March 3, 2016

On Top Of The News Email:news@arubatoday.com website: www.arubatoday.com Tel:+297 582-7800 Thursday, March 3, 2016

No Path Forward

Carson Effectively Ends Bid for White House Republican presidential candidate retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson speaks in Baltimore, Maryland. Carson said he is effectively ending his bid for the White House Wednesday, concluding a roller-coaster campaign that briefly took him to the top of a chaotic Republican field but ended with a Super Tuesday whimper.

(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Page 3

A2 UP

Thursday 3 March 2016

FRONT

UN approves tough sanctions on North Korean regime

EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday unanimously approved the toughest sanctions on North Korea in two decades, reflecting growing anger at Pyongyang’s latest nuclear test and rocket launch in defiance of a ban on all nuclear-related activity.

The United States and China, North Korea’s traditional ally, spent seven weeks negotiating the new sanctions, which include mandatory inspections of cargo leaving and entering North Korea by land, sea or air; a ban on all sales or transfers of small arms and light weapons to Pyongyang; and expulsion of diplomats from the North who engage in “illicit activities.”

The U.S., its Western allies and Japan pressed for new sanctions that went beyond the North’s nuclear and missile programs but China was reluctant to impose measures that could threaten the stability of the neighboring country and cause its economy to collapse. Nonetheless, Beijing did agree to several measures aimed at shutting down financing for nuclear and missile programs.

“The international community, speaking with one voice, has sent Pyongyang a simple message: North Korea must abandon these

dangerous programs and choose a better path for its people,” President Barack Obama said in a statement.

North Korea started off

spokesman for the country’s U.N. mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Monday, the official KCNA news agency pub-

China, Russia and others expressed hope Wednesday that the sanctions will lead to the immediate resumption of six-party talks aimed at the denucleariza-

South Korean ambassador to the United Nations Oh Joon, right, United States ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power, left, and Japanese ambassador to the U.N. Motohide Yoshikawa speak to members of the media after a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. The U.N. Security Council voted Wednesday on a resolution that would impose the toughest sanctions on North Korea in two decades.

(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

the new year with what it claims was its first hydrogen bomb test on Jan. 6 and launched a satellite on a rocket on Feb. 7. The launch was condemned by much of the world as a test of banned missile technology.

North Korea ignored the chance to address the Security Council and a

lished a commentary saying “it is nothing but a pipe dream for the U.S. to expect the DPRK to collapse due to ‘sanctions.’ This is as foolish as waiting the missions of the sun and stars to come to an end.” DPRK are the initials of the country’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

tion of the Korean peninsula. North Korea withdrew from the talks in 2008.

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said that “by shutting down, as much as possible, the financing of DPRK’s nuclear-ballistic programs, the idea is to ensure the return to the table of negotiations all the interested parties.”

US official:

Debris found is from same type of plane as MH370

JOAN LOWY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Debris that washed up in Mozambique has been tentatively identified as a part from the same type of aircraft as the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a U.S. official said Wednesday.

Photos of the debris that washed up over the weekend appear to show the fixed leading edge of the right-hand tail section of a Boeing 777, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly. MH-370, which disappeared two years ago

with 239 people aboard, is the only known missing 777.

People who have handled the part, called a horizontal stabilizer, say it appears to be made of fiberglass composite on the outside, with aluminum honeycombing on the inside, the official said. The part is being transported to Malaysia.

Mozambique’s National Director of Civil Aviation Joao Abreu dismissed the report, saying authorities have found no part of the missing plane. But Malaysian transport minister Liow Tiong Lai tweeted to confirm the discovery.

“Based on early reports,

high possibility debris found in Mozambique belongs to a B777,” Liow said in a series of tweets.

“It is yet to be confirmed & verified. @dca_malaysia working w Australian counterparts to retrieve the debris.” He also urged “everyone to avoid undue speculation as we are not able to conclude that the debris belongs to #mh370 at this time.”

MH-370 disappeared on March 8, 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 12 crew members and 227 passengers on board.

Despite exhaustive search-

es of the southern Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, the only trace of the plane until now has been a wing part known as flaperon that washed ashore last July on the French island of Reunion off the east coast of Africa — about 2,300 miles (3,700 kilometers) from the current search area in the Indian Ocean east of Australia.

Radar tracking of the plane show it turned around as it approached Vietnamese airspace, flew back toward Malaysia and then on over the Indian Ocean, where radar contact was lost.

US questioning IS leader seized in Iraq: Officials LOLITA C. BALDOR ROBERT BURNS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A new U.S. special operations team has been questioning a key Islamic State leader in Iraq since seizing him in a raid last month, U.S. officials said Wednesday. It is believed to be the first case of a top IS militant captured alive in that country.

The officials would not identify the militant by name or provide other details, but the raid appears to be the first major success by the Pentagon’s new expeditionary targeting force that recently began operating in Iraq.

The militant has been held in Iraq for two to three weeks, the officials said, calling the development important because of his leadership position in the extremist group and the information they could glean from him.

The officials weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the raid and demanded anonymity. The New York Times, also citing anonymous officials, was first to report the capture and said the militant was being interrogated

by American officials at a temporary detention facility in Irbil in northern Iraq.

Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook wouldn’t confirm the capture, but said the goals of the new expeditionary targeting force include capturing Islamic State leaders. “Any detention would be short-term and coordinated with Iraqi authorities,” he said.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter has spoken about the team several times over the past few months but has emphasized his intention to keep a lid on details of its actual operations in Iraq and Syria. He told Congress in early December about the team’s planned deployment, saying they would be there to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence and capture Islamic State leaders.

U.S. NEWS A3

Thursday 3 March 2016

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Rattled Republicans seek a last-ditch strategy to stop Trump K. HENNESSEY tion,” said Neil Newhouse, J. PACE a Republican pollster. “And Associated Press the problem with that is no WASHINGTON (AP) — Fac- one has the best scenario ing the prospect of nomi- for how to do that.” nating Donald Trump for The scrambling came as president, Republicans spi- the billionaire candidate raled into 4th. a chaotic, last- racked up commanding Friday march ditch search Wednesday victories in seven of eleven for a way to save the party Super Tuesday primary conManagement reserves right to cancel tournament. from hitching its fortunes to tests, and the path to vican unpredictable celebrity tory for his rivals narrowed. candidate without alienat- Trump’s strength — which stretched from the Deep ing his throng of followers.

Sensing a window clos- South to New England — ing fast, Republican lead- exposed the depths of the ers and elder statesmen divisions within the party, no toggled through a menu matter who becomes the nominee in this election. of scenarios but landed on As Republicans surveyed none. Some amplified calls the wreckage from Trump’s to rally around a Trump alsurge, some argued there ternative, even if that alterwas still a chance to stop native is Ted Cruz, a prickly him. He was not yet on conservative senator with track to claim the nomifew friends in the party. nation before the party’s Others laid out still-hazy national gathering in July, plans for a brokered na- according to an Associtional convention, an op- ated Press delegate count. tion likely to smack of the He has won 46 percent of backroom dealing Trump the delegates awarded so fans despise. Some floated far, and he would have to more extreme measures, increase that to 51 percent talking of breaking from the in the remaining primaries. party and starting anew.

“Trump had a good night, “It’s all a play to stall it or try but he left the door open,” to deny him the nomina- said David Winston, a Re-

publican pollster.

The Republican mayhem

locked down solid victories in seven states and was

the fight, campaigning in Maine on Wednesday.

Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., gestures as he speaks to a rally in Oklahoma City. Facing the prospect of nominating Donald Trump for president, Republicans spiraled into a chaotic, last-ditch search Wednesday for a way to stop Trump’s momentum.

(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

contrasted sharply with a clearer picture on the Democratic side, where Hillary Clinton on Tuesday

on the path to regaining her status as the inevitable nominee. Rival Sen. Bernie Sanders vowed to keep up

Republicans, meanwhile, looked for a wise man to calm the jitters and point the way.

Ben Carson says ‘no path forward’ in his bid for White House BILL BARROW Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson said he is effectively ending his bid for the White House Wednesday, concluding a roller-coaster campaign that briefly took him to the top of a chaotic Republican field but ended with a Super Tuesday whimper.

“I do not see a political path forward,” Carson

said in a statement posted on his campaign website, though he added, “I remain deeply committed to my home nation, America” and promised to offer details of his future when he speaks Friday at a conservative conference in Washington.

He did not explicitly say that he’s ending his campaign, only noting that he does not plan to take part in Thursday’s Fox News

television debate. But his longtime businessman and friend, Armstrong Williams, confirmed that the softspoken candidate would no longer be asking for votes.

“There’s only one candidate in this 2016 election on the Republican side, and his name is Trump. That’s the reality,” Williams said, adding that Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz also should drop out, as they

“also have no path” to the nomination.

Carson’s exit reduces the active Republican field to four candidates, though billionaire Donald Trump remains the clear leader in earned delegates and voter preference polls.

Carson, 64, was one of several anti-establishment candidates who shaped the early stages of a Republican race defined by conservatives’ wide-rang-

ing disgust with the nation’s direction and the party leaders’ perceived inability to alter it.

He ran as an outsider, offering a poverty-to-fame autobiography, his unabashed Christian faith and an unceasing indictment of conventional politics, styling his bid as an effort to combat “political correctness” and what he described as a creep toward “socialism.”

A4 U.S.

Thursday 3 March 2016

NEWS

Deeply split Supreme Court wrestles with abortion case

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, right, speaks to reporters outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, March 2, 2016, after the court heard arguments over Texas abortion clinic regulations in its biggest abortion case in nearly a quarter-century. Texas State Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, listens, third from left.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A Supreme Court deeply split over abortion wrestled Wednesday with widely replicated Texas regulations that could drastically cut the number of abortion clinics in the state. As

ever, Justice Anthony Kennedy appeared to hold the outcome in his hands on a court operating with eight justices since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

The court’s most significant abortion case since the early 1990s crackled with intensity during 85 minutes

of pointed questions from liberal and conservative justices that suggested little common ground in resolving the clinics’ claim that the regulations are medically unnecessary and unconstitutionally limit a woman’s right to an abortion.

Texas says it is trying to pro-

tect women’s health in rules that require doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and force clinics to meet hospital-like standards for outpatient surgery. The rules would cut the number of abortion clinics in the state by three-fourths, abortion providers say.

The three women justices and Justice Stephen Breyer repeatedly questioned why Texas needed to enact the 2013 law. “But what is the legitimate interest in protecting their health?

What evidence is there that under the prior law, the prior law was not sufficiently protective of the women’s health?” Ginsburg asked Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller.

More than 210 women are hospitalized annually as a result of complications from abortions, Keller said.

Pressed by Ginsburg, Keller acknowledged that was a relatively small complication rate but said the state still could act to make abortion safer. With about 70,000 abortions a year in Texas, that works out to a

rate of less than one-half of 1 percent.

Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Breyer all pointed out that other procedures, including liposuctions, colonoscopies and dental surgeries, have higher complication rates and yet can be performed in facilities that do not meet the stringent standards.

The clinics, backed by the Obama administration, argue that the regulations already have closed half the roughly 40 clinics that existed before the law was enacted and that only about 10 clinics would remain if it is allowed to take full effect.

The high court, again divided between liberals and conservatives, has blocked the surgical center requirement from taking effect.

Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. urged the court to offer a new endorsement of the abortion right it last affirmed in 1992. “If that right still does retain real substance, then this law cannot stand. The burdens it imposes, the obstacles, are far beyond anything that this Court has countenanced. And the justification for it is far weaker than anything that this Court has countenanced,” Verrilli said.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito pressed the lawyer for the clinics, Stephanie Toti, to cite evidence showing that the regulations have had the drastic effect she claimed. Both Alito and Roberts questioned whether some clinics closed for reasons independent of the regulations.

“What evidence is there that ties the closures to the requirements?”

Roberts asked. Only Justice Clarence Thomas, who broke 10 years of silence at arguments on Monday, did not ask any questions.

Even with the outspoken abortion rights opponent Scalia on the court, Kennedy would have held the decisive vote. He provided the margin of victory in the 1992 case that bolstered the abortion right the court declared in Roe v. Wade in 1973.

U.S. NEWS A5

Thursday 3 March 2016

Indicted ex-Chesapeake CEO dies in fiery single-car crash SEAN MURPHY Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Aubrey McClendon, a natural gas industry titan, was killed when police say he drove his sport utility vehicle “straight into a wall” in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, a day after he was indicted on a charge of conspiring to rig bids to buy oil and natural gas leases in northwest Oklahoma.

Police Capt. Paco Balderrama said McClendon, cofounder of Chesapeake Energy and a part-owner of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, was the only occupant in the vehicle when it slammed into a concrete bridge embankment shortly after 9 a.m.

“He pretty much drove straight into the wall,” Balderrama said. “The information out there at the scene is that he went left of center, went through a grassy area right before colliding into the embankment. There was plenty of opportunity for him to correct and get back on the roadway and that didn’t occur.”

