January 4, 2016

On Top Of The News Email:news@arubatoday.com website: www.arubatoday.com Tel:+297 582-7800 Monday, January 4, 2016

Vacation Over, Obama Fired Up For Final Year President Barack Obama waves as he walks with his daughter Malia Obama across the South Lawn on return to the White House in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016, after their family vacation in Hawaii.

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Page 2

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Monday 4 January 2016

FRONT

Vacation over, Obama ‘fired up’ for final year in office KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Back at the White House after a two-week Hawaiian vacation, President Barack Obama says he is energized for his final year in office and ready to tackle unfinished business, turning immediate attention to the issue of gun violence.

Obama scheduled a meeting Monday with Attorney General Loretta Lynch to discuss a three-month review of what steps he could take to help reduce gun violence.

The president is expected to use executive action to strengthen background checks required for gun purchases.

Republicans strongly oppose any moves Obama may make, and legal fights seem likely over what critics would view as infringing on their constitutional rights to bear arms.

But Obama is committed to an aggressive agenda in 2016 even as public attention shifts to the presidential election.

Obama spent much of his winter vacation out of the public eye, playing golf with friends and dining out on the Hawaiian island of Oahu with his family. He returned to the White House about noon Sunday.

“I am fired up for the year that stretches out before us. That’s because of what we’ve accomplished together over the past seven,” Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet

President Barack Obama hits a shot on the 18th hole during a round of golf at Mid-Pacific Country Club during his family vacation in Kailua, Hawaii. Now back at the White House, President Barack Obama says he is energized for his final year in office and ready to tackle unfinished business, turning immediate attention to the issue of gun violence.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

address.

While in Hawaii, he also worked on his final State of the Union address, scheduled for Jan. 12. The primetime speech to Congress will give the president another chance to try to reassure the public about his national security stewardship after the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California.

Congressional Republicans have outlined a competing agenda for January, saying they will spend the first days of 2016 taking another crack at eliminating keys parts of the president’s health insurance law and ending federal funding for women’s health care provider Planned Parenthood.

The legislation is unlikely to

become law, but it is popular with the Republican base in an election year.

The debate about what Obama may do on gun violence already has spilled over into the presidential campaign.

Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton has called for more aggressive executive actions on guns, and rival Bernie Sanders said he would support Obama’s expected move.

The Vermont senator told ABC’s “This Week” that he believes “there is a wide consensus” that “we should expand and strengthen the instant background check.” He added: “I think that’s what the president is trying to do and I think that will be the right thing

to do.”

Republican candidates largely oppose efforts to expand background checks or take other steps that curb access to guns.

“This president wants to act as if he is a king, as if he is a dictator,” unable to persuade Congress and forcing an “illegal executive action” on the country, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told “Fox News Sunday.”

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, also on Fox, said Obama’s “first impulse is always to take rights away from law-abiding citizens, and it’s wrong.”

In the radio address, Obama said tens of thousands of people have died from gun violence since

background check legislation stalled three years ago.

“Each time, we’re told that commonsense reforms like background checks might not have stopped the last massacre, or the one before that, so we shouldn’t do anything,” Obama said.

“We know that we can’t stop every act of violence.

But what if we tried to stop even one?”

Federally licensed gun sellers are required by law to seek criminal background checks before completing a sale. But gun control advocacy groups say some of the people who sell firearms at gun shows are not federally licensed, increasing the chance of sales to customers prohibited by law from purchasing guns.

Obama plans to participate in a town hall Thursday night at George Mason University in Virginia on reducing gun violence. The president will take questions from the audience at the event moderated by CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

Despite his deep differences with Republicans, Obama has cited two agenda items for 2016 that have bipartisan support: a free trade agreement with 11 other nations called the Trans-PacificPartnership and changes in the criminal justice system that would reduce incarceration rates for nonviolent offenders.

He often points out that the U.S. accounts for 5 percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of its inmates.q

U.S. NEWS A3

Monday 4 January 2016

Health care repeal vote to open a political year in Congress

The Capitol dome is seen on Capitol Hill. It’s been like a longdelayed New Year’s resolution for the GOP. But 2016 will finally be the year congressional Republicans put legislation on President Barack Obama’s desk repealing “Obamacare.”

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

ERICA WERNER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s been like a long-delayed New Year’s resolution for Republicans. But 2016 will finally be the year when they put legislation on President Barack Obama’s desk repealing his health care reform law.

The bill undoing the president’s signature legislative achievement will be the first order of business when the House reconvenes this coming week, marking a sharply partisan start on Capitol Hill to a congressional year in which legislating may take a back seat to politics.

There are few areas of potential compromise between Obama and the Republican majority in the House and Senate in this election year, but plenty of opportunities for scoring political points during the presidential campaign season. Three senators — Ted Cruz of Texas, Marco Rubio of Florida and Rand Paul of Kentucky — are seeking the Republican presidential nomination.

Obama will veto the health care law repeal bill, which also would cut money for women’s health provider Planned Parenthood.

The measure already has passed the Senate under special rules protecting it

from Democratic obstruction. But that’s the point for Republicans, who intend to schedule a veto override vote for Jan. 22, when antiabortion activists hold their annual march in Washington to mark the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in 1973 that legalized abortion nationwide.

Despite dozens of past votes to repeal the health law in full or in part, Republicans never before have succeeded in sending a full repeal bill to the White House. They insist that doing so will fulfill promises to their constituents while highlighting the clear choice facing voters in the November presidential election.

Every Republican candidate has pledged to undo the health law. The Democrats running for president would keep it in place or extend it.

“You’re going to see us put a bill on the president’s desk going after Obamacare and Planned Parenthood so we’ll finally get a bill on his desk to veto,” House Speaker Paul Ryan told conservative radio talk show host Bill Bennett over the holidays.

“Then you’re going to see the House Republican Conference, working with our senators, coming out with a bold agenda that we’re going to lay out for

the country, to say how we would do things very differently,” Ryan said.

In the Senate, which reconvenes on Jan. 11, a week later than the House, early action will include a vote on a proposal by Sen. Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican who is running for president, for an “audit” of the Federal Reserve. Democrats are likely to block it.

But, like the health repeal bill in the House, the vote will answer conservative demands in an election year.

Also expected early in the Senate’s year is legisla-

tion dealing with Syrian refugees, following House passage of a bill clamping down on the refugee program. Conservatives were angry when the year ended without the bill advancing. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell promised a vote, though without specifying whether it would be the House bill or something else.

The House Benghazi committee will continue its investigation of the attacks that killed four Americans in Libya in 2012, with an interview of former CIA Director David Petraeus on

Jan. 6. That comes amid new Democratic accusations of political motives aimed at Hillary Clinton after the committee chairman, Rep. Trey Gowdy endorsed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for president. Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, was secretary of state at the time of the Benghazi attacks. The bold agenda promised by Ryan after succeeding former Rep. John Boehner as speaker last fall will begin to take shape at a HouseSenate Republican retreat this month in Baltimore. q

A4 U.S.

Monday 4 January 2016

NEWS

A year of political pregame gives way to a sprint into Iowa THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The race for the White House starts this week in earnest, as voters begin to tune in and the candidates try to win them over during a four-week sprint to the leadoff Iowa caucuses.

For all the attention showered on Iowa and other early voting states in the past year by candidates, their unpaid volunteers and high-dollar admakers — and, yes, journalists, too — the truth is that what happened in 2015 was only the pregame show.

“The race is still fluid,” said Beth Myers, who managed 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s campaign and supports former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in 2016.

“There’s still a twist or two in this primary story that we don’t know yet.”

Where to begin?

It’s easier to start with the Democrats.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, hopes an upset in Iowa and a victory in the New Hampshire primary a week later will dent the apparent inevitability of front-runner Hillary Clinton. Wins in the first two states for the former first lady, New York senator and secretary of state would all but cement her place atop her party’s

Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas discusses his platform for change during a campaign stop in Oklahoma City. The race for the White House starts this week in earnest, as voters begin to tune in and the candidates try to win them over during a four-week sprint to the leadoff Iowa caucuses.

(AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

ticket.

There is no such clarity in the Republican race. Despite shedding five candidates before New Year’s Day, this contest is an unpredictable mix of a dozen hopefuls with vastly different visions for the party and the country.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is atop the pack in Iowa, home to the leadoff caucuses on Feb. 1 which begin the state-by-state nominating contests. Cruz spent 2015 quietly building a traditional

campaign apparatus and will kick off his month with a tried-and-true bus tour — six days, 28 cities — of Iowa’s most fertile ground for Republicans. Candidates often try to recruit a political leader to stand for them in each of Iowa’s 99 counties.

Cruz has also sought a pastor in each to do the same, working to corner the market on evangelicals who make up a significant part of the Republican caucuses.

“For Cruz, it’s about the

complete consolidation of the evangelical wing to snuff the life from the others,” said Phil Musser, a Republican consultant who is not affiliated with any campaign.

While Cruz has edged ahead in preference polls of Iowa voters in recent weeks, nationally, he still trails the unquestioned political star of 2015: Donald Trump.

The billionaire real-estate mogul has so far forgone the grind-it-out approach

in favor of free media and a few rallies a week before largely adoring crowds.

The unknown for Trump: Are the thousands of people who pack the bleachers at his rallies likely voters, or merely fans entertained by his show?

Neither Cruz nor Trump will win the nomination with a victory in Iowa, but caucusgoers probably will deliver a verdict on whether several Republican candidates continue on to New Hampshire. Count former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who won the caucuses in 2012, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the 2008 caucus winner, in that group. Maybe retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, too. Carson was an early favorite in Iowa among evangelical and tea party conservatives, but he enters January without several members of his senior staff. They quit last week and questioned his readiness for the White House on their way out.

Those with more traditional political experience will spend the month trying to bridge the gap between the anger and frustration that’s powered Trump’s rise and the Republican establishment, which desperately wants to win after eight years out of the White House.q

Trump brushes off militant recruiting video citing his words WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump won’t be dissuaded from saying what he thinks simply because Islamic extremists use his words to recruit Muslims to their cause.

The Republican presidential contender brushed off the appearance of an African Islamic militant group’s video to recruit Americans that shows him calling for Muslims to be banned from coming to the U.S. On Sunday TV news shows, Trump said it’s no surprise America’s enemies would exploit comments of a presidential front-runner like himself.

“The world is talking about what I’ve said,” the billion-

aire real estate mogul told CBS’ “Face the Nation” in an interview taped Friday.

“And now, big parts of the world are saying, Trump is really right, at least identifying what’s going on. And we have to solve it. But you’re not going to solve the problem unless you identify it.”

The 51-minute video is by al-Shabab, al-Qaida’s East Africa affiliate, and showed up Friday on Twitter.

Hillary Clinton claimed in the last Democratic presidential debate that another extremist group, the Islamic State, has been using video of Trump in its propaganda. But she had no evi-

dence that that group, also known as ISIS, had done so.

Trump told “Fox & Friends” the emergence since then of the al-Shabab video doesn’t change the fact she was wrong: “It wasn’t ISIS and it wasn’t made at the time, and she lied.”

Trump told CBS that Democrats don’t want to talk about Islamic radicalism, but he won’t shy away from it for the sake of depriving extremists of fodder for their recruitment.

“What am I going to do?” he asked. “I have to say what I have to say.

And you know what I have to say? There’s a problem.

We have to find out what is

the problem. And we have to solve that problem.”

The video, broadly seeking the support of blacks and Muslims in the U.S., contains a clip of Trump proposing the “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” an idea rebuffed by his rivals in both parties. Al-Shabab is fighting the internationally backed Somali government and has carried out many guerrilla attacks there and in neighboring African countries contributing troops to the effort to stabilize security.

Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser in the Obama administration,

said the U.S. is at war with terrorists, not Islam. “The terrorists want us to act like we’re at war with Islam,” he said. “That’s how they recruit people.

That’s how they stir up grievances.”

Asked about the video on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Republican presidential contender Carly Fiorina criticized its content and misidentified the source of the propaganda as the Islamic State group.

“I find it pretty rich that this ISIS propaganda tape talks about the cruelty of the West,” she said, given that group’s brutality.q

U.S. NEWS A5

Monday 4 January 2016

Oregon standoff latest in dispute over Western lands BURNS, Oregon (AP) — The remote high desert of eastern Oregon became the latest flashpoint for antigovernment sentiment as armed protesters occupied a national wildlife refuge to object to a prison sentence for two local ranchers for burning federal land.

Ammon Bundy — the son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who was involved in a 2014 standoff with the government over grazing rights — is among the people at the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. It was unclear exactly how many people were taking part in the protests.

Ammon Bundy posted a video on his Facebook page asking for militia members to come help him. He said “this is not a time to stand down. It’s a time to stand up and come to Harney County,” where Burns is located.

Bundy and other militia members came to Burns last month, a small town about 280 miles (450 kilometers) southeast of Portland, Oregon. They were upset over the looming prison sentences for local ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond. They went to the wildlife refuge Saturday evening following a peaceful rally in Burns to support the ranchers.

In the U.S., some people who believe the government is too involved in their lives describe themselves as militiamen. While some of them sometimes carry weapons, violent confrontations are rare.

