March 16, 2016

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Made In America

Kasich Wins Ohio in Otherwise Lopsided Primary Day Confetti falls around Republican presidential candidate, Ohio Gov. John Kasich at his presidential primary election rally in Berea, Ohio, on Tuesday, March 15, 2016.

Kasich won the GOP Primary in his home state on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, capturing all of Ohio’s 66 delegates.

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Page 2

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Wednesday 16 March 2016

FRONT

At Press Time:

Trump, Clinton dominate Super Tuesday; Rubio drops out WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump scored three victories Tuesday, including a decisive win in Florida, but lost Ohio to the state’s governor, John Kasich, as the billionaire’s rivals desperately tried to stop his march to the party’s presidential nomination. Hillary Clinton won at least three states, dealing a severe blow to Bernie Sanders’ bid to slow her march toward the Democratic nomination.

Marco Rubio, the Florida senator who staked his once-promising campaign on winning in his home state, dropped out of the presidential race shortly after the polls closed. That leaves Kasich as the last true establishment candidate running against Trump and arch-conservative Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

The brash and controversial reality TV star has upended the political establishment by winning most of the state-by-state competitions for delegates who will choose the Republican nominee. He has seized on Americans’ anger with Washington politicians, winning over voters with his simply worded promise to make America great again.

Tuesday’s votes in five states had been viewed as a pivotal moment in the presidential campaign. For the first time, two states — Ohio and Florida — had winner-take-all contests. A Trump sweep could have given him an insurmountable lead in the delegate count.

But the contests brought little clarity. Trump won the biggest prize — all 99 Florida delegates — as well as winning North Carolina and Illinois, and was locked

at the party’s convention in July. The result could be a contested convention, creating an unpredictable outcome.

This was the first victory for

and Rubio left the race with 163. It takes 1,237 delegates to win the Republican nomination for president.

In the Democratic race,

Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks during a Republican primary night event at Florida International University in Miami, Fla., Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Rubio is ending his campaign for the Republican nomination for president after a humiliating loss in his home state of Florida.

(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

in a tight race with Cruz in Missouri. He told a victory rally in Florida, “This was an amazing night.”

But Kasich’s win, capturing all of Ohio’s 66 delegates, was crucial to keeping alive the hopes of those trying to stop Trump.

While Trump had amassed the most delegates going into Tuesday, he’s won fewer than 50 percent of them.

If that pace continues, he would fall short of the majority that he would need to assure him the nomination

Kasich, whose upbeat message and long record of government service has had little resonance as his rivals seized on voter’s anxiety and disdain for Washington. While he could benefit from Rubio dropping out, he remains a longshot for the nomination. He is unlikely to overtake Trump, though he could help keep Trump below the 50 percent threshold.

With Trump’s win in Florida, he now has 568 delegates.

Cruz has 370, Kasich 129

Clinton’s victories in Florida and North Carolina were expected, but Sanders, a Vermont senator and selfdescribed democratic socialist, had hoped to take the industrial state of Ohio, which Clinton won. He has criticized the former secretary of state for her past support for trade deals.

Sanders is unlikely to overtake Clinton in the delegate count, but his victory last week in Michigan underscored the unease that many party voters have

about her candidacy.

“We are moving closer to securing the Democratic Party nomination and winning this election in November,” Clinton told cheering supporters at a victory rally in West Palm Beach, Florida. A confident Clinton pivoted quickly to November by assailing Trump’s hardline immigration positions and support for torture.

“Our commander-in-chief has to be able to defend our country, not embarrass it,” she declared.

Trump has alienated many Republicans and Democrats alike with his disparaging remarks about Mexicans, Muslims and women among others. He entered Tuesday’s primaries embroiled in one of the biggest controversies of his contentious campaign. He has encouraged supporters to confront protesters at his events and is now facing accusations of encouraging violence after skirmishes at a rally last week in Chicago that he ended up cancelling.

“I don’t think I should be toning it down because I’ve had the biggest rallies of anybody probably ever,” Trump said Tuesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” ‘’We have had very, very little difficultly.”

Rubio and Kasich have suggested they might not be able to support Trump if he’s the nominee, an extraordinary stance for intraparty rivals. All of the Republican candidates had earlier pledged to support the nominee.q

U.S. NEWS A3

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Obama administration punches new holes in embargo on Cuba M. WEISSENSTEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON/HAVANA (AP) — The Obama administration punched a new series of holes in the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba on Tuesday, turning a ban on U.S. tourism to Cuba into an unenforceable honor system and paving the way for Cuban athletes to one day play Major League Baseball and other U.S. professional sports.

Five days ahead of the first presidential trip to Havana in nearly 90 years, the U.S. also eliminated a ban on Cuban access to the international banking system. The inability to send or receive payments that passed through the U.S. banking system had crippled the country’s ability to trade with third countries and became a major hindrance to the U.S. attempt to normalize relations with Cuba.

“The simple basis of our policy is that by loosening these restrictions we are better able to engage with the Cuban people, to support them and to build bridges between our two countries ,” deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said. “We deeply believe that this is in America’s national interest.”

The Cuban government made no immediate comment. Tuesday’s announcement allows Cuban citizens to earn salaries in the United States as long as they don’t pay special taxes in Cuba, specifically mentioning athletes, artists and performers as potential beneficiaries. Until Tuesday, only Cubans who had begun the process of emigrating to the U.S. could legally earn money in the United States beyond a tiny living stipend.

Major League Baseball is negotiating with both the U.S. and Cuban government to create a legal means for Cuban baseball players to play in the U.S. without having to abandon their country, eliminating the need for some of the world’s highest-priciest baseball talent to use human traffickers to get to

the major leagues.

As for ordinary Americans, they can now take “people-to-people” educational trips to Cuba on their own instead of joining expensive group tours. That means any American can legally go to Cuba after filling out a form asserting that their trip is for educational purposes instead of tourism. They’ll have to keep records for five years about what they did in Cuba, but won’t have to submit them unless asked.

The Obama administration previously allowed independent travel for specific purposes like supporting religious organizations or participating in sports events.

Tuesday’s move was expected to have greater impact because the definition of educational travel is so amorphous it can include virtually any activity that isn’t lying on a beach drinking mojitos.

U.S. leisure travel to Cuba nearly doubled last year, to more than 160,000 visitors, and Tuesday’s measure is expected to add another 10-20 percent increase, helping fill seats on as many as 110 commercial flights a day starting later this year.

“It’s the closest thing to straight-away travel,” said Tom Popper, president of insightCuba, among the largest companies organizing U.S. travel to Cuba.

“The message to most Americans that the travel restrictions are really loosening will come across more clearly. I think we’ll see another surge in interest.” Elimination of the tour requirement could cost the Cuban government millions of dollars in revenue while letting U.S. travelers see Cuba in a far more independent way than before. Because the Cuban government controls virtually all the travel industry, American groups had to stay in state hotels, travel on state buses, pay for food through a state agency and use state tour guides.

Obama arrives in Havana on Sunday and is expected to call for elimination of the nearly six-decade-old trade embargo on Cuba.

A “quinceanera” poses during her photo session in front of the cathedral as tourists line up to enter the building, in Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 14, 2016. U.S. President Barack Obama will travel to Cuba on March 20.

(AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

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Wednesday 16 March 2016

NEWS

US bars Atlantic drilling; Obama builds his environmental legacy MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major reversal, the Obama administration said Tuesday it will bar oil drilling in the Atlantic Ocean, a move cheered by environmentalists and consistent with the president’s aggressive steps to combat climate change.

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said the decision “protects the Atlantic for future generations.”

The decision reverses a January 2015 proposal that would have opened up sites more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) off Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia to oil drilling no earlier than 2021.

The decision comes as President Barack Obama, in his final year in office, continues to build an environmental legacy that includes a global agreement to curb climate change and an ambitious plan to reduce carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants.

The drilling ban is likely to become an issue in the 2016 presidential cam-

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., joined by Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., right, talks to reporters following a closed-door caucus meeting at Republican National Committee headquarters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Tea party conservatives have blocked a budget plan backed by GOP leaders, a blow to Speaker Ryan and a reflection of the antiWashington mood pushed by GOP front-runner Donald Trump.

(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

paign. Both Democratic candidates oppose drilling in the Atlantic, while Republicans vow to expand drilling.

Environmental groups hailed the decision. “President Obama has taken a giant step for our oceans, for coastal economies and for mitigating climate

change,” said Jacqueline Savitz, vice president of Oceana, an environmental group.

The oil and gas industry has pushed for Atlantic drilling and pledged that exploration would be done safely, with lessons applied from the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Tuesday’s decision “appeases extremists who seek to stop oil and natural gas production” in the U.S., said Jack Gerard, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Insti-

tute, the nation’s largest oil and gas lobbying group.

The plan will increase energy costs for Americans and close the door for years on efforts to create new jobs, new investments and boost energy security, Gerard said.

The Pentagon said Atlantic offshore drilling could hurt military maneuvers and interfere with missile tests the Navy relies on to protect the East Coast.

The drilling plan announced Tuesday covers potential lease sales from 2017 to 2022 and calls for leasing 10 areas in the Gulf of Mexico — long the epicenter of U.S. offshore oil production — and three off the Alaska coast.

The Interior Department estimates there are 3.3 billion barrels of recoverable oil on the Atlantic’s outer continental shelf and 31.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Energy industry experts say the reserves may be far greater.

Conservatives block US budget plan backed by party leaders ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Tea party conservatives have blocked a budget plan backed by Republican leaders, a blow to the leader of the U.S. House, Speaker Paul Ryan, and a reflection of the antiWashington mood pushed by the party’s front-running presidential candidate, Donald Trump.

The move by the House Freedom Caucus, the same band of conservatives that toppled Ryan’s predecessor, would mean that the House would fail to pass a budget for the first time since Republicans reclaimed control of the chamber in 2011.

Ryan cited “all of the anxiety that’s coming to a crescendo in this country” for the reluctance of conservatives to endorse the leadership-backed budget plan, which endorses higher agency operating budgets as agreed to in last year’s budget deal with

President Barack Obama.

The fiscal blueprint, released Tuesday by Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price, a Republican, relies on eliminating health care subsidies and other coverage provided by Obama’s health care law, sharp cuts to medical programs for the poor and reprises a plan devised by Ryan years ago that would transform health care for the elderly into a voucherlike program for future retirees. But as in past years, Republican leaders have no plans to implement the severe cuts recommended by nonbinding blueprint.

Instead, the main goal of the budget is to set in motion the annual appropriations process, in which the 12 spending bills that set agency operating budgets are produced. That’s the $1.1 trillion “discretionary” portion of the $4 trillionplus federal budget that is passed by Congress each year.

