January 18, 2016

On Top Of The News Email:news@arubatoday.com website: www.arubatoday.com Tel:+297 582-7800 Monday, January 18, 2016

Obama Hails ‘Historic Progress Through Diplomacy’

BRADLEY KLAPPER MATTHEW LEE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Diplomatic triumph or travesty, America’s relationship with one of its most intractable foes took two giant leaps forward this weekend when Iran released four Americans in a prisoner swap after locking in last summer’s nuclear deal and receiving some $100 billion in sanctions relief.

The announcements culmi-

President Barack Obama speaks about the release of Americans by Iran, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington.

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

nated a stunning few days of activity for the Obama administration and particularly Secretary of State John Kerry, who led the

diplomatic outreach to Tehran at President Barack Obama’s direction through years of slow-grinding negotiations.

Speaking from the White House, Obama on Sunday hailed the “historic progress through diplomacy,” long the centerpiece of his for-

eign policy vision, instead of another war in the Middle East.

Continued on Page 2

A2 UP

Monday 18 January 2016

FRONT

Iran Nuclear Deal:

Obama hails ‘historic progress through diplomacy’

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to journalists about his negotiations with Iran upon his arrival from Vienna at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016. The Americans imprisoned by Iran began their journey home Sunday, their friends and family awaiting emotional reunions, after delicate diplomatic negotiations that played out quietly in the shadows of international nuclear talks.

(Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP) Continued from front

Three of the American detainees — Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian,

former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati and pastor Saeed Abedini — arrived in Germany en route to a U.S. military hospital. They will

return home after medical evaluations.

The fourth, Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, opted to remain in Iran, officials

said.

The Islamic Republic released the prisoners in exchange for pardons or charges dropped against seven Iranians — six of whom hold dual U.S. citizenship — serving time for or accused of sanctions violations in the United States. A fifth American, student Matthew Trevithick, who had been detained in Iran for roughly 40 days, was released separately.

For all the celebrations, the timing of the deal, finalized hours after Saturday night’s U.N. confirmation that Iran made good on pledges to significantly back away from atomic bomb-making capacity, suggested that the Americans possibly were used as pawns by the Iranian government to win long-sought economic relief, as critics allege.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s declaration unlocked some $100 billion in frozen Iranian assets overseas, and potentially even greater economic benefits through suspended oil, trade and financial sanctions by the U.S. and European Union.

Critics of Obama’s Iran policy at home and abroad pounced on the details of the prisoner exchange and the new economic opportunities being afforded Tehran while it still supports Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government and the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

“This deal is a problematic deal, and it reflects a pattern we have seen in the Obama administration over and over again of negotiating with terrorists, and making deals and trades that endanger U.S. safety and security, ” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a GOP presidential candidate, said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Nevertheless, the backto-back breakthroughs reflected painstaking diplomacy by Kerry and administration officials.

The efforts were beset by several hitches, including

the detention of 10 U.S. sailors by Iran last week in the Persian Gulf and U.S. plans in late December to impose new sanctions on Iran for ballistic missile testing.

The sailors were released after Kerry’s intervention with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

The sanctions were delayed until Sunday, after the U.S. detainees left Iran.

U.S. and Iranian officials hashed out the prisoner exchange over 11 or 12 meetings over a process that took a little longer than a year, sprouting from the even longer set of talks that led to last July’s landmark nuclear accord.

Just before Zarif announced the final pact with his EU counterpart Frederica Mogherini, Kerry raised the issue of the detained Americans.

A photograph of Kerry speaking with Zarif and Iranian President Hasan Rouhani’s brother, Hossein Fereydoun, captured the moment.

Things progressed significantly by November, when Iran was included for the first time in a meeting in Vienna on Syria’s civil war.

Kerry and Zarif met there to discuss the prisoners.

“We actually shook hands thinking we had an agreement,” Kerry said. “I thought it was done.”

But the deal bogged down in Tehran and never went through.

“So we went back to work,” Kerry told reporters on his plane back to Washington late Saturday.

He described the negotiations as difficult, especially as the Iranians made what he said were unacceptable demands. Kerry said the United States made clear it wouldn’t release an accused murderer or narcotics offender.

“For a long time, this didn’t move because of the people they were asking for,” Kerry recalled. “We said, ‘No, and no, and no.’”

“And believe me, it’s hard when somebody says to you, ‘Hey, you give us this guy, we let them all out.q

U.S. NEWS A3

Monday 18 January 2016

At Press Time:

US Embassy says “several” Americans missing in Iraq SUSANNAH GEORGE BAGHDAD (AP) — The U.S. Embassy confirmed Sunday that “several” Americans have gone missing in Iraq, after local media reported that three Americans had been kidnapped in the Iraqi capital.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Scott Bolz said, “We are working in full cooperation with Iraqi authorities to locate the missing Americans.”

Bolz did not identify the missing Americans or say what they were doing in Iraq.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said that “due to privacy considerations” he had nothing further to add about the missing Americans. “The safety and security of Americans abroad is our highest priority,” Kirby said.

The comments by U.S. officials came after the Arab news channel, al-Arabiya, citing its own sources, reported that three Americans had been kidnapped by militias in Baghdad.

Iraqi media reports said the

Americans went missing in south Baghdad on their way to Baghdad International Airport. A Western security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media, said Sunday that he had been told that three Americans went missing 24 to 48 hours ago.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility.

Kidnappings in Iraq have been carried out by the Islamic State group and Shiite militias as well as criminal gangs demanding ransom payments or disgruntled employees seeking to resolve workplace disputes.

The incident comes after a week that has seen a deterioration of security in and around the Iraqi capital after months of relative calm.

The Islamic State group claimed a number of attacks in Baghdad and neighboring Diyala province last week that killed more than 50 people, including a high profile attack on a mall in the Iraqi capital. q

King Center to celebrate 30th anniversary of MLK holiday KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — The King Center in Atlanta is set to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday Monday at Ebenezer Baptist Church. The commemorative service caps more than a week of events meant to celebrate the slain civil rights icon’s legacy. The overarching theme of this year’s celebration is “Remember!

Celebrate!

Act! King’s Legacy of Freedom for Our World.”

“What most people around the world want, whatever nation they live in, is the freedom to participate in

government, the freedom to prosper in life and the freedom to peacefully coexist,” said King’s daughter, the Rev. Bernice King.

The theme of freedom is especially meaningful this year, she said, because it is the 50th anniversary of her father going to Chicago to highlight the need for open and fair housing. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in January 1966 announced plans for the Chicago Freedom Movement. In a nod to that legacy, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro is set to speak at Monday’s service. q

Pentagon press secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon.

The U.S. Embassy confirmed Sunday that “several” Americans have gone missing in Iraq. Kirby said that “the safety and security of Americans abroad is our highest priority.”

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

A4 U.S.

Monday 18 January 2016

NEWS

Republican establishment loses hope of winning early states JULIE PACE STEVE PEOPLES Associated Press HOLLIS, New Hampshire (AP) — After months of predicting a comeback for their preferred candidates, Republican establishment leaders now concede the first two contests of the presidential nominating race, in Iowa and New Hampshire early next month, are Donald Trump’s and Ted Cruz’s to lose.

That leaves many Republican traditionalists, who fear either front-running candidate would be a disaster in the November

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump poses for a selfie with a young attendee during a campaign stop, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, in Portsmouth, N.H. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

general election, pinning their White House hopes on a feat no Republican has pulled off in modern political history: securing the nomination without winning at least one of the first two states on the calendar.

It’s a risky strategy at best, and party officials are hoping that weaker candidates will drop out before the South Carolina primary that follows New Hampshire, allowing voters to more easily coalesce behind an alternative to the billionaire real estate mogul and the Texas senator.

“I don’t know how they can convince themselves that they’ll be able to go into South Carolina and get something going, having come in a distant third, fourth, fifth place in Iowa and New Hampshire,” said Mike Dennehy, a New Hampshire Republican operative. “Especially when you will have two candidates who have been very strong.”

Trump and Cruz are atop the field in Iowa, where voters caucus on Feb. 1.

Preference polls find Trump with a commanding lead in New Hampshire, which votes Feb. 9, and Cruz in the mix for second place.

The nine others in the Republican race are fighting to emerge from the pack; there’s little sign anyone will drop out before voting begins.

Among them are Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Each is competing for the same pool of center-

right voters.

Allies of Bush and Kasich in New Hampshire have been trading phone calls in recent weeks, trying to gauge each other’s thinking about staying in the race.

Campaign officials say they have felt no direct pressure from party leaders to drop out before the first two contests.

But there’s open discussion about the need for some of the more conventional candidates to drop out after New Hampshire votes on Feb. 9.

“We shouldn’t have a whole lotta folks running,” said Henry Barbour, a Republican national committeeman from Mississippi.

“The ones who don’t do well need to get out of the stinkin’ race.”

The risk for the more mainstream candidates is that Trump or Cruz generates momentum in the first two states, and it’s too strong to stop as the race turns to South Carolina and beyond. Since 1976, every major party presidential nominee has won either Iowa or New Hampshire, with the exception of Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992.

To be sure, large numbers of voters in Iowa and New Hampshire say they’re still undecided, and previous contests in both states have swung in unexpected directions just days before the caucuses and primary.

“People in the states make their decisions very late,” Rubio said during a swing through Iowa on Saturday.

“They take very seriously their vote.”q

U.S. NEWS A5

Monday 18 January 2016

Clinton campaign deploys husband Bill very carefully

Former President Bill Clinton speaks at a campaign stop for his wife Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at Lincoln High School in Des Moines, Iowa, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

KEENE, New Hampshire (AP) — Bill Clinton promised voters in 1992 that they’d be getting “two for the price of one” if they elected him to the White House — a presidential duo of the young Arkansas governor and his Yale Law-educated wife.

Nearly a quarter century later, the duo is back — but not quite the same.

As 2016 Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton fends off a rising challenge from challenger Bernie Sanders, a Vermont senator, her campaign aides are grappling with how best to deploy what she has described as her “not-sosecret weapon.”

During campaign swings through early voting states Iowa and New Hampshire, Bill Clinton treaded fastidiously through tightly controlled campaign events. A natural-born chit-chatter, he was not giving interviews. When he stopped to talk with reporters after one recent event, campaign aides turned up the music, making a conversation all but impossible.

His remarks to voters have been relatively subdued: long on history, statistics and nostalgia. He’s dodged questions about Sanders and Republican front-runner Donald Trump, who’s been baiting the Clinton family with com-

ments about the former president’s past sexual improprieties “I’m not going there,” Bill Clinton said on Wednesday, when asked about Sanders at a campaign event in New Hampshire.

While Bill Clinton remains a popular figure among Democrats, some of the key achievements of his administration form the basis of Sanders’ critique against his wife — that she’s too willing to compromise liberal ideals for political gain.

Sanders has denounced his rival’s policies on trade, same-sex marriage, crime and welfare cuts. He’s made reinstating GlassStegall, a Depression-era banking law repealed under Bill Clinton’s administration, a central attack line of his campaign.

Clinton aides say those critiques miss the larger picture of wage growth, job creation and a balanced budget. In a debate last month, Clinton said she would turn to her husband for economic advice.

“He carries a message of peace and prosperity under his presidency and I think a lot of Americans would like to get back to those days,” Clinton said in an interview on NBC’s “Today Show” on Wednesday.