McClendon’s death follows an announcement Tuesday that he had been indicted by a federal grand jury.

Balderrama says it’s too early to say if the collision was intentional.

He said McClendon was not wearing a seat belt and that he was driving faster than the 50 mph speed limit.

The Department of Justice said in a statement Tuesday that McClendon, 56, was suspected of orchestrating a scheme between two large energy companies, which are not

named in the indictment, from December 2007 to March 2012. The companies would decide ahead of time who would win bids, with the winner then allocating an interest in the leases to the other company, according to the statement.

In a statement released Tuesday after his indictment, McClendon denied violating antitrust laws.

“The charge that has been filed against me today is wrong and unprecedented,” McClendon said.

“Anyone who knows me, my business record and the industry in which I have worked for 35 years, knows that I could not be guilty of violating any antitrust laws.

All my life I have worked to create jobs in Oklahoma, grow its economy, and to provide abundant and affordable energy to all Americans. I am proud of my track record in this industry, and I will fight to prove my innocence and to clear my name.”

Department of Justice spokesman Mark Abueg

In this 2012 photo, Chesapeake Energy Corp. CEO Aubrey McClendon attends Game 6 of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals, in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City police say McClendon was killed Wednesday in a fiery single-car crash in Oklahoma City.

(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

declined to comment on the impact McClendon’s death would have on the case.

McClendon could frequently be spotted in his courtside seats near the Thunder bench in the arena

named after the company he founded in 1989 with his friend, Tom Ward, with an initial $50,000 investment.

They eventually grew the company into one of the largest independent producers of natural gas in the

United States. He left the company in January 2013 amid philosophical differences with a new board of directors, and founded American Energy Partners, where he was chairman and CEO. q

Texas trooper indicted over Bland stop formally fired PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas trooper indicted over his arrest of a black woman who was later found dead in jail has been formally fired, three months after his bosses first announced they would do so, state officials said Wednesday.

Former Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Brian Encinia can still appeal the decision to fire him, which came after a grand jury indicted him on a perjury charge in Decem-

ber. He’s accused of lying about his July 2015 arrest of Sandra Bland and their confrontational traffic stop that was caught on dashcam video.

Encinia met last month with Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw, but their conversation gave the agency leader no reason “to alter my preliminary decision,” according to a termination letter signed by Encinia on Wednesday.

Encinia’s attorney, Larkin Eakin, did not immediately

return a phone message.

He has previously called the indictment unjustified and said Encinia was looking out for his own safety.

Bland’s family sued after the 28-year-old black woman died last summer in jail following her arrest on the outskirts of Houston.

Her death was ruled a suicide.

The case provoked national outrage and drew the attention of the Black Lives Matter movement, with protesters linking Bland to other black suspects who

died in confrontations with police or while in police custody.

Encinia had been on paid desk duty since Bland’s arrest and remained on the payroll after McCraw announced in December that the agency would begin the process of firing him.

He is now no longer a paid employee and will remain that way even if he appeals his dismissal to the state’s Public Safety Commission, Department of Public Safety spokesman Tom Vinger said.q

A6 U.S.

Thursday 3 March 2016

NEWS

American Living:

Louisiana envisions port to lure mega-ships CAIN BURDEAU Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A few Louisiana businessmen and politicians are dreaming big — as big as the megaships of the future that may grow so large they won’t be able to make it into the Mississippi River and up to the Port of New Orleans.

They envision those supersized ships unloading and loading goods 100 miles downriver where the Mississippi meets the Gulf of Mexico — where today there’s only open water — an idea that some experts and competitors find farfetched.

That hasn’t stopped the dreamers, who see an opportunity with the opening of an expanded Panama Canal later this year that will allow even bigger ships to move goods around the world. At this offshore port, “there will never be a restriction regardless of the size of ships,” said A.G. Crowe, a former Republican state senator and president of a state authority involved in the port’s development.

In August, the port’s backers said they had $25 million in private financing to build the first terminal to handle bulk goods such as grains and coal. The group is applying for permits.

But the dream is much bigger. Backers envision $10 billion worth of terminals to handle everything from oil to cargo containers.

And Louisiana’s government has set aside about 2,000 acres of open water for the development of this Louisiana International Gulf Transfer Terminal.

This port, its boosters argue, will ensure Louisiana remains a port of call in an era of ever bigger ships

and create precious jobs in a state troubled by high poverty and fiscal woes.

The idea is sort of obvious: If ships can’t get into port, then the port should come to them.

Container ships have gone from carrying about 5,000 containers in 2000 to 10,000 containers today, and some carry as many

built about 2 miles east of where ships currently enter the Mississippi channel.

At the port, the megaships would have their goods unloaded onto smaller “feeder ships,” which would span out to other Gulf Coast ports and up the Mississippi River valley.

Skeptics abound.

Jean-Paul Rodrigue, a

This photo shows ships and cargo containers along the Mississippi River in this aerial view, between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. A few Louisiana businessmen and politicians are dreaming big, as big as the mega-ships of the future that may grow so large they won’t be able to make into the Mississippi River and up to the Port of New Orleans.

(AP Photo/David J. Phillip, Pool)

as 20,000. Ports around the nation are looking at deepening harbors for the bigger ships.

The federal government is studying how to deepen the Mississippi’s channel by 5 feet, down to 50 feet, at an estimated cost of $300 million. The river’s channel is choked where it enters the Gulf.

Nationwide, an estimated $9 billion in dredging work is needed to handle the bigger ships, said Kurt J. Nagle, president and CEO of the American Association of Port Authorities. Another $29 billion needs to be spent on other infrastructure improvements at the nation’s ports, such as larger cranes, he said.

To bypass these problems, the offshore port would be

maritime transportation expert with Hofstra University, said an offshore terminal for bulk goods might work, but he doubted it could handle containers. He said the biggest ships will head to population centers — to New York City and Los Angeles.

Deep-water offshore ports are “technically feasible,” he said. But he doubted this one would attract enough large vessels to be commercially viable.

And there’s competition.

“We don’t think there’s any need for it,” said Gary LaGrange, the CEO and president of the Port of New Orleans.

Since 2003, that port has spent about $500 million to develop its container capacity, he said.

Forget blenders: Wedding invites now seeking cash for honeymoon JOSEPH PISANI Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Before they say “I do,” soon-tobe newlyweds are increasingly going online to ask, “Will you pay for our honeymoon?”

Crowdfunding websites such as Honeyfund, GoFundMe and Honeymoon Wishes make it easy to raise cash from family and friends for a post-wedding getaway. The sites charge fees for their services — as much as 10 percent of the total collected — but people are warming up to the idea, despite the cost.

As couples increasingly live together first and marry later, they already have toasters and towels, so traditional gift registries don’t make as much sense.

Honeymoon registries also provide a polite way of hinting to guests to give money instead, without breaking wedding etiquette.

“I didn’t feel right saying, ‘Hey, give me cash,’” says Nicole DePinto, who raised $2,900 on GoFundMe for an Icelandic honeymoon with her husband Anthony in December.

Sites that help couples raise cash for honeymoons have seen their popularity soar recently. Honeyfund users, for example, raised $90 million last year, a 50 percent jump from the year before, says co-founder and CEO Sara Margulis.

Last year, 22 percent of people using the Knot, a wedding planning site, said they also used honeymoon registries, according to a survey of 6,500 customers. That’s the same as the year before, but up from 17 percent in 2013 and 13 percent in 2012.

The DePintos even crowdsourced the destination of their honeymoon, asking the 100 guests at their travel-themed October wedding reception to vote on Greece, Iceland or Japan. The save-the-dates came on postcards and the party favors were luggage tags.

“We did everything outside of the box,” she said.

They loved the natural beauty of the icy island in winter, and besides: “They’re all places we wanted to go eventually.”

Most guests gave the couple cash-stuffed envelopes at the wedding, but the 14 donations they got online covered their hotel and airline tickets, even after GoFundMe kept more than $230 in fees. The Union City, New Jersey, couple also had a registry at Target, but asked for just a few things there since they had lived together for three years.

“In that time we’ve acquired tons of pots, plates, towels, throw pillows and bedding,” they explained on their GoFundMe page.

Asking for cash in the invitation is a wedding faux pas, says Kristen Maxwell Cooper, deputy editor at The Knot. But passing around a link to a honeymoon registry works, because couples can explain to guests exactly where the money will be spent, she says.

U.S. NEWS A7

Thursday 3 March 2016

US Financial Front:

Even as gas prices rise, drivers will save at the pump

DAVID KOENIG AP Business Writer DALLAS (AP) — Gasoline prices have started their annual springtime migration higher, but motorists should still save money at the pump in 2016.

The national average price for a gallon of regular has risen for eight straight days — the first time that has happened since last May, according to the auto club AAA — to about $1.79 on Wednesday. That’s still 54 cents cheaper than at this time last year.

Forecasters say prices should rise at least 30 cents or more by June. Demand will rise as people drive more, and supplies will tighten when refiners slow down to perform maintenance and switch to more expensive summer fuel blends.

The U.S. Energy Department predicts that the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline will peak at $2.08 from June through August. Tom Kloza, an energy analyst with the Oil Price Information Service, says the peak will be between $2.10 and $2.50 a gallon.

Either forecast would leave prices well below recent years. From 2011 to 2014, the national average on June 1 topped $3.60 and some places saw gas over $4. Last year, gas prices peaked in June at $2.80 a gallon.

Gas is cheaper because a glut of crude has caused oil prices to tumble. Even with a 30 percent rally since Jan. 20, benchmark U.S. crude closed Tuesday down 68 percent from its June 2014 peak.

Motorists may enjoy the relative bargain for a while.

The Energy Department

expects crude prices to average about $38 a barrel this year and $50 next year. That forecast was made before Saudi Arabia’s oil minister forcefully rejected production cuts during a speech to a major oil-industry conference last week in Houston.

Oil prices have been undercut by demand that turned out to be weaker than expected, especially in China and other developing countries. But for the most part, it’s a case of oversupply — more crude is gushing into world markets than consumers and industry need.

Last month, commercial inventories of U.S. crude topped 500 million barrels for the first time; they are more than one-third above their five-year average. Iran is expected to produce more oil now that it is free from international sanctions. And producers like Saudi Arabia, who could cut supply to prop up prices, are continuing to pump away instead.

Lower oil prices have led to layoffs at drilling companies and contributed to weakness in the stock market, but cheaper gasoline

Gasoline prices are posted at a filling station, Wednesday, March 2, 2016, in Philadelphia. Gasoline prices are expected to keep rising until summer but remain far cheaper than in recent years, due to the worldwide glut of oil.

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

and heating oil are putting more money in consumers’ pockets.

The U.S. Energy Department estimates that the average household saved $660 because of cheaper gas in 2015 and will save another $320 this year.

Chris Christopher, director of consumer economics at research firm IHS, said consumers will gradually spend more of their gas savings as

they believe that cheaper pump prices will last a while. More consumer spending should boost the economy.

“In West Texas, they are in a recession,” Christopher said, “but it’s a net positive for the United States and most developed economies that don’t depend too much on energy prices for their livelihood.”

Last year, the JPMorgan

Chase Institute looked at records from 26 million debit and credit card holders and concluded that gas savings varied greatly by income and region. The card holders spent about 80 percent of their savings, almost 20 percent of it at restaurants. They also increased spending at department stores and on entertainment, electronics and appliances.

Survey: US companies added 214,000 jobs in February PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. businesses added a healthy 214,000 jobs last month, another sign that the U.S. job market remains resilient despite economic weakness overseas and tumult in financial markets.

Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that the better-than-expected hiring by private companies was up from 205,000 in January.

“It’s a very strong report. The labor market is healthy,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. “This is very good news particularly in the context of the turmoil in the financial markets in the past several months.”

Moody’s helps compile the ADP numbers.

Professional and business services companies added 59,000 jobs and construction firms hired

27,000. But manufacturers shed 9,000 jobs in February, first time they’ve cut payrolls since October.

Manufacturers have been hurt by economic weakness overseas, a strong dollar that makes American products expensive overseas and cutbacks in the energy industry following a big drop in oil prices.

Some of the pain in manufacturing has been offset by strong automotive sales

and production.

The ADP report comes out two days before the U.S. government’s official jobs report. Economists surveyed by the data firm FactSet predict that American employers — including government — added 195,000 jobs last month, up from 151,000 in January.

They expect that the unemployment rate remained at an eight-year low 4.9 percent.

A8

Thursday 3 March 2016

WORLD NEWS

Greece prepares to help up to 150,000 stranded migrants COSTAS KANTOURIS DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greece conceded Wednesday it is making long-term preparations to help as many as 150,000 stranded migrants as international pressure on Balkan countries saw Macedonia open its border briefly for just a few hundred refugees.

