happiness rise with increase in military telework · 2021. 4. 4. · Oceanic found the wreck of the...

Searchers have located and

filmed a World War II destroyer

lying four miles deep in waters off

the Philippines, the deepest

known shipwreck in the world.

An expedition by undersea

technology company Caladan

Oceanic found the wreck of the

Fletcher-class destroyer USS

Johnston this week below 21,180

feet of water east of Samar Island

in the Philippine Sea, the firm said

in a news release Wednesday.

A previous expedition had lo-

cated debris believed to belong to

the Johnston or a virtually identi-

cal destroyer that sank in the same

battle, but the main wreckage lay

down a cliff in waters too deep for

the submersible to go.

The Johnston sank on Oct. 25,

1944, during the Battle off Samar,

which was the central scene of ac-

tion in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, one

of the biggest naval battles ever

fought.

Led by Cmdr. Ernest Evans, a

Native American from Oklahoma,

the Johnston was supporting the

landing force attempting to liber-

ate the Philippines from the Impe-

rial Japanese. Evans was among

Top: The hull number 557 on the USS Johnston is visible four miles below the surface of the Philippine Sea in a photo taken by diverslast month. Above: The destroyer floats in a harbor in Washington state on Oct. 27, 1943.

Photos courtesy Caladan Oceanic, top, and U.S. Navy, above

Deep sea discoveryNavy veterans locate, record WWII destroyer in deepest wreck dive ever

BY WYATT OLSON

Stars and Stripes

SEE DISCOVERY ON PAGE 4

11.9%Percentage of respondents to a surveyof roughly 50,000 military personnelwho reported being less productivewhile teleworking. Nearly 50% report-ed higher levels of production whileanother 41% said their effectivenessremained the same.

Defense Department personnel

report being more productive and

possibly happier due to the sharp

increase in telework brought on by

the coronavirus pandemic, but the

shift from traditional office work

also has increased security risks,

Inspector General reports said.

Nearly 50% of the roughly

50,000 military personnel sur-

veyed reported higher levels of

production while another 41% said

their effectiveness remained the

same, the Pentagon IG said in a re-

port released Thursday.

Just 11.9% of respondents said

they were less productive.

“Extra sleep, extra spare time,

and yes . . . extra work,” as one sur-

vey respondent put it. “I can’t

speak for the organization as I

don’t have those metrics, but as for

me, production numbers are up

and life is just better.”

But the transition to home offic-

es was not without complications.

Some Army, Navy, and Air

Force personnel worked without

approved telework agreements or

required training because some

supervisors were overwhelmed

with other duties, the IG found in a

redacted report released Monday.

Various Defense Department

components also did not fully im-

plement controls to maintain cy-

bersecurity, which put the depart-

SEE RISE ON PAGE 5

IG: Productivity,happiness risewith increase inmilitary telework

BY JOHN VANDIVER

Stars and Stripes

Volume 79 Edition 249 ©SS 2021 MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas

stripes.com

MILITARY

Army captain setsrecord for mile run ina bomb disposal suit Page 4

MIDEAST

“Malicious plot” byformer Jordaniancrown prince foiledPage 5

Gonzaga, Baylor set for showdown ›› NCAA Tournament, Page 24

FACES

Despite controversy,new Lorre sitcomhas promise4

• S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, April 5, 2021

BUSINESS/WEATHER

NEW YORK — Amazon apol-

ogized in a late Friday blog post for

a tweet it sent to a congressman

over a week ago denying that its

employees work so hard they must

urinate in empty water bottles. It

also admitted that some delivery

drivers might have had to urinate

in bottles and vowed to improve its

working conditions.

The matter was first raised

March 24 by Wisconsin U.S. Rep.

Mark Pocan, who responded to an

Amazon executive saying the com-

pany is a progressive workplace.

“Paying workers $15/hr doesn’t

make you a ‘progressive work-

place’ when you union-bust &

make workers urinate in water

bottles,” Pocan said in a tweet.

Amazon responded: “You don’t

really believe the peeing in bottles

thing, do you? If that were true, no-

body would work for us.”

In the Friday night blog post,

Amazon apologized to Pocan and

acknowledged that delivery driv-

ers “can and do have trouble find-

ing restrooms because of traffic or

sometimes rural routes.” The

company said COVID-19 has made

the issue worse, since many public

restrooms are closed.

Amazon wrote that urinating in

bottles is an industry-wide prob-

lem. To try and prove its point, it

shared links to news articles about

drivers for other delivery compa-

nies who have had to do so.

“Regardless of the fact that this

is industry-wide, we would like to

solve it,” the company said. “We

don’t yet know how, but will look

for solutions.”

Amazon apologizes over bogus ‘peeing’ tweetAssociated Press

Bahrain75/72

Baghdad79/53

Doha80/64

Kuwait City81/61

Riyadh80/58

Kandahar81/55

Kabul52/46

Djibouti87/74

MONDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Mildenhall/Lakenheath

42/33

Ramstein41/32

Stuttgart49/36

Lajes,Azores60/57

Rota68/57

Morón74/51 Sigonella

58/48

Naples59/44

Aviano/Vicenza53/34

Pápa58/35

Souda Bay66/60

Brussels41/37

Zagan46/37

DrawskoPomorskie

38/35

MONDAY IN EUROPE

Misawa44/35

Guam82/79

Tokyo51/40

Okinawa69/66

Sasebo59/50

Iwakuni55/47

Seoul61/43

Osan60/42

Busan60/43

The weather is provided by the American Forces Network Weather Center,

2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.

TUESDAY IN THE PACIFIC

WEATHER OUTLOOK

TODAYIN STRIPES

American Roundup ...... 11Classified .................... 13Comics .........................16Crossword ................... 16Faces .......................... 14Opinion ........................ 15Sports ......................... 17

Military rates

Euro costs (April 5) $1.15Dollar buys (April 5) 0.8292British pound (April 5) $1.34Japanese yen (April 5) 108.00South Korean won (April 5) 1,099.00

Commercial rates

Bahrain (Dinar) 0.3772Britain (Pound) 1.3825Canada (Dollar) 1.2570China (Yuan) 6.5675Denmark (Krone) 6.3237Egypt (Pound) 15.7168Euro 0.8501Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7764Hungary (Forint) 307.64Israel (Shekel) 3.3306Japan (Yen) 110.63Kuwait (Dinar) 0.3023

Norway (Krone) 8.5294

Philippines (Peso) 48.57Poland (Zloty) 3.91Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7512Singapore (Dollar) 1.3456

South Korea (Won) 1,130.58Switzerland (Franc) 0.9425Thailand (Baht) 31.30Turkey (New Lira) �8.1576

(Military exchange rates are those availableto customers at military banking facilities in thecountry of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., purchasing British pounds in Germany), check withyour local military banking facility. Commercialrates are interbank rates provided for referencewhen buying currency. All figures are foreigncurrencies to one dollar, except for the Britishpound, which is represented in dollarstopound, and the euro, which is dollarstoeuro.)

INTEREST RATES

Prime rate 3.25Interest Rates Discount �rate 0.75Federal funds market rate �0.093month bill 0.0230year bond 2.34

EXCHANGE RATES

Monday, April 5, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3

Levels of potentially toxic lead in

the blood of special operations

forces who used a firing range in

Germany fell significantly after the

Army made changes to the training

facilities and requirements for sol-

diers who use them, a study has

found.

In some cases, lead in the sol-

diers’ blood dropped below levels

deemed toxic by U.S. health offi-

cials after contaminated backstops

were removed, some backstops

were replaced and training at one

range was limited to low-volume

exercises, said the study published

in the March issue of the Medical

Surveillance Monthly Report, the

military’s peer-reviewed health

journal.

Unit leaders also pulled soldiers

with lead levels above 20 micro-

grams per deciliter of blood from

live weapons training, and required

ranges to have laundry facilities and

hand wipes available to allow ser-

vice members to remove accumu-

lated lead particulates.

The changes were made after an

assessment by the Army’s Industri-

al Health unit found that soldiers

who used the ranges were exposed

to airborne lead levels more than

eight times higher than the level at

which the Occupational Safety and

Health Administration says action

should be taken, the study said.

Researchers compared the blood

lead levels of soldiers who used the

ranges before and after the mitiga-

tion measures were introduced.

Lead in the blood fell from be-

tween 1 to 35 micrograms per decili-

ter before the changes were made in

2017 to between 1to 15 micrograms

per deciliter afterward, among the

57 individuals whose levels were

measured.

The high value before the chang-

es was greater than 25 micrograms

per deciliter, which OSHA consid-

ers a serious health threat.

The average blood lead level in

American adults in 2015-2016 was

less than 1 microgram per deciliter,

according to the National Institute

for Occupational Safety and Health.

Out of the soldiers included in the

study, nine would have been re-

moved from training before the

changes were made because of high

blood lead levels. After mitigation,

no soldier’s blood lead levels would

have led to them being pulled from

training.

“Service members whose mis-

sion requires frequent live-fire

small arms training may be at high-

est risk of decreased readiness if ex-

posed to lead,” the authors of the

study said, calling for regular mon-

itoring of ranges and the health of

troops who use them.

The study did not identify the

range where the changes were

made, saying only that it was de-

scribing “Special Operations

Forces at a single installation in

Germany with exposure to airborne

lead.”

A range at Boeblingen, near

Stuttgart, is the main facility used

by special operations forces. Green

Berets and Navy SEALs are among

those who regularly train there.

Lead exposure at firing ranges is

dangerous not only to troops who

use the facilities, but also to their

family members, who can be ex-

posed to lead if particulates that ac-

cumulate on skin, equipment and

clothing during firearms training

are not removed before service

members enter their vehicles or

homes.

YVONNE NAJERA /U.S Army

A soldier assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), fires a rifle at the Panzer Range Complex,Boeblingen, Germany, on Jan. 13.

Study: Firing rangefixes in Germanylowered lead levels

BY KARIN ZEITVOGEL

Stars and Stripes

Stars and Stripes reporter John Vandiver contributed to this report. �[email protected] �Twitter: @StripesZeit

MILITARY

OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — Re-

covery teams from the United Nations

Command and South Korea were expect-

ed to start the search again Monday along

the Demilitarized Zone for lost soldiers of

the Korean War.

This marks the third consecutive year

of the teams’ search for missing soldiers

and leftover ordnance in an area that saw

hard fighting during the three-year con-

flict 70 years ago.

The recovery project is a collaboration

between the U.N. Command and the Min-

istry of National Defense, according to a

U.N. news release Thursday.

The Cheorwon region, 57 miles north-

east of Seoul, is the site of battlefields at

White Horse Hill, or Baekma, and Arro-

whead Hill, where tens of thousands died.

Soldiers of South Korea, multinational

U.N. forces, the Korean People’s Army

and the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army

all fought in the area, the statement said.

Following the armistice in 1953, Cheor-

won, crossed by the DMZ, was divided be-

tween the two Koreas.

Since 2018, demining and recovery ef-

forts in the area have yielded more than

9,125 mines and unexploded ordnance

and more than 2,335 bone fragments and

skeletal remains, according to the U.N.

The Defense Ministry notified North

Korea of continued recovery efforts, ac-

cording to a Defense Ministry statement

Thursday.

The work was expected to resume on

Arrowhead Hill and expand east to White

Horse Hill with preparations for demi-

ning and road construction, the ministry

said.

U.S. forces are not involved in the pro-

ject, U.S. Forces Korea spokeswoman Ho-

chong Song said.

She said the U.S. supports the mission

with assistance in mission planning, site

surveys and identifying and repatriating

remains. South Korea’s 5th Infantry Divi-

sion was expected to take the lead with

support from the Special Maneuver Sup-

port Brigade and the Agency for KIA Re-

covery & Identification, the ministry said.

If necessary, the U.N. Command would

negotiate the repatriation of North Ko-

rean soldiers’ remains with their Korean

People’s Army counterparts, Song said.

For the second year in a row, an Austra-

lian team was expected to facilitate ac-

cess for the recovery teams into the area

and ensure the search complies with the

1953 armistice.

The Korean War left approximately

7,565 U.S. service members unaccounted

for, including 5,300 estimated lost in

North Korea, according to U.S. Defense

POW/MIA Accounting Agency statistics

published in February

Search for missing soldiers resumes in the DMZBY MATTHEW KEELER

Stars and Stripes

BENJAMIN PARSONS/U.S. Army

A South Korean soldier uses a metaldetector Oct. 8, 2018, at Arrowhead Hillin the Demilitarized Zone in a hunt forleftover mines from the Korean War.

Stars and Stripes reporter Yoo Kyong Chang contributed to thisreport. [email protected]: @MattKeeler1231

WEIDEN, Germany — Three

U.S. service members were seri-

ously injured and two sustained

minor injuries in a car crash

southwest of Berlin, police and

media reports said.

The single-vehicle accident oc-

curred last Saturday at 2:15 p.m.

on the A9 autobahn in the Pots-

dam-Mittelmark district, about 35

miles southwest of the capital,

Brandenburg police said in a

statement.

The 19-year-old driver of a Ford

lost control during a hail storm,

the statement said. The car veered

off the road, sliding down an em-

bankment and landing on its roof.

A helicopter evacuated the occu-

pants, the statement said.

Firefighters had to free some of

the occupants from the wrecked

vehicle, the Markische Allge-

meine newspaper reported.

German police declined to com-

ment on the service members’

medical statuses. U.S. Army Eu-

rope-Africa referred queries to

the service members’ unit, but as

of Friday no further details were

made available on which unit it

was, where the service members

are based or their conditions.

[email protected]@stripes.comTwitter: @Manny_Stripes

5 US troops injured in traffic accident southwest of BerlinBY MARCUS KLOECKNER

AND IMMANUEL JOHNSON

Stars and Stripes


the 186 sailors to perish out of the

crew of 327. He was awarded a

posthumous Medal of Honor, the

first Native American in the U.S.

Navy and one of only two de-

stroyer captains in World War II

so honored, the Naval History and

Heritage Command said.

Two former U.S. Navy officers

funded and carried out the expedi-

tion to film the wreck.

Parks Stephenson, a retired

lieutenant commander and naval

historian, served as navigator and

mission specialist, the company

said.

Retired Navy Cmdr. Victor Ves-

covo funded the search and per-

sonally piloted Limiting Factor, a

deep submergence vehicle, to the

wreck site during two separate

eight-hour dives, the company

said. The vehicle has no operating

depth limitation, does not require

a surface tether and can hold two

occupants.

The pair of dives “constituted

the deepest wreck dives, manned

or unmanned, in history,” the

company said.

The company did not disclose

the exact date of the dives and did

not respond to a query by Stars

and Stripes.

One image posted on the com-

pany’s website clearly shows the

ship’s hull number, 557, in a large-

ly intact portion of the vessel.

“The image is impressive, and

we look forward to seeing the rest

of the data collected during the ex-

pedition because the story of the

Fletcher-class destroyer USS

Johnston (DD 557) and her crew is

a perfect example for modern

Sailors of the honor, courage, com-

mitment, and valor of their prede-

cessors from the Greatest Gener-

ation,” Sam Cox, a retired rear ad-

miral who now directs the Naval

History and Heritage Command,

said in a news release Thursday.

Petrel discovery

The crew of the Petrel, a re-

search vessel owned by the late

Microsoft founder Paul Allen, dis-

covered a debris field believed to

be associated with the ship in 2019.

They filmed pieces of a de-

stroyer strewn across a higher

seabed using a remotely con-

trolled submersible.

That vehicle, however, could

not dive deeper than 20,000 feet,

below which rested the majority of

the Johnston, including the for-

ward two-thirds of the bow and the

bridge that were found this week,

the company said.

The pair of dives captured im-

ages of the destroyer’s two intact

5-inch gun turrets, twin torpedo

racks and other gun mounts.

No human remains were ob-

served, and nothing was taken

from the wreck, the company said.

“We need to take great care to

make sure that the ship remains

completely undisturbed, and I be-

lieve that can be very effectively

done in manned craft, especially

as the depth here precludes most

remotely operated vehicles,” Ste-

phenson said in the news release.

“We could see the extent of the

wreckage and the severe damage

inflicted during the intense battle

on the surface. It took fire from the

largest warship ever constructed

— the Imperial Japanese Navy

battleship Yamato — and fero-

ciously fought back.”

Guts and gallantry One naval historian has written

that the U.S. Navy has never

shown “more gallantry, guts and

gumption than in the two morning

hours between 0730 and 0930 off

Samar.”

A Japanese decoy fleet had

lured the ships of 3rd Fleet away

from the area, leaving a small

group of 7th Fleet ships behind:

three destroyers and four de-

stroyer escorts.

At dawn Oct. 25, the small fleet

faced the much larger Japanese

force of four battleships, six heavy

cruisers, two light cruisers and 11

destroyers, according to an ac-

count by the Naval History and

Heritage Command.

“Heavily outmatched, Evans

gave the order to attack a major

portion of the Japanese fleet,” the

account said. “Although Johnston

had hit a heavy cruiser which was

forced to retire, enemy shells

managed to strike Johnston caus-

ing widespread damage and casu-

alties. Evans himself was serious-

ly wounded. Despite the grave

damage, no torpedoes remaining,

and reduced speed and firepower,

Johnston commenced a second at-

tack firing 30 rounds into a 30,000-

ton Japanese battleship.”

At one point, Evans ordered the

ship to draw fire away from the es-

cort carrier USS Gambier Bay.

“After two-and-a-half hours,

Johnston — dead in the water —

was surrounded by enemy ships,”

the account said. “At 9:45 a.m.,

Evans gave the order to abandon

ship.”

The ship rolled over and sank 25

minutes later.

The badly wounded Evans nev-

er made it to safety, but how he

died after ordering the ship to be

abandoned is not known.

Discovery: Sunken USS Johnston foughtlargest warship in battle against Japan

[email protected]: @WyattWOlson

FROM PAGE 1

U.S. Navy

Ernest E. Evans

MILITARY

The Navy is soliciting public

comment on the historic signifi-

cance, if any, attached to a con-

struction site on Guam before

work begins on new facilities for

the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing

The public has until May 14 to

comment on the potential impact

that work may have on the site on

Andersen Air Force Base, accord-

ing to an announcement Wednes-

day by Naval Facilities Engineer-

ing Systems Command Pacific.

The National Historic Preserva-

tion Act, a 1966 federal law, re-

quires federal agencies seek public

comment before making final deci-

sions on projects of this nature.

There are historic properties

near the construction site at An-

dersen, but none on the affected

area, according to a project memo

from the command.

“Some of the traditional Cha-

morro place names in this vicinity

are Fafalog and Caiguat,” accord-

ing to the memo, which lays out

some project details.

A copy of the project memo is

posted online at the command

website under “Programmatic

Agreement Memos Open for Pub-

lic Review,” along with a com-

ment form and mailing address.

The project is P-280 Aviation Ad-

ministration Building.

Comments may be emailed to

[email protected]. Com-

ments become public information

and will be posted online.

The building plan calls for de-

molishing two structures on An-

dersen to make way for a new ad-

ministration building for the Ma-

rines, who are moving some avia-

tion units to Guam to reduce their

presence on Okinawa.

The Corps expects to relocate

about 5,000 Marines and less than

1,500 family members to Guam by

the end of 2025, according to a pro-

ject update March 25 by Joint Re-

gion Marianas.

A California joint venture,

Granite-Obayashi JV, obtained a

$165 million contract in 2017 to

prepare the Marine Corps site.

Joint Region Marianas in its up-

date said the overall project is on

schedule.

Guam, recognized by the De-

fense Department as a key part of

its response to a more assertive

China, is the subject of several

projects aimed at improving its

usefulness and survivability.

