White House to celebrate the signing of the bipartisan gun legislation. There were more than 1,000 people gathered outside on the lawn, she said, a marked contrast with the “small but mighty” group that was sitting in the Senate gallery back in 2013.
Giving up is not an option. “I have no other choice but to try to prevent this from happening again,” Pauliukonis said. “I do not see another path for me.”
‘I think we’re making real headway’
After Lefkowitz graduated from law school in 2010, she began working at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom, a large multinational firm headquartered in Manhattan.
For the next two years, she was immersed in complex commercial litigation. She spent months on a case connected to the Bernie Madoff scandal. The work was demanding and intellectually challenging, a perfect fit for Lefkowitz, who describes herself as competitive by nature.
She knew next to nothing about gun violence. If anything, she said, she had vaguely absorbed the talking points of groups such as the National Rifle Association, which insist that “good guys” must be armed.
The coverage of the Sandy Hook shooting, which she watched in horror from her desk, changed all that. It was “just so clearly something that does not happen anywhere else,” she said. “If guns made us safer, then we would be the safest country in the world.”
Lefkowitz, who never expected to stay in the corporate world, began to reevaluate what she was doing with her life.
She started applying for jobs within a small universe of groups combating gun violence. In late 2013, she was hired as a staff attorney at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. It meant moving to Washington and taking a pay cut of nearly three-quarters.
But Lefkowitz loved the work. Her first week on the job, she was asked to write an amicus brief in defense of an assault weapons ban instituted by the city of Highland Park, Ill. She stayed up until 3 or 4 in the morning preparing, reading everything she could on the Second Amendment.
Over time, she has been part of a dramatic expansion of the legal work done by gun violence prevention groups. In 2017, when she joined Everytown Law, she was one of three litigators; now she is one of 22.
Today Lefkowitz represents victims of shootings as well as cities struggling with the gun violence epidemic. Her focus is finding ways to hold manufacturers and purveyors of guns accountable despite a 2005 law that exempts the industry from many types of lawsuits.
In some ways, Lefkowitz said, being able to litigate is a kind of shield. She can concentrate on how to win a particular motion, or how to access a piece of evidence. “If I let myself slip and think about what happened on the day and how horrible it is, that’s very hard to handle,” she said.
The day of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., Lefkowitz remembers staying at the office until 10 p.m. She spent hours researching the marketing practices of Smith & Wesson, the maker of the AR-15-style weapon used in the killings. “I just felt like a failure that day,” Lefkowitz said.
Later she sat on a panel with one of the teenage Parkland survivors. During the question-and-answer session, a 10-year-old boy stood up and addressed the survivor.
“He says, ‘I really admire what you do, but what can kids my own age do to prevent this?’” Lefkowitz recalled. She had to turn her head away from the audience to hide her tears.
One of her current clients, who just turned 18, was shot at age 15 in her high school. Lefkowitz is helping her sue the online seller of the untraceable “ghost gun” used in the shooting for negligent marketing practices. Her client has turned her trauma into activism, Lefkowitz said.
“The way people get brought into the movement is heartbreaking,” she said. But “I think we’re making real headway.”
‘You never know when politics are going to change’
Where Gustafson grew up in rural Iowa, rifles and shotguns were part of everyday life. They were useful tools, or sometimes, a kind of insurance when the nearest police officers were far away. On her first date in high school, the boy who picked her up had a gun rack on his truck: it was hunting season.
Gustafson was at home getting ready for Christmas when she saw the images from Newtown on her television screen. The elementary school there looked eerily like the one where she was about to pick up her own children.
That night, she told her husband that she wasn’t sure how to get involved, but she knew she had to try. It wasn’t until several months later that the stay-at-home mom and yoga instructor came across the group founded by Watts. They were holding a meeting in Denver in July. Gustafson decided to go.
In Denver, one of her fellow attendees asked Gustafson — then a gun owner and a conservative-leaning independent voter — what she thought of the event. Gustafson said it reminded her of a Christian women’s retreat, but “with a lot more swearing and drinking.”
Gustafson, who lives in Ankeny, a suburb of Des Moines, threw herself into volunteer work for the Iowa chapter of Moms Demand Action. Later she became its leader. She dragged her children to the State House so many times that they claimed they could identify its smell — musty, like old newspapers.
At a national conference of Moms Demand Action in 2017, Gustafson was asked to speak before an audience of 1,000 people about an initiative she had started called “camo moms” for volunteers in rural areas. “One, a lot of people in rural America wear camo,” she said, and two, such volunteers are “kind of camouflaged in their communities.”
Over the years, Gustafson said, she saw the organization wrestle with how to be more inclusive. The group worked on “opening its doors to people other than just White suburban moms,” she said, including reaching out to women of color, rural women, members of the LGBTQ community and men.
Gustafson, 46, felt unprepared for some of what she faced. Working on gun violence prevention means that “you’re plunged into a world of trauma,” she said. Gustafson still chokes up when she recalls the “outpouring of grief and fear” at the vigil held by the local LGBTQ community after the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016. Strangers came up to her and embraced her, unable to stop crying because they knew people who had been shot.
In 2018, Gustafson shifted from activism to politics, running for state Senate as a Democrat in a district held by Republicans for decades. Gustafson’s primary issue was reducing gun violence, while her opponent — the Iowa Senate majority leader — wanted to scrap the state’s mandatory permitting system for guns.
Gustafson said that her fellow Democrats were unnerved by her passion for gun regulations. “They didn’t know what to do with me,” she said with a laugh. They “never really had a candidate run on that issue in Iowa before.”
Although she lost — or “came in second,” as Gustafson likes to say — the race was close.
She went on to earn a master’s degree in communication with a focus on public affairs and advocacy. She started working for Common Good Iowa, a policy research institute that studies issues from climate change to nutrition, and was part of a coalition to maintain gun-control measures.
Meanwhile, Gustafson has seen nearly everything she worked for unravel. For years, she and other activists mobilized to defend Iowa’s system of requiring permits for gun owners against repeated Republican efforts to dismantle it.
Last year, Republicans enacted a law that eliminated the permit requirement. Gun rights groups achieved another significant victory last month, when Iowans approved an amendment to the state constitution that opponents say will make it nearly impossible to institute future restrictions on firearms.
While it is “discouraging to see my state move backwards in so many ways,” Gustafson said, the fight is not over.
She thinks about the long arc of the struggle for women’s suffrage, how it took seven decades from the start of the movement in Seneca Falls, N.Y., until the passage of the 19th Amendment.
She also takes heart from the knowledge that public opinion can shift more rapidly than anyone expects: Less than two decades separated the Defense of Marriage Act, which banned recognition of same-sex marriages, and the Supreme Court’s decision fully legalizing such unions.
“You never know when politics are going to change,” Gustafson said. “The worst possible thing you can do is give up hope.” | 2022-12-13T11:35:24Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Three women galvanized by Sandy Hook reflect on 10 years of hope, heartbreak - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/13/sandy-hook-anniversary/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/13/sandy-hook-anniversary/ |
Remembering Joan Didion, beyond her words
A California exhibition curated by Hilton Als commemorates Didion’s life and work, with contributions from a variety of notable artists
By Noel Rubinton
Joan Didion. (Brigitte Lacombe)
“A good part of any day in Los Angeles is spent driving, alone, through streets devoid of meaning to the driver, which is one reason the place exhilarates some people, and floods others with amorphous unease … Such tranced hours are, for many people who live in Los Angeles, the dead center of being there.”
— “Pacific Distances” (1979-1991)
LOS ANGELES — In her 1970 novel “Play It As It Lays,” Joan Didion’s troubled protagonist Maria obsessively practices a daring drive across four lanes of Los Angeles freeway traffic without touching her brakes. Now, only a few miles from that infamous merge spot, memories and connections to Didion, a fifth-generation Californian and iconic writer, fill a sprawling show of visual art and literature.
In “Joan Didion: What She Means” at UCLA’s Hammer Museum, the first exhibition about Didion since her December 2021 death, her presence and world are evoked in many ways. Quotes from her writing about driving and much more cover the walls, and archival items about her and her family abound. The gallery space is filled with paintings, sculptures, photographs and videos from a wide variety of artists, building a portrait of Didion as in a collage.
“I wanted to show the trajectory of and development of someone’s consciousness,” says the show’s curator, Hilton Als, a staff writer at the New Yorker who teaches about writing at Columbia University and the University of California at Berkeley. Als, who developed a friendship with Didion after he met her in the mid-1990s, suggested the idea of an exhibition to Didion in 2019. He had previously curated shows on writers James Baldwin and Toni Morrison and wanted to bring Didion’s work and life to a museum in California. Als says Didion replied, “It will be beautiful.”
Als, who started reading Didion in the 1970s, remembers being jolted by the first line of her 1977 novel, “A Book of Common Prayer”: “I will be her witness.” “It really changed my sense, that you could bear witness through writing,” Als says.
The multilayered exhibition aims to commemorate Didion and extend her work. What sets it apart, says the Hammer’s chief curator, Connie Butler, is that “the literary voice has equal footing to the visual art. … The big idea is the idea of narrating a life through visual art, through the writer’s journey, led by the writer’s voice.”
Planning for the show was delayed and changed first by covid and then by Didion’s death at 87. Als says Didion’s “fantastic validation” of the exhibition buoyed him and all others as they prepared it.
“This is what I want to tell you about: what it is to come from a place like Sacramento. If I could make you understand that, I could make you understand California … for Sacramento is California, and California is a place in which a boom mentality and a sense of Chekhovian loss meet in uneasy suspension.”
— “Notes From a Native Daughter” (1965)
Through large rooms of white walls and blonde floors, four chapters unfold representing Didion’s life: Holy Water, Sacramento-Berkeley, 1934-56; Goodbye to All That, 1956-63; The White Album, California, 1964-88; and Sentimental Journeys: New York-Miami-Honolulu-San Salvador, 1988-2021.
In each is a combination of objects whose references to Didion are obvious, as well as ones that are more symbolic. “One of the things that I’ve been trying to do is to re-instill just a little mystery,” Als says. “You have to sit with her work because of the density of her prose, and also she’s a great crystallizer of information.”
In the introductory Sacramento-Berkeley section, there are many personal items, such as furniture from Didion’s family home in Sacramento, the sign for her father’s insurance business and the potato masher brought across the plains by Didion’s great-great-great-grandmother in 1846 (written about by Didion in “Where I Was From”). Many photographs of Didion are included.
At the same time, there are items whose connections to Didion are more abstract. Winding around on the floor of a room is “River,” a mixed-media installation with steel chains and rope by Maren Hassinger. Nearby is Alan Saret’s copper wire sculpture “Blazing Be,” which resembles a tumbleweed.
“I mean maybe I was holding all the aces, but what was the game?”
— “Play It As It Lays” (1970)
Violence is a key theme in the exhibition, as it was in Didion’s work, especially in the 1960s and 1970s. “The center was not holding,” Didion wrote in “Slouching Towards Bethlehem,” bending a line of William Butler Yeats poetry. Her writing at that time helped establish her and contained much about gritty, violent situations, and the exhibition represents that.
A painting by Vija Celmins of a hand holding a pistol points to a room that includes objects such as photographs of a pregnant Sharon Tate, soon to be murdered in 1969 by members of the Manson Family, and violence at the Altamont music festival that year. Side by side are videos of Patty Hearst and the Symbionese Liberation Army robbing a San Francisco bank in 1974 and “Invocation of My Demon Brother,” Kenneth Anger’s 1969 fictional film, a sinister, jarring short with a color palette strikingly similar to the bank robbery footage.
Didion’s writing, known for its staccato, precise style, is highlighted throughout. She and her husband, John Gregory Dunne, became among Hollywood’s most reliable screenwriters. Their credits include adaptations of “Play It As It Lays” and James Mills’s “The Panic in Needle Park,” and the 1976 reboot of “A Star is Born.” Typescripts are incorporated in the exhibit, along with movie posters and videos.
Among more than 60 artists represented in the show are well-known painters (Wayne Thiebaud, Richard Diebenkorn, Pat Steir), photographers (Diane Arbus, Brigitte Lacombe, Jeffrey Henson Scales, Irving Penn) and sculptors (Amanda Williams, a current MacArthur fellow; Liz Larner), as well as many less familiar names.
The exhibition’s catalogue, with more than 100 illustrations from the show, also includes reprints of three lesser-known Didion essays, “In Praise of Unhung Wreaths and Love,” “Planting a Tree Is Not a Way of Life,” and “The Year of Hoping for Stage Magic.”
In the final room, about her last New York years when she did more political writing and books about the deaths of her husband and daughter, Quintana Roo, who died of pancreatitis and septic shock at 39, Didion is a literal presence through the audio of her 2006 Paris Review interview with Als. The room fills with her voice, and she talks about a wide variety of subjects — like never writing a novel without first rereading Joseph Conrad’s “Victory,” missing California sunsets when in New York, and her struggles to write.
Als asks her whether the possibility of becoming a writer started when she went to Berkeley. “No, it began to feel impossible,” she says of her college experience. “Everything had already been done by people who knew how to do it.”
Only after time did her confidence increase enough for her to develop into the writer she became.
“Joan Didion: What She Means” is at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles through Feb. 19. It will be at the Pérez Art Museum Miami from July 13, 2023, until Jan. 7, 2024. | 2022-12-13T11:44:00Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Remembering Joan Didion, beyond her words - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/12/13/joan-didion-exhibition-ucla/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/12/13/joan-didion-exhibition-ucla/ |
‘Kindred’ is a bold, if uneven, homage to Octavia Butler’s masterpiece
FX on Hulu adaptation stars Mallori Johnson as a 21st-century Black woman who time-travels back to a 19th-century plantation.
Review by Bethonie Butler
Mallori Johnson as Dana in FX's “Kindred,” which streams exclusively on Hulu. (Tina Rowden/FX)
It’s been more than four decades since Octavia E. Butler published “Kindred,” her genre-defying novel about a young Black woman who spontaneously travels through time from 1976 to 1815, where she finds herself on the Maryland plantation that once held her ancestors in bondage. Classic and beloved across generations, “Kindred” has long been ripe for an on-screen adaptation. But for the same reasons, reimagining “Kindred” is a tall and delicate order: Any reinterpretation must be grounded in the themes — generational trauma, survival, power and privilege, among them — that Butler explored so adroitly in her book.
FX on Hulu’s adaptation, developed for television by the playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (“An Octaroon”), seems to understand this inherent challenge and rises to meet it with a modern retelling that brings the central story closer to our own present day. It’s 2016 when Dana James (Mallori Johnson) is inexplicably pulled back to the antebellum horrors of the 19th century.
The time jump may rankle purists but it’s hard to imagine that an author as prescient as Butler, who died in 2006, wouldn’t appreciate such an update. Her work, which also includes “Parable of the Sower” and its Nebula Award-winning sequel “Parable of the Talents,” contemplated climate change, wealth inequality and the racial inequities on which America — whether we acknowledge it — was founded. Setting “Kindred” in 1976 as Butler did originally wouldn’t do it justice today.
Best of TV in 2022: 'The Bear,' 'The White Lotus' and more
“Kindred” takes other detours that don’t pay off as well in the first season, all eight episodes of which are available Tuesday on Hulu. In the novel, Dana was in an interracial marriage with Kevin, a White man who joins his wife on one of her involuntary journeys to Easton, Md. The series, perhaps in a nod to millennial aimlessness, envisions Dana’s relationship with Kevin (Micah Stock) as a one-night stand that turns into something deeper amid the time warp that exists between the hours that pass in Los Angeles and the years that simultaneously unfold on the plantation of Tom Weylin (“True Blood’s” Ryan Kwanten). In the novel, Dana and Kevin were new to Los Angeles, but in the series it’s only Dana who has recently moved — from the Brooklyn brownstone her late grandmother left her to an airy house in an L.A. suburb.
Dana’s updated backstory also includes a more prominent role for the aunt and uncle referenced as her foundation in Butler’s book. In the first episode, directed by Janicza Bravo (“Zola”), Dana stuns her aunt Denise (Eisa Davis) and uncle Allan (Charles Parnell) by announcing her move, which her relatives deem impulsive and concerning. The series establishes a pattern of mental illness in Dana’s matrilineal line that is given a different context in Easton, where — in perhaps the biggest departure from Butler’s novel — Dana discovers that her late mother, Olivia (Sheria Irving), is living as a free woman. The revelation calls into question everything Dana knows about her mother, who was believed to have died alongside Dana’s father in a car accident.
The core impulse behind Dana’s time travel remains true to Butler’s novel: Dana is pulled to Easton whenever Tom’s son Rufus — mischievous and bored under the frantic watch of his insufferable mother Margaret (Gayle Rankin) — fears for his life. After several trips back and forth, Dana realizes that Rufus is her ancestor, rendering her role as his protector integral to her survival.
As Dana quickly discovers, life on the Weylin plantation is filled with pain and suffering, predicated on the false belief that she and other Black people are less than human. Without papers to prove otherwise, Dana is assumed to be an enslaved person, and presumed to be Kevin’s property when he accompanies her through time. The series presents the horrors of slavery in unflinching detail: At one point, Tom forces his “stock” to go without food while trying to determine the whereabouts of an enslaved woman who has escaped. In a scene pulled directly from Butler’s novel, Tom whips Dana after he catches her with a book. The beating is so severe that Dana — fearing for her own life — is pulled back to the present, where mere minutes have passed.
The series weaves in a thread aligning the 19th-century patrolmen who gleefully round up runaways with modern day police forces, a comparison Butler explored much more subtly in her book. The opening scene finds Dana returning to 2016 Los Angeles with the literal scars to prove her unbelievable predicament; moments later, the police arrive at her door for a purported wellness check that feels more like an interrogation. The scene, which plays out fully in the season’s final episode, is an example of the show’s struggle with tone as Dana’s neighbors gather to see what all the commotion is about. Among them are Hermione (Brooke Bloom) and Carlo (Louis Cancelmi), a nosy couple convinced that Dana’s presence is a threat to their quiet neighborhood — but indignant at any suggestion their suspicions may have racial motivations.
Butler infused “Kindred” with dry, observational humor, but Hermione and Carlo seem to exist for the type of camp that is prevalent in FX dramas but feels decidedly out of place here. It doesn’t help that Bloom, whose character embodies the type of next-door Karen who would call the police on a Black neighbor she believes to be in distress, recently appeared on “Atlanta” as a similarly weepy White woman who feels entitled to monitor the Black people in her midst.
Dana’s aunt pointedly notes that the police seem far more concerned about Kevin — who Dana knows to be trapped back in the 19th century — than about her niece, whose back is still bloody from Tom Weylin’s beatings. Denise, previously ready to commit her niece out of concern for her mental state, realizes that Dana is telling the truth about her distressing time travel and begins to help Dana piece together the reason behind it. An incredible development opens the series to further seasons — and the potential to make the show’s biggest swings more successful. One particularly intriguing thread is the complicated relationship between Dana and Olivia, as Dana struggles to understand what she reads as her mother’s complacence to exist in a time when — even as an ostensibly free woman — she has no rights.
“I don’t want to be like you,” Dana tells Olivia in one emotional scene. “I don’t want to get used to this.”
“Yeah, it’s hard to believe that you could,” Olivia says, evoking one central theme of the book Butler categorized as a “grim fantasy.” “All this suffering. But people here choose survival for its own sake. They have to.”
“Kindred” (eight episodes) is available for streaming on Hulu. | 2022-12-13T11:44:05Z | www.washingtonpost.com | ‘Kindred’ is a bold, if uneven, homage to Octavia Butler’s masterpiece - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/tv/2022/12/13/kindred-fx-hulu-tv-review/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/tv/2022/12/13/kindred-fx-hulu-tv-review/ |
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange, speaking in Washington in October. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg News)
In a dramatic turn in the ongoing saga that has roiled the cryptocurrency world, Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, FTX, was arrested on Monday in the Bahamas, where he has a home.
The arrest by Bahamian authorities came at the request of the U.S. government, and followed the collapse of FTX in November, when Bankman-Fried resigned and the company filed for bankruptcy, stunning its customers and investors. It has led to calls for stricter regulations over the fledgling cryptocurrency industry.
Bankman-Fried, 30, known by his initials SBF, was until recently the cryptocurrency world’s wunderkind, who helped reshape the world of fintech and often supported companies struggling in the nascent crypto industry. He shot into the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a $26 billion net worth in the spring. He has been a leading proponent of the effective altruism philosophy, a movement that believes that rationality is key to doing maximum good in the world.
Born in California to Stanford Law professors, Bankman-Fried studied physics and math at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, before a stint on Wall Street. In 2017, he founded a crypto trading firm, Alameda Research, and the crypto exchange FTX two years later.
Until recently, FTX was the one of the world’s top digital currency exchange platforms, where consumers could buy and sell digital currencies such as bitcoin and dogecoin. FTX also created its own currency called FTT.
Notable competitor platforms include Coinbase and Kraken.
FTX, first set up in Hong Kong and later headquartered in the Bahamas, had received capital from known investment firms such as Sequoia Capital, BlackRock and Tiger Global. It declared bankruptcy Nov. 11.
What caused FTX to crash?
FTX issued millions of FTT tokens, which once traded as high as $80 (FTT has since lost almost its entire value) and shifted incoming money from investors to take loans for its partner firm, Alameda Research.
In November, when news of spread that most of Alameda’s balance sheet was made of FTTs, the markets went into a tizzy. FTT’s price fell drastically when Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, FTX’s rival, withdrew his money.
After a sale deal with Binance fell through, Bankman-Fried resigned and the company filed for bankruptcy. The collapse is seen as a failure of oversight and regulation in an industry that has operated outside conventional banking rules.
John J. Ray, the chief executive who was brought on board to oversee FTX’s restructuring after Bankman-Fried’s resignation, said there was “a complete absence of trustworthy financial information.” In prepared remarks, Ray said his initial investigation showed “gross mismanagement, excessive leverage” and “failures of internal controls.”
In an interview in November with the New York Times, Bankman-Fried said he “didn’t knowingly commingle funds.”
“Look, I screwed up. I was the CEO of FTX,” Bankman-Fried said. “I say this again and again. That means I had a responsibility. We messed up big.”
What will happen to Bankman-Fried now?
Bankman-Fried was arrested Monday around 6 p.m. at his apartment complex in Nassau, according to a statement from the Royal Bahamas Police Force. He is expected to appear at a local court in Bahamas on Tuesday.
Bahamian Attorney General Ryan Pinder said the country would “promptly” extradite Bankman-Fried to the United States after authorities made a formal request, the Associated Press reported.
Bankman-Fried was slated to testify before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday; it is not clear whether that will happen. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) said in a tweet that the House panel, of which he is a member, was set to “grill” Bankman-Fried. “Why not allow him to 1st testify tomorrow and answer our many questions?” he wrote.
Local media in the Bahamas reported that Bankman-Fried is also likely to face an investigation from local authorities.
Tory Newmyer, Gerrit De Vynck and Steven Zeitchik contributed to this report. | 2022-12-13T11:48:24Z | www.washingtonpost.com | What to know about Sam Bankman-Fried and the FTX collapse - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/13/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-collapse-explained/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/13/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-collapse-explained/ |
Ways to curb your environmental impact, regardless of how you shop
“I don’t think it’s very easy to say, ‘Okay, buy online or go to shops,’ ” says Sadegh Shahmohammadi, a data scientist at the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research. “It’s really hard to say whether this is better or that one is better, so it’s not really one solution for everyone.”
Research suggests that ordering online can have a smaller carbon footprint than in-person shopping for the same reason that public transportation is often better for the environment than cars. Similar to a bus full of passengers, Jaller says, a single van delivering multiple packages to one neighborhood is more efficient than people hopping in their cars, driving elsewhere to shop and then carting what they buy home.
One model analyzing the behaviors of people in Dallas and San Francisco found that exclusively shopping online could lead to an 87 percent decrease in vehicle miles traveled and related emissions, according to a paper published in 2020.
There’s one major problem though: People ordering online typically want their items as soon as possible.
Whenever possible, experts say online shoppers should choose slower shipping options.
“In general, anybody that is in logistics and supply chains agree that having one or two or three days more to deliver is always better,” Velázquez Martínez says. More time for deliveries makes planning, inventory replenishment and distribution “way more efficient, which in turn also reduces the amount of fuel and energy that you require to serve your customers.”
Consolidating orders could also help address online shopping’s packaging issue, says Ting Chi, a professor and chair of Washington State University’s department of apparel, merchandising, design and textiles.
Separate deliveries can lead to boxes that aren’t full and additional packaging, which isn’t always recycled, Chi says. “Combining orders into one package would better use the space of the boxes or containers.”
“If you can chain your trip and then link it to other activities, then that could reduce the share of the footprints related to your clothing,” he says.
Another downside to shopping online, particularly for clothes, is the increased chance of returns. One study of a German clothing retailer published in 2012 noted that the company reported a return rate of 35 percent for online sales. The study’s researchers estimated that 6 to 10 percent of things sold through the retailer’s brick-and-mortar stores were returned.
The higher return rates for clothes bought online isn’t surprising. Online shoppers can’t physically try on clothes and often have to rely on size guides that can differ across brands. Liberal policies that allow people to send items back for free to exchange or receive full refunds makes returns even more likely. As a result, many people tend to order more clothes than they would buy from a store, often in different sizes, and then return what they don’t like.
Not only can the frequency of returns cause a “huge amount of environmental damage” because of the added transportation emissions and packaging, but sending things back can also burden companies, Chi says. “Every time that we see a return, they need to assign their employees to inspect the returned items for integrity or quality.”
Returns, he says, “could easily offset those benefits that we receive from online shopping.”
Experts also recommend taking steps to lower the chances of failed deliveries, since when the truck has to repeat attempts to deliver your package, this contributes to emissions.
One option is to have your items delivered to the store or a package pickup location near you. Beyond eliminating the risk of a failed delivery, it lowers a retailer’s emissions footprint if packages are sent to a central site instead of multiple homes. But keep in mind that distance and your personal transportation can make a difference.
“If you have to drive a long way to a pick up center, then that could also be a problem,” Velázquez Martínez says.
While experts note that renting clothes, which has increased in popularity in recent years, also has associated transportation emissions since garments are regularly being shipped back and forth, the practice can be more environmentally friendly than buying something new. The benefits, though, depend largely on how you use the clothes, says Velázquez Martínez.
Buying basic pieces that you’ll wear until they’re worn out could be better for the environment than renting, he says. But for special occasions where you might only wear an outfit once “rental, by far, is better.”
Rent the Runway wants to replace your everyday wardrobe with its $89 monthly plan | 2022-12-13T11:48:48Z | www.washingtonpost.com | How to shop for clothes sustainably, online and in-store - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2022/12/13/store-online-shop-emissions/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2022/12/13/store-online-shop-emissions/ |
Research shows that private school salaries vary considerably, often linked to the size and type of school, he said. Smaller schools typically pay less, and elite independent schools tend to pay more. Still, it’s not always easy for private school teachers to move to public schools, Welner said, unless they have required credentials.
The survey also showed that, as before, teachers worked more hours than their contracts required — an average of 52 hours a week for full-timers in public and private schools despite contracts that required 38 or 39 hours.
Teachers working longer hours did not mean more instruction for students. Compared with 2015-16, full-time public school teachers spent two hours less delivering lessons — 25 hours in 2020-21, down from 27 hours five years earlier.
About 17 percent of the full-time public and private school educators held an outside job — at a time when the turmoil and hardship of the pandemic added to the load that teachers and their students were shouldering.
“The 2020-21 school year made considerable demands on educators,” said NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr. “The efforts to keep students safe and learning resulted in long hours for teachers and principals across the country — shifting priorities, additional instructional support, more communication with parents, and much greater challenges for staffing schools. Teacher vacancies plagued a large proportion of public and private schools during this time.
Staffing shortages continue to plague schools, data shows
The teacher and principal workforce was not diverse — another longtime trend. In public schools, 80 percent of public school teachers were White, 9 percent were Hispanic, 6 percent were Black and 2 percent were Asian — similar to the private school workforce. Three-quarters were women, with an average age of 43. | 2022-12-13T11:49:00Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Public school teachers earned more than private school teachers in 2020-21, federal data shows - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/12/13/public-school-teacher-pay-private/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/12/13/public-school-teacher-pay-private/ |
It’s important to take those calling for a ‘Fourth Reich’ seriously
A recent right-wing plot to overthrow German democracy wasn’t the first such effort.
Perspective by Gavriel Rosenfeld
Gavriel Rosenfeld is president of the Center for Jewish History and professor of history at Fairfield University. He is the author of "The Fourth Reich: The Specter of Nazism from World War II to the Present" (Cambridge University Press, 2019) and co-editor, of the forthcoming "Fascism in America: Past and Present" (Cambridge University Press).