U.S. NEWS A5

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Suspect in police shooting was bipolar, guardian says

The parents of police officer Jacai Colson, James and Sheila Colson attend a news conference at Prince George’s County Police headquarters in Hyattsville, Md.

(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

BEN NUCKOLS JESSICA GRESKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A man accused of shooting at a Maryland police station to provoke officers was diagnosed as bipolar and was intermittently homeless after his mother kicked him out of the house at age 16, his legal guardian said Tuesday.

Michael Ford, 22, remained hospitalized after he was shot during the gunbattle with police on Sunday af-

ternoon outside a station in Landover, a Washington suburb. Prince George’s County Detective Jacai Colson, who was wearing civilian clothes when he began firing back at Ford, was inadvertently killed by one of his fellow officers, the county’s police chief said.

Ford’s two brothers — Malik, 21, and Elijah, 18 — drove him to the police station and used cellphones to record video of the firefight, according to police.

Man killed in shootout with Chicago police identified as a gang member HERBERT G. McCANN Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — A man fatally wounded during a shootout with Chicago police was identified Tuesday as a gang member and convicted felon with more than 40 arrests. Lamar Harris, 29, was killed late Monday after he fired on several police officers investigating alleged drug activity in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood on the city’s west side, according to police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.

Three officers were wounded. Officers at the scene with first aid kits and bandages were able to apply preliminary care to Harris while they waited for Chicago Fire Department emergency crews,

Guglielmi said. “The officers were trained by CPD in LEMART — Law Enforcement Medical AND Rescue Training — which is designed to render life-saving aid following tactical and emergency situations,” he said in a statement. The shootout occurred after officers observed a man and a woman acting suspiciously and decided to investigate, Guglielmi said.

The pair fled, the officers gave chase and the man opened fire, hitting three of them multiple times. One of the officers returned fire, fatally injuring Harris. One officer was shot in the back, another in the foot and a third in the chest, authorities said, adding his body armor likely deflected the bullet.

They also made a video of Michael’s “last will and testament” minutes before the shooting started, police said.

A court document provided to The Associated Press on Tuesday by prosecutors said that during the shooting, officers asked Malik and Elijah Ford, who were sitting in a car, where the shooter was. The document said Malik Ford shouted he didn’t know, even though video shows he could see his brother hiding behind a police van.

The three brothers face numerous charges including attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Malik and Elijah were scheduled for bond review hearings on Wednesday.

Michael has not been for-

mally charged.

Prince George’s County Police Chief Hank Stawinski said he couldn’t explain the “frightening” actions of the shooter or his brothers.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Stawinski said.

Hyacinth Tucker, 40, the owner of an event-planning business in Hyattsville, became Michael Ford’s legal guardian when he was 16 after his mother kicked him out, she said.

Tucker told The Associated Press that Ford, who was a high school friend of her son’s, received Social Security disability payments because of his bipolar disorder. She said his checks were sent to her house and that she helped him with doctor visits and other paperwork.

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NEWS•

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American Living

Ex-officials point fingers at hearing on Flint water crisis

RICHARD LARDNER MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Former city and federal officials pointed fingers at one another for failing to protect the 100,000 citizens of Flint, Michigan, from leadlaced water at a congressional hearing Tuesday as Republicans targeted for blame an Environmental Protection Agency executive who resigned as the crisis worsened.

Amid withering criticism, Susan Hedman sought to defend the EPA’s actions to deal with the contamination in the predominantly African-American city. “I don’t think anyone at EPA did anything wrong, but I do believe we could have done more,” said Hedman, the former director of the EPA’s Midwest regional office.

Hedman stepped down Feb. 1 over what she called “false allegations” that portrayed her as sitting on the sidelines during the crisis and that she “downplayed concerns raised by an EPA scientist about lead in the water.” The scientist Hedman was referring to is Miguel Del Toral, a regulations manager in the groundwater and drinking water branch of the Midwest office.

Hedman denied the EPA had disciplined Del Toral, who had warned of dan-

From left, former State EPA administrator Susan Hedman, former Flint, Mich., Emergency Manager Darnell Earley, former Flint Mayor Dayne Walling, and Virginia Tech environmental engineering professor Marc Edwards are sworn in to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, in Washington, Tuesday, March 15, 2016.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

gerously high levels of lead in a June 2015 memo and later criticized the agency for not taking swift action.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, RUtah, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Hedman “dismissed” Del Toral’s warnings.

“You screwed up and you ruined people’s lives,” Chaffetz told Hedman.

Flint switched its water source from Detroit’s water system to the Flint River in 2014 to save money, but the river water was not treated properly and lead

from aging pipes leached into Flint homes and businesses. Elevated levels of lead have been found in children’s blood. Lead contamination has been linked to learning disabilities and other problems.

The chain of events has spurred calls for Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to resign amid outrage over the treatment of the people of Flint. A longshot recall effort is under way in Michigan for Snyder, who has been widely blamed in Michigan and nationally for the crisis.

The governor is scheduled to appear before the com-

mittee on Thursday, along with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.

Virginia Tech professor Marc Edwards, who helped expose the lead problem in Flint’s water and is now assisting both the city and state, accused Hedman and the EPA of “willful blindness” and for being unrepentant and unremorseful in the aftermath of the crisis.

The committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, said he agreed the EPA could have done more. But Cummings said state authorities

in Michigan also failed to act.

The committee released several internal EPA emails, including a Sept. 22 message from Del Toral to his supervisors that outlined his frustration with what he called the agency’s “denial and delay” approach in Flint.

“At every stage of this process, it seems that we spend more time trying to maintain state/local relationships than we do trying to protect the children,” Del Toral wrote.

Hedman told the committee that she first learned that Flint was not implementing corrosion control treatment in late June 2015.

That was about 14 months after the city started using Flint River water that was not treated with orthophosphate, a chemical used for corrosion control, she says.

Choking up at one point, Hedman said that although she has left government service she has not stopped thinking about the people of Flint. The EPA responded within the “cooperative federalism framework” of the Safe Drinking Water Act, Hedman testified, which assigns states the legal authority to implement drinking water regulations.

She said the EPA’s enforcement options under the law are more constrained than in other federal environmental statutes.q

U.S. NEWS A7

Wednesday 16 March 2016

US Financial Front: Low gas prices drag down US retail sales in February three months of this year.

Economists had hoped that solid hiring and lower gas prices would entice consumers to spend more, yet Americans seem to be pocketing much of the savings from cheaper gas.

The weak data could make it more likely that the Federal Reserve will hold off on raising the short-term interest rate it controls.

Most economists have re-

C. S. RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. retail sales slipped last month, pulled down by sharply lower gas prices, and Americans spent much less in January than previously estimated. The figures suggest that consumers remain cautious about spending despite steady hiring.

Retail sales fell 0.1 percent in February, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Excluding the volatile gas and auto categories, sales rose 0.3 percent.

Overall sales were revised sharply lower in January, from a 0.2 percent gain to a drop of 0.4 percent.

Americans’ reluctance to open their wallets could hold back growth in the first

January business stockpiles up 0.1% M. CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. businesses boosted their stockpiles by a small amount in January while sales fell for a fourth month.

Inventories held by businesses increased 0.1 percent in January after being unchanged in December, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

Business sales were down 0.4 percent in January after a 0.7 percent drop in December. Sales were also down in November and October and were flat in September.

American manufacturers have struggled with falling export sales in recent months, reflecting economic weakness overseas and a stronger dollar,

which makes American products less competitive on overseas markets.

Economists say that solid gains in employment will bolster consumer sales in coming months, helping to offset the weakness from falling exports and sharp cutbacks at energy companies in response to a plunge in energy prices.

The small rise in inventories reflected gains of 0.3 percent in stockpiles held by wholesalers as well as a 0.3 percent gain in retail stockpiles. These offset a 0.4 percent drop in inventories at the manufacturing level.

One reason sales and inventories look so weak is the big drop in energy prices over the past year. These figures are not adjusted for price changes.

duced their forecasts for rate hikes this year from four to two. Fed policymakers are meeting Tuesday and Wednesday. “Today’s report is decidedly negative for both the economy and the probability of a near-term rate hike from the Fed,” said Bricklin Dwyer, an economist at BNP Paribas. The retail report provides the first indication each month of Americans’

spending, which drives 70 percent of the economy.

Yet retail sales account for only about one-third of all spending, with services such as haircuts and Internet access making up the other two-thirds.Americans are spending more on services such as health care, education and mobile data, so overall purchases may rise faster than the retail data suggests.

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Wednesday 16 March 2016

WORLD NEWS

Belgian police kill man in raid linked to Paris attacks RAF CASERT JOHN DAHLBURG Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian and French police investigating a suspected link with the November attacks in Paris stormed a Brussels house Tuesday after being fired upon, and killed a suspect armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, authorities said.

Three Belgian and one French police officer were slightly wounded in the operation.

“We had a lot of luck,” Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said. “It could have been a drama.”

One police officer was wounded on his ear right under his helmet, and another was injured when his service weapon was struck by a bullet.

The major anti-terror operation, which lasted more than three hours, paralyzed an entire neighborhood of the Belgian capital, with schools and a day care center placed on lockdown and autoworkers at a nearby Audi plant instructed not to leave by management.

The operation brought back memories of the anxious days the Belgian

capital lived through in November and December, when the subway and schools were closed for a time, and the New Year’s Eve fireworks display was

Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement. It said additional details of the FrancoBelgian operation would be made public at a news conference Wednesday

Police officers secure an area during an apartment raid in Brussels on Tuesday March 15, 2016. Belgian and French police investigating a suspected link with the November attacks in Paris stormed a Brussels house Tuesday after being fired upon, and killed a suspect armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, authorities said.

(AP Photo/Thierry Monasse)

cancelled because of the threat of extremist violence.

Since it was unclear whether other extremist suspects remained at large late Tuesday, police operations were continuing.

“The investigation is actively proceeding night and day,” the Belgian Federal

morning. It said efforts were still underway to identify the slain suspect.

Prosecutor Eric Van der Sypt said when gunshots rang out that many people fled, and it was too early to say if some were suspects or all were innocent bystanders simply trying to

escape.

The anti-terror raid in the Forest neighborhood was linked to the Nov. 13 gun and suicide bombing attacks on a stadium, cafes and a concert hall in Paris that left 130 people dead.

Yet police didn’t expect violent resistance Tuesday, the prosecutor said. That indicated they weren’t targeting a major suspect like Salah Abdeslam, who fled Paris and remains on the run. Most of the Paris attackers died that night, including Abdeslam’s brother Brahim, who blew himself up.

More than four months on, Belgian police and magistrates are still piecing together the role Belgian nationals and others living in this country played in aiding the Paris attackers.

The suspected ringleader of the November bloodbath was a Brussels resident, Abdelhamid Abaaoud. Another attacker, Bilal Hadfi, was said to have lived for a time in the Forest neighborhood.

