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Baseball is stuck and time is running out
There's no need for tickets yet at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla., as the MLB lockout continues. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)
JUPITER, Fla. — With 48 hours to agree to a new collective bargaining agreement before the league insists it will start canceling regular season games, Major League Baseball’s owners and players are stuck.
They are not merely stuck in the sense that negotiations have moved at a crawl since November and sped up only slightly in the last five days, though the sides are, indeed, moving at a pace just slightly faster than a standstill.
But they are also stuck in a more existential sense, stuck between what is best for the sport and what is best for them, stuck between hopes that each side will feel compelled to give a little for the good of all and the reality that big business is no place for teamwork.
Much like on the field, where the league, its players, and its executives are stuck between playing the game in a way that maximizes entertainment and playing in a data-driven way for the greatest competitive edge, the sides find themselves stuck between their right to bargain for their own best interests and the fact that the sport will suffer if both hold out for those alone.
Because as a steady stream of Jupiter locals walked by the padlocked gates of Roger Dean Stadium this week, peering through the steel bars and asking the reporters waiting outside if the owners and players had a deal, what became clear is the reality that whatever right each side has to self-interest, neither side has much concern for the public interest, whatever their arguments to the contrary.
Many of those locals earned that title by design, having moved to the area to be closer to their beloved St. Louis Cardinals, or scheduled weeks-long sojourns from up north to see some baseball like they do every year. Some of them work at Roger Dean Stadium when it’s operating. Almost all of those who stopped to chat with the reporters shared frustration less directed at one side or the other than at the fact that neither seems to understand the collateral damage their negotiations are wreaking on the area and the game.
Those fans bring up the minimum wage stadium workers who will lose their livelihoods if regular season games are canceled. They mention friends who own businesses around spring training stadiums and those in the big cities, many of whom are already reeling from losses due to covid-19. What those outside the gates see that the people in the room do not is that the people MLB needs to worry about are not the ones interested in parsing out which side is right or wrong, in assigning blame correctly, in supporting the prudent cause.
The people MLB needs to worry about are not the people who see rising owner revenue coupled with shrinking salaries and understand the need for players to fight for more; the ones who understand that a more data-driven game has meant teams are leaning on the cheap labor of younger players at the expense of veterans; the ones who watched MLB impose a lockout in December under the guise of creating urgency then not have discussions with the union until January.
Those people are the kind of fans who will come back even if the labor dispute forces cancellation of regular season games for the first time since 1994, something the league insists is mere hours away from happening unless the sides can make a deal by Monday.
The people MLB needs to worry about, the people it can’t afford to lose, are the people who glance at the sport with moderate interest and see bickering, not baseball. MLB is no longer in a position where it must simply keep the fans it has. To thrive long-term, to keep up or at least keep within shouting distance of the NBA (the NFL is long since out of reach in terms of popularity), it must gain them.
Commissioner Rob Manfred and his staff have spent the last few years talking about growing the game, reaching new demographics and making the sport more appealing to people who have lost touch with the game. The on-field product has yet to reflect that goal. The current off-field product — a labor dispute that has canceled a week of spring training already and will cost fans at least 10 spring training games per team — is antithetical to it.
But the sides are stuck, in part because needing to appeal to a broader base doesn’t mean either side is wrong to push for the most favorable agreement possible. They are stuck because expecting either to concede an inch to the other for the sake of the sport is an unrealistic. Manfred’s title, Commissioner of Baseball, implies stewardship of the sport. His job description, at least in the minds of those who hired him, is to represent the interests of the owners — interests which, in financial reality or the minds of those that matter, have moved steadily away from what is best for the sport.
And the players are employees, in some ways like those in any other American union, bargaining for the best compensation they can get. Whatever public opinion dictates about how much they are paid or whether people so healthily compensated should be this determined to get paid more, they are workers who should not necessarily be expected to put the best interests of the sport ahead of their interests, either, particularly when putting their interests aside feels like conceding to even wealthier owners they believe are crying poor for their own convenience.
Many players, for example, were infuriated when Manfred said earlier this month that a league economist said owning a baseball team is a less profitable endeavor than investing the same amount in the stock market. When Atlanta Braves’ owner Liberty Media — the only publicly traded company to own a major league team — released its year-end financial reports Friday, the outrage only increased because that report showed Atlanta collected 6 million dollars in revenue per game over those 12 months, according to Forbes.
The psychology of the parties involved is such that expecting an emphasis on mutually beneficial policy as opposed to whatever they view as a victory is probably naive, too. Reaching the major leagues requires not only rare talent, but rare competitive drive, the kind that extends to all walks of a person’s life, not merely to his dealings on the field. Owners, too, are used to winning financially. As one player recently pointed out, many owners made their money by being cutthroat business executives. It would be foolish to expect them to give an inch now.
But players and owners have always been that way. Something about this year’s negotiation has reinvigorated an obstinacy that used to define these negotiations every five years. The something is this: The players felt they lost negotiations in 2016, that they ceded ground in their CBA and therefore gritted their teeth ahead of 2021. They hired Bruce Meyer, who had never been the lead man on an MLB negotiation before, to help them. And for five years, Manfred’s unpopular unilateral decisions and glib statements spurred animosity and mistrust among players, a hostility that festered and spiraled to the point that his status as a guile-driven villain became cemented in players’ minds.
So they are here, at Roger Dean Stadium, roughly 48 hours away from letting this labor dispute turn into the most destructive in a generation, consumed by the details and ensuring the public knows the other side is the one to blame — calculating only how the details of a deal will affect their livelihoods, unwilling and unable to calculate what will be lost for every day they go without one. | null | null | null | null | null |
Northern Virginia man killed after running red light, striking van
The crash occurred in Manassas.
A Stafford man died Friday after running a red light in Manassas and crashing into a van, police say.
Jose Luis Robles Martinez, 32, was driving a 2003 Toyota Sienna north on the Prince William Parkway just after 4:30 a.m. when he continued into the intersection at Dumfries Road and collided with a Chevrolet van, according to Prince William County police. The van’s driver and another passenger sustained minor injuries.
Robles Martinez, whose injuries were initially thought to be non-life threatening, died that afternoon at a trauma center, police say. | null | null | null | null | null |
Archaeologists dig all seasons in Colonial Williamsburg
So far, winter temperatures haven’t slowed down excavations for artifacts dating to the 17th century
Winter scenes at the Custis Square archaeological dig site in Colonial Williamsburg. Tamara Stulen and Evan Bell, upper left, and Cheyenne Johnson, right, remove ice from tarps, and snow covers the dig site on Jan. 22, lower left. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
January was a cold and snowy month in Colonial Williamsburg, but the wintry weather didn’t prevent archaeologists from digging in the colonial capital. Three archaeological digs are ongoing, at Custis Square, First Baptist Church and the Magazine.
On Feb. 11, I met with Jack Gary, Colonial Williamsburg’s director of archaeology, to discuss his excavations, discoveries and how various types of weather affect digging. Gary’s team has been working in Williamsburg for three years, so they’ve dealt with all kinds of weather.
Their greatest weather-related challenge this winter was removing ice from the tarps, which cover the dig site at night and during days when it rains or snows. “Ice slabs on tarps are heavy,” remarked Cheyenne Johnson, an archaeology field technician, who is pictured above holding a large chunk of ice.
But staying warm while digging in winter is also a challenge. “Wearing lots of layers and using hand warmers helps,” Gary said.
So far, low temperatures haven’t slowed down excavations this winter, because the ground hasn’t frozen beyond a thin surface crust. It takes severe cold to freeze the ground in a dig site more than an inch or two. As a result, the excavations have continued without delays from frozen soil.
Rain and snow will stop the digging, however. During storms, the archaeologists move indoors to catch up on paperwork and clean artifacts. But, if the rain is heavy, water seeps through the ground, under the tarps, and can create a muddy mess in the dig site.
Of course, summer heat waves pose another weather-related challenge for the archaeologists, but they manage through sultry days with plenty of liquids. When I asked Gary about his favorite season for digging, he paused for a few seconds then said, “Fall is my favorite season.” Williamsburg, with its fall color, is beautiful.
Custis Square
The first archaeological site I visited on Feb. 11 was Custis Square. The weather was sunny and mild, with temperatures approaching 60 degrees. It was perfect digging weather, and Gary’s team of archaeology field technicians was busy scraping dirt to expose ground features and artifacts. Their excavation is focused on an early 18th-century garden site that Virginia plantation owner and statesman that John Custis IV planted.
Custis, who owned an estate in Williamsburg during the early-to-mid-1700s, stated that his garden was second to none in Virginia. He worked with Peter Collinson of London on a trans-Atlantic plant exchange for their gardens. Custis sent eastern Virginia plants to London and received European garden plants from Collinson. The correspondence between Custis and Collinson, titled “Brothers of the Spade,” was published in the 20th century.
The archaeological dig at Custis Square aims to map the garden perimeter, locate the garden-related postholes and discover walkways. Gary said current gardens in Colonial Williamsburg are interpretations of what gardens are thought to have resembled in colonial times but may be based more on later-era gardens. He hopes his effort will reveal the design and organization of an early 18th-century garden in Williamsburg. And letters between Custis and Collinson hold clues to what plants grew in the garden.
Gary mentioned there was drought in the 1730s and that enslaved men would draw water from wells during the day and water the plants in the Custis garden at night. At the time, gardeners thought plants needed cool water, not sun-heated water. Thus, the enslaved men worked long hours, day and night, to maintain the garden throughout the dry summer months.
Many of the excavated postholes within the Custis Square dig site are filled with water. Gary said pumps are used to remove the water from postholes, but often water returns, seeping back from groundwater. Meanwhile, above the postholes, archaeologists use spray bottles of water to moisten dry soil since moist soil shows ground features much better than dry soil.
Archaeologists find earliest colonial site in Maryland after nearly 90-year search
Digging will continue at the site for an additional two years, thanks to funding by the Jacqueline B. Mars Charitable Trust.
From the Custis Square site, Gary and I walked to the dig site at the First Baptist Church of Williamsburg. It’s the location of one of the earliest African American churches in the colonies, organized by free and enslaved worshipers in 1776. Gary’s excavation focuses on locating the foundations of two church buildings from 1818 and 1856.
Gary mentioned his team excavated an 1817 one-cent coin, which confirms they’ve located the first church foundation constructed in 1818. The coin was found beneath a section of brick near the foundation.
[An old coin, a pile of straight pins offers clues to bygone life of African American church]
The church that was built in 1818 was destroyed by a tornado in 1834 but was later rebuilt in 1856. The 1856 church was more expansive than the first church, and its foundation is visible in the dig site, outlined by brick and soil features, which is evident in the photo above.
The second church stood until 1955 but was torn down and later covered by a parking lot. Recently, the parking lot was removed, and Gary’s excavation is helping to rediscover information about one of the earliest African American churches in the United States.
Williamsburg’s Magazine, in the heart of Colonial Williamsburg, was a short walk from the First Baptist Church site.
Gary escorted me inside the walls of the Magazine, where I could view the digging. Gary mentioned that only a few cannonballs and musket balls had been excavated on the site, surprising because the octagonal building was constructed in 1715 to store gunpowder and arms for military purposes.
Most of the artifacts excavated within the walls of the Magazine are from a civilian occupation and are not military-related. However, one of the more exciting discoveries was clay roof tiles. Initially, the building was thought to have wooden shingles, like many other colonial dwellings. But the excavation proves that nonflammable clay tiles were used on the roof of the Magazine.
Two other discoveries at the Magazine are of interest. First, postholes excavated near the Magazine had been dug at an angle, indicating there may have been a wooden building surrounding the Magazine, perhaps like a lean-to structure.
Human remains found at Williamsburg archaeology dig
In addition, the excavated foundation of the original brick wall that surrounded the Magazine was not buried deep into the ground, indicating the wall may not have been as high as the existing wall, which was built in the 1930s. Gary said the first wall may have been only about six feet tall.
Gary hopes the results of his excavation will prove how the Magazine was built and utilized, spanning the years from 1715 to the present day.
Archaeology lab
Our last stop was the archaeology lab in Colonial Williamsburg. Lab work, such as cleaning and documenting artifacts, is time-consuming but essential for archaeology. And when it rains or snows, field archaeologists report to the lab to help with the tedious work.
The lab also stores and displays artifacts dug in the Williamsburg area since the 1930s. The number of artifacts, bottles and pottery in the lab is impressive.
The most remarkable artifact on display is a well-preserved English helmet from the early 1600s that was excavated in the Martin’s Hundred, an early 17th-century plantation located on the north shore of the James River. A photo of the helmet is displayed below.
Dozens of dug wine bottles, and some marked with the John Custis seal, are also stored in the lab. In addition, the lab has a Madeira wine decanter dug at Wetherburn’s Tavern in Colonial Williamsburg. Madeira wine, produced on the Portuguese Madeira Islands, was a favorite in the colonies.
The most unusual artifact on display is a large sea turtle shell dug in the Martin’s Hundred. Why was a sea turtle in a 17th-century plantation? According to Gary, “we can assume it was food.”
“Many of the artifacts currently curated in the lab will be displayed in the new Campbell Archaeology Center, a new facility that will house our labs, collections space, and public programming space,” wrote Gary in an email, after my visit. Gary and his team are currently raising funds for the new facility, which he hopes to break ground on construction in the next couple of years.
Gary said they will also have a dedicated gallery to the archaeological materials in the Art Museum. The first exhibit, which they expect to open in 2023, will look at the global footprint of 18th-century life in Williamsburg, highlighting the origins of many of the artifacts. | null | null | null | null | null |
Belgravia's Eaton Square is known for its popularity as an address for Russian elites. (Andy Rain/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
LONDON — When Boris Johnson announced in Parliament this week “the largest and most severe package of economic sanctions that Russia has ever seen,” the British prime minister made a boast that drew guffaws.
“Oligarchs in London,” Johnson declared, “will have nowhere to hide.”
Except in plain sight, it appears.
Russian money is so ubiquitous, so notorious in Britain’s capital city that the global financial hub was long ago nicknamed “Londongrad.”
It is an old joke, but not so funny to anti-corruption crusaders, kleptocracy tour operators and frustrated lawmakers, who have watched as post-Soviet elites with ties to the Kremlin snap up London townhouses and English estates, often bought anonymously through shell companies, with the profits generated by Russia’s version of crony capitalism.
After Johnson promised new sanctions against 100 Russian banks, defense contractors and oligarchs, to punish President Vladimir Putin and his circle for the assault on Ukraine, many said the move was long overdue.
“For too long, our country has been a safe haven for the money Putin and his fellow bandits stole from the Russian people,” opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said, simply stating the conventional wisdom.
But even as the ferocity of Russia’s attack in Ukraine produces shock and outrage in Britain, there is skepticism about how much will change here. Previous Conservative Party governments have promised to clamp down on dirty money in London, with little impact.
There have been parliamentary investigations, which have issued many reports, one of the latest under the title “Moscow’s Gold” in 2018.
There’s a toothless “unexplained wealth” ordinance that allows the British courts to compel a target to reveal the sources of their riches. Ten prosecutions a year were promised. There have been four in four years — none against Russians.
Instead, there’s an entire ecosystem of investment brokers, property agents, tax lawyers and “reputation managers” who have enriched themselves off Russian money in London.
The anti-corruption group Transparency International U.K., which has been researching real estate transactions in Britain since 2016, reported this past week that 150 properties in Britain, valued at $2 billion, were “owned by Russians accused of financial crime or with links to the Kremlin.”
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Rachel Davis, head of advocacy for the group, who added that 90,000 properties in Britain have been bought anonymously through shell companies, most registered in Britain’s Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, such as the British Virgin Islands.
Tom Tugendhat, the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said London’s role in global finance has delivered “considerable benefits” to the British people. “But the reality is that the channels of wealth have also been carrying corruption and crime through our markets,” he said, adding that the government “has done little to address these dangers.”
Margaret Hodge, a Labour Party lawmaker, who has led the charge to slow the sketchy foreign funds from flowing into business and politics, put it this way: “There’s a ‘for sale’ sign hanging over Britain.”
“Britain asks few questions, doesn’t care who you are, and doesn’t mind where your money comes from,” Hodges wrote in the Guardian newspaper.
Protesters who massed outside of Downing Street on Thursday night, many of them originally from Ukraine, told a Washington Post reporter they assumed the British establishment was corrupted by its embrace of Russian money.
As red double decker buses drove by, a man on a loudspeaker claimed that Russians had made “trillions” from oil and gas over the years.
“That money is not kept in Russia. That money is in London, that money is in New York, that money is in Switzerland,” he shouted.
Protesters in London decried Russia's attack against Ukraine on Feb. 24. (Karla Adam/The Washington Post)
Some of the demonstrators held aloft signs that read “stop Russian money laundering in London” and “block Putin’s wallets in London.”
Liubov Fodor, 53, a Ukrainian-born health worker, was among the crowd and accused Britain and its allies of enabling Putin since his 2014 invasion of Crimea. “Instead of punishing Putin, they’ve sponsored him, by buying oil and gas, supporting oligarchs in London, on the French Riviera,” she said.
London prides itself on being a draw for the global rich. It can be a very nice place to be — and not just for Russia’s bad apples. London is safe, cosmopolitan, with luxury goods at Harrods, skilled doctors on Harley Street, and posh boarding schools like Johnson’s alma mater, Eton College, which costs $70,000 a year for one boy’s tuition.
The growth of London’s financial services sector also happened to coincide with the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Elites from the former USSR had vast fortunes to spend, invest and launder — and city provided the way.
“There is all sorts of dodgy cash in London,” said Helena Wood, a senior fellow with RUSI, a think tank.
She said accountants and lawyers stand ready to help distance people’s wealth from its sources, from any corruption or criminality, often by pouring it into London’s red-hot property market, which can flipped or inherited.
Johnson this past week announced the creation of new “kleptocracy cell” at the National Crime Agency, which will “target sanctions evasion and corrupt Russian assets hidden in the U.K.”
Wood, who used to work at that agency, said taking on oligarchs is difficult, and she’s skeptical that the new unit would make much of an impact unless it’s backed with considerable resources.
Unlike drug traffickers who may eschew publicity, oligarchs are often willing to have their day in court. “They turn up with banks of lawyers” who square off against poorly-resourced litigators and law enforcement officials, she said. “I can only describe it as a David-and-Goliath battle.”
In one high-profile case, the National Crime Agency lost against the family of the former president of Kazakhstan. Using the “unexplained wealth” statute, the agency froze three of the family’s properties, including one on a London street dubbed “Billionaire’s Row.” But the U.K.'s High Court ruled the agency hadn’t proved that funds used to buy the properties were acquired through unlawful activity.
Britain’s legal system actually helps protect oligarchs, who can sue reporters and researchers under tough libel laws, while being confident that they can keep their fancy homes, their with indoor pools and cinemas.
An oligarch’s enemies cannot buy a London judge.
A recent report on dirty money, from the Chatham House think tank, concluded that Britain “is ill-equipped to assess the risk of corruption from transnational kleptocracy, which has undermined the integrity of important domestic institutions and weakened the rule of law.”
The authors wrote that “the success of kleptocracy requires that the perpetrators are hidden in plain sight,” with “professional enablers” available to help exploit loopholes.
They found that not only is money being laundered in London, but reputations, too. “Donations to charities — especially those headed by members of the British royal family — are a key part,” according to the report.
And so is giving money to political parties.
In 2008, Britain introduced the “golden visa” program, which allowed rich Russians and other wealthy nationals to live and spend in London — and after seven or eight years, to apply for British citizenship, which would allow them to donate freely to British political parties.
Between 2010 and 2019, the Johnson’s Conservative Party received £3.5 million from donors with a Russian business background, according to a study by the group Open Democracy.
Since then, the volume of donations appears to have increased.
The prime minister is promising a shift.
As of last month, golden visas are no more.
And after Putin’s forces entered Ukraine, Johnson said he would close the loopholes and improve the unexplained wealth law before the spring recess in Parliament.
He also pledged to introduce an Economic Crime Bill. For the first time, Britain would demand to know the individuals who own the shell companies that buy properties, and a buyer of a Kensington mansion — or a Cotswold cottage — would be identified by a real name.
That’s not Johnson’s idea, though. It was first proposed in 2016, two prime ministers ago. | null | null | null | null | null |
Ukrainians are taken by a truck to the front lines to fight in Kharkiv. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post)
KHARKIV, Ukraine — In a downtown government office building, men and women in military fatigues carried rocket-propelled grenades through hallways lined with ornate white crown molding. Others had AK-47s with loaded clips slung over the shoulders. Sandbags rested along windows — protection in case of potential blasts.
One of the city’s public buses pulled up to the building. There were hundreds of boxes of bullets inside.
This was the scene of the makeshift Ukrainian Territorial Defense headquarters in the eastern city of Kharkiv on Saturday morning — right around the time a series of artillery strikes from the Russian military hit the area for a third straight day. Even as the smell of sulfur wafted through the streets, more than 100 people waited in line to join the civilian reserve force.
Ukraine’s Territorial Defense, which is believed to have more than 130,000 volunteers, has been conducting weekend training sessions for months in preparation to help defend its turf from Russia. Now that the attack has started, Ukrainians across the country are mobilizing and turning to the Territorial Defense to arm them and send them into the fight. Anyone between 18 and 60 can join.
“What’s there to be afraid of?” said 19-year-old Yevgeniy Belinkyi, who was waiting to enlist in Kharkiv. “When I’m sitting around, I’m scared. And here there’s nothing to fear. Here, I know what’s happening, and I hope my loved ones will be all right.”
“I will make sure they are all right,” he said.
It’s the sort of civilian insurgency that Ukraine is counting on to help fend off a Russian military that has significantly more manpower and firepower. President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted Thursday: “We will give weapons to anyone who wants to defend the country. Be ready to support Ukraine in the squares of our cities.”
But arming civilians, many of whom have little training, risks exacerbating the violence in Ukraine’s cities and potentially giving the Russian military more pretext to fire indiscriminately.
In Kyiv, a line stretched down the block at a police station to receive weapons and bullets that officials handed out after brief background checks. Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky said in a video message that volunteers in Kyiv alone were given more than 25,000 automatic rifles, about 10 million bullets and rocket-propelled grenades and launchers.
Ukraine’s Territorial Defense, now a division of the country’s armed forces, has already been praised by Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov for helping hold off the Russian assault on Kyiv since Friday. In the northeastern city of Sumy, 90 miles north of Kharkiv, a civilian defense force seized a Russian armored vehicle and interrogated the soldier in it, according to social media videos verified by The Washington Post.
At the Kharkiv headquarters, a man in camouflage and armed with an assault rifle, tried to organize the growing crowd of volunteers. He asked those with military service experience to get in line on the right and everyone else to line up on the left. He said he worked in an office until the start of the Russian invasion.
“I just want to offer free hands,” one woman told him. “I can mop the floors.”
He told her to line up on the left.
“They’re off to the front,” said Boris Redin, a pro-democracy activist who uses a blue-and-yellow tent on Kharkiv’s main square as his headquarters.
“Everything that Russia always threatened us with is now happening,” he said. “Now we’re simply forced to fight back and defend ourselves. But we’ll do it with fun and pleasure.”
In the western city of Lviv — just 55 miles from the border with Poland and considered one of the safest areas in the country because of its distance from Russia — Oleksii Palyhi, a lanky 22-year-old with a heart tattooed on his cheekbone, had never imagined himself having anything to do with the military. His experience with weapons was taking potshots at bottles with an air rifle. After he dropped out of his university physics and astronomy course, a lung condition exempted him compulsory conscription.
“I was trying to avoid it,” he said. But now things are different.
“We need to defend our motherland,” he said.
Nearby, 70-year-old Orest Gaworsky, had gathered a group, writing down their names and phone numbers to submit. He was happy with his new comrades.
“There are no losers here,” he said of the crowd. In 2015, he served as a civil volunteer in the eastern Ukrainian Donbas region, where the Ukrainian military has been engaged in an eight-year conflict with Russian-backed separatists. Gaworsky’s vehicle was hit in an explosion there.
“I’m too old to run with a gun,” he said. “But I can sit and shoot.”
“We will shoot, we will make molotov cocktails, we will do everything,” he added. “We’ll fight them with pitchforks!”
Morris reported from Lviv, Ukraine, and O’Grady from Kyiv. David L. Stern in Mukachevo, Ukraine, contributed to this report. | null | null | null | null | null |
People hold signs during a march and rally for slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin on March 31, 2012, in Sanford, Fla. (Julie Fletcher/AP)
When he learned of the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida, Jordan, then 21, began reading more news stories, wanting to understand what went wrong. But nothing, satiated what he was looking for. American newsrooms, lacking racial diversity, had not explored the frustrations or fears Black boys felt about facing a similar confrontation as Martin did with neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, Jordan said. About to graduate, he wondered why he had studied theater — clearly journalism lacked a perspective he could offer.
For some young Black people entering adulthood, 17-year-old Martin’s death provoked questions about how they are perceived and ideas about how they could make a difference. Martin has been called his generation’s Emmett Till, a teenager killed in a disturbing slaying that galvanized the nation during the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Black journalists such as Jordan felt moved to bring diverse voices to their newsrooms, while others drawn to activism began to demand changes to gun laws and in the national conversation about race.
“Since Trayvon, we’ve seen Mike Brown, we’ve seen Eric Garner, Alton Sterling, Sandra Bland, and the names continue,” shesays. “The names have continued in the last 10 years, and we haven’t necessarily seen a stop or a change.”
Edna Burton, a 21-year-old hairstylist in Columbus, remembers hearing about Martin’s killing in her salon, feeling such disbelief that she wondered if she had perhaps been too sheltered. She felt certain Zimmerman would be convicted. On the day of the jury’s decision, she had taken her 2-year-old son to the circus, and as they rode home, the news came on the radio and the family’s jolly chitchat went silent.
Martin’s case drew Burton to protest for the first time. She explained to her son, now 12, that he had to be cautious of his surroundings. Sometimes, she tells him, you need to swallow your pride and look weak to stay safe.
Crystal Gomes knows her mother, who was 5 when Martin Luther King Jr. was shot, must have had that same conversation with her, the one countless Black parents have with their children about how they are perceived by White people. But Gomes, 19 when Martin was killed, said those words must have gone in one ear and out the other. She had a White boyfriend, White friends and attended a private Christian school. She had grown up in an entirely different world than her mother, she thought.
