February 12, 2016

On Top Of The News Email:news@arubatoday.com website: www.arubatoday.com Tel:+297 582-7800 Friday, February 12, 2016

Occupation Over

A man wave American flag from atop a car at the Narrows roadblock, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, near Burns, Ore. The last four occupiers of a Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon surrendered Thursday. The holdouts were the last remnants of a larger group that seized the wildlife refuge nearly six weeks ago, demanding that the government turn over the land to locals and release two ranchers imprisoned for setting fires.

(Thomas Boyd/The Oregonian via AP)

Last Holdouts in Oregon Standoff Surrender

REBECCA BOONE MARTHA BELLISLE Associated Press BURNS, Ore. (AP) — Surrounded by FBI agents in armored vehicles, the last four occupiers of a national nature preserve sur-

rendered Thursday, and a leader in their movement who organized a 2014 standoff with authorities was criminally charged in federal court.

The holdouts were the last remnants of a larger group

that seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge nearly six weeks ago, demanding that the government turn over the land to locals and release two ranchers imprisoned for setting fires.

For the first time since Jan.

2, the federal land was fully under the control of theU.S. government.

Meanwhile, Cliven Bundy, who was at the center of the 2014 standoff at his ranch in Nevada, was arrested late Wednesday in

Portland after encouraging the Oregon occupiers not to give up. Bundy is the father of Ammon Bundy, the jailed leader of the Oregon occupation.

Continued on page 4

A2 UP

Friday 12 February 2016

FRONT

Pentagon chief predicting ‘tangible gains’ in Iraq, Syria

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, center right, waits for the start of a Counter-ISIL Coalition Ministerial meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016. At left is British Secretary of State for Defense Michael Fallon, and second left is NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

(AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

ROBERT BURNS AP National Security Writer BRUSSELS (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter predicted on Thursday that recent U.S.-led efforts to accelerate the fight against the Islamic State group would produce “tangible gains” in Iraq and Syria

by March, even as coalition partners pledged to expand and deepen their military contributions.

Carter said defense ministers from more than two dozen countries gave a “broad endorsement” of a refinedU.S. plan for defeating the militants. After a meeting at NATO headquarters, Carter told reporters that nearly all participants either promised new military commitments or said their governments would consider new contributions. “I’m very pleased that so many nations have stepped up and answered the call, even in recent days,” Carter said. “But my challenge to coalition members to accelerate our military campaign will not end today, any more than America’s resolve to lead and make more contributions itself will end today. It will continue.”

Carter offered few details on what the “tangible gains” might look like. He suggested some would involve attacks on Islamic State financing and propaganda messaging, as well as bolstering Iraqi forces for the planned battle to take back Mosul in the north.

He said that 60 percent of the coalition members have increased their contributions, and another one-third said they will seek authority from their governments to do more.

In public remarks at the start of the meeting with coalition members, Carter cast the talks as an historic effort to hasten the demise of IS, which has proved resilient in Iraq and Syria and is spreading to Afghanistan, Libya and elsewhere in the greater Middle East.

“This ministerial marks the beginning of a new stage in the coalition campaign to defeat ISIL,” Carter said, using a common acronym for the militants. He suggested

that countries not answering his call to do more may regret their choice when the struggle is over.

“We will all look back after victory and remember who participated in the fight,” he said.

In Munich, Germany, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was trying on Thursday to find a way to halt what amounts to a parallel war in Syria. Five years of civil war have pitted President Bashar Assad’s government, backed by Russia and Iran, against an array of weakened opposition groups, some supported by the United States.

During the coalition meeting, Carter laid out details of the U.S. plan and asked coalition partners to increase or broaden their assistance, either militarily or in other ways such as financial contributions. He said the U.S. military, acting on instructions by President Barack Obama last October, is accelerating military efforts, which have shown positive results with the recent recapture of the Iraqi city of Ramadi in Anbar province. Carter said coalition military chiefs, including U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, would meet soon to discuss and evaluate the campaign, and that in mid-March the U.S. Central Command headquarters in Florida would convene a military conference to assess progress. “By then, at the latest, we should begin to see tangible gains from those additional capabilities, from the ones the coalition is already bringing to bear,” Carter said.

Carter said the U.S. is determined to accelerate the war campaign and recapture as soon as possible the Islamic State group’s main strongholds — Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq.

At a separate news conference, NATO SecretaryGeneral Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance agreed Thursday to deploy NATO airborne command and control aircraft in order to free up similar U.S. aircraft for the campaign in Syria and Iraq. Details were to be worked out.q

U.S. NEWS A3

Friday 12 February 2016

Ferguson officials debate future of police department JIM SALTER Associated Press FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — As Ferguson prepares to do legal battle with the Justice Department, the city’s leaders have acknowledged the possibility that they might someday disband the police department and cede law enforcement to another agency. The question is: Would anyone else want it?

The federal government sued Ferguson on Wednesday, just a day after an agreement to radically reshape the city’s police and municipal court practices fell apart. On Tuesday, the Ferguson City Council approved the settlement, but with seven amendments. In the eyes of the Justice Department, that amounted to rejection.

Among the attempted changes was a statement that the terms of the agreement would not apply if another agency takes over duties currently provided

by Ferguson, such as policing.

But Attorney General Loretta Lynch said allowing the city to evade terms of the agreement by transferring control of the police to another state entity was “simply unconscionable” and would allow local leaders to escape the requirements almost anytime.

Wesley Bell, the Ferguson city councilman who authored the amendments, said Wednesday that giving up control of police duties would be a last resort.

“Our goal is to have our police department do our policing and be the gold standard of policing in the region, if not the country,” Bell said.

He acknowledged that takeover could eventually prove necessary if the city cannot afford the reforms, which is possible. A recent financial analysis estimated the cost of the mandates at up to $3.7 million in the first year alone.

“We don’t want language that would discourage other agencies from providing services to assist the city of Ferguson,” Bell said.

The federal lawsuit was just the latest fallout from the federal scrutiny that followed the police shooting death of Michael Brown.

A grand jury and the Justice Department declined to prosecute Wilson, concluding evidence backed his claim that he shot Brown in self-defense after Brown first tried to grab the officer’s gun during a struggle through the window of Wilson’s police vehicle, then came toward him threateningly after briefly running away. Wilson resigned in November 2014.q

Massive natural gas leak near LA plugged after 16 weeks: officials BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A blowout at a natural gas well that gushed uncontrollably for 16 weeks and drove thousands of residents from their Los Angeles homes was plugged Thursday, a utility said.

While the well still needs to be permanently sealed with cement and inspected by state regulators, the announcement by Southern California Gas Co. marked the first time the leak has been under control since it was reported Oct. 23.

“We have temporarily controlled the natural gas flow from the leaking well and

begun the process of sealing the well and permanently stopping the leak,” Jimmie Cho, a SoCalGas senior vice president, said in a statement.

If the plug holds and all goes according to plan to seal the well, the upscale Porter Ranch community in the San Fernando Valley could begin to return to normalcy after schools were closed and about 6,000 families were uprooted as they complained of headaches, nausea, nosebleeds and other symptoms as an intermittent stench wafted through the area.q

Ferguson police Sgt. Dominica Fuller speaks during an interview in Ferguson, Mo. As Ferguson leaders consider a lawsuit filed against the city by the U.S. Department of Justice, the town’s effort at an amended agreement with DOJ acknowledged that losing the police department is a possibility.

(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

A4 U.S.

Friday 12 February 2016

NEWS

Last Holdouts in Oregon Standoff Surrender Continued from Front On Thursday, the elder Bundy was charged in the standoff from two years ago. Federal authorities may have feared Bundy’s presence would draw sympathizers to defend the holdouts.

The 69-year-old Bundy was charged with conspiracy, assault on a federal officer, obstruction, weapons charges and other crimes.

He’s accused of leading supporters who pointed military-style weapons at federal agents trying to enforce a court order to

Rancher Cliven Bundy stands along the road near his ranch in Bunkerville, Nev. Bundy, the father of the jailed leader of the Oregon refuge occupation, and who was the center of a standoff with federal officials in Nevada in 2014, was arrested in Portland on Wednesday, Feb. 10,, the FBI said Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016.

(AP Photo/John Locher)

round up Bundy cattle from federal rangeland.

It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer ahead of a court appearance in Portland.

Federal authorities say the Bundy family has not made payments toward a $1.1 million grazing fee and penalty bill.

The FBI said the final four occupiers were arrested as they walked out of the refuge to the FBI checkpoint.

No one was injured and no shots fired.

Federal authorities were criticized during the occupation for not ending it sooner. But some experts said the FBI’s strategy of letting the tensions die down before moving in ensured there would be no bloodshed.

“This was beautifully executed,” said Brian Levin, a criminal justice professor at California State University, San Bernardino. “This siege and the way it was handled will go down in law enforcement textbooks.”

It was unclear what effect the occupiers’ presence had on the refuge or any of its archaeological artifacts. Videos posted online showed members of the armed group exploring buildings at the site and criticizing the way tribal artifacts were stored there.

Outside, the videos sometimes showed group members in tents or gathered around a campfire, driving vehicles and setting up barricades. They erected a canopy next to a pickup truck and an old car and put camping chairs and coolers around it. The area appeared strewn with plastic water bottles, cardboard boxes, clothes, packages of bullets and beer cans.

The last four occupiers

were scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Portland.

The holdouts and 12 others connected with the Oregon occupation have been charged with conspiracy to interfere with federal workers.

The occupiers were 27-year-old David Fry of Blanchester, Ohio; Jeff Banta, 46, of Elko, Nevada; and married couple Sean Anderson, 48, and Sandy Anderson, 47, of Riggins, Idaho.

The FBI began moving in Wednesday evening, surrounding their encampment with armored vehicles. Over the next several hours, the occupiers’ panic and their negotiation with FBI agents could be heard live on the Internet, broadcast by a sympathizer of the occupiers who established phone contact with them.

Fry, an Ohio resident, said he was declaring war against the federal government. The Andersons and Banta surrendered first on Thursday. Fry initially refused to join them.

“I’m making sure I’m not coming out of here alive,” he said at one point in the Thursday livestream, threatening to kill himself. “Liberty or death, I take that stance.”

After ranting for a while, he too surrendered.

A Nevada lawmaker was key in getting them to give up. Michele Fiore is also a friend of the Bundy family.

She came to Portland on Wednesday to show support for Ammon Bundy.

When she heard the FBI had surrounded the refuge, she called into the online talk show to try to calm down the occupiers.

Fiore rushed to Burns to help negotiate a peaceful surrender of the occupiers.q

U.S. NEWS A5

Friday 12 February 2016

Bloomberg cautiously eyes 3rd party presidential bid

JONATHAN LEMIRE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg sees an opportunity emerging in presidential politics after Hillary Clinton’s defeat in New Hampshire and Donald Trump’s ascension in the tumultuous Republican race.

But those surrounding the billionaire centrist caution that he’s not rushing to join the competition.

Bloomberg, widely considered a fiscal conservative but social liberal, has taken the first steps to mount an independent campaign in an election year dominated by candidates drawing support from their parties’ fringes.

But even as Trump and selfdescribed “democratic socialist” Bernie Sanders emerged victorious in New Hampshire on Tuesday, Bloomberg’s aides suggested that Clinton’s shortfall may not be enough to compel his third-party run.

They point to the upcoming voting states — including South Carolina, Nevada, and the bulk of southern states voting on Super Tuesday, March 1 — which could give the former secretary of state a chance to

make a comeback.

If the contest between Sanders and Clinton remains close, Bloomberg likely won’t have enough clarity in time for his selfimposed March deadline to make a decision.

His team this week will commission a new poll gauging Bloomberg’s chances and research ballot access rights in the event of a third-party run, according to a series of interviews with Bloomberg aides and political consultants.

Bloomberg, a Democratturned-Republican-turnedindependent worth $37 billion, said this week that he was “looking at all the options” as he lamented the current condition of the campaign.

“I find the level of discourse and discussion distressingly banal and an outrage and an insult to the voters,” he told The Financial Times on Monday.

