January 15, 2016

On Top Of The News Email:news@arubatoday.com website: www.arubatoday.com Tel:+297 582-7800 Friday, January 15, 2016

In the Money

Record $1.6B Powerball Jackpot Spreads the Wealth 7-Eleven store clerk M. Faroqui celebrates with customers after learning the store sold a winning Powerball ticket in Chino Hills, Calif. One winning ticket was sold at the store located in suburban Los Angeles said Alex Traverso, a spokesman for California lottery. The identity of the winner is not yet known.

(Will Lester/The Sun via AP)

ADRIAN SAINZ ANDREW DALTON Associated Press MUNFORD, Tennessee (AP) — An unprecedented $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot that became a national fascination will be split three ways, by mystery winners in Florida, Tennessee and California.

The winners did not immediately identify themselves

Thursday, but they bought their tickets in Munford, a town of about 6,000 in Tennessee; the modest Los Angeles suburb of Chino Hills; and at a supermarket in Melbourne Beach, Florida, where residents of a nearby housing development were heard partying loudly after Wednesday night’s drawing.

Spain’s massively popular

Christmas lottery, known as “El Gordo,” is ranked as the world’s richest, though it doles out millions of prizes rather than one large jackpot like the Powerball.

The winners of the worldrecord Powerball jackpot overcame odds of 1 in 292.2 million to land on all the numbers: 4-8-19-27-34 and Powerball 10.

They can let the jackpot be

invested and thereby collect 30 annual payments totaling an estimated $533 million, or split $983.5 million in cash all at once.

The huge draw also produced eight $2 million Power Play winners and 73 $1 million winners nationwide who matched all five white balls but missed the red Powerball, said Sally Lunsford of the Kansas Lot-

tery.

The California ticket was sold at a 7-Eleven; the Florida ticket at a Publix grocery store.

Tennessee officials did not immediately say which of the three Munford stores offering Powerball tickets produced the winner.

Continued on page 3

A2 UP

Friday 15 January 2016

FRONT

Lawyer: Suspect left Florence victim alive after fight TRISHA THOMAS NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — Italian prosecutors on Thursday laid out evidence collected against a key suspect in the death of an American woman who was strangled and suffered deadly head trauma in her Florence apartment: They said a Senegalese man she met at a disco had left “decisive” DNA traces on a condom and cigarette butt at her home and was using her cellphone.

Cheik Tidiane Diaw, a 27-year-old who had arrived in Italy from Senegal in recent months, admitted under questioning that he and Ashley Olsen, 35, had fought violently after a night of drugs and sex but denied strangling her and never intended to kill her, his lawyer said.

Diaw was arrested early Thursday at his brother’s apartment and is being held on suspicion of aggravated homicide, Florence chief prosecutor Giuseppe Creazzo told a news conference. Streetmounted security cameras and witnesses reported that Diaw and Olsen had left Florence’s Montecarla nightclub in the early hours of Jan. 8 and went to her home. Once there, they had consensual sex. But sometime afterward, Olsen’s skull was fractured in two places with blows so

violent they alone could have killed her, Creazzo said. She was subsequently strangled, apparently with a cord or rope. Olsen’s naked body was discovered the following day by her Italian boyfriend, who

drunk and had been high on cocaine, his lawyer Antonio Voce told The Associated Press. But Diaw denied strangling her, left her alive on her bed and never intended to kill her, Voce said.

punching Olsen in the neck and then pushing her to the ground, where she hit her head, Voce said.

Diaw helped her to the bed and left. “He felt taken advantage of,” Voce said.

“She was still alive when

Walter Olsen, from left, father of Ashley Olsen, the American woman found dead in her Florence apartment, accompanied by two unidentified women and lawyer Annamaria Gallo, right, arrive at the morgue in Florence, Italy, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. Prosecutors said Thursday that Olsen had been brutally beaten and strangled by a Senegalese man she had just met at a disco. He was detained after authorities received “decisive” DNA evidence from a condom and cigarette butt and after he was found using her cell phone.

(AP Photo/Fabrizio Giovannozzi)

asked the apartment’s owner to let him in because he hadn’t heard from her in a few days, authorities have said. Diaw acknowledged under questioning that he and Olsen had had consensual sex, were

Voce said Diaw told investigators that they had fought when she tried to push him out of the apartment fearing her boyfriend would be arriving. After being pushed against the door, Diaw responded by

he left.” Creazzo said Diaw had offered “substantially admissive” testimony in response to the accusations during a preliminary interrogation that lasted until 4 a.m. Thursday. Diaw has not been charged.q

France:

Ccourt convicts UK man in migrant girl case; no jail

ELAINE GANLEY Associated Press BOULOGNE-SUR-MER, France (AP) — A British man who risked being convicted as a smuggler prevailed in court Thursday, convincing judges that he acted with his heart when he tried to deliver a four-year-old Afghan girl from a squalid migrant camp in France to family members in Britain.

The three-judge panel threw out the smuggling charge — which carried a penalty of up to five years in prison — convicting him instead of the far less griev-

ous crime of endangerment and suspended the 1000-euro ($1,090) fine.

The court room erupted in cheers at the verdict.

Rob Lawrie, 49, a former soldier and carpet cleaner from Leeds, had been helping migrants as a volunteer when he was caught Oct. 24 by French border police with Bahar Ahmadi tucked away with her teddy bear in a cache in his van. He has since gained a fan club on Facebook and among volunteers like himself who are helping refugees and other migrants.

“The French justice system sent out a message today,” he said after the verdict.

“When compassion is in the heart, compassion will win.”

The court cited his “personality” in its decision and said the far less serious conviction served as a “warning.”

Lawrie reiterated numerous times during the threehour trial that his actions were “irrational” and “very stupid” and guided by fatigue and emotions. But he stressed the plight of migrants cast away in the camps in northern France.

He will not have to pay the fine, but it goes on his criminal record in France. He had faced a maximum prison term of five years and a 30,000-euro ($32,000) fine.

Just before the trial, Lawrie appeared with the girl in his arms at a news conference in northern France, pleading for understanding.

“What you’re looking at here is a waste of life. She’s living in a refugee camp,” Lawrie told reporters as Bahar smiled timidly for the cameras. “People call it smuggling ... I was rescuing the little girl.” q

Teacher questioned by police in hospital over Alps avalanche

PARIS (AP) — A French prosecutor says the teacher who accompanied high school students swept away by a deadly avalanche in the French Alps is suspected of involuntary manslaughter.

Prosecutor Jean-Yves Coquillat in the eastern city of Grenoble, near the Alps, said the teacher is being questioned by police at a local hospital where he is treated for injuries from the avalanche.

According to initial reports by witnesses, the students were skiing on a ski slope that had been closed since the beginning of the season due to lack of snow. The ski slope was closed by a 50-meter long (164 feet) and one-meter high (3.2 feet) net with advisory in different languages, and the group deliberately stepped over it to access the slope, Coquillat said.

“This is not inattention,” the prosecutor said. “It is in full knowledge that the group moved into this place and this closed slope.” Three people were killed at the Deux-Alpes ski resort Wednesday. Two were among the group of 10 French high school students who were skiing with their sports teacher and the third was believed to be a Ukrainian skier. According to the first questioning, some of the students on Wednesday morning had asked to ski on this specific slope, but another teacher leading the school trip had refused because the slope was closed. It is unclear why the teacher who accompanied the group went on the closed slope with the students. The prosecutor said further investigations and expertise “will also seek to determine the mental state of the teacher and his ability to supervise a group.”

Coquillat noted that a large amount of snow had fallen on the resort on the previous days and that many skiers, “probably several hundred,” had skied on the closed slope on Wednesday.q

U.S. NEWS A3 Record $1.6B Powerball jackpot spreads the wealth Friday 15 January 2016

Balbir Atwal owner of the 7-Eleven store that sold one of the winning Powerball ticket, holds the check he received for $1 million dollars with his daughters, Sabrina, left, and Sonia, right, at his store in Chino Hills, Calif. on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. Atwal, who came to the U.S. from India in 1981, owns four 7-Elevens. He says he will share his winnings with employees and family, and give some to charity.

(AP Photo/Nick Ut)

Continued from Front That store will get a $25,000 check; Florida’s store collects $100,000, and California lottery spokesman Alex Traverso told The Associated Press that a $1 million bonus will be shared between the Chino Hills store owner and the 7-Eleven company. The amounts that follow each state’s rules.

TV trucks from Memphis quickly arrived in Munford, where people marveled over the winning ticket and joked about what they would have done with the money.

Auto body shop worker Jerry Caudle said he was “freaking out” when he

heard a winning ticket was sold in his town, but then saw that he matched only two numbers, for a prize of $14. He wore a wistful smile as he left the Munford Short Stop gas station and convenience store, which offers Tipton County’s “best chicken on a stick” for $3.69.

“It’s been tough,” Caudle said. “The hardest winter for me here in 17 years.”

The California store and its surrounding strip mall suddenly became a popular gathering spot in the rural suburb of 78,000, where cows still graze on hillsides. Hundreds of people crowded the store and spilled into its parking lot, cheering and mugging for

Rare January hurricane forms in Atlantic, threatens Azores MIAMI (AP) — A rare January hurricane formed far out in the Atlantic on Thursday, and U.S. officials said it was the first hurricane to form in the month of January since 1938.

Hurricane Alex’s maximum sustained winds were near 85 mph (140 kph).

A hurricane warning was issued for Portugal’s midAtlantic Azores Islands, where the Civil Protection Service issued a weather red alert, the highest of four warnings that indicates

extreme risk, for five of the archipelago’s nine islands.

It said residents should expect waves up to 18 meters (60 feet) high and wind gusts up to 160 kph (100 mph).

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said in a Facebook post that there hasn’t been a hurricane present during the month of January since 1955, when Alice formed in late December 1954 and carried over into the next month.q

the television cameras and chanting “Chino Hills! Chino Hills!”

Store owner Balbir Atwal worked as an electronics salesman after emigrating from India in 1981, and bought his first 7-Eleven franchise at the age of 27.

Now he owns four. He said he has sold winning tickets before, but never like this one. “Every time we say, oh, this is time,” Atwal said.

“I was just joking, I said, this is the time someone’s going to hit it.”

Michael Fahim, 48, real estate broker from Chino Hills, said he bought 20 lottery tickets Wednesday night just up the street. “I’m happy it’s in Chino Hills. I think it put us on the map — all over the world,” he said, adding that his brother called from Australia over-

night to learn if he won.

Some took selfies with the store clerk, who became an instant celebrity and may well have been the man who sold the ticket.

“I’m very proud that the ticket was sold here,” the clerk, M. Faroqui, told the local San Bernardino Sun. “I’m very happy. This is very exciting.”

In Melbourne Beach, neighbors were gossiping that the winner might be someone in a housing development several miles from the Publix where loud partying could be heard, according to Lisa Londini, a professional caregiver who was shopping at the market Thursday.

“The winner could be as close as your neighbors!” she said, visibly excited. “I wish it was me!”q

A4 U.S.

Friday 15 January 2016

NEWS

Defense chief: US sailors made navigational error in Iran LOLITA C. BALDOR ROBERT BURNS Associated Press TAMPA, Florida (AP) — Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Thursday it appears a navigational error caused the crews of two Navy

time. It may be that they were trying to sort it out at the time they encountered Iranian boats. ... We don’t know that fully yet,” he said.

Carter later flew to Tampa to meet with leaders of U.S. Central Command, which

with their hands on the heads, Carter said, “Obviously I don’t like to see our people being detained by a foreign military.”

He said this was the scene as depicted by Iranian media and that he wants to

Defense Secretary Ash Carter watches during a change of command ceremony, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, at U.S. Southern Command in Miami. Carter said Thursday it appears a navigational error caused the crews of two Navy boats to stray into Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf, where they were detained overnight by Iran and released.

(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

boats to stray into Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf, where they were detained overnight by Iran and released.

Carter said in an interview in Miami with Fusion network that the crews misnavigated and that’s how they ended up in Iranian waters.

“They did not report this navigational error at the

oversees the U.S. military in the Middle East. At a news conference at Central Command headquarters, he declined to discuss the circumstances in more detail. He said it would be prudent to first finish debriefing all 10 returned sailors.

Asked his view of the video released by Iranian media showing the Americans kneeling aboard their boats

hear from the U.S. crews before commenting further. “We need to give these guys the opportunity to tell us what was really going on.”

Less than a day after being detained on Iran’s Farsi Island in the Gulf, the 10 U.S. sailors were back with their American fleet. Navy officials said the 10 were undergoing what the mili-

tary calls “reintegration,” a series of interviews and physical and mental health examinations to ease their return to duty. A Navy investigation will ensue.

The Navy has given no indication that the 10 were injured or mistreated or that the weapons or equipment aboard the boats were tampered with while in Iranian custody. Gen. Lloyd Austin, head of Central Command, said the equipment is being inventoried.

“For the most part ... the gear that we deployed with was largely there when we got the boats back. Whether or not there are singular pieces of equipment missing, we’ll determine that once we’ve completed the inventory,” he said.

A complete picture of what happened is unlikely to be available for days, but the central cause for the crews’ entering Iranian waters was the navigational slip, which apparently was caused by human error rather than by an equipment malfunction, defense officials said. The boats, known as riverine command boats, were en route from Kuwait to Bahrain. The navigational error cited by Carter was compounded by some sort of engine trouble aboard one of the boats, another U.S. defense official said. The engine problem did not cause the boats to go off course but apparently prevented them from evading the Iranians once the crews realized they were inside Iran’s territorial waters.

The Navy realized the boats were missing when they failed to appear shipside

in the Gulf for refueling on their way to Bahrain, one defense official said. GPS devices aboard the boats enabled the Navy to determine, after the fact, that they were in Iranian waters, but the Navy was not immediately sure whether the crew members were safe or had gone overboard.

So a search-and-rescue operation was undertaken, and at least one U.S. ship crossed into Iranian waters to look for the crew after alerting the Iranian navy of their intentions. The Iranians did not interfere, the defense official said.

The officials were not authorized to discuss the details of the incident and spoke on condition of anonymity. Secretary of State John Kerry used the personal relationship he has formed with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to work out the crews’ release. Kerry credited the quick resolution to the “critical role diplomacy plays in keeping our country secure and strong.”

Carter said the sailors were not on a covert mission and were simply making their way from Kuwait to Bahrain, both on the western coast of the Gulf. They ended up in Iranian territorial waters at least 50 miles (80 kilometers) offshore and were detained by the Iranian military at Farsi Island, which is home to an Iranian naval base.

Navy officials said the families of the 10 crew members were kept abreast of developments once it was confirmed that the Iranians were holding them.q

U.S. NEWS A5

Friday 15 January 2016

Clinton reaches back into 2008 playbook to counter Sanders WASHINGTON (AP) — Front-runner Hillary Clinton, challenged anew in the Democratic presidential campaign by Bernie Sanders, is reverting to some of the same themes from her 2008 primary loss to Barack Obama.

Clinton is leaning hard on an experience-above-allelse argument, sarcastically reminding people that as a former first lady and secretary of state, she wouldn’t need a tour of the White House if elected president. She made a similar pitch eight years ago, only to find an electorate in search of change, not a seasoned Washington hand.

Clinton is also suggesting that Sanders, who backs a single-payer health care system and free tuition at public colleges and universities, is pitching policies that are unachievable in a divided government.