After watching the Martin case unfold, Gomes, who works for a real estate company, found herself discussing the Black experience with White friends. At a bachelorette trip for a friend’s wedding, she explained to one White woman why using the n-word is problematic after a video circulated of rapper Kendrick Lamar chastising a White fan for not self-censoring while singing his song, “M.A.A.D City,” onstage.
He watched other Black journalists be pigeonholed into covering some of the most traumatizing story lines. Major newsrooms, he noticed, consistently failed to hire and empower these reporters cutting their teeth on the difficult subjects.
“I was like I’m not doing this anymore,” he said. “I’m covering happy things.” | null | null | null | null | null |
“Burning Questions” by Margaret Atwood. (Doubleday)
Praise be: Margaret Atwood has published a sequel to ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’
There aren’t always clear answers in “Burning Questions”; indeed, Atwood points out that essays are really just “attempts” at answers and that they aren’t necessarily all that anyway. “Fiction writers are particularly suspect because they write about human beings, and people are morally ambiguous,” she notes. “The aim of ideology is to eliminate ambiguity.” Although this volume is squarely on the nonfiction shelf, it shares her novels’ aversion to absolutes. These 65 short pieces are liberally punctuated with question marks.
Read them and you will probably be struck by how sensible and moderate Atwood is. To criticize our “fantasies of endlessness” as climate change becomes ever more visible is scarcely controversial. To argue that “the hard-won rights for women and girls that many of us now take for granted could be snatched away at any moment” seems incontestable after the passage of the “Texas Heartbeat Act.” Many readers nowadays will agree that “The Handmaid’s Tale” is not specifically “a ‘feminist dystopia,’ except insofar as giving a woman a voice and an inner life will always be considered ‘feminist’ by those who think women ought not to have these things.” As the world has caught up with her work, Atwood has become a popular seer figure; despite the sci-fi trappings of some of her books, she seems to discern the world as it really is. About many things, she’s been right.
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ has been feared, banned and loved. Now it’s scaring the bejeezus out of us again.
Readers’ enjoyment of “Burning Questions” may be proportional to the pleasure they take in Atwood’s cozy, twinkling tone. She can’t resist an amusing simile; she’s fond of appearing absent-minded; she’s self-effacing. This can become grating. Anyone who’s won as many prizes and sold as many books as Atwood runs the risk of false modesty calling themselves “a mere scribbler … a ferreter into matters about which I don’t know very much.” There’s sometimes condescension in it; in one essay, she adopts an alien persona to show “earthlings” how to avoid totalitarianism — not cute.
Nevertheless, the book’s scope and the perspicacity of her writing evince the reading and thinking of a long life well lived. There are some good axioms worth repeating: “It is one of the functions of ‘horror’ writing to question the reality of unreality and the unreality of reality.” “Each of our technologies is a two-edged sword. One edge slices the way we want it to, the other edge cuts our fingers.” She writes about an astonishing array of things: trees, zombies, nursing, censorship, #MeToo. She appraises writers as varied as Rachel Carson, W.G. Sebald, Alice Munro and Stephen King. She enjoyed “Kung Fu Panda.” Range isn’t a problem.
But some pieces feel dashed off. She pads and digresses; what could be a sentence becomes a paragraph. Clumsy coinages feel like placeholder words — calling the death of Tiny Tim “weep-making,” for instance. And some pieces smell like early drafts — a few pages apart, both Shakespeare and his plays are described as being slippery as eels.
This may be forgivable, or inevitable, given the demands on Atwood’s time. In a humorous short essay titled “A Writing Life,” she lists things that have recently made it difficult for her to write, by the end of which one realizes that the whole article is a smokescreen for its own execution. By her testimony, she’s averaged 40 pieces a year for the past two decades, which means the 65 selected here were chosen from more than 700 candidates. In that time, she’s also published half a dozen novels, a couple of short story collections and two books of poetry.
What’s lost in polish is perhaps compensated by the impression of direct access to her thinking and feeling. “Wonderful Doris Lessing has died” is a striking example of an opener that captures both the spontaneity of the commission and authentic emotion.
Atwood lamented, in an earlier collection, that “the book review leans a little toward Consumer Reports,” and indeed this word limit permits only an outline of what makes “Burning Questions” both stimulating and frustrating. It’s certainly a dipper rather than a straight-through read. But it’s a foolish reader who fails to seek the flashes of brilliance and insight that glint amid the more workaday pieces.
Charles Arrowsmith is based in New York and writes about books, films and music.
Essays and Occasional Pieces, 2004 to 2021
Doubleday. 496 pp. $30 | null | null | null | null | null |
At the Black Cat, the Beths mix subtle self-doubt with unabashedly joyous songcraft
The New Zealand indie quartet delivered its signature irony in a sunny package.
The Beths, from left: drummer Tristan Deck, singer Elizabeth Stokes, bassist Benjamin Sinclair and lead guitarist Jonathan Pearce. (Amanda Cheng)
The Black Cat audience snapped to attention when Elizabeth Stokes of the Beths began Friday’s show, singing a simple melody over her buzz-saw rhythm guitar. Then the other three musicians began to play, and the capacity crowd turned gently frenzied. The name of the arousing song? “I’m Not Getting Excited.”
Irony is a small but significant ingredient in the New Zealand indie-rock quartet’s songs, which are written by Stokes and produced by lead guitarist Jonathan Pearce. Among the band’s most popular tunes are “Happy Unhappy” and “Future Me Hates Me,” in which the singer expresses her chagrin at allowing herself to fall in love. Both songs were prominently featured in the 70-minute show, which was overwhelmingly joyous despite the subtle undercurrents of recrimination and self-doubt. One reason Stokes’s downbeat lyrics didn’t dampen the mood is that many of them were sung back to her by the audience in a spirit of communal bliss.
The show was part of the Beths’ first U.S. tour since the release of their second album, “Jump Rope Gazers,” released in mid-2020 to a mostly locked-down world. The record includes some slower songs and more intricate vocal harmonies, but marks just a minor evolution in the band’s style, one that was barely noticeable in concert. The group positioned the second album’s midtempo title song at the middle of its set, but performed mostly faster numbers. These included two newer compositions, both upbeat: “Silence Is Golden” and “A Real Thing.” The latter sunnily if tentatively addressed climate change, proposing collective action to “push back the coming ti-i-i-de.” (Another ecological note was struck by a stage backdrop that pictured birds of New Zealand.)
Stokes and Pearce often played twin rhythm guitars, and Pearce’s solos tended to be short and pithy. The interlocked guitars linked the Beths’ style to that of such bands as the Chills and the Clean, who put New Zealand on the alt-rock map in the 1980s. Yet the Beths don’t really sound that much like such predecessors. That’s partly due to bassist Benjamin Sinclair and drummer Tristan Deck’s supple rhythms, but also because of Stokes’s soprano. It soars above her own darker thoughts, bringing them into accord with the Beths’ exuberant music.
Opening was Lunar Vacation, an Atlanta band whose songs were mostly dreamy or lounge-y, but were occasionally jolted by raucous guitar or an up-tempo passage. | null | null | null | null | null |
Project for Empty Space in Newark is holding an exhibition called “Scheherazade Tillet: Black Girl Play” until March 13.
A news release from Project for Empty Space describes the exhibition:
“This exhibition is the culmination of several series by the artist created over five years in three locations — Chicago, Port-of-Spain, and Newark, NJ — in which the artist spent her childhood and/or worked. Building on her residency at New Arts Justice and Shine Portrait Studio at Express Newark, these collections are threaded together by the common exploration of the ways in which community tradition, playful interaction, and radical joy converge at various points in the lives of Black girls.”
The Party, Newark, New Jersey (From the series: "Eight"), 2020.
Mermaids Gathering during quarantine, South Orange, a suburb of Newark, New Jersey (From the series: "Eight"), 2020.
Playing with Makeup Birthday Gift with a Close Friend, Newark, New Jersey (From the series: "Eight"), 2020.
Tillet’s work brings together vibrantly colorful images made across a range of experiences, including prom preparation in Chicago, private play in the intimate setting of home and scenes made during the Kiddies Carnival in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.
Jermiah Getting Ready in the Room with her Fans, Chicago, Illinois (From the series: "Prom Send-Off"), 2019.
The Coronation of Danielle, Chicago, Illinois (From the series: "Prom Send-Off"), 2019.
Nya with her Aunt and Hairdresser Getting a Sew at Home, Chicago, Illinois (From the series: "Prom Send-Off"), 2019.
The exhibition serves as an antidote to much of the stereotypical depiction of Black girls that has been so pervasive. As the news release notes:
Queen of the Band, Junior's Competition, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (From the series: "Kiddies Carnival"), 2020.
Moko Jumbie School Girl, Mucurapo Girls R.C. Primary School, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
(From the series: "Kiddies Carnival"), 2020.
Playing Mas on the Savannah Stage, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (From the series: "Kiddies Carnival"), 2020.
Offerings to Yemaya, Rainbow Beach, Chicago, Illinois (From the series: "The Black Girlhood Altar"), 2021. | null | null | null | null | null |
Liberty's Malik Willis improved his draft stock at this year's Senior Bowl, but was it enough to make him a top-10 pick? (Butch Dill/AP)
The NFL is set to stage one of the more interesting scouting combines in recent memory this week in Indianapolis.
There was no in-person combine in 2021 due to coronavirus concerns, and the league initially wanted to create a “bubble” environment this year to protect prospects, along with team and league officials. Agents complained and threatened to hold their players out of workouts, and the league backed down and eased restrictions.
Agents usually prefer that their players have a trainer and other specialists nearby to get maximum performance. Some prefer that their clients wait until their college workouts. It will still be interesting to see how many draft prospects go through the workouts. What happens this year in Indianapolis could set the stage for combines down the road.
Let’s look ahead and see what is on the agenda for the week.
Deep running back draft: Some general managers and scouts think running back is the best position in this draft. Some believe there will still be quality running backs available as late as the fifth round.
As always, there is a good chance a running back won’t be taken in the first round. Recent history has shown teams happily waiting until the second and third rounds. Instead, they focus on quarterbacks, edge rushers, offensive tackles and cornerbacks in the first round.
This year’s running back class will have a big impact on the unrestricted free agent market, which has been financially good to running backs over the past couple of years. Two years ago, the top unrestricted free agent running back made $8 million a year. Most people around the league think none will see more than $6 million this offseason.
Another good year for wide receivers: It wasn’t long ago that some experts felt a top-tier receiver wasn’t necessary for a team to reach the Super Bowl. Not anymore. Look how receivers have helped change teams’ fortunes in Cincinnati, Kansas City and Dallas, among others.
It will be interesting to see if the top receivers will run and show their talents this week in Indianapolis. Receivers have been great in the past several drafts.
There might not be a receiver in the top 10 of this year’s draft, but at least five will go in the first round. Heading the list are Garrett Wilson from Ohio State, Drake London from USC and Treylon Burks from Arkansas.
Shakiness at the quarterback position: After a few great years for quarterbacks, this draft isn’t as rich. Three could go in the first round, but teams in need will certainly be studying the entire field closely.
One weird twist: Most teams are likely to rate the first four quarterbacks differently. We’ll see if that changes as the draft draws near. Pitt’s Kenny Pickett could be the highest quarterback taken, but only a team’s desperate need will put him in the top 10. Matt Corral from Mississippi should be outside the top 10. And while Liberty’s Malik Willis improved his stock at the Senior Bowl, he’d be helped by a good throwing session at the combine. North Carolina’s Sam Howell also needs a good week to see if he can climb up from the bottom of the first round.
Not as many first-round underclassmen: Normally, teams figure there is an abundance of underclassmen loading up the first round. The number usually exceeds 20 in most drafts. This year there may be as few as 17 in the first round. The draft is loaded with plenty of seniors, including several who went back to school for an extra year after the coronavirus upended schedules.
As few as five underclassmen could go in the top 10. That means general managers and scouts have a lot to sort out at the combine and in the school workouts.
Sorting out the top five picks: The question at the top of the draft is whether teams will most covet offensive tackles, edge rushers or safety Kyle Hamilton from Notre Dame. A lot of teams need offensive line help. Evan Neal from Alabama, Ikem Ekwonu from North Carolina State and Charles Cross from Mississippi State are among the top offensive linemen available. They are competing against edge rushers Aidan Hutchinson of Michigan, Kayvon Thibodeaux of Oregon and George Karlaftis of Purdue for top selections.
Veteran trade talk: One of the great parts of going to the combine is seeing general managers sitting in restaurants across the table from each other and trying to figure out which trade conversations were happening.
Teams in need of a veteran quarterback will eagerly meet with those that are willing to part with one. The list this year includes Carson Wentz of the Indianapolis Colts, Jimmy Garoppolo of the San Francisco 49ers, Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans and Sam Darnold of the Carolina Panthers, among others.
Aaron Rodgers: By the end of next week, we will know what Rodgers wants to do with the Green Bay Packers. He wants them to keep his favorite target around, using the franchise tag on Davante Adams.
But if Rodgers doesn’t get what he wants, he could ask to get out. That puts the Denver Broncos and others in play to see if they can acquire Rodgers in a trade. He continues to be the biggest NFL story of the offseason, and a decision is coming soon.
Rule changes: The NFL’s compensation committee will hold its first meeting of the offseason to see what rule changes could be afoot. The group will discuss potential changes to the overtime rules. They will discuss taunting. And they will review what coaches and general managers sent them to see what other changes might be needed.
There may not be any decisions, but the talks will happen.
Final salary cap approval: The NFL and the NFL Players Association will meet and finalize the 2022 salary cap number and any changes in the day-to-day operations of the NFL. The cap is expected to be at $208.5 million, which would be a $26 million increase over last season. | null | null | null | null | null |
Chelsea announced Saturday that owner Roman Abramovich will hand over control to the club's foundation trustees. (Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images)
Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich released a statement on Saturday stating that he was giving up control of the team. Abramovich didn’t indicate that he planned to sell the team.
His announcement comes after members of British Parliament encouraged him to give up his assets, including the British soccer club. Abramovich, a Russian businessman who has owned the team since 2003, has been a supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin and could be making the move to protect the club from potential sanctions brought down against him.
“I have always taken decisions with the Club’s best interest at heart,” Abramovich said in the statement. “I remain committed to these values. That is why I am today giving trustees of Chelsea’s charitable Foundation the stewardship and care of Chelsea FC. I believe that currently they are in the best position to look after the interests of the Club, players, staff, and fans.”
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this week, the United States, Great Britain and the European Union issued retaliatory sanctions against Russia. Abramovich, who has ties to Putin and is known for his exploits in Western jurisdictions, is seen as someone who could be targeted.
Chris Bryant, a member of the British Parliament, suggested earlier this week that Abramovich should be stripped of his Western assets including Chelsea FC. Bryant obtained a secret 2019 government document that spoke about Abramovich and “his links to the Russian state and his public association with corrupt activity and practices.”
Bloomberg reported Friday that there were a number of sports investors and private equity firms that were interested in buying Chelsea FC if Abramovich did decide to sell the team. In 2021, Forbes valued Chelsea at $3.2 billion, seventh in the world and fourth among Premier League teams behind Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City.
Abramovich, 55, bought the team in 2003 for £140 million and since then has helped Chelsea develop into one of England’s premier soccer teams. Chelsea won last year’s Champions League title, the club’s second under Abramovich.
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) announced Friday that the Champions League final would be moved out of St. Petersburg to Paris in response to the attack on Ukraine.
The team has also won two Europa League titles (2013, 2019) and this month won the FIFA Club World Cup. Chelsea, which has also won the Premier League five times since Abramovich took over, sits third in the Premier League table. | null | null | null | null | null |
In Kyiv, a line stretched down the block at a police station to receive weapons and bullets that officials handed out after brief background checks. Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky said in a video message that volunteers in Kyiv alone were given more than 25,000 automatic rifles, about 10 million bullets, and rocket-propelled grenades and launchers.
The Territorial Defense Forces, now a division of the country’s armed forces, has already been praised by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov for helping hold off the Russian assault on Kyiv since Friday. In the northeastern city of Sumy, 90 miles north of Kharkiv, a civilian defense force seized a Russian armored vehicle and interrogated the soldier in it, according to social media videos verified by The Washington Post.
At the Kharkiv headquarters, a man in camouflage and armed with an assault rifle tried to organize the growing crowd of volunteers. He asked those with military service experience to get in line on the right and everyone else to line up on the left.
He said he worked in an office until the start of the Russian invasion. “I just want to offer free hands,” one woman told him. “I can mop the floors.” He told her to line up on the left.
“They’re off to the front,” said Boris Redin, a democracy activist who uses a blue and yellow tent on the main square of Kharviv as his headquarters. “Everything that Russia always threatened us with is now happening,” he said. “Now we’re simply forced to fight back and defend ourselves. But we’ll do it with fun and pleasure.”
In the western city of Lviv, just 55 miles from the border with Poland and considered one of the safest areas in the country because of its distance from Russia, Oleksii Palyhi, a lanky 22-year-old with a heart tattooed on his cheekbone, had never imagined himself having anything to do with the military.
His experience with weapons was taking potshots at bottles with an air rifle. After he dropped out of his university physics and astronomy course, a lung condition exempted him compulsory conscription. “I was trying to avoid it,” Palyhi said. But now things are different. “We need to defend our motherland.”
Nearby, 70-year-old Orest Gaworsky had gathered a group, writing down their names and phone numbers to submit. He was happy with his new comrades.
“There are no losers here,” he said of the crowd. In 2015, he served as a civil volunteer in the eastern Ukrainian Donbas region, where the Ukrainian military has been engaged in eight years of conflict with Russian-backed separatists. His vehicle was hit in an explosion there.
“I’m too old to run with a gun, but I can sit and shoot,” Gaworsky said. “We will shoot, we will make molotov cocktails, we will do everything,” he added. “We’ll fight them with pitchforks!”
Morris reported from Lviv, Ukraine, and O’Grady from Kyiv, Ukraine. David L. Stern in Mukachevo, Ukraine, contributed to this report. | null | null | null | null | null |
FILE - Stephen Colbert, right, executive producer of the Showtime animated series “Our Cartoon President,” takes part in a panel discussion on the show with fellow executive producer Chris Licht at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour on Jan. 6, 2018, in Pasadena, Calif. Licht, who currently runs Stephen Colbert’s late-night show at CBS but has a news background, is expected to be named the new president of CNN. An executive familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the news, first reported by the website Puck on Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)
NEW YORK — CBS executive Chris Licht, who is currently running Stephen Colbert’s late-night show after building two news programs, is expected to become the new president of CNN replacing Jeff Zucker. | null | null | null | null | null |
Opinion: We must act appropriately on Ukraine
Protesters attend a demonstration in support of Ukraine in front of the Russian Embassy in Rome on Feb. 24. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images)
Robert Kagan’s excellent Feb. 22 Tuesday Opinion essay, “What we can expect after Putin’s conquest of Ukraine,” was prescient. The single most important action that the United States could take now is to announce a new status of forces agreement and permanent base in Poland, as well as a new U.S.-led base in a Baltic state most suited to housing U.S. forces. The size and complement of any permanent force in these locations are less important than the meaningful commitment to a long-term U.S. and NATO permanent presence in Eastern Europe.
Germany might have outgrown large U.S. permanent bases, but our forces would be greeted with open arms along the eastern flank of NATO. The idea of having no permanent forces along that critical frontier is no longer a negotiating chip that can be offered to Russia to de-escalate conflict in the region or appease Russian President Vladimir Putin’s xenophobic demands, now or in the future.
This relatively small but symbolic investment would provide a direct military response to Moscow, without taking our eyes off the strategic importance of the Indo-Pacific region and China.
Jeremy Greenwood, Washington
The writer is a foreign policy federal executive fellow at the Brookings Institution in the Strobe Talbott Center on Security, Strategy and Technology.
What does it mean to be an American? Whose liberty is worth protecting with your life? Only your own life? Only American lives? Ukrainian lives? Where does one draw the line between those whose liberty Americans will physically defend and those lives we won’t, and why?
On Jan. 20, 1961, President John F. Kennedy made these promises during his inaugural address: “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty. … To those peoples in the huts and villages across the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required — not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”
On Feb. 24, without provocation, Russia invaded Ukraine, a sovereign nation seeking liberty from despotism.
If defending liberty at home and abroad, at any cost, is still an American obligation, then actively defending Ukrainians’ liberty, with American troops on the ground in Ukraine, is an American obligation.
Greg Gianas, Redmond, Wash. | null | null | null | null | null |
Russia believes tanks trump international law. Smaller countries like Kenya are using the U.N. to push back.
Here’s what we learned from the U.N. Security Council emergency meetings on Ukraine
Russia's ambassador to the United Nation, Vasily Nebenzya, casts the lone dissenting vote in the United Nations Security Council on a resolution denouncing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on Feb. 25. Being one of the five permanent members of the council, Russia's lone vote vetoed the resolution. (Seth Wenig/AP)
By Anjali Dayal
When powerful countries violate international law with little clear consequence, debate over the core principles behind those laws can seem remote at best or irrelevant at worst. On Friday, Russia unilaterally vetoed a draft United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution denouncing its invasion of Ukraine that 81 of the U.N.’s 193 members had co-sponsored. Observers may understandably have interpreted this as another sign of the body’s pointlessness.
Yet two debates at the UNSC this week demonstrated the existential stakes of these debates for smaller countries as they navigate international politics. Even when it can’t stop violations by its veto-wielding permanent five members of the UNSC — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States — the council remains a critical venue for smaller countries to affirm and argue directly for the U.N. Charter’s core principles of sovereign nonintervention and the equal self-determination of peoples.
A tale of two emergency meetings
On Wednesday night, people tuning in to the UNSC’s emergency meeting on Ukraine watched a surreal scene unfold: Ambassadors reading pre-written statements calling for diplomacy to forestall a Russian invasion. By a fluke of the calendar, Russia’s ambassador presided over the orderly meeting. By specific plan, Russian state television broadcast Vladimir Putin making what amounted to a declaration of war during the UNSC meeting. Russian armed forces initiated the exact invasion U.N. ambassadors were still speaking of in hypothetical terms.
It was a powerful illustration of the U.N.’s limitations: a fully paralyzed diplomatic body that could not respond to the flagrant violation of its charter by one of its permanent members. For some analysts, the meeting signaled “further evidence of the declining stature of the world body.”
But just two nights previously, during Monday’s emergency meeting, the UNSC listened to Kenya’s ambassador, Martin Kimani, deliver an electrifying statement that resonated with audiences far beyond usual U.N.’s observers. Kimani warned the council about the dangers of plunging back into an old, imperial world of domination, and against rulers who redrew maps by force while striving for ethnically homogenous states.
Kimani decried Russia’s recognition of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions as independent states. He warned against the devastating global consequences that would follow from any Russian invasion: “The Charter of the United Nations continues to wilt under the relentless assault of the powerful … including members of this Security Council, breaching international law with little regard. Multilateralism lies on its deathbed tonight. It has been assaulted today as it has been by other powerful states in the recent past,” he said.
Kimani’s statement mirrored those from other UNSC nonpermanent members, including Albania, Ghana and Ireland, whose ambassadors all argued that violating the Ukraine’s territorial integrity is a grave violation of international law, and of Russia’s commitments under the U.N. Charter to settle disputes by pacific means.
Small member states can debate big rules at the UNSC
If Wednesday’s meeting revealed the hard limits of the UNSC’s power in the world, then Monday’s meeting encapsulated its role as a forum for real debate over the value and meaning of international legal rules — rules that are life or death for many of the U.N.’s member states.
The UNSC upholds and calcifies the great power politics of the mid-20th century, enabling the victors of World War II to shape international peace and security to their preferences. By design, the UNSC cannot act when its powerful five permanent members (P5) are divided. It can coordinate international responses to crises where the P5’s own interests are not primarily at stake, but it flails when the P5 are divided, or when the P5 themselves undertake aggressive actions.
But the U.N. Charter also meaningfully underwrites and animates a post-colonial order organized by the sovereign equality of states, and states’ inviolable rights to territorial integrity and political independence. UNSC meetings are a vital opportunity for smaller countries to affirm and advance this vision of international order even when great powers seek to overturn it. As Tanisha Fazal argued here at TMC this week, countries used to die regularly until the norm against territorial conquest, embodied in the U.N. charter, changed how countries tried to control one another.
Decolonization unfolded alongside these changing norms. As Adom Getachew has argued, decolonization was “a wholesale transformation of the colonized and a reconstitution of the international order.” The U.N.’s founding principles are also deeply indebted to anti-colonial nationalists who were “keenly aware that national independence in a hierarchical world order was a precarious achievement.”
Today’s UNSC is not just the victorious World War II alliance cast in amber. It’s also a rotating group of 10 nonpermanent members who have no veto power, but who help set the agenda, shape debate, and draft and vote on binding resolutions, and who advocate for a charter that outlaws aggressive war while serving as a compact for the protection of sovereign statehood for its membership. For these members, the UNSC is a key venue to reassert the sovereign equality of states, and member-states’ rights to territorial integrity — especially in the face of P5 militarism.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine revealed why debating international rules still matters
The P5 have invoked sovereign equality and territorial integrity as a shield against their own rights violations. Politics between the P5 can also shape their fidelity to these norms, as China’s abstention from voting either for or against Friday’s resolution denouncing Russia reveals. For smaller countries raising these principles at the UNSC, sovereign inviolability is not just political cover, but a basic condition of their existence. It serves as a pillar of a post-imperial global order that must persist in order for these countries to survive. As Kimani noted, multilateral arrangements constitute part of a “recovery from the embers of dead empires in a way that does not plunge us back into new forms of domination and oppression.”
These countries are deeply invested in a system of international politics that centers rules about sovereign nonintervention, territorial integrity and the peaceful settlement of disputes. Ignoring politics at the UNSC when great power conflict emerges is understandable, but the U.N. is not just a theater for the P5, and the U.N. Charter’s core principles remain central concerns for other member states. Whatever the ambitions of its powerful P5 members, the UNSC is also a place where other countries can argue against a world of imperial domination in which they might be subsumed.