Hadfi blew himself up outside a stadium in the northern Paris suburbs and Abaaoud was killed in a police raid on a nearby house days later. q

EU migration deal faces hurdle in Turkish foe Cyprus M. HADJICOSTIS D. GATOPOULOS Associated Press NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — European Union leaders seek a mutually binding deal with Turkey to stem the flow of migrants by sea to Greece. But several nations stand in the way of such a pact — and tiny Cyprus could pose the great-

est diplomatic challenge of all.

Leaders of the EU’s 28 divided nations plan to reconvene in Brussels this week in hopes of ironing out disagreements on a proposed agreement with Turkey.

Their tentative agreement struck March 7 would allow Greece to return migrants to Turkey as Europe

opens new routes for prescreened migrants to seek asylum legally.

But Turkey demands big concessions from Europe in return, particularly on its long-held dream of joining theEU, an idea viewed with trepidation by many Europeans. Nowhere does mistrust run higher than in neighboring Cyprus, which

has been divided into a Greek Cypriot south and militarized Turkish Cypriot north since 1974.

Cyprus announced Tuesday it has no intention of permitting full negotiations for Turkey’s EU membership — a position that could scuttle the whole deal.

Each EU member must consent to any deal.q

Breivik sought out contact with Aryan Brotherhood: AP KARL RITTER Associated Press SKIEN, Norway (AP) — Anders Behring Breivik, the right-wing extremist who killed 77 people in bomband-gun massacres in Norway, has tried to establish contacts with the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang in the U.S. and neo-Nazis in Russia, government lawyers told a court Tuesday, defending the restrictions he faces in solitary confinement.

Breivik, 37, has sued the government for human rights violations, saying it is “inhuman” to keep him isolated from other prisoners and prevent him from sending and receiving letters to sympathizers.

For security reasons, the case is being tried in the gym of the Skien prison where he is serving a 21-year-sentence, which can be extended for the rest of his life, for the 2011 attacks.

Government lawyers said Breivik, who made a Nazi salute as he entered the courtroom, remains a dangerous extremist who must be stopped from using his prison time to spread his “poisonous” ideology to sympathizers in and outside of prison.

“Among them there could be a new Breivik,” said Adele Matheson Mestad, an attorney representing the government.

Breivik is the only inmate in a high-security wing of Skien prison, 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Oslo. q

WORLD NEWS 9

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Senior IS commander dies of wounds from US strike in Syria appearing in several online videos leading fighters into battle. He served as the top commander in Syria before being appointed to lead three elite units that carried out special missions in Syria and Iraq, according to Hisham al-Hashimi, an Iraqi scholar who closely follows the group.

Al-Shishani, whose real name was Tarkhan Batirashvili, was an ethnic This image shows Omar al-Shishani standing among a group of fighters as they declare the elimination of the border between Iraq and Syria. An Iraqi official and a Syrian activist say senior Islamic State group leader Al-Shishani died Monday, March 15, 2016 outside Raqqa, Syria.

(AP Photo/militant social media account via AP video)

QASSIM ZAHRA BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Omar alShishani, a top Islamic State commander who was a magnet for fighters from the former Soviet Union, has died of wounds suffered in a U.S. airstrike in Syria, a senior Iraqi intelligence official and the head of a Syrian activist group said Tuesday. Al-Shishani, who was wounded in a U.S. airstrike earlier this month, died on Monday evening outside

the Islamic State group’s main stronghold of Raqqa in Syria, the two told The Associated Press. A U.S. military spokesman confirmed the reports.

The IS-affiliated Aamaq news agency cited an unnamed source as denying that al-Shishani was wounded or killed, without providing any evidence that he was still alive.

The red-bearded ethnic Chechen, who was in his 30s, was one of the most prominent IS commanders,

Witnesses: Warplanes bomb Yemeni market

AHMED AL-HAJ Associated Press SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Saudi-led warplanes on Tuesday launched two airstrikes on a busy market in a northern Yemeni region controlled by Shiite Houthi rebels, killing and wounding dozens of people, witnesses said.

The state-run news agency SABA, which is controlled by the Houthis, said at least 65 people were killed and 55 wounded. A nearby hospital received dozens of wounded people, but

no bodies, perhaps because families buried them.

Three witnesses described a scene of carnage, with dozens wounded or killed, but had no precise figures.

The market in the city of Mastaba, in Hajja province, serves tens of thousands of people and was struck during a busy time. Witnesses said there were no military targets nearby. A Saudi-led coalition has been battling the Houthis on behalf of the internationally recognized government for a year now.

Chechen from the Georgia, a former Soviet nation in the Caucasus. He hailed from the Pankisi Valley, a center of the country’s Chechen community and a former militant stronghold. He did military service in the Georgian army but was discharged after an unspecified illness, a former neighbor told The Associated Press in 2014. Georgian police later arrested him for

illegal possession of arms, the neighbor said. Upon his release in 2010, Batirashvili left for Turkey. He first surfaced in Syria in 2013 with his nom de guerre, which means “Omar the Chechen” in Arabic, leading an al-Qaida-inspired group called “The Army of Emigrants and Partisans,” which included a large number of fighters from the former Soviet Union.

A10 WORLD

Wednesday 16 March 2016

NEWS

North Korea’s Kim warns of impending nuclear and rocket tests HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has warned of impending tests of a nuclear warhead explosion and ballistic missiles capable of carrying atomic warheads, state media reported Tuesday, in an escalation of threats against Seoul and Washington.

The warning came as North Korea said it had made a breakthrough in its pursuit of a long-range missile capable of striking the U.S. mainland. South Korea says the North has yet to develop a functioning inter-continental ballistic missile. Kim issued the order for the tests “in a short time,” according to the Korean Central News Agency. The KCNA report did not say if Kim gave specific dates for the tests.

It is not clear if the tests would happen soon, given that any tests would likely invite harsher international

People watch a TV screen showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program, at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 15, 2016. North Korean leader Kim has warned of impending tests of a nuclear warhead explosion and ballistic missiles capable of carrying atomic warheads, state media reported Tuesday, in an escalation of threats against Seoul and Washington. The screen reads “Nuclear technology.”

(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

sanctions after the country was hit by the toughest U.N. Security Council sanctions in two decades in early March for a nuclear test and long-range rocket

launch conducted earlier this year.

Some of the North’s recent rhetoric was seen intended for a domestic audience to display government

strength ahead of a major meeting of the ruling party in May. In the past, North Korea has typically conducted nuclear tests and rocket launches every

three to four years.

Even if the tests happen, analysts in Seoul said the nuclear warhead explosion that Kim referred to will likely be just a test of a warhead containing only a trigger device but lacking plutonium or uranium. They said the North could also launch shorter-range missiles, but not one with an intercontinental range.

Pyongyang, known for its trademark fiery rhetoric in times of tension with the outside world, has been stepping up its threats after Washington and Seoul last week began annual military drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal. Last Wednesday, North Korea’s main newspaper printed photos of what appeared to be a mock-up of nuclear warhead. State media on Friday quoted Kim as having ordered more nuclear explosion tests but again didn’t say when they would occur. q

WORLD NEWS A11

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Brazil Supreme Court accepts plea deal by key lawmaker

Brazil’s Education Minister Aloizio Mercadante, speaks during a press conference in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, March 15, 2016.

(AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

JENNY BARCHFIELD MAURICIO SAVARESE Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The Supreme Court said Tuesday it accepted a plea agreement with the former Senate leader for the governing Workers’ Party,

whose testimony in the sprawling Petrobras corruption case includes incendiary allegations against Brazil’s president, her predecessor and other prominent public figures across the political spectrum.

Sen. Delcidio do Ama-

ral was detained late last year on allegations of obstructing the “Car Wash” investigation into corruption at Brazil’s state-run oil giant, Petrobras. He was released in February, but news reports emerged last week saying he had struck a plea deal in exchange for leniency.

Supreme Court officials on Tuesday confirmed to the Associated Press that Amaral’s deal had been accepted and made public. The court sent a link to the 400-plus page document.

In the document, Amaral detailed accusations against President Dilma Rousseff including that she knew about a scheme to buy a refinery in the United States at an inflated price.

It also alleges Rousseff and former Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo appointed a justice to a high court in a bid to secure the release of some people detained in the Petrobras probe. The justice, Marcelo

Last flight off to Mexico for Cuban migrants SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — The last direct flight carrying stranded Cuban migrants from Costa Rica has arrived in Mexico, ending an effort that transported 6,003 Cubans, including some from Panama, Mexico’s Interior Department said Tuesday.

Nearly 8,000 Cuban migrants had been stuck in Costa Rica after Nicaragua began refusing passage to them in November.

Others had been stuck in Panama, on a land route that saw Cubans flying to Ecuador and then making their way overland through Central America to reach the U.S. border. Ecuador began requiring visas for Cubans late last year, effectively blocking the route

to most would-be migrants.

Costa Rica’s Foreign Relations Ministry said the last flight Tuesday included 50 migrants who couldn’t pay for the chartered flights to Mexico, and got tickets subsidized by international aid groups. Costa Rica had housed thousands of Cubans for months at 44 shelters. The Central American country said it had sent a total of 4,817 Cubans to Mexico.

Hundreds more came from Panama, where they had been stuck after Costa Rica stopped accepting the migrants in December.

Costa Rica had issued a total of 7,802 temporary transit visas for Cubans, which suggests that about 2,985 migrants didn’t take ad-

vantage of the air bridge and made their way north alone or by hiring immigrant smugglers. It is still unclear what will happen to about 50 Cubans who entered Costa Rica illegally; they are fighting deportation.

During the effort to transport the Cubans out, many were flown to Mexican border cities on a total of 38 flights. Others traveled on buses, and then made their way to the U.S. border from southern Mexico.

Most of the Cubans have ultimately presented themselves at Mexican border crossings with the United States, where special policies for Cubans allow them to stay and enjoy other benefits.

Navarro, was approved by the Senate, but he didn’t release anyone detained in the case.

Amaral’s accusations are the first directly implicating Rousseff herself in the corruption scheme. She has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

His testimony is considered only a starting point in the investigation, with its contents to be verified. If it was found he lied, the plea agreement would be annulled.

The document also alleges that Education Minister Aloizio Mercadante, a close confident of Rousseff who had been her chief of staff until recently, warned Amaral to “remain calm and think about the tack he would take” following his Nov. 25 detention.

The message, a recording of which was part of the plea deal, was transmitted to Amaral during his time in jail through an aide, who said Mercadante offered money to help pay legal fees “probably through companies linked with the Workers’ Party,” according to the document.

Amaral said he assumed Mercadante was acting as Rousseff’s “emissary.”