One piece of those improve-

ments is a future Guam Cultural

Repository, a resource for “ongo-

ing research, education, and inter-

pretative activities by and for the

people of Guam,” according to

Joint Region Marianas. A DOD

grant of $12 million is budgeted to-

ward its construction.

Guam building project open for commentBY JOSEPH DITZLER

Stars and Stripes

[email protected]: @JosephDitzler �

FAIRFAX, Va. — The company

commander of an ordnance dis-

posal unit at Fort Campbell, Ky.,

broke the Guinness World Record

for the fastest mile run by a wom-

an wearing a bomb disposal suit

Saturday at George Mason Uni-

versity.

Capt. Katie Hernandez of 717th

Ordnance Disposal Co. needed to

run faster than the existing record

of 11 minutes, six seconds, set in

2013 by Army 1st Lt. Ashley Sore-

nsen of the 303rd EOD Battalion

in Hawaii. Paced by 1st Sgt. John

Myers, also of the 717th, Hernan-

dez finished with a time of 10 min-

utes, 23 seconds.

“If you (have) ever done any

type of run with weights, you feel

good when you start and then all

of a sudden you hit a wall,” Her-

nandez said. “And then after that

it’s all mental, because you know

your body is capable of doing it, it

just doesn’t feel like it wants to

move.”

The suit weighs more than 70

pounds.

“She always impresses me,”

Myers said. “Obviously her phys-

ical capabilities are off the charts

... I knew she could do it, and she

did.”

The event was hosted by the

Military Families Program, an

initiative created by the Veteran

Success Resource Group and Yel-

low Ribbons United whose goal is

a unified community to create

programs and resources for vet-

erans and their families at no cost.

It was founded by retired Marine

Lt. Col. Justin Constantine, re-

tired Army Capt. Scott Davidson,

and former NFL player Derrick

Dockery and his wife, Emma.

JOE GROMELSKI/Stars and Stripes

Paced by Army 1st Sgt. John Myers, Capt. Army Capt. KatieHernandez tries for the world women's record for a mile run in a bombdisposal suit Saturday at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

Army captain breaks therecord for run in bomb suit

Stars and Stripes

[email protected]


clude the revised assumptions re-

garding telework for essential and

non-essential personnel and the

resources required to support the

teleworking workforce.”

Among the reasons cited for in-

creased productivity: 78.8 % cred-

ited fewer interruptions and dis-

tractions. Additionally, 25.7 % re-

ported that teleworking eliminat-

ed unnecessary meetings. Less

time wasted commuting to the of-

fice also was cited as a major fac-

tor in allowing more time for work.

“Overall, DoD Components and

the majority of survey respon-

dents expressed positive maxi-

mum telework experiences,” the

IG said.

ment at “a higher risk of becoming

victims to cyberattacks that could

threaten the safety of the warfight-

er and the security of the United

States.”

Although some of the security

issues identified in the redacted

report have been addressed over

the past year, six recommenda-

tions remain unresolved, the IG

said.

For the Defense Department,

the findings in the report released

Thursday could have longer-term

implications for how staffers car-

ry out their jobs in the future.

The IG recommended that the

Defense Department and its ser-

vice components update their re-

spective pandemic plans “to in-

Rise: Telework increasedproductivity, risks to securityFROM PAGE 1

[email protected]: @john_vandiver

MIDEAST/MILITARY

JERUSALEM — A senior Jor-

danian official on Sunday ac-

cused the country’s former

crown prince of conspiring with

foreign elements in a “malicious

plot” that threatened national se-

curity.

Foreign Minister Ayman Safa-

di told reporters that the plot had

been foiled at the “zero hour.”

“Then it was clear they moved

from design and planning into ac-

tion,” Safadi said. He said some

14-16 people are under arrest, in

addition to two senior officials

close to Prince Hamzah.

Safadi spoke a day after Ham-

zah, a half brother of King Abdul-

lah II, was placed under house

arrest, in a rare public clash be-

tween top members of the long-

ruling family.

The unprecedented incident

has raised concerns about stabil-

ity in a country seen as a key

Western ally in a volatile region

and drawn an outpouring of sup-

port for Abdullah.

In a videotaped statement from

house arrest, Hamzah accused

the country’s leadership of cor-

ruption and incompetence.

Safadi, who also holds the title

of deputy prime minister, said in-

telligence agents had been ob-

serving the plotters for some

time and raised their concerns

with the king. He said Hamzah

was asked to “stop all these activ-

ities and movements that threat-

en Jordan and its stability,” but

he refused.

Asked whether Hamzah could

face charges, Safadi said that for

the time being there were “ami-

cable” attempts to deal with him,

but added that “the kingdom’s

stability and security tran-

scends” everything.

The U.S., Saudi Arabia and

Arab countries across the Middle

East issued strong statements in

favor of Abdullah.

The swift show of support un-

derscored Jordan’s strategic im-

portance as an island of relative

stability in the turbulent region.

While the harsh criticism from a

popular member of the ruling

family could lend support to

growing complaints about the

kingdom’s poor governance, the

king’s tough reaction also illus-

trated the limits to which he will

accept public dissent.

Whatever damage the crisis

might have inside Jordan, how-

ever, appeared to have little im-

mediate effect on outside support

for Abdullah.

U.S. State Department spokes-

man Ned Price said, “King Ab-

dullah is a key partner of the

United States, and he has our full

support.”

Pro-U.S. Gulf Arab countries,

which have many Jordanians

working across public sector

jobs, also immediately issued

statements backing the king and

his government.

The state-run Saudi Press

Agency said the kingdom’s royal

court supported King Abdullah’s

efforts “to maintain security and

stability and defuse every at-

tempt to influence them.”

Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar

and the United Arab Emirates

similarly issued statements sup-

porting Abdullah.

Plot to destabilize Jordan uncoveredAssociated Press

MOHAMMAD ABU GHOSH/AP

Prince Hamza Bin AlHussein, right, and Prince Hashem Bin AlHussein, left, brothers King Abdullah II ofJordan, attend the opening of the parliament Nov. 28, 2006, in Amman, Jordan. Prince Hamza, thehalfbrother of Jordan's King Abdullah II, was placed under house arrest Saturday.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani

will not run in the snap elections he

proposed under a peace plan with

Taliban militants in a bid to end 20

years of war, according to Hamdul-

lah Mohib, his national security ad-

viser.

“Whenever it’s required —

whether six months or three

months,” Ghani will be ready to hold

the elections, Mohib told reporters

in Kabul. The Taliban had rejected

Ghani’s peace plan, saying it will

further intensify the current crisis.

Ghani’s proposal last month for

the early polls was in response to a

U.S. bid to appoint an interim gov-

ernment to replace his administra-

tion. A Taliban spokesman, Mo-

hammad Naeem, said the adminis-

tration received the U.S. peace offer

and was reviewing it.

The United States is pushing

Ghani and the Taliban to reach a

peace deal so it can withdraw the re-

maining 2,500 U.S. forces from the

war-torn country. The UN-led

peace conference, mediated by the

United States, in Istanbul expected

later this month is deemed to be an

important development with senior

representatives from the govern-

ment, Taliban and Afghan politic-

ians outside the government. The

agenda will focus on an immediate

comprehensive cease-fire and a

joint power-sharing government

with the Taliban.

President Joe Biden told report-

ers last month that it would be

“hard” to pull out the troops by the

May 1 deadline agreed to in a Febru-

ary U.S.-Taliban peace deal, though

he “can’t picture” troops remaining

in the country by next year. The Ta-

liban called Biden’s comments

“misleading” and vowed to resume

attacks on U.S. forces if the country

misses the withdrawal deadline.

Afghanistan’s Ghani will not run in proposed electionAssociated Press

BAGHDAD — Two rockets

landed Sunday near an Iraqi air

base just north of Baghdad

where American trainers are

present, causing no casualties

or damage, an Iraqi official

said.

Maj. Gen. Tahseen al-Khafaji

said the rockets landed outside

Balad air base after midday.

The attack was the first on an

Iraqi base housing U.S. troops

since an assault last month on a

base in western Iraq that

houses U.S. contractors and

coalition troops. One contractor

died after at least 10 rockets

slammed into the base, raising

concerns over a new round of

escalating violence.

It followed U.S. strikes on

Iran-aligned militia targets

along the Iraq-Syria border in

late February in retaliation for

another deadly attack on a base

in Iraq.

The Sunday attack comes

days ahead of a new round of

so-called strategic Iraq-U.S.

talks on April 7.

The Iraqi government has re-

quested the fourth round of

talks, partly in response to

pressure from Shiite political

factions and militias loyal to

Iran that have lobbied for the

remaining U.S. troops to leave

Iraq.

The talks, which began in

June under the Trump adminis-

tration, would be the first under

President Joe Biden. On the

agenda are an array of issues,

including the presence of U.S.

combat forces in the country

and the issue of Iraqi militias

acting outside of state author-

ity.

American forces withdrew

from Iraq in 2011 but returned

in 2014 at the invitation of Iraq

to help battle Islamic State af-

ter it seized vast areas in the

north and west of the country.

In late 2020, U.S. troop levels in

Iraq was reduced to 2,500 after

withdrawals based on orders

from the Trump administra-

tion.

Calls grew for more U.S.

troop withdrawal since a U.S.-

directed drone strike that killed

Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani

and an Iraqi militia leader in

Baghdad in January 2020.

No one hurt after rockets hit nearIraq base housing US trainers

Associated Press


NATION

WASHINGTON — Pete Butti-

gieg was a few weeks into his job

as transportation secretary, bur-

ied in meetings and preparing for

the launch of President Joe Bi-

den’s $2.3 trillion public works

plan, when evening arrived along

with a time to try something new

in Washington.

Instead of climbing into the

back seat of a black SUV like most

Cabinet secretaries, he headed to

a bike-share rack. Helmet on, and

with a couple of Secret Service

agents flanking him, he pedaled

the mile-long trip to his home in

the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

It wasn’t a one-time stunt. On

Thursday, Buttigieg arrived at the

White House for a Cabinet meet-

ing on his two-wheeler. And that

wasn’t his only “regular guy” mo-

ment. Dog park devotees in the

District of Columbia have also

seen him there, chatting up any-

one from children to members of

Congress such as Rep. Alexandria

Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

Buttigieg first had his eye on the

job of the man who is now his boss,

Biden. Buttigieg’s presidential

campaign was surprisingly suc-

cessful — he essentially tied for

first with Vermont Sen. Bernie

Sanders in the Iowa caucuses and

finished a close second to him in

the New Hampshire primary —

and he made a strong impression

as someone who represented the

future of the Democratic Party.

Now the man known during his

campaign as “Mayor Pete” — he

was the mayor of South Bend, Ind.

— faces the first test of that poten-

tial in his first job in Washington:

leading a Cabinet department

with a $75 billion annual budget

and a mandate to help spur an in-

frastructure program that Biden

has likened to the building of the

interstate highway system in the

1950s.

He will have to navigate the

complicated politics of both an en-

trenched bureaucracy at the

Transportation Department and

the fraught politics of a bitterly di-

vided Washington.

He may have found a way by

just riding a bike, which has

gained fans from even skeptics in

Congress.

“You’ve got to keep your head

up,” Buttigieg told The Associated

Press, explaining the path and po-

tential dangers posed from unac-

customed drivers, but he said it

can be a much quicker journey

from point A to B.

Biden on Thursday tasked But-

tigieg and four other Cabinet

members — the “Jobs Cabinet” —

with selling the administration’s

infrastructure and climate plan, a

flood of money for roads, bridges,

airports, broadband communica-

tions, water systems and electric

cars.

But the plan has already hit a

wall with Senate Minority Leader

Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who ob-

jects to the corporate tax increas-

es Biden says will pay for the plan

and pledges to oppose it “every

step of the way.” On the other side,

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.,

the chair of the Congressional

Progressive Caucus, says the

package should be significantly

larger.

The challenge of helping build

consensus fits the ambition of the

man who had the audacity to run

for president from the perch of be-

ing mayor of a midsize town in In-

diana. When Biden selected the

Naval reserve veteran for the

transportation post, he praised

him as offering “a new voice with

new ideas determined to move

past old politics.”

Buttigieg learnsto navigate DCpolitics, streets

Associated Press

CAROLYN KASTER/AP

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks at Union Station inWashington, on Feb. 5.

AUSTIN, Texas — Just past the

gate at an entrance to the Texas

Capitol, a large monument honor-

ing the soldiers of the Confeder-

acy looms, with towering statues

and an inscription that reads,

“Died for state rights guaranteed

under the Constitution.”

It is one of seven Confederate

memorials on the Texas Capitol

grounds alone. There are over

2,000 Confederate symbols —

from monuments to building

names — in public spaces nation-

wide, more than a century and a

half after the Civil War ended

slavery, according to the South-

ern Poverty Law Center.

The movement to remove Con-

federate monuments and depic-

tions of historical figures who

mistreated Native Americans be-

came part of the national reckon-

ing over racial injustice following

George Floyd’s death last year in

Minneapolis. While many have

been removed — or torn down by

protesters — it’s proven difficult

to remove those that remain.

At least six Southern states

have policies protecting monu-

ments, the law center said, while

historical preservation boards

and Republican legislative major-

ities have slowed the momentum,

saying it’s important to preserve

America’s past.

“We are at a really important

moment of reckoning and racial

justice,” said Texas Rep. Rafael

Anchia, a Democrat who intro-

duced a proposal in the Republi-

can-controlled Legislature to re-

move Confederate depictions at

the Statehouse. “This fits into that

process of really racial truth and

reconciliation.”

But he’s up against Republican

legislation to protect monuments.

Anchia’s measure is still waiting

for a committee hearing, where

attempts to remove Confederate

monuments and holidays have

died in previous sessions.

Texas isn’t the only place where

the issue faces an uphill battle.

Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi,

North Carolina, South Carolina

and Tennessee have preservation

laws meant to “protect primarily

monuments and memorials to the

Confederacy,” said Lecia Brooks,

chief of staff of the Southern Pov-

erty Law Center. A majority of

them went up in the early Jim

Crow era.

“The truth of the matter is that

most of these monuments and me-

morials don’t offer any historical

context at all,” Brooks said. “It is

just a way to venerate people who

fought for the continuation of

slavery.”

In Alabama, a 2017 law ap-

proved as some cities began tak-

ing down Confederate statues for-

bids the removal or alteration of

monuments more than 40 years

old. Violations carry a $25,000

fine, but some cities have opted to

pull them down and pay.

In March, Alabama lawmakers

rejected revisions to the law that

would have given cities and coun-

ties a way to take down Confeder-

ate monuments and relocate them

for preservation.

In Pennsylvania, a bill from

Senate Republicans would pre-

vent removing public monuments

without legislative approval, with

penalties of up to a felony charge.

In a statement, GOP state Sen.

Doug Mastriano said Pennsylva-

nia is home to thousands of memo-

rials and monuments “that help

tell America’s story to future gen-

erations.” He said his legislation

came “in response to high-profile

cases in which public monuments

were vandalized.”

At the Ohio Capitol, the removal

of a 9-foot-tall copper statue of

Christopher Columbus has been

delayed until at least 2025. It’s

stood on the Statehouse grounds

in the city that bears his name

since 1932. Critics say monu-

ments to the explorer ignore the

mistreatment of Indigenous peo-

ple as Europeans settled in North

America.

In California, amid racial injus-

tice protests last summer, icons

were toppled of Junipero Serra,

an 18th century Roman Catholic

priest who founded nine of the

state’s 21 Spanish missions and is

credited with bringing Roman Ca-

tholicism to the U.S. West. Serra

forced Native Americans to stay

at the missions after they were

converted or face punishment.

His statues have been defaced for

years by people who said he de-

stroyed tribes and their culture.

“We are bringing that discus-

sion and that voice that was left

out of the equation when those

monuments were put up to be able

to have that voice now in 2021,”

Ramos said.

ERIC GAY/AP

The Texas State Capitol Confederate Monument stands in Austin, Texas, on Aug. 21, 2017.

Confederate symbols prove to bedifficult to remove in many states

Associated Press/Report for

America “These monuments and memorialsdon’t offer any historical context at

all.”Lecia Brooks

chief of staff of the Southern Poverty Law Center


NATION

MIAMI— Florida Gov. Ron De-

Santis declared a state of emergen-

cy Saturday after a significant leak

at a large pond of wastewater

threatened to flood roads and burst

asystem that stores polluted waters.

Officials in Florida ordered more

than 300 homes to be evacuated and

closed off a highway Saturday near

the large reservoir in the Tampa

Bay area north of Bradenton.

Residents who live around the

Piney Point reservoir received an

alert via text saying to leave the area

immediately because the collapse

was “imminent.” Authorities ex-

panded the evacuation area later

Saturday to include more homes,

but said they were not planning to

open shelters.

The Florida Department of Envi-

ronmental Protection says a break

was detected Friday in one of the

walls of a 77-acre pond that has a

depth of 25 feet and holds millions of

gallons of water containing phos-

phorus and nitrogen from an old

phosphate plant.

Officials brought in rocks and

materials to plug the hole in the

pond late Friday into Saturday, but

the attempt was unsuccessful.

Manatee County Administrator

Scott Hopes said at a press confer-

ence Saturday that the most press-

ing concern is that the water could

flood the area, which he said was

agricultural and low in population

density.

“We are talking about the poten-

tial of about 600 million gallons

within a matter of seconds and min-

utes leaving that retention pool and

going around the surrounding ar-

ea,” Hopes said.

Workers have been pumping out

thousands of gallons per minute at

the site to bring the volume down in

the event the pond bursts. Pumping

the entire pond would take 10 to 12

days. Others have been working to

chart the path to control how the wa-

ter flows from the pond into the

Tampa Bay.

DeSantis’ declaration of a state of

emergency allocates more pumps

and cranes to the area. The owner,

HRK Holdings, did not respond to a

request for comment on Saturday.

The pond where the leak was dis-

covered is at the old Piney Point

phosphate mine, sitting in a stack of

phosphogypsum, a waste product

from manufacturing fertilizer that

is radioactive. It contains small

amounts of naturally occurring ra-

dium and uranium, and the stacks

can also release large concentra-

tions of radon gas.

Hopes says that if the pond col-

lapses, there is a risk it could desta-

bilize the walls of other areas in the

plant.

“The pond is basically salt water.

We saw ducks yesterday, there are

snooks swimming in there. It’s sus-

taining wildlife. That’s not the case

for the other two pools,” he said,

adding the wastewater in the other

ponds would need to be treated to

reduce ammonium content and oth-

er materials.

The executive order declaring

the state of emergency said the

breached structure has 480 million

gallons of seawater mixed with

process water and the embankment

materials from the old fertilizer

manufacturing plant.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki

Fried urged the governor in a letter

to convene an emergency session of

the state cabinet to discuss a plan,

adding that this property has seen

similar leaks in the past.

“The immediate evacuation of

residents, disruption of families

during Easter weekend, and poten-

tial environmental catastrophe re-

quires the attention and action of

Florida’s statewide elected leader-

ship,” Fried said.

In 2016, more than 200 million

gallons of contaminated wastewa-

ter from another fertilizer plant in

central Florida leaked into one of

the state’s main aquifers after a

massive sinkhole opened up in a

pond of a phosphogypsum stack.

There are at least 70 gypsum

stacks in the United States and

about 27 in Florida, mostly in the re-

gion of west-central Florida. The

wastewater stored in the gypsum

stacks can’t be seen from the ground

as the piles surrounding the struc-

ture can go as high as 500 feet.

Wastewater pondleak promptsevacuation in Fla.