Protesters take over the inaugural stage while calling for legislators to overturn the election results in President Donald Trump's favor at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)
Since the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, Americans have become increasingly concerned about the threat posed by fascist groups to the country’s democratic order. Meanwhile, one of the first countries to go fascist last century — Germany — is facing its own internal right-wing threat, as was made clear last week when German police arrested more than two dozen right-wing extremists plotting to violently overthrow the government. As odd as it may sound, both countries may be facing the same threat — the prospect of a “Fourth Reich.”
In Germany, the plotters who were arrested belong to the Reich Citizens’ Movement (Reichsbürgerbewegung), a loose-knit group of right-wing German radicals who believe the existing German government is illegitimate and needs to be replaced by a new and distinctly authoritarian “Reich.” Although details about the group’s plans are still emerging, press reports have breathlessly announced that Germany dodged a bullet and only just “averted … a Fourth Reich.” Others have noted with relief that plans to “reinstall a Fourth Reich” had been defeated with the arrest of the Reichsbürger movement’s ringleader, the German aristocrat and “would-be leader of the Fourth Reich,” Prince Heinrich XIII from the House of Reuss in the state of Thuringia.
Similar fears have recently been expressed in the United States. Since 2016, left-liberal commentators have voiced the fear that Trumpism threatens to give rise to a Fourth Reich in the United States. In pop culture the streaming series “Hunters” starring Al Pacino explores the premise of American neo-Nazis in the 1970s plotting to create a Fourth Reich in America.
The proliferation of references to a Fourth Reich is hardly new, though it is newly intense and widespread. Originally, the concept was coined by opponents of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich, who sought to herald the vision of a fourth successor Reich as a democratic alternative to Nazism.
In 1945, the Nazi regime had collapsed, but many of its die-hard supporters wanted to prevent the creation of a democratic order in postwar Germany by reestablishing a new Reich. Between 1945 and 1947, various Nazi groups — led by fanatical “Werewolf” resistance forces, SS officers, Hitler Youth leaders and Wehrmacht veterans — challenged Allied troops with various coup attempts. All of them were eventually suppressed in actions long since forgotten, such as Operation Nursery and Operation Selection Board. But they were close calls that featured firefights between German and Allied forces across the country and culminated in the arrest of thousands of rebels.
From 1952-53, West Germany’s democratic order faced new right-wing threats with the rise of the neo-Nazi Socialist Reich Party (SRP) and the hatching of a conspiracy led by Joseph Goebbels’ former Propaganda Ministry deputy, Werner Naumann. He mobilized an array of former Nazi regional governors (Gauleiter) in the effort to infiltrate the German Free Democratic Party (FDP), seize power, establish a right-wing government and take Germany out of the western alliance.
None of these plots ended up succeeding thanks to the willingness of Allied and German forces to act in timely fashion before the plots became advanced. But it was equally important that Allied forces underscored the depth of the threat’s seriousness discursively by referring to it as part of an effort to create a “Fourth Reich.” In fact, the right-wing rebels were themselves beholden to the idea of turning Germany into an authoritarian Reich, with the SRP leadership, led by former Wehrmacht Gen. Otto Ernst Remer, embracing the concept in public speeches. But the Anglo-American media’s publication of ominous news stories about “elaborate plans for a ‘fourth Reich’” that were only just averted focused public attention on the seriousness of a threat that many hoped lay in the past.
In the decades since the 1950s, Germany has developed into a democracy as stable as any in the Western world. But it has never entirely freed itself from the prospect of a Fourth Reich. Following the rise of the far-right National Democratic Party (Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands, NPD) in the 1960s, neo-Nazi groups sprouted up after the 1980s, many of which were the ancestors of today’s Reichsbürger. Led by figures such as Manfred Roeder, Michael Kühnen and Horst Mahler, these groups began calling around the turn of the millennium for the “the German Reich to arise again,” claiming that Germany’s federal government was an illegal, Allied-imposed “corporation” that needed to be dissolved.
Driven by anti-liberal, anti-immigrant and antisemitic beliefs, the Reichsbürger were long dismissed as a bunch of cranks until some of its members began to carry out acts of civil disobedience that culminated in violence — including killings — against German police officials in 2016. In recent years, growing links between the Reichsbürger and other far-right groups — like the Alternative for Germany (AfD), the Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamicisation of the Occident (PEGIDA) and the QAnon-style Lateral Thinkers (Querdenker) — have further intensified the calls for a revived Reich among right-wing Germans.
The idea of a “Fourth Reich” also serves as a rallying cry for the far right beyond Germany. Indeed, it exists in the United States as well. Although Trump and his rank-and-file GOP supporters have never used the term, many white supremacist and neo-Nazi activists have embraced it. In August 2017, an African American church in Dumfries, Md., was vandalized with racist signs, including one that read “the Fourth Reich.” Around the same time, right-wing radicals produced threatening social media posts with messages such as “Donald Trump is Just the Opening Act. Yes, We Will Live to see a Fourth Reich.” | 2022-12-13T11:49:12Z | www.washingtonpost.com | It’s important to take those calling for a ‘Fourth Reich’ seriously - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2022/12/13/its-important-take-those-calling-fourth-reich-seriously/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2022/12/13/its-important-take-those-calling-fourth-reich-seriously/ |
Biden, GOP take divergent approaches to Africa as tensions over China grow
Good morning, Early Birds! We still can’t believe [REDACTED] died in “The White Lotus” season finale. Send tips and emotional support: earlytips@washpost.com. Thanks for waking up with us.
In today’s edition … From one Democrat turned independent to another: Joe Lieberman talks Kyrsten Sinema … Bankman-Fried arrested ahead of House crypto hearing but the show will go on … More fallout from Post series on U.S. military vets cashing in with nations known for abuses … What we're watching: Inflation numbers … but first …
The Biden administration will kick off a three-day summit of African leaders today in a test of President Biden’s ability to show the continent that his administration views its nations as more than pawns on a geopolitical chessboard amid concerns about the growing influence of China and Russia.
More than 40 African governments are expected to attend the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington — the second meeting of its kind after President Barack Obama hosted the inaugural one in 2014. The gathering is an attempt to strengthen U.S. ties to African countries following the Trump administration’s sometimes-turbulent relationship with them.
The summit “is rooted in the recognition that Africa is a key geopolitical player,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Monday. “The continent will shape the future, not just of the African people, but also the world.”
Leaders are expected to discuss a wide range of topics regarding health, climate, the economy and democracy, per White House officials. Biden is also expected to announce U.S. support for the African Union to join the Group of 20 nations as a permanent member.
Serge Mombouli, the Republic of Congo’s ambassador to Washington, praised the move, calling it “well-deserved” because Africa is “an economic power” and the “last frontier in this world economy.”
GOP pushback
But Biden’s plan for the summit is drawing criticism from Republicans who contend it should focus directly on beating back China’s influence on the continent. House Republicans plan to take a hawkish approach to China — the centerpiece of their foreign policy agenda when they take control of the House next year — and they have been looking for opportunities to portray the administration as going too easy on Beijing.
“We’ve been clear on our concerns with Chinese investments and China’s role globally,” said a Republican aide on the House Foreign Relations Committee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they, like others, were not authorized to speak on the record. “You need to be honest about the reality that that presents. African leaders know we’re concerned about it and so dancing around the subject certainly doesn’t help.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) tapped Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) last week to lead a new China select committee. According to McCarthy and Gallagher, the U.S. is locked in a “new Cold War” with China and “must confront China around the globe” to win it.
China’s role in Africa and the prospect of a 21st-century “scramble for Africa” have raised concerns across the political spectrum.
“Beijing has dramatically increased its investment and lending activities in Africa over the past 20 years, in the process becoming its biggest trading partner. China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a multibillion dollar plan to invest in infrastructure in nearly 150 countries, includes dozens of African countries,” our colleague Yasmeen Abutaleb recently wrote.
“U.S. officials have long viewed China’s investment and lending activities in Africa as a threat to their own influence on the continent, and many experts have raised concerns as to whether China’s loans are predatory or could later be used to extract concessions from countries that took them.”
The China select committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee plan to make countering China’s Belt and Road Initiative a priority when the GOP controls the House next year. The foreign affairs panel will hold “hearings early on in the year, taking a 30,000-foot [look at] strategic importance,” the Republican aide said. “China’s role and other security threats will be top priorities.”
A new-ish strategy
The administration has taken a different approach, threatening to put it at odds next year on yet another issue with the Republican-led House.
“We’re engaged in Africa for our mutual benefit and to advance our mutual interests,” Mary Catherine Phee, Biden’s assistant secretary of state for African affairs, told reporters last week. “It should not be a battlefield for external powers.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reassured African leaders that the administration won't force them to choose between the U.S. and China.
“I want to be clear: the United States doesn’t want to limit your partnerships with other countries. We want to make your partnerships with us even stronger,” he told an audience last year in Abuja, Nigeria. “We don’t want to make you choose. We want to give you choices.”
“The approach is a significant shift from Trump, whose top diplomat, Mike Pompeo, often railed against Chinese-led infrastructure projects as ‘debt traps’ during his three-country trip to Africa in 2020 and criticized telecom projects in Africa by the Chinese firm Huawei,” per our colleague John Hudson.
Some African leaders bristle at that choose-or-lose view.
“We are living in a global world and [the] African continent is welcome to do business with any country in the world,” Mombouli, who is also the dean of the African Diplomatic Corps, told The Early.
Earlier this year, Biden made a multibillion-dollar infrastructure commitment to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
“The White House also announced Monday that the United States would commit $55 billion to Africa over the next three years in economic, health and security support,” Yasmeen and Missy Ryan report. (Yasmeen and Missy also report that a top priority for the administration this week is to keep African nations behind the president’s push for a unified front against Russia in its war with Ukraine.)
And Cindy Courville, the first U.S. ambassador to the African Union, said she doesn’t expect tensions between the U.S. and China to boil over during the summit. “It’s been an amazing balancing act for [Africa] to conduct, being pulled between two great powers,” Courville said.
Advice from one Democrat turned independent to another
What does Joseph I. Lieberman, the longtime senator from Connecticut, think of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s announcement Friday that the Arizona Democrat will follow in his footsteps and leave the Democratic Party to become an independent?
“Good for Kyrsten,” Lieberman said in an interview Monday.
Lieberman, a longtime Democrat who was Al Gore’s running mate in 2000, took a different route to becoming an independent. He ran for a fourth term in 2006 but lost in the Democratic primary to Ned Lamont — who’s now Connecticut’s governor — amid anger over his support for the Iraq War. He ran instead as an independent and won.
Lieberman cautioned that Sinema’s party switch won’t necessarily make it easier for her to win if she runs in 2024.
“It’s always harder to run as an independent in America,” he said — but he thinks she can prevail.
Still, Lieberman benefited when he ran for reelection from a force that may or may not be in play if Sinema runs: the sympathy of voters who thought he’d been wronged. “There was a certain sense — certainly among independents and Republicans — that I had been treated, if I may say so, unfairly in the Democratic primary,” he said.
Lieberman didn’t face much blowback from Senate Democrats after he became an independent — at least at first. But he aroused the party’s anger after he endorsed his close friend John McCain for president, leading some Democratic senators to push to strip him of his seniority — and with it his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The caucus voted on it by secret ballot.
“I remember the numbers: It was 42 to 13 that I maintain my seniority,” Lieberman said. “I never figured out who the 13 were, but my staff repeatedly over the following years had a little game they played as to whether a senator was in the 13.”
Lieberman might never have endorsed McCain if he hadn’t lost the Democratic primary in 2006, he said. He also felt less bound to vote with the Democratic Party on Capitol Hill. “I felt freer to be independent because I had been reelected as an independent,” he said.
After Lieberman became an independent, Obama and Harry M. Reid, the late Senate majority leader, deployed him as an emissary to Senate Republicans to try to win their support for the 2009 stimulus bill and other priorities, Lieberman recalled. He urged Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to make similar use of Sinema.
“She can be a big help to Chuck Schumer and President Biden when she wants to be,” Lieberman said. “She won’t want to be on every occasion, but she will [want to] be, in my opinion, on some really important occasions.”
We asked Lieberman one more question at the end of the interview: What did he think of a 2010 clip of Sinema that’s resurfaced recently in which she criticized Lieberman for leaving the party and said Democrats would no longer need to keep “kowtowing to Joe Lieberman” after losing their filibuster-proof majority?
Lieberman laughed.
“What can I say?” he said. “Kyrsten has gotten older and wiser.”
Bankman-Fried arrested ahead of House crypto hearing
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, won’t testify before the House Financial Services Committee this morning as planned due to his arrest on Monday in the Bahamas at U.S. prosecutors’ request. But the show will go on without him.
The hearing’s second witness, John J. Ray III, who replaced Bankman-Fried as FTX’s chief executive as it imploded last month and is charged with restructuring the company, will still testify this morning, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the committee’s chairwoman, said Monday night. She expressed irritation at the timing of the arrest, saying the public should get to hear Bankman-Fried respond to questions publicly and under oath.
The public has heard a lot from Bankman-Fried since his firm imploded last month — but not under oath. He’s done a blitz of interviews in recent weeks, including a much-anticipated one with the New York Times’s Andrew Ross Sorkin last month and one on Monday with Forbes.
Ray doesn’t seem like he’ll be too sympathetic to Bankman-Fried at today’s hearing.
In his prepared testimony, he said that while his investigation is ongoing, FTX’s “collapse appears to stem from the absolute concentration of control in the hands of a very small group of grossly inexperienced and unsophisticated individuals who failed to implement virtually any of the systems or controls that are necessary for a company that is entrusted with other people’s money or assets.”
More fallout from Post series on U.S. military vets cashing in with nations known for abuses
More lawmakers are taking action following an investigation by our colleagues Craig Whitlock and Nate Jones “that revealed hundreds of retired U.S. military personnel have taken high-paying jobs as contractors and consultants for foreign governments, mostly in countries known for political repression.”
Reps. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Michael Cloud (R-Tex.) and Jason Crow (D-Colo.) are sending a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Blinken today asking for more details about the waiver approval process that allows former generals and admirals to take such jobs.
“We write to express our serious concerns over the recent Washington Post report that identified over 500 retired U.S. military personnel, including many senior general officers, who were given waivers from the Departments of Defense (DoD) and Department of State (DOS) to pursue lucrative jobs advising foreign governments with known human rights abuses and histories of political oppression,” they write.
The letter comes after Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) sent a letter of their own, which we reported first last week, to five consulting firms that have done such work asking for more details.
The House Rules Committee is expected to take up a one-week continuing resolution until Dec. 23 to give negotiators more time to work out a funding deal. The House will vote on it first, likely on Wednesday, so the Senate can pass it by the end of the week. Happy holidays!
Also, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s permanent subcommittee on investigations, led by Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), will release the findings of an eight-month investigation today on the sexual assault of female inmates in federal prisons. Just one finding from the bipartisan report: Male prison employees sexually abused female inmates in two-thirds of federal prisons.
Schumer is expected to release the Senate work schedule for 2023 today. We’ve lobbied for Congress to complete all of its work by Thanksgiving next year so we can take December off — but we all know the schedule is bound to change no matter what the leaders say.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to release new inflation data showing that prices rose about 7.3 percent in November, a sign that inflation is cooling.
Supporters of the Respect for Marriage Act, visualized: “Twelve Senate Republicans joined nearly the entire Democratic caucus [last month] to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, offering federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages,” our colleagues Nick Mourtoupalas and Adrian Blanco report. Biden is expected to sign the bill into law today.
ICYMI: Check out Leigh Ann’s interview on Washington Post Live with Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) about how they reached a deal on the same-sex marriage legislation.
A DEA agent tracked the source of fentanyl in Mormon country — a Mexican cartel. By Kevin Sieff.
Alexandra Pelosi is not eager to hear Nancy’s critique of her new film. By Ellen McCarthy.
Youngkin announces special election to fill late Rep. McEachin’s seat. By Meagan Flynn.
For Lockerbie victims’ families, an anguishing wait for justice. By Danielle Paquette and Tim Craig.
U.S. says it can’t seek death penalty against accused Lockerbie bomber. By Perry Stein.
Feinstein says she won’t step down early from Senate. By the Los Angeles Times’s Nolan D. McCaskill.
The parents in the middle of FTX’s collapse. By the New York Times’s David Yaffe-Bellany, Lora Kelley and Kenneth P. Vogel.
‘It’s All So Unsettled’: 2024 Is the Year of Known Unknowns. By Politico’s Jonathan Martin.
Two decades after 9/11 inquiry, a similar plan for covid stalls in Congress. By the New York Times’s Sheryl Gay Stolberg.
GOP Sen. Mike Braun to Run for Indiana Governor. By The Wall Street Journal's Eliza Collins.
Two groups quietly spent $32 million rallying voters behind voting rights. By the New York Times’s Katie Glueck.
Jan. 6 staffers prepare for all-out Republican assault. By Rolling Stones’s Adam Rawnsley and Asawin Suebsaeng.
Mark Meadows exchanged texts with 34 members of Congress about plans to overturn the 2020 election. By the Talking Points Memo’s Hunter Walker, Josh Kovensky and Emine Yücel.
How embarrassing | 2022-12-13T11:49:55Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Biden, GOP take divergent approaches to Africa as tensions over China grow - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/13/biden-gop-take-divergent-approaches-africa-tensions-over-china-grow/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/13/biden-gop-take-divergent-approaches-africa-tensions-over-china-grow/ |
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas coach Chris Beard was arrested on a felony family violence charge after a woman told police he strangled and bit her.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray was carted off the field with a knee injury on the third play of his team’s 27-13 loss to the New England Patriots.
FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys signed free agent receiver T.Y. Hilton.
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves acquired catcher Sean Murphy from the Oakland Athletics as part of a three-team trade that also sent All-Star catcher William Contreras to the Milwaukee Brewers.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins made their first significant move of the offseason by adding Christian Vázquez, agreeing to a $30 million, three-year contract with the veteran catcher.
CLEVELAND — Josh Bell signed his two-year, $33 million contract with the Cleveland Guardians, giving the AL Central champions a desperately needed power hitter to plug into the middle of their pesky lineup.
SAN FRANCISCO — Free agent left-hander Sean Manaea has reached agreement on a $25 million, two-year contract with the San Francisco Giants, a person with direct knowledge of the deal said.
LAS VEGAS — Golden Knights leading scorer Jack Eichel was placed on injured reserve because of a lower-body injury.
CARY, N.C. — Syracuse goalkeeper Russell Shealy stopped two shots in an eight-round shootout and Amferny Sinclair scored the game-winner as No. 3 seed Syracuse beat 13th-seeded Indiana 7-6 in a shootout to win the NCAA College Cup championship for the first time in program history.
AUSTIN, Texas — Gyasi Zardes and Major League Soccer’s Austin team agreed to a three-year contract with an option for 2026. | 2022-12-13T11:50:31Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Monday's Sports In Brief - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mondays-sports-in-brief/2022/12/13/8bf992ae-7acf-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mondays-sports-in-brief/2022/12/13/8bf992ae-7acf-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
United Airlines inks Boeing deal for 100 jets amid industry optimism
The announcement, with an option for 100 more aircraft, is another example of how the industry has bounced back from the pandemic
Workers load baggage onto a 787 United aircraft at San Francisco International Airport. (Liz Hafalia/San Francisco Chronicle/AP)
United Airlines announced Tuesday that it will buy 100 Boeing 787 Dreamliners with an option to double the order, the latest sign of optimism for a continued rebound in international travel.
The carrier’s deal, which it billed as the largest widebody aircraft order by a U.S. carrier, is the most recent example of a turnaround among air carriers nearly three years after the pandemic sapped demand for travel worldwide and left airlines dependent on more than $50 billion in government grants and loans.
“Despite all the challenges around the world, things are hitting on all cylinders and we feel really good about where we are and where we are headed in the years to come,” United chief executive Scott Kirby said.
United and Boeing officials didn’t outline the cost of the planes, and the value of the deal couldn’t immediately be determined.
Despite a rocky spring and early summer in which delays and cancellations drew scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators, the year has proved to be a turning point for the industry. Airlines are benefiting from hybrid work schedules and demand for air travel hovering near pre-pandemic levels.
The Transportation Security Administration reported it screened more than 2.5 million passengers this past month on the Sunday after Thanksgiving — the most in a day since the pandemic began.
In October, United was among the carriers to announce record revenue during the third quarter as the industry capitalized on travel patterns fueled by flexible schedules that enable people to work remotely. Kirby said September, traditionally a slow period for air travel, was the airline’s third-strongest month in its history.
Transportation Department secures $600 million in airline refunds
The deal with United is also good news for Boeing, which is facing production slowdowns because of supply chain issues.
United’s announcement comes about two months after Alaska Airlines announced it was exercising an option to buy 52 Boeing 737 Max aircraft, with an option to purchase 105 more through 2030 — the biggest Boeing aircraft order in the carrier’s 90-year history. This past summer, Delta Air Lines said it planned to buy 100 of Boeing’s 737 Max 10 planes with the option to buy 30 more. Last year, Southwest Airlines announced it would buy 100 Boeing Max planes.
For its part, United is betting that despite national economic concerns, demand for air travel, particularly internationally, will remain strong.
“The economics of these planes are really just unmatched,” said Andrew Nocella, United’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer. “These aircraft are dramatically more fuel efficient. This is just revolutionary for United and the potential we have to go around the globe.”
The 787 Dreamliner is expected to replace older Boeing 767 and 777 aircraft, United executives said. By 2030, when all 767s are removed from the fleet, the carrier said it expects a 25 percent decrease in carbon emissions per seat when compared to older models.
Stan Deal, the president and chief executive of Boeing’s commercial airplanes division, said in a statement that the company “is honored by United’s trust in our family of airplanes to connect people and transport cargo around the world for decades to come.”
United executives said they expect to take delivery of the widebody jets — aircraft large enough to accommodate two aisles, which typically are used for longer flights — between 2024 and 2032. The company also announced it is exercising options to purchase 44 Boeing 737 Max aircraft for delivery between 2024 and 2026, and it ordered 56 Max aircraft for delivery between 2027 and 2028.
The carrier said it expects to receive 700 narrow and widebody aircraft by the end of 2032.
United Airlines bets big on the return of supersonic travel
In June 2021, United inked a deal with Denver-based Boom Supersonic to buy 15 planes with the option of purchasing an additional 35 aircraft. United did not disclose the financial terms, but Boom officials said the Overture aircraft is priced at $200 million, which would make the deal worth $3 billion.
After enduring the worst of the pandemic, United executives said the order signifies a new era for the airline — one of expansion.
“What this order really signifies is that as we go forward particularly in the year 2025 and beyond, we’re going to be turning out attention even more so toward our global route opportunities,” Nocella said. | 2022-12-13T11:51:02Z | www.washingtonpost.com | United Airlines inks deal with Boeing for 787 Dreamliner - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/12/13/united-deal-boeing-dreamliner/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/12/13/united-deal-boeing-dreamliner/ |
12 percent of women without high blood pressure develop it postpartum
(Boston Globe/Getty Images)
For up to a year after giving birth, more than 1 in 10 women (12 percent) who did not have high blood pressure before or during pregnancy develop the condition, according to research published in the journal Hypertension.
The study found that, in nearly a fourth of those cases, hypertension developed six weeks or more after childbirth, and 17 percent of the women had what was considered a severe case. The researchers analyzed blood pressure measurements from the prenatal period through 12 months after delivery for the 3,925 study participants, including 2,465 women with no history of chronic or pregnancy-related hypertension.
At least two separate blood pressure readings of at least 140/90, taken more than 48 hours after delivery, were considered new onset postpartum hypertension. The researchers defined readings of 160/110 as severe cases.
They also found that those at highest risk for developing new onset postpartum hypertension are women older than 35, current or former smokers, and women who deliver via Caesarean section. Among the study participants, having all three characteristics raised the risk of developing postpartum hypertension to 29 percent.
Possible complications of postpartum hypertension, especially for severe cases, include an increased risk for seizures, stroke, cardiovascular disease and kidney failure.
Currently, women who don’t have blood pressure problems before or during pregnancy usually have their blood pressure checked just once in the four to six weeks after delivery, but the researchers suggest that getting more frequent blood pressure checkups could keep new cases of postpartum hypertension from going undiagnosed. | 2022-12-13T11:51:14Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Women can develop high blood pressure up to a year after giving birth - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/12/13/high-blood-pressure-postpartum-women/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/12/13/high-blood-pressure-postpartum-women/ |
(Vanessa Saba for The Washington Post)
Several studies support the claim that gender bias in medicine routinely leads to a denial of pain relief for female patients for a range of health conditions
One woman was told she was being “dramatic” when she pleaded for a brain scan after suffering months of headaches and pounding in her ears. It turned out she had a brain tumor.
These are just some of the stories of women who say their pain and suffering has been dismissed or misdiagnosed by doctors. Although these are anecdotal reports, a number of studies support the claim that women in pain often are not taken as seriously as men.
This year, the Journal of the American Heart Association reported that women who visited emergency departments with chest pain waited 29 percent longer than men to be evaluated for possible heart attacks.
An analysis of 981 emergency room visits showed that women with acute abdominal pain were up to 25 percent less likely than their male counterparts to be treated with powerful opioid painkillers.
Another study showed that middle-aged women with chest pain and other symptoms of heart disease were twice as likely to be diagnosed with a mental illness compared with men who had the same symptoms.
“I was told I knew too much, that I was working too hard, that I was stressed out, that I was anxious,” said Ilene Ruhoy, a 53-year-old neurologist from Seattle, who had head pain and pounding in her ears.
Despite having a medical degree, Ruhoy said she struggled to get doctors to order a brain scan. By the time she got it in 2015, a tennis ball-sized tumor was pushing her brain to one side. She needed surgery, but first, she rushed home, hugged her 11-year-old daughter and wrote her a letter to tell her goodbye.
Ruhoy did not die on the operating table, but her tumor had grown so large it could not be entirely removed. Now, she has several smaller tumors that require radiation treatment.
She said many of her female patients have had experiences similar to hers. “They’re not validated with regards to their concerns; they’re gaslit; they’re not understood,” she said. “They feel like no one is listening to them.”
“There’s a pain gap, but there’s also a credibility gap. Women are not believed about their bodies — period.” — Anushay Hossain, author of "The Pain Gap," Washington, D.C.
Doubts about women’s pain can affect treatment for a wide range of health issues, including heart problems, stroke, reproductive health, chronic illnesses, adolescent pain and physical pain, among other things, studies show.
Research also suggests that women are more sensitive to pain than men and are more likely to express it, so their pain is often seen as an overreaction rather than a reality, said Roger Fillingim, director of the Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence at the University of Florida.
Fillingim, who co-wrote a review article on sex differences in pain, said there are many possible explanations, including hormones, genetics and even social factors such as gender roles.
Regardless, he said, “you treat the pain that the patient has, not the pain that you think the patient should have.”
(Illustration by Vanessa Saba for The Washington Post/Photos: Getty Images)
Women say reproductive health complaints are commonly ignored
Women often cite pain bias around areas of reproductive health, including endometriosis, labor pain and insertion of an intrauterine device, or IUD.
When Molly Hill made an appointment at a Connecticut clinic in 2017 to get an IUD, she said she was warned it would be uncomfortable, but she was not prepared for “horrific” pain. Hill, now 27 and living in San Francisco, recalled that during the procedure, she began crying in pain and shouted at the doctor to stop.
“We’re almost done,” she said the doctor told her and continued the procedure.
“It was full-body, electrifying, knife-stabbing pain,” she said. After it was done, she said she lay sobbing on the table in physical and emotional pain. “It felt violating, too, to have that pain that deep in your core where you feel the most vulnerable.”
Would you like to share your own experiences of coping with pain and navigating the medical system? Fill out this form, and we may include you in a collection of reader stories.
Studies consistently show that women who have not experienced vaginal birth have much higher pain during IUD insertion compared with women who have given birth. A Swedish study found that among 224 women who had not given birth, 89 percent reported moderate or severe pain. One in six of the women said the pain was severe.
Although numbing agents and local anesthetics are available, they are rarely used.
“They’re not validated with regards to their concerns; they’re gaslit; they’re not understood. They feel like no one is listening to them.” — Ilene Ruhoy, neurologist, Seattle
In some cases, women have sued physicians for ignoring their pain. Dozens of women sued Yale University claiming that during an egg harvesting procedure at its infertility clinic, they were supposed to be receiving the powerful painkiller fentanyl. But some women were getting only diluted pain medication or none at all, according to lawsuits filed in the state Superior Court in Connecticut.
Later, the clinic discovered a nurse had been stealing vials of fentanyl and replacing the painkiller with saline solution. The nurse pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced for tampering with the drugs.