Dwight Hammond, 73, and Steven Hammond, 46, said they lit the fires on federal land in 2001 and 2006 to reduce the growth of invasive plants and protect their property from wildfires.

The two were convicted of the arsons three years ago and served time — the father three months, the son one year. But a federal judge ruled in October that their terms were too short under U.S. minimum sentencing law and ordered them back to prison for about four years each.

The decision generated controversy and is part of

a decades-long dispute between some Westerners and the federal government over the use of public lands. The issue traces back to the 1970s and the “Sagebrush Rebellion,” a move by Western states like Nevada to increase local control over federal land.

Critics of the push for more local control have said the federal government should administer the public lands for the widest possible uses, including environmental and recreation.

In an interview with reporters late Saturday night posted on Facebook, Bundy said he and others are occupying a building at the refuge because “the people have been abused long enough.”

“I feel we are in a situation where if we do not do something, if we do not take a hard stand, we’ll be in a position where we’ll be no longer able to do so,” he said.

Bundy said the group planned to stay at the refuge indefinitely. On Sunday, supplies were seen being delivered to the refuge area, which is remote even by rural Oregon standards.

Dwight Hammond has said he and his son plan to peacefully report to prison Monday as ordered by the judge.

Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward told people to stay away from the building as authorities work to defuse the situation.

“A collective effort from multiple agencies is currently working on a solution,” Ward said in a statement.

Beth Anne Steele, an FBI spokeswoman in Portland, said Saturday that the agency was aware of the situation at the national wildlife refuge. She made no further comment.

Not all local residents have welcomed the outside groups, fearing for the potential of violence. A peaceful rally Saturday in support of the Hammonds featured speeches, flags and marching.

As marchers reached the courthouse, they tossed hundreds of pennies at the

Protesters march on Court Avenue in support of an Oregon ranching family facing jail time for arson in Burns, Ore. Family members were convicted of the arsons three years ago and served time. But a judge ruled their terms were too short under federal law and ordered them back to prison for about four years each.

(Les Zaitz/The Oregonian via AP)

locked door. Their message: Civilians were buying back their government. Af-

ter the march passed, two girls swooped in to scavenge the pennies.q

A6 U.S.

NEWS St. Louis area faces big cleanup effort after flooding Monday 4 January 2016

Ty Burch, from left, 6, mother Casey, brother Brody, 4, and father Keith, behind Brody, look out over the swollen Mississippi River floodwater rushing by Cape Girardeau, Mo. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon stopped in Cape Girardeau, where about two dozen homes were damaged.

(David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

JIM SALTER JIM SUHR Associated Press KINCAID, Illinois (AP) — The Mississippi River and many of its tributaries continued their retreat Sunday from historic and deadly winter flooding, leaving amid the silt a massive cleanup and recovery effort likely to take weeks if not months.

The flood, fueled by more than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain over a threeday period that began Christmas Day, is blamed for 24 deaths in Illinois and Missouri.

The Mississippi River was receding except in the far southern tip of both states.

The Meramec River, the St. Louis-area tributary of the

Mississippi that caused so much damage last week, already was below flood stage in the hard-hit Missouri towns of Pacific and Eureka and dropping elsewhere.

But worries surfaced anew Sunday along the still-rising Illinois River north of St. Louis, where crests near the west-central towns of Valley City, Meredosia, Beardstown and Havana were to

approach records before receding in coming days.

In Kincaid, a 1,400-resident central Illinois town near the south fork of the Sangamon River, Gov. Bruce Rauner toured flood-damaged homes Sunday as Sharon Stivers and other residents piled ruined furniture, appliances and clothes along the street for disposal crews to pick up.

Stivers shares a home with her 45-year-old daughter battling breast cancer, along with a granddaughter and four dogs. Floodwaters got 4 feet (1.2 meters) into their home, located in an area where flood insurance wasn’t available.

“Am I mad?” she asked. “I lost my home. My daughter has cancer and lost her home. Am I mad? When I’m not crying I am.”

In Illinois’ Morgan County, home to the 1,000-resident village of Meredosia, locals were keeping wary eyes on levies fortified with 50,000 sandbags.

As of midday Sunday at Meredosia, the Illinois was more than 10 feet (3 meters) above flood stage and pressing toward an expected crest Tuesday roughly a half foot (15 cen-

timeters) short of the record set in July.

While optimistic those levies would hold, JacksonvilleMorgan County Emergency Management Director Phil McCarty the prospect of flooding during the chill of winter carried dangerous health risks, including hypothermia if people have to wade out of their homes in sub-freezing weather.

In central Illinois, the 1,400-resident town of Kincaid was starting to clean up after floodwaters damaged more than three dozen homes and several roads, Christian County emergency manager Mike Crews said. He said the worst of the inundation appeared to be past, “until the new weather comes,” citing the prospect of potentially heavy rain later in the week.

President Barack Obama signed a federal emergency declaration Saturday for Missouri, allowing federal aid to be used to help state and local response efforts.

It also allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon had asked for the help.q

San Bernardino:

Workers return to site of brutal attack JUSTIN PRITCHARD Associated Press SAN BERNARDINO, California (AP) — In the San Bernardino offices of the Inland Regional Center, Christmas did not come after a couple massacred 14 people at a holiday party a month ago.

Tinsel still festoons cubicles.

A small tree with presents sits undisturbed. A sign-up sheet to bring in food remains empty of names.

The staff was still gearing up for the holidays on Dec. 2, the day of the attack on the center’s gleaming campus.

Few of its 600 employees have gone to the office since, other than a brief visit to gather personal belongings a week after the terror attack.

On Monday, they return.

While many have contin-

ued to work, visiting the homes of autistic children and mentally disabled adults, they haven’t been together in the place where everything froze once law enforcement officers whisked them away.

Amid the investigation and cleanup, the campus has been locked behind a chain link fence wrapped in green mesh. Within that perimeter, in one corner, is a second fence.

It seals the conference center that San Bernardino County’s health department was renting for a holiday luncheon when the two attackers began their assault. A county restaurant inspector targeting his co-workers was joined by his wife in killing 14 and wounding dozens. The FBI says the attackers were motivated by radical Is-

lamist beliefs.

The conference center will not reopen Monday, and it’s not clear when it might.

For now, the act of reuniting elsewhere on campus will be a huge step forward for Inland Regional Center staff.

They miss the friendly faces, the hallway conversations. They yearn to renew a sense of stability at an institution unmoored by violence.

“That’s what I’m hearing from them: ‘We want to be together again. We want to be back at work,’” said Lavinia Johnson, the center’s executive director.

Sitting for an interview in a tidy courtyard shaded by two of the center’s large, red stone buildings, Johnson and associate executive director Kevin Urtz reflected on the reopening.q

U.S. NEWS A7

Monday 4 January 2016

Universities tap into craft beer growth by offering classes

Craft beers are served at the Maine Beer Company in Freeport, Maine. With an explosion in growth in the craft beer industry over the last decade, some universities are now offering classes on the business of craft beer. One of the newest is an online certificate program being offered by the University of Vermont starting in February 2016.

(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

LISA RATHKE Associated Press MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — With an explosion in growth in the craft beer industry over the last decade, it’s not enough to simply have a passion for brewing and beer when it comes to starting a brewery or working for one as the industry gets more competitive.

Recognizing that, some universities are now offering programs on the business of craft beer.

In the last decade, the number of craft breweries has grown to more than 4,000 in the U.S. today, from more than 1,400 in 2005, according to the Brewers Association.

A lot of breweries started out five or 10 years ago with a focus on beer, said Gregory Dunkling, director of the University of Vermont’s new online business of craft beer certificate program, which starts in February. Back then, a home brewer may have been able to create some great recipes but didn’t have the business acumen so along the way hired staff to cover marketing, sales,

the business operation, he said. It’s harder to pull that off today.

As the industry has grown and become more competitive, the bar has been raised for those starting a brewery or working for one, said Bart Watson, chief economist with the Brewers Association.

“Certainly the demand for people with a high level of brewing knowledge has gone up and on the businessside as well. So I think we’re seeing a variety of different programs look for ways that they can capitalize on that,” he said.

Portland State University in Oregon started an online business of craft brewing program in 2013, with the first cohort filling up in the first week with around 40 people. It’s become one of the school’s most successful professional certificate programs, drawing people from around the world, said Scott Gallagher, the university’s director of communications.

“We discovered that there’s a huge need for people who wanted to get a certificate. They

didn’t necessarily want to go to college or already had a college degree and wanted to open up a brew pub,” Gallagher said. They needed some basic and more advanced knowledge, such as in marketing, he said.

The demand is so high that PSU is looking at how to develop and expand the program, Gallagher said.

“The truth is ... it’s not all about brewing and drinking beer. There’s a lot of business behind it as well and that’s usually what they’re lacking,” he said.

University of Portland and San Diego State University’s College of Extended Studies also have business of craft beer certificate programs. Classes for San Diego State’s program are

held at local breweries and at the university, but not online.

So far, the University of Vermont program, in a state that has made a name for itself for its craft beers, has drawn applicants from around the country — Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Oregon and Texas, and about half are from the Northeast, Dunkling said.

The program costs about $4,400 for the two courses: one on the fundamentals of craft beer and a second course of students’ choosing focused on digital marketing, sales or business operations. Apprenticeships with a network of breweries and distributors are also available.

Industry officials agree there’s a need for educa-

tion and knowledge in the industry and different ways to get it, whether through experience, hiring talent or training, which some breweries provide.

As outside investors and larger breweries become increasingly involved with craft brewing, Harpoon Brewery, which will be offering apprenticeships to the UVM students, feels a need to maintain its independence.

“Hiring talented people is a critical part of that effort,” Rich Ackerman, Harpoon’s director of human resources, said by email. But the company cautions anyone against thinking of craft brewing purely as a business.

“It’s a passion project, first and foremost,” he said.q

A8

Monday 4 January 2016

WORLD NEWS

Shiite cleric’s execution in Saudi exposes Mideast divisions

AMIR VAHDAT JON GAMBRELL Associated Press TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The execution of a Shiite cleric

The mass execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr along with 46 others, the largest carried out by Saudi Arabia in three and a half de-

clear deal with world powers.

Iran’s top leader warned Saudi Arabia on Sunday of “divine revenge” over al-

Surrounded by policemen, a Muslim cleric addresses a crowd during a demonstration to protest the execution of Saudi Shiite Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, shown in the poster in background, in front of the Saudi embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016. Saudi Arabia announced the execution of al-Nimr on Saturday along with 46 others. Al-Nimr was a central figure in protests by Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority until his arrest in 2012, and his execution drew condemnation from Shiites across the region.

(AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

in Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia has laid bare the divisions now gripping the Middle East, as protesters set fire Sunday to the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran and demonstrators took to the streets from Bahrain to Pakistan.

cades, illustrates the kingdom’s new aggressiveness under King Salman.

Under his reign, Saudi Arabia has led a coalition fighting Shiite rebels in Yemen and staunchly opposed regional Shiite power Iran, even as Tehran struck a nu-

Nimr’s death, while Riyadh accused Tehran of supporting terrorism in a war of words that threatened to escalate even as the U.S. and the European Union sought to calm the region.

Al-Nimr was a central figure in Arab Spring-inspired

protests by Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority until his arrest in 2012. He was convicted of terrorism charges but denied advocating violence.

On Saturday, Saudi Arabia put al-Nimr and three other Shiite dissidents to death, along with a number of alQaida militants. Al-Nimr’s execution drew protests from Shiites across the world, who backed his call for reform and wider political freedom for their sect.

While the split between Sunnis and Shiites dates back to the early days of Islam and disagreements over the successor to Prophet Muhammad, those divisions have only grown as they intertwine with regional politics today, with both Iran and Saudi Arabia vying to be the Mideast’s top power.

Iran accuses Saudi Arabia of supporting terrorism in part because it backs Syrian rebel groups fighting to oust its embattled ally, President Bashar Assad. Riyadh points to Iran’s backing of the Lebanese Hezbollah and other Shiite militant groups in the region as a sign of its support for terrorism. Iran also has backed Shiite rebels in Yemen known as Houthis.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, condemned al-Nimr’s execution, saying Sunday

Video shows IS fighters executing 5 ‘spies’ for Britain BEIRUT (AP) — A video circulating online purports to show the Islamic State group executing five men accused of spying for Britain in Syria.

The footage Sunday bears the markings of the IS me-

dia wing, and shows five men “confessing” to filming and photographing sites in exchange for money within Raqqa, the capital of the Islamic State group’s self-declared caliphate. It could not be independent-

ly verified. The men, speaking Arabic, are introduced as “the enemy” and “apostates.” Later they kneel lined up in orange jumpsuits in the desert, where they are shot in the head by masked executioners.

Before the shooting, a masked man with a British accent mocks British Prime Minister David Cameron, calls the men “spies,” and says IS will one day invade Britain and impose their version of Islamic law.

the cleric “neither invited people to take up arms nor hatched covert plots. The only thing he did was public criticism.”

Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard said Saudi Arabia’s “medieval act of savagery” would lead to the “downfall” of the country’s monarchy.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said that by condemning the execution, Iran had “revealed its true face represented in support for terrorism.”