Associated Press

TIFFANY TOMPKINS/AP

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Saturday after a significant leak at a large pondof wastewater threatened to flood roads and burst a system that stores polluted waters. The pond wherethe leak was discovered is at the old Piney Point phosphate mine, sitting in a stack of phosphogypsum, aradioactive waste product from manufacturing fertilizer.

News of Major League Baseball’s

decision to pull this summer’s All-

Star Game from Georgia over its

sweeping new voting law reverber-

ated among fans Saturday, while

Gov. Brian Kemp vowed to defend

the measure, saying “free and fair

elections” are worth any threats,

boycotts or lawsuits.

The Republican governor said at

a news conference that MLB

“caved to fear and lies from liberal

activists” when it yanked the July 13

game from Atlanta’s Truist Park.

He added the decision will hurt

working people in the state and

have long-term consequences on

the economy.

“I want to be clear: I will not be

backing down from this fight. We

will not be intimidated, and we will

also not be silenced,” Kemp said.

“Major League Baseball, Coca-

Cola and Delta may be scared of

Stacey Abrams, Joe Biden and the

left, but I am not,” he said, referring

to companies that have also criti-

cized the new law.

Three groups already have filed a

lawsuit over the measure, which

adds greater legislative control over

how elections are run and includes

strict identification requirements

for voting absentee by mail. It also

limits the use of ballot drop boxes

and makes it a crime to hand out

food or water to voters waiting in

line, among other provisions.

Critics say the law will dispropor-

tionately affect communities of col-

or.

Georgia Republicans say the

changes were needed to maintain

voter confidence in the election sys-

tem, and the governor insists oppo-

nents have mischaracterized what

the law does. Yet GOP lawmakers

made the revisions largely in re-

sponse to false claims of fraud in the

2020 elections made by former

President Donald Trump and his

supporters.

Abrams, who has championed

voting rights since narrowly losing

to Kemp in the 2018 election, is

among those who have spoken out

against the law. The Democrat is

being closely watched to see if she

seeks a 2022 rematch.

Baseball fans, meanwhile, ap-

peared divided on pulling the game

from Georgia.

Patrick Smith, a lifelong Braves

fan in Ellisville, Miss., said he thinks

the league made the right decision

and noted that not taking a stand

would have polarized some sup-

porters.

“When governments restrict ac-

cess to the ballot box, someone has

to step in to encourage these entities

to roll back those measures,” he

said.

Lorre Sweetman, in Kahului, Ha-

waii, said it was a poor move by

MLB because it wasn’t based on the

actual new voting laws but on “polit-

ical pandering” and misinforma-

tion.

Still, while some fans upset about

the decision have called for a boy-

cott of professional baseball, she

said she will not stop watching

games and her three grandsons are

still learning the sport.

“They caved to pressure without

considering the message this sends

to fans who just want to enjoy the

game and support their team,” she

said. “We need to take politics out of

sports.”

Jeffrey Guterman, a retired men-

tal health counselor in Fort Lauder-

dale, Fla., who calls himself an ama-

teur baseball historian, said the de-

cision shows baseball changing

with the times.

“I’m surprised when people ar-

gue that moving it away from Atlan-

ta is a bad move because it would

bring lots of money to the area,” he

said. “The question is what costs

more, moving the All-Star Game or

reinforcing the oppression of

votes.”

Georgia governor vows a fight after MLB yanks All-Star GameAssociated Press

BRYNN ANDERSON/AP

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks during a news conference at theState Capitol on Saturday in Atlanta about Major League Baseball’sdecision to pull the 2021 AllStar Game from Atlanta over the league’sobjection to a new Georgia voting law.


NATION

WASHINGTON — The man

who rammed a car into two offi-

cers at a barricade outside the U.S.

Capitol, killing one of them before

he was shot to death by police, had

been suffering from delusions,

paranoia and suicidal thoughts, a

U.S. official told The Associated

Press. Investigators believe it was

an isolated incident from a dis-

turbed young man.

Video of the Friday afternoon

attack shows the driver emerging

from the crashed car with a knife

in his hand and starting to run at

the pair of officers, Capitol Police

acting Chief Yogananda Pittman

told reporters. Police shot the sus-

pect, 25-year-old Noah Green,

who died at a hospital.

Investigators are increasingly

focused on Green’s mental health

as they work to identify any mo-

tive for the attack, said the official,

who was not authorized to speak

publicly about an ongoing investi-

gation and spoke to the AP on Sat-

urday on condition of anonymity.

The official said investigators had

talked to Green’s family, who

spoke of his increasingly delusion-

al thoughts.

In online posts since removed,

Green described being under gov-

ernment thought control and said

he was being watched. He de-

scribed himself as a follower of the

Nation of Islam and its longtime

leader, Louis Farrakhan, and

spoke of going through a difficult

time when he leaned on his faith.

Some of the messages were cap-

tured by the group SITE, which

tracks online activity.

“To be honest these past few

years have been tough, and these

past few months have been tough-

er,” he wrote in late March. “I

have been tried with some of the

biggest, unimaginable tests in my

life. I am currently now unem-

ployed after I left my job partly

due to afflictions, but ultimately,

in search of a spiritual journey.”

It was the second line-of-duty

death this year for the U.S. Capitol

Police, still struggling to heal from

the Jan. 6 insurrection. The attack

underscored that the building and

campus — and the officers

charged with protecting them —

remain potential targets for vio-

lence.

“I just ask that the public contin-

ue to keep U.S. Capitol Police and

their families in your prayers,”

Pittman said. “This has been an

extremely difficult time for U.S.

Capitol Police after the events of

Jan. 6 and now the events that

have occurred here today.

Police identified the slain offi-

cer as William “Billy” Evans, an

18-year veteran who was a mem-

ber of the department’s first re-

sponders unit.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

hailed Evans as a “martyr for our

democracy,” while Senate Major-

ity Leader Chuck Schumer said he

was “heartbroken.” Pelosi and

Schumer both spoke Friday with

members of Evans’ family.

President Joe Biden said in a

statement that he and his wife

were heartbroken to learn of the

attack and expressed condolences

to Evans’ family. He directed flags

at the White House to be lowered

to half-staff.

Official: Man inCapitol attackhad delusions

Associated Press

ALEX BRANDON/AP

Authorities clean the scene after a man rammed a car into two officers at the barricade on Capitol Hill inWashington on Friday.

For some, it’s too much to

watch. Others just can’t turn

away.

The televised trial of Derek

Chauvin, the former white police

officer charged in the death of Ge-

orge Floyd, has provoked strong

emotions among many Black men

and women — all tinged with an

underlying dread that it could

yield yet another devastating dis-

appointment.

For many, it has brought back

memories of the disturbing video

of Floyd’s last moments as he

gasped for breath with Chauvin’s

knee on his neck. The video gal-

vanized protests in cities across

the U.S. and the world, as the

words “Black Lives Matter” took

hold.

“I had to mute the TV,” said Lisa

Harris, 51, of Redford Township,

just west of Detroit. “Hearing Mr.

Floyd continue to say he can’t

breathe and call for his mother —

it was a lot. It’s been a lot to

watch.”

Steven Thompson remembers

closely watching the 2013 trial of

George Zimmerman in the shoot-

ing death of 17-year-old Trayvon

Martin in Florida and feeling

blindsided. Zimmerman, who

identifies as Hispanic, was acquit-

ted on all counts in the unarmed

Black teen’s death, including sec-

ond-degree murder.

“I didn’t expect that outcome,”

Thompson, 35, said. “But I’m a lot

less ignorant now.”

Thompson is choosing not to

watch the trial of Chauvin, the for-

mer Minneapolis officer charged

with murder and manslaughter,

even though he feels there is a

strong case against him.

“I definitely have a fear of being

let down. And instead of investing

my time and energy into it now,

knowing how these things go, I’d

rather be pleasantly surprised,”

the Los Angeles resident said.

Marlene Gillings-Gayle said

she had planned not to watch the

trial to preserve her peace of

mind. But she’s found herself

watching almost all of it. She’s had

to force herself to go outside and

take walks, or risk watching the

trial all day and feeling upset.

The retired high school teacher

who lives in New York City de-

scribes herself as a political per-

son who likes to stay aware of cur-

rent events and vocalize her opin-

ions.

“I’m trying not to be pissed, be-

cause we’ve been here and done

that too many times,” she said, re-

ferring to other police officers ac-

quitted in the deaths of unarmed

Black people. She’s watching the

trial with apprehension, as she

ponders what Floyd’s killing and

the way the trial has unfolded so

far says about America and its val-

ues.

Chauvin, 45, who was eventual-

ly fired from the police force, is ac-

cused of killing a handcuffed

Floyd last May by pinning his

knee on the 46-year-old Black

man’s neck for 9 minutes, 29 sec-

onds, as he lay face-down. Floyd

had been accused of passing a

counterfeit $20 bill at a neighbor-

hood market.

The first week of the trial has in-

cluded emotional testimonies

from several people who wit-

nessed Floyd’s death: The young

woman, a teenager at the time,

who filmed Floyd’s last moments

and told the courtroom she stays

“up nights apologizing to George

Floyd;” the 61-year-old man who

sobbed on the stand, compelling

the judge to order a 10-minute re-

cess; the firefighter who begged

officers to let her check Floyd’s

pulse as he gasped for air, saying,

“I was desperate to help.”

The grief and trauma of these

witnesses has been on full display,

filling in details from new per-

spectives to create a fuller picture

of the scene that people around the

world watched over cellphone

video last May.

For Kyra Walker, it was enough

to tune out and shut down Twitter

one day.

“I realized I just didn’t have it in

me to watch all this,” she said.

Floyd’s death was traumatizing

enough for Walker, but seeing

conversations about the trial on

Twitter last week brought back a

flood of emotions she has grappled

with over the course of the last

year.

“I had a moment where I just

felt broken and I started thinking

about Ahmaud Arbery and Breon-

na Taylor and how in such a short

time frame, it was like one Black

death after the other, without a

break,” she said. It has made her

feel paranoid at times for her 11-

year-old Black son anytime he

leaves home.

The trial is only furthering the

uneasiness many felt when the

video of Chauvin pressing his

knee to Floyd’s neck started to cir-

culate online.

“It took me a while to watch it

because I know what these videos

are about. I know the ending al-

ready,” Thompson said.

Chauvin trial leaves many Black viewers emotionally taxedAssociated Press

COURT TV/AP

Defense attorney Eric Nelson, left, and former Minneapolis policeofficer Derek Chauvin listen as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahillpresides over pretrial motions at the Hennepin County Courthouse inMinneapolis, Minn., on March 29.


VIRUS OUTBREAK

AUSTIN — An additional 2.5

million doses of the coronavirus

vaccine is to arrive in Texas this

week, according to the state health

department.

More than 1 million first doses

will be sent to vaccination sites in

200 counties and about 900,000

first and second doses will go to

pharmacies, health and dialysis

centers, the Texas Department of

State Health Services said Friday.

The remaining doses are for

people awaiting a second dose.

The department said the state

has administered more than 11.8

million doses of the vaccine, and

the federal Centers for Disease

Control reported that 27% of the

state’s population has received at

least one dose.

All Texans 16 and older are now

eligible to receive the vaccine.

The health department has re-

ported more than 2.4 million virus

cases since the pandemic began

and 47,725 deaths, including 86

additional deaths and 1,450 newly

confirmed or probable cases Sat-

urday. The state’s death toll is

third-highest in the nation, ac-

cording to data from Johns Hop-

kins University.

The state health department on

Saturday reported that 2,840 peo-

ple are hospitalized, down from

2,928 reported Friday and a de-

cline from a high of more than

14,000 hospitalizations in January.

Arizona WINDOW ROCK — The Navajo

Nation on Saturday reported 18

additional confirmed COVID-19

cases and four more deaths.

The pandemic totals on the

tribe’s reservation that includes

parts of Arizona, New Mexico and

Utah increased to 30,164 cases and

1,257 deaths.

Tribal President Jonathan Nez

encouraged people to celebrate

the Easter weekend safely while

following COVID-19 protocols.

“Please stay home as much as

possible, wear a mask, practice so-

cial distancing, avoid large in-per-

son gatherings and wash your

hands with soap and water often,”

he sad in a statement.

Kansas WICHITA — Wichita State Uni-

versity has announced it’s drop-

ping its coronavirus restrictions

after GOP lawmakers overrode

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s

newly reissued mask order.

The Wichita Eagle reported that

Friday’s announcement means

masks are no longer required at

the school and that there will be no

limits on mass gatherings. In a let-

ter posted on its website, the uni-

versity encouraged persons on

campus to “engage in these prac-

tices when possible” and encour-

aged “everyone to get the vaccine

when eligible.”

Interim President Dr. Rick Mu-

ma said in a virtual town hall

meeting that the school had fol-

lowed orders issued by the state.

“We are also going to have to fall

under those guidelines, so we are

not going to be able to require

masks, social distancing, mass

gathering limitations,” he said.

Sedgwick County recently

dropped its COVID-19 restrictions

in anticipation of the Kansas legis-

lature solidifying the law that en-

titles objectors of COVID-19 man-

dates to a lightning-fast 72-hour

review by a judge. The statewide

mask order was overturned by a

the Legislative Coordinating

Council on Thursday.

Health officials have cautioned

it’s too early for people to let down

their guards, noting that a fourth

wave of the virus could be close

despite rising vaccination rates.

Kentucky FRANKFORT — Kentucky re-

ported nearly 590 new coronavi-

rus cases Saturday and 20 more

virus-related deaths, while the

statewide rate of positive cases fell

slightly.

Twelve of the 20 newly reported

deaths were discovered through

the state’s ongoing audit of deaths

from prior months, according to

the report. Kentucky’s virus-relat-

ed death toll rose to at least 6,149

since the pandemic started.

With 587 more COVID-19 cases

reported Saturday, the total num-

ber of confirmed cases statewide

surpassed 429,000, the state said.

Kentucky’s rate of positive CO-

VID-19 cases was at 3% Saturday.

Nearly 370 virus patients are

hospitalized in Kentucky, includ-

ing 89 people in intensive care

units.

Maryland BALTIMORE — Maryland has

set a new daily record for adminis-

tering shots for the coronavirus

vaccine. But the state is also see-

ing an uptick in new cases.

The Baltimore Sun reported

that Maryland health officials set

a new record of giving 78,000

shots on Saturday.

Nearly 18% of the population

has been fully vaccinated. And

nearly 32% of people in the state

are at least partially inoculated.

At the same time, Maryland

health officials have reported

more than 1,000 new cases of the

coronavirus for the fourth day in a

row.

For much of March, the average

number of new daily cases was be-

tween 700 and 900. Maryland’s 14-

day average is now nearly 1,200

cases. For context, the peak in

mid-January was more than 2,900

cases.

The state has reported 415,660

cases so far. More than 1,000 peo-

ple were reported to be hospital-

ized on Friday. There have been

8,157 deaths.

Michigan LANSING — The number of

new coronavirus cases in Michi-

gan topped 8,400 Saturday, the

highest daily total since early De-

cember.

The health department also re-

ported 57 deaths from COVID-19,

including 51 that had occurred

earlier and were identified

through a records check.

“By the recent numbers, we

know we’ve got a bit of a reality

check happening,” Gov. Gretchen

Whitmer said Friday. “We know

that COVID is still very present

and it is still a very real threat. We

may be seeing light at the end of

the tunnel, but we are still in the

tunnel.”

The number of new cases last

week — more than 34,000 — was

24% higher than the previous

week. At the same time, vaccines

are being offered statewide, with

the minimum age dropping to 16

on Monday.

Approximately 4.5 million dos-

es were given through Thursday,

the health department reported.

More than 17,000 deaths in Mi-

chigan have been linked to CO-

VID-19.

Minnesota MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota

reported over 2,000 virus cases in

a single day on Saturday for the

first time since January, while al-

so reporting a daily record for vac-

cines administered.

Over the past two weeks, the

rolling average number of daily

new cases has increased nearly

58%, a worrying trend as Gov. Tim

Walz pushes for widespread vac-

cinations. Health officials report-

ed 2,075 new cases Saturday, but

at the same time, over 85,000 vac-

cine doses. It was a new daily high.

About 40% of people eligible for

a vaccine — adults 16 and over —

have received at least one shot.

But about 20% of the state’s entire

population has been completely

vaccinated.

The state will see a race to get

millions of people vaccinated in

the coming months while trying to

stave off another wave of the vi-

rus. A variant of the virus from the

United Kingdom has propelled in-

fections to the ninth-highest in the

nation.

Health officials also reported 11

deaths among people infected by

the virus. The state has recorded a

total of 6,875 deaths over the

course of the pandemic.

Oklahoma OKLAHOMA CITY — The roll-

ing average of daily deaths in Ok-

lahoma due to the illness caused

by the coronavirus has increased

slightly, according to data from

Johns Hopkins University.

The number of COVID-19

deaths in the state increased from

12.4 per day to 14.7 from March 18

through Thursday, according to

the Johns Hopkins data on Satur-

day. The rolling average of new

cases per day declined from 446.4

to 311.1 during the same time peri-

od, according to the data, a de-

crease of 30.3%.

The Oklahoma State Depart-

ment of Health on Friday reported

totals of 439,149 cases and 7,932

provisional deaths since the pan-

demic began. The department no

longer provides daily case and

death updates during the weekend

and cites federal Centers for Dis-

ease Control statistics in the death

toll.

More than 2 million virus vac-

cine doses have been adminis-

tered in the state with 32.5% of the

state’s population receiving at

least one dose, the 25th-highest

percentage in the nation, accord-

ing to the CDC.

Wisconsin MADISON — Wisconsin’s sec-

ond-most-populated county an-

nounced that starting Wednesday,

it will no longer require people at

outdoor gatherings to wear masks

or keep crowds to a certain size, as

long as they stay distanced from

each other.

Public Health Madison and

Dane County’s public health order

stipulates that people at outdoor

gatherings are required to stay 6

feet away from each other, the

Wisconsin State Journal reported.

The order also allows self-service

food stations and public saunas to

reopen.

The order came as Wisconsin’s

average daily cases have been on

the rise, increasing by 24% over

the last two weeks. The state re-

ported 706 new cases Saturday, as

well as seven deaths.

Health officials noted that Dane

County has one of the lowest case

rates in the state, despite its high

population. Officials also cited the

89% rate of vaccination among

people aged 65 and older in the

county, saying it was “a critical

step in protecting the population

most at risk of severe outcomes

and death.”

Statewide, about 63% of people

age 65 and up are fully vaccinated.

Health officials reported Saturday

thatover 3 million shots have been

administered, and about 20% of

the total population has been fully

vaccinated.

Texas will get 2.5Mmore vaccine doses

Associated Press

JESSIE WARDARSKI/AP

The Reverend Noah Evans of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church gives communion to his parishioners, who arescattered throughout the burial grounds of Old St. Luke’s Church during their Easter sunrise serviceSunday in Carnegie, Pa. For many congregants, this was the first inperson worship service they haveattended since the coronavirus surge in November.


VIRUS OUTBREAK

VATICAN CITY — Christiani-

ty’s most joyous feast day was cel-

ebrated worldwide with faithful

sitting far apart in pews and sing-

ing choruses of “Hallelujah”

through face coverings on a sec-

ond Easter Sunday conditioned by

pandemic precautions.

From Protestant churches in

South Korea to St. Peter’s Basilica

at the Vatican, worshippers fol-

lowed national or local regulations

aimed at preventing the transmis-

sion of the coronavirus.

At a hospital in the Lombardy

region of Italy, where the pandem-

ic first erupted in the West in Feb-

ruary 2020, a hospital gave a tradi-

tional dove-shaped Easter cake

symbolizing peace to each person

who lined up to receive a CO-

VID-19 vaccine. Many of the ones

who came were in their 80s and

accompanied by adult children.