One of the plaintiffs, Laura Czar, wrote about her experience for Elle magazine, describing it as “a horrible, gut-wrenching pain,” and told a doctor at the time, “I can feel everything you’re doing.” Despite her protests, the doctor continued.
Yale said in a statement that it “deeply regrets” the women’s distress and has “reviewed its procedures and made changes to further oversight of pain control and controlled substances.”
(Illustration by Vanessa Saba for The Washington Post/Photos: Unsplash, Pexels)
Racial disparities in pain management
For Sharee Turpin, the pain of sickle-cell disease sometimes feels like tiny knives slicing her open. Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder that can cause suffering so severe, its attacks are called “pain crises.”
But when Turpin, who is Black, experiences a pain crisis, the 34-year-old does not rush to the ER in Rochester, N.Y. Instead, she combs her hair, mists some perfume and slips on her “Sunday best” in hopes that the doctors and nurses won’t peg her as a drug seeker, she said.
Sometimes, Turpin gets a care team that understands her pain. Other times, she is treated as a bother. “I’ve even been told ‘shut up’ by a nurse because I was screaming too loud while I was in pain,” she said.
Abundant research shows racial bias in pain treatment. A 2016 study found half of white medical students and residents held at least one false belief about biological differences between Blacks and Whites, and were more likely to underestimate Black patients’ pain.
“The management of pain is one of the largest disparities that we see between Black people and White people in the American health-care system,” said Tina Sacks, an associate professor at the University of California at Berkeley and author of “Invisible Visits: Black Middle-Class Women in the American Healthcare System.”
Labeling women “hysterical” or blaming psychological causes
Research shows men in chronic pain tend to be regarded as “stoic” while women are more likely to be considered “emotional” and “hysterical” and accused of “fabricating the pain.”
Carol Klay, a 68-year-old from Tampa, had endured years of chronic pain from arthritis, degenerative disk disease and spinal stenosis. During a hospital stay last year, her doctor noted in her medical record that she was crying “hysterically.”
Klay said she was crying because she was unable to sit, stand or walk without agony, and the doctor had removed morphine from her cocktail of pain medications. She wonders whether the doctor “would have called me hysterical if I was a man,” she said.
Tampa General Hospital said it could not discuss specific patients, but stated: “Patient treatment plans, including medication orders to reduce pain, are prescribed by multi-disciplinary clinical teams.”
Research shows women’s physical pain is also often attributed to psychological causes.
Jan Maderios, a 72-year-old Air Force veteran from Chipley, Fla., said the trauma of having pain dismissed by doctors has stayed with her for years. She saw about a dozen doctors in the early 1970s for pelvic pain. When clinicians could not identify the cause of her pain, she was referred to a psychiatrist.
“You start to doubt yourself after so many medical experts tell you there’s nothing wrong with you,” she said.
After a hysterectomy in 1976, Maderios learned that fibroid tumors in her uterus had been the source of her pain. She said learning her pain was real — and physical — “made all the difference in the world.”
(Illustration by Vanessa Saba for The Washington Post/Photos: iStock, Unsplash)
Why women’s pain complaints often aren’t taken seriously
During a 33-hour labor with her first child in 2011, Anushay Hossain, 42, of D.C., opted for epidural pain relief but said she still felt it all — every contraction, every cramp and every dismissal of her pain by her medical team. The doctor reassured her that she was getting the maximum dosage of pain medication.
In fact, she wasn’t getting any at all. She said her epidural had slipped out. By the time the error was caught, she was shaking uncontrollably and in need of an emergency Caesarean section, she said.
“There’s a pain gap, but there’s also a credibility gap,” said Hossain, author of “The Pain Gap: How Sexism and Racism in Healthcare Kill Women.” “Women are not believed about their bodies — period.”
“I’ve even been told ‘shut up’ by a nurse because I was screaming too loud while I was in pain.” — Sharee Turpin, sickle-cell patient, Rochester, N.Y.
This pain gap may stem, in part, from the fact that women have historically been excluded from medical research. It wasn’t until 2016 that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) required sex to be considered as a biological variable in most studies it funded.
“We’re making progress,” said David Thomas, special adviser to the director of NIH’s Office of Research on Women’s Health. “But we do have a long way to go because there’s this whole institutional approach to doing research — pain and beyond — where it tends to be male-focused.”
Nearly 95 percent of U.S. medical school students said instruction on sex and gender differences in medicine should be included in curriculums, according to a 2015 survey. But only 43 percent said their curriculum had helped them understand those differences and only 34.5 percent said they felt prepared to manage them in a health-care setting.
“It is changing, but it’s changing very slowly,” said Janice Werbinski, immediate past president of the American Medical Women’s Association and chair of the mentorship committee of the association’s Sex and Gender Health Collaborative.
How women can advocate for better pain care
It took decades to solve the mystery of Maureen Woods’s chronic pain. Woods, 64, of Myersville, Md., started having joint pain in her teens and, over the years, told dozens of doctors her pain was “debilitating,” she said. Some told her it was all in her head. In 2017, she was diagnosed with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a connective tissue disorder often causing loose joints, dislocations and chronic pain.
She said women who are not being heard should keep advocating for themselves. “You have to go with your gut — something is wrong and I need to find a doctor who can figure it out,” she said.
Marjorie Jenkins, dean of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, urged women against feeling pressured to accept an “everything is normal” non-diagnosis.
“If your provider does not appear to be listening to you or believing what you’re saying, then you need a new provider,” Jenkins said. “You are the client, you are the customer and you are the owner of your health.”
“You start to doubt yourself after so many medical experts tell you there’s nothing wrong with you.” — Jan Maderios, Air Force veteran, Chipley, Fla.
Women can also take a family member, friend or other support person who can corroborate their stories, said Alyson McGregor, an emergency medicine professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville and author of the book “Sex Matters: How Male-Centric Medicine Endangers Women’s Health and What We Can Do About It.”
Particularly in emergency departments, she said, there can be an inherent bias. “There’s this assumption that women are emotional and they’re anxious and that that’s the main issue,” she said.
Lindsey Bever is a reporter for The Washington Post's Well+Being desk, covering chronic illness, mental health and navigating the medical system, among other issues. She was previously a reporter at the Dallas Morning News. Twitter Twitter | 2022-12-13T11:51:20Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Women's pain often is dismissed by doctors - Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/interactive/2022/women-pain-gender-bias-doctors/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/interactive/2022/women-pain-gender-bias-doctors/ |
Econ 101
(Jeff Hinchee for The Washington Post)
We have survived the complicated, unnerving economy of 2022. But what have we learned?
Inflation emerged as the dominant theme, blanketing itself across millions of businesses and households. These higher prices manifested themselves everywhere, but they did not — at least not yet, it seems — pull the country into a recession. The economic forces were complicated and challenging. We aimed to bring them to life.
Through five vivid dispatches spanning from March until November, our Econ 101 series explored the roots of inflation, higher gas prices, rising rent, and the surging cost of food. But the series also, importantly, shed light on how the labor market could prove resilient and prevent inflation from dragging the economy into a recession. That labor market is now under new duress.
Chapter 1 | March 16
Inflation: How prices took off.
Over the past two years, the U.S. economy has faced its biggest challenges in a generation on multiple fronts. It contracted too fast. Then it grew too quickly. This forced millions of Americans to live through something they never have before: a period of high inflation. Our guide, published in March, explained what caused prices to take off.
What’s happened since: Prices have continued to go up, spiking during the summer. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates multiple times in 2022 in an effort to slow inflation. There are signs that inflation might be cooling, but it is taking much longer than many people expected. There are a couple of reasons inflation has remained high for so long. One reason is because Russia’s invasion of Ukraine distorted energy and food markets. Another reason is that consumers continued spending money at high rates despite elevated prices.
What’s next: Many analysts say inflation will continue to cool, potentially reaching more normal levels toward the end of 2023. This inflationary stretch has been painful for many households and businesses, however. The Fed has begun showing signals that it could soon begin slowing the pace of interest rate hikes. They are concerned that if they raise interest rates too much, it could lead to a recession.
Chapter 2 | June 1
Pump Shock: How gas prices drove us to the brink.
Rising inflation, a growing economy, people returning to offices, and a surge in people hitting the road for long-overdue trips helped push gas prices up near record levels. Making matters worse — a lot worse — was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia is the third-largest exporter of energy in the world, and the U.S. and European allies moved to punish Russia by limiting imports. This pushed up prices for everybody, particularly around the summer driving season.
What’s happened since: Gas prices rose from $2.53 in February 2020 to $5.01 on June 13, 2022. This dynamic pushed President Biden’s poll numbers toward the lowest levels of his time in office. But prices soon started falling sharply and supply increased. The White House moved to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and some major production facilities ramped up capacity. By the November midterm elections, gas prices averaged $3.80, according to AAA. That’s still uncomfortably high for many people, but it’s nowhere near where it was just a few months earlier.
What’s next: The White House says they want to keep exerting pressure on energy companies to lower gas prices, and Republicans have said a key part of their agenda in 2023 is to boost U.S. production so that there is more domestic supply. It’s unclear if either political party will have all that much power when it comes to energy prices. Bigger factors will likely be the extent of Russia’s involvement in Ukraine and the broader direction of the global economy. If the global economy slumps, gas prices will probably fall even more.
Chapter 3 | July 28
During the summer, when gas prices were extremely high, there was a growing sense that the United States would soon enter a recession. Many people thought the U.S. might already be in a recession. But what, exactly, is a recession? That’s what we aimed to explain. Recessions are a type of economic contraction usually caused by a chain of events. In this case, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates, which led the stock market to fall, which led consumers to become gloomy about the economy. In some cases, there were signs consumers might start pulling back on spending, which would be one way to guarantee a recession was coming.
What’s happened since: The final domino to fall, though, was layoffs. Just when it appeared a recession seemed imminent during the summer, the labor market kept revving and employers kept hiring hundreds of thousands of people each month. With an extremely low unemployment rate — at one point it was 3.5 percent — consumers had plenty of income and didn’t need to pull back on spending as much as many economists had feared.
What’s next: Large-scale layoffs have begun in the past few weeks, mostly focused on the technology sector. Facebook, Twitter and Amazon have begun cutting thousands of workers. If this spreads from the tech sector to other parts of the economy, it could be the final domino to fall in a recession. But if the layoffs remain contained to just this one industry, it’s possible the economy will continue to grow.
Chapter 4 | Sept. 1
Why is rent so high?
As inflation unexpectedly picked up new momentum in the second half of 2022, housing costs emerged as a huge burden for millions of renters. Many were priced out of the white-hot housing market, and so they had to compete against more people to rent apartments or houses in virtually every corner of the country. There were many reasons for this, including that there was not enough supply to meet demand. And people were using the pandemic as an excuse to move and relocate, which caused a lot of volatility and in many cases created more competition for units.
What’s happened since: There are signs rental prices might finally be stabilizing, and prices fell in many markets in October on a month-by-month basis. That could bring welcome relief, particularly for people who are finding themselves priced out of the housing market by rising interest rates.
What’s next: With high interest rates and a cooling housing market, the rental market remains at risk of big changes. But as inflation appears to be cooling, that should continue to bring rental prices back toward a more normal level.
Chapter 5 | Nov. 10
Food-flation
Food prices jumped in 2022, but there were different reasons for different products. An avian flu outbreak pushed up the price of turkey and chicken. Heat waves and droughts in Idaho pushed up the cost of potatoes. Bread prices jumped because wheat exports were delayed by the war in Ukraine. Labor shortages, meanwhile, have pushed up the price of dairy products. Each item seemed to have its own issue, which drove up costs across the board.
What’s happened since: Millions of Americans felt the pinch of inflation at grocery stores and restaurants, but people kept spending money. There is evidence that shoppers adjusted their behavior, opting for less-expensive alternatives in the meat or produce aisle, for example. This kind of behavior will probably continue until price increases level off.
What’s next: There are so many different dynamics driving up food prices that it’s hard to know when things will stabilize. But a number of experts say that food-price inflation is peaking, and there’s a chance that prices might actually fall in 2023.
Econ 101 is an examination of some of the most prominent economic themes of the year, explaining to readers their origins and impact during this highly uncertain period. These topics affect the finances of all Americans, and understanding what is happening can make you better prepared for what happens next.
Illustrations by Jeff Hinchee, Anna Hrachovec, Andre Rucker, Peter Crowther, Studio Mals and Annie Wong for The Washington Post. | 2022-12-13T12:18:55Z | www.washingtonpost.com | The 2022 economy: Inflation, housing prices, gas prices, and all the other forces that shaped our lives - Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2022/econ-101-final-2022/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2022/econ-101-final-2022/ |
Father Stan Swamy died after spending more than eight months in jail on terrorism charges
People gather outside the church in Mumbai holding a memorial Mass for Father Stan Swamy on July 6, 2021. (Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty Images)
NEW DELHI — For months, Father Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old Jesuit priest, claimed his innocence in courts and pleaded for medical care, but Indian authorities denied him bail. He died at a hospital in July 2021 after spending more than eight months in jail on terrorism charges.
Now, an examination of an electronic copy of his computer by Arsenal Consulting, a Massachusetts-based digital forensics firm, concludes that a hacker infiltrated his device and planted evidence, according to a new report by the company. The analysis is more proof that Swamy and his co-defendants were framed in a case that exemplifies the Indian government’s crackdown against civil society and prominent critics, the defense team says.
More than a dozen activists, academics and lawyers have been imprisoned under an anti-terrorism law — some for more than four years — accused of having ties to a banned Maoist armed group that aims to overthrow the government. They deny the charges. The stringent terrorism law has drawn criticism in part because the accused can rarely secure bail and cases brought under the law have a poor conviction rate.
They were accused of plotting to overthrow the Modi government. The evidence was planted, a new report says.
In 2021, The Washington Post reported that devices of at least two defendants in the case had been compromised by hackers who deposited dozens of incriminating documents in the devices. This malware campaign targeted individuals beyond those facing charges in the case.
Separately, the Pegasus Project investigation by The Post and 16 other news organizations revealed that some of the defendants were included on a list of surveillance targets for spyware supplied by the Israeli firm NSO Group to governments or their agencies. The Indian government has neither confirmed nor denied that it is an NSO client. In June, Wired reported links between the hacking campaign and Indian police, who did not respond to the report.
Read the latest Arsenal report
The new findings shed more light on a case that has continued to transfix the nation. Civil society groups say it is a chilling example of the persecution of human rights defenders under the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Swamy, bespectacled and lanky, championed the rights of tribal youths in central India accused of being Maoists — before police charged him with the same crime.
The latest report by Arsenal says Swamy was the target of an extensive malware campaign for nearly five years, the longest known for any defendant, right up until his device was seized by police in June 2019. During that period, the hacker gained full access and had complete control over his computer, dropping dozens of files into a hidden folder without his knowledge.
Arsenal has conducted its work at the request of the group’s defense team.
These documents — purported letters between defendants and the Maoist group — are cited by the police as evidence against Swamy and others in what is known as the Bhima Koregaon case. International human rights groups, including United Nations experts, have previously called on the Indian government to release the defendants, at least on bail, given their advanced ages and ill health.
The National Investigation Agency, the prosecuting authority in the case, did not respond to requests for comment.
The findings by Arsenal “clear” Swamy’s name, said his friend Father Joseph Xavier. He said the report proves that Swamy was “systematically targeted and framed for raising his voice for the [tribals], which hurt the interests of the state.” A plea to drop the charges against the defendants based on Arsenal’s first report is pending before the courts.
Indian activists jailed on terrorism charges were on list with surveillance targets
Two experts on malware and digital forensics reviewed the report at the request of The Post and said its conclusions were sound.
Arsenal’s report is “really convincing,” and there is “firm evidence” that Swamy’s computer was infected with malware and that an operator was pushing incriminating files to the system, said Robert Jan Mora, a digital forensics expert at Volexity, a cybersecurity firm based in the D.C. area, who reviewed the report. He added that Arsenal should publish in more detail how NetWire malware left behind traces, which could benefit others in the field.
Alessandro Di Carlo, director of forensics at Certego, an Italian cybersecurity company, said the analysis is “thorough and comprehensive.”
Arsenal’s new report says Swamy’s laptop was infected beginning in October 2014 with NetWire, a commercially available malware that can upload and download files from a target’s computer, log keystrokes and access emails and passwords.
The unidentified hacker in Swamy’s case is the same person who targeted Swamy’s co-defendants, activist Rona Wilson and lawyer Surendra Gadling, given the use of the same command and control servers and same NetWire configurations, including the hacker’s passwords, according to Arsenal.
The hacker deployed WinSCP, a free and open-source file transfer tool for Windows, to copy more than 24,000 files and folders from Swamy’s computer and removable storage devices onto the hacker’s own server, the report says.
The hacker first planted documents on Swamy’s computer in July 2017 and continued to do so for two years, according to Arsenal. The documents were never opened and Swamy never interacted with them, the report says.
“I haven’t seen this amount of evidence being planted before,” said Mora, who has performed malware forensics in some high-profile breach investigations and security assessments for governments. “It’s unbelievable.”
On the night of June 11, 2019, hours before Swamy’s computer was seized by the police, the hacker performed an extensive “cleanup” of their activities, including getting rid of malware and surveillance data and creating distractions by copying a large number of files into folders used maliciously before the cleanup.
Mark Spencer, Arsenal’s president, termed that activity “extremely suspicious” given the imminent seizure of the device.
In the report, Arsenal shares screenshots of the raw data recovered from Swamy’s computer revealing the hacker’s activities, including the command used to delete the folder where tens of thousands of files from Swamy’s computer were stored before they were transferred to the server.
Indian activist charged with terrorism was targeted by hackers linked to prominent cyber espionage attacks, new report finds
Last year in May, Swamy, who had Parkinson’s disease, appealed to the court for medical bail, saying there had been a “steady” regression of his bodily functions.
India’s anti-terrorism agency opposed his bail plea, saying that the medical documents he cited were not conclusive proof of any severe ailment and that the allegation of fabricated evidence was an attempt to “confuse truth with falsehood.”
His death sparked furor in India, with opposition parties, civil society groups and citizens calling for accountability.
Xavier, Swamy’s friend of 20 years, said: “Stan stood for justice and paid a price for it.” | 2022-12-13T12:49:27Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Stan Swamy's computer was hacked, evidence planted in Bhima Koregaon case - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/13/stan-swamy-hacked-bhima-koregaon/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/13/stan-swamy-hacked-bhima-koregaon/ |
People gather in Washington's Lafayette Square on June 26, 2015, to see the White House illuminated with rainbow colors to mark the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling to legalize same-sex marriage. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)
President Biden is slated to sign the Respect for Marriage Act into law Tuesday, granting federal protections to same-sex and interracial couples, and marking a milestone in the decades-long fight for marriage equality.
Thousands are expected to attend the South Lawn signing ceremony, which will also include musical guests and performances in “a celebrated event,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday.
The landmark legislation passed the Senate last month and the House last week with strong bipartisan support: 12 Republican senators and 39 GOP House members joined all Democrats and independents in both chambers to pass the bill.
Biden said in a statement last week that Congress had restored “a measure of security to millions of marriages and families” after the Supreme Court in June ended the right to abortion after nearly 50 years, and Justice Clarence Thomas said the court should also reexamine cases that set precedent on LGBT rights.
The bill also will repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. In addition to defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman, that act allowed states to decline to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. That law has remained on the books despite being declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling in United States v. Windsor and its 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which guaranteed same-sex couples the fundamental right to marry.
The signing underscores a nearly three-decade evolution, from 1996 when President Bill Clinton (D) signed legislation that defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman, to the 2004 election when President George W. Bush (R) used the issue to energize GOP voters, to the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) last week spoke about how fitting it was that the Respect for Marriage Act would be the last piece of legislation she signed in a bill enrollment ceremony as House speaker. Her first speech on the House floor in 1987, she recalled, was to call on her colleagues to take leadership in the AIDS crisis.
The legislation is personally and politically significant for Biden as well. In 2012, when Biden was vice president, he memorably declared his unequivocal support of same-sex marriage ahead of then-President Barack Obama, who had said his views were “evolving.”
Over time, the political winds shifted to where protecting same-sex marriage became a bipartisan Senate and House vote. (Video: Michael Cadenhead/The Washington Post)
In his June concurrence with the decision to overturn Roe, Thomas wrote that the high court should also examine previous rulings that legalized the right to buy and use contraception without government restriction (Griswold v. Connecticut), same-sex relationships (Lawrence v. Texas) and marriage equality (Obergefell v. Hodges).
“When that case [Dobbs] came down, it sent shudders through the LGBTQ community for sure because it really put at risk the certainty that their marriages that are recognized today would be recognized in the future, should the Supreme Court revisit Obergefell,” Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), the first openly gay person elected to the Senate, said in a Washington Post Live interview Monday.
Still, a bipartisan group of senators negotiated to delay a vote on the bill until after the midterm elections and to work on the religious liberty amendment to ensure its passage. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who was part of that bipartisan group, last week praised her colleagues for their relentless work to get the bill passed, recalling how on Thanksgiving Day she was basting a turkey and texting lawmakers about the bill at the same time.
In a Washington Post Live interview, Collins said family members, constituents and friends who were in same-sex relationships began reaching out to her after the Supreme Court overturned Roe, expressing “a real sense of concern that there was now a cloud over their marriages.” She said she was heartened that the House had passed an earlier version of the Respect for Marriage Act over the summer with a strong bipartisan vote, but knew it could still be an uphill battle to get the bill passed in the Senate.
“In talking with my Republican colleagues, and with Tammy, I felt that if we could come up with some language that would make it clear that we were not in any way weakening religious liberties … that we could in fact get the bill over the finish line,” Collins said.
Republicans who opposed the bill decried it last week as an affront to “biblical” definitions of marriage. Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) warned without evidence that it could lead to the legality of “polygamy, bestiality, child marriage, or whatever!” in the future. GOP lawmakers also played down the threat to marriage equality and said the bill was unnecessary, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion rights.
On our radar: Advocates seek probe of multistate effort to copy voting software
11:26 AMThe latest: Sam Bankman-Fried won’t appear before House panel following his arrest | 2022-12-13T13:59:15Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Biden to sign landmark bill to protect same-sex, interracial marriages - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/13/biden-same-sex-marriage-interracial-law/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/13/biden-same-sex-marriage-interracial-law/ |
If Sen. Kyrsten Sinema runs for a second term as an independent, the national party would face pressure to decide whether to back her over a Democrat, prompting a dilemma for her colleagues.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) speaks during a news conference after the Senate passed the Respect for Marriage Act at the U.S. Capitol, on Nov. 29, 2022. (Elizabeth Frantz for The Washington Post)
Democratic senators from across the political spectrum have sidestepped the question of whether they would support Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) if she runs for reelection — underscoring how her surprise decision to leave the Democratic Party has thrust Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and his colleagues into a tough spot.
Although Sinema has not said whether she plans to seek a second term in 2024, Democrats are already bracing for the possibility that she will run as an independent, her new political affiliation, and face off against a Democratic nominee in the general election, potentially boosting the Republican candidate in the race and messily dividing the party in a presidential election year.
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said he’s been preparing for a run and would decide after the holidays if he will seek the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. The looming three-way scenario for Democrats means Schumer could face pressure to decide whether he and the national party apparatus would back Sinema as an incumbent, even against a Democratic nominee; sit out the race; or endorse the winner of the Democratic primary.
It’s a delicate political question that spooked Senate Democrats on Monday. Schumer’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the issue. Sen Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the outgoing chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), declined to say whether he believes Democrats should endorse Sinema for reelection if she runs again. “Right now I’m going to keep working with Sen. Sinema,” he said.
Other Democratic senators from across the country and the ideological continuum dodged the hypothetical scenario in Arizona that could create divisions in their party.
“I plan to stay out of Arizona politics,” said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (Ill.), the second-ranking Democrat.
“I am not focused on that,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said. “I’m focused on what we have to do in the next two weeks.”
“I’ll answer that when she decides what she’s going to do,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), referring to Sinema.
Even Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) declined to answer whether he’d support his fellow home state senator should she run as an independent. “You’re getting into hypotheticals,” he said. “But I’ve worked very closely with her for a long period of time.”
Schumer has yet to announce a new DSCC chair, and that person’s job has become even more difficult with the potential for a three-way race in Arizona. The 2024 campaign cycle was already seen as a challenging one for Democrats, with elections in red and purple states including West Virginia and Montana. There, Democratic incumbents Sens. Joe Manchin III and Jon Tester have not yet announced whether they’ll be running again. On Monday, Manchin told reporters he was not ruling out switching parties himself, though he said he did not plan to do so right now.
Also on Monday, Gallego told The Washington Post he would make his decision next year, after speaking to his family over the holidays. “I’ve been very clear, I’ve been preparing for this,” he said. Gallego dismissed the idea that if both he and Sinema ran it would split the Democratic vote and boost a Republican into office, saying, “Republicans are the ones who have a problem holding their base in Arizona.”
Rodell Mollineau, a Democratic strategist who once served as an aide for former Senate majority leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), said backing independent senators as incumbents has precedent, if Sinema continues to largely vote with Democrats. Democrats have supported Sens. Angus King (I-Maine) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who caucus with them, in their races.
“If this is framed as incumbent protection I think the caucus will be with them.” Mollineau said.
But Mollineau pointed out there’s a lot about the situation that will be outside of Schumer and the DSCC’s hands, including how the state party, donors and activists feel about the race.
The Arizona Democratic Party declined to comment on whether it would back a Democratic nominee for the seat, pointing to their statement on Friday that slammed Sinema after she announced her decision.
In a video explaining her decision to leave the Democratic Party, Sinema said: “Registering as an independent and showing up to work with the title of independent is a reflection of who I’ve always been, and it’s a reflection of who Arizona is. She added, “We don’t line up to do what we’re told. We do what’s right for our state and for our country.”
Joseph I. Lieberman, the former independent senator from Connecticut, cautioned that Sinema’s party switch won’t necessarily make it easier for her to win if she runs in 2024, though he said he thinks she can prevail. “It’s always harder to run as an independent in America,” he said.
But even Lieberman, a longtime Democrat who switched parties after losing a Democratic primary in 2006, declined to get into how Schumer should handle a potential three-way race and whether Democrats should try to discourage a challenger like Gallego in the meantime.
“I think it’s a good thing for Senate Democrats and a good thing for our country that Kyrsten Sinema as an independent senator be in the Senate,” he said. “But I wouldn’t go so far as to presume to tell Chuck or the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee what they should or can do.”
Marianna Sotomayor and Theodoric Meyer contributed to this report. | 2022-12-13T13:59:16Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Sinema party switch sets up political dilemma for Democrats - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/13/sinema-arizona-2024-democrats-senators/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/13/sinema-arizona-2024-democrats-senators/ |
Neymar acquitted on fraud, corruption charges in Spanish court
Brazilian soccer star Neymar, shown in October during his trial, was acquitted Tuesday in Spain. (Joan Mateu Parra/AP)
Neymar was acquitted Tuesday by a Spanish court of fraud and corruption charges stemming from his 2013 transfer to Barcelona from Santos, a club in his native Brazil.
Neymar’s parents and the former presidents of Barcelona (Josep Maria Bartomeu) and Santos (Sandro Rosell) also were found not guilty after going on trial in October. The victory for Neymar comes days after his Brazilian national team was eliminated by Croatia in the World Cup quarterfinals.
DIS, a company that owns a chain of supermarkets in Brazil, had accused the defendants of intentionally hiding the cost of Neymar’s transfer to avoid paying DIS what it was due as a partial holder of his player rights. But the court found that it had “not been proven that there was a false contract or that DIS was intended to be harmed.”
The verdict was not unexpected, given that Spanish state prosecutors decided to drop charges during the trial in October, leaving DIS alone to fight on. DIS had initially sought a five-year prison sentence for Neymar but reduced its demand to 2½ years after the prosecutors’ withdrawal.
Neymar left Santos for Barcelona at the age of 21, when he was already considered one of the world’s best players. With him, Barcelona won a Champions League title in 2015, among other trophies, before he forced a move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.
The move from Santos to Barcelona brought tax troubles, with Barcelona paying a fine of 5.5 million euros in 2016, admitting to “an error in the fiscal planning of the player’s transfer.” | 2022-12-13T14:12:21Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Neymar acquitted on fraud, corruption charges - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/13/neymar-acquitted/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/13/neymar-acquitted/ |
Mike Leach, shown during a Nov. 24 game against Mississippi, died Monday at age 61, Mississippi State announced. (Rogelio V. Solis/AP)
Mike Leach, Mississippi State’s charismatic and quotable football coach, died Monday night in Jackson, Miss., following complications from a heart condition, the university announced Tuesday morning. He was 61.
On Sunday, Leach experienced what the university said was a “personal health issue” at his Starkville, Miss., home, and he was transported to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson..