His staff would need to collect approximately 900,000 signatures to get on the ballot in all 50 states. While many state deadlines are not until the summer, the mayor’s team believes the petition process would need to begin early next month to be completed in time. q

Congress gives trade bill final OK WASHINGTON (AP) — A wide-ranging bill that revamps U.S. trade laws won final congressional approval Thursday. It includes a provision that would reinforce the government’s ability to head off China and other countries from manipulating their currencies to make their exports more affordable.

The Senate voted 75-20 for the measure, sending it to President Barrack Obama, who is expected to sign it although the White House did not immediately indicate his intention to do so.

That seems to reflect a difficult political balancing act between some sections in the bill that are popular and trade provisions many Democrats considered insufficient.

Supporters say the mea-

sure would strengthen U.S. trading by improving protections for American intellectual property like copyrights and trademarks and upgrading trade law enforcement at the country’s borders The legislation — especially its trade provisions — has pitted the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups supporting the bill against opponents including the largest U.S. labor federation.

The House approved the trade bill in December, with the backing of nearly all Republicans but just 24 Democrats.

Despite two requests, White House press aides wouldn’t say whether the president would sign the bill, though he is expected to. q

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, center, talks with diplomats at U.N. headquarters on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016. Bloomberg sees an opportunity emerging in presidential politics after Hillary Clinton’s blowout defeat in New Hampshire combined with Donald Trump’s ascension in the tumultuous Republican race.

(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

A6 U.S.

Friday 12 February 2016

NEWS

Several states seek to block 2nd trimester abortion method

Anti-abortion activists rally on the steps of the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas. Abortion opponents in Mississippi, West Virginia and several other states are filing bills to ban an abortion procedure commonly used in the second trimester that opponents describe as dismembering a fetus.

(AP Photo/Eric Gay)

EMILY PETTUS JON MATTISE Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Abortion opponents in Mississippi, West Virginia and several other states are filing bills to ban an abortion procedure commonly used in the second trimester that opponents describe as dismembering a fetus.

Courts have already blocked similar laws that Kansas and Oklahoma enacted in 2015.

The New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, which represents abortion

providers in legal fights, says banning the dilation and evacuation method of abortion — commonly called “D&E” — is unconstitutional because it interferes with private medical decisions.

“Laws like these are an attack on women’s health, personal autonomy, and the doctor-patient relationship, and they have the potential to force physicians to subject women seeking safe and legal abortion services in the second trimester to additional invasive and unnecessary pro-

cedures,” Kelly Baden, the center’s director of state advocacy, said in a letter this week to West Virginia lawmakers.

Baden said dilation and evacuation is the safest method for the second trimester and is used for about 95 percent of all second-trimester abortions in the U.S. The Mississippi bill uses language provided by the Washington-based National Right to Life Committee.

It would prohibit any abortion that would involve extracting a live fetus in

pieces from the uterus using instruments like clamps and forceps, calling that procedure a “dismemberment abortion.”

Mary Balch, director of state legislation for the anti-abortion group, said the proposals would not ban all dilation and evacuation abortions. The law would still allow abortions in which the fetus is dead before it is extracted, which she said do not pose any greater health risk to the woman.

The Center for Reproductive Rights says it is not always medically necessary to induce fetal death before starting an abortion, and it’s never required before 18 weeks, when most women would be seeking abortions. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says there is no evidence that inducing fetal death makes second-trimester abortions safer. If proposals such as those in Mississippi become law, the Center said a woman seeking a D&E abortion would have to have an injection to the fetus to stop its development before the procedure. Republican Rep. Sam Mims, chairman of the Mississippi House Public Health Committee, is sponsoring the proposal to ban a procedure he calls “very graphic.”

“I believe that life begins at

Federal trial again delayed in church shooting BRUCE SMITH Associated Press CHARLESTON, South Carolina (AP) — A judge on Thursday delayed the trial of a white man charged in the shooting deaths of nine black parishioners at a South Carolina church as attorneys wait to see whether the federal government will seek the

death penalty.

Dylann Roof, 21, faces dozens of charges, including hate crimes, in the killings at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston last June.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Richardson told the judge during a status hearing that he expects the Justice Department will decide on

whether to seek the death penalty in March or April. A Justice Department committee that makes recommendations to the attorney general on seeking the death penalty has been reviewing the case.

The judge did not set a trial date.

Defense attorney David

Bruck told the judge there won’t be a trial, just a guilty plea, if the government decides not to seek the death penalty.

The federal case could be heard before Roof’s trial in state court on nine murder charges.

That trial, in which the state is seeking the death penalty, starts in July.q

conception. To me, this is a baby,” Mims said.

Similar bills are also being filed in Idaho, Missouri, Minnesota and Nebraska, Balch said. Others are expected in Kentucky, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island and South Carolina, said Jennifer Miller, spokeswoman for the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Mississippi has enacted several abortion restrictions in recent years, including banning abortions after 20 weeks’ gestation last year.

The U.S. Supreme Court later this year will consider the constitutionality of a 2011 Mississippi law that requires physicians at the state’s only abortion clinic to obtain admitting privileges at a local hospital. The physicians have been unable to obtain them, but the law has been blocked by federal courts.

Diane Derzis is the owner of the lone Mississippi abortion clinic, Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which does abortions up to 15 weeks’ gestation. She said the state is inviting another expensive lawsuit by trying to ban a commonly used abortion method.

“This is just another way of attacking abortion,” Derzis said. “An entire, intact fetus is not the result of any abortion, so it affects all abortions.”

In West Virginia, Republican Sen. Ryan Ferns is chairman of the Health and Human Resources Committee that passed an amended version of the proposed ban on Thursday. The changed bill says that second-trimester dilation and evacuation procedures are illegal unless the physician first “creates demise or death” of the fetus. It doesn’t apply to emergency procedures. q

U.S. NEWS A7

Friday 12 February 2016

American Living:

California residents live on the edge of crumbling cliffs

KRISTIN J. BENDER Associated Press PACIFICA, Calif. (AP) — Sonja Thompson lives so close to the edge of an 80-foot bluff above the Pacific Ocean that when paragliders fly by “you can almost high-five them.”

Having the Pacific as your backyard has its benefits, and its dangers. Crumbling cliffs have forced dozens to leave their homes and others like Thompson may have to join them as EL Nino-fueled storms batter the coast.

Last summer, whale watching was at its prime and people who live on the cliffs of Pacifica were treated to more than 200 dolphin sightings. The views are spectacular, and the air feels like it’s a million miles away from smoggy cityscapes.

“All the nature and wildlife I read about in New York I get to see here up close and personal here,” said Druth McClure, who moved from the East Coast to a waterfront apartment here 20 years ago.

But some residents last month came home from work to find yellow “restricted use” tags on their front doors, which required them to start packing.

“At some point and time we won’t be able to live here. These cliffs are primarily packed sand so they will no doubt crumble away,” said Jackie James, who occasionally stays with her fiance at an ocean-view apartment still safe to occupy. “What do they say about nature? It’s a relentless march.”

Pacifica, which means peaceful in Spanish, is anything but that when heavy rains and big surf batter this largely working class city of roughly 40,000, about 10 miles south of San Francisco. The area is one of the two most erosion-prone stretches of the state’s coastline, along with the Monterey Bay area, according to Patrick Barnard, a coastal geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey.

Sediment from watersheds that historically sustained

these beaches and served to protect the cliffs has been greatly reduced by human activity such as damming, flood control and dredging, Barnard said.

Sea level rise has exacerbated the problem, and its projected acceleration over the next century will expose the coast to more wave attack and erosion, he added. The Pacifica cliffs have been crumbling for decades, as aerial photographs from the California Coastal Records Projects show.

The toll has been heavy in recent years. In 2010, two apartment buildings undermined by previous storms were evacuated and face demolition.

Last month, during El Nino storms, residents of another apartment building and two homes were forced to move out. Continuing erosion has left the apartments sitting unsafely on the edge of an 80-foot bluff.

“We’re not fearful of falling off. They’ve been so diligent that they are going to tell us if we are in any imminent danger,” said Thompson, who lives in an oceanfront apartment with her wife, Karlie Thompson.

The benefits of the beautiful spot, she said, outweigh the worry.

“The paragliders, they are so close you can almost high five them,” she said, adding there was one in a Santa suit over the holidays.

U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier and city officials have pledged to seek state and federal assistance.

Still, many forced-out residents say they feel abandoned, left alone to find money for moving, storage lockers and new housing in the pricey San Francisco Bay Area.

“Some of us tried squatting on the first night and almost got arrested,” said Gordon King, a 73-year-old disabled Vietnam vet and former merchant marine who lived in a cramped apartment with his wife Lana.

“We’ve been fighting time,” he said while packing their possessions.

In this image provided by the California Coastal Records Project, cliff erosion is seen below the Esplanade Apartments in Pacifica, Calif. Living with the Pacific Ocean as your backyard has its benefits. But the crumbling ocean cliffs have forced dozens to move quickly and at a high cost.

Stll, others remain unsure of when the call to leave might come.

(AP Photo/Kenneth Adelman)

The Red Cross gave them $250 but local hotels go

for nearly $200 a night so they say they’ll likely rely on

friends until they can find a new place to plant roots. q

A8

Friday 12 February 2016

WORLD NEWS

French government reshuffle makes Ayrault new FM SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Former Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, a low-key veteran of the Socialist Party much acquainted with German culture, will become France’s new foreign minister.

Ayrault, 66, replaces Laurent Fabius in a government reshuffling announced Thursday by French President Francois Hollande’s

office.

Fabius, who helped clinch a landmark climate accord in Paris last year and played a prominent role in negotiations on a nuclear accord with Iran, is going to become chief of the Constitutional Council, France’s top court which makes sure that legislation complies with the constitution.

A few green party mem-

bers are joining the government as well in an apparent effort to quell tensions within Hollande’s camp ahead of next year’s presidential election.

Other leading ministerial positions are unchanged, including Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Finance Minister Michel Sapin and Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron. The French government now

counts 18 ministers and 20 junior ministers in addition to Prime Minister Manuel Valls and as many women as men.

“This is a government that must act, that must reform, that must move forward,” Hollande told the TF1 and France 2 TV channels, refusing to say if he will stand for re-election next year. “We must have results.”

He said he chose Ayrault

for his experience and knowledge of international issues.

Ayrault was Hollande’s first prime minister from 2012 to 2014.

He is generally considered a hard worker, discreet and even shy. He is a former teacher of German, a skill considered a key advantage in conducting French-German diplomatic relations.q

NATO orders warships into Aegean to help ease migrant crisis

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter speaks during a media conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016. NATO defense ministers met for a second day on Thursday to discuss Turkey’s request to help deal with Europe’s ongoing migrant crisis and the current situation in Iraq and Syria.

(AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

JOHN DAHLBURG Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — In a dramatic response to Europe’s gravest refugee crisis since World War II, NATO ordered three warships to sail immediately Thursday to the Aegean Sea to help end the deadly smuggling of asy-

lum-seekers across the waters from Turkey to Greece.

“This is about helping Greece, Turkey and the European Union with stemming the flow of migrants and refugees and coping with a very demanding situation ... a human tragedy,” said NATO Secretary-

General Jens Stoltenberg.

Yet even after the ships were told to get underway, NATO officials acknowledged uncertainties about the precise actions they would be performing — including whether they would take part in operations to rescue drowning

migrants.

The arrival of more than a million people in Europe in 2015 — mostly Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans — has plunged the 28-nation European Union into what some see as the most serious crisis in its history.

Despite winter weather, the onslaught of refugees crossing the Aegean has not let up. The International Organization for Migration said this week that 76,000 people — nearly 2,000 per day — have reached Europe by sea this year and 409 of them have died trying, most drowning in the cold, rough waters.

The number of arrivals in the first six weeks of 2016 is nearly 10 times as many as the same period last year.

Most come from Turkey to Greece and then try to head north through the Balkans to the EU’s more prosperous countries such as Germany and Sweden.

The decision Thursday by NATO defense ministers in Brussels came in response to a joint request by three members — Turkey, Ger-

many and Greece — for alliance participation in an international effort targeting the smugglers.

“This is not about stopping or pushing back refugee boats,” Stoltenberg stressed at a news conference. “NATO will contribute critical information and surveillance to help counter human trafficking and criminal networks.”