“I wish that we could elect a Democratic president who could wave a magic wand and say, ‘We shall do this, and we shall do that,’” Clinton said this week in

Iowa. “That ain’t the real world we’re living in!”

Her comments mirrored one of her most searing criticisms of Obama from eight years ago, when she suggested his plan for fulfilling lofty campaign promises amounted to hoping “the skies will open, the light will come down, celestial choirs will be singing and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect.”

Clinton’s recent comments startled some supporters. They privately fear she risks falling into the same traps that contributed to her downfall in 2008: underestimating a rival and misreading voters eager for outsider candidates in both parties.

“Working in Washington itself isn’t winning anybody friends this election cycle,” said Ben LaBolt, who worked on Obama’s two presidential campaigns.

“So it has to be more about the ability to tackle significant challenges and how experience has demonstrated that she’s capable

Top Republican Rodgers says judge Governor Haley on ability, not looks ERICA WERNER Associated Press BALTIMORE (AP) — The House’s highest-ranking Republican woman said Thursday that South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley should be judged on her abilities, not her looks, dismissing a remark by fellow Republican Rep. Steve King.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who is fourth in leadership as the chair of the Republican Conference, was asked about King’s comment to The Associated Press that Haley wasn’t a “principled conservative” in the Republican, but “I think she’s beautiful so I’d be happy if she’s the face of the party.”

Haley delivered the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday and called for welcoming legal immigrants to the country as long as they’re properly

vetted, and for resisting the temptation “to follow the siren call of the angriest voices.”

She faced a backlash from some conservatives, who interpreted her remarks as a call for unlimited legal immigration into the country, something they reject.

King is a strong conservative foe of efforts to overhaul the immigration system.

At a Republican retreat in Baltimore, McMorris Rodgers defended Haley.

“Nikki Haley is a proven leader. And that is what she should be judged on,” the Washington state Republican told reporters.

She added that Haley “should be on anyone’s short list for vice president based upon her record, based upon her leadership, her record as governor in South Carolina and what she represents for the future.”q

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign event at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.

Challenged anew by Bernie Sanders, Clinton is reverting to some of the same themes, even strikingly similar attack lines, from her 2008 primary loss to Barack Obama.

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

of doing that.”

With less than three weeks until voting begins, much of

the enthusiasm in the Democratic race appears to reside with Sanders. The Ver-

mont senator has consistently led preference polls in neighboring New Hampshire, and now appears to be gaining momentum in Iowa as well, buoyed by support from many of the young, progressive voters who backed Obama eight years ago.

It’s unclear, however, whether Sanders can broaden his appeal and win the support of other Democratic constituencies that helped Obama defeat Clinton, including black and Hispanic voters.

And despite the echoes of 2008 now permeating Clinton’s remarks, her campaign has worked aggressively to avoid some of the operational missteps that also marred her first White House bid. q

A6 U.S.

Friday 15 January 2016

NEWS

General Electric to move headquarters to Boston SUSAN HAIGH Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — General Electric announced this week it will move its headquarters to Boston, leaving the sprawl-

composition and location for its headquarters, and more than seven months after the firm threatened to leave Connecticut, complaining about the state’s tax environment.

ing into our city.”

Various states competed for the company’s headquarters in Fairfield. GE, which ultimately reviewed a list of 40 potential locations, announced in June

Several commercial construction projects take place in Boston’s Seaport District against the backdrop of the city’s skyline. General Electric said this week it will begin relocating its global headquarters to the district in the summer from Fairfield, Conn., and complete the move by 2018.

(AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

ing suburban Connecticut campus it has called home over the past four decades for a technology-rich city it says better fits its ambitions as an innovation leader.

Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said GE, one of the best known companies in corporate America, wanted to be “at the center of an ecosystem that shares our aspirations.”

The announcement comes three years after the $130 billion high-tech global industrial company said it began considering a new

GE plans to initially move headquarters employees to a temporary location in Boston, starting in the summer of 2016. The full move is expected to be completed in several steps by 2018.

The announcement was mourned in Connecticut, but Massachusetts officials rejoiced. “We won Powerball today here in Boston by having GE come here,” Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said. “For two decades, we’ve had companies move out of our city. Now we have companies mov-

it was considering a move after Connecticut lawmakers passed some business tax increases. The General Assembly later scaled back some of the increases after other companies voiced concerns, including Aetna Inc. and the Travelers Companies Inc. Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Democrat, also met with GE executives and offered an incentive package in hopes of keeping the iconic headquarters in the state.

Malloy acknowledged

being disappointed in GE’s decision and said he knows many in Connecticut share that disappointment and frustration. While Malloy said he was assured

by Immelt in a phone call Wednesday morning that GE will keep many workers in Connecticut and continue working with various suppliers in the state, the headquarters relocation is a signal Connecticut must continue trying to adapt to a changing business climate and attract and retain more employers.

“You win some and you lose some, and luckily we’ve won more than we lost. But this hurts,” Malloy said.

The company employs about 5,000 people in Connecticut, including 800 at the Fairfield location. It currently employs nearly 5,000 people in Massachusetts. It was unclear how many of GE’s Connecticut workers would remain in the state.

Seth Martin, a GE spokesman, said the Boston location will become home to 200 corporate employees and 600 digital industrial product managers, designers and developers. He said an unspecified number of corporate employees will stay in Connecticut and be moved to GE’s offices in Norwalk.

A cheer went up in the Massachusetts House of Representatives Wednesday afternoon when Speaker Robert DeLeo announced GE’s decision. DeLeo earlier told reporters he was unaware of any legislation that would be required to facilitate the move.q

Monsanto to build $140M processing unit in Texas LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Monsanto says plans to build a $140 million cotton seed processing plant in West Texas, where nearly 40 percent of the nation’s fluffy fiber is planted.

The St. Louis-based company said in a news release the plant will be its primary hub for cleaning, treating and bagging its brand of cotton seed, Deltapine, from growers with whom they contract. The seed will

then be resold.

Monsanto officials said Wednesday that the plant should be operating by mid-2017. The 500,000-square-foot plant will be built on 150 acres in Lubbock and create 40 fulltime jobs and as many as 25 part-time positions, the company said.

“Monsanto is proud to be part of the Lubbock community,” Dave Penn of Monsanto said in the re-

lease.

Lubbock County was the nation’s No. 1 cotton producing county in 2014, and in 2015, about 37 percent of the cotton planted in the U.S. was planted in West Texas. Computers at the plant will cull enhanced data and allow for automating processes instead of manual operations, Monsanto said, adding it hopes that will improve safety.

When fully operational, the

plant will add an estimated $11.2 million annually to Lubbock County’s gross regional product.

“The impact of cotton on the Lubbock economy is vital, and this continues to establish Lubbock as one of the major cotton centers of the U.S. and the world,” Tim Collins, chairman of the board for Lubbock Economic Development Alliance and Market Lubbock said in the release.q

US requests for jobless aid rose; remain near low JOSH BOAK AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, but the level remains near historic lows that point to a healthy job market.

THE NUMBERS: Applications for jobless aid rose 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 284,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The less volatile 4-week average rose 3,000 to 278,750.

Over the past 12 months, the number of people collecting benefits has fallen 6.3 percent to 2.3 million.

THE TAKEAWAY: The stock market has suffered a tumultuous start to 2016, but U.S. employers largely appear to be confident in the economy. Consumers have stayed resilient despite global challenges as growth prospects in China have become increasingly uncertain and oil prices flirt with a low $30 a barrel.

Layoffs generally tend to rise in the early weeks of January as retailers let go of holiday workers, but even on an unadjusted basis jobless claims are lower than a year ago.

KEY DRIVERS: Outside of the manufacturing sector that has been hit by worldwide pressures and the stronger dollar, most U.S. businesses still see rising levels of demand. This has led them to hold onto workers and look to expand their staff.

Jobless claims have stayed below 300,000 for the past 10 months, a level consistent with strong hiring.

The government employment report released last Friday showed that employers added a net 292,000 jobs in December as the unemployment rate held at 5 percent.

BIG PICTURE: The more than six-year recovery from the Great Recession has been fueled by a gradual rebound by consumers.

Auto sales accelerated to record highs in 2015, just as home sales and spending at restaurants and online retailers advanced. These sectors have thus far been insulated from the slowdown that has sent financial markets reeling in the opening weeks of 2016.q

U.S. NEWS A7

Friday 15 January 2016

US Financial Front:

More employers try to help workers pay student loans

JOSEPH PISANI AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Employers are discovering that making it easier for workers to pay off their student loans helps to attract and keep a happy workforce.

More and more companies are helping workers refinance their debts at better rates, giving employees extra cash for loan payments, or even paying their workers’ lenders directly. It’s a major benefit for millennials — people 35 and under — who are struggling to pay thousands of dollars in student debts as they enter the workforce.

“It’s actually helped me quite a lot,” says Christina Lin, a graphic designer who sliced her $3,800 in student loan debt in half within six months with help from her employer, ChowNow. This is not as simple as it sounds: Many college graduates end up owing multiple lenders, and the tax implications can be complicated.

Employers also want to make sure the money goes to the right place.

This has created a niche for a handful of startups helping employers deliver the benefit.

Just 3 percent of employers helped workers repay student loans last year, according to a survey of more

than 460 human resource managers conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management.

But more are starting to offer it, including some bigname companies.

Beginning in July, New Yorkbased accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers plans to give certain employees with student loan debt as much as $1,200 a year for up to six years. Kronos Inc., a software company in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, will pay employees up to $500 a year toward student loan debts for as long as they need it.

And some U.S. employees of Paris-based Natixis Global Asset Management can get $5,000 to go toward their federal loans, plus more if they stay with the company for more than five years.

Microsoft Corp. gives its workers the option to refinance student loans at discounted interest rates thanks to the company’s relationship with online lender SoFi. It doesn’t cost Redmond, Washingtonbased Microsoft anything, but SoFi says some of its 200 clients pay the lender to deliver even lower rates for their workers.

The class of 2014 graduated with an average of $28,950 in student loan debt, up 2 percent from the year before, according to the Project on Student Loan Debt.

Employers say workers tell them their debts make it impossible to save for retirement or buy a home.

“Millennials are being crushed by student debt,” says Michael Fenlon, the global talent leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, which enlisted a startup,

Gradifi, to handle the new benefit.

Gradifi and Tuition.io focus on processing the payments by employers; each say they already are working with about 100 companies each to provide it. Others, including SoFi,

est cohort in the workforce last year, according to the Pew Research Center, and their options are improving along with the job market.

The vast majority say their ability to pay student loans would affect whether they take a job, according to

benefit.

Workers need to examine the benefits carefully. If refinancing, they should make sure the terms are better than what they already pay.

Those with federal loans may lose protections and

Waitress Laura Haege carries a breakfast to be served at the Waveland Cafe, in Des Moines, Iowa.

Employers are discovering that making it easier for workers to pay off their student loans helps to attract and keep a happy workforce.

(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Credible and CommonBond, enable companies to help refinance their workers’ student debts with more manageable rates and payment plans.

EdAssist, which has managed tuition payment benefits for employers for about nine years, began offering student loan repayments as well last year.

“Millennials are asking for it,” says Bruce Elliott, a manager of compensation and benefits at the Society for Human Resource Management.

That matters, because millennials surpassed Generation X to become the larg-

a survey by the American Student Assistance, a nonprofit that helps borrowers manage their student debt.

Lin pays about $150 on her debts each month, and ChowNow chips in another percentage, about $40.

The Los Angeles company, which powers online and app ordering for restaurants, now pays up to $500 per year per employee, and plans to increase that to $1,000 this year.

“It’s harder to hire great talent, and this is another great tool to do that,” says Christopher Webb, the CEO of ChowNow, which uses Tuition.io to handle the

perks by switching to other lenders. And loan payments — like cash — are currently taxable as income.

Legislation in Congress could change that. The Employer Participation in Student Loan Assistance Act, for example, proposes making up to $5,250 a year in employer payments for student loan debts tax-free for the worker, and eligible for tax breaks for the employer. The bill introduced in October is sponsored

by Republican Rep. Rodney Davis of Illinois, and has been gathering cosponsors.q

A8

Friday 15 January 2016

WORLD NEWS

Islamic State militants claim deadly Jakarta attack

NINIEK KARMINI ALI KOTARUMALOS Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The scene had echoes of the Paris attacks: A bustling shopping area shaken by the blasts of suicide bombers and gunfire as onlookers fled in terror.

But when Thursday’s assault in central Jakarta was over, the death toll was far lower. Of the seven killed, five were the attackers themselves and only two were civilians — a Canadian and an Indonesian. Another 20 people were wounded.

Still, authorities and analysts believe the violence that left the city of 10 million on edge for hours was a loud announcement of the Islamic State group’s presence in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation.

Supporters of the Islamic State group circulated a claim of responsibility on social media resembling the militants’ previous messages.

The attackers carried handguns, grenades and homemade bombs and struck a Starbucks cafe and a traffic police booth in the Indonesian capital’s highestprofile attack in six years.

Authorities said they found a large, undetonated bomb and five smaller devices in a building near the cafe.

“So we think ... their plan was to attack people and follow it up with a larger explosion when more people gathered,” said Maj. Gen. Anton Charliyan, the spokesman of Indonesia’s national police. “But thank God it didn’t happen.”

Jakarta police chief Maj. Gen. Tito Karnavian said the attackers had links with IS and were part of a group led by Bahrum Naim, an Indonesian militant who is now in Syria.

“We have identified all attackers,” Charliyan said.

“We can say that the attackers were affiliated with the ISIS group,” he added, using an acronym for the Islamic State group.

The claim was shared on Twitter late Thursday, and the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group said it also

was circulated among proIS groups on other media.

The message said attackers carried out the Jakarta assault and had planted several bombs with timers.

It differed from Indonesian police on the number of attackers, saying there were four. It said they wore suicide belts and carried light weaponry.

The statement could not

the remnants of Jemaah Islamiyah.

Charliyan said police had received information in late November about a warning from the Islamic State group that “there will be a concert” in Indonesia, meaning an attack.

Last month, anti-terror police arrested nine suspected militants and said they had planned attacks “to

presence and ability.

“Their main aim was just to give impression that ISIS’ supporters here are able to do what was done in Paris.

It was just a Paris-inspired attack without being well prepared,” he told The Associated Press. Those attacks in November killed 130 people.

Thursday’s first suicide bomb went off about 10:50

A plainclothes police officer aims his gun at attackers during a gun battle following explosions in Jakarta, Indonesia Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. Attackers set off explosions at a Starbucks cafe in a bustling shopping area in Indonesia’s capital and waged gunbattles with police Thursday, leaving bodies in the streets as office workers watched in terror from high-rise buildings.

(AP Photo)

be independently verified

by The Associated Press, though it resembled previous claims made by the group, which controls territory in both Iraq and Syria.

Jakarta is no stranger to terrorism, with the 2009 bombings of two hotels that killed seven people and injured more than 50. The bloodiest attack by Islamic extremists in Indonesia — and in all of Asia — was in 2002, when a nightclub bombing on the resort island of Bali killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.

Those and others were blamed on the al-Qaidainspired Jemaah Islamiyah.

Following a crackdown by security forces, militant strikes in recent years have been smaller and less deadly, and have targeted government authorities, mainly police and anti-terrorism forces. Terrorism experts say IS supporters in Indonesia are drawn from

attract international news coverage of their existence here.”