“In my opinion, we have to consider the border closed,” Greek Migration Minister Ioannis Mouzalas said. “And for as long as the border crossing is closed, and until the European relocation and resettlement system is up and running, these people will stay in our country for some time.”

At the moment, some 30,000 refugees and other migrants are stranded in Greece, with 10,000 at the Idomeni border crossing to Macedonia. On Wednesday, hundreds of more people, including many families with small chil-

Tents with refugees and migrants stand at the Greek-Macedonian border near the northern Greek village of Idomeni. Macedonia intermittently opened its border with Greece to a tiny trickle of Syrian and Iraqi refugees on Wednesday, March 2, 2016 , leaving about 10,000 more people camped on the Greek side, with more arriving daily.

(Vassilis Ververidis/Motion Team via AP)

dren, continued to arrive at two official camps by the border that are so full that thousands have set up tents in surrounding fields.

Greek police helped one

man who fainted after being turned back by Macedonian authorities. Others waited stoically for rain covers, or food and other essentials in chilling tem-

peratures, some expressing frustration with bureaucratic errors by Greek officials.

Syrian Ramasan Al Hassan said he was stopped from crossing the border after

Spain: Socialist Party loses 1st bid to form government ALAN CLENDENNING Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Spain’s Socialist Party lost its first attempt Wednesday to form a government, falling far short of the parliamentary votes needed ahead of a second ballot set for Friday that looks unlikely to solve the country’s political paralysis following a fragmented national election two months ago.

The Socialists led by Pedro Sanchez got just 130 votes,

with 219 against and one abstention. The conservative Popular Party led by acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and the far-left newcomer Podemos party joined with several small regional parties to deny Sanchez’ attempt at becoming prime minister.

Fierce negotiations are sure to take place ahead of the fresh parliamentary vote Friday night on Sanchez’ candidacy.

But leaders of the Popular

Party and Podemos insisted after the first vote that their members would not change course.

Sanchez, swarmed by journalists as he left Parliament, declined comment on his plans for trying to win the second vote.

Wednesday night’s vote came after an inconclusive Dec. 20 election that saw Spain’s traditional twoparty system shattered with the entry of Podemos and another upstart party, the

business-friendly Ciudadanos.

Podemos and Cuidadanos got third and fourth place because of voter outrage over Spain’s 21 percent unemployment rate, unpopular austerity measures invoked by the Popular Party during its 2011-2015 rule and corruption scandals hitting the Popular and Socialist parties that have alternated ruling the nation for decades.q

Greek police took down his details wrong, which meant the date of birth on his official papers and passport didn’t match.

“I showed Greek authorities my papers — I was born on July 24, 1963 — and they recorded my date of birth as Jan. 1, 1963. As a result, I was unable to cross the border ... It’s happened to others too,” he said, adding that the error was eventually corrected.

Mouzalas, the migration minister, met for several hours with mayors from across Greece, examining ways to ramp up shelter capacity. The ministers of health and education also held emergency talks to provide health care and basic schooling for children, who make up about a third of arrivals in Greece.

Nikos Kotzias, the foreign minister, said the country could handle a capacity of up to 150,000.

“No one in Europe predicted this problem would reach such a giant scale,” Kotzias told private Skai television. “But this is not a cause for panic. The problems must be addressed soberly.” Macedonia intermittently opened the border Wednesday, letting hundreds of people in, as European Council President Donald Tusk arrived in the country as part of a tour of the region for talks on the migration crisis.

Tusk, who is due to travel onto Greece and Turkey Thursday, is hoping to ease tension among European Union leaders — notably neighbors Austria and Germany — before they hold a summit on migration on Monday with Turkey. q

WORLD NEWS 9

Thursday 3 March 2016

Jordan: 7 killed in raid had ties to IS, planned attacks OMAR AKOUR Associated Press IRBID, Jordan (AP) — Seven men killed in armed clashes with Jordanian special forces had ties to the Islamic State extremist group and had planned attacks on military and civilian targets in the kingdom, the country’s intelligence service said Wednesday.

The deadly confrontations, sparked by an arrest raid, took place late Tuesday in the northern city of Irbid.

The men killed in the raid wore explosives belts, and weapons and explosives were found at the scene, according to the intelligence agency.

The agency did not elaborate on the fugitives’ ties to IS or provide details about their alleged plans. However, the night-time operation in downtown Irbid, accompanied by the sound of explosions and gunfire, underscored the potential threat to Jordan by extremists.

The pro-Western kingdom is part of a U.S.-led military coalition against IS in neighboring Syria and Iraq. Security forces have also cracked down on suspected IS sympathizers in Jordan. Some of those expressing support for the group on social media have been sent to prison by military courts.

In the Irbid raid, troops tracked suspected militants to a residential building near the city center, surrounded it and opened fire with automatic weapons when the suspects refused to surrender, the intelligence agency said.

A Jordanian officer was killed in the clashes, along with the seven wanted men. The intelligence service said 13 suspects linked to the group had been arrested in Irbid in previous raids, but did not say when those took place.

“I heard an exchange of fire and the sound of helicopters flying above our house,” area resident Ahmed al-Jamrah said of the raid. “We couldn’t sleep because of the shooting and the loud explosions.”

Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour told parliament that the operation ended at 3 a.m. Wednesday. He said that extremists “are trying to reach our country which is stronger and more solid than they think.”

In downtown Irbid, security forces on Wednesday sealed off the area around the three-story residential building where the fugitives had been holed up. The

Jordanian security forces secure Hakama street during a raid in downtown Irbid, north of Amman, Jordan, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Men killed in armed clashes with Jordanian special forces had ties to the Islamic State extremist group and had planned attacks on military and civilian targets in the kingdom, the country’s intelligence service said Wednesday.

(AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)

facade was blackened.

Irbid Mayor Hussein Bani Hani said followers of a hard-line stream of Islam have become increasing-

ly active in the city in the past two years. They were suspected, among other things, of vandalizing cemeteries because they be-

lieve graves should not be marked, he said.

“Security measures were beefed up in the city of Irbid since then,” he said. q

Iraq signs deal to repair, maintain key Mosul dam SINAN SALAHEDDIN Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq signed a deal with an Italian company on Wednesday to repair and maintain its largest dam, near the northern, Islamic Stateheld city of Mosul, which is in danger of catastrophic collapse, a government spokesman said.

The Mosul Dam grabbed headlines recently amid fears it could collapse due to neglect and lack of needed maintenance be-

cause of the ongoing fighting between Iraqi forces and the IS extremist group, which controls large swaths of northern and western Iraq.

The contract, worth €273-million contract or about $296 million, was signed on Wednesday in Baghdad with Italy’s Trevi group, government spokesman, Saad al-Hadithi, told The Associated Press.

Al-Hadithi wouldn’t give a specific timeframe for when the work would start,

but said it needed to be “as quickly as possible.”

The dam was built on the Tigris River in the early 1980s on unstable ground where the earth underneath it is constantly being eroded by water. From the day it was inaugurated, maintenance crews have had to continuously pour cement under its foundation in what is known as “grouting.”

Things worsened when IS overran the dam and held it for several weeks in 2014 until U.S.-backed Iraqi forc-

es retook the dam. Since then, efforts to enforce the dam’s foundations have not been up to full levels, in part because the IS militants control the nearby factory that produces the concrete for the dam.

Although warnings of possible collapse first started back in 2006, when a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers report called it “the most dangerous dam in the world,” those warnings stepped up recently amid the deteriorating situation.q

A10 WORLD

Thursday 3 March 2016

NEWS

South Korea::

Philippines: China ships spotted at disputed atolls have left area

HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s National Assembly on Wednesday passed its first legislation on human rights in North Korea, in a move that is expected to enrage its northern rival.

The bill’s passage came shortly before the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved its toughest sanctions against North Korea in 20 years in response to the country’s recent nuclear test and rocket launch.

A total of 212 South Korean lawmakers voted for the bill and 24 others abstained in the floor vote. It becomes law when it is endorsed by the Cabinet Council, considered a formality.

North Korea’s state media has warned that enactment of the law would result in “miserable ruin.”

The North’s human rights situation is a global concern along with its nuclear and missile ambitions. A variety of bills on the issue have been proposed in the National Assembly in recent years, but were all spiked or stalled because of sharp divisions in South Korea over how to deal with North Korea.

Liberals have shied away from harsh criticism of the North’s rights record due to worries that it might undermine efforts at reconciliation between the rivals. But the main opposition party eventually agreed on the bill’s passage amid deepening international criticism of North Korea’s nuclear test and rocket launch.

The bill would establish a center in South Korea’s Unification Ministry tasked with collecting, archiving

JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Chinese coast guard ships were sighted two weeks ago at a disputed South China Sea atoll, sparking fears Beijing may take control of it, but they were gone when the Philippine government checked on Wednesday, the country’s top diplomat said.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the Ministry of Transportation dispatched ships to salvage a fishing vessel that had run aground near Jackson Atoll in late 2015 and which posed a risk to navigation.

During the operation, Chinese ships “persuaded fishing boats to leave the waters in an effort to ensure safety conditions for normal navigation,” Hong told reporters, adding the Chinese vessels returned home after completing their work.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said it’s uncertain if the Chinese ships would return, adding Philippine defense authorities were monitoring the disputed region.

“They might be back tomorrow, they may not,” del Rosario told reporters.

Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon Jr., who heads a Philippineclaimed region in the Spratly Islands, said he also saw the Chinese ships at the atoll for two straight days last week while flying in a plane over the uninhabited, ringshaped reef, which the Philippines calls Quirino.

Jackson Atoll lies several kilometers (miles) from the Philippine-claimed Mischief Reef, which China occupied in 1995 and has developed into an island.

A Philippine security official said an air force surveillance plane did not see Chinese vessels on a flight Wednesday. Still, the mere sighting of the Chinese vessels has set off concerns.

“I’m alarmed because we frequently pass by that atoll on our way to Pag-asa,” Bito-onon told The Associated Press by telephone, using the Filipino name for Thitu Island in the Spratlys where a small Filipino fishing community and troops stay.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. was looking into the reports about the presence of Chinese vessels, but could not confirm them. He said the U.S. does not want to see China using its ships to intimidate fishing vessels in that region.

Filipino, Vietnamese and Malaysian fishing boats have gone to Jackson’s vast fishing lagoon for years, Bitoonon said.

In another concern, Bito-onon said Philippine planes landing and taking off at Thitu have been warned frequently to stay away by Chinese forces based at the nearby Subi Reef, one of seven disputed Spratly reefs that China have built into islands. The plane that he was on last week flew to Thitu and was shooed away by the Chinese too, he said.

“When you take off or land, you’ll hear their warning: ‘You are flying within our security zone, please leave immediately to avoid miscalculation,’” Bito-onon said.q

North Korea human rights law has passed

South Korean lawmakers watch an electric board showing the tally after they voted about the legislation on human rights in North Korea, during the plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 2, 2016. South Korea’s National Assembly has approved its first legislation on human rights in North Korea, in a move that is likely to enrage its northern rival.

(Kim Hyun-tai/Yonhap via AP)

and publishing information about human rights in North Korea. It is required to transfer that information to the Justice Ministry, a step parliamentary officials say would provide legal grounds to punish rights violators in North Korea when the two Koreas eventually reunify.

The bill also requires the government to seek human rights talks with North Korea. A rights foundation would be set up to study humanitarian aid to the North and conduct rights surveys and other projects. Some critics say the foundation may assist civic groups that send leaflets or make radio broad-

casts to North Korea to provide information to people about their authoritarian homeland.

North Korea views any outside criticism of its rights situation as part of a U.S.led plot to overthrow its government, a reason why it says it needs nuclear weapons.

In 2014, a U.N. commission of inquiry on North Korea published a report laying out abuses such as a harsh system of political prison camps holding up to 120,000 people. The commission urged the Security Council to refer North Korea to the International Criminal Court over its human rights record.

WORLD NEWS A11

Thursday 3 March 2016

Lawyer: Mexican Drug lord changes mind, wants extradition MEXICO CITY (AP) — A lawyer for drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman said Wednesday his client now wants to be extradited as soon as possible to the United States because guards at a Mexican maximumsecurity prison won’t let him sleep.

Lawyer Jose Refugio Rodriguez said Guzman told him to negotiate with U.S. authorities for a lighter sentence and confinement at a medium-security prison.

Rodriguez told Radio Formula Wednesday he talked to Guzman Tuesday at the Altiplano prison west of Mexico City.

“He has reached the limit,” Rodriguez said. “It is an act of desperation.”

“He said to try to get a negotiation with the American government,” Rodriguez said, adding, “We know of agreements with other people for confinement in medium-security prisons ... a much lower sentence.”

It was unclear what kind of agreements Rodriguez was referring to; though some Mexican drug suspects have reached some form of plea deals with U.S. authorities in the past, it is not clear any have ever been able to negotiate terms on

Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is made to face the press in Mexico City, Mexico. A lawyer for Guzman said Wednesday his client now wants to be extradited as soon as possible to the United States because guards at a Mexican maximum-security prison won’t let him sleep.

(AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

where they will be held.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City said it does not comment on extraditions.

Guzman’s lawyers had previously vowed to fight extradition as long as possible, and Mexican officials had acknowledged it would take at least a year and perhaps more for the extradition process to work its way through Mexican

courts.

But Rodriguez suggested it could be done in two months, presumably if Guzman dropped an estimated nine appeals his lawyers have filed.

However, Rodriguez said “we won’t drop the (legal) defense in Mexico until we have an agreement with the United States.”

Officials have acknowl-

edged that guards at the Altilplano prison wake Guzman every four hours for a head count. He escaped the same prison in July and was recaptured in January.

The harsher regime — Guzman also has fewer visits than during his last stint in prison — seems to have broken him.

“I saw a defeated, humiliated man,” Rodriguez said.

In February, Rodriguez gave The Associated Press a copy of Guzman’s testimony in one of the cases against him. In it, the jailed drug lord accused prison authorities of torturing him “by waking him up, and said, “I feel like a sleepwalker.”

“My head and my ears always hurt and I feel bad all over,” Guzman said in the document.

The testimony also sheds light on the relatively permissive visitors’ schedule Guzman enjoyed at the maximum-security prison before his escape in July. It has been reduced since he was recaptured in January.

Guzman said that previously he had been give an hour-and-a-half every day to talk to his lawyer and an hour in the sun in a prison patio.

Every nine days, he was allowed a four-hour conjugal visit and a four-hour family visit.

National security commissioner Renato Sales, whose responsibilities include overseeing federal prisons, said at a news conference Monday that Guzman’s human rights are in no way being violated at the Altiplano prison,

Facebook executive Dzodan released from jail in Brazil

BRUCE DOUGLAS Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A Facebook executive detained for refusing to give law enforcement information about users of the WhatsApp message service was released from jail on Wednesday, part of a tussle between authorities and technology companies that recalls the U.S. dispute between Apple and the FBI. Facebook’s most senior representative in Latin

America, Diego Dzodan, left a jail in Sao Paulo after one night in custody. A judge ruled he was wrongly detained because he was not named personally in the legal proceedings.

Another judge in the northeastern state of Sergipe had issued an arrest warrant accusing Dzodan of repeatedly failing to comply with a judicial order to cooperate with an investigation into drug trafficking and organized crime. Monica Horta, a spokeswoman

for the federal police in Sergipe, said investigators have requested content from a WhatsApp messaging group as well as other data, including geo-location.

Investigators first contacted WhatsApp — which was bought by Facebook in 2014 — about four months ago but have yet to receive a response, Horta said.

Starting two months ago, WhatsApp began to incur a daily fine of 50,000 Brazil-

ian reais ($12,700) for every day it ignored the order.

The company has not yet paid the fine, which has risen to 1 million Brazilian reais ($250,000) in recent weeks, she said.

WhatsApp has been rolling out a so-called end-to-end encryption system under which only the sender and recipient can access the content of messages and it insists it doesn’t have the information requested.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the company

said, “arresting people with no connection to pending law enforcement investigation is a capricious step and we are concerned about the effects for the people of Brazil and innovation in the country.”

The standoff has drawn comparisons to the FBI’s battle with Apple following its request that the company unlock the iPhone belonging to one of the terrorists who carried out killings in San Bernardino, California.

A12 WORLD

Thursday 3 March 2016

NEWS

US targets Puerto Rico companies in toxic pesticide case Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. government this week filed complaints against a pest control company in Puerto Rico and two businessmen for the illegal use of a toxic pesticide that nearly killed an American family in the neighboring U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Environmental Protection Agency said the businessmen used methyl bro-

mide to fumigate homes and other unauthorized places in several cities across Puerto Rico from 2013 to early 2015. The men were identified as Edwin Andujar Bermudez with Truly Nolen Pest Control of Caguas and Wilson Torres Rivera of Tower & Son Exterminating Corp. in Bayamon. Tower & Son was named in a separate complaint, but not Truly Nolen.

They face up to $7,500 in civil penalties for each violation as part of a continuing federal investigation in Puerto Rico into the illegal use of methyl bromide, an odorless chemical that can severely damage the brain and lungs. EPA spokesman John Martin said the agency expects to announce more actions in upcoming months.“Applying methyl bromide products in homes

is dangerous and against federal law,” said Judith Enck, an EPA regional administrator. Peter Diaz, a lawyer who represents both Andujar and Torres, told The Associated Press that hundreds of pesticide applicators in Puerto Rico have for decades used products that have recently come under EPA scrutiny.

“After some controversies with the use of these

products, both companies voluntarily discontinued its use,” he said, adding that he will contest the complaints.Diaz did not respond to questions, including when the companies stopped using the pesticide. He said the chemical was used only on wood furniture at the companies’ workshop and never at homes or other locations. q

Cuba announces first case of Zika, imported from Venezuela M. WEISSENSTEIN Associated Press HAVANA (AP) — Cuba announced Wednesday that it had detected the first case of the Zika virus on the island, which had been one of the last nations in the Western Hemisphere free of the disease.

The Ministry of Health said in state media that a 28-year-old Venezuelan post-doctoral student in gastroenterology arrived in the country Feb. 21 and a day later came down a high fever and rash.

The government says the woman was under medical quarantine in Artemisa province outside Havana

People make their way through fumigation fog, sprayed to kill Aedes Aegypti mosquitos, in Pinar del Rio, Cuba. Authorities are fumigating in an attempt to prevent the spread of Zika, Chikungunya and Dengue.

(AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

with other newly arrived doctors when her symp-

toms were detected.

An initial test for Zika was

negative but a second test on Feb. 28 was positive, health officials said. The woman remains hospitalized in good condition at Cuba’s main tropical disease hospital in Havana, officials said.

The woman’s husband and brother-in-law had both come down with Zika in Venezuela in recent weeks.

The medical professionals who had entered Cuba alongside the sick woman remain in quarantine with no sign of Zika, officials said.

The Health Ministry made no mention of any case of Zika transmitted inside Cuba.

President Raul Castro an-

nounced Feb. 22 that the country was militarizing its fight to kill disease-carrying mosquitos, assigning 9,000 soldiers to spray for the insects nationwide.

Since then, soldiers, police and health workers have launched an intense doorto-door effort to fumigate for mosquitos.

Gaps had been increasingly obvious in the effort to spray homes and businesses for the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which has infected thousands of Cubans with the dengue virus and dozens with chikungunya, a disease that causes fever and severe joint pain. q

Argentina spymaster links Fernandez gov’t to Nisman’s death BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina’s most famous spymaster says he thinks a prosecutor investigating the country’s worst terrorist attack was killed by people linked to the government of former President Cristina Fernandez.

The attorney for Antonio Stiuso said Wednesday his client made the statement to a local judge this week. But the lawyer, Santiago Blanco, said that Stiuso doesn’t have “direct proof” that

prosecutor Alberto Nisman was killed.

“He has an interpretation of the precedents and motives that might have led to Nisman’s killing,” Blanco told the Vorterix radio station. He added that he didn’t have more details because he didn’t attend the closed-door testimony.

An attorney who represents Nisman’s family in the case and who was in the courtroom during Stiuso’s testimony told local news

media that the former spy chief had directly blamed Fernandez for Nisman’s death. The lawyer, Federico Casal, also said that Stiuso had accused officials in Fernandez’s administration, including former legal secretary Carlos Zannini and former Cabinet Chief Anibal for the prosecutor’s death.

Fernandez has implied that Stiuso himself might have had something to do with the death — also without

evidence.

Stiuso assisted Nisman’s investigation of the unsolved 1994 bombing of a Jewish center before he was found dead of a gunshot in his apartment on Jan. 18, 2015.

Just days before his death, Nisman accused Fernandez of helping shield Iranian officials allegedly behind the bombing that killed 85 people. The case against Fernandez was later thrown out.

More than a year after his death, authorities have not determined whether Nisman took his own life or was killed by someone else.

Conspiracy theories have flourished around the case.

While some people believe that Nisman killed himself because he felt that his claims against the former president lacked proof, others say he was murdered because he was a threat to the Argentine and Iranian governments. q

LOCAL A13

Thursday 3 March 2016

Loyal Visitors Honored at the Marriott Ocean Club PALM BEACH - Recently the Aruba Tourism Authority had the great pleasure of honoring two couples whom are loyal and friendly Visitors of Aruba, at the Marriott Ocean Club as Distinguished Visitors and Honorary Emerald Ambassadors. The symbolic honorary titles are presented in the name of the Minister of Tourism as a token of appreciation to guests who visit Aruba for 10-to-19 and 35-or-more consecutive years.

The honorees were Mr. Mark and Mrs. Iris Dorfman from Westbury, New York as Honorary Emerald Ambassadors, and Mr. Michael and Mrs. Linda DeMarco as Distinguished Visitors. The honorees are loyal members of the Marriott Ocean Club and they love Aruba very much because of the friendly people, the climate, beaches, restaurants, and being on Aruba and staying at the Ocean Club is like being home for them. The certificates were presented by Mr. Ernest Giel representing the Aruba Tourism Authority together with Mrs. Lisette Bouwman, Mrs. Lilian Britten and staff members from at the Marriott Ocean Club.q

A14 LOCAL

Thursday 3 March 2016

Count on Paseo Herencia Mall for Great Nightly Entertainment!

PALM BEACH - The premiere shopping center of Palm Beach, Paseo Herencia, is also a spectacular place for dining, becoming informed about island history and culture, and family fun. Best of all, the mall

8:00 to 8:30pm, preceded and followed by their fourtimes nightly Waltzing Waters show.

On Mondays Cultural Night, on Tuesdays Local Talent Show, on Wednesdays Latin Night, on Thursdays

hosts fantastic entertainment nightly in the Plaza Padu, and all the shows are absolutely FREE! The diverse lineup of top talent takes place every evening from

Fantasy Night, on Fridays Caribbean Pan Night on Saturdays Violin Night.

Shops are open from 10am to 10pm.

LOCAL A15

Thursday 3 March 2016

Levanti Family Honored at La Cabana Beach Resort

EAGLE BEACH - Recently the Aruba Tourism Authority

had the great pleasure of honoring a very nice cou-

ple  whom are loyal and friendly visitors of Aruba, as Ambassadors of Goodwill, at the La Cabana Beach Resort.

The symbolic honorary title is presented in the name of the Minister of Tourism as a token of appreciation to guests who visit Aruba for

20 to 34 consecutive years.

The honorees were Mr. Robert and Mrs. Carole Levanti from Sarasota Florida.

Robert and Carole are loyal members of the La Cabana, and they love Aruba for the Friendly people, the climate, beaches, restaurants and they always say

that Aruba truly is One Happy Island and La Cabana is a wonderful resort.

The certificate was presented by Mr. Ernest Giel representing the Aruba Tourism Authority together with Mrs. Charine Charles representing the La cabana Beach Resort.q

A16 LOCAL

Thursday 3 March 2016

Loyal Visitors Honored at the Tropicana Resort

PALM BEACH - Recently the Aruba Tourism Authority had the great pleasure of honoring a very nice couple and their friend as Ambassadors of Goodwill at the Tropicana Resort and Casino. The symbolic honorary title is presented in the name of the Minister of Tourism as a token of ap-

preciation to guests who visit Aruba for 20-to-34 consecutive years.

The honorees were Mr. Ernesto and Mrs. Felicetta Lamanna from Woodbridge, Toronto, Canada and Mrs. Rocchina Colangelo from Stoville, Toronto, Canada.

The Lamanna couple and their friend Rocchina love

Aruba very much because of the friendly people, the climate, beaches, restaurants, the Tropicana Casino and being on Aruba and staying at the Tropicana is like being home for them and the wonderful staff of the resort is like family to them. The certificates were presented at the recently

renovated Tropicana Casino by Mr. Ernest Giel representing the Aruba Tourism Authority together with Ms. Nelida Rodriquez, Ms.

Jacky Feliciana and Mr. Wilfred Trimon Director of Casino Operations at the Tropicana Resort and Casino.

SPORTS A17

Thursday 3 March 2016

WOUNDED KNEE

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, putts on the 10th green during the practice round of the Cadillac Championship golf tournament, Wednesday, March 2, 2016, in Doral, Fla. McIlroy, frustrated with his putting, has decided to go with a cross-handed grip for the tournament.

Associated Press

Spieth, Day, McIlroy featured group at Cadillac Championship TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer DORAL, Fla. (AP) — Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy are the top three players in the world golf rankings, which assures them of absolutely nothing this week.

Doral hasn’t been overly kind to any of them.

Spieth has been over par in five of his eight rounds there over the last two years, Day has posted two rounds in the 60s in his last 16 attempts at the Blue Monster, and McIlroy — who won at Doral as a 9-year-old — casually tossed his 3-iron into the water after a bad shot last year, a fairly strong indicator of how he would assess his play.