In a related effort, the military alliance will also step up its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance activities on the TurkishSyrian border, Stoltenberg said. The vessels of NATO Standing Maritime Group 2 “will start to move now” on orders from U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, NATO’s top commander in Europe, Stoltenberg said.

Breedlove said the ships should be at their Aegean destinations by Friday.

NATO’s website says the flotilla is composed of a German navy flagship, the Bonn, and two other ships, the Barbaros from Turkey and the Fredericton from Canada.q

Portugal’s fellow euro states keep wary eye on its budget RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Portugal’s fellow states in the 19-nation eurozone are keeping a wary eye on its new government’s plans to roll back budget austerity measures, with the bloc’s top executive and Germany both warning the country not to miss deficit targets.

Although Portugal has received conditional approval for its budget from

the European Commission, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Thursday that straying from the path of fiscal rigor “would be very dangerous for Portugal.”

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, chairman of eurozone group of finance ministers, said Portugal “needs to stand ready if necessary to do more to stay within the pact.”

Last week, the EU’s execu-

tive Commission cleared Portugal’s budget, which aims to undo the previous government’s cuts and privatizations, but only after extracting a promise for almost $1 billion in additional savings.

Schaeuble said it’s a bad time to make drastic changes in the budget since “the markets are already nervous.”

On Thursday, Portugal’s borrowing rates in bond

markets rose, a sign investors are somewhat more worried about its state finances. The 10-year bond rate rose 0.38 percentage points to 3.9 percent, by far the biggest rise in the eurozone.

Dijsselbloem said the rise in interest rates is another reason “to be committed to the economic policy of the monetary union.”

Eurozone states are meant to keep their deficits under

3 percent of GDP. Portugal’s new budget is expected to achieve a deficit of 3.4 percent this year, according to the Commission’s estimates.

The EU Commission has insisted that budgetary rigor is needed to keep economies healthy and make sure nations are not burdened by excessive debt, which helped cause financial crises in several countries, notably Greece. q

WORLD NEWS 9

Friday 12 February 2016

Former Auschwitz guard, 94, goes on trial in Germany DAVID RISING Associated Press DETMOLD, Germany (AP) — A 94-year-old former SS sergeant went on trial Thursday in western Germany on 170,000 counts of accessory to murder, based on accusations that he served as a guard in the Auschwitz death camp as hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews and others were gassed to death there.

Reinhold Hanning seemed in good condition for his age, walking into the court in the city of Detmold without even the help of a cane and appearing to listen attentively as the indictment against him was read aloud.

No pleas are entered in the German system. Hanning, who ran a local dairy after the war until he retired in 1984, declined to give an opening statement to the court. He showed no reaction as the first witness, Leon Schwarzbaum, a 94-yearold Auschwitz survivor, read moving testimony about his own experiences, then looked directly at Hanning and made an emotional plea.

“Mr. Hanning, we are about the same age and we will both soon be before the highest court,” Schwarzbaum said, his voice quavering and hands trembling. “Speak here about what you and your comrades did!”

The trial is one of four expected this year against two other former SS men and one woman alleged to have served in Auschwitz. The 11th-hour prosecutions come after a new precedent was set in 2011, when former Ohio autoworker John Demjanjuk became the first person to be convicted in Germany solely for serving as a death camp guard, with no evidence of involvement in a specific killing.

Prosecutors successfully argued in the Demjanjuk case that simply serving in a death camp, and thus helping it operate, was enough to convict someone of accessory to the murders committed there.

Although Demjanjuk always denied serving at the death camp and died before his appeal could be heard, prosecutors last year successfully convicted SS

94-year-old former SS guard at the Auschwitz death camp Reinhold Hanning, center, leaves the building after the opening of his trial in Detmold, Germany, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016. Hanning faces trial for 170,000 counts of accessory to murder, the first of up to four cases being brought to court this year in an 11th-hour push by German prosecutors to punish Nazi war crimes.

(Bernd Thissen/Pool Photo via AP)

sergeant Oskar Groening, who served in Auschwitz, on 300,000 counts of accessory to murder using the same reasoning.

Hanning admitted to investigators when first questioned that he had served in the Auschwitz I part of

the camp in Nazi-occupied Poland, but denied serving at the Auschwitz II-Birkenau section, where most of the 1.1 million victims were killed.

As the trial opened, however, his attorneys filed a motion asking to exclude

that statement, saying that Hanning had been “surprised” when authorities showed up at his house and wasn’t fully aware he was under investigation.

It wasn’t clear when the judges would rule on the motion. q

Iranians rally to celebrate anniversary of 1979 revolution TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranians held nationwide celebrations Thursday to commemorate the anniversary of the 1979 revolution that ousted a pro-Western monarchy and brought Islamists to power, with some making a point of taunting the U.S. despite Iran’s landmark nuclear deal with world powers.

State television aired footage of rallies in Tehran and other cities and towns across the country, many of them in frigid winter weather conditions.

As in years past, demonstrators chanted slogans against the U.S. and Israel, and the streets in many cities were decorated with anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli banners and posters.

Many top officials appeared at the rallies, including President Hassan Rouhani. The moderate president described Iran as a peace-seeking nation working toward “stability in the region and the world.”

He urged Iranians to vote in Feb. 26 parliamentary elections, a showdown be-

tween his supporters and hardliners.

Qassem Soleimani, chief of the Quds Forces of the elite Revolutionary Guard, also showed up. His presence was notable because it followed rumors months ago that he had been seriously wounded in the civil war in Syria, where he has been repeatedly dispatched to help forces loyal to embattled President Bashar Assad.

While shying away from the spotlight, Soleimani has become a folk hero in Iran over his exploits in both Syr-

ia and Iraq. Earlier this week another purportedly recent picture of him appeared in Iranian media showing him standing next to an Iranian movie director.

Some protesters Thursday made a point of taunting the United States. At one rally, a group of demonstrators reconstructed a scene from last month of 10 American sailors kneeling in Iranian custody. The sailors were captured after two of their boats mistakenly entered Iranian territorial waters; they were released the

next day.

Others burned an American flag. Authorities also displayed an array of weaponry and military hardware, including the Emad long-range ballistic surface-to-surface missile and a version of the Shahed drone which flew over a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf last month.

The rallies commemorate Feb. 11, 1979, when followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ousted U.S.backed Shah Reza Pahlavi. q

A10 WORLD

Friday 12 February 2016

NEWS

North Korea orders military takeover of inter-Korean factories

South Korean vehicles returning from North Korea’s joint Kaesong Industrial Complex pass the customs, immigration and quarantine office near the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016. North Korea on Thursday ordered a military takeover of the factory park that was the last major symbol of cooperation with South Korea, saying Seoul’s suspension of operations at the jointly run facility was a “dangerous declaration of war.”

(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

AHN YOUNG-JOON Associated Press PAJU, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Thursday ordered a military takeover of a factory park that had been the last major sym-

bol of cooperation with South Korea, calling Seoul’s earlier suspension of operations at the jointly run facility as punishment for the North’s recent rocket launch a “dangerous dec-

laration of war.”

North Korea said it was responding to Seoul’s shutdown order by immediately deporting the hundreds of South Koreans who work at the complex just across

the world’s most heavily armed border in the city of Kaesong, pulling out the tens of thousands of North Korean employees and freezing all South Korean assets. The North also said it was shutting down two crucial cross-border communication hotlines.

Hours after a deadline set

by North Korea passed, South Korea’s government said all of the 280 South Korean workers who had been at the facility had finally returned to the South.

Their departure quashed concerns that some might be held hostage, and lowered the chances that the standoff might lead to violence or miscalculations.

Tensions have risen since North Korea’s nuclear test last month, followed by its long-range rocket launch on Sunday that outsiders see as a banned test of ballistic missile technology.

South Korea responded Thursday by beginning work to suspend operations at the factory park, one of its harshest possible punishment options.

South Korea said it would

ban reporters from the border crossing on Friday.

“I was told not to bring anything but personal goods, so I’ve got nothing but my clothes to take back,” a manager at a South Korean apparel company at the complex, who declined to give his name, told The Associated Press by phone before he crossed to the South. Chang Beom Kang, who has been running an apparel company in Kaesong since 2009, said from South Koreathat his company has about 920 North Korean workers — who didn’t show up on Thursday — and seven South Korean managers at Kaesong.

He said one of his workers, who entered Kaesong earlier Thursday, was about to cross the border to return to South Korea with thousands of women’s clothes produced at the factory. But at the last minute the employee had to drive back to the factory to unload the clothes because of North Korea’s announcement that it would freeze all South Korean assets there.q

Hong Kong activists face riot charges after holiday protest HONG KONG (AP) — Several dozen people appeared in a Hong Kong court Thursday to face rioting charges following a violent clash earlier this week between protesters and police sparked by a clampdown on holiday street food vendors.

Hong Kong police and local media reports said 37 people were attending court in Kowloon, each facing one count of taking part in a riot, a rarely used charge that carries a maxi-

mum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Defendants were given bail and their cases adjourned until April, the reports said.

A 15-year-old appeared separately at a juvenile court to face the same charge, local channel Cable TV reported.

Police arrested a total of 64 people after the street battle, which erupted late Monday in densely populated Mong Kok and lasted until dawn Tuesday.

Activists were angered by

authorities’ attempts to crack down on food hawkers selling fishballs and other local delicacies for the Lunar New Year holiday.

The unlicensed vendors are a local holiday tradition but attempts this year by authorities to remove them stoked concerns that Hong Kong’s local culture is disappearing as Beijing tightens its hold on the semiautonomous Chinese city.

In a statement reported late Thursday by the official Xinhua News Agency,

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the riot was plotted largely by a local radical separatist organization. The report did not elaborate.

Protesters pelted police with bricks and glass bottles and set fires on the street.

Officers responded with batons and pepper spray.

One officer fired two warning shots into the air, a highly unusual act in Hong Kong, which otherwise has a reputation for being extremely safe. Nearly 90 of-

ficers and four reporters were injured.

It was the worst violence in Hong Kong since late 2014, when the city was rocked by pro-democracy protests that left a widening trust gap between the public and the city’s Beijingbacked leader.

Police said 16 other people, including one as young as 14, were released on bail as they continue to investigate. They said another 10 are being held for “for further enquiries.”q

WORLD NEWS A11

Friday 12 February 2016

Brazil, Texas state hospital reach deal on Zika vaccine

JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil has signed an agreement with a Texas research hospital to develop a vaccine against the Zika virus, the country’s health minister said Thursday, adding the goal is for the vaccine to be ready for clinical testing within 12 months.

Minister Marcelo Castro said at a news conference that the government will invest $1.9 million in the research, which will be jointly conducted by the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and the Evandro Chagas Institute in the Amazonian city of Belem — two facilities specializing in study of mosquito viruses.

He said the Health Ministry also has reached vaccine partnerships with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is looking to work with pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline because of its role developing a vaccine against Ebola after a deadly outbreak in West Africa in 2014.

Brazil’s Zika outbreak has become a public health crisis since researchers here linked the mosquito-borne virus to a surge in a rare birth defects compromising infants’ brains. The connection has yet to be scientifically proven, but the CDC has pointed to strong evidence of a link between the two and called on pregnant women to avoid travel to 26 countries and territories in the Americas with active outbreaks.

Brazilian officials have previously said any vaccine for Zika could take as many as five years but Castro on Thursday said he was more optimistic, saying that it could be ready for distribution within three years.

As part of a stream of for-

eign researchers and regulators arriving to the South American nation in the coming days, representatives from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will meet with their Brazilian counterparts to ensure that clinical testing of the vaccine can take place as quickly and smoothly as possible.

“This isn’t just Brazil’s concern; it’s the world’s concern,” he said.

While Castro said the government’s main focus now is on quickly developing a vaccine, reports about the virus’ evolution continue to emerge.

Castro said doctors had been perplexed by the death, which occurred before the Zika outbreak had been discovered and was originally classified as a result of pneumonia. But test results made known this week confirmed traces of Zika in the woman’s blood.

“We’re still studying this in greater detail,” Castro said, cautioning that it’s impossible to know what role, if any, Zika caused in her death that the death, which was reported to the WHO. Castro said World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan is expected to visit Brazil on Feb. 23 to help coordinate the government’s response with other agencies around the world. An initial delegation of 15 researchers from the CDC was slated to arrive in Brazil on Friday, he added.

