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FILE - This photo provided by the North Korean government shows what it says a test launch of a hypersonic missile on Jan. 11, 2022 in North Korea. North Korea on Friday, Jan. 14, berated the Biden administration for imposing fresh sanctions against the country over its latest missile tests and warned of stronger and more explicit action if Washington maintains its “confrontational stance.” Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: “KCNA” which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File) (Uncredited/KCNA via KNS) | null | null | null | null | null |
National Christian, a local power with national ambition, takes care of things on the home front
National Christian's Isaiah Coleman, right, and Rob Lawson are two of the high-level players brought in by Coach Kenny Johnson. (Scott Taetsch/For The Washington Post)
The net, rippled then folded, clung stubbornly to the rim after National Christian guard Tekao Carpenter opened Thursday night’s game against Fairfax Christian with a picture-perfect three-pointer.
Before anyone noticed, the Eagles got a quick defensive stop and junior guard Isaiah Coleman lined up an open three-pointer of his own. He had a wide smile on his face as he shot it, seemingly well-aware that his ball would set things right again.
The back-to-back threes gave the Eagles an early lead that they never relinquished in a 57-43 win over the Cardinals in Sterling.
“We always want to find a way to get the win and still have fun at the same time,” Coleman said afterward, still smiling.
The No. 3 Eagles have emerged from the pandemic season of 2020-21 with a slightly different identity. The Prince George’s school has long been an area power, but August 2020 saw a major shake-up as its basketball and football coach left for nearby Rock Creek Christian Academy. From the outside, it seemed as if the Eagles might be bowing out of the basketball landscape.
Instead, the school turned to Kenny Johnson, formerly a high-profile college assistant with deep basketball ties in this area. Johnson wasted no time in assembling a roster of Division I prospects.
This season has served as a coming-out party for the program, as the experiment in team-building has produced a 14-2 start. Earlier this week, the McDonald’s All-American game announced its first round of nominations and the Eagles landed five seniors on the list. No other area program landed more than two.
They have spent much of this winter on the road, attending events from New York to South Carolina. But part of building a strong local reputation means taking care of business in games like this one against Fairfax Christian.
“When we’re on the road, it’s about competing nationally. But when we’re home, it’s all about showing what we’ve learned out there and showing that we’re one of the best, if not the best, teams in the area,” Carpenter said.
Both the Eagles and the Cardinals (13-3) entered this matchup with undefeated records in the Metro Private School Conference, a newly-formed league featuring eight programs from across the D.C. area.
Thursday’s game was fast-paced and physical, with Fairfax Christian showing some fight early but getting slowly worn down by the depth and athleticism of the Eagles. Coleman led the way with 16 points and Carpenter added 13 as the Eagles led for double digits for most of the evening.
“We’re not doing this for ourselves, we’re doing it for those after us,” Johnson said. “We want to establish National Christian as a nontraditional path — non-WCAC or IAC or what have you — to compete nationally. We’re trying to climb the mountain so relentlessly so that we eventually become the mountain.” | null | null | null | null | null |
By Hank Kurz Jr. | AP
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — North Carolina State coach Wes Moore’s primary emotion seemed to be relief.
“We’ve just got to understand night in and night out that we’ve got to bring the energy and bring the urgency,” Moore said. “... If we don’t clean some of this stuff up -- a close game, maybe an off-shooting night, we’re going to be in trouble.” | null | null | null | null | null |
Biden is nominating Sarah Bloom Raskin, Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson to the Fed’s open seats, per a person familiar with the nomination process.
Sarah Bloom Raskin, a former deputy treasury secretary, will be the the Fed's vice chair for supervision. (Reuters/Yuri Gripas/File)
The Washington Post previously reported that the White House was strongly considering a package of Raskin, Cook and Jefferson, though it was unclear when the nominations would take place, as the process has been stalled over months. The seven-seat Fed board has operated with at least one open slot for all of the first year of Biden’s presidency, and people close to the Fed, Hill and White House have long expressed frustration that the White House did not move sooner to fill the Fed given its tremendous role getting control of inflation and protecting the economic recovery.
The nominations come at a highly consequential time for the central bank — and for Biden’s broader economic agenda. The Fed is charged with keeping prices stable and fostering full employment, and the central bank played an enormous role propping up the economy throughout the covid era.
But the Fed is rapidly withdrawing that support and is now preparing to combat the highest inflation in 40 years by raising interest rates for the first time since the pandemic began. Fed leaders are projecting at least three rate hikes that could begin as early as March. In recent weeks, many Fed experts have expressed concern that the Fed would be operating with multiple empty seats as it undertook such a major policy shift.
The Fed closely guards its separation from politics, but its decisions will also weigh heavily on Biden’s economic legacy. Despite tremendous growth in the labor market and a strong recovery from the covid recession, inflation has emerged as a chief economic threat — and a litmus test for how people perceive the economy. Republicans are poised to hammer on inflation going into the 2022 midterms, and they blame Democrats’ sprawling stimulus measures for overheating the economy.
Democrats have been particularly focused on whom Biden would tap to be banking cop, in hopes that Biden would nominate a progressive regulator who will strengthen rules on the banking system. Raskin previously served as deputy secretary of the Obama administration’s Treasury Department from 2014 to 2017. She also served as a governor on the Fed board from 2010 to 2014.
Raskin has also called attention to the risks climate change poses to the financial system and the need for regulators to respond in her more recent work in academia. Raskin teaches at Duke University School of Law. She is a distinguished fellow of Duke Law School’s Global Financial Markets Center and has spoken about the economic and financial stability risks tied to climate change.
Cook’s nomination had long been supported — and pushed — by the chair of the Senate Banking Committee, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), according to people close to the Hill and familiar with the nomination process.
Jefferson is vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty at Davidson College. He previously worked as an economist for the Fed’s board of governors, as well as for the New York Fed. His research has focused on inequality, how business cycles affect poverty rates and the role of education as a shield against unemployment. The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News previously reported on Jefferson’s candidacy.
In November, Biden reappointed Fed chair Jerome H. Powell to a second term and elevated Brainard, the Fed’s lone Democrat, to vice chair. Powell’s and Brainard’s nomination hearings took place before the Senate Banking Committee this week. Both are expected to be confirmed. | null | null | null | null | null |
Silver Spring man dies in Howard County crash
A 27-year-old driver died in a single-car crash Thursday evening after his vehicle left a Laurel-area roadway and overturned, Howard County police said.
Authorities identified the driver as 27-year-old Rony Sibrian, who lived in Silver Spring, according to a police statement. Sibrian was driving southbound on Route 29 when his 2002 Toyota Avalon left the road, hit an embankment and crashed about 5:04 p.m., police said.
He was taken to Howard County General Hospital where he was pronounced dead, the statement said.
Police are investigating the cause of the crash, officials said. | null | null | null | null | null |
In a move that stunned the prosecution, at the sentencing hearing last week, Adams County Judge Robert Adrian overturned his decision finding Drew Clinton guilty of one count of criminal sexual assault to avoid sending the teenager to prison for the minimum of four years.
Eliciting criticism from victims’ advocates and shocking the 16-year-old and her parents, Adrian sided with Clinton’s attorneys, who argued that the 18-year-old should not be sent to prison because of his age, educational abilities and lack of a criminal record.
The district attorney said the decision was a blow to the victim’s healing, but the judge said the prosecution failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the girl, Cameron Vaughan, had not given consent. He also blamed adults for providing alcohol to the teenagers at a party the night of the alleged attack.
On Oct. 15, Clinton was found guilty on one of three counts, of digitally penetrating Cameron without consent, and faced a mandatory minimum sentence of four years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Adrian reversed his decision following a pair of post-trial motions by Clinton’s attorney, explaining that the only way to circumvent the mandatory sentence was to overturn his previous verdict — which fueled a wave of ire against him.
At a time when rape and sexual assault are some of the least reported violent crimes, advocates fear such a decision could discourage victims from seeking justice. For Cameron, it has become an opportunity to urge other women to speak up.
“She was just getting to the point where the wounds were slowly starting to heal,” said her father, Scott Vaughan. “But the judge basically just ripped the scab right back off.”
Cameron said she and her friends went to a graduation party on May 30, where alcohol was involved and the teenagers jumped into the pool in their underwear. She said she passed out after drinking “way too much.” About 5 a.m., she said she woke up to Clinton pushing a pillow down on her face and sexually assaulting her.
“I said ‘stop,’ and he either didn’t hear or didn’t want to listen,” she said. “And then after I put my pants up and started leaving the room, he jumped up and started playing video games as if he didn’t even do anything.”
Andrew Schnack, who represented Clinton, said the girl had given consent, which his client told police and had testified to on the witness stand.
Adams County Assistant State’s Attorney Anita Rodriguez, who prosecutes sex crimes for the office, said the verdict was a setback.
“When a guilty verdict or a plea of guilty to the sexual assault is entered, it is a step forward in the healing process because the guilty verdict tells the victim ‘I believe you,’” she wrote in an email. “When the guilty verdict is taken away, it places the victim ‘emotionally’ back in the same position they were in before.”
Thousands of people have signed an online petition demanding that Adrian be charged with abuse of judicial discretion and power.
After the decision, Quincy Area Network Against Domestic Abuse (Quanada) warned in a statement: “If you are raped, avoid Judge Adrian’s courtroom.”
Tensions reached a high Wednesday, when Adrian kicked out Josh Jones, the lead trial attorney for the same office prosecuting Clinton, from a proceeding over a crash that killed four people. Adrian said he could not be “fair” to Jones, because his wife saw that Jones had liked a Facebook comment attacking him. Jones said the post was from Quanada, the Herald-Whig reported.
“I can’t be fair with you. Get out,” Adrian said, according to the report.
Schnack, however, said Adrian has garnered a reputation for “giving everyone a fair trial” since he was first elected to court in 2010.
Megan Duesterhaus, Quanada’s executive director, said victims’ advocates have felt Adrian has been fair in the past, despite disagreements, but his comments in the Clinton case went too far.
Adrian’s actions have drawn parallels to the Brock Turner case — in which the judge feared imprisonment would have a “severe” impact on a star Stanford University swimmer convicted of sexual assault.
Such cases underscore a trend in which victims are denied justice at the expense of young, White men with seemingly promising careers, said Scott Berkowitz, founder and president of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization.
Rape and sexual assault are among the least reported violent crimes, according to the Justice Department. Less than a quarter of rape and sexual assault crimes were reported to police in 2020, down from about one-third the year before, according to a Justice Department report.
The Vaughans have considered seeking justice in civil court but were skeptical about success given the reversal, Scott Vaughan said. The judge’s decision dealt a devastating blow to the family and Cameron, a onetime honor-roll athlete who has spent months in therapy since a suicide attempt weeks after the alleged assault.
Since news of the judge’s reversal, Cameron has received an outpouring of support and found a new purpose for sharing her story.
“Even though I didn’t get the justice that I should have, I’ve had multiple girls text me saying that my story has helped them come out with theirs,” she said. “That’s why I want my story out there.” | null | null | null | null | null |
As a kid growing up in Canada, Tom Wilson had two dreams. One was to win the Stanley Cup, and the other was to win a gold medal. The Washington Capitals winger has already achieved the former; it’s the latter that remains elusive.
Wilson, 27, was in the conversation for Team Canada before the 2022 Winter Olympics, though he was considered a long shot for Beijing. But that hope was dashed last month, when the NHL backed out of the Games amid the coronavirus surge.
Wilson didn’t think his name would be in the mix to make Team Canada so early in his NHL career. However, when the idea became a brief possibility — then was abruptly taken away — Wilson was left with disappointment.
“It sucks that in this moment and in this time there wasn’t an opportunity to kind of see the process through,” said Wilson, a Toronto native. “But my focus has been with the Capitals, and it will remain with the Capitals. In a couple years time, if the conversation is still going, I will do my best to play at my highest level and be there [next time].”
Merely being mentioned in the Olympics conversation signaled the growth of Wilson’s game. He has made steady improvements since breaking into the league as a 19-year-old and has nine goals and 15 assists in his ninth season in Washington.
Tom Wilson takes on mentorship role with Capitals’ young players
“Sometimes guys that play certain roles, they get so focused on, ‘Oh, I got to go out and fight,’ ” Wilson said. “I can’t do that. I’m expected to go out and score and make plays as well. I have to be able to flip that switch very quickly if need be, and I’ve just sort of learned how to do it through trial and error.”
MacLellan said he’s happy with the on-ice balance Wilson has struck physically, but he believes there is still room for Wilson to improve his offensive game.
Wilson had previous ties with Hockey Canada, competing in under-17 and under-18 tournaments. He also participated in tryouts for Canada’s world junior championship team in 2012 but was cut.
“Playing for Hockey Canada at such a young age and being in that program was so good for my career because they demand the utmost excellence possible,” Wilson said. “There’s no room for error. … You learn what it takes to be a pro.”
Ward tried to show him the ropes and often tried to get Wilson to be more like “Shaquille O’Neal in the paint,” controlling his body like the former NBA great despite his size and strength.
“To me he will always be young Willy. … He is a big, young, goofy kid,” Ward said. “I’m just happy for him, happy to see him succeed.”
Wilson did not get the chance to see the Olympic process through this year but said he was honored just to be mentioned with some of the top players in the game.
He has vivid memories of watching the Olympics growing up, particularly the Vancouver Games in 2010. He was playing in a youth hockey tournament at the same time of the gold medal game between Canada and the United States. At the rink, his team could see televisions above a bar. Even as they were out on the ice, players were trying to sneak peeks. | null | null | null | null | null |
In less than a month, the United States brought in a new general manager and coaching staff. Instead of NHL stars, the Americans assembled a team of players competing in at the NCAA level, in European leagues or on minor league teams. The roster includes seven players with NHL experience, eight playing professionally in Europe and 15 competing in college hockey.
Vanbiesbrouck is the third general manager to handle roster preparations for Beijing. In December, Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin took over for former Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman, who resigned after an investigation determined Bowman failed to take sufficient action after he was informed of a sexual assault allegation in 2010. Guerin stepped down from Team USA after the league withdrew from Beijing in December.
NHL players competed in five consecutive Winter Olympics from 1998 through 2014. The United States earned silver medals in 2002 and 2010 after gold medal game losses to Canada in both years. Team USA has not won a gold medal in the men’s event since 1980. | null | null | null | null | null |
Biden is nominating Sarah Bloom Raskin, Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson to the Fed’s open seats, a person familiar with the nomination process said
Sarah Bloom Raskin, a former deputy treasury secretary, was picked to be the Fed’s vice chair for supervision. (Yuri Gripas/Reuters)
The Washington Post previously reported that the White House was strongly considering a package of Raskin, Cook and Jefferson, though it was unclear when the nominations would take place, as the process has been stalled over months. The seven-seat Fed board has operated with at least one open slot for all of the first year of Biden’s presidency, and people close to the Fed, Capitol Hill and White House have long expressed frustration that the White House did not move sooner to fill the Fed posts given its tremendous role getting control of inflation and protecting the economic recovery.
The nominations come at a highly consequential time for the central bank — and for Biden’s broader economic agenda. The Fed is charged with keeping prices stable and fostering full employment, and the central bank has played an enormous role propping up the economy throughout the pandemic.
But the Fed is rapidly withdrawing that support and is now preparing to combat the highest inflation in 40 years by raising interest rates for the first time since the pandemic began. Fed leaders are projecting at least three rate increases that could begin as early as March. In recent weeks, many Fed experts have expressed concern that the Fed would be operating with multiple empty seats as it undertook such a major policy shift.
The Fed closely guards its separation from politics, but its decisions will also weigh heavily on Biden’s economic legacy. Despite tremendous growth in the labor market and a strong recovery from the coronavirus recession, inflation has emerged as a chief economic threat — and a litmus test for how people perceive the economy. Republicans are poised to hammer on inflation going into the 2022 midterms, and they blame Democrats’ sprawling stimulus measures for overheating the economy.
Democrats have been particularly focused on whom Biden would tap to be banking cop, in hopes that he would nominate a liberal regulator who would strengthen rules on the banking system. Raskin previously served as deputy secretary of the Obama administration’s Treasury Department from 2014 to 2017. She also served as a governor on the Fed board from 2010 to 2014.
Raskin also has called attention to the risks climate change poses to the financial system and the need for regulators to respond in her more recent work in academia. Raskin teaches at Duke University School of Law. She is a distinguished fellow of Duke Law School’s Global Financial Markets Center and has spoken about the economic and financial stability risks tied to climate change.
Cook’s nomination had long been supported — and pushed — by the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), according to people close to the Hill and familiar with the nomination process.
In November, Biden reappointed Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell to a second term and elevated Brainard, the Fed’s lone Democrat, to vice chair. Nomination hearings for Powell and Brainard took place before the Senate Banking Committee this week. Both are expected to be confirmed. | null | null | null | null | null |
South Carolina players celebrate a three pointer during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Texas A&M Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, in Columbia, S.C. South Carolina won 65-45. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kianna Smith and Hailey Van Lith each scored 20 points, with Van Lith making a couple of clutch baskets to spark a critical 9-0 run in the final minutes to help Louisville escape Syracuse.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Elissa Cunane had 10 points and 10 rebounds in just 19 minutes of action and No. 4 North Carolina State stretched its winning streak against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents to 14 with a victory over Virginia.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Grace Berger scored 22 points and Indiana survived a late push from Nebraska to win.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Jordan Horston scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Tennessee beat Vanderbilt for their seventh straight victory.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Naz Hillmon had 21 points, Leigha Brown scored 15 of her 17 points in the first half and Michigan beat Penn State for its sixth straight win in the series.
BATON ROUGE, La. — Khayla Pointer scored at the basket with five seconds left in overtime to liift LSU past Missouri, in a shootout between the two top-shooting teams in the Southeastern Conference.
ATLANTA — Lorela Cubaj scored a career-high 24 points and Georgia Tech closed on a 13-2 run for a victory over Florida State.
DURHAM, N.C. — Elizabeth Kitley had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Aisha Sheppard hit three fourth-quarter 3-pointers as Virginia Tech beat Duke.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Dara Mabrey scored a season-best 22 points, Olivia Miles added 15 points and 12 assists and No. 20 Notre Dame built a big lead early and cruised to a victory over Wake Forest. | null | null | null | null | null |
“It’s huge,” Barzal said. “Everyone knows where we’re at in the standings. We have a lot games in hands, we have to start winning hockey games. ... It was a good team win.”
“It’s been a challenging first 20-something games for us as a group,” Parise said. “Now, we are close to getting a full lineup back. ... We are playing some good hockey, we’re finding some different ways to win. Special teams are coming together. We are getting back to that stingy hockey we are comfortable playing.” | null | null | null | null | null |
The Eagles declined to comment through a spokesman and Raiche was not available. The Vikings did not respond to a request for comment. They are searching for a replacement for Rick Spielman, who was fired along with coach Mike Zimmer, following a season in which the Vikings missed the playoffs with a record of 8-9.
Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins hired Kim Ng as general manager in November 2020. The only time a woman has been a general manager for an NFL team was in the 1980s, when Susan Tose Spencer, an executive with the Eagles and the daughter of then-owner Leonard Tose, served in the role.
But the NFL has only one Black head coach, Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin, after the Miami Dolphins fired Brian Flores this week following a second straight winning season and the Texans fired Culley on Thursday. Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, said Tuesday “there is a double standard” in the league regarding teams retaining and hiring Black head coaches. Vincent also said that progress has been made in other areas and he’s hopeful of further gains. | null | null | null | null | null |
Hong Kong Extends Curbs; VW Closes China Factory: Virus Update
Hong Kong will extend social restrictions through the end of the Lunar New Year to help contain an omicron outbreak that’s taken local cases to about 60, local media reported. In the meantime, South Korea eased some curbs on gatherings in the lead-up to the festivities early next month.
The closing of the VW plant may hit production of Tayron, Tayron X and Tayron plug-in hybrid models, and the Audi Q3, the company said. The company, which has tested all employees twice this week, expects to resume output “very soon” and catch up on lost production. VW has around 8,000 employees in Tianjin. The Toyota plant produces around 500,000 vehicles a year, including popular models such as the Corolla sedan and Rav4 SUV.
Tianjin, a port city of 14 million and a major production hub for foreign businesses, is just 30 minutes from Beijing by train and adjacent to Hebei province, which is hosting most of the snow sports during next month’s Winter Olympics.
Covid infections in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, should start hitting a plateau next week, though it would be at a relatively high level of patients in hospitals and intensive care units, the state’s deputy secretary for health, Susan Pearce, told reporters Friday. | null | null | null | null | null |
German Cases Soar; Stranded Hong Kong Bankers: Virus Update
Hong Kong will extend a ban on flights from the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan and the Philippines through Feb. 4, the South China Morning Post reported. Chief Executive Carrie Lam will announce the measures at a press conference later on Friday, the paper said.
At least a dozen Hong Kong-based managing directors at banks ranging from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp. to Morgan Stanley and UBS Group AG are stranded in countries from the U.S. to Australia because of the flight bans, people familiar with the matter said.
• Virus Tracker: Cases near 320 million; deaths pass 5.5 million
• China outbreak reaches six provinces as omicron takes hold
No Need to Wear Masks Outdoors in Paris (2:23 p.m.)
Australia’s Worst Outbreak Near Peak (1:15 p.m. HK)
The country’s most recent Covid-19 wave could peak within weeks, government officials said, potentially easing pressure on crowded hospitals and businesses struggling with supply issues. The country is experiencing its worst outbreak since the start of the pandemic with more than 100,000 cases being posted daily, fueled by the now dominant omicron strain. The variant makes up about 90% of cases and two-thirds of ICU admissions in its most populous state, New South Wales.
The city will extend social restrictions through the end of the Lunar New Year to help contain an omicron outbreak that’s taken local cases to about 60, local media reported. | null | null | null | null | null |
Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers (5-11, 1-3 NEC) at Bryant Bulldogs (7-8, 3-1 NEC)
Smithfield, Rhode Island; Saturday, 1 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Charles Pride and the Bryant Bulldogs host Jalen Benjamin and the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers in NEC action.
The Bulldogs have gone 3-1 at home. Bryant has a 3-7 record against opponents above .500.
The Mountaineers are 1-3 in NEC play. Mount St. Mary’s is 2-8 against opponents over .500.
TOP PERFORMERS: Pride is shooting 42.9% and averaging 15.0 points for the Bulldogs. Peter Kiss is averaging 14.8 points over the last 10 games for Bryant.
Benjamin is scoring 13.2 points per game and averaging 2.5 rebounds for the Mountaineers. Nana Opoku is averaging 11.8 points and 6.1 rebounds over the last 10 games for Mount St. Mary’s. | null | null | null | null | null |
Boeheim leads Syracuse against Florida State after 24-point game
Florida State Seminoles (9-5, 3-2 ACC) at Syracuse Orange (8-8, 2-3 ACC)
BOTTOM LINE: Syracuse hosts the Florida State Seminoles after Buddy Boeheim scored 24 points in Syracuse’s 77-61 victory against the Pittsburgh Panthers.
The Orange have gone 6-2 at home. Syracuse scores 78.4 points and has outscored opponents by 2.8 points per game.
The Seminoles are 3-2 in conference matchups. Florida State is second in the ACC with 10.1 offensive rebounds per game led by Malik Osborne averaging 2.3.
The teams meet for the 10th time in conference play this season. The Orange won 63-60 in the last matchup on Dec. 4. Cole Swider led the Orange with 16 points, and Caleb Mills led the Seminoles with 16 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Joseph Girard III averages 2.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Orange, scoring 13.6 points while shooting 45.1% from beyond the arc. Boeheim is averaging 18.9 points and 3.8 assists over the past 10 games for Syracuse.
Mills is scoring 12.6 points per game with 2.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists for the Seminoles. Matthew Cleveland is averaging 7.6 points and 2.7 rebounds while shooting 49.4% over the past 10 games for Florida State. | null | null | null | null | null |
Cornell visits Yale after Swain's 21-point outing
Cornell Big Red (8-5, 1-2 Ivy League) at Yale Bulldogs (6-8)
Ithaca, New York; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Yale hosts the Cornell Big Red after Azar Swain scored 21 points in Yale’s 87-60 loss to the Saint Mary’s Gaels.
The Bulldogs have gone 4-2 in home games. Yale is 2-6 against opponents over .500.
The Big Red are 1-2 in conference play. Cornell leads the Ivy League with 18.1 assists. Kobe Dickson paces the Big Red with 3.1.
TOP PERFORMERS: Swain is averaging 19.4 points for the Bulldogs. Matthue Cotton is averaging 10.3 points over the last 10 games for Yale.
Dickson is averaging 6.2 points and 3.1 assists for the Big Red. Keller Boothby is averaging 8.8 points over the last 10 games for Cornell. | null | null | null | null | null |
Dartmouth plays Pennsylvania, aims to stop road losing streak
Dartmouth Big Green (4-9, 1-1 Ivy League) at Pennsylvania Quakers (5-11, 2-1 Ivy League)
BOTTOM LINE: Dartmouth will attempt to stop its six-game road slide when the Big Green play Pennsylvania.
The Quakers are 3-2 on their home court. Pennsylvania is sixth in the Ivy League scoring 70.2 points while shooting 43.4% from the field.
The Big Green are 1-1 against conference opponents. Dartmouth ranks fourth in the Ivy League shooting 35.6% from 3-point range.
The Quakers and Big Green match up Saturday for the first time in Ivy League play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jordan Dingle is averaging 19.1 points for the Quakers. Max Martz is averaging 6.4 points over the last 10 games for Pennsylvania.
Aaryn Rai is averaging 11.3 points and 7.1 rebounds for the Big Green. Brendan Barry is averaging 11.7 points over the past 10 games for Dartmouth.
LAST 10 GAMES: Quakers: 3-7, averaging 70.6 points, 29.6 rebounds, 12.8 assists, 5.5 steals and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 44.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.1 points per game. | null | null | null | null | null |
Glover, Samford Bulldogs square off against the East Tennessee State Buccaneers
East Tennessee State Buccaneers (10-8, 2-3 SoCon) at Samford Bulldogs (11-5, 1-3 SoCon)
BOTTOM LINE: David Sloan and the East Tennessee State Buccaneers visit Ques Glover and the Samford Bulldogs on Saturday.
The Bulldogs are 6-1 on their home court. Samford averages 74.9 points and has outscored opponents by 1.4 points per game.
The Buccaneers are 2-3 against SoCon opponents. East Tennessee State is ninth in the SoCon scoring 70.4 points per game and is shooting 43.7%.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jaden Campbell is shooting 38.3% from beyond the arc with 1.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Bulldogs, while averaging 10.8 points. Glover is shooting 47.4% and averaging 15.9 points over the past 10 games for Samford.
Jordan King averages 2.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Buccaneers, scoring 12.0 points while shooting 41.1% from beyond the arc. Sloan is averaging 12.4 points, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals over the past 10 games for East Tennessee State. | null | null | null | null | null |
Morgan State hosts Coppin State after Corbett's 23-point game
Coppin State Eagles (2-14, 1-0 MEAC) at Morgan State Bears (6-7, 1-0 MEAC)
BOTTOM LINE: Coppin State visits the Morgan State Bears after Tyree Corbett scored 23 points in Coppin State’s 74-65 win against the South Carolina State Bulldogs.
The Bears have gone 4-1 in home games. Morgan State is fourth in the MEAC with 34.2 points per game in the paint led by Keith McGee averaging 0.7.
The Eagles are 1-0 in MEAC play. Coppin State ranks eighth in the MEAC scoring 24.4 points per game in the paint led by Corbett averaging 2.8.
The Bears and Eagles square off Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Sheryn Devonish is averaging 6.8 points, 3.8 assists and 1.7 steals for the Bears. Isaiah Burke is averaging 9.2 points and 1.2 rebounds while shooting 46.5% over the last 10 games for Morgan State.
Jesse Zarzuela is shooting 36.4% and averaging 15.7 points for the Eagles. Corbett is averaging 11.7 points over the last 10 games for Coppin State. | null | null | null | null | null |
James Madison Dukes (10-3, 1-1 CAA) at William & Mary Tribe (3-12, 2-0 CAA)
BOTTOM LINE: JMU faces the William & Mary Tribe after Vado Morse scored 20 points in JMU’s 89-66 win against the Northeastern Huskies.
The Tribe have gone 3-4 in home games. William & Mary averages 16.9 turnovers per game and is 2-2 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents.
The Dukes have gone 1-1 against CAA opponents. JMU is fifth in the CAA with 23.4 defensive rebounds per game led by Takal Molson averaging 4.2.
The Tribe and Dukes square off Saturday for the first time in CAA play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Tyler Rice is averaging seven points and 3.6 assists for the Tribe. Connor Kochera is averaging 11.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals over the past 10 games for William & Mary.
Morse is averaging 12.4 points and 1.5 steals for the Dukes. Molson is averaging 11.3 points over the last 10 games for JMU. | null | null | null | null | null |
No. 22 Tennessee visits No. 18 Kentucky following Tshiebwe's 30-point showing
Tennessee Volunteers (11-4, 2-2 SEC) at Kentucky Wildcats (13-3, 3-1 SEC)
Lexington, Kentucky; Saturday, 1 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: No. 18 Kentucky hosts the No. 22 Tennessee Volunteers after Oscar Tshiebwe scored 30 points in Kentucky’s 78-66 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores.
The Wildcats have gone 11-0 at home. Kentucky averages 17.4 assists per game to lead the SEC, paced by Sahvir Wheeler with 6.8.
The Volunteers are 2-2 in SEC play. Tennessee is 11-3 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 11.5 turnovers per game.
The Wildcats and Volunteers face off Saturday for the first time in SEC play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Tshiebwe is scoring 17.0 points per game and averaging 15.0 rebounds for the Wildcats. Kellan Grady is averaging 2.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Kentucky.
Santiago Vescovi is averaging 13.6 points, 3.4 assists and 2.1 steals for the Volunteers. Josiah-Jordan James is averaging 1.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Tennessee. | null | null | null | null | null |
North Dakota State faces Western Illinois after Kreuser's 24-point outing
Western Illinois Leathernecks (10-6, 2-3 Summit) at North Dakota State Bison (11-5, 3-1 Summit)
Fargo, North Dakota; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: North Dakota State hosts the Western Illinois Leathernecks after Rocky Kreuser scored 24 points in North Dakota State’s 87-69 win over the Denver Pioneers.
The Bison are 7-1 in home games. North Dakota State is seventh in the Summit with 30.5 points per game in the paint led by Grant Nelson averaging 1.2.
The Leathernecks are 2-3 against Summit opponents. Western Illinois ranks sixth in the Summit shooting 34.7% from deep. Will Carius leads the Leathernecks shooting 42.4% from 3-point range.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kreuser is scoring 15.3 points per game with 8.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists for the Bison. Nelson is averaging 11.4 points over the last 10 games for North Dakota State.