In Tehran, a protest outside the Saudi Embassy early Sunday quickly grew violent. Protesters threw stones and gasoline bombs at the embassy, setting part of the building ablaze, according to Gen. Hossein Sajedinia, the country’s top police official, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said.

Forty people were arrested and investigators were pursuing other suspects, Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi said, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani condemned Saudi Arabia’s execution of al-Nimr, but also branded those who attacked the Saudi Embassy as “extremists.” Hundreds of protesters later demonstrated in front of the embassy and in a central Tehran square.

Street signs near the embassy were replaced with ones bearing the slain sheikh’s name.

Protesters also took to the streets across the region.

In Bahrain, police used water cannons and fired birdshot at demonstrators on Sitra Island, south of the capital, Manama, wounding some.

WORLD NEWS 9

Monday 4 January 2016

After 1 million migrants, Europe’s borders are back

KARL RITTER Associated Press STOCKHOLM (AP) — Since it opened in 2000, the Oresund bridge between Sweden and Denmark has been a towering symbol of European integration and hassle-free travel across borders that people didn’t even notice were there.

On Monday new travel restrictions imposed by Sweden to stem a record flow of migrants are transforming the bridge into a striking example of how national boundaries are re-emerging. A year of clampdowns on migration and terrorism has all but killed the idea of a borderless Europe where you could drive or trainhop from Spain in the south to Norway in the north without ever having to show your passport.

“We’re turning back the clock,” said Andreas Onnerfors, who lives in Lund, on the Swedish side of the bridge. An associate professor in intellectual history, he said he’s benefited from the free flow of people and ideas across the bridge — he’s studied on both sides and taught students from both Sweden and Denmark.

“We’re going back to a time when the bridge didn’t exist,” he said, referring to the ID checkpoints being set up Monday on the Danish side for train passengers wishing to cross over to Sweden.

The move is meant to stop undocumented migrants

Swedish police officers perform identity control checks among the passengers aboard the train from Copenhagen at the Swedish end of the bridge between Sweden and Denmark in Malmo, Sweden. On Monday Jan. 4, 2016, new travel restrictions are set to be imposed by Sweden to stem a record flow of migrants, transforming the Oresund bridge between Sweden and Denmark into a striking example of how national boundaries are re-emerging.

(Stig Ake Jonsson/TT via AP)

from reaching Sweden, which abruptly reversed its open-door policy after receiving more than 160,000 asylum-seekers last year,

mainly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

It follows the reintroduction of border checks in Germany, Austria, France, Bel-

gium and other countries in what’s supposed to be a passport-free travel zone spanning 26 nations.

The moves are supposedly

temporary, but are likely to be extended if Europe’s migrant crisis continues in 2016.

“It’s basically every country for itself now,” said Mark Rhinard, an expert on the European Union at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs.

Citing exceptional national circumstances related to security, terrorism and public order, several European countries have suspended EU rules that required them to keep their borders open to each other.

It’s a significant development that strikes at the very heart of the EU project — the free movement of goods and people across borders.

The Bruegel think tank in Brussels says that in 2014 there were almost 1.7 million cross-border commuters in the passport-free zone known as the Schengen Area, after the Luxembourg town where it was created in 1985.

Continued on page 27

Catalonia secession push halted as party opposes Mas

MADRID (AP) — A small, farleft party on Sunday voted against backing Artur Mas as leader of Catalonia’s regional parliament, temporarily halting a push toward independence from Spain by the powerful northeastern region and almost certainly triggering a new local election.

Mas heads the separatist

“Together for Yes” alliance that won 62 seats in the 135-seat regional parliament last September and needed the support of Popular Unity Candidacy’s 10 seats to secure a workable majority.

After three months of debates, CUP members finally decided at a meeting Sunday afternoon not to

support Mas as leader of a separatist coalition.

Although CUP members have said they favor the establishment of a Catalan republic separate from Spain, they have on repeated occasions said Mas was unacceptable to them as a coalition leader.

Speaking after the meeting, party spokesman Sergi

Saladie said it was possible CUP might reconsider its position if someone other than Mas was nominated as regional government leader.

However, the Together for Yes alliance has maintained Mas’ leadership role was a non-negotiable issue.q

A10 WORLD

Monday 4 January 2016

NEWS

At Press Time:

Indian troops still fighting 2 gunmen at base

Indian security men guard near the India Gate War memorial as part of enhanced security measures following the attack on an air force base near the country’s border with Pakistan, New Delhi, India, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016. A top government official says Indian troops are still battling at least two gunmen at the Pathankot air force base more than 36 hours after the compound came under attack.

(AP Photo /Tsering Topgyal)

CHANNI ANAND Associated Press PATHANKOT, India (AP) — Indian troops were still battling at least two gunmen Sunday night at an air force base near the border with Pakistan, more than a day and a half after the compound came under attack, a top government official said. At least seven troops and four gunmen have been killed in the fighting so far.

The two suspected militants were discovered shortly after noon Sunday and hours later appeared to have been cornered, Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi told reporters, adding that he ex-

pected the gunmen to be “neutralized” soon.

The attack on the Pathankot air force base started before dawn Saturday and is seen as an attempt to undo recent improvements in the relationship between archrivals India and Pakistan. It comes a week after Narendra Modi became the first Indian prime minister in 12 years to visit Pakistan.

Mehrishi said Indian authorities were alerted Friday afternoon about a potential terror attack in Pathankot, and that aerial surveillance at the base spotted the suspected militants as they entered the compound.

He said they were quickly engaged by Indian troops and “were unable to move toward their likely intended target” of the area where the base’s aircraft and military equipment are kept.

Since Saturday morning, the base has been swarming with air force commandos, troops from India’s elite National Security Guard and local police.

The number of troops killed in the attack rose to seven on Sunday, with four succumbing to their injuries overnight and an elite commando killed in a morning blast that occurred while he was handling explosives, officials said.q

Israel charging two Jewish extremists in deadly arson JOSEF FEDERMAN Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Sunday charged two Jewish extremists in an arson attack that killed a Palestinian toddler and his parents last July — culminating a drawn-out investigation into a case that has helped fuel months of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

The indictments came as Israel said it had broken up a ring of Jewish extremists wanted in a series of attacks on Palestinian and Christian targets. While Israel’s prime minister trumpeted the arrests as a victory for law and order, the charges drew criticism from Palestinians, who said they were too little and too late, and from the suspects’ relatives, who claimed their loved ones had been tortured

by Israeli interrogators.

While Israel has been dealing with a wave of vigilante-style attacks by suspected Jewish extremists in recent years, the deadly July 31 firebombing in the West Bank village of Duma sparked soul-searching across the nation. The attack killed 18-month-old Ali Dawabsheh, while his mother, Riham, and father, Saad, later died of their wounds.

Ali’s 4-year-old brother

Ahmad survived and remains in an Israeli hospital.

The attack was condemned across the Israeli political spectrum, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged “zero tolerance” in the fight to bring the assailants to justice. Investigators placed several suspects under “administrative detention,” a draconian measure typically reserved for Palestinian militants that allows authorities to hold suspects for months without charge.

“Enforcing the law is the life’s breath of democracy, of the rule of law. We are not restricting it to one sector and we are not focusing on only one sector,” Netanyahu told his Cabinet on Sunday.

But critics have noted that lesser non-deadly attacks, such as firebombings that damaged mosques and churches, had gone unpunished for years.

And as the investigation into the Duma attack dragged on, Palestinians complained of a doublestandard, where suspected Palestinian militants are quickly rounded up and prosecuted under a military legal system that gives them few rights while Jewish Israelis are protected by the country’s criminal laws. q

WORLD NEWS A11

Monday 4 January 2016

North Korea leader talks war but doesn’t comment on nukes KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in an annual New Year’s speech this weekend that he was ready for war if provoked by “invasive” outsiders, but he stayed away from past threats involving the country’s nuclear weapons and long-range missile ambitions.

His comments stuck to well-worn propaganda meant to lift his image for the elite residents of one of the world’s poorest, most closed countries, and could be read as an attempt to keep ties with rivals Washington and Seoul from getting worse so he can try to turn around a miserable economy and further solidify his leadership.

“We will continue to work patiently to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula and regional stability. But if invasive outsiders and provocateurs touch us even slightly, we will not be forgiving in the least and sternly answer with a merciless, holy war of justice,” said Kim, who wore thick black-rimmed glasses that continued his efforts to mimic the style favored by his late grandfather, beloved national founder Kim Il Sung.

While largely repeating the daily propaganda in statecontrolled media, Kim’s words will be pored over by analysts for hints about the country’s intentions for the coming year. There is little public information about the inner workings and policy goals of North Korea’s government, which considers democratic South Korea and its ally the United States its enemies and is pursuing a long-range missile that could carry a nuclear warhead to America’s mainland.q

Hong Kong unsettled over 5 missing booksellers KELVIN CHAN Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers said Sunday that they will press the government for answers after a fifth employee of a publishing company specializing in books critical of mainland China’s leadership went missing.

Lawmaker Albert Ho said the city was “shocked and appalled” by the disappearance of Lee Bo. Like the four others who have disappeared in recent months, Lee is associated with publisher Mighty Current.

While there’s been no official word on what happened to the five missing people, Ho told reporters that it appears their disappearances are linked to the publishing company’s books.

“From the available information surrounding the disappearance of Mr. Lee Bo and his partners earlier, we have strong reason to believe that Mr. Lee Bo was probably kidnapped and then smuggled back to the mainland for political investigation,” Ho said.

Ho said that one possible explanation for the disappearances was that the publishing company was being pressured to scrap

executives and dissidents to be detained for lengthy periods by the authorities or vanish without anyone claiming responsibility, but

aison Office on Sunday to demand information about Lee, Mighty Current’s chief editor. Lee, 65, is also one of the compa-

A protester holds a photo of missing bookseller Lee Bo during a protest outside the Liaison of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016. Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers say they’ll press the government for answers after a fifth employee of a publisher specializing in books critical of China’s ruling communists went missing.

(AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

plans for an upcoming book rumored to be about an old “girlfriend or mistress” of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

It’s not uncommon in mainland China for company

the disappearances are unprecedented in Hong Kong and have shocked the city’s publishing industry.

A few dozen protesters marched to Beijing’s Li-

ny’s major shareholders, the South ChinaMorning Post reported.

The company’s co-owner, Gui Minhai, is also among those missing, as are three staff members..q

“Vietnam resolutely protests Chinese abovesaid action and demand that China immediately stop, not repeat similar actions,” he said in a statement.

In a response this weekend, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the test flight on the newly built airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands was carried out to find out if the new airfield met the standards for civil aviation.

“Relevant activity falls completely within China’s sovereignty,” Hua said in a statement. “The Chinese side will not accept the unfounded accusations from the Vietnamese side.”

China has become more assertive in pressing its claims to the South China Sea islands, an archipelago rich in natural resources that is the focal point of rival claims by neighboring governments.

China has recently piled sand on coral reefs atop of

which it built airfields, radar installations and docking facilities. As with most of its policy in the South China Sea, Beijing has remained opaque about its plans for the island airstrips.

Beijing insists its island building works are justified and don’t constitute a threat to stability and freedom of navigation. The U.S. and its regional allies have expressed concern that China’s robust assertion of its claims has aggravated tensions.q

China rejects Vietnam protest over sea flight test DIDI TANG Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — China rejected a protest from Vietnam over a flight test it has conducted on a new airstrip on a man-made island in the South China Sea, saying it is part of China’s territory.

Vietnam Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said that the test flight violated Vietnam’s sovereignty, breached mutual understanding and hurt the bilateral relations.

A12 WORLD

Monday 4 January 2016

NEWS

Mexico mayor slain a day after taking office CARIBBEAN

In this Friday, Jan. 1, 2016 photo, Gisela Mota waves during her swearing in ceremony as mayor of Temixco, Morelos State, Mexico. The Morelos state Public Security Commission says attackers invaded Mota’s house on Saturday morning and killed her.

(AP Photo/Tony Rivera)

MARIA VERZA Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Of-

ficials say they have killed two people and arrested three others linked to the

slaying of a Mexico mayor who had taken office only a day earlier. The state’s governor said organized crime was behind the attack.

Gunmen killed Mayor Gisela Mota Saturday at her house in Temixco, one of several cities around Cuernavaca that have been struggling with kidnappings and extortions by organized crime gangs.

Police quickly located a car of presumed assailants who opened fire on officers, the Morelos state government said in a statement.

In a separate car, officials said they found two guns, one of them a semiautomatic, and ski masks.

Three people were detained — a 32-year-old woman, an 18-year-old and a minor. Morelos Attorney General Javier Perez Duron said the suspects have been tied to other crimes, but declined to provide more details.

On his Twitter account, Morelos Gov. Graco Ramirez attributed Mota’s killing to organized crime, without citing a particular cartel or gang. He later announced state officials were establishing special security measures for all off More-

los’ mayors.

One organization representing mayors in the country, the Association of Local Authorities of Mexico, issued a statement saying nearly 100 mayors have been killed across Mexico over the past decade, “principally at the hands of organized crime.”

Her center-left Democratic Revolution Party released a statement describing her as “a strong and brave woman who on taking office as mayor, declared that her fight against crime would be frontal and direct.”