Anjali Dayal (@anjalikdayal) is an assistant professor of international politics at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center Campus and the author of “Incredible Commitments: How UN Peacekeeping Failures Shape Peace Processes” (Cambridge University Press, 2021). | null | null | null | null | null |
Sienna Karp of Walter Johnson swam the anchor leg of the team's record 400-yard freestyle relay Saturday at Eppley Recreation Center in College Park. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)
Heading into the final race of the 4A/3A swimming and diving state championships, the Walter Johnson girls had an insurmountable lead. So Coach Jamie Grimes advised his 400-yard freestyle relay team to take a risk: Don’t fret about possibly leaving early on the exchanges.
The quartet of junior Maren Conze, freshman Madeleine Simmons, sophomore Healey Morgan, and junior Sienna Karp took advantage of that extra freedom to win in 3:27:47, setting records for the school, Montgomery County, and state meet.
It capped a successful day in College Park for the Wildcats, who outpaced second-place Bethesda-Chevy Chase, 304-245, for their first state title since 2017.
“We kind of just brought it home for the last race of the season,” said Conze, who also won 500-yard freestyle. “We all went as fast as we possibly could, considering how tired we are.”
In the boys’ competition, Churchill dominated, scoring 340.5 points — well ahead of second-place Whitman (273). The victory came two weeks after the Bulldogs upset a host of private schools to win the Washington Metropolitan Interscholastic Swimming and Diving Championships.
They prevailed in that Metros meet without a single first-place finish. That wasn’t the case Saturday, as sophomore Brady Begin took the 500-yard freestyle, and the 400 freestyle relay team of sophomore Kyle Wang, junior Ethan Fu, sophomore Samir Elkassem and sophomore Nasim Elkassem won in 3:04:65.
Churchill also won the state title in 2019.
“It’s the end of a really long but a really fun season where our boys have just been pretty much a family,” Coach Kevin Mackenzie said. “These boys just never stopped believing, and we’ve stayed really tight throughout the season.”
The race that stood out most to Mackenzie was Alvin Kimwon’s second-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke, where the senior finished in 55.78 seconds to break a school record held since the 1980s by Olympic gold medalist Mike Barrowman.
“Leaving a legacy at Churchill is all I wanted,” said Kimwon, who missed part of the season with a broken pinkie. “It’s an honor.”
For the Walter Johnson girls, the penultimate race, the 100-yard breaststroke, clinched the team victory and prompted Grimes to tell his relay team to let it rip. Heading into that event, Walter Johnson and Bethesda-Chevy Chase were separated by 20 points; then senior Hanna Bingley and freshman Isla Bartholomew blew open the lead by taking first and second place, respectively.
It was Bartholomew’s only event of the meet, as she has been limited in practices and meets because of mononucleosis.
“I can barely swim for more than 30 minutes,” Bartholomew said. “And I haven’t gone to a lot of practices, but I came in here trying to do my best, and I know we did pretty well.”
The Wildcats finished the day having won the 200 medley relay, 200 individual medley, 500 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and 400 freestyle relay. | null | null | null | null | null |
University of Maryland Baltimore County receives $21 million donation to expand educational research
The University of Maryland Baltimore County has received a record $21 million donation to expand educational research, teacher preparation and partnerships with Baltimore city schools, the university announced Thursday.
Donated by the Sherman Family Foundation, the money will be used to create a new center called the Betsy & George Sherman Center, a namesake of former teacher Betsy Sherman and her husband, the late George Sherman, a business executive, who together supported educational opportunities for underprivileged students.
The Sherman family has donated more than $38 million throughout the past 25 years and established two other educational programs at UMBC: the Sherman STEM Teachers Scholars Program and the Sherman Center for Early Learning in Urban Communities.
The new center will encompass both programs and be led by an executive director, whom the university plans to hire ahead of the 2023-2024 school year. The funds will also go toward hiring another faculty member so the current director of the Sherman Center for Early Learning can concentrate on growing the center’s research team beyond early-childhood education to focus on multiple education topics.
The Sherman scholars program prepares college students to become teachers in Baltimore and other cities in Maryland with a focus on training educators to meet the needs of culturally diverse grade school students learning science, technology, engineering and math. Scholars have close partnerships with Baltimore schools, such as Lakeland Elementary/Middle School in Southwest Baltimore, where students have boosted their math test scores with the help of individualized learning plans.
Last year, 22 scholars graduated from the program, 19 of whom are teaching in Baltimore, Shafi said. Approximately 170 teachers have graduated from the program since 2007 to work in high-need schools across the state.
The second-largest gifts to UMBC were two donations of $10 million for scholarship programs in STEM and the arts, said a spokeswoman for UMBC. | null | null | null | null | null |
People rally in Sanford, Fla., in March 2012, weeks after the death there of Trayvon Martin. (Julie Fletcher/AP)
When he learned of the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida, Jordan, then 21, began reading more news stories, wanting to understand what went wrong. But nothing satiated what he was looking for. American newsrooms, lacking racial diversity, had not explored the frustrations or fears Black boys felt about facing a similar confrontation as Martin did with neighborhood watch coordinator George Zimmerman, Jordan said. About to graduate, he wondered why he had studied theater — clearly journalism lacked a perspective he could offer.
For some young Black people entering adulthood, the death of 17-year-old Martin provoked questions about how they are perceived and ideas about how they could make a difference. Martin has been called his generation’s Emmett Till, a teenager killed in a disturbing slaying that galvanized the nation during the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Black journalists such as Jordan felt moved to bring diverse voices to their newsrooms, while others drawn to activism began to demand changes to gun laws and in the national conversation about race.
“Since Trayvon, we’ve seen Mike Brown, we’ve seen Eric Garner, Alton Sterling, Sandra Bland, and the names continue,” she said. “The names have continued in the last 10 years, and we haven’t necessarily seen a stop or a change.”
Edsha Burton, a 21-year-old hairstylist in Columbus, remembers hearing about Martin’s killing in her salon, feeling such disbelief that she wondered if she had perhaps been too sheltered. She felt certain Zimmerman would be convicted. On the day of the jury’s decision, she had taken her 2-year-old son to the circus, and as they rode home, the news came on the radio and the family’s jolly chitchat went silent.
Martin’s death drew Burton to protest for the first time. She explained to her son, now 12, that he had to be cautious of his surroundings. Sometimes, she tells him, you need to swallow your pride and look weak to stay safe.
Crystal Gomes knows her mother, who was 5 when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot, must have had that same conversation with her, the one countless Black parents have with their children about how they are perceived by White people. But Gomes, 19 when Martin was killed, said those words must have gone in one ear and out the other. She had a White boyfriend, White friends and attended a private Christian school. She had grown up in an entirely different world than her mother, she thought.
After watching the Zimmerman trial unfold, Gomes, who works for a real estate company, found herself discussing the Black experience with White friends. At a bachelorette trip for a friend’s wedding, she explained to one White woman why using the n-word is problematic after a video circulated of rapper Kendrick Lamar chastising a White fan for not self-censoring while singing his song “M.A.A.D City” onstage.
He watched other Black journalists get pigeonholed into covering some of the most traumatizing story lines. Major newsrooms, he noticed, consistently failed to hire and empower these reporters cutting their teeth on the difficult subjects.
“I was like, I’m not doing this anymore,” he said. “I’m covering happy things.” | null | null | null | null | null |
Whatever his mental state, Putin’s actions seem at cross-purposes with his goals. He says he wants to keep Ukraine out of NATO, and NATO out of Ukraine; although Ukraine is no closer to joining the alliance than it was, the Russian president has galvanized the West into opposing Russia and supporting Kyiv. He says he wants to bolster Russian security, but he has dragged his nation into a war that no one but Putin seems itching to fight. Many analysts believe that Putin wants a veto over Ukrainian foreign and domestic policy, but tearing up the Minsk Agreement, which had kept a fragile peace in eastern Ukraine since 2015 — and which would have increased the clout of the breakaway regions — deprived him of exactly that veto. And while the sanctions announced by the United States, the European Union, Britain, Canada and Japan may not bring his regime crashing down soon, they will certainly make Russians poorer and unhappier.
That the benefits in Russia’s cost-benefit calculations are evident only to its president presents a problem both for understanding the current situation and predicting Putin’s next move. To solve this puzzle, it’s helpful to take the Ukraine crisis out of the realm of foreign policy and put it into the world in which Putin spends most of his time: that of Russian domestic politics. Viewed in that light, the war represents a continuation of Putin’s efforts to govern by presenting Russia as threatened by external forces bent on its destruction, and himself as the only leader who can successfully oppose them.
While we’re used to thinking of Putin as an autocrat, and he does wield an extraordinary amount of power, the moniker can mislead in some ways. He still has to deal with business executives, politicians, bureaucrats and security officials — many of whom wantonly steal from the state — as well as a public whose mistrust has fatally undermined his attempts to get the coronavirus pandemic under control. Worse, neither the elite nor the general public has any real faith in Putin’s ability to reverse nearly eight years of economic decline.
To maintain and consolidate his power in the face of such challenges, Putin has spent much of the last decade restructuring Russian politics around the idea that the nation faces existential threats from outside its borders, aided by traitors within. That framing tars all domestic opposition as tools of foreign powers and justifies the evisceration of independent media, civil society and political parties besides his own; it calls on ordinary Russians to make seemingly endless sacrifices for the greater good. Putin appears to have hit upon the idea that anyone who opposes his rule is a puppet of foreign interests when he saw public protest upend Georgian and Ukrainian politics from 2003 to 2005; he concluded (cynically or sincerely) that such unrest could not possibly be authentic. He made that theme central to his reelection campaign in 2012, and he has run with it ever since. He has used restrictive laws against “foreign agents” and “undesirable” organizations to hound and imprison hundreds of journalists, activists and opposition politicians.
When we see his pursuit of domestic control and his foreign policy as part of the same strategy, each catalyzing the other, what Putin has done in recent days begins to make more sense. From the standpoint of domestic politics, exactly what Putin achieves at the negotiating table or on the battlefield is less important than maintaining a geopolitical confrontation sufficient in scale to justify his domestic repression and, ideally, with no end in sight.
Surprisingly large protests (“solo pickets,” as the Moscow Times puts it, are the only lawful form of protest in Russia) have appeared on the streets of Russian cities. These are likely to be easily suppressed — the Russian nongovernmental organization OVD-Info reported that more than 2,200 people were arrested on Thursday and Friday — but unease is mounting. The Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers, a grass-roots group that emerged to oppose Russia’s destructive war in Chechnya in the 1990s, has publicized harrowing pictures of the poor conditions in which soldiers are being housed and fed along the border with Ukraine and launched a video campaign against the war. Any combat deaths on the Russian side are likely to feed this nascent movement. | null | null | null | null | null |
Of course, Russia invaded Ukraine anyway. More and tougher sanctions are planned in response, and the anticipation of them alone has been enough to crash financial markets in Russia, but at this point, Putin seems to have priced this into his calculations. In an era when sanctions often feel like the default U.S. response to every international crisis, Russia is already the second-most sanctioned country by the United States, after Iran. President Barack Obama designated around 500 organizations and individuals for sanctions every year, and President Donald Trump almost doubled that. The Biden administration has not been shy about slapping sanctions on countries from China to Belarus to North Korea to Cuba. Politicians love sanctions for an obvious reason: They’re a way of taking concrete action to address wrongdoing — terrorism, illegal weapons programs, human rights abuses, invading another sovereign nation — without committing U.S. military force or putting American lives at risk.
Nevertheless, the architects of the interwar sanctions system were often remarkably prescient about the risks of what they were doing. Modern sanctions took a tool of war out of the hands of generals and gave it to civilian politicians far from the battlefield. It also gave them a way to punish foreign enemies with little physical or political risk to themselves. It was, therefore, very tempting to use. As Arnold-Forster put it, referring to the British foreign secretary: “When the aggressor has to go on sticking his bayonet into the passive resisters … even he will come to see in time that the process is unpleasant. But in the case of blockade there is no such direct contact with the results to act as a check.”
In the era in which they were developed, sanctions were viewed as a tool to build a new international order, free from the scourge of international war. Today, they often feel like the last flailing attempts to keep that order from breaking down. | null | null | null | null | null |
As CPAC positioned itself against the left, a challenge from the right was mounted at a hotel across town. A dueling conference was staged by Nicholas Fuentes, a 23-year-old far-right organizer and online provocateur who has promised a “tidal wave of white identity.” He stormed a CPAC event last year in Dallas, shouting “America first” and “white boy summer.” His contention, which has found some purchase among activists, is that CPAC, first held in 1974 with a keynote from Ronald Reagan, is too moderate. | null | null | null | null | null |
Accurate counts have been difficult as international observers have fled or taken cover and the battlefield expands.
Firefighters respond at the scene where a missile strike a damaged a residential area in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday. (Heidi Levine for The Washington Post)
Although images of smoldering apartment buildings and unsuspecting cyclists cut down by incoming fire have ricocheted across social media, the cumulative toll has been obscured by a bevy of factors, including international observers unable to do their work, a sprawling conflict zone in Europe’s largest nation, a government in disarray as it fights for survival, and a steady drip of misinformation.
Hodeib spoke from a bunker in Ukraine’s capital city as combat continued unabated aboveground. The organization has a 600-member staff in Ukraine, Hodeib said. But nearly all have had to take shelter, with conditions too dangerous to effectively track how Ukrainians are faring while Russian troops advance and war planes fire their missiles.
Ukraine’s health minister, Viktor Liashko, said in a statement posted to Facebook Saturday that a total of 198 Ukrainians have been killed in the fighting, up from 137 a day earlier, with more than 1,000 wounded. Three children, he said, were among the dead.
At the Okhtyrka Central District Hospital, situated in a city of under 50,000 people, an official said doctors had treated more than 200 patients — all of them civilians.
The hospital, he said, was experiencing a shortage of medicine and other supplies. In three days of war, at least 10 people had died. “Today we lost a little girl, eight years old,” he said.
Confusion and controversy over war’s actual toll are an almost inevitable feature of conflict, with combatants using the shroud of mass violence — and the chaos that comes with it — to skew reality to suit their needs.
In this war, Russia has claimed that it is not targeting civilians, and only aiming for Ukraine’s government and military. But Zelensky has insisted that’s a lie, and the evidence suggests civilians have paid a heavy price.
Just how heavy is something that the U.S. military said Saturday it wasn’t in position to know. The United States, like many Western nations, closed its embassy in Kyiv earlier this month as the threat of a Russian invasion intensified.
The United Nations, too, has acknowledged the difficulty of establishing reliable counts or of documenting violations of the international laws of war.
The U.N.'s High Commissioner for Human Rights has 55 staffers on the ground in Ukraine looking for evidence of abuses. But, said spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani, their task has been complicated by the poor security situation. And not only that.
The U.N. office said Saturday that it had documented 240 civilian casualties, including at least 64 dead, while acknowledging that is almost certainly an undercount.
Human Rights Watch, too, has had to tread cautiously. The organization has investigated numerous cases involving the suspected use of cluster munitions — banned due to their highly indiscriminate nature. The organization said it has proven one case, outside a hospital in the Donetsk region. The attack killed four people and injured 10.
Painstaking analysis of photos — including verifying their geolocation and reverse imaging to make sure they were new — plus interviews with witnesses helped to cement the facts, said Rachel Denber, HRW’s deputy director for Europe and Central Asia
But Denber said the Ukraine conflict has presented serious difficulties for any organization trying to offer comprehensive monitoring. The organization has operated for years in Ukraine, investigating alleged abuses as fighting has simmered in the southeast.
“One challenge is just the sheer scale of the hostilities. They’re happening all over the country, nationwide, simultaneously,” she said.
But the group announced Thursday it was evacuating its staff from Ukraine, with Secretary General Helga Schmid citing the need to protect “the safety of the dedicated women and men who serve as impartial eyes and ears of the international community.”
Organizations that remain in Ukraine said their operations will be limited as long as cities are being shelled and staff members are put at serious risk while doing their jobs. Hodeib, of ICRC, said her organization is seeking guarantees from the combatants that humanitarian workers won’t be targeted.
Those involved in trying to catalogue civilian deaths in conflicts that long predate the one in Ukraine say that achieving an accurate count is possible, even if the very nature of war makes it challenging.
“We hear all the time about precision bombing. But civilians are still getting killed,” said Hamit Dardagan, co-founder of the Iraq Body Count, which has been tracking civilian casualties since the 2003 U.S. invasion. “So something’s not working. I don’t know how you can say you’re taking every measure to mitigate civilian harm but then you’re not measuring civilian harm.”
Of course, militaries aren’t always trying to protect civilians. Atrocities in which civilians are deliberately targeted are a feature of war, as well, said Neta Crawford, who co-directs the Costs of War project.
Witte reported from Washington. David L. Stern in Mukachevo, Ukraine, Karoun Demirjian and Ellen Nakashima in Washington and Kostiantyn Khudov in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report. | null | null | null | null | null |
Officers fire shots after suspect points a gun at them in Southeast, D.C. police say
One man was shot and wounded by another in Southeast Washington on Saturday, D.C. police said, and officers who responded to the scene also fired shots after the suspected gunman pointed his weapon at them.
No one involved suffered life-threatening injuries, police said.
The incident began, according to police, as a verbal dispute between two men who knew each other. Around 1 p.m., officers responded to a report of violence on the 400 block of Oakwood Street Southeast. They found that a man had been shot in the lower region of his body, D.C. police Assistant Chief Andre Wright said at a news conference in a video that police posted on Twitter.
The officers also found the suspect lying on his chest on the ground, holding a gun pointed at them, Wright said.
Officers, who were wearing body cameras, gave “several loud commands” for the man to drop the weapon, Wright said. When he didn’t, Wright said, the officers fired. The assistant chief did not specify how many times the officers fired.
Police arrested the suspect, who suffered a graze wound to his head that is not life-threatening, said Kristen Metzger, a police spokeswoman. The gun was retrieved, Wright said, and no officers were injured.
The other man’s injuries were not life-threatening, police said, and he was taken to a hospital for treatment.
“We believe that this event was an isolated event between the two individuals,” Wright said. “And that there’s no more danger to the community at large.”
Police did not release further information about the suspect or the other man involved. | null | null | null | null | null |
Students return to Kabul University
Kabul University, among Afghanistan’s oldest and most revered institutions of higher education, reopened Saturday, six months after the Taliban retook the country.
There were new restrictions in place, however, including gender segregation and mandatory Islamic dress.
Most of the students said they didn’t know what to expect but were surprised to discover they could resume regular coursework and advance in their chosen fields. The university largely follows the U.S. liberal arts model. Only the music discipline was canceled for both male and female students.
Pilgrims arrive in Baghdad to venerate imam: Thousands of pilgrims dressed in black made their way on foot toward a gold-domed shrine in northwestern Baghdad on Saturday, part of a week-long procession to commemorate the death of a revered figure in Shiite Islam. Most streets in the Iraqi capital were closed because of the large number of pilgrims descending along the route leading to the shrine of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim, who died at the end of the eighth century. A high number of Iraqi security forces were deployed to protect the annual pilgrimage, expected to culminate Sunday morning. The event usually draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from around the world.
Iran ready to reach deal on talks, minister says: Iran is ready to "immediately conclude" a deal in talks to revive its 2015 nuclear accord with world powers if Western powers show real will, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said. On Friday, a senior U.S. State Department official said negotiators had made significant progress in the past week or so on reviving the deal but very tough issues remained.
Thousands defy Rio's Carnival ban in Brazil: The pandemic may have disrupted Carnival plans in Rio de Janeiro for a second straight year, but revelers who have flocked to the Brazilian city for sun, sea and samba still found ways to party. Thousands defied an official ban on street parties by dancing, singing and mingling to the rhythm of samba on Saturday. | null | null | null | null | null |
New York Rangers’ Zac Jones (6) checks Pittsburgh Penguins’ Kasperi Kapanen (42) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
PITTSBURGH — It’s difficult to get a read on Tristan Jarry. The reserved Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender speaks with a monotone that makes it hard to tell if he’s coming off his best performance of the season, or his worst.
“I thought we did a really good job,” Pittsburgh forward Jeff Carter said. “Obviously our defensive game hasn’t been up to par lately ... it’s something we’ve talked about the last few days and I thought everyone came in with the mindset to check first and create our chances off that.” | null | null | null | null | null |
Los Angeles FC’s Carlos Vela walks across the field during the second half of an MLS soccer match against the Colorado Rapids Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, in Los Angeles. The LAFC won 3-0. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
LOS ANGELES — Carlos Vela scored the third hat trick of his Major League Soccer career and the Los Angeles Football Club opened the season with a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday | null | null | null | null | null |
The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said in a statement posted to their Facebook page that the guards may be alive, after Russian media reported that they were taken as prisoners from their base on Snake Island in the Black Sea to Sevastopol, a port city that Russia controls on the Crimean Peninsula.
Ukrainian officials said in the Facebook post Saturday that the border guards were attacked by both Russian aircraft and weapons from the ship, and that Ukrainian officials lost communication with the atoll — known as Zmiinyi Island in Ukraine — after infrastructure was destroyed. It now appears it was assumed that the guards were killed.
Ukrainian officials said Saturday that they were working to determine what happened to the guards, and praised them for digging in. It was not clear how many guards were on the island when the attack began, or if any were killed.
“Today, none of us will ever forgot what these servants of their nation did there,” Ryan wrote. | null | null | null | null | null |
Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Brazilian guitarist of exceptional range, dies at 77
Brazilian guitarist Carlos Barbosa-Lima during a 2018 recording session. (Angelo Mannino)
Carlos Barbosa-Lima, a guitarist who brought a dazzling virtuosity to the stage, exploring classical music, jazz and compositions from his native Brazil during a career of more than six decades, died Feb. 23 at a hospital in Paraty, Brazil. He was 77.
The cause was a heart attack, said Larry Del Casale, a New York guitarist who often performed with Mr. Barbosa-Lima.
A child prodigy who made his professional debut at age 12, Mr. Barbosa-Lima combined a flawless classical technique with an inventive and eclectic musical approach. His vast repertoire ranged from Bach to the Beatles, from Gershwin to Jobim, and included a large number of works he adapted for guitar.
He toured the world with his guitar, which he considered a universal instrument, common to many musical traditions, which embodied almost infinite array of musical colors and moods.
“The guitar is so important in so many cultures,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 1992. “It’s a real people’s instrument. … I think it facilitates a kind of very diverse, multicultural approach.”
Mr. Barbosa-Lima followed in a long line of Brazilian guitar masters, including Luiz Bonfá, Laurindo Almeida and João Gilberto. Mr. Barbosa-Lima sometimes appeared with classical orchestras, but he performed more often in solo concerts or with other guitarists, including Almeida and the late Washington-based jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd.
João Gilberto, a quiet and leading voice of Brazil’s bossa nova music, dies at 88
Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera wrote a guitar sonata for Mr. Barbosa-Lima, which he performed for the first time in Washington in 1976. Washington Post music reviewer Joseph McLellan pronounced the sonata — now a standard part of the guitar repertoire — “a major event” and said Mr. Barbosa-Lima “demonstrated what the instrument can do when it is at the service of a vital musical imagination.”
Mr. Barbosa-Lima developed such a precise touch on the guitar that the audience could never hear the telltale slide of his fingers on the fretboard. He kept the nails of his right hand slightly long for plucking the strings.
Throughout his childhood, he studied with Isaias Sávio, a Uruguayan guitar teacher who settled in Brazil in the 1930s. Savio taught him to build the strength and dexterity of his left hand, which shapes the chords on the guitar. Mr. Barbosa-Lima was especially renowned for the extraordinary reach of the fingers on his left hand, which allowed him to produce unusual harmonies and to play bass lines and melodies simultaneously.
“You can be more comfortable using counterpoint lines instead of just playing block chords or a single melody line and an occasional chord,” he told Guitar Player magazine in 2008. “You begin to feel the inner voicing, and it is fascinating where you can go with that.”
During the 1980s, Mr. Barbosa-Lima worked with his fellow Brazilian, Antônio Carlos Jobim, the primary composer behind the bossa nova movement, to arrange his music for solo guitar.
“At that time, there were actually very few good charts” — arrangements — “of his music, and he was the first one to complain,” Mr. Barbosa-Lima told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1995. “He said, ‘Let’s get together and at least make sure that the harmonies are the way I composed them.’ ”
Mr. Barbosa-Lima recorded frequently with the Concord jazz label in the 1980s and 1990s, including a 1982 album that combined Jobim’s music with guitar arrangements of the works by George Gershwin. Mr. Barbosa-Lima also adapted the ragtime music of Scott Joplin for guitar, recorded with classical guitarist Sharon Isbin and with Almeida and Byrd, who had helped popularize bossa nova music in the early 1960s. He recorded more than 40 albums throughout his career.
Quiet and understated in his manner, Mr. Barbosa-Lima freely mixed musical genres that made some purists scoff. In a single concert, he would jump from the works of Bach and Scarlatti to Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo, Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos, Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story” and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.”
“The common denominator is always the classical foundation. Then you expand your tastes,” Mr. Barbosa-Lima said. “I like to explore all the angles, capture the flavor of other styles and mold it to my guitar which, I believe, is a little orchestra in itself.”
He said he was encouraged to explore various musical styles after an youthful conversation with Spanish guitar master Andrés Segovia, who told him to “listen to all kinds of music and try to search my soul for how it makes me feel.”
Antonio Carlos Ribeiro Barbosa-Lima was born Dec. 17, 1944, in São Paulo. His father was a pharmaceutical salesman, and his mother was a homemaker.
When young Carlos was a child, his father began to take guitar lessons and got nowhere. But with no previous musical training, 7-year-old Carlos picked up the guitar and was able to the play the music his father struggled to learn. His father soon found teachers for his son, including Savio, and eventually became his manager.
Mr. Barbosa-Lima made his São Paulo debut in 1957 and had his first recording sessions a year later. By 1960, he was touring throughout South America and later North America and Europe. After moving to the United States, he taught at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University in the 1970s and at the Manhattan School of Music in the 1980s. He lived in Puerto Rico for several years.
For the past 20 years, Mr. Barbosa-Lima often performed and recorded with Del Casale, a onetime schoolteacher. Their 2013 album, “Beatlerianas,” which featured the Havana String Quartet and included Beatles tunes and music by Cuban composer Leo Brouwer, received a Latin Grammy nomination. Mr. Barbosa-Lima’s most recent album, “Delicado,” with Del Casale and other musicians, appeared in 2019.