Tamell Pearson is averaging 9.6 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Leathernecks. Carius is averaging 3.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Western Illinois. | null | null | null | null | null |
Saint Thomas Tommies (8-8, 2-2 Summit) at North Dakota Fightin’ Hawks (4-13, 0-5 Summit)
BOTTOM LINE: St. Thomas faces the North Dakota Fightin’ Hawks after Parker Bjorklund scored 21 points in St. Thomas’ 81-66 loss to the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.
The Fightin’ Hawks have gone 3-5 at home. North Dakota is 2-2 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 11.7 turnovers per game.
The Fightin’ Hawks and Tommies match up Saturday for the first time in Summit play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bentiu Panoam is averaging 5.8 points for the Fightin’ Hawks. Paul Bruns is averaging 14.1 points and 5.1 rebounds over the last 10 games for North Dakota. | null | null | null | null | null |
SMU Mustangs (12-4, 3-1 AAC) at Tulane Green Wave (7-7, 4-1 AAC)
BOTTOM LINE: Tulane hosts the SMU Mustangs after Jaylen Forbes scored 20 points in Tulane’s 68-67 victory over the Wichita State Shockers.
The Green Wave have gone 4-2 at home. Tulane is 2-1 in games decided by at least 10 points.
The Mustangs are 3-1 against AAC opponents. SMU is sixth in the AAC with 9.3 offensive rebounds per game led by Marcus Weathers averaging 2.3.
The Green Wave and Mustangs square off Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kevin Cross is averaging 13.9 points, six rebounds and 3.5 assists for the Green Wave. Forbes is averaging 1.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Tulane.
Kendric Davis is shooting 46.5% and averaging 20.9 points for the Mustangs. Emmanuel Bandoumel is averaging 1.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for SMU. | null | null | null | null | null |
HOUSTON — David Culley was fired as coach of the Houston Texans, a move that leaves the NFL with one Black head coach: Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin. Miami’s Brian Flores was fired this week after leading his team to a 9-8 record.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — With the Super Bowl just one month away, preparations are in full swing for the return of the NFL’s premier event to the place where it all started.
NEW YORK — Baseball labor talks to end the lockout resumed for the first time in 1 1/2 months with little evident progress during a bargaining session that lasted about an hour, jeopardizing a timely start to spring training,
NEW YORK — Washington star Alexander Ovechkin and high-scoring Edmonton teammates Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl headline the rosters for the NHL All-Star Weekend. | null | null | null | null | null |
Djokovic’s lawyers have indicated they intend to seek a court order in a bid to allow him to stay and play in the Australian Open, Australia’s ABC News reported.
Djokovic, the defending Australian Open champion, is pursuing a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title. He has won the Melbourne event nine times, and was included in the tournament draw as the top seed on Thursday. | null | null | null | null | null |
Bieniemy leads UTEP against Old Dominion after 21-point game
UTEP Miners (8-8, 1-3 C-USA) at Old Dominion Monarchs (7-8, 2-0 C-USA)
BOTTOM LINE: UTEP visits the Old Dominion Monarchs after Jamal Bieniemy scored 21 points in UTEP’s 66-53 loss to the Charlotte 49ers.
The Monarchs are 4-2 in home games. Old Dominion scores 66.7 points while outscoring opponents by 1.2 points per game.
The Miners are 1-3 against C-USA opponents. UTEP has a 0-1 record in one-possession games.
The Monarchs and Miners match up Saturday for the first time in C-USA play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jaylin Hunter is averaging 9.7 points, 4.5 assists and 1.9 steals for the Monarchs. C.J. Keyser is averaging 10.8 points over the last 10 games for Old Dominion.
Bieniemy is averaging 14.6 points, 3.4 assists and two steals for the Miners. Souley Boum is averaging 13.1 points over the last 10 games for UTEP. | null | null | null | null | null |
Burns, Winthrop Eagles take on the Charleston Southern Buccaneers
Winthrop Eagles (9-6, 2-0 Big South) at Charleston Southern Buccaneers (3-12, 0-3 Big South)
BOTTOM LINE: Charleston Southern plays Winthrop in a matchup of Big South teams.
The Buccaneers are 2-5 in home games. Charleston Southern is fifth in the Big South scoring 69.9 points while shooting 40.9% from the field.
The Eagles are 2-0 in Big South play. Winthrop ranks fourth in the Big South with 24.9 defensive rebounds per game led by Cory Hightower averaging 5.4.
The Buccaneers and Eagles meet Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Tahlik Chavez is scoring 10.2 points per game with 2.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists for the Buccaneers. Claudell Harris Jr. is averaging 8.6 points over the last 10 games for Charleston Southern.
Hightower is averaging 11.3 points and 6.3 rebounds for the Eagles. D.J. Burns is averaging 15 points over the last 10 games for Winthrop.
LAST 10 GAMES: Buccaneers: 1-9, averaging 64.4 points, 30.7 rebounds, 13 assists, seven steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 40.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.7 points per game. | null | null | null | null | null |
Georgia Southern visits South Alabama after Manning's 20-point game
Georgia Southern Eagles (8-6, 1-2 Sun Belt) at South Alabama Jaguars (11-5, 1-2 Sun Belt)
Mobile, Alabama; Saturday, 5 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: South Alabama hosts the Georgia Southern Eagles after Charles Manning Jr. scored 20 points in South Alabama’s 74-65 win against the Georgia State Panthers.
The Jaguars have gone 8-1 at home. South Alabama averages 75 points while outscoring opponents by 11.3 points per game.
The Eagles have gone 1-2 against Sun Belt opponents. Georgia Southern is sixth in the Sun Belt with 24.6 defensive rebounds per game led by Andrei Savrasov averaging 4.1.
TOP PERFORMERS: Manning is averaging 17.4 points and 3.6 assists for the Jaguars. Jay Jay Chandler is averaging 15.4 points over the last 10 games for South Alabama.
Elijah McCadden is averaging 11.9 points for the Eagles. Kamari Brown is averaging 10.6 points over the last 10 games for Georgia Southern.
Eagles: 4-6, averaging 66.7 points, 31.7 rebounds, 11.5 assists, 7.5 steals and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69 points. | null | null | null | null | null |
Gipson leads Tarleton State against Grand Canyon after 23-point outing
Tarleton State Texans (8-10, 3-2 WAC) at Grand Canyon Antelopes (14-2, 4-0 WAC)
BOTTOM LINE: Tarleton State takes on the Grand Canyon Antelopes after Montre’ Gipson scored 23 points in Tarleton State’s 73-57 loss to the New Mexico State Aggies.
The Antelopes have gone 9-1 in home games. Grand Canyon is the top team in the WAC shooting 37.2% from downtown, led by Aidan Igiehon shooting 100.0% from 3-point range.
The Texans are 3-2 in conference games. Tarleton State ranks sixth in the WAC giving up 64.4 points while holding opponents to 44.1% shooting.
The Antelopes and Texans square off Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jovan Blacksher Jr. is shooting 42.7% from beyond the arc with 2.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Antelopes, while averaging 16.9 points, 4.2 assists and two steals. Holland Woods is averaging 13.6 points over the past 10 games for Grand Canyon.
Tahj Small is shooting 35.9% from beyond the arc with 1.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Texans, while averaging 14.7 points and 5.4 rebounds. Gipson is averaging 14.8 points over the past 10 games for Tarleton State. | null | null | null | null | null |
Hampton hosts Presbyterian after Harrison's 21-point outing
Presbyterian Blue Hose (8-10, 0-3 Big South) at Hampton Pirates (4-9, 0-2 Big South)
Hampton, Virginia; Saturday, 5:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Presbyterian faces the Hampton Pirates after Rayshon Harrison scored 21 points in Presbyterian’s 64-61 loss to the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs.
The Pirates are 3-1 on their home court. Hampton is 3-6 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 11.8 turnovers per game.
The Blue Hose have gone 0-3 against Big South opponents. Presbyterian has a 2-2 record in games decided by less than 4 points.
The Pirates and Blue Hose meet Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Najee Garvin is averaging 15.8 points and 5.8 rebounds for the Pirates. Russell Dean is averaging 12.3 points over the last 10 games for Hampton.
Harrison is scoring 17.2 points per game with 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists for the Blue Hose. Winston Hill is averaging 12.9 points and 6.4 rebounds over the past 10 games for Presbyterian. | null | null | null | null | null |
Horne and the Arizona State Sun Devils host conference foe Colorado
Colorado Buffaloes (11-3, 3-2 Pac-12) at Arizona State Sun Devils (5-8, 1-2 Pac-12)
Tempe, Arizona; Saturday, 10 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Jabari Walker and the Colorado Buffaloes take on DJ Horne and the Arizona State Sun Devils in Pac-12 action.
The Sun Devils are 3-3 in home games. Arizona State allows 67.3 points to opponents and has been outscored by 4.2 points per game.
The Buffaloes are 3-2 in Pac-12 play. Colorado averages 12.9 turnovers per game and is 3-1 when winning the turnover battle.
The Sun Devils and Buffaloes meet Saturday for the first time in Pac-12 play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Marreon Jackson is averaging 7.6 points and four assists for the Sun Devils. Horne is averaging 13.5 points over the last 10 games for Arizona State.
Walker is shooting 46.3% and averaging 13.4 points for the Buffaloes. Evan Battey is averaging eight points over the last 10 games for Colorado.
LAST 10 GAMES: Sun Devils: 3-7, averaging 62.8 points, 31.4 rebounds, 12.2 assists, 6.3 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 38.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.3 points per game.
Buffaloes: 7-3, averaging 65 points, 32.2 rebounds, 12.3 assists, 5.1 steals and three blocks per game while shooting 42.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.5 points. | null | null | null | null | null |
Idaho faces Idaho State on 3-game slide
Idaho Vandals (3-11, 0-4 Big Sky) at Idaho State Bengals (2-11, 0-4 Big Sky)
Pocatello, Idaho; Saturday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Idaho aims to break its three-game slide with a victory over Idaho State.
The Bengals have gone 2-3 at home. Idaho State averages 14 turnovers per game and is 2-1 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents.
The Vandals are 0-4 in Big Sky play. Idaho averages 14.4 turnovers per game and is 0-4 when winning the turnover battle.
The Bengals and Vandals square off Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Tarik Cool is shooting 24.4% from beyond the arc with 0.8 made 3-pointers per game for the Bengals, while averaging 10.3 points. Robert Ford III is averaging 9.1 points over the past 10 games for Idaho State.
Trevante Anderson is averaging 12.1 points and 4.4 assists for the Vandals. Mikey Dixon is averaging 18.8 points and 3.1 rebounds while shooting 49.1% over the past 10 games for Idaho.
LAST 10 GAMES: Bengals: 1-9, averaging 52.5 points, 25.4 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 4.7 steals and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting 36.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69 points per game. | null | null | null | null | null |
Jacksonville State visits Eastern Kentucky after Adams' 24-point showing
Jacksonville State Gamecocks (9-6, 2-0 ASUN) at Eastern Kentucky Colonels (8-9, 0-3 ASUN)
Richmond, Kentucky; Saturday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Jacksonville State faces the Eastern Kentucky Colonels after Darian Adams scored 24 points in Jacksonville State’s 88-83 win over the Lipscomb Bisons.
The Colonels are 7-3 on their home court. Eastern Kentucky is second in the ASUN in rebounding averaging 35.1 rebounds. Devontae Blanton paces the Colonels with 6.2 boards.
The Gamecocks are 2-0 in ASUN play. Jacksonville State is 0-1 in one-possession games.
The Colonels and Gamecocks meet Saturday for the first time in ASUN play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Cooper Robb averages 2.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Colonels, scoring 10.1 points while shooting 38% from beyond the arc. Jannson Williams is averaging 11.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks over the past 10 games for Eastern Kentucky.
Adams is scoring 15.8 points per game with 5.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists for the Gamecocks. Jalen Gibbs is averaging 9.6 points and 2.8 rebounds while shooting 35% over the past 10 games for Jacksonville State.
LAST 10 GAMES: Colonels: 3-7, averaging 74 points, 33.7 rebounds, 14.1 assists, 10.5 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 38.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.5 points per game. | null | null | null | null | null |
Liberty plays FGCU following Robinson's 21-point game
Liberty Flames (11-6, 2-0 ASUN) at Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (11-6, 1-2 ASUN)
BOTTOM LINE: Liberty visits the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles after Shiloh Robinson scored 21 points in Liberty’s 71-56 victory against the North Florida Ospreys.
The Eagles are 9-1 on their home court. FGCU ranks eighth in the ASUN with 28.6 points per game in the paint led by Cyrus Largie averaging 0.5.
The Flames are 2-0 against ASUN opponents. Liberty is seventh in the ASUN scoring 72.4 points per game and is shooting 47.9%.
TOP PERFORMERS: Tavian Dunn-Martin averages 3.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Eagles, scoring 20.5 points while shooting 38% from beyond the arc. Largie is averaging 11.4 points over the past 10 games for FGCU.
Darius McGhee is shooting 38% from beyond the arc with 3.8 made 3-pointers per game for the Flames, while averaging 21.3 points and 3.1 assists. Robinson is averaging 8.8 points over the last 10 games for Liberty.
LAST 10 GAMES: Eagles: 6-4, averaging 72.8 points, 35.4 rebounds, 14.8 assists, seven steals and 4.6 blocks per game while shooting 43.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.7 points per game. | null | null | null | null | null |
Louisiana visits Texas State following Julien's 20-point showing
Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (8-6, 3-1 Sun Belt) at Texas State Bobcats (10-4, 1-1 Sun Belt)
BOTTOM LINE: Louisiana visits the Texas State Bobcats after Kobe Julien scored 20 points in Louisiana’s 83-73 loss to the UT Arlington Mavericks.
The Bobcats are 6-1 in home games. Texas State scores 74.0 points while outscoring opponents by 10.9 points per game.
The Ragin’ Cajuns are 3-1 in conference matchups. Louisiana is 3-2 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 15.1 turnovers per game.
TOP PERFORMERS: Caleb Asberry is averaging 13.7 points for the Bobcats. Isiah Small is averaging 10.7 points and 5.9 rebounds over the last 10 games for Texas State.
Jordan Brown is shooting 47.5% and averaging 14.3 points for the Ragin’ Cajuns. Kentrell Garnett is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Louisiana. | null | null | null | null | null |
Loyola Chicago takes on Indiana State following Norris' 23-point game
Loyola Chicago Ramblers (12-2, 3-0 MVC) at Indiana State Sycamores (8-7, 1-2 MVC)
BOTTOM LINE: Loyola Chicago faces the Indiana State Sycamores after Braden Norris scored 23 points in Loyola Chicago’s 81-74 overtime win over the Valparaiso Beacons.
The Sycamores are 6-0 on their home court. Indiana State averages 75.7 points while outscoring opponents by 4.7 points per game.
The Ramblers are 3-0 in conference matchups. Loyola Chicago has a 9-2 record against teams over .500.
The teams meet for the second time in conference play this season. The Ramblers won 88-76 in the last matchup on Dec. 2. Lucas Williamson led the Ramblers with 20 points, and Xavier Bledson led the Sycamores with 16 points.
Norris is shooting 47.7% from beyond the arc with 2.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Ramblers, while averaging 9.7 points and 4.4 assists. Williamson is shooting 42.3% and averaging 7.6 points over the past 10 games for Loyola Chicago. | null | null | null | null | null |
Middle Tennessee faces Florida International, aims for 8th straight home win
Florida International Panthers (10-6, 0-3 C-USA) at Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (10-6, 1-2 C-USA)
Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Saturday, 6 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Middle Tennessee hosts Florida International aiming to extend its seven-game home winning streak.
The Blue Raiders have gone 7-0 in home games. Middle Tennessee is fourth in C-USA with 34.3 points per game in the paint led by Camryn Weston averaging 1.3.
The Panthers have gone 0-3 against C-USA opponents. Florida International is 3-0 in one-possession games.
TOP PERFORMERS: Josh Jefferson is scoring 13.2 points per game and averaging 2.7 rebounds for the Blue Raiders. Eli Lawrence is averaging 1.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Middle Tennessee.
Tevin Brewer is shooting 40.8% and averaging 15.5 points for the Panthers. Denver Jones is averaging 12.5 points over the last 10 games for Florida International. | null | null | null | null | null |
Mississippi State takes on No. 24 Alabama after Molinar's 28-point game
Alabama Crimson Tide (11-5, 2-2 SEC) at Mississippi State Bulldogs (11-4, 2-1 SEC)
Starkville, Mississippi; Saturday, 6 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Mississippi State hosts the No. 24 Alabama Crimson Tide after Iverson Molinar scored 28 points in Mississippi State’s 88-72 win over the Georgia Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs are 9-1 on their home court. Mississippi State is 1-1 in games decided by less than 4 points.
The Crimson Tide are 2-2 against SEC opponents. Alabama averages 82.1 points and has outscored opponents by 7.7 points per game.
TOP PERFORMERS: Shakeel Moore averages 1.7 made 3-pointers per game for the Bulldogs, scoring 10.5 points while shooting 37.7% from beyond the arc. Molinar is averaging 17.5 points and 4.5 assists over the past 10 games for Mississippi State.
Jaden Shackelford is averaging 16.1 points and 5.9 rebounds for the Crimson Tide. Keon Ellis is averaging 1.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Alabama.
Crimson Tide: 6-4, averaging 81 points, 35.6 rebounds, 15.3 assists, 6.8 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 44.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.9 points. | null | null | null | null | null |
Morris leads UAPB against Florida A&M after 22-point game
Florida A&M Rattlers (3-11, 1-2 SWAC) at Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions (3-14, 1-3 SWAC)
Pine Bluff, Arkansas; Saturday, 6:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: UAPB faces the Florida A&M Rattlers after Dequan Morris scored 22 points in UAPB’s 75-58 loss to the Prairie View A&M Panthers.
The Golden Lions have gone 3-2 in home games. UAPB has a 1-14 record in games decided by 10 points or more.
The Rattlers are 1-2 against SWAC opponents. Florida A&M ranks fourth in the SWAC with 30.1 rebounds per game led by Bryce Moragne averaging 7.2.
TOP PERFORMERS: Shawn Williams is averaging 14.7 points and 3.7 assists for the Golden Lions. Kylen Milton is averaging 8.7 points over the last 10 games for UAPB.
MJ Randolph is shooting 49.3% and averaging 20.1 points for the Rattlers. Moragne is averaging 7.6 points over the last 10 games for Florida A&M. | null | null | null | null | null |
New Mexico hosts Boise State after Jenkins' 26-point outing
Boise State Broncos (11-4, 2-0 MWC) at New Mexico Lobos (7-9, 0-3 MWC)
Albuquerque, New Mexico; Saturday, 5:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: New Mexico hosts the Boise State Broncos after KJ Jenkins scored 26 points in New Mexico’s 85-56 loss to the UNLV Rebels.
The Lobos have gone 6-4 in home games. New Mexico has a 1-2 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer.
The Broncos are 2-0 in conference matchups. Boise State is sixth in the MWC shooting 34.2% from downtown. Kasean Pryor leads the Broncos shooting 60% from 3-point range.
The Lobos and Broncos meet Saturday for the first time in MWC play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Javonte Johnson is averaging nine points and 5.3 rebounds for the Lobos. Jamal Mashburn, Jr. is averaging 11.1 points over the last 10 games for New Mexico.
Abu Kigab is shooting 47.4% and averaging 13.9 points for the Broncos. Marcus Shaver Jr. is averaging 1.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Boise State. | null | null | null | null | null |
No. 4 Auburn visits Ole Miss after Smith's 25-point outing
Auburn Tigers (15-1, 4-0 SEC) at Ole Miss Rebels (9-6, 1-2 SEC)
Oxford, Mississippi; Saturday, 8:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: No. 4 Auburn visits the Ole Miss Rebels after Jabari Smith scored 25 points in Auburn’s 81-77 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide.
The Rebels have gone 8-2 at home. Ole Miss ranks fifth in the SEC shooting 32.4% from downtown, led by Matthew Murrell shooting 42.1% from 3-point range.
The Tigers are 4-0 against SEC opponents. Auburn is 14-1 against opponents over .500.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jarkel Joiner is averaging 13.6 points for the Rebels. Murrell is averaging 1.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Ole Miss.
Smith is shooting 45.7% from beyond the arc with 2.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Tigers, while averaging 16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals. Wendell Green Jr. is shooting 42.3% and averaging 9.5 points over the past 10 games for Auburn.
Tigers: 10-0, averaging 80.2 points, 35.9 rebounds, 15.0 assists, 9.2 steals and 9.3 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.3 points. | null | null | null | null | null |
Notre Dame visits Virginia Tech after Goodwin's 21-point game
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-5, 4-1 ACC) at Virginia Tech Hokies (8-7, 0-4 ACC)
Blacksburg, Virginia; Saturday, 6 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Notre Dame faces the Virginia Tech Hokies after Dane Goodwin scored 21 points in Notre Dame’s 72-56 victory against the Clemson Tigers.
The Hokies are 5-2 in home games. Virginia Tech scores 69.3 points and has outscored opponents by 10.9 points per game.
The Fighting Irish are 4-1 in conference matchups. Notre Dame ranks seventh in the ACC shooting 35.9% from 3-point range.
The Hokies and Fighting Irish meet Saturday for the first time in ACC play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Keve Aluma is averaging 15.7 points and 6.3 rebounds for the Hokies. Hunter Cattoor is averaging 7.4 points over the last 10 games for Virginia Tech.
Goodwin is shooting 45.7% from beyond the arc with 2.1 made 3-pointers per game for the Fighting Irish, while averaging 15.4 points and 5.5 rebounds. Blake Wesley is shooting 43.4% and averaging 10.7 points over the last 10 games for Notre Dame.
Fighting Irish: 7-3, averaging 70.9 points, 29.8 rebounds, 14.3 assists, 5.9 steals and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 45.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.0 points. | null | null | null | null | null |
Pacific (CA) plays Saint Mary's (CA) after Avdalovic's 23-point showing
Pacific (CA) Tigers (5-11, 0-2 WCC) at Saint Mary’s Gaels (12-4, 1-1 WCC)
Moraga, California; Saturday, 7:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Pacific (CA) visits the Saint Mary’s Gaels after Luke Avdalovic scored 23 points in Pacific (CA)’s 84-70 loss to the Santa Clara Broncos.
The Gaels have gone 9-0 in home games. Saint Mary’s (CA) averages 67.2 points and has outscored opponents by 9.4 points per game.
The Tigers are 0-2 in WCC play. Pacific (CA) is ninth in the WCC with 23.1 defensive rebounds per game led by Alphonso Anderson averaging 4.5.
The Gaels and Tigers match up Saturday for the first time in WCC play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Matthias Tass is shooting 60.9% and averaging 12.6 points for the Gaels. Logan Johnson is averaging 7.1 points over the last 10 games for Saint Mary’s (CA).
Pierre Crockrell II is averaging 6.4 points and 4.1 assists for the Tigers. Anderson is averaging eight points over the last 10 games for Pacific (CA). | null | null | null | null | null |
Penn leads Bellarmine against Lipscomb after 38-point performance
Bellarmine Knights (8-8, 2-0 ASUN) at Lipscomb Bisons (8-10, 1-2 ASUN)
BOTTOM LINE: Bellarmine faces the Lipscomb Bisons after Dylan Penn scored 38 points in Bellarmine’s 85-63 win against the Central Arkansas Sugar Bears.
The Bisons have gone 5-2 at home. Lipscomb averages 16.2 assists per game to lead the ASUN, paced by KJ Johnson with 3.9.
The Knights are 2-0 in conference play. Bellarmine ranks fourth in the ASUN with 15.1 assists per game led by Penn averaging 5.2.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jacob Ognacevic is scoring 16.8 points per game and averaging 5.8 rebounds for the Bisons. Greg Jones is averaging 1.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Lipscomb.
Penn is averaging 16.5 points and 5.2 assists for the Knights. Alec Pfriem is averaging 1.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Bellarmine.
LAST 10 GAMES: Bisons: 3-7, averaging 69.4 points, 31 rebounds, 14.5 assists, 3.7 steals and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 43.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 83.8 points per game. | null | null | null | null | null |
Post leads Boston College against Clemson after 24-point game
Boston College Eagles (6-8, 1-3 ACC) at Clemson Tigers (10-6, 2-3 ACC)
Clemson, South Carolina; Saturday, 6:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Boston College visits the Clemson Tigers after Quinten Post scored 24 points in Boston College’s 81-76 loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
The Tigers have gone 6-1 at home. Clemson is 0-1 in games decided by less than 4 points.
The Eagles are 1-3 in conference games. Boston College averages 11.4 turnovers per game and is 2-4 when turning the ball over less than opponents.
The Tigers and Eagles match up Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nick Honor is averaging nine points for the Tigers. PJ Hall is averaging 9.5 points and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 42.6% over the past 10 games for Clemson.
Makai Ashton-Langford is averaging 11.8 points and 3.5 assists for the Eagles. Jaeden Zackery is averaging 7.3 points over the past 10 games for Boston College. | null | null | null | null | null |
Rice visits Marshall following Kinsey's 29-point game
Rice Owls (9-6, 2-2 C-USA) at Marshall Thundering Herd (7-9, 0-3 C-USA)
BOTTOM LINE: Marshall hosts the Rice Owls after Taevion Kinsey scored 29 points in Marshall’s 69-65 loss to the North Texas Mean Green.
The Thundering Herd have gone 6-4 at home. Marshall has a 1-2 record in one-possession games.
The Owls are 2-2 in conference games. Rice averages 13.7 turnovers per game and is 3-0 when committing fewer turnovers than opponents.
TOP PERFORMERS: Andrew Taylor is shooting 28.3% from beyond the arc with 1.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Thundering Herd, while averaging 12.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.2 steals. Kinsey is averaging 16.2 points and 3.6 assists over the last 10 games for Marshall.
Travis Evee averages 2.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Owls, scoring 14.8 points while shooting 43.4% from beyond the arc. Carl Pierre is averaging 11.5 points over the past 10 games for Rice.
LAST 10 GAMES: Thundering Herd: 3-7, averaging 70.3 points, 31.7 rebounds, 13.2 assists, 5.8 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 42% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 80.1 points per game.
Owls: 5-5, averaging 72.2 points, 33.5 rebounds, 14.1 assists, four steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 44.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.8 points. | null | null | null | null | null |
South Florida hosts UCF after Green's 20-point showing
UCF Knights (10-4, 2-2 AAC) at South Florida Bulls (5-10, 0-3 AAC)
BOTTOM LINE: UCF plays the South Florida Bulls after Darin Green Jr. scored 20 points in UCF’s 74-64 victory against the Memphis Tigers.
The Bulls are 4-4 in home games. South Florida is 1-8 in games decided by at least 10 points.
The Knights are 2-2 in AAC play. UCF is eighth in the AAC with 32.4 rebounds per game led by C.J. Walker averaging 6.4.
Darius Perry is averaging 11.5 points, 4.9 assists and 1.6 steals for the Knights. Green is averaging 9.5 points over the last 10 games for UCF.
LAST 10 GAMES: Bulls: 2-8, averaging 58.5 points, 30.7 rebounds, 9.7 assists, 5.3 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 38.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.4 points per game. | null | null | null | null | null |
Stanford Cardinal (10-4, 3-1 Pac-12) at Washington Huskies (7-8, 2-2 Pac-12)
BOTTOM LINE: Washington takes on the Stanford Cardinal after Terrell Brown Jr. scored 21 points in Washington’s 64-55 win over the California Golden Bears.
The Huskies are 6-4 in home games. Washington gives up 67.3 points to opponents and has been outscored by 2.1 points per game.
The Cardinal are 3-1 against Pac-12 opponents. Stanford averages 70.2 points and has outscored opponents by 1.4 points per game.
The Huskies and Cardinal match up Saturday for the first time in Pac-12 play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nate Roberts is averaging 3.8 points and 6.4 rebounds for the Huskies. Brown is averaging 13.6 points over the last 10 games for Washington.
Michael O’Connell is averaging 6.6 points and 4.2 assists for the Cardinal. Jaiden Delaire is averaging eight points over the last 10 games for Stanford. | null | null | null | null | null |
Utah takes on No. 6 Arizona on 4-game skid
Utah Utes (8-8, 1-5 Pac-12) at Arizona Wildcats (12-1, 3-0 Pac-12)
Tucson, Arizona; Saturday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Utah comes into the matchup against No. 6 Arizona after losing four games in a row.
The Wildcats have gone 9-0 at home. Arizona has college basketball’s top-scoring offense averaging 89.9 points while shooting 49.8% from the field.
The Utes are 1-5 in Pac-12 play. Utah ranks sixth in the Pac-12 with nine offensive rebounds per game led by Marco Anthony averaging 2.0.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kerr Kriisa averages 2.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Wildcats, scoring 12.5 points while shooting 37.3% from beyond the arc. Bennedict Mathurin is shooting 55.0% and averaging 13.2 points over the past 10 games for Arizona.
Branden Carlson is averaging 11.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks for the Utes. Both Gach is averaging 8.3 points over the last 10 games for Utah. | null | null | null | null | null |
Vanderbilt faces Georgia after Pippen's 32-point showing
Vanderbilt Commodores (9-6, 1-2 SEC) at Georgia Bulldogs (5-11, 0-3 SEC)
Athens, Georgia; Saturday, 6 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Vanderbilt faces the Georgia Bulldogs after Scotty Pippen Jr. scored 32 points in Vanderbilt’s 78-66 loss to the Kentucky Wildcats.
The Bulldogs have gone 5-6 at home. Georgia is 3-1 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 13.1 turnovers per game.
The Commodores are 1-2 against conference opponents. Vanderbilt has a 2-1 record in one-possession games.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kario Oquendo is shooting 48.5% and averaging 13.8 points for the Bulldogs. Noah Baumann is averaging 1.8 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Georgia.
Pippen is shooting 44.6% and averaging 19.2 points for the Commodores. Jordan Wright is averaging 6.1 points over the last 10 games for Vanderbilt. | null | null | null | null | null |
Zidek, Pepperdine Waves host the Portland Pilots
Portland Pilots (9-7, 0-1 WCC) at Pepperdine Waves (6-11, 0-3 WCC)
Malibu, California; Saturday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Jan Zidek and the Pepperdine Waves host Tyler Robertson and the Portland Pilots in WCC play.
The Waves have gone 6-4 at home. Pepperdine ranks fifth in the WCC in rebounding with 34.1 rebounds. Keith Fisher III leads the Waves with 6.4 boards.
The Pilots are 0-1 in WCC play. Portland ranks ninth in the WCC scoring 27.1 points per game in the paint led by Chris Austin averaging 2.5.
The Waves and Pilots meet Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Fisher is averaging 8.6 points and 6.4 rebounds for the Waves. Zidek is averaging nine points over the last 10 games for Pepperdine.
Robertson is shooting 37.4% and averaging 14.6 points for the Pilots. Austin is averaging 9.6 points over the last 10 games for Portland.