Indonesian authorities deployed 150,000 security personnel, made arrests and said they foiled a plot to kill government officials, law enforcement officers and others. The heightened security ended Jan. 6.

Southeast Asian terrorism expert Sidney Jones wrote in November that Bahrum Naim has been urging his Indonesian audience to study the Paris attacks.

“While the police and army have been focused on going after Indonesia’s most wanted terrorist, Santoso, in the hills of Central Sulawesi, ISIS has succeeded in building a network of supporters in the suburbs of Jakarta,” Jones wrote.

Taufik Andri, a terrorist analyst, said although the attack ended swiftly and badly for the attackers, their aim was to show their

a.m. at the Starbucks, which is near to some U.N. offices, a shopping center and other Western restaurants, including McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Burger King.

The neighborhood is home to many luxury hotels, highrise buildings and diplomatic offices, including the French Embassy.

Karnavian told reporters that after customers ran out of the cafe, two gunmen outside opened fire, killing the Canadian and wounding an Indonesian.

At about the same time, two other suicide bombers struck a traffic police post nearby, killing an Indonesian man. Minutes later, a group of police were attacked by the remaining two gunmen, using homemade bombs, Karnavian said. This led to an exchange of fire that lasted 15 minutes and ended with both attackers dead.q

Security Council demands meeting on Syrian sieges A. OLSON Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Friday at the request of Western countries trying to press Syria’s warring parties to lift sieges on towns where hundreds of thousands have been cut off from aid and many are starving.U.N. Secretary-General Ban Kimoon also stepped up the pressure, calling Thursday for both the Syrian government and rebels to end the sieges before peace talks scheduled for Jan. 25 in Geneva as a confidencebuilding measure.

Ban said the United Nations and its humanitarian partners are able to deliver food to only 1 percent of the 400,000 people under siege in Syria, down from an already dismal 5 percent just over a year ago.

“This is utterly unconscionable,” Ban said at a news conference.

Ban said both the Syrian government and rebels are committing war crimes by deliberately starving civilians and must face justice.

“U.N. teams have witnessed scenes that haunt the soul. The elderly and children, men and women, who were little more than skin and bones: gaunt, severely malnourished, so weak they could barely walk, and utterly desperate for the slightest morsel,” Ban said. “I would say that they are being held hostage — but it is even worse. Hostages get fed.”

France’s U.N. mission said the meeting will take place Friday afternoon. France, Britain and the United States called for the meeting, according to all three missions.

Trucks from the U.N. and other humanitarian organizations entered three besieged communities in Syria this week for the first time in months.

The town of Madaya has been under siege for months by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad. q

WORLD NEWS 9

Friday 15 January 2016

PM says Turkish artillery hit Cologne prosecutors: Reward offered over New Year’s Eve attacks IS positions in Iraq and Syria SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish tanks and artillery attacked the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the suicide bombing in Istanbul that killed 10 tourists, Turkey’s prime minister said Thursday — the country’s first significant strike against the Islamic extremists in months.

Turkey agreed last year to take on a larger role in the fight against IS amid two major attacks that left 135 people dead. But critics contend the country has shown only limited engagement, striking only when attacked and focusing instead on quelling Kurdish rebels.

Turkey rejects the accusations, pointing out that it has opened its bases to the U.S.-led air campaign against IS , boosted security along its 900-kilometer (550-mile) border with Syria to try to prevent IS fighters from crossing it and cracked down on suspected terror cells in Turkey, detaining or deporting thousands of militants. Turkish forces are also training Iraqi Kurdish forces fighting the militants.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said some 200 extremists had been killed over the past 48 hours in Turkey’s offensive against IS along the Syria-Turkish border and near a Turkish camp in northern Iraq.

He did not rule out possible airstrikes against the group, although a day earlier he said Russia was obstructing Turkey’s ability to conduct airstrikes against IS in Syria.

The Turkish leader said Ankara acted after deter-

mining that IS was responsible for the “heinous” suicide bombing Tuesday in Istanbul’s main tourist district, just steps away from the landmark Blue Mosque.

All of the dead were German tourists.

Turkish officials say the bomber, a Syrian born in 1988, was affiliated with the Islamic State group and entered Turkey by posing as a refugee. Interior Minister Efkan Ala said seven people had been detained in connection with the bombing.

“Turkey will continue to punish with even greater force any threat that is directed against Turkey or its guests,” Davutoglu said.

“We will press ahead with our determined struggle until the Daesh terrorist organization leaves Turkey’s borders ... and until it loses its ability to continue with its acts that soil our sacred religion, Islam.”

Davutoglu was speaking in Ankara hours after Kurdish rebels detonated a car bomb at a police station in southeastern Turkey, then attacked it with rocket launchers and firearms.

Six people were killed, including three children, authorities said.

Clashes between Turkey’s security forces and the rebels of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, reignited in July, shattering a fragile peace process.

Turkey has carried out numerous airstrikes against PKK positions in northern Iraq and imposed extended curfews in flashpoint neighborhoods and towns in its mainly Kurdish southeast as security forces battle Kurdish militants linked to the PKK.q

German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends the debate at the German parliament Bundestag on the crime in Cologne during New Year’s Eve, in Berlin, Germany.

(AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) Prosecutors in Cologne said Thursday they are offering a reward of 10,000 euros ($10,920) for information leading to the arrest or identification of those who committed sexual assaults and robberies during New Year’s.

A spokesman for Cologne prosecutors said they have so far received 652 criminal complaints from that night, when groups of drunken men described as being mostly of “Arab or North African” origin attacked revelers at the city’s main train station. At least 331 complaints alleged sexual assaults, including two cases of rape, Ulrich Bremer told The Associated Press. In total, 739 victims have come forward â mostly women â of whom 430 alleged they had been sexually assaulted in some way.

Bremer said authorities have evaluated 350 hours of video and interviewed 120 witnesses. Police are calling for anyone who has

more video or photographs of the scene that night to upload it to their website.

The scale and nature of the attacks has triggered a nationwide debate in Germany about the country’s ability to integrate refugees, because some of the suspects are asylum seekers.

Bremer said authorities have charged 13 men with robbery, theft, dealing in stolen goods and resisting arrest. Five men are in custody, he said. The number of people charged is likely to rise in the coming days as police forward their findings to prosecutors, Bremer added.

The governor of North Rhine-Westphalia state, where Cologne is located, expressed regret for the attacks.

Hannelore Kraft told the state parliament that she understood how the incident made citizens feel insecure, but insisted that it shouldn’t be used to tarnish the vast majority of innocent refugees. Germany saw almost 1.1 million asy-

lum seekers arrive last year, many of them from wartorn Syria.

“After Cologne, we need more, not less, integration,” Kraft said, adding that her state would continue to welcome those fleeing war and persecution elsewhere in the world.

Asylum seekers from countries such as Algeria and Morocco, who stand little chance of having their request approved, should be processed more swiftly, she said.

The head of the International Organization for Migration said refugees in Germany shouldn’t be stigmatized by alleged sexual assaults against women and other crimes by some asylum-seekers on New Year’s Eve. While decrying the “absolutely reprehensible” and “horrible” attacks, IOM Director-General William Lacy Swing also appealed for some “perspective” about the alleged crimes and warned of stereotyping the refugees. q

A10 WORLD

Friday 15 January 2016

NEWS

Stranded Cuban migrants make plans to cross Mexico C. SHERMAN MARIA VERZA Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Nearly 200 Cuban migrants who recently arrived in southern Mexico after being stranded several months in Costa Rica began making plans on Thursday to travel to the border with the United States.

Migrant Manuel Rivero Oliva, reached by telephone

early Thursday at a hotel in the southern city of Tapachula, said he and his cousin Alexei Oliva were headed to the airport there to buy plane tickets, hopefully for Friday, to the border city of Matamoros across from Brownsville, Texas.

Rivero, a 27-year-old trying to reach Orlando, Florida, said Wednesday’s travel had gone smoothly and that in about an hour they

received the paperwork needed to transit Mexico.

“It was all really fast.

They (Mexican immigration officials) were well prepared with a team there waiting for us. It’s a blessing,” Rivero said. “It was a beautiful thing to know there are so many people supporting us.”

His cousin, Alexei Oliva, 28, who planned to travel to Michigan once they reach

the U.S., said most of their countrymen had spent the night in shelters in Tapachula and planned to continue north by bus. Oliva said he left Cuba on Oct. 27, flying first to Ecuador where he worked for a time to save money to continue.

On Wednesday, the 180 Cubans descended one by one from chartered buses and were processed by Mexican authorities, who

issued transit visas granting them 20 days to leave the country.

Sergei Acosta, a 35-yearold farmer, was the first of the Cubans to set foot on Mexican soil.

He said he was elated despite a long night of travel by plane from Costa Rica to El Salvador, and from there by bus through Guatemala to Ciudad Hidalgo in Mexico.q

Uncertainty in Guatemala as new president takes office SONIA PEREZ D. Associated Press GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — TV comic and political neophyte Jimmy Morales was being inaugurated as Guatemala’s next leader on Thursday amid uncertainty over how he plans to run the Central American nation beset by entrenched poverty, rampant corruption and violent criminal gangs.

United States Vice President Joe Biden met with Morales and the leaders of El Salvador and Honduras before the swearing in Thursday. Biden congratulated Morales for his commitment to fight corruption.

He noted that thousands of Guatemalans had gone into the streets to demand change and elected Morales to do the job.

Morales petitioned Biden Thursday to add Guatemala to the list of countries granted temporary protected status, which provides its eligible citizens in the U.S. a degree of temporary protection from de-

Honduras’ President Juan Orlando Hernandez, left, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, second left, Guatemala’s President-elect Jimmy Morales, second right, and El Salvador’s President Salvador Sanchez Ceren pose for photos during a meeting in Guatemala City, Thursday, Jan 14, 2016.

Biden and the Central American leaders are on a one day trip to attend the presidential inauguration of Jimmy Morales.

(AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

portation and allows them to work and travel.

El Salvador and Honduras already have the status known as TPS. It is usually granted in cases in which

the country is suffering from an armed conflict or natural disaster that makes it difficult to receive its citizens.

Guatemala has been beset by corruption scandals

that forced President Otto Perez Molina and his vice president from office.

Last year, the U.S. Congress approved $750 million in aid to the three countries

contingent on their efforts to reduce migration to the U.S. and the factors driving it. Morales has yet to say who will make up his Cabinet, and he already suffered one political setback when prosecutors formally asked for the equivalent of impeachment proceedings against an allied lawmaker suspected of human rights violations dating to Guatemala’s civil war.

“He is a president who takes office without a party, without well-qualified people he trusts and with a state apparatus that’s really in financial and institutional ruin,” said Edgar Gutierrez, an analyst at San Carlos University in Guatemala.

Morales won office in a runoff Oct. 25 after huge anti-corruption demonstrations. Perez Molina and his vice president are behind bars and facing prosecution, and the outsider’s triumph was seen as a punishment vote from an electorate that wanted a fresh break. q

Officials: 3 US volunteers killed in Honduras bus crash FREDDY CUEVAS Associated Press TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Two New York college students and a U.S. health-care worker died Wednesday in this Central American nation when their bus crashed while taking them to the airport to fly home after a volunteer mission helping poor Hondurans. Isa Alvarado, spokeswoman for the Public Min-

istry morgue in Honduras, said the dead were three American women aged 20, 21 and 45. Their identities were not immediately released. Twelve more Americans were injured.

Reinaldo Canales, administrator for the Valle de Angeles Adventist Hospital, said they were in stable condition.U.S.-based Global Brigades, which organizes international health

and development missions, posted a notice on its website saying the accident involved a bus transporting “Columbia University students and other volunteers,” and that those killed were two students and a health care professional.

Columbia later issued a statement saying the vehicle was also carrying students from Barnard College, a women’s liberal arts

institution that is affiliated with the university and is located just steps away from its campus in upper Manhattan. “Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to all those affected by this tragedy,” said the Global Brigades statement, attributed to cofounder Steven Atamian.

Phone messages left at the organization’s headquarters in Seattle were not immediately returned. The

crash took place on a highway east of the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa. Officials reported that the bus was traveling from the town of San Juancito when it veered off a road and fell at least 260 feet (80 meters) into a ravine. Firefighters’ spokesman Capt. Gustavo Barahona said the crash was believed to be the result of mechanical failure. q

WORLD NEWS A11

Friday 15 January 2016

Venezuela opposition congress tries to start legislating

Lawmaker Romel Guzamana of the Baniva Indian community, center, protests with supporters in front of the General Prosecutor’s office in Caracas, Venezuela. Dozens of Indians under the cry of “justice, justice,” protested outside the General Prosecutor’s office the removal of three Amazonas state elected congress members from the National Assembly. Guzamana is one of three lawmakers who were barred by the Supreme Court from taking office due to irregularities during the election.

(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

HANNAH DREIER Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s new opposition congress is finally getting down to the business of writing laws, but it’s unclear whether the socialist-controlled courts and other institutions will enforce them.

Opponents of the ruling socialist party stepped back from the brink of a showdown between the branches of power on Wednesday when they agreed to unseat three contested lawmakers.

The Supreme Court had said those lawmakers could not be sworn in until officials had investigated claims that they engaged in voter fraud. The high court later said anything the legislature did would be null until the lawmakers were gone.

Opposition leaders are calling the move a tactical retreat from an “institutional ambush” and are starting to outline policy proposals.

Chief among the initiatives are proposed legislation to give amnesty to jailed ac-

tivists, a bill to give people in public housing the title to their homes, and a project to audit major institutions.

“There are many Venezuelans who are temporarily behind bars. In the coming days, we are going to free them so that they can participate in the great development of our country,” opposition lawmaker Richard Blanco said on the floor Thursday.

But while the opposition has a strong mandate from its landslide victory in the Dec. 6 legislative elections, supporters of the revolution started by late President Hugo Chavez still control virtually every other institution.

The socialist party enjoyed a 17-year winning streak in national elections, amassing near-total control over all major state institutions.

But while the opposition congress may have a lot of power on paper, that power is still untested.

Congress president Henry Ramos says opposition leaders would have to find a way to legislate while

being “besieged” by the other branches of government.

Sometimes you have to sacrifice some things to save others,” he told television station Globovision Wednesday.

Lawmakers started work Thursday on legislation that would free dozens of people imprisoned because of their participation in 2014 anti-government protests.

Human rights groups consider these activists to be political prisoners, but the government says they precipitated violence that left dozens dead.

Maduro has warned that he would “never accept” an amnesty law, and outgoing congressional president Diosdado Cabello,

who remains one of the socialist party’s most powerful figures, repeated that sentiment last week.

“They think they can make a law that allows murderers to pardon other murderers,” he said. The opposition may have the votes needed to overturn a presidential veto, but it’s far from certain that the courts loyal to the socialist party would uphold its will. Another sign of constitutional disarray: It’s unclear whether the opposition, which won exactly two-thirds of congressional seats, will retain its crucial super-majority now that the three contested lawmakers are gone.

Congressional leaders argue that they should keep their commanding major-

ity because the overall size of congress is now smaller.

Socialists say the calculation should still be made using the total capacity of congress, meaning that the opposition loses the supermajority as long as those seats remain empty.

Even as the rank-and-file starts work, congressional leaders are eyeing the next institutional fight.