“Everything was the guitar with Carlos,” Del Casale said in an interview. “That’s all he did. He was all about the music.”
Survivors include a sister.
“The guitar is like a second body, always next to me,” Mr. Barbosa-Lima said in 1995. “I have always loved its intimacy. You hold it close to your body; there’s always contact. I can feel it vibrate through my body when I play. I caress it and it responds. Well, usually.” | null | null | null | null | null |
Florida State guard Matthew Cleveland, left, reacts with teammates after his three-pointer at the buzzer beat Virginia, 64-63, on Saturday at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. (Andrew Shurtleff/AP)
CHARLOTTESVILLE — What was supposed to be a celebratory occasion Saturday for the Virginia men’s basketball team on senior day turned into abject heartbreak when Florida State’s Matthew Cleveland sank a desperation three-point shot at the buzzer to deal the Cavaliers a 64-63 loss at John Paul Jones Arena.
The stunning conclusion capped a collapse in which the Cavaliers failed to protect a 10-point lead with 3:26 left in the second half, sending them to a second consecutive loss and further damaging a late-season push to make the NCAA tournament.
“We were playing a little unsound, and the kid hit an unbelievable shot with a second left,” Virginia Coach Tony Bennett said. “That’s a tough way on your senior night to go out. [Florida State] certainly made some tough plays down the stretch. The ability to just not get a stop to cost us dearly.”
A wild end of game sequence between UVA and Florida State leads to a stunner at JPJ. pic.twitter.com/0LNnWiaAu3
— Preston Willett (@PrestonWillett) February 26, 2022
Making the sequence more disheartening was that guard Armaan Franklin had swished a pull-up jumper in the lane to give Virginia a 63-61 lead with one second remaining.
Jayden Gardner led the Cavaliers (17-12, 11-8 ACC) with a game-high 21 points and six rebounds, and Franklin finished with 13, making 3 of 6 three-pointers, on a night when the Cavaliers went just 4 for 17 from behind the arc and endured a 1-for-11 shooting stretch in the final minutes.
Analysis: Eight teams that can make a surprise run to March Madness
Cleveland had 20 points, including the Seminoles’ final eight over the last 45 seconds, on 8-of-14 shooting.
The comeback by Florida State (15-13, 8-10) included a late 9-1 run capped by Cleveland’s three-point play. On Virginia’s ensuing possession, senior guard Kihei Clark committed his first turnover, but Kody Stattmann, another senior, deflected the ball loose from the Seminoles’ Jalen Warley, and the Cavaliers had the ball again with 14 seconds to play when Franklin was fouled in a scramble.
Franklin made the front end of a one-and-one to give Virginia a 61-59 lead before Cleveland’s layup tied the score with eight seconds to go.
“Cleveland just got going a little bit, and we probably just relaxed, and that’s probably something we shouldn’t do in the last four minutes of the game,” Stattmann said. “It’s probably the time we need to lock in more and shut them down.”
In what might have been his final game at John Paul Jones Arena, Clark, the Cavaliers’ unquestioned leader on the court and in the locker room, had seven points and shot just 3 for 16, missing all four of his three-point attempts in 40 minutes.
Clark did insert himself prominently into a sequence midway through the second half that allowed the Cavaliers to open their first double-digit lead of the game, 48-37, with 10:56 to play.
First he pried the ball loose from Wyatt Wilkes underneath the Seminoles’ basket and turned up the court to direct a fast break. When a clean shot was unavailable and Virginia reset, Clark dribbled deep into the lane, drew two defenders to him and passed to Kadin Shedrick for a two-handed dunk.
“You want to send him out the right way,” Franklin said of Clark, “but we couldn’t get it done.”
Clark honored
The last remaining regular from the 2018-19 national champions received a lengthy ovation from fans during a pregame ceremony recognizing the Cavaliers’ senior class of three players and two managers.
Clark walked to the court with his arms around his mother and grandmother and with his father and brother by his side as the video board displayed highlights from a career that includes becoming the fifth player in program history to amass both 1,000 points and 500 assists.
But the most memorable highlight of his career unfolded during the Cavaliers’ run to the NCAA title when Clark was a freshman starter.
After chasing down a loose ball in the final seconds of the second half against Purdue in the regional finals, Clark passed to Mamadi Diakite, whose jumper at the buzzer forced overtime on the way to an 80-75 triumph, propelling the Cavaliers to their third Final Four.
Whether Clark did play his final home game in a Virginia uniform Saturday remains uncertain. He has not ruled out coming back for a fifth season, made possible thanks to an exemption the NCAA gave all players because of the coronavirus pandemic that canceled the NCAA tournament in 2019-20.
Goodbye, double bye
The loss eliminated Virginia from finishing in the top four in the conference in the regular season, meaning it also is out of contention for a double bye in the ACC tournament that begins March 8 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The best the Cavaliers can finish is a No. 5 seed in their bid to bolster an NCAA tournament résumé that is by all accounts far from enough to secure an at-large berth with one game left in the regular season. | null | null | null | null | null |
VHSL indoor track championships (istock images)
VIRGINIA BEACH — The South Lakes and Battlefield boys’ indoor track teams renewed their tussle for the Class 6 state championship at Virginia Beach Sports Center over the weekend.
While last year’s meet resulted in a one-point win for the Seahawks, this year’s version had the same one-two finish, but South Lakes won by a wider margin Saturday, scoring 65 points, while Battlefield placed runner-up with 57.
Although the Seahawks did not have any first-place finishes, they were strong in all phases. Tyler Benett set the pace, placing second in the long jump (21 feet 10 inches) and triple jump (46-4.25) and adding a third-place finish in the 300 meters (35.20 seconds).
William Watson added third-place finishes in the 55-meter hurdles (7.53) and long jump, while Benett, Watson, Shaheem Craft, and Koray Boybeyi placed second in the 4x200 relay with a time of 1:29.71. The Seahawks were also second in Friday’s 4x800 (8:00.03), and Kyle DeHouse tacked on two points with a seventh-place finish in the 1600.
Alexandria City senior Wisdom Williams broke the Class 6 girls’ indoor shot put state meet record Saturday.
With her third throw of the preliminaries, Williams, who entered the competition seeded six feet ahead of the other throwers, executed a perfect spin, release and follow-through and heaved a throw 48-1.75. For the Titan, the throw was her personal best, the third longest in Virginia indoor state history and the fourth-best shot put for high school girls in the United States this season.
There was one double individual winner from Northern Virginia: Xavier Carmichael of Hayfield defended his 2021 championship in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.33 and came back three hours later to claim the 300-meter title (34.69).
Asked which phase of his sprint worked best, Carmichael, who also placed second in Friday’s high jump, said: “It didn’t matter. Everything worked well today.”
Four Northern Virginia runners or teams broke Class 6 meet records. In the day’s final event, Battlefield’s 4x400 relay team of Winston Broiles, Cohen McNabb, Austin Rice and Austin Gallant won in a meet record 3:20.95.
Gallant won the 500 in 1:03.19 and placed fourth in the shot put Friday.
McLean’s Xavier Jemison overcame a bad start to run away with the boys 1,000. Jemison fell sideways at the beginning of the race but quickly recovered to reach the 400-meter mark in 57 seconds. He extended the lead while crossing the 800-meter mark in 1:57 before pulling away for his fourth career state championship with a time of 2:26.45.
Jemison’s teammate, 2020 Class 6 girls’ state cross-country champion Thais Rolly, torched the competition by 18 seconds by running her second mile in 5:07 after a 5:14 opening mile to win the 3,200 with a time of 10:21.39.
Nansemond River, from Suffolk, swept the boys’ and girls’ Class 5 titles. The Stone Bridge girls were the area’s highest-placing team, scoring 42 points for a third-place finish.
All but one of Northern Virginia’s state crowns from Saturday came in Class 6. Stone Bridge’s Lydia Wallis won the Class 5 1,000 meters in 3:00.52.
Peter Djan of Potomac won the 55-meter hurdles (7.45), and Akira Hamilton of Alexandria City was victorious in the 55 meters (7.11).
Anna Maria Corcoran of Yorktown won the Class 6 girls’ 1,600 in 4:59.21.
Lena Gooden of Osbourn Park placed first in the long jump with a leap of 19-3.5.
In the Class 6 girls’ 4x400 relay, the South County foursome of Victoria Higgins, Naomi Clarke, Jordan Salisbury and Jaidyn Curry won in 3:59.03, solidifying their second-place team finish with 47 points. Thomas Dale won with 53. | null | null | null | null | null |
Russian police detain a protester during a rally in Moscow on Friday against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Maxim Shipenkov/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
“We, employees of the Russian IT industry, are categorically against military operations on the territory of Ukraine initiated by the armed forces of the Russian Federation," the petition says. “We consider any display of force that leads to the outbreak of war unjustified and call for the reversal of decisions that could inevitably entail human casualties on each side. Our countries have always been close to each other. And today we are worried about our Ukrainian colleagues, friends and relatives.”
The petition is the latest example of internal opposition to the invasion, which came as a surprise to many Russians. Some prominent comedians, television figures and political analysts have spoken out openly against the war, and Thursday, thousands of Russians protested across the country, with more than 1,700 arrested in 47 cities, according to rights group OVD-Info. Spontaneous mass demonstrations are illegal in Russia and can lead to jail time and fines.
“I would really like to be heard. Not only me, but also everyone who does not want war, everyone who is afraid for their friends and acquaintances," Lukyanchikova, the petition organizer, wrote on Facebook. “I don’t know if this will work out, but I know that collective action helps sometimes. This also helps people understand that they are not alone.” She confirmed her post to The Washington Post in a conversation on the Telegram messaging app.
Russia has a deep history of technological innovation, and its IT sector makes up a key part of the country’s economy. More than 1.3 million people were employed in the industry in 2019, contributing 2.7 percent of Russia’s GDP, according to research firm IDC. Thousands of Russian-born engineers and developers have also contributed to the U.S. tech sector, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin and creator of the Ethereum blockchain system Vitalik Buterin, both of whom immigrated to North America with their families as children.
“10,000, it’s a huge number,” said Alexander Tomas, a tech worker at a major IT firm who signed the petition, adding that he believed all the signatories lived in Russia or were of Russian origin. “There were no big names, opinion leaders or influencers behind the letter, so people mainly signed it and shared with each other on Telegram and other messengers.” Lukyanchikova and Tomas both spoke on condition that their employers not be identified.
Tomas also said that the retaliatory sanctions from western countries against Russia won’t hurt the country’s wealthy elite. “In the end of the day, sanctions will hit precisely doctors, teachers, pensioners who will have less money to live," he said. | null | null | null | null | null |
The latest steps to economically choke Moscow and its ruling class come as Kyiv is under attack from Russian forces encroaching on Ukraine’s largest city. A massive fireball was visible to the southwest of Kyiv following a pounding explosion that rocked the city in the early-morning hours local time on Sunday. At least one high-rise apartment building had been struck directly earlier Saturday, fueling skepticism of Russia’s claim that it was targeting only military facilities.
Leaders across Europe stepped up on Saturday promising more concrete action to help Ukraine, even though the United States and its NATO allies pledged not to send any troops into Ukraine. The United States announced that it would send Ukraine an additional $350 million worth of small arms, protective gear and anti-armor missiles — including antitank Javelins — to help defend the country from the slowed but steadily encroaching Russian onslaught. Germany, meanwhile, announced plans to send 1,000 antitank weapons and 500 Stinger missiles to Ukraine to help it beat back Russian forces.
He vowed to fight “for as long as it takes to liberate the country.” Although Western officials have noted that Ukraine’s resistance to the invasion was stronger than Russian President Vladimir Putin had anticipated, Russian troops continued to press into the country.
Russian reconnaissance forces had entered Kyiv, a senior U.S. defense official said, though this person would not say whether those were Russian special operations troops, known as Spetsnaz. Though the bulk of Russian troops remained about 20 kilometers outside the capital to the north on Saturday, the city was repeatedly bombarded with shelling from Russian positions outside the city. At least one high-rise apartment building was struck directly as part of the barrage, fueling skepticism that Russia is targeting military facilities as it claims.
Russian troops have been moving steadily into Ukraine from the north, east and south, launching air, land and amphibious assaults. The Pentagon believes that over 50 percent of the troops Russia dispatched to the theater around Ukraine are now operating inside the country,according to the senior defense official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the unfolding situation on the ground.
“The Russians are increasingly frustrated by their lack of momentum, particularly in the north part of Ukraine,” the senior defense official said, noting that a “viable” and "very determined Ukrainian resistance” had “slowed them down.”
Ukrainian forces managed to shoot down two Russian IL-76 transport planes late Friday, though it was not clear if Russian personnel were killed or if the equipment the planes were carrying was destroyed. In the Black Sea, Russian missiles struck a cargo ship and an oil tanker that reportedly was bringing fuel supplies to Ukrainian forces, in what a Ukrainian shipping company claimed was a targeted attack. Russian forces also destroyed a dam in a water reservoir near Kyiv, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States said Saturday, creating a flood risk in the already-beleaguered capital.
As the intensity of attacks increased, casualties on both sides have been rising, but accurately counting the dead have proved difficult to verify. On Saturday, Ukrainian leaders claimed that fewer than 200 civilians had died, but that forces had killed or injured around 3,500 Russian troops — numbers that a senior U.S. defense official said the Pentagon could not, and probably would not ever be able, to verify. The United Nations reported late Saturday that there had been at least 240 casualties, including at least 64 dead.
The Ukrainian government also announced a hotline for Russian mothers to call to see if their sons were among those killed in the fighting — apparently a move to wins hearts and minds in Russia, where nearly all of the media is state-controlled. There were reports Saturday of Twitter and Facebook being blocked.
“War has returned to Europe,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a video address Saturday, predicting that "this crisis will last. This war will last,” and that the Ukraine war will “have lasting consequences.”
Going after Russia’s central bank, and barring its financial institutions from SWIFT — a move administration officials intimated would not include any waivers for energy transactions — may surprise the Kremlin. The administration is coupling those actions with additional sanctions on oligarchs as well, that will “go after their yachts, their luxury apartments, their money and their ability to send their kids to fancy colleges in the West,” a senior administration official said. “Russia has become a global economic and financial pariah.”
“Padlock the embassies,” he continued. "We may look at each other in binoculars and gunsights.”
Even before the sanctions were announced, the potential for a diplomatic off-ramp to bring an end to the fighting on the ground in Ukraine appeared grim. The Kremlin announced Saturday that Putin reversed a Friday decision to schedule a strategic pause in attacks, to lure Kyiv to negotiations about a “neutral status” for Ukraine — a posture that would require its government to abandon NATO aspirations. | null | null | null | null | null |
For about three-and-half quarters.
The Wizards led 42-40 at halftime, a margin that would have been higher except for 13 turnovers that the Cavs turned into 15 points. The team got sloppy down the stretch and the Cavs finished on a 8-2 stretch to cut into the Washington lead.
The Wizards’ lead was four entering the fourth quarter as they once again rode the hot shooting of Kyle Kuzma (34 points, including a career-high eight three-pointers on 11 attempts). He added 13 rebounds. But he wasn’t enough to save the Wizards late.
“It was more about us than them, honestly,” Kuzma said. “They made an adjustment, changed the defender on me, but we just didn’t execute. I think that’s just the biggest thing. Didn’t execute. Didn’t know what we were trying to get into and accomplish. Especially when the game’s on the line, you want to be able to have confidence in, okay, this is the play that we’re trying to get into. This is what we’re trying to accomplish. Just didn’t accomplish that.”
Lauri Markkanen led the Cavs with 23 points, Jarrett Allen posted 18 and 14 rebounds and Cedi Osman poured in 19 off the bench.
Center Thomas Bryant has been put on a minutes restriction after tweaking his ankle in practice after returning from the all-star break. Unseld said the plan is to keep him in the 16-18 minutes range as he backs up Daniel Gafford. He played 16 minutes Saturday.
The Cavs were without all-star guard Darius Garland (lower back soreness) and Caris LeVert (right foot sprain). Garland doesn’t have a time frame for how long he’s out, but LeVert is expected to miss 1-2 weeks. Point guard Rajon Rondo was also out with a right great toe sprain and is believed to be out two weeks.
“You don’t make the schedule and you can’t really worry about it,” Unseld said pregame.
Kuzma is not sneaking up on anyone these days. The forward is at the top of scouting reports as he entered Saturday averaging 22.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists over the previous five games. Kuzma has been the No. 1 scoring option since Bradley Beal had wrist surgery and the league knows it.
“It’s difficult because he’s all over the floor,” Cavs Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said pregame. “He’s not a guy who you can say, he’s going to be in this spot and they’re going to run this one action. He’s a guy who will defensive rebound and bring the ball up. He’ll play pick-and-roll. He’ll come off screens. He’s active off the ball. He’s a three-point shooter.
The San Antonio Spurs and point guard Tomas Satoransky have agreed to a buyout, according to ESPN. The report indicated that such a move would set the stage for Satoransky, a former second-round pick of the Wizards in 2012, to return to Washington, signing a deal for the rest of the season. | null | null | null | null | null |
For about 3½ quarters.
The Wizards led 42-40 at halftime, a margin that would have been higher if not for 13 turnovers that the Cavaliers turned into 15 points. The team got sloppy down the stretch and the Cavaliers finished on an 8-2 stretch to cut into the Washington lead.
The Wizards’ lead was four entering the fourth quarter as they again rode the hot shooting of Kyle Kuzma (34 points, including a career-high eight three-pointers on 11 attempts). He added 13 rebounds. But he wasn’t enough to save the Wizards late.
“It was more about us than them, honestly,” Kuzma said. “They made an adjustment, changed the defender on me, but we just didn’t execute. I think that’s just the biggest thing. Didn’t execute. Didn’t know what we were trying to get into and accomplish. Especially when the game’s on the line, you want to be able to have confidence in: ‘Okay, this is the play that we’re trying to get into. This is what we’re trying to accomplish.’ Just didn’t accomplish that.”
Lauri Markkanen led the Cavaliers with 23 points, Jarrett Allen posted 18 points and 14 rebounds, and Cedi Osman poured in 19 off the bench.
Center Thomas Bryant was put on a minutes restriction after he tweaked his ankle in practice after returning from the all-star break. Unseld said the plan is to keep him to 16 to 18 minutes as he backs up Gafford. He played 16 minutes Saturday.
The Cavaliers were without all-star guard Darius Garland (lower back soreness) and Caris LeVert (right foot sprain). Garland doesn’t have a time frame for how long he’s out, but LeVert is expected to miss one to two weeks. Point guard Rajon Rondo also was out with a right big toe sprain and is believed to be out two weeks.
“You don’t make the schedule, and you can’t really worry about it,” Unseld said before the game.
Kuzma is not sneaking up on anyone these days. The forward is at the top of scouting reports, and he entered Saturday averaging 22.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists over the previous five games. Kuzma has been the No. 1 scoring option since Bradley Beal had wrist surgery, and the rest of the league knows it.
“It’s difficult because he’s all over the floor,” Cavaliers Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said before the game. “He’s not a guy who you can say he’s going to be in this spot and they’re going to run this one action. He’s a guy who will defensive rebound and bring the ball up. He’ll play pick-and-roll. He’ll come off screens. He’s active off the ball. He’s a three-point shooter.
Satoransky returning?
The San Antonio Spurs and point guard Tomas Satoransky agreed to a buyout, according to ESPN. The report indicated that such a move would set the stage for Satoransky, a former second-round pick of the Wizards in 2012, to return to Washington, signing a deal for the rest of the season.
Unseld said he couldn’t confirm Satoransky coming back.
“I’m not really sure if that’s something that’s going to happen or just discussions. … It’d be good to have another guard with size, positional size. But we’ll just have to wait and see if that happens. | null | null | null | null | null |
Kansas: The Jayhawks still control their fate in whether they will be the Big 12 champion for the 20th time in the league’s 26 seasons. They won an unprecedented 14 titles in a row from 2005-18, and then won again in 2020. ... Remy Martin played for the first time after missing seven games because of a bone bruise on his right knee. The super senior transfer guard hadn’t played since Jan. 29 against Kentucky. | null | null | null | null | null |
Brooklyn Nets’ Bruce Brown and Milwaukee Bucks’ Bobby Portis go after a loose ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, in Milwaukee . (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Nets: Coach Steve Nash said Ben Simmons is dealing with back soreness while preparing for his return to action. “It’s not like an injury,” Nash said before the game. “It’s just kind of like as he’s returning to play, his back’s flared up a little. It’s not like a long-term thing.” Nash noted that when a player is coming back from such a long time away, “as you ramp up, you’re a little more susceptible to certain things, as you would be with muscle soreness or tightness.” ... Goran Dragic made his Nets debut Saturday after signing with them on Tuesday. Dragic hadn’t played a game for anyone since Nov. 13 with the Toronto Raptors. Dragic scored six points in 14 minutes.
Bucks: George Hill missed a 10th straight game with neck soreness. “We’re going to give him a little bit more time, I think probably a week minimum,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game. “We’ll see how he’s feeling after that and go from there.” … Former Nets DeAndre’ Bembry and Jevon Carter made their Bucks debuts on Saturday. The Bucks signed each of them after the Nets waived them. Neither player scored. ... The Bucks went just 25 of 38 on free throw attempts and committed 15 turnovers. The Bucks were outscored 27-9 in points off turnovers. | null | null | null | null | null |
Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos, right, joins the celebration after Nikita Kucherov (86) scored against the Nashville Predators in the second period of an NHL Stadium Series hockey game Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tampa Bay Lightning sure know how to spoil a great party. | null | null | null | null | null |
Russia-Ukraine live updates Explosions rock Ukraine as U.S. and allies target Russian banks
In the streets of a war-rattled city, Zelensky rises as a hero
Chernobyl staff on duty for 2 days straight after Russian seizure, Ukraine warns U.N. nuclear agency
A woman sleeps on chairs in the underground parking lot of a hotel that has been turned into a bomb shelter during an air raid alert in Kyiv on Sunday. (Vadim Ghirda/AP)
Air raid sirens sounded and residents sheltered underground early Sunday as Russian forces continued to bombard the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and other cities, while the United States and its allies stepped up efforts to punish Moscow for its invasion with tough financial penalties.
The Biden administration and its European allies vowed on Saturday night to block the Kremlin’s access to its sizable foreign currency reserves in the West, and to cut off Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system, a network that connects banks around the world. The actions could send Russia’s financial market into free fall and cripple the Kremlin’s ability to pay for its new war, which has intensified in recent days.
Video verified by The Washington Post captured a large explosion Saturday at a dam along the Northern Crimean Canal that had been a source of increasing tensions between Russia and Ukraine over water rights. Ukrainian officials reported a number of other explosions Saturday, including in Vasylkiv, a town south of the capital, where the mayor said an oil depot was hit. That strike could not immediately be verified.
Ukraine’s health minister said 198 Ukrainians have been killed in the fighting, with more than 1,000 wounded. There were already signs of a mass exodus. The United Nations said Saturday that more than 150,000 Ukrainians have fled the country. Later it said there had been “at least 240 civilian casualties, including at least 64 dead.”
Russian troops have moved into Ukraine from the north, south and east. Russian successes in the south contrast with difficulties to take Kyiv, which is resisting more than Russia was expecting.
In response to a plea from a Ukrainian official, Elon Musk on Saturday tweeted that the Starlink Internet service that SpaceX provides from its orbital satellite constellation is up and running in the war-torn country and that more ground terminals are on the way.
Former president Donald Trump again lauded Russian President Vladimir Putin as “smart,” telling a crowd of his most ardent supporters Saturday night that the problem is not with Putin, but that U.S. leaders “are dumb.”
By Sudarsan Raghavan and Siobhán O'Grady1:14 a.m.
In Ukraine, there’s precedent for Shuklin’s screen-to-reality sense of confidence: President Volodymyr Zelensky was an actor and comedian, whose only political experience before getting elected was playing the role of Ukraine’s president in a satirical TV series. Now, those savvy communication skills, Zelensky’s ability to sway audiences via social media, a healthy dose of grit and defiance — and not least of all, his readiness to die if necessary — has transformed him into an unlikely champion for Ukrainians and the world.
Until three days ago, when the Russians invaded, Zelensky’s political tenure was mixed, even considered by many on the decline. Ukrainians felt he was weak in his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and too quick to seek compromise with Moscow.
By Isabelle Khurshudyan, Siobhán O'Grady and Loveday Morris1:02 a.m.
By Bryan Pietsch12:20 a.m.
Staff at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant site had been working for two days straight, Ukraine’s regulator told a United Nations nuclear energy agency on Saturday, expressing concern that Russian control of the site could disrupt operations as the White House accused Russia of “hostage-taking.”
Ukraine’s nuclear regulator told the International Atomic Energy Agency that although the site was operating normally, “the staff on duty had not changed” since Thursday. The IAEA said “the operations of the zone’s nuclear facilities should not be affected or disrupted in any way and that staff must be able to work and rest as normal.”
Avoiding calling out Russia explicitly, the IAEA urged “those in effective control of nuclear facilities not to take any actions that could compromise [the staff’s] safety.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday at a press briefing that “we are outraged by credible reports that Russian soldiers are currently holding the staff of the Chernobyl facilities hostage.”
Psaki said the “unlawful and dangerous hostage-taking … is obviously incredibly alarming and greatly concerning. We condemn it and we request their release.”
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement that it was “of paramount importance” that Chernobyl operates normally “and that plant staff remain able to carry out their vital work without any undue pressure or stress.”
The 1986 disaster at Chernobyl, when the site was under the control of the Soviet Union, ranks as the world’s worst nuclear power plant accident. The Chernobyl plant decommissioning team had been operating a scaled-back “downtime” service since Feb. 15 because of an outbreak of coronavirus cases among staff, its official website said. | null | null | null | null | null |
Charleston (SC) visits Hofstra following Silverio's 20-point game
BOTTOM LINE: Hofstra takes on the Charleston (SC) Cougars after Omar Silverio scored 20 points in Hofstra’s 83-67 victory over the William & Mary Tribe.
The Pride have gone 11-2 at home. Hofstra has a 4-2 record in one-possession games.
The Cougars are 8-9 in conference games. Charleston (SC) has a 6-12 record against teams above .500.