In Jerusalem, air travel restric-

tions and quarantine regulations

prevented foreign pilgrims from

flocking to religious sites during

Holy Week, which culminates in

Easter celebrations.

Inside St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope

Francis sprinkled incense near an

icon of Jesus and said, “May the

joy of Easter extend to the whole

world.”

The 200 or so faithful who were

allowed to attend looked lost in the

cavernous cathedral. Normally,

thousands would attend the pop-

ular service and a crowd would

gather outside in St. Peter's

Square, with more than 100,000

sometimes assembling to receive

the pope’s special Easter blessing

after Mass.

But this year, like last year,

crowds are banned from gather-

ing in Italy, and at the Vatican. So

Francis scheduled his noon Easter

address on world affairs to be de-

livered from inside the basilica.

Intent on tamping down weeks

of surging infections, the Italian

government ordered people to

stay home during the three-day

weekend except for essential er-

rands like food shopping or exer-

cise. Premier Mario Draghi did

grant a concession. permitting one

visit to family or friends per day in

residents’ home regions over the

long weekend, which includes the

Little Easter national holiday on

Monday.

In Jerusalem, the Easter ser-

vice at the Church of the Holy Se-

pulcher was celebrated by Latin

Patriarch Pierbattista, the senior

Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy

Land. The site in Jerusalem’s Old

City is where many Christians be-

lieve Jesus was crucified, buried

and rose from the dead.

Israel has launched one of the

world’s most successful vaccina-

tion campaigns, allowing the

country to reopen restaurants, ho-

tels and religious sites. Israel cap-

tured the Old City, home to holy

sites of the three Abrahamic reli-

gions, in a 1967 war and later an-

nexed it in a move unrecognized

by the international community.

In South Korea, Yoido Full Gos-

pel Church, the biggest Protestant

church in the country, allowed on-

ly about 2,000 church members to

attend Easter service, or about

17% of the capacity of church’s

main building. Masked church

members sang hymns, clapped

hands and prayed as the service

was broadcast online and by

Christian TV channels.

Seoul’s Myeongdong Catholic

Cathedral, the biggest Catholic

church in South Korea, limited

Mass attendance to 20% capacity

and livestreamed the Easter ser-

vice on YouTube.

In Italy’s southern region of Pu-

glia, the governor and many may-

ors urged the faithful to stay home

and watch Mass on TV. The region

is one of many in Italy under the

most severe “red-zone” restric-

tions due to the COVID-19 infec-

tion rate.

Attending a Saturday night

Easter Vigil Mass is a popular

practice for many in Italy. But

with the nation under a 10 p.m. to 5

a.m. curfew, churches moved up

the traditional starting times by a

couple of hours. Church bells in

Italy summoned people to servic-

es unusually early, tolling before

sunset in some places.

A similar scenario played out in

France, which is reeling from a

frightful uptick in COVID-19

cases that are overtaking already

strained hospitals. Some French

churches held their traditional

midnight Easter services just be-

fore dawn Sunday instead of on

Saturday night because of a na-

tionwide 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.

Christians mark pandemic Easter around the worldBY FRANCES D’EMILIO

Associated Press

FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AP

Pope Francis celebrates Easter Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica at The Vatican on Sunday during theCOVID19 coronavirus pandemic.

LONDON — Britain’s medi-

cines regulator is urging people to

continue taking the AstraZeneca

coronavirus vaccine, despite re-

vealing that seven people in the

United Kingdom have died from

rare blood clots after getting the

jab.

The Medicines and Healthcare

Regulatory Agency, or MHRA,

said it wasn’t clear if the shots are

causing the clots, and that its “rig-

orous review into the U.K. reports

of rare and specific types of blood

clots is ongoing.”

Though the agency said late Fri-

day that seven people had died as

a result of developing blood clots,

it didn’t disclose any information

about their ages or health condi-

tions.

In total, MHRA said it had iden-

tified 30 cases of rare blood clot

events out of 18.1 million AstraZe-

neca doses administered up to and

including March 24. The risk asso-

ciated with this type of blood clot is

“very small,” it added.

“The benefits of COVID-19 vac-

cine AstraZeneca in preventing

COVID-19 infection and its com-

plications continue to outweigh

any risks, and the public should

continue to get their vaccine when

invited to do so,” said Dr. June

Raine, the agency’s chief execu-

tive.

Concerns over the AstraZeneca

vaccine have already prompted

some countries including Canada,

France, Germany and the Nether-

lands to restrict its use to older

people.

The U.K., which has rolled out

coronavirus vaccines faster than

other European nations, is partic-

ularly reliant on the AstraZeneca

vaccine, which was developed by

scientists at the University of Ox-

ford. It has also been using the

vaccine developed by Pfizer-

BioNTech, of which the agency

has not seen any reported blood

clot events.

Figures Saturday showed that

the U.K. has given a first dose of

the vaccine to 31.4 million people,

or around 46% of its population, a

much higher rate than the rest of

Europe. Delivering second doses

is the priority for April, with 5.2

million people now having re-

ceived two jabs.

On Saturday, the U.K. recorded

another 3,423 infections, slightly

up on the previous day’s six-

month low of 3,402. It also record-

ed only 10 coronavirus-related

deaths, its lowest daily total since

early September.

MHRA’s view about the relative

benefits of the vaccine is shared

by the European Medicines Agen-

cy. It has said a causal link be-

tween unusual blood clots in peo-

ple who have had the AstraZeneca

vaccine is “not proven, but is pos-

sible,” and that the benefits of the

vaccine outweigh the risks of side

effects. The World Health Organi-

zation has also urged countries to

continue using the jab.

Adam Finn, a professor of pedi-

atrics at the University of Bristol,

said the “extreme rarity” of the

blood-clotting events in the con-

text of the millions of jabs admin-

istered in the U.K. makes the deci-

sion very straightforward.

“Receiving the vaccine is by far

the safest choice in terms of mini-

mizing individual risk of serious

illness or death,” he said.

UK: Benefits outweigh risks for AstraZeneca despite 7 deathsBY PAN PYLAS

Associated Press

Australia said it has given near-

ly 80,000 people a virus vaccina-

tion to set a new single-day high,

boosted by strong stockpiles.

A record 79,283 people re-

ceived an initial dose on Thurs-

day, the latest day that such data

is available, Health Minister Greg

Hunt told a press briefing on Sun-

day.

“The supply at this stage is

looking strong,” he said. “Given

the great and enormous global

competition, the fact we have this

domestic supply is fundamental.”

Australia has nearly eliminated

local transmissions by closing its

international border to non-resi-

dents, but occasional cases have

leaked into the community from

quarantine hotels where returned

overseas travelers must isolate

for 14 days. States have imposed

several snap lockdowns in recent

months to contain clusters.

Australia has met its principal

targets for vaccination start dates,

Hunt added, and wants to see ev-

eryone who wants a shot getting

an initial dose by the end of Octo-

ber. More than 841,000 vaccina-

tions have been completed across

Australia as of Saturday evening,

he added.

The government is behind on

its vaccine rollout plans, Mark

Butler of the opposition Austra-

lian Labor Party said Sunday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison

had promised 4 million doses

would be given by the end of

March, Butler said.

Australian authorities said on

Saturday they were working with

the European Union and the Unit-

ed Kingdom to investigate the

first local case of an unusual clot-

ting in a patient after receiving

the AstraZeneca Plc vaccine.

Australia sets national record for COVID-19 vaccinations in a dayBloomberg News


AMERICAN ROUNDUP

MMA fighter severedfinger; doctors reattach it

PA PHILADELPHIA — A

mixed martial arts

fighter had his finger severed dur-

ing a match in Philadelphia, but

doctors were eventually able to

reattach it.

Khetag Pliev was injured dur-

ing the second round of his fight,

which was stopped when the ref-

eree noticed Pliev was missing his

left ring finger.

“In the second round, he (oppo-

nent Devin Goodale) caught my

glove with one hand and held it,”

Pliev told ESPN. “I felt my finger

snapped. He kept pulling my glove

and my finger snapped. We kept

fighting. When the second round

was finished, I see my (bone) was

out in the open. I wanted to keep

fighting, because I felt like I had

this guy. But the doctor saw that

and stopped the fight.”

Pliev was taken to a hospital

where the finger was reattached.

Coin firm pays it forwardafter man paid in pennies

GA MARIETTA — A glob-

al company has

stepped in to solve quite a “coi-

nundrum” for a Georgia man.

Andreas Flaten’s former em-

ployer dumped at least 90,000

pennies on his driveway as a form

of final payment for his work at an

auto shop, he said.

When Bellevue, Wash.,-based

Coinstar heard about his predica-

ment, they decided that change

was needed.

They picked up Flaten’s coins

and rounded up the amount to give

him a $1,000 check.

They also made donations to

two charities of Flaten’s choosing:

two animal shelters.

Man charged with settingwife on fire inside home

MA LOWELL — A man

charged with inten-

tionally setting his wife on fire in a

bathtub at their Massachusetts

home was ordered held without

bail pending a future hearing.

Santos Lebron De Los Santo, 42,

of Lowell, followed his wife into

the bathroom with a gas can and a

lighter, prsoecutors said. While

she was in the bathtub, prosecu-

tors said he doused her with gaso-

line and set her on fire.

The woman suffered serious

burns to most of her body and is in

critical condition, according to

Middlesex District Attorney Mar-

ian Ryan’s office.

Man arrested for drivingcar into front of Walmart

NC CONCORD — A North

Carolina man was ar-

rested after driving a car through

the front of a Walmart, police said.

Concord police said in a news

release that officers received a

call about a car having driven

through the entrance to Walmart

near Concord Mills. When officers

arrived, they found Lacy Cordell

Gentry, 32, of Charlotte driving

the car and causing damage inside

the store, according to the news

release. Police said no one was in-

jured.

Police said an investigation de-

termined that Gentry was a for-

mer Walmart employee, but no

motive has been established for

the incident.

Mountain lion caught insuburb and relocated

NV LAS VEGAS — Au-

thorities said game

wardens responding to a report of

a mountain lion chased by coyotes

in suburban Las Vegas found the

cat in a tree, captured it and re-

leased it in a remote area.

Nevada Department of Wildlife

spokesman Doug Nielsen told the

Las Vegas Review-Journal the

cougar was found near a golf

course and later released in the

rugged Spring Mountains.

Clark County spokesman Erik

Pappa said the 60-pound female

was found up a tree. It was shot

with a tranquilizer dart, tagged

and taken to a mountain area

where Pappa said it was given

medication to reverse the tran-

quilizer effects.

Proposed roundupstarget 3,500 wild horses

WY ROCK SPRINGS —

The U.S. Bureau of

Management is accepting public

comments through the end of

April on plans to remove some

3,500 wild horses from public land

in southwestern Wyoming.

The federal agency seeks to al-

low between 1,500 and 2,165 wild

horses on five herd management

areas in the Red Desert outside

Rock Springs.

An estimated 5,105 wild horses

currently live in those areas, ac-

cording to the BLM.

The horses would be sent to

holding facilities where they

would be prepared for adoption.

Horses that don’t meet adoption

criteria would be sent to off-range

pastures.

Adultery expanded toinclude same-sex couples

NH CONCORD — The

New Hampshire Su-

preme Court has expanded the

definition of adultery to include

same-sex infidelity.

The court ruled in the case of a

man who sought a divorce on the

grounds of adultery alleging that

his wife had an affair with another

woman. A lower court dismissed

his petition based on a 2003 state

Supreme Court opinion that limit-

ed the definition of adultery to in-

tercourse between people of the

opposite sex.

But the Supreme Court over-

ruled its earlier decision, saying

the old definition is inconsistent

with the Legislature’s enactment

of same-sex marriage in 2009.

Police chief accused ofhitting wife with hammer

MO HOLDEN — A west-

ern Missouri police

chief has been placed on leave af-

ter being arrested on suspicion of

attacking his wife with a hammer.

Holden Police Chief Trent Neal

was arrested after police were

called about an attack, television

station WDAF reported. Neal, 29,

is suspected hitting his wife in the

head with a framing hammer

while the pair were in their ga-

rage, rendering the woman un-

conscious.

Investigators said in court re-

cords that the chief’s wife had vis-

ible injuries to her cheek and head

when authorities arrived at the

home. When asked how his wife

got the injuries, Neal told a detec-

tive he had “no idea” and had been

asleep when authorities arrived.

The woman told investigators

Neal has assaulted her repeatedly

over the past two years and threat-

ened to take their child away from

her.

April, giraffe that becamean online star, dies

NY HARPURSVILLE —

April, the giraffe that

became a sensation when a rural

New York zoo livestreamed her

2017 pregnancy and delivery, was

euthanized because of advancing

arthritis, the zoo said.

“She is a precious member of

our family, and while we knew this

day would eventually come, our

hearts are hurting,” Animal Ad-

venture Park owner Jordan Patch

said in a statement.

The 20-year-old giraffe started

showing signs of mobility prob-

lems last summer, and veterinary

imaging showed she had arthritis

in her feet and problems in her left

hind leg, the zoo’s veterinarians

said in a statement.

“April’s impact on animal con-

servation and appreciation is both

immeasurable and lasting,” Patch

said Friday.

JOHN RUCOSKY, THE (JOHNSTOWM, PA.) TRIBUNEDEMOCRAT/AP

Barry and Ashley Clegg of Manor, Pa., take a short hike to Beam Rocks in the Forbes State Forest in Jenner Township, Somerset County, Pa.,among snowcovered hemlocks on a cold and blustery day last week.

A walk in the woods

THE CENSUS

660 The amount in thousands of dollars that an unopened SuperMario Bros. game from 1986 sold for. The auction house said

the video game was bought as a Christmas gift but ended up being placed in adesk drawer, where it remained sealed in plastic and with its hang tab intactuntil it was found earlier this year. Heritage Auctions in Dallas said it is thefinest copy known to have been professionally graded for auction. Its sellingprice far exceeded the $114,000 that another unopened copy that was pro-duced in 1987 fetched in a Heritage auction last summer.

From The Associated Press


WORLD

Dubai police arrest groupover naked women video

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates

— Police in Dubai arrested a

group of people on charges of pub-

lic debauchery, authorities said,

over a widely shared video that

showed naked women posing on a

balcony in the city.

Violations of the public decency

law in the United Arab Emirates,

including for nudity and other

“lewd behavior,” carry penalties

of up to six months in prison and a

$1,360 fine. The sharing of porno-

graphic material is also punisha-

ble with prison time and hefty

fines under the country’s laws.

Suez Canal authorities:

Backlog of ships clearedThe queue of hundreds of ships

that built up around the Suez Ca-

nal after the grounding of the Ever

Given vessel has been cleared, ac-

cording to Egyptian authorities.

The final 85 ships passed

through the waterway on Satur-

day, the Suez Canal Authority said

on its Facebook page, adding that

the operation demonstrated its

ability to manage emergencies.

Overall, 422 vessels passed

through since the tanker was

freed on March 29, after blocking

the canal for almost a week.

11 killed, 19 injured in

China truck-bus crashBEIJING — Eleven people

were killed and 19 people injured

after a truck and a passenger bus

collided in eastern China on Sun-

day, authorities said.

The accident happened in the

early hours of Sunday, with the

truck crossing the central divider

in the middle of a highway in the

eastern province of Jiangsu and

colliding with a bus traveling in

the opposite direction, causing the

bus to overturn.

From The Associated Press

YANGON, Myanmar — Anti-

coup demonstrators in Myanmar,

adept at finding themes to tie to-

gether protests nationwide, took to

the streets holding painted eggs in

a nod to the Easter holiday on Sun-

day.

In the biggest city of Yangon,

one group marched through the

Insein district chanting and sing-

ing protest songs and cradling

eggs bearing the slogan “Spring

Revolution.” Many of the eggs also

bore a drawing of the three-fin-

gered salute, a symbol of resist-

ance to the Feb. 1 coup.

At dawn in Mandalay, the coun-

try’s second largest city, demon-

strators gathered on motorbikes to

shout protests against the power

grab that overthrew the demo-

cratically elected government.

Myanmar’s military has vio-

lently cracked down on protesters

and others in opposition, with the

latest civilian death toll since the

coup at 557, according to the inde-

pendent Assistance Association

for Political Prisoners. More than

2,750 people have been detained

or sentenced, the group said.

On Sunday, security forces

opened fire on a crowd of protes-

ters in Pyinmana in central Myan-

mar, killing at least one person, lo-

cal news outlet Khit Thit Media

reported.

Pope Francis, in his Easter Sun-

day address at St. Peter’s Basilica,

prayed for the “young people of

Myanmar committed to support-

ing democracy and making their

voices heard peacefully, in the

knowledge that hatred can be dis-

pelled only by love.”

Sunday’s so-called “Easter Egg

Strike” follows other themed days.

They included a “Flower Strike,”

in which protesters laid flowers in

public places to honor those killed

by security forces, and a “Silent

Strike,” in which people across the

country left the streets deserted.

Myanmar launches ‘Easter egg strike’Associated Press

AP

Young demonstrators participate in an anticoup mask strike in Yangon, Myanmar, on Sunday.

KAMPALA, Uganda — Ethio-

pian authorities said Saturday

that Eritrean troops have started

withdrawing from Tigray, where

they have been fighting on the

side of Ethiopian forces in a war

against the region’s fugitive lead-

ers.

The Eritreans “have now start-

ed to evacuate” Tigray and Ethio-

pian forces have “taken over

guarding the national border,”

Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Af-

fairs said in a statement.

It’s not clear how many Eri-

trean troops have left, and some

in Tigray assert that the Eritreans

aren’t leaving at all. The region’s

leaders have charged that Eri-

trean troops sometimes dressed

in Ethiopian military uniforms.

Ethiopia’s government faces

intense pressure to end the Ti-

gray war, which started in No-

vember when Prime Minister

Abiy Ahmed deployed troops

there following an attack on fed-

eral military facilities. The re-

gion’s fugitive leaders do not rec-

ognize Abiy’s authority after a na-

tional election was postponed last

year amid the coronavirus pan-

demic.

The G-7 group of nations on Fri-

day issued a strong statement

calling for the “swift, uncondi-

tional and verifiable” withdrawal

of Eritrean troops from Tigray af-

ter Abiy said last week the Eri-

treans had agreed to go.

That statement also urged “the

establishment of a clear, inclusive

political process that is accept-

able to all Ethiopians, including

those in Tigray, and which leads

to credible elections and a wider

national reconciliation process.”

The International Crisis Group

warned of the risk of a “protract-

ed” war, citing an entrenched Ti-

grayan resistance combined with

Ethiopian and Eritrean author-

ities’ determination to keep Ti-

gray’s fugitive leaders from pow-

er.

Ethiopia: Eritrean troops are pulling out of Tigray Associated Press


WORLD

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Land-

slides and flash floods from torren-

tial rains in eastern Indonesia

killed at least 41 people and dis-

placed thousands, a disaster relief

agency said Sunday. Several oth-

ers were still missing.

Mud tumbled down onto dozens

of houses in Lamenele village from

the surrounding hills shortly after

midnight on Flores Island in East

Nusa Tenggara province. Res-

cuers recovered 38 bodies and five

injured, said Lenny Ola, who heads

the local disaster agency.

The bodies of three people were

found after being swept away by

flash floods in Oyang Bayang vil-

lage as 40 houses were destroyed,

she said. Hundreds of people fled

submerged homes, some of which

were carried off by the floodwa-

ters.

Seasonal downpours cause fre-

quent landslides and floods and

kill dozens each year in Indonesia,

achain of 17,000 islands where mil-

lions of people live in mountainous

areas or near fertile flood plains.