Bill Clinton has said that he regrets approving the De-

fense of Marriage Act and the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that banned gays and lesbians from military service. He also has looked back with regret on signing the 1994 crime bill, which led to tougher sentencing for drug offenses.

“I signed a bill that made the problem worse,” the former president told an audience at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s annual meeting in Philadelphia in July.

“And I want to admit it.”

On Wednesday in New Hampshire, Bill Clinton detailed the economic growth under his administration, listing statistics on wage growth, the decline in poverty and insurance rates.q

A6 U.S.

Monday 18 January 2016

NEWS

American Living:

In Flint, Michigan, daily life revolves around lead fears

ROGER SCHNEIDER Associated Press FLINT, Michigan (AP) — The longest line at Freeman Elementary School’s Family Fun Night was not for face painting or food. It was for lead testing.

For three months, families in the former auto manufacturing hub of Flint have taken their children for blood tests and lived on bottled water after doctors found high levels of lead in the bodies of the community’s youngest people.

“It really is a scary situation to know that we can’t get clean drinking water,” said Sherri Miller, who brought her first-grade son, Jameer, to have a finger-prick blood sample tested. “It really is scary to think someone knew about this” and did nothing.

Nearly two years have passed since safe drinking water flowed from Flint faucets. The financially troubled city began drawing its water from the Flint River in 2014 to save money. Officials failed to treat the corrosive water properly to prevent metal leaching from old pipes. Worse, residents didn’t learn they were drinking tainted water until the state issued warnings a year and a half after the switch was made.

For the city’s 100,000 residents, daily life is now all about lead.

Before the crisis, Flint, about an hour’s drive north of De-

troit, had become a symbol of the decline of the U.S. auto industry, having suffered waves of auto plant layoffs and the loss of half its population. Forty-one percent of the population falls below the poverty line.

These days, it’s a place

“It was frustrating that it went on for so long,” Hanna-Attisha said, complaining that even since the state began taking action, “everything has been slow.”

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder finally acknowledged

Maurice Rice organizes cases of water at the Joy Tabernacle Church in Flint, Mich.

(Conor Ralph/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP)

where parents fear for the health of young children, who can develop learning disabilities and behavior problems from lead exposure.

“It has such damning, lifelong and generational consequences,” said Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, director of pediatric residency at Hurley Children’s Hospital, where more than 2,000 children have been tested. She is credited with bringing the problem to the public’s attention after state agencies initially dismissed her concerns.

in late September that the water was unsafe, saying the consequences of switching to Flint River water were not “fully understood.” The decision to use the river was made while a Snyder-appointed emergency manager was running city government.

The city, which had been under state supervision since 2011 due to its financial problems, returned to local control last April.

Flint went back to Detroit water in October, but some fear the old pipes were so damaged that they must

be replaced, at costs estimated as high as $1.5 billion.

On Monday, Snyder apologized to Flint and pledged that officials would contact every household to ensure families have bottled water and a filter and to check whether they want to be tested for lead exposure.

He also promised to seek a long-term solution.

“This is a crisis,” the governor said. “So we’re responding appropriately. There’s more work to be done.”

Snyder’s many critics got louder at midweek, when the governor announced that two spikes in Legionnaires’ disease had occurred in the county that includes Flint during the time Flint River water was used.

Ten people died. Michigan health officials said they cannot conclude that the outbreak stemmed from Flint’s water, but others argued it probably had.

Late Thursday, Snyder asked President Barack Obama to issue a federal disaster declaration in an effort to get federal aid, a move critics countered should have been taken sooner. The president signed an emergency declaration on Saturday and ordered federal aid for the city.

After Snyder declared a state of emergency Jan. 5, residents could go to fire stations to pick up a daily ration of one case of bot-

tled water per household and a water filter. But even that effort fell short.

The following Monday, a pile of empty filter boxes was stacked against the wall at one station. One woman came back three times in the hope of getting one. Hours later, even the water was gone after volunteers had given out almost 900 cases. And the fire station had not received any of the lead test kits that had been promised.

Volunteers also began going door-to-door to distribute water. Snyder called on the National Guard to help.

For angry residents, it’s still not enough.

“The state was telling everybody, ‘It’s fine, relax. ...

It’s safe,’” even as people complained that the water looked cloudy and tasted bad, said community activist Melissa Mays. “They lied.”

Mays, her husband and three sons ages 11, 12 and 17 are taking medication to reduce high lead and other heavy metal levels in their blood.

“Like everybody else, we drank and cooked with it because they told us it was safe,” she said.

Rabecka Cordell said she learned from her doctor that both she and her 5-year-old son, Dayne, have lead poisoning. She said she also has leukemia, and her son has learning and speech disabilities.q

U.S. NEWS A7

Monday 18 January 2016

US Financial Front:

Lower pay for poor is widening US income gap, study finds

AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The income gap in major U.S. cities goes beyond the trend of rising paychecks for those at the top: Pay has plummeted for those at the bottom. Many of the poorest households still earn just a fraction of what they made before the Great Recession began in late 2007. Even as the recovery gained momentum in 2014 with otherwise robust job growth, incomes for the bottom 20 percent slid in New York City, New Orleans, Cincinnati, Washington and St. Louis, according to an analysis of Census data released last week by the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. “It’s really about the poor losing ground rather than these upper-class households pulling away,” said Alan Berube, a senior fellow at Brookings and

deputy director of its metropolitan policy program.

Consider Cincinnati, home to such major companies as Procter & Gamble and Macy’s that are associated with middle class prosperity. Its bottom 20 percent earned just $10,454 in 2014. After inflation, that’s 3 percent less than what they earned in 2013 — and 25 percent below their incomes when the recession started eight years ago.

Cincinnati’s top 5 percent of earners made at least $164,410 in 2014, a figure that has increased since 2013, though it remains 7 percent below pre-recession levels. The consequence is a widening income gap. The top 5 percent earned 15.7 times what the bottom 20 percent did in Cincinnati. Nationally, this ratio was 9.3 — the same as in 2013. Before the recession, the ratio

Judith Castro serves a lunch order at a local grocery store in the Little Havana area of Miami. The income gap in major U.S. cities goes beyond the trend of rising paychecks for those at the top: Pay has plummeted for those at the bottom. Many of the poorest households still earn just a fraction of what they made before the Great Recession began in late 2007.

(AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

was 8.5. The poorest have clawed back some of their earning power since the economy officially began to recover 6½ years ago.

But the analysis suggests that strong job growth and modest pay raises

have failed to pull millions of Americans back up the economic ladder.

The findings also complicate plans by presidential candidates to combat inequality because it’s unclear how tweaking tax

rates on the wealthy — the Democrats largely favor increases, the Republicans cuts — will boost pre-tax incomes for the poorest.

Congressional Republicans have discussed increasing tax cuts for low-income workers without children as a way to address the absence of wage growth. It’s a plan, President Barack Obama said in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, that “we can all support.” Brookings found that the income gap was highest in Boston, where the top 5 percent made 17.8 times what the bottom 20 percent did. But that gap appears to reflect the large population of college and graduate students in a city containing Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and many other leading institutions of higher education.q

A8

Monday 18 January 2016

WORLD NEWS

Suicide bomber kills 13 in attack on prominent Afghan family LYNNE O’DONNELL HUMAYOON BABUR Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber targeting a gathering in a volatile eastern province of Afghanistan killed 13 people, including seven members of a prominent pro-government clan, Afghan officials said.

Another 14 people were wounded in the attack on the home of Obaidullah Shinwari, a scion of the clan and member of the Nangarhar provincial council who was not harmed in the attack, the officials said.

The attack came a day before a second round of international talks aimed at reviving the peace process between the Afghan government and the Tal-

iban. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. A Taliban spokesman tweeted that his group was not involved.

The head of the council, Ahmad Ali Hazrat, told The Associated Press that the bomber mingled with a crowd at the family event in the provincial capital of Jalalabad before setting off his payload.

Malik Osman, the head of the family and a respected community elder in the Shinwar district near the Pakistan border was wounded and flown to Kabul for treatment, Hazrat said.

The family has strongly supported President Ashraf Ghani’s efforts to bring peace to the country after almost 40 years of war and

Afghan security personnel, stand guard in near the site of a suicide attack, inside resident house, in Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016. Several people were killed and others wounded in a suicide attack at the home of a prominent politician in the increasingly volatile eastern city of Jalalabad, an Afghan official said on Sunday.

(AP Photos/Mohammad Anwar Danishyar)

15 years of Taliban insurgency.

The family and guests had gathered to mark the release of another of Osman’s sons, Samiullah, eight months after he was kidnapped and held by the Taliban. Samiullah was

wounded in the attack, but not seriously, according to Zabiullah Zamaray, another provincial council member.

The day before the attack, hundreds of residents of Achin district — where Shinwari’s nephew Nasim

is governor — held a demonstration calling on authorities to rid the region of insurgents, including a newly formed Islamic State affiliate that recently seized parts of the province after a summer of fierce fighting with the Taliban. q

Syria: IS group killed 300 in attacks in east BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s government said Sunday that Islamic State militants slaughtered 300 people in an “appalling massacre” committed in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour in daylong attacks that saw the extremists make significant advances in the contested region.

The state-run SANA news agency said that most of those killed in Saturday’s attacks were elderly people, women and children while opposition activists said many of the victims were Syrian soldiers and pro-government militiamen and their families.

The killings are some of the worst carried out by the ex-

tremist group, which controls large parts of Syria and Iraq and has killed thousands of people in both countries.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which documents all sides of the Syria conflict through activists on the ground, said late Saturday that at least 135 people were killed.

It said around 80 of them were soldiers and pro-government militiamen and the rest civilians.

It added that many of them were shot dead or beheaded.

The Islamic State group controls most of Deir el-

Zour province and much of the capital with the same name, while the government controls several districts in the northern part of the city and the adjacent military airport.

Most of the casualties took place in the area of Baghaliyeh near the city.

The Lebanon-based AlMayadeen TV, which is close to the Syrian government, also reported a massacre and said IS killed dozens of people, including women and children, and threw their bodies in the Euphrates River. It said the group took more than 400 civilians hostage.

The reports could not be independently confirmed.q

WORLD NEWS 9

Monday 18 January 2016

Israeli army: Palestinian kills Israeli woman in West Bank DANIELLA CHESLOW Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — A Palestinian broke into a West Bank settlement home and fatally stabbed an Israeli woman before fleeing Sunday, touching off a massive night manhunt, the Israeli military said.

The attack occurred hours after another Palestinian was shot dead by soldiers after trying to attack them with a knife, it said.

The latest incidents come amid a four-month wave of violence that Israel says is driven by Palestinian incitement and the Palestinians say is rooted in frustration at decades of living under Israeli occupation.

In the later attack, the Palestinian slipped into the Otniel settlement, broke into the woman’s home and killed her before fleeing the scene, the military said. Israeli police identified the slain woman as Dafna Meir and said she was a mother of six in her late 30s.

Otniel is located near Hebron, the West Bank’s largest city and a frequent flashpoint of violence. Residents of the settlement hid in their homes Sunday as Israeli forces blocked roads

and lit the sky with flares while searching for the assailant.

The military said no soldiers were harmed in the earlier incident, which took place near a base south of the West Bank city of Nablus.