LAST 10 GAMES: Waves: 4-6, averaging 70.6 points, 35.2 rebounds, 16 assists, 6.2 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 40.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.6 points per game. | null | null | null | null | null |
It’s not clear that sweeping sanctions are credible
Ukrainian soldiers fire a U.S. Javelin missile during military exercises in Ukraine on Jan. 12. ((Ukrainian Defense Ministry Press Service/AP)
By Maria Shagina
Two threats lie behind the high-level talks between the West and Russia over security guarantees — Russia’s threat to invade Ukraine and the U.S. threat to impose “high-impact” financial and economic sanctions if it does.
Since last year, Russia has amassed some 100,000 troops at the Ukrainian border to increase pressure on the West and demand guarantees that NATO won’t extend membership to Ukraine or otherwise expand eastward. In December, Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested that the United States would use sanctions “we’ve refrained from using in the past” if Russia invades.
After the three rounds of talks, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman suggested it was not clear whether Russia was prepared to de-escalate and seek a diplomatic solution. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Thursday that the talks reached “a dead end or a difference in approaches.”
As the threat of war gets more imminent, what measures might the U.S. include in its sanctions package? And are they enough to deter Russia so that it backs down? Here’s what you need to know.
The Biden administration has signaled what it is prepared to do
Before the high-stakes talks, Washington signaled to Moscow what to expect if Russia decides to invade Ukraine. The first option would be to target Russia’s largest financial institutions, placing them on the list of “specially designated nationals and blocked persons” — the U.S. SDN list. This would effectively block these banks from engaging in transactions with other international banks.
In 2014, the United States and the European Union imposed less sweeping financial sanctions on Russia. Washington didn’t put any major Russian banks on the SDN list because Russia was so closely integrated into the global financial system. The threat of a new escalation puts this option back on the table.
If such a measure weren’t implemented carefully, it might cause collateral damage. Targeting Russia’s biggest banks might have unanticipated consequences and hurt the general public, although going after less internationally connected institutions might be less risky, while remaining somewhat effective.
The second option involves imposing what the United States calls “extraordinary” export controls. This would bar exporters from selling U.S.-made or U.S.-designed technology to Russia’s defense and consumer industries, potentially hurting Russia’s ability to buy not just aircraft and automobile components, but everyday items like smartphones, too.
However, export bans usually take a toll over the long run, which means they are less effective at deterring actions in the short term. It’s unlikely that Russian decision-makers will change military policy because they fear that Russian consumers won‘t be able to upgrade to a new smartphone at some point in the future. Indeed, an embargo on consumer electronics would hurt Russian civilians rather than Russian leaders, the exact opposite of what targeted “smart” sanctions are supposed to accomplish.
Targeting Russia’s aerospace and arms industry might align better with the U.S. objective to deprive the Russian government of additional revenue. Even so, the long-term effects of the embargo won’t have the immediate impact that might help change the current situation.
The E.U. renewed its Russia sanctions. Not all Europeans are in favor.
And the sanctions package would provide security assistance to Ukraine and arm Ukrainian insurgents to conduct a guerrilla war against Russian military aggression. This would bolster Kyiv’s defense capabilities, but it is not a sanction per se.
These measures do not add up to the “massive consequences” that the United States talked about, and they are less likely to deter Russia.
Congress is taking a harder line
On Wednesday, Senate Democrats unveiled a package of proposed sanctions that would go much further in imposing severe costs on the Russian economy and financial system. The legislation includes sweeping restrictions on Russia’s largest state-owned and private banks, on the country’s sovereign debt and on extractive industries that are key to the Russian economy, such as oil, gas, coal and minerals. In addition, the bill would also restrict Russian access to specialized financial messaging services such as SWIFT (which is a key chokepoint in the global financial infrastructure) and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that carries gas from Russia to Europe.
If this legislation passes, high-impact sanctions would be back on the table. However, the decision over whether to use them would still rest with the Biden administration, depending on Russia’s actions after the high-level talks. The legislation would allow President Biden to determine whether Russia is engaged or is supporting a significant escalation in Ukraine compared to the military situation in early December, giving the administration some wiggle room and flexibility.
The proposal for tougher sanctions raises an important question. Do the United States and its allies have sufficient appetite for stringent measures that could create economic and political fallout, and provoke Russia to retaliate?
Some officials in the Biden administration believe that the Obama administration was “too tentative and mild” in its reaction to Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea. However, they are finding it hard to come up with measures that could meet the necessary conditions of finding common ground with European allies (who depend on Russian gas supplies) and avoid economic self-harm and collateral damage, while shielding the United States and its allies from potential Russian retaliation. Germany, for instance, is heavily invested in Nord Stream 2 — and has warned against connecting threats against the pipeline to the conflict over Ukraine.
If Russia decides to take advantage of what it sees as Western indecision and a lack of coordination, Washington and the E.U may have to move from deterrent threats intended to prevent Russia from doing things in the future to coercive measures intended to stop Russia from doing what it is already doing. Experience suggests that coercion is usually more difficult than deterrence.
Dr. Maria Shagina (@maria_shagina) is a visiting fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs and the author of “Toward a Trans-Atlantic Strategy on Russia Sanctions.” | null | null | null | null | null |
Mike Tomlin has not had a losing record in 15 seasons in Pittsburgh. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
“There is a double standard,” Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, told The Post this week. “I don’t think that that is something that we should shy away from. But that is all part of some of the things that we need to fix in the system. We want to hold everyone to why does one, let’s say, get the benefit of the doubt to be able to build or take bumps and bruises in this process of getting a franchise turned around when others are not afforded that latitude?” | null | null | null | null | null |
Ukraine’s official websites hit by massive cyber attack amid high tensions with Russia
Just hours before the attack, Dmitri Alperovitch, an expert on cybersecurity and co-founder of CrowdStrike, a leading firm in the field, told a Washington Post Live discussion that Ukraine had already been subjected increased cyber attacks, which could be a prelude to an invasion.
Ukraine was the main target of the devastating NotPetya cyberattack in June 2017 that hit the country’s banks, power grid, ministries, subway and other organizations. The United States, Britain and others blamed the attack on the Russian military, although Moscow denied any role.
The virus went on to spread across the world, impacting major global companies including Merck pharmaceutical company, Maersk shipping company, FedEx and others, bringing some transport operations to a halt. | null | null | null | null | null |
The National Museum of African American History and Culture. (Kevin Ambrose)
Between 3 and 4 p.m. on Monday, when the National Museum of African American History and Culture was supposed to be closed, security personnel say an unidentified man walked in through an exit-only door, bypassing metal detectors and screening procedures. The intruder was in the museum’s nearly empty main lobby when a maintenance worker noticed him and helped security escort him outside.
But while the Smithsonian museum’s priceless treasures were undisturbed, some of its employees are sounding the alarm. They say the breach happened because the museum is so short-staffed that no guard was posted at the door.
“He was in the building for more than five minutes. He could have been armed, had explosives. He definitely wasn’t supposed to come in," said Tanesha Sollers, who works as an armed security guard for the museum. “There was no officer there, nobody to stop him.”
Officer Antonio Currie, who was working elsewhere in the building at the time, said the incident “freaked people out.”
Monday’s event might be the most visible and disturbing example of the impact of the severe staff shortages on the Smithsonian and other arts and cultural organizations in the Washington region. The highly transmissible omicron variant has led to record numbers of covid cases, and more than 250 have been reported among Smithsonian staff since Christmas, a Smithsonian spokeswoman said.
The shortage of staff forced the Smithsonian to close some buildings and reduce public hours at most of its museums and the National Zoo for a two-week period ending Jan. 17. Those reductions are expected to be extended. The hours of operation for individual museums can be found at si.edu/visit.
Leaders of the American Federation of Government Workers Local 2463, the union representing security and maintenance staff, are calling on the Smithsonian to shut down all its public venues, saying the reductions aren’t doing enough to protect their members, the public and the valuable art and artifacts on display.
Union leaders say the problems exist across all Smithsonian museums, but five current and former security personnel at the African American Museum say their building is at crisis level. Unarmed guards are sometimes assigned to posts usually staffed by armed personnel, important posts have been left vacant, and at least one emergency door was locked with stanchions blocking it, the officers say.
Doug Hall, the Smithsonian’s acting deputy undersecretary for administration and its coordinating officer for covid response, rejected those allegations. He said that the reduced schedule has allowed the museums to be adequately staffed and that visitors, staff and the collections are safe.
“Our day-to-day number of officers protecting the museums has not changed,” he said. The Smithsonian has 750 on its security force, about 525 of whom are needed daily when museums are open. The African American Museum alone requires at least 55.
An initial internal investigation into Monday’s incident found that an officer at a different entrance did not check the credentials of a person who went in, Hall said, denying there was a breach from an unlocked exit door, as Sollers alleges. When told that was an older incident, the Smithsonian reviewed the security footage. Dylan Garon, associate director of security operations, confirmed that “a man casually walked in” on Monday but said the incident was “so minor” it was not reported.
While armed officers are preferred at the front desk at the African American Museum, unarmed personnel are used when the building is closed to the public, and the risk is lower, to reduce overtime required of armed officers, Garon said. Hall also said it was an emergency door at the American History Museum that was chained last year when the museum was closed to the public. No officer was supposed to be posted there and the locked door followed safety codes, he said.
The week after Christmas — traditionally one of the busiest of the year — the Smithsonian closed five museums, including the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African Art, the National Postal Museum, the Anacostia Community Museum and the Asian art museums (the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery), through Jan 5. The closures allowed the institution to reassign front-line personnel from less-visited facilities to the larger ones on the National Mall, officials said at the time.
A different schedule was rolled out on Jan. 5, when the Smithsonian dramatically reduced operations at most of its sites — including the National Zoo — and closed the Anacostia Community Museum and the National Air and Space Museum. The decision was made because the spike in cases and resulting staff shortages showed no signs of abating.
The zoo, which had been open daily, was cut to five days, while seven other museums had their days and hours reduced further. Three of the most visited — the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of American History and the African American Museum, — maintained their five-day schedules, and the Smithsonian Institution Building, known as the Castle, and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., remain open daily.
Union officials have been voicing their fears for several weeks, said Robert Youngblood, executive vice president of Local 2463, but the Smithsonian isn’t listening. He said cleaning workers recently sent to sanitize the security control room where he works wore white protective jumpsuits and other gear to complete the task, while the security personnel who spend multiple hours there are given only “gloves and those little white masks.”
“If you go to work, you’re rolling the dice with your life,” Youngblood said. Workers from many Smithsonian museums are calling the union office to ask for help. “People are calling to say, ‘I don’t want to go into that building.’ A lot of employees are scared to death.”
The Smithsonian is trying to do right by both its employees and the public it serves, Hall said.
“We’re operating very safely,” Hall said, noting that 95 percent of employees have complied with its vaccination requirement and that they continue to follow protocols that include mandatory masks and social distancing. “The risk from the public to the staff is minimal. We have had no confirmed cases of staff to public or public to staff.”
Smithsonian and National Gallery of Art announce May reopenings
The shortage of security personnel stretches back years, union officials say. In a letter sent to Smithsonian leaders earlier this month, Local 2463 President Reginald Booth said officers regularly work extra shifts. But the shortage caused by covid has meant fewer officers working longer hours, including some who had to work 24 hours straight, Booth said.
“We need to be closed until we can get properly staffed, until we don’t have to exhaust ourselves and work all this overtime. You’re made to do it. It’s putting your health and mental (health) in a bad space,” Sollers said. “It is so terrible to feel like you’re being used.”
Mark Wallace, director of the Smithsonian’s Office of Protection Services, emailed his staff on Monday, around the same time as the incident at the African American Museum, to remind them that 16 hours is the most anyone can be asked to work, “except under extreme circumstances and an emergency declaration by the Secretary.”
“Our employees’ safety and well-being is our primary concern,” he wrote in the email. “Exceeding this limit is unhealthy and puts all staff, visitors and our collections at risk.” | null | null | null | null | null |
New York, Los Angeles and Chicago are becoming less Black as African Americans leave the cities that drew their elders
Metro areas where
Black share
Note: Among metro areas with large Black populations where the share of Black residents changed the most.
Black share decreased since 1990
Black share Increased since 1990
Memphis 46%
Atlanta 33%
Richmond 27%
Chicago 16%
Columbus, Ohio 16%
Minneapolis 9%
San Francisco 7%
Los Angeles 6%
Note: Among the 25 metro areas with the most Black residents in 1990, 2000, 2010 or 2020.
John D. Harden
Kevin Schaul
While Crockett’s Black residents largely escaped the worst of the Jim Crow era’s reign of terror, Johnson was raised in a divided town. Black people lived west of Fourth Street, White people east, and what one could achieve in life was defined by that color line, even for a proud military veteran like Johnson.
He had been a bright student. In 1933, Johnson graduated from high school at 15. By 19, he had a degree from Wiley College, a private historically Black college in nearby Marshall, Tex. African Americans were barred from attending any of the state’s medical schools, however, the doctrine of “separate, but equal” meant the state had to offer Black students something. So the state made Johnson a deal: It would pay for him to go to medical school as long as it wasn’t in Texas. And with that offer in hand, Johnson joined millions of African Americans, who together formed the Great Migration, leaving the South looking for opportunities and hope not afforded to them under Jim Crow.
Johnson settled in the Twin Cities and attended the University of Minnesota. But while he would find success in Minnesota, nearly 70 years later his granddaughter D’Ivoire Johnson looked around her native Minneapolis and, like her grandfather, concluded that there were better opportunities for her elsewhere. In 2007, she made a journey that almost exactly mirrored the one he had made — moving with her two sons from Minneapolis to Dallas. She is part of what some are calling the new Great Migration, African Americans moving out of the cities that their parents and grandparents fled to during Jim Crow and into the South‘s booming metropolises.
The percentage of Black Americans who live in the South has been increasing since 1990, and the biggest gains have been in the region’s large urban areas, according to census data. The Black population of metro Atlanta more than doubled between 1990 and 2020, surpassing 2 million in the most recent census, with the city overtaking Chicago as the second-largest concentration of African Americans in the country after metropolitan New York. The Black population also more than doubled in metro Charlotte while greater Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth both saw their Black populations surpass 1 million for the first time. Several smaller metro areas also saw sizable gains, including San Antonio; Raleigh and Greensboro, N.C.; Orlando and Little Rock.
Mapping America’s racial population shifts over the past decade
Census data shows the number of White people in the U.S. fell for first time since 1790
To understand the reasons behind this new Great Migration, The Washington Post interviewed Black Americans across three Southern states — Georgia, North Carolina and Texas — who had moved to the South in recent decades. Like many of those who moved during the original Great Migration, the primary driver of their decisions to leave home was economic. They moved South either with a new job already in hand or with hope that they could find work in some of the nation’s fastest-growing cities. Many also moved in search of affordable housing that could help their families build the kind of generational wealth their parents and grandparents in the North were locked out of because of redlining and other discriminatory housing policies. Some were hesitant about moving South, recalling the horror stories of racial terror told to them by their elders. They all found that racism existed in both the North and South, but for some, the larger concentrations of Black people in the South provided additional safety. In all cases, they moved in search of something better, but looking back, none felt like they’d found the promised land — at least not yet.
The Johnsons of Minneapolis
While Thomas Johnson was free to attend medical school in Minnesota, he quickly learned that the color line he knew so well as a child had not completely disappeared during his 1,000-mile journey North. After graduating from medical school in 1955, the only job he could get was at the nearby Stillwater State Prison. Two years later, he started his own clinic in South Minneapolis, eventually moving to North Minneapolis, which by the 1960s was home to most of the city’s poor Black residents. He set up shop on the corner of Plymouth and Queen avenues North in 1966, opening a medical office and then expanded to take over the entire block, adding a dental office, pharmacy and beauty salon.
“That’s where I grew up,” said D’Ivoire Johnson, 47. “At 10 years old, I had a little punch card where I would clock in, and I would go around all the offices and pick up the files and put them in alphabetical order.”
As one of just a few Black doctors, Johnson was able to tap an underserved market, eventually making enough money to buy a home in an affluent and virtually all-White neighborhood along the city’s Lake of the Isles Park. He became a pillar of the city’s Black community and an outspoken advocate for civil rights and Black advancement. D’Ivoire Johnson said that it was only at his funeral that she learned how many Black Minnesotans her grandfather helped pay college tuition.
But as fast as the money was coming in, it was going out. And when Minnesota moved toward HMOs and their complex rules and regulation, D’Ivoire Johnson says, her grandfather’s days were numbered. After years of legal fights and audits, Johnson closed his clinic in 1988 and quickly lost his real estate, too. D’Ivoire Johnson thinks her grandfather’s legal problems were part of a much larger issue facing the city’s Black leaders.
“My friend Stacey would joke there’s something going on in Minnesota. The moment you make $149,999, there’s some White person somewhere in some office that comes to find you,” she said.
“Every Black person in Minnesota that I’ve seen try to have some independence and do very well, I’ve watched them get dismantled for minor technicalities,” she added. “I’ve been working in financial institutions since the foreclosure crisis in audit and compliance positions, so I’ve actually seen the things that they do and Black folks just could never … I now sit in these institutions that are constantly under the consent order and they get to survive. We don’t. If a Black business is audited, it’s going to close.”
When D’Ivoire Johnson decided to leave Minneapolis, it was in hopes of not having her two sons grow up in what’s been called the “Minnesota paradox.” The phrase was coined by labor economist Samuel L. Myers Jr. in reference to how while Minnesotans enjoy some of the highest living standards in the country, they also suffer from some of the widest racial gaps in employment and income.
“I wanted my kids to grow up and see Black people thriving,” she said. “Minneapolis is great, but not for Black folks. If you ever really want to participate in the economy in a way that’s going to create growth, you can’t do that in Minneapolis.
“Minneapolis has a nonprofit mind-set, especially for Black people,” Johnson said. “So if you want to be a nonprofit, meaning nonprofitable, live in Minneapolis.”
Where America’s developed areas are growing
“I was in full hustle mode,” Johnson said. “And just knew if I came here to Dallas, I could do even better.”
“I moved here because there was opportunity here and then there wasn‘t,” she said. “But I was already here, and I had my children here. My sister and my mother lived here. So I decided to stay to try to make it work.”
Even with her family’s help, her first few years in Dallas were devastating.
“It was still really horrible,” she said. “I worked tons of short-term jobs that I was way overqualified for.”
Things only stabilized when her dad moved down to help keep a roof over her and her sons’ heads. It wasn’t until 2011 that she found a good job, she said.
“Here’s the difference: Minneapolis has a wonderful social safety net. So if you fall on hard times you are not going to struggle like you struggle here,” she said. “This struggle here is something I’ve never seen before. I don’t understand it. It is demoralizing. It is dehumanizing. And it really does remind you of modernized slavery.”
Four generations on Chicago’s South Side
As far as Sherri Lucas-Hall, 57, knew, her family had been on Chicago’s South Side forever. Her Granny Ida, her dad’s grandmother, didn’t like to talk about what happened to her in the South, but Lucas-Hall got curious after reading Isabel Wilkerson’s tome, “The Warmth of Other Suns,” about the Great Migration.
“She told everybody about a sister she had, but nobody else knew anything else,” Lucas-Hall said. “But I got curious after I read Isabel Wilkerson’s book, so I started doing my homework.”
What Lucas-Hall was able to piece together is that Granny Ida was actually one of six children. There had been four boys and two girls. Granny Ida’s parents were enslaved people, and as best Lucas-Hall can work out, her great-grandmother’s parents were sold from Virginia to Tennessee. After emancipation, the family moved to Arkansas.
“What we know is my Granny Ida, she was pregnant with my grandfather when she got to Chicago, but we don’t know where she conceived him,” Lucas-Hall said. “What I also found out was that she lost a brother in Arkansas. … All I can figure is something traumatic happened to her.”
When Granny Ida and her husband arrived in Chicago, they quickly got to work, cooking for White families. Ida’s only child, Lucas-Hall’s grandfather, worked as a porter on the railroads. Her grandfather was always working, and he died while working on the railroad in Kentucky. Her dad was raised in the historic Bronzeville neighborhood at the tail end of Chicago’s Black Renaissance, which produced such greats as Richard Wright, Lorraine Hansberry and Katherine Dunham. Harold Lucas, her dad, spent decades working in the steel mills until they closed. He then tried his hand at running restaurants and clubs, but those didn’t work out, she said. Since then he’s become a self-taught historian and community organizer, fighting to get Bronzeville recognized for its importance and to make sure South Side children know the rich legacy of their community.
Mapping America's racial population shifts over the past decade
Lucas-Hall loved her childhood in Chicago. After her parents split up, she and her mom settled not far from Rainbow Beach, on 80th Street and Escanaba Avenue, where she and her friends would play baseball on the corner. She also frequently made trips to Bronzeville to soak up the history her dad was fighting to preserve. But despite coming from three generations of hard-working Chicagoans, Lucas-Hall’s family, like much of the South Side, was still mostly fighting to survive, not thriving.
“On the South Side, everybody’s still in survival mode trying to figure out how to get by,” she said.
After graduating from Hyde Park High School in 1982 and watching the neighborhood’s steady decline, she and her husband moved to the suburbs, but they struggled to afford to live in a neighborhood where they felt safe.
“I had a bachelor’s degree. He hadn’t finished college,” she said. “And it was still a struggle for us financially, always trying to make ends meet.”
In 1999, Lucas-Hall’s then-husband wanted to move to Georgia, following his sister, but she took some convincing.
“I grew up with a historian as a father and … I read a lot, and so I knew about all of the happenings in the South,” Lucas-Hall said. “So my first thought when we were moving here was, ‘They kill Black people down there, I don’t want to go down there.’ ”
Lucas-Hall had just had a baby and her sister-in-law was selling Atlanta — hard. Lucas-Hall said she was open to the idea because she needed a change.
“His sister was telling him there were a lot of opportunities,” Lucas-Hall said. “She had her own business and she convinced him that he too could potentially start his own business. It was the Black mecca. That’s what Georgia was. And so for us, we saw opportunity and the hope that things would improve if we came this way.”
At first, life was indeed better. The couple initially lived with her husband’s family. Eventually her husband’s entire family moved to Georgia. Lucas-Hall went back to school, earning a master’s degree and started a 14-year career teaching in the DeKalb County School District. In 2006, they were able to buy a house.
“My grandparents never owned a home,” she said. “My mom never owned a home, so when I finally was able to buy one with the man I married, that meant a lot for me.”
Mixed race people are the fastest growing group in America, according to the 2020 Census
But things started to unravel for Lucas-Hall. First she and her husband divorced, and he got to keep the house. And in 2019, she lost her job.
Lucas-Hall was fired after what she says was an accident involving a first-grader trying to lock himself in a bathroom stall. Lucas-Hall said she was trying to keep the child from locking himself in, when the stall door hit him in the head. Later, she was contacted by an investigator from the district’s department of public safety, and eventually placed on administrative leave. She was among a number of district teachers who say their constitutional rights were violated during hasty district investigations, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
It took Lucas-Hall two years to clear her name to be able to return to a classroom. She worked as a Walmart cashier and as an Uber driver. After she was cleared to return to teaching, she worked as a substitute teacher in the local public schools. But she struggled to stay afloat financially. A strong believer in the power of education, she went back to school, this time to learn new and better ways to teach her Black students to read.
“I’ve spent the last four years studying the science of reading and now I have this small tutoring business,” she said. “But I’m not surviving well. The people that need my help can’t afford my services, and I can’t grow my business because I don’t have access to funds that will allow me to support myself while I’m trying to grow this business. That’s the space I’m in now — where I have this small business and I have all this information and I know how to do education better, but I have no access and no finances to affect any change.”
So far, 2022 has been a mixed bag for Lucas-Hall. She was offered a full-time job by the organization that trained her in the new reading techniques, but her landlord evicted her. She said the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office has refused to tell her when it plans to resume executing evictions amid the coronavirus’s omicron variant surge, so every time she leaves home for a substitute teaching gig, she wonders if she’ll return to find all of her and her youngest daughter’s possessions out on the curb. Earlier this month, she drove around the suburb of Lawrenceville, job offer in hand, looking for a landlord who would rent to her.
But even though Georgia didn’t turn out to be the Black mecca she was promised, more of her family are still taking that leap.
“My sister left and came down to Georgia about four years ago because she was trying to keep her boys from being murdered,” Lucas-Hall said. “She had three boys, and she moved from Chicago to come down here because she said she didn’t think her boys would survive if she didn’t get them out of there.”
As for whether moving to Georgia was the right decision for her, Lucas-Hall says there’s at least one clear advantage to moving south.
“It’s prettier,” Lucas-Hall said with a deep laugh.
“I know that’s crazy. But it’s not cold. I don’t have the snow to deal with, and I am five hours from the ocean, which I love,” she said. “And when things are good for me, I hop in my car and I will drive to Savannah just to see the ocean. So my struggle didn’t necessarily change, it’s just prettier here, and sometimes I can not think about it. I can stand back and get perspective as I sit there and wonder, am I going to be okay? Will I ever own my own home? Will my business be successful? What can I hold on to?”
Building a New South
“St. Louis was just a small, insular city,” he said. “When I was growing up, you didn‘t go south of Forest Park,” he said, referring to the city’s grandest park located just south of Delmar Boulevard, which divides Black and White St. Louis.
“And what I noticed, even as a kid, was the disinvestment,” he said. “When you drive down the hill to get some good Italian food, the houses look nice, the streets look good, but when you go back up to North St. Louis, where all my grandparents and relatives lived, you asked yourself, ‘How come these neighborhoods don’t look the same?’ They were built at the same time, there was the same amount of middle-class income. … So that’s how I got into architecture. There was a planned disinvestment. … My grandfather would take us on these family trips, I could see it was like this across the entire country.”
James came from a successful St. Louis family. His family traces their roots to Arkansas and Tennessee, but has been in St. Louis for four generations. His mom was an educator; his dad was on the school board. But still it was hard to break out of the city’s informal caste system, he said.
“The first question they ask in St. Louis is what high school did you go to,” James said. “And the reason they ask that question is because it tells you everything. They can tell where your parents came from, they can tell everything about your socioeconomic background. And if you’re from there, you just think it’s kind of a colloquialism. You think it’s very nice and easy, but it’s not. It’s a way to put you in place.”
In Dallas, he found people who didn’t care what high school he went to but instead what he knew.
“Here in Dallas, if people can make money, they’ll work with you,” he said. “St. Louis is a little bit different. They’re not really willing to share in that pie, and they’re going to do everything they can to hoard that pie. And so you start to see that there’s no future opportunities there unless you happen to be one of the few people that broke through. There’s just not a lot of upward mobility for the next generation, so people like me leave. … Don’t get me wrong, Dallas’s racial norms are very strong, but this city is economically driven. There’s an entrepreneurial spirit to it.”
It’s that entrepreneurial spirit that makes Dallas a place of opportunity for Black people, said James, who has been running the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce since 2016. He has spent that time trying to provide information to Black businesses that want to learn how to take advantage of Dallas as a global city. The Black Chamber’s membership shows what is possible for Black people to build in Dallas, James said.
“We’ve got lawyers, we’ve got spirit distillers, we’ve got supply chain firms. We’ve got architects, public relations people, you’ve got manufacturers. We’ve got IT professionals, we’ve got graphic designers, website managers, and even during the pandemic, our membership has grown over this last year,” James said. “There’s always been lawyers, there’s always been educators, there’s always been accountants. But here in Dallas, we’re now in professions that were not traditionally Black.”
While James is working to change the South economically, Leslie Mac, a Brooklyn-born Black Lives Matter activist and community organizer, is working to change it politically. Before moving to Charlotte last year, Mac lived all over the North. She went to college in Chicago and spent time in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. She lived in Philadelphia for nearly a decade.
Mac started her career working on criminal justice reform legislation, such as getting state legislatures to pass bail reform. She switched to grass-roots organizing after the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. When she moved to North Carolina, she started working to support groups like Charlotte Uprising, a coalition of community members and organizers fighting for police accountability and racial equality.
How the racial makeup of where you live has changed since 1990
Mac, who is Jamaican, grew up in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn where many of New York’s Caribbean immigrants settled.
“Everybody was from a different island, and we were all kind of strangers in a strange land trying to find our way,” Mac said. “It was a really close-knit community of people that cared about one another. I knew I couldn‘t do bad stuff because somebody’s mom was going to see me, and my mother was going to find out about it. I knew that when the ice cream truck pulled up, somebody’s mom was going to buy everybody ice cream. Some of my favorite memories are stupid little things like the ConEd man coming and us begging him for some rope to do double Dutch with.”
Her sister is hanging on in Flatbush in the rent-stabilized apartment they grew up in, but they are watching what they loved disappear to gentrification.
“It’s happening in a lot of cities in the North — they are just becoming less inviting for Black people, and less of a place where Black people can thrive and raise their families,” Mac said. “And so they’re looking for places where they can build community and have that same feeling that I had when I grew up in Flatbush. And it just isn’t there anymore.”
“I love Charlotte as a city,” Mac said. “It‘s been a really great place to live, and it’s a place where I can be what I like to refer to as inconspicuously Black. That’s been a revelation for me, and it’s something that I haven’t really felt since I was growing up in Flatbush, where everybody looked like me.”
Mac says to be inconspicuously Black means that she can count on other Black people being wherever she goes. In a city as Black as Charlotte, she says every business has to cater to Black folks. “These are really fundamental things that I know I would never have had in Grand Rapids. I wouldn‘t have even really had it in Philadelphia.”
“It just feels freeing. There’s a thing where I feel like my shoulders relax more here,” Mac said. “We go out to a fancy restaurant or like this little speakeasy that you have to have a membership to, and I think, that sounds like a place where there won’t be a lot of Black people. Sure enough, we walk in, and it’s like 70 percent Black people up in there having their fancy drinks. … I can feel comfortable wherever I go here in a way that I’ve never experienced before, even in New York City. There are so many places I would go and be like, I have to really watch myself here. I’ve got to shrink myself a little bit. I’ve got to make sure I’m not too angry or too loud or too whatever. Peeling those pieces away from myself has been really a freeing endeavor.”
“So much of my mind was taken up by thinking about how I needed to interact around White people before I moved here,” Mac said. “It’s a thing you don’t recognize until it’s gone. I really hadn’t realized how much of my psyche was taken up with that constant kind of drone in my head, and moving here really opened me up in a new way.”
Black in Dallas
The Fivee Bistro & Bar, located on Dallas’s Botham Jean Boulevard and named for the 26-year-old unarmed Black accountant who was shot and killed in his apartment by neighbor and former police officer Amber Guyger, is one of those places where one can be “inconspicuously Black.”
On a warm late November afternoon, D’Ivoire Johnson took a friend visiting from Martha’s Vineyard to the restaurant, where a private party had taken over the bar’s patio. Partygoers were doing a line dance in the beautiful fall weather, and inside, a live band was covering R&B classics. Fivee is a special place for Johnson. It was founded by the sister of Omar Jahwar, a larger-than-life pastor and racial justice activist, who died in March after developing covid-19 while on a national tour with his organization, Heal America, which works to curb gang violence. A huge painting of Jahwar in a cowboy hat hangs on the wall next to the bar. Fivee was Jahwar’s dream, a place where Black Dallas could come together. It’s now a place where Black professionals and families rub shoulders, enjoying perfectly executed soul food like chicken and waffles.