In another village, Waiburak,

three people were killed and seven

remained missing when overnight

rains caused rivers to burst their

banks, sending muddy water into

large areas of East Flores district,

Ola said. Four injured people were

being treated at a local health clin-

ic.

OLA ADONARA/AP

Debris litter an area hit by flash floods Sunday in East Flores,Indonesia. Landslides and flash floods have killed a number of peopleand displaced thousands, the disaster agency said Sunday.

At least 41 people dead inIndonesia landslides, floods

Associated Press

uSOFIA, Bugaria — Bulgarians voted Sun-

day in a parliamentary election widely seen as

a referendum on the country’s center-right

prime minister after months of anti-govern-

ment protests and amid a surge in coronavirus

infections.

Prime Minister Boyko Borissov is hoping to

win his fourth term in office. The 61-year-old

macho-style politician has led the populist

GERB party since its founding in December

2006 and ruled Bulgaria with an iron grip for

most of the last 11 years.

“I have always taken into account what the

people decide...Let the elections be honest,”

Borissov was quoted as saying in a party press

release after he cast his ballot without report-

ers present due to pandemic restrictions.

Borissov has avoided contact with journal-

ists since the protests started in July, instead

relying on social media to broadcast his almost

daily campaign stops at construction sites

while promoting his party’s slogan: “Work,

work, work.”

Support for Borrissov at home and aboard

has eroded since thousands took to the streets

and accused the government of meddling with

oligarchs, failing to eliminate graft and pover-

ty and overhaul the judicial system.

The country’s 12,000 polling stations opened

at 7 a.m. Sunday for the 6.7 million eligible vot-

ers who are electing 240 lawmakers.

Bulgaria’s leader seeks 4th term amid pandemic, protestsAssociated Press


FACES

Paul Simon has sold his exten-

sive song catalog to Sony.

Sony Music Publishing an-

nounced Wednesday that it had

acquired the 79-year-old Queens-

bred songwriter’s publishing li-

brary, which spans six decades.

That reportedly includes his work

with Art Garfunkel from 1964

through 1970, as well as Simon’s

solo recordings.

Simon joins musicians of his era

including Neil Young, Bob Dylan,

Stevie Nicks and David Crosby in

handing over stewardship of their

work in their twilight years.

Financial terms of Simon’s deal

were not disclosed. When Young’s

deal was announced at the start of

the year, it was reported he cashed

in rights of half his music for $100

million.

Simon has won a dozen Gram-

my Awards and been inducted in-

to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

as both a solo artist and as half of

Simon & Garfunkel.

“I began my career at Colum-

bia/Sony Records and it feels like

a natural extension to be working

with the Publishing side as well,”

Simon said in a statement.

Banks returning to host

‘Dancing with the Stars’Despite some hiccups, Tyra

Banks is staying put as the host of

ABC’s hit dancing competition se-

ries “Dancing with the Stars.”

Judges Len Goodman, Derek

Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and

Bruno Tonioli are also all expect-

ed to return for the show’s 30th

season.

Last year, the supermodel-turn-

ed-business mogul took over the

helm of the show in a controver-

sial move that saw longtime hosts

Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews

put out to pasture.

The former “America’s Next

Top Model” creator also took the

reins as an executive producer on

the show, which eventually saw a

ratings bump of 9% among adults

18-49, and ranked as the No. 1

show in its two-hour time slot.

The success came despite crit-

icism on social media from die-

hard fans who criticized every-

thing from Banks’ fashion choices

and bold hairstyles to missed cues

and on-air mishaps.

Other news■ Hulu will produce a docu-

mentary series based on “The

1619 Project,” stories in The New

York Times that examined the

legacy of slavery in America dat-

ing from the arrival of the first

slave ship from Africa. Roger

Ross Williams, an Academy

Award-winning director for his

film “Music by Prudence,” will

oversee and produce the series,

Hulu announced April 1.

Sony buysPaul Simonsong catalog

From wire reports

Chuck Lorre’s new sitcom, “United States of

Al,” has caught flak online for casting a

South African actor to play an Afghan in-

terpreter, but actor Adhir Kalyan says the

show will do right by the character.

“From the perspective of someone who has appre-

hension about how this character is going to be por-

trayed, I think that’s a legitimate concern because

sometimes characters who are foreign are portrayed

in a very narrow-minded way that feels very limiting

and stereotypical,” Kalyan, 37, said.

“But I view this opportunity to play Al as a privi-

lege and I’m committed to playing him with even

more authenticity than I would if I was playing a

character with my own background. I think the re-

sponsibility of finding this character’s voice has, for

the first time in my career, been truly shared. Every-

one is endeavoring to make him as real and as true

and as authentic as possible while still allowing him

to be a bright, bubbly personality.”

Kalyan, who was born and raised in South Africa

before moving to England, and then to Los Angeles,

plays the titular Al in Lorre’s latest endeavor, which

premiered last week on CBS. As a former interpreter

for the Marines in Afghanistan, Al makes his way to

the United States and his best friend Riley, played by

Parker Young.

Both men are trying to figure out their lives: Al

starting fresh stateside, Riley adrift after coming

home.

“For a long time, his sense of identity and purpose

was rooted in that brotherhood and now he finds him-

self back stateside and he doesn’t have that mission,

that purpose,” Young, 32, said about his character.

“He’s back to rediscovering who he is beside that

which he’s identified with his whole adult life. Riley’s

also a father, he’s a brother, he’s a son. He’s doing the

best that he can, but just struggling a little bit.”

Young, who previously played a soldier in the

short-lived “Enlisted,” called his casting “serendip-

itous.” A few years ago, he moved to Coronado, Calif.,

and ended up befriending the soldiers training at the

Navy’s amphibious base in town.

“One of my buddies was getting out of the SEAL

team and he was having a hard time adjusting to civil-

ian life,” Young said. “It was just a bit jarring after

spending so much time in that high-strung, high-

adrenaline environment. He had a little bit of a loss of

identity, a loss of purpose. That in addition to some

traumatic brain injuries ... I don’t like to call it PTSD,

but just the traumas of living that kind of lifestyle. So I

had that relationship with those guys and then this

story came into my life and I couldn’t believe how

similar Riley was to my buddies.”

Yet “United States of Al” is a comedy, right down to

bad dad jokes. For every conversation about Hum-

vees on dirt roads, there’s an awkward moment at the

DMV. For every missing dog tag from a soldier who

died on duty, there’s a retort from a sassy sister.

“When we talk about the military, there needs to be

a degree of gravity there because these are serious,

life-threatening situations that our men, women and

persons are involved in. But at the same time, there is

a lot of humor,” Kalyan said.

“There is joy in moments that is unexpected. There

are situations that unfold that are silly and unrelated

to them being in Afghanistan. I love that the show has

a degree of balance. It has a bit of everything. At its

core, the show isn’t about the war. It’s about the fam-

ilies that are affected by the war once veterans come

back home.”

Showrunners brought in military consultant Chase

Millsap, a 10-year veteran of the Marine Corps and

Army Special Forces, to help with the legitimacy of

the story. The writers room included three Afghans,

and Adhir spent two weeks learning four lines of

Pashto for an on-screen video call.

While Lorre faced criticism on “Big Bang Theory”

for the stereotypical representation of Indian astro-

physicist Raj Koothrappali, Adhir said the script is

flipped in “United States of Al.”

“The joke is often coming from (Al) about the rest

of the family rather than from the rest of the family at

his expense,” he told The News.

“The character who is the foreign presence isn’t

the butt of the jokes. He’s the one holding up a mirror

and going, ‘are you all aware of how ridiculous you

are?’”

Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Adhir Kalyan, left, and Parker Young star in “United States of Al,” a comedy about the friendship betweenRiley (Young), a Marine combat veteran struggling to readjust to civilian life in Ohio, and Awalmir (Kalyan),the interpreter who served with Riley’s unit in Afghanistan and has just arrived to start a life in America.

Open to interpretationDespite flap over casting, new Chuck Lorre sitcom aboutMarine combat veteran and interpreter shows promise

BY KATE FELDMAN

New York Daily News

Fox News is entering the late-

night talk-show wars.

The Rupert Murdoch-con-

trolled network is moving its in-

house political satirist, Greg Gut-

feld, over to an 11 p.m. weeknights

slot where he can go joke-to-joke

with other late-night hosts, includ-

ing ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, CBS’

Stephen Colbert and NBC’s Jim-

my Fallon, who start about a half-

hour later.

The network, part of Murdoch’s

Fox Corp., has been buying ad

spots on those and other late-night

programs to promote “Gutfeld!,”

as the new show will be called. Fox

News even placed a billboard

across the street from the Los An-

geles studio where Kimmel re-

cords his show, declaring, “Cancel

culture just got cancelled!” The

Gutfeld program premieres April

5.

Fox executives are hoping he

can do for late-night TV what the

channel did in news: create a con-

servative alternative to the other

middle-of-the-road or liberal-

leaning networks. It’s certainly

worked for Fox News, which has

been the most-viewed cable news

channel for 19 years running. Gut-

feld, in an interview, said he sees

the same scenario playing out.

“They are covering the same

turf. They are getting all their sus-

tenance from the same buffet,” he

said of his rivals. “That leaves a

whole swath for me to pick apart.”

At stake is a slice of a late-night

TV advertising market worth

some $500 million a year, accord-

ing to market researcher Kantar.

But it’s about more than ad dollars

for Fox News. For the first time in

its history, the network is facing

competition from even more con-

servative channels, Newsmax and

One America News Network. Of-

fering more unique programming

may help it stand out.

Fox Corp., which sold the bulk

of its entertainment assets to Walt

Disney Co. two years ago, is trying

to broaden its offerings beyond

political news. Its $6-a-month Fox

Nation video streaming service,

for example, features true-crime

stories, Bible studies and reruns of

reality show “Duck Dynasty.”

A satirical late-night chat show

could potentially attract a younger

audience to Fox News, particular-

ly if Gutfeld, 56, can prove as

adept at creating viral videos for

social media as rivals such as Fal-

lon, CBS’ James Corden and

HBO’s John Oliver.

Gutfeld’s last program, “The

Greg Gutfeld Show,” aired at 10

p.m. on Saturdays. It averaged

2.56 million total viewers a night

last year, according to Nielsen da-

ta. That put it ahead of all the other

late-night hosts but Colbert, who

averaged 2.61 million.

Fox News getsin on late-nighttalk show gameBY CHRISTOPHER PALMERI

Bloomberg


Max D. Lederer Jr., Publisher

Lt. Col. Marci Hoffman, Europe commander

Lt. Col. Richard McClintic, Pacific commander

EDITORIAL

Terry Leonard, [email protected]

Robert H. Reid, Senior Managing [email protected]

Tina Croley, Managing Editor for [email protected]

Sean Moores, Managing Editor for [email protected]

Joe Gromelski, Managing Editor for [email protected]

BUREAU STAFF

Europe/MideastErik Slavin, Europe & Mideast Bureau [email protected] +49(0)631.3615.9350; DSN (314)583.9350

PacificAaron Kidd, Pacific Bureau [email protected]+81.42.552.2511 ext. 88380; DSN (315)227.7380

WashingtonJoseph Cacchioli, Washington Bureau [email protected] (+1)(202)886-0033Brian Bowers, Assistant Managing Editor, [email protected]

CIRCULATION

MideastRobert Reismann, Mideast Circulation [email protected]@stripes.comDSN (314)583-9111

EuropeKaren Lewis, Community Engagement [email protected]@stripes.com+49(0)631.3615.9090; DSN (314)583.9090

PacificMari Mori, [email protected] +81-3 6385.3171; DSN (315)227.7333

CONTACT US

Washingtontel: (+1)202.886.0003633 3rd St. NW, Suite 116, Washington, DC 20001-3050

Reader [email protected]

Additional contactsstripes.com/contactus

OMBUDSMAN

Ernie Gates

The Stars and Stripes ombudsman protects the free flowof news and information, reporting any attempts by the

military or other authorities to undermine the newspaper’sindependence. The ombudsman also responds to concerns

and questions from readers, and monitors coverage forfairness, accuracy, timeliness and balance. The ombudsmanwelcomes comments from readers, and can be contacted by

email at [email protected], or by phone at202.886.0003.

Stars and Stripes (USPS 0417900) is published week-days (except Dec. 25 and Jan. 1) for 50 cents Mondaythrough Thursday and for $1 on Friday by Pacific Stars andStripes, Unit 45002, APO AP 96301-5002. Periodicalspostage paid at San Francisco, CA, Postmaster: Sendaddress changes to Pacific Stars and Stripes, Unit 45002,APO AP 96301-5002. This newspaper is authorized by theDepartment of Defense for members of the military servicesoverseas. However, the contents of Stars and Stripes areunofficial, and are not to be considered as the official viewsof, or endorsed by, the U.S. government. As a DOD newspa-per, Stars and Stripes may be distributed through officialchannels and use appropriated funds for distribution toremote locations where overseas DOD personnel are located.

The appearance of advertising in this publication doesnot constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense orStars and Stripes of the products or services advertised.Products or services advertised shall be made available forpurchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color,religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physicalhandicap, political affiliation or any other nonmerit factor ofthe purchaser, user or patron.

© Stars and Stripes 2021

stripes.com

OPINION

Let’s be clear about one aspect in

the coming battle over President

Joe Biden’s jobs and infrastruc-

ture plan. A handful of Democrats

on Capitol Hill are well positioned to help

former President Donald Trump and his

GOP allies torpedo Biden and return Con-

gress to Republican control in 2022.

It all depends upon whose interests that

clique of Democrats places first. It’s either

their own hidebound wishes or those of a

president with a breadth of view of the na-

tion’s challenges that happens to be sup-

ported by 81 million voters.

Biden has produced a visionary $2 tril-

lion plan that leaves few of the nation’s most

pressing problems unaddressed. You can

argue about how far he goes. But unlike Re-

publican and Democratic presidents and

Congresses of the recent past, that old guy

from Delaware, says this octogenarian, has

the guts to try — thank goodness.

Highways, bridges and roads in need of

reconstruction. Public transit systems cry-

ing out for modernization. Airports, Amtrak

and the nation’s freight system wanting in-

vestment. An absent national network of

electric-car chargers. Climate measures

and clean infrastructure needed in disad-

vantaged communities. These are all action

items in the Biden plan.

Billions more would be devoted to build-

ing and rehabilitating homes for low-and

middle-income buyers, investments in pub-

lic housing, upgrading schools and child-

care facilities, modernizing Veterans Af-

fairs hospitals and clinics, plugging oil and

gas wells, laying transmission lines and ex-

tending high-speed broadband to new ar-

eas. Is anything left out?

Oh, yes, seniors, people with disabilities

and nursing home residents will get greater

access to home- or community-based care.

Caretakers will be better taken care of, too.

The jobs creation and industrial-develop-

ment features of the plan are sweeping.

The taxpayers are not left out of the pic-

ture.

Biden’s plan of $2 trillion in new spend-

ing over eight years and paid for over 15

years rests upon the federal treasury, of

course. The money comes from raising the

corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28

percent, increasing the global minimum

corporate tax, ending tax breaks for coal

companies and tightening loopholes.

Congressional Republicans, while pre-

dictably crying crocodile tears, are pump-

ing themselves up to a rage of opposition

stoked by well-off business groups and peo-

ple fattened by the 2017 Trump tax cuts.

The votes are there, however, to enact the

White House proposals, including climate

and clean infrastructure investments —

provided congressional Democrats in their

paper-thin majority remain unified. With-

out their full backing, Biden’s blueprint for

rebuilding America’s future will be torn to

pieces by Trump, still the de facto leader of

the GOP, and his coterie of obstructionists.

That outcome, unfortunately, looms on

the horizon. Here’s an inkling.

With congressional Republicans voicing

united opposition to Biden’s spending pack-

age, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-

N.Y., dismissively declared on Twitter,

“This is not nearly enough.”

Indeed, the Biden plan falls short of the

$2 trillion in investments over four years

that he called for in the 2020 campaign. And

yes, Biden’s proposal does not address all of

the backlog of road, bridge, rail and transit

repairs that are needed. But no one can

doubt that the $2 trillion plan takes the

country well beyond existing crumbling in-

frastructure. It’s also a plan that would not

even be on the table had Trump been re-

elected.

If grumbling progressives were not

enough, three House Democrats — New

York’s Thomas Suozzi and New Jersey’s

Bill Pascrell Jr. and Josh Gottheimer —

have already announced their opposition to

the Biden package because it doesn’t re-

move the cap on state and local tax deduc-

tions imposed by a Republican Congress in

enacting the 2017 Trump tax cuts.

Trump and the Republican National

Committee are no doubt a-hopin’ and a-

prayin’ that Suozzi, Pascrell and Gottheim-

er stick to their guns and stick it to Biden.

The GOP is also counting on progressive

Democrats such as Ocasio-Cortez to stay

true to their leftward leanings and hold out

for politically unachievable results.

Again, a Biden defeat is a Trump-GOP

win.

And a Republican victory spells defeat

for deep-blue states such as New York and

New Jersey.

The Otto von Bismarck quote recently

cited by Biden is apt: “Politics is the art of

the possible, the attainable, the art of the

next best.”

Do Democrats want to get through Con-

gress the best they can get at the moment?

Or will they choose sanctimony and the de-

feat that it will bring?

The power to help Biden rebuild the na-

tion is within their grasp. If they don’t tear

themselves apart.

Will these Democrats help the GOP?COLBERT I. KING

The Washington Post

As we end a year of COVID gloom,

acquire vaccines and adjourn,

squinting, into springtime, we —

at least those in several Mid-At-

lantic, Midwestern and Southern states —

will have company: the billions of periodic

cicadas known as Brood X.

They are all 17 years old and have not

seen the sun since 2004, the year they were

conceived, laid and hatched. Then they said

goodbye for a while. They tunneled into the

dirt and sucked the sap of tree roots while

counting, slowly, the years. This is the one

they were waiting for. Once the dirt gets

warm enough, they will climb out to sum-

mon mates and repeat the cycle.

What the emotionally submerged human

dreams of, the cicada literally does, digging

upward into the warmth of late spring,

sprouting wings and spending the rest of its

life buzzing, bouncing, bopping and blithely

bugging out. What a way to go: climbing into

trees and falling out of them, drunk on love

and sunshine, making a racket using just

your drum-tight abdomen, bumping nether

parts with someone you’ve just met and

clinging to them for dear, dear life, using ev-

ery second of the time you have left, which

is about six weeks.

Cicadas seize the joy that other insects

forgo. Not for them the digging of tunnels,

building of hives and mounds, cutting of

leaves and rolling of dung. No commuting

from nest to rotting corpse and back. No

stinging, no biting, no sucking blood. No

warfare. No anything, really, except mak-

ing the most of the brilliant days between

the darkness. As the 17th-century Japanese

haiku master Basho wrote:

The cry of the cicada

gives us no sign

that presently it will die.

Let humans slog along in human time, pil-

ing up the milestones this year’s graduating

class of cicadas missed: the first iPhone and

first Black president; the two new popes;

the hurricanes Katrina and Sandy; Capt.

“Sully” Sullenberger landing his damaged

jet on the Hudson; Olympic Games in Ath-

ens, Beijing, London and Rio. When this

year’s cicadas were juvenile and grublike,

Mark Zuckerberg was a Harvard under-

graduate. (Facebook, the swarm he un-

leashed, has not yet run its course.) Some

afflictions have flared and subsided, like Zi-

ka and Ebola and “High School Musical.”

New ones, unseen, are waiting their turn.

Not for Brood X to brood.