Palestinian health officials identified the assailant as Wissam Qasrawi, 21, from Mesilyeh village near the northern town of Jenin.

Also on Sunday, Israeli police canceled a meeting at the Hakawati Theater, the Palestinian national theater in east Jerusalem.

Theater board member Ibrahim Deabis said staff planned to discuss its finances with Palestinian Authority Culture Minister Ehab Bseiso.

“We were surprised because this is not the first meeting like this in Jerusalem,” Deabis said. “The Israelis are different now.”

Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said he instructed police to shut down the meeting because he learned the Palestinian Authority planned to sponsor an event at the theater. Erdan said such a move would be “a violation of the sovereignty of the State of Israel.”q

UK Labour leader calls for back channel to Islamic State group LONDON (AP) — British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn says there should be a communications channel created with the Islamic State group in hopes of ending the war in Syria.

The Labour leader told the BBC on Sunday that a back channel — similar to the one created with the Irish Republican Army during the decades-long conflict in Northern Ireland — should be established.

Corbyn says “There has to

be a route through somewhere,” particularly given that some IS commanders are former officers in the Iraqi Army. He says “there has to be some understanding of where their strong points are, where their weak points are.”

Corbyn also reiterated his long-standing opposition to Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent and suggested that submarines could be deployed without nuclear warheads on them. q

Israeli soldiers stand guard at the Gush Etzion junction in the West Bank following an attack. A Palestinian broke into a West Bank settlement home and fatally stabbed an Israeli woman before fleeing Sunday, touching off a massive night manhunt, the Israeli military said.

(AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

A10 WORLD

Monday 18 January 2016

NEWS

Merkel’s migrant troubles flare but chancellor stands firm

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has her picture taken with refugees at a reception center for asylum seekers, in Berlin, Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s migrant troubles have reignited in the new year, with an outcry over assaults in Cologne blamed on foreigners.

(Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa via AP)

GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel’s migrant troubles have reignited in the new year but the German leader is sticking to her guns, insisting her country will manage the challenge and that diplomacy can bring solutions.

Germany registered nearly 1.1 million asylum-seekers last year, and 2,000 to 3,000 are still arriving daily even in mid-winter.

A surge of robberies and

sexual assaults on New Year’s Eve in Cologne — and the fact that some of the suspects were asylumseekers — have highlighted the difficulty of integrating so many newcomers. With pressure mounting for the government to manage the influx, Merkel’s Bavarian allies are once again pushing for a cap on asylumseekers.

Public opinion toward refugees has been souring for months in Germany, although polls suggest po-

litical support for Merkel’s conservatives is down only slightly. While Germany doesn’t hold a national election until late 2017, smaller votes this year — starting with three state elections in March — will offer a test of the mood.

“The events of New Year’s Eve have again shone a spotlight on the challenges we face, made them clear from a new side we had not viewed so far,” Merkel acknowledged.

Within days, her government pro-

posed legislation to make it easier to deport criminal foreigners.

On the refugee influx itself, however, Merkel is standing firm — sticking to her muchcriticized mantra that “we will manage it.”

The woman chosen as Time’s person of the year insists that the solution is not to unilaterally close borders, but to work with reluctant European partners, Turkey and others to secure Europe’s frontiers and share the burden of hosting refugees. That has been the central plank of her approach even as the government has tightened policy at home — taking steps to make it easier to send migrants from Balkan nations home and making clear that not all Afghans will be allowed to stay.

Whether Merkel will have any more success in Europe in 2016 than last year is questionable.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, an outspoken opponent of compulsory refugee quotas, said after the Cologne assaults that migrants can’t be integrated and “we don’t want what happened in Germany to happen here.”

Merkel has pledged to reduce the influx but resisted calls to set a specific limit on the number of refugees Germany can take. She rallied her conservative party

behind her stance a month ago, heading off calls for a cap by conceding that an unabated influx would “overburden” the country in the long run.

But after a few weeks’ peace, her allies in the Bavaria-based Christian Social Union — her most prominent domestic critics over recent months — renewed their drive for tougher border controls and for a cap. The party’s leader, governor Horst Seehofer, suggested an annual figure of 200,000 asylumseekers, and grumbling has resurfaced in Merkel’s own party.

Yet Merkel isn’t budging and won’t say by when she aims to get the numbers down.

“It wouldn’t be right to name the exact day,” she said. “We are working at high pressure on a sustainable reduction.”

Her finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, said Europe has only “finite” time to secure its external borders but wouldn’t give a date. The daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung argued in an editorial that if things don’t change by midyear, Merkel will have to declare a partial, temporary halt to admitting migrants.

The first electoral test since the refugee crisis escalated last summer comes on March 13.q

WORLD NEWS A11

Monday 18 January 2016

China, economy tests for Taiwan presidential winner Tsai

C. BODEEN Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s presidential election victor Tsai Ying-wen will enjoy a broad mandate from her commanding victory and her independenceleaning party’s new legislative majority, but managing the island’s delicate relations with China will be tricky.

Already, Beijing warned following her Saturday night victory that it will not budge on its bottom line that Taiwan’s leader must agree that the communist mainland and self-governing island democracy are part of a single Chinese nation.

The sides could be in for a lengthy wait as China assesses whether it feels it can trust Tsai.

“To handle cross-Taiwan Strait relations after Tsai’s election will be difficult, not just for Taiwan but also for mainland China,” said Huang Jing, a China expert at Singapore National University’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

Tsai, who will be Taiwan’s first female president, won by 56 percent of the vote to 31 percent for her closest rival Eric Chu of the China-friendly Nationalist Party, which has held the presidency for the last eight years. Her Democratic Progressive Party won 68 of 113 parliamentary seats, giving it its first majority in the as-

sembly long-dominated by the Nationalists.

“I wasn’t surprised a bit by the outcome. The Nationalists had to go. Now Tsai just needs to focus on the economy so I don’t expect she’ll do anything to rile up China,” Taipei tour bus driver Tan Kuang-jung said as a constant drizzle fell over the capital Sunday.

The reasons for the massive win were many.

Outgoing President Ma Ying-jeou had been growing increasingly unpopular among Taiwan’s 23 million people, largely due to perceptions that his push for closer economic ties with China was benefiting just a few and the futures of young Taiwanese who have seen wages stagnate and good full-time jobs harder to find.

Fearful of their original candidate’s poor reception among voters, the Nationalists dumped her in favor of Chu, but even he proved unable to raise their prospects. He resigned as party chairman immediately after Saturday’s defeat.

Newly politicized young people had coalesced in opposing yet another trade agreement with China and are believed to have voted heavily for the DPP. A further backlash against the party’s pro-China stance was prompted by a viral video of 16-yearold Taiwanese entertainer

Chou Tzu-yu bowing in apology for waiving the Taiwanese flag on television. Her apology was triggered by her South Korean

someone would continue to bully Taiwan, at all different levels, even a 16-yearold who’s trying to make a name for herself in the

es” for failure, Diamond said.

While China had largely refrained on commenting about the election be-

Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party, DPP, presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen waves as she celebrates winning the presidential election Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, in Taipei, Taiwan.

(AP Photo/Wally Santana)

management company’s fears that China would cancel appearances and endorsement deals.

“What happened surrounding Chou Tzu-yu, that whole controversy, made it almost a given (Tsai) would get over the 50 percent mark,” said Raymond Wu, managing director of Taipei-based political risk consultancy etelligence.

“It’s an indication that

entertainment field. This is something most Taiwanese find unacceptable,” Chou said.

The size of the win could also put additional pressure on Tsai and the DPP, said Larry Diamond, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution who closely follows Taiwanese politics.

“When you do as well, as decisively as the DPP has done, there are no excus-

forehand, its Taiwan Affairs Office responded swiftly to the result with a statement reiterating that it would deal only with those who agree that the “two sides of the strait belong to one China.”

That was followed by another statement from the Foreign Ministry stating that “China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity brook no division. q

A12 WORLD

Monday 18 January 2016

NEWS

Boycotting candidate says Jan. 24 runoff will set Haiti back DAVID McFADDEN Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s opposition candidate for president is warning that if a runoff is held next weekend as scheduled it will be a big step back for the country’s fragile democracy and lead to increased turmoil in the sharply divided nation.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Jude Celestin said he has such deep concerns about vote-rigging and a lack of transparency by Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council that he is boycotting a Jan. 24 presidential runoff.

His party will not send any monitors to polling stations.

“We are moving toward a selection, not an election,” Celestin said Saturday in his Port-au-Prince political office, which was unadorned except for some voting district maps taped to the wall.

In the 2010 campaign, the soft-spoken technocrat was the heir-apparent to then-President Rene Preval, making him the target of virtually every other candidate. When Celestin

Jude Celestin, the LAPEH party presidential candidate, speaks during an interview at his office in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016. Celestin, a 53-year-old engineer, said he has such deep concerns about vote-rigging and a lack of transparency by Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council that he is boycotting a Jan. 24 presidential runoff. His party will not send any monitors to polling stations.

(AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

made a runoff after a contested first round, his rivals alleged that Preval had rigged the vote. Celestin was eventually eliminated from the race amid street protests as well as pressure from Washington and the Organization of American States.

This time around, Celestin leads an opposition alliance alleging widespread fraud in favor of ruling party candidate Jovenel Moise, current President Michel Martelly’s chosen successor. He is ignoring appeals by the United States and other countries for a com-

petitive race in elections they are largely funding.

The United Nations, the United States and the OAS say they support holding the final round this month so a transfer of power can take place by a Feb. 7 constitutional deadline.

The OAS, whose observers

endorsed the Oct. 25 first round, recently called on the two runoff candidates to “participate actively” in the vote.

Moise is holding rallies and broadcasting ads, but Celestin has declined to campaign.

Electoral council officials say Celestin’s name and photo will still appear on ballots Jan. 24 because he never officially withdrew from the race, while the candidate asserts they have no right to do so without his authorization.

Celestin said U.S. State Department Counselor Thomas Shannon and the U.S. special coordinator for Haiti did not pressure him to campaign during a recent meeting in Haiti. But they made it clear they wished to see a transfer of power Feb. 7, when Martelly is due to leave office.

The 53-year-old engineer told AP he believes the international community is “too involved” in Haiti’s elections. He accused outsiders of hypocrisy for overlooking electoral problems in Haiti that they would never tolerate in their own countries.q

Venezuela president gets rare blast of live TV criticism HANNAH DREIER Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Nicolas Maduro first declared an economic emergency due to “catastrophic” inflation and growth figures and then endured the indignity of a nationally televised scolding from the head of a newly empowered opposition Congress.

Congress leader Henry Ramos wagged his finger inches from the president’s head in a state-of-thenation rebuttal that was

broadcast live across the South American country this weekend — unprecedented media access for an opponent of the country’s socialist revolution.

Neither Maduro nor his predecessor, the late President Hugo Chavez, had ever contended with a hostile audience for a speech to Congress, but foes of the administration took control of the institution last week for the first time in 17 years, carried to victory on a wave of economic turmoil.

The government’s Central Bank, which had kept key economic indicators to itself for more than a year, dumped a batch of new bad news earlier in the day.

It said the country’s economy contracted by 7.1 percent during the quarter that ended in September 2015, and inflation reached 141.5 percent.

Maduro described the numbers as “catastrophic” as he defended an emergency declaration giving him 60 days to unilaterally enact sweeping decrees.