The teams square off for the second time this season in CAA play. The Pride won the last meeting 76-73 on Jan. 28. Aaron Estrada scored 30 points points to help lead the Pride to the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Estrada is scoring 18.4 points per game with 5.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists for the Pride. Jalen Ray is averaging 8.9 points over the past 10 games for Hofstra.
John Meeks is shooting 46.1% and averaging 13.8 points for the Cougars. Dimitrius Underwood is averaging 10.8 points over the last 10 games for Charleston (SC). | null | null | null | null | null |
Daniels leads Prairie View A&M against Jackson State after 23-point game
Jackson State Tigers (8-17, 6-9 SWAC) at Prairie View A&M Panthers (9-15, 8-6 SWAC)
BOTTOM LINE: Prairie View A&M hosts the Jackson State Tigers after Jawaun Daniels scored 23 points in Prairie View A&M’s 72-69 loss to the Alcorn State Braves.
The Panthers are 5-3 in home games. Prairie View A&M is 3-6 in games decided by less than 4 points.
The Tigers are 6-9 in conference play. Jackson State is 1-4 in one-possession games.
The teams meet for the second time in conference play this season. The Tigers won 75-64 in the last matchup on Jan. 15. Terence Lewis II led the Tigers with 16 points, and Daniels led the Panthers with 16 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jeremiah Gambrell is averaging 10.9 points for the Panthers. Daniels is averaging 16.2 points and 8.3 rebounds while shooting 49.5% over the past 10 games for Prairie View A&M.
Jayveous McKinnis is shooting 54.8% and averaging 11.7 points for the Tigers. Darrian Wilson is averaging 1.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Jackson State. | null | null | null | null | null |
UMass Minutemen (12-14, 5-10 A-10) at Fordham Rams (13-13, 6-9 A-10)
BOTTOM LINE: Noah Fernandes and the UMass Minutemen visit Darius Quisenberry and the Fordham Rams in A-10 action.
The Rams have gone 8-4 at home. Fordham is 6-6 in games decided by at least 10 points.
The Minutemen are 5-10 against A-10 opponents. UMass is 5-9 in games decided by 10 points or more.
The Rams and Minutemen meet Monday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Antrell Charlton is averaging 7.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals for the Rams. Chuba Ohams is averaging 9.6 points over the last 10 games for Fordham.
Fernandes is averaging 13.9 points and 5.5 assists for the Minutemen. Trent Buttrick is averaging 1.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for UMass.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rams: 4-6, averaging 52.6 points, 34.9 rebounds, 9.0 assists, 6.9 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 34.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 56.7 points per game. | null | null | null | null | null |
Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (7-20, 6-10 SWAC) at Grambling Tigers (11-15, 8-6 SWAC)
Grambling, Louisiana; Monday, 8:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Bethune-Cookman visits the Grambling Tigers after Kevin Davis scored 24 points in Bethune-Cookman’s 87-84 overtime victory over the Southern Jaguars.
The Tigers have gone 6-3 at home. Grambling averages 14.1 turnovers per game and is 6-8 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents.
The Wildcats are 6-10 in conference play. Bethune-Cookman ranks sixth in the SWAC with 8.4 offensive rebounds per game led by Davis averaging 2.4.
The teams square off for the second time in conference play this season. The Tigers won the last matchup 68-66 on Jan. 8. Tra’Michael Moton scored 24 points points to help lead the Tigers to the win.
TOP PERFORMERS: Cameron Christon is scoring 13.0 points per game and averaging 3.7 rebounds for the Tigers. Shawndarius Cowart is averaging 12.8 points and 5.8 rebounds over the last 10 games for Grambling.
Joe French is shooting 43.7% and averaging 15.6 points for the Wildcats. Marcus Garrett is averaging 18.2 points over the last 10 games for Bethune-Cookman. | null | null | null | null | null |
Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks (9-13, 5-7 MEAC) at Morgan State Bears (9-13, 5-6 MEAC)
BOTTOM LINE: Morgan State hosts the Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks after Malik Miller scored 20 points in Morgan State’s 76-69 win over the Delaware State Hornets.
The Bears are 7-4 in home games. Morgan State ranks third in the MEAC with 9.6 offensive rebounds per game led by Miller averaging 2.9.
The Hawks have gone 5-7 against MEAC opponents. Maryland-Eastern Shore is sixth in the MEAC scoring 68.1 points per game and is shooting 41.3%.
The teams meet for the second time in conference play this season. The Hawks won 79-72 in the last matchup on Feb. 1. Donchevell Nugent led the Hawks with 23 points, and Chad Venning led the Bears with 15 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: De’Torrion Ware is averaging 11.3 points and 5.3 rebounds for the Bears. Lagio Grantsaan is averaging 13.1 points and 7.2 rebounds over the last 10 games for Morgan State.
Nathaniel Pollard Jr. is averaging 8.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals for the Hawks. Chace Davis is averaging 1.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Maryland-Eastern Shore. | null | null | null | null | null |
New Mexico visits Fresno State following Mashburn's 24-point game
New Mexico Lobos (11-17, 4-11 MWC) at Fresno State Bulldogs (17-10, 7-7 MWC)
Fresno, California; Monday, 10 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: New Mexico takes on the Fresno State Bulldogs after Jamal Mashburn, Jr. scored 24 points in New Mexico’s 69-65 victory against the Air Force Falcons.
The Bulldogs are 10-4 on their home court. Fresno State is fourth in college basketball giving up 57.4 points per game while holding opponents to 40.9% shooting.
The Lobos are 4-11 against MWC opponents. New Mexico ranks seventh in the MWC with 12.0 assists per game led by Jaelen House averaging 4.5.
The teams meet for the 10th time in conference play this season. The Bulldogs won 65-60 in the last matchup on Jan. 26. Anthony Holland led the Bulldogs with 22 points, and House led the Lobos with 19 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Orlando Robinson is shooting 48.0% and averaging 18.4 points for the Bulldogs. Isaiah Hill is averaging 9.1 points over the last 10 games for Fresno State.
KJ Jenkins is shooting 36.4% from beyond the arc with 2.1 made 3-pointers per game for the Lobos, while averaging 10 points. Mashburn is shooting 42.7% and averaging 12.0 points over the past 10 games for New Mexico.
Lobos: 5-5, averaging 60.8 points, 30.3 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 5.7 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 37.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 73.4 points. | null | null | null | null | null |
No. 10 Baylor visits No. 20 Texas after Allen's 26-point game
BOTTOM LINE: No. 20 Texas hosts the No. 10 Baylor Bears after Timmy Allen scored 26 points in Texas’ 82-81 victory over the West Virginia Mountaineers.
The Longhorns are 16-2 on their home court. Texas averages 68.6 points while outscoring opponents by 10.6 points per game.
The Bears have gone 12-4 against Big 12 opponents. Baylor ranks sixth in the Big 12 with 22.6 defensive rebounds per game led by Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua averaging 4.6.
The teams meet for the 10th time in conference play this season. The Bears won 80-63 in the last matchup on Feb. 12. Adam Flagler led the Bears with 20 points, and Andrew Jones led the Longhorns with 11 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Allen is averaging 11.9 points and 6.4 rebounds for the Longhorns. Jones is averaging 8.4 points over the last 10 games for Texas.
Flagler is shooting 40.4% from beyond the arc with 2.5 made 3-pointers per game for the Bears, while averaging 13.7 points and 3.1 assists. James Akinjo is averaging 7.9 points and 3.9 assists over the past 10 games for Baylor. | null | null | null | null | null |
North Carolina Central visits Norfolk State following Boone's 29-point showing
North Carolina Central Eagles (14-12, 7-4 MEAC) at Norfolk State Spartans (18-6, 10-2 MEAC)
Norfolk, Virginia; Monday, 7:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: North Carolina Central takes on the Norfolk State Spartans after Eric Boone scored 29 points in North Carolina Central’s 77-67 loss to the Howard Bison.
The Spartans have gone 10-0 in home games. Norfolk State is the top team in the MEAC in team defense, giving up 65.0 points while holding opponents to 38.1% shooting.
The Eagles are 7-4 in MEAC play. North Carolina Central averages 74.4 points and has outscored opponents by 6.3 points per game.
The teams square off for the second time in conference play this season. The Eagles won the last meeting 70-67 on Feb. 1. Justin Wright scored 20 points to help lead the Eagles to the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Joe Bryant Jr. is averaging 16.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists for the Spartans. Jalen Hawkins is averaging 16.2 points over the last 10 games for Norfolk State.
Wright is scoring 13.2 points per game with 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists for the Eagles. Kris Monroe is averaging 12.8 points and 7.7 rebounds over the last 10 games for North Carolina Central. | null | null | null | null | null |
North Carolina plays Syracuse following Bacot's 28-point game
BOTTOM LINE: North Carolina takes on the Syracuse Orange after Armando Bacot scored 28 points in North Carolina’s 84-74 win against the NC State Wolf Pack.
The Tar Heels have gone 14-2 in home games. North Carolina is third in the ACC scoring 77.5 points while shooting 45.7% from the field.
The Orange are 9-9 against ACC opponents. Syracuse is fifth in the ACC with 14.4 assists per game led by Joseph Girard III averaging 4.2.
The Tar Heels and Orange match up Monday for the first time in conference play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bacot is scoring 15.9 points per game and averaging 12.2 rebounds for the Tar Heels. Caleb Love is averaging 10.4 points and 1.8 rebounds over the last 10 games for North Carolina.
Buddy Boeheim is scoring 19.0 points per game with 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists for the Orange. Cole Swider is averaging 8.7 points over the past 10 games for Syracuse. | null | null | null | null | null |
Pack leads Kansas State against No. 9 Texas Tech after 32-point outing
BOTTOM LINE: Kansas State visits the No. 9 Texas Tech Red Raiders after Nijel Pack scored 32 points in Kansas State’s 74-73 loss to the Iowa State Cyclones.
The Wildcats are 6-10 in Big 12 play. Kansas State ranks third in the Big 12 shooting 34.4% from 3-point range.
The teams square off for the 10th time this season in Big 12 play. The Wildcats won the last matchup 62-51 on Jan. 15. Pack scored 14 points to help lead the Wildcats to the win.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bryson Williams is averaging 13.6 points for the Red Raiders. Kevin Obanor is averaging 5.9 points over the past 10 games for Texas Tech.
Pack is averaging 17.3 points for the Wildcats. Markquis Nowell is averaging 1.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Kansas State. | null | null | null | null | null |
Central Connecticut State Blue Devils (7-22, 4-13 NEC) at Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (5-22, 4-11 NEC)
Teaneck, New Jersey; Monday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Nigel Scantlebury and the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils visit Brandon Rush and the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights in NEC action Monday.
The Knights have gone 3-5 in home games. Fairleigh Dickinson is 1-11 against opponents with a winning record.
The Blue Devils are 4-13 in NEC play. Cent. Conn. St. is 2-2 in one-possession games.
TOP PERFORMERS: Rush is shooting 38.8% and averaging 14.0 points for the Knights. Anquan Hill is averaging 9.1 points over the last 10 games for Fairleigh Dickinson.
Ian Krishnan averages 2.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Blue Devils, scoring 10.0 points while shooting 38.7% from beyond the arc. Scantlebury is averaging 14 points and 3.1 assists over the last 10 games for Cent. Conn. St.. | null | null | null | null | null |
San Diego State visits Wyoming following Ike's 23-point game
San Diego State Aztecs (18-7, 10-4 MWC) at Wyoming Cowboys (22-5, 12-3 MWC)
Laramie, Wyoming; Monday, 9 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Wyoming hosts the San Diego State Aztecs after Graham Ike scored 23 points in Wyoming’s 74-61 win over the Nevada Wolf Pack.
The Cowboys are 13-0 in home games. Wyoming ranks ninth in the MWC with 6.6 offensive rebounds per game led by Ike averaging 2.7.
The Aztecs have gone 10-4 against MWC opponents. San Diego State scores 65.6 points while outscoring opponents by 8.7 points per game.
TOP PERFORMERS: Drake Jeffries is shooting 42.9% from beyond the arc with 2.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Cowboys, while averaging 10.7 points and 5.4 rebounds. Hunter Maldonado is averaging 13.3 points and 3.4 assists over the past 10 games for Wyoming.
Matt Bradley is averaging 16.7 points for the Aztecs. Keshad Johnson is averaging 6.5 points over the last 10 games for San Diego State. | null | null | null | null | null |
Florida A&M Rattlers (11-15, 10-6 SWAC) at Southern Jaguars (15-12, 9-5 SWAC)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Monday, 9 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Southern hosts the Florida A&M Rattlers after Brion Whitley scored 26 points in Southern’s 87-84 overtime loss to the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats.
The Rattlers are 10-6 in conference games. Florida A&M is 3-6 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 12.3 turnovers per game.
The teams square off for the second time this season in SWAC play. The Jaguars won the last matchup 80-66 on Jan. 8. Jayden Saddler scored 14 points points to help lead the Jaguars to the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Tyrone Lyons is averaging 13.8 points and 1.6 steals for the Jaguars. Whitley is averaging 13.9 points over the last 10 games for Southern.
MJ Randolph is scoring 19.3 points per game with 6.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Rattlers. Bryce Moragne is averaging 11.6 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 64.0% over the last 10 games for Florida A&M. | null | null | null | null | null |
FILE - This Jan. 27, 2019 file photo shows a replica of The Actor statue on the red carpet at the 25th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles. The 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards will air on both TNT and TBS on Sunday. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
Winning best ensemble doesn’t automatically make a movie the Oscar favorite, but actors hold the largest sway because they constitute the largest percentage of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Last year, the actors chose Aaron Sorkin's 1960s courtroom drama “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” while best picture at the Oscars went to “Nomadland.” The year before, SAG’s pick of “Parasite” presaged the Oscar winner. | null | null | null | null | null |
Putin’s war aims to undo the traumas of the 1990s for Russians
Territorial expansion is part of Putin’s attempt to rebuild a national identity — with no regard for Ukrainians
A portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin, smeared with red paint, during an antiwar protest Feb. 26 outside the Russian Embassy in Bucharest, Romania. (Inquam Photos/Reuters)
By Alexandra (Sasha) Zborovsky
Alexandra (Sasha) Zborovsky is a PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania studying mid-to-late 20th century Soviet history and transnational Jewish history.
In many ways, the unlikely pairing of two strands of Russian history, centuries apart, is driving Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. The Russian president has engaged his country’s imperial legacy in an attempt to overcome the trauma encountered by Russia in the 1990s. At the close of the Cold War, the country was adrift, with a spiraling economy, rampant crime and a loss of identity. Putin has worked to address all three, with territorial expansion key to rebuilding a national identity — one built around restoring the country’s imperial glory and supposed sense of unity.
In the 10th and 11th centuries, Kieven Rus’— what we today know as Ukraine — became a great European power and the center of Eastern Slavic culture. But the Mongol invasions of the late 13th century caused the already politically fragmented kingdom to fall apart. The territories unincorporated by the Mongol armies fell to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Enter the principality of Muscovy (a precursor to “Moscow”). Once subservient to the Mongol Empire — just like Kievan-Rus’ — Muscovy shifted its fate in 1480 when its grand prince, Ivan the Great, refused to pay tribute to his Mongol overlords and successfully proclaimed his territory’s independence. Muscovy then annexed fragments of Kievan-Rus’.
In the centuries that followed, Muscovy transformed into Russia. It accumulated territory in the east from Indigenous people, in the south from the Ottoman Empire and in the west after it partitioned Poland (1772-1795) and later proclaimed victory in the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). By the turn of the 20th century, few could miss Imperial Russia’s territorial command over the globe.
But in 1917, the Russian Revolution fractured Imperial Russia. The empire fell apart as a newly born provisional government dealt with an unsatisfied population at home and World War I on its borders. After Russia relinquished the former imperial territories on its Western border, Ukraine firmly established its independence with the cultural heritage of Kievan Rus’ at the heart of its nation. But by 1922, Ukraine found itself reabsorbed into a collection of republics — formally supervised but supposedly not controlled by Russia — under the singular title of “the Soviet Union.”
That’s where Ukraine would remain for a half-century. The winds began to change only when a failed 1991 coup d’etat led by communist hard-liners opposed to the liberal restructuring instituted by Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev triggered a vacuum in Soviet authority. Several Soviet republics, including Ukraine soon proclaimed their independence from Moscow. The Soviet Union officially collapsed on Dec. 25, 1991.
Russia lost 23.8 percent of the territory it once claimed as its own and became a territorial shell of its former self. Once an empire that dominated both Europe and Asia in the 18th and 19th centuries and served as a powerful counterbalance to the United States throughout the Cold War of the 20th century, the nation no longer seemed to hold a powerful sway on the world stage.
This reality created a crisis of identity for Russians: Would their nation be special any longer?
The decade that followed offered no evidence that it would. After 1991, Russia encountered poverty and high crime as the country transitioned from a centralized command economy to a market economy — quite literally overnight in a process dubbed “shock therapy.” At the top, a new class of oligarchs emerged. These individuals quickly and savvily seized the previously state-owned resources that could no longer claim an owner. For everyday Russians, however, bread prices skyrocketed by 600 percent. The homicide rate doubled between 1994 and 1995, eventually averaging 84 murders a day.
Svetlana Alexievich’s Nobel Prize-winning collections of interviews, “Secondhand Time,” captured the emotional trauma of these changes. Interviews with Russian citizens throughout the book revealed that many could no longer conceptualize their own identities. Citizens spoke of lost pride. They admitted to feeling ashamed. The chaos affecting Russian society in the 1990s evoked a nostalgia for the not-so-distant Soviet past, when everyday life seemed more stable.
And Russia’s leadership seemed feckless, unable to solve the crises plaguing the nation. The once popular Boris Yeltsin dove into alcoholism and failed to turn the tide for his country.
In 2000, Putin succeeded Yeltsin. He introduced economic and social restructuring, ranging from a flat income tax to a “bargain” struck with the newly minted Russian oligarchs. He allowed them to maintain their dominance over the Russian economy in exchange for their political support for his restructuring and leadership.
The economy turned around and began to boom — for eight straight years. Crime subsided.
But this all came with a cost: the loss of individual liberty and the freedom of speech in various spheres of public and political life. This cost served as a safety net for Putin. If his social and economic successes stopped assuring his claim to power, then this repressive hold on the freedom of speech surely would.
Putin left office in 2008, allowing Dmitry Medvedev to formally serve as Russian president while Putin maintained an informal influence. But in 2012, Putin returned to the presidency. Upon this return, he supplemented his tyranny over the freedom of expression with the repression of LGBTQ populations.
It was difficult for Russian citizens to take this opportunity cost into account, as Putin’s initial economic success trickled down to the average Russian household.
Putin also understood the thirst for a sense of national pride. Through his forceful rhetoric, he began to help reforge a national identity. He proclaimed the fall of the USSR in 1991 a catastrophe. That disaster fueled the decade of decline and emotional trauma that haunted Russians, and Putin sought to redress it by harking back to the imperial past. He spoke of a single Russian people: one that he could supposedly repatriate.
For Putin, this hyper-nationalist rhetoric went hand in hand with territorial expansion. He could not restore the magnificence of Imperial Russia without its former land acquisitions — and without its supposed former people. He invaded Georgia in 2008. He invaded Crimea in 2014. Now he has invaded Ukraine, where fierce resistance indicates that the population sees itself as Ukrainian, not Russian, despite Putin’s attempts to warp the truth. | null | null | null | null | null |
Today at 9:13 p.m. EST|Updated today at 3:48 a.m. EST
SEOUL — North Korea fired a suspected ballistic missile off its east coast on Sunday, militaries of South Korea and Japan said, its first since a spate of launches in January and its eighth test of the year.
North Korea appears to be resuming its missile tests after a month-long pause during the Beijing Winter Olympics, which some analysts believe was intended to avoid crossing its ally, China. In January, North Korea conducted seven missile tests, as it works to diversify and expand its arsenal with a variety of new systems. During its last test on Jan. 30, North Korea fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of striking Guam, in its most powerful weapons test in years.
Sunday’s launch comes during a period of already heightened tensions in the region, over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It also coincides with a heated campaign ahead of South Korea’s presidential election, which will shape the South’s approach to its rival North’s nuclear threats for years to come.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry expressed “deep concern” over the missile launch on Sunday, noting that it came “at a time when peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula are paramount” due to the tensions over Ukraine and the March 9 presidential election.
South Korea’s presidential Blue House held an emergency meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the weapons test. North Korea is banned from launching ballistic missiles under sanctions imposed by United Nations Security Council.
According to preliminary figures released by the Japanese and South Korean governments, the missile may have traveled as high as 375 miles (600 km) and as far as 187 miles — figures that may signal that the missile may be a different type than the short-range ones that tested in January, according to some experts. | null | null | null | null | null |
Ukrainians and their supporters unfurl a giant representation of the national flag at a protest over Russia's invasion of Ukraine in Tel Aviv, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022. (Maya Alleruzzo/AP)
TEL AVIV — Israel is increasingly going public with its support for Ukraine while avoiding public condemnation of Russia, the primary backer of the Syrian regime which is classified by Israel as an enemy state on its northern border.
Russia is the main supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Israel’s north, and maintains a large military presence in the country. With Iranian funding and support, Syria has become a weapons way station for Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed military movement in Lebanon with an estimated arsenal of 100,000 missiles and rockets.
There are roughly 6,000 Israeli citizens in Ukraine, including an unknown number of men who have served in the Israel Defense Forces and have said in interviews with Israeli press that they intend to remain throughout the course of the war to help fight Russian forces. Many arrived to the country in the years following the 2014 Russian annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, according to Ukrainian-Israelis who are familiar with their presence but unable to talk about them publicly.
But a growing number of grass roots groups in Israel say that, as the war intensifies, their government can no longer afford to stand on the sidelines.
“We don’t know what direction this catastrophe will take,” said Zharova. “But if we don’t act now, it will be recorded in the books of history.” | null | null | null | null | null |
Smithsonian puts focus on STEM standouts for Women’s History Month
120 life-size statues of women from science and technology fields to be exhibited in and around museums on the Mall.
Sculptures of women in science and technology fields were made from 3D printers for the exhibit "#IfThenSheCan.” The exhibit will be at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington during March to mark Women's History Month. (Courtesy If/Then Collection)
The Smithsonian will commemorate Women’s History Month in March by displaying 120 life-size neon-orange statues depicting women who have excelled in the fields of science and technology.
The 3D-printed statues will be displayed in the Smithsonian Gardens and in some museums in the Smithsonian network from March 5 to 27. A statement announcing the display calls it “the largest collection of statues of women ever assembled together.”
The statues depict women who have excelled in STEM fields: science, technology, engineering and math. These include Jessica Esquivel, one of 150 Black women in the United States with a doctorate in physics, and Karina Popovich, a college student who produced more than 82,000 pieces of 3D-printed personal-protective equipment for health-care workers in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
Each statue features a quick response (QR) code that links to the story of the depicted woman online. The statues have been displayed in Dallas, Texas, and a few of them were in New York City’s Central Park Zoo.
Ellen Stofan, the Smithsonian’s undersecretary for science and research, said in a statement that the exhibit,“provides the perfect opportunity for us to show that women have successfully thrived in STEM for decades, while also illustrating the innumerable role models young women can find in every field.”
The women being honored were chosen by Lyda Hill Philanthropies and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They include: NASA astrophysicist Kelly Korreck; wildlife biologist Kristine Inman; microbiologist Dorothy Tovar; mathematics professor Minerva Cordero; and U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team physician Monica Rho.
The display, titled “#IfThenSheCan — the Exhibit,” will feature the Smithsonian’s oldest museum, the Arts and Industries Building — which reopened last year after being closed to the public since 2004. During the opening weekend, the 120 statues will be displayed there and in the Smithsonian Castle and the Enid A. Haupt Garden next door. After the opening weekend, the statues will be placed at Smithsonian museums across the Mall.
“These women are changing the world, and providing inspiration for the generation that will follow them,” said Arts and Industries Director Rachel Goslins in a statement. | null | null | null | null | null |
“We are praying for the well-being of the citizens of Ukraine and hope that additional bloodshed will be avoided,” Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Sunday in a statement. “We are conducting a measured and responsible policy.”
Russia is the main supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Israel’s north and maintains a large military presence in the country. With Iranian funding and support, Syria has become a weapons way station for Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed military movement in Lebanon with an estimated arsenal of 100,000 missiles and rockets.
There are roughly 6,000 Israeli citizens in Ukraine, including an unknown number of men who have served in the Israel Defense Forces and have said in interviews with Israeli press that they intend to remain throughout the course of the war to help fight Russian forces. Many arrived to the country in the years after the 2014 Russian annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, according to Ukrainian Israelis who are familiar with their presence but unable to talk about them publicly. | null | null | null | null | null |
The pandemic shut down Mardi Gras here in 2021, a rare occurrence in the local event’s 165-year history, but the party is back in a big way this weekend, and Madison Blanchard LaBombard, holding the reins of Hank the mule in one hand and carrying an American flag high in her other, couldn’t be happier. She and her krewe are part of eight parades just this weekend. | null | null | null | null | null |
Eight months after his heart stopped, Christian Eriksen returns to the pitch
Christian Eriksen returned to the pitch Saturday in Brentford's game against Newcastle United. (Peter Nicholls/Reuters)
Two hundred, fifty-nine days after his heart stopped during Denmark’s Euro 2020 game, Christian Eriksen made his debut for Brentford, clapping as he stepped onto the field and saying he hoped it was “the start of something special.”
Eriksen, who went into cardiac arrest on the pitch last June, entered Brentford’s 2-0 Premier League loss to Newcastle United in the 52nd minute and was greeted warmly at Brentford Community Stadium in west London.
“If you take away the result, I’m one happy man,” he said afterward. “To go through what I’ve been through, being back is a wonderful feeling.”
His collapse on the pitch in Copenhagen last summer was a terrifying sight, as medical personnel worked to revive him with CPR and a defibrillator. For a few moments, “he was gone,” team doctor Morten Boesen said at the time. “How close were we [to losing Eriksen]? I don’t know. We got him back after one defib, so that’s quite fast.”
Last month, Eriksen told the BBC he “was gone from this world for five minutes.”
After a battery of tests in a Copenhagen hospital, his heart was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator that will deliver a shock to restore a regular rhythm should he have another cardiac problem.