“Mike was a giving and attentive husband, father and grandfather," the Leach family said in the university’s statement announcing Leach’s death. "He was able to participate in organ donation at UMMC as a final act of charity. We are supported and uplifted by the outpouring of love and prayers from family, friends, Mississippi State University, the hospital staff, and football fans around the world. Thank you for sharing in the joy of our beloved husband and father’s life.”
Leach, who was in his third season at Mississippi State and had a 19-17 record at the school, told ESPN after the end of the regular season that he had dealt with pneumonia during the season but was feeling better. His 8-4 Mississippi State team is preparing for the ReliaQuest Bowl against Illinois on Jan. 2, and Leach reportedly was at practice Saturday. The university said Sunday that defensive coordinator Zach Arnett would lead the program in Leach’s absence.
Leach coached at Texas Tech from 2000 to 2009 and at Washington State from 2012 to 2019, earning national coach of the year honors from the American Football Coaches Association in 2018. He had an overall record of 158-107, and next month would have marked his 18th bowl appearance.
Leach made a major mark on college football as a proponent of the record-setting “Air Raid” offense. He helped Will Rogers, a junior quarterback for Mississippi State, break in just 28 games an SEC record for career completions that previously took Georgia’s Aaron Murray 52 games to set. Rogers also holds Mississippi State career records with 10,428 passing yards and 81 passing touchdowns.
Leach’s influence extended beyond his own team. His prolific coaching tree of coaches he mentored when they were players or assistant coaches includes USC’s Lincoln Riley, TCU’s Sonny Dykes, Houston’s Dana Holgorsen and the Arizona Cardinals’ Kliff Kingsbury.
Off the field, Leach frequently was a breath of fresh air in a sport filled with coach speak, never shying from offering an opinion on any matter he was asked about.
“I mean, I completely hate candy corn,” Leach said last year when asked to rate Halloween candy in one particularly memorable exchange.
“I’ve always liked Lane — and I know you’re not supposed to like anything from Ole Miss — but I’ve always liked him, kind of an entertaining guy,” Leach said of Lane Kiffin, the coach at archrival Mississippi, during his first news conference after getting the Mississippi State job.
“They ought to let me handle that,” Leach said this summer of possible realignment in the SEC. “I’ll have that done by lunch. I think it would be brilliant to let me handle it.” | 2022-12-13T14:16:42Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Mike Leach, Mississippi State football coach, dies at 61 - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/13/mike-leach-dies/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/13/mike-leach-dies/ |
The effort is the first to show that a cancer vaccine using messenger RNA may be effective
The experimental cancer therapy combined a vaccine created by Moderna using mRNA technology with Merck’s immunotherapy drug, marketed as Keytruda. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)
For the first time, messenger RNA technology — the advance that undergirds the most commonly used coronavirus vaccines — has been shown effective against a deadly form of skin cancer, when used in conjunction with a second drug, according to preliminary study results released Tuesday.
The experimental cancer vaccine from Moderna that uses mRNA, combined with Merck’s cancer immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab, marketed as Keytruda, performed well in mid-stage testing in patients battling melanoma, two pharmaceutical companies announced Tuesday.
After surgery and as long as a year on the pair of drugs, melanoma patients in the trial saw a 44 percent reduced risk of recurrence or death when compared with patients who received Keytruda alone, according to the announcement. The companies did not release the results of the study itself, which have not yet been independently reviewed.
“Today’s results are highly encouraging for the field of cancer treatment,” Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s chief executive, said in a news release. “mRNA has been transformative for COVID-19, and now, for the first time ever, we have demonstrated the potential for mRNA to have an impact on outcomes in a randomized clinical trial in melanoma.”
Bancel said the full data would be shared with health authorities, including the Food and Drug Administration, and released at a medical conference. The phase 2b trial involved 157 patients with Stage 3 or 4 melanoma that had spread to a lymph node and who faced a high risk of recurrence. The patients were split randomly into two groups.
“Serious adverse events” related to the treatment occurred in 14.4 percent of patients who received the drug combination and 10 percent of those who received Keytruda alone.
In 2018, 83,996 people were diagnosed with melanoma in the United States and 8,199 died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The five-year survival rates of the disease are estimated at 60.3 percent for Stage 3 and 16.2 percent for Stage 4, according to the companies. | 2022-12-13T14:51:55Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Experimental skin cancer vaccine shows promising early results - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/12/13/experimental-cancer-vaccine-messenger-rna-melanoma/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/12/13/experimental-cancer-vaccine-messenger-rna-melanoma/ |
Abigail Kawānanakoa, Hawaiian princess, dies at 96
Abigail Kawānanakoa, right, and her wife, Veronica Gail Worth, in 2018. (Jennifer Sinco Kelleher/AP)
Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawānanakoa, the so-called last Hawaiian princess whose lineage included the royal family that once ruled the islands and an Irish businessman who became one of Hawaii’s largest landowners, died Dec. 11 at her home in Honolulu. She was 96.
Her death was announced morning outside ʻIolani Palace, America’s only royal residence, where the Hawaiian monarchy dwelled but now serves mostly as a museum. Paula Akana, executive director of the palace, and Hailama Farden, of Hale O Nā Aliʻi O Hawaiʻi, a royal Hawaiian society, made the announcement in Hawaiian.
Ms. Kawānanakoa held no formal title but was a living reminder of Hawaii’s monarchy and a symbol of Hawaiian national identity that endured after the kingdom was overthrown by American businessmen in 1893.
He had married Abigail Kuaihelani Maipinepine Bright. Their daughter, Abigail Wahiika‘ahu‘ula Campbell, married Prince David Kawānanakoa, who was named an heir to the throne. Their daughter Lydia Kamaka‘eha Liliu‘okulani Kawānanakoa Morris had Abigail with her husband William Jeremiah Ellerbrock.
She funded causes over the years, including scholarships for Native Hawaiian students, opposing Honolulu’s rail transit project, supporting protests against a giant telescope, donating items owned by King Kalākaua and Queen Kapiʻolani for public display, including a 14-carat diamond from the king’s pinkie ring, and maintaining ʻIolani Palace.
Critics have said because there are other remaining descendants of the royal family who don’t claim any titles, Ms. Kawānanakoa was held up as the last Hawaiian princess simply because of her wealth and honorific title.
Hawaiian activist Walter Ritte said many Hawaiians aren’t interested in whether she was a princess and that her impact on Indigenous culture was minimal. “We didn’t quite understand what her role was and how she could help us,” Ritte said.
Ms. Kawānanakoa was born in Honolulu on April 23, 1926, and graduated from the all-female Notre Dame High School in Belmont, Calif., where she was a boarding student.
When the bishop agreed, Ms. Kawānanakoa was disappointed. “She was really hoping they would tell her to buzz off,” Wright said.
She breeded racehorses and was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2018, with the American Quarter Horse Association noting she was the industry’s “all-time leading female breeder at the reins of an operation that has produced the earners of more than $10 million.”
The battle over control of her trust began when a judge approved her lawyer Wright as a trustee after she suffered a stroke. She claimed she wasn’t impaired, fired Wright as her lawyer and married Veronica Gail Worth, her partner of 20 years. Survivors include her wife.
In 2018, Ms. Kawānanakoa attempted to amend her trust ensure that her wife would receive $40 million and all her personal property, according to court records. In 2020, a judge ruled that Ms. Kawānanakoa was unable to manage her property and business affairs because she was impaired. | 2022-12-13T14:52:13Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Abigail Kawānanakoa, Hawaiian princess, dies at 96 - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/12/13/abigail-kawananakoa-hawaii-princess-dead/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/12/13/abigail-kawananakoa-hawaii-princess-dead/ |
Transcript: Across the Aisle with Sens. Tammy Baldwin and Susan Collins
Across the Aisle with Sens. Tammy Baldwin and Susan Collins
Today we have another installment of "Across the Aisle," and joining me are two Senators, one Republican, one Democrat. We have Maine Republican Susan Collins and Wisconsin Democrat Tammy Baldwin. Thank you both so much for joining me today.
SEN. BALDWIN: It's a pleasure.
MS. CALDWELL: And to our audience, before we get started, of course, we want to hear from you. So, if there are any questions you have for the Senators, feel free to tweet at us, and we will try to get them asked.
So, Senators, we have you on today because of this landmark legislation that is going to be signed into law tomorrow regarding same‑sex marriage.
So, Senator Baldwin, I want to start with you. This really came about after the Dobbs decision about abortion, and part of Clarence Thomas's decision, he implied that perhaps same‑sex marriage is not a protected right. So can you talk about after you read that or heard that, who was the first phone call you made?
SEN. BALDWIN: Well, let me also go beyond the concurring opinion by Justice Thomas that called out the marriage equality case, because the underlying reasoning of the Supreme Court in Dobbs was to say that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided in the first place. And so, nearly 50 years ago, that landmark case was wrongly decided, and it makes you want to look at what other cases were decided based on similar constitutional legal reasoning, and you get to contraception access, you get to the interracial marriage case, you get to Obergefell, all of which were decided on equal protection and due process, 14th Amendment bases and on a right to privacy and liberty, that when that case came down, it sent shudders through the LGBTQ community for sure, because it really put at risk the certainty that their marriages that are recognized today would be recognized in the future, should the Supreme Court revisit Obergefell or these other cases that we were describing.
MS. CALDWELL: So that's a great summary. So tell me about‑‑you know, you were the first openly gay Senator. So this impacts you personally as well. So can you tell me, did you make a call to a loved one, or did you call a fellow Senator to try to see what could be done? And for that senator phone call or aide phone call, can you tell me a little bit about that, kind of go into there and, you know, what sort of conversation there was?
SEN. BALDWIN: Yeah. So let me start by saying that I‑‑even though the decision was leaked in the Dobbs case, having it reported out was still shocking, and there was a lot of just "Wow. This really happened. We really have half of America now are second‑class citizens," and it has implications beyond that.
And I kind of got to work in the sense of what are we going to do to safeguard marriage equality, to safeguard interracial marriages, and to look at the other cases that are implicated in the Dobbs decision.
And so I would say‑‑and among my first conversations were actually with lawyers who could help advise on what we should be drafting to try to get through the political process to safeguard these‑‑in this case, these marriages.
MS. CALDWELL: Mm‑hmm. Senator Collins, there are many Republicans who said that same‑sex marriage is not in jeopardy, and so perhaps this wasn't even necessary. So can you talk about why you got involved in these negotiations and these discussions?
SEN. COLLINS: Well, like most people, I know same‑sex couples. They are our family members, our friends, our coworkers, our neighbors, and I started hearing from them a real sense of concern that there was now a cloud over their marriages. They wondered how it would affect visitation rights at a hospital, inheritance rights; if they have children, whether it would affect their parental rights. I can't tell you how many same‑sex couples have come up to me since we got this bill passed, literally with tears in their eyes saying that I‑‑through my work with Tammy and the wonderful coalition that we had, had lifted a burden from them. So that's who I first heard from. It was constituents, it was friends, it was coworkers who felt that their marriages were at risk of being no longer valid.
MS. CALDWELL: Senator Collins, did you think there was going to be an uphill battle in trying to pass legislation, this legislation?
SEN. COLLINS: Well, I knew it wouldn't be easy, and it certainly was anything but easy. But I was very encouraged when the House passed by more than 40 votes, originally, the Respect for Marriage Act, and in talking with my Republican colleagues and with Tammy, I felt that if we could come up with some language that made it clear that we were not in any way weakening religious liberties and that we respected people who had views that were different from mine, for example, on same‑sex marriages that we could in fact get the bill over the finish line.
And we had a wonderful group in the Senate. Senator Baldwin was our leader. Senator Tillis, Senator Portman, Senator Sinema, and I, who really worked extremely hard to persuade our colleagues on both sides of the aisle that we could advance both religious liberty and the rights of the LGBTQ community. And we did.
MS. CALDWELL: Senator Baldwin, you know, was that religious liberty component in these negotiations? That seem to be the most difficult part of these negotiations. So can you talk about the friction there and if this‑‑if this, you know, final product provides enough protections for LGBTQ families and marriages?
SEN. BALDWIN: Yes. So the original version of the Respect for Marriage Act essentially would have left the status quo unchanged with regard to religious liberties.
But, as you know, my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, but certainly on the Republican side, hear from constituents and opponents to marriage equality who suggest otherwise. And I think what's really important where we could clarify in the bill, and so they had something to point to when their constituents suggested that there would be some curtailment of religious liberties. That's what we needed in order to build the larger coalition that ultimately got us 12 Republican votes in the United States Senate.
It was, in many cases, just adding clarity that this was a measure that would not change anything with regard to religious liberty, and then that extra step of saying that people do have a wide range of views on this issue, and that is something, you know, that we can understand and respect.
MS. CALDWELL: Senator Collins, you told my colleague, Liz Goodwin, in a story that she wrote about this about a moment when Senator Schumer decided not to put legislation on the floor before the election. Can you talk about, for our audience, how important that was and what that meant?
SEN. COLLINS: Well, Senator Baldwin and I went to see Senator Schumer. I believe it was about mid‑September, around September 15th, and we had been counting votes, and it was looking good. But what we were hearing from those on my side of the aisle was a fear that Senator Schumer would try to use this vote for political purposes in the upcoming midterm elections. So we went to see Senator Schumer, and we asked him to delay the vote until after the election. And I know this was very hard for Senator Baldwin, for Tammy, but it was the right thing to do.
Much to my surprise, he readily agreed, and he told us that he had a very personal stake in this legislation, and he's been very open about that. He has a daughter who is married to another woman, and they're about to‑‑they're expecting their first child, a very joyous occasion. So, for him, it was very personal rather than political. So he agreed to our request.
I will concede that until I knew the personal part of it, I was dubious and shared a lot of the concerns of my Republican colleagues that this could be used for political reasons, and it shouldn't be. And, fortunately, Chuck Schumer recognized that.
MS. CALDWELL: Senator Baldwin, were you surprised that you were able to get the support of 12 Republicans, and do you think that number went up because the vote was after the election?
SEN. COLLINS: Well, my view is that that we had enough votes to pass the bill back in September, but as you know, Senate process is rather complicated. And I think that we might have seen the bill filibustered before even it got to the Senate, and so it was helpful to take that pause so that we could keep our group together when we returned after the election. And I was glad that we were able to move it, you know, as quickly as we did
This is‑‑you know, folks stayed firm, and even though we had a week‑long interval between‑‑during the Thanksgiving recess where there was a lot of pressure put on the 12 Senate Republicans who helped us advance the bill, people stuck together. And that is a tribute to my work with Susan Collins and Rob Portman, Kyrsten Sinema, and Thom Tillis, who really kept in communication and answered questions. And, frankly, we were working on perfecting the substitute until the very end.
MS. CALDWELL: Senator Collins, I'm going to ask you kind of the flip side of that question. Do you think that that there needs to be more than 12 Republicans? Were you surprised that there weren't more Republicans who did sign on to this, even after an election?
SEN. COLLINS: I thought we might get additional Republicans, but I was very happy that we got 12. Twelve is ten. Ten is what you need to overcome a filibuster, and that we got in excess of that and then eventually 39 Republicans on the House side, I think is a good vote. It wasn't a vote where we got exactly the number that we needed in order to avoid a filibuster, and I thought that was important.
MS. CALDWELL: Senator Baldwin, this legislation does not codify same‑sex marriage. What it does is it ensures that couples that are married, that that will be recognized in any state in the country if they go to that state, regardless of what the state does. Why not codify same‑sex marriage? Why didn't the legislation do that?
SEN. BALDWIN: Well, it's really that would be most precedent‑setting from the perspective that the federal government doesn't regulate marriage.
You go to your local county courthouse to get your marriage license. It's all governed at the state level, and in fact, there's some modest differences from state to state with regard to marriage law. You also don't go to federal court to get a divorce. You go to state court, right? So this is an institution that is totally regulated at the state level to write a law that at the federal level to create a new federal right to marry would be quite an undertaking.
And I want to also just say that, you know, one of the reasons why it was important to write the law we did is that at the federal level, the Defense of Marriage Act is still on the books, or at least it is until tomorrow when President Biden signs the Respect for Marriage Act.
We've repealed that in this legislation. What it would have meant is had Obergefell, the case establishing marriage equality‑‑had that been overturned by an activist Supreme Court, the Defense of Marriage Act would have been federal law, and it would have meant the federal government would not recognize same‑sex marriages.
Also, we have 35 states today that either have constitutional amendments or laws defining marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman, and therefore, again, if Obergefell were struck down, those laws would be back in effect; that is, until we've passed the Respect for Marriage Act into law.
So we did what we needed to do to protect existing and future same‑sex marriage and interracial marriages but without creating a new federal oversight of marriage law. So we did‑‑what we needed to do to protect existing and future same‑sex marriages and interracial marriages but without creating a new federal oversight of marriage law.
MS. CALDWELL: And, Senator Collins, are you confident that if this were to be challenged in the courts and to the Supreme Court that this law would hold up?
SEN. COLLINS: The law that we've written?
SEN. COLLINS: Is that what you're saying? Yes. I mean, I've learned not to make predictions about what the Supreme Court is going to do, but I believe that this is clear a statement of legislative intent, federal law, would be upheld.
I would also mention that with Justice Thomas's comments, no other justice joined in those comments raising concerns about the basis for the Obergefell decision, but this does provide an extra layer of protection.
And I think the point that the Defense of Marriage Act, which I would note was signed into law by a Democratic president, remains on the books is something that we needed to remedy and so there was confusion.
MS. CALDWELL: Yeah. A lot's changed in almost 30 years‑‑30 years, I guess.
Senator Collins, you've been part of many gangs, working groups that have led to bipartisan legislation in this past Congress. You know, there's the CHIPS act, infrastructure, same‑sex marriage. There's a whole list of things. Is this how Congress should work moving forward, or is this a symptom of a broken Congress?
SEN. COLLINS: Groups of Senators coming together across the aisle can get things done. We've shown that with the infrastructure bill. We've shown it with the Respect for Marriage Act. The Asian American Hate Crimes bill is another example. The 2020‑‑December 2020 covid bill and the work that Joe Manchin and I have done on the Electoral Count Act is yet another example.
Now, ideally, I believe that proposals that are developed by groups of people working across the aisle should go through the committee process. That's how you get the best legislation. But right now, we have very little time left in this Congress. So I think it's understandable that in the case of the Respect for Marriage Act, which after all was the process of months of work, the fact that it did not go through the committee process does not trouble me.
MS. CALDWELL: Senator Baldwin, I have to ask about one of your colleagues who is also a member of most of the gangs in working groups, Senator Kyrsten Sinema. She left the Democratic Party on Friday to become an independent. Do you expect her, how she works in the Senate, to change? Do you have any sort of reaction to that? Do you think it's a loss for the Democratic Party?
SEN. BALDWIN: Well, I would say, paraphrasing others, that her party registration just aligns better with who she is as an independent leader. Kyrsten Sinema has been very independent as a leader in the United States Senate, and I think that as far the Democratic majority, it's pretty much unchanged. We have two other independent members already who caucus with the Democrats, and that's Angus King from Maine, Susan Collins' counterpart, as well as Bernie Sanders from Vermont. So I think day‑to‑day things will be unchanged, but I really think that the independent label is very much reflective of who Kyrsten Sinema is in the Senate.
MS. CALDWELL: Mm‑hmm. And, Senator Collins, you mentioned another bipartisan piece of legislation in your last answer, the Electoral Count Act. We are still waiting to hear what happens with that, if it's going to be attached to some sort of end‑of‑year, must‑pass legislation, like government funding. Time is running out. How confident are you that that legislation‑‑and to remind our audience‑‑would work to ensure that another January 6th does not happen again, to clarify the role of the vice president, et cetera, on that day? How confident are you to‑‑that this will be passed before the end of this year? And we also know that the House does not love the Senate version of the bill.
SEN. COLLINS: It's imperative that this bill become law before the end of the year, and there are very few bills of this nature that are cosponsored by both the Republican Senate leader and the Democratic Senate leader.
We have 38 cosponsors. This is a bill that we've worked on since January. It did go through committee after our gang produced the bill. It went through the Rules Committee, and Senators Klobuchar and Blunt made some changes in it. It had a hearing. It had a markup, and it was approved with only one dissenting vote, 14 to one. So, to me, this is an ideal way that a bill should become law, and it was subject to careful consideration.
I'm glad the House has also shown interest in reforming this archaic 1887 law that has a lot of ambiguous provisions in it that were exploited on January 6th. So we need to fix the law, and I believe the best way to do it is for the Senate law‑‑the Senate bill to become law. The House bill would not be approved over here in the Senate. So let's take a sure thing that has widespread bipartisan support and get it signed into law before the presidential cycle starts in earnest next year. That's my‑‑
MS. CALDWELL: Have you gotten‑‑
SEN. COLLINS: Oh, I'm sorry.
MS. CALDWELL: Have you got‑‑have you gotten any commitment from leaders that it will be attached to the funding bill, that it will be signed into law before the end of the year?
SEN. COLLINS: I've certainly talked to leaders on both sides of the aisle about this bill and about the importance of the becoming law. I'm agnostic as to whether it's included in the year‑end funding bill, the omnibus bill that I hope we will still get, or whether it goes across the floor as a separate bill. But we've got to get this done, and we don't have much time to do it.
MS. CALDWELL: Senator Baldwin, next year, Republicans‑‑Democrats are going to control the Senate. Republicans are controlling the House. Is there any sort of legislation you think, other than government funding, if that's even able to reach the President's desk, but that will be able to pass both houses of Congress?
SEN. BALDWIN: Well, we were just talking about all the bipartisan measures that have passed in this last Congress. It is an exceptional amount of work that has been done on infrastructure, on CHIPS, on respect for marriage, on gun safety. The list is quite long, some of which was produced in committee, some of which was commenced by gangs of six or twelve or whatever. I see no reason why that cannot continue in the circumstances of a Republican slim majority in the House and a Democratic slim majority in the Senate.
We know in the Senate we can't pass substantive legislation shy of 60 votes. So we're already only sending bipartisan legislation over to the House. No reason why we can't work together to advance it.
MS. CALDWELL: Great. And I think that's all we have time for. Senator Baldwin, Senator Collins, thank you so much for your time today. Are you both going to the signing ceremony tomorrow at the White House?
SEN. COLLINS: You bet.
SEN. BALDWIN: You bet. Sure. [Laughs]
MS. CALDWELL: Great. Well, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it. I enjoy the conversation always, and thanks again.
SEN. COLLINS: Thank you.
SEN. BALDWIN: Thank you.
MS. CALDWELL: And thank you to our viewers. If you want to rewatch this program or any of our programs at Washington Post Live, you can go to WashingtonPostLive.com. Until next time. | 2022-12-13T14:53:06Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Transcript: Across the Aisle with Sens. Tammy Baldwin and Susan Collins - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2022/12/13/transcript-across-aisle-with-sens-tammy-baldwin-susan-collins/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2022/12/13/transcript-across-aisle-with-sens-tammy-baldwin-susan-collins/ |
Transcript: ‘Mandela: The Lost Tapes’ A Conversation with Richard Stengel
MS. STEAD SELLERS: Hello, and welcome to Washington Post Live. I’m Frances Stead Sellers, a senior writer here at The Post. Today I’m delighted to welcome Richard Stengel, former diplomat and former Time managing editor, to Washington Post Live to talk about a new podcast he’s put out: “Mandela: The Lost Tapes.”
Rick, a very warm welcome to Washington Post Live.
MR. STENGEL: Thank you, Frances. Nice to be with you.
MS. STEAD SELLERS: And a word to our audience. As you know, you can tweet questions for Rick to us by tweeting them with the handle @PostLive. That's @PostLive. Thanks for joining the show, if you can.
Rick, a first question for you, these tapes obviously were based on the interviewing you did when you collaborated with Nelson Mandela for his autobiography in 1993. I think it was a 1994 book. How did you get to be in that position of spending hours and hours and hours taping Nelson Mandela right before he became president?
MR. STENGEL: Well, it was a bit of an accident, Frances. I had written a previous book about South Africa called “January Sun.” And he had been signed up by Little, Brown, the American publisher, which was part of Time Inc., where I worked as a kind of junior reporter in those days, and the previous collaborator who was--who was a peer of Mandela’s and a great South African novelist, it hadn't worked out, and then the publisher of Little, Brown wanted, like, an American journalist who understood deadlines and could produce copy to get it done. And he had read my book and he called me and made me the proverbial offer you can't refuse.
MS. STEAD SELLERS: So, you headed down there, and you spent all this time. Characterize the time you spent with Mandela. What was it like? You spent hours with him. You must have been really absorbed into his life.
MR. STENGEL: Well, we met officially two or three times a week early in the morning at about 6:45 either at his Johannesburg office, which was the ANC office, or his home in in Houghton, which was a suburb of Johannesburg, or in the Transkei, where the--you know, the rural area near where he was born.
But within a couple of weeks, he invited me to go with him on different things. He invited me to go down to the Transkei. He invited me to go on a trip. He invited me to a wedding. And I basically just started hanging around as much as I could, you know, hoping he wasn't going to kick me out of there. So, we did about 70 hours of official interviews over eight or nine months. But I tried to hang around with him as much as possible. And I did spend a lot of time with him, and it was just an incredible pleasure to be around him. You know, you're living history, because things were changing in an extraordinary way. And just to be sort of in his orbit was a fabulous thing.
MS. STEAD SELLERS: Rick, we already have an audience question that I'd like to read to you. It comes from David Terrell [phonetic] from Illinois, who wants to know, what is your most enduring memory of Nelson Mandela?
MR. STENGEL: You know, it's just hard to think of just one. I have so many. I--in the podcast, I talk about the day of our last official interview. Now, I knew I would see him again many times, and did, but it was sort of our last official time together, and he wasn't a physical man in the sense that he sort of touched people. And at the end of the interview, I stood next to him and he put his arms around me, and then I really hugged him for dear life. And it was a very memorable moment. And I thought of--you know, I thought of all the men for all those decades who were in that position who were hugging him in terrible circumstance--you know, maybe about to die or about to be sent to prison, or who knows what and. And I can tell he just--you know, he took it in. He understood that--his role, and that's maybe my most enduring lasting memory of him.
MS. STEAD SELLERS: So autobiographies are really about--sort of often about burnishing somebody's memoirs--right?--or their reputations or shaping it for a public. What are the things that he didn't want you to include, or was there a way he really wanted to be perceived by this broader audience you were taking him to?
MR. STENGEL: Yeah, so, Frances, remember, at the time we were doing this, it was about a thousand things he should have been doing. He was trying to prevent his country from having a civil war. He was writing the constitution. He was getting ready to run for president. So, I think they saw this as that kind of classic presidential biography or autobiography. And there were things that he asked me not to talk about. You know, he was very uncomfortable talking about the divorce from his first wife, and you hear in the podcast him saying to me I don't want to talk about that. You know, my people are not interested in that. And we get in a little bit of an argument about that. But for the most part, he--you know, what you see is what you got with Nelson Mandela. And all that time, of all those interviews, he never once said to me let's go off the record on this or I want to be on deep background about this, or please don't say this. I mean, he just--he was very direct. And so even the--even the people he was critical of like, Mr. de Klerk or Mangosuthu Buthelezi, you know, he does it in the mildest way. So, it was--you know, he wasn't an easy interview because he wasn't really introspective. He didn't really understand the power of anecdotes. We--I think we also have in the tapes me saying to him, something you will appreciate as a journalist, Frances, it’s like, Madiba, you know, books need color, examples, you know, anecdotes, emotions and he--and he just--he wasn't like that. He was a Victorian, and so he didn't really let it all out in that way.
MS. STEAD SELLERS: So now, you know, we have this memory of this mild-mannered grandfatherly man who so much took over the world stage. But what--if you were to correct people's misperceptions about him, what would they--what would you tell them? What are we missing now that you're able to bring through these podcasts and your knowledge of him?
MR. STENGEL: Well, one of the things we really try to emphasize in the podcast is the fact that, yes, you have this image of him as this kind of kindly Santa Claus figure. But he was a democratic revolutionary. He started uMkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress’ party because he decided that nonviolent protest not only wasn't working, but the government was responding with violence, and they had to respond in a like way. He was an incredibly gentle man. So, he didn't come to that decision easily. But one of the things you hear is him talking about that. And he says, Gandhi, who spent 20 years doing nonviolent protests in South Africa, he said non-violence was a principle. For me, it was a tactic. And when a tactic’s not working, I abandon it. And that's why we abandoned non-violence. So, he was a--you know, he was a rugged revolutionary. He was underground for years. He learned how to use weapons. He learned how to make pipe bombs. I mean, he's not the Santa Claus figure that most people see.