At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Mercadante acknowledged speaking with Amaral’s aide, but categorically denied offering any payment or trying to interfere in the investigation. He said that he felt sorry for Amaral’s family following his detention and that “human generosity” motivated his conversation with the aide.

A12 WORLD

Wednesday 16 March 2016

NEWS

Academics in Puerto Rico debate future of Spanish language Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The king and queen of Spain flew to the former colony of Puerto Rico to help launch on Tuesday what is considered the world’s most important event involving the Spanish language.

The royal couple joined more than 200 writers, academics and experts who traveled to the U.S.

territory to discuss in part the challenges the Spanish language faces during a weeklong conference organized by the Royal Spanish Academy. The organization meets every three years and regulates a language spoken by more than 500 million people.

“This congress is for all of us,” said Dario Villanueva, the academy’s director.

“We are all together own-

ers of a language that is spread across four continents.”

The use of Spanish has grown by 800 percent in the past decade, and King Felipe VI noted that it is the most studied foreign language. He also said the United States is expected to become a Spanishspeaking country by the year 2050. “Spanish has stopped being a margin-

alized language of immigrants and has integrated itself as a social language and one of culture in American society,” he said. It is the first time the academy holds its conference in a place where English is so widely spoken, although Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla — who joked about his rural Puerto Rican accent in which R’s are gutteral — said Spanish is still

the island’s dominating language. “We’re a place that with 117 years of political ties with the United States keeps talking, keeps writing, keeps praying, keeps dreaming and loving in Spanish,” he said to robust applause. Academics also applauded the creation of a new online system that will certify the degree to which someone dominates Spanish.

Argentina contemplates debt deal with US creditors

A. CALATRAVA Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina

(AP) — Argentine legislators on Tuesday began considering the govern-

ment’s proposed deal with a group of U.S. creditors that is intended to end the

long fight that has kept the South American nation on the margins of international credit markets.

The agreement reached late last month must be approved by both houses of Argentina’s Congress.

As members of the lower house debated the deal, protesters gathered outside Congress to voice disapproval. It was unclear whether the chamber would vote on the legislation Tuesday. If it passed, it would then go to the Senate for consideration.

“It’s not about assigning blame for the debt but rather finding solutions right now,” Luciano Laspina, a lower house deputy and president of the budget commission, said as the debate got started.

Axel Kicillof, who served as

FABIOLA SANCHEZ Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The number of bodies recovered from a mass grave in southeastern Venezuela near where a group of miners went missing has risen to 17.

Police investigating the massacre made the grisly discovery near a wildcat

gold claim where the miners disappeared a week ago, Attorney General Luisa Ortega said late Monday on Twitter that investigators concluded their work in the jungle where the bodies were found wrapped in black plastic bags and dumped in a 5-meter deep hole in the ground.

The circumstances behind the massacre remain unclear. Ortega said she believes 21 people were killed by a criminal gang led by an Ecuadorean. But opposition lawmakers investigating the massacre and relatives who have said they witnessed the attack put the number higher and contend local officials

were involved, a claim the government denies.

The crime last week shocked Venezuelans accustomed to morbid tales of violence in a country with one of the world’s highest homicide rates. Fearing unrest after the state’s governor denied the killings took place and outraged relatives blocked a highway to

Argentine opposition legislator Axel Kicillof sits in Congress during the debate about the deal to resolve the long legal fight over debt default, between Argentina’s government and a group of creditors in the U.S., in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Reached late last month, the tentative agreement must be approved by Argentina’s Congress.

(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

economy minister in the previous administration and is now a congressman, didn’t see it that way. He said the new government negotiated a bad deal and did it “in hasty conditions.” President Mauricio Macri assumed power in December after campaigning on promises to modernize Latin America’s third-largest economy in part by solving the dispute.

Former President Cristina Fernandez refused to negotiate, calling the creditor groups “vultures” while arguing it was an issue of national sovereignty.

Under the deal, Argentina would pay $4.653 billion to resolve all related claims, including those from billionaire Paul Singer’s group in New York and other creditors around the world.

Venezuela recovers remains of 17 missing miners Brazil in protest, President Nicolas Maduro’s government dispatched hundreds of soldiers and Cabinet officials to search for the missing miners.

One person linked to the gang’s ringleader has already been taken into custody and several more arrests are expected soon, Ortega said.

LOCAL A13

Wednesday 16 March 2016

The Orchid Casino: Welcome To The Action!

PALM BEACH - Aruba’s newest casino, the Orchid Casino, presents every night, in the most beautiful

Poker Room, live poker action featuring Texas HoldEm and Omaha Pot limit.

No size to big, no size to small. 1-2, 2-5, 5-5 and 5-10 are played every night. In addition, you can start the night off with $25 buy-in tournaments with guaranteed $1,000 prize pools.

Currently, the Orchid Casino Poker Room is running satellites for the April 20th Diamond Poker Tournament with $200,000 prize pool. Satellites start at 7:30 pm sharp.

Orchid Casino has Bad Beats for both Texas HoldEm and Omaha games.

Currently the Bad Beat is $42,000.

Poker Room opens at 7:30pm and stays open until the wee hours of the morning.

While playing poker, Orchid Casino televises horse races from major North American tracks and wagers are accepted throughout the night.

SPECIAL TOURNAMENTS for FLAG DAY WEEKEND, March 17 & 18, Bounty Tournaments at $125, with anticipated prize pool at $3,000 each!

Don’t miss out on the action.

Players receive bonus points for hours played which are redeemable for dinners and premium gifts Orchid Casino is located in the Riu Palace Antillas Resort (Formerly the Westin Resort)… telephone is 5277777 ext 128.q

A14 LOCAL

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Animal Welfare at the Heart of Animal Rights Aruba ORANJESTAD - Animal Rights Aruba (ARA) is a non – profit Animal Welfare Organization that aims to protect all Fauna, Flora and Marine Life on and around the island of Aruba.

Animal Rights Aruba was founded on May 3, 1999, is run solely by volunteers, and is a very young organization with a lot of room to grow. Our vision is a world in which the welfare of animals is understood and respected by everyone, and protected by effective legislation.

In 2005 ARA started a sterilization, rescue and adoption campaign to deal with the stray dog and cat overpopulation dilemma, as it was a serious issue on the island not only from an animal welfare stance, but that of Public Health and Tourism as well.

Animal Rights Aruba re-

cently unveiled its campaign offering greatly discounted spay and neuter services at all three vet clinics on the island, so that dog and cat owners can choose between Contreras Veterinary Services, in Shaba and Savaneta, VKA in Noord, Wayaka and San Nicholas or Animal Care Clinic, in Paradera.

Dog & Cat owners are urged to take advantage of the offer, as Animal Right Aruba subsidizes the procedure by partially paying the vets for the operation. Dog and cat owners are expected to participate with a very reasonable contribution.

For more details on discounted spay and neuter services, animals up for adoption and other campaigns, please visit ARA online at: www.animalrightsaruba.org.q

LOCAL A15

Wednesday 16 March 2016

The Finest After Sales Service Center In Aruba is at Gandelman

the level of quality and reliability one expects from a Rolex watch.

In order to ensure that Gandelman’s After Sales Service Center meets the Rolex quality standards, continuous training of the staff and regular examination of the equipment are essential.

Such an examination re-

ORANJESTAD - Rolex is top of the line when it comes to watchmaking.

Few companies have been so consistently identified with the pursuit of excellence. To ensure that all Rolex watches can live up to these high expectations, every single watch undergoes a series of tests in Rolex’ own laboratories, in addition to tests conducted by the COSC (Contrôle Officiel des Chronometres) in Switzerland, before it is allowed to leave the Rolex site. This unique and ex-

tensive testing of precision pushes the boundaries of performance and makes Rolex the benchmark for excellence in mechanical watches. The Green Rolex Seal is coupled with a fiveyear guarantee which applies to all Rolex models.

In order to ensure that each owner will be able to enjoy his/her Rolex timepiece for a lifetime and beyond, Rolex recommends having the timepiece serviced at intervals of 8 years. This service needs to be done in a certified Rolex workshop and by

certified Rolex watchmakers, in order to maintain the original functional and aesthetic specifications of the watch. In Aruba, this meticulous service is offered by Gandelman’s After Sales Service Center. Here each movement is completely overhauled by certified watchmakers, using state of the art equipment and each case and bracelet is meticulously refinished to restore its luster. Timekeeping accuracy and waterresistance are also rigorously tested to guarantee

cently took place by Mr. Atila Bendeguz, Area Manager for After Sales Rolex, who not only controlled the quality of work being done by the Center’s watchmakers, but also helped the team install the recently acquired Fathometer machine (checks the watch’s resistance to water pressure)and the Helium Valve Tester machines.

What makes Gandelman’s After Sales Service Center unique, apart from being the only after sales center of its kind in Aruba, is the fact that it employs the first Aruban Rolex certified watchmaker, Mr. Gerald Werleman, who has been with the company since 1999.The current team of watchmakers, which also consists of Mr. Sergio Navarette from Chile, was recently expanded with a third member, Mrs. Janine Lacle. Mrs. Lacle is the first female Aruban assistant watchmaker, who will also be trained by Rolex. This professional team has all the expertise in-house to ensure a top quality service of your Rolex timepiece.

Gandelman is proud to introduce its fine Watchmaking Team and their colleagues Lynn Maduro, After Sales Manager, and Natalie Silvania, Administrative Assistant.q

A16 LOCAL

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Team Aruba Starts Season Off with Number 2 Qualifying Effort ORANJESTAD/ORLANDO After a week of successful testing, Team Aruba took their Aruba.com Pro Stock Mustang to the IHRA Amsoil Nitro Nationals with high hopes. Despite a tricky racing surface, Team Aruba, led by team owner, Ven Eman, and driver, Trevor Eman, took the team to a number two qualifying spot, covering the quartermile in 6.234 seconds. Number one qualifier, JR Carr, posted the exact same elapsed time, but edged out Eman for the pole position by virtue of a higher mile per hour.

Unfortunately, the remainder of Team Aruba’s weekend would not go as smoothly, as they bowed out in round one to New Yorker John Pluchino. The competitors posted close elapsed times, but Pluchino crossed the finish line first due to a quicker reaction time.

“We entered this event with

immense enthusiasm as we rolled into the property proudly carrying Aruba. com and Aruba Airport Authority N.V. colors,” Eman spoke. “For the first event of the year, where we spent an entire week testing before the start of the event, to then go out in the first round is demoralizing, especially when you have an entire team behind you that has a very strong desire to do well.”

Despite Eman’s obvious disappointment, he recognizes the successes of their weekend, knowing Team

Aruba has what it takes to run at the top of the pack in IHRA Pro Stock.

“Our entire week of testing was hugely successful,” added the young mechanical engineer. “We made plenty of runs where we learned some new things we thing we can be trying. Our test runs were fast and consistent. Drag racing is a funny thing. You can get very discouraged and demoralized after losing first round when running so well. The ride back home in the truck is never ending with the ‘Monday quarter-

back attitude’.