Before he died, Jahwar and Johnson, who speaks with the confidence of a Black woman who has spent most of her career in a field dominated by White men, would spend hours discussing their visions for Black uplift, and she would advise him on potential business opportunities. The past year has been one of Johnson’s hardest since she got her life back on track after the financial crisis. Jahwar was one of two close friends Johnson lost to covid-19. But Fivee helps her remain connected to her friend. During lunch, two of Jahwar’s family members came up to greet Johnson while she ate.
That Sunday, Johnson was feeling reflective on her time in Texas. After years of struggling, she lives with her 14-year-old son in an upscale Dallas suburb called Las Colinas, where large homes encircle a golf course. She knows that she has achieved a lot in Texas, but she still worries what will come next for her family.
“This progress is illusive. It’s not real,” she said. “Now, does that mean that I’m not doing well? No, I’m fine. My family’s fine. I live in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. But I still get anxiety attacks when my son walks out the door to walk our dog. So really, I’m not fine, because I’m not safe. If January 6 didn’t tell you nothing, it told you, you were not safe. Because the most unstable element, the most uninformed and misinformed — and they don’t know the difference between the two — are armed and dangerous. That is a national security issue, and it’s not being treated as such. Joe Biden is going to do nothing. That’s the reality.”
“Many of us are still looking for a U.S.-based Black mecca, but I tell my sons, ‘Go find your place in the world.’ Don’t limit yourself to America. There is a place in the world that’s good for you. You might have a smaller home. It may not be as easy to get to this place or that place, but there is a place in the world that’s going to be less stressful than this one for you. And you need to travel and figure out where it is.”
More on the census
Here’s how America’s racial makeup has changed over the past decade. You can drill down by address to see how certain areas have shifted.
In the latest release, data showed that the number of White people in the United States fell for the first time since 1790. The White population also decreased in D.C.
Population growth across the United States was also at the second-slowest pace in history, and the “places to be” have also shifted. Meanwhile, America’s developed areas are growing.
Population changes also dictate a change in politics. Here’s a breakdown of which states gained and lost electoral votes and clout in Congress.
Historically, the census has never been delayed. But there have been past fears of an inaccurate count, and results have been used to target minorities. | null | null | null | null | null |
Benjamin Franklin championed childhood inoculation against the deadly virus of his era
By Nancy Rubin Stuart
Nancy Rubin Stuart, author of the forthcoming "POOR RICHARD’S WOMEN: Deborah Read Franklin and the Other Women Behind the Founding Father."
Should I vaccinate my children or not? Millions of parents are asking themselves this question as children return to school amid an unprecedented spike in coronavirus cases fueled by highly contagious omicron variant. But it’s not a new question, and the lessons learned 286 years ago by one of the nation’s founders, Benjamin Franklin, offer a resounding answer for parents in 2021: Vaccinate your children.
Franklin was a longtime champion of variolation — as the primitive form of vaccination was then called — against smallpox, the deadly virus of his era. Franklin embraced the scientific advances of the Enlightenment, and as publisher of the Pennsylvania Gazette he thought it was his civic duty to warn the citizens of Philadelphia about the virus and encourage them to take variolation. As early as 1730, his newspaper announced that a smallpox epidemic in Boston had killed a third of its victims, while observing that only those who had been inoculated had survived.
While this claim was factual, the Gazette’s pro-variolation stance was controversial. Primitive by contemporary standards, variolation placed live smallpox virus into the bloodstream of a healthy individual. Fluid was taken from the pox of a sufferer and scratched into the arm or thigh of the inoculant. (Contemporary vaccines contain the cells of dead viruses, but in the Colonial era physicians had no choice but to use live virus.) Several days of illness usually followed, but most inoculants survived and achieved permanent immunity.
Some, however, considered variolation more dangerous than smallpox itself. Others thought it unnatural, dangerous to their health, against God’s will or even the work of the Devil. As a result, thousands of Philadelphians refrained from getting inoculated.
Franklin repeatedly tried to change their minds. When smallpox swept through Philadelphia in March 1731, the Gazette announced: “The practice of inoculation for the smallpox begins to grow among us. How groundless all those extravagant reports are, that have been spread through the province to the contrary.” To dispel those reports, Franklin cited a respected English journal that supported inoculation. Even so, by July the epidemic had killed nearly 300.
When smallpox again raged through Philadelphia in September 1736, Franklin resumed his pro-variolation campaign in the Gazette. But this time, the dangers of smallpox tragically struck close to home for Franklin, producing lifelong regret and illustrating just how crucial inoculation was.
Franklin and his wife, Deborah, were evidently immune, either from variolation or from having survived smallpox. But their 4-year-old son, Francis Folger Franklin, was not. Little Franky was seriously ill with the “flux,” or dysentery, with its fevers, bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramps and malaise, and his father decided it was too risky to have the child inoculated against smallpox. Weeks passed as his parents worried over Franky’s failure to rally. And then in mid-November the child developed a high fever, followed by the ominous sores of the “pox.” On Nov. 21, Franky died of smallpox just a month after his fourth birthday.
The Franklins never recovered from their son’s death; 36 years later, Benjamin Franklin told his sister that he still mourned the child’s death. Franky, he wrote, was an unusually gifted child “whom to this day I cannot think of without a sigh.” Neighbors reported that Deborah displayed Franky’s portrait prominently in their home for the rest of her life.
Decades later in his autobiography, Franklin acknowledged, “I long regretted bitterly and still regret that I had not given it [smallpox] to him by inoculation.” Franklin wanted this regret to serve as a warning to parents who might avoid inoculating their children for fear that they would “never forgive themselves” if their children died of smallpox due to inoculation. Both paths posed risk and the regret would “be [the] same either way,” if the child died, he wrote. To Franklin that made it clear that parents should choose the proactive, safer option: inoculation.
When rumors erupted two months after Franky’s death that Franklin had secretly inoculated the child — thereby causing his death — it left Franklin enraged. The Dec. 30 Gazette bluntly declared that Franky “was not inoculated, but received the distemper in the common way of infection. … Inoculation was a safe and beneficial practice.”
Franklin’s words were prophetic. At the dawn of the 19th century, Edward Jenner’s successful smallpox vaccination, which injected cowpox into an 8-year-old boy, replaced the earlier variolations and was subsequently given to children. Before long, American cities and states required that children be vaccinated against smallpox before attending school. A global vaccination effort gradually ensued, leading the World Health Organization to announce in 1949 that the scourge of smallpox had been eliminated.
In the early 1950s, American pediatricians routinely administered four new vaccines to children by age 2, for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and smallpox. By 1954, children also participated in a massive polio vaccination campaign. Thirty years later, officials added other vaccines to the pediatric vaccination list: measles, mumps, rubella and an oral polio drink.
Despite these and more recent medical advances, an anti-vaccination movement has always persisted. Since 1998 when British physician Andrew Wakefield erroneously linked the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) to autism, the anti-vaccine movement has become internationally prominent.
Ironically, the movement has gathered steam as the coronavirus pandemic has killed over 5 million people, disrupted global economies and created social havoc. In the United States over 800,000 Americans have died, and the toll is still rising. Thousands of those who have survived the infection have become “long-haulers,” left with devastating damage to their internal organs. Even so, millions of Americans have refused vaccine, thanks to ignorance and misinformation.
The history of the long anti-vaccine movement — which dating to the 19th century has often focused on required immunizations for children — makes it unsurprising that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recent approval of a pediatric coronavirus vaccine for ages 5 to 11 has sparked a firestorm of controversy.
While millions of parents have rushed to get their children vaccinated, many have resisted. They cite the high survival rates and low hospitalization rates for children who get covid-19 and the instances of young men suffering myocarditis after vaccination, though that number is small, as reasons not to get their children vaccinated, according to a recent report from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
This choice matters more than ever with the omicron variant spreading through the American population like wildfire. During the week of Dec. 23, at least 325,340 cases among children were reported, compared with 198,551 cases the previous week. On Jan. 3, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported a sharp rise in pediatric covid-19 cases. And while most infected children will survive, complications from the disease can affect their organs and may have serious implications for their future health.
Vaccine can minimize the odds of these complications and protect against severe illness or death. A study published in late December by the CDC, analyzing 915 covid-19 cases among children and teenagers hospitalized in six medical centers last summer, found that 78 percent were hospitalized because of complications from covid-19 — nearly all of them unvaccinated.
Medical professionals and advocates of vaccination are citing this evidence to plead with parents to immunize their children against the coronavirus, including recommending that schools require vaccination. In many ways, they are echoing Franklin’s pleadings to people in the 18th century to get variolated against smallpox — and to variolate their children, a lesson he learned in the hardest way possible. | null | null | null | null | null |
The deadly Bronx fire exposes the perils and politics of heating one’s home
For less-fortunate New Yorkers, access to safe, adequate heating has never been assured.
A mother and daughter attend a candlelight vigil on Jan. 11, 2022, for the victims of a Jan. 9 fire at an apartment building in the Bronx. (Jeenah Moon for The Washington Post)
By Rebecca Wright
Rebecca Wright is a senior lecturer in American history at Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She is the author of the forthcoming book "Moral Energy in America: From the Progressive Era to the Atomic Bomb" and is currently working on a social history of heat in the United States.
Details are only beginning to emerge about the deadly fire in the Bronx on Jan. 9 that killed 17 people. But the fact that a portable electric heater sparked the blaze connects this tragic event to a longer history of poor New Yorkers struggling to stay warm in the winter.
Even without definitive evidence that the property owners were not providing adequate heat for their tenants at the time of the fire, the families of Twin Parks North West (including a large community of immigrants from Gambia) remind us of the difficulties that low-income and Black and ethnic minority New Yorkers have long faced in keeping warm, a battle that all too often has ended in tragedy.
Heat has long been a political matter.
New York’s unique heating infrastructure has raised questions of political power and racial and economic justice since the late 19th century. In the city’s cold-water flats (a type of tenement building) and single-family dwellings, residents used individual stoves to produce heat. But the rise of large apartment buildings at the turn of the 20th century took temperature control away from individuals and placed it in the hands of building owners and landlords. In these buildings a central boiler, controlled by a janitor, distributed heat to apartments in the form of steam or water. The cost of heat was included in rent as a flat sum, which meant that tenants had little power over the temperature in their own homes — and landlords had a financial incentive to skimp on heat.
This setup triggered battles over what constituted adequate heat. In 1917, a severe fuel shortage and skyrocketing prices caused by World War I led to landlords not being able to obtain or afford anthracite coal (at the time the city’s primary fuel source). As New Yorkers shivered, they began to fight for a right to have heat, calling for legal protections and organizing rent strikes to protest cold apartments.
Recognizing the severity of the issue, in 1918 New York’s Department of Health amended its Sanitary Code, adding a provision known as Section 225. After some minor tweaks, the new element mandated that landlords keep all centrally heated residential spaces in the city at a minimum of 68 degrees between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. during the heating season when outdoor temperatures fell below 55 degrees during the day. Although the terms of this code have been modified several times, the basic premise remains on the statute books as the New York City Heat and Hot Water Code.
Section 225 provided New Yorker tenants a legal right to heat, but this did not mean that all landlords abided by the ordinance, or that every community benefited from it equally. In affluent apartment buildings, for example, temperatures sometimes far exceeded 68 degrees. Their abundant — often overly abundant — heat resulted in the well-known trope of New Yorkers flinging windows open and stripping off to cool down in the winter months.
But not everyone was so lucky. Unscrupulous landlords often flouted the Sanitary Code, especially when fuel prices rose, leaving residents in freezing apartments. This practice hurt New York’s poorer families to a disproportionately high degree. The city fought back, but not always successfully. The Department of Health established mechanisms to enforce Section 225, including a way for residents to complain and an inspection system. The city also took landlords who violated the provision to court, where judges fined them, and in some cases even incarcerated them, for failing to provide heat. In 1922, a judge gave Harlem landlord Jacob Solotoroff a 60-day sentence (after Solotoroff refused to pay a $600 fine) for failing to heat four tenement buildings where 72 families lived in temperatures that rarely exceeded 57 degrees.
After the Second World War, the battle for adequate heat also increasingly became a matter of racial discrimination. As White residents fled the city for the suburbs and Black and ethnic minority communities grew, landlords increasingly flouted multiple areas of the Sanitary Code, not only failing to provide heat, but also allowing buildings to fall into disrepair.
In redlined areas, where federally backed mortgages were not available, property prices collapsed. Plummeting prices prompted landlords to abandon buildings, now leaving tenants in cold apartments with no access to heat. In some cases, landlords even deliberately withheld heat to push tenants out. Some resilient tenants resisted these bullying tactics, forming co-ops to pool money for fuel and employing their own janitors to keep the heat turned on.
With little access to heat, however, secondary heating devices became the way many low-income families kept warm in the winter. In cold-water tenement flats, which lacked central heating, such devices also became the dominant heating source. Across the city, low-income New Yorkers huddled around gas stoves, water boilers, portable heaters and ovens to stay warm.
But while keeping families warm, these devices resulted in an alarming rise in accidents as heating devices were left on too long, malfunctioned or were accidentally knocked over by children or pets. In 1954, the danger posed by inadequate heating devices captured headlines when eight members of the Gonzales family, along with two of their friends, all recently arrived from Puerto Rico, died of carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a faulty gas water boiler that had been left on too long. In 1956 alone, oil burners and kerosene stoves caused 1,904 fires in the city.
The Gonzales case, along with several high-profile fatal accidents caused by kerosene stoves, led the Department of Health and the Fire Department to push to improve the safety of heating devices and to lobby for a ban on portable kerosene heaters. Mayor Robert Wagner’s Multiple Dwelling Law also called for landlords to install central heating in buildings of 10 apartments or more to reduce dependence on these devices.
In 1956, the Department of Health doubled down on the heating code, returning the minimum temperature to 68 degrees (the city had lowered it to 65 in 1942 as a wartime conservation measure) to reduce the need for dangerous supplementary heating. In 1965, the city began mandating that landlords heat their buildings 24 hours per day.
But these efforts could not prevent what we might call thermal discrimination. With a flat heating fee included in rents, fluctuating fuel prices inevitably hit low-income tenants, as landlords withdrew heat to protect their profit margins, especially in rent-controlled apartments. Landlords also found ways to ration heat despite Section 225 and encouraged their tenants to save energy by keeping their windows closed.
At no time was the heating problem more apparent than during the energy crisis linked to the Arab oil embargo that began in 1973 and sent fuel prices soaring to new heights. The New York Housing Authority (NYCHA), for example, saw its oil bill almost double to $38 million in 1974. As the price of fuel rose week after week, landlords struggled to afford the oil to keep their tenants warm and called for a reduction in the minimum temperature in the heating code or for permission to raise rents.
In October 1974, New York landlords assembled at the offices of the Saudi Arabian mission to the United Nations to protest high fuel prices and, in a separate action, called for building owners to turn off their boilers for six hours to highlight the plight of landlords. With the city on the brink of bankruptcy, many landlords went into receivership, abandoning buildings and their residents to the cold.
And the situation has changed little in the decades since: Even as wealthier New Yorkers in more expensive buildings swelter, many poorer residents, often those of color, remain stuck in the cold. The tragedy at Twin Parks North West reminds us that for many New Yorkers, heat has long been a feature of their ongoing struggles for social and racial justice. Indoor temperature has been, and continues to be, a powerful social marker and an index of the city’s most entrenched divisions and inequalities. | null | null | null | null | null |
Satellites make it harder for countries to launch surprise attacks. That’s in Ukraine’s favor.
But seeing what’s happening on the ground doesn’t help explain Russia’s motives
Satellite imagery shows ground forces in Yelnya, Russia, on Nov. 1. (Maxar)
By Erik Gartzke
Bryan Early
Tensions over Ukraine’s security continue to rise this week. High-level talks — triggered by a Russian military buildup along Ukraine’s eastern border — have yet to resolve the crisis. While there has been much debate over what Russia might do next, there has been little doubt about the buildup itself.
Instead of being able to covertly concentrate armor, vehicles and military personnel, as was possible in the past, Russian leaders have been forced by prying “eyes in the sky” to acknowledge their military mobilization. Indeed, rather than denying the buildup itself, Russian President Vladimir Putin has sought only to claim that the mobilization is not preparation for an invasion. As our recent research shows, this inability to surprise one’s neighbors has triggered important changes in international affairs.
Technology and the imposition of strategic transparency
For much of history, nations could surprise one another, massing their forces to be effective militarily without necessarily losing the element of surprise. This “strategic surprise” could be a war-winner.
Not today. Ukrainians, and just about everyone else, know what Russia is up to — even if the rationale for Moscow’s actions remains unclear. This lack of strategic surprise poses a critical liability for any invading army, one for which there is no easy alternative.
In recent times, surprising an adversary with a large-scale invasion has become more difficult. Russia cannot catch Ukraine unawares via a conventional invasion. Putin appears to be contemplating a second-best strategy of overwhelming Ukraine militarily, committing to a massive invasion that will be expensive and risky — and will almost certainly damage Russia’s international reputation. The very size of an invasion needed for victory in the absence of surprise could give Putin pause.
Putin’s fight with Ukraine reflects his deep distrust of the West. There’s a long history behind that.
In the past, Russia avoided such large-scale efforts, especially close to NATO’s frontier. In its previous invasion of Ukraine, in 2014, Russia deployed “little green men” and other “gray zone” tactics to avoid having to make a costly, overt attack. At least initially, this subtle aggression worked because it allowed Russia to surprise Ukraine — and provided other nations with a pretext to look the other way.
But Russia’s gray zone conflict in Eastern Ukraine has been foundering. At the same time, invading a greater portion of Ukraine to impose a more decisive military outcome cannot be done covertly.
Satellites have revolutionized international relations
Space surveillance satellites — “eyes in the sky” — routinely monitor events here on earth, making it difficult for one nation to surprise another. Examining the militarized conflict of countries from 1950 to 2010, our study found that governments operating reconnaissance satellites are significantly less likely to suffer a large-scale attack from another nation. This is the case even when taking into account other possible factors, such as alliances, power and proximity.
The time period we analyzed only partially (and briefly) overlaps widespread access to commercial satellite imagery, from roughly 2000 onward. Still, our limited test of whether commercial satellite imagery reduces the risk of international aggression offers evidence that it does.
Commercial-grade satellite imagery should help countries that lack their own reconnaissance capabilities avoid large-scale surprise attacks. In addition, governments that lack satellites can benefit from information provided by other nations.
Ukraine’s access to satellite imagery
The United States, which maintains some of the world’s most advanced reconnaissance satellites, was the first country to sound the alarm about Russia’s military buildup. U.S. officials have used satellite imagery to mobilize public opinion and call for NATO solidarity regarding Russia’s apparent preparations for war.
SpaceX, a private aerospace company founded by Elon Musk, launched a Ukrainian reconnaissance satellite into orbit this week. Until now, Ukrainian leaders have had to rely on information supplied from foreign governments, and on commercially available satellite imagery. With its own satellite, Ukraine can ensure that space assets are monitoring the strategic areas of greatest importance to its national security and that it receives the imagery in a timelier fashion. Such imagery can provide valuable insights into the overarching scope of Russia’s activities vis-a-vis Ukraine. For example, observation of Russia’s major bases and staging areas could indicate the timing and location of a potential attack.
The widespread availability of commercial satellite imagery also means that nongovernmental groups and even individuals can now monitor Russia’s military behavior, not just intelligence agencies. In April 2014, for example, AAAS’s Geospatial Technologies and Human Rights Project used open-source, high-resolution commercial imagery to analyze activity in and around Russia’s regional military bases and link this activity to the ongoing military campaign in Crimea — and the photographic record contradicted the Kremlin’s denials of involvement. Similar initiatives can again be used to monitor Russia’s current military activity.
Satellites will make Russia’s military aggression more difficult
Of course, the Kremlin may still brandish the threat of a large-scale attack to secure concessions from Ukraine and the West, such as demanding that NATO refrain from admitting Ukraine or other former Soviet republics to the security alliance. The space-based spotlight on Russian military activities, however, has allowed Western nations to mobilize public opinion and respond more rapidly, countering the threat of war with the promise of major sanctions, should Russia choose to invade Ukraine.
Satellite imagery has thus placed Ukraine in a better position to resist potential Russian aggression than other nations in the past. Even when compared with 2014 — when Russia used clandestine, irregular tactics to seize control of Crimea — Moscow is unable to conceal the much larger concentration of military power necessary to conduct a larger, more decisive invasion of its neighbor.
Surveillance satellites are helpful in determining the “what” of international affairs — but satellite and other technologies cannot effectively answer the important “why” questions. Analysts in the West are still uncertain as to Putin’s motives in posturing for war. Nevertheless, NATO members have been vocal in condemning Russia’s mobilization and in warning of “severe economic consequences” should Russia invade. While exposure is not always enough to inhibit aggression, lifting the veil on surprise has caused an increasing portion of aggressors to scale down their ambitions — or even to think twice.
Erik Gartzke is a professor of political science and director of the center for Peace and Security Studies (cPASS) at the University of California, San Diego, where he studies the impact of information on war, peace and international institutions.
Bryan Early (@b_r_early) is an associate professor in the Political Science Department and the associate dean for research at the University at Albany, State University of New York’s Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy. | null | null | null | null | null |
The Supreme Court blocked the vaccine mandate for American workers.
Why? It said the Biden administration didn’t have the authority to make such a broad rule, which forced large businesses to either require vaccinations or test workers for the coronavirus.
The court, however, will allow the vaccine requirement for health-care workers to stand, which will affect about 10 million.
The push for voting rights appears doomed in the Senate.
What happened: President Biden twice met with Democrats yesterday, asking them to change Senate rules to pass two voting rights bills.
The holdup: Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) said they won’t support the changes, which means Republicans can block the bills.
What’s next: Democrats pushed proceedings to next week because of a winter storm forecast and a senator testing positive for the coronavirus.
The past seven years have been the hottest on record.
Where did last year fall? It didn’t smash global records, because of La Niña, which usually cools the planet. It roughly tied for No. 6, new data showed.
Temperatures stayed higher than 1 degree Celsius above the preindustrial average. We probably won’t see them fall under that benchmark in our lifetimes.
What this means: Human greenhouse gas emissions have changed the planet. Even not-quite-so-bad years are dramatically hotter than what they were a generation ago.
The FBI made its most high-profile Jan. 6 arrest yet.
Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the extremist group Oath Keepers, and 10 others were charged with sedition, or conspiring “to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force” the U.S. government.
These are the most serious charges related to the attack on the Capitol last year.
In other news: The House Jan. 6 committee subpoenaed Twitter, Reddit and the parent companies of Facebook and YouTube for information.
Australia canceled Novak Djokovic’s travel visa again.
It’s the second time the country has ruled against the tennis star, who isn’t vaccinated against the coronavirus.
What’s at stake: The Australian Open starts Monday. Djokovic, the world’s top-ranked player, is chasing a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title.
What’s next: If his lawyers are unsuccessful in court, Djokovic faces deportation.
A man who got a new heart from a pig once stabbed someone seven times.
The transplant surgery last week on the 57-year-old from Maryland was the first of its kind.
What we learned: The person being heralded as a medical pioneer had been convicted in 1988 after the stabbing left a man paralyzed.
No laws prohibit someone with a criminal history from getting a transplant, despite long waiting lists and shortages.
A daily puzzle named Wordle has taken over the Internet.
What is it? Players get six tries to guess the five-letter word of the day. Color-coded clues point you in the right direction. (We have tips for that here.)
Why is it so popular? It’s a free, fun brain snack for people who don’t have the time, patience or energy for anything more consuming. Plus, who can resist sharing their scores? (Not us.)
And now … what to watch this weekend: The second season of “Cheer” on Netflix. And something to read: “To Paradise” by critically acclaimed author Hanya Yanagihara. | null | null | null | null | null |
In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, Taiwanese sailors form up infront of newly commissioned navy minelayers in Kaohsiung city in southern Taiwan on Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen presided over a commissioning ceremony for the navy’s First and Second Mining Operations Squadrons, which will operate ships able to automatically sow large numbers of small but powerful mines at high speed without the need for divers. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP) (Uncredited/Taiwan Presidential Office) | null | null | null | null | null |
Neither Jones nor Hoffman responded to requests for comment from The Washington Post late Thursday. In interviews with the Plain Dealer, the duo said the tree was on their property, and that they disagreed with the charges.
Black walnut trees are treasured for their high-quality lumber — a fine-grained hardwood used for furniture and gunstocks, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Jennifer Grieser, the natural resources director at Cleveland Metroparks who first discovered the tree had been chopped down, told police the trunk’s 207-inch circumference placed it among Ohio’s largest black walnuts.
According to police, the tree stood on land owned by Cleveland Metroparks, a state agency that manages some 24,000 acres of parkland, trails and recreation space across northeast Ohio, including the Mill Stream Run Reservation near Todd Jones’s property. The black walnut tree sat 7½ feet from his property line, according to police.
A couple days later, Grieser came across the stump while checking on the progress of some saplings that had been planted for a restoration project. She called the police.
At first, Todd Jones allegedly denied knowing about the felled walnut tree when asked by police. “It was always well known” the tree rested on his land, he said, according to the police report — though he added he had never seen a boundary survey. He then told police Hoffman had no involvement in the tree’s removal, according to the report, adding that he did not “want anyone in trouble for this other than [himself].” | null | null | null | null | null |
Federal Reserve Board governor Lael Brainard testifies before a Senate Banking Committee hearing on her nomination to be vice-chair of the Federal Reserve on Jan. 13. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)
Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard probably faces a clear path to becoming the Federal Reserve’s second-in-command. But at her confirmation hearing Thursday, lawmakers used Brainard’s appearance to press her on a range of increasingly politicized issues, including inflation, climate change and the Fed’s own independence.
Pulling that off is a heady challenge. For much of 2021, Fed leaders expected inflation would be a temporary feature of the pandemic economy, and they held off on reining in prices so that the labor market could have room to grow. But price increases have seeped into just about every corner of the economy, bolstered by global supply chain backlogs, high consumer demand, worker shortages and an ongoing list of complications triggered by the pandemic era. | null | null | null | null | null |
Art reflects how we see women; now women are influencing how we see art
Artist Simone Leigh’s sculpture, “Brick House,” is on display at the Spur, the name for a new section of the High Line adjacent to Hudson Yards. (Maura Judkis/TWP)
By Cathryn Keller
In the art world today, women are present in the rooms where it happens: making art in studios of their own; exhibiting in galleries and museums; studying, teaching and writing; selling and buying; leading major institutions. While equity remains an elusive goal, evidence of increasing inclusion, diversity and momentum is undeniable — from Washington, where women direct major art museums, to the 2022 Venice Biennale, the most important global art exhibition, where for the first time both the United States and Britain will be represented by Black women: American sculptor Simone Leigh and British Afro-Caribbean artist Sonia Boyce.
In “Women in the Picture: What Culture Does With Female Bodies,” British art historian Catherine McCormack invites us to walk with her through some of the rooms where art reflects and shapes our deepest beliefs. Moving past familiar works, mainly European paintings at the National Gallery and the Tate Modern in London, she aims a feminist, intersectional gaze at women as subjects and makers.
Speeding through art of the past five centuries, she introduces brilliant works by female artists who persisted and succeeded despite barriers to artistic production. But her primary interest is the representation of women’s bodies in the context of misogynistic, patriarchal legacies that, she argues, use images to control and limit women, making the unacceptable seem normal or invisible — from exclusion to rape, in art and in real life.
Mixing feminist polemic, a few blinding flashes of the obvious and the cri de coeur of a working mother, McCormack grounds her analysis in feminist art history and theory, the insights of racial and sexual justice movements, and her own story as an emerging professional from a working-class background who moves in elite zones of the art world (she lectures at Sotheby’s on “Art, Race and Gender”). The book is structured as four chapters that interpret depictions of women in visual culture in terms of the archetypal figures of Venus, maiden, mother and monster, as a strategy for describing the troubled relationship among women, images and power — or lack of power. The author puts herself in the picture, blending anecdotes based on her experience with discussion of historic and contemporary works.
McCormack begins with two stories. In the first, a man walks up to her in a museum as she stands, baby on hip, looking at a painting. He informs her that the message of the work is unfashionable. She fends off conversation, aware that he sees her “as a mother, and perhaps not so much as a mind,” but does not retreat. The painting she continues to study is “The Story of Griselda,” a 15th-century version of a folk narrative known as the “wife-testing plot.” The panel depicts “nothing unusual,” she says, just “a long-haired woman surrounded by a lot of men in tights.”
A group portrait of a lot of men in breeches painted nearly 300 years after “Griselda” is used to illustrate one of the major obstacles that confronted aspiring female artists: Professional education required life drawing, but women were barred from the rooms where male models posed. When Johan Zoffany painted his fellow founding members of the new Royal Academy in 1771-72, he solved the dilemma of portraying its first two female members, Angelica Kauffman and Mary Moser, by leaving them out of the group but painting their images, framed as portraits, on the wall.
Fast-forward 250 years, and McCormack brings into focus all the paintings of “horizontal bodies of maidens [that] line our art galleries” — a shift in perspective that makes it impossible to ignore the implied content of the images of naked or barely draped female bodies and the “abduction” scenes that wallpaper museums. In one of many instances of her expressed outrage at sexual violence and its reflection in art, she calls out the “casual sexism” and “humiliating indignities” that she perceives in a curator’s comments about “The Rape of Europa” at a museum press preview introducing a major exhibition of Titian paintings in London.
Yet at times she seems to be fighting battles that have been won, as if unaware that much of the art world has moved on. She gives only minimal consideration to the question of what is to be done with problematic images of women if we can’t just lock them up. Part of the answer comes down to one word: contextualize. For example, when the Titian exhibition moved from London to Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum last summer, it was not only a triumphal homecoming for “Europa” but a triumph of contextualization, from exemplary gallery guides to newly commissioned works such as Mary Reid Kelley’s video performance reanimating a Europa who speaks — in a poetic, satirical and very funny voice.
McCormack’s chapter on mothers as artists and as subjects of artists is perhaps the strongest and most coherently argued. Weaving art history and personal story, anecdote and analysis, she discusses impressionist painter Berthe Morisot’s images of mothering and her “art of dislocation” as simultaneous outsider and insider. She provides glimpses of her own life as a mother who reads her children to sleep and then writes late into the night, suggesting that in both cases, the maternal juggling act is more difficult than it appears.
She mentions Virginia Woolf’s “angel in the house” — the one that Woolf had to kill to function as a writer. Several photographs offer variations on the chapter’s theme, including one from Eti Wade’s 2014 “Migrant Mothers” series in which an immigrant caregiver in London holds on her lap not her own child but a laptop computer with her daughter’s image streaming from the Philippines. The revelation is “Therese in Ecstatic Childbirth,” a photograph pulled from the archive of “radical midwife” Ina May Gaskin (who caravanned from San Francisco in 1971 to co-found the Farm in Tennessee). As McCormack says, Hermione Wiltshire’s photograph “radically makes visible something that is never usually seen: a body giving birth in pleasure and not in pain.” The very rarity of the image seems to prove many of McCormack’s points.