Temixco, with about 100,000 people, is a suburb of Cuernavaca, a city famed among tourists for its colonial center, gardens and jacaranda-decked streets. “The city of eternal spring” was long a favorite weekend getaway for people from nearby Mexico City.

Drug and extortion gangs have plagued the state in recent years, driving away some tourists and residents.

On its southwest border is the gang-plagued state of Guerrero, whose Pacific Coast resort of Acapulco has seen a sharp increase in murders. q

Guyana passes terrorism law with death provision GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Guyana’s parliament has approved antiterrorism legislation that includes the death penalty for certain offenses and would allow rendition of suspects to other countries.

Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan told skeptical opposition lawmakers during a debate that the legislation is necessary to make sure the South

American nation does not become a haven for terrorists. He says allowing rendition would prevent abuses of the extradition process.

The ruling party used its one-seat majority to pass the bills during the National Assembly’s final session for the year. All members of the opposition abstained.

President David Granger is expected to sign the legislation into law.

“Draconian times require Draconian measures,” Ramjattan said during debate that stretched into the night. Opposition lawmakers said that the provisions allowing the death penalty for terrorism offenses that resulted in death would violate human rights and they criticized the government of pushing through the legislation without submitting it to a committee for fur-

ther review. “This is a travesty,” said Gail Texeira, an opposition member of the parliament. “Government cannot state what is the urgency in passing these bills.” Ramjattan brushed aside calls for removing the death penalty clauses, saying the option of capital punishment would “have that preventative, dissuasive effect” on potential offenders. q

News Briefs

AP: Puerto Rico reports its first Zika virus case SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico is reporting its first case of Zika, a dengue-like virus transmitted by mosquitoes.

Health Secretary Ana Rius said late last week that the unidentified patient had not traveled recently and lives in the island’s eastern region. Officials say symptoms are similar to those of dengue and chikungunya and can include a slight fever, headache and pain in the hands and feet. q

Haiti president says runoff set for January 17

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haitian President Michel Martelly has announced that a postponed presidential runoff vote will be held on Jan. 17. Martelly says he received two letters from Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council warning that to fulfill the constitutional mandate of inaugurating a new president on Feb. 7, the runoff should be held by Jan. 17 at the latest.

The council earlier postponed the Dec. 27 presidential runoff to allow a five-member commission to address allegations of multiple voting and ballot tampering. The opposition is demanding an independent review of the late October first round of voting which it insists was rigged in favor of governmentbacked candidate Jovenel Moise. Jude Celestin came in second.q

LOCAL A13

Monday 4 January 2016

At MooMba Beach:

500 Diehards Brave the Elements at the Unox New Year’s Dive!

MOOMBA BEACH - Five hundred people, old, young and everything in between, gathered at MooMba Beach Friday, January 1st, for the traditional New Year’s Dive.

They lined up behind yellow tape and ran as fast as they could to the ocean to celebrate 2016 with a cool dip. All 500 were wearing Unox hats, as they do all over the world during this fun event. On Aruba, however, not much courage is needed to jump into the ocean: the water temperature is refreshing, but not cold at all; that’s why you see so many smiling faces in the photos.

Continued on Page 14

A14 LOCAL

Monday 4 January 2016

Continued from Page 13

Even in Holland a balmy 9 Celsius was measured...

A great zumba trainer warmed up the crowd before the noontime start with great moves and a gorgeous show of toned flesh, which was mirrored by his audience.

Rico Rijk of Fresh FM radio made great waves during his live show on location. It was fabulous.

After the dive participants were treated to cups of Dutch Unox pea soup, one of Holland’s delicacies. A whopping 70 liters were consumed! After that the party continued, of course.

Thanks go out to Unox Unilever for the hats and the soup and to customs, who were kind enough to see to it that we received everything on time.

Have a great New Year, everyone!q

LOCAL A15

Monday 4 January 2016

Caribbean Mornings Begin with Breakfast at Bugaloe

PALM BEACH - Is there anything better than breakfast with a view? Come find out at Bugaloe, located on the famous Palm Pier! Bugaloe is proud to announce the addition of breakfast to their menu of other deli-

cious food offerings. Bugaloe is now serving breakfast from 7:30-10:30am every day. Look out over the beautiful views of the ocean and pick your favorite new dish!

New breakfast dishes in-

clude the American Breakfast, the Dutch Caribbean Breakfast, eggs, pancakes, and the Bugaloe Breakfast Burger.

The full menu can be found on the Bugaloewebsite what will your new break-

fast dish be? Walk right in and see what the day can bring you!

Enjoy the best breakfast on Aruba with the best views in the Caribbean. Bugaloe is located on the De Palm Pier on Palm Beach

next to the Riu Palace Hotel and the Hilton Resort. If you are looking for a nice, relaxing way to start your morning, head on down to the beach at Bugaloe and order one of our new, delicious Bugaloe breakfasts!q

A16 LOCAL

Monday 4 January 2016

The little jeep tour that could…

If You Are a Thrill Seeker, Jump Into the Deep Blue Sea From a Cliff!

PALM BEACH - The small, family business of ABC Tours continues to prove that it is truly the ‘little tour company that could’. Created 20 years ago by the husband and wife team of Marvin and Sharla Kelly, it excels through commitment to the simple ideal of stellar customer care, while sharing Aruba’s most spectacular attractions. Today’s excursions are exclusive, using top-of-the-line transportation, while offering the same warm, personal charm with the promise of an adventure beyond comparison.

“We started small, guiding the tours ourselves, and with the goal of sharing what we love most about our island with guests,” ex-

plains Sharla. “Nowadays, we are still very much involved, managing the company and making sure the feeling of being part of the family is intrinsic to each tour.

What sets us apart is that our tours are made up of small groups so that the safari stays fun and personalized, giving our Tour Guides the flexibility to honor special requests on each tour and that means more value for your money.”

Guests who take part in any one of ABC Tours options quickly learn that this is not just another island tour. Each tour is filled with interesting information, and presented by enthusiastic guides, whose high energy helps provide for

both excitement and fun.

The choice of stops is also unique, with ABC Tours taking guests past the island’s most breathtaking sceneries, and on to discover the hidden beauty of secluded beaches and dramatic rock formations as well as

option to cliff jump at The Natural Pool, only available on selected tours at ABC. The unique ABC Tours experience extends to the menu, with a homecooked recipe for lunch or dinner as a part of each tour. Traditional meals are

to well-known sites such as Baby Beach and the Natural Pool.

To take even greater pleasure in the off-road experience, guests also have the opportunity to drive one of our 4x4 Land Rovers for a pure 4-wheel fun.

All of ABC Tours’ Land Rovers are specially equipped vehicles, with comfortable seats, that easily traverse island roads, and safely deliver you to each stop.

Thrill seekers also have the

provided by Waka Waka restaurant, which uses secret, family recipes, passed down through four generations and provided by Sharla’s own grandmother. The restaurant provides a true taste of Aruba, whether enjoying a meal after an unforgettable tour or simply stopping by, at any time, to try out any one of “Machi (Grandma) Betty’s” delicious offerings, from delectable appetizers to scrumptious desserts.

SPORTS A17

Monday 4 January 2016

TCU’s Record Comeback Snatches Alamo Bowl Victory

Page 19

Canceled Flight

Jets Blow Playoff Chance With 22-17 Loss To Bills Buffalo Bills strong safety Leodis McKelvin (21) intercepts a pass to New York Jets’ Eric Decker (87) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016, in Orchard Park, N.Y. The Jets’ playoff hopes were dashed with a 22-17 loss to the Bills.

(AP Photo/Bill Wippert)

OHN WAWROW Associated Press ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Ryan Fitzpatrick threw interceptions on each of New York’s final three drives and the Jets’ playoff hopes

were dashed with a 2217 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. The Jets (106) would have made the postseason for the first time since 2010 with a win, but the defeat combined with

the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2812 win at Cleveland ended those hopes. New York had a five-game winning streak stopped, and it came against former Jets coach Rex Ryan, who was fired

by New York and hired by the Bills (8-8) last January.

Fitzpatrick, who had thrown just one interception in the Jets’ winning streak, was picked off by Leodis McKelvin in the end zone early in

the fourth quarter with New York driving. The game was decided when Fitzpatrick’s side-arm pass over the middle was intercepted by A.J. Tarpley with 11 seconds remaining.q

A18 SPORTS

Monday 4 January 2016

NBA Roundup:

Sharp-shooting Spurs down Rockets to stay perfect at home

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — San Antonio hit a season-high 13 3-pointers to beat state rival Houston 121-103 on Saturday, as all four NBA divisional leaders in action recorded victories.

Golden State lost reigning MVP Stephen Curry to a fresh leg injury but did just enough to beat Denver in overtime, Oklahoma City pulled away in the second half to win comfortably at Charlotte, and Cleveland extended its dominance of Orlando.

San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and Kawhi Leonard added 22

for the Spurs, who pushed their franchise-record home start to a season by notching a 20th straight victory on home court.

They won despite Tim Duncan being held scoreless for the first time in his 19year career.

Dwight Howard had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets.

Golden State’s Klay Thompson made a driving finger roll basket with 15.6 seconds left in overtime to give the Warriors a 111-108 win against Denver, keeping their undefeated home record intact.

Will Barton, whose two shots late in regulation forced the extra period, missed an off-balance attempt following Thompson’s goahead basket. Thompson then made one of two free throws before Barton’s desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer hit the rim.

Curry came back following a two-game absence because of a bruised lower left leg, but sustained a contusion on his left shin and didn’t play the entire second half. The reigning MVP finished with five points and four assists in 14plus minutes.

San Antonio Spurs forward Boris Diaw (33), of France, shoots against Houston Rockets forward Terrence Jones during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016, in San Antonio. San Antonio won 121-103.

(AP Photo/Darren Abate)

The Warriors (31-2) had just seven players available for overtime. They blew a 26-point lead before hanging on for their 34th straight regular-season win at Oracle Arena, including a franchise-best start of 16-0 this season.

Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried was in a neck brace and strapped to a stretcher as he was wheeled off the court about 10 minutes after the game ended.

Faried, who took an elbow to the back of the neck while jostling for a rebound late in overtime, was taken to hospital for tests.

Oklahoma State’s Kevin Durant had 29 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Thunder to a 109-90 win at Charlotte.

Russell Westbrook added 16 points for the Thunder,

who put four other players in double figures while winning their fourth straight game. Oklahoma City has won 10 in a row against Charlotte dating to the 2010-11 season.

Kemba Walker had 32 points for the Hornets.

Cleveland extended its succession of wins over Orlando to 13 by beating the Magic 104-79.

LeBron James scored 29 points for the Cavaliers, who led by 31 points in the third quarter and looked capable of surpassing the 40-point margin it beat the Magic by last month.

James was 11 of 18 from the field with five rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes. Kyrie Irving, playing his fifth game since returning from a broken left kneecap, scored 13 points.q

SPORTS A19

Monday 4 January 2016

TCU’s record comeback snatches Alamo bowl victory The Associated Press SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A touchdown run by Texas Christian’s fill-in quarterback Bram Kohlhausen in the third overtime carried the Horned Frogs to a stunning 47-41 victory over Oregon in the Alamo Bowl on Saturday after having trailed 31-0 at halftime.

The 31-point comeback to win tied the record for a bowl game, matching Texas Tech in the 2006 Insight Bowl against Minnesota.

In the day’s other bowl games, West Virginia edged Arizona State 43-42 in a thrilling Cactus Bowl, Arkansas was too good for Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl and Georgia won narrowly against Penn State in the Taxslayer Bowl.

Oregon was guided to its big early lead early by quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., who passed for 197 yards, scrambled out of several sacks and marched his team to four touchdowns.

However he was knocked out of the game late in the second quarter after taking a hard hit to the head and the Ducks gained only 18 yards in the second half.

Kohlhausen started in place of TCU’s first-choice quarterback Trevone Boykin, who was suspended after a bar fight two days earlier. Kohlhausen passed for 351 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two more scores.

TCU scored on all of its possessions in the second half and overtime.

Jaden Oberkrom’s 22-yard field goal with 19 seconds left tied it, and TCU scored first in the first overtime when Kohlhausen hit Emanauel Porter for a 7-yard touchdown. Oregon answered with Royce Freeman’s third touchdown run.

After the teams exchanged field goals in the second overtime, Kohlhausen won it when the sneaked around the right end on an option. TCU’s 2-point conversion pass attempt failed, but Oregon’s final chance to tie and keep the game

going ended with an incomplete pass on fourth down near the goal line.

West Virginia quarterback Skyler Howard threw for a Cactus Bowl-record 532 yards and hit David Sills on a 15-yard pass for his fifth touchdown with 2:19 left, lifting the Mountaineers to the 43-42 win over Arizona State.

The teams combined for 1,196 yards of offense and the 950 yards passing was the most in the Cactus Bowl’s 27-year history.

Arizona State’s Mike Bercovici threw for 418 yards and hit Gary Chambers on a 58-yard pass in the fourth quarter for his fourth touchdown of the game, but the Sun Devils kicked an extra point instead of going for 2, then turned the ball over on downs its last possession.

Arkansas capped its lateseason surge by beating Kansas State 45-23 in the Liberty Bowl.