In a separate news conference, Defense Minister Aldo Rebelo said some 220,000 members of Brazil’s Armed Forces would be taking part in a nationwide effort on Saturday to educate the population on how to eliminate mosquito breeding in and around their homes.q

Brazilian Army soldiers distribute flyers with information on how to combat the Aedes aegypti in Olinda, Pernambuco state, Brazil. Brazil has signed an agreement with a Texas research hospital to develop a vaccine against the Zika virus, the country’s health minister said Thursday.

(AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

A12 WORLD

Friday 12 February 2016

NEWS

49 dead, 12 injured in brutal Mexican prison riot PORFIRIO IBARRA MARK STEVENSON Associated Press MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — A brawl between rival drug gangs at an overcrowded penitentiary in northern Mexico turned into a riot Thursday, leav-

Rodriguez said in the morning that 52 had died, but he lowered that by three in the late afternoon. The reason for the changed death toll was not clear.

At a news conference the governor read a list of 40 names of confirmed vic-

sending flames and smoke billowing into the sky. Rescue workers were seen carrying injured inmates — some with burns — from the facility.

Rodriguez said the clash was between two factions led by a member of the in-

Police stand guard at the entrance of the Topo Chico prison, where a riot broke out just around midnight, in Monterrey, Mexico, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016. Dozens of inmates were killed and several injured in a brutal fight between two rival factions at the prison in northern Mexico, the state governor said.

(AP Photo/Emilio Vazquez)

ing 49 inmates dead and 12 injured in the country’s deadliest prison melee in years. The riot took place on the eve of Pope Francis’ arrival in Mexico, a visit that is scheduled to include a trip next week to another prison in the border city of Ciudad Juarez.

tims, saying five of the remaining bodies had been charred by fire and four were yet to be positively identified. One of the injured was in grave condition.

The fighting began around midnight with prisoners setting fire to a storage area,

famous Zetas drug cartel, Juan Pedro Zaldivar Farias, also known as “Z-27,” and Jorge Ivan Hernandez Cantu, who has been identified by Mexican media as a Gulf cartel figure.

A turf war between the gangs bloodied Nuevo Leon state and neighbor-

ing Tamaulipas between 2010 and 2012. The Zetas once nearly controlled the area around Monterrey.

Zaldivar Farias was a suspect in the 2010 killing of American David Hartley on Falcon Lake, which makes up part of the border between Mexico and Texas.

Hartley was reportedly gunned down while touring the reservoir with his wife on jet skis.

A crowd of people bundled against the cold gathered at the prison gates, demanding to be let in to learn the fate of their relatives. Some kicked and shook the gates as riot police with plastic shields kept the crowd out.

“They haven’t told us anything,” said Ernestina, who identified herself as the mother of an inmate but declined to give her full name for fear of reprisal. “They said that until there is order, they won’t let us in. Everything is in disorder, and nobody is telling us anything.”

Authorities were reinforcing security at other prisons and had transferred some inmates out of Topo Chico, Rodriguez said in an interview with Milenio Television.

The deadliest prison riot in recent memory also occurred in Nuevo Leon, in February 2012, when Zetas gangsters killed 44 Gulf cartel members at the overcrowded Apodaca federal lockup. q

Church talks help make Cuba ‘perfect’ for negotiations A. RODRIGUEZ M. WEISSENSTEIN Associated Press HAVANA (AP) — The heads of the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches will hold a historic meeting Friday in the threadbare international airport of an officially secular, communistrun tropical island.

Odd as the location seems, Pope Francis’ and Patriarch Kirill’s attempt to reconcile their churches after centuries of estrangement will set the tone for a year of peacemaking in Cuba, a nation trying to shed its historic role as international socialist provocateur.

In addition to the meeting of the church leaders, Cuban President Raul Castro is expected to welcome President Barack Obama to Havana as early as this spring to celebrate the detente the two men declared at the end of 2014, ending a half-century of hostility. And four years of talks in Cuba between Colombia’s government and its main rebel group appear set to produce an accord ending the Western Hemisphere’s longestrunning conflict, perhaps as early as mid-year.

If all goes as planned, 2016 could cement Castro’s

construction of a foreign policy legacy markedly different from that of his brother Fidel, who oversaw five decades of tension with the United States, dispatching Cuban troops and advisers to Africa, Asia and Central and South America, and offering safe haven to antiWestern fighters from conflicts around the world.

“Cuba has been transformed from a revolutionary actor, isolated from other states in the Western Hemisphere with the exception of Mexico and Canada,” said Arturo Lopez-Levy, a Cuban-trained professor at the University

of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. “The country has come to be seen as a country in transformation, part of the modern-day international system.”

Kirill is traveling through Latin America, visiting national leaders and the region’s small Russian Orthodox communities. Francis is stopping briefly in Cuba for the second time in less than a year on his way to a tour of Mexico.

The meeting of the men in Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport is expected to focus almost entirely on the issue of religious reconciliation. q

Puerto Rico pushes tax incentives for wealthy amid crisis DANICA COTO Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s government is trying to convince hundreds of wealthy investors to move to the U.S. territory, hoping they could help lift it out of a deepening economic crisis.

Officials hosted a meeting for investors on Thursday to promote local tax incentives aimed at luring the wealthy. Speakers include former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and New York hedge fund billionaire John Paulson, who recently bought several upscale resorts in Puerto Rico as the island struggles to emerge from a nine-year economic slump.But critics question whether the amount of jobs created and real estate bought has been enough to boost the economy. And some investors at the meeting made clear their interests don’t always overlap with those of the territory’s government — especially efforts to win congressional approval to let it restructure part of its $72 billion public debt.

“It is a terrible idea. It will chase consumer confidence to zero,” said Nader Tavakoli, CEO and president of Ambac, which holds millions of dollars in Puerto Rico debt and recently filed a lawsuit against the island’s government over how it shifted funds to meet certain bond payments amid a cash crunch.

Tavakoli, who was on stage as a speaker, said it was surreal to be talking about bankruptcy while at a meeting for investors.

He also demanded to see Puerto Rico’s audited financial statements, echoing demands made by Republican lawmakers as they prepare to introduce legislation to address the island’s crisis by next month.

Puerto Rico’s governor was quick to assure investors that the government is working hard to resolve its crisis and he stressed the need for a restructuring mechanism. q

LOCAL A13

Friday 12 February 2016

Real Island Life: Notes From A Day On Aruba!

PALM BEACH - First of all, I like to welcome you to my island in the sun. Aruba’s weather is always so predictable (hot and windy) and that might be the main

a few more days at home when you start realizing how beautiful our island really is.

So I took some time to “smell the ocean breeze”......

I truly think that all locals

with anything you like to drink cold, and start driving. Of course you can get in an air-conditioned car, but also nice for the experience are the open-air

reason you decided to come visit us. Of course besides the sun there is much more like: beaches, restaurants, shopping, gambling, activities and more.

Talking about all those fun things to do here, if you live on the island full time, and work every day, you might forget that we truly live in a paradise.

Of course on your off day you might go swimming or drive around but it is after

should do so, once in a while, to appreciate where we live and what we have.� Enjoy breakfast outside in your patio or yard. Breathe in and out.... Let it sink in a little.

No rush and no hurry. Take time to enjoy your fresh squeezed lemon juice from your backyard trees with a fish omelet (left over’s from last night’s incredible catch of the day).

Grab an ice cooler, fill it up

jeeps. In that case all you need is to protect yourself with sun block because our sun is really strong-I recommend Aruba Aloe brand!

Packed with a towel and the ice cooler I started driving along the coast line.

Never realized how many different shades of blue really exist in the ocean. I counted at least 9 different types of blues-just like you see in famous movies like the “blue lagoon”.

First stop was the famous Charlie’s Bar in San Nicolaas Main Street. Generation after generation of Charlie’s have been running this cozy place, where you can spend hours looking around and identifying all the things visiting tourists have left behind to personalize the bar, like baseball caps, business cards, license plates and of course weird kind of souvenirs. Go check it out yourself.....

Up to Baby Beach and Rogers beach.

These are the places locals go. This is where we teach our kids to swim. Calm and shallow waters, lots of space to lie out and catch some sun. If you pick a spot close to the Snack Container where they sell burger and refreshments you can enjoy 24-7 “golden oldies”.

Music you grew up with......

After a few hours of “veg-

ging” on the beach staring at the turquoise ocean and listening to the birds that fly by and walk around it is time to get some food.

Zeerovers in Savaneta is the place to go. Simple, clean and oh so good!

The freshest fish on the island, brought in directly by our local fisherman. You order by the piece and or pound and as little or as much as you want. The price for fish and chips is so good that you for sure would ask: “is that all”?

No fancy dinner ware, just plain easy simple plastic but I promise you that you will be licking your fingers while enjoying a few drinks and the best sunset on the island, island style........

You see now that a day in Aruba can fly by as long as you have fun enjoy every moment of it.

Yes, you are in PARADISE!!!q

A14 LOCAL

Friday 12 February 2016

Pizzolato Family Honored at the Divi Village Beach Resort DRUIF BEACH - Recently Mr. Victor and Mrs. Julie Pizzolato were honored as Goodwill Ambassadors for the island of Aruba after visiting for more than 20 years consecutive.

The symbolic honorary title is presented in the name of the Minister of Tourism as a token of appreciation to guests who visit Aruba for between 20-and-34 years consecutive.

Julie commented that she will never change her vacation island for any other island! The top reasons for returning provided by the honorees were they consider Aruba to be the “Happy Island”, the great weather, the friendly Aruban hospitality, the white sand beaches and the lo-

cal food.

The certificates were presented by Mr. Ricardo Croes representing the

Aruba Tourism Authority, together with their daughter Christine, and also Mr. Griffith and Gloria from the Divi Village.q

A16 LOCAL

Friday 12 February 2016

Loyal Visitors Honored by the Aruba Tourism Authority

EAGLE BEACH - Recently the Aruba Tourism Authority had the great pleasure of honoring a group of loyal and friendly visitors of Aruba at the Renaissance Ocean Suites, Tropi-

cana Beach Resort and Caribbean Palm Village as Distinguished Visitors and Goodwill Ambassadors.

The symbolic honorary titles are presented in the name of the Minister of Tourism as

tokens of appreciation to guests who visit Aruba for 10-to-19 and 20-to-34 consecutive years.

The honorees for Distinguished Visitor were Mr. Richard and Mrs. Linda Katz and Mr. Sheldon and Mrs. Wendy Katz from Massachusetts. The honorees for Goodwill Ambassador were Ms. Deanna Zazulka, Ms. Connie Anne Benson, Mr. Larry Franco, and Mr. Phil and Mrs. Donna Bova of Cleveland, Ohio.

All of the honorees are loyal members of their respective resorts and they love Aruba very much because of the friendly people, the weather, the beaches, the restaurants, the Casinos, and just about everything else! They say being on the island is like being in paradise, that the people are like family to them, and that Aruba is truly their ‘home-away-from-home.’

The certificates were presented by Mr. Jonathan Boekhoudt representing the Aruba Tourism Authority, together with friends and associates from the Renaissance Ocean Suites, Tropicana Beach Resort and Caribbean Palm Village.

Congratulations to all!

SPORTS A17

Friday 12 February 2016

NASCAR creates ‘OT line’ in new rules finish DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (AP) — Aiming to end the frustration and confusion when caution flags come out late in its races, NASCAR has announced it is shifting to an unlimited green-white-checkered finish protocol and establishing an “overtime line” to determine the winner.

The line will vary by track.

If the race leader passes the line on the first lap under green before a caution comes out, it will be considered a valid greenwhite-checkered attempt.

If a caution comes out before the leader passes the overtime line on the first lap under green, it will not be a valid attempt. The race continues until a valid attempt.

NASCAR previously had a limit of three tries to complete the race.

NASCAR hopes the change will eliminate some of the angst that has come when late cautions. At Talladega Superspeedway last year, Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t get a chance to challenge leader Joey Logano into the first turn because the race was called after a multi-car wreck behind them. The second-place finish caused Earnhardt to be eliminated from the Chase.