MS. STEAD SELLERS: Well, I want to move to listening to him. And this is particularly special for me. I was invited to a gathering--you may have been there--in the early 2000s, when he was invited, and the sound system let us all down. But people were spellbound by his presence. So, let's hear from him now part of the podcast about an early incident that led to his arrest.
MS. STEAD SELLERS: Rick, tell us a bit more about the circumstances surrounding this very dramatic moment and what he told you about it afterwards.
MR. STENGEL: Yeah, so he had just returned from his first and then only trip to the rest of Africa to raise money for uMkhonto we Sizwe, and he had been given a gun by Haile Selassie, and 200 rounds of ammunition. And he had gone to Durban, and then he was summoned back to Johannesburg. And he was driving in a car. He was pretending to be a chauffeur, of course, because it was unusual for a Black man to have his own car back in those days. And suddenly these police cars headed him off on this kind of small road near Howick Falls. And the backstory of the story which we do talk about in the podcast is that it's very, very likely--and I believe it's true--that the American CIA tipped off South African police officers as to his whereabouts. There was a confession of a--of a now deceased CIA officer who was working at the U.S. Consulate in Durban that he had an underground spy within the ANC. And you also hear in the podcast me ask Mandela about that, about saying, you know, there is a story that it was the CIA. And he gives a kind of beautifully Mandela-like answer, which is, I've heard that, I don't know if it's true, and I don't care. So, but we care. And at any rate, we do investigate it a little bit more in the podcast.
MS. STEAD SELLERS: Did he have any idea at the time, do you think, that it would lead to a 27-year imprisonment?
MR. STENGEL: Well, I think he did. I mean, what you also hear in the podcast is he had spent the previous two years underground in a--in a place called Liliesleaf Farm outside of Johannesburg--this, you know, pretty farm that was owned by a White ANC member. And he had, you know, all of his papers there, all of the books he'd been reading about guerrilla warfare, you know, the guns and the air rifles that he was practicing with. And so he knew when he was caught that all of that stuff was probably available to the South African police. And when he was arrested and taken to Johannesburg, he heard--it's a lovely story--he heard of somebody coughing in the next cell, and it was his great comrade, his real mentor Walter Sisulu. And as soon as he heard Walter Sisulu coughing, he knew that they had raided Liliesleaf Farm and had all the evidence they needed to try him and convict him of treason.
MS. STEAD SELLERS: I want to play a little bit more of the--of his voice again. And this comes from his--about his hearing before he went into prison.
MS. STEAD SELLERS: This is such a very, very powerful visual symbol. But tell us more about the significance of his decision, this assertion of African nationalism.
MR. STENGEL: Yes, I mean, he was, I believe, first and foremost, an African nationalist. He was a lot of other things. And he always saw the ANC as a large umbrella organization for African freedom and African rights. And so the actual backstory of the--of the story that you hear him tell is that he needed something to wear in court, and Winnie, his wife, had packed a suitcase to be brought to the court, and she had packed the kaross and the beads and that African outfit. He had no idea that that was going to be in there. And you know, when he put it on--you know, he was a magnificent looking man to begin with. I mean, there are pictures of him wearing it. I mean, it really is extraordinary. And that was a symbol, as he said, of African nationalism. He had been himself a kind of a Beau Brummell. He loved wearing bespoke three-piece suits. But when he appeared that day, it did shock people, and it did remind his followers of the traditions of African leadership, which he devoutly believed in, and it did cause quite a stir as, as he said.
MS. STEAD SELLERS: I want to ask a little bit more of this narrow line he had to make for himself between people on the right who thought he was a, you know, dangerous troublemaker, and on the left, who thought he was not pushing hard enough. And here, he was wearing this costume. And yet we think back of this--of this figure as a man of restraint, somebody who did not seek revenge, somebody who moderated always. How does this all fit together? Is that the man you know, or was he really more radical than he liked to be seen later?
MR. STENGEL: So, in the podcast, Frances, he has a love--there's a lovely section where I asked him about what was he like before he went into prison. And he says, you know, I was a rough character. I used high-flown language. I would push people off the podium. I was not under control. And now, does anybody recognize that person? Of course, no. But what happened, to me, was the 27 years in prison acted as a kind of crucible that melted away all the impurities in his personality. It gave him this incredible self-discipline, iron self-discipline, iron self-control. You know, I--when we did our interviews, I used to pin a little microphone on his collar in the morning. And I remember it was kind of uncanny because he was so still. He was like a statue. And I realized that's what prison did to him, because you had to be able to control your own body. People were manhandling you. So, it created the Nelson Mandela that emerged from prison, which is the Nelson Mandela we know. But that younger Nelson Mandela, who joined the ANC Youth League was much more of a kind of emotional, tempestuous character than the man who emerged.
MS. STEAD SELLERS: So, this personal restraint we got--became so familiar with, what impact do you think it had on the development of South African politics?
MR. STENGEL: Well, you know, as you know, there’s kind of a debate going on in South African politics now and about Nelson Mandela and his legacy. And he saw there were--I mean, were--A, his great goal, which he never took his eye off, is bringing freedom to his people, bringing democracy to South Africa.
But there were two ways of going at that. One was making sure that there was no civil war, that White South Africans bought into this new dispensation, but at the same time trying to lift up the economic quality and class of Black South Africans. It's hard to do both at the same time. And the criticism of him now is that he spent too much time placating White elites and not enough time uplifting the Black masses. He tried to do both at the same time, but he also thought--and I saw this, and I was with him when different things happened—that if he didn't make sure that the white supremacist right wing in South Africa, you know, was kept kind of contained, he really thought there could have been a real devastating racial civil war where hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives.
MS. STEAD SELLERS: You know, this 27-year imprisonment, of course, had a huge impact on his own personal relationships. And I'd love to play another clip now about his relationship with Winnie, who you've mentioned, his wife, and what prison did to that.
MS. STEAD SELLERS: Rick, I find this also very poignant. You were there. You said you began tagging along with him in many events. What was Mandela like among the people he loved, and how did he balance the incredible growing political pressure on him with those personal relationships?
MR. STENGEL: Yes, It's not easy. I mean, he once said to me when we were out walking--early in our relationship, he said, many people love me from afar, but very few from up close. And he--you know, 27 years in prison can obviously end almost every relationship you had outside of prison. I mean, it's so poignant when he is talking about Winnie, because at that time that he's talking about her, he was separated from her, and he had publicly separated her--from her about six months before in one of the most painful sequences I've ever seen, where he talks about how difficult it was for him. Yet, when he's talking about her, he goes back to that time in their relationship when they were in love, when they were happy, when he was supportive of her. And at the same time, you just see how his incredible self-discipline, how hard-headed he was, to say like, look, you know, the most important thing was the struggle, you know? And he always said to me, too--and I don't think we have this on the tape because it didn't come out that well--he always said to me, he thought she had it harder than he did. And here's why. Because she was harassed by the police night and day. She was in and out of prison, and she had to try to raise their two daughters all at the same time. He thought that was much worse than his life, you know, in--on Robben Island, where, you know, he had three meals taken care of every day and a roof over his head. I always laugh because Walter Sisulu, his great comrade, used to joke I haven't had a good night's sleep since I left prison.
MS. STEAD SELLERS: Rick, I want to bring us up to date. You call these "the lost tapes." To what extent were they lost? And why now? What is their particular resonance in this political and social moment?
MR. STENGEL: Well, Frances, they were never technically lost. They were in my attic for many, many years, and I had sort of forgotten about them. After we did them. I just had transcriptions made. And when I worked on the book, I worked from the transcripts.
In 2010, I went to South Africa and gave the physical tapes to the Nelson Mandela Foundation, actually gave them, physically handed them to Nelson Mandela, and they own them. But then they also had them in their basement for a while. So, it was only when--we're on the eve of the 10th anniversary of his death, which is--which is next year, just in a few weeks. And you know, as The Washington Post has been reporting, everybody else, I mean, democracy is under threat all around the world, including in the United States. And he is the greatest model of democratic revolutionary change maybe in history. And I think his example, his focus, his humanity is concerned for what that new dispensation is, with giving people their rights, is something that's really important to hear now. And it's always important to hear, but it's particularly important now, I would say.
MS. STEAD SELLERS: Let's just focus a little bit on South Africa's political development in this last decade. What do you think Mandela would make of it?
MR. STENGEL: So, you know, they're going through a lot of problems. There's been a lot of corruption in the ANC since he stepped down, that they've governed more or less like a one-party state. You know, one of the things we've seen since World War II is the difficulties that countries have transitioning from an authoritarian type of government to a democratic government. They don't have the institutions. They don't have the norms that support a democratic governance. That's exactly what's happened in South Africa. There's a lot of mirroring of National Party corruption under apartheid with what the ANC has done now. So, I think he would be disappointed in that.
Remember, when he went into politics, politics was about sacrifice and going to prison. Now, you know, going into politics, sometimes it's about power and self-enrichment. So, I don't think he would like that.
The current president who's also been under a cloud of scandal, Cyril Ramaphosa, was one of his very close colleagues after he got out of prison. Cyril was the leader of the National Union of Mineworkers. He'd stayed in South Africa, fought apartheid for many years. He loved Cyril. He thought Cyril was an incredibly competent and capable leader and in fact wanted Cyril to succeed him. So, you know, Cyril may or may not become the president for a second term. We'll see.
MS. STEAD SELLERS: He famously did not accept a second term himself. That's a sort of a part of American mythology as well, going back to George Washington not accepting a kingship, bowing away, going back from positions of power. Do you think again that has resonance today, and what would he think again about moving back to his own love of gardening, his own love of home?
MR. STENGEL: Yes, I mean, that decision, Frances, to only accept one term when he could have taken two, on a continent where, you know, leaders of countries and revolutionary leaders of countries have become dictators, and you know, they leave only when they're in a horizontal position, was an incredibly powerful example for the rest of Africa. And I think in some ways, it was maybe the most important presidential decision he ever made, to show people that power, in and of itself, is not something that should govern every decision that you make. So, you know, South Africa, since then has had two-term presidents. You know, they’ve abided by their very democratic, modern constitution. I'm hoping that they will--you know, they'll revert to that kind of Mandela model. You know, their institutions are getting stronger. Their judicial system is getting stronger. They have--they have a long way to go. But democracy is a whole lot better than the alternative.
MS. STEAD SELLERS: Rick, one last question. What do you think political leaders today--and you've sort of been saying this, but sum it up--what political--can political leaders today learn from Nelson Mandela's legacy?
MR. STENGEL: I think they can learn that self-control, impulse control, and even temperament is very important. And one of the things was that he was schooled in the African style of leadership, which is much more about consensus than Western style of leadership. He grew up raised by the king of the Tembu people, and he watched as the king would hear everybody speak, and then try to find some consensus. I think one of the problems in our very polarized society is that people don't seek consensus. And I think leaders can take the model of Nelson Mandela.
And by the way, if there was ever a polarized society, it was apartheid South Africa. He managed to find a new dispensation. That's a great model for everybody.
MS. STEAD SELLERS: Finding consensus: a great model for everybody. Rick Stengel, thank you so much for joining me today on Washington Post Live.
MR. STENGEL: Thank you, Frances. It was a pleasure.
MS. STEAD SELLERS: And thank you also to our audience. You know where you can find further programming: washingtonpostlive.com. Please check it out. We’ve got great things coming. I’m Frances Stead Sellers and thank you.
[End recorded session | 2022-12-13T14:53:17Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Transcript: ‘Mandela: The Lost Tapes’ A Conversation with Richard Stengel - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2022/12/13/transcript-mandela-lost-tapes-conversation-with-richard-stengel/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2022/12/13/transcript-mandela-lost-tapes-conversation-with-richard-stengel/ |
Arizona Gov. Ducey pushes on with shipping container border wall as term ends
Activists sit on newly-installed shipping containers along the border between the United States and Mexico in San Rafael Valley, Ariz., on Dec. 8, 2022. (Ross D. Franklin/AP)
Doug Ducey, Arizona’s outgoing Republican governor, has been overseeing an operation to stack thousands of shipping containers across valued conservation land along the state’s southern border, creating a makeshift wall to keep migrants out.
Ducey, who is set to leave office in early January due to term limits, says the barrier — which runs through the Coronado National Forest, which is protected federal land, and the Huachuca Mountains and San Rafael Valley — is necessary. He has accused the Biden administration of failing to tackle an “imminent danger of criminal and humanitarian crises” at the U.S.-Mexico border, echoing language that former president Donald Trump often used.
The wall, estimated to be 3,000 containers long, is expected to eventually span 10 miles and cost some $95 million, the Associated Press reported. The federal government has said the construction is unlawful and ordered state officials to halt it, and activists have warned of humanitarian and environmental concerns.
The latest criticism came from Santa Cruz County Sheriff David Hathaway, who warned over the weekend that anyone found to be helping to build the wall in his county will be arrested.
“The area where they’re placing the containers is entirely on federal land, on national forest land,” Hathaway said told Fox10 Phoenix Saturday. “It’s not state land, it’s not private land, and the federal government has said this is illegal activity.”
“So just the way if I saw somebody doing an assault or a homicide or a vehicle theft on public land within my county, I would charge that person with a crime,” Hathaway said.
Contractors had been working since August to stack containers along the border, the result of an executive order signed by Ducey that month, instructing Arizona’s Department of Emergency and Military Affairs to “close the gaps in Arizona’s southern border wall, regardless of location.”
In response to pushback from the federal government over the project, Ducey in October filed a complaint against the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and their chiefs, as well as Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack, saying the state would continue to defend itself from mass migration.
“Our border communities are overwhelmed by illegal activity as a result of the Biden administration’s failure to secure the southern border,” Ducey said in a statement accompanying the lawsuit. “Arizona is taking action to protest on behalf of our citizens. With this lawsuit, we’re pushing back against efforts by federal bureaucrats to reverse the progress we’ve made. The safety and security of Arizona and its citizens must not be ignored.”
The Justice Department has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Democrat Katie Hobbs, who is set to be inaugurated as Arizona’s governor on Jan. 5, has said she will halt the wall’s construction.
“It’s not land that’s our land to put things on,” she told KJZZ radio this week. “The containers aren’t working. There’s many pictures of people climbing over them.”
“I want to use our state’s resources not for things that are political stunts but that will actually solve the problems,” she said in an interview with AZTV7 in September.
Arizona spans more than 370 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, and its length presents a string of issues for government officials and Border Patrol, who are trying to control the influx of people attempting to reach U.S. soil, braving hazardous journeys and largely at the mercy of smugglers.
Across southern Arizona, a full range of border woes for Biden
Environmental activists say the construction is eroding soil, endangering animals and restricting movement of wildlife as well as people.
In an article this week, National Geographic warned that the barrier, which is currently over three miles long, will block “critical wildlife corridors for diverse populations of animals, including endangered jaguars and ocelots, along with mountain lions, black bears, coati, mule deer, and javelinas.” It also called the conservation area on which construction is ongoing a “biological wonderland.”
Last month, officials from the Coronado National Forest warned hunters and visitors to avoid the southern border, which they said presented “safety hazards” and “unauthorized armed security personnel.” On social media, critics slammed the wall’s construction as a “waste of resources and money.”
Environmental activists also say the barrier is disrupting natural water systems, and protesters have flocked to the site in recent weeks to try to halt construction. Activists have also scaled the wall in recent weeks, supporting the Hobbs’s statement that the containers are climbable and suggesting they may do little to tackle migrant inflows head-on.
Protesters have also used their own bodies to block machinery from operating at the site, halting the construction process, according to reports on social media.
“Ducey’s shipping container wall on the AZ-MX border is worse than I imagined,” Melissa del Bosque, a journalist at Type Investigations, tweeted last month, saying she had gone to see the containers in person.
“Ducey’s plan is to build 10 miles of this before incoming Gov. Hobbs takes office,” she said. “Then AZ is stuck with this $100 million dollar junkyard fence.” | 2022-12-13T15:04:42Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey pushes shipping container wall at Mexico border - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/13/arizona-border-wall-shipping-containers/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/13/arizona-border-wall-shipping-containers/ |
State Sen. Jennifer McClellan seeks to fill McEachin’s seat in Congress
Virginia state Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan (D-Richmond). (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)
State Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan (D-Richmond) formally announced her congressional bid Tuesday in Virginia’s 4th District to fill the seat of Rep. A. Donald McEachin, who died last month after battling the secondary effects of cancer treatment.
McClellan said that if elected she hoped to model her service in Congress after McEachin, with whom she served in the House and succeeded in the state Senate, calling him a friend and mentor.
“He was a champion for the 4th, a social justice champion who really brought a servant leader’s heart to solving problems and improving people’s lives, and that’s what I’ve been doing for the past 17 years — fighting for an opportunity for many communities that are often ignored,” McClellan said in an interview ahead of her announcement.
McClellan joins Del. Lamont Bagby (D-Henrico) in the Democratic race for the nomination — pitting the top two leaders of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus against each other in what will likely be a brief but competitive primary contest that will test loyalties.
The race will unfold on a blindingly fast timeline. Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) set the special election for Feb. 21, with a filing deadline of Dec. 23. But because the 4th District is solidly blue, the race for the Democratic nomination is where the real contest will be. And on Monday night, the 4th Congressional District Democratic Committee set the firehouse primary date for Dec. 20 — meaning Virginians in the 4th will be in for one hectic week of intense campaigning. Committee members said the timeline was out of their hands, requiring them to have a nominee selected by Dec. 23.
State Sen. Joseph D. Morrissey (D-Richmond) is also expected to make an announcement concerning the 4th District seat on Tuesday morning, though he did not provide more details. Joseph Preston, who served one year in the House of Delegates in 2015, is also running.
Republicans seeking the GOP nomination include Leon Benjamin, who lost to McEachin by 30 points in November, and former Mecklenburg County School Board chairman Dale Sturdifen.
McClellan and Bagby have often shared vision on major legislative priorities to improve equitable access to opportunity, health care and education for Black Virginians as leaders of the caucus — leadership that could split Black voters in the majority-minority 4th District, where 42 percent of the voting population is Black.
But McClellan said she would bring something Bagby doesn’t have: the perspective of a Black woman. She would be the first elected to Congress in Virginia.
“Every issue is a women’s issue. There are some that impact women, and Black women in particular, differently. But every issue impacts us in a way that sometimes our voice and our perspective is not heard, because we don’t have a seat at the table,” said McClellan, “and it’s really time that Virginia’s congressional delegation have that voice and that perspective.”
McClellan, a corporate lawyer, has served in the Virginia General Assembly since 2006, first in the House of Delegates and then the state Senate in 2017. She saw her profile rise statewide during a spirited bid for the Democratic nomination for governor last year, running on a platform that included changes to criminal justice, expanding access to affordable health care and removing barriers to reproductive health care for women. She and rival Jennifer Carroll Foy, a former delegate from Prince William, vied to become the first female governor in Virginia and first Black female governor in the United States. But former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe came out far ahead of both women in the primary race, before losing to Youngkin.
Like Bagby, McClellan said that she would seek to carry on McEachin’s legacy in environmental justice, noting that she led major environmental legislation including the Virginia Clean Economy Act and the Solar Freedom Act in the state Senate.
On issues affecting women and families, McClellan — who also made history as the first woman in the House of Delegates to be pregnant while in office — said she would also plan to replicate work she has done in the General Assembly leading on rights for pregnant workers and for domestic workers, while also continuing advocacy to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.
Noting how short the campaign will be, McClellan said, “It’s going to be a full-court press.” | 2022-12-13T15:13:25Z | www.washingtonpost.com | State Sen. Jennifer McClellan enters race to fill 4th district seat of late Rep. McEachin - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/12/13/mcclellan-mceachin-bagby-morrissey-campaign-congress/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/12/13/mcclellan-mceachin-bagby-morrissey-campaign-congress/ |
Most Russians support peace talks but reject return of Crimea, poll finds
Black smoke billows from a fire on the Kerch bridge that links Crimea to Russia, after a truck exploded, near Kerch, on Oct. 8, 2022. (-/AFP/Getty Images)
Ukraine has said it won’t negotiate with Russia unless it returns all occupied territories, including Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014. But it’s not just Russian President Vladimir Putin who might oppose that concession — the Russian public may, too.
According to new polling data, Russians narrowly support negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, but they also overwhelmingly reject the return of annexed regions such as Crimea or Donbas.
The findings, from a joint survey conducted in November by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Moscow-based Levada Center, were released Tuesday and suggest that even if Russians are tired of the war, peace negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow could face significant constraints.
Indeed, despite widespread perceptions that the war has been a disaster for Moscow, the survey suggests few Russians view themselves as on the losing side — or at least in a position where they need to give something up in order to achieve peace.
“It is unclear exactly what, if any, meaningful concessions Russians would be willing to make from their side, aside from a cease-fire and prisoner exchanges," a report announcing the survey results said in its conclusion.
That could be a major problem. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted that Crimea will be returned to Ukrainian control under any potential peace deal, calling it the “restoration of true peace” in October.
Surveys of Ukrainians show retaking of Crimea has high levels of support, with one poll from September finding that nearly nine out of ten Ukrainians believed Kyiv should not allow Russia to keep any Ukrainian territory — even if that meant prolonging the conflict.
The survey was conducted between Nov. 24 and 29, with 1,601 Russian adults interviewed face-to-face in their homes by the Levada Center, one of Russia’s most widely-respected independent polling companies. Demographic data were used to weight the answers to make them nationally representative, with a margin of error between 3.4 percent and 1.5 percent.
Polling in authoritarian countries such as Russia is complicated, but the survey’s authors said earlier this year they found no evidence that respondents were unwilling to share their true feelings with interviewers. Instead, the authors suggested that the high levels of support for the war were consistent with the country’s tightly controlled media landscape, which often portrays a rosy view of the conflict.
According to the latest polling data, three-quarters of all Russians support Moscow’s “special military in Ukraine,” just six points behind the record 81 percent approval registered by Levada in March, shortly after the war began.
Less than a third of Russians said that the war was unsuccessful, compared to 53 percent who said it was successful.
But there are also signs of a growing lack of enthusiasm, perhaps even disquiet, about the war.
Shortly after Russia invaded, the Chicago Council-Levada research showed Russians generally viewed the conflict as a defense of Russian speakers or others in Donbas. But Russians now seem far more uncertain of the war’s aims, with more than one out of five (22 percent) saying they could not describe the purpose of the war — an increase of 13 percent since March.
Meanwhile, the percentage of Russians who described the war as defensive dropped from 43 percent to 27 percent.
And after nine months of war and numerous setbacks for Russian forces, Russians were found to slightly favor negotiations, with five to four in favor of starting talks and a slim majority, 53 percent, in favor of negotiations overall.
More Russians are in favor of starting talks when reminded of the costs being inflicted upon Russia, with 62 percent supporting talks if they would end the deaths of Russian soldiers.
But if peace talks were to take place, there was little support for concessions from Moscow among the Russian public. 78 percent of Russians said it would be unacceptable to return Crimea to Ukraine, while 66 percent said the same of the eastern Donbas region, which remains occupied by Russian forces and their Ukrainian allies.
Almost eight out of ten Russians said it would be acceptable to allow Ukraine to resume shipping grain to other countries, while nearly all favored a reciprocal exchange of prisoners of war.
The Chicago Council-Levada poll did not break down the demographics of its Russian respondents but did ask about their media consumption. Notably, those who got their news through Telegram channels, friends and relatives and social media, rather than the largely state-aligned television networks and newspapers, were far less likely to view the war as successful.
Scott Clement contributed to this report | 2022-12-13T15:17:47Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Most Russians support peace talks but reject return of Crimea, poll finds - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/13/russian-poll-peace-crimea/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/13/russian-poll-peace-crimea/ |
The sliding definition of ‘lockdown’ in U.S. politics
Sheila Kelly, owner of Powell's Steamer Co. & Pub, center, stands behind makeshift barriers at her restaurant in Placerville, Calif., on May 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
When the novel coronavirus first appeared in the United States in early 2020, experts — both medical and political — had little information about how best to handle it. It seemed, based on preliminary and ultimately inaccurate information, to spread through contact, meaning that the focus became hand-washing and Clorox wipes instead of covering one’s mouth. There was, however, full understanding of that lack of certainty, meaning that authorities tended to err on the side of caution to keep the virus as contained as possible and limit its damage.
What followed the virus’s arrival, then, was an ad hoc effort to restrict person-to-person interactions as much as possible. Bans on large gatherings were implemented and recommendations were made to remain at home as much as possible, with compliance voluntary. The hard-and-fast prohibitions centered on places where people might tend to congregate, such as bars and schools. It was a restriction of options more than a restriction of activity.
This was appreciably different from what had already been underway in China. There, movement was at times restricted entirely, as the autocratic government sought to stamp out transmission of the virus in one fell swoop. First the city of Wuhan, where the virus originated, then other cities as cases emerged. These were “lockdowns” in an often literal sense: people forced into place in an effort to halt the virus. When looser rules arrived in the United States months later, the same term was often applied by Americans to a very different process.
The effects of that have lingered. Over the past three years, the idea that the United States had a system of “lockdowns” has persisted, and an array of responses to the virus has been loosely grouped under that umbrella: remote schooling, restaurant closings, restrictions on entering facilities. Some of the closures and limits arguably or demonstrably incurred more cost than the value they offered, but none were “lockdowns” in the Wuhan sense.
Democratic leaders and locations moved first to impose restrictions — in part because the virus first spread widely in Democratic places. But soon President Donald Trump and Republican leaders joined the push to impose limits on person-to-person contact. The White House announced a national emergency on March 13, 2020, and, a few days later, guidelines aimed at limiting in-person interactions. Other officials took the same steps: On March 17, for example, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced the closure of bars and restaurants for 30 days.
The era of collective, bipartisan interest in stopping the spread (as the vernacular had it) was short-lived. The economy was understandably hammered by closures of businesses and schools. Trump, with an eye on his upcoming reelection, turned against widespread shutdowns fairly quickly, suggesting that maybe by Easter — April 12, 2020 — things could be close enough to normal that churches could be filled once again. He and his advisers revised downward their recommendations for states to reopen (another bit of vernacular conflating the specific closures with a state’s status), and then Trump quickly demanded that states get back to normal regardless.
People in a number of states began protesting pandemic rules. Trump, eager to see the economy rebound completely, offered his approval. At first, most Americans disagreed with Trump’s encouragement of the protests, but a line had been crossed. Particularly as the year wound on and the pandemic continued to depress Trump’s poll numbers, the political right cast overbearing government officials as a threat to individual liberty and characterized the “lockdowns” — by now seemingly meaning nearly any covid-19 response unpopular on the right — as the embodiment of the threat.
It’s certainly true that Republican officials (and Republicans) have consistently been less fervent about coronavirus responses than Democratic officials (and Democrats). The partisanship of the pandemic is broad and well-documented. But the idea that Democrats enacted “lockdowns” or seek new “lockdowns” persists not because there have been calls even to introduce new limits on in-person interaction. Rather, it endures because it is politically useful to suggest that Democrats want to do so — since using “lockdown” as a synonym for “government forcing you to do something” plays into long-standing Republican rhetoric.
As the 2020 election approached, Trump’s White House was touting his successes, including that he had managed to save lives during the pandemic “while ending harmful lockdowns.” DeSantis began promoting “Don’t Fauci my Florida” gear on his campaign website, picking up on Trump’s scapegoating of the country’s top infectious-disease doctor, Anthony S. Fauci, as a way of demonstrating opposition to efforts to contain the virus. These were pivots away from their embrace of early measures to slow the virus’s spread, measures that had both become unpopular with Republican voters — thanks largely to Trump’s election-trail rhetoric — and that had often been exaggerated for effect.
The Biden White House has been asked repeatedly whether President Biden supports “lockdowns.” In February, for example, a reporter asked press secretary Jen Psaki about the idea.
“The president has been clear we’re not pushing lockdowns; we’ve not been pro-lockdown,” she replied. “That has not been his agenda. Most of the lockdowns actually happened under the previous president.”
It’s probably not helpful for the administration to conflate what happened in 2020 with “lockdowns,” given that, more recently, the current press secretary was asked for a White House response to protests against China’s very different lockdowns. But it also probably doesn’t matter. That Biden has pushed Americans — with decreasing force as time goes on — to take steps to combat the virus means that he, not Trump, is seen by much of the country as the lockdown president and his party as the lockdown party.
More because that perception is useful to Biden’s opponents than because it’s accurate. Because, in short, it fits into the long-standing frame of Democrats as the party of big government intrusion and Republicans as the party of do-what-you-want.
And that’s also why it’s likely to stick.
The latest: With Boebert’s win, Republicans will hold 222 seats, Democrats 212 | 2022-12-13T15:52:41Z | www.washingtonpost.com | The sliding definition of ‘lockdown’ in U.S. politics - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/13/covid-lockdown-trump-biden/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/13/covid-lockdown-trump-biden/ |
Police work near the scene of the fatal shooting Tuesday in Wieambilla, Queensland, Australia. (Jason O'Brien/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said Tuesday during a news conference that many questions remain about the incident, including what motivated the suspects and that an investigation is underway. It will likely take “days, if not weeks” to clarify what happened, she said.