He devoted most of his three-hour speech to what he called a “monstrous attack” on the economy by business owners and other foes of the leftist government, blaming them for most of the inflation and shortages.

Ramos took a professorial tone in rebuttal, saying that Maduro and Chavez themselves are responsible for the crisis.

“If you don’t want to hear this, close your ears or leave,” he warned as Maduro sipped from a cof-

fee cup and checked his watch in the next chair.

“If you give in to the desire to have more and more bolivars with the same number of dollars, your bolivars are going to lose value,” Ramos said, referring to the country’s plummeting currency.

The sight of an opposition leader lecturing the president on a live television feed all networks were required to carry shocked even ardent supporters of the sharp-tonged new congressional leader.q

LOCAL A13

Monday 18 January 2016

Jacob and Rula Skezas Honored at the Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino PALM BEACH - Recently the Aruba Tourism Authority had the great pleasure of honoring a very nice couple whom are loyal and friendly Visitor of Aruba, as Distinguished Visitors at the Aruba Marriott and Stellaris Casino Beach Resort.

The symbolic honorary title is presented in the name of the Minister of Tourism as a token of appreciation to guests who visit Aruba for 10-to-19 consecutive years.

The honorees were Mr. Jacob and Mrs. Rula Skezas from McKeesport, Pennsylvania.

Jacob and Rula made their first trip to Aruba in 1986 for their Honeymoon.

“Since then,” Rula tells us, “our family has grown and our two children, Nicholas (24), a pharmacist, and Eleni (22) currently in her first year of law school, have joined us on our many visits. We have visited Aruba at least 25 times!”

“We have expanded our family and friends who have since purchased time share property at the Marriott Ocean Club,” she continues, “and ALL truly look forward to our once or twice-a-year visits.”

During this visit the happy family will be celebrating the special occasion of Jacob’s 60th Birthday, which is January 27th.

They will also be joined by another couple, Jeff and Wendy DiBeradin during the trip, who are also Marriott vacation club members. Wendy will be celebrating her 50th birthday on this trip as well, so plenty to celebrate for the two families on this very special trip to Aruba!

Jacob and Rula are loyal

guests of the Marriott Resort and they love Aruba very much because of the friendly people, the climate, beaches, restaurants, and Aruba feels like a second home, the people are like a family to them and the Marriott

Resort is their home away from home. The certificates were presented by Mr. Ernest Giel representing the Aruba Tourism Authority together with management and staff members of the Marriott and Stellaris casino Beach Resort.q

A14 LOCAL

Monday 18 January 2016

Federico Cabello Introduces His Latest Book “Aruba Point to Point”

PALM BEACH - As a wildlife and nature photographer and a son of the Caribbean, artist Federico Cabello has published a number of successful books of photography on both the

raw natural beauty of the Los Roques Archipelago in Venezuela, and the pristine dive sites of Bonaire in the Leeward Antilles.

Cabello is now delighted to introduce this photograph-

ic celebration of the stunning island of Aruba, entitled “Aruba Point to Point.”

The artist tells us, “This is my sixth coffee table book, and the second in the “Point to Point” series, which is dedi-

cated to capturing the stunning landscapes and intricate details of various locations in the Caribbean. The series began with “Bonaire Point to Point,” which explores each of Bo-

wish that the island would never end.”

“Then back up the rocky East coast, where time and the eternal embrace of the waves have opened secret bays and stunning

naire’s 90 official dive sites, both above and below the waves.”

“Now I turn to Aruba,” he continues, “slipping beyond a dynamic tourist industry to discover its wild and undeveloped beauty.

Starting at the extreme north of the island, at California Lighthouse, I travel south along pristine beaches of white sand and calm, translucent seas, passing hotels, sailboats and shipwrecks as I go. At the southern tip, it is hard not to

beaches in the shelter of rock walls.”

“From beach to beach, point to point, cave to cliff to boat to bird, Aruba truly is… One Happy Island,” he concludes.

Federico is currently working on a new book and a series of artistic photographs entitled: Drawing with Water and Wind.

Artist Information: Federico Cabello www.federicocabello. com Amazon: goo.gl/p1Ifl1q

LOCAL A15

Monday 18 January 2016

Antonio and Santa Colalillo Honored at the Marriott Surf Club PALM BEACH - Recently the Aruba Tourism Authority had the great pleasure of honoring a very nice couple as Distinguished Visitors, at the Marriott Surf Club.

The symbolic honorary title is presented in the name of the Minister

of Tourism as a token of appreciation to guests who visit Aruba for 10 to 19 consecutive years.

The honorees were Mr. Antonio and Mrs. Santa Colalillo from Hamilton Ontario Canada. Antonio and Santa are loyal mem-

bers of the Marriott Surf Club and they love Aruba very much because of the friendly people, the climate, beaches, restaurants, relaxation and being on Aruba and staying at the Surf Club is like being home for them.

The certificates were presented

by Mr. Ernest Giel representing the Aruba Tourism Authority together with Ms. Jenny Boekhoudt and Mr. Joop Bangma GM of the Marriott Surf Club.q

A16 LOCAL

Monday 18 January 2016

The little jeep tour that could…

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

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

“We started small, guiding the tours ourselves, and with the goal of sharing what we love most about our island with guests,” explains Sharla. “Nowadays, we are still very much involved, managing the company and making sure the feeling of being part of the family is intrinsic to each tour.

What sets us apart is that our tours are made up of

both excitement and fun.

The choice of stops is also unique, with ABC Tours taking guests past the island’s most breathtaking sceneries, and on to discover the hidden beauty of secluded beaches and dramatic rock formations as well as to well-known sites such as Baby Beach and the Natural Pool.

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

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

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

small groups so that the safari stays fun and personalized, giving our Tour Guides the flexibility to honor special requests on each tour and that means more value for your money.”

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

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

SPORTS A17

Monday 18 January 2016

Cardinals Beat Packers in OT, Patriots Also Advance

Page 21

Big Mo

Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart (28) runs against Seattle Seahawks strong safety Kam Chancellor (31) during the first half of an NFL divisional playoff football game, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Bob Leverone)

Panthers Build 31-0 Lead, Beat Seahawks 31-24 BARRY WILNER Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Four games into his playoff career, Cam Newton recognizes the key element to success. He calls it “Big Mo,” and there couldn’t have been a better example than Carolina’s 3124 victory over Seattle on Sunday.

Emphatically backing up their superb regular season with one of the most dominating halves in football history, the Panthers then hung on in the face of a furious Seahawks rally before

surviving.

“The playoffs bring out more than any other time the impact of ‘Big Mo,’” Newton said after Carolina (16-1) moved into NFC title game, which they will host next Sunday against Arizona (13-3). “Momentum.

“We can’t wait for no one to make plays for us.”

The Panthers, winners of 12 straight at home, made all the right plays in building a 31-0 lead, then were dominated by the two-time defending NFC champs in the second half. So if Carolina wins its first NFL champion-

ship, it can credit the lesson learned from the Seahawks (11-7).

“We have to find a way to complete a full game of football,” the All-Pro quarterback added. “We have been known to take our foot off the throttle and we have to find that killer instinct.”

Newton noted how players, coaches and even the fans were feeling the pressure in the final 30 minutes as Seattle staged a relentless comeback.

“It was a tale of execution.

We needed a little more of

that in the second half. You just have to find ways to get your groove back on.”

Definitely.

“That’s what this game is going to teach us,” said AllPro linebacker Luke Kuechly, who returned a firstquarter interception for a touchdown.

“No matter how good you play in the first half, the second half is just as important.

It’s crazy - you go into these games and you expect it to be like this, so it wasn’t a surprise for us.

But you’ve got to be locked in the whole game. “

Jonathan Stewart, returning from a foot injury, scored two touchdowns after jumpstarting the Panthers with a 59-yard sprint on their first play.

Newton threw for a touchdown.

Then, Seattle showed its pedigree and climbed back within seven points.

“We made a mess of it in the first half,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said.

“We look at this game as a microcosm of the season.

Continued on page 20

A18 SPORTS

Monday 18 January 2016

Wilder retains WBC heavyweight crown with KO of Szpilka DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — One fight over, Deontay Wilder nearly landed in another scrum with a furious heavyweight party crasher.

With Tyson Fury plotting a post-fight melee from ringside, Wilder retained his WBC heavyweight championship with a violent knockout of Artur Szpilka in the ninth round Saturday night at the Barclays Cen-

ter.

“I’m a dangerous fighter,” Wilder said. “What made my name is knocking people out. My right hand is a monster.”

Wilder (36-0) left Szpilka out cold and flat on his back with a powerful right hand to the face. Szpilka (20-2) was out for several minutes and medics were called to the ring. He eventually slumped against the ring post as doctors tended to

him. Former heavyweight champions Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis sat ringside for Wilder’s 35th KO that silenced a Polish-flavored crowd that chanted and sang for Szpilka.

“I’m surprised it took that long, but we had 12 rounds and they can’t all can’t be pretty,” Wilder said.

Fury, the WBO and IBO heavyweight champ, also sat ringside until the fight was over — he then burst

Deontay Wilder, left, punches Artur Szpilka, of Poland, during the eighth round of a WBC heavyweight title boxing match Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, in New York. Wilder retained his WBC heavyweight championship with a violent knockout of Artur Szpilka in the ninth round Saturday night at the Barclays Center.

(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

through the ropes and engaged in a trash talking, head-to-head showdown that electrified the crowd.

The IBF stripped Fury of another one of his championship belts when he agreed to an immediate rematch against Wladimir Klitschko.

Fury slammed down his jacket and could not be restrained by security, furiously issuing Wilder a challenge to unify the belts.

Wilder, who won his third title defense and was ahead on all three scorecards, was ready for another fight.

“Like I did Klitschko, I’ll beat you, ya bum, You’re a bum,” the showman Fury said. “You can run around like you’re a preacher all you want but you step in the ring, I promise you I will baptize you,” Wilder said, as 12,668 fans roared. “This is an act. You’re not a real fighter. This is an act. I don’t play this. This ain’t wrestling.”

Like a heel wrestler, Fury stood on the corner turnbuckles, gestured toward the crowd and was about booed out of the building.

All that was missing was a steel chair to the back.

“Fury, I don’t take that guy serious at all,” Wilder said.

The hype for a fight that hasn’t been signed was more entertaining than the fight that had just ended.

Fury and Klitschko will meet, likely in May, in a rematch of their fight. Wilder must make a mandatory defense against Alexander Povetkin.

The heavyweights fought a fantastic eight rounds and were closing in on a ninth until Wilder caught Szpilka flush with 36 seconds left in the round.

Charles Martin won the vacant IBF world heavyweight championship in an underwhelming bout against injured Vyacheslav Glazkov in the co-main event.

Polish fans outside the Barclays Center were singing and chanting Szpilka’s name hours before the title bout and they livened up a packed arena. They went wild in the undercard when Adam Kownacki beat Danny Kelly. When Kownacki, a Polish-American heavyweight with a doughy frame, unloaded 42 punches in 40 seconds on a rattled Kelly, fans erupted in chants of “Polska! Polska!”