They have convened a committee to start looking into alleged court packing and the rush appointment of 13 Supreme Court justices last month. That would be the first step toward replacing the justices, one of whom ran unsuccessfully in December as a congressional candidate with the socialist party.q

A12 WORLD

Friday 15 January 2016

NEWS

Trinidad faces downturn as energy prices collapse DAVID McFADDEN Associated Press PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) — During the good times, earnings from natural gas and oil exports made the tiny Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago one of the richest countries in the Western Hemisphere. The collapse in world oil prices now has it facing the threat of a punishing and prolonged downturn.

After two decades of nearly uninterrupted prosperity, the government is being forced to scale back spending by 7 percent, siphon some $1.5 billion from a stabilization fund over the next couple of years and warn its 1.3 million people that they will have to make do with less.

“We must all appreciate that the circumstances we now face as a nation require sacrifice and managed adjustment in our living standards,” Prime Minister Keith Rowley cautioned in a recent speech.

Those standards include American-style shopping malls, cheap electricity, subsidized gasoline and so many families with multiple cars that highways weaving past abandoned cane fields are often clogged with traffic jams in both directions.

Things have been going so well for so many years that locals repeat the mantra “God is a Trini,” meaning the twin-island republic,

Band members perform with steel pan drums, Trinidad and Tobago’s national instrument, for parishioners in a suburban church east of Port-of-Spain. For many years, officials have repeatedly said that Trinidad’s economic base had to be broadened to provide protection from global energy downturns. Yet little has been achieved.

(AP Photo/David McFadden)

known for high spirits and rollicking Carnival celebrations, is so blessed that things will always turn out well. But the specter of tough economic times is starting to prompt a glum self-examination.

“You can see it coming: Times will be getting hard.

Previous governments have spent too lavishly and now it’s time we have to pay the piper,” said Adrian Lashley, a father of five who runs a small clothing shop in downtown Port-ofSpain, the capital.

Trinidad gets roughly 45 percent of its gross domestic product and 80 percent

of export revenue from the energy industry. In June 2014, the price of Trinidad’s benchmark crude was $106 per barrel and the government had drawn its 2015 budget anticipating $80 a barrel, but the price has plummeted to near $30. Prices for liquid natural gas, Trinidad’s main export, have declined by some 45 percent.

The global price collapse has already inflicted serious economic damage in oil-producing nations such as Venezuela and Nigeria.

With forecasts suggesting that world prices won’t recover anytime soon, econ-

omists say this downturn will have a serious bite here.

Last month, the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago announced the country was officially in recession, with no economic growth in 2015.

“The situation is very, very dire because of the extent to which we depend on the oil and gas sector.

The government’s no longer going to have access to the kind of resources it’s been used to in order to maintain the country,” said economist Indera Sagewan-Alli, executive director of the University of the West Indies’ Caribbean Center

Puerto Rico invests $8M to boost education

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico has invested $8 million in an online educational program aimed at boosting public school curriculums in the U.S. territory.

Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla said Thursday that the program is available 24 hours a day and will be offered at 700 schools. He said federal grants helped

fund the program. Education officials have said the program aims to stimulate learning and crack down on the island’s high level of desertion. The announce-

ment comes as a worsening economic crisis has forced Puerto Rico to close dozens of public schools amid an increase in people migrating to the U.S. mainland.

for Competiveness.

While it has exported oil for over a century, Trinidad and Tobago, just 7 miles (11 kilometers) off the coast of oil giant Venezuela, became a significant global energy player about 25 years ago when it tapped big reserves of natural gas. That helped rescue the country following an oil bust in the 1980s that touched off labor unrest, contracted the economy by 35 percent, and forced the government to seek help from the International Monetary Fund.

Rowley, who took office in September, has warned that the country will have to go to the IMF again if it doesn’t make the right adjustments now. Trinidad and Tobago has few local industries so the economy is almost entirely dependent on foreign exchange.

“We need it for food, medicines, clothing, books and education, cars, trucks and tractors, and computers. We are very dependent on foreign exchange to sustain our economy and our standard of living,” Rowley said.

The government is calling on businesses to find cheaper sources of imports and for consumers to buy whatever locally produced goods they can find. Rowley said government spending must be slashed as its expenditures are roughly 35 percent of gross domestic product.

For many years, officials have repeatedly said that Trinidad’s economic base had to be broadened to provide protection from global energy downturns. Yet, little has been achieved even as proven natural gas reserves declined.

LOCAL A13

Friday 15 January 2016

ATA Honors Donald & Susan Hearn as Emerald Ambassadors ORANJESTAD - Recently the Aruba Tourism Authority honored Mr. Donald and Mrs. Susan Hearn of Ontario, Canada as Emerald Ambassadors of Aruba, as a token of appreciation for visiting the island for 43 consecutive years. The symbolic honorary title is presented on behalf of the Minister of Tourism, Transportation, Primary Sector and Culture Mr. O. Oduber as a token of appreciation for guests visiting the island for 35-or-more consecutive years.

Ms. Darline de Cuba representing the Aruba Tourism Authority, Visitors care Liaison, bestowed the commemorative Emerald Coin and Emerald Certificate to the honorees at La Quinta on behalf of the Government of Aruba.

Ms. Darline S. De Cuba thanked Donald and Susan for choosing Aruba as their vacation destination and as their home away from home for so many years. Mrs. Ika Arends was also present at the ceremony and handed out some gifts to the honorees and also thanked them on behalf of La Quinta Beach Resort and the people of Aruba. The honored guest stated that the main reasons for returning to Aruba were the weather, the restaurants, the safety, and most of all, the people.

Congratulation Donald and Susan, you hold a special place in the heart of Aruba.q

A14 LOCAL

Friday 15 January 2016

Loyal Visitors Honored at La Cabana Beach Resort EAGLE BEACH - Recently the Aruba Tourism Authority honored Mr. Mikhail and Mrs. Marietta Manilov of Niles, Illinois as Distinguished Visitors of Aruba as a token of appreciation for visiting the island for more than 10

Visitors to the honorees on behalf of the Government of Aruba.

Ms. Darline de Cuba and Caroline thanked them for choosing Aruba as their vacation destination and as their home away from

consecutive years.

Ms. Darline de Cuba representing the Aruba Tourism Authority, Visitors care Liaison bestowed the certificate of Distinguished

home for so many years.

Visitors stated that the main reasons for returning to Aruba were the weather, the restaurants, safety and most of all the people.q

LOCAL A15

Friday 15 January 2016

Aruba Chamber of Commerce to Host Business Plaza-Step Forward!

ORANJESTAD - Attention all entrepreneurs!

Are you thinking of adding new products and/or services, restructuring your company or maybe you are considering international trading? Then you have to attend Business

Plaza-Step Forward! to set your goals!

Business Plaza–Step Forward! will take place on Saturday, January 16, 2016 from 9:00 am till 3:00 pm at the Chamber and is aimed at the existing entrepreneur focusing on any type of

business expansion. Admission is FREE! Business Plaza-Step Forward! is sponsored by Banco di Caribe!

Social Media has gained enormous worldwide growth and is an important aspect that your company

cannot overlook! Join us for a ‘hands-on’ Social Media Workshop during Business Plaza-Step Forward! upcoming Saturday, January 16 at the Chamber of Commerce. Please bring a Smartphone or tablet!

The morning program consists of several presentations on business expansion related topics. After a refreshment break, which includes networking opportunity, the afternoon program covers a Social Media workshop from 1.00 till 2.30 pm.

As usual, one-on-one information sessions are avail-

able with the Chamber’s business advisors and the Department of Economic Affairs. In order to assist at the presentations and the workshop, pre-registration is required.

You may register by sending your name and phone number to: businessinfo@ arubachamber.com until Friday January 15.

For more information on the program details, questions or remarks please contact the Chamber at: 582-1566, ext. 30/27/35.

We hope to see you Saturday, January 16 at the Aruba Chamber!q

A16 LOCAL

Friday 15 January 2016

CARPHA & CHTA Present:

Zika Guidelines For Hotels And Guesthouses In The Caribbean ORANJESTAD - This document made available by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) provides information on Zika (ZIKV) disease prevention and control measures for travelers coming to the Caribbean.

This information is based on currently available scientific evidence and has been adapted and prepared for the Caribbean situation.

ZIKV is a mosquito-borne viral infection which is transmitted by the same Aedes aegypti mosquito which transmits dengue and chikungunya viruses.

ZIKV was first detected in the Americas in 2014 and since then has spread to several other countries and territories. Since ZIKV is new to the Caribbean, almost everyone is susceptible to the infection.

The most common symptoms of ZIKV infection are mild fever and skin rash, usually accompanied by conjunctivitis, muscle or joint pain, and general malaise that begins 2-7 days after the bite of an infected mosquito. Symptoms are similar to those of dengue and chikungunya and can last 2- 7 days.

ZIKV cannot be transmitted by close or casual contact with an infected person (i.e., not person to person) or through the air, food or water.

What can Hotels and Guesthouses in the Caribbean do to Prevent and Prepare for Zika?

There is no vaccine or treatment available for ZIKA, so prevention measures are essential.

-Stay informed about the ZIKV situation in your country, and in other Caribbean countries.

-Provide staff and guests with information on ZIKV so that they are aware of the signs and symptoms, how ZIKV is transmitted and how it can be prevented.

-Consider placing having insect repellents in every room, or having them available for purchase.

-Avoid storing water in outdoor containers that can collect water to prevent them from becoming mosquito breeding sites.

-Cover water tanks or reservoirs so that mosquitoes do not get in.

-Avoid the build-up of garbage, which can act as a breeding site for mosquitoes. Put garbage in closed plastic bags and keep it in closed containers.

-Uncover/unblock gutters and drains to release stagnant water.

- Install mosquito screening on windows and doors to help reduce contact between Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), January, 2016 2 mosquitoes and guests.

-Consider supplying guests with bed nets in areas where the sleeping quarters are exposed to the outdoors.

For more information on Zika (ZIKV) disease, visit: http://www.cdc.gov/zika/ index.html.

CARPHA will continue to evaluate new information as it becomes available, and will update this guidance as needed.q

SPORTS A17

Friday 15 January 2016

Up For Grabs

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) catches a pass for a touchdown over Houston Texans strong safety Quintin Demps (27) during an NFL football game in Houston. The Patriots face the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday in a playoff game.

(AP Photo/George Bridges)

Playoff Preview:

Belichick: Charging Chiefs Are Hard To Plan Against

Associated Press (AP) - There are two Kansas City Chiefs games on Bill Belichick’s mind.

One is the Chiefs’ most recent one, when they beat the Houston Texans 30-0 last weekend in the first round of the NFL playoffs. The other is New England’s previous encounter with them, when they beat the Patriots 41-14 in 2014, the secondworst defeat of Belichick’s coaching tenure with the Patriots.

In that game, Patriots quar-

terback Tom Brady was 14 of 23 for 159 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Jimmy Garoppolo finished the game and there was some talk he should replace Brady as the starter. But the Patriots dominated the rest of the season and won their fourth Super Bowl.

“There are some things we can take from (the last matchup). There are some things that are outdated. ...

It has relevance,” Belichick says.

A fifth straight AFC Championship game beckons for the Patriots at home in Foxborough on Saturday, but the Chiefs have a streak of their own.

The Chiefs have won a team-record 11 straight games, and Belichick says that makes it harder to prepare for them because there were so few examples of things opponents did that worked.

The injury-riddled Patriots stumbled to the finish. They lost their final two games to

drop from first to second in the conference. They were 2-4 after a 10-0 start.

They lost running backs Dion Lewis and LeGarrette Blount for the season, and star wideout Julian Edelman missed the last seven games.

Only their formidable record makes them slight favorites. They are 17-4 at home in the postseason; in NFL history, Belichick has the most playoff victories by a coach (22), and Brady has the most of any quar-

terback (21).

Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith doesn’t have a bad record either.

In four career playoff games, he has 10 touchdowns and just one interception.

Smith bristles at the notion that he’s a “game manager,” as if that’s a derogatory term reserved for quarterbacks one step down from elite. But in his case, it may be a flattering description.

Continued on Page 19

A18 SPORTS

Friday 15 January 2016

Cruz set to face UFC bantamweight champion Dillashaw at TD Garden

Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria plays a shot in his quarterfinal match against Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine during the Sydney International tennis tournament in Sydney, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016.

(AP Photo/Rob Griffith)

David Ferrer keeps Auckland success going SYDNEY (AP) — Four-time champion David Ferrer kept alive one ritual and American Jack Sock tried starting another at Auckland’s ASB Classic on Thursday.

The top-seeded Ferrer reached the semifinals for the sixth time after beating Lukas Rosol 6-3, 6-4, and advanced to play Sock.

The 26th-ranked Sock upset fourth-seeded Kevin Anderson 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, and began a new post-match ritual by removing one sock and handing it to a fan.

“We were talking about it in the warm-up today,” Sock said. “Jo (Wilfried Tsonga) has got his thing and a few players have their thing, and with such a unique last name that I have we figured I might start a new tradition and give a sock away if I win.”

Second-seeded Jo-Wil-

fried Tsonga advanced to the semis on his first visit to Auckland, but only after a difficult struggle with No. 6-seeded Fabio Fognini.

Tsonga won 7-5, 7-6 (4) in a match which turned on single points in the late stages of both sets.

The 10th-ranked Tsonga will next play eighth-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut, who beat two-time champion John Isner 7-5, 2-6, 6-3.

Isner, who served 31 aces in his win over American compatriot Sam Querrey on Wednesday, served 17 on Thursday. But Bautista Agut managed to find the means to cope with Isner’s powerful serve.

Rain interrupted and then suspended play at the Hobart International and the Sydney International, where Grigor Dimitrov was leading Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 4-6, 6-3, 4-2

after frequent interruptions.

Top-seeded Simona Halep led Svetlana Kuznetsova 5-4 in their semifinal, while Monica Puig of Puerto Rico led Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 4-0.

At Hobart, Mona Barthel withdrew from her scheduled quarterfinal against Alize Cornet with a back injury, handing Cornet a walkover. Barthel sought treatment early in the first set of her win over Naomi Osaka on Wednesday.

In a completed quarterfinal, third-seeded Dominika Cibulkova beat Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 7-5, 6-3.

In the Kooyong Classic exhibition in Melbourne, Nicolas Almagro beat Hyeon Chung of South Korea 6-2, 6-2, and 2006 Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis defeated PaulHenri Mathieu 7-6 (3), 6-3. q

BOSTON (AP) — Injuries cost Dominick Cruz his UFC bantamweight title.

He’ll have a chance to regain it Sunday when he faces TJ Dillashaw in the main event of a UFC Fight Night event at the TD Garden.

“I’ve been away for a year and the UFC called me up and asked if I wanted a title shot,” Cruz said Thursday. “I said yes.”

Cruz (20-1) last fought in September 2014 when he stopped Takeya Mizugaki in the first round.

The first UFC bantamweight champion, Cruz last defended the title in October 2011 with a unanimous decision over Demetrious Johnson. After that fight, Cruz sustained a series of knee injuries and the UFC stripped him of the title.

Dillashaw (13-2) beat Renan Barao for the vacant title May 24, 2014, and has defended it twice.

“I’ve had three ACL recoveries, where the muscle was stripped off the bone,” Cruz said. “I was down to nothing and I had to rebuild it three separate times. I also tore my quad off the bone.”

Cruz said he has completely recovered and is confident they won’t be a factor on Sunday.

“I’m going two hours at a time, nonstop,” the 30-year-old Cruz said.

“That’s a lot of time to be on your knees. In the gym, there’s a bounty for any-

one who can finish me.