On Saturday, he was watched closely by members of his family and doctors who had monitored his recovery. “What they’ve been through is even tougher than what I’ve been through,” he said of his family.
Eriksen’s journey back to the pitch was a circuitous one. A former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, the 29-year-old is signed with Brentford until the end of the season after Inter Milan, the Serie A club with whom he was under contract at the time of his collapse, allowed his release because he could not play in Italy unless his ICD was removed.
Now, his goal is playing in the World Cup this fall.
“My goal is to play in the World Cup in Qatar. I want to play,” Eriksen told Danish broadcaster DR1 in January. “That’s been my mind-set all along. It’s a goal, a dream. Whether I’ll be picked or not [for the national team[ is another thing. But it’s my dream to come back.” | null | null | null | null | null |
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he will ask the General Assembly to provide HBCUs emergency funding to enhance security in light of ongoing bomb threats. (Steve Helber/AP)
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) said he will ask the General Assembly for emergency funding to enhance security at historically Black colleges and universities, following bomb threats in recent days against Norfolk State and Hampton universities.
“I am angry and deeply concerned by the recent pattern of bomb threats,” Youngkin said in a statement Friday evening. “I am committed to harnessing state resources to support these institutions and will work together with them on a continued coordinated response that ensures the safety of our HBCU students and faculty.” The statement did not specify how much more security funding the governor will seek.
Youngkin’s office said that the additional money would support all four HBCUs in Virginia, public and private, and that the governor has spoken with lawmakers about funding options.
Youngkin’s pledge arrived hours after Norfolk State, one of two public HBCUs in Virginia, asked students and staff to shelter in place amid a bomb scare. University leaders said law enforcement agencies had been notified and were investigating the threat. Similar threats have disrupted HBCUs recently in many states.
It was the second time this year Norfolk State had faced such a threat. In a statement, university president Javaune Adams-Gaston said the disruptions to operations and regularly scheduled activities have been stressful. She commended students and staff on their resilience.
“These acts are meant to distract, disrupt, and distress our institutions,” Adams-Gaston said. “We consider this an act of domestic terrorism against all HBCUs. We acknowledge the governor’s efforts to bring immediate resources to abate this situation. We will continue to be vigilant in our protection of the NSU community.”
Students and employees at Hampton sheltered in place Wednesday morning following a bomb threat called into the private university. Local, state and federal authorities canvassed the campus and found no evidence of an explosive device, according to Hampton.
In a statement Wednesday the university said it “takes any threats to the campus community’s safety seriously and remains vigilant in maintaining the safety and protection of the Hampton University family.”
Neither Virginia Union University, which is private, nor Virginia State University, which is public, has received bomb threats as of Saturday. Both are HBCUs.
But the ongoing threat against historically Black schools has led Virginia State to hire more police officers, according to Gwen Williams Dandridge, a university spokeswoman. She said the university has also updated its operations plans for dealing with threats.
“We are appreciative of Governor Youngkin’s proposal to provide additional resources,” Dandridge said in an email Saturday. “We hope the General Assembly will approve the Governor’s request … to provide additional resources to those of us who have become susceptible to these senseless attempts to disrupt our academic environment.”
On Wednesday the FBI said 57 HBCUs, places of worship, and other faith-based and academic institutions received bomb threats between Jan. 4 and Feb. 16. The threats have been made in phone calls, emails, instant messages and anonymous online posts.
Thirty-one field offices are working to identify those involved, according to the bureau, which is investigating the incidents as hate crimes. The FBI said in a statement that no explosive devices have been found, but it is treating the threats with the “utmost seriousness.”
“We recognize the fear and disruption this has caused across the country, and we will continue our work to make sure people feel safe in their communities, schools, and places of worship,” the FBI said. | null | null | null | null | null |
The pandemic shut down Mardi Gras here in 2021, a rare occurrence in the local event’s 165-year history, but the party is back in a big way this weekend, and Madison Blanchard LaBombard, holding the reins of Hank the mule in one hand and carrying an American flag high in her other, couldn’t be happier. She and her riding group are part of eight parades just this weekend. | null | null | null | null | null |
I’ve watched enough war movies to know the cardinal rule: Never volunteer.
And so that was my first reaction when the gate attendant at National Airport came over the intercom and announced that the 5 p.m. flight to Wilmington, N.C., was overbooked by a single seat. They needed someone to take a later flight — well, two flights: Instead of a quick direct flight arriving at 6:26 p.m., the volunteer would take a 7 p.m. flight to LaGuardia, transfer, then fly back south, arriving in Wilmington at 10:59 p.m. | null | null | null | null | null |
Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York performs “Prayer for Ukraine” during the opening of “Saturday Night Live” on Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022. (Will Heath/NBC via AP)
“Saturday Night Live” returned this weekend after a nearly month-long hiatus, days after Russia invaded Ukraine in the biggest European conflict since World War II.
As Ukrainians fought to hold their capital city of Kyiv for another night, SNL forwent its usual comedic cold open in favor of solemnity.
It opened with cast members Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong introducing the Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York. The chorus sang “Prayer for Ukraine,” a patriotic hymn and something of a spiritual anthem for Ukraine.
As the song concluded, McKinnon and Strong returned to offer the iconic “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night” in subdued tones. The camera zoomed in on table full of flickering tea candles, which spelled out “Kyiv.” Bushels of sunflowers, the Ukrainian national flower, rested on other side.
SNL is no stranger to serious moments. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the show opened with then-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani standing in front of a group of firefighters and police offers and flanked by then-police commissioner Bernard Kerik and then-fire commissioner Thomas Von Essen. In a brief speech, Giuliani praised the first responders and said, “We will not let our decisions be made out of fear. We choose to live our lives in freedom.” Paul Simon then performed a triumphant version of “The Boxer.”
Country singer Jason Aldean, who had been playing at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas when a gunman opened fire on the crowd, appeared in the first cold open after the shooting. “I’m struggling to understand what happened that night,” he said, before playing a cover of Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down,” which also paid homage to the Petty, who had recently died.
They haven’t all been well-received. Following the death of Leonard Cohen and the election of Donald Trump, one cold open found McKinnon dressed as Hillary Clinton and performing “Hallelujah.” While the open received some praise, it was heavily derided by people on both sides of the political spectrum for being both partisan and, for lack of a better word, corny.
The Russian attack wasn’t mentioned again until the Weekend Update segment of the show. “This week Russia began their invasion of Ukraine. President Putin launched the attack with support from allies like Belarus and Tucker Carlson,” Jost said, likely a reference to the Fox News host dismissing the conflict as a “border dispute” before recharacterizing the situation as a conflict that “could become a world war.”
“Many analysts were surprised Putin went through with the invasion, even though it was obviously going to be a colossal mistake. But they couldn’t back down after all that buildup. Kind of like how NBC still had to go through with airing the Winter Olympics,” Jost continued, needling the network for its airing of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, which drew criticism and record-low TV ratings.
“After the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian stock market fell by 30 percent, to negative 90 percent,” added Michael Che. “This is a tough subject to make jokes about. I mean, in my lifetime I’ve seen footage of attacks like this on other countries, but never a white one.”
Much of the rest of the show was typical SNL fare. John Mulaney returned to host the show after a particularly tabloid-heavy year replete with a drug relapse, two stints in rehab, a divorce, a new celebrity relationship and a pregnancy. He discussed his “very complicated year” in the opening monologue, joking that “it is wonderful to be in a place that’s always emphasized sobriety and mental health.”
Later in the show, the cast performed one of Mulaney’s signature musical theater mash-ups that pay tribute to various aspects of New York City life. This one, which found featured player Andrew Dismukes buying a churro in a subway station, riffed on “Fiddler on the Roof,” South Pacific,” “The Music Man” and “Little Shop of Horrors,” among others.
Steve Martin, Candice Bergen, Tina Fey and Elliott Gould appeared at one point to welcome Mulaney to the “Five-Timers Club,” an elite crew of people who have hosted the show five times. In a twist, they also welcomed Paul Rudd, who technically achieved the honor in a December episode that had to be mostly scrapped due to concerns linked to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
John Mulaney brings out the best in SNL with a recurring sketch that has nothing to do with politics
The Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York returned at the end of the show for the final goodbyes and wrote a note of gratitude on its Instagram Stories. “It was such an honor to represent Ukraine and Ukrainians today on @nbscnl. Please continue to stand with Ukraine and remain strong!” it read, closing with “Slava Ukraini,” which means “Glory to Ukraine.” | null | null | null | null | null |
Russian climate delegate apologizes on Ukraine, saying many ’fail to find any justification for the attack'
Russia’s Oleg Anisimov’s unexpected remarks came during a virtual U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change meeting of delegates from 195 nations
Protesters gather in front of the White House to call on the United States to help Ukraine defend against the Russian invasion. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post)
The comments by Anisimov, a scientist at the state hydrological institute, mark a rare public rebuke of the Russian invasion by a government official. His apology came after an impassioned speech from his Ukrainian counterpart, Svitlana Krakovska, who linked the invasion of her country to the global challenge the ministers and scientists sought to confront: climate change.
Krakovska woke up in a different world on Thursday, she told fellow negotiators on Sunday. The Ukrainian delegation was briefly absent from the virtual meeting, one witness recalled, but returned to participate in the final sessions.
She declared that she and her colleagues would keep working on the report as long as they had Internet and no bombs were falling on their heads.
“We will not surrender in Ukraine,” she told other delegates. “And we hope the world will not surrender in building a climate-resilient future.” | null | null | null | null | null |
There’s a reason Putin can be so aggressive. Oil.
Putin’s personalist rule leaves few domestic checks on his power.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the Opening Ceremonies of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Feb. 4, 2022, in Beijing. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)
By Jessica L.P. Weeks
Jeff D. Colgan
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine has set off a flood of speculation about his motives. Myriad factors — including perceptions of Russia’s historical ties to Ukraine and regional security concerns — probably drive his ambitions. But Russia’s personalist domestic politics and its oil and gas wealth also contributed to this aggression.
Putin the personalist
Putin’s Russia is no democracy, but autocracies come in many flavors. Our research has found that when it comes to decisions about military conflict, a key question is how much power is concentrated in the hands of a single leader.
Some non-democracies feature a form of collective rule in which elites share power. Examples include the Soviet Union under Leonid Brezhnev, China in the decades between Mao Zedong and Xi Jinping, and some military juntas. In this scenario, the leader is surrounded by other powerful elites who can mete out political punishment for unsuccessful or overly risky foreign policy decisions.
In contrast, in “personalist” regimes like Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union or North Korea under the Kim dynasty, individuals hold enormous power. These leaders exert personal control over internal and external security forces. When it comes to using force, there are few — if any — inside the regime who can hold the leader accountable.
Over the two decades of Putin’s rule, power in Russia has become increasingly concentrated in his hands. Today, Russia has no powerful, independent institutions with the ability to check him. For that reason social scientists have concluded that Putin is a personalist dictator, even if he lacks the iron grip on power of some of his counterparts.
Personalism and aggression
Why do personalist regimes engage in conflict? First, personalist rulers face relatively low domestic costs for taking military risks. They can usually hang on to power even in the aftermath of military defeat, unless they are forcibly removed by a victorious foreign nation — a fate that seems unlikely for Putin. On average, therefore, personalist leaders initiate military conflict more frequently than autocrats facing greater domestic constraints.
Second, the kinds of individuals who become personalist dictators tend to believe that force is highly effective — after all, it is often their willingness to use violence that helped them to rise to power, and stay there. As Putin declared as he ordered the invasion of Ukraine, “it is our strength and our readiness to fight that are the bedrock of independence and sovereignty and provide the necessary foundation for building a reliable future for your home, your family, and your Motherland.” Personalist leaders often have similarly bold international aspirations: they don’t just want to run their country; they want to rule the entire neighborhood.
Personalists also are more likely to have a troubling tendency to cut themselves off from high-quality information. They’re likely to surround themselves with sycophants who have incentives to tell them what they want to hear, rather than deliver criticism or bad news. Saddam Hussein, for example, famously overestimated his weapons of mass destruction program because subordinates were frightened to share information about setbacks. It’s therefore not surprising that German Prime Minister Angela Merkel concluded in 2014 that Putin is living “in another world.”
This cocoon can contribute to foreign policy mistakes. Historically, personalists have been less likely to win the conflicts they get involved in than other kinds of governments, though their decision-making bureaucracies can help shield them from such mistakes. While Putin has made some shrewd strategic moves in the past, it could be that rising domestic repression has made it even less likely that he is receiving the information or advice he needs to make well-informed decisions.
How does Russian oil fit into Putin’s calculations?
Russia’s oil wealth intensifies the problem of personalist rule and aggressive foreign policy. One of us coined the term “petro-aggression,” indicating the link between oil and war. It turns out that major oil-exporting countries like Russia, known as petrostates, are about 50 percent more conflict prone than non-petrostates, on average, and oil has played a role in 25 to 50 percent of recent wars.
Other petrostates with aggressive pasts include Iraq, Libya and Iran. Not every petrostate is conflict prone, of course. Much depends on the leader’s preferences. When a leader is not interested in revising the status quo, there is nothing about oil that inherently leads to conflict.
In the hands of an aggressive or revisionist leader like Putin, however, oil can further reduce domestic political constraints. Oil money allows an autocrat to buy off domestic opposition, build a military machine and create a war chest to ward off sanctions. In that sense, Putin is following in the footsteps of other petrostate dictators like Saddam Hussein and Moammar Gaddafi. Oil and energy also helped set the 2014 political context for Putin’s invasion of Crimea.
Making costs personal
The U.S. and its European allies have announced sanctions involving the SWIFT banking system — and some sanctions against Putin himself. It remains to be seen whether even these relatively strong sanctions will work on a personalist, petrostate regime.
In general, these kinds of leaders are unlikely to abandon the fight unless the costs of using force become personal. For example, research suggests sanctions work best against personalist regimes when they affect the leader’s welfare directly.
In the long run, potential sanctions that hurt Russia’s oil and gas sector could prove effective, for two reasons. First, such sanctions would undercut Putin’s ability to buy off opposition and fund his war machine, though declining oil revenue bring their own political risks. Second, this approach would gradually increase Europe’s energy security, as would much-needed investments in Europe’s energy infrastructure. Reducing harm to the global climate would be a side benefit of acting against Russia’s petroleum sector.
Of course, sanctions that are strong enough to change the mind of a leader like Putin are likely to hurt pocketbooks in the U.S. and Europe, as well — as President Biden warned the American public last week. Time will tell whether the West thinks that stopping a personalistic, oil-rich dictator from destabilizing Europe is worth those costs.
Jessica L.P. Weeks is Professor of Political Science and H. Douglas Weaver Chair in Diplomacy and International Relations at the University of Wisconsin — Madison. She tweets at @jessicalpweeks.
Jeff D. Colgan is the Richard Holbrooke Associate Professor of Political Science at Brown University. He tweets at @JeffDColgan. | null | null | null | null | null |
Volunteer troops can be a curse, not a blessing. But Ukraine may be figuring it out.
Kyiv also called on volunteers in 2014 to defend the country.
Ukrainian friends embrace as they stand in line to join the Territorial Defense Forces in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Feb. 26, 2022. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post)
By Polina Beliakova
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged citizens to step forward and help defend the country against the massive Russian attack. Kyiv had earlier called on volunteers to join territorial defense battalions training for the possibility of a full-scale Russian invasion.
After Russia attacked Ukraine, Zelensky announced mass mobilization. About 37,000 volunteers joined the territorial defense of Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF).
Volunteer formations were seen as national heroes in 2014, when the Russian-backed separatist war began in Donbas, and the military was unprepared for the challenges it faced in Eastern Ukraine. However, some analysts worried that these volunteer forces posed a threat for domestic governance and security.
In the expanded war with Russia now unfolding, will the government’s call for volunteers pose similar risks? My research finds that extensive changes have helped boost the military’s expertise, improved the government’s ability to control its forces, and limit opportunities for volunteer formations to defy Kyiv’s political authority — all of which suggest Ukraine’s volunteers in 2022 pose less of a risk.
Volunteer battalions didn’t always fall in line
In March 2014, the Ukrainian government called on volunteers to defend the country. Legally, volunteer formations were supposed to operate under the Ministry of Defense (MoD) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MoIA). In reality, many independently funded formations had extensive operational and political autonomy, and their own political goals. High levels of motivation and relative independence made these volunteers capable defenders of Ukraine — but also enabled them to challenge the government.
Here are some examples. In February 2015, representatives of 17 battalions initiated the creation of an alternative General Staff, separate from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, to coordinate the actions of the volunteers. In December 2016, the leaders of the “Donbas” and “Aidar” battalions announced an economic blockade of the separatist Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics,” something Kyiv had not ordered. Ukraine’s government then had no choice but to adopt the blockade as its official policy.
And in the fall of 2019, the former commander of the “Azov” battalion brought about 100 veteran fighters to Zolote, Luhansk oblast, to block the president’s decision to begin disengaging troops, in compliance with the Minsk Protocol.
Moves like this raised concerns about the power and intention of Ukraine’s volunteer forces. However, my research indicates that the factors that enabled the battalions to intervene in politics after 2014 are not present today, making the emergence of new challengers unlikely. Here’s what has changed.
Ukraine’s military is ready to tackle the threat
In April 2014, Kyiv identified the threat in Eastern Ukraine as “separatism and the use of weapons against your own […] state.” Since dealing with internal threats was beyond the UAF’s expertise, the military was unprepared for the challenge. On April 17, 2014, in Kramatorsk, Donetsk oblast, the 25th Airborne Brigade surrendered to a crowd of local people. The officers and soldiers explained that no one trained them to deal with civilians or fight within the cities. A series of similar events set the stage for volunteer battalions eager to fight against the non-uniformed separatists, rather than the military take the lead.
By contrast, in 2022, a more professionalized UAF has been trained to address a broad range of contingencies related to Russian aggression. The first few days of fighting in Ukraine showed UAF’s ability to reverse the advancement of Russia’s superior forces, take down aircraft and resist diversionary groups in Ukrainian cities. This closer alignment between the nature of the threat and the redefined UAF’s expertise means that in 2022 the volunteers assist the military and not replace it.
Kyiv now controls the use of force
Kyiv’s attempts to mobilize troops in the spring of 2014 exposed the government’s inability to control a military that was both highly bureaucratized and not combat-ready. Before 2014, the UAF resembled an extensive bureaucracy more than a capable military. Experts I interviewed in Kyiv noted that the UAF’s expertise was not fighting, but managing paperwork, which earned it a pejorative nickname — the Ukrainian Paper Army.
At the time, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said about 30 percent of the UAF conscripts abandoned their positions as the war in the Donbas broke out. Many who remained tried to avoid fighting by reporting their equipment lost in combat — and secretly providing it to the volunteer battalions, against the government’s direct orders. At the outset of the fighting, the lack of civilian control over the military allowed some volunteer battalions to maintain significant autonomy and build a heroic image, in contrast to what many Ukrainians saw as incompetent political elites and an impotent military.
Professionalization of the UAF since 2014 has made it subordinate to Kyiv’s policies. In fall 2019, when battalion veterans tried to prevent the planned disengagement, the UAF worked with law enforcement to overcome volunteers’ opposition. Military experts I interviewed in Kyiv in December 2019 noted that since the start of the Donbas conflict, conscripts and politically motivated volunteers alike had largely been replaced by professional contract soldiers. Having a reliable military allowed President Volodymyr Zelensky to confront the renegade battalions and proceed with his preferred policy option.
Kyiv has also managed to bring most volunteers under civilian control within the MoD and MoIA structures. Most recently, a new law in January declared the president of Ukraine the Supreme Commander in Chief over the volunteers through the MoD and UAF structures in a top-down manner.
So far, the early days of war suggest that this mechanism is working. This improved civilian control over the use of force decreases the chances that volunteers will challenge Ukraine’s democracy and security in the future.
Under the current conditions, Kyiv’s control over a professional and capable military is essential for defending Ukraine from the Russian aggression. It is also essential for mitigating any risks that armed volunteers would become a challenge for Ukraine’s security and democracy in the future.
Polina Beliakova (@Beliakova_P) is a PhD candidate at the Fletcher School at Tufts University focusing on civil-military relations, international security and post-Soviet politics. | null | null | null | null | null |
As I waited to board a flight to Wilmington, N.C., last week, my biggest worry was whether I’d have to fight anyone for the last overhead storage space, given my cellar-dwelling position in boarding group eight.
Then an announcement came over the intercom: The 5 p.m. flight was overbooked by a single seat. They needed someone to take a later flight – well, two flights: Instead of a quick direct flight arriving at 6:26 p.m., the volunteer would take a 7 p.m. flight to LaGuardia, transfer, then fly back south, arriving in Wilmington at 10:59 p.m. | null | null | null | null | null |
Brady House is 6-foot-4 and wants to be a shortstop. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Shortly after Brady House was drafted last July, Kris Kline, the Washington Nationals’ assistant general manager in charge of amateur scouting, gave life to an ongoing discussion. Or maybe Kline had issued the first real challenge of House’s professional baseball career.
“He might get too big [to play shortstop] and end up at third base, where he’s got a chance to potentially win a Gold Glove,” Kline told reporters. “I think he has a chance to stay [at short] but he’s going to get displaced by a more elite defender at that level.”
Earlier that night, House was on a video call with Washington media, still at his childhood home in Winder, Ga., and called sticking at shortstop one of his main goals. He cited Trevor Story, the 6-foot-2, free-agent star, as a template for his future. House, 18 and the Nationals’ top position player prospect, is 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds. Up close, he looks more like a young outside linebacker than middle infielder.
Yet nothing has changed for House in the seven month since he was picked 11th overall by the Nationals. At early minor league camp in West Palm Beach this week, he doubled down on shortstop as his spot of the present and future. And while his size could eventually fit better at third, it makes sense for House to want the cornerstone position he filled at Winder-Barrow High School, then the first 16 games in the Florida Complex League last summer.
Archives: As he signed with the Nats, Brady House became even more important to their future
Premier shortstops can have whole franchises built around them. House’s defense just has to keep pace with his eye-popping bat.
“Be patient. Let’s let his skills play out,” De Jon Watson, the Nationals’ new head of player development, said when asked about those trying to move House to third already. “Let us get our hands a little dirty as we’re trying to work on cleaning up the footwork and just the baseball feel and IQ. If you remember, he’s coming from a high school program, I’m sure he played on a national stage with all the showcases, but the competition and what you get here in professional baseball, everything turns up.
“The velocity of the ball off the bat is a lot greater. Understanding where you need to be, positioning, now we have some more advanced information where we can help him with getting himself into a better position to field balls and where balls are going to be hit. We’re going to do everything we can to see if this is the natural position for him.”
In those 16 games down in Florida last year, House clubbed four homers and finished with a batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage slash line of .322/.394/.576 in 66 plate appearances. On Thursday in West Palm, in his first batting practice round of the morning, he took a half swing and lined a ball off the opposite-field fence in right. His power matches his build. Shortstop Sammy Infante, the Nationals’ second-round pick in 2020, called House “kind of like a freak of nature.”
The two of them have worked side-by-side in drills this week. Armando Cruz and Jackson Cluff, two more prospects, have been at shortstop, too. The Nationals have long stockpiled shortstops and used them to fill other holes. Carter Kieboom, who should get another shot as the club’s everyday third baseman this spring, was once a top shortstop prospect. So was Luis García, who’s made 90 of his 98 major-league starts at second.
If House is moved down the line, it wouldn’t be a failure on his part. It could, in theory, be a product of the roster construction at the time, or just the front office’s ultimate plan for him. And it’s worth noting that, while he’s excelled early on, House is a teenager with a long, long way to go.
But allow him to plot his next steps in the middle of the diamond. To this point, he’s earned that much.
“I had another really tall shortstop over in that other place on the West Coast,” Watson said. “He’s still playing and got a whole lot of money recently. … Let’s give this thing a little time. Let’s see how it works itself out.”
Watson was referring to Corey Seager. He spoke in code because, with the lockout ongoing, club officials aren’t allowed to speak publicly about anyone represented by the players’ union. Watson was overseeing player development for the Los Angeles Dodgers when they drafted Seager in 2012. Seager, 27, won Most Valuable Player of the World Series in 2020 and signed a 10-year, $325 million deal with the Texas Rangers in November.
Championships and generational wealth are likely in House’s dreams. What matters most in this case, though, is that Seager and House are listed at the same height and weight.
“For fielding, everyone has to have their footwork touched and ready to go,” House said, adding that, given his size, good footwork and staying low are even more important. “So my feet were actually not moving to their full potential, I would say, until I got that coaching and learned more about it.” | null | null | null | null | null |
Pedestrian struck, killed by car in Prince George’s County
A woman was struck by a car and killed early Sunday while crossing a five-lane road in Prince George’s County, police said.
Maryland State Police found the pedestrian shortly before 5 a.m. lying on the ground on Baltimore Avenue near College Park, they said in a news release. Her name had not yet been disclosed as of Sunday afternoon, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The motorist, who was driving a gray Mazda 3, remained at the scene, officials said, adding that alcohol and drugs were not a factor in the incident. The motorist reported no injuries in the crash.
Authorities said they were investigating and that no charges have been filed yet. | null | null | null | null | null |
“We are praying for the well-being of the citizens of Ukraine and hope that additional bloodshed will be avoided,” Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Sunday in a statement. “We are conducting a measured and responsible policy.”
On the ground, Israel stands with Ukraine. Israeli medics are offering services to refugees across the Ukrainian border, Israeli phone companies are providing free credits to Ukrainian citizens to get in touch with family members, and Israeli tech companies are assisting with evacuating Ukrainian employees.
Russia is the main supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Israel’s north and maintains a large military presence in the country. With Iranian funding and support, Syria has become a weapons way station for Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed military movement in Lebanon, with an estimated arsenal of 100,000 missiles and rockets.
On Saturday, the Russian Embassy said its military coordination with Israel over Syria will continue, after Moscow expressed displeasure with a statement by Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid condemning the “Russian attack on Ukraine” on Thursday.
In a statement Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was organizing a foreign legion of international volunteers from abroad.
There are roughly 6,000 Israeli citizens in Ukraine, including an unknown number of men who have served in the Israel Defense Forces and have said in interviews with Israeli media that they intend to remain throughout the course of the war to help fight Russian forces. Many arrived in the country in the years after the 2014 Russian annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, according to Ukrainian Israelis who are familiar with their presence but unable to talk about them publicly.