If the cicadas fear missing out, they never

show it. But then, always on schedule, they

bring in the noise and regenerative funk.

They take a hammer to our eardrums. They

creep many of us out. But after all those

years of self-denying absence, cicadas have

earned the right to rumpus.

Then the party ends and all that’s left are

cicada husks and an echoing silence. The

grubs are underground, tenacious and

alive, leaving above-ground humans to mull

about sorrow and impermanence and

death.

Unknown millions of years ago, through

evolution’s accidental genius, they hit on a

way of life of astounding utility and beauty.

They need no further adjustment.

“The Cicada is anything but pugnacious,”

wrote Charles V. Riley, state entomologist

of Missouri, observing in 1869 that the spe-

cies has no defenses and survives only

through outrageous fecundity. Their cohort

is so large they outlast every creature that

eats them, which is a lot of creatures. You

may grasp this next month when your dog

or cat is lying under a tree, belly full, unable

to even look at another cicada.

Defenseless and delicious is a generous

way to live. Think of cicadas as tree shrimp:

Come May, you can grab a few and look up

recipes. And while you chew, you can think

about your time on this side of the grass.

What have you done with your 17-year in-

crements?

As we start groping our way out of the

pandemic this spring, it might be good to

look up now and then, in the trees. Ascetic

discipline and long patience. The shedding

of inhibitions and other useless carapaces.

The hot pursuit of connection before time

runs out. Nailing your entrance — singing

loud. And knowing when to exit. These are

all invaluable life lessons, and our insect

cousins will soon be screaming them all

down at us, for weeks. Will we be listening?

Live like a cicada: Enter and exit singingBY LAWRENCE DOWNES

The Washington Post


ACROSS

1 Pool stick

4 Group of three

9 “It’s c-c-cold!”

12 Magic, on

scoreboards

13 Starbucks size

14 Aussie hopper

15 Excursions

on tandems

17 Vintage

18 Marsh

19 Grimaces

21 Arboreal ape

24 Undecided

25 Citric beverage

26 Kitten’s cry

28 Jazz legend

Vaughan

31 Match parts

33 Aachen article

35 Country singer

McCann

36 Trattoria offering

38 Insult, slangily

40 Farm female

41 Luke’s mentor

43 Hurtle

45 Cook corn

without oil

47 Have debts

48 Buddy

49 Regattas

54 Derek and

Diddley

55 Gladden

56 Tic-tac-toe win

57 Reply (Abbr.)

58 “What a pity!”

59 Bearded

antelope

DOWN

1 Male swan

2 Swiss canton

3 Yellowstone

grazer

4 Place for binge-

watching

5 Occupied

the throne

6 Neighbor of Ill.

7 “This is only —”

8 Dance clubs

9 Whole-grain dish

10 Hamburger

holder

11 Scepters

16 Flow out

20 Spoken

21 React in horror

22 Inventor’s

inspiration

23 Legendary

flagmaker

27 Marry

29 Medicinal plant

30 Actress Goldie

32 “Go no further!”

34 Lasagna cheese

37 Pueblo structures

39 Became enraged

42 Skater Ohno

44 Actor Stephen

45 “Waterloo” group

46 Press

50 Small batteries

51 Gear tooth

52 Ages and ages

53 Old French coin

Answer to Previous Puzzle

Eugene Sheffer CrosswordFra

zz

Dilbert

Pearls B

efo

re S

win

eN

on S

equitur

Candorv

ille

Carp

e D

iem

Beetle B

ailey

Biz

arr

o


SCOREBOARD/GOLF/COLLEGE

Saturday's transactionsBASEBALL

Major League BaseballAmerican League

MINNESOTA TWINS — Placed 3B Josh Do-naldson on the 10-day IL (retroactive toApril 2). Recalled OF Brent Rooker from al-ternate training site.

TAMPA BAY RAYS — Placed LHP RyanSherriff on the restricted list. Selected thecontract of C Joseph Odom from alternatetraining site.

National LeagueARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — Placed SS

Nick Ahmed on the 10-day IL (retroactiveto March 31). Recalled SS Geraldo Perdo-mo from alternate training site.

ATLANTA BRAVES — Recalled 3B JohanCamargo from alternate training site.Placed 3B Ehire Adrianza on the 10-day IL.Sent OF Phillip Ervin outright to alternatetraining site.

CINCINNATI REDS — Sent RHP Edgar Gar-cia outright to alternate training site.Claimed C Beau Taylor off waivers fromCleveland. Designated C Deivy Grullon forassignment.

BASKETBALLNational Basketball Association

HOUSTON ROCKETS — Waived G BenMcLemore.

NEW ORLEANS PELICANS — Signed GIsaiah Thomas to a 10-day contract.

SACRAMENTO KINGS — Waived G De-Quan Jeffries.

SOCCERMajor League Soccer

MINNESOTA UNITED — Signed first-round picks D Nabilai Kibinguchy and MJustin McMaster to one-year contractswith three option years.

DEALS

Miami OpenSaturday

At Tennis Center at Crandon ParkMiami

Purse: $3,260,190Surface: Hardcourt outdoor(seedings in parentheses):

Women's SinglesChampionship

Ashleigh Barty (1), Australia, def. BiancaAndreescu (8), Canada, 6-3, 4-0, ret.

Men's Doubles

Men's DoublesChampionship

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic (2), Croa-tia, def. Daniel Evans and Neal Skupski,Britain, 6-4, 6-4.

TENNIS

LPGA ANA InspirationSaturday

At Mission Hills Country ClubRancho Mirage, Calif.

Purse: $3.1 millionYardage: 6,865; Par: 72

Third RoundPatty Tavatanakit 666967—202 14Ally Ewing � 717066—207 12Mirim Lee � 697068—207 10Shanshan Feng � 676972—208 8Inbee Park � 706970—209 7Charley Hull � 696971—209 7Gaby Lopez � 736770—210 6Lydia Ko � 706971—210 6Jin Young Ko � 697071—210 6Moriya Jutanugarn � 686973—210 6

GOLF

Valero Texas OpenPGA Tour �Saturday

At TPC San Antonio �— Oaks CourseSan Antonio, TexasPurse: $7.7 million

Yardage: 7,494; Par: 72Third Round

Matt Wallace � 696867—204 12Jordan Spieth � 677067—204 12Charley Hoffman � 756665—206 10Cameron Tringale 666973—208 8Anirban Lahiri 716969—209 7Tom Hoge 687666—210 6Gary Woodland 717267—210 6Lucas Glover 736770—210 6Matt Kuchar 707070—210 6Chris Kirk 727267—211 5Chesson Hadley 737266—211 5Sebastián Muñoz 687469—211 5Brandt Snedeker 726772—211 5Camilo Villegas 647671—211 5Kyle Stanley 716872—211 5Erik van Rooyen 716872—211 5

COLLEGE HOCKEY

Frozen FourAt Pittsburgh

National SemifinalsThursday, April 8

Minn. Duluth vs. UMassSt. Cloud St. vs. Minnesota St.

National ChampionshipSaturday, April 10

Semifinal winners

College athletes will someday

soon be permitted to be paid spon-

sors, social media influencers and

product endorsers.

Change is imminent, but not ev-

eryone in college sports believes it

is for the better as athletes get clos-

er to earning money from third par-

ties for use of their name, image or

likeness (NIL).

In an Associated Press survey of

Division I athletic directors, nearly

73% said allowing athletes to be

compensated for NIL use will de-

crease the number of schools that

have a chance to be competitive in

college sports. Nearly 28% said

many fewer schools would be com-

petitive.

“NIL will be a game changer for

all,” one respondent said. “Many

will get out of college athletics as

this is not what they signed up for.

Schools should resist NIL and go

Ivy (League) non-scholarship mod-

el. I do not see why NIL is good for

all.”

Tulane athletic director Troy

Dannen was among the 15% of ADs

who said they believe NIL pay-

ments will have no impact on com-

petitive balance.

“The kids that are going to Alaba-

ma are still going to go to Alabama.

The kids that are going to Southern

Cal are still going to go to Southern

Cal. The kids that are going to Tu-

lane are still going to go to Tulane,”

said Dannen, whose school com-

petes at the top tier of Division I

football (FBS) in the American Ath-

letic Conference.

Most of the survey respondents

came from schools outside the

Power Five conferences, the

wealthiest and most powerful in

college sports (Atlantic Coast, Big

12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and Southeast-

ern).

Nearly 69% of respondents came

from the 22 conferences that do not

play FBS football. Only 10% of re-

spondents came from the Power

Five.

Clemson athletic director Dan

Radakovich, whose school com-

petes in the ACC and has had one of

the most successful football pro-

grams in the country in recent

years, said he doesn't believe NIL

compensation will damage compet-

itive balance. But he was sympa-

thetic to schools with smaller bud-

gets that have those concerns.

“But Furman's cross-country

team has ... consistently been supe-

rior to Clemson because they have

concentrated on it,” he said.

“They're going to concentrate on

the sports that they think will give

them the best opportunity to be suc-

cessful. With NIL, without NIL, I

don't think that they're going to be

on the same level with us in certain

sports.”

Loyola Maryland athletic direc-

tor Donna Woodruff said her posi-

tion on NIL compensation has

“evolved a little bit” and she is less

concerned about its impact on com-

petitive balance.

She said at Loyola, where the

women’s and men’s lacrosse teams

routinely are ranked among the

best in the country, athletes in those

sports could become more popular

than they might at schools where

the football or basketball programs

draw most of the attention.

“So there may be a dispropor-

tionate opportunity or an imbal-

ance, but I don't think it's as great as

some may fear," Woodruff said.

There is also a growing belief in

college sports that athletes best po-

sitioned to cash in their fame might

not necessarily be those whose

teams get the most TV time but

rather those with the most social

media followers.

NIL opportunities could end up

being a boon to female athletes.

“Everybody says the quarter-

back and the star power forward in

men’s basketball will get the lion’s

share of things,” New Mexico State

AD Mario Moccia said. “I’m not so

sure the men are going to dominate

the earnings, just because I don’t

think the way NIL is going to be

monetized is completely defined

yet.”

As Radakovich put it: “NIL is a

job. If you’re going to be successful,

you have to work at it."

The NCAA is trying to change its

rules regarding NIL and compen-

sation for athletes, but the process

has bogged down under scrutiny

from the Justice Department.

The clock is ticking on the NCAA.

Dozens of states are forcing the is-

sue with bills that will grant college

athletes NIL rights as early as July.

Efforts to put a federal law in place

and avoid that situation seem on the

slow track in Congress.

The NCAA was in front of the Su-

preme Court last week arguing an

antitrust case that could impact oth-

er ways athletes can be compensat-

ed.

To many NCAA critics, questions

and concerns about NIL's impact on

competitive balance and possible

corruption are moot. They say col-

leges have been denying a basic ec-

onomic right to athletes.

Most ADs sayNIL will reducecompetition

BY RALPH D. RUSSO

Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO — Jordan

Spieth shot a 5-under 67 on Satur-

day to move into a tie for the lead

heading into the final round of the

Valero Texas Open.

Spieth and Englishman Matt

Wallace are at 12 under after each

player birdied their final two holes

of the day. Wallace also posted a

67, and Charley Hoffman is alone

in third at 10 under after shooting a

65.

Hoffman was seven shots back

after a bogey at No. 4, but he fin-

ished up with six birdies and sank

a five-foot eagle putt at the 14th.

He won here five years ago.

Three consecutive bogeys early

on the back nine sent second-

round leader Cameron Tringale to

a1-over 73 that put him at 8 under

for the tournament. India’s Anir-

ban Lahiri is at 7 under after a 69.

Tom Hoge finished with five

birdies and moved up 26 spots on

the leaderboard with a third-

round 66. He is in a group of four

players at 6 under that includes

Lucas Glover (70), Gary Wood-

land (67) and Matt Kuchar (70).

The start of play was delayed 2½

hours by rain.

Time has just about run out on

Rickie Fowler’s chances to make

his 11th straight Masters appear-

ance next week. He has to win to

get in, but his 69 Saturday has him

in 21st place and nine shots out of

the lead.

With four birdies in an eight-

hole stretch, Spieth was tied with

Wallace and Hoffman for the lead

heading to the 308-yard 17th.

Spieth sailed his tee shot about 50

yards off line, right of the green,

still just about pin high. His ball

had rolled several yards down a

concrete cart path and settled onto

a gravel maintenance path.

“I didn’t feel like I had great

control of the golf ball,” Spieth

said. “I left the ball in the right

spots when it was missed and real-

ly, I did a great job managing to-

day.”

Wallace nailed his tee shot to the

fringe of the green. Spieth got free

relief with a drop off the gravel.

From about 52 yards, Spieth

opened the face of his wedge and

sailed it upward, a nifty recovery

shot that trickled the ball to about

three feet from the cup.

With his chip and short putt,

Wallace also birdied 17. Wallace

and Spieth reached the 18th in two

and each birdied again.

“It was good fun on the back

nine, trading birdies,” Spieth said.

“I think that’s what we’ll hopefully

look to do tomorrow. On the back,

it was nice to see some putts go in

within the group. It was a fun at-

mosphere out there.”

Spieth, winless since his 2017

British Open title, has been knock-

ing on the door the past two

months. He led heading into the fi-

nal round at Pebble Beach. He

shared the lead with 18 to go at

Phoenix and he led at the Arnold

Palmer Invitational with 11 holes

to go.

Wallace was a stroke back of

Tringale entering the day and took

the lead after opening with two

birdies. He bogeyed No. 11 but

came in with four birdies after

that.

“Started off lovely,” said Wal-

lace, a four-time winner in Europe

looking for his first win in the U.S.

“I felt nervous, but that’s a good

thing because I haven’t been in

this situation in a while.”

Hoffman bogeyed his fourth

hole Saturday and was seven back.

But he birdied 6 and 8 with putts

inside eight feet, and put away a

17-footer for birdie at the 12th.

His putter stayed hot at 16 and 17

– both of those birdies came from

past 13 feet.

MICHAEL THOMAS/AP

Jordan Spieth waits his turn to put during the third round of the TexasOpen in San Antonio on Saturday. Spieth is tied for the lead.

Spieth tied for leadentering final round

Associated Press


NBA

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

W L Pct GB

Philadelphia 34 15 .694 —

Brooklyn 34 15 .694 —

New York 25 25 .500 9½

Boston 24 25 .490 10

Toronto 19 30 .388 15

Southeast Division

W L Pct GB

Charlotte 25 23 .521 —

Miami 26 24 .520 —

Atlanta 25 24 .510 ½

Washington 17 31 .354 8

Orlando 17 32 .347 8½

Central Division

W L Pct GB

Milwaukee 32 17 .653 —

Indiana 22 26 .458 9½

Chicago 19 28 .404 12

Cleveland 17 32 .347 15

Detroit 14 35 .286 18

Western Conference

Southwest Division

W L Pct GB

Dallas 27 21 .563 —

San Antonio 24 23 .511 2½

Memphis 23 23 .500 3

New Orleans 21 27 .438 6

Houston 13 35 .271 14

Northwest Division

W L Pct GB

Utah 38 11 .776 —

Denver 30 18 .625 7½

Portland 30 19 .612 8

Oklahoma City 20 29 .408 18

Minnesota 12 38 .240 26½

Pacific Division

W L Pct GB

Phoenix 34 14 .708 —

L.A. Clippers 32 18 .640 3

L.A. Lakers 31 18 .633 3½

Golden State 23 26 .469 11½

Sacramento 22 28 .440 13

Thursday's games

Philadelphia 114, Cleveland 94Detroit 120, Washington 91Brooklyn 111, Charlotte 89Miami 116, Golden State 109Orlando 115, New Orleans 110, OTAtlanta 134, San Antonio 129, 2OTDenver 101, L.A. Clippers 94

Friday's games

Toronto 130, Golden State 77Dallas 99, New York 86Boston 118, Houston 102Memphis 120, Minnesota 108Charlotte 114, Indiana 97Atlanta 126, New Orleans 103Utah 113, Chicago 106Phoenix 140, Oklahoma City 103L.A. Lakers 115, Sacramento 94Milwaukee 127, Portland 109

Saturday's games

Dallas 109, Washington 87New York 125, Detroit 81Miami 115, Cleveland 101Philadelphia 122, Minnesota 113Utah 137, Orlando 91Indiana 139, San Antonio 133, OTPortland 133, Oklahoma City 85Milwaukee 129, Sacramento 128

Sunday's games

Brooklyn at ChicagoL.A. Lakers at L.A. ClippersCharlotte at BostonMemphis at PhiladelphiaGolden State at AtlantaNew Orleans at HoustonOrlando at Denver

Monday's games

Cleveland at San AntonioDetroit at Oklahoma CityNew York at BrooklynSacramento at MinnesotaUtah at DallasWashington at TorontoPhoenix at Houston

Tuesday's games

Chicago at IndianaL.A. Lakers at TorontoNew Orleans at AtlantaPhiladelphia at BostonMemphis at MiamiDetroit at DenverMilwaukee at Golden StatePortland at L.A. Clippers

Wednesday's games

Minnesota �at IndianaWashington at OrlandoNew York Knicks at BostonNew Orleans �at BrooklynDallas at HoustonMemphis at AtlantaCharlotte at Oklahoma CityUtah at Phoenix

Scoreboard

SALT LAKE CITY — Even with the best re-

cord in the NBA, the Utah Jazz are always look-

ing for ways to improve.

Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points and the

Jazz set an NBA record for three-pointers in a

half in a 137-91 win over the short-handed Or-

lando Magic on Saturday night, extending their

franchise-best home winning streak to 22.

It was also Utah’s ninth straight win overall.

“This is one of those nights for us where we

played really well, and we played the right

way,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “We played

a team that is going through a transition. That

said, we were happy with the way we played and

continue to emphasize our identity as a team,”

The Jazz made 18 three-pointers in the first

half, setting an NBA record in a season where

the Jazz are obliterating all previous franchise

long-range shooting marks.

Mitchell made 6 of 7 from beyond the arc to

help Utah open a 78-40 advantage at the break.

“They want to really help on the roll, when

you have a guy like Rudy (Gobert) they want to

help people more, so it was being able to pick

that apart and find guys. Then guys just taking

shots, that’s really what it was: taking the shots

that were given,” Mitchell said.

Joe Ingles and Bojan Bogdanovic each had 17

for the Jazz. No Utah player logged more than

24 minutes while all 13 players in uniform

scored at least five points.

The Jazz did all this without Mike Conley,

Utah’s usual starting point guard who usually

sits one side of back-to-back games to rest his

right hamstring.

Wendell Carter Jr. had 19 points and 12 re-

bounds to lead the Magic, who made just 2 of 23

from long range. Chuma Okeke had 16.

“Look, they’re playing as well as anybody in

the NBA. We weren’t ready for that. They came

out (strong) early … and we didn’t have a lot of

answers,” said Orlando coach Steve Clifford.

The Magic actually had more players on the

injured list (nine) than they had available to

play (eight). Terrence Ross was a late addition

to the lineup despite a sore ankle and scored 12

points.

“Regardless of who you’re playing, who’s out

there, who’s starting, who’s injured, we’re try-

ing to come out and play the same way that we

want to play every game … be aggressive defen-

sively, rebound the ball and run,” Ingles said.

The Magic had actually won their previous

two games after overhauling their team last

week before the trade deadline. Orlando sent

away veteran mainstays Nikola Vucevic, Evan

Fournier and Aaron Gordon, who had all been

with the Magic for more than seven seasons.

Jazz set record for threes in halfBY MATTHEW COLES

Associated Press

RICK BOWMER/AP

Donovan Mitchell shoots a threepointeragainst the Magic on Saturday. Mitchell hadsix of Utah’s 18 firsthalf threepointers.