In the meantime, the incident has shaken Australia, a country whose experience of gun violence spurred it to adopt stricter gun laws in the late 1990s. Research suggests that Australia had fewer gun deaths after those laws were passed. Shootings resulting in multiple deaths, particularly involving law enforcement, are rare.
One possible track relates to Gareth Train’s online life: According to the Guardian Australia, Train was a conspiracy theorist who believed the false claim that the Port Arthur massacre of 1996, when an Australian man killed 35 people with an assault rifle, prompting lawmakers to pass stricter gun laws, was a “false-flag operation.” It’s not clear whether Train’s beliefs played any part in the shooting, but Carroll said police would be looking into those reports.
What happened when Australia actually did something to stop gun violence
On Tuesday, Australians dropped off flowers at police stations across Queensland, as the nation mourned the loss of two young officers whose lives and careers, Carroll said, were just getting started. | 2022-12-13T15:52:42Z | www.washingtonpost.com | 2 police officers killed in Wieambilla, Australia shooting - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/13/police-shooting-wieambilla-australia/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/13/police-shooting-wieambilla-australia/ |
Pati Jinich makes tamales in her home kitchen in Chevy Chase, Md. (Scott Suchman for The Washington Post/food styling by Nicola Justine Davis for The Washington Post)
As Pati Jinich quickly yet gingerly spreads whipped masa into corn husks, it becomes apparent: The cookbook author and TV host has been doing this for years. She gracefully folds the stuffed wrappings, tying some with little corn-husk bows to denote a mushroom filling. Onlookers at a photo shoot where she demonstrates her method pepper her with questions: how much masa to use, how soft the corn husks should feel, what to do with leftover filling. Answering as she works, she never falters with a response or a tamal. Eventually, she offers a bit of reassurance: “You know, making tamales is like making rice for the first time or making crepes for the first time. You’re never going to get it right on the first try. You can’t be hard on yourself.”
Tamales at their most essential are dough and filling cooked inside a wrapper. “It’s like a wrapped gift,” Jinich says. “In order for a tamal to be a tamal, it has to have a wrapping.” The most common tamales that Americans may be familiar with are made with dried corn husks and corn masa, filled with pork, chicken or vegetables. But there are endless permutations of the iconic Mexican dish.
In northern Mexico, cooks use wheat instead of corn masa, while in seaside regions such as the Yucatán, people opt for banana leaves and seafood. Sweet tamales can be enjoyed as dessert, though many people eat them in tandem with the savory ones. Jinich says these variations are born out of Mexico’s diverse landscape, rich history and strong regional identities. “A tamal really encapsulates the personality of a people and a place,” she says.
As Mexican food has boomed in popularity over the past few decades in the United States and beyond, pride and interest in the cuisine have blossomed within the country, too. Before switching to a career in food, Jinich was familiar only with the tamales she ate growing up in Mexico City. “I feel like many of the Mexican regions really didn’t know that much about the others. We were kind of a disconnected country,” she says. Her PBS shows, “Pati’s Mexican Table” and “La Frontera,” have prompted her to explore every corner of Mexico, allowing her to soak up the diversity of the food, landscape and people and reflect it back to her viewers. For her, eating tamales is an act of discovery.
If a single tamal captures a people and a place, then tamales as a whole represent Mexico’s complex history and layered cultural influences. The exact origins of the food are unknown, but they existed long before Columbus’ arrival. In a 2015 article for Cambridge University Press, food history professor Jeffrey Pilcher wrote that when Spain’s grip on the land tightened, tamales and other Indigenous foods were looked down upon and became a way to separate the colonizers and the colonized. As centuries passed, the distinction slowly faded, and the tamal-making process began to include lard, pork, chicken and other Spanish influences. They are now celebrated as a distinctly Mexican food, becoming accepted as a part of a national cuisine.
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They’re now an important part of many holidays that also reflect these melding cultural influences. The dish is a celebratory one, used to mark such special occasions as quinceañeras, the new year, and Día de la Candelaria, to name a few. But they are most closely associated with Christmas.
Catholicism is woven tightly into the cultural fabric of Mexico, its influence stemming from the colonization by the Spaniards. Even non-Christians commonly partake in traditions such as Las Posadas, the retelling of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem, as well as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Jinich and her family are Jewish, but she says she still remembers celebrating Posadas as a little girl with trips to her favorite tamaleria. “We sometimes made them at home, but most times we would go to the Flor de Lis,” she says. “It used to be the place to get tamales in Mexico City.”
Tex-Mex cooking: It’s not Mexican, and maybe that’s the point
M. Dustin Knepp, dean of the College of Liberal and Applied Arts at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas, is working on a book called “Unwrapping Tradition: Exploring the Cultural Significance of Tamales and Mexican Foodways in Texas.” In a 2012 article for Cincinnati Romance Review, Knepp wrote that some historians suggest that the Christmas tradition of making and eating tamales comes from an ancient Indigenous ritual that viewed the stuffed corn husks as a symbolic sacrifice since humans were believed to be made from corn. The tradition endured, though, because it offers a source of connection for families and communities.
“These dishes are ceremonial, communal,” Jinich says. “When people used to make them in the towns, a lot of people would get together and make masa. … They would go to the mill, mill it all and then you have the masa to use a little bit at a time.”
Their presence at celebrations doesn’t make tamales a fancy food, though. “Farmers, workmen, bricklayers … people have tamales every day in the corners of the street. That’s our breakfast. So the most common food is also the most celebratory food,” Jinich says. “And you wonder, but it’s the same tamal? It’s the same tamal. I think that’s the beauty of Mexican food. What we eat every day is also our food for celebrations.”
And while eating and enjoying them occurs every day in Mexico, making them at home does not. Making tamales is labor- and time-intensive. As Jinich explains, you don’t make a few — if you’re putting in all the effort in the first place, you might as well make dozens.
This is where helping hands come into play. A tamalada, or tamaliza, centers on one activity: making and eating tamales. For many Mexicans, they are an important, even crucial part of celebrating Christmas.
Lots of families will come together for the first time in years this Christmas to reconnect with one another over a tradition that has been largely dormant throughout the pandemic. After two holiday seasons of lockdowns, restrictions and isolation, Jinich thinks that people hesitate to dive back into socializing the way they once did. “I think there’s been a reevaluation, but I think it makes the tamal-making and eating more special,” she says. “It is a thing you don’t want to miss.”
Let Mexican molletes, the cheesy open-faced refried bean sandwiches, be your weeknight hero
Jinich, for one, welcomes the return of the tamal-centric festivities. On the day of the photo shoot at her home in Chevy Chase, Md., the kitchen is bustling: Shakira plays in the background, people weave dutifully around the counter, and Jinich’s yellow labrador, Mila, lays on the floor amid the buzz. Someone new walks into the scene, and she beams as she looks up: “We’re having a tamalada party!”
Holiday main dish recipes
Apricot-Bourbon Glazed Ham
Chile Relleno Casserole | 2022-12-13T15:57:06Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Pati Jinich's tamales celebrate Mexican culture, cooking and community - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2022/12/13/tamales-mexican-cuisine-pati-jinich/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2022/12/13/tamales-mexican-cuisine-pati-jinich/ |
Maryland forward Donta Scott (24) is second on the Terps in scoring (14.1 points per game) and rebounding (6.6 per game). (John McDonnell/The Washington Post)
Not long after Maryland hired Kevin Willard to lead the men’s basketball program, the new coach met individually with all the players. Willard explained how his system and staff could elevate their performance. He had watched Donta Scott’s career, in high school and beyond, from afar, and Willard knew he had the ability to play in the NBA. Willard asked if Scott, a rising senior at the time, held that ambition. Scott said he did.
So Willard referenced the weights and body fat percentages of NBA shooting guards and small forwards — because in the league, Scott would play on the wing. Willard said he showed Scott, primarily a power forward at Maryland, photos of those players, and told Scott to look in the mirror.
“I knew his game,” Willard said. “I knew how hard he played. I knew what a great young man he is. He had all the other things. He just didn’t understand that was the thing holding him back.”
Scott’s work inside the team’s facility had never been an issue. Director of basketball performance Kyle Tarp described Scott as a “rock star” during offseason conditioning in the summer. But then, Tarp said, “you always hold your breath when he’d go home.” When players have time off in August, they have less access to nutrition and training resources. They don’t have a rigid schedule or coaches there for daily guidance.
This year, when the team returned for the start of the school year, Tarp spotted Scott walking down the hallway in the arena, and he thought, “Yes!” He could tell Scott had maintained his strong habits in a way that reflected the type of player he wanted to be.
“If you want to be a pro and take on that next level, you’ve got to be able to make sacrifices,” said Scott, who, for instance, has learned that when he’s hungry late at night, he should find food at home rather than picking up Wendy’s or Popeyes. “I’m always willing to sacrifice certain things for the betterment of my future.”
Scott, who said he previously weighed 247 pounds, had at times been called upon to play center out of necessity when the Terps lacked depth, mostly as a sophomore. Heading into this season, Scott lost nearly 30 pounds. He flies around on both ends of the court, and he’s attempting more threes than ever before. Scott, a four-year starter, is averaging a career-best 14.1 points, the second-most on the team, through Maryland’s 8-2 start. He appreciates how Willard grants his players offensive freedom, “even though most coaches probably would try to have you fit into a program,” Scott said.
The Terps wear tracking devices that measure explosive efforts — essentially any quick-twitch movement. Tarp said Scott consistently logs one of the highest marks on the team. (Point guard Jahmir Young sometimes challenges Scott for the top spot.) Scott feels as though he’s more focused this season and doing a better job of listening and absorbing feedback.
“The production on the court is fun to see,” Tarp said. “But more importantly, just the development of the man — being a consistent person, being a man of integrity, doing the right things, treating people the right way, working hard consistently. That’s what’s going to separate you in life.”
During Scott’s first three seasons in College Park, Tarp said there had been “numerous” conversations about transforming Scott’s body. What changed this offseason, Tarp said, was Scott’s buy-in and determined mind-set. After Willard’s arrival, Scott said the goal was more heavily emphasized and pushed.
“Sometimes you just need a different voice or a different set of eyes to help you see it,” Willard said.
As a freshman, Scott was thrust into a starting role on the team that won a share of the Big Ten regular season title. Usually, players take a leap heading into their sophomore year, but Scott missed out on that offseason work because of the pandemic.
After team facilities closed for an extended stretch, Scott “came back in a tough spot,” Tarp said, “so he was kind of behind the eight ball on that one.”
Scott averaged 13.5 points through the first 10 games of his sophomore season, but his production waned down the stretch. Scott’s junior year turned into chaos when Mark Turgeon resigned in December and the Terps navigated much of the campaign with an interim coach. Scott set a career high of 25 points one night, then a season-low of three points four days later. He hit the 25-point mark again later in the season, but slumped to eight points in the next outing. For Scott, consistency has been one of the few missing pieces in his game.
Willard believes Scott can be a first-team all-Big Ten player. In August, Scott said he mostly stayed in College Park, and he worked out on outdoor courts in 90-degree weather. Practices became far more intense this fall, but Scott said it didn’t affect him much because the team did “a lot more” conditioning in the offseason. Willard said Scott’s body fat dropped from around 16 to 9 percent. Scott feels quicker on the court and thinks he can jump a lot higher.
“When Donta lost his weight, everything became easier for him,” Willard said.
Scott has always played with physicality, so sometimes, Willard said, he’d get worn down and his shooting percentage would suffer. Scott’s marks from three-point range this season have remained somewhat spotty: After shooting 43.3 percent from three in the first seven games, he’s only hit 12.5 percent in the past three games, all difficult matchups. Yet he’s still on pace to have his most productive season — the result of Willard’s belief and a demanding approach, coupled with Scott’s commitment to hold himself to the same standard.
“He’s in the best shape of his career, and he’s having a lot of success,” Tarp said. The next challenge is, “Hey, man, what are we going to do in March?” | 2022-12-13T16:14:29Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Maryland basketball's Donta Scott lost 30 pounds and is more explosive - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/13/donta-scott-weight-loss/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/13/donta-scott-weight-loss/ |
Sugar heiress Abigail Kawananakoa, known as Hawaii’s last princess, dies at 96
Abigail Kawananakoa, right, and her wife Veronica Gail Worth, appear in state court in Honolulu on Sept. 10, 2018. (Jennifer Sinco Kelleher/AP)
Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawananakoa, heiress to a considerable sugar fortune and a surviving descendant of the royal family that once ruled over the Hawaiian Kingdom, died Dec. 11 at age 96.
Kawananakoa did not hold an official royal title but was widely referred to in Hawaii as a princess, as she was considered by historians to be one of the few surviving heirs with a claim to the abolished Hawaiian throne, and was seen as a symbol of Hawaii’s monarchy.
Kawananakoa’s death was announced Monday outside Honolulu’s ‘Iolani Palace, the only royal residence in the United States. The notice, which styled her as “Her Royal Highness, Princess,” said plans for her funeral were being coordinated, according to a translation from Hawaiian provided by Hawaii News Now. The cause of death was not disclosed.
“Abigail will be remembered for her love of Hawai‘i and its people,” her wife, Veronica Gail Kawananakoa, 69, said in a statement reported by the Associated Press. “I will miss her with all of my heart.”
Princess Kawananakoa, who was born in 1926, was — according to the ‘Iolani Palace — the eldest granddaughter of Prince David Kawananakoa, who the Hawaiian Gazette said in 1908 would have been “heir presumptive” to the Hawaiian throne had it not been overthrown in the previous decade. The kingdom’s last ruling monarch, Queen Liliuokalani, was dethroned in an 1893 coup led by American business interests. Hawaii was then annexed as a U.S. territory and incorporated as the 50th state in 1959.
“Hawaiʻi mourns this great loss, and our aloha and heartfelt condolences go out to her entire ʻohana and all who had the privilege of knowing Princess Abigail Kawānanakoa,” Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) said in a statement. He ordered the United States and Hawaii state flags to be flown at half-staff for a week in her honor.
In addition to her royal lineage, Kawananakoa was a member of one of Hawaii’s wealthiest landowning families. Her great-grandfather James Campbell was an Irish immigrant who arrived in Hawaii in 1850 on a whaling boat and made a sizable fortune off Hawaiian sugar plantations, which he invested in property across Hawaii. The contents of his summer house in Punaluu, on Oahu, inherited by Princess Kawananakoa, were auctioned online this year.
In addition to supporting the upkeep of the ‘Iolani Palace, Princess Kawananakoa was a keen breeder of horses. In 2018, she was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame. Evening Snow, one of her horses, became the first quarter horse to run the quarter mile in under 21 seconds. “She is the industry’s all-time leading female breeder at the reins of an operation that has produced the earners of more than $10 million,” the association said in 2018.
According to the Associated Press, Princess Kawananakoa became embroiled in legal disputes in 2017 when her longtime lawyer George Wright said a stroke had impaired her ability to manage her $215 million fortune. Kawananakoa rejected the assessment, fired Wright, and married her partner of 20 years, Veronica Gail Worth. In 2020 a judge ruled that due to impairment Kawananakoa was no longer able to manage her property and business affairs, AP reported.
Princess Kawananakoa is not the only Hawaiian to have claimed royal lineage, with others disputing her position in the line of succession, should Hawaii’s throne ever be restored.
In a 1986 interview with Honolulu Magazine, Princess Kawananakoa remarked that if the Hawaiian monarchy had not been overthrown — the crown would have been inherited by the eldest child of the oldest sibling of King Kalakaua, her now-late cousin Edward Kawananakoa. “So it would have gone directly to Edward. Of course I would be the power behind the throne, there’s no question about that,” she told the interviewer, laughing. | 2022-12-13T16:23:32Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Abigail Kawananakoa, known as Hawaii's last princess, dies at 96 - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/13/hawaii-last-princess-abigail-kawananakoa/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/13/hawaii-last-princess-abigail-kawananakoa/ |
Miles Sanders ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns against the Giants. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
The Philadelphia Eagles became the first team to clinch a playoff spot with a resounding 48-22 win over the New York Giants, who are winless in four straight and clinging to postseason position after a 7-2 start.
Elsewhere in the NFC East, one of the more surprising games of the weekend took place at AT&T Stadium. The Dallas Cowboys needed a late touchdown drive to avoid an upset at the hands of the one-win Houston Texans and keep their slim division title hopes alive. Dallas entered the game as 17-point favorites — the largest spread in the league this season.
Washington, which was on a bye week, saw its playoff chances improve ahead of its “Sunday Night Football” showdown with the Giants, thanks to wins by the Eagles and Carolina Panthers. Given the stakes, Sunday’s game at FedEx Field should have a postseason feel.
With four weeks remaining in the regular season, here’s a closer look at where things stand in the NFL’s best division.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts added to his MVP résumé by throwing for 217 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 77 yards and another score in a game that was never in doubt. Running back Miles Sanders accounted for 144 of the Eagles’ 253 yards on the ground, and scored a pair of touchdowns. Hurts became the first QB in NFL history with at least 10 rushing touchdowns in consecutive seasons.
It was a different recipe from last week, when Philadelphia rushed for only 67 yards in a 35-10 rout of the Tennessee Titans, with a similar result. Wide receiver A.J. Brown eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards for the season and scored his 10th touchdown. Right tackle Lane Johnson isn’t expected to miss any time after leaving Sunday’s game with an abdominal injury.
“We just want to continue to chase progress,” Hurts said when asked if the Eagles, who lead the league in scoring, have another offensive gear. “Learn from our mistakes, learn from our successes and just continue to grow.”
Remaining schedule (record in parentheses): at Chicago (3-10), at Dallas (10-3), vs. New Orleans (4-9), vs. N.Y. Giants (7-5-1)
Playoff outlook: With a playoff berth officially secure, the Eagles turn their attention to winning their first NFC East title since 2019 and securing the first-round bye that comes with the NFC’s top seed. FiveThirtyEight gives Philadelphia an 87 percent chance to do both.
Exhale, Cowboys fans. Trailing 23-20 late in the fourth quarter, Dallas’s defense made a fourth-down stop at its own 2-yard line before quarterback Dak Prescott led a 98-yard touchdown drive. Ezekiel Elliott capped the march with a two-yard run, sparing the Cowboys what would’ve been the most embarrassing loss of the season.
Dallas overcame three turnovers, including a pair of interceptions by Prescott, to keep pace with the Eagles in the division race. The Cowboys have won 10 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1996.
Right tackle Terence Steele tore his ACL and MCL in his left knee in the win. His absence makes the looming return of Pro Bowl offensive lineman Tyron Smith, who has missed the entire season with a hamstring injury, all the more important.
Remaining schedule (record in parentheses): at Jacksonville (5-8), vs. Philadelphia (12-1), at Tennessee (7-6), at Washington (7-5-1)
Playoff outlook: The Cowboys remain a virtual lock to make the playoffs and can clinch a spot as early as this weekend. FiveThirtyEight and ESPN’s FPI both give Dallas a 13 percent chance to win the NFC East.
The bye week couldn’t have gone much better for Washington, which got the results it wanted in East Rutherford, N.J., and Seattle. The Giants’ loss to the Eagles and the Seahawks’ loss to the Panthers vaulted Washington into the sixth spot in the NFC playoff picture. If the season ended today, the Commanders would travel to play the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round.
Washington activated quarterback Carson Wentz off the injured list Monday, but Taylor Heinicke will remain the starter. In a corresponding move, the Commanders placed center Tyler Larsen on injured reserve with a knee injury suffered in last week’s tie with the Giants.
Washington’s game against the Giants on Sunday night will mark the third time since the merger that an NFL team has faced the same opponent within the same regular season in consecutive games. Washington hasn’t done it since 1966, when it defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in back-to-back weeks.
Remaining schedule (record in parentheses): vs. N.Y. Giants (7-5-1), at San Francisco (9-4), vs. Cleveland (5-8), at Dallas (10-3)
Commanders prepare for a rematch unlike any they've faced in 56 years
Playoff outlook: FiveThirtyEight gives Washington a 73 percent chance to make the playoffs, which is up four percentage points from last week. A win over the Giants would bump the Commanders’ odds to roughly 90 percent.
Quarterback Daniel Jones was sacked four times and running back Saquon Barkley was limited to 28 yards on nine carries in the Giants’ blowout loss to the Eagles. New York’s defense had no answer for Philadelphia’s running game, which averaged 8.2 yards per carry.
“They pretty much did everything better than we did,” Giants Coach Brian Daboll said after the loss. “So, get back to work and get ready for Washington.”
Remaining schedule (record in parentheses): at Washington (7-5-1), at Minnesota (10-3), vs. Indianapolis (4-8-1), at Philadelphia (12-1)
Playoff outlook: The Giants’ playoff chances are down to 45 percent, according to FiveThirtyEight, but a win over Washington would improve them to nearly 90 percent. | 2022-12-13T16:24:15Z | www.washingtonpost.com | NFC East's Eagles, Cowboys, Commanders battling for playoff spots - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/13/nfc-east-nfl-playoffs/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/13/nfc-east-nfl-playoffs/ |
Rockville swimmer dominates record board; Georgetown Prep hockey starts strong
Toby Barnett, shown after last year's state championship, is breaking records at Rockville. (Courtesy of Toby Barnett /Courtesy of Toby Barnett)
For years, Griffin Alaniz had his name etched all over Rockville’s record board. He was a four-time Maryland state champion, a USA Swimming scholastic all-American and a 2016 U.S. Olympic trial qualifier in the 200 backstroke during his high school tenure.
Four years ago, Alaniz’s mother made a call to the Rams’ athletic director, asking for a picture of the board. She knew then-freshman Toby Barnett would one day break all of her son’s records.
Now a senior, Barnett is closing in on owning every mark on that record board. The Indiana commit already holds a majority of the fastest times in team history — in the 50-yard freestyle, 100 breastroke, 200 individual medley and as part of all the relays — and is vying for more.
“It’s at least been a goal of mine to get Toby on every one of those records,” Rockville Coach James Castonguay said. “And I think it’s at least been in the back of his head.”
Barnett has five records he still has yet to claim — the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle, as well as the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly. Castonguay said it has been a struggle for Barnett to break the records not because he isn’t fast enough, but because the team needs him in other races in order to win meets.
However, because of the strength of Rockville’s team this season, Castonguay thinks that Barnett’s goal for a clean sweep of the Rams’ record board is viable. The coach plans on entering Barnett in each of the races at least once throughout the season to give him a chance at a clean sweep of the board.
“They’re not easy records … the 100 backstroke was the Montgomery County record until a year or two ago,” Castonguay said. “The records he’s trying to break are pretty substantial, and he has a pretty good shot at hitting all of them.”
Filling a traditional gap in the season, seven hockey teams headed to the St. James in Springfield over Thanksgiving weekend for the first annual Capital City Hockey Invitational tournament.
The competition was split into two divisions — prep and varsity — with St. John’s taking down Georgetown Prep in the final to win the prep division by one goal. The Little Hoyas had beaten the Cadets by that score in the first round of the tournament, so, despite the loss, Prep proved it could be one of the top teams in the competitive Mid-Atlantic Prep Hockey League.
The Little Hoyas are 5-2 in league play, with commanding wins over DeMatha and Archbishop Spalding in the days after the tournament.
The tournament has been years in the making and is the brainchild of Bishop O’Connell Coach Flip Collins. Collins hopes the tournament will expand to include more teams from outside of the area, giving players a chance to develop their skills by competing against teams they don’t typically see.
At the beginning of the last five seasons, Paul VI Coach Mike Eastman has taken his squad to the Harrisonburg Invitational, and it has always finished near the top. On Saturday, the Knights won the team title for the first time.
“That bus ride was fun,” said 132-pounder Keegan McMahon. “Everybody was hype that we were able to clinch it by that much. It wasn’t even close.”
Paul VI totaled 263.5 points at the meet consisting largely of central Virginia public schools, and the Panthers had six individual champions, including McMahon. While the senior captain is among eight Panthers who qualified for the Virginia Independent Schools championships last year, Eastman has reloaded the Chantilly-based Washington Catholic Athletic Conference School with talent.
Senior Brady Colbert, the nation’s 12th-ranked 195-pound wrestler, who is committed to West Point, joins Paul VI after previously attending St. John’s and Wyoming Seminary (Pa.). His younger brother, Cash, is among several freshmen on the Knights’ roster, including fellow youth state champion Leo Badolato.
“Competing with Gonzaga, St. Mary’s Ryken, Good Counsel, St. John’s, all those teams — there’s never an easy day,” Eastman said. “We’re gonna keep getting better all year and try to peak at the right time.”
Coming off a Washington Catholic Athletic Conference cross-country title, DeMatha’s distance runners are a perennial force during the indoor track season as well. But this winter, Coach Buddy Crutchfield is confident the squad could be just as impressive in the sprints.
“I think this year is going to be a great balance of distance and sprint that will make the team successful,” Crutchfield said. “In the short sprint, our biggest thing right now is that we’re very, very young. … So there’s going to be some diamonds in the rough.”
Crutchfield got to test some of his young runners at the Stags’ first meet Friday at Mercersburg Academy (Pa.), where three new sprinters ran roughly 6.7 seconds in the 55 meters. The team is diving into training for the next few weeks to shave time as it prepares for top WCAC rivals, including St. John’s.
In the meantime, the new additions are learning to tackle nerves and get acquainted with a busy meet schedule.
“You have to continue to put them in meets so they can get acclimated, get the fear out and understand what it’s like being at a track meet,” Crutchfield said. “Right now, they’re like Mexican jumping beans. They’re here, they’re there instead of learning how to sit down and relax.”
DeMatha’s first big test is a meet at Penn State next month where they will be compete against teams from across the East Coast. | 2022-12-13T16:24:21Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Rockville swimmer dominates record board; Georgetown Prep hockey starts strong - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/13/rockville-swimmer-dominates-record-board-georgetown-prep-hockey-starts-strong/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/13/rockville-swimmer-dominates-record-board-georgetown-prep-hockey-starts-strong/ |
“The Eternal Daughter” is a film about an artist and her elderly mother who confront long-buried secrets when they return to a former family home that now functions as a hotel. On Friday, Dec. 16 at 11:00 a.m. ET, actor Tilda Swinton joins Washington Post chief film critic Ann Hornaday to discuss playing the dual roles in the film and her acclaimed career. | 2022-12-13T16:24:54Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Tilda Swinton on her dual roles in ‘The Eternal Daughter’ - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2022/12/13/tilda-swinton-her-dual-roles-eternal-daughter/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2022/12/13/tilda-swinton-her-dual-roles-eternal-daughter/ |
Sixth of seven puppies stolen in D.C. has been returned
Rescue officials are still looking for the seventh pup, and a reward of up to $7,500 is being offered
Max, one of the stolen puppies, after he was returned to animal rescue officials. He, along with six of his siblings and his mother, were stolen in D.C., officials said. (Humane Rescue Alliance)
The sixth of seven stolen puppies has been found in a case that is still a bit of a canine caper to officials in Washington.
Max was brought to the Humane Rescue Alliance in D.C. on Nov. 12 by a person who said they found “him running at large,” said Sam Miller, acting director of communications for the facility.
The pup is one of seven and its mother, named Godiva, that had been stolen.
The fifth of seven stolen puppies is returned in D.C.
Pregnant and malnourished, Godiva — a 1-year-old who is believed to be a Labrador mix — was picked up by the animal rescue group this summer, and after care she gave birth to a litter of seven pups in August.
But then the tale turned.
Godiva and her pups were fostered by a person who gave rescue officials a fake name, and the dogs were then sold to different people. Animal experts said they were concerned because the pups were taken from their mom when they were only 2 weeks old and still needed her maternal guidance, a “crucial part of their puppyhood.”
Over the fall, rescue officials found Godiva and five of her pups, as some people who had unsuspectingly bought them returned them to authorities.
The pups — Link, Apollo, Oli, Glitter and Aries — were reunited with Godiva, and rescue officials said she’s been “an incredible mom.” Now that the pups are older, they’ve all been adopted, and so has Godiva. Max has a “super sweet demeanor,” Miller said, and was adopted within a few days of coming to the facility.
Still, the puppy caper remains under investigation.
In October, D.C. police arrested and charged Zenobia Fisher and Alphonso Allen, both of Northeast Washington, with selling at least four of the seven puppies. At the time of their arrest, they were both charged with second-degree theft and animal cruelty.