Alex Collins ran for 185 yards and three touchdowns for the Razorbacks, who stumbled through a 1-3 start to the season but they turned it around by winning six of their last seven.

Collins had touchdown runs of 22 yards and 13 yards in the first 17 minutes. He also had a 68-yard burst on his first kickoff return of the season, which set up Jared Cornelius’ 13-yard touchdown. Arkansas’ Brandon Allen was 20 of 26 for 315 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Kansas State’s Kody Cook, starting at quarterback for the first time after playing receiver, went 12 of 24 for 163 yards with a touchdown.

Georgia’s Terry Godwin threw a touchdown pass on a trick play and caught one later, helping the Bulldogs beat Penn State 2417 in the TaxSlayer Bowl.

The Bulldogs (10-3) won their fifth consecutive game to close the season.

Penn State (7-6) played more than half the game without star quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who landed awkwardly on his throwing shoulder under a

TCU safety Denzel Johnson (30) breaks up a pass intended for Oregon wide receiver Bralon Addison (2) during the first half of the Alamo Bowl NCAA college football game, Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016, in San Antonio.

(AP Photo/Eric Gay)

tackle in the second quarter. He stayed in the game

briefly but was a spectator in the second half, after

which he declared he will enter the NFL draft.

20 SPORTS

Monday 4 January 2016

NHL Roundup:

Devils beat Stars 3-2 in overtime despite Cammalleri scratch

New Jersey Devils defenseman John Moore celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal over the Dallas Stars during overtime in an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016, in Newark, N.J. The Devils won 3-2 in overtime.

(AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

NEWARK, New Jersey (AP) — New Jersey overcame the late withdrawal of its leading scorer and beat NHL-leading Dallas 3-2 in overtime on Saturday, with John Moore scoring on the power-play 1:47 into the added period.

The point earned for going to overtime was enough for Dallas to push its points

lead in the Central Division out to double figures.

Elsewhere, Florida ascended to the top of the Atlantic Division standings by beating the New York Rangers and stretching its winning streak to eight.

The Rangers missed a chance to make up ground on the two teams above them in the Metropolitan

Division, after leader Washington lost in a shootout at Columbus and the New York Islanders were well beaten by Pittsburgh.

New Jersey suffered a setback when leading scorer Mike Cammalleri withdrew before the game, with the team unwilling to explain why, but went ahead 2-0 through second-period

goals from Kyle Palmieri and Bobby Farnham.

Patrick Sharp and Colton Sceviour scored in the third period as Dallas overcame the deficit to force overtime. With Dallas’ Jamie Benn in the penalty box for hooking, Moore intercepted a clearing attempt and fired the puck past Antti Niemi for the overtime winner. Florida’s winning streak reached record proportions with a 3-0 victory over the Rangers.

Not only is the eight straight wins a franchise record, so is the six successive home victories, and they had the satisfaction of ending a run of seven consecutive losses to the Rangers.

Roberto Luongo stopped 39 shots for his third shutout of the season and his seventh straight win — breaking his own franchise record — while Brandon Pirri, Vincent Trocheck and Logan Shaw each scored for the Panthers.

The Rangers have lost eight of their past nine away games.

Columbus, which has the

worst record in the league, provided the upset of the day by beating high-flying Washington 5-4 after a shootout. Jack Johnson and Brandon Saad each had two goals and Ryan Johansen scored in the third round of the shootout.

The victory was achieved despite losing goalie Anton Forsberg to injury at the start of overtime. Replacement Curtis McElhinney made six saves in the shootout for his first career win.

T.J. Oshie and Jason Chimera had power-play goals for Washington, and Marcus Johansson and Kuznetsov also scored.

Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby continued his form resurgence with two powerplay goals to lead the Penguins to a 5-2 win against the Islanders.

After scoring just six goals in his first 32 games this season, Crosby is on a streak of five scores in as many games.

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury returned from three weeks out with concussion and made 38 saves.q

Czech Republic beats Hewitt, Australia team at Hopman Cup DENNIS PASSA AP Sports Writer BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Lleyton Hewitt lost just weeks away from his retirement as Czech Republic beat the Australia Gold team at the Hopman Cup mixed teams event Sunday.

Jiri Vesely defeated Hewitt, who will retire after the Australian Open, 6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-4 before Karolina Pliskova came from 3-1 down in the second set to beat Jarmila Wolfe Gajdosova 7-5, 6-3

at Perth, Western Australia.

The Czech team won the later mixed doubles 6-2, 7-5 to sweep the match 3-0.

“Jiri is a quality player and deserved to win, but it was just good to come out here for the first game of the year and get a tough match,” Hewitt said. “Hopefully I can come out for the rest of the week now and get better from here to get ready for the rest of the summer.”

Hewitt, a two-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1, has already been

named Australia’s Davis Cup captain and will be in charge of the team against the United States in the first round of World Group play from March 4-6 at Kooyong in Melbourne.

For the first time in the Hopman Cup’s 28-year history, Australia is being represented by two teams.

Earlier, Nick Kyrgios broke Alexander Zverev’s service at 3-3 in the deciding set for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win, giving his Australia Green team the winning edge over Ger-

many. Russian-born Daria Gavrilova beat Sabine Lisicki 6-2, 6-2 to give the Australian side the early lead, and Kyrgios and Gavrilova later combined for a 6-3, 4-6, 10-7 (match tiebreak) win in mixed doubles to complete a 3-0 win.

The 18-year-old Zverev, at 83rd, is the youngest player in the top 100 in ATP rankings. “I really like the kid,” the 20-year-old Kyrgios said. “He’s got a great future ahead and he’s a great athlete for his size

and moves well and serves big.”

On Monday, Serena Williams and Jack Sock of the United States play Ukraine, while Andy Murray and Heather Watson lead Britain into its match against France.

At the Brisbane International, former Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova overcame Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer, recovering from 4-3 and 0-40 down on her serve in the third set to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.q

SPORTS A21

Monday 4 January 2016

Leap from college coaching to NFL rarely worth the trip JIM LITKE AP Sports Writer Everyone has to start somewhere.

But if the end game is to win a Super Bowl, candidates applying for NFL headcoaching vacancies may want to downplay their college resumes. As Philadel-

but even better in the pros.

But much longer is the list of those who clobbered the competition in college but left the NFL with tails tucked between their legs.

There’s three-time (in a 6-year span) national championship winner Nick Saban, who was 15-17 in

over parts of two seasons and quit with three games remaining in his third.

The reasons for the failures are varied. Most college coaches hired by the NFL begin with bad teams and impatient owners. Some never adjust to the different schemes, much-faster

Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians, left, talks with Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll prior to an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz.

(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

phia’s firing of Chip Kelly reminded us again, past successes are no guarantee of future prosperity — at least in the pros.

Coaches with designs of stepping up have their patron saints, to be sure. Four have won championships at both levels: Pete Carroll (Seattle Seahawks and Southern California); Barry Switzer (Dallas Cowboys and Oklahoma); Jimmy Johnson (Dallas Cowboys and Miami); and Paul Brown (Cleveland Browns and Ohio State). Several more, most notably Bill Walsh and Tom Coughlin, were very good in college

the NFL and desperate enough to depart the Miami Dolphins that he lied several times about chasing the Alabama job he eventually latched onto.

Then there’s Steve Spurrier, Dennis Erickson, Lou Holtz, Butch Davis, Bobby Petrino, Rich Brooks, Frank Kush and even Oklahoma Sooner legend Bud Wilkinson, whose flirtation with the NFL was fairly typical.

After amassing three national championships and a 47-game winning streak (a record that still stands, Wilkinson came out of retirement for the St. Louis Cardinals job, went 9-20

pace of play, or the differences required to motivate highly-paid pros instead of kids dependent on scholarships.

Here’s a quick look at some of the memorable successes and failures: THE ACCIDENTAL COACH After an acrimonious split with Jimmy Johnson, who won two Super Bowls in Dallas, owner Jerry Jones essentially introduced Barry Switzer as one of “500 coaches who could have won the Super Bowl with our team.”

He was right, since Switzer did just that with the 1995

Cowboys, though it was still Johnson’s team through and through.

Switzer dominated the college game, but was so overmatched in the NFL that some Cowboys players referred to him as “Bozo the Coach.” Switzer went 10-6 after his championship season and then 6-10, leaving Jones to search for the 499 other coaches he passed over the last time.

DON’T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU ON THE WAY OUT Bobby Petrino tends to leave a mess wherever he lands. After success at lowly Louisville (and later Arkansas and Western Kentucky), he couldn’t even last a season with the Atlanta Falcons. After a 3-10 start there, and a locker-room mutiny gaining steam, Petrino bailed on the NFL and let his team in on the news by posting a note in the locker room.

“That’s not how a man acts,” Joey Harrington, the quarterback whom Petrino benched, said at the time of his departure. “That’s how a coward acts.”

Or maybe just somebody who’s in a hurry to get out of town.

IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED ...

Anyone who watched Dennis Erickson coach ‘em up in college could be forgiven for thinking his 40-56 pro record was a typo. He turned around programs at Idaho and Oregon State and won two national titles at Miami.

That may explain why two NFL owners gave him jobs (Seattle from 1995-98 and San Francisco, 2003-04).

The good news is that Erickson finally recognized his

ceiling, returning to the college ranks both times and a third time after a brief retirement.

TRY, TRY AGAIN Carroll, too, was a yo-yo coach, working as an assistant at both levels before taking over the New York Jets in 1994 and going 6-10 before being axed. Next, he tried his hand with the New England Patriots from 1997-99 and getting fired again.

But Carroll hit his stride at USC, and NCAA investigators were hot on his trail when he lit out for a third NFL audition in Seattle. Two Super Bowl appearances and one trophy later, he’s practically a fixture in the Pacific Northwest.

ANYBODY HAVE JOE NAMATH’S PHONE NUMBER? Lou Holtz could coach. He won at William & Mary, took North Carolina State to four bowl games, finished ranked three times at Arkansas and won a national title at Notre Dame.

Tucked into that gleaming resume was most of a disastrous 1976 season with the Jets.

His players there never fell for the card and magic tricks, and the bonding sessions that endeared him college players everywhere else he went.

Holtz never got used to having players who didn’t follow his every command and resigned from the Jets with one game remaining that season, not long after calling a sports department in the New York metro area and asking whether anybody there had a phone number for his quarterback, Joe Namath.q

A22

Monday 4 January 2016

SPORTS

Spanish Roundup:

Soriano scores 2 to lift Villarreal to 2-1 win at Deportivo

JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Bruno Soriano scored his second of two goals deep into stoppage time to grab a 2-1 victory for Villarreal at Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday, strengthening its hold on fourth place and the last Champions League berth.

Soriano got his first goal in the 36th minute when the midfielder was left unmarked to fire in Mario Gaspar’s squared pass, before

Deportivo equalized when Lucas Perez assisted Luis Alberto three minutes after halftime.

The match was heading toward a draw when a rash foul by Fernando Navarro on Matias Nahuel gave Soriano a spot kick that he converted five minutes into injury time to secure Villarreal a fifth straight win.

Soriano continued his superb week after he also scored a free kick to earn a victory over Valencia on Thursday.

“We were right there at the end, when tension was the highest,” Soriano said. “We worked hard to get this win at a very tough place to play.” Not only did Villarreal go five points clear of Celta Vigo in fifth place, it also moved level on points with third-place Real Madrid before it visits Valencia later.Deportivo’s loss was just its third all season through 18 rounds, and it ended a 10-game unbeaten run in all competitions as it slid into seventh place.

Athletic Bilbao inched into sixth after it drew 2-2 at home with Las Palmas, despite going ahead twice from goals by Aritz Aduriz and Inaki Williams.

Eibar cruised to a 4-0 win at Real Betis as the tiny Basque team recorded its biggest win in its second season in the top flight. Ander Capa, Sergio “Keko” Gontan, Adrian Gonzalez and Borja “Baston” Gonzalez all scored for Eibar.

Eibar climbed into eighth place, while Sevilla slipped

to ninth after losing 2-1 to a Granada side that moved out of the relegation zone.

Granada’s goals came from young strikers Isaac Success and Adalberto Penaranda, who made a superb solo run to double the lead, before Sevilla’s Victor “Vitolo” Machin pulled one back right before halftime.

Elsewhere, Real Sociedad fought back to salvage a 2-2 draw at relegation-threatened Rayo Vallecano.q

English Roundup:

Chelsea takes victory in style; Spurs held by Everton

STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Chelsea signaled its intent to surge up the Premier League by crushing Crystal Palace 3-0 on Sunday in a stylish display that had shades of last season’s cruise to the championship. Oscar, Willian and Diego Costa scored for Chelsea, which is out of realistic title contention following a dismal start to its defense but could still challenge for a Champions League spot on the evidence of its performance at Selhurst Park.

The champions are unbeaten in four matches under caretaker manager Guus Hiddink since firing Jose Mourinho a week before Christmas, but are still languishing in 14th place — 13 points behind fourth-

Crystal Palace’s Mile Jedinak, left, and Chung-yong Lee, right, challenge with Chelsea’s Diego Costa, centre, during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Chelsea at Selhurst Park stadium in London, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016.