There are a lot of hungry guys in my gym. That’s the way I want it. I don’t want anyone to go soft on me.”

The 29-year-old Dillashaw said Cruz’s injuries are not necessarily a focus of his game plan.

“If it’s there, I’ll take advantage of it,” Dillashaw said.

“I’m not afraid to. If he wants to live his legs out there I’ll take them out, I’ll kick them. It’s not something I’ll be looking for, you know.”

The fighters have engaged in a war of words.

“We’ve always been easygoing with each other; then when the fight was announced, he turned into something else, a little trash-talker,” Dillashaw said. “He’s selling the fight, just trying his best to be relevant. He has three more days to do that. Then I’m going to retire him.”

Said Cruz, “You see how it’s changed. It went from ‘Dominick’s terrible. I’m a better version of him. I’m going to knock him out in two rounds,’ to ‘I’m a martial artist. I don’t task trash.’ Well, which one is it? I never started talking trash. You did. I just finished it” In the co-main event, Anthony Pettis will face Eddie Alvarez in a nontitle lightweight bout. In a heavyweight contest, Travis Brown will fight Matthew Mitrione.q

SPORTS A19

Friday 15 January 2016

Playoff Preview:

Belichick: Charging Chiefs Are Hard To Plan Against

Continued from Page 17

Not many signal callers in the league make fewer mistakes than Smith, who threw just seven picks all season. Few have the same wherewithal to scramble for first downs when a pocket collapses, or check out of a failing play, or chuck the ball out of bounds to avoid a sack.

Aaron Rodgers is one of the few, but the odds of a return trip to the NFC Championship game are stacked against him and the Green Bay Packers in the form of an Arizona Cardinals team that beat them 38-8 just three weeks ago.

“We kind of felt like this was a possibility,” Rodgers says.

“It’s going to be one more competitive game, I bet.”

As the Seattle Seahawks found out against the Minnesota Vikings last weekend, though, a blowout win earlier in the season can bring a well-prepared, pride-filled opponent. Thus, the Cardinals can’t be expecting another 30-point margin of victory, particularly after Rodgers and the Packers found some muchneeded momentum in a 35-18 playoff victory over the Washington Redskins after a flat first quarter.

As long as Rodgers is running the offense, discounting the Packers would be unwise no matter how unorganized and punchless they’ve looked at times this season. Eddie Lacy and James Starks each had 12 carries last Sunday, and combined for 116 yards rushing, production they’ll have to repeat to be able to upset the Cardinals in their comfortable desert Kansas City Chiefs running back Knile Davis (34) returns a kickoff for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL wildcard playoff football game against the Houston Texans, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016, in Houston.

(AP Photo/Austin Gay)

home.

The onus is on the defense, though, against a prolific Cardinals team that averaged more than 30 points per game behind the finest of Carson Palmer’s 13 seasons in the NFL. Rookie David Johnson has become quite the asset as a runner and a receiver, and a Packers secondary that played without top cornerback Sam Shields because of a concussion will have to keep up with the terrific wide receiver trio of Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and John Brown.q

New York Giants hire McAdoo to replace Coughlin as head coach TOM CANAVAN Associated Press EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey -- The New York Giants didn’t have to look far to find a replacement for Tom Coughlin.

Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo has been promoted to take over the team that has missed the playoffs the past four seasons, the team announced Thursday.

The 38-year-old McAdoo has been on the fast track since reviving the offense over the past two seasons.

He got the first interview for the job after Coughlin, 69, stepped down after 12 seasons. McAdoo made an immediate impression.

The coaching search lasted less than 10 days.

The Giants have liked what McAdoo has done with the offense the past two seasons, helping two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback Eli Manning get back on track.

It didn’t hurt that Manning voiced support for his coach after the season.

This is McAdoo’s first head coaching job.

It’s unclear whether defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who also interviewed for the top job, will stay.

“Excited for Coach McAdoo,” cornerback Prince Amukama said in a text to The Associated Press. q

20 SPORTS

Friday 15 January 2016

Missouri admits NCAA hoops violations, vacates ‘13-14 season R.B. FALLSTROM AP Sports Writer The University of Missouri admitted NCAA violations in its men’s basketball program dating to 2011 and banned itself Wednesday from the postseason this year and vacated all 23 wins from the 2013-14 season. The NCAA is still investigating and Missouri said it was working with the organization in hopes of limiting the punishment to its selfimposed sanctions, which includes the SEC tournament. “We have faced this issue head-on,” athletic director Mack Rhoades said.

“These are not decisions we took lightly. We really felt like it was the right thing to do, and it will help put us in position to move this program forward.”

Missouri was 23-12 in 2013-

14, Frank Haith’s final season. Haith left for Tulsa not long after the school received a verbal notice of inquiry from the NCAA in April 2014.

The Tigers won just nine games last season under new coach Kim Anderson and are 8-8 this season, coming off the worst loss in Mizzou Arena history — a 94-61 setback to Arkansas on Tuesday that Anderson said made him “embarrassed.”

“A lot of things run through your head,” Anderson said.

“I’m disappointed that the actions of a few individuals have put our program in this type of situation.”

Anderson said he wasn’t aware of the investigation when he was hired and felt bad for forward Ryan Rosburg, the lone senior on the

team. Rhoades said he was aware last March when he replaced AD Mike Alden and said he has “worked extensively from Day 1 to resolve this.”

The school hopes the issue will be resolved this spring.

“Every kid’s goal is to go the NCAA Tournament, so obviously when that’s taken away there’s disappointment,” Anderson said. “I think we did the right thing.

We felt like it was best to do it now and then move forward and put it behind us.”

Haith was suspended for five games by the NCAA at the start of the 2013-14 season for inadequately monitoring former assistants interactions with a disgraced Miami booster and then trying to cover up a five-figure hush money payment to keep potential violations

Missouri’s Russell Woods, right, dunks the ball ahead of Savannah State’s Brian Pearson during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

hidden.

The investigation found that Haith and Miami assistant coach Jake Morton paid Nevin Shapiro $10,000 after he threatened to expose previous improper contact with high school recruits and amateur coaches.

Haith’s attorney, Scott Tompsett, said his client did not learn about the NCAA investigation last February when the NCAA contacted Tulsa to inform the school of it. Tompsett said Haith cooperated fully with the NCAA and has been informed that he will not be charged with any violations or wrongdoing.

“It has been Coach Haith’s position throughout this investigation that he acted appropriately at all times and that he monitored his program and promoted an atmosphere of compliance,” Tompsett said.

“The fact that the enforcement staff has not charged Coach Haith with any violations validates our position.”

The Tigers didn’t practice Wednesday and Anderson said he told players to “reset your goals.” He also said there was no need to “su-

garcoat” the message.

“Who knows whether we would qualify for the postseason?” Anderson said.

“Today, I would say I don’t know.”

Besides the postseason ban, the school has stripped itself of one scholarship this season and a second scholarship no later than the 2017-18 season, plus has restricted recruiting through 2016-17. It also said it would pay a $5,000 fine.

The school permanently banned one unidentified donor who the NCAA said provided impermissible benefits to three players and one recruit in 201314. The benefits included compensation for work not done at a business through a summer intern program, along with housing, $520 cash, local transportation, iPads, meals and use of a local gym.

“It is clear from our collaborative investigation with the NCAA that a former member of our athletics staff and members of our donor community violated NCAA bylaws, and we take those actions seriously,” Chancellor Hank Foley said.q

SPORTS A21

Friday 15 January 2016

English Preview:

Meeting of mediocrity as Liverpool hosts Man United in EPL ROB HARRIS AP Sports Writer LONDON (AP) — As English football’s most successful teams, Manchester United and Liverpool are the mainstays around the summit of the league.

Rivals come and go but United and Liverpool are always to be found among the chasing pack, at least, for the top prize.

No longer.

When the northwest rivals play on Sunday at Anfield it will be a meeting of mediocrity — by their standards.

For the first time in 35 years, the league could finish without either United or Liverpool — who have 38 titles between them — in the top four.

And it’s about cash, not just symbolism. Finishing outside the top four would mean missing out on the Champions League next season.

With only one win in eight league matches, record 20-time champion United has dropped to sixth place, two points behind Tottenham in fourth. Liverpool is three points behind United in ninth after failing to achieve the uplift anticipated in the three months since hiring Juergen Klopp as manager.

While United’s draws have added to the pressure on Louis van Gaal, Liverpool’s scrambled comebacks to rescue points have been

celebrated by Klopp and his squad almost like wins — including Wednesday’s 3-3 comeback at home to Arsenal.

lose. We showed character and resilience and we didn’t give up until the end of the game. It’s very important that we keep

for Sunday’s game against Stoke.

“Arsenal is one of those teams that everyone enjoys watching and of course I

Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney, left, celebrates his goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and Manchester United at St James’ Park, Newcastle, England, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2015.

(AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

“There has been a big improvement recently (in our mental strength) and that’s very important when you’re at a big club,” Liverpool defender Kolo Toure said. “You can’t ever give up. When you refuse to lose games, you often find yourself winning them.

“It’s always important that if you don’t win, you don’t

things going at home.”

SQUAD ADDITIONS There’s halfway to go in the January transfer window.

Having not signed an outfield player in the summer window, Arsenal recruited midfielder Mohamed Elneny on Thursday from Basel.

Arsenal expects the Egyptian to be registered in time

would love to play for such a great team,” he said.

Elneny arrives after winning three consecutive Swiss league titles at Basel, which he joined from El Mokawloon in Egypt.

Arsenal is seeking its first league title since 2004 but is only ahead of surprise contender Leicester at the summit on goal difference.

On Saturday, Arsenal’s north London neighbor Tottenham faces Sunderland, which has signed striker Dame N’Doye on loan from Trabzonspor for the rest of the season.The 30-year-old Senegal international was previously at Hull, scoring five times in 15 appearances before moving to Turkey.

“Having already played in the Premier League, he should have no problems in hitting the ground running, too, which is very important at this stage of the season,” Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce said.

VARDY GOAL DROUGHT After setting a Premier League record for scoring in 11 consecutive games, injury-hit Jamie Vardy has failed to score for a fifth consecutive match.

The 1-0 victory at Tottenham on Wednesday was secured by a rare goal from Robert Huth, on Vardy’s first game back from groin surgery.

“It difficult to say (when he was last fit), it’s important he continues to play,” Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri said ahead of Saturday’s game against Aston Villa. “If he doesn’t train very well, it’s important he keeps going to play. The match is like a training session for him.

“Jamie will start to make training sessions with us, he’s getting better.” q

Atletico Madrid advances to Copa del Rey quarterfinals AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — Angel Correa scored in the first half and Antoine Griezmann added two goals in the second as Atletico Madrid defeated Rayo Vallecano 3-0 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey with a 4-1 aggregate victory on Thursday.

Correa scored with a curling right-footed strike from just inside the area in the 40th minute, and Griezmann netted from close range in the 80th and in a counterattack in injury time. Atletico has won 13 of

its last 15 games, while conceding only five goals.

Also Thursday, Gary Neville’s Valencia secured its spot in the quarters with an easy 3-0 win at Granada, advancing 7-0 on aggregate. Atletico and Rayo had drawn 1-1 in the first leg 1-1 last week, but the hosts were in control from the start at the Vicente Calderon Stadium. Correa’s powerful shot flew over the goalkeeper and ricocheted off the crossbar before going in to give Atletico the lead. Griezmann flicked the ball home after

a cross was deflected near the goal line, and followed up by rounding the goalkeeper and shooting into an empty net just before the final whistle.

“Rayo did well in the first 20 minutes, but we switched to a 4-4-2 and were able to create more chances,” Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. The win came hours after FIFA announced it was banning Atletico and Real Madrid from signing players in the next two transfer windows because of breach in rules when registering players

under the age of 18. The clubs can still sign players in the current window that ends in January, but after that they will have to wait until after the 2016-17 season. Both teams said they will appeal. Valencia easily secured its spot in the quarters with goals by Wilfried Zahibo in the 42nd, Paco Alcacer in the 63rd and Pablo Piatti in the 84th.

“I’m happy overall with the performance,” Neville said.

“We took advantage of our chances and scored the goals we needed.”

The quarterfinals will also

feature defending champion Barcelona, last year’s runner-up Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla, Las Palmas, Celta Vigo and second-division club Mirandes. The homeand-away games are expected to take place on Jan. 20 and 27. The draw will be on Friday.

“Most of the teams are in the top half of the (Spanish league) standings,” Simeone said. “Any of the opponents will be complicated.”

Real Madrid was eliminated early in the tournament for using an ineligible player.q

A22

Friday 15 January 2016

SPORTS

Spanish Preview:

Zidane looks to keep Real Madrid on a roll TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — Zinedine Zidane gets a chance to keep Real Madrid’s momentum going in a home game against struggling Sporting Gijon in the Spanish league this weekend.

After routing Deportivo La Coruna 5-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Zidane’s debut as head coach on Saturday, Ma-

point, Madrid is third with 40 points, two less than Barcelona and four less than Atletico Madrid.

Zidane has had a full week to train the squad and try to reinforce his playing style, which is based on trying to retain ball possession and avoid long ball transitions from the defense to the attack.

The only bad news for the former France great going into Sunday’s match at the

best defense in the league — Barcelona and Malaga come next with 15 goals each.

Atletico has scored 27 times — Real Madrid has 52 goals and Barcelona 44 — but it’s been enough to keep the wins coming. Atletico leads the league with 14 victories, one more than Barcelona. Real Madrid and fourth-place Villarreal each won 12 times in 19 rounds.

“We’ve been improving

Real Madrid’s new head coach Zinedine Zidane gives instructions from the side line during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Deportivo Coruna at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016. Zidane gets a chance to keep Real Madrid’s momentum going in a home game against struggling Sporting Gijon in the Spanish league this weekend.

(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

drid plays an opponent that has lost seven of its last eight games, including the last four. Sporting hasn’t won a match since early December and is only 18th in the 20-team standings.

It has a game in hand, but it’s against Barcelona.

To make things worse, the team just found out that it will be without defender Bernardo Espinosa for about seven months because of a knee injury sustained last weekend.

Madrid, meanwhile, is boosted by the arrival of Zidane, who breathed new life into the Spanish giant after it struggled under coach Rafa Benitez.

Another victory under the command of the former player will keep fans satisfied and can move the team closer to the top of the table. At the halfway

Bernabeu is that captain Sergio Ramos is nursing a lingering shoulder injury that forced him to be substituted at halftime against Deportivo last Saturday.

Here are other things to know about the 20th round: ATLETICO’S DOMINANCE Atletico Madrid, which plays at 16th-place Las Palmas on Sunday, is the hottest team in the Spanish league with eight wins in its last nine games. Its only setback was a 1-0 loss at Malaga four rounds ago.

Diego Simeone’s team continues to rely on solid defense to stay on top. Atletico has conceded eight goals in 19 matches, and the only time it conceded more than one goal in a game was in a 2-1 home defeat to Barcelona in the third round. It’s by far the

game after game,” Simeone said.

FULL-STRENGTH BARCELONA After resting some players in the 2-0 win over Espanyol in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, coach Luis Enrique is expected to field the team’s regular starters when Barcelona hosts eighth-place Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

Enrique rested striker Neymar and defender Gerard Pique against Espanyol, but the duo is expected to be back in the squad against Athletic. Luis Suarez, who didn’t play Wednesday because of a suspension for insulting opponents in the first leg against the city rival, also is set to return.