Kownacki improved to 13-0 with a unanimous decision victory.q

SPORTS A19

Monday 18 January 2016

Manning leads Broncos past gritty Steelers 23-16 dropped seven passes, but came through in crunch time. Denver is 10-3 in games decided by seven points or fewer, and Manning said being battletested helped them on this night. With Denver down 13-12 with less than 10 minutes left, cornerback Bradley Roby punched the ball from Fitzgerald Toussaint’s arms and teammate DeMarcus Ware recovered at the Denver 35-yard line.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, left, pushes off Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Brandon Boykin during the first half in an NFL football divisional playoff game, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016, in Denver.

(AP Photo/Joe Mahoney)

ARNIE STAPLETON DENVER (AP) — Get ready for Brady-Manning XVII. Peyton Manning earned one more and possibly final game against his rival by leading the Denver Broncos to a come-from-behind 23-16 win over Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

That set up an AFC championship game next weekend in Denver against Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots (13-4).

Manning and Brady have squared off 16 times before, a full season’s worth of matchups between the two quarterbacks whose careers are so intertwined that a conversation about one almost has to include the other — like Bird vs.

Magic or Ali vs. Frazier.

“It’ll be the Broncos vs. the Patriots,” Manning said.

“We’ll enjoy this one tonight. I think you knew that answer was coming. To kind of quote Bill Belichick, we’ll be on to New England. But I’ll be talking about them on Wednesday.”

His boss, John Elway, who only got to face his fellow Hall of Famer Dan Marino twice in his playing career,

once said there will never be another rivalry like Brady-Manning.

Brady has won 11 of the 16 meetings, but they’re 2-2 in the playoffs, including Denver’s 26-16 win in the conference championship game two years ago.

This game marks just the seventh time Manning will face Brady at home.

This matchup was slated for November before Manning went out with a foot injury that pushed longtime backup Brock Osweiler into the starting — and starring — role.

Osweiler led the Broncos (13-4) back from a twotouchdown, fourth-quarter deficit against New England on Nov. 29 in a game Denver won 30-24 in overtime. Manning had just gotten out of his cast and watched that game from the locker room.

He returned to action in the season finale, his cameo propelling the Broncos past San Diego and into the AFC’s No. 1 seed that ensures Brady & Co. will have to play at altitude in their fifth consecutive trip to the conference championship game.

Manning’s teammates

Then, Manning went to work, driving Denver to its only touchdown.

C.J. Anderson ran it in from the 1, and Demaryius Thomas — who was playing in front of his mother for the first time in his life — caught the 2-point conversion for a 20-13 lead with three minutes remaining.

That was Manning’s 55th game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime, extending one of the doz-

en NFL records he owns.

Ware’s sack ended Pittsburgh’s next drive and Brandon McManus kicked his fifth field goal, tying the NFL playoff record.

Chris Boswell made a 47-yarder with 19 seconds left, but Anderson recovered the onside kick.

Manning credited Denver’s NFL-best defense for thwarting a team that piled up 34 points on them last month.q

20 SPORTS

Monday 18 January 2016

Panthers Build 31-0 Lead, Beat Seahawks 31-24 Continued from page 17 We struggled so much early in the season to get going, and it took us a long time. When we finally did, we caught fire, and got rolling. Everyone in here just feels like we ran out of time.”

Not before they got two touchdowns in the first 7:20 of the third quarter. Finally with time to throw, Russell Wilson hit Jermaine Kearse for a 13-yard score and rookie Tyler Lockett for 33 yards, making it 31-14 — and making the full house at Bank of America Stadium unnerved.

When the Seahawks succeeded on a fake punt from their 23, an epic comeback seemed possible. That drive stalled, but with Carolina’s offense sputtering, Seattle later got closer on Kearse’s 3-yard catch of a jump ball against All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman.

Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart (28) celebrates his touchdown with Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half of an NFL divisional playoff football game, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Bob Leverone)

With Newton waving the crowd into frenzied cheers on the sideline, the Panthers’ defense couldn’t stop a 60-yard drive capped by Steven Hauschka’s 36-yard field goal with 1:12 remaining.

At 31-24, All-Pro linebacker Thomas Davis hauled in Hauschka’s onside kick — and Charlotte could breathe again.

“In the second half, we had to go for it,” Wilson said. “We had to come

out swinging. That was our mentality, and we did a great job of that. “ This will be the Panthers’ fourth trip to the NFC championship game, and their first time as host.

Carolina, which scored an NFL-best 500 points this season, stormed into the lead thanks to Stewart. He burst through the middle on the first snap and nearly outran everyone, getting tackled at the Seattle 16 by Richard Sherman. Three plays later, Stewart surged into the end zone.

His return from a foot injury that cost him three games was far more distinguished than Marshawn Lynch’s comeback from a two-month absence (abdominal surgery). Lynch, who finished with 20 yards on six carries, was nailed in the backfield for a 3-yard loss on his first touch, then turned around late for Wilson’s pass over the middle under pressure from Kawann Short.

Kuechly was far more alert,

grabbing the interception and sprinting 14 yards to make it 14-0 only 3 1/2 minutes in.

The scoring barrage continued as Stewart leaped in from the 1 to make it 21-0.

Wilson was picked off under relentless pressure again, this time by Cortland Finnegan at the Seattle 29. Graham Gano’s 48-yard field goal made it 24-0. Greg Olsen’s spectacular 19-yard reaching catch over double coverage made it 31-0.

But that ended the onslaught, and the Seahawks who returned for the second half were an entirely different team, energetic and efficient.

Wilson, who was sacked five times, made some big throws, particularly to Kearse, who had 11 catches for 110 yards. Wilson went 31 for 48 for 366 yards, but the early turnovers — Seattle had an NFC-low 16 in the regular season — and spotty defense were too much to overcome.q

SPORTS A21

Monday 18 January 2016

NFL Playoff Roundup:

Cardinals beat Packers in OT, Patriots also advance

GLENDALE, Arizona (AP) — Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald ran in for the winning touchdown in overtime to give the Cardinals a 26-20 victory over Green Bay on Sunday, capping an extraordinary finish to an NFL playoff game that will be remembered as one of the classics.

The Cardinals advanced to the NFC championship game against the winner of Sunday’s clash between Carolina and Seattle, while New England booked its place in the AFC decider with a 27-20 victory over Kansas City. The Patriots will play either Pittsburgh or Denver.

As close as the Patriots victory over the Chiefs was, it was outdone for drama by the remarkable finish in Arizona.

Green Bay forced overtime in scarcely believable fashion. On fourth down and 20 at their own 4-yard line, with no time outs left, and in the final minute of regulation time, the Packers looked finished, but quarterback Aaron Rodgers found Jeff Janis for a 60-yard reception to keep the game alive.

Then with time expiring, an off-balance Rodgers sent a speculative 41-yard ‘Hail Mary’ pass into the crowded end zone, where it was Janis again who took the catch to make it 20-19 and

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (11) scores the game-winning touchdown against the Green Bay Packers during overtime of an NFL divisional playoff football game, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. The Cardinals won 26-20 in overtime.

(Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic via AP)

the conversion sent the game to overtime.

Arizona had every right to feel deflated, but came up with the victory on the first drive of overtime. Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer spun away from pressure and made a crossfield pass to a wide open Fitzgerald, and he eluded a series of tackles before being brought down just short of the end zone for a 75-yard gain.

Two plays later, Palmer

tossed short to Fitzgerald, who had an open path to the winning touchdown.

Fitzgerald caught eight passes for 176 yards.

“As an elder statesman on this team I just try to elevate my game and make plays for my teammates,” he said.

It was a brave effort by the Packers just to force overtime, and the performance of Rodgers and the unheralded Janis — forced to step up due to the unavail-

ability of Green Bay’s two main receivers — on that final drive impressed even their opponents.

“That’s Aaron Rodgers,” Arizona linebacker Kevin Minter said. “It was No. 83 (Janis). Man, he made a play, didn’t he? It looked like they batted it down and he just made a great play. My jaw was on the ground.”

New England quarterback Tom Brady hit Rob Gronkowski with two touch-

down passes and reached over the goal line for another score to lead the Patriots into the AFC championship game.

It’s the fifth straight trip to the conference title game for the defending Super Bowl champions.

The Patriots will meet the winner of Sunday’s game between Pittsburgh and Denver for a spot in Super Bowl 50 as they try to become the first repeat NFL champs since they did it in 2003-04.

After spending the last two weeks recovering from knee and back injuries, Gronkowski had touchdown catches from 8 and 16 yards. The tight end had seven receptions for 82 yards.

After spending the last two weeks recovering from knee and back injuries, Gronkowski caught seven passes for 83 yards, including touchdowns from 8 and 16 yards out.

Gronkowski also recovered an onside kick after Kansas City cut the deficit to 27-20 with just over one minute left.

Julian Edelman returned from a broken foot to catch 10 passes for 100 yards for New England, which had been below its best in the closing weeks of the regular season but again showed its playoff pedigree.q

A22

Monday 18 January 2016

SPORTS

Italian Roundup:

Juventus wins 4-0 at Udinese; Roma draws DANIELLA MATAR Associated Press MILAN (AP) — Juventus beat 10-man Udinese 4-0

dominated the first half.

With its 10th consecutive league win, Juventus moved two points behind

pi beat Sampdoria 2-1 for a second successive win.

Chievo Verona drew 1-1 against Empoli and Genoa

Juventus’s Kwadwo Asamoah, center, and Udinese’s Molla Wague, left, challenge for the ball during the Serie A soccer match between Udinese and Juventus at the Friuli Stadium in Udine, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016.

(AP Photo/Paolo Giovannini)

to move back into second spot in Serie A on Sunday, while Luciano Spalletti’s second spell in charge of Roma began with a 1-1 draw against bottom side Hellas Verona.

Paulo Dybala scored twice, including a 25th-minute penalty after Udinese defender Danilo was sent off for bringing down Mario Mandzukic.

Dybala also provided two assists for Sami Khedira and Alex Sandro as Juventus

Napoli after the Serie A leader’s 3-1 win over Sassuolo on Saturday. Inter Milan, which drew at Atalanta on Saturday, was two points further back.

Fiorentina can leapfrog above Inter with a win at AC Milan later. Roma is nine points behind Napoli.

Elsewere, Lazio fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Bologna after home defender Adam Masina was sent off, while relegation-threatened Car-

beat 10-man Palermo 4-0 in the lunchtime kickoff.

Udinese had beaten Juventus on the opening day and was looking for a similar result to celebrate the inauguration of the Nuovo Stadio Friuli, where all 25,000 seats were sold out.

However, Juventus took the lead in the 15th minute when Dybala curled a free kick over the wall and matters grew worse three minutes later. q

Spanish Roundup: Neville still winless in Liga; Valencia draws JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Valencia coach Gary Neville remained winless in the Spanish league after his team fought back to salvage a 2-2 draw with relegation-threatened Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.

Both teams are without a victory in nine consecutive rounds, with Neville in charge of Valencia for the last six.

“We have to correct this immediately,” Neville said.

“It was a very disappointing performance. In football you have to win and enjoy yourself, and we didn’t show any of that.”

Rayo dominated the first half and went ahead through Jozabed Sanchez after 15 minutes.

With nerves fraying at Mestalla Stadium, Alvaro Negredo leveled against the flow of play with an audacious strike from near the halfway line in the 55th.

Rayo’s Diego Llorente vol-

leyed in a corner kick to seemingly end Valencia’s rally in the 69th, only for Paco Alcacer to win a ball that fellow substitute Zakaria Bakali squared for him and scored with two minutes left.