But as soon as you get home, get a decent night’s sleep and unload the race car the next morning, those feelings dissipate and the enthusiasm to get back to the next race is right back there again.

“So, that is what we shall do, of course. We are already preparing for the next event. We will do all we can to perform better and give our partners the results they deserve.

The equipment is there; the team is there; the ability is there. We just need to make sure we add them all up and make it equate into the result we want.”

For Team Aruba, wins and losses on the track never tell the whole story, as they seek to spend their weekend promoting their island paradise home to fans, staff, sponsors, and fellow competitors at the event.

The Amsoil Nitro Nationals provided a new area

to promote Aruba. It was Team Aruba’s first trip to Orlando Speed World and they were received very well by Orlando area fans.

“We were very excited to promote Aruba in Orlando,” Eman stated. “Going into a completely new market, especially a great market like Orlando, provided a host of opportunities for us to introduce our ‘One Happy Island.’ We look forward to continuing our mission at the rest of the stops on the IHRA tour.”

Team Aruba will be at San Antonio Raceway, April 1-2 for the IHRA Texas Nationals.

Follow Team Aruba on Facebook and Twitter. Find race results, team updates, videos and photos. Also leave your comments to cheer on Team Aruba!

For more on your Aruba vacation visit www.Aruba. com.

Visit www.airportaruba. com.

Oranjestad-Benjamin Petrocchi a true native Aruban started the newest export product of Aruba, locally produced hand rolled cigars called “Aruhiba”. These cigars are produced and cultivated in Aruba. Petrocchi always had interest in the cigar business and has also sold Premium Cuban cigars, and now he is growing his own tobacco crops.

After many attempt and trips to Santo Domingo and Cuba, he started his own production and cultivation of Aruhiba Cigars in Aruba. The whole process took him 10 years to perfect.

Petrocchi dedication to the cigars is important for the molding and process of making a perfect cigar which takes a long time. Their handmade cigar box is specially designed with their “Aruhiba” logo.Petrocchi considers Aruhiba as a promotion for Aruba trough its fine cigars .The company sells Aruhiba to the international market as well.

Visit their retail store located in front of the Historic Dutch Windmill in front of Riu Hotel, with purchase of $20 and up you receive a free “Aruhiba” cigars or ask for their gift box of cigars get 1 FREE for only $37.We are open from Monday to Saturday from 9 till 6.30 pm and on Saturdays from 10 to 4 pm. Aruhiba cigars are now available at the gift stores in your resort and at well-known cigar stores. For their complete selection and attractive by the box prices visit our retail stores. Tours are also available to the Tobacco Farm, where our cigars are grown and rolled.

Make an Aruba Tour including a stop at Aruhiba Factory call 739-2000. Winner of the best of Aruba.

The best local product Cigars in tubes Arubian design.

For a group or private tour call 586-7833/593-6177 or send us a email to aruhibacigars@gmail.com www.aruhibacigars.com

SPORTS A17

Wednesday 16 March 2016

NFL links football, CTE; could it affect $1B deal?

MARYCLAIRE DALE Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The NFL is standing behind a top executive’s acknowledgement that the brain disease CTE can be linked to football.

The comments by Jeff Miller, the senior vice president for health and safety, “accurately reflect the view of the NFL,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy said Tuesday. Miller spoke Monday at a congressional committee’s roundtable discussion about concussions.

League officials have long denied proof of a connection between playing in the NFL and the condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Miller told the congressional panel that brain research on former NFL players “certainly” shows a link between football and CTE. Responding to questions, Miller referenced the work of Boston University neuropathologist Dr. Ann McKee, who has found CTE in the brains of 90 former pro football players.

“Well, certainly, Dr. McKee’s research shows that a number of retired NFL players were diagnosed with CTE, so the answer to that question is certainly yes, but there are also a number of questions that come with that,” Miller said.

CTE is tied to repeated brain trauma and associated with symptoms such as memory loss, depression and progressive dementia.

Players diagnosed after their deaths include Hall of Famers Junior Seau, Ken Stabler and Mike Webster.

Continued on Page 20

HIT MACHINE

Marlins’ Ichiro closing in on major milestone Miami Marlins center finder Ichiro Suzuki flies out during the third inning of a spring training baseball game against the Washington Nationals Friday, March 4, 2016, at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla. Associated Press Page 18

A18 SPORTS

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Suzuki so close to 3,000 hits _ if he can get enough at-bats STEVEN WINE AP Sports Writer JUPITER, Florida (AP) — Ichiro Suzuki sits at his locker, an interpreter by his side, and the nature of conversation with the future Hall of Famer gives him extra time to craft a response to the question: How much longer does he expect to play?

The query is relayed to him in Japanese. Suzuki smiles as he replies with a joke that loses nothing in translation.

“At least until 50,” he says in Japanese.

Everyone laughs, despite the serious subject matter.

Baseball does indeed have a clock, and Suzuki is racing it.

At 42, the Miami Marlins outfielder is the secondoldest player in the majors, three months younger than Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon, according to STATS. Suzuki’s productivity declined dramatically last year, his first in Miami. Even though he played in 153 games due to injuries to teammates, including slugger Giancarlo Stanton, he batted a career-low .229.

His .279 slugging percentage ranked 230th and last in among hitters with at least 325 plate appearances, and his .561 OPS was fourth-worst.

It wasn’t a sudden drop off: Suzuki — who has played in at least 143 games each of the past 15 seasons, the longest such streak in the majors, according to STATS

Miami Marlins right fielder Ichiro Suzuki lines up his bat before hitting during the sixth inning of an exhibition spring training baseball game against the New York Mets, Sunday, March 13, 2016, in Jupiter, Fla. Associated Press

— has a career average of .314, but hasn’t batted .300 since 2010.

He has 2,935 hits, however, leaving him on the verge of a milestone that tempers any temptation to retire.

Anyway, he’s not yet ready to make concessions to the clock.

“Nothing has stopped me because of the way I feel or the way I’m performing physically,” Suzuki said.

“That may come down the

road. Right now I haven’t changed anything.”

He denies that chasing 3,000 is the motivation to keep going, saying he plays because he loves the game. But the countdown will add some uncharacteristic drama this season for the perennial also-ran Marlins.

“It would be an unbelievable great thing,” Suzuki said. “But I’m a fourth outfielder. If I was a starter

heading into this year it would be different. I could say in two months I should be there. You don’t know what kind of opportunities I’ll have.”

The Marlins would like to play Suzuki less. He had 398 at-bats last year and appeared to tire at the end, going 12 for 97 (.124) over his final 36 games.

“He probably played more games last year than he needed to play,” new Marlins manager Don Mattingly says. “You’re asking a lot.

If we get to that situation, we’re probably not in a very good situation injurywise. We’ll try to make sure we’re not overusing him.”

If Suzuki bats .260, he would need 250 at-bats to reach .300. If he hits .229 again, he would need 284 at-bats.

And will a team give him a

chance again in 2017 if he falls short of 65 hits?

“I’d like him to get them,” Mattingly says. “But we’re here to win, and we’ve got to try to play the guys who put us in the best position to win.”

The milestone would reinforce Suzuki’s elite stature.

He could join Ty Cobb, Paul Molitor, Eddie Collins and Honus Wagner as the only players with 3,000 hits, 500 stolen bases and a career .300 average, according to STATS. Even Barry Bonds is impressed. The home run king is the Marlins’ new hitting coach, but don’t look for him to tutor Suzuki much.

“When you’re getting close to 3,000 hits,” Bonds said, “what do you want me to tell you?”q

SPORTS A19

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Review: ‘Baseball’s No-Hit Wonders’ is fascinating book JEFF AYERS Associated Press Spring is almost official, and that means the other season about to start is baseball season. Author Dirk Lammers examines the history of a pitcher’s dream to throw a no-hitter in “Baseball’s No-Hit Wonders: More Than a Century of Pitching’s Greatest Feats.”

A perfect game, when no players reach base for the full nine innings, is even rarer, and he looks at those as well. The end result is a fascinating book that will appeal to both the historian and the die-hard fan.

Lammers, an Associated Press journalist, goes all the way back to the beginning to find the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter, who officially was George Washington Bradley of the St. Louis Brown Stockings, who achieved that distinction on July 15, 1876. Joe Bor-

den might have successfully accomplished this feat a year earlier, but records are hard to decipher due to the way statistics were kept at the time. Plus he also played under the alias Joseph E. Josephs, since he didn’t want his parents to know he was playing baseball. Some of the stories are sad due to the pitcher successfully throwing a no-hitter, yet it still ends up a loss due to the base-on-balls somehow crossing home plate. A game between the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds on May 2, 1917, ended after nine innings with both pitchers having thrown a no-hitter.

Unfortunately, the 10th inning broke the stalemate for one of the men.

A more recent example, and memorable for the wrong reasons, occurred on June 2, 2010, when Detroit Tigers pitcher Ar-

mando Galarraga was one out away from throwing a perfect game against the Cleveland Indians. The next batter hit a ground ball and Galarraga ran over to cover first base. He caught the ball thrown from the first baseman and touched the bag a full step ahead of the runner. The umpire at first base called the runner safe. Replays clearly showed the third out, and Galarraga had pitched a perfect game. Unfortunately, due to the umpire making the safe call, the perfect game was up in smoke. Later, umpire Jim Joyce publicly apologized for blowing the call. While the governor of Michigan declared Galarraga pitched a perfect game, Major League Baseball said no. Both Joyce and Galarraga later wrote a book together about the experience.q

This book cover image released by Unbridled Books shows, “Baseball’s No-Hit Wonders: More Than a Century of Pitching’s Greatest Feats,” by Dirk Lammers.

Associated Press

20 SPORTS

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Continued from Page 17

Anaheim Ducks defenseman Korbinian Holzer brawls with New Jersey Devils center Joseph Blandisi during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., Monday, March 14, 2016.

Four Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter Tuesday to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, saying Miller’s comments are encouraging in that the league is willing accept the science linking repetitive hits with CTE. The congressmen want answers from Goodell

by March 29 on the NFL’s plans to protect both current players in the league

and in youth programs.

Critics of the NFL’s proposed $1 billion plan to settle concussion claims call Miller’s sudden acknowledgement of a footballCTE connection a game changer.

The settlement is being appealed by players concerned that it excludes future cases of CTE — what they consider “the signature disease of football.”

The deal announced by lead plaintiffs’ lawyers and the NFL in August 2013 would instead pay up to $4 million for prior deaths involving CTE. “Given that, the settlement’s failure to compensate present and future CTE is inexcusable,” lawyer Steven Molo wrote Tuesday in a letter to the federal appeals court in Philadelphia that is hearing his appeal.