“Let’s line them up and turn them loose, give them a chance to race through at least the first couple of turns and halfway down the backstretch before it’s an official race finish,” Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage said.

Continued on Next Page

LAST HURRAH

Cavs top Lakers in Kobe’s final visit Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James, left, drives around Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant in the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016, in Cleveland. The Cavaliers won 120-111.

Associated Press Page 21

A18 SPORTS

Friday 12 February 2016

NASCAR Continued on Next Page

In this Sept. 26, 2015, file photo, Ryan Blaney adjusts his cap after winning the NASCAR Xfinity series auto race at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky. Associated Press

“And if they can’t get that far before the yellow comes out, let’s line them up again and again and again until it’s a clean run.”

NASCAR also officially announced Thursday that the Sprint Cup field will be reduced to 40 drivers from 43 because of its new charter model that guarantees a spot in the field for 36 cars.

It also detailed plans for Daytona 500 qualifying: — The 36 teams with a charter earn an automatic

spot in the field. — There will be four open spots up for grabs.

— The highest-finishing noncharter teams in the two duel races will earn a spot in the Daytona 500 field.

— The other two open spots will be determined by

pole qualifying. — Qualifying sets the front row for the Daytona 500 and the starting lineup for the duel races. — If weather wipes out qualifying and the duel races, combined practice speeds will determine the four non-charter teams.q

Kramer wins 10,000m at world skating championships

Sven Kramer, of the Netherlands, competes to win the men’s 10000 meter race of the speedskating single distance World Championships in Kolomna, Russia, on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016.

Associated Press

KOLOMNA, Russia (AP) — Dutch speedskater Sven Kramer stormed to victory in the 10,000 meters as the world single distance championships opened in Russia.

Kramer set a time of 12 minutes, 56.77 seconds to win by almost three seconds Thursday over Canada’s Ted-Jan Bloemen, the world record-holder who finished in 12:59.69.

Bronze went to a second Dutch skater, Erik Jan Kooiman, who was 5.38 seconds off Kramer’s time.

It is Kramer’s 16th career gold medal at the championships but the first in the 10,000m since 2009 for

the Dutch skater, widely regarded as among the sport’s all-time greats.

Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic narrowly retained her title in the women’s 3,000m with a victory over longtime rival Ireen Wust of The Netherlands.

Sablikova won in 4:03.05, just 0.08 seconds ahead of Wust, whose Dutch teammate Antoinette de Jong took bronze in 4:04.25.

The championships run through Sunday in Kolomna, near Moscow. Friday features the women’s 1,000m and 5,000m events plus the men’s 1,500m and team pursuit.q

SPORTS A19

Friday 12 February 2016

Peyton Manning has a little fun NEW YORK (AP) — Peyton Manning had a little fun with little brother Eli’s sad face at the Super Bowl during an appearance on NBC’s “Tonight Show.”

Peyton said he understood why Eli wasn’t elated like other relatives in the luxury suite at Levi’s Stadium who were jumping and celebrating after Denver’s late touchdown sealed the Broncos’ 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers.

He said Eli had his game face on.

“Eli and I have always supported each other. I think Eli was analyzing the game and kind of into the game like I would be as if he were playing it. And so he was just as happy,” Peyton told host Jimmy Fallon during the show that aired Wednesday night.

Then, he and Fallon quickly pivoted to a bit where they

spoke to a life-sized cutout of Eli, the New York Giants quarterback who won two Super Bowl rings himself.

“It’s funny, when I saw that clip, Jimmy, I’ve seen that look before. I’ve recognized it. At other big moments in my life he kind of had that similar expression,” Peyton said.

“I can remember 18 years ago, calling the night before the draft and said: ‘Eli, guess what? The Colts are going to draft me No. 1 in the NFL draft tomorrow.’”

The camera showed cardboard Eli’s expressionless face.

“Eli, I got us front-row tickets to see Adele!” Fallon chimed in as the audience roared.

“I remember almost five years ago: ‘Eli, Ashley and I are expecting twins. You’re going to be an uncle,’” Peyton said.

In this May 4, 2014, file photo, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, right, points out something in the stadium to his brother, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, from New York Yankees’ Derek Jeter’s suite during a baseball game between the Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium in New York.

Associated Press

“And then like four years ago coming off this (series of neck fusion surgeries), I was like: ‘Eli, guess what,

my neck has finally healed.

I’m going to play football again.’”

Fallon finished the bit by

saying: “All those big moments in your life, he’s always there for you. That’s what a brother is for.”q

20 SPORTS

Friday 12 February 2016

NHL Capsules

Lundqvist stops 34 shots, Rangers blank Penguins 3-0 Arizona Coyotes’ Louis Domingue, left, makes a diving save on a shot by Vancouver Canucks’ Henrik Sedin, right, of Sweden, during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz.

Associated Press

The Associated Press PITTSBURGH (AP) — Henrik Lundqvist stopped 34 shots for his third shutout of the season and 58th of his career, leading the New York Rangers past the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 on Wednesday night. Lundqvist, who recorded his 27th win of the season, passed Martin Brodeur for most wins by a goaltender in his first 11 NHL seasons. Kevin Hayes, Dominic Moore and Jesper Fast scored for the Rangers, who won their fourth straight, and fifth in six games.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who didn’t record a shot in the first two periods, failed to extend a career-high seven-game goal-scoring streak. Pittsburgh’s six-game home win streak ended.

RED WINGS 3, SENATORS 1 DETROIT (AP) — Danny DeKeyser and Henrik Zetterberg scored early in the first and third periods to help the Detroit Red Wings beat the Ottawa Senators and spoil Dion Phaneuf’s debut

with his new team.

Petr Mrazek stopped 22 shots and his bid for a second straight shutout ended with 2:24 left when Zach Smith scored.

Darren Helm restored Detroit’s two-goal lead with an empty-net goal about a minute later. Phaneuf was acquired Tuesday in a nine-player trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

CANUCKS 2, COYOTES 1 GLENDALE, Arizona (AP) — Ryan Miller stopped 34 shots to end a five-game losing streak and extend his dominance over Arizona, lifting Vancouver past the Coyotes.

Jake Virtanen scored in the first period and Jannik Hansen had his 16th of the season on a double carom off two Coyotes players in the second. Miller improved to 9-1 against Arizona, including 6-0 in Glendale.

Martin Hanzal scored a power-play goal and Louis Domingue stopped 24 shots for the Coyotes. They have lost five straight and nine of 11.q

SPORTS A21

Friday 12 February 2016

NBA Capsules

Kobe, LeBron share court as Cavaliers beat Lakers 120-111 The Associated Press CLEVELAND (AP) — Kobe Bryant’s final game in Cleveland was reduced to a sideshow when Cavaliers forward Kevin Love re-injured his surgically repaired left shoulder in the first half of a 120-111 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.

Kyrie Irving scored a season-high 35 points and LeBron James 29 for the Cavs, who head into the All-Star break with one of their “Big 3” injured.

Love quickly left the floor late in the second quarter after he got hurt while working in the post against Bryant. He did not return in the second half, and the Cavs did not provide any specifics about his injury.

Bryant finished with 17 points in his last performance in Cleveland. Lou Williams scored 28 to lead the Lakers, who have dropped 13 of 15.

WARRIORS 112, SUNS 104 PHOENIX (AP) — Stephen Curry nearly had a tripledouble before sitting out the fourth quarter, and Golden State stormed into the All-Star break on an 11game winning streak with a victory over free-falling Phoenix.

Curry had 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for the defending NBA champions. At 48-4, the Warriors have the best record through 52 games in NBA history, one win better than the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls and 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers. Those Bulls finished the season with a leaguerecord 72 wins.

Klay Thompson added 24 points for Golden State.

Archie Goodwin scored 20 and Markieff Morris 19 for the Suns, who have lost nine straight and 24 of 26.

Rookie guard Devin Booker added 15 points and a career-best 10 assists.

TRAIL BLAZERS 116, ROCKETS 103 PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) — Damian Lillard sparked a second-quarter outburst for Portland and finished with

31 points and nine assists in a win over Houston.

Maurice Harkless set season highs with 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who moved past Houston into a tie with Utah for seventh place in the Western Conference standings. They enter the All-Star break having won three in a row and eight of nine.

James Harden had 34 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds for the Rockets, who have dropped three straight and six of eight to fall out of playoff position.

Dwight Howard dominated the paint with 28 points and 13 rebounds.

SPURS 98, MAGIC 96 ORLANDO, Florida (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points and drilled a jumper from the tip of the key with 0.9 on the clock to lift San Antonio to a win over Orlando.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and Patty Mills added 17 points and seven assists for the Spurs, who won their fourth straight game.

Evan Fournier, whose 3-pointer tied the game with 13.3 seconds left, led Orlando with 28 points.

Nikola Vucevic had 20 points and 13 rebounds, Victor Oladipo scored 14 and Elfrid Payton had 13 points and seven assists.

Payton missed an open layup at the buzzer that could have tied it.

KINGS 114, 76ERS 110 PHILADELPHIA (AP) — DeMarcus Cousins had 28 points and 12 rebounds, and Darren Collison scored 21 of his 25 points after halftime to lead Sacramento to a comeback victory.

Rajon Rondo added 14 points, eight rebounds and 15 assists for the Kings, who snapped a four-game losing streak overall and sixgame skid on the road while winning for just the second time in their last 10. It also allowed Sacramento to enter the break on a positive note following a tumultuous week that included rumors of the impending dismissal of coach

George Karl.

Rookie Jahlil Okafor tied his career high with 26 points to go with 10 rebounds, and Robert Covington scored a career-high 29 points for the 76ers, who played without top big man Nerlens Noel.

CELTICS 139, CLIPPERS 134, OT BOSTON (AP) — Isaiah Thomas had 36 points and 11 assists, including a fadeaway jumper that sent the game to an extra period, to help Boston overtake Los Angeles in overtime.

Jared Sullinger added 21 points and 11 rebounds.

Jae Crowder finished with 19 points, and Avery Bradley added 18 points as the Celtics won their eighth straight at home.

Boston played the second half without big man Kelly Olynyk. He left late in the first half with a bruised right shoulder.

The Clippers led by five late in regulation, but went without a field goal for more than three minutes.

Chris Paul led the Clippers with 35 points and 13 assists. J.J. Redick added 27 points and DeAndre Jordan finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds.

HAWKS 113, BULLS 90 CHICAGO (AP) — Jeff Teague had 17 points and eight assists, Al Horford scored 16 and Atlanta routed struggling Chicago.

Dennis Schroder had 18 points and hit three of his team’s 13 3-pointers. Paul Millsap scored 15, and the Southeast Division leaders headed into the All-Star break on a winning note after back-to-back losses to last-place Orlando.

The Hawks led by five at halftime and broke it open in the third quarter, sending the sloppy Bulls to their fourth straight loss and 13th in 18 games.

Pau Gasol had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Chicago after being selected Tuesday to his sixth All-Star team as a replacement for injured Bulls teammate Jimmy Butler.q

A22

Friday 12 February 2016

SPORTS

U.S. opens Olympic qualifying with 5-0 victory FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The U.S. women’s opening set piece finally paid off.

Alex Morgan scored off it 12 seconds in and added another goal in the 62nd minute and the U.S. opened CONCACAF qualifying for the Rio Olympics with a 5-0 victory over Costa Rica on Wednesday night.

Morgan’s goal was the fastest in CONCACAF Olympic qualifying history, and the team said it is believed to be the fastest in U.S. history. It came on a designed play that the team uses off most opening kickoffs.

“We always see it coming,” Morgan said. “It always starts off right, then something goes wrong.

This time, nothing went wrong.”

The match was the Americans’ first competitive game since winning the World Cup. They have won three straight Olympic titles and four of the five in women’s soccer.

The U.S. roster features only

Costa Rica midfielder Cristin Granados (15) gives chase as United States midfielder Carli Lloyd (10) controls the ball during the second half of a CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament soccer match Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016, in Frisco, Texas. The United States won 5-0.

Associated Press

13 of the 20 players who were on the World Cup team. Christie Rampone and Megan Rapinoe are injured, and Amy Rodriguez and Sydney Leroux

are pregnant and will miss the Olympics.