In a meeting between Bennett and Putin last October in Sochi, Russia, Putin refused an offer by Bennett for Israel to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, according to Israeli media.
The sale of the system — which in the last war between Israel and Gaza in May intercepted about 90 percent of rockets, according to the Israeli military — was blocked after Israeli officials expressed concern that the move would damage relations with Russia, according to a report on the Israeli news site Ynet last week. | null | null | null | null | null |
Several surveys show troubling correlations between age and support for American leadership. A Post-ABC poll, in the field this past week during the invasion, found that only 35 percent of 18-to-39-year-olds in this country would support sanctions on Russia if they lead to higher energy prices, compared with 70 percent of seniors. The same poll found that 55 percent of 18-to-39-year-olds say Russia is unfriendly but not an enemy — compared with 21 percent of those over age 65.
This is bigger than Ukraine. Think about the alarming number of young people who identify as socialist — oblivious to the repeated failures of socialism. When the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics surveyed 18-to-29-year-olds this past fall, a bare 51-percent majority agreed that the United States is the leader of the free world. The same number said we should be. | null | null | null | null | null |
If Putin wants to stop a bank run, he doesn’t have good options
People stand in line to use an ATM in St. Petersburg on Feb. 27. (Anton Vaganov/Reuters)
By Tom Pepinsky
Earlier today, Russia’s central bank announced that the country’s currency, the ruble, was fully liquid. Normally, central banks do not need to reassure currency holders this way. We take it for granted that we can access our savings in the bank, use our credit cards and get cash from the ATM.
But these are not normal times in Russia. Having launched an invasion of Ukraine just a few days ago, Russia faces some of the strongest financial sanctions that any country has faced in modern history.
Russia is about to plunge into financial turmoil
Many of Russia’s central bank assets are currently unusable because of E.U. and U.S. actions. Additionally, many of Russia’s major banks will soon no longer be able to use SWIFT to settle payments. Meanwhile, the ruble’s value is collapsing in local markets. Although markets are not open at the moment, reports indicate that its value has declined from roughly 70 to the dollar to 150 to the dollar in after-hours trading.
All of this is making the financial system look shaky to Russian citizens. They responded today by withdrawing hard currency from ATMs across the country. Because it is Sunday, banks aren’t even open for regular service, so we won’t know until Monday exactly how seriously Russians will react to the financial turmoil.
Indonesia offers some lessons about what might happen
What happens when a regime like Vladimir Putin’s in Russia faces bank runs and currency collapse?
Political scientists have studied the political consequences of financial crises. In my 2009 book on the Asian financial crisis, I wrote about what happened to Indonesian dictator Suharto when it became clear that Indonesia’s banks were insolvent and the currency was in free-fall. Suharto’s struggles in 1998 suggest that Putin may face real economic difficulties in the coming days.
Like Putin, Suharto bolstered his dictatorial regime through close ties to an elite group of wealthy elites (known in Indonesian as “konglomerat”). Like Putin’s oligarchs, these superwealthy elites oversaw highly diversified business empires that blurred the lines between public and private authority. And they, too, owed their wealth to Suharto’s patronage and favoritism.
Also like Putin in 2022, Suharto in 1998 was viewed by many Indonesians and foreign observers as erratic. He was prone to quick decisions and quick reversals, and seemingly blind to the consequences of his actions, such as reneging on an IMF bailout to protect his youngest son’s monopoly on cloves.
Of course, Indonesia had not invaded any neighboring countries in recent years, so the specific drivers of Indonesia’s crisis in 1998 were different from Russia’s emerging crisis in 2022. But the financial fallout may be quite similar.
Putin’s big financial challenge is to convince people that there is no reason to worry about their money — they will be able to access it when they need it. That confidence will forestall the risk of runs on Russian banks. But just talking about financial stability can make people nervous. If everyone wants access to their savings by withdrawing money from ATMs, banks may not be able to cope. People’s individual strategies to keep themselves safe can bring about a banking crisis in which everyone suffers.
Putin doesn’t have many options
Putin’s options for how to address this problem are limited, as were Suharto’s. His choices boil down to the following: print lots of money on demand to cover all withdrawals; raise interest rates really high; or implement currency controls of some sort.
The first option generates inflation. It also does not really help to address the core problem: High inflation will give people with rubles an incentive to convert those rubles into dollars, gold or something else with a more stable value. That would push the value of the ruble even lower.
The second option seeks to keep money in banks (and rubles in Russia) by offering much more attractive returns for people holding ruble savings. But this is unattractive for many other reasons. With luck, it may eliminate inflation, but it may also put a sharp halt on spending and investment within Russia. It may avoid financial crisis, at the cost of a full-blown recession.
The third option would seem to be the most attractive. Indeed, this is an option that Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad followed during Malaysia’s economic crisis in 1998. But it was very unpopular among Malaysia’s most wealthy elites, who were no longer able to move their savings and investments across borders. Moreover, in Russia today, such controls would have to be paired with controls on bank withdrawals to shore up the domestic financial system itself. Russia’s central bank is proclaiming that its financial system is liquid precisely to avoid having to do this.
I argue in my 2009 book that Indonesia’s oligarchs stymied Suharto when he attempted to implement the same solution in early 1998. They only supported Suharto as long as they could move their money abroad if needed — a powerful check on Suharto’s power to behave in ways they didn’t like. When the political situation turned sour in Indonesia, the oligarchs left with their money almost overnight.
Foreign sanctions may mean that Putin doesn’t have to worry as much about oligarchs fleeing abroad with their cash. Tough sanctions on his closest oligarch supporters mean that they can’t spend their money abroad anyway. Even so, currency controls and withdrawal bans would probably cause a full-blown financial crisis overnight.
It is hard to see how Russia’s domestic financial turmoil will end. The next 24 hours will be some of the most grimly interesting financial politics that Russia has seen since its two most recent financial crises, one of which (in 1998) ultimately paved the way for Putin’s rise to power.
In the meantime, however, Ukraine’s supporters in the international community may be thinking about how to leverage the threat of Russia’s financial collapse to their benefit. Giving oligarchs an exit option might provide the leverage they want to restrain Putin’s aggressive and destructive international behavior, by showing him its domestic consequences.
Thomas Pepinsky is the Walter F. LaFeber professor of government and public policy and director of the Southeast Asia program at Cornell University, and nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. | null | null | null | null | null |
“In such a military and humanitarian crisis, we do not see any opportunity for cooperation with the Continental Hockey League,” said Juris Savickis, chairman of the team’s supervisory board. (iStock)
Dinamo Riga, a hockey team based in Latvia, has withdrawn from Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Dinamo Riga, which has been part of the league since 2008, was one of five teams in the 24-team league based outside of Russia entering the season.
“The decision to withdraw from KHL has been made, thus expressing a clear position of the club management," the chairman of the team’s supervisory board, Juris Savickis, said. “In such a military and humanitarian crisis, we do not see any opportunity for cooperation with the Continental Hockey League.”
Earlier this week, Finnish-based hockey club Jokerit Helsinki announced it would not be taking part in the KHL playoffs because of the invasion.
Dinamo Riga’s withdrawal from the KHL leaves just three teams based outside of Russia that are still participating in the league as of Sunday — Barys Nur-Sultan of Kazakhstan, Dinamo Minsk of Belarus and Kunlun Red Star of China. Barys Nur-Sultan and Dinamo Minsk are both scheduled to play in the playoffs — Barys on March 1 and Dinamo Minsk on March 2. Kunlun Red Star did not qualify for the postseason.
Jokerit Helsinki, which is still in the league, left a playoff opportunity on the table as it finished as the second-best team in the Western Conference. The team was scheduled to play Spartak Moscow in the opening round on Tuesday before the team opted out of the playoffs.
Jari Kurri, the chairman of the team, said that he made up his mind about taking his team out of the playoffs on Thursday, but waited to speak with KHL officials before leaving.
“The world is going through really difficult times right now,” Kurri said. “All our thoughts are with the people suffering from the situation. We hope that a peaceful solution to the situation can be found soon.”
A decision has not been made about the future prospects of Dinamo Riga in another league or Jokerit Helsinki in the KHL yet. | null | null | null | null | null |
Edmonton Oilers’ Ryan McLeod (71) protects the puck from Carolina Hurricanes’ Jaccob Slavin (74) during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
RALEIGH, N.C. — Teuvo Teravainen had a goal and an assist, Sebastian Aho also scored and the Carolina Hurricanes won their fifth game in a row by beating the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 on Sunday. | null | null | null | null | null |
FILE - Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Thani, chairman of the Qatar 2022 Bid Committee, holds the FIFA World Cup Trophy in Zurich, Switzerland, on Dec. 2, 2010, after the announcement that Qatar would host the 2022 World Cup. Theo Zwanziger, head of the German soccer federation at the time, was one of the sport’s most prominent critics of the decision. In response, the Qatari government hired a company staffed by former CIA operatives to use spycraft to silence Zwanziger, according to internal company documents reviewed by The Associated Press. (Patrick B. Kraemer/Keystone via AP, File) | null | null | null | null | null |
Opinion: Ketanji Brown Jackson’s defensiveness reflects shifting public attitudes toward criminal justice
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, with President Biden, at the White House after she was nominated the Supreme Court, Feb. 25. (Saul Loeb / AFP) (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
President Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson two years to the day after the Democratic debate in South Carolina during which he pledged to put the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. But a surprisingly defensive undercurrent to Friday afternoon’s historic announcement at the White House illustrated how much has changed politically during the intervening two years.
The 51-year-old Jackson was a debate champion in high school, which might explain why so much of her acceptance speech sounded like an affirmative rebuttal. She went through the confirmation process just last year for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the second most important court in the land, so she has a good sense of how Republicans will come after her in the weeks ahead. Jackson seemed determined to preemptively get out front of those lines of attack with a directness that felt unusual for the setting but appropriate given the public mood.
With rising public fear about crime — from murders to carjackings and shoplifting — and growing frustration with far-left district attorneys who aren’t prosecuting criminals aggressively enough, Jackson did not mention her efforts on the U.S. Sentencing Commission to rewrite guidelines to reduce recommended penalties for drug-related offenses or her representation of some very odious clients as a federal public defender. Instead, the judge emphasized that her brother and two uncles were police officers. One even became Miami’s police chief.
“You may have read that I have one uncle who got caught up in the drug trade and received a life sentence,” said Jackson. “That is true. But law enforcement also runs in my family.”
The uncle in question was Thomas Brown Jr., who was sentenced to life for a nonviolent drug offense under a “three strikes” law. A law firm took his case pro bono after a referral from Jackson, and President Barack Obama years later commuted his sentence.
Brown didn’t dwell on that story. Instead, she noted that her brother Ketajh was “a detective on some of the toughest streets in the inner city of Baltimore” before enlisting in the Army and “serving two tours of duty in the Middle East.”
Jackson also invoked her brother’s Army service last year in response to questions from Senate Republicans about her representation of inmates at Guantánamo Bay as an assistant federal public defender. She noted that she didn’t get to choose her clients in that job.
Two years ago, Biden promised to pick a Black woman for the Supreme Court to secure what became a game-changing endorsement from Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.). After finishing fourth in Iowa, fifth in New Hampshire and a distant second in Nevada, the former vice president relied on African American voters in the South to save his campaign. To do so, he did everything he could to signal that he wouldn’t govern the way he had in the early 1990s — when he championed long mandatory minimum sentences, which disproportionately harmed Black defendants.
Around the same time, then-President Donald Trump ran a Super Bowl commercial to highlight his support for criminal justice reform and touted the bipartisan First Step Act that he had signed. The Trump campaign hoped to make inroads with Black men.
Vice President Harris, who appeared Friday with Biden and Jackson, was not on the debate stage in South Carolina. She dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination before any votes were cast. One of the many reasons her campaign failed was that she struggled to respond to criticisms from the left over her record as San Francisco’s district attorney and California’s attorney general.
The left’s widespread hostility toward law enforcement only grew in the months that followed. George Floyd’s murder on Memorial Day 2020 led to mass protests and prompted some Democrats to call for “defunding the police.” Biden rejected that mantra and never used it, but the narrative that Democrats didn’t support police probably cost the party a few House seats that November.
Over the past year, Democrats who staked out soft-on-crime positions have faced intense backlash, even in blue big cities. Jackson’s emphasis on her family’s experience in law enforcement is part of the necessary and overdue corrective.
Biden even read aloud from a statement issued by the Fraternal Order of Police during his speech introducing Jackson. He said the national organization expressed confidence that she’d “treat issues related to law enforcement fairly and justly.” It’s hard to imagine Biden proudly reading a statement from that group two years ago.
For her part, Jackson opened her remarks by “thanking God for delivering me to this point in my professional journey” and embracing American exceptionalism. “Among my many blessings, and indeed the very first, is the fact that I was born in this great country,” she said. “The United States of America is the greatest beacon of hope and democracy the world has ever known.”
Her nomination is a refreshingly feel-good reminder, despite the many dark chapters in American history, of our country’s capacity for self-improvement. | null | null | null | null | null |
Horlan is a cyber security expert who recently launched an app called disBalancer that helps take down scam websites by overwhelming them with online traffic. He has redirected his team’s efforts in recent days to instead target Russian websites he says are spreading dangerous disinformation about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
She said the goal of those campaigns "is to demoralize society, to spread panic, to basically break them down psychologically so they would stop supporting the army and start thinking about surrendering.”
Lina, an employee at the guard’s hotel, said the Russian disinformation campaign is still going on in Donetsk, where her father lives. She recently contacted her father’s neighbor to ask him to go next door and knock on her father’s door and check if he was safe.
She told him she was in the basement to keep safe from the air attacks. But he still refused to believe her, and “so I kept my mouth shut,” she said. "We have different views.” | null | null | null | null | null |
Twins Moishe and Lenny at a hospital in Kyiv where they were born to parents in the United States via surrogate in Ukraine two months early. Their arrival, on Feb. 25, came as Russian forces intensified their attack on Ukraine. (Courtesy of Irma Nuñez)
Born premature but weighing more than four pounds each and with full heads of hair, twins Lenny and Moishe brought new life during wartime.
Nuñez and Spektor now face the same challenge as a number of other families who are trying to bring home adopted children and babies born to Ukrainian surrogates as embassies shutter, tanks clog the roadways, ambulances are diverted to the war effort and Russia launches missiles and airstrikes.
As preemies, Lenny and Moishe require intensive care and need a special medical transport. Doctors in Kyiv told the parents the babies need to stay in the hospital for at least another four days before they can be transferred to another regional clinic further from the most intense fighting, Nuñez said.
Under protocols set by the surrogacy agency, Adonis Fertility International, the surrogate mother is not supposed to contact the intended parents or get attached to the babies, the couple said. But now that the protocols have eroded, their surrogate Katya — whose last name they withheld for privacy reasons — is their only point of contact for their sons. Her video call to Spector was the only time the couple had seen her face, without a mask, outside of a photo.
Representatives for Adonis did not immediately respond to request for comment Sunday.
For many couples who pursue surrogacy, Ukraine is an attractive option for its relative affordability. U.S.-based surrogacy which can cost upward of $100,000, while surrogacy in Ukraine is often less than half that.
Instead of the ambulance ride taking 20 minutes, it took three hours because of tank traffic, Katya later told the couple.
Spektor joked he picked the name “Moishe” to saddle his family with “a very provincial Jewish name” (“They think they’re so sophisticated,” he said smiling) and they settled on “Lenny” because of composer Leonard Bernstein, who was born to Ukrainian-Jewish parents — and comedian Lenny Bruce. | null | null | null | null | null |
Twins Moishe and Lenny at a hospital in Kyiv where they were born to parents in the United States via a surrogate in Ukraine. They arrived two months early, on Feb 25. (Courtesy of Irma Nuñez)
Born premature but weighing more than four pounds each, and with full heads of hair, twins Lenny and Moishe brought new life during wartime.
Under protocols set by the surrogacy agency, Adonis Fertility International, the surrogate mother is not supposed to contact the intended parents or get attached to the babies, the couple said. But now that the protocols have eroded, their surrogate Katya — whose last name they withheld for privacy reasons — is their only point of contact for their sons. Her video call to Spektor was the only time the couple had seen her face, without a mask, outside of a photo.
For many couples who pursue surrogacy, Ukraine is an attractive option for its relative affordability. U.S.-based surrogacy can cost upward of $100,000, while surrogacy in Ukraine is often less than half that.
Spektor joked he picked the name “Moishe” to saddle his family with “a very provincial Jewish name” (“They think they’re so sophisticated,” he said, smiling) and they settled on “Lenny” because of composer Leonard Bernstein, who was born to Ukrainian-Jewish parents — and comedian Lenny Bruce. | null | null | null | null | null |
Josh Oduro stakes his claim as one of the A-10′s best bigs, scoring 27 in Mason’s win over GW
Patriots 69, Colonials 62
George Mason Patriots forward Josh Oduro dunks the ball while getting fouled by Ricky Lindo Jr. Oduro finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds. (Terrance Williams/For The Washington Post)
The George Mason-George Washington men’s basketball game Sunday was eerily reminiscent to the first clash between the Atlantic 10’s local rivals six weeks ago.
Again, the visitors were in charge, delighting a pack of traveling fans before the hosts rallied down the stretch.
This time, it was George Mason that responded to late adversity at home, scoring the last 13 points of the game and defeating the Colonials, 69-62, before 4,022 at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax.
The Patriots (14-13, 7-7) did not allow a point in the final five-plus minutes, blanking the Colonials (11-16, 7-8) on 10 possessions and taking the lead for good on Josh Oduro’s thunderous, two-handed dunk and free throw with 3½ minutes left.
“It’s an ownership and collective spirit that the group has,” said Kim English, the Patriots’ first-year coach. “That is something we are trying to build here. It’s personal to them … wanting to play with some moxie and gall.”
The first time the teams met, the Colonials rallied from a 13-point deficit in the last six minutes to win by a point at Smith Center.
This time, GW faltered.
“We’ve got to have better discipline,” Coach Jamion Christian said. “We have great discipline at times, and at times our discipline really lapses.”
Oduro, a Paul VI graduate who stuck with Mason after several teammates transferred last offseason, did not play in that first game against the Colonials. But on Sunday he finished with 27 points to remain the conference’s top scorer. He also had 14 rebounds (six offensive) and two blocked shots during the closing stretch.
Oduro ended a two-game rut in which foul trouble limited him to about 25 minutes per outing. Against GW, he drew 13 fouls and did not commit any, which, Christian said, “is maybe the first time in basketball history that’s been possible when you create that much contact.”
After Oduro scored 18 points before intermission, GW kept him in check for much of the second half. But with the Colonials leading by two, Oduro blocked Joe Bamisile’s shot and raced downcourt to collect Xavier Johnson’s pass for the powerful dunk, followed by the go-ahead free throw.
Two minutes later, with the Patriots ahead by three, he swatted James Bishop’s shot. Johnson’s four free throws in the last 22 seconds secured the victory, only Mason’s third in nine games.
“As good as he is — and I think he’s the best big [man] in the country [and] the best player in our league — he is still only scratching the surface,” English said of Oduro.
Patriots guard D’Shawn Schwartz said, “When we feed him, it not only gets him going, but it gets our shooters on the outside going. He is our anchor down there and makes us really hard to guard.”
Schwartz was also critical to the victory, making three three-pointers in the second half as the Patriots rebounded from a 10-point deficit. He finished with 19 points and eight rebounds.
Schwartz’s three-pointers ended the team’s 1-of-19 start from that distance.
“It felt like we were on zero and one [three-pointers made] for a long time,” English said. It was uncharacteristic of the Patriots, who entered the game 24th in the nation in three-pointers made (9.5 per game).
Bamisile led the Colonials with 18 points, and Bishop, the A-10’s second-leading scorer, finished with 16 but shot 3 of 17 and was held scoreless for almost the entire first half.
“He has got to step up and make them,” Christian said of Bishop’s recent shooting slump. “He will.”
Bishop has averaged 12 points over five games after contributing 26.4 the previous five.
Oduro found his groove again by avoiding foul trouble. English said he told the 6-foot-9, 235-pound junior forward to “play smart, play intelligent, play disciplined, play solid.”
“It was nice today,” Oduro said, “playing aggressive on offense and smart on defense.”
Sunday’s outburst came after Oduro scored 22 points total in two games. Before that, he averaged 26.3 points and 9.3 rebounds over four games. Oduro is on pace to become the first Mason player to win a conference scoring title since George Evans in 1998-99.
“He is a dominant player,” Christian said.
The Patriots will visit first-place Davidson (24-4, 14-2) on Wednesday before finishing the regular season Saturday against Massachusetts (12-15, 5-10).
The Colonials will host last-place Duquesne (6-21, 1-14) on Wednesday, then visit Fordham (13-14, 6-9) on Saturday.
The A-10 tournament will run March 9-13 at Capital One Arena in the District. | null | null | null | null | null |
But instead of backing off, Ukraine’s allies in the West have vowed to increase military support to the government in Kyiv. For the first time, European Commission President Ursula van der Leyen announced on Sunday that the European Union will finance arms supplies to a country under attack, and the bloc will bar landing and flyovers by Russian aircraft. | null | null | null | null | null |
This photo provided by the North Korean government shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks in a meeting of ruling Workers’ Party of Korea in Pyongyang, North Korea on Feb. 26, 2022. North Korea launched a ballistic missile into the sea on Sunday, Feb. 27, its neighbors said, in a resumption of weapons tests that came as the United States and its allies are focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 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) (Uncredited/KCNA via KNS)
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Monday it tested cameras to be installed on a spy satellite, with the announcement coming a day after after its neighbors detected a new ballistic missile launch. | null | null | null | null | null |
Cadets beat Good Counsel, 48-37; Mustangs top Paul VI, 66-58
St. John’s guard Gianni Boone, left, and Good Counsel’s Talayah Walker compete for the ball during the WCAC girls' semifinals Sunday in Fairfax. (Craig Hudson/For the Washington Post)
Midway through the third quarter of Sunday’s Washington Catholic Athletic Conference semifinal, with his team trailing by five, St. John’s girls’ basketball coach Jonathan Scribner called a timeout in frustration. The No. 4 Cadets had struggled to keep up with No. 5 Good Counsel all afternoon, and Scribner’s pleas for more energy could be heard well outside the huddle.
“More energy just means stances that are lower, feet that are faster, hands that are more active and voices that are louder,” Scribner said afterward. “And I haven’t had to do that one time this season before today, where I’ve had to beg for energy. But they sure enough responded.”
The Cadets finished the third quarter on a big run and held a double-digit lead for most of the fourth as they scored a 48-37 win at Robinson High in Fairfax County. They will face Bishop McNamara, the tournament’s top seed, in Monday’s championship game. The Mustangs beat Paul VI, 66-58, earlier Sunday.
“McNamara had a dogfight today, too,” Scribner said. “So we’ll see if we can match their speed and their quickness and come with the right mentality tomorrow.”
The Cadets (18-4) have made it to 10 of the past 12 WCAC championship games. Their most recent title came in 2019.
St. John’s is a perennial power, but Good Counsel (19-4) was the surprise of the conference this year. Making their first semifinal trip since 2016, the Falcons came out strong and led by eight after the first quarter. But the Cadets held Good Counsel to just four points in the second quarter, giving themselves room to get back into the game and swing the momentum.
“We’ve been focusing on our conditioning a lot, and it helped us withstand them,” junior Delaney Thomas said. “Despite the deficit at the beginning, we stuck together and eventually tired them out.”
In the first semifinal, No. 3 Bishop McNamara clinched a third straight conference championship game appearance with a gutsy win over No. 7 Paul VI.
The Mustangs (20-4) entered the tournament as the top seed after posting an undefeated conference record. But Paul VI (19-8) had given them their closest game of the regular season, taking the Mustangs to overtime in early February.
On Sunday, the celebrated programs looked evenly matched, trading buckets throughout. Every lead was short-lived, and every possession seemed to carry immense weight.
“If you shoot and you miss, you feel like you’ve messed up,” McNamara junior forward Qadence Samuels said. “They all feel like bad shots if you miss. So it takes the confidence to think it will go in.”
McNamara pulled away for good with a spurt midway through the fourth quarter. After the Mustangs pushed their lead to four, Coach Frank Oliver stood on the sideline and screamed a simple request.
“One stop!” he said. “One stop!”
His players obliged, and on the other end sophomore guard Madisen McDaniel displayed plenty of confidence as she made a corner three-pointer to give her team the biggest lead of the game.
“I’m very confident in the way I can shoot the ball, and I always want to help the team however I can,” McDaniel said. “If that means hitting that shot, that’s what I’m going to do.”
The Mustangs started the season 4-4 in a rigorous nonconference stretch. On Sunday, they pushed their winning streak to 16.
“Our goal for this whole season has been to get back and to win the WCAC,” Oliver said. “Early in the season, when we’re playing the top teams in the country, it was to prepare for this.” | null | null | null | null | null |
Top-ranked Sidwell Friends, taking nothing for granted, wins elusive ISL tournament title
Quakers 70, Frogs 36
Sidwell Friends, shown during a game Feb. 17, was back in celebration mode Sunday after winning the ISL tournament. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post)
When the final seconds of another blowout win ticked off the scoreboard, Sidwell Friends girls’ basketball players stormed the court with other students and posed for photos with the Independent School League division AA championship banner. Coach Tamika Dudley then grabbed the black banner as she and her players broke out in dance Sunday afternoon on Georgetown Day’s sideline.
Based on Sidwell’s lengthy list of accomplishments this season, winning a league title wouldn’t appear significant. The Quakers (26-0) have crushed national and local powers, obtained the top national and local rankings and developed their first McDonald’s all-American.
But Sidwell had not won the ISL tournament title in more than 15 years. After the Quakers’ 70-36 win over No. 13 Maret in Northwest Washington, Sidwell players had accomplished the goal they’d set when they began playing for the D.C. private school.
“Obviously, No. 1 is a nice number to have in front of your name, especially in national rankings,” junior guard Jadyn Donovan said. “But this means a lot to us because that was our original goal. We knew we wanted to be ISL champions from the beginning.”
Sidwell’s ascent began in 2018, when guard Kiki Rice started high school and helped transform the Quakers into an ISL contender. At the time, Sidwell had no national ambitions; it just wanted to compete in its league.