Readers might wish that “Women in the Picture” provided higher-quality pictures. Even though the book seems to be written for a general audience, inclusion of some of the conventions of art historical writing — an illustration list, index, artists’ dates — would make a welcome difference. Greater care should have been taken to give credit where due, such as by providing an attribution for the cover image. It appears to be a detail of Artemisia Gentileschi’s first (1612-1613) “Judith Beheading Holofernes” painting; oddly, considering the book’s theme, a text panel covers Judith’s eyes. Not least, the emblematic Zoffany story, so telling on the limits to female artists’ professional advancement, has been told before, by art historians Linda Nochlin, in the 1971 article that launched feminist art history, and by Whitney Chadwick in 1990. (If McCormack’s book whets readers’ appetites, Nochlin’s and Chadwick’s works, in recent expanded editions, provide the full meal.)
McCormack’s mad dash through and around the confluence of issues of gender, power and representation in art is a passionate, serious, yet often entertaining introduction to issues that will be with us for the foreseeable future, their historic context and their implications for women. In addition to the four archetypes presented as symbols of women’s oppression, a new archetype emerges here, implicit but unnamed: the female artist as heroine, perhaps an aspect of the “the heroine with 1,001 faces” described in Maria Tatar’s important recent history of the heroine’s journey in literature and film. McCormack’s own story is part of the new group portrait she has sketched of contemporary female artists, art historians, curators, critics and museum directors who now have the power to look at, create, select and interpret the pictures we see.
“Women in the Picture” opens with a story about fending off an unwelcome mansplainer in a museum. It ends by mentioning “(Un)mansplaining,” a performance by Indian artist Mithu Sen at the Venice Biennale in 2019, a challenge to an audience of art critics to “unmythologize” their writing about women. Next spring, when again women will be prominent in the pavilions at Venice, it is likely that McCormack’s “Women in the Picture” will also be present, on a shelf in the festival store among the guidebooks, art books and continually expanding canon of feminist art history.
Cathryn Keller is a museum consultant and writes about museums, modern art and modern yoga. She worked on Judy Chicago’s “Dinner Party” project as a tapestry weaver.
WOMEN IN THE PICTURE
What Culture Does With Female Bodies
By Catherine McCormack.
W.W. Norton. 240 pp. $22.95 | null | null | null | null | null |
The enduring obstacles and imbalances facing Black athletes and coaches
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson looks to throw a pass against the Miami Dolphins in November. Like other Black quarterbacks, Jackson faced pressure to switch positions for the NFL draft — despite the fact that he’d won the Heisman Trophy. (Jeff Haynes/AP)
By Jerry Bembry
When University of Maryland assistant coach Danny Manning replaced Mark Turgeon as interim head coach of the Terrapins’ basketball team in December, the move increased the number of Black basketball coaches in the Big Ten Conference to five, the most ever in a league that as recently as the 2018-19 season had none.
When the Pac-12 added two new basketball coaches this season — both White —it guaranteed that its men’s teams would all have White head coaches for the third straight season and that the Pac-12 would remain the only conference without a Black basketball coach. For a league that could boast that half of its coaches were Black during the 2001-02 season, the current status is an alarming sign of the hiring practices in sports.
Every year, like clockwork, the issue of race and sports surfaces: the lack of diversity among college football and basketball coaches; the desire of NFL scouts to have successful Black college quarterbacks change positions; the sharp decline in the number of Black baseball players, who, just over 30 years ago, made up close to 20 percent of major league rosters — but now compose just over 7 percent.
These dynamics are highlighted in the absorbing book “Raise a Fist, Take a Knee: Race and the Illusion of Progress in Modern Sports,” by Washington Post columnist and author John Feinstein. The book examines the history of the obstacles that have confronted Black athletes, focusing primarily on football, basketball and baseball. Feinstein also explores the racial awakening in the athletic world following the 2020 murder of George Floyd.
The stories he shares underscore a troubling paradox: Black players and coaches are presented with more opportunities than ever, but they often have to prove themselves to be twice as good as their White counterparts — and frequently that still isn’t enough to garner the respect and opportunities they deserve.
Feinstein zeroes in on the sport that attracts the most criticism of its handling of racial issues: football. Why is a league in which nearly 60 percent of players identify as Black so slow to diversify team leadership? At the start of this season, the National Football League had just three Black head coaches and five Black general managers.
“Raise a Fist, Take a Knee” provides valuable historical context and convincing analysis of the double standards that come into play in the drafting of Black quarterbacks. We read about Marlin Briscoe, who played 11 games at quarterback for the Denver Broncos in 1968. “Marlin finished second in the rookie-of-the-year voting that year,” Feinstein writes. “And yet, he never took another snap as a quarterback.” Briscoe played in Buffalo the following season, where he shifted to wide receiver and earned a trip to the 1970 Pro Bowl. And there was quarterback Lamar Jackson, the Heisman Trophy winner who fell to last pick in the first round of the 2018 draft because draft experts weren’t sure he was capable of playing quarterback in the NFL. He insisted on being a quarterback and refused to show off his running speed to scouts because that “would give the so-called experts another excuse to say he should switch positions,” Feinstein writes. Jackson has performed as a standout at quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens. “You know who else was fast?” Feinstein writes. “Steve Young. So was Fran Tarkenton. No one ever suggested they change positions coming out of college. Both are in the Hall of Fame as quarterbacks. The difference is, they were white. Lamar will be in the Hall someday too — as he has already shown in his first three seasons in the league.”
The book is particularly strong in its discussion of basketball, which is no surprise considering Feinstein’s connections to some of the great coaches in the game, including former college coach George Raveling, Florida State’s Leonard Hamilton, the Philadelphia 76ers’ Doc Rivers and the late Georgetown great John Thompson.
Feinstein’s love-hate relationship with Thompson provides some gems (I would love to have been a witness when Feinstein threatened to fight the larger-than-life coach), but equally eye-opening are the stories shared by coaches Nolan Richardson and Tubby Smith, who won national championships at the University of Arkansas and the University of Kentucky, respectively, about the challenges they faced as Black coaches at predominantly White Southern schools.
Feinstein shows that while Major League Baseball is putting money into diversity programs for women and people of color, the league fails in large measure to practice what it preaches not only on the field but among management. The league has just two Black managers and not a single Black general manager. Derek Jeter, chief executive of the Florida Marlins, and Kenny Williams, executive vice president of the Chicago White Sox, are two of the Black outliers in a league that has a distance to go in improving diversity.
References to DWB — Driving While Black — abound in the book, for me to the point of distraction. The attention Feinstein gives it is perhaps meant to highlight the hardships of everyday Black life, where by simply driving your car you become a target for police. For some readers, the discovery of the prevalence of DWB may be new.
But for me, an African American man who has had to deal with DWB and has heard countless tales of this injustice, the references felt repetitive.
That’s a quibble, however, in what is a comprehensive study of race and sports. “Raise a Fist, Take a Knee” is a timely book that illuminates why athletes from Olympic medalists John Carlos and Tommie Smith to boxing legend Muhammad Ali to former quarterback Colin Kaepernick have risked unpopular stands, often placing their careers in jeopardy.
Some sports, no doubt, have made advancements. In the NBA, you can appreciate how far things have come: The share of Black coaches nearly doubled in the offseason from 23 percent to 43 percent. But, from the abundance of tales in “Raise a Fist, Take a Knee,” you clearly understand how far the sports world still needs to go.
Jerry Bembry is a senior writer at ESPN’s the Undefeated.
Raise a Fist, Take a Knee
Race and the Illusion of Progress in Modern Sports
Little, Brown. 366 pp. $30 | null | null | null | null | null |
How the courts quietly made it harder to sue over government wrongdoing
By Anya Bidwell
In January 2014, two Tennessee police officers set a dog on an unhoused man — he was suspected of stealing electronics — as he sat on the ground, his hands raised in surrender. In January 2017, North Dakota police officers fired beanbag rounds at a peaceful Native American protester who was shielding women and elders in the crowd, hitting him in the face and causing permanent damage to his senses of sight, hearing and smell. And in February 2016, Veterans Affairs security guards choked a 70-year-old veteran and slammed him to the ground because he had placed his identification card in a plastic bin with his other personal belongings, rather than handing it directly to the officers.
Every one of these officers was sued for civil rights violations, and every one of them got off, all because the Supreme Court has severely restricted the right to seek redress in federal courts when government officials violate the Constitution.
As a new book by University of Chicago law professor Aziz Z. Huq explains, this crackdown on constitutional remedies didn’t happen overnight — the court implemented it gradually and with little notice, erecting one legal barrier at a time. And since denying people access to federal courts doesn’t garner the same attention as when the court explicitly narrows the constitutional right at issue in a case, the crackdown has gone largely unnoticed.
“The Collapse of Constitutional Remedies” is Huq’s valiant attempt to shine a spotlight on the high court’s practice of limiting individual rights through these procedural barriers. Huq’s contribution is to locate these barriers in relation to one another and show that together they make hollow the ancient legal maxim that where there is a right, there must also be a remedy for an infringement of that right.
Consider the case of José Oliva, the 70-year-old veteran almost choked to death by VA security guards on his way to a dentist appointment. When he sued for violations of his Fourth Amendment rights, Oliva had to overcome the “qualified immunity” principle invoked by the officers to dismiss the lawsuit. When he did, persuading the trial court to let his case proceed, the officers threw a different legal barrier at him, arguing in the appellate court that they couldn’t be sued in the first place because their employer was the federal government, rather than the state or local government. The court agreed, dismissing Oliva’s case.
Huq explains the creation of this regime, under which no remedy for wrongdoing exists, by examining the federal judiciary’s dependency on the political branches. He argues that the collapse of constitutional remedies is a direct result of judicial appointments by presidents with law-and-order policy commitments. Though it started with Republican President Richard Nixon, Huq writes, by 1973 “crime had crowded out civil rights in the national Democratic Party’s agenda as well as the Republican one,” making judicial appointments an instrument of policy change. Meanwhile, the judiciary’s supposed independence from the political branches has been an illusory safeguard. If anything, Huq suggests, the Constitution’s design for the judiciary — with its dependence on Congress for the kinds of cases it can hear and the kinds of judges who can be appointed — “serves to sharpen, not blunt, the penetration of the federal bench by partisan conflict.”
Beyond these partisan pressures, Huq argues that the judiciary’s own institutional incentives have made it reluctant to entertain constitutional challenges to law enforcement misconduct. Concerned about the caseload of the federal judiciary, justices across the ideological spectrum have worked to stave off anticipated floods of litigation by erecting barriers to civil rights suits. At the same time, Huq writes, the court has left its doors wide open to constitutional challenges of “redistributive regulatory initiatives,” such as a successful challenge to the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. This has resulted in an “uneven supply of legality” that favors challenges to government regulations over challenges to government violence.
Yet, Huq argues, this decades-long slide away from accountability for government officials was not inevitable. Indeed, these same dynamics between partisan pressures and institutional incentives also explain why, before the tables turned in the 1980s, courts honored and even expanded constitutional remedies in the decades following the Great Depression and World War II. According to Huq, during that period “the political forces shaping the courts favored a measure of racial remediation,” and the judiciary itself was involved in “a broad effort to establish its legitimacy as a major actor on the national stage.”
Huq’s proposed solution is to revive this earlier tradition by forming “a new political coalition” that would “channel judicial power back toward the goal of checking illegal state coercion.” This would require “not just new jurisdictional and substantive statutes,” he writes, but also new judges similar to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “liberal bench willing to take on Jim Crow institutions.” Only then, Huq writes, will “the rule of law as a real constraint on state officials” be possible.
Setting aside Roosevelt’s nomination of Felix Frankfurter, who, as a Supreme Court justice, became one of the greatest advocates for the erection of these barriers, Huq’s solution — to the extent it requires massive changes in the composition of the judiciary — is unrealistic. Nor is it necessary to entirely write off the conservative members of the federal judiciary, who have shown themselves more amenable to persuasion than Huq’s arguments suggest.
Take, for example, the work of legal scholars and fellow Chicagoans William Baude and James Pfander, who have separately produced scholarship that engages with conservative judges on their terms. Baude’s argument that qualified immunity is unmoored from common law has convinced even Justice Clarence Thomas to call for its reconsideration. Similarly, Pfander’s incredible research on the availability of remedies against federal officials recently helped persuade a Trump appointee, sitting on the most conservative appellate bench in the country, to speak out against the unavailability of damages suits against federal officials. And prominent conservative commentators such as George Will have embraced the cause, alerting the public to the Supreme Court’s crackdown on constitutional remedies.
This book, too, is a valuable contribution on that front. As Huq rightly points out, the recent constitutional collapse “does not get as much attention as it deserves.” His insight on the cumulative effect of the barriers to constitutional remediation is an important step toward fixing this and moving us closer to a judicial system in which a veteran choked by security guards and a peaceful protester maimed by beanbag rounds are not turned away at the courthouse door.
Anya Bidwell is a lawyer with the Institute for Justice and its Elfie Gallun fellow in freedom and the Constitution.
The Collapse of Constitutional Remedies
By Aziz Z. Huq
Oxford. 192 pp. $27.95 | null | null | null | null | null |
In praise of Henry Kissinger’s Middle East legacy
From left, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Yigal Allon, former Supreme Court justice Arthur Goldberg and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the Israeli Embassy in June 1974. After 1973’s Yom Kippur War, Kissinger helped forge disengagement agreements between Israel and Egypt and Israel and Syria. (Douglas Chevalier/The Washington Post)
By Thomas Schwartz
Few careers in American public life have been as long and consequential as Henry Kissinger’s. From his emergence as one of the first “defense intellectuals” of the Cold War, appearing on Mike Wallace’s interview show in the 1950s, to his recently published book with Eric Schmidt of Google on the societal impact of artificial intelligence, Kissinger’s life in the public spotlight has spanned more than six decades. As national security adviser and secretary of state he presided over the opening to China, detente with the Soviet Union and the end of the Vietnam War. Leaving office in 1977, he became a public commentator and international business consultant, as well as a behind-the-scenes influence in American foreign policy. Although a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, he remains an exceptionally controversial figure because of policies in Cambodia, Chile and South Asia and a target of hatred, especially on the left. When his younger brother, Walter, died last year, the hashtag “the Wrong Kissinger” trended on Twitter.
Martin Indyk has written a fascinating, comprehensive and detailed study of what may be Kissinger’s most decisive and important achievement. In the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, whose cease-fire he had helped to arrange, Kissinger engaged in his signature “shuttle diplomacy,” forging three disengagement agreements between Israel and Egypt and Israel and Syria, and helped create the basis for peace in the Middle East. As the book’s title, “Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy,” indicates, Indyk praises Kissinger’s role in these talks, describing his skills as a brilliant and tireless negotiator and attributing the durability of this peace to Kissinger’s emphasis on establishing an international order rather than a comprehensive peace. This reflects the intellectual Kissinger’s realpolitik approach to international relations; his goal was to establish a stable balance of power in the Middle East by “the skillful manipulation of the antagonisms of competing forces.”
What really sets this book apart from other academic studies is that Indyk is a very unusual historian. In carrying out the traditional archival research in the United States and Israel, mastering the memoir and secondary literature, and conducting interviews with surviving participants, Indyk provides a precise rendering and a literal day-to-day account of Kissinger’s diplomacy in the region. However, having served as a former ambassador to Israel, an assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs and a special assistant to Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Indyk is also a remarkably experienced diplomat with a deep engagement in the Middle East. The book’s narrative frequently toggles between Kissinger’s efforts in the 1970s and Indyk’s later experiences in trying to deal with this troubled region. In his prologue, Indyk writes that while he would not compare himself to Kissinger, “I believe I came to understand what it was like for him.”
Although Indyk largely worked for Democrats and was critical of President Donald Trump’s Middle East policy, it is surprising in these politically polarized times to find that his review of Kissinger’s approach to Middle East diplomacy is much more favorable than those of the presidents he worked for. Indyk contrasts Kissinger’s success in handling Syrian President Hafez al-Assad with the Clinton administration’s failure to get an Israeli-Syrian peace treaty. He also compares Kissinger’s triumph in the Sinai II negotiations, which brought about the first significant Israeli withdrawal from conquered Arab territory and cemented America’s new ties with Egypt, with the Obama administration’s unsuccessful attempt to broker a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Indyk has his criticisms of Kissinger. He judges Kissinger harshly for ignoring Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s signals that he was interested in a deal with Israel before the outbreak of war in October 1973. He believes that Kissinger missed an opportunity in early 1974 to engage Jordan’s King Hussein in the peace process in a manner that would have allowed Jordan, instead of the Palestine Liberation Organization, to represent the Palestinians. Jordanian control of the West Bank might have allowed an eventual Israeli withdrawal in a way that the PLO has not. Kissinger’s hesitation allowed PLO leader Yasser Arafat to gain additional Arab support, and at the Rabat summit in October 1974 the PLO was designated the sole representative of the Palestinians.
Even Kissinger had regrets about not negotiating with Jordan. But this outcome was hard to see as a real lost opportunity for a settlement of the Palestinian question. As Indyk shows, Kissinger was distracted at the time: Watergate was severely weakening President Richard Nixon, detente was facing congressional challenges, and both Sadat and Israel’s Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin were unenthusiastic about the potential of the Jordan talks.
Indyk notes that in Nixon’s memoirs the president said he did not initially put Kissinger in charge of the Middle East because his “Jewish background” would be a liability in dealing with the Arab states. Kissinger believed that Nixon, whose antisemitism was evident in the White House tapes, kept him away from the Middle East because “my Jewish faith might warp my judgment.” Indyk argues that although Kissinger is often seen as a coldblooded realist, on Israel he was a “sentimentalist.” Having lost 13 members of his family to the Nazis and having liberated a concentration camp as an American soldier, he had a personal and emotional connection to the Jewish state that was different from his dealings with other countries. Indyk describes his relationship with Israeli leaders as “fraught and complicated,” and there is certainly proof of that in the endless hours of negotiations and bitter disagreements over a “reassessment” of the U.S.-Israeli relationship after Kissinger’s first attempt at a Sinai agreement failed in March 1975. Ironically enough, Kissinger was strongly criticized at the time by Israelis, many of whom now acknowledge that his peacemaking approach ensured Israel’s survival and prosperity.
Some critics have argued that Indyk’s book is overly generous and that whatever Kissinger’s contribution to the Middle East, his diplomacy did not ultimately serve America’s national interests. As one reviewer put it, because of Kissinger’s diplomacy, the United States “bought itself burdensome dependents and many hostile adversaries.” This critique is unfair and shortsighted. Although U.S. relations with Israel have become a more contentious issue, especially because of former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s close ties to the Trump administration, it is important to maintain a historical perspective. As Indyk notes, Kissinger’s approach eliminated an existential threat to Israel in removing Egypt from the Arab states aligned against her. In tightening relations with Israel, the United States developed a close alliance with a pro-Western democratic state that shares its values and has become the true superpower of the Middle East. This policy has consistently enjoyed strong support from a large swath of the American people, who have viewed Israel as a reliable friend of the United States. The alliance, in most people’s eyes, is in the U.S. national interest. Israel is increasingly tolerated, and in some cases even accepted, by Arab countries because of its power and technological and economic prowess. Along with the rebuilding and democratization of Germany, Japan and South Korea, the survival and success of Israel should be seen as one of the genuine historic accomplishments of an enlightened American diplomacy, and as Indyk makes clear, Kissinger deserves a great deal of the credit
Thomas Schwartz is a professor of history and political science at Vanderbilt University and the author of “Henry Kissinger and American Power: A Political Biography.”
Master of the Game
Henry Kissinger and the Art of Middle East Diplomacy
By Martin Indyk | null | null | null | null | null |
Years before Watergate, a young Carl Bernstein fell in love with local journalism
Carl Bernstein at a reception after former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee’s funeral in Washington in 2014. With Bradlee and Bob Woodward, Bernstein was instrumental in covering the Watergate scandal, but his new memoir instead recalls his earliest years in journalism. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)
By Kathy Kiely
Carl Bernstein’s name will forever be linked with The Washington Post as half the byline on what a study for the Columbia School of Journalism described as arguably “the most famous story in American investigative journalism history.” But in his new book about his reporting career, Bernstein doesn’t go anywhere near there.
“Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom” doesn’t mention Watergate. The occasional references to Richard Nixon have nothing to do with the scandal that Bernstein would help uncover about the nation’s 37th president. And the newspaper that the work of Bernstein and Bob Woodward vaulted into the journalistic pantheon rates only relatively glancing mentions.
Inveterate newshound that he is, Bernstein has no interest in retelling an already well-known tale. Instead of the staccato just-the-facts brag you might expect from an investigative reporter whose work brought down a president, “Chasing History” is a lovingly detailed memoir composed in a humble register. A recounting of Bernstein’s first five years in the journalism business, it opens in 1960 at the Washington Star with a vivid description of Bernstein’s first job interview at the paper he once delivered to Silver Spring, Md., homes from a red wagon. Bernstein was 16 years old, self-conscious about his freckles and trying to hide his status as a high school junior behind a spiffy suit from the same discount haberdasher who outfitted then-Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson. Overcoming the initial skepticism of the Star’s editors required a combination of precocious pertinacity (“I telephoned every two or three days,” Bernstein recalls) and a lightning-fast typing speed (nearly 90 words per minute). It was an early sign of Bernstein’s rebel streak paying off. He decided to become the only boy to study typing, “part of the Home Economics curriculum at Montgomery Blair High School,” he notes, because “I’d come to hate shop classes by then.”
Bernstein’s coming-of-age in the newsroom coincided with a tumultuous time in American history. His preference for the newsroom over the classroom (he barely finished high school and never graduated from the University of Maryland) put him in position to help cover the space race, the Cold War and the Supreme Court decision to end prayer in public schools. At one point, Bernstein was so angry about being denied a plum assignment to cover civil rights leaders’ response to the beatings of protesters (including future congressman John Lewis) in Selma, Ala., that he took vacation time to flack for them. While it’s hard to imagine a more laudable cause to support than civil rights, Bernstein’s brief experience as a public relations agent only cemented his desire to become a full-fledged reporter. He was eager to have his hand in shaping the daily news report. As a lowly courier for the Star’s busy police reporters, he learned enough about D.C. law enforcement officials’ efforts to hunt down homosexuals — including a top aide to then-President Johnson — to wonder whether an abuse of police power wasn’t the real story. And, as a draft-eligible young man, he spent a good deal of energy trying to avoid a government-paid trip to Vietnam.
So, “Chasing History” can be read as an origin story of many of the debates we’re still having today — about race, about culture, and about the appropriate role and reach of American power across the globe. But it can also be read as a call for a debate that we should be having but aren’t — about how to support the kind of public-service-minded, labor-intensive journalism that inspired Bernstein to get into the business.
As much as it is about Bernstein, this book is about the vibrant life and inexorable death of the Star and, by extension, all too many other major metropolitan dailies. It is, however, hardly sentimental. Take, for instance, Bernstein’s descriptions of the Star’s police reporters: One “looked like a warthog and he sounded like a warthog too,” he writes, describing the “snuffling, rooting noise” that accompanied “almost every clause he uttered.” Yet for all the quirky and at times downright repellent characters at newspapers like the Star, these institutions managed to incubate talent and serve their communities in ways that we are sorely missing today.
Particularly in rural America, the loss of local papers, combined with a lack of adequate broadband, has left people relying on what they can get on their cellphones for news. That would be social media, such as Facebook. And you wonder why lies about the 2020 election and coronavirus vaccinations took hold?
This news desertification has been minutely chronicled by Penny Abernathy, a reporter turned scholar, and recently lamented by The Washington Post Magazine. And lest anyone think I’m wallowing in ink-stained nostalgia by focusing on news outlets best known for the products they produce on paper, read the statistics from the Pew Research Center and weep: Your phone and computer may make you think you can’t get away from the news, but the number of people who actually report and cover it dropped by more than 25 percent between 2008 and 2020. And, as Poynter has documented, the pandemic has only made things worse, hollowing out local newsrooms at a time when people need trusted news sources more than ever.
As disheartening as they are, these figures don’t even begin to accurately measure the extent of the damage, since by 2008, newspaper employment already was down dramatically from the 1970s, when daily circulation peaked.
More than any numbers could, Bernstein’s book gives a vivid sense of what has been lost.
In most towns these days, it’s impossible to imagine a scene like the one that so entranced Bernstein the first time he walked into the newsroom of his hometown paper. The “glorious chaos” and “purposeful commotion,” he writes, were generated by a room full of reporters, dictationists, editors, photographers and copy boys (gender-specific terms used advisedly, as that’s the way it was back in the day). In an era when data is transmitted wirelessly, the work that kept Bernstein so busy is obsolete: Copy boys crisscrossed the newsroom ferrying first drafts of the day’s news from the typewriters of reporters still writing it to the desks of editors waiting to ready it for publication. A floor or two below, another room full of linotypists and pressmen was preparing to create the rumble of the presses that Bernstein would feel under his feet.
Bernstein describes it as a kind of word factory. In fact, he uses the word “factory” repeatedly in referring to the Star, and it is telling. Newspapers of the era — especially afternoon papers, where presses rolled during the day while reporters and writers were at work upstairs — were intriguing cultural crossroads. Writerly intellectuals, recruited straight out of the Ivy League — such as Lance Morrow, later a celebrated essayist for Time magazine and the Wall Street Journal, and Warren Hoge, later the foreign editor of the New York Times — regularly crossed paths with less lofty-minded members of the trade (the aforementioned cop shop reporters) as well as members of blue-collar craft unions who worked with ink and hot lead.
A “media elite” it was not. Oh, it’s true that the Star was an incubator of many journalists who would become leading figures in the profession, including three trailblazing women: the celebrated columnist Mary McGrory, author Myra MacPherson and investigative reporter Miriam Ottenberg. Bernstein drops their boldfaced names liberally throughout his text and pays them generous credit for mentoring him. But he reserves his best writing for the characters to whom he seems to owe a bigger debt, characters like Eddie, the legless pencil vendor who steered him to where he could get his first grown-up suit at a discount, and Annie the newspaper vendor, who sold him papers when he was a kid.
This “little guy” mentality was part of the DNA of many community newspapers, which gave their audiences a window onto the wider world while also drawing them in with stories about themselves. Annie’s obit was lovingly reported and written by Bernstein and edited by Haynes Johnson, who already was gaining a reputation for his meticulously reported, near-book-length studies of American social and political challenges such as civil rights and McCarthyism. Her obit ran on Page 1 of the Star, meaning that a humble newsstand operator was laid to rest by two future Pulitzer Prize winners. How many local news organizations have the time and the talent to do the same today?
Based on Bernstein’s description of the schedules he had to juggle once he was promoted to city desk clerk, which put him in charge of scheduling all the reporters and support staff, there may have been more copy boys (and, eventually, girls) in the Star newsroom than there are reporters at some major metropolitan dailies now. It’s also impossible to imagine many local news organizations today being able to deploy the kind of resources that Bernstein recounts the Star mobilizing to cover the 1963 March on Washington: dedicated phone lines placed at strategic locations around the Mall so that reporters, in those pre-cellphone days, could quickly phone their reports to a waiting rewrite desk; a fleet of cars and drivers equipped with two-way radios, food and, in case of violence, helmets for reporters; motorcycle couriers to rush photographers’ film to a temporary helipad on the Mall so the undeveloped rolls could be choppered to the Star’s roof.
Bernstein began thinking deeply about racial inequity after being assigned to cover neighborhood association meetings and noticing they were segregated. He had his consciousness raised about the lack of Black reporters in the Star newsroom after a difficult conversation with Stokely Carmichael at one of those meetings. His reflections on the impact that covering raw injustice had on reporters echo in the current debates over how to cover Black Lives Matter or Donald Trump.
“The old fifty-fifty, down-the-middle, half-on-one-side-half-on-the-other approach was giving way to real reporting that was closer to the truth,” Bernstein writes about the coverage of the murders of civil rights advocates in the Deep South. “Because, for all the right reasons, the truth is not neutral.”
There’s plenty in this book for history buffs: Bernstein was on the parade route for John Kennedy’s inauguration, and — while still a high school student — at the news conference where Kennedy answered questions about the Bay of Pigs fiasco. As a young legman, whose job was to file notes to senior reporters, Bernstein was at the White House when Kennedy’s coffin was returned in the early-morning hours after his assassination.
“At about four thirty in the morning the gray ambulance-hearse, followed by several black limousines, arrived outside the Northwest Gate,” he writes. “An honor guard lifted the casket and carried it inside. Behind it, the president’s widow and his brother, who had been in the hearse, followed. I got back to the newsroom about an hour later, drained.”
The book also is a lyrical reminiscence of the Washington that nurtured Bernstein, “a city,” he writes, “that was both a great world capital and a smallish town that was home.” At one point, Bernstein told a girlfriend about his ambition to write “a wholly different kind of volume about the capital of the United States,” modeled after Jan Morris’s “Venice.” In many ways, he’s realized that ambition. That afternoon, on his date, Bernstein noticed the National Gallery turning “a shade of pink, which is what always happened to the marble when it rained.” This is a book that acknowledges the power and beauty of Washington while giving plenty of love and even respect to the Damon Runyonesque characters who inhabited it back in the day.
But I think “Chasing History” is more interesting for the questions it raises about the history we have yet to write. Even though he never mentions Watergate, Bernstein’s memoir has to leave you wondering: Who is going to expose the next one? Who is covering the neighborhood association meetings today? Who is interviewing the next Stokely Carmichael? Who is mentoring the next Carl Bernstein?
Who is paying for all that? And without it, where are we headed?
Kathy Kiely is the Lee Hills chair in free press studies at the Missouri School of Journalism.
A Kid in the Newsroom
By Carl Bernstein
Holt. 370 pp. $29.99 | null | null | null | null | null |
Downing Street apologizes to Buckingham Palace for holding lockdown parties on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II sits alone at the funeral of her husband, Prince Philip, at St George's Chapel, in Windsor, Britain, on April 17. (Victoria Jones/Pool/Reuters)
Johnson’s administration has been hit by a string of claims that there were parties at Downing Street and other government offices that flouted the covid restrictions at the time. There has been widespread outrage over the idea that officials have not been bound by the onerous covid restrictions they themselves devised.
The latest incident to emerge occurred on April 16, 2021, the night before the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral. He died aged 99. At the time, the country was in a period of national mourning and indoor social mixing was banned due to covid restrictions.
The revelation of the gathering is just the latest development in the “partygate” scandal that has rocked the British government and renewed speculation about Johnson’s premiership. Johnson’s popularity has dropped to an all-time low.
Sue Gray, a career civil servant, is leading an investigation into a number of alleged gatherings during lockdown and whether rules were breached. Her report is expected by the end of the month. | null | null | null | null | null |
Another bill in the House, sponsored by Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler (D-parts of Chesapeake and Virginia Beach), would require any person or business that breeds cats and dogs for animal testing facilities to report on a monthly basis to the state veterinarian such information as “birth, acquisition, death, sale, transfer, or other disposition” of the animal.