PHILADELPHIA — Joel Em-

biid was happy to be back on the

court even if he wasn’t thrilled

with his game.

Embiid had 24 points and eight

rebounds in his return to the li-

neup, and Tobias Harris scored 32

to lead the Philadelphia 76ers over

the Minnesota Timberwolves 122-

113 on Saturday night.

Embiid missed the previous 10

games due to a bone bruise in his

left knee. The four-time All-Star

and MVP candidate entered ave-

raging 29.9 points and 11.5 re-

bounds in 31 games this season.

Philadelphia fans were happy to

see their favorite big man back in

action, serenading a smiling Em-

biid with “M-V-P! M-V-P!” chants

when he was shown on the big

screen during warmups.

With his left knee heavily wrap-

ped, Embiid moved well but his

game wasn’t quite as sharp as it

had been before he got injured

March 12 at Washington. Embiid

shot 6 of 14 from the field, but mis-

sed all four three-point tries, and

converted 12 of 17 free throws.

“It felt great,” he said. “Just try-

ing to get my rhythm back. I’m go-

ing to blame the brace I was wear-

ing. I just felt like I didn’t have my

rhythm all game. It felt like I

wasn’t smooth. I hate the brace.”

Ben Simmons added 14 points,

eight rebounds and six assists for

Philadelphia (34-15), which pulled

even with idle Brooklyn for the

best record in the Eastern Confer-

ence.

“We won the game, but I wasn’t

thrilled how we played,” coach

Doc Rivers said. “It was one of

those sloppy, ugly games. We had

so many chances to put the game

away, but we refused to do that to-

night.”

Karl-Anthony Towns had 39

points, 14 rebounds and five as-

sists for the Timberwolves, who

have the worst record in the NBA

at 12-38.

“He is unstoppable. Just give

him the ball,” said teammate An-

thony Edwards, who added 27

points.

Heat 115, Cavaliers 101: Dun-

can Robinson scored 18 points on

6-for-9 shooting from three-point

range and Miami continued its

home dominance over Cleveland.

Bam Adebayo finished with 18

points and 11 rebounds, Trevor

Ariza scored 15 and Jimmy Butler

added 15 points and 11 assists as

the Heat won their 20th straight

against the Cavaliers in Miami.

Pacers 139, Spurs 133 (OT):

Caris LeVert scored 26 points and

short-handed Indiana snapped a

three-game losing streak by beat-

ing host San Antonio in overtime.

Aaron Holiday, Myles Turner

and T.J. McConnell each had 18

points for Indiana.

San Antonio outscored Indiana

5-0 in the final two minutes of reg-

ulation to force the extra period

but lost its second straight game at

home in overtime. DeMar DeRo-

zan had 25 points for the Spurs.

Mavericks 109, Wizards 87:

Luka Doncic scored 26 points as

visiting Dallas defeated Washing-

ton for its fourth straight victory.

Doncic added eight rebounds

and six assists to help the Maver-

icks finish 4-1 on their road trip.

Russell Westbrook had 26

points and 14 rebounds but the

Wizards set a season low for

points.

Knicks 125, Pistons 81: Julius

Randle scored 20 of his 29 points

in the first quarter and visiting

New York pounded Detroit.

Randle and Reggie Bullock,

who had 22 points, hit four three-

pointers apiece in the first as New

York put it away early. The Knicks

stopped a three-game slide, re-

turning to .500 at 25-25.

Bucks 129, Kings 128: Jrue

Holiday scored a season-high 33

points to go with 11 assists and sev-

en rebounds, and visiting Milwau-

kee overcame the absence of

Giannis Antetokounmpo to slip

past Sacramento.

Brook Lopez had 26 points and

Donte DiVincenzo added 12

points, seven assists and a season-

best 14 rebounds for Milwaukee.

Trail Blazers 133, Thunder 85:

CJ McCollum scored 20 points to

lead eight Trail Blazers in double

figures as host Portland routed

Oklahoma City.

Damian Lillard and Anfernee

Simons each added 16 points for

the Blazers, who sent their start-

ers to the bench before taking a

104-59 lead into the final quarter.

ROUNDUP

Embiid has 24 points in return, 76ers winAssociated Press

CHRIS SZAGOLA / AP

The 76ers’ Joel Embiid reacts to no call on a shot at the end of thefirst half of Philadelphia’s victory over Minnesota on Saturday inPhiladelphia. Embiid returned to the lineup after missing 10 games.


East Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Washington 37 24 9 4 52 127 113

N.Y. Islanders 38 24 10 4 52 117 90

Pittsburgh 38 24 12 2 50 126 102

Boston 34 19 10 5 43 96 86

Philadelphia 36 17 14 5 39 109 132

N.Y. Rangers 37 17 15 5 39 117 99

New Jersey 35 13 16 6 32 84 108

Buffalo 37 8 23 6 22 82 128

Central Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Tampa Bay 37 26 9 2 54 129 88

Florida 38 25 9 4 54 127 103

Carolina 36 24 9 3 51 119 92

Nashville 39 20 18 1 41 99 113

Chicago 39 17 17 5 39 109 122

Dallas 35 13 12 10 36 98 94

Columbus 39 14 17 8 36 98 126

Detroit 39 12 22 5 29 83 124

West Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Colorado 37 25 8 4 54 132 83

Vegas 36 24 10 2 50 113 84

Minnesota 36 23 11 2 48 104 89

Arizona 37 17 15 5 39 99 114

St. Louis 37 16 15 6 38 103 118

San Jose 37 17 16 4 38 105 122

Los Angeles 36 14 16 6 34 98 102

Anaheim 38 11 21 6 28 85 127

North Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Toronto 37 24 10 3 51 121 93

Edmonton 38 23 14 1 47 125 109

Winnipeg 38 22 13 3 47 121 104

Montreal 34 16 9 9 41 111 94

Vancouver 37 16 18 3 35 100 120

Calgary 38 16 19 3 35 98 115

Ottawa 38 13 21 4 30 101 142

Thursday's games

Montreal 4, Ottawa 1Tampa Bay 3, Columbus 2Pittsburgh 4, Boston 1Florida 3, Detroit 2, OTDallas 4, Nashville 1Minnesota 3, Vegas 2, SON.Y. Rangers 3, Buffalo 2, OTN.Y. Islanders 8, Washington 4Carolina 4, Chicago 3

Friday's games

Washington 2, New Jersey 1, OTToronto 2, Winnipeg 1, SOEdmonton 3, Calgary 2Colorado 3, St. Louis 2San Jose 3, Los Angeles 0Arizona 4, Anaheim 2

Saturday's games

Tampa Bay 2, Detroit 1Boston 7, Pittsburgh 5Nashville 3, Chicago 0Dallas 3, Carolina 2Florida 5, Columbus 2N.Y. Islanders 3, Philadelphia 2, SOBuffalo 3, N.Y. Rangers 2, SOOttawa 6, Montreal 3Minnesota 2, Vegas 1Colorado 2, St. Louis 1San Jose 3, Los Angeles 2Vancouver at Edmonton, ppd

Sunday's games

Detroit at Tampa BayWashington at New JerseyColumbus at FloridaDallas at CarolinaArizona at AnaheimToronto at CalgaryVancouver at Winnipeg, ppd

Monday's games

Edmonton at MontrealOttawa at WinnipegPhiladelphia at BostonColorado at MinnesotaVegas at St. LouisToronto at CalgaryArizona at Los Angeles

Tuesday's games

Boston at PhiladelphiaBuffalo at New JerseyFlorida at CarolinaPittsburgh at N.Y. RangersTampa Bay at ColumbusWashington at N.Y. IslandersNashville at DetroitDallas at ChicagoVancouver at Winnipeg, ppdAnaheim at San Jose

Scoring leaders

Through Friday

GP G APTS

Connor McDavid, EDM 38 22 42 64

Leon Draisaitl, EDM 38 19 37 56

Patrick Kane, CHI 38 13 36 49

Mitchell Marner, TOR 37 13 33 46

Mark Scheifele, WPG 38 15 29 44

Scoreboard

NHL

LOS ANGELES— Dylan Gam-

brell scored in the third period, and

the San Jose Sharks beat the Los

Angeles Kings 3-2 on Saturday

night for their fourth straight victo-

ry.

Kevin Labanc and Evander Kane

each had a goal and an assist for the

Sharks, who have won six of eight

overall to climb back into playoff

contention.

San Jose is one point behind Ari-

zona for the final postseason spot in

the West after being eight points out

to start the week.

“I think we’re making strides,”

Sharks center Logan Couture said.

“We’re in a spot right now with 19

games left to make a push and see

where we end up, so I’m definitely

happy with how we’ve played this

last stretch.”

San Jose goalie Martin Jones

stopped 35 shots after he made 30

saves in Friday night’s 3-0 win at

Los Angeles.

On the winning goal, Jonathan

Quick was caught playing the puck

out from behind his own net. John

Leonard stole it and found Gam-

brell for an easy shot into an open

net at 15:23.

“Johnny did all the work there, so

I can’t take too much credit,” Gam-

brell said. “He went end to end

there and did all the work, and I was

just there to tap it in so kudos to

him.”

Bruins 7, Penguins 5:Brad Mar-

chand scored two of his three goals

during host Boston’s five-goal sec-

ond period, and the Bruins re-

bounded from a lackluster effort.

David Pastrnak had two goals

and an assist for Boston, which lost

4-1 to Pittsburgh on Thursday night.

David Krejci added a goal and an

assist, and Patrice Bergeron also

scored.

Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel

each had a goal and two assists for

the Penguins. Mark Jankowski had

a goal and an assist, and Jared

McCann and Cody Ceci also scored.

Casey DeSmith had 21 saves for

Pittsburgh, which had won five in a

row.

Wild 2, Golden Knights 1: Joel

Eriksson Ek snapped a tie in the

third period and Cam Talbot made

27 saves, sending visiting Minneso-

ta to the vistory.

The Wild became the first team to

sweep a two-game series in Las Ve-

gas this season. The Golden Knights

(0-2-1) are mired in their first three-

game skid of the season.

Kirill Kaprizov also scored for

Minnesota in the third.

Tomas Nosek scored the lone

goal for Vegas. Marc-Andre Fleury

made 25 saves.

Avalanche 2, Blues 1: Cale Ma-

kar scored with 40 seconds left to lift

host Colorado to its fourth consec-

utive victory.

Nathan MacKinnon also scored

and Philipp Grubauer stopped 27

shots for Colorado. The Avalanche

improved to 12-0-2 over their past 14

games.

Ryan O’Reilly scored for St. Louis

and Ville Husso had 32 saves. The

Blues have dropped five straight (0-

4-1).

Stars 3, Hurricanes 2: Tanner

Kero snapped a tie 2:52 into the

third period, and visiting Dallas

posted consecutive victories for the

first time since the opening week of

the season.

Andrew Cogliano and Jamie

Benn also scored for Dallas, which

won 4-1 at Nashville on Thursday

night. Mark Pysyk recorded his

first two assists of the season, and

Jake Oettinger made 41 saves.

The Stars last had a winning

streak when they won their first

four games of the year.

Islanders 3, Flyers 2 (SO):Math-

ew Barzal scored in the shootout,

and New York continued its dom-

inant play at home.

Barzal scored in the fourth round

of the tiebreaker after Islanders

goaltender Ilya Sorokin denied

Flyers captain Claude Giroux’s

chance to win the game. After Bar-

zal scored, Sorokin then stopped Ja-

kub Voracek to seal the win.

Sorokin made 30 saves in 65 min-

utes of play and improved to 9-3-1

on the season.

The Islanders continued their

strong play at Nassau Coliseum,

where they are 15-1-2 this season.

Panthers 5, Blue Jackets 2:Alex

Wennberg scored three times for

his first career hat trick, leading

host Florida to its season-high fifth

straight win.

MacKenzie Weegar and Frank

Vatrano each had a goal and an as-

sist for the Panthers. Sergei Bo-

brovsky stopped 44 shots.

Oliver Bjorkstrand and Zach We-

renski scored for Columbus. Elvis

Merzlikins made 22 saves through

two periods but was replaced by

Joonas Korpisalo, who stopped 12

shots in the third.

Predators 3, Blackhawks 0: Ju-

use Saros made 41 saves, leading

hoist Nashville to the victory.

Eeli Tolvanen, Colton Sissons

and Luke Kunin scored for the

Predators, winners of seven of

eight.

The Blackhawks lost for the

fourth time in five games. Kevin

Lankinen made 18 saves.

With the victory, Nashville

moved two points ahead of Chicago

for fourth place in the Central Divi-

sion. The top four teams in each di-

vision qualify for the playoffs this

season. Nashville has won all five

meetings between the teams this

season.

Sabres 3, Rangers 2 (SO): Vic-

tor Olofsson tied the game with 3:41

left in the third period, and host Buf-

falo’s Tage Thompson scored the

only goal in a shootout.

Thompson beat Rangers goalie

Igor Shesterkin with a low snap shot

in the second round of the tiebreak-

er. Buffalo goalie Linus Ullmark de-

nied Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibane-

jad and Kaapo Kakko.

Casey Mittelstadt also scored for

the Sabres, and Ullmark made 28

saves in improving to 7-5-3 this sea-

son. Buffalo extended its point

streak to four games.

Panarin scored both New York

goals, giving him 11 on the season.

Shesterkin finished with 27 saves.

Lightning 2, Red Wings 1: An-

drei Vasilevskiy made 25 stops, and

host Tampa Bay earned its second

straight win.

Vasilevskiy improved to 12-0 in

his career against Detroit. Ross Col-

ton and Brayden Point scored for

the Lightning.

Senators 6, Canadiens 3: Evge-

nii Dadonov scored twice and Ar-

tem Anisimov had three assists,

leading visiting Ottawa past Mon-

treal.

Anton Forsberg finished with 35

saves for Ottawa.

MARK J. TERRILL/AP

San Jose Sharks right wing Timo Meier, right, tries to get a shot past Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick, left, as defenseman MikeyAnderson defends during the third period on Saturday in Los Angeles.

ROUNDUP

Gambrell scores late to lift Sharks


MLB

American League

East Division

W L Pct GB

Baltimore 2 01.000 _

Tampa Bay 2 1 .667 ½

New York 1 1 .500 1

Toronto 1 1 .500 1

Boston 0 2 .000 2

Central Division

W L Pct GB

Detroit 2 01.000 _

Kansas City 2 01.000 _

Minnesota 1 1 .500 1

Chicago 1 2 .333 1½

Cleveland 0 2 .000 2

West Division

W L Pct GB

Houston 3 01.000 _

Los Angeles 2 1 .667 ½

Seattle 2 1 .667 ½

Texas 0 2 .000 2

Oakland 0 3 .000 3

National League

East Division

W L Pct GB

Philadelphia 2 01.000 _

New York 0 0 .000 1

Washington 0 0 .000 1

Miami 1 2 .333 1½

Atlanta 0 2 .000 2

Central Division

W L Pct GB

Chicago 1 1 .500 _

Cincinnati 1 1 .500 _

Milwaukee 1 1 .500 _

Pittsburgh 1 1 .500 _

St. Louis 1 1 .500 _

West Division

W L Pct GB

San Diego 3 01.000 _

Los Angeles 2 1 .667 1

Colorado 1 2 .333 2

San Francisco 1 2 .333 2

Arizona 0 3 .000 3

Friday's games

Baltimore 3, Boston 0Tampa Bay 6, Miami 4Houston 9, Oakland 5Chicago White Sox 12, L.A. Angels 8San Francisco 6, Seattle 3L.A. Dodgers 11, Colorado 6San Francisco 6, Seattle 3San Diego 4, Arizona 2

Saturday's games

Baltimore 4, Boston 2Detroit 5, Cleveland 2N.Y. Yankees 5, Toronto 3Kansas City 11, Texas 4Miami 12, Tampa Bay 7Minnesota 2, Milwaukee 0Seattle 4, San Francisco 0L.A. Angels 5, Chicago White Sox 3Houston �9, Oakland 1Chicago Cubs 5, Pittsburgh 1Philadelphia 4, Atlanta 0Cincinnati 9, St. Louis 6San Diego 7, Arizona 0L.A. Dodgers 6, Colorado 5N.Y. Mets at Washington, ppd.

Sunday's games

Toronto at N.Y. YankeesBaltimore at BostonCleveland at DetroitMinnesota �at MilwaukeeTexasat Kansas CityHouston at OaklandChicago White Sox at L.A. AngelsAtlanta �at PhiladelphiaN.Y. Mets at Washington, ppd.St. Louis at Cincinnati Minnesota at MilwaukeePittsburgh at Chicago CubsL.A. Dodgers at ColoradoArizona �at San Diego

Monday's games

Minnesota at DetroitToronto at TexasKansas City at ClevelandBaltimore at N.Y. YankeesTampa Bay at BostonHouston at L.A. AngelsL.A. Dodgers at OaklandChicago White Sox at SeattleAtlanta at WashingtonPittsburgh at CincinnatiSt. Louis at MiamiN.Y. Mets at PhiladelphiaMilwaukee at Chicago CubsSan Francisco at San Diego

Calendar

July 11-13 — Amateur draft, TBA.July 13 — AllStar Game, TBA.July 25 — Hall of Fame induction, Coo

perstown, N.Y.

Scoreboard

CINCINNATI — Nick Castella-nos stood over, flexed and jawed atSt. Louis pitcher Jake Woodfordafter scoring, setting off a series ofscuffles that included relieversshoving in the outfield as the Cin-cinnati Reds beat the Cardinals 9-6Saturday.

St. Louis starter Adam Wainw-right was knocked around for sixruns and chased in the third. Thenext inning, the teams started tag-ging each other.

Castellanos, who homered onopening day and hopped out of thebox before tossing his bat, wasplunked by Woodford with twoouts and none on in the fourth. Cas-tellanos retrieved the ball and of-fered to toss it back to Woodfordbefore flipping it out of play.

A wild pitch soon sent Castella-nos scampering home from thirdand he scored with a headfirstslide for a 7-2 lead as he bumpedinto Woodford, who took the throwfrom catcher Yadier Molina at theplate.

As Castellanos began walkingaway, Molina rushed up andtapped him from behind, and thebenches and bullpens emptied in awild scene.

There was more pushing andshoving before order seemed to berestored. But as relief pitchers forboth teams were heading back totheir bullpens, they tangled in theoutfield.

Castellanos was the only playerejected.

Cincinnati’s Tyler Mahle (1-0)struck out nine in five innings, al-lowing two earned runs.

Wainwright (0-1) lasted only 22/3 innings and gave up fiveearned runs and seven hits.

Twins 2, Brewers 0: José Ber-ríos and three Minnesota relieverscombined on a one-hitter with 17strikeouts to outduel host Milwau-kee’s Corbin Burnes.

The Twins held Milwaukee hit-less until Omar Narváez delivereda one-out single off reliever TylerDuffey in the eighth inning. Nei-ther team had a hit or walk untilMinnesota’s Byron Buxton led offthe seventh with a homer againstBurnes (0-1).

Astros 9, Athletics 1: YordanÁlvarez hit a three-run homer andvisiting Houston kept thrivingthrough all the boos, slugging itsway to a third straight win overOakland.

Houston has outscored Oakland26-7 in three games against the de-fending AL West champion A’s,who were eliminated by the Astrosin a four-game AL Division Serieslast fall.

Lance McCullers Jr. (1-0) did hispart. The Houston right-handerstruck out seven and walked three

in five innings, allowing two hitsand one run.