(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

place Tottenham.

Spurs lost ground in the title race by drawing 1-1 at Everton in Sunday’s other game, with Dele Alli’s su-

perb volley earning Spurs a point after canceling out Aaron Lennon’s opener.

But Spurs’ domination at Goodison Park shows they

are genuine challengers for the trophy. Only six points separate Tottenham and its north London rival Arsenal in first place, and Spurs

have only lost twice all season in the league.

Tottenham ended the busy festive period with 10 points from a possible 12, more than any other side in the league.

“The way we played today, we can achieve what we want,” Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said. The belief appears to be back at Chelsea, which looks a different side to the one that struggled under Mourinho. Its attacking players are playing with more freedom, with Spain internationals Cesc Fabregas and Costa excelling against Palace.

Costa ran onto Fabregas’ through-ball, cut in and squared a pass for Oscar to sidefoot home into an empty net for the opening goal in the 29th. q

French Roundup:

Ibrahimovic scores winner as PSG advances in French Cup

SAMUEL PETREQUIN AP Sports Writer PARIS (AP) — Zlatan Ibrahimovic headed home the winner as Paris Saint-Gemain started the defense of its French Cup title with a scrappy 1-0 win over fourthtier side Wasquehal while Monaco scored 10 goals to advance on Sunday.

Playing its first game of 2016 in the northern city of Lille in rainy conditions, PSG was

in control throughout and created plenty of scoring chances. But it lacked a cutting edge until the Sweden international connected with Marco Verratti’s long ball on the hour mark.

“We’d like to have played better today, to be safe earlier in the match and play with more serenity,” PSG coach Laurent Blanc said. “But this afternoon we were unable to achieve

this.” Having opened up a 19-point lead over second-place Monaco at the top of the French league standings in just 19 games, PSG is looking to reproduce the domestic treble Laurent Blanc’s side achieved last season when it won the league title, the League Cup and the Cup. Facing amateur club SaintJean-Beaulieu, a team playing in the seventh tier

of French football, Monaco took advantage of its opponents’ attacking style of play to catch them on the break and score goals galore in a 10-2 victory.

Both teams finished with 10 men following an altercation early in the second half between Monaco striker Lacina Traore — who scored four goals before being sent off — and Yann Mariotti. Among the top-

tier teams also advancing to the round of 32 were Lille, Lorient, Saint-Etienne, Bordeaux, Lyon and Montpellier. Lyon’s new coach Bruno Genesio, who replaced Hubert Fournier during the winter break, celebrated his first game in charge with a 7-0 thrashing of fifth-division Limoges after Maxwell Cornet and Rachid Ghezzal each scored a brace. q

TECHNOLOGY A23

Monday 4 January 2016

Tech Talk: A look back, and a technology wish list for 2016 ple devices. And streaming devices made by Apple, Google and Amazon typically won’t play video bought from each other, at least not without using a backdoor relay feature such as AirPlay. So if you have Amazon video, you’re stuck with Amazon’s device. Amazon even stopped selling Apple TV and Google’s Chromecast on its website.

This photo demonstrates the posting of an animated photo using Facebook’s new app, left, and the viewing of it, right, on an iPhone. The latest iPhones come with the ability to turn still images into video, known as Live Photos.

(Courtesy of Apple and Facebook via AP)

ANICK JESDANUN AP Technology Writer NEW YORK (AP) — This past year brought lots of new products, services and features — including a few that even managed to improve everyday life.

For instance, a double tap of the home button on Samsung’s newest phones instantly launches the camera, so you’re less likely to miss that magical moment.

TiVo has a smart way to skip commercials and speed up video playback so that you can watch TV shows and movies in half the time.

But there’s plenty more for tech companies to do.

Here’s a wish list for 2016: PICK AND CHOOSE ONLINE TELEVISION In 2015, HBO and Showtime freed themselves from traditional television shackles.

Both now offer app subscriptions directly to consumers — with no cable or satellite TV service required.

It’s a start, but lots of worthy

channels, including ESPN, remain locked up in packages filled with channels not everyone wants. Even though Dish’s Sling TV offers ESPN over the Internet — Sony’s PlayStation Vue will also do so soon — you can get it only as part of larger packages. I’d love to get AMC, ABC Family and Comedy Central as stand-alone subscriptions, for instance.

GETTING ALONG Companies are getting better at acknowledging their rivals. Microsoft, for instance, made its Office apps for iPhones, iPads and Android before tackling its own Windows phone system.

Samsung smartwatches now work with non-Samsung phones, while Apple made its music service available on Android.

It’s a start. But animated photos taken with Apple’s new iPhones can be viewed only on other Ap-

MANAGING YOUR SHOWS With lots more online viewing options, we need better ways to keep track of what to watch and when shows expire from streaming services. I kept forgetting to watch that “Unauthorized Melrose Place Story” on Lifetime, and now it’s too late.

Streaming TV devices from Apple, Roku, Amazon and Nvidia let you search multiple services at once to see what’s available, but you don’t have any way to add shows to a universal queue. Instead, you have to go to Netflix to see your list of flagged shows on that service, HBO to see its list, and so on.

It’s as if you needed separate video recorders for each channel. TiVo comes closest to offering a universal queue with its OnePass feature, but it has relatively few streaming TV apps.

ENOUGH WITH PASSWORDS Passwords are difficult to manage, which is one reason so many are trivial to guess (“password12345,” anyone?) and so many people reuse the same weak passwords across multiple services.

Yahoo has an easier way to sign in to its services. Using Account Key, you confirm who you are through a text Yahoo sends to your phone. Google is testing

something similar. Other services tap the fingerprint IDtechnology found on iPhones and some highend Android phones. A touch of the home button bypasses the password by confirming you’re the one holding the phone. We need more such mechanisms that offer both simplicity and security.

GETTING AROUND WITH NO INTERNET Google Maps for Android and iPhones now works without an Internet connection, so long as you download mapping data ahead of time. That’s helpful when you find yourself trying to leave a remote national park or an underground parking garage —

both areas where cellular service is spotty or non-existent. But the offline feature doesn’t work with walking or transit directions, so it’s not as useful for wilderness hikes or in many subway stations.

Speaking of maps, all services could do better at directing motorists to rentalcar centers at airports. Typing in the three-letter airport code assumes you’re getting dropped off at the main terminals.

The rental-car location might be miles away, perhaps off a different highway exit. It would be nice to see the rental-car location more prominent in map searches. Better yet, how about the closest gas station to refill your tank?q

A24 BUSINESS

Monday 4 January 2016

Wall Street Wrap: 2015 market winners, losers MARLEY JAY AP Markets Writer NEW YORK (AP) — In a flat year overall for stocks, there was still plenty of excitement to be enjoyed — or endured — by 2015’s biggest winners and losers.

It was a year to make old guard companies shudder.

New media companies like Netflix, which rose 134 per-

nies, gained a respectable 5.7 percent.

Here are the stories behind some of the stock markets biggest winners and losers for 2015.

ANOTHER STAR TURN FOR NETFLIX Netflix has enjoyed top billing before: it was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500

is on track to report more than $100 billion in revenue in 2015 and it has started to turn in higher profits more frequently despite a loss in the first quarter.

Its stock surge pushed the company’s market value past that of longtime competitor Wal-Mart. WalMart stock fell 29 percent in 2015, which made this

The Netflix logo is displayed at the company’s headquarters in Los Gatos, Calif. Netflix has enjoyed top billing before: it was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500 in 2010 and 2013, and more than tripled in value both years. But another big year in 2015 pushed the company’s value past established media rivals like CBS and made it about the same size as Time Warner.

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

cent to notch the biggest gain in the S&P 500, became more valuable than established media companies like CBS. Amazon eviscerated traditional retailers like Macy’s and Walmart.

And energy and materials companies were flattened by weak demand at a time of abundant supplies. The biggest loser was Chesapeake Energy, down 77 percent in 2015.

Apple, the biggest publicly traded company in the world, fell for the first time since 2008. Apple had climbed 11 times in the last 12 years before 2015. The company, which joined the Dow Jones industrial average earlier this year, is almost double the size of Exxon Mobil.

The Dow, dominated by long-established companies in traditional industries, fell 2.2 percent for the year.

The Nasdaq composite, with its heavy concentration of technology compa-

in 2010 and 2013, and it more than tripled in value both years.

But another big year in 2015 pushed the company’s value past established media rivals like CBS and made it about the same as Time Warner. The streaming entertainment service had 69 million subscribers at the end of the third quarter, and almost a quarter of those signed up in the last year. Netflix also continued to win fans for shows like “Orange is the New Black” and “Narcos.” The company says its service will be available in 200 countries by the end of the year.

AMAZONIAN PROPORTIONS E-commerce giant Amazon celebrated its 20th anniversary with results that sent investors into a buying frenzy. Amazon was the second biggest gainer in the S&P 500 for the year, up 118 percent. The company

Wal-Mart’s worst year since 1974, when it had fewer than 100 stores. Wal-Mart was the Dow’s biggest loser.

“This year seemed to mark an inflection point for Amazon,” wrote Christine Short, an analyst at Estimize, who said Amazon was “almost solely responsible for the downfall of big box giant Wal-Mart.”

Macy’s and Staples also were among the 20 biggest losers as fewer shoppers trekked to stores and bought more goods online instead. Amazon is now in a battle with the other high-flying stock of 2015: Amazon and Netflix are rivals in creating original entertainment for subscribers.

This year the two snagged almost 50 Primetime Emmy nominations between them. Netflix shows received far more nominations but Amazon’s shows won five Emmys to Netflix’s four.

WARCRAFT GETS A CANDY CRUSH The third biggest gainer in the S&P 500 was Activision Blizzard, the video game maker behind “Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft.” It rose 92 percent as it moved to expand into the sweeter side of games.

In November the company agreed to buy King Entertainment, the maker of the smartphone hit “Candy Crush Saga,” to strengthen its mobile games business. It is also working on a “World of Warcraft” movie and a TV show adapted from its kid-focused “Skylanders” game. The rest of the top ten winners in the index were a mix of companies representing several industries, including the video graphics chip maker NVIDIA, the payments processor Total System Services, the website domain name company VeriSign, and Spam maker Hormel Foods. First Solar also made the top 10, getting a major boost when Congress extended tax breaks for solar installations in December.

THE BIGGEST LOSERS Seven of the 10 biggest losers in the S&P 500 were energy companies, led by Chesapeake Energy, Consol Energy and Southwestern Energy. All three are dependent on the price of natural gas and all fell between 70 percent and 80 percent this year. Nine energy companies in the index lost at least half their value.

A big reason: Mother Nature. An extraordinarily warm fall and early winter in the U.S. is slashing demand for heating, and half the nation uses natural gas to heat their homes. Natural gas supplies were already high coming into the winter. That combined with low demand pushed natural gas prices to their lowest levels since 1999 in mid-December.

The rout in crude oil prices that began in mid-2014 deepened in 2015, pulling down the value of oil company shares and the performance of the overall stock market.q

Market volatility causes IPO market to stall over 2015 KEN SWEET AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The volatile trading that defined 2015 led to a very choppy market for companies wanting to go public.

The number of U.S. companies that successfully made an initial public offering of stock in 2015 dropped by more than 40 percent compared with 2014, according to a report by IPO research firm Renaissance Capital.

The amount raised was considerably less as well, falling to $30 billion in 2015 from $85.3 billion. The dropoff was the result of significantly reduced ambitions from companies as they hit the market, as well as wariness of investors rattled by sharp swings on Wall Street, particularly in the second half of the year.

The August downturn and a U.S. market correction in September convinced a lot of companies to put their plans to go public on hold, Renaissance Capital said.

“For the first eight months of the year, the IPO market was on target to reach over 200 IPOs with solid returns, but went into a tailspin in August and September that wiped out positive performance, drove abnormally high IPO discounts and brought issuance to a near halt by year-end,” the firm said in its report.

IPO activity stalled not only in the U.S., but around the world. The amount of money raised in IPOs globally was $156.2 billion, down 35 percent from a year earlier. Asia was still a significant driver, even with the problems in the Chinese stock market. That was due largely, however, to the initial public offering of Japan Post, which took its bank, insurance and holding companies public in three separate transactions in October. That combination IPO raised $12 billion.

The industry that had the largest number of IPOs was health care, followed by energy. q

BUSINESS A25

Monday 4 January 2016

Target’s fashion moments for 2015 by the numbers A. D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Target is working to reclaim its cheap chic image. Here are some things it did in 2015: — This past spring, Target launched a partnership with the Lilly Pulitzer brand to develop a limited-time only collection of 250 pieces for a fraction of the price of the Palm Beach designer’s original merchandise. The discounter says the collection garnered the most social media hits of Target’s limitedtime collections, but it was fraught with challenges.

The offer, which included $38 pink shift dresses and $25 beach towels, was wrought with long lines in stores and quick sellouts online within hours of the debut on April 19. Still, a lot of pundits described it as a success, not only because everything was quickly sold out but also because everyone was talking about the chain.

— Target teamed up with Vogue for the September issue to reimagine 15 iconic photographic images in the fashion bible’s pages dating back to the 1920s.