The court heard arguments in November on the fairness of the settlement and was expected to issue an opinion in the high-stakes case soon. The NFL and lead plaintiffs’ lawyers have said they do not want to incentivize suicide by offering future payments. CTE cannot yet be diagnosed in the living.

The settlement would resolve thousands of lawsuits and cover more than 20,000 NFL retirees for the next 65 years. The league estimates that 6,000 former players — nearly three in 10 — could develop Alzheimer’s disease or moderate dementia.

They would receive an average of $190,000, though the awards could reach several million dollars in the most serious cases, which

include young men with Parkinson’s disease or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

“We welcome the NFL’s acknowledgement of what was alleged in our complaint: that reports have associated football with findings of CTE in deceased former players,” lead plaintiffs’ lawyer Christopher Seeger said in a statement. “The settlement achieves that, providing immediate care to the sickest retired players and long-term security over the next 65 years for those who are healthy now but develop a qualifying condition in the future.”

Chris Nowinski, a former professional wrestler who runs the Concussion Legacy Foundation, noted that millions of children still play tackle football despite the suspected risks. The foundation seeks to study and prevent head trauma in athletes.

“If we actually believe that football is linked to CTE now, then how is the NFL underwriting (youth) tackle football when kids could just as easily play flag and not be exposed to the risk of CTE at such a young age?” he asked.

How much impact this has on college football remains to be seen, but a lead attorney in a lawsuit against the NCAA also thinks this marks a milestone.

“It is amazing to think back to 2011, when we filed the first-ever class action against the NCAA for concussions, and compare the national conversation at that time to what we have now,” Chicago-based lawyer Joseph Siprut said.q

SPORTS A21

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Dallas Seavey has knack for winning Iditarod with few dogs 4 minutes, 19 seconds. His only loss during the past five years was to his father, Mitch Seavey, who won in 2013.

Mitch Seavey took second place in this year’s race, coming in just after his son early Tuesday morning.

The Seaveys are close, but also competitive.

“Win or lose the race or not doesn’t change the fundamentals of our relationship — that as family and

Dallas Seavey poses with his lead dogs Reef, left, and Tide after finishing the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, Tuesday, March 15, 2016, in Nome, Alaska. Seavey won his third straight Iditarod, for his fourth overall title in the last five years.

Associated Press

MARK THIESSEN Associated Press NOME, Alaska (AP) — Dallas Seavey did more with less this year at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

He set a record pace early Tuesday morning when he won his third straight Iditarod and fourth race in the last five years. And he did it with just six dogs, after starting the race nearly 1,000 miles across Alaska with 16.

No other musher this year has fewer dogs.

And the record Seavey beat? It was the one he set in 2014, when he brought only seven dogs into Nome.

“The key is always to run the dogs you have, on the trail you have, the best way you can moving forward,” Seavey said.

This year a virus hit two of his dogs hard, and he said it was apparent on the first day of the race he’d have to drop them. One, a dog named Hero who led him to Nome last year, hurt the most, he said.

Worry set in when he lost two more dogs.

“Then you try to formulate a plan using those elements that might be able to get

you to Nome quickly,” he said. “It was a concern, but not a showstopper.”

Seavey completed the nearly 1,000-mile race in a record time of 8 days, 11 hours, 20 minutes, 16 seconds. He arrived in Nome at 2:20 a.m.

He said at the finish that he spent the first two-thirds of the race “dead on my feet” and had never been so tired.

“This was a heck of a trip, all the way from the start.

It was up and down,” said Seavey, who picked up $75,000 and a new pickup for winning the race.

The Iditarod started March 6 in Willow, about 50 miles north of Anchorage, and took mushers across two mountain ranges, down the mighty Yukon River and along the wind-scoured Bering Sea coast.

Eighty-five mushers began the race, but 12 have so far scratched, including four-time champion Lance Mackey. He dropped out Monday, citing personal health concerns.

Seavey’s record time beat his previous record set in 2014 of 8 days, 13 hours,

friends,” Mitch Seavey said, reiterating how proud he is of his son’s accomplishments.

“It’s an interesting dynamic to be the biggest competitors and best friends at the same time,” he said.

Dallas Seavey said his record breaking run had to have three elements, a phenomenal dog team, a very good trail and the final element was a nod to his father.

“It requires stiff competition. Without that competition, you’re not going to push the team that will allow them to break the record,” he said. If his father wasn’t within minutes of his team, he said he wouldn’t have urged them along as hard as he did.

The 2016 Iditarod will partly be remembered for an attack on two mushers on the trail near the checkpoint in Nulato.

A22 HEALTH

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Spring to the Sea

By: Dr. Carlos Viana

Spring in Aruba means a mass migration to the seaside. Not talking tourist here. I am describing neighbors who stay far away from the ocean the whole year, but then are moved to spend the week “camping” by the ocean.

Do not believe for a moment that this is a local tradition. People have been drawn to the sea for fun, health and revitalization since ancient times. Plato, the Greek philosopher said, “The Sea cures all ailments of man.” Plato as well as Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, often prescribed bathing in the sea as a health treatment.

Most of us know that a trip to the sea makes us feel “new.” Why? First, the ocean air is filled with negative ions. Countless studies have been done on how negative ions clean dust and therefore reduce symptoms of allergies, counteract negative effects of smoking, and increase the flow of oxygen to the brain; resulting in higher alertness, decrease drowsiness, and more mental energy. Wow, all that from going to the ocean?

Do you know that sea water contains all the 104 minerals and trace elements present in human serum, or plasma? So powerful are the effects of the sea water on the human body, mind and spirit that a rejuvenating therapy known as Thalassotherapy, from the Greek words, “Thalasso” for sea; and “therapy” for

treatment has been practiced since well before the 1800’s when the French coined the word. So, soaking in the ocean or if you’re not lucky enough to live near the ocean, a sea salt bath, is a therapy that allows the skin to absorb and benefit from ocean minerals. As a complimentary physician and a medical anthropologist, I realize that this urge to go to the sea in springtime, is a primal urge to clean ourselves from the past so that we can be reborn.

I recommend whenever possible, that parents take their children to the ocean to clean their sinuses. Ocean water is a natural antihistamine that helps clear up mucus secretions. It is a powerful antihistamine that does not make you drowsy and has no negative side effects.

Antibiotic do not help fight viruses. However, nearly all viruses will succumb to sea water and natural sunshine.

I believe in the healing power of the sea so strongly, that I developed a “Water” therapy for our patients who are swollen with edema. I call this treatment “Head out Immersion”. The number of people in our community taking diuretics, or drugs to remove excess body fluid or edema is staggering. Many people think if they are suffering from edema they have too much water in the body and do not drink fluids. Actually, edema actually is one of the signs of dehy-

dration or that the body is trying to dilute a poison.

The fluid swelling arms and legs is salty water that can be replenished with fresh, healthy water.

I supervise my patients who want help to move out this “dirty” water by having them drink more water and sit in the ocean. Before leaving your house measure the thickness of your legs. Drink a liter (quart) of water and go to the beach.

Sit in the water for forty minutes with the water up to your neck with your head out of the water, your arms and legs underwater. If you also have hypertension you will leave the water, get home and realize that you are ready for a sound nap.

Our Head Out Immersion produces positive results and here at Viana Healing Center we have seen this easy procedure work small miracles with swollen bodies. By the way, you know that diuretic you are taking? It does remove some body fluid and potassium, but leaves the salt behind, which means you are going to swell up faster. The head out immersion also removes your excess body salt. Meanwhile, the potassium you have lost is a very important mineral for the proper function of all cells, tissues, and organs in the human body. If you are taking a diuretic it is important to replace the lost potassium. Many foods contain potassium, including all meats, some types of fish, such as salmon, cod, and

flounder, and many fruits, vegetables, and beans.

Another “Hydro” (water) therapy and a great way to detoxify your organs and hydrate your body is by having your colon washed.

Colon Hydro-therapy is an extended and more complete form of an enema.

Colon hydrotherapy involves the gentle infusion of warm filtered water into the rectum by a trained therapist or Natural Physician, using no chemicals or drugs.

The out flowing water removes excess gas, mucus, infectious material and feces. It is the natural solution to conditions, which interfere with the normal functions of the colon. We get extra request for this treatment in our clinic, especially after holiday binging, or when beginning a weight loss or other health program or as a “spring cleaning”. Many patients state that they feel reborn after this therapy.

Get the Point! If you are blessed as we are to live by the ocean, one of the best ‘cures for all ailments’ is free. If you are lucky enough to vacation by the sea, take full advantage of it natural healing properties. When you get home, you can check out a spa that offers Thalassotherapy or get some organic sea salts to bath in as a home therapy. Be sure to drink plenty mineral water every day. If you would like more help with a specific type of detox or cleansing, we offer colon-hydro

therapy, individual medical analysis and a program to suite each person. Meanwhile, be part of the solution in keeping our waters clean so the healing will continue.q CARLOS VIANA, Ph. D. is an Oriental Medical Doctor (O.M.D.) having studied in China; a US Board Cert.

Clinical Nutritionist (C.C.N.), an Addiction Professional (C.Ad.), Chairperson of the Latin American Committee of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT), a Rejuvenating Cell Therapist specializing in Age Management, has a weekly radio program, writes and lectures extensively.

For information: VIANA HEALING CENTER, Kibaima 7, St Cruz TEL: 585-1270 Web Site: www.vianaheal.com “Prescriptions from Paradise” - Dr. Viana’s Award Winning BOOK: Prescriptions from Paradise, Introduction to Biocompatible Medicine – Available at local Bookstores, Hotel Gift shops and Boticas. Signed copies at Viana Healing Center, EBooks: Amazon kindle, Nook, Itunes check for Events at: facebook. com/vianahealingcenter.

Join the discussion: www. facebook.com/prescriptionsformparadise

TECHNOLOGY A23

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Aimed at cable cord-cutters, Sony TV service goes nationwide ANICK JESDANUN AP Technology Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Sony’s streaming TV service is expanding nationwide Monday, giving TV lovers throughout the U.S. a new, potentially cheaper way to get cable channels such as AMC and ESPN. PlayStation Vue, which had been limited to major cities during its first year, will start at $30 a month in the new regions.

That’s $10 cheaper than current packages, but it won’t include over-the-air channels, such as stations for ABC and Fox. Vue’s seven older markets — big cities including New York City and San Francisco — won’t have access to the new, cheaper deal.

More people are bypassing traditional TV services in light of extensive online offerings from the likes of Netflix and HBO Now. To reach them, cable and satellite TV companies are launching Internetbased TV services. Dish debuted its $20-a-month Sling TV service last year.