Neymar and Suarez are the league’s leading scorers with 15 goals each.q

Italian Preview:

Napoli coach taking a pragmatic approach to teams’ Serie A lead ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer ROME (AP) — Diego Maradona has already promised that he will make a splashy arrival by helicopter if Napoli wins its first Serie A title in more than a quarter of a century.

Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri is taking a more pragmatic approach after the southern club claimed Serie A’s symbolic “winter title” last weekend.

“I don’t attribute any importance to it,” Sarri said of Napoli’s two-point lead over four-time defending champion Juventus and Inter Milan after 19 of 38 rounds in Serie A. The halfway champion has gone on to win Serie A nearly seven out of every 10 seasons.

The last time Napoli earned the mid-term honor was in 1990, when the team went on to claim its last title.

Maradona was the star of the 1990 team and also helped Napoli to the title in 1987 — the club’s only two Serie A championships.

“It’s useless to look at statistics from the past,” Sarri added. “We’ve got to imagine ourselves like marathon runners. We’ve reached the race’s halfway point but we’ve still got 21 kilometers (13 miles) to go.” The next test comes Saturday against a Sassuolo lineup that is in sixth place and beat Inter 1-0 last weekend.

Inter can put pressure on Napoli with a win at Atalanta earlier Saturday, while Juventus will be seeking its 10th consecutive win at Udinese on Sunday.

Fourth-place Fiorentina, which is three points back, visits struggling AC Milan on Sunday.

Fifth-place Roma, which fired Rudi Garcia on Wednesday, hosts last-place Hellas Verona.

Also this weekend, it’s: Torino vs. Frosinone; Genoa vs. Palermo; Bologna vs. Lazio; Carpi vs. Sampdoria; and Chievo Verona vs. Empoli.

Here are a few things to know about Serie A entering this weekend’s matches: GONZALO’S GOALS Nobody in Europe’s top leagues is scoring at a faster rate than Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain.

The Argentine player has 18 goals in 19 Serie A matches — 20 in 23 appearances in all competitions — for a rate of one goal every 89 minutes.

In Europe, only Alex Texeira at Shakhtar Donetsk (22 goals) and Nemanja Nikolic at Legia Warsaw (21 goals) have scored more than Higuain this season, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at Borussia Dortmund also has 18 goals.

Lionel Messi only has nine goals in the Spanish league while Cristiano Ronaldo has 14.

ROMA REVIVAL? With Luciano Spalletti widely expected to be named as the replacement for the fired Rudi Garcia, Roma is hoping the squad can rediscover the form that made it an early season title contender.

With only one win in its last seven Serie A matches, Roma has dropped to fifth place, seven points behind leader Napoli.

Roma never really recovered psychologically from a 6-1 rout by Barcelona in the Champions League in November. Spalletti coached Roma from 2005-09, winning two Italian Cups and an Italian Super Cup the Giallorossi’s last titles of any kind. He then spent five years with Zenit St. Petersburg before being fired in March 2014. q

Tesla software Tech Toys: has self-parking, If you think limiting speed

DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — Some Tesla Motors vehicles can park themselves without a driver inside with a software update beamed to customers over the weekend.

The update also puts new speed limits on Tesla’s semiautonomous Autopilot mode and makes several enhancements, including automatically slowing when the car is approaching a curve and keeping the car in its lane even when the lane markings are faded. CEO Elon Musk said the parking feature is a “baby step” toward his eventual goal: Letting drivers summon their selfdriving, self-charging cars from anywhere using their phones. “I actually think, and I might be slightly optimistic on this, within two years you’ll be able to summon your car from across the country,” Musk said on a conference call with reporters. “This is the first little step in that direction.”

For now, though, the system isn’t truly autonomous.

“It’s more like remote-control parking,” Musk said.

Owners must line up their Model S sedan or Model X SUV within 33 feet of the space they want it to drive or back into. They must then stand within 10 feet and direct the car to park itself using the key fob or Tesla’s smartphone app.

The car can also exit the spot when the driver summons it. If it’s going into a home garage, it can also open and close the garage door. Tesla says the system is helpful for tight parking spots, but cautions that it should only be used on private property since it can’t detect every potential obstacle. The car could hit bikes hanging from a garage ceiling, for example. The software update also puts new speed limits on Tesla’s semi-autonomous mode. The car will now only drive at or slightly above the speed limit when the Autopilot mode is being used on residential roads and on roads without a center divider.q

RYAN NAKASHIMA AP Business Writer LAS VEGAS (AP) — If you’re used to thinking of drones as a passing fad, last week’s CES gadget show should give you second thoughts.

Tiny, self-piloted copters promise to buzzily follow you around like something out of a Neal Stephenson cyberpunk novel. New drones that could find lost wilderness adventurers or help them see out above treetops; others purport to carry a human passenger at the touch of a button.

None of this, of course, will be happening overnight.

Limited battery life means that many commercial models can’t fly for more than about 20 minutes at best. Manufacturers haven’t yet figured out the best way to keep many tiny drones where they ought to be, given that GPS positioning sucks too much power for their minuscule batteries. Obstacle avoidance systems that would let small drones pilot themselves are still under development. And looming over the entire field are new government rules intended to keep people safe, but which may also slow innovation.

So far, none of those obstacles are slowing down an industry that appears to be in full lift-off. The ConsumerTechnology Association estimates that U.S. consumer drone spending will more than double to $953 million next year.

ABI Research believes the global market for drones will hit $8.4 billion in 2018, with users ranging from the military and oil companies to farmers, journalists, and backyard tinkerers.

As drone capabilities continue to grow, drones may become a mass-market product for average consumers in about three years, says Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst of research firm Moor Insights & Strategy.

“You should be able to get a drone that can effectively follow you, not run

TECHNOLOGY A23

Friday 15 January 2016

drones are a passing fad, think again into things, and find things on its own,” he says. “That’s pretty cool.”

That’s assuming, of course, that you’re not commuting to work in one. At CES, Chinese manufacturer Ehang Inc. unveiled a large drone that it said can carry a human passenger at speeds of up to 60 miles an hour.

The four-armed quadcop-

weight football helmet, its propellers pose less risk to bystanders.

“Instead of doing collision detection and avoidance, we just make sure if it collides, it won’t hurt,” says CEO Laurent Eschenauer.

Toy drone maker Spin Master Inc. showed off an augmented-reality game in which kids use a real-life

founder James Hong said its engineers still need several months to modify the way its drone uses wireless Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals.

The changes should help maintain a reliable connection to the user’s smartphone, making possible the “follow me” function in the absence of GPS, which the company considers

A drone hovers at the DJI booth during CES International, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, in Las Vegas.

(AP Photo/John Locher)

ter has been on more than 100 flights, mostly in wooded areas of Guangzhou, according to Chief Marketing Officer Derrick Xiong.

Some — he didn’t say how many — have carried a human passenger.

Federal aviation regulators declined to comment on Ehang’s human-carrying drone, saying the company hasn’t submitted any proposal to authorities. The Federal Aviation Administration advised an Ehang representative at the show to contact its unmanned aircraft system office.

In contrast with the bigger drones, smaller ones were also on display. On the small drone front, Kickstarter-funded Fleye envisions its camera-bearing flying sphere as a kind of personal videographer that follows you around street corners; you’ll be able to switch between settings such as “selfie,” ‘’panorama” and “virtual tripod.”

And because it’s encased in what looks like a light-

drone to rescue tiny virtual people, put out fires and fight aliens. In essence, they’re interacting with a virtual world overlaid on the real world; they can see the virtual elements on a tablet they’re using to control the drone.

Robolink Inc. wants you to learn how to program using its “CoDrone,” a flying electronics kit you can instruct to jump off a table into someone’s hand with a simple line of code. CEO Hansol Hong describes the educational product as “where Khan Academy meets drone.”

But the reach of some small drones still exceeds their grasp. Companies like San Jose-based UNorth Inc., maker of the Mota; Newark, Delaware-based Onagofly; and South Korean ByRobot Co. all said they’re still tweaking the system needed to make tiny drones weighing less than half a pound follow their owners.

For instance, ByRobot co-

too power-hungry for smaller drones.

With the potential for millions of new flying objects buzzing around the country in coming years, the FAA is working on new dronesafety rules. By this spring, the agency plans to unveil regulations to allow streamlined approval of commercial drone uses, instead of the case-by-case system it uses now. Last month, the FAA began requiring registration for drones weighing between about half a pound and 55 pounds.

Even as they come up with new rules, regulators don’t know exactly where the technology is headed, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta acknowledged in a speech to CES attendees.

“This is not going to be a finite process, where one day we sit back and say OK, we’re done,” Huerta said in a speech Wednesday. “Maintaining the highest levels of safety requires us to constantly evolve in our approach.” q

A24 BUSINESS

Friday 15 January 2016

Led by energy sector;

US stocks rebound a day after plunge ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer Energy stocks led a broad rally in U.S. stocks Thursday, giving the market its biggest gain in over a month.

A recovery in crude oil prices helped put stocks into rebound mode a day after the market had its worst

added 88.94 points, or 2 percent, to 4,615.

It was the best gain for each index since Dec. 4.

Even with the big rebound day the three major U.S. stock indexes remain down for the year. The Dow and S&P 500 are both off about 6 percent, while the Nas-

in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, also gained 72 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $31.03 a barrel in London.

The rise in crude oil led traders to pile into several bigname energy companies.

Exxon Mobil added $3.47, or 4.6 percent, to $79.12,

Shake Shack CEO Randy Garutti, center, joined by company CFO Jeff Utz, left, and founder Danny Meyer, celebrate during opening bell ceremonies at the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016.

(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

drop since September.

Investors also welcomed some encouraging company earnings.

Chevron and Exxon Mobil each jumped about 5 percent, by far the biggest gains in the Dow Jones industrial average. It was a reprieve for the energy sector, which has been battered in recent months as crude oil prices plunged.

U.S. crude oil rose 2.4 percent on Thursday.

“That all led to a little bit of confidence in the markets and some buyers coming in,” said Sean Lynch, co-head of global equity for Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “It’s been pretty ugly so far, year-to-date, and it’s good to see the gains, but we’ll see if they follow through (Friday.)”

The Dow rose 227.64 points, or 1.4 percent, to 16,379.05.

The average had risen as much as 330 points earlier.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 31.56 points, or 1.7 percent, to 1,921.84.

The Nasdaq composite

daq is down nearly 8 percent.

It’s been a rocky start to the year for stocks, reflecting investor worries about the slowdown in China, plunging oil prices and the implications those trends may have for U.S. corporations. The first eight trading days of 2016 represent the worst start to a year in the history of both the S&P 500 and the Dow. That slump worsened on Wednesday, pushing the S&P 500 index into what’s known as a correction, or a drop of 10 percent or more from a peak.

On Thursday, after wavering in the first hour of trading, the market shifted higher and remained on an upward track the rest of the day.

Investors welcomed a pickup in the price of crude oil, which had briefly fallen below $30 a barrel for the first time since late 2003 the day before. It ended up rising 72 cents, or 2.4 percent, to close at $31.20 a barrel

while Chevron rose $4.14, or 5.1 percent, to $85.47.

“The markets in general needed a little dose of confidence and they got it through a firming of oil prices,” Lynch said.

Energy company Williams Cos. vaulted 34.4 percent, to lead all the gainers in the S&P 500. The stock, which had fallen sharply a day earlier, rose $4.68 to $18.29.

It’s still down 29 percent for the year. Freeport-McMoRan also got a boost. The mining company rose 46 cents, or 12.3 percent, to $4.20.

All told, the S&P 500’s energy stocks jumped 4.5 percent. The sector remains down 6.1 percent for the year.

The start of the latest corporate earnings season also helped lift the market Thursday.

JPMorgan Chase rose 1.5 percent after the bank reported earnings that were better than analysts expected. The stock added 86 cents to $58.20. q

JPMorgan Chase Co’s earnings rise 9 percent, beat estimates KEN SWEET AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profits rose 9 percent from a year earlier, helped by strong performance in its consumer banking division and lower legal expenses.

The largest U.S. bank by assets said it earned $4.91 billion, or $1.32 per share, after payments to preferred shareholders, compared to a profit of $4.49 billion, or a $1.19 per share, a year earlier. The results topped analysts’ forecasts, who were looking for JPMorgan to earn $1.26 per share, according to FactSet. JPMorgan’s latest results reflected similar themes CEO Jamie Dimon and the bank’s management have been pushing for several quarters. The bank remained focused on cutting expenses, including through layoffs or other headcount reductions, preparing itself for bigger profits once interest rates rise further, as many expect will happen this year. The bank’s total employees fell 3 percent year-over-year to 234,598 workers.

The bank was also impacted by a steep drop in prices for oil and other commodities. JPMorgan had to modestly add to its credit reserves to cover loans to oil and gas companies, who have been struggling as oil plunged near $30 a barrel, as well loans to metal and mining companies.

Dimon stressed that the deterioration in oil and commodities should be treated as a sign of caution, but not of extreme worry.

“So obviously (the U.S. economy) going to get a little bit worse. We’re not forecasting a recession. We think that the U.S. economy looks pretty good at this point,” Dimon said, in a call with investors.

Marianne Lake, JPMorgan’s chief financial officer, said the bank is likely to set aside more money to cover oil and gas loans, if oil prices continue to struggle. The amount is small, possibly $500 million to $750 million, Lake said in a conference call with reporters.

JPMorgan’s consumer bank, the firm’s largest division by profit and revenue, reported strong results. Chase earned $2.41 billion, up 10 percent from a year earlier.

The bank grew both deposits and loans in the quarter.

Notably, auto lending was up 33 percent from a year earlier. Credit cards also did well, as customers spent more on JPMorgan’s credit and debit cards and lower delinquencies and charge-offs The corporate and investment banking division also reported a jump in profits, but it was largely tied to lower expenses. The volatile stock and bond markets in the last part of the year made trading more difficult, and JPMorgan reported a slight drop in both its equity and fixed income revenues from a year ago. The division earned $1.75 billion in the quarter compared with $776 million a year earlier.

JPMorgan cut expenses two ways in its investment bank. Legal expenses dropped to $644 million compared with $1.1 billion a year earlier and the bank’s employee compensation expenses fell from $2.02 billion to $1.86 billion. The lower compensation expenses is a sign the bank set aside less for year-end bonuses this year, likely a reflection of last year’s difficult markets.

JPMorgan’s commercial bank, where a significant portion of JPMorgan’s oil and gas lending business sits, was on big drag on the bank’s results this quarter. The division had profits of $550 million in the quarter, down from $693 million in the quarter a year earlier. The money the bank had to set aside for struggling oil and gas loans was largely the cause for the drop, as commercial banking revenue was relatively flat in the quarter.q

BUSINESS A25

Friday 15 January 2016

GoPro brand stock tumbles after weak camera sales

JOSEPH PISANI AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — GoPro had a rough holiday season. The maker of wearable cameras, used by mountain climbers, surfers and other extreme sports fans, said late Wednesday that sales of its devices were weak even as it cut the price of its latest camera in half. The San Mateo, California, company also said it will cut about 100 jobs.

Shares of GoPro plummeted Thursday to their lowest point since it became a public company nearly two years ago.

GoPro launched the Hero4 Session camera in July at $400, but eventually slashed the price to $199 by December. The price cut reduced its fourth-quarter revenue by $21 million, the company said.