Humane rescue officials said they’d not had a case like this in the 15 years of running their foster-care program for animals. They’re still trying to locate the seventh pup, and a reward of up to $7,500 is being offered. Anyone with information is asked to call 202-723-5730. | 2022-12-13T16:40:40Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Six of seven stolen pups returned in D.C. - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/12/13/stolen-puppies-returned-dc/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/12/13/stolen-puppies-returned-dc/ |
The Electoral Count Act reform bill must pass. Here’s how to get it done.
Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), left, and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) speak during a House Jan. 6 select committee hearing break on June 13. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Congress is in the final stretch of its lame-duck session, and lawmakers have yet to agree on an omnibus spending bill to fund the government beyond Dec. 16. While they are likely to come to an agreement on a continuing resolution to give negotiators another week to finalize a deal, it’s by no means certain.
Here’s what is certain: If the deal fails to include reforms to the Electoral Count Act, lawmakers will have shirked their responsibilities to prevent a replay of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), a major supporter of the bill, indicated on Monday that ECA reform would be attached to the omnibus spending bill (provided there is one). Right now, “America’s presidential transfer of power is a ticking time bomb,” he said. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer indicated on Tuesday that he wanted the reforms in the omnibus bill as well.
But the House and Senate have not agreed to a final version. Two negotiators for the House bill, Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), sent a letter this month to key senators — Schumer, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Rules Committee Chair Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Rules Committee ranking minority-party member Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) — asking for two highly technical changes in the Senate version.
First, Zofgren and Cheney point out that under the Senate bill, members of Congress would still be able to object to electoral votes on the grounds that they were not “lawfully certified” or “regularly given.” But the bill does not define those terms, so they ask a series of questions including: “Do you believe that the Constitution permits Congress to reject a state’s electoral votes simply because Congress has a belief about election fraud in that state?” and “Do you believe that [the Electoral Count Reform Act] permits such an action?”
Their second concern has to do with the arcane issue of “subject matter jurisdiction.” Zofgren and Cheney explain that the Senate bill does not specify that federal courts have ability to review cases regarding “a question of who won the most legal votes.” And since the 5th and 11th Circuits have previously interpreted the Electoral Count Act as depriving courts of that jurisdiction, that could mean the reform bill would leave the timely transmission of lawful election certificates vulnerable to challenges.
Are these legitimate concerns? Both Norman Eisen, who served as co-counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during former president Donald Trump’s first impeachment hearings, and constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe agree that the first issue is real. Tribe points out that phrases such as “regularly given” or “lawfully certified” are “particularly susceptible to partisan manipulation that can make the entire system collapse.” Eisen agrees, but he argues that if the Senate responds in writing to exclude unsubstantiated claims of fraud, that at least would “help create some legislative history to guide future applications of the new statute should it be undertaken in its current form."
As for the jurisdiction issue, concerns about the 5th and 11th Circuits are valid, but it is not at all clear that it would be a problem for the Supreme Court, where such a case would likely show up.
It would be ideal for the Senate to make two small fixes addressing the concerns and pass the bill. But that might not happen for a reason having nothing to do with the merits of the bill or the proposed changes: The reform effort originated in the Senate, and senators have an understandable (if silly) pride of ownership in their handiwork.
Bluntly put: They don’t want the House to tell them what to do. Indeed, McConnell previously indicated it was the Senate’s version or nothing. It’s possible Zofgren and Cheney understand this and are simply using their letter as a vehicle to clean up the record, as Eisen suggests.
In any case, these two issues are not worth wrecking the entire deal and leaving the country exposed to another coup attempt in 2024. The Senate version does include essential fixes, such as underscoring that the vice president’s role in the electoral vote count is ceremonial; raising the number of lawmakers needed to raise an objection; and providing quick remedies to challenges in court.
Fixing these biggest problems would slam the door on the most egregious efforts to overthrow election results. Coupled with defeat of key election deniers in the midterms and the prosecution of Jan. 6 conspirators, the Senate bill with or without the changes should be passed. Now, lawmakers just need to get on with the omnibus bill — so as to have something for the ECA reforms to latch onto. | 2022-12-13T17:15:35Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Opinion | The Electoral Count Act reforms must pass. Here’s how to get it done. - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/13/electoral-count-act-reform-omnibus-bill/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/13/electoral-count-act-reform-omnibus-bill/ |
Mike Leach, who died Monday at age 61, always had something interesting to say. (Rogelio V. Solis/AP)
In a 2019 interview with ESPN, Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach, who died Monday at 61 following complications from a heart condition, was asked how he would like to be remembered when people write his obituary.
“Well, that’s their problem,” Leach, who was preparing for his eighth season at Washington State at the time, replied with his characteristically dry sense of humor. “They’re the ones writing the obituary. What do I care? I’m dead.”
Leach will be remembered as an innovative mind whose “Air Raid” offenses at Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State helped transform his sport. He will also be remembered for his intellectual curiosity, engaging personality and wit, which combined to produce some notable comments on a wide variety of topics over the years.
Mike Leach, Mississippi State coach behind the 'Air Raid' offense, dies at 61
Here are a few of Leach’s most memorable quotes, on everything from play-calling balance to candy corn:
“First of all, what kind of mythical powers does a Sun Devil have?” Leach, who handicapped a hypothetical fight to the death between Pac-12 mascots on more than one occasion, told reporters in 2019. “We’ve got to consider that. I’m going to say the wildcat’s out. The Trojan, does he have a horse or is he on foot? Does he have a bow and arrow or just a sword? The bruin, definitely formidable, then another bear up there at Cal. The tree, I mentioned that tree is going to get chopped down, unless we’re going to go with a bird and somebody might get pecked or something. And then the duck might lose interest and just fly away and get out of there, which may be good advice under the circumstances. The husky, no chance, the beaver, we’ll see how long that beaver can hold his breath. The Ute, again, we’re back to is he on horseback? Does he have a bow and arrow? Did he trade for a rifle? Because if that Ute’s got a rifle there are some definite problems. You’d have to get one of those Harry Potter activists to read up on how you kill a Sun Devil, because there’s a lot of outside stuff there. Just as far as the beast alone, a buffalo is going to be pretty hard to tangle with. A buffalo is utterly outstanding.”
“When it comes to marriages, the women lose their mind,” Leach told a reporter who asked for wedding advice in 2017. “Your fiancee’s going to lose her mind, your mother-in-law is going to lose her mind, your mom is going to lose her mind, several of your sisters and female relatives are going to lose their mind. And, they’re going to barrage you with constant questions: ‘What should we wear?’ And of course my answer was, ‘I don’t care.’ And then: ‘What color should the invitations be?’ ‘I don’t care.’ ‘What should we have for dessert?’ ‘I don’t care.’ ‘Should we sit this way, or that way?’ ‘I don’t care.’
“But see, I don’t care’s not satisfactory at all, and you’re going to get caught in a Catch-22 — and I’m certain that you already have — and that Catch-22 is, ‘Well I want you to be a part of this, too, so what color invitations?’ ‘All right, the blue ones.’ ‘Well, I kind of like the tan ones’ — ‘Okay, the tan ones then.’ ‘Oh, you’re just saying that because you want this over with, you’re not even thinking about it,’ which is, of course, true. ‘What do you want for dessert?’ ‘I was thinking of strawberry shortcake.’ ‘Oh, okay, yeah, strawberry shortcake would be good.’ ‘Well, what about the blueberry pie?’ ‘Well, I like the blueberry pie, we could have the blueberry pie.’ ‘Well, I thought you said you wanted the strawberry shortcake?!’ … In the end, you’ll wish you eloped.”
“I hope there’s Bigfoot. I don’t think there is,” Leach said in response to a fan-submitted question in 2017 about his belief in Bigfoot or extraterrestrial life. “The reason I don’t think there is is because we’ve found bones of dinosaurs and everything else, but we haven’t found bones, that I’ve heard of, of Bigfoot. It would be fun if there’s Bigfoot, I hope there’s Bigfoot, but my guess is there is not. Aliens, I suspect there is, and I don’t know that they’re little green men, and I don’t know that they’re specifically in our galaxy. … I take more the biblical approach on this whole thing, which, to me, why only this planet? Why only us? If it can happen here … To me it’s always been naive, on Earth, they say: ‘Well, we’re the only ones.’ Really? Why? Have you been to the other planets? Have you checked out the other planets? To me, it makes more sense that if it happened here, it happened somewhere else than it does that it only happened here, you know what I mean? And then we know that there’s galaxies beyond our galaxy.”
From 2011: Mike Leach lives in Key West, hoping to coach again
On play-calling balance
Balance, according to @Coach_Leach and nothing more true has been said. pic.twitter.com/zFaYkCzoGg
— Drew Piscopo 🏴☠️ (@DrewCPiscopo) October 2, 2018
“There’s nothing balanced about the 50 percent run, 50 percent pass, because that’s 50 percent stupid,” Leach said after Washington State defeated Utah in 2018 despite rushing for zero yards. “What is balanced is when you have five skill positions, if all five of them are contributing to the offensive effort in a somewhat equal fashion, then that’s balanced. But this notion that if you hand it to one guy 50 percent of the time and then you throw it to a combination of two guys the other 50 percent that you’re really balanced and you proudly pat yourself on the back and tell yourself that — and people have been doing that for decades — well then you’re delusional. So, yeah, that’s how I look at it.”
On candy corn
Mike Leach on the great candy corn debate: “It’s like fruitcake. There’s a reason they only serve fruitcake once a year.” pic.twitter.com/Kf7pi3LxNQ
— Theo Lawson (@TheoLawson_SR) November 1, 2017
“I think candy corn’s awful,” Leach told a reporter in 2017. “You know, it’s like fruitcake. There’s a reason they only serve fruitcake once a year, because it’s awful. There’s a reason they only serve mint juleps once a year, because they’re awful. And there’s a reason they only serve candy corn once a year, because it’s awful. Now, that does beg the question why they serve it at all. But anyway, that’s my opinion.”
"Coffee tastes terrible anyway... just put it down one sip at a time."
“Coffee tastes terrible anyway, so don’t put anything in it to obstruct the harsh bitter taste,” Leach, who it’s safe to say never tried a candy corn latte, told ESPN in October. “Just put it down, one sip at a time. … The experience is terrible.”
On technology and dating
“I’m not really good with technology,” Leach said in 2014. “All this button-pushing and whatnot. I mean, you can just imagine based on what’s happening in the last 15 years. Conversations won’t happen 10 years from now. There isn’t going to be anybody talking to anybody. It’s going to be this [mimics pushing buttons]. ‘Do you want to go out on a date with me?’ ‘I don’t know, what do you look like?’ ‘Well I look kind of like this.’ ‘Okay, well, what are your interests?’ ‘Well, what do you think my interests are? Looking into this thing and typing into this just like yours are.’ ‘Yeah, no kidding, that’s what everybody’s doing.’ ‘Yeah, that’s right, virtually everyone.’ ‘Well, where do you want to go?’ ‘Well, what difference does it make? Because all we’re going to be doing is looking into this machine anyway.’ ‘Well, that’s true, and in the end it’s going to be tough to perpetuate the species. There’s no question about that.’ So we’re all going to look in this box and eventually be extinct. That’s how it ends.”
On Mississippi State’s live dog mascot
“You don’t want to get bit by him, I’ll tell you that,” Leach said during his introductory news conference at Mississippi State in 2020 after gesturing at the school’s live bulldog mascot. “You see that? That’s the dog version of a leather jacket. He’d be like the Fonzie of bulldogs. You don’t mess with him. … They call ’em bulldogs for a reason. They’re built for combat. I know young kids a lot of times start out afraid of them, maybe for good reason. I know I’m scared of this one, so I’m glad I represent him.”
On the Deflategate controversy
ICYMI: Mike Leach voiced his thoughts on Deflategate. Needless to say, they were interesting: http://t.co/2KfsBxMmsI pic.twitter.com/8jNyhClu7I
“It’s kind of disturbing if you think about it,” Leach said, when asked in 2015 for his thoughts on the scandal that led to a four-game suspension for quarterback Tom Brady. “With everything that’s going on, we’re worried about how much air goes into a ball when everybody uses their own ball. It’s not like it’s a forged football. We waste a lot of time with that, and then we worry about the Kardashians. How can it be that we laugh about England’s obsession with the royal family? At least the royal family has college degrees and military service.”
On officials
“It’s a little like breakfast,” Leach said in 2017. “You eat ham and eggs. As coaches and players, we’re like the ham. You see, the chicken’s involved, but the pig’s committed. We’re like the pig, [officials] are like the chicken. They’re involved, but everything we have rides on this.”
On pine cone wars
“If a pine cone war breaks out, you don’t really have any choice but to engage in it,” Leach said in response to a question about his favorite memories as an Eagle Scout growing up in Wyoming. “There’s no neutral countries in pine cone wars.”
“My favorite weather pattern happens to be when it rains mud,” Leach said while doing the weather report for a Lubbock, Tex., television station during his days as the coach at Texas Tech. “Dust comes through, rain on top of it, it rains mud. Now I know that people that have been here for a while don’t like that particular phenomenon as well as I do, but think about it: How many times in your life are you actually going to see it rain mud? I love it. I go out there, I look at it, I watch it. Worst thing about it, you have to wash your car. Who cares? It’s worth seeing, trust me.” | 2022-12-13T17:15:36Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Mike Leach’s best quotes through the years - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/13/mike-leach-best-moments/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/13/mike-leach-best-moments/ |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady speaks after a loss to the San Francisco 49ers (Tony Avelar/AP)
The worst season of Tom Brady’s NFL career, aside from the one cut short by an ACL injury over a decade ago, drags on.
Tampa, now 6-7, has no real identity on offense. Brady looks lost and overwhelmed, oscillating between staring in bewilderment at his tablets and occasionally raging at teammates on the sidelines. It somehow appears as if Brady and star receiver Mike Evans have never played together before, despite them forming one of the most productive duos in the NFL from the moment Brady landed with the Bucs before the 2020 season. And no team has been more futile trying to run the football this season than Tampa Bay, despite the presence of the GOAT QB under center.
It’s widely assumed around the league that Brady’s days in Tampa Bay are dwindling. Sure, this outfit might still win the pathetic NFC South, and anything can happen in the postseason, but there were few indications to take this team seriously as a Super Bowl contender even before the 49ers embarrassed them, 35-7, on Sunday. Things are not great between Brady and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, I’m told by people familiar with the dynamic, with philosophical differences dating back to last season. And when Brady left New England, it was at least in part to get away from a conservative, uber-defensive-minded head coach in Bill Belichick, yet now he finds himself playing for one in Todd Bowles after the sudden offseason retirement of Bruce Arians.
One could argue that Father Time is at least getting within arm’s length of the 45-year-old Brady, if not closing in, with one hand tugging on his jersey. Some that know Brady well believe that after all he has been through this season, both professionally and personally, he will be more driven than ever to prove that 2022 was a fluke. Others point to his brief retirement a year ago as evidence that his football mortality remains front of mind. Regardless, Brady’s world is almost certainly going to change again in 2023, whether he walks away from the game or merely walks away from the Buccaneers.
So, what comes next? At his age, and coming off this season, the market for Brady could be limited. More to the point, we know that TB 12 will be incredibly discriminating about which teams he would even consider joining. Then there is the matter of figuring out a contract (which, at its core, would obviously be short-term). Which teams are a potential fit? Agents and executives I speak with have pointed to very few operations that might actually be a match.
There’s no place like home. A Bay Area reunion, with an expert schemer/play-caller in Kyle Shanahan as head coach, and with a loaded roster, would top Brady’s wish list. “That’s the best fit for him,” said one GM, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to discuss players under contract to other teams. “But is that what Kyle wants?”
Things are complicated by the season-ending injuries to Jimmy Garoppolo and youngster Trey Lance, to say nothing of Brock Purdy’s exemplary performance thus far, albeit in a very short sample size. Garoppolo re-signing in San Francisco was considered likely before his latest injury, but perhaps Brady could be the ideal veteran presence to have around next year. The fact those quarterbacks share an agent makes this even more delicious food for thought.
For much of the year, Tua Tagovailoa looked like an MVP candidate. But back-to-back road losses in California have exposed his warts to an alarming degree, and this team already incurred significant fines and penalties for tampering with Brady in the past. If you are going to lose draft picks flirting with him, does it make sense to find out what he can do for you? Tagovailoa’s long injury history, and his recent shocking inaccuracy, have to give owner Stephen Ross pause. He’s been chasing a big fish QB for a long time. All the speed they have at skill positions would allow the aging passer to focus on short and immediate throws and get the ball out quickly. “It’s a great roster for him, and he’d get two shots at Belichick,” noted one NFL executive, referring to the Dolphins’ AFC East rivals.
More on Derek Carr below, but let’s just say it hasn’t been the season anyone would have expected from him. It didn’t sound like Brady and Raiders Coach Josh McDaniels, his longtime coordinator in New England, were totally simpatico at the time the QB defected to Tampa, but clearly this could be a schematic fit. Las Vegas boasts a loaded offense (when healthy), perfect conditions in a dome and a system in which Brady has won more Super Bowls than anyone else could imagine. What Brady and McDaniels accomplished together cannot be discounted, especially in a limited field of suitors.
Not many other suggestions make sense. Carolina and Indianapolis don’t have nearly enough to offer, nor do Atlanta, Washington, Seattle, the New York Giants or New Orleans at this point. The Tennessee Titans probably will win their terrible division again, but they are bereft of talent on offense. An appealing suitor would have to be legitimately on the cusp, and the geography and coaching profile must be right, too.
What’s next in Vegas …
Some might have seen the Raiders’ latest disaster, blowing another 13-point lead for another improbable loss, as a reason McDaniels might not get a second season in Las Vegas. Others watched him basically call nothing but run plays after Carr, a $40-million quarterback, threw a terrible end zone pick to end the first half against the Rams, and saw it as an indicator of a potential quarterback change. Baker Mayfield, who just got to the Rams, won that Thursday night game from behind while the Raiders played a steadfastly conservative style.
“The biggest thing about [Carr’s] extension,” one GM noted, “is how friendly it is. The team has all the control, and that’s a very tradable contract. Some people think Josh won’t be back, but I don’t think the quarterback will be back.”
… and in Tennessee?
The Titans seem to be falling apart, getting undressed by the Jaguars over the weekend in their third straight loss, and the firing of longtime general manager Jon Robinson continues to be a primary topic of conversation among his peers. One possible replacement: Texans GM Nick Caserio.
As previously reported, a Texans coaching change continues to look in order, and several execs I’ve spoken to don’t believe Caserio will be the guy to fire another head coach after one season. If there is a house cleaning in Houston, staying in the AFC South is possible. Caserio has ties to Titans Coach Mike Vrabel and director of player personnel Monti Ossenfort from their time in New England.
“That’s a natural landing spot to me,” a GM said of Caserio. “Vrabel is going to have some say in that hire.”
The Titans are in a very weird spot, as a potential division winner that doesn’t have a Super Bowl-caliber roster — ownership certainly doesn’t think so. They really need to see more of rookie quarterback Malik Willis for the benefit of the next GM.
With the bye weeks finally over, it’s worth noting that a late bye can work wonders. In 2018, the Pats had Week 11 off and in 2019, the Chiefs benefited from a Week 12 bye. The Bucs took off after a Week 13 bye in 2020 and the Rams did the same after a Week 11 bye last year. All four teams won the Super Bowl. It’s not clear if there’s an obvious candidate this season, but that trend has been notable. … It was brutal timing for Kenny Pickett to suffer another concussion. The Steelers rookie quarterback was earning rave reviews within that organization for his weekly growth and development. … Seattle and Minnesota probably have the two worst defenses in the NFL right now, according to evaluators who have been watching closely. That seems likely to keep the Vikings from advancing beyond one round in the playoffs — and Seattle from even getting there. | 2022-12-13T17:15:37Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Where will Tom Brady play in 2023? - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/13/tom-brady-tampa-bay-free-agent-destination/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/13/tom-brady-tampa-bay-free-agent-destination/ |
The “Happy Gilmore” star will become the 24th recipient of one of comedy’s highest awards
Adam Sandler attends the 32nd Annual Gotham Awards in New York on Nov. 28. (Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock)
Sandler will be the 24th recipient of the award, named for Samuel Langhorne Clemens, i.e. Mark Twain, following last year’s honoring of Jon Stewart. The award, created in 1998 and first bestowed upon Richard Pryor, is given to humorists who make a lasting impact on American society — which, let’s be honest, “Happy Gilmore” almost undoubtedly has.
The Sandman, as the 56-year-old comedian is nicknamed, is frequently referred to as one of “nicest guys in Hollywood.” Known for their goofy, juvenile nature, his movies have collectively grossed more than $3 million worldwide, according to a news release from the Kennedy Center. The announcement raises one vital question: Will Sandler wear a suit to the ceremony, or will he stick to his oversize polos and basketball shorts? (Good money is on the latter, as when his performance in “Uncut Gems” was snubbed by the Academy in 2020, he tweeted, “Bad news: Sandman gets no love from the Academy. Good news: Sandman can stop wearing suits.”)
“Adam Sandler has entertained audiences for over three decades with his films, music, and his tenure as a fan favorite cast member on SNL,” Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter said in a statement. “Adam has created characters that have made us laugh, cry, and cry from laughing. I am looking forward to a laughter-filled evening like no other as we celebrate his career at a ceremony that is sure to bring together the best in comedy.”
Adam Sandler keeps reminding us that he’s just a normal guy
After a few small television roles, including a short stint on “The Cosby Show,” the Brooklyn-born Sandler joined SNL in 1990 as a writer. He eventually became a cast member known for such over-the-top characters as Opera Man (in which he sang the news on Weekend Update), Carlo the Pepper Boy (in which he plays an Italian waiter who has some, err, trouble with the pepper grinder) and Cajun Boy (in which he says short phrases ending in the “ion” sound, a play on the Cajun accent). The show also offered a stage for him to debut original novelty ditties, such as “The Chanukah Song,” which landed on the Billboard Top 100.
Sandler left SNL in 1995 as his film career was taking off with such movies as “Billy Madison” (1995), “Happy Gilmore” (1996) and “The Wedding Singer” (1998). He founded his own production company, Happy Madison Productions, in 1999, which has produced most of his films since, along with a number of other projects.
Despite his tremendous box office success, Sandler has rarely impressed critics throughout the three-plus decades he’s been in show business — and he knows it. In 2018, he released a stand-up special cheekily named “100% Fresh,” a reference to the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, which calculates a percentage of positive reviews a particular work receives. In an amusing twist, the special actually received a 90% “fresh” rating, ranking it among Sandler’s most lauded work.
Occasionally, Sandler will delight said critics by taking a short break from his broad comedies to turn in a stunning dramatic performance for an auteur director, such as Paul Thomas Anderson’s ″Punch-Drunk Love” (2002), Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” (2009), Noah Baumbach’s “The Meyerowitz Stories” (2017), and Josh and Benny Safdie’s “Uncut Gems” (2019). After winning best male lead at the Film Independent Spirit Awards for his role in the Safdie brothers’ movie as the gambling-addicted jeweler Howard Ratner, he used his speech to joke about not receiving an Oscar nod — and he quipped that he’d “like to also give a shout out to my fellow nominees, who will now and forever be known as the guys who lost to f---ing Adam Sandler.”
Sandler became one of the first people to sign a multi-film deal with Netflix, agreeing to star in and produce movies exclusive to the service. His latest, the sports drama “Hustle” (2022), earned him a tribute at the 32nd Gotham Awards, where he read a speech (more of a self-roast) written by his teenage daughters. “Daddy’s silly film career began in 1988,” he said, “formed by two guiding principles: people in prison need movies, too, and TBS needs content.”
Jon Stewart says ‘comedy survives every moment’ at Twain Prize ceremony
Due to covid protocols, the Twain Prize ceremony went on a two-year hiatus after stand-up comedian Dave Chappelle received the honor in 2019. It returned this year as a spring ceremony after generally being a fall event. It proceeded in a semi-normal fashion, aside from some general masking that honoree Jon Stewart joked made the crowd look “like something from an O. Henry story” and the fact that Stephen Colbert, who was scheduled to speak about Stewart, had to Zoom into the show after contracting the virus.
In his speech, the former “Daily Show” host mostly focused on his family but ended by reflecting on both the role and health of comedy in the modern world.
“Comedy survives every moment,” Stewart said, which is vital because “comedy doesn’t change the world, but it’s a bellwether. We’re the banana peel in the coal mine. When society is under threat, comedians are the ones who get sent away first.”
“What we have is fragile and precious, and the way to guard against it isn’t to change how audiences think, but to change how leaders lead,” he concluded.
The 10 best movies of 2022: ‘Top Gun,’ ‘The Woman King’ and more | 2022-12-13T17:46:07Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Adam Sandler to receive Mark Twain Prize this spring at Kennedy Center - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/12/13/adam-sandler-mark-twain-kennedy-center/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/12/13/adam-sandler-mark-twain-kennedy-center/ |
The past seven years in the Arctic have been the hottest seven years since 1900.
Melting ice on the Kuskokwim River on the Yukon Delta in Alaska in April 2019. Scientists have found that Alaska has been warming twice as fast as the global average. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)
The bison couldn’t crack the ice. As Christmastime wound down last year, unseasonably warm temperatures and heavy rain in Alaska’s Delta Junction melted snow and ice, which quickly refroze due to subzero temperatures near the surface. Usually, the bovine can shovel through snow with their heads and horns, but the frozen snow and ice persisted like a layer of cement atop the grasses and plants they need to feed on. And the bison couldn’t get through.
About 180 bison, or a third of the Delta herd, starved to death. Those that survived were skinny and in poor form. Bison season in the Delta Junction area, one of the most popular hunting seasons in Alaska, was cut short from six months to two weeks.
It was one of several exceptional events the Arctic experienced over the past year, all intensified by a warmer world. A typhoon, formed in unusually warm waters in the North Pacific, hit the western coast of Alaska as the state’s strongest storm in decades. A late heat wave in Greenland caused unprecedented melt in September, which can contribute to sea level rise. Despite decent winter snow in Alaska, the rapid onset of summer created devastating conditions for wildfires that burned a record million acres by June.
The recent events are a continuation of a decades-long decline in the Arctic region, researchers said in the 2022 Arctic Report Card, a new federal assessment of the region released Tuesday. Since the first report card was issued in 2006, researchers have documented a decline in the polar environment, with impacts from sea ice to wildlife. As time goes on, many of the effects of a warmer, wetter and stormier Arctic are coming into a clearer focus.
“As we see changes in the Arctic, its connectivity to the rest of the world only increases,” said Matthew Druckenmiller, the lead editor of this year’s assessment and a research scientist with the National Snow and Ice Data Center. “We will continue to see dramatic changes that will not only transform ecosystems but that will more and more highlight the winners and losers. And I think our context will be a lot more losers than winners.”
Here are key findings from this year’s 133-page report, including additions on rainfall trends and observations by Arctic indigenous people.
Record warmth is decreasing snow cover, increasing rainfall
The warmer temperatures are causing major shifts in ecological and landscaping processes in the Arctic. Summer is coming earlier and winter is starting later, the report found, decreasing the length of the snow season. For example, snow cover in June across the region has declined around 20 percent in recent decades. Even though winter snow accumulation was above average this year, warmer temperatures are causing it to melt earlier. The report, which used a reference period from 1991 to 2020, found overall snow cover was below average, which tracks with trends observed over the past 15 years.
The earlier snowmelt and the hot, dry conditions in Alaska were a critical factor in the widespread wildfires this summer. More than 2 million acres burned across the entire state by July. Wildfire smoke worsened air quality, reducing visibility at the Fairbanks airport.
Warmer temperatures are also increasing the amount of rain across the Arctic. In a hotter world, heavy precipitation events are becoming 7 percent more intense for every 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit of warming. The Arctic experienced wetter-than-normal conditions for the much of the past year, part of a longer trend. According to the report, Arctic precipitation has significantly increased since the 1950s across all seasons and data sets.
Druckenmiller said the sudden, extreme rain last December that led to the starvation of the numerous bison was a “really terrible example” of how the increased rainfall can affect communities.
“We are seeing increased precipitation across the Arctic within all seasons … That not only means total accumulation, but it also means longer periods of wet conditions,” Druckenmiller said.
He added that the rain “can have implications for local communities in terms of being able to manage local waterways and they might see increased rates of flooding.”
Warm Arctic temperatures are continuing to decrease the thickness and area of sea ice. In 2022, similar to the year before, the sea levels were much lower than the long-term average.
The decades-long loss of ice has boosted ship traffic in the region — less ice blocking travel paths means more available routes for vessels. This summer, the Northern Sea Route and Northwest Passage were able to be open due to the low ice concentrations, making travel easier for tourists and research vessels. The authors of the assessment found ship traffic has been increasing from 2009 to 2018, most significantly from ships traveling from the Pacific Ocean through the Bering Strait and Beaufort. However, they caution the increased ship traffic can disturb the Arctic ecosystem.