Comcast and other cable companies have also experimented with online TV packages, though none are offered beyond a few markets. AT&T’s DirecTV service plans a nationwide streaming offering, but details on prices and channels haven’t been released. Published reports have also said that Apple is trying to develop its own streaming-TV service.

Vue’s cheaper offering, made available in more markets than before, could make Vue a more significant challenger to traditional TV services from cable and satellite.

“But nobody really knows how big the opportunity will be,” said Craig Moffett, a MoffettNathanson

This file image provided by Sony shows a frame grab demonstrating Sony’s PlayStation Vue streaming-television service.

Associated Press

analyst who follows the cable industry.

Moffett said viewers typically like the idea of slimmer, cheaper TV packages when they don’t have time to watch 500-plus channels, but “everyone’s ideal skinny bundle is a little different.”

As a result, he said, these slimmer packages still end up too expensive for many people, or are missing someone’s favorite channel or two.

A PlayStation or an Amazon Fire TV device is needed to sign up for Vue. Vue’s exclusion of overthe-air channels in the

new regions reflects how television networks distribute their programs in the U.S. Networks own stations only in major cities, and their programs are carried elsewhere in the country by affiliate stations owned by other companies.

Because of that, Sony doesn’t automatically have rights to include those stations and has limited the Vue service to major markets with network-owned channels. Traditional cable companies have had time to negotiate deals with affiliates elsewhere.

Sony will now try to bypass

that limitation by offering just the cable channels live — more than 50 in the starting package.

Programs from ABC, Fox, NBC and Telemundo will be available the following day, similar to the way Hulu works. CBS shows are coming to some markets only at an unspecified date. The CW isn’t currently offered in any of Vue’s packages. Vue customers would still be able to get local stations with an antenna. Sling TV also lacks over-the-air channels in its starting package of 23 channels. But it doesn’t include next-day access to

network shows, either.

TV packages for Vue’s existing markets won’t change. They start at $40 and include the local stations. The broadcastfree, $30 option will be limited to markets outside the initial seven — Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco, as well as their suburbs. Sony hasn’t revealed how many subscribers it has, but Moffett believes it is still tiny, given the service’s limited reach until now.

Moffett has estimated that Sling TV has about half a million customers.q

A24 BUSINESS

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Wall Street closes mixed, lower, amid drug company rout

Kevin Lodewick, center, works with fellow traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, March 15, 2016. U.S. stocks tumbled in the first minutes of trading as falling commodity prices again pulled energy and materials companies lower.

(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

MARLEY JAY AP Markets Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks ended mixed and mostly lower Tuesday, led by a steep decline in drug company shares as investors worried it will become harder for the companies to raise prices. Materials

companies fell along with the price of precious metals.

U.S. stocks have hardly moved over the last two days, following a four-week rally that erased some big losses from earlier this year.

“People are kind of reevaluating where we are,”

said James Paulsen, chief investment strategist for Wells Capital Management. “It’s kind of amazing we haven’t pulled back a little more.”

The Dow Jones industrial average added 22.40 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,251.53. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 3.71 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,015.93. The Nasdaq composite index slipped 21.61 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,728.67.

Trading has been mixed

and fairly calm this week as investors wait for the Federal Reserve’s Open Markets Committee remarks on interest rates and the economy on Wednesday.

Investors are also awaiting Wednesdays’ Consumer Price Index report, which Paulsen believes will reveal more than the Fed’s statement.

“We ought to be paying attention to the Fed’s boss, the economy,” he said. “If the economic data gets better, the Fed will raise rates. If it doesn’t get better, they won’t.”

Drug company stocks were not afforded any of the market’s tranquility Tuesday.

They were pummeled after Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which is already facing scrutiny over its business practices, said its strategy of boosting product prices is no longer viable.

Every drug company in the S&P 500 fell, and big drug makers Pfizer and Merck led decliners on the Dow. Valeant tumbled $35.53, or 51.5 percent, to $33.51 after it disclosed disappointing fourth-quarter results, cut its forecasts for 2016 and said it could default on its debt. Valeant is being investigated by the Securities

and Exchange commission and Congress is questioning its practice of acquiring older drugs and raising their prices, a strategy shared by other drugmakers.

Endo International lost $9.51, or 22.6 percent, to $32.5 and Mallinckrodt fell $10.10, or 14.5 percent, to $59.51.

Drugmaker Eli Lilly fell on concerns surrounding the potential approval of a drug designed to treat dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease. The company said Tuesday it is changing the goal of a late-stage trial, and investors worried the change makes it less likely regulators will approve the drug. The stock gave up $2.67, or 3.6 percent, to $71.24.

Tech stocks made the biggest gains Tuesday, led by Apple, which rose $2.06, or 2 percent, to $104.58 after a Morgan Stanley analyst said first-quarter iPhone sales look stronger than Wall Street had expected.

Mining companies fell with metals prices. The price of gold fell $14.10, or 1.1 percent, to $1,231 an ounce.

Silver sank 26 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $15.26 an ounce. Copper slipped less than 1 cent to $2.23 a pound. q

Lord & Taylor:

Deceptive Instagram post charges settled

NEW YORK (AP) — Lord & Taylor will settle U.S. charges that it deceived customers when it paid for Instagram posts and also a

website article to promote a new clothing line without disclosing that they were advertisements.

The department store

chain gave 50 popular trendsetters on Instagram a free dress and paid them as much as $4,000 to post a picture of them wearing it, the Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday. The posts reached more than 11 million Instagram users and the dress sold out, according to the FTC. Lord & Taylor also paid the pop-culture magazine Nylon to post an article online about the new line.

“Consumers have the right to know when they’re looking at paid advertising,” said FTC’s director of consumer protection bureau, Jessica Rich. Lord & Taylor said it never tried to deceive customers and that it corrected the posts and article when the FTC raised the issue a year ago.q

BUSINESS A25

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Valeant shocks with missed 4Q results, slashed 2016 guidance LINDA A. JOHNSON AP Business Writer Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals crashed Tuesday after the embattled drugmaker failed to reassure investors that it’s getting back on track and even conceded for the first time that it’s technically in danger of defaulting on its debt.

The company faces a virtual Murphy’s Law of problems: falling sales, increased pressure to cut drug prices, massive debt, three ongoing federal probes of its accounting and pricing practices, and shareholder lawsuits in the U.S. and Canada.

Valeant’s already depressed shares took their biggest one-day tumble ever, falling just over 50 percent Tuesday after the company finally reported its overdue fourth-quarter results, which missed profit expectations. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. also slashed all its 2016 financial forecasts and said its business model, based largely on huge price hikes for its drugs, is no longer viable, given strong pushback from payers and other strains.

The turmoil led Pershing Square Capital Management — activist investor Bill Ackman’s hedge fund and one of Valeant’s biggest shareholders — to send its own investors a note stating it will “take a much more proactive role at the company to protect” its investment.

Pershing wrote that Vale-

ant’s businesses are “worth multiples of” the current price, but that shares won’t hit that value until management regains shareholder confidence. The note added that Valeant “shocked the market” with revenue and earnings forecasts that don’t seem to fit with “favorable prescription trends” or management’s comments on the strength of its businesses.

Valeant CEO Michael Pearson told the analysts on a lengthy conference call that an ongoing probe of Valeant’s 2014 financial reporting by an ad hoc committee it appointed means Valeant won’t be able to file its annual financial report with the Securities and Exchange Commission until sometime in April at the earliest.

That would miss filing deadlines of March 16 and March 30 contained in Valeant’s agreements with bondholders and creditors, respectively. If those debtors chose to declare the company in default on its debt, which totals about $30 billion, Valeant could be forced to make repayments faster and see limits on future borrowing.

Analysts were further upset when the company incorrectly said in a press release that adjusted profit for the four quarters beginning in April would be $6.2 billion to $6.6 billion. A slide included in Valeant’s presentation to analysts had the correct number, $6 billion. “It’s kind of the Inspector Clouseau school

A trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays the Valeant Pharmaceuticals logo, Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Valeant Pharmaceuticals cut its estimates for 2016 and said it could default on some of its debt if it does not complete required financial statements by late April.

(AP Photo/Richard Drew)

of management,” said Erik Gordon, a professor and pharmaceuticals analyst at University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

“This is a fabulous example of getting everything wrong” when you’re trying to reassure investors.

Analyst Steve Brozak, president of WBB Securities, likewise said the gaffe raised questions about whether any of Valeant’s statements could be trusted.

“There is no predicting what happens next,” Brozak said.

“Valeant has had its worst day ever — so far.”

Pearson, who recently returned from a two-month medical leave, said his team can turn things around and return to growth.“We do think we have a plan that will produce cash flow and allow

Chipotle: Sales recovering, but down 26% in February NEW YORK (AP) — Chipotle says sales trends are showing improvement but were still down 26 percent for February as it tries to recover from a series of food scares. The drop in sales at established locations for February follows a 36 percent decline for January.

The February results were boosted by an extra day in the month this year, the Denver company said.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.

is trying to bounce back after an E. coli outbreak and other incidents sent sales plummeting starting at the end of October. Executive have since said they’ve stepped up food safety measures and that the incidents are behind them.

To get customers back in stores, the chain known for its burritos and bowls has stepped up marketing and promotions.

The company said it sales

recovery began the week of Feb. 8, when it offered people a chance to get coupons for free burritos.

It said the recovery continued into March, with its sales decline easing to 22 percent for the first week.

But the second week of March worsened to a decline of 27 percent following the temporary closure of a Boston restaurant after workers were reported to be sick.

paying down debt,” he told analysts, adding, “In terms of management credibility, we have to earn it.”

Investors, already livid that Valeant shares had plunged from their $263.81 high last August, didn’t buy Pearson’s pitch. They sold off shares furiously, driving the price down $35.53, or 51.5 percent, to $33.51.

Trading volume for the day exceeded 137 million shares, more than 14 times normal volume.

Valeant is facing an SEC investigation of its accounting from 2014, plus scrutiny from Congress and attorneys general in two states over its practice of buying rights to old drugs and raising their prices a few hundred percent. Valeant said it now will stick to modest or no price increases, noting

demands from insurers for much-bigger discounts.

The company has made some concessions to shareholders, this month adding three directors to its board, including a Pershing Square executive.

Pearson said Valeant is in confidential discussions with partners on selling some noncore assets and hopes to use that and other money this year to pay off $1.7 billion of its debt, accumulated from a spree of acquisitions in recent years.

Valeant reported preliminary, unaudited results showing it lost $336.4 million, or 98 cents per share, in the three months ended Dec. 31. Excluding onetime items, earnings were $2.50 per share, far short of the $2.64 that analysts expected.