The next season, Sidwell posted the ISL’s best regular season record. Sidwell had beaten Georgetown Visitation twice during the regular season, but the Cubs dethroned the Quakers in the league semifinals en route to winning their 14th consecutive title.
In the locker room after that game, Sidwell players promised each other they’d never underestimate another opponent.
That mind-set has been crucial this season as Sidwell, after adding another handful of top prospects, has balanced its local and national schedules. Before every game, Dudley asks her players to deliver the same energy regardless of their opponent. The Quakers followed that advice against Maret (17-8), receiving a standing ovation after leading 54-12 at halftime.
“If you asked me my freshman year, I definitely wouldn’t have said this is how it would’ve gone,” said Rice, the McDonald’s all-American, who scored a game-high 17 points Sunday. “It’s not something that was unimaginable, but it’s crazy it happened so fast.”
After her team’s celebrations, Dudley folded the banner as she and her players waved to the crowd on the way to their locker room. The Quakers had accomplished another milestone, and their final local test awaits them this week when they compete for their first D.C. State Athletic Association championship.
“We remember where we started and to not take the small victories for granted,” Donovan said. “Even though we’re No. 1 nationally, we still take pride in being No. 1 locally.”
Potomac School wins division A
Earlier Sunday, Potomac School beat Georgetown Day, 60-42, for the ISL division A crown. The No. 18 Panthers (21-1), who last won the ISL division A title in 2018, lost to the Grasshoppers (20-3) in overtime Feb. 10.
“The pain we felt after that game, I know it sounds silly, but it was a really hard loss,” said Potomac guard Catherine LeTendre, who scored a team-high 15 points. “It made us realize how much this meant to us, and then we we’re like: ‘We set out to do this, we have to do this and we’re going to do this. No questions asked.’ ” | null | null | null | null | null |
Just weeks away from Pandemic Year Three, the scene on Saturday along D.C.’s U Street NW — that premier corridor for lines, liquor, and late-night traffic — may as well have been captured in 2019.
At DC9’s “Dark & Stormy” night, a monthly celebration of all things goth, 37-year-old Stephanie Stryker looked out at the dance floor, a half-empty room of black and purple outfits and few face masks. | null | null | null | null | null |
Several surveys show troubling correlations between age and support for American leadership. A Post-ABC poll, in the field this past week during the invasion, found that only 35 percent of 18-to-39-year-olds in this country would support sanctions on Russia if they lead to higher energy prices, compared with 70 percent of seniors. The same poll found that 55 percent of 18- to 39-year-olds say Russia is unfriendly but not an enemy — compared with 21 percent of those over age 65.
This is bigger than Ukraine. Think about the alarming number of young people who identify as socialist — oblivious to the repeated failures of socialism. When the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics surveyed 18- to 29-year-olds this past fall, a bare 51-percent majority agreed that the United States is the leader of the free world. The same number said we should be. | null | null | null | null | null |
Malaki Branham (13 points) led four players in double figures for the Buckeyes (18-8, 11-6), who likely had no idea what sort of hornet’s nest they were entering in a late-season game against a sub-.500 team struggling to avoid the first day of the Big Ten tournament.
Maryland scored the first eight points, and after absorbing a Buckeye run it took a 32-28 lead into the break.
Russell and Ayala combined to shoot 8 of 15 from three-point range. It was the fourth time both veteran guards scored at least 20 points.
Here’s what to know from Sunday’s game:
The gathering comes at an unusual time in Maryland’s basketball history. Former coach Mark Turgeon departed in December, and the school will likely hire his full-time replacement next month. | null | null | null | null | null |
Malaki Branham (13 points) led four players in double figures for the Buckeyes (18-8, 11-6), who probably had no idea what sort of hornet’s nest they were entering in a late-season game against a sub-.500 team struggling to avoid the first day of the Big Ten tournament.
Maryland scored the first eight points, and after absorbing a Buckeyes run it took a 32-28 lead into the break.
Russell and Ayala combined to shoot 8 for 15 from three-point range. It was the fourth time both veteran guards scored at least 20 points.
Here’s what to know from Maryland’s victory:
The gathering comes at an unusual time in Maryland’s basketball history. Former coach Mark Turgeon departed in December, and the school probably will hire his full-time replacement next month. | null | null | null | null | null |
With the Major League Baseball schedule on hold, LECOM Park, the Bradenton, Fla., spring home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, is empty on Sunday. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)
If it gets late in the day and negotiations are promising, the expectation among those involved is the sides will push toward a deal even if midnight comes and goes. If talks are not promising and a deal is not imminent, the league will likely have to make an announcement of some kind, given MLB has set a deadline of the end of February.
But Sunday’s negotiations were different than previous ones. Instead of the dozen or so players who had been present each day of the week, just three MLBPA executive subcommittee members were on hand Sunday: Max Scherzer, Marcus Semien, and Andrew Miller.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred was on hand to consult with the owners, while Scherzer, Miller, and Semien consulted with the union’s team between meetings, according to a person familiar with the process. Other staff from both sides also conducted smaller meetings. Representatives on both sides said they discussed almost everything at some point or another during the course of the day.
But no concrete, on-paper proposals were exchanged, according to a person familiar with the day’s events. Exactly where that leaves each side on the major issues — competitive balance tax threshold and tax rates, draft format, who should qualify for arbitration, how big a bonus pool for pre-arbitration players should be — remains unclear.
For example, when the negotiators finished Friday’s talks believing they were on the verge of an agreement on a new draft lottery format, the optimism dissipated quickly when the owners decided they would only agree to the setup if the players agreed to a 14-team playoff structure. The players have not been willing to include more than 12 teams and were frustrated by the league’s sudden insistence that they do so to secure something on which they had already compromised.
Such is the reality of these negotiations since they started with frequency in January: At times, the sides seem to inch toward each other, only to frustrate each other before one gain can turn to two. If they were able to change that trend Sunday, no one involved was saying so. If they can’t change it Monday, a labor dispute will likely cut into the regular season schedule for the first time since 1994. | null | null | null | null | null |
Nearly 400,000 Ukrainians have crossed into neighboring countries since the start of the conflict, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said Sunday. More than half have gone to Poland, the refugee agency said, and people are also streaming into Moldova, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary.
“The tidal waves of suffering this war will cause are unthinkable,” said U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Wednesday, saying that up to 5 million Ukrainians — roughly 10 percent of the population — could become refugees if Russia’s assault continues.
Nearly half of those fleeing have gone into Poland, Tomasz Praga, who heads the country’s border guard, said Sunday. In total, the country is expected to receive up to one million refugees.
Slovakia declared a state of emergency Saturday morning due to the mass influx of foreigners caused by the war. The government approved an infrastructure bill of 13 billion euros to strengthen the Ukrainian border infrastructure and complete asylum facilities.
Satellite images provided by Maxar shows a 4-mile-long line at the border crossing in Siret, Romania, on Friday. Romania’s border police said some 43,000 Ukrainian citizens crossed the border in the first three days of the conflict. The Romanian defense minister said earlier this week that the NATO country of 19 million could take in up to a half-million refugees.
Moldova’s President Maia Sandu said Sunday that nearly 70,000 Ukrainian citizens had entered the country in the past four days. Moldova’s border police said the largest flows were coming from the Tudora and Palanca crossings.
As conflict intensified, Ukraine’s border guards were ordered Friday to stop all male citizens between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country, disappointing many that got to border checkpoints after hours of travel and wait.
“If I could go, too, I would,” Vitali, 31, told The Post after his wife and child crossed into Poland, with tears in his eyes. “It’s brutal.” | null | null | null | null | null |
With the Major League Baseball schedule on hold, LECOM Park, the Bradenton, Fla., spring home of the Pirates, is empty Sunday. (Gene J. Puskar/AP)
If it gets late in the day and negotiations are promising, the expectation among those involved is the sides will push toward a deal even if midnight comes and goes. If talks are not promising and a deal is not imminent, MLB will probably have to make an announcement of some kind, given it has set a deadline of the end of February.
But Sunday’s negotiations were different from previous ones. Instead of the dozen or so players who had been present each day of the week, just three MLB Players Association executive subcommittee members were on hand Sunday: Max Scherzer, Marcus Semien and Andrew Miller.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred was on hand to consult with the owners, while Scherzer, Miller and Semien consulted with the union’s team between meetings, according to a person familiar with the process. Other staff from both sides also conducted smaller meetings. Representatives on both sides said they discussed almost everything at some point or another during the course of the day.
But no concrete, on-paper proposals were exchanged, according to a person familiar with the day’s events. Exactly where that leaves each side on the major issues — competitive balance tax threshold and tax rates, draft format, arbitration qualification, bonus pool for pre-arbitration players — remains unclear.
For example, when the negotiators finished Friday’s talks believing they were on the verge of an agreement on a new draft lottery format, the optimism dissipated quickly when the owners decided they would only agree to the setup if the players agreed to a 14-team playoff structure. The players have not been willing to include more than 12 teams and were frustrated by MLB’s sudden insistence that they do so to secure something on which they had already compromised.
Such is the reality of these negotiations since they started with frequency in January: At times, the sides seem to inch toward each other, only to frustrate each other before one gain can turn to two. If they were able to change that trend Sunday, no one involved was saying so. If they can’t change it Monday, a labor dispute will probably cut into the regular season schedule for the first time since 1994. | null | null | null | null | null |
Man is slain near D.C.’s Dunbar High School, according to police
Victim found on N Street, according to authorities
A Maryland man was found fatally shot Sunday morning near Dunbar High School in Northwest Washington, the police said.
Michael Whitehead, 32, of Hyattsville, was found about 5:10 a.m. in the 100 block of N Street NW, the police said.
He died at a hospital. The place where the victim was found is between N. Capitol Street and New Jersey Avenue NW. | null | null | null | null | null |
Bishop McNamara boys topple DeMatha in WCAC semifinal, setting up a meeting with Paul VI
Guard Dug McDaniel led Paul VI past Gonzaga in the first WCAC semifinal matchup Sunday. (Craig Hudson/For the Washington Post)
The Bishop McNamara Mustangs have been a surprise power in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference this winter, but in this league the year-end tournament is where legacies are made.
On Sunday night at Robinson High, the Mustangs cemented themselves as the best McNamara team in recent years by toppling DeMatha, 62-56, to earn their first championship game berth since 1995.
“There’s no other feeling like this one,” senior center Favour Aire said after the game, standing outside a deafening locker room. “We have to win another one now because this feels too good.”
The No. 3 Mustangs will face No. 5 Paul VI in the title game on Monday night. The top-ranked Panthers defeated No. 7 Gonzaga, 62-55, in the first of Sunday’s two semifinals.
Bishop McNamara emerged as a new contender early this year, rising to the top of The Washington Post’s rankings with a 11-0 start. They finished the season tied atop the conference standings, co-champions of the regular season. One of the team’s few losses was a momentum-killing 27-point defeat against DeMatha in late January that ended its perfect start.
“We were talking about that game this morning in walk-throughs: We got bullied, we got out-hustled, and they were the better team that day,” junior guard Jeremiah Quigley said. “But we told ourselves we weren’t going to get pushed around today. We were going to fight back.”
DeMatha (18-7) controlled the first half and led by five at halftime, but McNamara (21-3) refused to let the game slip away. They attacked the rim, pounding the ball inside to Aire or having one of their guards drive to the hoop. By the fourth quarter, DeMatha led by just two.
The teams traded leads throughout the fourth quarter until McNamara went up for good with a six-point spurt around the two-minute mark. Aire hit a right-handed hook shot, junior guard Chase Lawton earned a tough layup, and Quigley finished off a fast break. DeMatha called a timeout to try and halt momentum, but the damage was done and the Mustangs suddenly held a six point lead with little time remaining.
At the final buzzer, the ball was flung high in the air and the Mustangs were met by a rush of fans.
“We wanted to come out and show the work that we’ve been doing all year,” Aire said.
In the first semifinal, Paul VI (25-4) built an early lead, extended it and then clung to it over the course of three quarters. Gonzaga (17-8) rallied late in the third, cutting the lead to one point.
“Gonzaga’s a great team that was going to go on a run eventually,” junior forward DeShawn Harris-Smith said. “We always talk about staying poised, and that was the time. We didn’t let the emotion get to us, we just ran our sets and started scoring points again.”
When the WCAC last had a tournament and the Panthers played in the final four, Harris-Smith was just a freshman and senior star Dug McDaniel was a sophomore. Both were young contributors, but their responsibilities are far different from those they carried Sunday and will have again Monday against the Mustangs.
“We know we’re going to be facing a team who has brought their A game because we’re going to be doing the same,” Daniel said. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.” | null | null | null | null | null |
Nearly 400,000 Ukrainians have crossed into neighboring countries since the start of the conflict, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said Sunday. More than half have gone to Poland, the refugee agency said, and people are also streaming into Moldova, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary.
Moldova’s president, Maia Sandu, said Sunday that nearly 70,000 Ukrainian citizens had entered the country in the past four days. Moldova’s border police said the largest flows were coming from the Tudora and Palanca crossings. | null | null | null | null | null |
Man dies in apparent slaying in Arlington, police say
Two people have been taken into custody, according to authorities
A man was found dead in Arlington on Saturday after an apparent homicide, and two people have been arrested, the Arlington police said.
Reginald Scott, 45, of the District, was found in a car in the 3600 block of Columbia Pike about 7:45 a.m. Saturday after apparently being shot, the police said. The car was in the parking lot of a business.
Police said Sunday that April Puckett, 46, whose address was not known, was charged with murder. James Harris, 48, whose address was also unknown, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, the police said.
Both were taken into custody Sunday morning at a bus stop at Columbia Pike and South Quincy Street, the police said. | null | null | null | null | null |
Facebook also said it had blocked efforts by a hacking group that in recent days attempted to compromise the accounts of prominent Ukrainians.
At the same time, the social network contended with escalating efforts by Russian authorities to slow down or block people from using their services in Russia. Facebook has blocked Russian state-controlled media outlets from running advertising, as has YouTube, which belongs to Google. Executives have discussed whether to comply with government requests to further punish the media outlets for sharing misinformation and propaganda about Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, according to a tweet by Facebook’s president for global affairs Nick Clegg on Sunday. The European Commission appeared to demand that Facebook and other services block them entirely when it announced a ban of Russian state outlets this weekend.
The influence operation involved 40 accounts and pages on Facebook and its photo-sharing service Instagram which pretended to be associated with news outlets in the Ukrainian capitol of Kyiv.
The company also said that it had also taken action against a hacking group called Ghostwriter, which had targeted Ukrainian military, journalists, and other public officials. The hacking group typically targets people by sending malware to their email and hoping they will click on it, allowing the group to take over their social media profiles.
The company said it had detected attempts to get the compromised social media accounts to post YouTube videos portraying Ukrainian troops as weak and surrendering to Russia, including one video claiming to show Ukrainian soldiers coming out of a forest while flying a white flag of surrender. | null | null | null | null | null |
Unsafe drivers made up larger share of motorists during pandemic, study says
Younger and riskier drivers were increasingly on the roads during a surge in traffic fatalities across the country
A damaged new vehicle on a tow truck. (iStock)
Although there have been fewer cars on the road nationwide during the coronavirus pandemic, a study released Monday found that younger and riskier drivers were increasingly on the roads during a surge in traffic fatalities across the country.
The more dangerous drivers made up a small proportion of drivers overall, but they were likely to take the most risks as traffic levels were down, according to an AAA study. The study sought to understand why traffic deaths rose while driving was down at least 20 percent during much of 2020. During that time, crashes involving impairment, speeding, red-light running, aggressiveness and non-seatbelt usage spiked to their highest level in more than a decade, AAA said.
“We saw this small group of people who were driving more than they did before the pandemic were the same people who were the highest-risk drivers on the road,” said AAA senior researcher Brian Tefft.
Traffic fatalities jumped 12 percent to 31,700 deaths in the first nine months of 2021 compared with the same period in 2020 — the largest year-over-year rise since at least 1975, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In 2020, about 38,680 people died in vehicle crashes, the highest since 2007.
The District’s 40 traffic fatalities last year were the most since 2007, with nearly half occurring in Wards 7 and 8 generally east of the Anacostia River, a Washington Post analysis last week showed. Those two wards, the city’s poorest, contain less than one-quarter of Washington’s population. More than 4,000 people were injured last year, according to city data.
The AAA American Driving Survey found that daily driving trips made during April 2020 decreased, on average, by 42 percent. During the second half of 2020, daily trips remained 20 percent lower than the second half of 2019.
But researchers said drivers staying home were more likely to be safer drivers. The drivers who reduced their driving during the pandemic were generally of middle age and disproportionately female, a group the study said had a comparatively lower risk of involvement in fatal crashes.
Four percent of drivers drove more than before the pandemic, the study said. That group had a median age of 39, compared with 50 for the overall driving population.
The more frequent drivers tended to be disproportionately male. But after researchers accounted for age, gender and how much they drove, the frequent drivers also were those who are more likely to speed, purposefully run red lights, read texts while driving, drive without seat belts, change lanes aggressively or drive after using marijuana or alcohol, the study said.
According to D.C. police, speeding and impaired driving were two factors contributing the most to fatal crashes in the District last year. About 20 percent of fatal crashes involved impaired driving while up to 40 percent involve speeding. Police said driver error including distracted driving accounted for about 20 percent of fatal crashes.
Meanwhile, police in suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia have reported a rise in street racing and other illegal car meetups during the pandemic that have taken over strip-mall parking lots and intersections.
The reasons younger men drove more are unknown, Tefft said.
“Bottom line, we don’t know the answer to that,” he said. “We really need to do more research with other sources of data on that going forward.”
Researchers said factors could include more active and social lifestyles because of their ages or the possibility that drivers who took more risks also had less fear of the pandemic.
“I would argue that that probably applies to all aspects of their life,” said Jake Nelson, AAA director for Traffic Safety Advocacy and Research. “Whether it’s the pandemic, whether it’s risk-taking behind the wheel, whether it’s substance use and you know, all of it.”
Burned rubber, doughnuts and smoke. Unruly car meets, street racing disrupt roads and mobilize police.
Reaching members of that group, Nelson said, might require new tactics to promote road safety because risk-takers might be less swayed by safety campaigns that threaten consequences.
But researchers must first determine what motivated them to drive more often during the past two years.
“If we have a population of drivers who are less averse to risk, they will be less compelled or swayed by those threats of the law,” he said. “We’ll have to think more creatively and sort of peel back that onion thinking specifically about that group of drivers to understand what will motivate them.”
The lack of traffic enforcement during the pandemic might also have played a part, researchers noted.
During the first months of the pandemic, some law enforcement agencies encouraged officers to make fewer traffic stops, focusing on the most severe of violations to reduce contacts patrol officers made with drivers. Tefft said another theory is increased law enforcement hesitancy to take action — emboldening drivers — during unrest and demonstrations against police brutality after George Floyd’s death.
“I think it all probably plays a role,” he said. | null | null | null | null | null |
Live updates:Russia-Ukraine live updates: Belarus prepares to join invasion, ramping up ...
At the same time, the social network contended with escalating efforts by Russian authorities to slow down or block people from using their services in Russia. Russia announced that it was placing limits on people’s abilities to access Facebook last week in retaliation for Facebook clamping down on Russian state-controlled media services. Facebook said that the Russian government retaliated because Facebook had fact-checked misinformation published on state-owned media pages on its site. Facebook then blocked Russian state-controlled media outlets from running advertising, as has YouTube, which belongs to Google.
Now executives are discussing whether to comply with government requests to further punish the media outlets for sharing misinformation and propaganda about Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, according to a tweet by Facebook’s president for global affairs Nick Clegg on Sunday. The European Commission appeared to demand that Facebook and other services block them entirely when it announced a ban of Russian state outlets this weekend.
The EU state media ban presents a complicated political challenge for tech platforms like Facebook and YouTube. Channels and accounts controlled by Russian government-sponsored media services such as RT and Sputnik command tens of millions of followers around the globe, and Russia sees them as critical for spreading information that bolsters the government’s priorities. Banning these channels would likely provoke further retaliation on the part of Russia, experts say, initiating a complete shutdown of social media services that dissidents and others rely on to communicate with one another.
The influence operation Facebook said it disrupted involved 40 accounts and pages on Facebook and its photo-sharing service Instagram which pretended to be associated with news outlets in the Ukrainian capitol of Kyiv.
The company also said that it had taken action against a hacking group called Ghostwriter, which had successfully targeted Ukrainian military, journalists, and other public officials. The hacking group typically targets people by sending malicious links to their email and hoping they will click on it, allowing the group to take over their social media profiles.
The company said it had detected attempts to get the compromised social media accounts to post YouTube videos portraying Ukrainian troops as weak and surrendering to Russia, including a video claiming to show Ukrainian soldiers coming out of a forest while flying a white flag of surrender.
Facebook’s services, which also include WhatsApp, continued to be blocked or slowed down over the weekend in Russia, causing users there to switch to Telegram, according to a person familiar with the situation in Russia, who declined to be named because of safety issues.
Netblocks, the civil society group which monitors Internet traffic worldwide, reported late Sunday that Facebook had been severely restricted by Russian Internet providers, making it so that content either no longer loads or loads extremely slowly, the group said. People can use special software to bypass some of the restrictions, Netblocks said, but most people do not have access to it.
Clegg tweeted Sunday that the Russian government was already “throttling our platform," preventing people from using the company’s services to “protest and organize against the war and as a source of independent information.”
He noted that the company had already restricted access to some Russian state-owned media organizations within Ukraine, at the request of the Ukrainian government, and that it was considering requests from additional governments to restrict Russian state-owned media as well.
The EU announced this weekend that it will ban the Russian state-backed channels RT and Sputnik in what the European Commission said was a move to block the organizations from spreading “lies to justify Putin’s war and to sow division in our union,” said European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen.
RT’s channel has over 7 million followers on Facebook.
On Sunday, Facebook’s former chief security officer Alex Stamos called on tech companies to take a stronger stance against Russian state media in response to the EU ban.
“Time is running out for Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok to ban RT/Sputnik using their own justifications,” he wrote. “Better they set a reasonable global standard on authoritarian state media than end up allowing these outlets in the U.S. but not the E.U.”
Russia-Ukraine live updates: Belarus prepares to join invasion, ramping up tension ahead of Russia-Ukraine talks | null | null | null | null | null |
LEEDS, England — Marcelo Bielsa was fired as Leeds manager on Sunday after another loss dropped the team to within two points of the Premier League relegation zone.
ACAPULCO, Mexico — Rafael Nadal defeated Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4 to win the Mexican Open to extend his career-best start for a season to 15-0 after he won his 91st ATP title.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Emblem Road rallied with a wide, sweeping move on the outside to win the $20 million Saudi Cup at 99-1 odds on Saturday, beating Bob Baffert-trained Country Grammar by a half-length. | null | null | null | null | null |
Donations are flooding in as well. Last Friday, the Ukrainian embassy in Japan tweeted out its Japanese bank account number for donations. It has been retweeted and liked more than 432,000 times, with residents giving between 3,000 yen ($25) and 1,000,000 yen ($8,654). Others dropped off envelopes with cash donations at the embassy.
Japanese billionaire Hiroshi Mikitani, the chief executive of e-commerce giant Rakuten, donated 1 billion yen ($8.7 million) toward humanitarian aid for Ukrainians, recalling his 2019 visit to Ukraine and meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky. On Monday, Mikitani opened up a donation route through Rakuten.
Japan said Monday it would allow Ukrainian refugees and Russians opposing the invasion into the country, and renew visas of Ukrainians in Japan who need to stay. It is joining the West in cutting off Russian banks from the SWIFT international payment system, which could hobble the Russia’s ability to do business outside of its own borders. Japan is also weighing sanctions on Belarus, which is expected to join Russia’s side in the invasion.
Japan’s response to the Russian invasion stands in sharp contrast to 2014, when the government imposed symbolic sanctions in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. At the time, the public’s response was muted, with a feeling that Crimea was a distant issue that did not affect the Japanese, said James Brown, an expert in Russian-Japanese relations at Temple University’s campus in Tokyo.
The rebel National Unity Government of Myanmar, made up of those aligned with the former democratically-elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, has also stood in solidarity with Ukraine, condemning the invasion “in the strongest terms.”
Many of those resisting the Myanmar military coup saw parallels between Ukraine and their own situation. Russia has also been among the staunchest supporters of Myanmar’s military and its commander in chief Min Aung Hlaing, continuing to fulfill arms orders and train the military pilots carrying out attacks against civilians.
The Myanmar junta has, in turn, continued to stand by and praise Russia as it invaded Ukraine.
The David and Goliath narrative — of a small place committed to the ideals of democracy, standing up against an authoritarian superpower — is one that also has resonance among pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. During the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, front line demonstrators borrowed tactics seen during Ukraine’s anti-government Maidan protests in 2014-15. The documentary “Winter on Fire” was widely watched during that time.
Many Hong Kong pro-democracy leaders were later driven into exile during the Beijing-encouraged crackdown and from Australia, Germany and London, they called for Hong Kongers to support Ukraine. One exiled activist, Finn Lau, said last week he would be donating half of his January donations for the Hong Kong cause to Ukraine instead.
Prominent London-based Hong Kong activist Nathan Law said in a tweet that Hong Kong people “understand how it feels to have a threatening neighbor and people’s will being suppressed by authoritarian power.”
In Taiwan, the Taipei 101 skyscraper lit up in blue in yellow while a light show in the southern city of Kaohsiung flashed the colors as part of a lantern festival.
On Friday and Saturday, dozens of expats and residents gathered outside the Moscow-Taipei Coordination Commission on Economic and Cultural Cooperation, Russia’s de facto embassy in Taiwan, to protest the ongoing incursions on Ukraine. Protesters held sunflowers as well — the flower is also a symbol of a student protest in Taiwan 2014 — and posters that said: “We’re all Ukrainians today.”
“When something terrible happens, wherever it is, as human beings we should speak out,” said Yang Pinghung, 26, standing at the protest in Taipei on Friday, holding a sign that said, “No war.”
Inuma reported from Tokyo. Shibani Mahtani in Hong Kong, Lily Kuo and Vic Chiang in Taipei, Min Joo Kim in Seoul, Reis Thebault in Washington contributed reporting. | null | null | null | null | null |
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