Despite saving a point with his late goal, the Spain striker admitted his team was struggling to find its form under Neville.

“We can’t continue like this,” Alcacer said. “We have to flip the switch because this is impossible. q

Australian Open: What to Watch for on Monday DENNIS PASSA AP Sports Writer MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The opening day of the Australian Open should provide quick answers to injury questions which developed over the past few weeks with two of the biggest stars in the women’s game.

Will six-time winner and defending champion Serena Williams be affected by inflammation in her left knee that forced her out of the Hopman Cup in Perth? And will Maria Sharapova, who lost to Williams in last year’s final, get through her first-round match without the recurrence of left forearm soreness that made her withdraw from the Brisbane International, where she was defending champion?

Both players said they’ve recovered from their respective ailments and are ready to go, Williams as the second match on the main Rod Laver Arena, Sharapova to open the night program at Margaret Court Arena.

Adding to a blockbuster first day are matches involving five-time and defending champion Novak Djokovic and 17-time Grand Slam winner and four-time Australian winner Roger Federer.

Here are some things to watch on Monday: -DON’T TELL ME, PLEASE: Seeded players can’t meet in the first round in a tournament, but Williams got the next-toughest assignment: the player with the highest ranking and not seeded. She’s Camila Giorgi of Italy and No. 36 in the rankings. The two have met just twice before — on clay — and Williams won in straight sets both times. Asked about Giorgi, Williams professed to not know who she was playing: “I don’t really ever look at the draw, so I would appreciate it if you didn’t mention it. Thank you.” That means she likely also doesn’t know that she could face former No. 1 and close friend Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round and No. 5 Sharapova in the quarterfinals.

Sharapova, who plays No. 56 Nao Hibino of Japan — they’ve never played each other — is just the opposite — “ultimately you know all the players that are competing here. It’s no secret who you’re going to be playing.”

-THE MAJOR MEN: The form guide would suggest Djokovic and Federer should easily win their first-round matches. Djokovic plays Chung Hyeong, a 19-yearold from South Korea ranked 51st who has never played the Serbian. Federer takes on Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia, ranked No. 117, and they’ve also never met. Djokovic has won four of the last five Australian titles and is a perfect 5-0 in finals at Melbourne Park. He also won 27 of his 28 Grand Slam matches last year, losing only to Stan Wawrinka in the French Open final while winning the other three majors. “2015 was the best season and best year of my life undoubtedly,” Djokovic said Sunday. “I’ll try to obviously carry that confidence and high level of performance that I’ve had ... into the new season.”

-ACTIVE ‘SLAM CHAMPIONS: The Australian Open this year features 15 active Grand Slam champions — seven men and eight women — and the bulk of the majors are held by the top three players on each side.

Federer’s leading 17 is three ahead of Rafael Nadal, while Djokovic has 10. Lleyton Hewitt, who will retire after this tournament, Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray have two majors each, rounded out by Marin Cilic (2014 U.S. Open) with one for a total of 48 by the men.

Nadal, Wawrinka, Murray and Hewitt play their opening matches Tuesday. q

TECHNOLOGY A23

Monday 18 January 2016

Tech at a Glance:

The differences between the new online cable bundles

TALI ARBEL Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Traditional cable providers are launching TV packages that don’t require cable boxes — good for you because you save on monthly equipment fees and don’t need a technician to come install it for you.

But there are also drawbacks. Some services are easy to add and cancel, like Netflix is. Time Warner Cable required a phone call for both. Apart from Sling, leaving your home cuts off access to a lot of video. As with traditional cable service, sometimes there are unexpected fees that end up on your bill.

A breakdown of what’s good and what’s not: DISH’S SLING TV What you get: About 20 cable channels, including ESPN, ABC Family, AMC and Food Network. Overthe-air channels like ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC are not available; Univision is for an additional fee. You can only watch one stream at a time, so it’s not for families.

Benefits: It’s the best deal for live TV, with a slim package of some of the most popular cable channels.

The same shows are available at home as when you’re away.

Drawbacks: There have been quality issues with streaming. You can’t record shows. There are some on-demand episodes, but you can’t skip commercials for most, and it’s hard to figure out where the on-demand episodes are. Sling announced at CES last week that it will improve that by March.

You don’t get access to apps created by channels

This photo shows the Roku 3, a product for streaming popular video services, apps and games in high-definition, in Decatur, Ga. Moving the traditional cable bundle online, stripped down to fewer channels and freed from ugly cable boxes, is all the rage these days. The Roku box, which also lets you watch Netflix, Amazon and other services, is smaller and slightly less unsightly than a cable box typically is.

(AP Photo/Ron Harris)

except for WatchESPN. A family with multiple TVs would probably want more than one subscription. (If you add HBO, you get three streams for that channel only.)

Where it’s available: Nationwide.

Price per month: Starts at $20, plus taxes where required. Adding HBO costs $15, and add-on packages of channels with themes like sports, movies, kids and world news are $5 each.

TIME WARNER CABLE’S ROKU APP (WITH NO CABLE BOX) What you get: Different tiers of service that mirror cable offerings: Local networks and a bundle with popular cable channels.

Five simultaneous streams.

Benefits: You get TV and most popular streaming video services through a free (for now) Roku 3 box, which is easy to use. Channels are high-definition quality.

Drawbacks: With taxes and fees, a service advertised

at $10 cost me more than $13. You need a phone call to sign up and cancel.

Channels took about three seconds to load.

Where it’s available: New York City; Mt. Vernon, New York; New Jersey for people who also pay for Time Warner Cable. There’s no timeline beyond that.

Price per month: $10 for over-the-air channels, $20 if you add Showtime and Starz, $50 to also add several dozen cable networks including AMC, Disney, ESPN, Fox News and TNT. These are promotional prices that will rise. Local taxes and fees are additional.

COMCAST STREAM What you get: Local networks, HBO and the ability to watch two simultaneous streams.

Benefits: An Internet-based DVR with 20 hours of storage that lets you fast-forward commercials and watch outside the home.

Drawbacks: Live TV works only on phones, tablets and computers in your

house. For the TV, you need an antenna for live channels, though you get channel apps like HBO Go and Fox Now for on-demand video if you have a streaming gadget like Roku, Apple TV or Xbox.

Where it’s available: Boston and Chicago markets for Comcast’s existing Internet customers. The company plans for expand to other regions and create more channel options.

Price per month: $15, plus taxes and fees, which can add up to an additional $4.

SONY VUE What you get: Major broadcast networks and popular cable channels.

Those owned by Disney, in-

cluding ABC and ESPN, will be added at an unspecified date, and CW isn’t available.

You can watch up to three simultaneous streams in a home.

Benefits: You can record shows so you can fastforward through commercials, but they expire after 28 days, with no ability to archive them, as you can with traditional DVRs. Drawbacks: You need a PlayStation or Amazon’s Fire TV device to sign up.

Price is comparable to regular cable.

Where it’s available: Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia and the San Francisco Bay Area.q

A24 BUSINESS

Monday 18 January 2016

Your Money:

Why global woes and sinking stocks don’t mean US recession

PAUL WISEMAN BERNARD CONDON AP Business Writers WASHINGTON (AP) — Last week’s harrowing plunge in U.S. stocks — fueled by economic fears about China and plummeting oil prices — left investors anxious and alarmed. Some wondered if it signaled an approaching recession in the United States.

The answer, most analysts say, is no.

The American economy is expected to prove resilient and nimble enough to avoid serious damage, at least anytime soon. For all the economy’s challenges, the job market is strong, home sales are solid and cheaper gasoline has allowed consumers to spend more on cars, restaurants and online shopping.

The companies that make up major stock indexes are far more vulnerable than the economy itself is to distress abroad: Companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index derived 48 percent of their revenue from abroad in 2014, up from 43 percent in 2003.

By contrast, exports account for only about 13 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product — the broadest gauge of economic output. That’s one of the lowest such shares in the world. Exports to China equal just 1 percent of GDP. “While the U.S. economy’s exposure to China is relatively small, the multinational companies that trade on the stock market are much more exposed,” said Mark

A trader monitors stock prices at the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Jan. 15, 2016. U.S. stocks plunged again on Friday, completing the worst two-week start to a year ever.

(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.

The S&P 500 sank 2.2 percent Friday and has tumbled 8 percent since the year began, deflated by expectations of even lower oil prices ahead and fears that China’s once-explosive economy is slowing more than anyone had expected. On Friday, the Xinhua news agency reported that Chinese banks reduced loans last month from a year earlier.

It was the latest sign that China’s economy continues to decelerate — an ominous trend for U.S. companies, like heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar,

that have significant business there. (Caterpillar shares shed 2.7 percent Friday.)

“For many of these companies, the narrative behind their growth and earnings prospects is China,” Zandi said. “If you throw that narrative out, investors get nervous.”

The disconnect between the actual economy and the price of stocks isn’t new. From the waning days of the Great Recession into the tepid recovery that followed, stocks managed to gradually rise despite persistently high unemployment and tepid economic growth. Now, the opposite

seems true.

“Main Street is better, and Wall Street is suffering,” said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Wells Capital.

The broadest gauges of the economy look fundamentally sound. GDP likely expanded 2.4 percent last year, according to JP Morgan Chase. Zandi foresees its growth hitting 2.8 percent in 2016 — hardly spectacular but decent, especially at a time when many industrialized economies are struggling to grow at all.

The job market appears particularly robust. Employers added an average

China-led Asian infrastructure bank opens for business BEIJING (AP) — A Chineseled bank intended to finance railways and other cargo links throughout Asia opened for business at a ceremony led by President Xi Jinping.

Representatives of 57 member countries of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank attended the ceremony Saturday, at which China pledged $50

million to a special fund to prepare less developed countries for infrastructure projects.

The United States and Japan are not members of the AIIB, which some see as a potential rival to the Western-led World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Washington has said it welcomes the additional

financing for development but had expressed concern looser lending standards might undercut efforts by existing institutions to promote environmental and other safeguards. Chinese officials have said the bank will complement existing institutions and promised to adhere to international lending standards.

The AIIB is intended to fi-

nance railways, cargo ports and other trade links.

Its launch comes as Beijing is trying to extend its trade links with its Asian neighbors. Beijing has pledged to put up most of the bank’s initial $50 billion in capital and says that total will rise to $100 billion.

A Chinese official, Jin Liqun, has been named the bank’s first president.q

of 221,000 jobs a month during 2015 and 284,000 a month from October through December. The unemployment rate has sunk from 10 percent in 2009 to 5 percent, a level associated with a healthy economy.

Improved job security — layoffs have slowed to exceptionally low levels — has helped embolden many Americans to shop.

Consumer spending, which drives about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, rose at an annual rate of more than 3 percent in the spring and summer. Auto sales hit a record last year.

Not that the U.S. economy has been left unscathed by the weakness abroad.

Partly because a stronger dollar has made their goods more expensive abroad, U.S. manufacturers are suffering.

Industrial production fell in December for a third straight month, the government said, and orders to factories dropped in November for the third time in four months. Last year, factories added just 30,000 jobs, the fewest since the recession year of 2009.

What’s more, energy companies are reeling from sharply lower oil prices.

And though falling oil prices have helped boost consumer spirits and encourage spending, they also helped slow the overall economy last year by causing energy companies to slash investment.