Yet they’ll have the bulk of the attention Thursday when they’ll be in the same group at the opening round of the Cadillac Championship, the first of the four World Golf Championships.

Continued on page 18

Injury ends World Cup leader Vonn’s season

Lindsey Vonn, of the United States, slaloms pasta pole during an alpine ski, women’s World Cup, combined race, in Soldeu, Andorra, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016.

Associated Press Page 19

A18 SPORTS

Thursday 3 March 2016

Yankees closer Chapman agrees to accept 30-game suspension RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman agreed to accept a 30-game suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy, a penalty stemming from an altercation with his girlfriend last October.

Under the discipline announced Tuesday, the four-time All-Star will serve the penalty from the start of the Yankees’ season on April 4. He will lose 30 days of pay — $1,856,557 of his $11,325,000 salary. The agreement specifies he will be eligible for free agency after this season barring any additional suspension for off-the-field conduct that would cost him the necessary service time.

firing eight shots into a wall and window while locked in his garage.

The Davie Police Department and Broward Assistant State Attorney Stefanie Newman declined to file charges, saying conflicting accounts and insufficient evidence made a conviction unlikely. Under MLB’s domestic violence policy, discipline does not have to be predicated on a conviction.

New York Yankees pitcher Aroldis Chapman throws a ball during a spring training baseball workout Friday, Feb. 19, 2016, in Tampa, Fla. Associated Press

“I found Mr. Chapman’s acknowledged conduct on that day to be inappropriate ... particularly his use of a firearm and the impact of that behavior on his partner,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “I am gratified that Mr. Chapman has

taken responsibility for his conduct.”

Chapman became the first player penalized a finite number of games under the policy, which MLB and the players’ association agreed to in August following several high-profile incidents among NFL play-

Cadillac

played much together in a three-ball,” McIlroy said.

“So the next two days are going to be enjoyable.

It will be good out there, hopefully a little bit of buzz around that group, very much looking forward to that.”

Buzz won’t be in short supply this week.

The winners of the last 13 major championships are in the field, Dustin Johnson is back to defend the title he won at Doral a year ago when he overtook J.B. Holmes in the final round and it’s all going to play out on a course owned by Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump — who is expected to appear at some point before the final putt drops on Sunday.

“Obviously, this is a great tournament,” Johnson said.

“It’s got a great field. I won here last year, but since last year we’ve played a lot of tournaments. So it’s not like I just won here and I’m coming back. It’s been a year but it definitely feels good.

Continued from page 17 “Everyone’s fighting for the same prize,” Spieth said. “When we get out there, we’re playing our own game. I don’t think any of us are buying into any added motivation or excitement because of the pairing. I don’t think we would at any point.

Not trying to downplay it, but for me personally, I would say it’s going to be a lot of fun ... but I don’t think any of us are buying into the ‘Big Three.’”

Spieth’s last outing was a rare-for-him missed cut at Riviera. Day was tied for 11th at Pebble Beach in his most recent event, and McIlroy missed the cut last week at The Honda Classic. It’s their first time being in the same tournament since September.

“I’ve played a lot with Jason and a lot with Jordan over the past few years, but we haven’t really

ers. Colorado shortstop Jose Reyes was given an indefinite paid suspension last week, pending a trial scheduled for April 4, following an alleged altercation with his wife in October.

Baseball’s investigation of Chapman stemmed from

an Oct. 30 incident at his house in Florida. Chapman’s girlfriend, 22-yearold Cristina Barnea, told police he pushed and choked her. Chapman said there was an argument but that he was pushed down by Barnea’s brother, eventually getting a handgun and

Jordan Spieth signs autographs during a practice round at the Cadillac Championship golf tournament, Wednesday, March 2, 2016, in Doral, Fla. Associated Press

It gives me a lot of confidence coming into this week and like I said, I just want to put myself in position to have the chance to win on Sunday.”

The Blue Monster rewarded Johnson’s patience last year and plenty of players were talking about taking a similar approach this week.

Spieth went nine consecutive holes without a par in

last year’s final round and wound up losing two shots to par in that stretch because his five birdies were more than canceled out by a triple, a double and two bogeys.

Day and McIlroy each made 17 birdies at Doral a year ago — just like Johnson did — and were nowhere near the winner by the 72nd hole, doomed by

Chapman, 28, the hardest-throwing pitcher in the major leagues, was traded from the rebuilding Cincinnati Reds to the Yankees in December. He had said he would contest any suspension, but a deal was reached following negotiations with MLB. “I want to be clear, I did not in any way harm my girlfriend that evening,” Chapman said in a statement. “However, I should have exercised better judgment with respect to certain actions, and for that I am sorry.

Continued on page 22 errors along the way.

“I was too aggressive last year, so I think a little bit more conservative on the par 5s,” Day said. “I don’t play the course that bad.

It’s just the mistakes that kill me. I’ve got to try and be a little bit more conservative that way.”

Spieth remembers making an 8 on the par-4 14th two years ago at Doral, a mistake that could have cost him a shot at a top-10 finish.

He wound up tied for 34th.

So this week, his thinking is that any blunder will come with a stiff penalty.

“If I can play this tournament under par, I think that would be a good, solid goal,” Spieth said. “I think I can certainly improve on that. But that’s something I haven’t done in my two trips here. It’s a challenging course.

And that’s what I’m considering; solid momentum going forward from here would be trying to beat this golf course instead of it getting the best of me.”

SPORTS A19 Lindsey Vonn ends early because of left knee injury Thursday 3 March 2016

CHRIS LEHOURITES AP Sports Writer A hairline fracture in her left knee didn’t deter Lindsey Vonn. Still, she raced.

Three significant-sized fractures that could — if they became any worse — lead to surgery and possibly an end to her career? Now that got the attention of the all-time winningest female World Cup skier.

Vonn announced Wednesday that she was leaving the racing circuit early after an MRI revealed the injury in her tibial plateau — the top of the shinbone at the knee joint — was more serious than first believed. She crashed over the weekend, but competed the next day.

And this was shaping up for quite a finish, too. With eight races to go, Vonn leads the overall World Cup standings with 1,235 points, followed closely by Lara Gut of Switzerland with 1,207.

Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany is third with 914.

“Because I am currently leading the overall World Cup standings, this is one of the toughest decisions of my career,” Vonn said on her Facebook page.

“While I am confident that I’m making the right decision, it still doesn’t make this decision any easier.’

Lately, Vonn’s injuries and ailments have been piling up like her accomplishments. Even the best aren’t immune to wipeouts in such a demanding sport.

Vonn crashed on Saturday during a super-G race in Andorra after hitting a patch of soft snow. X-rays showed a hairline fracture in her tibial plateau and yet she decided to race Sunday in the combined event, extending her overall lead by finishing in 13th place. On Wednesday, she revealed the injury was much worse.

“The fractures are not hairline, but instead they are significant enough that they are not sufficiently stable to permit me to safely continue skiing,” Vonn said.

Because of the test results, the four-time overall World Cup champion said she decided to end her season

immediately. She doesn’t want to jeopardize things going forward. Not with the world championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, next season and the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea on the horizon.

“I cannot take that risk,” the 31-year-old Vonn said.

Still, Vonn has had quite a season: — Adding nine more World Cup wins to her resume to bring the record to 76 and close the gap on the alltime mark of 86 victories held by Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden.

— Winning a downhill in Cortina to eclipse Annemarie Moser-Proell’s mark of 36 career wins in skiing’s marquee event. Vonn then won a super-G for her 11th career victory at the Italian resort, breaking the record of retired Austrian standout Renate Goetschl.

— Capturing the overall downhill discipline title this season, which was her 20th crystal globe. That broke the mark of 19 held by Stenmark.

“I am very proud of what I have been able to accomplish this year,” Vonn said.

Her top rival felt her pain.

“It’s a real shame that the tense fight for the overall title can’t last until the end,” Gut said in a Swiss ski federation statement. “I wish Lindsey Vonn a good recovery and a successful return next season.”

This has been a strange season for injuries to some of the circuit’s biggest names.

Defending champ Anna Fenninger of Austria missed the year with a knee injury, while Olympic and world champion Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. only recently returned after missing a good portion of the season when she tore the medial collateral ligament in her right knee during a training run.

Men’s overall leader Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway was also ruled out for the season with a right knee injury from a crash in January in Kitzbuehel, Austria.

“Pretty unusual ... season with all injuries,” Slovenian standout Tina Maze said on Twitter. “Ah, but life goes on! What to do?”

Maze, who’s taking the season off, added the hashtags “protect yourself” and “get well soon.”

Vonn’s list of injuries over the years is quite long. She withdrew midway through the 2011 world championships because of a concussion. She raced with a severely bruised shin at the 2010 Olympics. She hurt her knee in training and missed a pair of races at the 2007 worlds and took a scary fall during training at the 2006 Olympics, then left the hospital to compete.

And while Vonn captured Olympic gold in the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games, she couldn’t defend her crown four years later in Sochi because of a serious knee injury.

Even this season got off to

In this Feb. 28, 2016, file photo, Lindsey Vonn, of the United States, speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women’s World Cup, combined race, in Soldeu, Andorra.

Associated Press

a rocky start. A broken ankle kept her out of the season-opening giant slalom in Austria. Then, she needed

stitches in her right thumb after trying to break up a fight between her dogs over a Frisbee.

20 SPORTS

Thursday 3 March 2016

NBA Capsules

GS wins again, this time without Stephen Curry The Associated Press OAKLAND, California (AP) — Draymond Green hit an off-balance 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 40.2 seconds remaining in overtime, and the Golden State Warriors escaped with a 109-105 win against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night while Stephen Curry watched in street clothes with an injured ankle.

Andrew Bogut saved the ball from going out of bounds, and then Green got the shot off just in time while avoiding Kent Bazemore’s diving steal attempt.

Klay Thompson made a go-ahead 3 with 2:54 left and another big basket at the 11.4-second mark. He finished with 26 points. The Warriors won their second straight overtime game and got a franchise-best 43rd straight regular-season home victory and 25th in a row this season.

Golden State (54-5) can tie the Bulls’ 44-game unbeaten mark at home from

Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green reacts after scoring against the Atlanta Hawks during overtime of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in Oakland, Calif. Golden State won 109-105 in overtime.

Associated Press

March 30, 1995, to April 4, 1996, when the Warriors host Oklahoma City on Thursday.

HEAT 129, BULLS 111 MIAMI (AP) — Hassan Whiteside scored a careerhigh 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and Miami set a franchise record by shooting 67.5 percent while rolling past Chicago.

Joe Johnson added 24 points in his Miami home debut. The previous Heat record for shooting percentage in a regular-season game was 63.4 percent on Dec. 16, 2013, against Utah.

Chicago was within 108-102 with 5:14 left, before Miami finished on a 21-9 run. No team had shot better in an NBA game this season than the 61.8 percent posted by San Antonio against Philadelphia on Dec. 7.

Derrick Rose returned from a three-game absence because of injury and scored 17 points for Chicago, which lost for the 17th time in 25 games and fell to the No. 9 spot in the Eastern Conference race. Pau Gasol had 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

TRAIL BLAZERS 104, KNICKS 85 NEW YORK (AP) — Damian Lillard scored 30 points, CJ

McCollum had 21 of his 25 in the second half and Portland earned its sixth straight road victory.

The Blazers followed a fantastic February with a blistering start to March, winning for the 18th time in their last 22 games.

Lillard reached the 30-point mark for the eighth time in nine games and had 14, nearly half of them, in the final 4:25 of the first half.

Carmelo Anthony had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, so hopeless in their 15th loss in 18 games that fans spent much of the fourth quarter chanting for Jimmer Fredette, who is nearing the end of his 10day contract. The former college player of the year finally got in for the final 3:13 and finished with four points.

HORNETS 126, SUNS 92 CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kemba Walker scored 26 points, leading the Hornets to the runaway win.

Al Jefferson had 19 points and seven rebounds for Charlotte, which has won nine of 12. Nicolas Batum and reserve Jeremy Lamb scored 15 points apiece.

The Suns had five players score in double figures in their 16th consecutive road loss. Alex Len had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Mirza Teletovic scored 17 points.

Charlotte led by 26 points at halftime and opened its biggest lead at 115-72 on Troy Daniels’ 3-pointer with 7:56 left in the fourth quarter.

MAVERICKS 121, MAGIC 108 DALLAS (AP) — Wesley Matthews scored 21 points, and Dallas beat Orlando for its third straight win.

The Mavericks made a season-high 56 percent of their field goal attempts (43 for 77).

Zaza Pachulia had his 24th double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 points, and Chandler Parsons and J.J. Barea each had 17.

Ersan Ilyasova scored 22 points for the Magic. Nikola Vucevic had 18, all in the first half, and Elfrid Payton and Dewayne Dedmon added 12 apiece.