The USDA also found that hundreds of puppies had died of “unknown causes” over a span of months; dogs’ food dispensers were teeming with insects; and reeking kennels had piles of feces, urine and food underneath them. | null | null | null | null | null |
What to watch with your kids: ‘Belle,’ ‘Hotel Transylvania: Transformania’ and more
A scene from the Japanese anime film “Belle.” (GKids)
Belle (PG)
Vivid anime has humor, heart, and deals with big themes.
“Belle” is a coming-of-age anime fantasy that retells the “Beauty and the Beast” fairy tale in a slightly futuristic setting. Available in the original Japanese (with subtitles) and in a dubbed version, it delicately deals with several big issues within a family, including (spoiler alert) loss, grief, abandonment and abuse. None of those incidents are actually depicted, but kids are shown being threatened, and one receives a bloody scratch. Main character Suzu (voiced by Kaho Nakamura, in Japanese, and Kylie McNeill in English) is still grappling with the past trauma of her mother’s death, and her sadness has left her alienated from most of her classmates over the years. With the encouragement and support of her best friend, she finds comfort (and eventually strength) by
re-creating herself as a beautiful avatar in a virtual environment, emboldened by her anonymity there. Themes include curiosity and beauty coming from who you are inside. Expect some name calling (“idiot,” “loser,” “old fart,” “scumbag,” etc.) and a use of “damn,” as well as jokes about possibly age-inappropriate crushes. (121 minutes)
Action violence in fantastic, fierce female spy thriller.
“The 355” is an action thriller centered on a formidable, diverse team of international female spies played by Jessica Chastain, Penélope Cruz, Lupita Nyong’o, Diane Kruger and Bingbing Fan. They’re physically skilled, shrewd, brave and untiring in their pursuit to do what’s necessary to save the world from extreme danger. While each is tough and capable as a solo agent, the clear message is that women are stronger together. Each reflects the culture of her country of origin to some degree, and many languages are spoken. Frequent action violence includes highly choreographed combat moves, gunfire, punches, kicks, explosions and stabbings. These scenes aren’t graphic and don’t have a huge amount of emotional impact, but a hostage situation is far tenser and may be too much for sensitive viewers. A long-term friendship gets romantic, with kissing on a bed and the implication of sex. Drinking throughout and reference to selling cocaine. Strong language includes
“a--hole” and one use of “f---.”
Gory “requel” in meta-horror series is still wicked fun.
“Scream” is the fifth movie in the horror franchise and is a self-described “requel” (i.e. mix of remake and sequel) intended to send the story in a new direction while still involving “legacy” characters such as Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell). In the hands of new filmmakers, the meta-horror idea still has enough juice to produce a lightly flawed but wickedly entertaining shocker for mature fans. Violence is extremely strong and over-the-top, with lots of blood: spurts, sprays and gurgles. Expect to see guns and shooting, characters dying, repeated stabbings, fighting, kicking and punching, etc. Language is also quite strong, with many uses of “f---,” “s---,” “a--hole,” “b----” and more. There are several instances of sex-related dialogue, and two scenes with kissing, plus a discussion about “going upstairs.” Teen drinking is briefly seen at a party, and there’s dialogue about teen drug use and alcohol dependency (many liquor bottles are shown).
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (PG)
Slapsticky monster sequel has silly laughs, mild peril.
“Hotel Transylvania: Transformania” is the fourth (and supposedly final) installment in the animated Hotel Transylvania series about classic movie monsters. The story focuses on Johnny (voice of Andy Samberg), who uses Van Helsing’s (Jim Gaffigan) “Monsterfication” ray to turn himself into a monster after Dracula (Brian Hull, stepping in for Adam Sandler) lies and tells him that only a monster can inherit the family business. But the device also turns the monsters, including Drac himself, into humans. Expect mild peril (falls from heights, etc.), lots of slapstick physical comedy (mostly at the expense of how frail humans are compared to monsters), property destruction and a fanged and red-eyed, rampaging gerbil monster. There are a few laugh-inducing shots of the Invisible Man’s bare bum once he becomes visible (one shot is especially large and looming), as well as some affection/kissing between couples, mild insults and characters drinking a toast during a celebration. “Humanizing” the monsters makes it clear that the characters are more diverse as monsters than they are as humans. But as with the previous movies, the story has themes of celebrating differences, accepting others as they are and the importance of teamwork. (98 minutes) | null | null | null | null | null |
Abolitionist Frederick Douglass, left, who Abraham Lincoln did not famously debate in 1858. (Library of Congress; AP)
Of all the paragraphs in a proposed bill to ban “divisive concepts” from being taught in Virginia public schools, section B3 may have seemed the most innocuous. After all, that was the section defining what could actually be taught in history classes, not the myriad things that would be banned or the consequences teachers could face for teaching them, including prosecution and getting fired.
Section B3 of the bill, which was sponsored by freshman GOP Del. Wren M. Williams, defined what could be taught as “the founding documents,” like the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, excerpts from the Federalist Papers, the writings of the Founding Fathers and Alexis de Tocqueville’s classic “Democracy in America.” Oh, and one more thing: “the first debate between Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.”
Thousands of people attended each debate, which were held outdoors and had a county fair vibe; some even traveled from other states to hear them. Newspapers across the country covered each one in detail, taking advantage of the telegraph to speed their coverage.
The subject of the debates generated intense national interest because they were all about slavery.
Though he claimed to dislike slavery, Douglas was a proponent of “popular sovereignty,” the idea that settlers in a new territory should be able to decide by popular vote whether or not to become a slave or free state.
Lincoln, as a member of the nascent Republican Party, also walked a nuanced line, pushing for a gradual end to slavery as a moral wrong, but not advocating for full Black equality or rights of citizenship. He also supported monetary compensation to slaveholders and “recolonization” of Black Americans to a different country.
Still, when the 1858 election took place, the Democrats were victorious, keeping Douglas in the Senate. But the breathless coverage of the debates had established Lincoln as a national figure, and he later published the debates as a book, helping him to win the presidency two years later. Douglas was also a candidate in that election.
It should be mentioned, while in the White House, Lincoln did meet with Douglass — the abolitionist one, with two s’s — and even had a conversation about Black Union soldiers’ pay and safety. But that doesn’t qualify as a debate. | null | null | null | null | null |
Neither Jones nor Hoffman responded to requests for comment from The Washington Post late Thursday. In interviews with the Plain Dealer, the duo said the tree was on their property and that they disagreed with the charges.
Black walnut trees are treasured for their high-quality lumber — a fine-grained hardwood used for furniture and gunstocks, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Jennifer Grieser, the natural resources director at Cleveland Metroparks who discovered the tree had been chopped down, told police the trunk’s 207-inch circumference placed it among Ohio’s largest black walnuts.
According to police, the tree stood on land owned by Cleveland Metroparks, a state agency that manages some 24,000 acres of parkland, trails and recreation space across northeast Ohio, including the Mill Stream Run Reservation near Jones’s property. The black walnut tree sat 7½ feet from his property line, according to police.
A couple of days later, Grieser came across the stump while checking on the progress of some saplings that had been planted for a restoration project. She called the police.
At first, Todd Jones allegedly denied knowing about the felled walnut tree when asked by police. “It was always well known” the tree rested on his land, he said, according to the police report — though he added he had never seen a boundary survey. He then told police Hoffman had no involvement in the tree’s removal, according to the report, adding that he did not “want anyone in trouble for this other than” himself. | null | null | null | null | null |
Germany convicted a Syrian man of war crimes in Syria. Can national courts prosecute injustices everywhere?
The landmark case invoked the principle of ‘universal jurisdiction’
Syrian women hold banners after the verdict in front of the court in Koblenz, Germany, on Jan. 13. (Martin Meissner/AP)
By Leslie Johns
Maximo Langer
Margaret E. Peters
On Jan. 13, a German domestic court found Anwar Raslan — a former security official in Syrian President Bashir al-Assad’s regime — guilty of crimes against humanity.
Raslan, referred to as “Anwar R.” in some news coverage, was charged with overseeing the torture of thousands of prisoners in Syria, many of whom were sexually assaulted and/or killed. Human rights groups and news organizations have carefully detailed Raslan’s acts and the German trial.
But why is a German court prosecuting crimes committed by a Syrian against other Syrian nationals on Syrian territory? Raslan’s trial reflects an important and growing trend in international politics: the assertion of universal jurisdiction by domestic courts. This move toward universal jurisdiction, our research suggests, is driven by migration. The movement of people — such as Syrian refugees — across borders has changed the tactics that individuals and governments adopt to uphold international law.
South Sudan promised to investigate civil war atrocities. Why hasn’t that happened?
What is universal jurisdiction?
The legal term “jurisdiction” describes a court’s authority to rule on specific cases and legal questions. Domestic legal systems usually limit the jurisdiction of domestic courts to cases that involve their country’s territory, nationals or national security.
However, Raslan did not commit his crimes on German territory. Neither he nor his victims were German nationals, and his actions did not affect Germany’s security. To convince the German court to hear the case, German prosecutors had to invoke “universal jurisdiction.”
This concept was originally developed as a tool for domestic courts to punish maritime pirates, who committed crimes on the high seas, outside of the territorial jurisdiction of any country. However, Israel began a legal trend in the early 1960s when it used universal jurisdiction as a tool to investigate and ultimately prosecute Adolph Eichmann, a Nazi official who oversaw the Holocaust in Europe, years before Israel even existed. Other countries slowly began to mimic Israel’s arguments, and the use of universal jurisdiction has surged in recent decades.
Germany is the country that most frequently asserts universal jurisdiction over human rights crimes. Our data indicates that Germany has opened over 650 cases using universal jurisdiction. Spain takes second place, with over 350 cases, including the well-known attempt to prosecute Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet for crimes committed in Argentina and Chile.
Canada, France, Sweden and the United Kingdom have over 100 universal jurisdiction cases each. But universal jurisdiction isn’t a tool used exclusively by Western nations. Argentina, Senegal, and South Africa have also pursued such cases.
The ICC says it can investigate Israel’s alleged war crimes in the Palestinian territories. Netanyahu and Biden object.
What drives universal jurisdiction cases?
Our research suggests that migration may be driving universal jurisdiction cases. To test this hypothesis, we examined how many migrants moved to each country, along with the characteristics of their home countries.
We found that the countries who received larger numbers of immigrants tended to have more universal jurisdiction cases. This relationship was especially strong for migrants from home countries with a long history of human rights abuses.
In addition, we found that universal jurisdiction cases are unlikely to be launched against a country’s military allies.
How migration influences these cases
Many migrants are victims of or witnesses to atrocities in their home country. Others are the perpetrators of such atrocities. For example, Raslan fled Syria and moved to Germany in 2014.
After migrants arrive in a new country, they have several ways to seek justice for the violence that they sought to escape. First, they can report crimes to police and prosecutors in their new home country, and assist in investigations. Universal jurisdiction cases often rely on migrants to provide evidence, locate witnesses and testify in trials. For instance, in Raslan’s case, various alleged victims saw him in Berlin and reported him to German authorities.
Second, migrants can mobilize public opinion in their new home country by informing the public about crimes that occurred elsewhere. For example, Syrian migrants in Germany organized to promote prosecutions. They created their own nongovernmental organizations and worked with local groups to inform the German media and public about atrocities in Syria.
Third, migrants frequently seek meetings with elite officials — including judges and legislators — to persuade them to act. They use their personal narratives to humanize conflicts in faraway places, such as Syria. In Raslan’s case, testimony from Syrian migrants contributed to the Federal Court of Justice, Germany’s highest court, issuing an arrest warrant against him in 2019.
And fourth, many countries allow individual victims to launch private prosecutions. This power is mostly unknown in the United States, where only public prosecutors can file charges and serve as the prosecuting party in criminal proceedings. However, a number of countries allow the alleged victim of a crime, a private citizen or certain nongovernmental organizations to be a party in the criminal process together with, or instead of, public prosecutors. In the Raslan case, several Syrian torture survivors were private prosecutors.
The importance of universal jurisdiction
Events like the Syrian refugee crisis in Europe are influencing criminal prosecutions in places such as Germany. As individuals move across borders, their demands for justice accompany them.
Migration transforms atrocities committed on foreign soil into crimes that can be remedied in domestic courts. In short, migrants help to uphold international law in domestic courts, offering victims of these crimes new options to seek justice.
Leslie Johns is a professor of political science and law at UCLA.
Máximo Langer is a professor of law at UCLA.
Margaret E. Peters is an associate professor of political science at UCLA. | null | null | null | null | null |
QB Brennan Armstrong announces he will return to Virginia for one more year
Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong is set to come back for his senior year after setting the program single-season records for total offense and passing yards. (Keith Srakocic/AP)
The Virginia football team finally received some uplifting news when quarterback Brennan Armstrong revealed he would be coming back for his final year of eligibility, ending more than a month of speculation about his future with the Cavaliers amid the program’s tumultuous end to the season.
The record-setting junior made the announcement in a video posted to multiple social media accounts Thursday night, keeping Virginia’s offensive centerpiece in place with first-year coach Tony Elliott and an overhauled offensive staff set to take over next season.
“After a long talk with my family, I’m excited to announce I will be coming back to the University of Virginia and playing one more year,” Armstrong said in the video thanking his previous coaches as well as the Cavaliers’ fan base.
Armstrong’s decision comes a little more than two weeks after the Cavaliers withdrew from the Fenway Bowl in part because of an in-house surge in coronavirus cases. Virginia had been scheduled to play Southern Methodist Dec. 29 in the inaugural bowl game at Fenway Park.
A handful of undisclosed players had displayed symptoms consistent with the virus before the team departed for Boston, and subsequent tests yielded additional positive tests. The uptick in cases combined with notable players entering the transfer portal compelled Virginia officials to make the decision not to play.
The bowl game also was to serve as the farewell for former coach Bronco Mendenhall, who stunningly announced several days after the conclusion of the regular season he would be resigning, citing a need to reassess priorities outside of football.
Clemson’s down year helped Tony Elliott become Virginia’s new coach
“Brennan is an outstanding human being,” Armstrong said roughly a week before the Fenway Bowl was supposed to take place. “He’s loyal and trustworthy, and all the qualities I would want in a friend, he has them, and yeah, I’m the head coach at U-Va., but my players, they end up becoming my friends, and he would be one that you’d want with you anywhere, any situation.”
With Mendenhall’s departure finalized, several prominent members of his staff who helped Armstrong reach unprecedented benchmarks since have moved on to opportunities elsewhere. Most notable among them include former offensive coordinator Robert Anae and ex-quarterbacks coach Jason Beck.
That leaves the program’s single-season leader in passing and total offense to work with Elliott, formerly the offensive coordinator at Clemson, and recently named offensive coordinator Des Kitchings, who last season served as running backs coach for the Atlanta Falcons.
Kitchings was the running backs coach at South Carolina before leaving for the NFL.
Armstrong, who passed for 4,449 yards and 31 touchdowns, another school record, last season, spoke extensively with Elliott even as he was preparing for the Fenway Bowl while awaiting feedback from the league regarding his potential draft status.
The left-hander had submitted paperwork to the NFL soon after Virginia lost to Virginia Tech, 29-24, Nov. 27 in the regular season finale at Scott Stadium.
“I don’t think I’m ever transferring,” Armstrong said when asked about his plans shortly after Elliott’s introductory news conference. “It’s either here or the NFL. Me and Coach Elliott will sit and down and talk about a bunch of stuff and figure things out, and then make my decision off that.” | null | null | null | null | null |
Novak Djokovic’s legacy, bid for 21st Grand Slam are dealt another setback
Novak Djokovic, seen during a practice session this week in Melbourne, may be forced to miss the Australian Open. (Diego Fedele/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
For even exceptionally conditioned tennis champions, the window for winning Grand Slam titles narrows with age. No amount of experience or self-belief can compensate for the inevitable physical decline in explosiveness, nor can it forestall the rise of younger challengers with bigger games and comparable conviction.
This is the calculus now facing Novak Djokovic, 34, after Australia’s immigration minister, Alex Hawke, revoked his visa Friday, citing “health and good order” grounds amid a falsehood on Djokovic’s immigration form regarding international travel he had taken in the 14 days before his Jan. 5 arrival at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport to compete in the upcoming Australian Open.
Djokovic’s lawyers are appealing the decision, and a judge agreed at a hearing late Friday not to seek his removal from the country until the court proceedings are resolved. If Djokovic’s bid fails, he would be deported.
Australia cancels Novak Djokovic’s visa again, plans to re-detain him ahead of court battle
Hawke’s decision casts new doubt on whether Djokovic, a nine-time Australian Open champion, will be allowed to compete for a men’s-record 21st major singles title when the season’s first Grand Slam event gets underway Monday at Melbourne Park.
Djokovic, who is not vaccinated against the coronavirus, blamed his agent this week for what he called “human error” on his travel declaration, which falsely said he had not traveled internationally in the two weeks before arriving in Australia. He also apologized for interacting with journalists for a French sports publication on Dec. 18 despite learning two days prior he had tested positive for the virus.
Hawke’s decision — announced the day after tournament officials had unveiled the draw with Djokovic seeded first — is the next chapter in a 10-day circus over Djokovic’s eligibility. It has roiled Australian citizens, outraged Djokovic’s Serbian compatriots, pitted Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison against state officials in Victoria and called into question the impartiality of Tennis Australia, the governing body that runs the nation’s Grand Slam event.
If Djokovic is deported, the opportunity to make men’s tennis history at this year’s Australian Open falls solely to Rafael Nadal, 35, who is tied with Djokovic and 40-year-old Roger Federer (who is not competing as he recovers from knee surgery) with 20 majors.
Hawke’s decision represents a blow to Djokovic, the world’s No. 1 men’s player, on two levels.
It moves him one step closer to being denied one of four Grand Slam title opportunities this season. And although he remains a national hero in his native Serbia, in the eyes of much of the tennis world, the episode has tarnished his integrity and a legacy he is still constructing.
Djokovic would have entered this year’s Australian Open without a hitch, of course, had he gotten vaccinated against the coronavirus, which was required of all players unless they documented an approved medical reason that made them exempt.
Problems arose immediately upon Djokovic’s arrival at Melbourne’s airport when Australian Border Force officers ruled invalid the medical exemption from vaccine requirements that the player had been granted by Tennis Australia and state health officials in Victoria.
Djokovic’s reason for requesting the exemption was that he had a recent case of covid-19, diagnosed in mid-December. That fell short of the national standard for valid contraindications — conditions such an allergy to a component of the vaccine that would imperil a person’s health.
After Djokovic spent five days in a government-designated hotel for immigrants in similar limbo, a federal judge overturned the government’s decision to deny his visa on procedural grounds.
Before the controversy over his medical exemption, Djokovic seemed all but assured of surpassing Nadal and Federer for the men’s record tally of majors. His best chance, in fact, was the first Grand Slam of the 2022 season.
No man or woman has won more Australian Open titles in the sport’s Open Era than Djokovic. The lightning-fast hard court of Rod Laver Arena is tailor-made for his potent blend of offense and defense.
“If you have asked me six months ago or nine months ago, even at the U.S. Open [in September], I thought he was well on his way to smashing the men’s record,” said Brad Gilbert, former touring pro and coach-turned-ESPN analyst, during a conference call Wednesday. “I thought he might [win] 25 to 27 majors.”
That is less certain now, as the next generation’s challengers round into form and believe that Grand Slams are no longer the fiefdom of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer. Among them: Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, who routed Djokovic in straight sets to win the 2021 U.S. Open and deny the Serb’s bid for the rare calendar-year Grand Slam; Germany’s Alexander Zverev, the world’s No. 3 player and 2020 U.S. Open finalist; and fourth-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, who was edged by Djokovic in a five-set 2021 French Open final.
Blackistone: Novak Djokovic fought the public good — and won. That’s bad news for all of us.
Moreover, if Djokovic continues to refuse the vaccine, it’s possible he will face additional hurdles entering France, England and the United States, which host the season’s remaining Grand Slams.
French officials have indicated that he will be able to compete at Roland Garros, where he is the defending champion but Nadal holds a record 13 titles.
England requires unvaccinated visitors to present a negative coronavirus test taken two days before traveling, quarantine for 10 days upon arrival and follow up with subsequent negative tests.
The United States, at present, requires non-U.S. citizens to be fully vaccinated to travel to the country, with limited exceptions.
The pandemic’s future course — whether the omicron variant fizzles, whether new variants emerge — will largely dictate the freedom of unvaccinated athletes and others to travel from one country and continent to another.
For tennis pros, the freedom to travel is essential to competing. The sport’s four Grand Slam events are held on three continents. The nine Masters 1000 events in men’s tennis, the most prestigious tier next to the majors, are held in six countries: Canada, China, France, Italy, Spain and the United States.
Will these countries require visitors show proof of full vaccination? Will they offer exemptions for the non-vaccinated? If so, how liberal will the exemptions be?
“I think there will be numerous tournaments and other majors [in which] he will no longer be able to participate if he chooses to stay unvaccinated,” Gilbert said of Djokovic. “How are you going to sustain on tour? … It’s going to be a very difficult proposition to be a full-time player being unvaccinated.”
Regardless of Djokovic’s pending legal appeal, there is no doubt he will retire as one of the game’s greatest players — if not the greatest.
Still, his international profile, and his reputation among some of his fellow competitors, has been tainted by the episode, which included maskless interactions with a group of children after he tested positive, although Djokovic claimed he had not yet received the test result.
His blitheness amid the pandemic’s highly contagious omicron variant runs counter to assurances he gave in the summer of 2020, after he, his wife, fellow pro Grigor Dmitrov and a handful of coaches contracted the coronavirus during an exhibition he staged in Serbia and Croatia without safety protocols to guard against transmission. Djokovic apologized afterward and vowed to be more vigilant going forward.
Djokovic’s visa controversy has galvanized his support in Serbia, where his father, Srdjan, has characterized him as a Christ-like martyr and victim of political persecution. But empathy among fellow tennis players, who have largely steered clear of the controversy, is waning.
Tsitsipas, 23, who chose to get vaccinated to compete in Australia despite his own skepticism, told New Delhi-based WIO News this week that Djokovic was “playing by his own rules” and making other players “look like fools” for flouting the requirement.
More than 90 percent of the top 100 men have been vaccinated, according to the Association of Tennis Professionals.
If the careers of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic ended today — amid the three-way tie with 20 majors — Djokovic’s achievements still make a compelling case that he is the best to ever play the game. He boasts a superior head-to-head record against both (27-23 over Federer; 30-28 over Nadal).
He also holds the men’s record for weeks ranked No. 1 (356, as of Monday). Only Steffi Graf, with 377, has more.
In the view of many sports fans, statistics are the sole metric of greatness. Others take a broader view.
Said the late Arthur Ashe, a three-time Grand Slam champion, former U.S. Davis Cup captain and humanitarian: “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.”
Kevin B. Blackistone: Novak Djokovic fought the public good — and won. That’s bad news for all of us. | null | null | null | null | null |
Abolitionist Frederick Douglass, left, with whom Abraham Lincoln did not famously debate in 1858. (Library of Congress/AP)
Of all the paragraphs in a bill to ban “divisive concepts” from being taught in Virginia public schools, Section B3 may have seemed the most innocuous. After all, it was in the part of the proposal that defined what could actually be taught in history classes, not the myriad things that would be banned or the consequences teachers could face for teaching them, including prosecution and being fired.
Section B3 of the bill, which was sponsored by Republican freshman Del. Wren Williams, defined what could be taught as “the founding documents,” like the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, excerpts from the Federalist Papers, the writings of the Founding Fathers and Alexis de Tocqueville’s classic “Democracy in America.” Oh, and one more thing: “the first debate between Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.”
Thousands of people attended each round of the debates, which were held outdoors and had the vibe of a county fair; people even traveled from other states to hear the debates. Newspapers across the country covered each one in detail, taking advantage of the telegraph to speed their coverage.
The subject of the debates generated intense national interest, because they were all about slavery.
Though he claimed to dislike slavery, Douglas was a proponent of “popular sovereignty,” the idea that settlers in a new territory should be able to decide by popular vote whether to become a slave or free state.
Lincoln, as a member of the nascent Republican Party, also walked a nuanced line, pushing for a gradual end to slavery as a moral wrong but not advocating for full Black equality or rights of citizenship. He also supported monetary compensation to enslavers and “recolonization” of Black Americans to a different country.
Still, when the 1858 election took place, the Democrats were victorious, keeping Douglas in the Senate. But the breathless coverage of the debates had established Lincoln as a national figure, and he later published the debates as a book, helping him to win the presidency two years later. Douglas also was a candidate in that election.
It should be mentioned that while in the White House, Lincoln did meet with Douglass — the abolitionist one, whose name has two s’s — and even had a conversation about Black Union soldiers’ pay and safety. But that doesn’t qualify as a debate. | null | null | null | null | null |
At long last, President Joe Biden has settled on a candidate for one of the biggest jobs in global finance: the vice chair for bank supervision at the Federal Reserve. The nominee — Duke University law professor Sarah Bloom Raskin — is a good choice for what will be an immensely challenging assignment.
First, it’s worth noting that everyone on Biden’s slate of nominations to the Fed’s Board of Governors is widely accomplished and well qualified. Philip Jefferson is a professor at Davidson College whose research has spanned topics ranging from monetary policy to understanding hate groups. Lisa Cook is a Michigan State University economist who has done groundbreaking work on innovation and the cost of racial violence.
Raskin herself was Maryland’s state commissioner for financial regulation before joining the Fed, where from 2010 to 2014 she helped draft rules to implement the Dodd-Frank reform legislation. She then worked from 2014 to 2017 as deputy secretary of the Treasury, where she concentrated on issues including financial infrastructure and cybersecurity — relevant experience in an age of cryptocurrency and state-sponsored hacks.
An added benefit is that these candidates represent a potential victory for diversity. Raskin would be one of only 10 women to have served on the Fed board since its inception in 1914, Jefferson would be the fourth Black governor, and Cook would be the first Black woman to serve in such a role. If confirmed by the Senate, all these estimable candidates promise to bring much-needed perspective to the world’s most powerful central bank.
As vice chair, though, Raskin will face a particularly daunting task: rebuilding financial safeguards that deteriorated under the previous head of supervision, Randal Quarles, whose four-year term ended in October. Among other things, the Fed gutted the Volcker rule, intended to curb speculation at federally backed institutions, and weakened stress tests designed to ensure that banks maintain ample loss-absorbing equity capital. One result has been a sharp decline in the already meager level of equity as a share of total assets at the largest U.S. banks.
Raskin — who insisted on a tougher version of the Volcker rule during her previous stint at the Fed — should be prepared to reverse this troubling trend. In restoring safeguards, strength and simplicity should be guiding principles. If the Fed required much higher capital levels and placed effective limits on the activities that it backstops, banks would be forced to take more responsibility for their risks, and reams of regulations — including regular stress tests — could be rendered unnecessary. The added loss-absorbing capacity would help to insulate millions of Americans from the ups and downs of the financial sector — a benefit that Raskin has emphasized.
Of course, progressive Democrats will be expecting the Fed to do much more, for better and worse. Ideally, this will facilitate progress in areas such as financial inclusion, containing risks in the crypto realm, updating fair-lending rules, and preparing for the potential repercussions of climate change. Raskin is already well versed on some of these issues. The danger is that the Fed will get bogged down in partisan battles and overly prescriptive rulemaking, while failing to address the system’s broader fragility.
Navigating these challenges will require an unusual combination of ambition and restraint. Raskin’s record suggests she’s well qualified. The Senate should allow her to get to work without delay.
Biden Fed Picks Are Boring in a Good Way: Jonathan Bernstein
The Fed Has Too Much Empathy for Banks: Narayana Kocherlakota
• Finance Should Be Stronger Than Covid-19: Mark Whitehouse | null | null | null | null | null |
NORFOLK, Va. — A Utah man has been sentenced to five years in prison for his part in a nationwide investment fraud scheme that targeted elderly victims and led to losses of nearly $30 million, officials said.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, Tony Scott Sellers, 62, of West Valley, Utah, and other conspirators made misrepresentations and omitted information over six years to sell highly speculative investments that were sold and controlled by Daryl Bank, among others.
Based on the fake claims, unsuspecting investors cashed out of 401(k) and other retirement accounts to purchase the investments, not knowing that a portion of the funds would be skimmed off the top in so-called fees.
In September, Bank was sentenced to 35 years in prison for his role in a nationwide investment fraud scheme that resulted in over $25 million in losses to more than 300 victims, most of whom were elderly, the news release said.
Sellers’ part in the scheme led to losses in excess of $3 million. Most of the victims were at or near retirement age when Sellers and his co-conspirators defrauded them, prosecutors said. | null | null | null | null | null |
A medical worker wearing a protective suit swabs a child for a coronavirus test in Huaxian County in central China’s Henan Province, Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. China further tightened its anti-pandemic measures in Beijing and across the country on Friday as scattered outbreaks continued ahead of the opening of the Winter Olympics in a little over two weeks. (Chinatopix via AP) (Uncredited/CHINATOPIX) | null | null | null | null | null |
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un addresses a meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang, North Korea. The photo was taken during the Dec. 27 through Dec. 31, 2021 session, according to state media. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
TOKYO — North Korea has begun the new year a lot like the last: a series of missile launches that reveal progress in diversifying and expanding its arsenal with missiles that may be harder detect and defend against.
On Wednesday, the Biden administration announced fresh sanctions on North Korea. In response, Korea blamed Washington for “intentionally escalating” tensions and said it may trigger a “stronger” reaction from North Korea. On Friday, North Korea conducted its latest missile tests.
More than four years have passed since Pyongyang tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. Since then, Kim’s regime has shifted his focus to building a wide range of short- to intermediate-range missiles in range of U.S. allies in the region and at the U.S. forces stationed there — a strategy that has allowed Kim to advance his ballistic missile program and signal progress without directly threatening the U.S. homeland or engaging in diplomacy.
“This is a very effective way of saying, ‘We’re still in this game. We’re still advancing our capabilities,'" said S. Paul Choi, principal of Seoul-based consultancy StratWays Group and a former South Korean military officer. “The testing of these hypersonic missiles could be a way to signal, ‘Listen, we haven’t explicitly gone to ICBM, but this is just a reminder that technical expertise continues to exist, and we continue to test it and upgrade it.'”
Here’s what to know about North Korea’s missile tests and military priorities:
On Tuesday, North Korea conducted what it later said was a “hypersonic” missile, a priority of North Korea’s weapons development and a reference to the latest warfare technology being developed by military powers such as the United States, Russia and China. Hypersonic weapons fly fast at low altitudes and are much easier to maneuver than traditional ballistic missiles, making them difficult to track and intercept. It was third test since September of what North Korea described as a hypersonic weapon. North Korea launched two more missiles on Friday, the South Korean and Japanese military said.
For the first time in nearly two years, Kim appeared in state media supervising Tuesday’s missile test, which may be a signal of how much emphasis Kim is placing on this technology, experts say. Kim had not been photographed attending any of the recent tests since the fall, and his return may indicate that this particular launch carried greater significance for the regime.