Carli Lloyd and Crystal Dunn also scored first-half goals, and substitute Christen Press scored in the 83rd

minute.

“For me, it’s almost a perfect start,” U.S. coach Jill Ellis said. “We were able to check off a lot of boxes.”

In Wednesday’s other

Wozniacki beaten

by Cibulkova in St. Petersburg ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Caroline Wozniacki was knocked out of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy by Dominika Cibulkova 6-4, 7-5 after a heated dispute with the umpire over a mistaken call.

Wozniacki was 5-3 down in the second set when a Cibulkova shot was wrongly called out.

Umpire Emmanuel Joseph overruled the call and awarded the point to Cibulkova instead of replaying it even though Wozniacki had clearly returned the ball in court Thursday.

That prompted a lengthy dispute between the Danish player and the umpire. Despite not getting the point, the controversy seemed to fire up Wozniacki, who saved four match points and broke

Cibulkova’s serve before Cibulkova eventually closed out the match in straight sets.

“I was aggressive. Even if I did some mistakes I was really confident. It was the only way I could beat her,” Cibulkova, of Slovakia, said in televised comments. “I’m happy with the way I stayed really tough mentally.”Cibulkova, the Australian Open losing finalist in 2014, next plays Darya Kasatkina in the quarterfinal after the 18-year-old Russian beat Laura Siegemund of Germany 6-3, 6-4.

Top-seeded Belinda Bencic overcame serving issues earlier in the day to defeat Annika Beck of Germany 7-6 (3), 6-3.

Bencic was broken four times in a chaotic first set in which she recorded six

Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia returns the ball to Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark during the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy-2016 tennis tournament match in St.Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016.

Associated Press

double faults, including one on break point that allowed Beck to serve for the set at 6-5. However, the Swiss recovered to break Beck and dominate both the resulting tiebreak and second set.

“I had some trouble in the start and I think the court was very slow,” the 18-yearold Bencic said in televised comments. “My timing was

a little bit off.”

Bencic, who had a firstround bye, next plays a quarterfinal against fifthseeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, who won 6-1, 7-5 against Carina Witthoeft of Germany.

Earlier, Hungary’s Timea Babos defeated ninth-seeded Monica Niculescu of Romania 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 in her second-round match.q

Group A opener at Toyota Stadium, Maribel Dominguez scored a hat trick as Mexico routed Puerto Rico 6-0.

Morgan’s first goal was a right-footed volley to the left of goalkeeper Dinnia Diaz from about 13 yards out while being tightly marked on her left side.

Lloyd assisted with a jumping header after collecting a long cross lofted in

by Lindsey Horan from beyond midfield seconds after the opening kickoff.

Costa Rica coach Amelia Valverde said through an interpreter that her team was prepared for a U.S. attack right off the opening kick yet couldn’t prevent the early goal. That disrupted not only the defense, Valverde said, but the whole team.

Morgan’s second-half goal, her 59th career score, was a header just inside the 6-yard box off a chipped cross from Lloyd.

Lloyd noted her on-field teaming with Morgan is different from what Morgan shared with recently retired star Abby Wambach. But this pairing is getting better with familiarity, she said.

“What she does great is get in behind the back line,” Lloyd said of Morgan. “Tonight was great. We had a good connection.”

Lloyd’s goal came on a penalty kick after Dunn was tripped just inside the 18-yard box. It was her 83rd career score and 20th in her last 15 matches. She nearly scored again in the 59th minute on a pointblank header right at Diaz.

Dunn scored her fifth career goal in the 15th minute, standing at the goal line as she followed her own saved shot.

U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo was never seriously challenged. She made two saves during the first half on long free kicks.

The United States has never lost a qualifying match and is 13-0 against Costa Rica.

The U.S. team will face Mexico on Saturday and close group play against Puerto Rico on Monday night.q

TECHNOLOGY A23

Friday 12 February 2016

Apple co-founder is bringing us an even nerdier ‘Comic Con’ MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak had a front row seat as the personal computer began to reshape society. So it made perfect sense to him to bring a convention meshing technology with pop culture to Silicon Valley.

The convergence will occur March 18-20 in San Jose, California, with the debut of Silicon Valley Comic Con. It’s a new twist on an idea that has brought together fans of science fiction, fantasy and superheroes at packed shows held around the world for years.

“I don’t like doing the same thing as everyone else,” Wozniak told The Associated Press Wednesday. So he teamed with four other partners to try something slightly different.

Throwing technology into the mix should ratchet up the nerd vibe that ripples through all Comic Cons.

A sold-out crowd of about 30,000 engineers, entrepreneurs and pop-culture connoisseurs is expected to swarm into the Silicon Valley event.

The agenda includes a panel devoted to the quantum realm and an “app alley” featuring products fromtechnology startups. The marquee attractions on the entertainment side include William Shatner from the original “Star Trek” and “Back To The Future” stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson.

Wozniak, 65, is confident the hybrid convention will be a hit.

“The emotions we have for technology now are the same as we get for movies, celebrities and the whole pop culture side of our lives,” he said.

That veneration of technology helped turn Wozniak’s late partner, Steve Jobs, into an icon — and his October 2011 death into a worldwide wake.

Wozniak himself has become better known through recent movies that retold the story of Jobs and Apple, as well as his guest

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is interviewed in San Francisco, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016. Wozniak is helping to create the inaugural Silicon Valley Comic Con, which will be held from March 18-20, 2016, in San Jose, Calif.

Associated Press

appearances on TV shows such as “Dancing With The Stars” and “The Big Bang Theory.” He now works at a Silicon Valley startup, Primary Data, and also spends about a third of the year on the road, mostly giving speeches and making other public appearances.

“Everyone I go in the world, people just say, ‘Thank you, thank you,’ even if they don’t happen to own an Apple product,” Wozniak said. “They are just saying thank you for being a part of it all and want to show their love.”

Silicon Valley Comic Con is the first major event that Wozniak has backed since the early 1980s. While on leave from Apple following an airplane crash, he financed the US Festivals, a pair of three-day concerts held in the southern California desert. The events, which featured top acts such as The Police, The Talking Heads, The Clash, David Bowie and Fleetwood Mac, drew massive crowds yet still managed to lose

about $26 million, according to Wozniak.

He said that won’t happen at Silicon Valley Comic Con, which has already sold enough tickets to turn a profit. Some tickets, which cost from $25 to $99, are still available, though a sold-out crowd of about 30,000 people is expected.

“Ever since starting Apple, I have had the mentality that you should make a profit,” Wozniak said. “That was Steve Jobs’ big role (at Apple). He believed you start a company to make a profit because that is the only way you are going to go on to build other great things.”

Jobs frowned upon Wozniak’s involvement in the US Festivals and probably wouldn’t have thought much of Silicon Valley Comic Con, according to Wozniak.

“He would have been at it in his very early days, but people change and personalities settle in,” Wozniak said. “He became more of the businessman taking the world forward with things

like the Apple computer.”

Although Apple hasn’t introduced another hit product since Jobs’ death, Wozniak doesn’t believe the company has lost the “innovation magic” that hatched the iPod, iPhone and iPad during the final decade of its late CEO’s tenure.

“Apple is in great shape to innovate for the next 200

years, just with their cash (totaling $216 billion),” he said. “That buys a lot of failure. One of the things about innovation is you have to risk failure.”

Wozniak is hoping Silicon Valley Comic Con inspires some of the engineers and other entrepreneurs in attendance to gamble on ideas that may seem a little kooky.q

Magazine publisher Time Inc. buys what’s left of MySpace TALI ARBEL AP Technology Writer NEW YORK (AP) — MySpace still exists?

It does, and the company that owns the once-ubiquitous social network is being bought by Time Inc. to help the magazine publisher target ads. Parent company, Viant, says it can give marketers access to more than 1.2 billion users. MySpace peaked in 2008 with some 76 million U.S. visitors before losing ground to Facebook.

News Corp. sold the com-

pany to Justin Timberlake and other investors in 2011 for $35 million. Today, it is an entertainment-focused site that plays music videos and songs.

Time Inc. will not say what it paid. The publisher of People, Sports Illustrated and Time was spun off from entertainment company Time Warner in 2014. The company is facing a decline in print ad dollars and it posted an $881 million loss last year.q

A24 BUSINESS

Friday 12 February 2016

Nokia says quarterly profit rose but cautions on outlook Associated Press HELSINKI (AP) — Nokia Corp. saw fourth-quarter profit grow more than 50 percent to 498 million euros ($560 million) on a slight increase in sales, but the telecom networks company cautioned it would face some “market headwinds,” especially in China.

The pared-down Finnish company, which sold off HERE mapping services in November after selling its handsets division,

said it can expect a challenging first quarter as the company prepares to establish itself as a leading global networks provider on the completion of its 15.6 billion-euro acquisition of ailing French company Alcatel-Lucent.

Analysts said the results were much as expected, although some markets had brought disappointments, pushing Nokia’s share price to close down 2 percent at 5.22 euros on the Helsinki

Stock Exchange. “Nokia is struggling to wrap up the Alcatel deal and the market for networks is pretty tough globally, so no major surprises there,” said Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics near London.

“This year will probably be pretty much the same as 2015, with some markets see-sawing from quarter to quarter.” Revenue grew 3 percent for continuing operations in the period, to 3.6 billion euros, with strong

growth in the technologies sector. Nokia said it booked a gain of $2.5 billion euros from the sale of its mapping services to leading auto companies, Audi, BMW and Daimler, completed in December and reported it as discontinued operations. CEO Rajeev Suri said the company was on track to compete the acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent with 91 percent of its share capital.

Describing 2015 as “another dramatic year of trans-

formation,” Suri said he was pleased to close the year with “solid performances” from both remaining units — networks and technologies. Networks, which accounts for 90 percent of total sales, grew 5 percent year-on-year to 3.2 billion euros in the quarter, while the technology unit, which controls the company’s vast portfolio of patents, saw sales jump 170 percent in the quarter to 403 million euros. q

PepsiCo’s revenue in North America climbs, helped by pricing CANDICE CHOI Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — PepsiCo said revenue for its North American snacks and drinks units rose in the fourth quarter, boosted by pricing. The maker of FritoLay chips and Tropicana juice has been retooling its product lineup and rethinking pricing to fetch more money from shoppers. The strategies include the introduction of new lines of Gatorade and Mountain Dew Dewshine, which comes in glass bottles that people might feel is worth a higher price. The focus on finding novel ways to extract more money from shoppers comes as major packaged food and beverage makers face slowing growth in saturated markets like the United States. Coca-Cola Co., for instance, has been pushing its mini-cans that are seen as more premium offerings, and even featured the 7.5-ounce can in its Super Bowl ad.

Pepsi bottles are on display at a supermarket in Haverhill, Mass. PepsiCo reported positive financial results Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016.

(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Both Coke and Pepsi are also slashing costs and investing more in marketing, which they say helps justify higher prices and drives sales.

For the typical 12-ounce

cans and 2-liter bottles of sodas, PepsiCo Inc. has also been trying to move away from the discounting that helped drive sales in the past. The change in strategy comes as Ameri-

cans continue moving away from traditional sodas.

During a call with analysts Thursday, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi noted that “there’s no point trying to

drop the pricing because it’s not going to drive additional demand.”

In its Frito-Lay unit, PepsiCo says it’s expanding its household reach even further with new bag sizes.

In September, Tom Greco, who heads Frito-Lay North America, said the company had recently introduced 8-ounce bags of Lays’, while trimming its lineup of 10-ounce bags. The smaller bags are intended to improve profit margins and address the growing number of people living in smaller households, Greco said. For the quarter ended Dec. 26, PepsiCo said its profit rose 31 percent to $1.72 billion, helped by cost cutting. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to $1.06 per share. That matched analyst expectations. Total revenue fell 7 percent to $18.59 billion, due to a hit from foreign exchange rates on international sales. q

Reynolds American 4Q profit jumps, but misses forecasts NEW YORK (AP) — Cigarette maker Reynolds American’s fourth-quarter profit shot up 89 percent compared to the final quarter of 2014, when earnings fell due to some onetime costs.