LAKERS 107, NETS 101 LOS ANGELES (AP) — D’Angelo Russell scored 39 points and hit two of his eight 3-pointers in the final minute to lead Los Angeles over Brooklyn.

While Kobe Bryant sat out with a sore right shoulder, the Lakers snapped their eight-game losing streak with a spectacular game from the 20-year-old Russell, who scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and went 14 for 21 from the field.

Brook Lopez had 23 points before fouling out with 2:43 left for the Nets, who fell to 2-3 on their nine-game trip with back-to-back losses at Staples Center.

Russell hit a 3-pointer with 53 seconds left and another with 30 seconds to play, capping a spectacular night for the No. 2 overall pick in the draft. His 39 points were the most by a rookie this season.

Los Angeles hung on for its first victory since Feb. 4 and just its fourth win in 26 games since Jan. 3.

SPORTS A21

Thursday 3 March 2016

NHL Capsules McDavid shows Sabres what might have been The Associated Press BUFFALO, New York (AP) — Connor McDavid scored his second goal in overtime to give the Edmonton Oilers a 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night in an anticipated matchup against another top rookie, Jack Eichel.

Cam Talbot made 31 saves for the Oilers as Edmonton began a four-game trip with its second straight win.

McDavid and Eichel provided a buzz for this game even though the Oilers and Sabres are both among the NHL’s bottom five teams. McDavid was the first pick in last year’s draft and Eichel went second, and both players are considered potential generational talents.

McDavid scored 22 seconds into the game, then got the winner by blowing past Buffalo’s defense seconds after Eichel spun around a defender and missed just wide with a twirling backhand shot.

Cal O’Reilly scored his first goal of the season for the Sabres.

CAPITALS 3, PENGUINS 2 WASHINGTON (AP) — Matt Niskanen scored the winner during a third-period power play to help Washington overcome Pittsburgh in an entertaining, back-and-forth showdown that could be a first-round playoff preview.

Mike Richards and Evgeny Kuznetsov also scored for the NHL-leading Capitals, and Braden Holtby made 28 saves while becoming the first goalie in franchise history with consecutive 40win seasons. His glove stop on Carl Hagelin with 32.8 seconds left preserved the victory.

After losing to defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago on Sunday, Washington bounced right back.

Evgeni Malkin and Patric Hornqvist scored for Pittsburgh, which holds the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Backup goalie Matt Murray stopped 34 shots.

BLUES 4, SENATORS 3, SO OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Patrik Berglund scored the shootout winner in the 11th round as St. Louis outlasted Ottawa.

Trailing 3-0, the Senators scored three unanswered goals to force overtime, including one by Jean-Gabriel Pageau with less than a second left in the third period.

Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson made 28 saves on 31 shots before leaving the game at 13:41 in the second period.

Andrew Hammond stopped 17 shots in relief and made several huge saves to keep the Senators in the game.

Ryan Dzingel also scored for Ottawa.

Jaden Schwartz, with a goal and two assists, led the Blues. Dmitrij Jaskin and Vladimir Tarasenko also scored, and Jake Allen stopped 40 shots.

BRUINS 2, FLAMES 1 BOSTON (AP) — Patrice Bergeron scored the tiebreaking goal with 3:24 left to lift Boston over skidding Calgary.

Landon Ferraro also scored and Tuukka Rask stopped 24 shots as the Bruins won for the third time in four games.

Jakub Nakladal’s first career goal was the only score for the Flames, who dropped their sixth straight.

Joni Ortio made 23 saves.

HURRICANES 3, DEVILS 1 NEWARK, New Jersey (AP) — Joakim Nordstrom scored on a rebound with 1:29 remaining as Carolina defeated New Jersey in a game between teams fad-

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid celebrates his overtime goal against the Buffalo Sabres in an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in Buffalo, N.Y. Edmonton won 2-1.

Associated Press

ing from playoff contention.

Derek Ryan, playing his first NHL game at age 29, also scored as the Hurricanes snapped a three-game skid and won for the third time in eight games. Eddie Lack was outstanding in making 29 saves, and Nathan Gerbe scored into an empty net with 21.2 seconds to go.

Adam Henrique scored for New Jersey, which lost its third straight and sixth in seven games.

WILD 6, AVALANCHE 3 ST. PAUL, Minnesota (AP) — Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter each scored twice to give Minnesota victory over Colorado and possession of the final Western Conference playoff spot.

Coyle scored the gamewinner at 5:34 of the third period after Zach Parise knocked down the puck at mid-ice, rushed toward the other end and fed a streaking Coyle, who tapped into an open net.

Colorado and Minnesota both have 68 points, but the Wild have played one fewer game and are technically ahead in the standings.

Jarome Iginla scored 33

seconds in for Colorado.

It was his 19th goal of the season and 608th of his career, tying Dino Ciccarelli for 17th place in NHL history.

Chris Bigras and Cody McLeod also scored for the Avalanche.

PREDATORS 5, STARS 3 NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — Shea Weber had a goal and two assists in his return from a three-game injury absence to lead streaking Nashville over Dallas.

Weber has 12 power-play goals this season.

Craig Smith and James Neal each had a goal and an assist, and Calle Jarnkrok and Mattias Ekholm also scored for the Predators, who have won a season-high five straight. Pekke Rinne made 35 saves Antoine Roussel had a goal and an assist, and Jason Spezza and Vernon Fiddler also scored for Dallas, which has lost four in a row.

Antti Niemi stopped 14 of 18 shots before being relieved

by Kari Lehtonen midway through the second.

PANTHERS 3, JETS 2 WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Reilly Smith had two goals and Jaromir Jagr scored the winner early

in the third period to send Florida past Winnipeg.

Vincent Trocheck assisted on both of Smith’s goals, and the Panthers snapped a first-place tie with Tampa Bay in the Atlantic Division.

Roberto Luongo made 30 saves for Florida.

Jagr is two points from tying Gordie Howe (1,850) for third in NHL history.

Dustin Byfuglien and rookie Andrew Copp scored in the second period for Winnipeg, which lost its fifth straight home game.

ISLANDERS 3, CANUCKS 2 VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Thomas Hickey scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period to help New York beat Vancouver.

Travis Hamonic and Anders Lee also scored for the Islanders, and Thomas Greiss made 31 stops. Hickey also had an assist.

Linden Vey and Daniel Sedin each had a goal for Vancouver, which got 21 saves from Jacob Markstrom.

Sedin tied it 2-all at 10:52 of the third with his 24th of the season. Hickey then scored his fourth on a drive from the point 2:03 later that appeared to hit a defender in front.q

A22

Thursday 3 March 2016

SPORTS

Miller, Norman, Cousins, Berry franchise tagged

BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer Where are the NFL All-Pros without contracts going?

Nowhere, it appears.

Super Bowl most valuable player Von Miller and fellow All-Pro players Josh Norman and Eric Berry were given franchise tags Tuesday, the league’s deadline to do so.

Tags govern players’ ability to negotiate moves to other franchises.

In all, nine players were slapped with the franchise tag and one, Dolphins defensive end Olivier Vernon, got the transition tag.

Broncos linebacker Miller was the only player to get the exclusive tag, at $14.129 million, meaning no other team can make him an offer.

Panthers cornerback Norman and Chiefs safety Berry were among the eight who received nonexclusive designations, so other clubs can make offers, but their current teams have the right to match or get compensated with two first-round draft picks.

Also getting tagged with free agency set to begin on March 9 were Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins, Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson, Bears receiver Alshon Jeffery, Ravens placekicker Justin Tucker, Bills tackle Cordy Glenn and Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson.

The players have until July 15 to work out a long-term contract with their teams.

Aroldis Chapman

Continued from page 18 The decision to accept a suspension, as opposed to appealing one, was made after careful consideration.

I made this decision in an effort to minimize the distractions that an appeal would cause the Yankees, my new teammates and most importantly, my family.”

Chapman’s representa-

If they can’t — and most franchises are eager to get these players locked up for several years — then the salary for 2016 is determined by the tag designation.

Cousins would earn the most, $19.9 million, because quarterbacks have the highest tag number.

Wilkerson would be next at $15.7 million.

Miami decided against placing the franchise tag on Vernon, and this year’s transition number calls for defensive ends to receive

he was deemed cancerfree last summer, and the 27-year-old Berry then had the best season of his sixyear career. A 2010 firstround pick, Berry made 55 solo tackles and two interceptions while providing inspiration not only for the Chiefs, but for all athletes.

In this Jan. 10, 2016 file photo, Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) passes the ball during the first half of an NFL wild card playoff football game against the Green Bay Packers in Landover, Md. Associated Press

Josh Norman, Carolina ($13.952 million) — The Panthers have seen Norman, 28, develop into one of the best cover men in the NFL. Norman had four interceptions in the first four games last season, returning two

In this Feb. 7, 2016, file photo, Denver Broncos’ Von Miller (58) strips the ball from Carolina Panthers’ Cam Newton (1) during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 50 football game, in Santa Clara, Calif.

Associated Press

$12.734 million. A transition tag allows the player to negotiate with other teams, but his current club has the right of first refusal to match any offer. Should Vernon leave, there is no compensation for Miami.

Some highlights of deadline day: Von Miller, Denver ($14.129 million) —The Broncos weren’t taking any chanc-

tives and MLB had been discussing the discipline for about 10 days.

A suspension of 46 days or longer would have delayed his chance to become a free agent until after the 2017 season.

The players’ association said it supported Chapman’s decision to accept the penalty and said “its members do not condone the mistreatment of others by playing or non-playing

es on losing the 26-yearold, regarded by many as the best overall player in the NFL. “We’ve had productive talks with Von’s representation, and we’ll continue those discussions with the goal of making sure Von remains a Bronco well into the future,” general manager John Elway said in a statement.

personnel.”

With the Yankees, Chapman forms a powerful back end of the bullpen along with former closer Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances.

Chapman can continue to participate in all spring training activities. The penalty starts when the Yankees open the season April 4 at home against Houston. Barring rainouts, he would be eligible to start his season May 9 when the

In this Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015 file photo, Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman (24) runs back an interception against the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 30-yard touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game in Jacksonville, Fla. Associated Press

Eric Berry, Kansas City ($10.806 million) — The Comeback Player of the Year, Berry was diagnosed with lymphoma midway through the 2014 season and immediately began treatment. After going through chemotherapy,

for touchdowns, then quarterbacks stopped throwing his way. Opposing passers had a league-worst 54.0 quarterback rating when throwing at Norman, who expects to remain in Charlotte.

Yankees host World Series champion Kansas City.

“We need him,” teammate Alex Rodriguez said Tuesday before the suspension was announced.

“He’s a big part of our team, and I think the key in New York is you have to focus on the game, focus on your teammates, and I think he has a lot of support in that clubhouse.”

Chapman will be allowed to use team facilities while

serving his suspension and likely will work out at the Yankees’ minor league complex in Florida, but he will not be permitted to play in any minor league games during that time.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig is under investigation by MLB for a fight with a bouncer at a Miami bar in November following an argument with his sister.

TECHNOLOGY A23

Thursday 3 March 2016

Pet Tech offers to keep animals safe, healthy and connected TERENCE CHEA Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Technology isn’t just for humans anymore. It’s also for their furry friends.

In Silicon Valley and beyond, a growing number of startups are selling devices to keep pets safe, healthy, entertained and connected when their owners are away.

“Pet tech” entrepreneurs and investors see a big opportunity as pet ownership grows and owners show a willingness to spend serious money on their four-legged companions.

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. households, or 80 million homes, have pets, and Americans spent more than $60 billion on them last year, according to the American Pet Products Association.

“The number of pets in the world is growing extremely fast and that opens up the market,” said Peter Harrop, chairman of IDTechEx, a technology market research firm.

“I’m sure five years from now there will be all sorts of things we can’t imagine.”

Already, there are devices that let your pets call you (PetChatz), play games and win treats when they’re home alone (Clev-

erPet) and even speak with a human voice (Petspeak).

But as more pet-tech gadgets come to market, experts caution owners against relying on them too much.

“The technology can be useful as an adjunct, a way of enriching your relationship with your pet, but certainly not a substitute for time spent with your dog,” said Pamela Wyman, who runs the DogEvolve training school in Oakland.

The Petzi Treatcam lets Anne Ryan check on her dogs Oscar and Reggie at her Berkeley home when she’s working in San Francisco or traveling out of state.

The Internet-connected device lets her see her dogs, talk to them, take photos and even dispense treats — using an app on her phone.

“I turn it on, get to see them, get to talk to them and it changes my mood, and puts me back in a positive frame,” said Ryan said.

“I didn’t know that I needed it, but now I don’t think that I could live without it.”

The TreatCam was created

by San Jose-based Petzila, which was founded by two veteran technologyexecutives who wanted to get their pets online. The start-

In this Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016, photo, Russell Gipson Shearer displays on his phone how the Whistle pet tracker follows his dog Rocket in San Francisco.