A26 COMICS

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Mutts

Conceptis Sudoku

6 Chix

Blondie

Mother Goose & Grimm

Baby Blues

Zits

Yesterday’s puzzle answer

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

CLASSIFIED A27

Wednesday 16 March 2016

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A28 SCIENCE

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Extremely rare whales make big showing in Cape Cod Bay WILLIAM J. KOLE Associated Press BOURNE, Mass. (AP) — Cape Cod is seeing a lot more of some singularly welcome tourists: endangered right whales enticed by the fine dining possibilities of its plankton-rich bay.

Experts tracking the majestic marine mammals — among the rarest creatures on the planet — say nearly half the estimated global population of 500 or so animals has been spotted in Cape Cod Bay over the past few springs.

They’re back again in what looks like record numbers, thrilling amateur photographers and scientists still anguishing over their future.

“It’s rather extraordinary and somewhat mind-blowing,” said Charles “Stormy” Mayo, a senior scientist and director of right whale ecology at the federally-funded Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown.

North Atlantic right whales have foraged for centuries in Cape Cod Bay, where their numbers were decimated by whalers who hunted them for their oil and plastic-like baleen bone.

But until recently, they were seldom spotted in the bay.

For a stretch in the late 1990s, fewer than 30 whales were sighted each year, said Mayo, who’s been surveying them and their ecosystem since 1984 by boat and plane.

“There has been a huge

In this April 10, 2008 file photo, the head of a right whale peers up from the water as another whale passes behind in Cape Cod Bay near Provincetown, Mass.

Associated Press

pulse in numbers in the past few years,” said Amy Knowlton, a scientist with the New England Aquarium’s Right Whale Research Project.

“Right whales are probably scouting for food all the time. Maybe when one of them finds it, they call their friends,” she said.

Each whale has a unique marking on its head, and researchers use those to identify and catalog individuals. The Aquarium, which also closely monitors the population, gives specific animals amusing names such as Kleenex, Snotnose and Wart.

Right whales spend most

of their time in the western Atlantic, and many are believed to congregate in the Gulf of Maine.

They’re rarely seen north of the entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada’s Maritime Provinces. A few venture as far south as coastal Florida and Georgia, mainly females giving birth to calves — something scientists say doesn’t happen often enough.

Their increasing presence in Cape Cod Bay has caught scientists by surprise. Mayo theorizes that shifting ocean currents — possibly due to global climate change — are pumping more plankton into the

bay, even as the whales’ traditional feeding grounds off the Maine coast falter.

“They’re a little like cows in a field. They go away from places that are not good and go to places that are good,” he said.

Although some right whales arrive in the bay in early December and linger as late as mid-May, their presence generally builds in March and peaks in mid-April, when plankton concentrations are at their highest.

The busy waters hold clear and present dangers: a risk of being struck by commercial ships and recreational boats or becoming entangled in nets.

Researchers out spotting whales report their whereabouts to state and federal authorities, who in turn alert nearby vessels. Federal law forbids getting within 500 yards of a right whale and requires ships to slow to 10 knots — roughly 11.5 miles per hour. Whale-watch tours steer clear, focusing instead on humpbacks and other comparatively plentiful species.

“It’s always heartening every time we see individuals and know they’re still alive,” Knowlton said. “It’s only through seeing them and their scars that we can really understand what’s going on with them.”q

PEOPLE & ARTS A29

Wednesday 16 March 2016

New faith-based films tone down religion, amp up star power SANDY COHEN AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — For some filmgoers, hearing a movie described as “faithbased” makes it a mustsee. But just as many others find the term a turn-off.

To reach audiences beyond the Christian churchgoers that generally propel the genre, some producers of faith-based films are ramping up the star power and tamping down the evangelical messages.

The latest example is “Miracles From Heaven,” starring Jennifer Garner and Queen Latifah, which tells the true story of a 9-yearold Texas girl who inexplicably recovers from an incurable condition after surviving a 30-foot fall.

Among the film’s producers are pastors T.D. Jakes and DeVon Franklin — the team behind 2014’s $100 million hit “Heaven is for Real” — who say they aim to make movies for all audiences, not just religious ones.

“I think sometimes when people hear ‘faith-based,’ to them that is code for preachy, that is code for more medicine, and it’s also sometimes code for lower quality, lower budgeted,” Franklin said in a recent interview.

“It’s the way people think when you use labels that is the barrier,” Jakes said.

“It’s not necessarily the film, but the image that comes up in people’s minds ... It suggests a discrimination that was not intended. We didn’t do this film just for people of faith. We did this film for everybody.” entertainOther ment aimed at Christian audiences, including new films “The Young Messiah” and “God’s Not Dead 2,” and the live TV special “The Passion” (airing Sunday), take a more religious approach.

“Miracles From Heaven” is based on Christy Beam’s 2015 memoir, which describes her family’s struggles and her own crisis of faith when daughter Anna is diagnosed with an incurable digestive dis-

This image released by Sony Pictures shows, from left, Jennifer Garner, Martin Henderson and Kelly Collins Lintz in a scene from Columbia Pictures’ “Miracles from Heaven.”

Associated Press

order, then has a potentially deadly fall. But following the mishap, Anna has no serious injuries and ultimately shows no signs of the disorder. She later tells her mom she went to heaven and talked to Jesus during the ordeal.

The film is being released Wednesday by Sony’s Affirm Films, the studio’s specialty faith division established in 2007.

Affirm also released “Heaven is for Real,” starring Greg Kinnear, which is similarly based on a parent’s account of a child’s divine experience. The film had a reported $12 million budget and made more than $100 million at the box office.

Paramount’s “Captive,” released last fall, was a modest faith-based success. Also a true story, it stars David Oyelowo as Brian Nichols, an escaped murderer who takes a single mother (Kate Mara) hostage, then lets her go after she reads a Christian book to him. Despite mixed reviews, it more than doubled its small budget at the box office.

Marketing a film as faithbased means nothing if the content doesn’t speak to religious audiences, said Maria Elena de Las Carreras, a professor of international cinema at the UCLA

School of Theater, Film and Television.

“It’s a label, but it’s not magical. It doesn’t guarantee box-office turnout,” she said, citing Paramount’s 2014 big-budget Biblical flop, “Noah.”

“Audiences flock to wellmade films that deal with stories of optimism and renewal, even if there is suffering and there is loss,” she said. “That was true in classic Hollywood cinema and it’s true today.”

Hollywood has a long history of Biblical blockbusters, from Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments” to Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” to the currently playing “Risen,” also released by Affirm and starring Joseph Feinnes. But

such big names haven’t traditionally been drawn to the quieter God-related fare.

Garner, who plays Christy Beam in “Miracles From Heaven,” celebrated the film’s Christian themes.

“I wasn’t scared of doing a movie that had faith at its center, as long as it wasn’t preachy,” Garner told The Associated Press. “And doing this movie, part of that is talking about something that I’ve always held dear and close to my heart... I’m proud of growing up a little good churchgoing United Methodist girl and I’m so, so proud of the film.”

Director Patricia Riggen (“The 33”) said she didn’t approach the film from a religious perspective.q

A30 PEOPLE

Wednesday 16 March 2016

& ARTS

‘Indiana Jones’ to return with Ford and Spielberg

In this Jan. 10, 2016 file photo, Harrison Ford arrives at the 73rd annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Associated Press

JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — “Indiana Jones” is swinging back into theaters with Harrison Ford reprising the iconic role and Steven Spielberg directing.

The Walt Disney Co. announced Tuesday that the fifth film in the action adventure series will open July 19, 2019.

The last “Indiana Jones” movie was 2008’s poorly received “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” which co-starred

Shia LaBeouf as Indiana’s son. It followed a nearly 20year gap in the franchise after 1989’s “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”

Another “Indiana Jones” film has long been rumored, occasionally with whispers of different actors taking over the role from the 73-year-old Ford. But Spielberg has repeatedly insisted Ford would never be replaced.

The actor’s return as his famous fedora-wearing archaeologist comes shortly after reprising his equally iconic Han Solo in “Star

Wars: The Force Awakens.”

“Indiana Jones is one of the greatest heroes in cinematic history, and we can’t wait to bring him back to the screen in 2019,” said Alan Horn, chairman of the Walt Disney Studios.

“It’s rare to have such a perfect combination of director, producers, actor and role, and we couldn’t be more excited to embark on this adventure with Harrison and Steven.”

The film, not yet titled, will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall.q

PEOPLE & ARTS A31

Sony buys Michael Jackson’s stake in music catalog for $750M LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Jackson’s estate has agreed to sell its remaining stake in a lucrative music catalog to Sony Corp. for $750 million, the entities announced Monday.

The agreement for Jackson’s half-share of the Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalog will give the company sole ownership of works by The Beatles, Bob Dylan and other hit making musicians, including Eminem and Taylor Swift.

The deal is another posthumous blockbuster deal for Jackson, whose estate has erased the singer’s massive

debts through a mixture of new music and movie ventures and re-releases of the singer’s most popular music. Jackson’s estate benefits his mother and three children, known as Prince, Paris and Blanket.

“This agreement further demonstrates Sony’s commitment to the entertainment businesses and our firm belief that these businesses will continue to contribute to our success for years to come,” Sony Corp. president and CEO Kazuo Hirai wrote in a statement.

The sale does not include rights to Jackson’s master

Fox News’ Megyn Kelly gets a broadcast special

In this Jan. 28, 2016 file photo, moderator Megyn Kelly talks during a Republican presidential primary debate in Des Moines, Iowa.

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Fox News Channel’s Megyn Kelly is graduating to the Fox broadcast network — at least for one night.

Fox announced Tuesday that Kelly will host a prime-time special in May, featuring celebrity interviews from politics and entertainment. One of Fox News’ biggest stars has increased her profile in recent months with her no-holds-barred debate moderating performances.

The network said it has hired

television executive Bill Geddie, formerly Barbara Walters’ right-hand man at “The View,” to produce the special.

It’s not hard to imagine Kelly getting more such opportunities if the May 23 special goes well. With Walters’ retirement, no one has inherited her mantle as a go-to person for celebrity television interviews For one night at least, the special will put Kelly in direct competition with Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly.q

recordings or songs that he wrote, and the singer’s estate will continue to have a stake in EMI Publishing, Inc. “This transaction further allows us to continue our efforts of maximizing the value of Michael’s Estate for the benefit of his children,” the co-executors of Jackson’s estate, attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain, wrote in a statement. “It also further validates Michael’s foresight and genius in investing in music publishing.”

Jackson purchased the ATV portion of the catalog in 1985 for $41.5 million, and he later merged it with Sony. It remained his most lucrative asset at the time of his death in June 2009

Wednesday 16 March 2016

In this March 5, 2009 file photo, US singer Michael Jackson announces that he is set to play ten live concerts at the London O2 Arena in July, which he announced at a press conference at the London O2 Arena.

Associated Press

at age 50, though by that point Jackson was hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.

The deal for Jackson’s half of the Sony/ATV catalog is expected to close by the end of March.q