Yankees 5, Blue Jays 3: GarySánchez joined Elston Howard in1963 as the only Yankees catchersto homer in each of the first twogames of a season and Jay Bruceblooped a two-run single in theseventh for his first hit with hisnew team in host New York’s winover Toronto.

Two-time Cy Young Award win-ner Corey Kluber, limited by inju-ries to one inning in the previoustwo seasons, pitched around con-trol problems to allow one earnedrun in four innings in his Yankeesdebut.

Orioles 4, Red Sox 2: MaikelFranco drove in two runs after aBoston error, Pedro Severino hadhis second two-hit game in a rowand Matt Harvey made his Oriolesdebut in a win over the host RedSox.

Franco’s single came after RedSox third baseman Rafael Deversmade a diving stop on Austin Hays’grounder but sailed the throw tosecond. The Orioles also took ad-vantage of a Boston error for a two-run inning in Friday’s opener, a 3-0win.

Tigers 5, Indians 2: Julio Tehe-ran pitched through trouble in hisDetroit debut, leading the Tigers toa win over visiting Cleveland.

For a second straight game, De-troit scored two runs in the firstand led the rest of the way. WilliCastro hit an RBI triple off ZachPlesac (0-1) and came home on Mi-guel Cabrera’s groundout. The Ti-gers added three runs in the sev-enth.

Royals 11, Rangers 4: MichaelA. Taylor homered and drove inthree for the second straight game,

leading host Kansas City over Tex-as.

Released by Washington afterhitting .196 last season, Taylor isoff to a sensational start for KansasCity. After getting three hits andthrowing out two runners at theplate from center field in a 14-10win on opening day, Taylor cameback with a home run and double.

Whit Merrifield also homeredfor the second game in a row.

Cubs 5, Pirates 1: Jake Arrietapitched six solid innings in a trium-phant return to the Cubs, KrisBryant and Jason Heyward home-red, and host Chicago beat Pitts-burgh.

Arrieta (1-0) got a warm recep-tion prior to the game, then gave upjust one run and six hits. The 35-year-old right-hander struck outfive and walked one.

Phillies 4, Braves 0: ZackWheeler allowed only one hit andstruck out 10 in seven innings andhad two hits and two RBIs at theplate to lead host Philadelphiaover Atlanta.

Wheeler retired the final 17 At-lanta hitters he faced after a one-out single by Travis d’Arnaud inthe second.

Wheeler put the Phillies aheadto stay with his run-scoring singlein the fifth against Charlie Morton(0-1). Rhys Hoskins made it 3-0with a two-run double.

Marlins 12, Rays 7: StarlingMarte had four hits and Miamibeat Tampa Bay at home for thefirst time since 2018.

Garrett Cooper homered anddrove in three runs for the Marlins,and pinch-hitter Adam Duvall alsowent deep. Marte and leadoff manMiguel Rojas each scored threetimes.

Padres 7, Diamondbacks 0:

Joe Musgrove was brilliant in hisdebut for his hometown Padres,Manny Machado homered for hisfirst hit of 2021 and Wil Myersdrove in three runs on two doublesas San Diego beat visiting Arizona.

Musgrove (1-0) held the Dia-mondbacks to three hits in six in-nings while striking out eight andwalking none.

Dodgers 6, Rockies 5: ZachMcKinstry hustled for a go-ahead,inside-the-park homer in theeighth inning when left fielder Rai-mel Tapia reached over the fenceto bring the ball back, only to haveit bounce out of his glove and rollaway, helping visiting Los Angelesbeat Colorado.

Kenley Jansen got five outs toearn the save.

McKinstry lined a fastball fromMychal Givens (0-1) that resultedin his first major league homer. Itwas the first inside-the-parkhomer by a Dodgers player sinceChris Taylor on Sept. 18, 2017, atPhiladelphia.

Angels 5, White Sox 3: JustinUpton’s homer capped a three-runrally in the eighth inning and hostLos Angeles, helped by a flyballthat bounced off the head of WhiteSox center fielder Luis Robert,beat hot-hitting Yermín Mercedesand Chicago.

Mariners 4, Giants 0: ChrisFlexen returned to the majors witha win after a year in South Korea,and host Seattle got home runsfrom Mitch Haniger and TyFrance while shutting out SanFrancisco.

Flexen (1-0) struck out six andallowed four hits in five sharp in-nings to help the Mariners taketheir first series of the year.

ROUNDUP

Reds scrap with and beat Cards

AARON DOSTER / AP

The St. Louis Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado, center left, reacts alongside teammate catcher Yadier Molina,center, as they scrum with members of the Cincinnati Reds during the fourth inning on Saturday.

Associated Press


NCAA TOURNAMENT

players reacted that it was an all-

timer,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few

said.

The bid for the first undefeated

team since Indiana in 1976 is still

intact.

“It was nuts. I still can’t speak,”

Suggs said. “I have a million

things going on in my head. I just

can’t believe that it happened.”

Baylor seemed to lose some de-

fensive mojo during a three-week

COVID-19 pause late in the sea-

son. The rotations, not as sharp.

The closeouts, not quite as close.

But the Bears (27-2) rolled

through the first four NCAA Tour-

nament games, winning at a near-

ly 15-points clip, and brought an

extra jolt of energy in their first Fi-

nal Four game since 1950.

Flying around Lucas Oil Stadi-

um, Baylor had the Cougars (28-4)

stumbling across the floor with

wave after wave of defenders.

They made every shot a chore for

Houston, switching or trapping

ball screens to prevent open looks

and collapsing in the paint when-

ever the Cougars did break free.

A defensive demolition that

bodes well for the title game

against the ultra-efficient Zags.

“It’s starting to feel like we’re

back to where we were before the

pause,” said Baylor’s Jared But-

ler, who had 17 points. “It’s great

that this is the right time. We

thought it was the worst thing pos-

sible when we stopped and it was a

three-week break, but I think it

worked out perfectly for us.”

UCLA’s upset bid against col-

lege basketball’s juggernaut

hinged on two big factors: bogging

down the game and making shots.

The Bruins (22-10) did both to

perfection in the first half.

The bogging down came via the

slow roll. With coach Mick Cronin

giving slow-down hand gestures,

UCLA refused to run even when it

had opportunities and methodi-

cally worked its offense in half

court sets.

The shot making part is some-

thing UCLA has been doing all

through the bracket. Tough shots

have fallen since the Bruins ar-

rived in Indy and they kept drop-

ping in the Final Four – 15 of 26, 4

of 7 from three.

All those shots going in meant

fewer rebounds, in turn meaning

fewer opportunities for the Bull-

dogs to get out and do what they do

best: run. Gonzaga made 17 of 28

shots, but only led 45-44 at half-

time.

The Zags (31-0) were in a simi-

lar position in the West Coast Con-

ference Tournament title game.

They trailed by 14 in the first half,

found their rhythm and won by 10.

The Bruins wouldn't let it hap-

pen to them. They kept making

shots, taking it down to the wire.

Drew Timme took a late charge

against Johnny Juzang in regula-

tion to send it to overtime. After

Juzang scored on a putback, Suggs

provided the did-that-just-happen

flourish, dribbling over the half-

court and letting it fly for the first

buzzer-beater of the tournament.

“He’s got that magical aura,”

Few said. “It’s been crazy this

year how many he’s made in prac-

tice where (it’s on) last-second

shots. I felt pretty good. I was star-

ing right at it. I was like, ‘That’s in,’

and it was.”

A miracle finish, setting up

what is sure to be a mesmerizing

title game college basketball fans

have waited two years to see.

Advance: Bulldogs will meet Bears with title, undefeated season on the line

DARRON CUMMINGS/AP

Baylor guards Matthew Mayer, left, and Jackson Moffatt celebrate asthey walk off the court after beating Houston, Saturday, at Lucas OilStadium in Indianapolis. Baylor won 7859.

FROM PAGE 24

INDIANAPOLIS — Nearly two

decades ago, Scott Drew decided

to leave his comfort zone at tiny

Valparaiso for the scandal-

plagued basketball program at

Baylor, explaining to his father

that there was nowhere for the

Bears to go but up.

Now, they’re one win away from

the top.

Led by Jared Butler and the rest

of their brilliant backcourt, a de-

fense that refused to give Houston

an inch and a coach intent on mak-

ing the most of his first trip to the

Final Four, the Bears roared to a

78-59 victory Saturday night in

their first appearance in the

NCAA Tournament semifinals in

71 long years.

“Every day you're grinding, and

you don't really look back. You're

pressing forward,” Drew said,

“but I'm so blessed to have these

unbelievable players that bought

into what we like to do with the

program.”

Or, as Butler put it: “This is

what we came to Baylor to do.”

Butler scored all 17 of his points

in the first half, but just about ev-

eryone from Baylor (27-2) got into

the act, with five players scoring

in double figures. They built a 45-

20 lead by halftime and coasted

the rest of the way in the first Final

Four showdown between schools

from the Lone Star State.

Next up for the Bears is Gonza-

ga, the overall No. 1 seed, which

beat UCLA 93-90 when Jalen

Suggs banked in a buzzer-beater

in overtime. Monday night's

championship is a matchup that

was supposed to take place in De-

cember, but that game was called

off hours before tipoff due to a CO-

VID-19 outbreak within the Bull-

dogs program.

“They got pros, we got pros.

They win a lot of games, we win a

lot of games,” Butler said. "I think

we match up pretty well."

Better than Houston did with

them.

Marcus Sasser had 20 points

and Quentin Grimes 13 for the

cold-shooting Cougars (28-4),

whose dream path to their first Fi-

nal Four since 1984 — they faced

teams seeded 15th, 10th, 11th and

12th along the way — ended with a

whimper against a team that spent

most of the season ranked No. 2 in

the nation behind Gonzaga.

“We had a great run,” Sasser

said as he choked back tears. “Just

fell short this year.”

Butler said this week that Bay-

lor had been focused squarely on

the Final Four since the moment

last year's tournament was can-

celed by the pandemic. And for

Drew, the wait goes back even

longer.

He took over a program 18 years

ago embroiled in arguably the big-

gest controversy in college bas-

ketball history: the graphic shoot-

ing death of player Patrick Denne-

hy, his teammate Devon Dotson

pleading guilty to his murder, at-

tempts by then-coach Dave Bliss

to cover it all up and NCAA sanc-

tions that lasted well into Drew's

own tenure.

Yet somehow, the son of long-

time Valpo coach Homer Drew

could always picture the scene

that unfolded Saturday night: His

team playing selflessly, almost ef-

fortlessly, never once feeling the

pressure of college basketball's

biggest stage, then celebrating

their success at midcourt when

the final buzzer sounded.

Well, there were a couple things

Drew probably didn't picture.

Instead of 70,000 fans reaching

to the rafters, the Bears were

cheered in the lower bowl by thou-

sands of cardboard cutouts — the

late Georgetown coach John

Thompson, New Mexico State

mascot Pistol Pete and everyone

in between — due to COVID-19

measures that have forced them to

live in a bubble for the last three

weeks.

The roughly 8,000 fans that

were allowed through the doors,

socially distanced in a vast ocean

of blue seats, provided a muted

soundtrack to the blowout taking

place inside the cavernous home

of the Indianapolis Colts.

“This was probably the toughest

year for any of us,” Houston coach

Kelvin Sampson said, “and not

just the bubble here but COVID

challenges, isolation, being quar-

antined, social distancing, masks

— this was quite a year. But you

know, the sting of this will leave

them. Days will turn into weeks,

weeks into months, and what

they'll remember is the memo-

ries.”

At least, all those leading up to

Saturday night.

MICHAEL CONROY/AP

Houston forward Fabian White Jr. (35) passes between Baylor guard Mark Vital (11) and forward JonathanTchamwa Tchatchoua, right, during Saturday’s Final Four game, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Baylor cruisespast Houston

BY DAVE SKRETTA

Associated Press


NCAA TOURNAMENT

INDIANAPOLIS — Jalen Suggs took the in-

bounds pass and saw nothing but clear sail-

ing. Three dribbles. Past the half-court line. A

little stutter-step.

And straight into history.

The Gonzaga freshman banked in a shot at

the buzzer from near the Final Four logo for a

93-90 overtime win over UCLA on Saturday

night that vaulted the Bulldogs to within one

win of an undefeated season and the national

title.

Talk about a perfect finish!

This thriller in the national semifinal was

the best game of the tournament, and, consid-

ering the stakes, it served up possibly the best

ending in the history of March Madness — a

kiss off the glass from near midcourt to keep a

perfect season alive.

“Stuff like this is something you dream of as

a kid and that you practice on your mini-

hoop,” Suggs said.

After the shot went in, Suggs ran to the

mostly empty press row, jumped up on the

table, pumped his fists and let out a huge yell

to the crowd of 8,000-or-so socially distanced

fans. The refs checked to make sure he got the

shot off before the buzzer sounded. He did,

and the Bulldogs moved to 31-0 and into Mon-

day night’s final, where they’ll play Baylor for

the title.

They are the first team to bring an unde-

feated record into the championship game

since Larry Bird and Indiana State in 1979.

Bird lost that game to Magic Johnson and Mi-

chigan State. It means Gonzaga could become

the first team since the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers

to go undefeated.

“We were lucky enough to hit a 50-footer,”

Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “It helps

when you have a magical, special guy like

Jalen, special at the end of games.”

Even without Suggs’ shot, it would’ve been

hard to beat this game for pure excitement —

a welcome relief in a tournament that has pro-

duced mostly blowouts and duds, sort of like

Baylor’s 78-59 snoozer over Houston earlier

in the evening.

The nightcap featured 15 ties and 19 lead

changes and an 11th-seeded UCLA team that

simply wouldn’t give in. Even though they

lost, the Bruins snapped a streak of 27

straight double-digit wins by Few’s jugger-

naut.

UCLA (22-10) went toe-to-toe all night with

the top-ranked team in the country. This was

their third overtime out of six games in the

tournament — they played an extra one in the

First Four play-in round — and they never

trailed by more than seven. They got every-

thing they could have dreamed of on a mag-

ical night of college hoops. Everything but the

win.

Some might say it was the greatest game

ever.

“I’d say no because we didn’t win,” UCLA

coach Mick Cronin said.

Gonzaga edges UCLA inovertime on Suggs’ three

DARRON CUMMINGS/AP

Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs (1) shoots over UCLA guard David Singleton (34) towin the game during overtime Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. TheBulldogs won 9390 to remain undefeated and advance to the national title game.

BY EDDIE PELLS

Associated Press “We were lucky enough to hita 50-footer ... it helps whenyou have a magical, specialguy like Jalen (Suggs).”

Mark Few

Gonzaga coach

At halftime Saturday night,

UCLA coach Mick Cronin chal-

lenged his team to keep it close for

10 more minutes and that they

should then be able to crank up the

pressure on unbeaten Gonzaga.

The flawless combination creat-

ed a masterpiece of a college bas-

ketball game. It just didn’t lead to a

win for the upstart Bruins.

After UCLA star Johnny Ju-

zang’s basket with 3.3 seconds to

go in overtime tied things up at 90,

Jalen Suggs answered with a

buzzer-beating three-pointer to

send the unbeaten Bulldogs into

their second national champion-

ship game and the Bruins home to

think about how close they came

to adding another memorable

chapter to the school’s rich histo-

ry.

“When Johnny got the putback,

I didn’t have a timeout left so I was

running at my guys to get their at-

tention to trap the ball and they got

there late,” Bruins coach Mick

Cronin said. “It’s not their fault be-

cause we trained them to get back

because Gonzaga is so fast. If you

look at the film I was trying to get

them to come up so he (Suggs)

couldn’t get into that shot. Still, it

was a bank shot from half court.”

UCLA (22-10) played this one a

bit different than they had through

their incredible tourney run that

started in the First Four. The

Bruins often traded baskets with

Gonzaga (31-0), one of the nation’s

most prolific scoring teams, and

didn’t allow the Zags to go on one

of their trademark runs.

The Bruins also made sure to

keep things slow, deliberate and

tense.

It was almost enough.

Juzang finished with 29 points

to lead the Bruins, trying to be-

come the first No. 11 seed to reach

the championship game. After-

ward, stunned UCLA players

gathered around as the officials

looked at a replay review to make

sure the shot was off in time. It

was.

“We went out fighting,” Juzang

said. “We went out, there’s no bet-

ter way, there’s no regrets. Every-

body fought to the last play and the

last shot is the last shot.”

UCLA can take solace in doing

something no other team did this

season by forcing the high-scoring

Zags into overtime. It just couldn’t

close out Gonzaga to continue an

incredible postseason run that in-

cluded overtime wins over Michi-

gan State and Alabama, runaways

against BYU and Abilene Chris-

tian and holding off off top-seeded

Michigan to join VCU as the only

teams to advance from the First

Four to the Final Four.

The Bruins were fighting for

school pride, too.

Only seven Division I teams and

four schools have been undefeat-

ed national champs. Only UCLA

has done it more than once, cele-

brating perfect seasons in 1963-64,

1966-67, 1971-72 and 1972-73. The

last team to accomplish the feat

was the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers.

Since then, two undefeated

teams had reached a Final Four in

Indianapolis and lost — UNLV to

Duke in 1991, Kentucky to Wiscon-

sin in 2015. Gonzaga is the third

and the Zags, too, were in a dog-

fight.

“Everybody is going to ask what

I just told my team, so I’ll just tell

you: I told them they have to let the

last shot go,” Cronin said. “As

much as they want to be beaten

down and gutted and miserable,

they have to let it go because

they’re winners.”

The Bruins certainly did their

part.

“Kudos to them, they’re a very

good team,” Juzang said. “But

we’re UCLA and the guys on this

team, there’s no one I’d rather go

to battle with. And we expect to

win. We are who we are and every

game we went out and left it out

there and let the best man win.”

Buzzer-beater ends Bruins’ impressive run through tourney

DARRON CUMMINGS/AP

UCLA guard Jaime Jaquez Jr., rear, hugs teammate guard JohnnyJuzang after Saturday’s 9390 Final Four loss to Gonzaga in overtime.

BY MICHAEL MAROT

Associated Press


SPORTSSweet shooting

Jazz set record for threes in a halfduring win over Magic ›› Page 19

Reds knock off Cardinals in rowdy outing ›› MLB, Page 21

INDIANAPOLIS

Baylor made a mockery of the first Final Four

game, stifling Houston for a chance at the pro-

gram’s first national title.

Gonzaga made miracles happen, winning on

one of the greatest shots in NCAA Tournament history.

The showdown between Baylor and Gonzaga that was

called off in December because of the pandemic is finally

back on, with the biggest stakes of all: The two best teams all

season will play for the national championship Monday.

The wait was worth it.

The Bears opened the first Final Four in two years by

overwhelming Houston, 78-59, cruising to their first nation-

al championship game since 1948.

Gonzaga's free-flowing offense was struck down in the

nightcap by UCLA, who slogged the game down enough to

get it to overtime. Freshman Jalen Suggs came to Bulldogs'

rescue, banking in a three-pointer from just inside the half

court line at the buzzer for a 93-90 win.

“At the end of it, you could tell how both staffs and all the

Top: Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs (1) celebrates making the game winning basket against UCLA during overtime, Saturday, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Bulldogs won 9390. Right: Baylor guard Jared Butler gets a hug fromhead coach Scott Drew during the Bears' 7859 Final Four win over Houston.

MICHAEL CONROY/AP

Game on Gonzaga, Baylor advance to national championship

BY JOHN MARSHALL

Associated Press

SEE ADVANCE ON PAGE 22

NCAA TOURNAMENT

happiness rise with increase in military telework · 2021. 4. 4. · Oceanic found the wreck of the...

Documents

Transcript of happiness rise with increase in military telework · 2021. 4. 4. · Oceanic found the wreck of the...