Associated Press

up also created a social media app that lets owners share pet photos.

“All of the most current crazes and fads in technology were touching everything but the pet,” said CEO David Clark.

Whistle, a San Francisco startup, sells a GPS-enabled Pet Tracker that alerts owners when their pets have left their “safe zone” and helps find them if they get lost.

The device also lets owners track how much exercise and sleep their animals are

getting.

Ben Jacobs, Whistle’s CEO and co-founder, said the pet-tech market is expanding fast as pets move up the household hierarchy.

“From the yard to the home to the bed — the dog is no longer out as part of the farm, but they’re actually sleeping in bed with you as part of the family,” Jacobs said.

For owners who want their dogs and cats to be more active during the day, the Petcube Camera lets them

see and speak to their pets, and play with them with a laser pointer.

Petcube’s Ukranian founders started the company in Kiev, but moved its headquarters to San Francisco to reach a global market.

“If we can connect all the pets to the Internet and basically digitize this space, it will be nothing short of disruption,” said Yaroslav Azhnyuk, Petcube CEO and co-founder. “It will be very big.”q

Following rivals, AT&T says DirecTV won’t need a dish or box TALI ARBEL AP Technology Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Like other cable and satellite companies, AT&T is trying to win new customers by making it a little easier to sign up for and watch TV. It said Tuesday that DirecTV packages that run on apps and don’t need a dish or TV set-top box are coming in the fourth quarter. You don’t have to be an AT&T phone customer to sign up.

But it’s hard to gauge how appealing these deals will be, because it’s not clear what they are. AT&T, which bought DirecTV last year, isn’t providing details about prices, which channels or video will be available, or whether there will be any

content blackouts on mobile devices or computers when you step outside your house.

The company wants to launch an Internet TV offering that replicates a lot of what’s in the traditional big bundle of channels, and hopes that approach will appeal to big entertainment companies like Twenty-First Century Fox and Disney.

Some other Web TV services have had trouble getting off the ground. A hoped-for Apple TV streaming service hasn’t materialized, having reportedly hit roadblocks in negotiations with channels. Sony launched a TV service, Vue, last year with many popular channels,

but not those owned by Disney, like ESPN and Disney Channel. It had said in November that it was adding them.

The industry shift to ditch equipment that adds to the cost of TV service comes as a growing number of people cancel their traditional TV subscriptions.

Young people are considered especially unlikely to pay for a bundle of hundreds of channels that can easily cost $70 and more each month.

Over the past year, rival cable and satellite companies have introduced TVwatching apps aimed at millennials. Dish Network’s Sling TV has channels that work whether you’re in the

house or not, but some programs have been blacked out. Offerings from cable companies have rights issues that make some channels unavailable when you leave your house and, for now, are available only in a few regions. Comcast’s Stream also doesn’t work on TV. Competition is increasing as phone companies want to be video hubs, too. T-Mobile lets you watch video from dozens of providers, including HBO Now, Netflix and Hulu, without using up data on your plan. Verizon exempts its own video app, which has some full-length TV episodes.

Dallas-based AT&T Inc. said it is planning packages

that have “much of what is available from DirecTV today” as well as a more limited service that only works on phones and a free offering with ads.

AT&T has a “number of programmers on board and we’re continuing discussions with others,” said AT&T executive Tony Goncalves.

He said that AT&T has a “programmer-friendly approach” because it wants to put so many channels online.

Asked if ESPN channels were going to be included in the new AT&T packages, spokeswoman Amy Phillips said ESPN was “having productive conversations, but we have nothing to announce at this time.” q

A24 BUSINESS

Thursday 3 March 2016

Stocks made small gains as energy companies surge MARLEY JAY AP Markets Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks eked out tiny gains Wednesday as oil prices continued to recover and investors hoped the worst is over for the beleaguered energy industry. Telecommunications companies, which have climbed as the rest of the market has struggled this year, also rose.

Indexes wavered between tiny gains and losses for most of the day, then climbed steadily in the last 90 minutes of trading. Oil prices increased for the seventh time in eight days, an encouraging sign after many months of sharp declines. After Tuesday’s big gains, the market is the highest it’s been since the first week of the year.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 34.24 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,899.32.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 8.10 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,986.45.

The Nasdaq composite index added 13.83 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,703.42.

Trader Anthony Riccio works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks eked out tiny gains Wednesday as oil prices continued to recover and investors hoped the worst is over for the beleaguered energy industry.

(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The price of oil has been plunging for almost two years, from over $100 a barrel in mid-2014 to $26 a barrel last month. That decimated profits at energy companies and hurt banks that lent money to them. Oil has staged a modest recovery over the last couple of weeks.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose 26 cents to close at $34.66 a barrel in New York, its highest closing price since Jan. 5. Brent crude gained

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Energy stocks did the best in the market. Murphy Oil climbed $2.08, or 12.1 percent, to $19.30, and Marathon Oil picked up $1.14, or 14.3 percent, to $9.10.

Telecom stocks also rose, with Verizon Communications up 66 cents to $52.12.

Verizon and AT&T are trading at their highest prices in more than a year.

Agribusiness giant Monsanto took its biggest oneday loss in five years after it slashed its annual profit

forecast. The company cited the strong dollar, competition from lowercost generic products, and reduced spending from farmers because of lower crop prices. The stock tumbled $7.19, or 7.8 percent, to $85.30.

The news pressured other materials companies including fertilizer maker CF Industries, which fell $1.51, or 4.2 percent, to $34.74.

Spirits maker Brown-Forman, whose brands include Jack Daniels and Korbel, also lowered its profit estimates because of the strong dollar. The company makes 60 percent of its sales overseas. It’s also being affected by cutbacks in spending by travelers and weak economies in some emerging markets.

Its stock fell $1.47 to $96.19.

A strong dollar hurts U.S. companies in a couple of ways when they do business overseas: it makes their products more expensive compared to locallyproduced goods, and it reduces their revenue when it’s translated back into dollars.

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CEO says Exxon set for acquisitions, investing in firm DAVID KOENIG AP Business Writer DALLAS (AP) — Exxon is interested in acquisitions while oil prices are low, but CEO Rex Tillerson says sellers have unrealistic price expectations.

Tillerson said Wednesday that Exxon Mobil Corp. is in financial position to pursue acquisitions or change its spending plans depending on what happens to the oil market.

Earlier this week Exxon raised $12 billion from a bond sale, increasing speculation that it could seek to scoop up competitors. Tillerson said Exxon hasn’t made any deals yet because potential sellers are acting like homeowners who think their house is worth more than it is.

Those other companies, he said, have burdened themselves with debt during the oil slump, making them less attractive takeover targets.

“Some of the value has been destroyed and the expectation (of sale price) hasn’t changed,” he said at Exxon’s annual meeting with investors in New York.

Asked about oil prices, Tillerson said they could still fall. U.S. benchmark crude has rallied since late January and gained 23 cents to $34.64 a barrel in New York on Wednesday afternoon, but it is still nearly 70 percent below its price in June 2014.

“We’re still overproducing, oversupplying a market that doesn’t need it, doesn’t want it,” and the global economy is too weak to boost demand much, he said.

U.S. production has boomed in recent years.

Tillerson said that helped create the glut but wasn’t the only cause. He said it was “hard to predict” when supply and demand might balance again.

Exxon, which is based in Irving, Texas, reaffirmed that it will cut capital spending 25 percent this year; other oil companies are doing the same to cope with lower prices.

BUSINESS A25

Thursday 3 March 2016

Fed survey finds weaker exports hurting manufacturers M. CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The economy was expanding in most of the country in January and February, helped by gains in consumer spending and home sales. But there were also rising headwinds from falling oil prices and a strong dollar that held back some sectors, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.

The Fed’s latest survey of business conditions in its 12 regions found moderate gains in most regions.

Two areas — New York and Kansas City — described activity as flat. Kansas City, a region hurt by weakness in energy and farming, reported a modest decline.

The Fed survey, known as the ‘Beige Book,’ will be discussed at the central bank’s next meeting on March 16-17. Most economists expect the Fed to

leave a key interest rate unchanged.

The Fed survey found that while consumer inflation was holding steady, wage growth varied considerably from flat to strong. The central bank is hoping that rising employment will boost pay, which has lagged since this recovery began in mid-2009. And Fed officials believe that rising wages will help lift inflation closer to the Fed’s target of prices increases around 2 percent per year. Inflation has been running below that level for the post three years.

Economists said the findings in the Fed survey supported their view that the economy is avoiding a recession despite the turbulence.

“Trade and energy remain the most significant drags on growth but the positives for the economy

People dine in outdoor cafes and walk along Lincoln Road Mall, a pedestrian area featuring retail shops and restaurants in Miami Beach, Fla. On Wednesday, March 2, 2016, the Federal Reserve released its latest “Beige Book” survey of economic conditions.

(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

are more than enough to offset these,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services.

“Consumer spending, the

US construction spending up 1.5% in January M. CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. construction spending increased in January by the largest amount in eight months as weakness in homebuilding was offset by a solid rebound in nonresidential activity.

Construction spending increased 1.5 percent in January, the biggest gain since May, following a 0.6 percent increase in December, the Commerce Department reported this week. The advance pushed total spending to a seasonally adjusted $1.14 trillion in January, the highest level in more than eight years.

Economists are optimistic that construction will continue to show solid gains this year, helping to boost overall economic growth.

For January, home building activity showed no gain, but spending on nonresidential projects rose 1 percent following two months of declines. Spending on government projects increased 4.5 percent with state and local and federal spending both showing gains.

The flat reading for residential construction reflected a slight 0.2 percent drop in single-family construction and a 2.6 percent increase

in the smaller apartment sector.

The gain in nonresidential building was led by a 6.7 percent jump in construction of hotels and motels.

Spending on office buildings was up but spending in the category that covers shopping centers fell.

Spending on state and local government projects rose 4.4 percent while spending on federal building projects increased an even bigger 5.8 percent.

housing market and commercial construction con-

tinue to lead growth in early 2016.”

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A26 COMICS

Thursday 3 March 2016

Mutts

Conceptis Sudoku

6 Chix

Blondie

Mother Goose & Grimm

Baby Blues

Zits

Yesterday’s puzzle answer

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A28 SCIENCE

Thursday 3 March 2016

Mexico documents big rebound in monarch butterflies

MARK STEVENSON Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Monarch butterflies have made a big comeback in their wintering grounds in Mexico, after suffering serious declines, experts said Friday.

The area covered by the orange-and-black insects in the mountains west of Mexico City this season was more than three and a half times greater than last winter. The butterflies clump so densely in the pine and fir forests they are counted by the area they cover rather than by individual insects.

The number of monarchs making the 3,400-mile (5,500-kilometer) migration from the United States and Canada declined steadily in recent years before recovering in 2014. This winter was even better.

This December, the butterflies covered 10 acres (about 4 hectares), compared to 2.8 acres (1.13 hectares) in 2014 and a record low of 1.66 acres (0.67 hectares) in 2013.

While that’s positive, the monarchs still face problems: The butterflies covered as much as 44 acres (18 hectares) 20 years ago.

“The news is good, but at the same time we shouldn’t let our guard down,” said Omar Vidal, director of the World Wildlife Fund in Mexico. “Now more than ever, Mexico, the United States, and Canada should in-

In this Jan. 4, 2015 file photo, a kaleidoscope of Monarch butterflies cling to tree branches, in the Piedra Herrada sanctuary, near Valle de Bravo, Mexico. Monarch butterflies have made a big comeback in their wintering grounds in Mexico, after suffering serious declines, investigators said Friday, Feb. 26, 2016.

Associated Press

crease their conservation efforts to protect and restore the habitat of this butterfly along its migratory route.”

The United States is working to reintroduce milkweed, a plant key to the butterflies’ migration, on about 1,160 square miles (3 million hectares) within five years, both by planting and by designating pesticide-free areas. Milkweed is the plant the butterflies feed and lay their eggs on, but it has been attacked by herbicide use and loss of open land in the United States.

Dan Ashe, the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, said that in the first year of that effort, the United States had managed to restore about 250,000 acres (100,000 hectares) of milkweed, and raised about $20 million for the program.

“It is time for celebration because we see the beginning of success,” Ashe said.

“But our task now is to continue building on that success.”

The Washington, D.C.based Center for Biological Diversity, which is pushing for endangered species status for the monarchs, noted that even with the rebound, the butterflies are still only at 68 percent

of their 22-year average.

It said in a statement that “the population was expected to be up this winter due to favorable summer weather conditions in the monarch’s U.S. breeding areas.”

“The increase is certainly great news, but the bottom line is that monarchs must reach a much larger population size to be resilient to ever-increasing threats,” said Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at the Center.

In Mexico, meanwhile, illegal logging has remained a problem. It more than tripled in the monarch butterflies’ wintering grounds

in 2014, reversing several years of steady improvements. Illegal logging had fallen to almost zero in 2012.