Some of the looks included fur head wraps, oversized coats and black and white checkered pumps. People also could use a Shazam app, which uses image recognition technology, to see the original image or buy the featured item from Target highlighted in the 20-page advertising insert in Vogue.

— This past spring, Target launched Ava & Viv, a new plus-size clothing collection for women. It marks the first new exclusive fashion line that Target has created in more than a decade.

— Target this fall hired fashion designer Adam Lippes to create 50 items in home decor and fashion, including handbags and coats.

It was part of an overall limited time only plaid theme collection of more than 360 items that even included plaid Diet Coke bottles, shampoo bottles, special issue Chapstick sets of three lip balms and bandages.

Record-breaking year sees $5 trillion in merger deals MARLEY JAY AP Markets Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Companies around the world spent a record $5.04 trillion on acquisitions in 2015, according to Dealogic, as slow worldwide economic growth and low interest rates pushed companies to combine forces.

Dealogic, a financial data provider, says the value of global deals soared 37 percent in 2015. The highest price tag came in November, when Pfizer and Allergan announced the biggest pharmaceutical deal in history.

Low interest rates since the Great Recession have made it cheaper for companies to borrow money to pay for acquisitions, and because the global economy only grew slowly this year, companies decided it made more sense to buy their competitors instead of trying to boost their sales on their own.

Here are the largest acquisitions announced during 2015:

PFIZER AND ALLERGAN Pfizer, the maker of cholesterol fighter Lipitor, impotence treatment Viagra and fibromyalgia drug Lyrica, agreed to buy Allergan in November. The $148.57 billion deal would be the second-largest corporate merger ever. It would give Pfizer control of Botox and move the company’s headquarters to Ireland, cutting its taxes. Pfizer would also become the world’s largest drugmaker in terms of sales.

AB INBEV AND SABMILLER The biggest beer maker in the world wants to get even larger. The company behind Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois agreed to buy the maker of Miller Genuine Draft and Peroni for $105.56 billion in October.

The move would expand AB InBev’s business in Africa, Asia and other key developing markets. As part of the deal, SABMiller agreed to sell the Miller brand to Molson Coors.

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL AND

BG GROUP When Royal Dutch Shell agreed to buy BG Group in April, oil prices had taken a steep fall from their 2014 highs. But they were going to get a lot worse. Oil and gas company Shell agreed to buy BG Group for $69.83 billion to expand its liquid

coatings and Nylon and Kevlar fibers. Dow DuPont will then break into three separate companies with more specific focuses.

CHARTER AND TIME WARNER CABLE Charter Communications agreed to buy Time War-

billion. Anthem is the second-largest U.S. insurance company in terms of enrollment, and Cigna is fourth.

The combined company would cover almost 50 million people. Anthem sells health coverage to individuals and employees of small businesses and serves

Drinks sit on the bar in a pub in London. In 2015, the world’s top two beer makers agreed to join forces to create a company that would control nearly a third of the global market. AB InBev’s brands include Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, while SABMiller produces Peroni and Grolsch.

(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

natural gas business. Natural gas prices have tumbled since then, and in December they reached their lowest levels in 16 years.

DELL AND EMC In October PC maker Dell agreed to pay $65.97 billion for EMC, which makes data storage hardware and sells cloud storage and security products. Dell’s personal computer sales have been weak for years, but the company has been expanding its software and service businesses.

DOW CHEMICAL AND DUPONT Dow Chemical agreed to buy competitor DuPont in a deal that will combine two chemicals companies that were founded in the 19th century. Both Dow and DuPont were pushed by activist investors to break up or find other ways to revitalize their businesses. When the $62.38 billion deal closes, Dow DuPont will make products including Ziploc bags, Saran wrap, Teflon

ner Cable for $56.80 billion in May, and it will also spend about $10 billion to buy Bright House Networks.

That will make Charter one of the largest providers of TV and internet services in the U.S. Cable provider Comcast tried to buy Time Warner in 2014, but the U.S. government opposed that deal.

HEINZ AND KRAFT FOODS One of the largest food companies in the world was formed when H.J. Heinz bought Kraft Foods for $53.83 billion. The purchase, which was announced in March and closed in July, brought together brands including Oscar Meyer, Capri Sun, Ore-Ida, Maxwell House, Kool-Aid and Heinz ketchup.

ANTHEM BUYS CIGNA A wave of health insurance combinations swept the market in July as Anthem announced it would buy Cigna for $51.93 billion just after Aetna said it would buy Humana for $35.04

Medicare, Medicaid and federal employees. Cigna sells group disability and life insurance in the U.S. and has an international business.

EBAY SPINS OFF PAYPAL Online commerce giant EBay spun off its payments system unit PayPal for $49.16 billion in July. That was almost a year after eBay announced PayPal would become a separate company. Investors value PayPal more highly than its former parent, as PayPal has a market capitalization of about $45 billion compared to eBay’s $33 billion.

TEVA BUYING ALLERGAN GENERICS Teva, an Israeli company that is already the world’s largest manufacturer of generic drugs, will get even bigger by buying the generic drugs business of Botox maker Allergan. Teva had been looking to expand, as earlier in the year it pushed to buy generic drugmaker Mylan. q

A26 COMICS

Monday 4 January 2016

Mutts

Conceptis Sudoku

6 Chix

Blondie

Mother Goose & Grimm

Baby Blues

Zits

Saturday’s puzzle answer

Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

CLASSIFIED A27

Monday 4 January 2016

Continued from page 9 Abolishing it would affect their daily lives, but the consequences for Europe would go deeper, given the “visible and powerful symbol of European integration that Schengen represents,” Bruegel researchers Nuria Boot and Guntram Wolff wrote in December.

Whether the temporary reintroduction of borders also means rebuilding mental boundaries between EU citizens remains to be seen. But the migrant crisis is becoming an even bigger challenge to European unity than the cracks emerging in recent years over the bloc’s common currency, the euro.

EU nations demonstrated starkly different views on how to deal with the 1 million migrants that crossed the Mediterranean in 2015.

Germany and Sweden, until recently, said refugees were welcome, while Hungary built a fence to keep them out. The Danish government took a series of measures to discourage migrants from going there, including a proposal to seize their jewelry to cover

Time -Share for sale by owner Marriott Surf Club week #51 plat plus 2 br, ocean view $39,000 Allan (Owner) Call. 917 445 0077 allan@ratafia.com _______________________ 204239

their expenses in Denmark.

Common rules requiring refugees to seek shelter in the first EU country they enter collapsed, as Greece and Italy were overwhelmed by sea arrivals and countries further north just waved the migrants through to their intended destination, often Germany or the Scandinavian countries.

Meanwhile the EU’s efforts to spread refugees more evenly across the bloc met stiff resistance from member states. By November only about 150 of 160,000 refugees had been relocated from Greece and Italy under an EU plan.

The crisis underlines structural flaws in the EU, showing how it has implemented common rules that it just can’t enforce once the external pressures become too great, said Karl Lallerstedt, co-founder of Black Market Watch, a Switzerland-based nonprofit group focusing on cross-border smuggling.

“It’s not a strong federal state that can overrule its members,” he said. “At the same time individual states have obligations to the EU.q

TIMESHARE FOR SALE

RENAISSANCE Week room price wk 38 room 529 $4,750 wk 40 room 336 $3,750 wk 40 room 105 $5,000 wk 42 room 338 $4,000 wk 43 room 329 $3,250 wk 49 room 144 $5,500 wk 50 room 546 $6,000 wk 49 room 2571 $3,750 wk 48 room 517 $3,750 wk 48 or 49 room 119 $4,750 wk 48 or 49 room 551 $5,500 wk 49 or 50 room 203 $5,500 wk 21 or 22 room 347 $4,000 wk 1or2 room 517 $9,500 each wk 1or2 room 117 $7,000 each Contact Brian Cell: 593-0200 vr.realty@mac.com

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FOR SALE Condo in Gold Coast Everything’s included in this 2 Br 2 1/2 bath unit check it out now at www.arubarental.info or call 562-0735 free pick up

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Dr. Velasquez Tel. 586-0512 San Nicolas Dr. Linden v/d Tel: 584-6427

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Time Share For Sale/ Rent Tropicana week 3, 1/17/16 2 Queen beds, couch rent $860 buy $2075 check in date can be changed for a fee and La Quinta special sale unit 2304, 1 br, 12/12 $1675 or best offer rmwjmw@aol.com Phone: 508 651 0016 204234 __________________________ Time Share Resale Divi Phoenix Studio WK 1 RM#1003 One Bedroom RM#1006, 35 weeks remain on the contract 10 can be accelerated.

Price:$8000 More Info Call:(297) 630-1307 info@arubatimetravel.com www.arubatimetravel.com 204306 ____________________________ FOR SALE Occidental Royal Club 1 Bedroom (Sat-Sat) week 52 fixed US$48,000.00 Occidental First Club week 1 fixed US$30,000.00 Lifetime Ownership Plus 28 Bonus days p/y Call 734-7777 ken@buyarubatimeshares.com 204307 ____________________________

Marriott Aruba Ocean Club 1 bedroom Gold O.V. Price :$7000 1Bedroom Gold O.F. Price :$8500 2Bedroom Gold O.V. Price :$9500 2 Bedroom Gold O.F. Price:$14500 1 Bedroom Platinum O.V. Price:$12000 2 Bedroom Platinum O.V. Price:$18000 2 Bedroom Platinum O.F. Price: $30000 more info call:(297) 630-1307 info@arubatimetravel.com www.arubatimetravel.com 204212 _____________________________

PHARMACY Oranjestad: Central Tel: 585-8077 San Nicolas: Seroe Preto Tel: 584-4833 INFORMATION TAXI-TAS PROF. TAXI TAXI D.T.S. SERVICE ARUBA

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Narcotics Anonymous Tel: 583-8989

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A28 SCIENCE

Monday 4 January 2016

Turtle-robot searches for shipwrecks and treasure

Kosuke Morita of Riken Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science points at periodic table of the elements during a press conference in Wako, Saitama prefecture, near Tokyo. A team of Japanese scientists have met the criteria for naming a new element, the synthetic highly radioactive element 113, more than a dozen years after they began working to create it.

(Kyodo News via AP)

Japanese research institute earns right to name element 113 E. KURTENBACH Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — A team of Japanese scientists have met the criteria for naming a new element, the synthetic highly radioactive element 113, more than a dozen years after they began working to create it.

Kosuke Morita, who was leading the research at the government-affiliated Riken Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science, was notified of the decision by the U.S.-based International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry late last week.

“Now that we have conclusively demonstrated the existence of element 113, we plan to look to the unchartered territory of element 119 and beyond,” Morita said in a statement.

A joint working group of the IUPAC and International Union of Pure and Applied Physics also announced decisions on recognition of discoveries of elements 115, 117 and 118.

Discoveries of atomic elements have often involved

competition between scientists. The news is a morale booster for Riken, which has undergone a reorganization of some of its research following a scandal over stem-cell research.

“To scientists, this is of greater value than an Olympic gold medal,” Ryoji Noyori, former Riken president and Nobel laureate in chemistry told reporters.

Riken had earlier said japonium might be proposed as a name for element 113, which provisionally had been named ununtrium.

However, Morita has no specific candidates under consideration. He said he planned to spend part of next year considering a name for the element.

The IUPAC group gave collaborating teams from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee the right to name elements 115 and 117. Separately, scientists from the Dubna laboratory

and Lawrence Livermore were invited to name element 118.

Element 113 sits between copernicium and flerovium on the periodic table. A joint team of scientists in Russia and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the U.S. also were vying for naming rights for 113 after announcing its discovery in 2004.

Morita and his group used Riken’s linear accelerator and ion separator to search for new synthetic superheavy elements, beginning in the late 1980s.

In 2003, his team began working to create element 113 by bombarding a thin layer of bismuth with zinc ions traveling at about 10 percent the speed of light, Riken said.

Isotopes of element 113 have a very short half-life, lasting for less than a thousandth of a second, making its discovery very difficult. After twice succeeding to create it, the group tried for seven years before further success, in August 2012. q

JARI TANNER Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The Baltic seabed, littered with war debris and shipwrecks, has fascinated historians and researchers through the ages. But the underwater search robots they use pose problems by further disturbing the silty waters with their propeller movements.

Estonian engineers say they may have found a solution with their latest invention — a small, propeller-less underwater robot that causes minimum disturbance and lowers the risk of damage to submarine archaeology.

The unique feature of the U-CAT, about the size of a vacuum cleaner, is four silicon flippers inspired by streamlined sea turtles’ arms and legs.

“They move in a slow and quiet motion and won’t bring up sediment from the (sea) bottom,” says Taavi Salumae, a designer at the Biorobotics Center of Tallinn University of Technology.

The underwater probe has been developed since 2012 in the EU-funded Arrows project that focuses on new technologies for marine research.

It can stay submerged for four hours at a depth of 100 meters (330 feet) on a single battery charge of two hours. It’s equipped with a camera and lights.

Most importantly, it can easily be rotated in tight spots that are too dangerous or difficult for human divers.

Salumae says the U-CAT, an acronym for Underwater Curious Archaeology Turtle (winner of

a Facebook contest to name the robot), is one of the first robots designed to go inside shipwrecks and help underwater archaeologists study interiors of locations.