In addition, the Federal Reserve has signaled that it expects to further boost interest rates this year after raising them from record lows in December, and some fear it will move too fast. Fed hikes were considered a trigger for three of the past four recessions.

Economists don’t entirely understand the links among the world’s major economies. The International Monetary Fund has acknowledged surprise over just how much China’s slowdown has hurt other countries in the developing world.q

BUSINESS A25

Monday 18 January 2016

US retail sales dipped in Dec.; low gas prices are key factor JOSH BOAK AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans tapered off from shopping toward the end of the holiday season, while lower gasoline prices cut into overall retail sales in December.

The Commerce Department said this weekend that retail sales dipped a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent last month to $448.1 billion after having climbed a solid 0.4 percent in November.

The report shows consumer tastes shifting toward restaurants and online shopping. The extra savings from falling gas costs have yet to fuel large spending gains in other retail categories. Still, some economists viewed the sales data as a positive reflection of the 2.9 million jobs added in 2015.

“Consumers can’t be too cautious or pessimistic if they’re still spending on gym equipment, paddleboards, restaurants and a new coffee table,” said Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets. “All of those new jobs must be helping.”

Sales fell in December at clothing, electronics outlets and general merchandise stores.

Bricklin Dwyer, an economist at the bank BNP Paribas, suggested that an unusually warm December likely hurt clothing store sales and encouraged spending on building supplies. He expects these trends to reverse as the weather has turned colder in January.

The main drag on retail sales remains lower prices at the pump. Sales at gas stations, which aren’t adjusted for changes in price in the government report, plunged 1.1 percent in December.

Gas prices have continued to fall with the start of 2016. Oil is hovering around $30 a barrel, and many analysts expect the price to decline further.q

Volatility Strikes Back:

Get used to it: Big drops for stocks are back again

STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Yes, this is scary.

Stock prices plunged again Friday and are down more than 8 percent in just two weeks, an unprecedented slide for a start of a year.

The vicious drops feel even more unsettling because they’re such a departure from the placid and strong returns that investors had been enjoying for years.

Like vacationers returning from a warm beach to a slushy commute to work, the shock of change is making something already painful even more so.

Now investors just need to get used to it, analysts say.

“It was easy for many years,” says Bill Barker, portfolio manager at Motley Fool Asset Management, whose three mutual funds control about $600 million.

“That was not an accurate display of what happens in the market all the time.”

The painful return of big price swings serves as a reminder that investing in stocks can be harrowing, especially if investors focus on the day-to-day moves.

That’s not to say investors can’t still win over the long term. Over the past 12 months, an investor in an S&P 500 index fund has lost nearly 5 percent, including dividends. But over five

Michael Pistillo Jr. follows stock prices at the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Jan. 15, 2016.

(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

years, they are up a total of 60 percent, and over 10 years, they are up 79 percent. It’s just that analysts expect the volatility to continue. The remarkably calm stretch from late 2011 through last summer was an anomaly. From 2012 until last summer, investors basked in a market where the Standard & Poor’s 500 rarely had a bad day. The widely followed index fell more than 1 percent less often than Los Angeles has rainy days, about 8 percent of the time. During that span, the S&P 500 also completely avoided a

“correction,” which is what traders call a sustained drop of 10 percent.

It wasn’t until this past August when the S&P 500 snapped into its first correction in nearly four years, felled by concerns about China’s slowdown and the fragility of the global economy. The worries have resumed this year. The S&P 500 fell back into a correction, and it has already had six days where it’s lost more than 1 percent.

That means the S&P 500 has had that big a drop in 22 percent of the trading days since Aug. 20, more than

the historical average.

But when looking at the last five years as a whole, the recent spurt of volatility has merely pulled the market back to “normal.” The S&P 500 has had a 1 percent drop in 11 percent of trading days in the last five years, the same as its average over the last 50 years.

The latest big drop came Friday, when the S&P 500 fell as much as 3.5 percent and at one point erased 15 months of gains.

Besides China’s sharp economic slowdown, analysts see other reasons for volatility to continue.q

US producer prices dipped 0.2% in December MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. producer prices fell slightly in December, reflecting a big drop in energy prices.

The decline capped a year in which prices at the wholesale level fell, underscoring the continued absence of inflationary pressures.

The Labor Department said this weekend that its Producer Price Index, which measures inflation before it reaches consumers, dropped 0.2 percent in December after a 0.3 percent increase in November.

Over the past 12 months, producer prices have de-

clined 1 percent.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, edged up a slight 0.1 percent in December. For the past 12 months, core inflation at the wholesale level is up a scant 0.3 percent.

While the Federal Reserve raised a key interest rate last month, many economists say the absence of inflation pressures may delay future rate hikes.

For December, energy prices at the wholesale level dropped 3.4 percent, the biggest decline since September when energy was down 5.6 percent.

Wholesale food prices also

fell in December, dropping 1.3 percent, the biggest monthly decline since last February.

The small 0.1 percent rise in core wholesale prices reflected increases in such areas as cigarette prices, which rose 2.1 percent, doctors’ charges, which rose 1.3 percent.

Inflation at the consumer level has also been low this year with the Consumer Price Index up just 0.5 percent in the 12 months ending in November. And a price gauge favored by the Fed is up just 0.4 percent for the 12 months through November and shows a 1.3 percent gain when energy

and food are excluded.

That’s well below the Fed’s 2 percent target for inflation. It has been running below the 2 percent level for more than two years.

The central bank’s quarterpoint rate hike was the first Fed rate increase in nearly a decade and lifted its target for overnight bank lending from near zero to a rnage of 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent.

But Fed officials stressed that the pace of the future rate increases will be heavily dependent on the currently low level of inflation showing evidence of moving toward the Fed’s 2 percent target.q

A26 COMICS

Monday 18 January 2016

Mutts

Conceptis Sudoku

6 Chix

Blondie

Mother Goose & Grimm

Baby Blues

Zits

Saturday’s puzzle answer

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

CLASSIFIED A27

Monday 18 January 2016

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A28 SCIENCE

Monday 18 January 2016

NASA adds 3rd company as space station shipper; shuttle back

Sierra Nevada Corp. engineers and technicians prepare the Dream Chaser engineering test vehicle for tow tests at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in California. On Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, NASA announced the Sierra Nevada Corp. will join SpaceX and Orbital ATK in launching cargo to the International Space Station. These flights, yet to be finalized, will run through 2024.

(Ken Ulbrich/NASA via AP)

MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is adding a third company to its short list of space station suppliers, a

Nevada business that will bring back a mini version of the shuttle.

Late last week, NASA announced Sierra Nevada Corp. will join SpaceX and

Orbital ATK in launching cargo to the International Space Station. These flights will begin in 2019 and run through 2024.

This marks a second chance

for Sierra Nevada. It competed for NASA’s commercial crew contract, but lost out in 2014 to SpaceX and Boeing in a bid to ferry astronauts.

The Sparks, Nevada-based company is developing a scaled-down shuttle called Dream Chaser to haul cargo.

The other companies use standard-shaped capsules. Like SpaceX, Sierra Nevada plans to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The spacecraft will be able to land back on Earth, like the shuttle, and bring back science experiments and other items from the station.

“Within a few short years, the world will once again see a United States winged vehicle launch and return from space to a runway landing,” Mark Sirangelo, vice president of Sierra Nevada’s space systems, said in a statement.

NASA’s space station

program manager, Kirk Shireman, said he’s been assured that the Dream Chaser could touch down on lots of runways — in lots of places. The goal is to retrieve science samples, though, as quickly as possible for analysis. A runway touchdown would be gentler than the ocean parachute drop used by SpaceX. “The air traffic controllers would hate us landing” at Washington Dulles International or other major airports, Shireman said. “Most likely, we’ll land in Florida, right close to where our facilities are.”

Now, only SpaceX can return goods. In its latest proposal, SpaceX has offered to return its Dragon capsules to land as well, Shireman said.

Other cargo ships, including Orbital’s Cygnus and Russia’s Progress, are filled with trash and burn up on re-entry.q

Particles could reveal clues to how Egypt pyramid was built MARAM MAZEN Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — An international team of researchers said Sunday they will soon begin analyzing cosmic particles collected inside Egypt’s Bent Pyramid to search for clues as to how it was built and learn more about the 4,600-year-old structure.

Mehdi Tayoubi, president

of the Heritage Innovation Preservation Institute, said that plates planted inside the pyramid last month have collected data on radiographic particles known as muons that rain down from the earth’s atmosphere.

The particles pass through empty spaces but can be absorbed or deflected by harder surfaces. By study-

ing particle accumulations, scientists may learn more about the construction of the pyramid, built by the Pharaoh Snefru.

“For the construction of the pyramids, there is no single theory that is 100 percent proven or checked; They are all theories and hypotheses,” said Hany Helal, the institute’s vice president.

“What we are trying to do

with the new technology, we would like to either confirm or change or upgrade or modify the hypotheses that we have on how the pyramids were constructed,” he said.

The Bent Pyramid in Dahshur, just outside Cairo, is distinguished by the bent slope of its sides. It is believed to have been ancient Egypt’s first attempt

to build a smooth-sided pyramid.

The Scan Pyramids project, which announced in November thermal anomalies in the 4,500 year-old Khufu Pyramid in Giza, is coupling thermal technology with muons analysis to try to unlock secrets to the construction of several ancient Egyptian pyramids.q

PEOPLE & ARTS A29

Monday 18 January 2016

With ‘Billions’ at stake, Paul Giamatti is rich in new drama FRAZIER MOORE AP Television Writer NEW YORK (AP) — As an endlessly adaptable onscreen everyman, Paul Giamatti has proved he’s one in a million.

Now, in “Billions,” his new Showtime drama, he portrays Chuck Rhoades, the powerful and perverse U.S. Attorney engaged in a political cage match with hedge-fund titan Bobby “Axe” Axelrod (played by British heart-throb Damian Lewis).

You might say comedy is a ruckus between fools, while drama — solid drama — is a clash between smart people who are driven by compelling creeds impossibly at odds.

The latter applies to “Billions,” which is a delicious drama of two Alpha Males on a collision course: Rhoades wants to prosecute Axelrod for financial fraud, but only if his case is ironclad, while the slick, calculating Axelrod dares him to try.

“It’s super-complex and byzantine, with Machiavellian behavior from both of us that gets extremely complicated,” says a pleased-looking Giamatti.

“It’s really fun.”

Interestingly, Chuck and Bobby seldom appear in the same scene, but such is the fever pitch of their rivalry that, whenever one is on the screen, the other is present viscerally, as if in the ether.

“They operate pretty separately,” says Giamatti, “but their awareness of each other becomes quite powerful. It’s really cool.”

“Cool” is a frequent Giamatti affirmation as he meets with a reporter over coffee in Brooklyn Heights, where he lives with wife Elizabeth, a film producer, and son Samuel.

Cool is something he exhibits himself, a brand of regular-guyness befitting an actor who uncovers a fresh measure of truth in each character he plays, from the exasperated wine enthusiast in “Sideways” to the divisive music manager in “Straight Outta Compton” to Founding Father

John Adams in the eponymous HBO miniseries.

According to each character, his eyes are stormy or woeful, his smile benign or wild, his soft voice, when he chooses, as commanding as a roar.