The parent of Camel and Pall Mall cigarette maker R.J. Reynolds said Thursday that it earned $279 million in the three months that ended Dec. 31. That’s up from $148 million a year ago

when it booked pension charges and other costs ahead of last year’s closing of its $25-billion takeover of Newport seller Lorillard Inc. Results adjusted for onetime items totaled 48 cents per share in the most recent quarter, and revenue jumped 43 percent to $3.05 billion, spurred in part by the Lorillard deal.

FactSet says analysts expected, on average, earn-

ings of 50 cents per share on $3.05 billion in revenue from the Winston Salem, North Carolina-based company.

Revenue from the company’s R.J. Reynolds segment jumped 51 percent to $2.52 billion, helped by the addition of the Newport brand. American Snuff sales climbed about 12 percent to $226 million.

Tobacco companies have

been focusing on cigarette alternatives such as snuff, chewing tobacco and electronic cigarettes as tax hikes, smoking bans, health concerns and social stigma make the cigarettebusiness tougher.

Reynolds American expects 2016 adjusted earnings to range between $2.25 and $2.35 per share.

Analysts are looking for $2.33 per share.

The company also said

Thursday that its board approved a nearly 17 percent increase in its quarterly cash dividend to 42 cents per share from 36 cents.

The new dividend will be payable on April 1 to shareholders of record on March 10.

Shares of Reynolds American Inc. slipped 24 cents to $47.22 in morning trading Thursday. Its shares are up 31 percent over the past year.q

BUSINESS A25 US stocks slide further on global economic worries Friday 12 February 2016

ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer Jitters over the global economy and a steep drop in crude oil knocked U.S. stocks lower for the fourth day in a row Thursday.

The drop in the U.S. followed large losses all around the world, and left all three major U.S. indexes down at least 10 percent since the beginning of the year.

The latest slump reflected heightened concerns that global economic growth is slowing, even as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reiterated her confidence in the U.S. economy in testimony to congress Thursday.

“A lot of people are having trouble assessing the true value of stocks,” said J.J. Kinahan, TD Ameritrade’s chief strategist. “What it says to me is we’re going to continue with volatility.”

Financial companies were among the biggest decliners amid growing anxiety that interest rates in the U.S. and elsewhere would remain low and sap bank profits. The price of oil

Trader Justin Flinn works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Feb. 8, 2016. U.S. stocks moved broadly lower in early trading Monday, putting the market on track for its second sizeable loss in a row. Technology, financial and energy stocks were among the biggest decliners.

(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

tumbled to $26.21, its lowest level since May 2003.

Investors fled to the traditional havens of bonds and precious metals. Gold jumped 4.5 percent.

While stocks ended lower, they recovered somewhat from far steeper losses ear-

lier in the day. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 254.56 points, or 1.6 percent, to 15,660.18.

The average had been down as much as 411 points.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 lost 22.78 points, or 1.2 per-

cent, to 1,829.08. The Nasdaq composite fell 16.76 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,266.84.

Investors have become increasingly worried that the mounting market turmoil could put a brake on the global economy at a time

it is already struggling with a litany of issues, including China’s slowdown, low inflation and plunging energy markets.

Yellen, in her second day of testimony before U.S. lawmakers Thursday, acknowledged that global economic pressures pose risks to the U.S. economy, but said it’s too early to tell whether those risks are severe enough to alter the central bank’s interest-rate policies.

That failed to reassure investors hoping the Fed would signal that rate hikes are off the table for this year, said Katie Nixon, chief investment officer at Northern Trust Wealth Management.

“The market is disappointed in that and looking for more direct comment on perhaps pushing out rate increases,” Nixon said.

“She had the opportunity to do that, so that’s obviously feeding into market anxiety.”

All 10 sectors in the S&P 500 index closed lower. Financial stocks fell the most, down 3 percent.q

Questions grow over banks as profit warnings pile up GREG KELLER Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Questions are growing over the financial health of banks, particularly in Europe and the U.S., as they face a toxic mix of low economic growth, bad loans and squeezed earnings.

France’s Societe Generale became Thursday the latest bank to issue a confidence-shattering profit warning, which helped trigger a new sell-off in financial stocks.

The bank saw its share price stumble 12 percent and major rivals like Deutsche Bank and UniCredit saw losses of nearly 10 percent.

European banks are not the only ones to suffer.

Japanese bank Mitsubishi Financial fell 7 percent on Thursday. In the U.S., Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Bank of America are down more than 30 percent so far this year.

Among the top concerns is that the global economy will weaken more than expected, souring some of the loans that banks have issued to companies around the world — particularly in distressed sectors like the energy industry. U.S. banks have tens of billions of exposure to loans made to energy companies, who have found themselves unable to pay back their debts due to low energy prices.

Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, says the latest weakness in bank stocks stems from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen “warning on current financial market turbulence and suggesting further rate hikes could be delayed, which added to already raised anxiety about the health of the global economy.”

On Wednesday, Yellen cautioned that global

weakness and falling financial markets could depress the U.S. economy’s growth and slow the pace of Fed interest rate hikes.

That’s a particular concern as the U.S. economy has been one of the few bright spots in the global economy, which is seeing a slowdown in China and stagnation in Japan and Europe.

The slowing of interest rate increases in the U.S. is also bad news for the big banks, which have been waiting anxiously for interest rates to rise.

Since the financial crisis, the big banks have largely grown profits by cutting costs. Higher interest rates would mean banks could charge more for their loans.

The fact that many central banks keep cutting interest rates, pushing down market lending rates, is further hurting banks by squeezing their profits. Banks mainly

make money by lending, so as rates drop, so do earnings. Investors made big bets in the second half of last year that interest rates would rise in the U.S., so to see that bet fail has forced investors to dump

bank shares.

The situation is worsened in some regions, particularly the eurozone and Japan, where the central banks charge commercial banks to deposit money with them.q

A26 COMICS

Friday 12 February 2016

Mutts

Conceptis Sudoku

6 Chix

Blondie

Mother Goose & Grimm

Baby Blues

Zits

Yesterday’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

Friday 12 February 2016

Arkansas justice cites Johnny Cash in dissent over cash bail ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A ruling that defendants can be required to pay their bail in cash drew objections Thursday from Arkansas’ Supreme Court chief justice, who cited a man who had strong opinions about the legal system: Johnny Cash.

Interim Chief Justice Howard Brill cited Cash’s song “Starkville City Jail” in a dissent, saying the court’s majority was wrong to deny a defendant’s objection to a $300,000 cash-only bail in an aggravated assault and domestic battery case.

“After being arrested for trespassing and picking flowers, Johnny Cash spent the night in the Starkville City Jail,” Brill wrote. “His ballad suggests he was not taken before a magistrate or given the opportunity to be released on bail.”

Ramon Trujillo’s attorney had argued that the state constitution requires de-

fendants be allowed to post a bond rather than be required to pay the bail amount in cash. Trujillo was arrested last year on charges he abused his pregnant girlfriend and her son. His bail was initially set at $25,000, which was raised to $300,000 cashonly after prosecutors said Trujillo had violated a nocontact order.

In a 5-2 ruling, the court dismissed Trujillo’s argument that the lower court erred in requiring cash-only bail.

“The purpose of bail in Arkansas is to ensure the presence of the defendant, and cash-only does not restrict a defendant’s constitutional rights pending trial,” Justice Karen Baker wrote for the court’s majority. Doug Norwood, Trujillo’s attorney, said he was disappointed with the ruling and planned to ask the court for a rehearing.

Trujillo pleaded guilty last year and is serving a 10year sentence.q

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A28 SCIENCE

Friday 12 February 2016

Breakthrough: Scientists detect Einstein-predicted ripples SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — In an announcement that electrified the world of astronomy, scientists said Thursday that they have finally detected gravitational waves, the ripples in the fabric of space-time that Einstein predicted a century ago.

Some scientists likened the breakthrough to the moment Galileo took up a telescope to look at the planets.

The discovery of these waves, created by violent collisions in the universe, excites astronomers because it opens the door to a new way of observing the cosmos. For them, it’s like turning a silent movie into a talkie because these waves are the soundtrack of the cosmos.

“Until this moment we had our eyes on the sky and we couldn’t hear the music,” said Columbia Univer-

Hebrew University’s Roni Gross holds the original historical documents related to Albert Einstein’s prediction of the existence of gravitational waves at the Hebrew university in Jerusalem, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016.

Associated Press

sity astrophysicist Szabolcs Marka, a member of the discovery team. “The skies will never be the same.”

An all-star international team of astrophysicists used a newly upgraded and excruciatingly sensitive $1.1 billion instrument known as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Ob-

servatory, or LIGO, to detect a gravitational wave from the distant crash of two black holes, one of the ways these ripples are created.

To make sense of the raw data, the scientists translated the wave into sound. At a news conference, they played what they called a “chirp” — the signal they heard on Sept. 14. It was barely perceptible even when enhanced.

Some physicists said the finding is as big a deal as the 2012 discovery of the subatomic Higgs boson, sometimes called the “God particle.” Some said this is bigger.

“It’s really comparable only to Galileo taking up the telescope and looking at the planets,” said Penn State physics theorist Ab-

hay Ashtekar, who wasn’t part of the discovery team.

“Our understanding of the heavens changed dramatically.”

Gravitational waves, first theorized by Albert Einstein in 1916 as part of his theory of general relativity, are extraordinarily faint ripples in space-time, the hard-tofathom fourth dimension that combines time with the familiar up, down, left and right. When massive but compact objects like black holes or neutron stars collide, they send gravity ripples across the universe.

Scientists found indirect proof of the existence of gravitational waves in the 1970s — computations that showed they ever so slightly changed the orbits of two colliding stars — and the work was honored as part of the 1993 Nobel Prize in physics. But Thursday’s announcement was a direct detection of a gravitational wave.

And that’s considered a big difference.

“It’s one thing to know soundwaves exist, but it’s another to actually hear Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony,” said Marc Kamionkowsi, a physicist at Johns Hopkins University who wasn’t part of the discovery team.

“In this case we’re actually getting to hear black holes merging.”

Gravitational waves are the “soundtrack of the uni-

verse,” said team member Chad Hanna of Pennsylvania State University.

Detecting gravitational waves is so difficult that when Einstein first theorized about them, he figured scientists would never be able to hear them. Einstein later doubted himself and even questioned in the 1930s whether they really do exist, but by the 1960s scientists had concluded they probably do, Ashtekar said.

In 1979, the National Science Foundation decided to give money to the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to come up with a way to detect the waves.

Twenty years later, they started building two LIGO detectors in Hanford, Washington, and Livingston, Louisiana, and they were turned on in 2001. But after years with no luck, scientists realized they had to build a more advanced detection system, which was turned on last September.

“This is truly a scientific moonshot and we did it.

We landed on the moon,” said David Reitze, LIGO’s executive director.

The new LIGO in some frequencies is three times more sensitive than the old one and is able to detect ripples at lower frequencies that the old one couldn’t.

And more upgrades are planned.q

PEOPLE & ARTS A29

Friday 12 February 2016

As ‘Force Awakens’ winds down, ‘Avatar’ remains supreme

JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Two months after opening to unprecedented fanfare, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is finally winding down in theaters, leaving behind arsenals of plastic lightsabers and a trail of box-office records.

“The Force Awakens” is still playing in more than 2,000 theaters in North America and remains ranked in the top-five at the box office as it enters its ninth week of release. But the lion’s share of its theatrical revenue has been pocketed, and one thing is abundantly clear: it’s not going to touch “Avatar.” Regardless of further receipts, “The Force Awakens” (currently with $2.008 billion worldwide) will slot in at No. 2 all-time on the global box office list, if you don’t account for inflation or rereleases. That’s slightly ahead of James Cameron’s “Titanic” ($1.84 billion before a later 3-D release pushed it to $2.18 billion) but light years behind “Avatar” ($2.79 billion).

“The Force Awakens” was by any measure a massive hit: a full-blown if prepackaged cultural phenomenon that drove moviegoers en masse to theaters in a way that some thought was no longer possible in an increasingly multiscreen media world. It has already made the Walt Disney Co. heaps of cash and it has set the franchise up to reap oodles more in merchandising, theme park attractions and sequels.