It said revenue during the three months that ended

Dec. 31 was about $435 million, far below the $500 million to $550 million it previously expected. That would mean its revenue dropped 31 percent from the same period a year ago, when it posted $633.9 million in revenue.

Wall Street analysts expected the company to report $521.2 million in revenue during the fourth quarter, according to FactSet. Despite the weakened de-

mand, it’s still too early to know if GoPro’s cameras were just a fad, said Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt. “We will likely know by the end of 2016 after GoPro enters the consumer drone market and rolls out a new lineup of Hero 5 cameras,” said McCourt in a note to investors.

The San Mateo, California, company said that it will cut about 7 percent of its workforce, or about 100

jobs. The company has about 1,500 employees. It said paying severance to laid-off workers will cost the company between $5 million and $10 million during the first quarter of 2016.

Shares of GoPro Inc. fell $2.13, or 14.6 percent, to $12.48 Thursday. GoPro’s stock has lost about half of its value since it made its debut on the stock market in February 2014 at $24 per share.q

Best Buy reports weak holiday shopping results, outlook

This photo displays a Best Buy sign on a store in Miami, Fla. Best Buy’s shares sank Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, after the nation’s largest consumer electronics chain reduced its sales outlook for the fourth-quarter as it reported weak holiday business in mobile phone and personal devices.

(AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

A. D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Best Buy’s shares sank Thursday after the nation’s largest consumer electronics chain reduced its sales outlook for the fourth-quarter as it reported weak holiday business in mobile phones and personal devices.

The Minneapolis-based company said it now expects a larger drop in fourth-quarter revenue,

though the company improved its outlook for operating income. Best Buy shares tumbled almost 12 percent in morning trading.

The disappointing results underscore the challenges for Best Buy as it tries to reenergize sales growth that has been inconsistent.

Best Buy said that domestic same-store-sales, a key measure of a retailer’s health, fell 1.2 percent in the nine-week period

ended Jan. 2 compared with growth of 3.4 percent during the same period a year prior. Online revenue rose 12.6 percent, compared with growth of 13.4 percent a year ago. Looking ahead, the company expects a 1.5 percent decline for its domestic business, compared with its previous expectations for a nearly flat performance.

During the nine-week period, computing and mobile

phones fell 7.2 percent, but appliances rose 13.4 percent and consumer electronics rose 4.3 percent.

Best Buy’s domestic revenue declined 0.8 percent, but the company said that was better than the broader consumer electronics industry, which experienced deeper declines.

During an conference call with the media Thursday, Hubert Joly, Best Buy’s chairman and CEO , said that he had expected that sales of mobile devices would be weak as fewer customers upgraded their devices because of a lack of new technology. But he said sales were softer than expected and the declines more than offset sales growth in home theater, major appliances and wearable tech items like smart watches. Excluding mobile phones, domestic revenue increased year over year.

Joly said technology innovations are expanding into other categories like clothing, and he expects Best Buy to embrace that.

“You almost have an ex-

panding universe,” Joly said. But he noted Best Buy doesn’t want to just selltechnology products but rather solve a need.

Under Joly, who took the helm in 2012, Best Buy has been cutting costs, revamping stores and boosting training for its sales help as it fights off competition from online leader Amazon and big discounters like Wal-Mart. It’s also been rolling out services like shipping goods from all its stores, which means speedier deliveries. Meanwhile, Best Buy has been improving the shopping experience at the stores.

It’s also been working with big suppliers like Samsung to develop home theaters.

It has also been catering to shoppers’ increasing interest in “smart home” technology— the ability to turn down the heater remotely, for example.

This holiday season, the chain dropped all restrictions for free shipping. The company typically requires customers to spend at least $35 in order to receipt free shipping.q

Southern Comfort brand sold to Sazerac in $543.5M deal BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press Southern Comfort’s parent company said Thursday that it is selling the iconic brand to a rival liquor company as part of a $543.5 million deal.

Brown-Forman Corp. said its Southern Comfort and Tuaca brands will be sold to Louisiana-based Sazerac.

Tuaca is a relatively small

premium liqueur brand.

Sazerac President/CEO Mark Brown said the family-owned, privately held company was excited to acquire the two brands and looks forward to “years of successful brand building.”

The sale is expected to close by March 1, BrownForman said. It will result in a one-time operating in-

come gain of about $475 million for the company in fiscal 2016, it said.

Brown-Forman CEO Paul Varga said the sale reflected the Louisville, Kentuckybased company’s evolving portfolio strategy and its focus on top-priority brands.

Brown-Forman’s dominant brand is Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey.

As for Southern Comfort

and Tuaca, he said: “Both brands played important roles in the Brown-Forman success story, and we will have fond memories of the enjoyment they brought to consumers, our partners and to Brown-Forman.”

Brown-Forman acquired Southern Comfort in 1979, but the brand has struggled in recent years. The company launched mar-

keting campaigns in recent years to try to reinvigorate the brand.

Brown-Forman said last month that net sales for the Southern Comfort brand had dropped by 7 percent in the first half of the company’s fiscal year. The company pointed to weak sales at bars and restaurants and competition from new flavored whiskies.q

A26 COMICS

Friday 15 January 2016

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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 15 January 2016

El Chapo was interested in actress, not Sean Penn E. CASTILLO M. STEVENSON Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was eager to set up a face-to-face meeting with Mexican actress Kate del Castillo, and had apparently never heard of Sean Penn, according to transcripts of over a month of text messages exchanged between the two.

The transcripts published Wednesday by the newspaper Milenio — and confirmed as authentic by a federal official — showed that Guzman’s was less interested in making a movie about his life than he was in flirting with the actress.

“What’s that actor’s name?” the account identified as Guzman’s writes in one message to Del Castillo. He later asks his lawyers to tell him what movies Penn has appeared in.

Even when Guzman dedicated a video statement as an exclusive for Del Castillo and Penn, the drug lord stumbles over Penn’s first name, pronouncing it “SAY-ahn.”

Penn has acknowledged that he tagged along for the controversial Oct. 2 meeting at a mountain

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The federal official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he or she was not authorized to be quoted by name, said the dozens of texts were authentic. Many expressed admiration and a longing for the next meeting, more than concern about the purported movie project.

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Asked about the text messages at a public event on Wednesday, Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong declined to say anything about them and said the Attorney General’s Office would comment on the matter soon.

Del Castillo’s representatives did not respond to email requests to comment on the texts.q

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A28 SCIENCE

Friday 15 January 2016

Task force: Mammograms an option at 40, do more good at 50 L. NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Mammograms do the most good later in life, a U.S. government task force declared this week in recommending that women get one every other year starting at age 50. It said 40-somethings should make their own choice after weighing the pros and cons.

When to start routine mammograms and how frequently to get them has long been controversial.

The latest guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force stick with its advice that women should one every two years between ages 50 and 74. But they also make clear that it’s an option for younger women even though they’re less likely to benefit.

Some health groups urge mammograms every year starting at 40 — although last year the American Cancer Society upped its starting age to 45.

There is some common ground emerging, that mammography advice shouldn’t always be onesize-fits all. “Age 50 isn’t magic,” said task force past chairman Dr. Michael LeFevre of the University of Missouri.

Here are some things to know about mammograms.

WHAT THE TASK FORCE SAYS Women in their 60s are the most likely to avoid dying from breast cancer thanks to mammograms, but there’s clearly enough benefit for the average woman to start at 50, the task force

found.

The advisory group wants younger women to understand the trade-offs before deciding: Among every 1,000 women screened, one additional death could be prevented by starting mammograms at

ports a range of options” for 40-somethings, LeFevre said.

DIFFERING GUIDELINES Mammograms aren’t perfect, and different health organizations weigh the trade-offs differently. So

A radiologist uses a magnifying glass to check mammograms for breast cancer in Los Angeles. Mammograms do the most good later in life, a government task force said this week in recommending that women get one every other year starting at age 50, and that 40-somethings make their own choice after weighing the pros and cons.

(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

40 instead of 50. But there would be 576 more false alarms and 58 additional unneeded biopsies. Also, two extra women would be overdiagnosed, treated for cancer that never would have become life-threatening.

Monday’s update, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, is largely a rewording of guidelines originally issued in 2009 and reconsidered in draft form last spring. This time, the task force stresses that “we think thescience sup-

do women and their physicians.

The American Cancer Society says to begin annual mammograms at 45 but switch to every other year at 55. After menopause, tumors tend to grow more slowly and women’s breast tissue becomes less dense and easier for mammograms to penetrate, says chief medical officer Dr. Otis Brawley. Between ages 40 and 44, when breast cancer is especially uncommon, the society also says women should make

their own choice.

“We’re moving away from paternalistic medicine where we doctor organizations used to tell women, ‘You must do this,’” Brawley said. “We’re saying, ‘This woman is at higher risk, therefore maybe she should get screened at 40.

This woman is at lower risk, maybe she can wait a little later.’”

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists stands by annual mammograms starting at 40, while urging patient education and shared decision-making.

THINGS TO CONSIDER More than 200,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, and about 40,000 die from it. It is most frequently diagnosed among women ages 55 to 64, and the median age of death from breast cancer is 68.

Screening guidelines are only for women at average risk of breast cancer.

Women with a mother, sister or daughter with breast cancer have a higher risk than the average 40-yearold. Other factors can play a role, too, including genetics, breast density and menstrual and pregnancy history.

PERSONALIZED SCREENING Dueling guidelines mean “some people get so confused they don’t get screened at all. Some are too anxious or afraid not to do more, and it may not be better for them,” said breast cancer specialist Dr. Laura Esserman of

the University of California, San Francisco. “Maybe we should be screening in a new way.”

Esserman leads the firstof-its-kind WISDOM study that soon will begin enrolling 100,000 women to test whether tailoring screening to someone’s individual risk is better than age-based mammograms.

Women given annual mammograms starting at 40 will be compared with others assigned more or less frequent screenings, starting at different ages, based on in-depth risk assessments.

INSURANCE COVERAGE Insurance usually pays for mammograms.

Because of concern about how the task force recommendations might be implemented, Congress recently extended for two years legislation preserving access to routine mammograms without copays starting at age 40.

WHEN TO STOP The task force says more research is needed to know whether to continue mammograms at 75 and beyond. The cancer society says to keep screening as long as women are in good health and have a life expectancy of at least 10 years.

WHAT’S NEXT The task force said more research is needed to tell if newer 3-D mammograms should be used for routine screening and if women with dense breasts benefit from extra testing, such as with ultrasounds or MRIs.q

PEOPLE & ARTS A29

Friday 15 January 2016

Oscar Time:

‘Revenant’ leads with 12 nominations for Academy Awards:

JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer The brutal 1820s frontier revenge thriller “The Revenant” landed a leading 12 nominations for the 88th annual Academy Awards, while the acting categories were again filled entirely by white performers a year after the Oscars came under withering criticism over its lack of diversity.

The strong showing Thurs-

films were nominated for best picture. The other five were: Tom McCarthy’s investigative journalistic procedural “Spotlight,” Steven Spielberg’s Cold War thriller “Bridge of Spies,” Adam McKay’s Michael Lewis adaptation “The Big Short,” the mother-son captive drama “Room” and the ‘50s Irish immigrant tale “Brooklyn.”

Left on the outside were

Rock — who a year ago famously labeled Hollywood a “white industry” — to host this year’s Feb. 28 ceremony. “I really was disappointed,” said Isaacs after nominations were announced. “What is important is that this entire conversation of diversity is here and that we are talking about it. And I think we will not just talk because people will say, ‘Well don’t just

This photo provided by courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox shows, Leonardo DiCaprio as Hugh Glass, in a scene from the film, “The Revenant.” DiCaprio was nominated for an Oscar for best actor on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, for his role in the film. The 88th annual Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, Feb. 28, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

(Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox via AP)

day for “The Revenant,” including a best actor nod for Leonardo DiCaprio and best supporting actor for Tom Hardy, follows its win at the Golden Globes. It sets up director Alejandro Inarritu for a possible backto-back win following his sweep of best picture, director and screenplay for “Birdman” last year.

“We gave it our all on this film and this appreciation from the Academy means a lot to me and my colleagues who made it possible,” said Inarritu in a statement. “Champagne and mezcal will run tonight!”

George Miller’s post-apocalyptic sequel “Mad Max: Fury Road” followed with 10 nominations, including best picture and best director for Miller. Ridley Scott’s sci-fi epic “The Martian” landed seven nominations, including best picture and best actor for Matt Damon, but, surprisingly, no best director nod for Scott.

Eight out of a possible ten

Todd Haynes’ lesbian romance “Carol” (which fared better in acting nominations for Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara) and the N.W.A biopic “Straight Outta Compton” (which still landed a nod for original screenplay).

The miss for “Carol” meant one usual Oscar heavyweight — Harvey Weinstein — won’t have a horse in the best picture race for the first time since 2008.

The acting nominees, which notably omitted Idris Elba for “Beasts of No Nation” and Benicio Del Toro for “Sicario” — both of whom were predicted by many handicappers — gave the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences an awkward repeat of the “OscarsSoWhite” backlash that followed last year’s acting nominees.

Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs has since redoubled efforts to diversify the academy’s membership, and slated Chris

talk. You gotta do.’ Talking gets to the doing, and we are going to do.”

Alongside DiCaprio and Damon, the best actor nominees are: Michael Fassbender (“Steve Jobs”), Eddie Redmayne (“The Danish Girl”) and Bryan Cranston (“Trumbo”). Two big names were left out: Johnny Depp for “Black Mass” and Will Smith for “Concussion.”

In a statement, DiCaprio, who’s expected to land his first Oscar in his fifth nomination, called making “The Revenant” ‘’one of the most rewarding and collaborative experiences of my life.”

The best actress field is led by favorite Brie Larson for “Room,” along with Jennifer Lawrence (for “Joy,” making her, at 25, the youngest four-time nominee), Cate Blanchett (her seventh nod, for “Carol”), Saoirse Ronan (“Brooklyn”) and Charlotte Rampling (“45 Years”).

After seemingly slipping in an unpredictable awards season, “Spotlight” rebounded Thursday, landing six nominations including best director for McCarthy, best screenplay for McCarthy and Josh Singer, best supporting actress for Rachel McAdams and best supporting actor for Mark Ruffalo.

Sylvester Stallone, reprising

his role as Rocky Balboa in “Creed,” looms large in the supporting actor category.

His stiffest competition is seen as Mark Rylance, best known for his stage work, for “Bridge of Spies.” Also nominated were Tom Hardy (“The Revenant”) and Christian Bale (“The Big Short”).

Continued on Page 30

A30 PEOPLE

Friday 15 January 2016

Oscar Time:

Continued from Page 29

“I am incredibly humbled by this honor,” Stallone, first nominated for the role in 1976 for “Rocky,” wrote in an email. “I was not expecting it ... especially at this time in my life. I am certainly grateful to the artists and collaborators who helped make it possible.”

Stallone was the only nominee for Ryan Coogler’s “Creed,” which drew raves

& ARTS

wife for some early breakfast.

“It was thrilling. We were screaming like idiots in the pitch black with the smell of waffles in the room,” McKay said.

Along with Mara and McAdams, the best supporting actress nominees were Alicia Vikander (“The Danish Girl”), Jennifer Jason Leigh (“The Hateful Eight”) and Kate Winslet (“Steve Jobs”), her seventh nod.

As expected, Pixar’s “In-

and sound editing.