Meanwhile, his averageguy mien and puddin’ face spurs journalists to reach for their most colorful descriptives.

“How many synonyms ARE there for ‘balding’?” says Giamatti with a chuckle.

And what about the article that likened his physique to a manatee’s: “I’m a SEA COW?!” He laughs again.

But no argument from him: As a movie star, he’s no Brad Pitt.

“Brad Pitt’s great,” he says, “but I love Boris Karloff. And Ernest Borgnine! He didn’t look like Brad Pitt either, but he played cool parts. Ned Beatty: amazing actor! I did a film with him once (a 2002 effort called ‘Thunderpants’) mainly so I could work with him.

I thought: ‘Maybe that’s the kind of actor I could be if I get good enough.’”

Giamatti, 48, grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Bartlett Giamatti, a comparative literature professor at Yale who later became president of the university and then commissioner of Major League Baseball. The younger Giamatti studied literature as an undergrad at Yale before getting his masters in acting.

In between, the stagestruck Giamatti moved to Seattle, then a mecca for young actors.

“I did theater and industrial films,” he recalls. “I did an infomercial, for reverse mortgages, I think.

I’ve done everything an actor can do except porn and performing in an amusement park.”

He is somewhat at a loss to account for his professional ascent.

“I think it was a lot of accidents leading to other accidents,” he says. “I was always willing to just go, ‘OK, sure, I’ll do that.’”

He said, “OK, sure,” to a sixhour filmed opera, “River of Fundament,” mastermind-

In this image released by Showtime, Paul Giamatti portrays Chuck Rhoades in “Billions.”

(Jeff Neumann/Showtime via AP)

ed by the avant-garde artist Matthew Barney. He said “yes” to playing God for an episode of “Inside Amy Schumer” after bumping

into the comedian on the street.

“I throw myself into things, trusting that I know what I’m doing,” he says. “But

I don’t really know what it is I do.” A pause. “Well, I do. But I don’t know how to talk about it. It’s always different.”q

A30 PEOPLE

Monday 18 January 2016

& ARTS

Gooding said he didn’t want to meet with O.J. Simpson DAVID BAUDER AP Television Writer PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Actor Cuba Gooding, Jr., who portrays O.J. Simpson in FX’s 10-part miniseries on the 1995 murder trial, said he didn’t want to meet the former football star as part of his research for taking on the role.

Gooding, who would not reveal at a news conference Saturday his opinion on whether Simpson

stabbed his former wife Nicole and her friend Ronald Goldman to death in June 1994, said the Simpson he needed to portray in the television film was a much different man then, swaggering and confident.

“I had no desire to visit him in his present condition, being incarcerated and being a shell of a man,” he said. Gooding said he gained weight and it took

Actors Malcolm-Jamal Warner, from left, Sterling K. Brown, Sarah Paulson, John Travolta, Cuba Gooding Jr., Courtney B. Vance and David Schwimmer participate in “The People v. O.J. Simpson” panel at the FX Networks Winter TCA on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, in Pasadena, Calif.

(Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

him a month to recover from the grueling six-month filming.

The project, with executive producer Ryan Murphy and actors like John Travolta, David Schwimmer, Malcolm Jamal-Warner and Gooding, has been getting strong word-of-mouth before its Feb. 2 premiere.

Based on a book by CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin, writers and producers said they worked hard to make the docudrama as authentic as possible.

Writers said they were interested in showing viewers how the seeming certainty of Simpson’s guilt in the

wake of the killings unraveled during the trial.

Travolta, who played attorney Robert Shapiro, said he took four months deciding whether to take his first television role in years.

He’s listed as a producer — he said it was his hedge against making sure the project wasn’t sensationalistic — but found he did little in that role.

Besides the story of a trial, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” needed to reflect many undercurrents, including race relations and the nature of celebrity.

Schwimmer, who played

lawyer Robert Kardashian, at one point in the film pleads with a gun-toting Simpson not to shoot himself “in Kimmy’s bedroom.”

The scenes were shot in the house Kardashian and his later-to-be-famous family lived in, which “brought it home to us in a way that was really chilling,” Schwimmer said.

Both Schwimmer, in the first flush of success with “Friends” at the time of the trial, and Travolta, in the midst of his “Pulp Fiction” career resurgence, recalled the trial happening at an intense time in their own lives. q

New CBS chief vows more prime-time diversity LYNN ELBER AP Television Writer PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — CBS is committed to increasing the diversity of its prime-time series, the network’s new programming chief said, offering himself as evidence.

“I’m just a gay guy from Indiana who doesn’t play basketball, but now I’m the entertainment president of CBS,” said Glenn Geller, who was promoted to the job last fall.

He contended that CBS offers diversity in front of and behind the camera and in its corporate offices.

“And can we do better? I think we are,” he told a TV critics’ meeting last week.

“We’re not casting color blind, we’re casting color conscious.”

Two upcoming CBS series will offer “greatly diverse casts,” he said of “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders,” starting March 16, and “Rush Hour,” debuting March 31.

The newcomer to the “Criminal Minds” franchise, about FBI agents who aid Americans in trouble abroad, includes African-American actor Tyler James Williams and Daniel Henney, who is of Korean ancestry. Its toplisted stars are Gary Sinise and Alana De La Garza.

The cast of “Rush Hour,” based on the Jackie Chan-

Chris Tucker movie franchise, includes Justin Hires and Page Kennedy, who are black, and Jon Foo and Aimee Garcia.

Geller inherited a schedule that had lost ground in depicting ethnic diversity.

The nation’s most popular network, which 15 years ago had the most diversity, has the least among the major broadcast networks, according to an Associated Press analysis of the fall 2014 schedule.

Black representation had slipped to just under 7 percent, less than half what it was in 1999, according to the AP’s tally from the network’s own cast lists.q

PEOPLE & ARTS

A31

Monday 18 January 2016

Maggie Smith:

Moving from ‘Downton’ to ‘Lady in the Van’

Josh Holloway poses for a portrait during the 2015 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Beverly Hills, Calif. Holloway stars in the new USA series, “Colony.”

(Casey Curry/Invision/AP)

Josh Holloway says ‘Colony’ characters are expendable ALICIA RANCILIO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — “Don’t get too attached” to the characters on “Colony.”

That’s Josh Holloway’s advice to viewers of the new sci-fi series, which premiered last week Thursday on the USA network.

Holloway describes “Colony,” which will air regularly at 10 p.m. EST, as “character-driven with a dapple of sci-fi.” The series reunites the actor with his “Lost” producer Carlton Cuse.

“Colony” is set in the near future, where massive walls have been erected in an occupied Los Angeles.

Electronic communication has been blocked, and drones track human movement. (“It’s an espionage thriller with aliens,” Holloway says.)

These walls separate Holloway and his wife, played

by Sarah Wayne Callies, from one of their sons, and they are desperate to reunite their family.

In a recent interview, Holloway talked about what makes “Colony” unique and how he tried not to become an actor.

Associated Press: How is “Colony” different from other alien-invasion series like “Under the Dome” or “V’’?

Holloway: “Colony” is about occupation. It’s the oldest story in human history. You either occupy or have been occupied by someone throughout human history. It’s an es-

pionage thriller with aliens (laughs), so it’s ... people trying to live life the way they did before the world was ripped out from under them. ... The writers want every season to be different, so the finale’s gonna shock you.

AP: Did you know the end point for the first season of the series while you were filming?

Holloway: I knew a very basic few pieces of information because that’s how I work. I don’t want to know, but there’s certain things I need to know. I did find out a little bit and it still surprised me.

AP: You grew up in rural Georgia. Did you dream of going into show business?

Holloway: No, not at all. I ran from it. I was a model (when I was) young and I didn’t want to be that cliche.

They were like, ‘Oh, what are you gonna do, be an actor now?’ I was like, ‘No.’ So I was defensive about it at first so I tried everything. ... building houses, real estate, investing in a restaurant. That didn’t work out.

So I said, ‘Let’s try acting.’

AP: When did you get your SAG card?

Holloway: Oh, man. I think it was the Arrowsmith ‘Cryin” video with Alicia Silverstone and Steven Dorff. I was superexcited. I thought I was gonna meet Arrowsmith. I was getting ready to do a knee slide in with my guitar, but no. That’s fine.

JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Filthy, dressed in rags and living in a battered old van, Maggie Smith’s latest character is a long way from “Downton Abbey” — and the actress couldn’t be happier.

Smith has shed her “Downton”-era corsets and hats to play an eccentric elderly vagrant in the film “The Lady in the Van.” So was it a relief to slide down the social scale?

“Oh, you bet!” laughed Smith with more energy than her character expended in five seasons of the country-house costume drama. “It was just great to not be that stuffy.”

For many viewers, Smith’s Dowager Countess of Grantham — she of the arched eyebrow and withering putdown — was the highlight of “Downton Ab-

guest in a 1989 essay and a 1999 play, which also starred Smith.

Smith said she was keen to explore Miss Shepherd again with the more intense focus of film, and to work with filmmaker Nicholas Hytner, who also directed movie adaptations of Bennett’s plays “The Madness of King George” and “The History Boys.”

Smith has earned Golden Globe and British Academy Film Award nominations for her performance as the proud and prickly Miss Shepherd — a gifted pianist who had spent time in psychiatric care, once aspired to be a nun and sometimes saw saints on the streets of London.

“She’s a pretty complex person,” said Smith during an interview in a luxury London hotel suite more suited to Lady Grantham

er, but a gift for Bennett the writer, a witty dissector of class-bound English foibles and anxieties.

“She’s ungrateful, ungracious, aggressive, rude, armor-plated, never gives an inch, smelly, stubborn,” Hytner said. “But she’s kind of magnificent because she doesn’t compromise. She lives exactly the way she wants to live. ... She turns all those smug middle-class English people upsidedown.”

The film, which also stars Alex Jennings as Bennett, was shot in the street where the real events took place, a crescent of 19thcentury villas — originally grand, then run-down, now gleaming again. Today the properties are worth millions but the area, Camden Town, still has its rough edges.

Hytner said the crew ar-

British actress Dame Maggie Smith and director Nicholas Hytner chat at a hotel in London. Smith has shed her “Downton Abbey”-era corsets and hats to play an eccentric elderly vagrant in the film “The Lady in the Van”, in which Smith plays Miss Shepherd, a real-life homeless woman who parked in the driveway of writer Alan Bennett’s London house, and stayed for 15 years.

(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

bey.”

The final series’ current run on PBS coincides with the U.S. release of “The Lady in the Van,” in which Smith plays Miss Shepherd, a reallife homeless woman who parked in the driveway of writer Alan Bennett’s London house, and stayed for 15 years.

Bennett told the story of the odd relationship he developed with his unexpected

than Miss Shepherd — the same suite Kate Middleton stayed in the night before she married Prince William.

“I think she was a mystery to everybody,” added Smith, who in person is warmer and more chic than either of her recent characters. “I think she was a mystery to herself, really.”

Miss Shepherd and her contradictions were a burden for Bennett the homeown-

rived early one Monday morning, “opened the back door of the van and found a couple — young, completely high — who’d spent the weekend in the van.”

“They didn’t tell me about it,” said Smith with mock outrage. “’Don’t tell Maggie! Don’t let Maggie know!’ I can’t remember when you did tell me. We’d finished filming. Cowards!”