In a new feature, this year’s report included observations from indigenous Alaskan communities that describe changes to hunting practices in recent decades. Inupiaq and Inuit people share on-the-ground observations from their cultures’ centuries of life experience and knowledge of the land.
“When you have an oral history that is still living 500 generations later, there are things that science and scientists, which is under 200 years old, could learn from,” said Jackie Qatalina Schaeffer, a co-author of the report and an Inupiaq from Kotzebue, Alaska.
The sea ice retreat forced hunters to travel as far as 100 miles from their homes to find walruses during the spring harvest. The thinning of sea ice has also made seal hunting dangerous in some communities.
Indigenous hunters have doubled the number of days spent hunting bowhead whales in open water in Utqiaġvik, Nuiqsut and Kaktovik but face higher waves with less sea ice. The heightened waves pose a larger risk to hunters and are pushing some villages to buy larger and stronger boats, which have become more expensive to fuel, in part due to the war in Ukraine. The bowhead whales are now migrating earlier in spring and later in the fall, shifting the hunting season for some crews as well.
“We’re not a reactive culture,” said Qatalina Schaeffer, who is also director of climate initiatives for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. “We plan and we adapt and then we sustain. And that’s how we survive.” | 2022-12-13T17:54:54Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Warmer and stormier conditions are destabilizing the Arctic, report says - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/12/13/arctic-alaska-greenland-climate-change/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/12/13/arctic-alaska-greenland-climate-change/ |
Erin Scheick, center, with two clients she has helped as the managing attorney of the Domestic Violence Project and Immigrant Justice Project of the Legal Clinic at Bread for the City, a District charity and a partner in The Washington Post Helping Hand. (Tracy Davis)
In a town full of lawyers with high-powered clients, Erin Scheick serves the seemingly powerless. That makes her job all the more important.
Scheick is a managing attorney in the legal clinic at Bread for the City, a nonprofit that works with low-income Washingtonians.
“It’s really, really hard in the District to find affordable legal services,” Scheick said. “Part of our goal in establishing the legal clinic is to provide high quality legal representation to clients who otherwise can’t afford those services and who are often in really precarious situations. Being able to navigate the legal process or explore options is instrumental in achieving some stability.”
When his wife was sick, this D.C. man turned to Bread for the City
Bread for the City, a partner in The Washington Post Helping Hand, does a lot of things to improve lives in Washington, from distributing free groceries to running a medical clinic. It’s a broad mandate.
“Part of our view as an organization is to look at societal determinants of health,” Scheick said. “What are all the factors that lead to healthy outcomes for a family?”
Some of the factors are obvious, others less so.
“We see immigration status as really tied to [healthy outcomes],” said Scheick. “If folks don’t have lawful status, it can undermine their ability to achieve physical and mental health.”
And that’s why Scheick and her colleagues work to solidify their clients’ immigration status. The majority of the people they serve come from the Northern Triangle countries: Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Recently there has been an influx of migrants from Venezuela, sent to the District by bus by the governor of Texas. Some clients have been victims of trafficking. Some seek asylum.
“Almost all have experienced a lot of trauma and violence in their countries of origin,” Scheick said. “Most have made the really, really difficult decision to leave their family, including children, behind in order to seek some measure of stability or safety.”
Some bring their children. Some send their children. Many are women. Some become victims of crime once they arrive in Washington.
“Our goal is to help as many individuals as we can with what I call full legal representation,” said Scheick. “If I’m accepting a case for our immigration practice, we have to be able to identify at least a pathway for that individual to earn some sort of permanent status in the United States or some kind of work authorization or a visa.”
As an example, Bread for the City’s legal clinic helped a woman who was married to a U.S. citizen and has a child who is a U.S. citizen. Her husband was violent.
“He was also controlling,” said Scheick. “He never filed paperwork to sponsor the woman to be a permanent resident.”
Scheick was able to seek relief through the 1994 Violence Against Women Act — or VAWA. This allowed the woman to successfully apply for permanent residency without relying on her abusive ex-husband.
Some clients are able to find relief with U visas, which are for victims of crime, or T visas, which are for victims of human trafficking.
It can be slow, complicated work, especially with Bread for the City’s small immigration law staff, currently one full-time attorney — Scheick — and a paralegal. (Scheick said she’s always looking for law firms willing to lend a hand with pro bono work.)
Immigration has become a controversial topic in this nation of immigrants. As it has for hundreds of years, the United States holds a promise that draws people here.
“It speaks to some of the values of our country, in terms of people being able to work hard and support their families,” said Scheick. “A lot of folks we work with are striving to achieve that for their families. I think sometimes that’s left out of the political narrative, or people forget that it’s individual people who made difficult decisions.”
Scheick worries that something important can get lost in all the rancor over immigration.
“We’re all human beings,” she said, “and we all want something similar: to be able to live to our fullest potential — and if we have a family or children, that they’re able to have that, too.”
Your donation to Bread for the City can level the playing field for people who need legal help. To support its work, go to posthelpinghand.com. and click the link that says “Donate Online Now.” | 2022-12-13T17:54:56Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Bread for the City helps people iron out immigration problems - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/12/13/bread-for-the-city-immigration/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/12/13/bread-for-the-city-immigration/ |
Mother and daughter elephants make first public debut at National Zoo
The new Asian elephants came to the D.C. zoo in November from the Netherlands
New Asian elephants Trong Nhi (right) and her daughter, Nhi Linh, are on public view at the National Zoo. (Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute)
Hello mama and daughter!
Two Asian elephants — a 19-year-old mother and her 9-year-old daughter — can now be seen by the public at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington.
The pair have been in quarantine since they arrived Nov. 7 to the National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute on Connecticut Avenue in Northwest.
The mother elephant is named Trong Nhi (pronounced trong-nEE) and her daughter is Nhi Linh (pronounced nEE-lin). They came to the D.C. zoo as a gift from the Rotterdam Zoo in South Holland, Netherlands, where they were both born.
After two recent deaths, National Zoo gets two new Asian elephants
The addition of the new elephants is considered a big deal because zoo experts have said they hope the animals could infuse the elephant breeding program. The National Zoo hasn’t had an elephant calf in 21 years, and two years ago they euthanized two of its female elephants — Ambika, 72, Shanthi, 45, — because of old age and poor health.
The hope is that the two new elephants could eventually mate with a male elephant, Spike. He’s been bred often with another female elephant, but for reasons that are unclear she hasn’t gotten pregnant.
Meet Spike: The National Zoo’s new elephant and only male brings hope for a baby
National Zoo keepers have described the new elephants as personable, and veteran elephant manager Marie Galloway said they are “really nice girls.” Trong Nhi doesn’t like to be away from her daughter too much, officials said.
Visitors are most likely to see the pair roaming their enclosure between 10 a.m. and noon each day. And they can be seen on an elephant webcam, too.
Trong Nhi and Nhi Linh have started to meet the other females in the zoo’s elephant herd. Zoo experts said they have done what are called “howdy introductions” — when the elephants can “see, smell and communicate” with each other through a safety barrier.
Bryan Amaral, acting associate director of animal care at the zoo, said in a statement that the new elephants are making progress in their transition to the facility.
Experts will watch for calm demeanor and movements to see if they’re ready to share a space with others. Officials said it’s still going to be awhile before the pair gets introduced to the rest of the herd, which includes five other elephants, and is housed with them. Officials gave no specific time as to when that will happen.
Asian elephants are considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Populations. In the wild, they’re in decline because of habitat loss and poaching, and scientists estimate there are between 30,000 and 50,000 Asian elephants.
Michael E. Ruane contributed to this report. | 2022-12-13T17:55:02Z | www.washingtonpost.com | New elephants at National Zoo make first public debut - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/12/13/elephants-national-zoo-debut-dc/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/12/13/elephants-national-zoo-debut-dc/ |
Workers locate remains of Confederate general under Richmond monument
Workers dismantle the stone pedestal that supported a statue of Confederate Gen. A.P. Hill in Richmond on Monday. Hill's remains were underneath the monument. (Parker Michels-Boyce for The Washington Post)
RICHMOND — Workers found the remains of Confederate Gen. A.P. Hill on Tuesday under the base of a statue honoring him that was taken down from a city intersection the day before.
Machinery operators stood by as representatives of a Richmond-area funeral home prepared to extract the remains, which were then to be taken to Hill’s hometown of Culpeper. The city of Richmond paid $1,000 for a burial plot there near other Hill family members.
Richmond takes down its last major city-owned Confederate memorial
A descendant of Hill’s — who had fought unsuccessfully in court to take possession of the monument along with the remains — stood with the funeral home workers, saying he wanted to ensure the process was handled respectfully.
The Hill statue was the last major Confederate memorial on city-owned property in the former capital of the Confederacy. It outlasted more than a dozen others taken down since the social-justice protests of 2020 — its removal delayed because of its unique status as a tomb.
Removing the bronze statue of Hill from its base took less than an hour Monday morning. The figure was lifted by a crane, then strapped onto a flatbed truck and hauled to storage at a secure wastewater treatment plant.
Dismantling the stone base, though, took hours, with police sealing off the busy intersection of Hermitage Road and West Laburnum Avenue all day. Around 5 p.m., most of the plinth had been taken apart and its pieces labeled in case it is ever reassembled. Richmond has given custody of most of its Confederate monuments to the city’s Black History Museum, which will decide what to do with them.
Historical records were unclear on where the Hill remains might be within the monument. The general was killed outside Petersburg in the waning days of the Civil War in 1865, and his body was buried and reburied in two locations before being moved to its current location in 1891.
The monument honoring Hill was devised as a way to lure residents to a new housing development in what was then rural Henrico County and later annexed by the city. Today the intersection is one of Richmond’s busiest — and most dangerous, as the need to avoid the giant gray monument in the center has caused frequent wrecks.
Though Hill was said to have asked to be buried standing up, by the time his remains got to the monument they consisted of little more than bones and tattered cloth, according to news reports of the day. Accounts described him being placed into a box in the base of the monument some six feet above the ground.
But the full monument was not dedicated until the following year, and historians and city officials were uncertain how the base was configured when Hill was interred. On Tuesday, workers stripped away layer after layer, pausing to look for signs of a crypt.
As it turned out, the remains were at the very bottom, partially underground, below earth that had been mounded around the old foundation. | 2022-12-13T17:55:17Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Confederate general's remains found under Richmond monument - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/12/13/richmond-confederate-statue-hill-remains/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/12/13/richmond-confederate-statue-hill-remains/ |
Indicted Loudoun school officials to appear in court; board to discuss grand jury report
Members of the Loudoun County Public Schools board, from left, Erika Ogedegbe, Tiffany Polifko, Jeff Morse and Ian Serotkin take a vote last week. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)
The Loudoun school board is set to discuss responses today to a damning state grand jury report that faulted the district’s handling of two high-profile sexual assault cases — on the same day that two top school officials are slated to make an initial appearance in court on charges handed down by the same grand jury.
The board will take time from its regular monthly meeting Tuesday night to review the state grand jury report, which was released last week and which examined how the school dealt with two sexual assaults committed by the same student in May and October 2021 on different high school campuses. The 91-page report found that Loudoun officials were generally incompetent in responding to the assaults and that ex-superintendent Scott Ziegler lied when asked whether he knew about the first assault at a board meeting in June.
Ziegler and school spokesman Wayde Byard are supposed to appear in court Tuesday. On Monday, the grand jury unsealed four indictments, — three against the former superintendent and one against Byard — at least some of which are related to the sexual assault cases.
Former Loudoun superintendent, schools spokesman indicted by Va. grand jury
Ziegler is facing misdemeanor counts of false publication — likely in connection with his statement at the June meeting — as well as counts of using his position to retaliate or threaten to retaliate against an employee and falsely firing the same employee. The second two counts are unrelated to the May and October 2021 assaults. The employee in question is a special-education teacher who recently sued the district alleging school officials failed to protect her from a student who was sexually assaulting her, then retaliated against her for reporting the assaults by opting not to reemploy her.
Byard, meanwhile, is facing a count of felony perjury. It is unclear to what the charge is referring, as the indictment is short and vague, but it is possible the charge relates to testimony he gave before the grand jury in August.
Ziegler was fired by the school district shortly after the release of the grand jury report. Byard was placed on administrative leave Monday, hours after the indictments were unsealed.
Amid the turmoil, the district has named an interim superintendent: David Smith, who until the elevation served as Loudoun’s chief of staff. The board meeting Tuesday night will be his first in the new role. School documents posted online ahead of the meeting show that Smith will be paid $295,000 a year, a salary equivalent to what his predecessor, Ziegler, earned when starting in the role.
The grand jury’s report and indictments, which have drawn praise from Loudoun parents and residents across the political spectrum, also mark a political victory for Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who won the governorship in November 2021 largely by campaigning on educational issues, advocating for more parental rights over schools and criticizing districts for a lack of transparency. He made Loudoun a particular target, often criticizing the district’s handling of the two sex assaults.
One of his first actions in office was to publish an executive order commissioning the investigation of Loudoun’s management of the sexual assaults. Virginia Attorney General Jason S. Miyares (R) convened the special grand jury in response to Youngkin’s order.
At least one Loudoun board member has already announced plans to push for a drastic response to the grand jury’s report. Last week, at a meeting held to confirm Smith to his new role, conservative board member Tiffany Polifko said she will demand punishment for every school employee who erred in responding to the assaults.
“I firmly believe that we as a school board must demand that the person in charge of running our school system, the superintendent, hold accountable the individuals that were involved,” Polifko said. “I have grave concerns about the state of affairs in our school system.” | 2022-12-13T17:55:23Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Indicted Loudoun school officials to appear in court; board to discuss grand jury report - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/12/13/loudoun-schools-grand-jury-response-indictment/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/12/13/loudoun-schools-grand-jury-response-indictment/ |
RICHMOND, Va. — Republican Virginia Del. Ronnie Campbell, a former state trooper and member of the House of Delegates from the Shenandoah Valley, died this week after a battle with cancer, the House speaker’s office announced Tuesday.
Virginia has lost a ”good man and dedicated public servant, the House of Delegates has lost a sterling voice, and I have lost a good friend,” Speaker Todd Gilbert said in a statement.
Gilbert’s statement said that just hours before his passing, Campbell had been working to see that legislation he had prepared for the session that begins in January “wouldn’t fall by the wayside.”
Campbell was first elected to his western Virginia House district that included Amherst, Augusta, Bath and Rockbridge counties in a 2018 special election.
He previously served on the Rockbridge County school board and board of supervisors.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin was among many offering his condolences, saying Campbell had served the state in “so many ways.”
“He cared deeply about his community, the Commonwealth, law enforcement, and above all his wife, Ellen, and their family,” Youngkin tweeted.
The governor will eventually set a special election to fill the vacancy. | 2022-12-13T17:55:29Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Virginia Del. Ronnie Campbell dies after cancer battle - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-del-ronnie-campbell-dies-after-cancer-battle/2022/12/13/26e8b3d4-7b0d-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html | https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-del-ronnie-campbell-dies-after-cancer-battle/2022/12/13/26e8b3d4-7b0d-11ed-bb97-f47d47466b9a_story.html |
Fentanyl brings death and despair on a shocking scale
Welcome to The Daily 202! Tell your friends to sign up here. On this day in 2003, U.S. forces captured deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Saddam was caught hiding in a “spider hole” in Ad Dawr, not far from his hometown of Tikrit.
Fentanyl. If you’re a teen, or the parent of a teen, or just keep up with local or national news, you’ve heard about this lab-cooked drug that is killing Americans in shocking numbers. “Cartel Rx” is The Washington Post’s new, seven-part investigative look at its role in the opioid crisis.
It’s a calamity that has posed one of the most significant public-policy challenges in decades, a deadly and destructive epidemic that has defied government attempts to find a solution. And now my colleagues are breaking down the who, what, where, when, how and why of it.
The best journalism about the opioid crisis blends the startling facts and figures with the heartbreaking personal stories. One example from my home state: Kate O’Neill’s emotional and educational series for Seven Days VT back in 2019, triggered by her sister’s fatal overdose.
Cartel Rx does the same. Wrenching personal stories really bring home the reality behind the numbers. The clinical explanation for the fentanyl boom — I’ll oversimplify it as Mexican cartels filling voracious American demand no longer met by domestic opioid makers — comes to life.
Chilling data
But let’s talk about the numbers, because the series’ inaugural installment, from my colleagues Nick Miroff, Scott Higham, Steven Rich, Salwan Georges and Erin Patrick O'Connor, collects facts and figures in one place in a way that is startling, perhaps overwhelming.
“During the past seven years, as soaring quantities of fentanyl flooded into the United States, strategic blunders and cascading mistakes by successive U.S. administrations allowed the most lethal drug crisis in American history to become significantly worse, a Washington Post investigation has found,” they wrote.
Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49, according to a Post analysis. More than car accidents, suicides, or gun violence.
More than 9 million Americans “misused opioids” in 2020, according to the latest estimates by the Department of Health and Human Services. But HHS doesn’t have figures for fentanyl.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cannot track overdose deaths in real-time. Its published data is one year behind. CDC’s provisional tally for 2021 set the overall number of drug overdoses at 107,622, two thirds of those from fentanyl.
“From 2019 to 2021, fatal overdoses surged 94 percent, and an estimated 196 Americans are now dying each day from the drug — the equivalent of a fully loaded Boeing 757-200 crashing and killing everyone on board.”
San Diego County, which my colleagues call “ground zero” for fentanyl smuggling into the United States, had 92 deaths tied to fentanyl in 2018, when it set up a special multiagency task force to deal with the drug. There were 814 last year.
Or how about this: “Since July, border seizures of fentanyl have averaged 2,200 pounds a month, meaning U.S. authorities are confiscating more fentanyl in a single month than they did during all of 2018. Federal officials estimate they are capturing 5 to 10 percent of the fentanyl crossing from Mexico, but they acknowledge it could be less.”
My colleagues carefully collected many different ways the federal government has failed. Read the whole thing, as they say. But consider this stat: Over the past decade, the Drug Enforcement Administration shed 1,300 staff, including 700 agents, and has more than 800 vacancies today.
U.S.-Mexico cooperation
In another installment, about a Mexican admiral who worked closely with Americans to combat drug trafficking (and drug traffickers), my colleagues Mary Beth Sheridan and Nick Miroff included this unsettling piece of data:
Mary Beth and Nick chronicle the ups and many, many downs of U.S.-Mexico cooperation to fight drugs smuggling, and the role of Adm. Marco Antonio Ortega Siu — nicknamed El Águila, The Eagle.
If the personal stories breathe life into this chronicle of the crisis, the numbers bring home a scale that will leave you winded. You can follow all of “Cartel Rx” here.
“President Biden is slated to sign the Respect for Marriage Act into law Tuesday afternoon, granting federal protections to same-sex and interracial couples, and marking a milestone in the decades-long fight for marriage equality,” Amy B Wang reports.
Follow along with Post Politics Now for live updates
“Data released Tuesday morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that prices rose 7.1 percent in November compared with last year, the smallest year-over-year increase since last December. Prices also climbed 0.1 percent over October, beating analysts’ expectations. And a measure known as “core inflation,” which strips out volatile categories like food and energy, rose 0.2 percent — the smallest increase since August 2021,” Rachel Siegel reports.
“Federal scientists announced Tuesday that they have created the first nuclear fusion reaction that generated more energy than it took to produce, a major advancement in the worldwide quest for a new source of abundant, clean energy,” Evan Halper and Joel Achenbach report.
Federal prosecutors, SEC unveil charges against Sam Bankman-Fried
“Federal prosecutors charged Sam Bankman-Fried with several counts of fraud on Tuesday, just hours after the Securities and Exchange Commission accused the disgraced FTX founder of orchestrating a scheme to defraud investors,” Tory Newmyer reports.
“Meanwhile, the House Financial Services Committee is set to forge ahead with a hearing into the cryptocurrency exchange’s recent implosion despite the arrest Monday night of Bankman-Fried, its star witness, who was taken into custody in the Bahamas after U.S. officials requested his extradition.”
“Mexican criminal groups had become experts in producing fentanyl and meth across the border. Now, [Brady Wilson] knew, they were honing their role in retail distribution in the United States, where synthetics had reshaped the geography of drug demand. There was money to be made in places like St. George, [Utah]” Kevin Sieff reports.
More from the series: They call him the Eagle: How the U.S. lost a key ally in Mexico as fentanyl took off
“When Bankman-Fried and his band of crypto risk-takers moved to the Bahamas last year in a blitz of extravagant spending, they promised to remake the island paradise into a global capital of the new financial elite. Some Bahamians said they felt lucky to have an opportunity to work so close to a superstar,” Tim Craig, Drew Harwell and Nitasha Tiku report.
“Instead, Bankman-Fried stepped down as FTX’s CEO earlier this month after presiding over one of the fastest meltdowns of wealth in modern history. FTX, valued earlier this year at $32 billion, has been declared bankrupt, and his $16 billion personal fortune nosedived to zero in less than a week.”
“Officials have seen an influx of thousands of migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border with the Title 42 restriction scheduled to end on Dec. 21. Immigration experts have said the decision to end the policy could have triggered the surge in asylum-seeking migrants who were released by federal immigration authorities in border state communities,” Lauren Villagran reports for the El Paso Times.
“Kathy is one of four directors-general at SIS, each of whom reports to the chief, known as ‘C’. For the first time, three of them are women. They work in the most important and rapidly evolving areas of spycraft. Kathy is director of operations. Rebecca is the chief’s deputy, who oversees strategy. The most storied MI6 job of all belongs to Ada, who is the head of technology, known as ‘Q’ after James Bond’s mastermind gadgeteer. I have spent six months interviewing them about how they reached the top in a traditionally male career and trying to understand what the life of a female spy is really like,” Helen Warrell writes for the Financial Times.
“With more than 40 African leaders visiting Washington this week, President Biden has a rare opportunity to court a group of nations that have been ambivalent about, and increasingly frustrated by, his global effort to rally support behind Ukraine and mount a unified front against Russia,” Yasmeen Abutaleb and Missy Ryan report.
Biden planning multi-country trip to Africa next year
“President Biden is planning a multi-country trip to Africa next year, with an announcement expected to be made at this week’s U.S.-Africa summit,” two sources familiar with the plans told Axios’s Dave Lawler and Hans Nichols.
“Over the past year, the Biden administration has dispatched a stream of high-level officials to a small coastal country in Central Africa in a quiet campaign to convince the world’s longest-serving dictator to start shedding his ties to China. That effort will be put to the test this week, when President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea will attend President Joe Biden’s U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington,” Robbie Gramer, Amy Mackinnon and Jack Detsch report for Foreign Policy.
“The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear President Joe Biden’s appeal of a judge’s ruling that found his plan to cancel billions of dollars in student debt unlawful, taking up the matter alongside another challenge to the policy that the justices are due to hear in the coming months,” Reuters’s Andrew Chung reports.
Where officials are seizing fentanyl, visualized
“With the explosion of fentanyl, which can be pressed into tiny counterfeit pills or mixed into other drugs like cocaine and heroin, the question of how the products arrive at their final destination is of urgent importance. More Americans are dying of drug overdoses than ever before. The tentacles of Mexican criminal organizations are lengthening in the United States, their distribution methods becoming more efficient as their drugs become more dangerous,” Kevin Sieff reports.
“Democratic senators from across the political spectrum have sidestepped the question of whether they would support Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) if she runs for reelection — underscoring how her surprise decision to leave the Democratic Party has thrust Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and his colleagues into a tough spot,” Liz Goodwin reports.
“By 2-1, GOP and GOP-leaning voters now say they want Trump’s policies but a different standard-bearer to carry them. While 31% want the former president to run, 61% prefer some other Republican nominee who would continue the policies Trump has pursued,” USA Today’s Susan Page reports.
At 3:30 p.m., Biden will sign the Respect for Marriage Act into law on the South Lawn, with first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff attending.
❄️☃️❄️
“Historical odds of having measurable snow on the ground Christmas morning aren’t even 10 percent. Lately, the weather has been abnormally warm much more often than snowy,” Ian Livingston reports. | 2022-12-13T17:56:00Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Fentanyl brings death and despair on a shocking scale - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/13/fentanyl-brings-death-despair-shocking-scale/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/13/fentanyl-brings-death-despair-shocking-scale/ |
The assault put Brazil back on edge ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro clash with police in Brasilia on Monday. (Eraldo Peres/AP)
RIO DE JANEIRO — Supporters of defeated President Jair Bolsonaro attacked federal police headquarters in Brazil’s capital late Monday, an escalation in the ongoing demonstrations against the October election result.
The assault in Brasilia, which was quelled by law enforcement before any of the attackers could gain entry into the building, followed weeks of protests by bolsonaristas on military highways outside military bases. Some supporters of the right-wing president have called for the military to block leftist President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from taking office on Jan. 1.
The attack, hours after Brazil certified the election result Monday, was prompted by the arrest of Indigenous activist and Bolsonaro supporter. The Supreme Court accused José Acácio Serere Xavante, of having “expressly summoned armed people to prevent the certification of elected” officials.
The court has probed Bolsonaro, his family and allies; it’s seen here as a nemesis of the right.
Bolsonaro has not conceded his loss in the closest presidential vote in Brazil’s history. He hasn’t urged his supporters to fight the result, as former president Donald Trump did after the 2020 U.S. election — but he hasn’t discouraged them either.
Two days after the Oct. 30 vote, Bolsonaro’s chief of staff said he had been authorized to begin the transition to a Lula administration. Bolsonaro asked supporters to stop blocking highways, which is illegal in Brazil, but said they could protest elsewhere: “That is welcome, and a part of democracy.”
In a speech outside the presidential palace on Friday — his first public statement in 40 days — Bolsonaro appealed to the crowd to take matters into their own hands, without expressly telling them to fight: “You decide my future and where I will go. … You decide which way the armed forces go,” he said. “Nothing is lost.”
Political analysts say Bolsonaro and key allies are attempting a delicate balancing act as Lula’s inauguration approaches: Actively encouraging a coup could backfire politically, but there’s value in maintaining popular momentum for a future campaign.
In Brasilia Monday evening, footage taken by bystanders, demonstrators and journalists appeared to show protesters setting fire to cars and buses and police officers trying to disperse them with pepper spray and tear gas. One video appeared to show a group of Bolsonaro supporters attempting to push a bus off a highway overpass in Brasilia.
Capital police forces have increased security for Lula, who is staying in a hotel, in the wake of the incident, according to the Secretariat for Public Security for the Federal District.
A spokesman for Lula, José Chrispiniano, told The Washington Post that the president-elect “was not exposed to any risks” on Monday. He declined to comment further. | 2022-12-13T17:56:49Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Bolsonaro supporters attack Brazil police headquarters - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/13/bolsonaro-supporters-attack-police-headquarters/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/13/bolsonaro-supporters-attack-police-headquarters/ |
World Cup live updates Argentina to face Croatia in first semifinal
Argentina beat the Netherlands in a penalty shootout last week to set up its semifinal matchup with Croatia. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
The World Cup continues Tuesday with the first semifinal matchup between Croatia and Argentina. Both teams required penalty kicks in dramatic quarterfinals Friday to reach this stage. Croatia, the 2018 runner-up, scored in the 117th minute against Brazil to force the shootout, then stunned the world’s top-ranked team in the tiebreaker. Argentina, the runner-up in 2014, conceded two late goals to the Netherlands but righted itself in the shootout to advance. Follow along for live updates and highlights from the game.
Argentina has reached the semifinals for the sixth time in its World Cup history, and it is 5-0 in its previous appearances. Lionel Messi, in what is probably his final World Cup, is trying to lead La Albiceleste to its first world championship since 1986.
Croatia, which has needed penalties to earn four of its past five knockout stage wins dating to 2018, is seeking its second consecutive appearance in the World Cup final. The Croatians eliminated top-ranked Brazil in the quarterfinal and No. 2 Belgium in the group stage, and now they get a crack at No. 3 Argentina.
The winner of this match will face either France or Morocco in the final on Sunday, while the loser will play the loser of Wednesday’s semifinal on Saturday in the third-place game. Find the bracket and knockout round schedule here.
The World Cup semifinals arrive with two giants and two dreamers
It sure is funny now, though, because after the original 32 were reduced to the final four, with semifinals set for Tuesday and Wednesday, both participants from that scoreless draw remain. They remain with their little engines and big guts. They remain in the cherished role of dreamers. Croatia, the 2018 World Cup runner-up, remains because it’s great at remaining. Morocco remains because of something beautiful: It seems to be undergoing a realization of its own elite capabilities. | 2022-12-13T18:12:18Z | www.washingtonpost.com | Argentina vs. Croatia: World Cup live updates - The Washington Post | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/13/argentina-vs-croatia/ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/12/13/argentina-vs-croatia/ |
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