Since the best picture field was expanded from five nominees to up to 10, in 2009, partly to make room for bigger, more populist films like Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” alongside acclaimed independent releases.

But the chances for “The Force Awakens” were hurt because the category already has one sci-fi blockbuster (“The Martian”), as well as a number of major

This photo released by 20th Century Fox shows Matt Damon in a scene from the film, “The Martian.”

The film was nominated for an Oscar for best picture on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016. The 88th annual Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, Feb. 28, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles (Aidan Monaghan/20th Century Fox via AP)

for its director and star, Michael B. Jordan.

“Irony of ironies, the only actor who received a nomination for ‘Creed’ is white,” said Gil Robertson, president of the African American Film Critics Association, which named “Straight Outta Compton” best picture. “The academy really needs to look at itself. Under Cheryl Boone Isaac’s direction, they have been making terrific strides toward diversity.

Hopefully that will start to pay off over time.”

Nominees for best director shunned not just one filmmaking legend in Scott, but also Spielberg. Instead, Lenny Abrahamson for “Room” was the unexpected addition along with Adam McKay, known best for his broader Will Ferrell comedies, for “The Big Short.”

McKay by phone said he made a pre-dawn party of watching the nominations, inviting over co-writer Charles Randolph and film editor Hank Corwin and his

side Out” landed a best animated feature nod, as did the Charlie Kaufmanpenned stop-motion animation “Anomalisa,” ‘’Shaun the Sheep Movie,” ‘’Boy and the World” and “When Marnie Was There.”

The nomination for Pixar (which also landed a best screenplay nod for “Inside Out”) restores its nearly unblemished record of Oscar nominations, broken only by 2011’s “Cars 2” and 2013’s “Monsters University.” The foreign language category drew films from Hungary (“Son Of Saul”), France (“Mustang”), Jordan (“Theeb”), Denmark (“A War”) and Colombia (“Embrace the Serpent”).

Jordan and Columbia celebrated their first nominations.

Though some fans had hoped for a better showing, the box-office behemoth “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” failed to land a best picture nomination. It instead scored five technical nods for editing, score, visual effects, sound mixing

studio releases. 20th Century Fox had an especially good day, led by “The Revenant” and “The Martian.”

Two indie upstarts, Open Road (“Spotlight”) and A24 (“Room”), notched their first best picture nominations. Netflix, which has previously scored nominations for documentaries, fell short in its first bid for fiction film nods. Its first original feature, Cary Fukunaga’s West African child war film “Beasts of No Nation,” was shut out. Netflix did, however, again break into the documentary category with “What Happened, Miss Simone?” and “Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom.” The other nominees were “Amy,” ‘’Cartel Land” and “The Look of Silence.” Surprisingly left out was Alex Gibney’s incendiary “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief.” Nominations were announced shortly after the passing of Alan Rickman, famed for “Die Hard” and “Harry Potter” but never Oscar-nominated, at 69. q

Once again, the lack of diversity bemoaned in Oscar nominations JOCELYN NOVECK AP National Writer A year after host Neil Patrick Harris quipped that the Oscars were honoring Hollywood’s “best and whitest,” the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled a slate of nominees Thursday that once again included no black actors or directors, prompting a dismayed revival of the “OscarsSoWhite” hashtag.

Many also expressed regret that the highly admired N.W.A biopic “Straight Outta Compton” failed to score a best picture nod, despite being recognized in other contests. In acting categories, omissions included Idris Elba in “Beasts of No Nation” and Will Smith in “Concussion.” Director Ryan Coogler of the successful “Rocky” spinoff “Creed” also failed to make the cut.

Those voicing disappointment included the academy’s president herself, Cheryl Boone Isaacs.

“I really was disappointed,” Isaacs told the Associated Press when asked about “Compton,” which received only a screenplay nomination (for, some noted on Twitter, its white screenwriters, not its black cast or director.)

“Fabulous movie, fabulous movie.”

But Isaacs, who is black, added that the Oscar nominations are part of a much broader conversation in theentertainment industry about diversity — and that change would happen, albeit slowly.

“What is important is that this entire conversation of diversity is here and we are talking about it,” Isaacs said.

“And I think we will not just talk, because people will say, ‘well don’t just talk, you gotta do,’ (but) talking gets to the doing, and we are going to do ... It is an industry-wide situation and we need to continue this conversation. We need to bring in new talent, to nourish the talent, to allow it to flourish and to give us all the diversity of storytelling which is what the motion picture business is all about.”

There was widespread surprise that the lack of diversity persisted despite the huge backlash a year ago when all acting nominees were white and there was only one director of color, Alejandro Inarritu (also nominated Thursday.) The omissions that caused the most consternation involved the lauded civil rights drama “Selma”; both its director, Ava DuVernay, and its star, David Oyelowo, were snubbed.

“It’s business as usual at the academy,” said Gil Robertson, president of the African-American Film Critics Association, on Thursday. “We’ll have to try again. After the whole debacle with ‘Selma’ and Ava DuVernay, you would have thought some lessons would have been learned. Nothing for Will Smith. Nothing for Idris Elba.

Irony of ironies, the only actor who received a nomination for ‘Creed’ is white.” (He was referring to Sylvester Stallone, who got a nod for supporting actor for reprising his role as Rocky Balboa.

Many tweeted their disapproval on Thursday.

“I love @TheSlyStallone,” wrote indie director Joe Carnahan, “but Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson & Ryan Coogler don’t get noms for CREED!? Come on Academy.”

“Zero nonwhite actors have been nominated for Oscars,” tweeted the Tribeca Film Festival. “There’s no excuse.”

“Compton” scored a screenplay nod, and one if its nominated writers said she sees hope for change on the diversity issue in Hollywood. “I was actually at a town hall meeting on diversity last night, and I think it’s an exciting time to be having this conversation in Hollywood,” said writer Andrea Berloff. “It is not being ignored, and there’s a lot of us working at a more grassroots level to try to turn the tides.”q

PEOPLE & ARTS

A31

Friday 15 January 2016

Alan Rickman, star of stage and ‘Harry Potter,’ dies at 69

JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British actor Alan Rickman, a classically trained stage star and sensual screen villain in the “Harry Potter” saga and other films, has died. He was 69.

Rickman’s family said that the actor died early Thursday in London after a battle with cancer.

Daniel Radcliffe, who played opposite Rickman in eight “Harry Potter” films, said Rickman was “undoubtedly one of the greatest actors I will ever work with.”

Born to a working-class London family in 1946 and trained at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Rickman was often cast as the bad guy; with his rich, languid voice he could invest evil with wicked, irresistible relish.

His breakout role was as scheming French aristocrat the Vicomte de Valmont in an acclaimed 1985 Royal Shakespeare Company production of Christopher Hampton’s “Les Liaisons Dangereuses.”

Film roles included the psychopathic villain Hans Gruber who tormented Bruce Willis in “Die Hard” in 1988; a

formative age was incredibly important and I will carry the lessons he taught me for the rest of my life and career.”

Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling tweeted that “there are no words to express how shocked and devastated I am to hear of Alan Rickman’s death. He

was a magnificent actor (and) a wonderful man.”

Emma Thompson, who starred alongside Rickman in films including “Sense and Sensibility” and “Love Actually,” praised Rickman’s “humor, intelligence, wisdom and kindness” and called him “the finest of actors and directors.”

“I couldn’t wait to see what he was going to do with his face next,” she told Newsweek. Mohammed Saghir, the present-day Sheriff of Nottingham — now a ceremonial role in the English Midlands city — paid tribute to Rickman’s version of Robin Hood’s famous foe.

“His sheriff was a gloriously nasty character who it was easy to love to hate and who he appeared to have great fun playing,” Saghir said.

Rickman’s villains were memorable, and included an Emmy-winning turn as “mad monk” Rasputin in a 1996 TV biopic.

But Rickman’s screen roles were remarkably varied, and included the upright Col. Brandon in Ang Lee’s 1995 film version of “Sense and Sensibility” and Irish politician Eamon de Valera in 1996 historical drama “Michael Collins.”

The film includes family photos and memorabilia, as well as appearances of Alan Alda, Angela Bassett, Harry Belafonte, Danny Glover, Hill Harper, Samuel Jackson, Spike Lee, S. Epatha Merkerson, Phylicia Rashad, Glynn Turman, Cornel West, Sonia Sanchez and Malik Yoba.

Muhammad, who has made seven feature-length documentaries, got the idea of making one about Dee after his grandfather died in 2005.

“It left me with that feeling that seems to be universal when an elder passes away — you regret not having taken the time to sit with them and talk with them about important, deep things.”

But Dee rejected a traditional documentary until Muhammad floated

the idea of framing it as a grandmother passing along her values and jewels of wisdom to her grandson. “She really latched on to that because family is so important to her and she felt like a story like that can really strengthen the bonds in any family. Anyone who watched it might be inspired to connect and talk with their elders.”

Muhammad started interviewing Dee in November 2011 and would eventually move in with her, scheduling six or seven hour-long chunks of time to ask her views on camera. He structured it in three sections — love, art and activism.

But Dee was no softie when it came to her grandson.

“She was tough on me!” said Muhammad, laughing. “She critiqued my interview style!”

In this June, 2015 photo, actor Alan Rickman attends the premiere of “A Little Chaos” at the Museum of Modern Art, in New York. British actor Alan Rickman, whose career ranged from Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company to the “Harry Potter” films, has died. He was 69. Rickman’s family said Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016 that the actor had died after a battle with cancer.

(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

deceased lover who consoles his bereaved partner in 1990’s “Truly Madly Deeply”; the wicked Sheriff of Nottingham in “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” in 1991; and a wayward husband in 2003 romantic comedy “Love Actually.”

Millions know him from the Potter films, in which he

played Hogwarts teacher Severus Snape, who was either a nemesis or an ally — possibly both — to the titular teenage wizard.

Radcliffe, who played Harry, said Rickman “was one of the first of the adults on Potter to treat me like a peer rather than a child.

Working with him at such a

Ruby Dee documentary offers lovely pearls of wisdom

MARK KENNEDY AP Drama Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The late Ruby Dee was many things — an artist, an activist and a pioneer of stage and screen. But she was also something equally important — a grandmother.

A new documentary packed with Dee’s life lessons has been created by one of her grandsons, and it offers a very personal look at the widely admired woman.

Muta’Ali Muhammad, grandson of Dee and Ossie Davis, filmed Dee talking about everything from what was in her detailed FBI file to her opinion of open marriages. He hopes others will be encouraged to do the same.

“This piece has served as an inspiration and an excuse to those people who

In this 2008 photo, Ruby Dee poses at the 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, in Los Angeles.

(AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

have wanted to record interviews with their loved ones,” Muhammad said this week.

“I think grandpa and grandma Ruby would really like that because the No. 1

thing that they wanted me to know was you have richness when you have family.”

The film, “Life’s Essentials with Ruby Dee,” will make its small-screen debut on the BET-owned Centric TV on Sunday and will then be released Feb. 1 on iTunes, Amazon and Google Play.

Dee’s long career earned her an Emmy, a Grammy, two Screen Actors Guild awards, the NAACP Image Award, Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Art and the National Civil Rights Museum’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

She received an Oscar nomination at 83 for best supporting actress for her role in the 2007 film “American Gangster” and was celebrated for her 57-year marriage with Davis. She died at age 91 in 2014.

A32 FEATURE

Friday 15 January 2016

Residents queue for free water transported in by the municipality, in Senekal, South Africa. Senekal, a small town in South Africa’s rural Free State province, is one of four regions declared disaster areas as a drought dries up South Africa’s heartland _ along with much of eastern and southern Africa _ bringing with it failed crops and acute water shortages.

(AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

South Africa: Drought leads to failed crops, water shortages

LYNSEY CHUTEL Associated Press SENEKAL, South Africa (AP) — The main street of this dusty South African town is lined with empty buckets, marking each residents’ place in line as they wait for their daily water ration to be brought in by unreliable trucks.

Keeping watch over her buckets, Pulaleng Chakela sleeps in a wheelbarrow on the side of the road to save her spot in the line. The 30-year-old wraps herself in a little blanket as temperatures drop overnight, and asks a male friend to sit nearby for safety.

“If I don’t wait here all night, the water will be finished,” she said.

A flatbed truck carrying three 5,000-liter tanks arrived midmorning when temperatures had already reached 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

Murmurs of relief are soon replaced by angry shouts as residents learn they have been further rationed from filling four buckets to just two. In the chaos, Chakela slips two extra buckets in the line. The situation is so

unfair that she feels no guilt, she said.

Chakela is joined by dozens more residents of Senekal, a small town in South Africa’s rural Free State province, one of four regions declared disaster areas as a drought dries up South Africa’s heartland — along with much of eastern and southern Africa — bringing with it failed crops and acute water shortages.

The drought is a sign of a changing climate the whole region must prepare for, say experts. The El Nino weather phenomenon has returned to southern Africa, marked by delayed rainfall and unusually high temperatures, according to the World Food Program.

The environmental effects of El Nino are expected to last until at least 2017, affecting the food security of 29 million people due to poor harvests, said the WFP report.

The conditions in Senekal should serve as a warning to the rest of region to prepare themselves for the dry years ahead, said Tshepiso Ramakarane, manager of the Setsoto municipality,

where Senekal is located.

“For the next 10 to 15 years, the situation is likely to get worse,” he warned, adding that only days of sustained rainfall can solve the town’s woes, despite the occasional scattered shower.

“We are in the middle of a crisis.”

Other towns in the district have even less water, but Senekal is in worse shape because of its poor infrastructure and distance from the nearest dam, pointing up the vulnerability of many places in the country to drought due to poor sanitation and running water systems.

The local municipality has now been forced to buy well water from surrounding farms at 1 cent a liter, distributing about 50 liters of water to each of Senekal’s 8,000 households at no cost.

Those who can’t wait up to ten hours in a line, however, have been forced to buy water directly from the farmers at premium prices.

Makhantsi Khantsi, a single mother of four who works as a security guard, said the farmers are charging

her nearly seven times as much as they make the municipality pay and that’s on top of the $10 she has to shell out for the 10 kilometer (6 mile) cab ride.

For laundry, the options are even more grim, and Khantsi and a dozen others use the stagnant, algae-ridden water collected in an abandoned sewage treatment tank to wash their clothes.

“When you are desperate, what must you do?” asks Refiloe Mangati, as she washes her children’s school shirts by hand, scrubbing with too much detergent and rinsing quickly in the hope the algae — and the tadpoles — won’t stain them.

On the farms surrounding the town, hot gusts of wind pick up dust on empty fields where there should be crops.

“We have not planted a single seed,” said Borrie Erasmus, who grew up on the Biddulphsberg farm, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) outside Senekal. This is the first time in the five decades he has worked his family farm that he has

missed the spring planting season.

If it rains for a few days before autumn, he may still plant sunflowers, but that won’t offset the more than $60,000 Erasmus has already lost this season.

“One bad crop can put you back three or four years and now we have no crops,” said Erasmus.

Even if the weather returns to normal, it will still take at least five years for farmers to pay off the loans they’ve had to take out to survive.

South Africans, already facing a weak currency, will soon feel the effect of rising food prices as the country may have to import corn, Agricultural Minister Senzeni Zokwana warned on Monday.

Over the Free State, the few clouds gathering in the distance may bring some temporary relief, but farmers here say they need more certain intervention.

“We’re hardy farmers, we’re used to getting by without much, but these are such extraordinary circumstances that there is a need for government to help,” said Erasmus.q