There’s some disagreement among weapons experts in South Korea and Japan on whether North Korea’s latest missile meets the precise technical definitions of a hypersonic weapon. South Korean defense officials say Pyongyang’s new missile is detectable by existing defense systems.
But there is broad consensus that the latest developments highlight Pyongyang’s growing capability to evade existing missile defense systems. And it comes at a politically sensitive in South Korea, where campaigning is heating up ahead of the presidential election in early March, and where candidates are debating South Korea’s response to North Korean hypersonic developments.
In January 2021, Kim unveiled a five-year plan to expand his nuclear arsenal, including “preemptive” and “retaliatory” strike capabilities that allow its warheads to “accurately hit and extinguish” targets within 15,000 kilometers (9,230 miles), which would reach Washington. His must-haves included the development of hypersonics, solid-fuel ICBMs that can be launched from land and sea, spy satellites and reconnaissance drones, and more research and development into advanced military equipment.
“We ought to augment our nuclear technology and further develop the nuclear weapons to be lighter and smaller … while continue producing tactical nuclear weapons and super-large nuclear warheads,” Kim said in January 2021.
Kim appears to be on track. In recent years, there has been a huge growth in the diversity of new missile systems in North Korea. Since the January 2021 announcement, North Korea has introduced seven new missile capabilities according to the plan that Kim announced, according to Ankit Panda, weapons expert and a senior fellow at the U.S.-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. | null | null | null | null | null |
In an open letter published Monday, more than 270 medical professionals urge Spotify to stop “enabling its hosted media to damage public trust in scientific research and sow doubt in the credibility of data-driven guidance.” Rogan, whose show reaches an estimated audience of 11 million people an episode, has repeatedly downplayed the need for coronavirus vaccines and used his giant platform to flirt with misinformation about covid-19.
While the coalition is not asking for Spotify to cancel “The Joe Rogan Experience,” the group is pushing for the company to do more to prevent further misinformation from spreading on what is considered the nation’s most popular podcast.
Spotify has previously removed other episodes from hosts on its platform that have spread covid misinformation, but have not done so with Rogan. Spotify has deleted 40 unrelated episodes of Rogan’s show from its service, including one featuring Alex Jones, who has pushed the false theory that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax. But Spotify did not pull an April 2021 episode in which Rogan actively discouraged young people from getting vaccinated, saying, “If you’re like 21 years old, and you say to me, ‘Should I get vaccinated?’ I’ll go ‘no.’”
“Spotify prohibits content on the platform which promotes dangerous false, deceptive, or misleading content about COVID-19 that may cause offline harm and/or pose a direct threat to public health,” the company said in a statement to the Verge last April. “When content that violates this standard is identified it is removed from the platform.”
The letter comes as misinformation around the virus and vaccination continues to spread throughout the United States. As the highly-transmissible omicron variant has surged in recent months, anti-vaccine influencers have pushed falsehoods in all corners of life — from the wellness world to pregnancy apps.
The podcast host has previously lambasted the push for mass vaccinations and slammed vaccine requirements for event spaces. When Rogan announced in September that he tested positive for coronavirus, he said he was using a number of therapeutics and treatments, including the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin, which the Food and Drug Administration has strongly recommended against using to prevent or treat covid.
Malone used Rogan’s platform to promote “an unfounded theory that societal leaders have ‘hypnotized’ the public,” the group wrote, adding the physician’s false claim has been debunked.
“I assure all of those — particularly those in the media — calling for Joe Rogan’s censorship, Joe is laughing at you,” Shapiro tweeted Friday. “And he should be.”
Rogan’s critics cheered when the host was fact-checked on-air about vaccination by a guest on his show recently. When Rogan claimed Wednesday there was more of an adverse risk of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, in children that were vaccinated compared to those infected with covid, Australian media personality Josh Szeps said the opposite was true.
Some critics, such as epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Ding, noted how “the goal post moving of Joe Rogan after getting fact-checked live” was “incredible.”
“Please vaccinate, don’t risk covid,” he wrote. | null | null | null | null | null |
On Thursday, the Democrat sent letters to Progress Residential, Invitation Homes and American Homes 4 Rent, companies that have acquired tens of thousands of suburban homes across the United States. Warren blamed the companies and other large investors for pricing out first-time homebuyers, contributing to skyrocketing rents and pursuing needless evictions.
The letters demand information about the firms’ profits, rent hikes, evictions and the various fees they impose on renters, citing recent critical coverage of the industry by The Washington Post and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
A Dec. 15 story by the organizations detailed the creation of Progress Residential by a private-equity firm. Attracting investors from around the world, the firm, Pretium Partners created a billion-dollar investment venture that buys up single-family homes predominantly in Sun Belt neighborhoods.
The investigation drew from investment records contained in the Pandora Papers, a cache of 11.9 million previously undisclosed documents from tax havens around the world, as well as dozens of interviews with renters and former employees. The reporting showed that Progress Residential has been ringing up substantial profits for wealthy investors around the world while outbidding middle-class home buyers and subjecting tenants to what they allege are unfair rent hikes, shoddy maintenance and excessive fees.
Asked for comment Thursday, a Progress spokesperson responded with a statement that said “we are dedicated to being a part of the solution to our nation’s housing crisis. For households across the country that choose to rent, Progress has long been committed to providing high-quality housing experience through consistent, dependable and attentive service at our well-maintained and affordable homes.”
American Homes 4 Rent said “we acknowledge and appreciate the recognition that our country faces an unprecedented housing supply shortage, decades of underinvestment and restrictive zoning that undermines construction. As the 45th largest homebuilder in the U.S., we are looking to help improve the situation and arrive at solutions.” | null | null | null | null | null |
Russia arrests 14 alleged members of REvil ransomware gang that cost global companies millions
A photo of Russian Yevgeniy Polyanin, wanted by the FBI, is displayed on monitors as Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks at a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington on Nov. 8, 2021. (Andrew Harnik/AP)
The Russia-based REvil gang has carried out numerous attacks on major global companies, including the July attack on software provider Kaseya and the attack last May on the world’s biggest meat processing business, JBS. Former REvil associates also are believed to be responsible for the May cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline that led to gas shortages on the U.S. East Coast.
The arrests marked a rare positive moment in U.S.-Russian relations, after a flurry of diplomatic efforts in Europe this past week failed to deter Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine and persuade Moscow to de-escalate.
President Biden asked for President Vladimir Putin’s cooperation to fight cyberattacks and ransomware when the two met in Geneva in June, but Friday’s arrests are Russia’s first major operation to halt Russia-based ransomware attacks around the globe.
Since the June summit, senior U.S. and Russian officials in an “experts group” have held at least half a dozen calls in which the Americans have sought Moscow’s cooperation on cyber crime. The individuals arrested were discussed on those calls, with the United States passing information on them to the Russians so they could act, said a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity. “This is really a credit to Biden’s approach,” the person said.
“This is a significant action by Russian law enforcement against one of the most prominent ransomware gangs in the world,” said Dmitri Alperovitch, chairman of the Silverado Policy Accelerator think tank. “It also serves as a signal — amidst potential significant deterioration of relations over Ukrainian conflict — to showcase the type of meaningful help Russia can provide to the U.S. if it chooses to — or not.”
The timing is not an accident, analysts said. It is aimed at sending the message that this is the sort of cooperation that Moscow can easily undertake or withhold in the event of the imposition of Western sanctions.
“Putin has already warned Biden that in the event of severe sanctions over invasion of Ukraine, there could be a full break in diplomatic relations, meaning that cooperation like todays action on ransomware, among other things, would cease,” Alperovitch said.
The FSB said U.S. law enforcement gave detailed information on the gang leader’s identity and criminal activities.
Russian television showed FSB agents clad in black bursting into apartments, wrestling suspects to the ground and handcuffing them behind their backs, and searching apartments and computers. One suspect had dozens of thick bundles of ruble bills in a compartment under his bed, according to the video.
The hacker shown was involved in the Colonial Pipeline incident, according to one U.S. official. Although that attack was claimed by a different Russian-speaking hacker group, DarkSide, it is not uncommon for hackers to work for more than one group, and it is quite possible that the hacker shown worked for both REvil and DarkSide, analysts said.
It is likely that the leader of DarkSide started off by working as an affiliate for REvil, said Allan Liska, intelligence analyst at the cyber firm Recorded Future. There is also a good deal of overlap between the malware DarkSide and REvil use to lock up victims’ computers, he said.
A Justice Department complaint filed last month in the Northern District of Texas named Aleksander Sikerin, of St. Petersburg, as a member of the REvil gang. According to the complaint, U.S. law enforcement seized $2.3 million of cryptocurrency in August tied to ransomware attacks that U.S. officials say Sikerin carried out.
The FSB arrests of alleged REvil gang members sent a message of the benefits of cooperation with Russia, at the same time underscoring the potential costs to the United States if relations were to worsen.
Dixon reported from Belgrade, Serbia, and Nakashima reported from Washington. | null | null | null | null | null |
Opinion: A storm foretold turned into a nightmare. Virginia must do better.
Motorists on Interstate 95 on Jan. 4 in Northern Virginia, where at least hundreds were stranded in snow and freezing temperatures. (WJLA via AP) (AP)
The paralysis and peril that at least hundreds of snowbound motorists suffered Jan. 3 on Interstate 95 in Northern Virginia is a chronicle of a disaster foretold. Foretold, specifically, by meteorologists.
Materials obtained by The Post make it clear that Virginia transportation officials were warned, by the National Weather Service (NWS) as well as a private forecasting firm, that a major storm was on the way. The warnings were loud and clear and delivered in a timely way, sufficiently ahead of the storm’s arrival for government agencies to move.
The unavoidable conclusion is that authorities were slow to take action — slow, especially, to communicate — in a way that could have mitigated what turned into an epic event of misery on one of the East Coast’s most congested stretches of highway.
No doubt, even a perfect response by state officials could not have prevented traffic accidents and delays that day. But a better response — a quicker, more noble and forceful one — would likely have avoided the specter of 50 miles and 12 to more than 24 hours of gridlock along I-95 south of D.C. Stuck overnight without adequate supplies of food, water and gasoline, drivers and passengers deserved better from the government agencies that manage the roadways and emergencies. It’s practically a miracle that no one died.
Charles Lane: Imagine Virginia’s icy traffic catastrophe — but with only electric vehicles
Unambiguous heads-ups from forecasters from the NWS to state and local transportation officials in Northern Virginia began on the morning of Jan. 2, nearly 24 hours before the storm hit. The warnings started with emails. That afternoon, the NWS followed up with an online briefing that included a worst-case scenario of up to 12 inches of snow — and very rapid accumulations — around Fredericksburg. Separately, a private forecasting firm called DTN, which specializes in consulting with public transportation agencies, briefed the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Fredericksburg district office at 10 that same morning.
Yet it was not until more than five hours later that the district office issued a news release about the danger of heavy snow.
Virginia transportation officials have pledged to undertake a multi-agency review of what went wrong. That review must be robust. A new state transportation secretary — W. Sheppard “Shep” Miller III, a member of the state’s transportation regulatory board — has been nominated by Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin (R) and is likely to take office in the coming weeks. It will fall to him to manage what was one of VDOT’s worst meltdowns in memory and devise corrective measures.
Some of those measures might need legislation to accomplish, especially if they seek to limit tractor-trailers’ use of highways in major storms. Jackknifed tractor-trailers were apparently a significant contributing factor to the blockage on Jan. 3. A state senator, Democrat David W. Marsden of Fairfax, has proposed a bill that would limit such trucks to the righthand lane during snowstorms.
The real key is better, faster communication that would caution motorists — loudly, repeatedly — from using the highway when forecasts suggest dangerous conditions. VDOT’s failure to deter motorists with timely, clear and urgent warnings was a critical factor in creating the Jan. 3 mess. That cannot be allowed to happen again. | null | null | null | null | null |
The story of a charter school and its for-profit operators
(iStock) (Vitaliy_ph/iStock Photo)
What follows is the story of Capital Collegiate Preparatory Academy, formerly Buckeye Preparatory Academy, located in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Ohio, and how it has been managed by its for-profit operators.
It is the latest in a series of stories I have published about charter schools by Carol Burris, a former award-winning New York principal who is executive director of the Network for Public Education, a nonprofit group that opposes charter schools.
Charter schools are publicly funded but privately operated. About 6 to 7 percent of U.S. schoolchildren attend charter schools, with most states plus the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico having laws permitting them.
Charter advocates say these schools offer choices to families who want alternatives to troubled schools in traditional public school districts. Critics say charter schools take money from public districts that educate most American children, do not on average have better student outcomes than traditional public schools and are part of a movement to privatize public education.
There are well-run, high-achieving charters, while others have been mired in financial and managerial scandal. The for-profit sector has been rife with fraud, and President Biden has said he wants to end federal funding of for-profit charter schools.
Almost a year ago, I wrote about a report produced by the Network for Public Education that explained how many for-profit management companies evade state laws banning for-profit charters. They do this by setting up nonprofit charters and then directing the schools’ business operations to related corporations.
This new piece by Burris is told with the help of public records, social media posts, and interviews.
Charter schools are publicly funded — but there’s big money in selling them
By Carol Burris
Buckeye Preparatory Academy opened its doors in September 2014, promising “rigorous academic standards” for the 117 students who enrolled. It was started by the for-profit management charter company, the Cambridge Education Group, founded by Marcus May. In 2017, three years after Buckeye opened, Cambridge tried to sever all ties with May, who was indicted and later convicted of racketeering and fraud in connection with the charter schools he ran. Buckeye never received a grade from the Ohio Department of Education better than an F during its four-year existence. At the end of 2017, Buckeye Prep was more than $1 million in debt.
That enormous deficit, which equaled nearly all of the tax dollars the school took in, was due, in large part, to the astronomical management costs charged by Cambridge.
According to the 2018 audit, the for-profit took 18 percent of all revenue received by the charter to manage the school. Cambridge also collected $93,398 in overhead fees, pulling a total of $383,505 from the $1.26 million in operating aid that the school received. As debt accrued, Cambridge was charging the school 5 percent interest on money the school owed.
An additional $41,490 went out the door to the authorizing sponsor of the school, Buckeye Community Hope Foundation, whose related for-profit organization, Kent Properties, LLC, was the school’s landlord, receiving $162,000 a year in rental costs.
At the end of the school’s audit, an addendum said that the management of Buckeye Prep was transferred from Cambridge to another for-profit, ACCEL Schools of Ohio, LLC.
On the surface, that transfer might appear to be a lifeline for the students who attended Buckeye Prep. But the small charter school located on 1414 Gault St. in Columbus was — and would continue to be — a big moneymaker for for-profit operators and their partners.
The orphanage with no orphans
Some states, such as New Jersey, have only one state entity that authorizes charter schools. In Ohio, there are presently 20 active authorizers, called sponsors. Sponsors provide oversight, deciding whether the school opens and later, whether its charter is renewed.
For Buckeye Prep’s sponsor, the Buckeye Community Hope Foundation (BCHF), charter sponsorship is a lucrative business. According to BCHF’s 2017 audit, the foundation, involved with low-income housing, received over $3.1 million for sponsorship and services provided to 50 charter schools that year. Its related for-profit corporation which owned the Buckeye Prep building, collected more than $162,000 in building and furniture lease payments during 2017, its final year.
Biden promised to end federal funding of for-profit charter schools. A new report explains how they operate.
As the failing school approached the date for charter renewal, its new operator, ACCEL, chose a sponsor that already managed many of its schools — St. Aloysius Orphanage. Despite its name, St. Al’s, as it is called, has not provided a home for orphans since the 1970s. It is a mental health service provider that also sponsors charter schools.
Compared with its other funding streams, charter school sponsorship provides the most income — over $3.6 million in 2019. However, while St. Aloysius collects the fees, it does none of the work. Instead, it hired a for-profit corporation, Charter School Specialists, paying out $2.3 million a year to the for-profit.
The relationship between sponsor and for-profit was so tight that in 2020, the state auditor had to remind schools that their sponsor was St. Aloysius, not Charter Schools Specialists, after several listed the for-profit as their sponsor.
In 2019, the Cleveland Transformation Alliance recommended — to no avail — that St. Al’s no longer sponsor charter schools based on its record of keeping failing schools open. Two years earlier, the same committee raised conflict of interest concerns because some school treasurers were employed by both the charter board and Charter Schools Specialists. That conflict of interest while overseeing the expenditure of millions of dollars in public funds was allowed to continue. In 2021, eight school treasurers were employees of the for-profit overseer and the charter schools’ boards, including Capital Collegiate Preparatory Academy, according to information obtained from the Ohio Education Department.
For-profit operators run more than 62 percent of the schools sponsored by St Aloysius; many of them are other ACCEL schools.
ACCEL schools
In 2014, the online for-profit charter chain K12 Inc. announced a new yet-to-be-named company financed by Safanad Limited, a Dubai investment company. Pansophic Learning was launched later that year as the Safanad/K12 joint venture. The name of its American-based charter school company is ACCEL Schools.
The CEO of both Pansophic and ACCEL is Ron Packard, formerly of K12 Inc., now known as Stride. Packard’s background is in finance, and he compounded the revenue of K12 by 80 percent — (a far higher percentage than its 2019-2020 graduation rate of 56.3 percent).
ACCEL’s primary strategy is to pluck schools from established for-profit chains that failed or are folding, including Mosaica, White Hat Management, and I CAN Schools.
With no shortage of failing charter schools to buy, ACCEL’s growth has been fast-paced. It now manages 73 charter schools (brick and mortar or online) in Arizona, California, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Washington, and it is attempting to open schools in West Virginia.
Yes, charter schools can be bought and sold
Global School Properties, located at the same address as ACCEL and Pansophic in Virginia, is the real estate arm of ACCEL, which allows it to acquire properties and then basically rent their own buildings to themselves — with public funds — through the schools they manage.
ACCEL’s largest portfolio is in Ohio. Forty-six schools list ACCEL as their operator. However, we also found an additional 17 schools run by a superintendent with an ACCEL email address, all but two under the Constellation Schools brand. And in 2018, ACCEL bought out White Hat’s failing online charter school, OHDELA, resulting in a total of 64 schools in that state.
ACCEL and Capital Collegiate Prep
When ACCEL took over Buckeye Prep in 2018, it operated the school as Buckeye for one year — before shutting it down to put another in its place. The for-profit needed to find a board to act as the nonprofit face for the new for-profit-run school. ACCEL’s then vice president Mark Comaduci introduced community member Leslie Eaves to Amy Goodson and Carlena Hart, attorneys for Buckeye Prep via email. Eaves was told to form a board, for which she served as president. She found three educators — Malcolm Cash, Renita Porter, and Said Adam — and forensic accountant Rhonda Whitfield.
By January 2019, the new board was formed. In June of 2019, Buckeye voluntarily requested contract nonrenewal (see closed community schools). The following day, July 1, Kent School LLC sold the school building to Global School Properties for $1,380,635, records show. St. Al’s would be the new sponsor, and the school would now be called Capital Collegiate Preparatory Academy (CCPA).
From the start, the relationship between the charter school’s board and ACCEL was rocky. Unlike many of the boards recruited by for-profit operators, this board included seasoned educators who took their duties of governance seriously. According to emails between Eaves and ACCEL officials, including Ron Packard, the first problems arose with the terms of the management and lease agreements between the school and ACCEL.
Buckeye’s lease agreement was for $12,500 a month or 10.5 percent of state funds received, whichever was greater. ACCEL wanted to increase the lease by $5,500 a month, according to internal emails. In the end, the agreement was for 14 percent of revenue — state funding and as well as additional federal entitlements if the grant application was prepared by ACCEL.
In 2020, the school that served only 135 students paid ACCEL’s related real estate company $145,006 in rent, with ACCEL projecting a rent payment of $319,840 for the very same building in 2025. At that rate, ACCEL would recoup what they paid in six years — precisely the length of the school’s charter. If the charter failed and closed, ACCEL would walk away with a million-dollar-plus building largely paid for by the taxpayers of Ohio.
The management contract charges the charter school 15 percent of all revenue received, with a few exceptions. But that is not where payments would end. A read of the management contract clarifies that ACCEL was in charge of, and would be compensated for, all of the school’s day-to-day operations — from the curriculum to student records to all personnel services.
The school was allowed to go into unlimited debt on which they would pay interest to ACCEL, making it nearly impossible for them to leave the for-profit management company in the future. Financial records from 2020 show the school operating at a loss of over $420,000, with a 2021 projected loss of over $845,000.
Conflicts between the board and ACCEL ignite
The change in school management came with a wave of staff turnover, with just two teachers opting to stick with the new school, where many of the students were behaviorally challenged. ACCEL hired new and inexperienced teachers, and for the first two months, according to former board treasurer Whitfield, the campus didn’t have any pencils or paper in the classrooms. The situation was so dire an organization that had performed an independent review of the charter school donated paper and pencils.
To get a grasp on student progress, the board authorized the use of I-Ready Assessment. However, ACCEL preferred to use its own assessment product called “Dr. Carr’s Scrimmages” to measure student progress. Carr, who became a vice president of ACCEL, previously worked for the defunct for-profit charter chain, Mosaica. Student progress, and lack thereof, was discussed at length during the board meeting of February 2021 which can be found here.
The school’s principal, a former real estate agent, seemed unsure as to why the Scrimmages were being used. I-Ready results showed that most sixth-grade students were performing at two to three years below grade level in reading and math. That led to a discussion as to whether, given the poor progress made by sixth-graders, the school should expand to grade 7 or focus instead on expanding its kindergarten program. Board members expressed worry regarding the seventh-grade addition.
But the principal and the ACCEL superintendent, Ashley Ferguson argued in favor of adding a grade as being in the best interest of students and the school. Ferguson added, “We need to be up by 200 kids to eliminate our deficit. Two kindergartens would not do it.” [ Ferguson, a vice president of ACCEL Schools, attended board meetings as ACCEL’s “superintendent” even though Shannon Metcalf is listed as superintendent on the state website.]
Board members resign
To get a better understanding of the school’s day-to-day operations, the board hired Tisha Brady in 2020 to serve as a compliance officer to get a better understanding of the school’s day-to-day operations. What Brady observed appalled her.
Brady, a former lobbyist for School Choice Ohio and longtime supporter of charter schools, has soured on charter management organizations running schools. During a December 2021 interview with me [the author of this post, Carol Burris], Brady expressed her concerns regarding where Ohio’s charter schools were going. “[For-profit management] is absolutely not in line with the supposed principles of school choice programs,” she said. “This is simply a cash grab using disadvantaged students as ATMs to launder public funds into the pockets of a private corporation.”
Meanwhile, the concerns of the board grew. It was difficult for the board to get a handle on expenditures and purchases, even with Brady’s assistance. During the June 14, 2021 meeting, the board objected to the $53,000 spent by ACCEL for smartboards for the school. During classroom visits, board members noticed that the smartboards were generic dry erase boards. The meeting minutes noted a prior concern regarding a large expenditure for a curriculum that was missing, as well as a refrigerator that was removed by a vendor. Eaves, the board president, objected to the lack of inventory control of school purchases, according to the minutes.
When Brady and Whitfield entered the school to inventory the items and see how they were being used, they both said, an ACCEL teacher assaulted Whitfield with a cart. Whitfield filed a complaint with the police department and the professional conduct division of the Ohio Department of Education, as well as with ACCEL.
“My concern was for the students in the classroom. I worried about what the kids had witnessed,” said Whitfield. Whitfield resigned from the board a month later. Eaves had previously resigned in October. The school’s website now lists only four board members, still including Whitfield, who is gone — a violation of law that requires five board members, which ironically St. Al’s had used to put the Board on probation in the past.
Capital Collegiate Preparatory Academy expands
Despite worry over student performance, a slim majority of the board decided to add the seventh grade. According to Whitfield and Brady, one teacher teaches all subjects on a rotating basis and out of certification. But, those seventh-graders, no matter how poorly prepared, increased the head count, which in turn increased ACCEL’s fees for both rent and management. The school goes further into debt, and ACCEL collects interest.
And so, it will continue until the school’s charter is up in 2025. ACCEL could walk away from the failing school, sell the building to another for-profit, and move on to another failing school.
Right now, nearly half of all charter schools in Ohio are run by for-profits. Most of these charter schools are located in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the United States. The state of Ohio has known about the cycle of for-profits repeatedly preying on failing charter schools for years.
There is more: Capital Collegiate Preparatory Academy, which was no more than the retread of a failing school, received a $250,000 Federal Charter Schools Program (CSP) implementation grant.
Half of all of the grants distributed by Ohio from their 2015 CSP State Entities grant were given to schools run by Ron Packard’s ACCEL. According to Brady, the federal government’s charter school program allows corporations to use “disadvantaged students as ATMs.” | null | null | null | null | null |
Quiet developments in Washington give me hope
There are 39 inmates left at the military prison at the U.S. Naval Station in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. (Alex Brandon/AP)
By Ramzi Kassem
Twenty years ago this month, the first plane full of prisoners touched down at the U.S. Naval Station at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. A widely circulated image showed the first 20 prisoners — Muslim men and boys, almost all of them brown- and black-skinned — kneeling on the gravel under the tropical sun in orange jumpsuits, shackles, earmuffs and blackout goggles. The picture signaled to the home audience that America was getting payback for the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and it sent a chilling message to those not “with us,” to quote President George W. Bush — those whom he deemed to be “with the terrorists.”
Two decades on, the semantic and symbolic value of Guantánamo has morphed considerably. Few public figures still proclaim the falsehood that the 779 prisoners held there over the years were “the worst of the worst.” The prison is forever tainted by confirmed accounts of torture. It’s no surprise, then, that multiple presidents have expressed the intention to close it — yet none have followed through.
I hope it will be different this time, and there are reasons to be optimistic. President Biden, who said on the campaign trail that he wanted to shutter the prison, has repatriated one detainee while quietly clearing more than a dozen of the 39 others for release through the interagency Periodic Review Board. These clearances are significant because, even though they don’t guarantee release, they flow from discussions and decisions at senior levels of the federal agencies with a stake in national security affairs, including the Departments of Defense, State, Justice and Homeland Security. Under the Trump administration, that same body issued its decisions sporadically and almost always in favor of continued detention.
But at the rate of one prisoner transfer per year, Biden won’t come close to shutting Guantánamo, even if he wins a second term. If he allows higher policy priorities such as the pandemic and the economy, or the fear of backlash in the upcoming midterm elections, to detract from this important objective, he could fail just as his predecessors did, and neither our country nor the rest of the world can afford to let that happen.
Bush released the largest number of prisoners, about 540, and by the end of his second term declared his wish to shutter the prison he had opened. President Barack Obama campaigned on a promise to shut Guantánamo and came second in the number of prisoners repatriated or resettled, with about 200. Donald Trump vowed not only to keep the prison open but to expand it, though, like his predecessor, he failed to fulfill his Guantánamo promise and even repatriated one prisoner, Ahmed al-Darbi, to serve the rest of his sentence in Saudi Arabia (I represented Darbi with my law students and co-counsel).
Presidents have failed to release even some prisoners whom the government has formally declared fit for repatriation or resettlement. Many men have languished for years at Guantánamo, clearance papers in hand, including when Obama was in office. So far, the Biden administration hasn’t moved visibly to convert the clearances into repatriations or resettlements to countries where the men can safely try to rebuild their lives. Those clearances risk remaining mere ink on paper, and Biden’s promise to end the ignominy of Guantánamo could prove hollow.
I went to prison for disclosing the CIA’s torture. Gina Haspel helped cover it up.
It is possible that Biden learned valuable lessons from Obama’s doomed attempt to close the prison. Biden’s former boss arguably blundered by kicking off his Guantánamo closure effort with a splashy executive order signed on his second full day in office, setting a deadline of one year to shut the facility. Obama’s approach elevated the issue’s profile, painting a target on his own back, and gave the political opposition ample time to mobilize and defeat his policy.
Before Obama’s election, there was a consensus that closing the prison was desirable, but afterward, a Republican-led campaign, supported by some Democrats, gained momentum, blocking major steps toward closure. This included pressuring the administration to abandon its plan — which it had also unwisely telegraphed — to move the trial of accused 9/11 plotters from the dysfunctional military commissions at Guantánamo to federal court in New York. And Obama was focused on other priorities, the Affordable Care Act chief among them, limiting the amount of political capital he was willing to spend on Guantánamo. By 2011, federal legislation prohibited the transfer of any Guantánamo prisoner to the United States for any purpose, including trial, and restricted Obama’s ability to transfer detainees anywhere else (Obama meekly protested in a signing statement accompanying the legislation that Congress was potentially interfering with the exercise of his powers as president).
Against that backdrop, aligning without fanfare the pieces needed for closure, if indeed that has been Biden’s deliberate choice, could prove wise — provided, however, that the administration ramps up its efforts significantly and soon.
9/11 didn’t change everything. Old fights and illusions still haunted us.
After two decades of incarcerating people without charge or fair process by international standards, the U.S. government has a moral duty to ensure that former Guantánamo prisoners can reenter global society with the means and support they will undoubtedly need. This includes compensation for Guantánamo survivors who have already been repatriated or resettled. In addition to the physical and psychological scars of indefinite incarceration without charge, and of torture, these men endure stigma and unrelenting suspicion that make any semblance of a normal life in many countries seem unattainable. Close allies of the United States, such as Britain, Canada and, most recently, Lithuania, have all compensated Guantánamo survivors for the role those nations played in their mistreatment. It is high time for the United States to own its misdeeds and mistakes and follow suit — it should not let decades pass before doing the right thing, as with Japanese American incarceration, to cite but one example.
Only after the prison is no more can the world truly begin the process of dismantling Guantánamo. That is because Guantánamo today is not only a place where real people languish behind bars, their families suffering from afar — it also endures as an idea, a template, a system that has been replicated the world over. From China’s detention centers in Xinjiang holding more than 1 million Muslim Uyghurs, to camps like al-Hol in Syria, where thousands of women and children linked to the Islamic State are corralled with the acquiescence of their home countries, to mainstream presidential candidates in France campaigning for “a French Guantánamo Bay,” Guantánamo’s legacy dots our planet.
The world is familiar with the stories of the men who have been incarcerated at Guantánamo and the torture they endured, thanks to the accounts of former prisoners; two decades of litigation; and government records, studies, human rights reports, feature films, documentaries and countless news articles. Deconstructing Guantánamo is a political, legal, scholarly and cultural project that, unfortunately, will occupy a generation or more. It is all the more imperative, therefore, for Biden to complete the first steps in that monumental undertaking by releasing prisoners, making former prisoners whole and closing the facility. | null | null | null | null | null |
Pradnya Joshi joins The Post as National Weekend Editor
Pradnya Joshi (Pradnya Joshi)
Announcement from Interim National Editor Matea Gold:
We are delighted to announce that Pradnya Joshi is joining The Post as National Weekend Editor.
In this new position, P.J. will help lead National news from Friday through Monday, providing seamless weekend coverage. She will focus on breaking news stories and ensuring that our weekend report is vital and engaging.