But even the most colossal hit of the decade — one with all the firepower of arguably the movies’ biggest franchise — was no match for Cameron’s 2009 3-D sensation. Though some forecast “The Force Awakens” to rival “Avatar” and possibly become the first $3 billion movie, that mark has never seemed more out of reach. “’Avatar’ is sitting on top of that global mountain, looking down and saying, ‘Just try to catch me,’” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. “That’s a record that’s going to stand for a long time. And we know it

This photo provided by Disney/Lucasfilm shows a scene from the new film, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” The film is still playing in more than 2,000 theaters in North America and remains ranked in the top-five at the box office as it enters its ninth week of release.

Associated Press

now more than ever.”

Though “The Force Awakens” set a record in North America ($906.7 million and counting), it was less of a phenomenon in some overseas territories. Most notably in China, where “Star Wars” doesn’t have the same history with moviegoers. Had “The Force Awakens” performed at the same rate internationally as it did in the U.S., it would have toppled “Avatar.” Currency devaluation in some countries between 2009 and 2106 also help account for the distance between “The Force Awakens” and “Avatar,” perhaps as much as hundreds of millions.

It’s just one more example of how box office rankings don’t take into account countless variables (inflation, ticket prices, media competition) that affect every release. Adjust for inflation and the record domestic haul of “The Force Awakens,” is dwarfed by 1939’s “Gone With the Wind,” which made approximately $1.7 billion in North America in inflationadjusted dollars. Each era has its own mega blockbusters.

“We’re taking a little more time just to appreciate the run and the response without paying too much attention to ranking and ratings,” said Dave Hollis, head of distribution for Disney. “There’s still business to be had in this run and possibly if we decide to do a reissue of this film now or ahead of Episode VIII, or whatever it might be.”

Regardless, the $4 billion

investment Disney made when it purchased LucasFilm is already looking like a bargain, and the mammoth success of “The Force Awakens” in movie theaters is only part of it.

Analysts expect merchandizing revenues from “Star Wars” to bring in some $5 billion for Disney in 2015 and 2016. “Star Wars” is also driving more visitors to Disney’s theme parks. Ground will soon be broken on a

14-acre “Star Wars” area in Disneyland.

Most importantly, director J.J. Abrams reinvigorated the franchise with a crowdpleasing, critically praised reboot that pulled in new fans and put in motion a profit-creating system of galactic proportions.

“It started with a fantastic film that absolutely delivered,” said Hollis. “For what it meant not just off of some big opening weekends but

for the playability over the last couple of months and really for what it means in setting up the franchise for the future, everyone couldn’t be any happier.”

Propelled by “Star Wars,” Disney reported a record $2.88 billion in quarterly revenue on Tuesday, a 32 percent jump from the same period a year earlier. The ripple effect of “The Force Awakens” has only just begun.

Anthony DiClemente, an analyst for Nomura, was among those who once forecast a possible $3 billion in ticket sales. But he says the result for “The Force Awakens,” even if it fell short of the most bullish predictions, exceeded Disney’s internal expectations.

“The thing about Disney is they have a content monetization engine where they can monetize one piece of content more effectively than any other company,” says DiClemente, citing the company’s television networks and parks.

A30 PEOPLE

Friday 12 February 2016

& ARTS

‘Star Wars’ producers charged over Harrison Ford accident LONDON (AP) — British health authorities announced Thursday they have issued criminal charges against the producers of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” over an on-set accident in which Harrison Ford broke his leg.

The actor was struck by a hydraulic door on the set of the Millennium Falcon — his character Han Solo’s spaceship — at Pinewood Studios near London in June 2014. He was airlifted to a hospital where he underwent surgery.

Production on the film was suspended for two weeks after the injury to Ford, who

was 71 at the time.

The Health and Safety Executive said Thursday it had charged Foodles Production (UK) Ltd. — a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Co. — with four breaches of workplace health and safety laws.

It said “by law, employers must take reasonable steps to protect workers — this is as true on a film set as a factory floor.”

Foodles Production said the safety of cast and crew was “a top priority” and it was disappointed by the decision to prosecute.

The first court hearing is scheduled for May at High

In this December 10, 2015 file photo Harrison Ford walks during a Star Wars fan event in Sydney.

Ford is in Australia to promote his latest film “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”.

Associated Press

Wycombe Magistrates’ Court, near the studio.

“The Force Awakens” is the seventh instalment in the

space saga and has taken more than $2 billion at the worldwide box office since its release two months ago.

Filming is underway on episode eight, directed by Rian Johnson and due for release late next year.q

PEOPLE & ARTS

A31

Friday 12 February 2016

Even before controversy, blacks cool to Oscars telecast DAVID BAUDER AP Television Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The largest black audience for the Academy Awards over the last dozen years came in 2005, when Chris Rock was host and Jamie Foxx and Morgan Freeman won the top male acting awards.

Rock will be back as host this year, but it’s an open question how many black viewers will be tuning in.

A lack of diversity in Oscar nominations have led to stars like Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith saying they won’t attend the Academy Awards on Feb. 28. The year’s most popular awards show is generally not a must-see event in black households: The share of blacks watching the Oscars is smaller than it is for a typical prime-time TV program, although it exceeds that for the Golden Globes or Emmy awards.

“African-American viewers watch shows that they can relate to,” said Darnell Hunt, director of UCLA’s Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies. “When you have African-American nominees, they’re usually excited about the prospect of them winning and they tune in in larger numbers.”

That was certainly the case in 2005, when 5.3 million blacks watched the Oscars. That made up 12.2 percent of the show’s audience that year. The Academy Awards hasn’t made it up to that level since, hitting a low of 6.6

In this Feb. 21, 2015 file photo, an Oscar statue appears outside the Dolby Theatre for the 87th Academy Awards in Los Angeles.

Associated Press

percent in 2011. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, blacks comprise 13.2 percent of the U.S. population.

Blacks tend to watch more TV than other ethnic groups and in February 2015, when the last Academy Awards were broadcast, blacks made up on average 15 percent of the audience for prime-time shows, the Nielsen company said.

With diversity among Oscar nominees an issue last year, too, Nielsen said 3.3 million blacks watched the Oscars, down from 4.1 million in 2014. The annual

BET awards, which honor cultural work popular in the black community, was watched by 5.5 million blacks last year. That’s 89 percent of the show’s total audience of 6.3 million.

Callie Crossley, a cultural commentator for WGBH-TV in Boston who has talked about the Oscars, said she initially questioned whether a boycott of black viewers would gain traction. But in talking with several friends about the issue, Crossley was taken aback at the amount of anger she heard.

The topic may not have blown up into a controversy had there been few award-worth performances by non-whites, although that would have been an issue for the film industry by itself. When the popular “Straight Outta Compton” and acting performances

by Will Smith and Idris Elba all received pre-Oscars buzz, the lack of diversity was more obvious.

Crossley said she was heartened that the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, in announcing changes to its membership

rules, has already taken more action toward increasing diverse representation than it did last year.

But she said it appeared the academy had suffered real damage among black viewers who might be interested in the ceremony and it may take time to regain trust.

Film isn’t the only area in entertainment where diversity has been an issue and, as a result, may illustrate why the general interest awards shows don’t appear to hold a great deal of interest on a regular basis among black viewers. The Golden Globes, a boozy Hollywood party that honors movies and television, has had between 5.2 percent and 10.6 percent black viewership over the past decade.

The high point came in 2007; between 2013 and 2015, the percentage has been just under 7 percent each year.

The Emmys have shown more consistency, staying roughly in the 6 to 7 percent range of black viewers over the past decade.

Black viewership shot up to 14.3 percent last year when Viola Davis was named best actress for her role in “How to Get Away With Murder” and “Empire” was the most talked-about new drama.

In seven of the past 10 years, the Oscars had a higher percentage of black viewership than either the Emmys or Golden Globes.q

Born to write: Springsteen memoir coming in September Despite some Academy Award celebrity defections and calls for a viewing boycott, “Chris Rock may generate some viewers,” Hunt said. People will be curious to hear what he has to say about the topic. Another drawing card is the participation of Reginald

Hudlin, producer of “Django Unchained,” who is co-producing this year’s Oscars ceremony.

“It’s going to be tough,” Crossley said. “They can’t afford to lose viewership. The controversy will not end this month. It will keep going until next year.”q

In this Nov. 10, 2015 file photo, Bruce Springsteen performs at the 9th Annual Stand Up For Heroes event in New York.

Associated Press

A32 FEATURE

Friday 12 February 2016

Fantasy sports companies defend embattled industry PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Daily fantasy sports companies say their industry remains viable despite a rocky start to 2016.

The industry’s top companies, DraftKings and FanDuel, are on the defensive after taking hits to their businesses in recent weeks as scrutiny by state policymakers across the country continues to intensify.

This week, it was disclosed that ESPN and DraftKings ended an exclusive advertising deal and FanDuel confirmed Wednesday it had laid off 55 workers in its Orlando, Florida, office.

ESPN and DraftKings declined to comment on the end of their partnership, which was announced last June and made DraftKings the network’s official daily fantasy sports offering. But DraftKings spokeswoman Sabrina Macias says the company isn’t retrenching.

“Our business position is strong and we have no intention to scale back any operations,” she said, pointing to the company’s launch in the United Kingdom last week. “We’re continuing to innovate and learn.”

FanDuel, meanwhile, said the layoffs are concentrated in its research and development division, which is being shuttered. The job cuts do not impact the rest of the Florida office, which includes an expanding customer service operation, the company said.

FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles, in a brief call with The Associated Press, said the company, which has over 400 employees, is focused on making progress on the legislative front.

“What you’re seeing is an industry that’s very quickly going from an unregulated state to a regulated state,” he said. “Whenever you have that, there’s going to be turmoil.”

Macias, of DraftKings, which has more than 350 workers, also downplayed the recent developments, highlighting instead the industry’s state-by-state efforts to secure legislation

In this Sept. 9, 2015 file photo, Len Don Diego, marketing manager for content at the DraftKings daily fantasy sports company, works at his station at the company’s offices in Boston.

Associated Press

In this Nov. 24, 2015 file photo, FanDuel advertising covers the post at an NCAA college basketball matchup in the FanDuel Legends Classic consolation game, at the Barclays Center in New York. Daily fantasy sports companies have said their industry remains viable despite a rocky start to 2016. FanDuel confirmed it was laying off 55 workers in its Orlando, Fla., office, and ESPN and DraftKings ended an exclusive advertising deal.

Associated Press

that would keep its games legal but regulated.

“A couple of setbacks here and there do not necessarily reflect the larger picture,” she said. “There’s progress both on the legislative front and from the

consumer protection perspective.”

Fantasy sports sites say their contests aren’t gambling because a player’s skill level is more of a factor than chance in determining success, but some states have

declared them gambling games and either banned them outright or required operators to get gambling licenses.

Roughly 19 states are considering bills to regulate the industry, in which play-

ers pay to compete online for cash prizes by picking teams of real life athletes and racking up “fantasy” points based on how they perform. Another 14 states are expected to weigh legislation before the year is over, she said.

Of those with bills in play, California, Indiana and Virginia have seen proposals clear at least one chamber of their legislature. Bills have also advanced in the legislative committee process in Alabama, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma. Some industry watchers say this week’s developments may point to a slow unravelling of the daily fantasy sports genre.

“In some respects, this seems like death by a thousand cuts,” Daniel Wallach, a Florida lawyer who specializes in gambling and sports law.

Media conglomerate 21st Century Fox said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Monday that it was marking down the value of its $160 million investment in DraftKings by about 60 percent.

Last month, Vantiv, a payment processing company, said it would stop serving daily fantasy sportscompanies by the end of this month.

And banking giants Citigroup and Bank of America are blocking their New York customers from playing the contests because the attorney general in that state is seeking to shut down the industry.

An industry-wide implosion isn’t imminent, but daily fantasy sports companies have to change the way they operate, said Jeffrey Ifrah, a Washington, D.C.based lawyer who represents about a dozen daily fantasy sports companies smaller than DraftKings and FanDuel.

“The current model of extensive advertising and marketing budgets is probably no longer viable,” he said. “The additional regulation and cost of regulatory compliance likely means the end of significant advertising and it may mean a reduction in future private investment in the industry.”q