Authorities said the reserve’s buffer area lost more than 22 acres (9 hectares) in 2015 due to illegal logging in one area, but said the tree cutting was detected and several arrests were made.

The forest canopy acts as a blanket against the cold for butterflies forming huge clumps on branches during their winter stay in Mexico.

Monarch expert Lincoln Brower wrote in a research paper that the 2015 forest loss was actually 25 acres (10 hectares) in the reserve area, and said the illegal logging “questions the effectiveness of current strategies to protect the already precarious overwintering habitat of the monarch butterfly.”

The logging took place in a particularly sensitive area of the reserve, and if butterflies can’t find shelter there, “they may be forced into forested areas with less microclimatic protection,” exposing them to potential cold and rain that can prove fatal, Brower wrote.

Alejandro del Mazo, the head of Mexico’s protected natural areas, credited the three countries for their cooperation and said they were on their way to achieving the goal of having 220 million butterflies in the reserve by 2020.

PEOPLE & ARTS A29

Thursday 3 March 2016

‘Son of Saul’ director says Oscar could be ‘poisoned gift’ take so long after his 1993 “Schindler’s List” to make such a film.

Geza Rohrig, who has received much praise for his portrayal of Auslander, said the Oscar ceremony “was a near clinical case of idiocy.” “It’s not my world,” said Rohrig, adding the volunteer “seat fillers” used to ensure there are never any empty seats during the ceremony “looked like a long

Hungarian director of “Son of Saul” Laszlo Nemes attends a news conference in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, March 2, 2016.

Associated Press

PABLO GORONDI Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Winning an Oscar could be a “poisoned gift” and it will take a great effort to avoid being crushed by the honor, the director of the Hungarian film that won the Academy Award for best foreign-language film, said Wednesday.

“Son of Saul” director Laszlo Nemes said he would put

the Oscar in a display case “and hopefully I won’t see it every day.”

“It can be a poisoned gift but if we handle it with skill it won’t crush us,” Nemes said after returning to Budapest from Los Angeles. “Wisdom and luck are needed for this but maybe I’ll never make a normal film again.”

Nemes said that concentrating on one person, a Jewish prisoner forced to

dispose of victims in a Nazi death camp, was important to him to “understand the individual.” The film follows Saul Auslander as he tries to give a religious burial to a boy who may have been his son.

Steven Spielberg told him that “Son of Saul” greatly contributed to the collective memory of the Holocaust and that he hadn’t expected that it would

Nina Simone biopic released in theaters, on VOD, April 22 LOS ANGELES (AP) — After many delays, the Nina Simone biopic starring Zoe Saldana and David Oyelowo will be simultaneously released in theaters, digital HD and video-on-demand next month.

Distributor RLJ Entertainment said Tuesday it will release “Nina” in all formats on April 22.

Saldana plays the Grammy-nominated singer and outspoken civil rights activist who struggled with depression and alcohol-

ism after finding fame. Oyelowo plays her stalwart friend Clifton Henderson, who helped her return to her music.

The film’s release has been delayed several times. RLJ Entertainment originally announced “Nina” would open in theaters in December 2015.

The documentary “What Happened, Miss Simone?” directed by Liz Garbus, was nominated for an Academy Award this year.q

In this June 14, 2015 file photo, Zoe Saldana attends the Los Angeles Premiere of “Infinitely Polar Bear” held at Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles.

Associated Press

line at the Lenin Mausoleum.”

Nemes said his next film, “Sunset,” set in Budapest in the 1910s, would be in Hungarian but he was planning to develop several projects at once, including films in other languages.

“My secret plan is to make a world famous actress out of a young Hungarian woman,” Nemes said. “But let’s not tell anyone.” q

A30 PEOPLE

Thursday 3 March 2016

& ARTS

There’s no quit in Mavis Staples, or her voice DAVID BAUDER AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Mavis Staples is a walking, talking and — blessedly — still singing history book.

The 76-year-old voice of the Staple Singers sang behind Martin Luther King Jr., dated Bob Dylan, performed at “The Last Waltz,” recorded with Prince and just released a disc with alternative rock hero M. Ward interpreting new songs by the likes of Nick Cave and Neko Case. This week offers a burst of attention with the debut of an HBO documentary “Mavis!” about her life.

“I don’t feel like it’s time for me to sit in a rocking chair,” Staples said. “I don’t feel like it’s time for me to retire.

I feel so frisky ... I still have my gift that the Lord gave me and I intend to keep using it.” Staples’ deep, strong voice and patriarch “Pops” Staples’ blues guitar defined the Staple Singers. Her mom couldn’t sing but, unlike Pops, passed on a powerful voice to her daughter. Singer Bonnie Raitt describes it in “Mavis!” as sensuous without being salacious.

“I used to sound like sister Mahalia Jackson,” Staples said. “I loved her so much.

My father would tell me, ‘Get your own style. If you sound like Mahalia Jackson, people are going to talk about her.’”

Her memory remains sharp, and she can vividly recall the day Pops was excited to hear Mavis, her brother and two sisters sing together in their Chicago home.

In this Feb. 24, 2016 image taken from video, Mavis Staples appears during an interview in New York.

Associated Press

Pops took a guitar from the closet that he had bought at a pawnshop to accompany them; Mavis didn’t realize that her dad learned how to play while growing up in Mississippi.

The Staple Singers built their career in black churches in the 1950s. Their freedom songs were part of the soundtrack to the civil rights movement.

King liked their song “Why Am I Treated So Bad” and invited them to perform when he had speaking engagements. Pops also noticed young Dylan’s songwriting, and the Staples performed

“Blowin’ in the Wind.”

Young Mavis and Dylan noticed each other, too. “We may have smooched,” she said with a smile.

The early 1970s represented the act’s commercial peak.

Signed to the Stax label, a rhythm section was added and classics like “Respect Yourself” and “I’ll Take You There” were made. To some of the Staples’ gospel fans, the act had embraced the devil’s music. But Mavis recited a verse of “I’ll Take You There” in an interview to illustrate a consistency of message. Pops initially demurred when Curtis May-

field asked them to record “Do It Again,” saying, “I’m a church man.” Mayfield assured them that “the Lord won’t mind.”

Changing styles and times pushed the Staples to the background. Mavis recorded two solo albums with Prince in the late 1980s, but they were victims of his record company battles at the time and given little attention. One of Mavis’ heartbreaks is that Pops recorded his own album before his death in 2000, but did not live to see it released.

With the help of fellow Chi-

cagoan Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, that music made its way into the world. Tweedy was a benefactor, respecting Mavis’ history and still-formidable skills, and made two discs with her. It brought her music to a new generation. Mavis won Grammy Awards in 2010 and 2016; the Staple Singers never won. Her record company suggested Staples sing songs written specifically for her by young, rock-oriented musicians for her project “Livin’ on a High Note,” released last month.

Staples spoke to each writer and requested upbeat songs.

Staples had never met producer Ward, and was counseled by a friend that he was the quiet type. He was no match for a woman nicknamed “Bubbles.”

“They said, ‘Mavis, you’re going to love him but he’s very shy,’” she said.

“I thought, ‘If I could get Prince to talk, I’ll get him to talk.’ So we got along fine.”

Any deterioration that age has visited on her voice seems minor. While the low notes may be easier than the high ones, Staples believes she’s more seasoned and in control of her instrument. She has a band that recalls but doesn’t imitate the sonic blueprint set by Pops, and she still sings with her sister Yvonne.

“I’m proud that I have survived and I have been here for such a long time and people still want to hear what I have to say,” she said. Put her in front of an audience, and it looks like she never wants to leave.q

Tribeca Film Festival has record number of female directors

This April 20, 2012 file photo, Sophia Takal attends the world premiere of “Supporting Characters” during the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The Tribeca Film Festival unveiled the first half of its annual slate of films Wednesday, a record third of which are from female directors including Sophia Takal and Ingrid Jungermann.

The anthology film “Madly,” which has segments from Gael Garcia Bernal and

Mia Wasikowska, will make its world premiere at the festival, as will the R-rated cartoon comedy showbiz takedown “Nerdland” featuring the voices of Paul Rudd and Patton Oswalt.

Other world premieres at the New York festival include comedian Demetri Martin’s directorial debut

“Dean,” starring Gillian Jacobs and Kevin Kline, and Bill and Turner Ross’ concert documentary “Contemporary Color.”

Also playing are the Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult drama “Equals” and “High-Rise” starring Tom Hiddleston.

The festival runs April 1324.q

PEOPLE& ARTS A31 It’s NOT ‘Downtown Abbey’! It’s ‘Downton’! But why?

Thursday 3 March 2016

NEW YORK (AP) — After six seasons, people get it: The name of that series is “Downton Abbey.” Not “Downtown Abbey.”

In early discussions, there was a bit of confusion among the public. And for TV critics, inadvertently typing that second “w’’ was a constant risk from which spell check offered no relief.

So why not a less risky title for the series — and for the fictional British estate that lent the series its name?

As “Downtown,” er, “Downton Abbey” concludes its magnificent run, we asked Julian Fellowes (who created the series, executiveproduced it and wrote every word) to explain: “I have always been rather an admirer of my greatgrandfather, Professor John Wrightson, 1840-1916, who was an experimental agriculturalist,” Fellowes set forth in an email.

“His eldest brother, Sir

This image released by PBS shows Robert James-Collier as Thomas from the final season of “Downton Abbey.”

Associated Press

Thomas Wrightson, Bart., of Neasham Hall in Yorkshire, had done great things in the world of steel and their aunt was married to Lord Armstrong, the British Krupp of armaments, but John

was more interested in farming. He had an estate in Wiltshire called Charford Manor and I thought of calling the series ‘Charford Abbey,’ but we decided it was too near Cranford, and

so we settled on ‘Downton’ after Downton College of Agriculture which Wrightson founded in 1880 and which, for a quarter of a century, was at the forefront of agricultural in-

novation. “He had several children and his daughter, Georgiana, married Henry Shirley Morant Fellowes.

They were my grandparents. “I also used Eryholme, an early seat of the Wrightson family, as the house the Crawleys nearly left Downton for, and there were other references to the family.”

Got it. Then we posed one more question for Fellowes, who, before “Downton Abbey,” won the 2002 Oscar for best original screenplay for the film “Gosford Park”: Why “Abbey”?

“I called it ‘Abbey’ after Ramsey Abbey, a Fellowes house in Huntingdonshire (now Cambridgeshire),” he replied. “I didn’t want to call it ‘Downton Park’ as, coupled with ‘Gosford Park,’ I think I would have been known as the Park Keeper.”

The series finale of “Downton Abbey” airs on PBS’ “Masterpiece” on Sunday at 9 p.m. EST.

Review: New bio refreshes Bronte energy for modern readers JENNIFER KAY Associated Press “Charlotte Bronte: A Fiery Heart” (Alfred A. Knopf) by Claire Harman Two hundred years after her birth, Charlotte Bronte’s rage over social expectations for women and thwarted ambitions are as relevant as ever, and a new biography by Claire Harman makes the “Jane Eyre” author fresh and relatable to readers who might only think of the Brontes as figures long buried in tragic myth.

Bronte and her sisters Emily and Anne published their poems and novels — including “Wuthering Heights” and “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” — under

pseudonyms in mid-19th century England. The works written from the perspectives of orphaned children and overlooked governesses detailing unrequited love, financial hardships and the tedium of life for “proper” women caused a sensation that only the confirmation of their true identities could overshadow.

The daughters of an obscure parson, living over a graveyard, they seemed stalked by death. Their mother and two older sisters died while they were young children, and they suffered from ill health all their lives, until only Charlotte Bronte remained to bear the burdens of their fame. In “Charlotte Bron-

te: A Fiery Heart,” Harman argues that Bronte was shaped as a writer by the tension she navigated between her father’s parental neglect and her imaginary games with her siblings.

Harman spends less time in this imaginary world than Bronte’s previous biographers and critics — not dismissing its importance to the creative development of Bronte and her sisters, but giving equal weight to the real world around them.

Where the Bronte mystique traps the sisters in cold isolation on the moors, Harman rescues their energy and shows how busy they were as they sought to secure livings for themselves, while

they also made time to write. Their remote parsonage was a house full of life and people — eccentric, troubled, socially awkward people, to be sure, but not the ghosts and silence central to the Bronte myth.

In Harman’s analysis, the Bronte sisters were living the stories they eventually published, through observations they made while working away from home and fearless emotional explorations. In Charlotte’s case, these explorations were made both in the letters she sent and in the fictions she wrote in response to the replies she did not receive.

Re-examining the symptoms of Bronte’s death, Harman also casts

This book cover image released by Alfred A. Knopf shows, “Charlotte Bronte: A Fiery Heart” by Claire Harman.

Associated Press

new light on the end of her short life. Harman’s Bronte is a fighter, with so much still to say.