P.J. comes to us from Politico, where she led coverage of international trade, agriculture, food regulation and rural America, running stories about the Trump administration’s trade wars and the politics behind the 2018 Farm Bill. She was part of a Polk Award-winning series about the USDA’s failures to address climate change and edited an award-winning investigation about weaknesses in the country’s food-safety system.
Before joining Politico in 2017, she worked for The New York Times for 11 years as assistant business editor for digital news, news editor for DealBook, deputy night editor and staff editor.
Before that, P.J. was a reporter for 12 years, starting at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where she covered dairy issues, manufacturing and the commercialization of the internet. She later worked for nine years at Newsday, where she covered metro and business beats including telecommunications, Wall Street, New York state politics and economic development.
P.J. has a master’s in journalism and a bachelor’s in journalism and international studies from Northwestern University. She has lived overseas in Brazil, Hong Kong and the Philippines, and domestically in Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas and Washington state. She resides in Montgomery County with her husband and son.
Her first day is Feb. 7. Please join me in welcoming her to The Post. | null | null | null | null | null |
First Look with The Post’s Jonathan Capehart, Hugh Hewitt & Eugene Robinson
Hugh Hewitt, a Post contributing columnist, hosts a nationally syndicated radio show on the Salem Network. The author of 14 books about politics, history and faith, he is also a political analyst for NBC, president of the Nixon Foundation and a professor of law at Chapman University Law School, where he has taught constitutional law since 1996.
Eugene Robinson writes a twice-a-week column on politics and culture and hosts a weekly online chat with readers. In a three-decade career at The Washington Post, Robinson has been city hall reporter, city editor, foreign correspondent in Buenos Aires and London, foreign editor, and assistant managing editor in charge of the paper’s Style section. He started writing a column for the Op-Ed page in 2005. In 2009, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for “his eloquent columns on the 2008 presidential campaign that focus on the election of the first African-American president, showcasing graceful writing and grasp of the larger historic picture.” Robinson is the author of “Disintegration: The Splintering of Black America” (2010), “Last Dance in Havana” (2004), and “Coal to Cream: A Black Man’s Journey Beyond Color to an Affirmation of Race” (1999). He lives with his wife and two sons in Arlington. | null | null | null | null | null |
The dropping of the case against Gang Chen, a Chinese American academic, would likely happen in the coming weeks, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the litigation is still active.
Robert Fisher, Chen’s lawyer, said, “We stand by his innocence.”
Though Chen, who became a U.S. citizen in 2000, is not accused of stealing secrets and sharing them with China, which is a central thrust of the China Initiative. But his case was brought as part of the program, which Justice officials describe as an effort to counter the Communist Party-led government’s widespread theft of U.S. know-how and strategic technologies.
Chen’s case stands in contrast to another highly-publicized case of an academic, this one involving Harvard University chemistry professor Charles Lieber. Last month, Lieber was found guilty of lying to the government about receiving payments from China’s Wuhan University of Technology, falsifying his tax returns and failing to report foreign finances.
Chen and Lieber are among about 20 academics prosecuted in the past three years under the China Initiative. Most were charged with making false statements or failing to disclose ties to Chinese institutions on federal grant forms or visa applications rather than intent to spy. All but a few of the researchers are of Chinese descent.
At least eight defendants have seen their charges dropped or been acquitted over the last year, amplifying critics’ concerns that prosecutors are bringing cases without compelling evidence that the researchers pose a danger to the United States.
The U.S. government’s case against Chen began to falter in December, when prosecutors, under pressure from Chen’s lawyers, turned over evidence that the defense considered exculpatory, according to the people familiar with the case.
Then, last week, prosecutors interviewed a senior Department of Energy official, who, even more than the MIT administrators, was in a position to determine what disclosures were material on grant forms, the person said.
The case stirred controversy from the start, when then-U. S. Attorney Andrew Lelling unveiled the charges at a news conference in Boston on the last full day of the Trump administration.
His remarks prompted Chen’s lawyers to seek a reprimand of Lelling for making “highly inflammatory” statements that amount to “speculation”about Chen’s loyalty in violation of local judicial rules. They noted that Chen was not accused of treason, violating export control laws or passing classified information to a foreign country.
Prosecutors also alleged that Chen and his research group received $19 million from China’s Southern University of Science and Technology. In response, MIT President L. Rafael Reif took the unusual step of issuing a public letter stating that the Chinese money was not for an individual collaboration, but “a departmental” one.
He told them “you are essential and integral members” of MIT and “we value your contributions … and we value you personally as friends — just as we value every member of the global family of MIT, including Professor Chen and his family.” | null | null | null | null | null |
“My conscience, principles, and commitment to do what’s right have guided every decision I’ve made as a Member of Congress, and they guide my decision today,” said Katko, who is in his fourth term in Congress and is the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee. “It is how I’ve been able to unite people to solve problems, and how I was rewarded with resounding victories in every single campaign for Congress.”
Katko also played a key role in crafting a bipartisan agreement to launch an independent investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. The measure was approved by the House but blocked by Republicans in the Senate. | null | null | null | null | null |
Another bill in the House, sponsored by Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler (D-Virginia Beach), would require any person or business that breeds cats and dogs for animal testing facilities to report on a monthly basis to the state veterinarian such information as “birth, acquisition, death, sale, transfer, or other disposition” of the animal.
The USDA found that hundreds of puppies had died of “unknown causes” over a span of months; dogs’ food dispensers were teeming with insects; and reeking kennels had piles of feces, urine and food underneath them. | null | null | null | null | null |
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin talks to judge Ed Camp (during a football game against the Baltimore Ravens. (Evan Vucci/AP)
“There is a double standard,” Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, told The Washington Post this week. “I don’t think that that is something that we should shy away from. But that is all part of some of the things that we need to fix in the system. We want to hold everyone to why does one, let’s say, get the benefit of the doubt to be able to build or take bumps and bruises in this process of getting a franchise turned around when others are not afforded that latitude?” | null | null | null | null | null |
Former President Nursultan Nazarbayev, 81, imposed authoritarian rule on Kazakhstan for almost three decades following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. When he stepped down in 2019, installing President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as his successor, he retained key powers for himself as Kazakhstan’s so-called “leader of the nation.” Many Kazakhs blame him for letting corruption flourish and for denying them political freedoms. They also point the finger at members of Nazarbayev’s family who’ve grown rich through stakes in businesses in the country.
3. Does Nazarbayev still have influence?
Nazarbayev has lost some power, but his family still controls large parts of the economy. Tokayev has started to reduce Nazarbayev’s influence, replacing him as chairman of the powerful security council. Karim Massimov, head of the security service and a key Nazarbayev ally, was arrested for treason. In a speech Jan. 11, Tokayev targeted Nazarbayev, saying he allowed a class of people to emerge that choked off competition. A government shake-up that placed Alikhan Smailov, a former finance minister, at its head, was limited, with most ministers keeping their posts. The country’s largest banks, with connections to Nazarbayev himself or his family, were untouched.
They started in response to a twofold increase in the price of liquefied petroleum gas, used widely for cars in Kazakhstan as well as for cooking and heating. This followed a government attempt to move to market prices. But they quickly ignited wider discontent over soaring inflation and the political system in the country, where many people struggle to get by and have complained for years of widespread corruption. Airports, including in Almaty, the largest city, were taken over, and Almaty city hall was set on fire. Tokayev appealed to Russia and other Collective Security Treaty Organization states to send troops to help quell the disturbances. Dozens of protesters and police died, and about 10,000 people were detained. Internet and phone connections were cut for several days, and transport was disrupted.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it flew 75 aircraft carrying its forces to Kazakhstan after Tokayev appealed for aid from the CSTO, which also includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Russia also placed a general who had led military operations in Syria and Ukraine in charge of the deployment, and Putin spoke numerous times by phone with Tokayev. A descent into chaos could have had a ripple effect across the region, where leaders are already concerned about the potential risk from Islamist militants in nearby Afghanistan following the Taliban’s takeover.
It’s a military alliance that Moscow sees as its version of NATO. It dates back to 1992 and has its headquarters in Moscow. The operation in Kazakhstan was the first of its kind by the Russian-led military bloc. More typically, it is not that quick to deploy the forces, and Armenia publicly criticized the organization in 2021 as it stayed away from its conflict with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, even as Armenia appealed for help.
9. What’s China’s agenda?
China has invested tens of billions of dollars in Kazakstan’s energy sector and involved the country in its Belt and Road Initiative, the centerpiece of President Xi Jinping’s foreign policy. China backed Tokayev’s crackdown on protests, saying it hoped “strong measures” would bring calm. It was in China’s interest to keep the status quo in Kazakhstan. Had Tokayev, who speaks Mandarin among other languages, been defeated by the protesters, there was a risk new leaders could have taken a more nationalistic or radical Islamist stance.
Nur-Sultan, Kazakstan’s capital, was renamed in honor of Nazarbayev in 2019, having previously been called Astana. It’s a move often criticized by the Kazakh population, and one which undermined the authority of Tokayev, who proposed it. Calls to change the name back intensified after the protests. | null | null | null | null | null |
Va. lawsuit denounces ‘pathological’ critical race theory taught to 8th graders
Emily Mathon speaks in support of the Anti-Racism Policy and aligned curriculum as a part of open public comment during Albemarle County Public School’s School Board meeting via a live stream on a laptop in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 13, 2022. A lawsuit filed against the Virginia school district by a Christian legal organization alleges that the county’s Anti-Racism Policy, or “critical race theory” curriculum, discriminates against students. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)
A lawsuit filed against a Virginia school district by a Christian legal organization alleges it teaches critical race theory that discriminates against students because it “classifies all individuals into a racial group and identifies them as either perpetually privileged oppressors or perpetually victimized.”
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is a Christian, conservative legal nonprofit based in Arizona that has won landmark Supreme Court cases allowing bakers to refuse to sell cakes celebrating gay weddings and companies to refuse to pay for employee contraceptive coverage because of religious beliefs of employers.
Inside the Christian legal powerhouse that keeps winning at the Supreme Court
On Dec. 22, the organization filed suit against the Albemarle County School Board and school officials in Albemarle County Circuit Court, alleging the anti-racist curriculum’s “pathological teachings … treat students differently based on race in direct conflict with Supreme Court precedent and the Virginia Constitution.”
In 2019, the suit said, the county school board adopted an anti-racism policy that is “racist at its core” because it “views everyone and everything through the lens of race.”
“It imputes racism not only to those who consciously discriminate based on race, but also to those of a certain race (white) who do not actively participate in the prescribed dismantling,” the suit said.
Materials developed to implement the policy and taught to eighth graders, according to the suit, instructed students that racism “privileges white people” even though racism can “affect any human heart.” Pictures of the materials included in the suit say “remaining apolitical” or saying there are “two sides to every story” can “uphold a racist system.”
Because students and teachers who disagree with this philosophy may be punished under school disciplinary codes, the suit said, the school board has “banned dissent and heterodoxy,” stifling free speech.
“The only way to escape the pejorative ‘racist’ label is to actively support the ideas, causes, and political candidates Defendants favor,” the suit said. “This includes opposing what Defendants deem 'privileged’ and 'dominant culture’ — ‘white,’ ‘upper-middle class,’ ‘Christian,’ ‘able-bodied,’ ‘heterosexual,’ ‘cisgender,’ and male.”
The suit sought to end the programming and a declaration that it “constitutes unconstitutional racial discrimination.”
Phil Giaramita, a spokesman for Albemarle County Public Schools, said by email that school officials were reviewing the lawsuit.
“Responding to these cases in public rather than in the courtroom serves no useful purpose,” he said.
The lawsuit comes as conservatives across the country target curriculums they refer to as critical race theory, that shows how racism unfairly prejudices people of color in the criminal justice and health care systems, among many other areas of American life.
Though educators contend critical race theory is not taught at the K-12 level in Virginia or anywhere else in the country, Virginia Governor-Elect Glenn Youngkin (R) pledged to ban it from schools while campaigning last year.
In a statement in July, the Albemarle County School Board and Superintendent of Schools Matthew Haas said: “Adding Critical Race Theory to our curricula has not occurred, nor are there any plans to do so.”
Since 2015, according to the statement, the school system has offered teachers a professional development program called “Culturally Responsive Teaching,” or “CRT.” The program shows teachers can better communicate with students “by better understanding the diverse life experiences and cultures represented,” the statement said, and the program improved academic performance.
“We stand by our endorsement of programs and activities that empower staff to meet the requirements of our anti-racism policy," the statement said.
AFD’s lawsuit also criticizes the teacher training.
At an Albemarle County School Board virtual meeting Thursday evening, two parents in the school system condemned the lawsuit and directed the board to push forward with Culturally Responsive Teaching.
Amanda Moxham, from the Hate-Free Schools Coalition of Albemarle County, told board members over Zoom that the lawsuit devalued a policy developed by students in the school system. She argued that the lawsuit was a part of a coordinated campaign to decry teaching about racial inequality as “anti-White, anti-Christian and anti-American.”
“It’s yet another one of these situations where the right wing is continuing to push and push and push, and what we know to be true is that our students deserve better,” Moxham said.
Emily Mathon, another parent, followed Moxham, stating that the school system’s anti-racism policy and Culturally Responsive Teaching are in line with its mission statement to “know every student.”
“To do that, we have to embrace the intersectionality of children’s identities and cultures,” Malton said. “We must adapt, grow and change to create learning environments of belonging. That requires efforts, intentionality and discomfort for some.”
In an interview, Ryan Bangert, ADF’s senior counsel and vice president of legal strategy, said the school district was “telling students to affirmatively support ideas that run counter to students’ deeply held moral beliefs.” The organization also sent a letter Friday to Harrisonburg City Public Schools demanding the district rescind policies affirming students’ chosen pronouns.
“We chose this particular moment because, quite frankly, of how disturbing the things we are seeing out of the school district are,” he said of the Albemarle suit. “Bigotry cannot be defeated by more bigotry.”
The suit was brought on behalf of parents and students “from a very diverse background,” Bangert said. The complaint identifies five families, including immigrants from Panama and Turkey and people of Native American and Black heritage.
“Plaintiffs’ faith teaches them that God creates all people equal, and that a person’s race has no relation to that person’s inherent dignity as a child of God,” according to the suit.
The lawsuit singled out “prominent critical race theorists,” including Ibram X. Kendi, author of the 2019 nonfiction book “How to Be an Antiracist.”
“Kendi expressly embraces racist discrimination as the answer to racism,” the suit said. It alleged the school system bought the book “Stamped: Racism, AntiRacism, and You,” co-authored by Kendi, for every 11th grade student.
In a statement, Kendi called such allegations about his work “disinformation” that reflected “an old White supremacist talking point: that antiracism is anti-White and racist."
“What I desire as a scholar, educator, and parent is for all of America’s children to learn our complex history,” the statement said. "
As the right targets critical race theory, some have pushed back. Teachers in New Hampshire, for example, filed suit last month alleging the state’s prohibition of lessons teaching people are inherently racist, sexist or oppressive because of their race abridges free speech. At least 11 Republican-led states have approved comparable laws or policies restricting discussions of race — including Oklahoma, where the ACLU filed a similar lawsuit in October. | null | null | null | null | null |
Donald Trump is back … in my inbox, and at a rally
Welcome to The Daily 202! Tell your friends to sign up here. On this day in 1784, the Continental Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris (sometimes called the Second Treaty of Paris) in which Britain officially recognized American independence. In 2016, the world lost actor Alan Rickman. I may watch “Galaxy Quest” tonight — “By Grabthar’s Hammer … what a savings.” I laugh just typing it.
“President Trump told us to reach out to you.” “Where have you been? President Trump reached out with your ONE-TIME Trump Cash Blitz Day offer but so far we HAVEN’T HEARD FROM YOU.” “Until midnight tonight.” “Last chance.”
Yes, The Daily 202 still subscribes to email lists run by the former president Donald Trump’s office and the “Save America PAC” affiliated with him. The PAC announced last month he’d be holding his first rally of 2022 Saturday night, in Arizona.
Over the past week, those two entities combined this week for a bewildering bonanza of fundraising requests — I think they’re up to 70 or so appearances in my inbox since Jan. 7 — featuring urgent messages like the ones excerpted above.
The former president — whose approval rating has risen in the year since he was banned from Twitter, Instagram and Facebook — never left the political ring after his losing reelection campaign. He’s still the most potent force in the Republican Party and might successfully seek his old job in a couple of years. Certainly, his massive fundraising machine keeps that option open, and gives him considerable clout ahead of this year’s midterm elections.
He has enlisted large swaths of the GOP into supporting his “Big Lie” that he actually won the 2020 election, and the resulting Republican drive to change voting rules and give partisans control over election certification is perhaps the most important dynamic in politics today.
To be sure, polls suggest a majority of Americans don’t want him to run in 2024, and 60 percent say he bears “a great deal” or a “good amount” of responsibility for the Jan. 6 insurrection, which interrupted the certification of President Biden’s 2020 victory.
But those majorities don’t vote in Republican primaries. Nor are those contests decided by the three retired senior military officials who wrote last month: “We are chilled to our bones at the thought of a coup succeeding next time.”
And for every Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) willing to defy Trump and publicly reject his false claims widespread voter fraud swung the White House to Biden, there’s a Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) who publicly says he won’t vote to reelect Mitch McConnell (Ky.) as Senate GOP leader unless the Kentucky senator has a “working relationship” with Trump.
“We’ve emailed you a few times to get your name on the Official Trump Announcement Priority List, but so far, our records indicate that you’ve FAILED to take action. Is that true?”
It is true. But let’s get back to Saturday’s rally, at Canyon Moon Ranch in Florence, Ariz.
Rally-ho
First, a programming note: I don’t know who needs to hear this, but when it comes to political rallies, “broadcasting” and “covering” are not automatically synonyms.
In his peerless newsletter, “The Trailer,” my colleague Dave Weigel flags some of the rally venue’s political salience:
“The setting has added meaning to Trump supporters: Pinal County went for the 2020 Republican nominee by 17 points, but local Republicans called for an audit of the vote, suggesting it was the next place to scour the election results after Maricopa County's party-backed ballot review.
Trump, who launched his 2020 reelection bid hours after being sworn in, has never stopped fundraising. He’s been teasing a 2024 run without ever committing to one, but even in 2022 his money would talk if he spread it to Republican candidates.
My colleagues Isaac Stanley-Becker and Anu Narayanswamy reported back in August Trump had amassed “a political treasure chest of $102 million by the end of June [2021], according to filings made public on Saturday.” (Disclosures for the rest of the year will come this month.)
“His aides said he had raised $82 million in that period, though a significant part of that money came in the form of transfers from accounts soliciting funds last year.”
“The sums, which are extraordinary for an ex-president who has been booted off social media, testify to the power of Trump’s online donor base and the deep financial reservoir available to him if he chooses to seek the White House a third time.”
In late 2020, my colleagues Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Anu Narayanswamy reported Trump raised $207.5 million between Election Day and early December, “an extraordinary haul resulting from Trump’s post-election fundraising effort using a blizzard of misleading appeals about the integrity of the vote.”
In the week before tomorrow’s rally, Trump’s fundraising machine has been blasting out the emails — 70, by my rough count, including seven on Thursday advertising something called the “Trump Cash Blitz.” I may have missed a few.
“Your name could be broadcast live during my father’s rally.” “Where have you been?” “President Trump needs you to see this.” “[‘confidential correspondence]” “C.O.N.F.I.D.E.N.T.I.A.L.”
The rally may test Trump’s ability to pack the MAGA crowd in the seats — but it’s probably not the most serious test of his influence.
That would be whether he can convince vaccine-averse followers to change their mind and get their shot(s) — including the booster, which he recently revealed he got.
“Alert from President Trump.”
“The Russian government has sent operatives into eastern Ukraine in preparation for potential sabotage operations that would serve as a pretext for invasion, the Biden administration said on Friday,” Missy Ryan and Paul Sonne report.
“The Biden administration on Friday threatened to claw back more than $170 million in federal stimulus aid allotted to Arizona, after the state announced it would use the cash in a way that discouraged schools from requiring students to wear masks,” Tony Romm reports.
“Congressional lawmakers are beginning to discuss a long-term spending package that could fund the government, prevent a shutdown and potentially even deliver another round of coronavirus relief, including an emerging Democrat-backed plan to provide paid leave to millions of Americans,” Tony Romm reports.
“Unknown hackers launched an attack on Ukrainian government websites early Friday, blocking access and warning Internet users to ‘expect the worst.’ The attack comes as tensions soar between Russia and NATO, the Western military alliance, because Russian troops are massing on the Ukrainian border, prompting fears of an invasion,” David L. Stern and Robyn Dixon report.
U.S. retail sales fell 1.9% in December
“Many holiday shoppers heeded warnings about shipping delays, pushing a large share of the season’s usual gains earlier in the year. Sales were down broadly across spending categories in December, with online sales dropping sharply by 8.7%,” the Wall Street Journal’s Gabriel T. Rubin reports.
“The percentage of Black Americans who live in the South has been increasing since 1990, and the biggest gains have been in the region’s large urban areas, according to census data. The Black population of metro Atlanta more than doubled between 1990 and 2020, surpassing 2 million in the most recent census, with the city overtaking Chicago as the second-largest concentration of African Americans in the country after metropolitan New York,” Emmanuel Felton, John D. Harden and Kevin Schaul report. “Meanwhile, the Black population shrank in a number of Northern and Western cities.”
“To understand the reasons behind this new Great Migration, The Washington Post interviewed Black Americans across three Southern states — Georgia, North Carolina and Texas — who had moved to the South in recent decades. Like many of those who moved during the original Great Migration, the primary driver of their decisions to leave home was economic.”
“As he waited inside Room 2358c of the Rayburn House Office Building, the realization set in for Brian Wallach that he had five minutes to shape the rest of his life. Not save it. He had been given his death sentence nearly two years ago when, at the age of 37, on the day his newborn daughter came home from the hospital, his doctor told him he had the progressive neurodegenerative disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS,” Politico’s Sam Stein reports.
“Health experts say while there are no hard and fast rules, there are best practices for safely getting multiple uses out of N95s or KN95s.” Paulina Firozi and Allyson Chiu break them down.
“The focus on police reforms is part of what appears to be a last-ditch effort by the Biden administration to take action on some of Biden’s signature initiatives in the run-up to his State of the Union Address on March 1. In addition to voting rights and policing, the White House and congressional Democrats are considering ways to resurrect Biden’s Build Back Better package, either by paring the legislation or separating it into two bills, three sources familiar with the discussions said,” NBC’s Carol E. Lee, Mike Memoli, Leigh Ann Caldwell and Peter Alexander report.
“Some insurers say it will probably take weeks to fully set up the system the White House envisions. The new process will be hard, the insurers say, because over-the-counter coronavirus tests are different from the doctor’s visits and hospital stays they typically cover,” the New York Times’s Sarah Kliff reports.
“President Biden announced in a speech Thursday that a federal website where Americans could request free rapid tests would be up and running next week. He also said the administration is purchasing 500 million additional tests to distribute free, on top of the 500 million ordered for January. Higher-quality masks will also soon be distributed free,” Yasmeen Abutaleb reports.
“Thursday was a painful day for Senate rules reformers. The commander-in-chief coming to the Senate for a final push on rules changes couldn’t shake the resistance of [Sen. Joe] Manchin and his fellow centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.). Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday evening that the chamber would postpone a previously scheduled recess and return Tuesday to begin debating the election and voting legislation. He also reiterated his pledge that the Senate will vote on rules changes if Republicans block moving to final passage, as they’re expected to do,” Politico’s Burgess Everett, Marianna Levine and Laura Barrón-López report.
“Despite Biden’s visit and next week’s floor showdown, Manchin and Sinema are only digging in.”
Kazakhstan and Russia, visualized
Here’s what you need to know about Kazakhstan’s unrest and Russian intervention; all your questions answered by our colleague Isabelle Khurshudyan.
“Of all the paragraphs in a bill to ban ‘divisive concepts’ from being taught in Virginia public schools, Section B3 may have seemed the most innocuous. After all, it was in the part of the proposal that defined what could actually be taught in history classes, not the myriad things that would be banned or the consequences teachers could face for teaching them, including prosecution and being fired,” Gillian Brockell reports.
“Section B3 of the bill, which was sponsored by Republican freshman Del. Wren Williams, defined what could be taught as ‘the founding documents,’ like the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, excerpts from the Federalist Papers, the writings of the Founding Fathers and Alexis de Tocqueville’s classic ‘Democracy in America.’ Oh, and one more thing: ‘the first debate between Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.’”
“By Friday morning, Frederick Douglass was trending on Twitter, and the bill had been withdrawn. But let’s not waste the opportunity for a history lesson.”
“Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey declared in January 2021 that he was ‘100 percent’ focused on his current job and uninterested in a bid for Senate. But speculation among state political insiders that Ducey is plotting a late entry into the Senate race has escalated in recent weeks — a development that would scramble a contest that is pivotal to the battle for the Senate majority,” Politico's Natalie Allison reports.
“Former President Donald Trump looms as a powerful force in the race. Trump, who has a rally scheduled Saturday in Phoenix, has made Ducey a frequent target of abuse, criticizing him over the past year for his refusal to embrace election fraud conspiracies. In June, the former president said the Ducey ‘could not get the nomination’ for Senate, if he ran.”
At 12:30 p.m., Biden will deliver remarks on infrastructure.
The president will depart the White House for Wilmington, Del., at 6 p.m.
What’s ‘Wordle’ and why is it everywhere?
“'Wordle’ is just a word deduction game, but its simple nature belies the fact that it has — in the span of just a few weeks — become a phenomenon. Maybe you’re here because you were enticed by the strange green and yellow squares on social media. Maybe you noticed a dramatic uptick in how much you were hearing the non-word ‘Wordle.’” Whatever the reason, Mikhail Klimentov is here to answer all your questions about the newest word game craze. | null | null | null | null | null |
The Atlantic League will not use an automated system to call balls and strikes this season. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)
Since 2019, the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball has experimented with how modern baseball is played as part of a partnership with Major League Baseball.
Among its test rules, the Atlantic League implemented robot umpires, or the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system, beginning in the second half of its 2019 season, and pushed the pitching rubber back by one foot to 61 feet 6 inches during the second half of its 2021 campaign.
But the league announced Thursday that those two high-profile experiments will no longer be implemented in 2022. The Atlantic League will return to human umpires calling balls and strikes and will bring the mound back to the traditional distance of 60 feet 6 inches, the league said in a news release. Other experimental rules, including the use of larger bases, an extra-inning tiebreaker and anti-shift rules, will remain in place.
The ABS system will still be a part of professional baseball — the system is moving to an MLB-affiliated minor league to be determined — and the Atlantic League and Major League Baseball are set to announce additional 2022 test rules later this spring.
“As we enter 2022, we reaffirm to players and fans that ball-strike calls, and the distance of the pitching rubber, will return to accepted norms,” Atlantic League President Rick White said in the release. “The test rules and equipment are transitional by definition: Some elements remain, others are tweaked, and still others are abandoned. That’s why MLB and the ALPB conduct the tests.”
The ABS system — in which balls and strikes are determined by tracking software and relayed to an earpiece-wearing umpire, who announces the call from behind home plate — proved successful. By December 2019, months after the system debuted in the Atlantic League, the MLB umpires’ union agreed to a deal with MLB officials to cooperate with the implementation of a digital strike zone in exchange for significant increases in compensation and retirement benefits.
The demand for a digital strike zone has become increasingly evident, especially with the prevalence of digital strike zones shown during game broadcasts that highlight missed calls.
In 2020, MLB implemented the ABS system during some spring training games, and The Washington Post reported that year that Commissioner Rob Manfred was hoping to implement the automated strike zone in the major leagues within the next three seasons. The Arizona Fall League and Class Low-A Southeast League both implemented the system in 2021.
This offseason, Major League Baseball posted jobs for ABS techs for operating equipment at select spring training venues as well as Class AAA West and Low-A Southeast sites, hinting at the continued use of the system moving forward.
“We believe, over the long haul, it’s going to be more accurate,” Manfred said in 2020. “It will reduce controversy in the game and be good for the game. We think — we think it’s more accurate than a human being standing there.”
The extended pitcher’s mound, on the other hand, didn’t necessarily provide the change that MLB was looking for. That change was made in an attempt to increase contact and action on the base paths, but the Atlantic League said in its announcement Thursday that the results of the extended pitcher’s mound were inconclusive, prompting the return back to the original length.
The Post interviewed Atlantic League pitchers, pitching coaches and managers about the change last year, and while pitchers said they didn’t notice the difference as they were pitching, they did acknowledge that the distance was creating a physical toll on their bodies.
Adam Wainwright, a 16-year veteran for the St. Louis Cardinals, tweeted Thursday that the dimensions of baseball are “scary awesome” and that the move back to the traditional distance was a good move for pitchers. He added that the extended distance wouldn’t have benefited pitchers in the Atlantic League trying to reach the majors.
“‘Hey free agents... come play in our league even though the length you’ll be pitching isn’t the same as the MLB,’" Wainwright tweeted. “‘It’ll be fine... I’m sure you can adjust and still get signed.’ Yikes.”
“A baseball is meant to be pitched at 60′6″. And that’s just the way it is,” he added.
MLB has implemented other rules that the Atlantic League tested in recent years, including the three-batter-minimum rule for relief pitchers and the designated runner starting on second base in extra innings, both of which debuted in the majors in 2020. | null | null | null | null | null |
Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin returns to practice, dealing with nagging ailment
Alex Ovechkin returned to practice on Friday. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post)
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin returned to practice Friday after he missed Thursday’s because of an upper-body injury and what the Capitals called precautionary reasons.
Ovechkin said Friday he has been dealing with a nagging injury. The Capitals’ last game was a 7-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Monday, in which Ovechkin played 19 minutes and had an assist. He did not participate in practice Tuesday, which the team characterized as “a maintenance day.” Washington had Wednesday off. Ovechkin said he is hopeful he can play against the New York Islanders on Saturday at UBS Arena.
Washington also plays the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday at Capital One Arena.
Ovechkin got off to a record start this season and is seen as an early front-runner for the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player. He has 24 goals and hasn’t missed a game this season.
“It doesn’t matter how season goes,” Ovechkin said. “You don’t want to get hurt; you don’t want to feel any pain in your body so obviously … it’s kind of sad, but nothing you can do, right?”
Thursday night, Ovechkin was voted captain of the Metropolitan Division team for the league’s All-Star Game on Feb. 5 in Las Vegas. Ovechkin said Friday he was excited about the game. He’s skipped the past two all-star games, citing rest.
“Obviously most important thing, I have to get healthy and we’ll see,” Ovechkin said. " … It’s great stuff, you know? You’re gonna see lots of great players out there.”
Note: Dmitry Orlov and Carl Hagelin are still in coronavirus protocols and will not travel with the team to New York, according to Capitals Coach Peter Laviolette. Hagelin and Orlov entered protocols Monday. Capitals assistant coach Blaine Forsythe entered covid protocols Tuesday. | null | null | null | null | null |
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