But its small size has a few drawbacks: It is limited to shallow waters, unlike large robots, some of which can reach depths of six kilometers (20,000 feet) without damage from water pressure.

And it is not remotely controlled like traditional wired probes, which means there’s also a risk of losing it during missions.

Last summer, it was successfully tested in the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean by a group of European researchers.

Priit Latti, a marine archaeologist from the Estonian Maritime Museum, watched the probe dive to a flooded Soviet-era prison in July off the Estonian coast, and was impressed.

“The fact the robot uses flippers for movement is a huge advantage,” he said. “It can move in every direction.”

Latti says the museum is considering it for future undersea investigations, possibly to study the remains of a 17th-century vessel recently found in Estonian waters.

Bordered by Finland, Sweden, Russia, the Baltic nations, Poland, Germany and Denmark, the Baltic Sea is rich in historical wooden wrecks dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries, well-preserved because of the sea’s low salinity and cool water that help keep marine shipworms away.q

PEOPLE & ARTS A29

Monday 4 January 2016

‘Star Wars’ box office surpasses ‘Titanic,’ ‘Jurassic World’ LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” marched confidently into the new year, raking in an additional $88.3 million over the New Year’s weekend and topping the box office for a third week, according to studio estimates Sunday.

In addition to setting a new high mark in New Year’s box office history, the recordbusting film blew past the domestic grosses of both “Jurassic World” ($652.3 million) and “Titanic” ($658.7 million) to become the second-highest earner of all time with $740.3 million in just 19 days of release. The top domestic film is “Avatar” with a $760.5 million lifetime domestic gross, but “Star Wars” is barreling in to surpass it soon. For context, it took “Avatar” 72 days to reach $700 million. “Star Wars” did that in 16 days.

While “Star Wars” might not give up its throne any time soon, films like “Daddy’s Home” and “Sisters” have proven to be incredibly

strong performers.

“Daddy’s Home,” the comedy starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, came in second with an estimated $29 million, bringing its total to $93.7 million in just two weeks. The film fell only 25 percent from its first weekend in theaters. Even more formidable is the mere 11 percent drop from the Tina Fey and Amy Poehler comedy “Sisters,” which brought in $12.6 million in its third weekend for a fourthplace spot. The film has earned $61.7 so far.

“When you look at the holding power of ‘Daddy’s Home’ and ‘Sisters,’ it shows you that those films are for many people the antidote to ‘Star Wars,’” said Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst for box office tracker Rentrak.

“The diversity of the slate that the studios created by not retreating from ‘Star Wars’ is helping.”

Quentin Tarantino’s bloody Western “The Hateful Eight,” meanwhile, took third with $16.2 million in

‘Game of Thrones’ author blogs that he missed book deadline VERENA DOBNIK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — For fans of George R.R. Martin, winter is not coming — at least not right away.

The “Game of Thrones” author says he missed a Dec. 31 deadline to finish “The Winds of Winter,” the sixth book in his popular fantasy series. That means the next HBO season based on the novel will start airing in April, before the book is published.

The words “you won’t like it” appeared Saturday on Martin’s blog, reporting that “the book’s not done. ... I tried, I promise you. I failed.”

Martin says he is working with HBO to ensure the show reflects the next installment of the “A Song of Ice and Fire” books — in which characters warn of impending doom with the phrase “Winter is coming.”

With hundreds of pages and dozens of chapters

written, Martin said he estimates it will still take months more if the writing goes well.

“You can blame my travels or my blog posts or the distractions of other projects and the Cocteau and whatever, but maybe all that had an impact,” he wrote, referring to the single-screen Jean Cocteau Cinema he purchased and fixed up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he lives.

“For months now I have wanted nothing so much as to be able to say, ‘I have completed and delivered ‘The Winds of Winter’ on or before the last day of 2015,” the 67-year-old author blogged.

The truth is “sometimes the writing goes well and sometimes it doesn’t, and that was true for me even when I was in my 20s,” he wrote. Messages left at Martin’s office and the cinema were not immediately returned. q

This photo provided by Disney/Lucasfilm shows stormtroopers in a scene from the new film, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

(Film Frame/Lucasfilm via AP)

its first weekend in wide release after a strong limited debut. The three-hour epic, which cost a reported $44 million to produce, has made $29.6 million to date — just shy of what “Django Unchained” made in its first weekend.

“There is still a big audience out there for auteur-driven cinema,” Dergarabedian said. “Tarantino, no matter what, is an interesting filmmaker. Film fans want to see what he’s up to. It’s not as big as some of his other films, but it’s still doing well

as it expands.”

“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip” took fifth place with $11.8 million, dropping only 10 percent from last weekend.

The year is off to a strong start overall, up 24.5 percent from last year. q

A30 PEOPLE

Monday 4 January 2016

& ARTS

At Palm Springs festival, Damon leads Oscar charge for Scott RYAN PEARSON AP Entertainment Writer PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — Matt Damon launched a bold new phase of Oscar campaigning for his “The Martian” director on Saturday, telling a crowd that Ridley Scott has “given more than enough to cinema” over his career to deserve an Academy Award.

Damon spoke at the opening night gala for the Palm Springs International Film

Festival, a non-televised black-tie dinner at the desert city’s convention center. It’s become a wellattended stop on the busy Hollywood awards circuit due to its timing during the Oscar nominations voting period and eight days before the Golden Globe Awards. Honorees Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale and Michael Fassbender also took the stage.

Ridley Scott, right, presents the Chairman’s award to Matt Damon at the 27th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016, in Palm Springs, Calif.

(Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Damon said he was shocked to discover that the 78-year-old director of “Blade Runner” and “Alien” had never won an Oscar despite three nominations and his helming of 2001 best picture winner “Gladiator.”

“He’s just a master director. There are a handful of them on planet Earth. But he is one of them,” Damon said. “Awards -- whatever, who gives a (expletive). I mean, except for this one.

But ... I hope this is his year.

I don’t know if you’re supposed to say that out loud.

But ... when I did ‘The Departed,’ we said it out loud a lot about Marty (Scorsese) and it panned out.”

Saturday’s loose and sometimes coarse ceremony saw Depp praising his wife, actress Amber Heard,

“for putting up with me” and Bale getting in a dig at the 2,000-plus attendees, which included socialites who sometimes chatted away at dinner tables during acceptance speeches.

“I’ve never been at a film festival that ignores the speakers so much as this film festival,” said Bale, on stage with his “The Big Short” co-stars Steve Carell, Jeremy Strong and Finn Wittrock.Cate Blanchett, being lauded for her performance in “Carol,” was more magnanimous.

She thanked the festival, which runs through Jan. 11, “for reminding us -- all of us honored tonight -- that if we’re not nominated for any other award not to feel like losers. We had a moment of glory.”

The festival announced

its awards ahead of time, minimizing anxiety for actors and allowing plenty of time for informal reunions.

Depp hugged his “Finding Neverland” co-star Kate Winslet on the red carpet before the show. Damon walked backstage in conversation with Blanchett.

The two shared the screen in “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “The Monuments Men.” “Room” star Brie Larson and “Trumbo” star Bryan Cranston had both screened their personal movies at the festival years earlier. Cranston wrote and directed a feature, “Last Chance,” that played Palm Springs in 1999. “I will forever be grateful to you for doing that for me. It launched a different phase of my career,” he told the crowd. q

Baldwin, Linklater join polar bear plunges EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — Actor Alec Baldwin and director Richard Linklater have braved the chilly waters off New York’s Long Island at separate polar bear plunges on New Year’s Day. Newsday reports that Baldwin dived into the Atlantic Ocean on Friday to benefit

an East Hampton rehabilitation facility. Linklater took part in a nearby plunge benefiting the East Hampton Food Pantry.

Baldwin is a Long Island native and a regular at glitzy charity events on the island’s East End. The Texas-based Linklater was vacationing in the

area and decided to join the plunge. He said it was “really cool, so many people coming out for a good reason.” Baldwin has starred in numerous films as well as the NBC show “30 Rock.”Linklater’s films include “Dazed and Confused,” ‘’School of Rock” and “Boyhood.”q

PEOPLE & ARTS A31

Monday 4 January 2016

Charleston a focus of 40th Spoleto Fest BRUCE SMITH Associated Press CHARLESTON, South Carolina (AP) — Historic Charleston is a large focus of next spring’s 40th edition of the Spoleto Festival USA, from glimpses of the city in the iconic opera “Porgy and Bess” to the tragedy of the Emanuel AME Church shootings. The lineup for the internationally known arts festival that runs from May 27 through June 12 was unveiled on Sunday.

It features Spoleto’s first production of George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess,” the famed opera about Charleston and its people based on the novel by Charleston native DuBose Heyward. The production is being designed by Jonathan Green, the local artist known worldwide for his colorful paintings of black residents of the sea islands on the southeast coast.

The opera will be Spoleto’s first production in the Gaillard Center, the city’s new $142 million performing arts center that opened last fall. The center is the single most expensive municipal project in the city’s almost 350-year history.

The festival also features a multimedia project by artist Carrie Mae Weems entitled “Grace Notes: Reflections for Now.” The production incudes songs, texts, spoken words and video projections raising questions about the role of grace in a democracy.

It was inspired in part by President Barack Obama singing “Amazing Grace” during his eulogy for the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, one of nine people shot and killed at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston last June. A white man has been charged with murder and other counts in the case. Jazz singer Rene Marie will also include a song, “Be the Change,” during her May 29 concert at the Gaillard Center. The song was commissioned by the festival and inspired by the community’s show of unity in the aftermath of the shootings.q

Vegas: Chris Brown investigated for alleged battery LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas police are investigating an allegation of battery against R&B singer Chris Brown. Authorities received a call shortly before 10:30 a.m. Saturday about the alleged battery at the Palms Casino Resort, Lt. Jeff Goodwin said. A police statement Saturday evening said an altercation took place in a room at the resort when the woman went to take a picture of Brown.

The woman said she was struck by Brown and that he had taken her cellphone, police said. Detectives tried to speak with Brown at his hotel room, but the singer left before police had arrived.

A crime report has been taken for misdemeanor theft and misdemeanor battery listing Brown as a suspect, police said.

Nicole Perna, publicist for Brown, issued a statement Saturday night calling the woman’s charges “unequivocally untrue.”

The woman “was escorted out of the private after party at the Palms Casino Resort for being disruptive and out of control,” Perna said. “Once she was in the hallway, while waiting for

Chris Brown performs in Los Angeles. Las Vegas police are investigating an allegation of battery against R&B singer Chris Brown. Lt. Jeff Goodwin said authorities received a call Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016, about the alleged battery at the Palms Casino Resort.

(Rich Fury/Invision/AP)

Chris Brown’s security to bring out her phone, she had a total meltdown -throwing her purse to the ground and claiming that she ‘could buy everyone in the hotel’ -- as witnessed by numerous people waiting to get into the party.

The Palms Casino Resort security also saw her wild

behavior via hotel security cameras and immediately came up to the hallway to escort her out of the hotel.”

“Her claim that she had her phone in her possession inside the after party and was able to take a photo causing an altercation with Chris Brown is a complete fabrication,” Perna said.

Brown performed Friday at Drai’s nightclub at The Cromwell Las Vegas, where he appears regularly.

Brown was freed from felony probation last year, more than six years after he attacked then-girlfriend Rihanna. The singer pleaded guilty to felony assault in that case.q

Motion to block subpoena of Cosby’s wife denied

Bill Cosby arrives at court to face a felony charge of aggravated indecent assault in Elkins Park, Pa. Cosby’s wife will be forced to testify in a defamation lawsuit filed by seven women who accuse the comedian of sexually assaulting them decades ago.

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

BOSTON (AP) — Bill Cosby’s wife will be forced to testify in a defamation lawsuit filed by seven women who accuse the comedian of sexually assaulting them decades ago.

A federal judge on Thursday denied a motion by Camille Cosby to throw out

a subpoena requiring her to give a deposition in the lawsuit. She is scheduled to be deposed by lawyers for the women on Wednesday.

U.S. Judge Magistrate David Hennessey in Springfield, Massachusetts, said Camille Cosby failed to

prove that she and her husband were protected by the state’s marital disqualification law. He also rejected claims that the value of the testimony would be outweighed by the “undue burden” the deposition would cause.

The arguments “do not outweigh the potential significance of Mrs. Cosby’s testimony, nor has Mrs. Cosby provided any authority that they do,” Hennessey wrote in a 12-page ruling.

The couple has been married for more than 50 years and Camille Cosby is her husband’s business partner. She is not a defendant in the lawsuit against Bill Cosby.

A lawyer for the women, Joseph Cammarata, argued last month that he should be able to question

Camille Cosby because he believed she had “information that’s relevant to the litigation in this matter.”

In a motion filed Dec. 18 to quash the subpoena, Bill Cosby’s lawyers said his wife does not have any information about the accuracy of the women’s allegations, and argued that subjecting his wife to a deposition was “nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to pressure defendant in the face of subjecting his wife to the shame and embarrassment of responding to questions about his alleged infidelities and sexual misconduct.”

The women claim Cosby allowed representatives to portray them as liars after they went public with their allegations against the entertainer. q