March 24, 2016

On Top Of The News Email:news@arubatoday.com website: www.arubatoday.com Tel:+297 582-7800 Thursday, March 24, 2016

DEFIANCE

American Muslims denounce Cruz’s surveillance idea Dr. Kamaldeen Muili, of Columbus, Ohio, prays Wednesday, March 23, 2016, during a moment of silence as a tribute following the attacks in Brussels on Tuesday, at a Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Metro Detroit symposium in Dearborn, Mich.

Associated Press Page 2

A2 UP

Thursday 24 March 2016

FRONT

American Muslims defy Sen. Ted Cruz’s call for surveillance GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — A few miles from Disneyland is a place most tourists never see. The signs along the thoroughfare suddenly switch to Arabic script advertising hookah shops, Middle Eastern sweets and halal meat.

At a run-down strip mall in the neighborhood known as Little Arabia, flags from a half-dozen Muslim countries flap in a stiff breeze.

Flying above them is a giant American flag.

After Sen. Ted Cruz called for increased surveillance of Muslims in the U.S., many people in this community and others like it either challenged the Republican presidential candidate or dismissed his comments

as mostly meaningless rhetoric.

Majd Takriti, 43, stopped to discuss Cruz’s remarks as he picked his mother up from a butcher shop. He said he took Cruz and rival Donald Trump with a grain of salt.

“A lot of what they say is to attract attention,” Takriti said.

A block down the street, Jordanian native and 44year U.S. resident Wathiq Bilbeisi slurped on lentil soup during his break at a Jordanian restaurant.

He seemed mystified by the concern among some non-Muslim Americans about the candidates’ comments.

“The politicians, they want to say whatever the constituents want to hear. I don’t think they mean

Wathiq Bilbeisi enjoys a lentil soup in Orange County’s “Little Arabia” neighborhood in Anaheim, Calif., Wednesday, March 23, 2016. He discussed remarks by GOP presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz that advocated for increased surveillance of Muslims in the U.S. Associated Press

what they say, and in the end, they’ll have to come

to terms with themselves,” he said.

Bilbeisi wasn’t worried about the GOP seeking major changes to U.S. law.

“When they go to Congress to get laws to watch the Muslims, nobody’s going to do anything about it,” he said. “It’s against American values.”

At a nearby hookah shop displaying pipes in a rainbow of colors, employee Guss Zayat questioned whether IS members were true Muslims.

“They are killing more Muslims than anyone else in this world. They are killing children. They are killing Christians and Muslims in our home countries,” said Zayat, who came to America from Beirut about three years ago. Politicians “should know the difference between ISIS and Islam.”

Cruz’s statement on Tuesday came hours after the deadly attacks at the Brussels airport and a subway station that killed dozens of people and wounded many more. The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility.

He said law enforcement should be empowered to “patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized.”

Echoing earlier statements from Trump, Cruz also said the U.S. should stop the flow of refugees from countries where the Islamic State has

a significant presence.

In Washington, Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates was asked Wednesday at a news conference about calls to step up patrols of Muslim communities.

She said the Muslim community “is one of our greatest partners in our fight against terrorism and public safety generally.”

Ahmad Tarek Rashid Alam, publisher of the weekly Arabic-language Arab World newspaper and one of the immigrants who helped build Little Arabia, said anti-Muslim statements are familiar.

“This has been going on in every Islamic neighborhood for years,” he said.

“But now our kids are in the police, in the Army. Are they going to watch us?”

He said Cruz’s remarks seemed aimed at exploiting prejudice to get votes.

“The way he talks, it could work maybe 40 years ago.

But now, it’s too late. Islam is part of the country. . We are already in the country. We’re part of the country whether he likes it or not.”

Sam Chashku, a Syrian immigrant who arrived in 1996 and married an Americanborn Christian woman, said Cruz’s comments simply made him sad.

“We love this country. We came from nothing. They gave us everything. It’s crazy. This country is built on immigrants.”

U.S. NEWS A3

Thursday 24 March 2016

Denver airport reopens after powerful blizzard moves east

BY COLLEEN SLEVIN ASSOCIATED PRESS DENVER (AP) -- A powerful spring blizzard stranded travelers at Denver’s airport and shut down hundreds of miles of highway in Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska as it spread into the Midwest on Wednesday.

Snow blown by gusts up to around 50 mph made it unsafe for planes to land or take off at Denver International Airport, leading officials to close it around midday. The airport reopened about seven hours later.

Airport spokesman Heath Montgomery says two of the six runways are open, and the airport will be fully operational by Thursday morning.

More than 1,300 of Wednesday’s 1,500 scheduled flights were canceled, he said.

The closure came hours after long flight delays caused by power outages at the airport’s fuel depot and deicing supply and the cancellation of about a third of the airport’s daily flights.

The last time a blizzard closed the airport was in 2006, for two days.

The system is moving to the northeast across the Plains and into Michigan. The worst effects of the storm were expected later in the day in South Dakota, but strong winds were in the forecast all day.

In Denver, the road to the airport was also impassable for much of the day because of blowing snow. The road reopened Wednesday afternoon, allowing

passengers to escape to town, airport spokeswoman Stacey Stegman said.

Meanwhile, restaurants extended hours and some will be open all night for crowds

power lines and snapped them into one another, causing many outages and flickering lights in Colorado and Wyoming.

The storm was mainly hitting

A pedestrian walks through snow covered trees at Colorado College on Wednesday, March 23, 2016, in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Associated Press

of stranded travelers.

Hundreds of people with suitcases and duffel bags stood or lay around the terminals. Some travelers leaned against walls, bags strewn at their feet, as others charged their phones.

Some passed the time by hanging out at the airport’s bars and restaurants.

Alicia Bailey was headed back to Atlanta after a business trip in Colorado Springs. She had a treacherous, white-knuckle, fourhour drive to the airport only to learn her flight was delayed several times and then finally canceled.

“I had a nice little cocktail, and that calmed the nerves down because I was frazzled,” she said.

The wind and the heavy, wet snow typical for a spring storm weighed down

the eastern, flat halves of those states, shutting down long stretches of highways.

“It’s pretty much kicking our hineys,” Tim McGary of the Wyoming Department of Transportation said. “It’s bad enough we can’t keep up with it. That’s why everything is closed.”

Highway officials issued a rare order for drivers to stay off interstates in the Denver area unless they have chains, snow tires or four-wheel drive vehicles to avoid causing accidents.

Normally, that’s a warning issued for drivers in the mountains.

In Wyoming, the Cheyenne Veterans Affairs Medical Center, which serves veterans who live up to 150 miles away, opened its doors late because of the storm.

Even politics has to take a

snow day in Wyoming as Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and former President Bill Clinton both canceled planned campaign events in the state.

Wyoming Democratic Par-

ty Executive Director Aimee Van Cleave said it’s disappointing that the events had to be canceled but she was hopeful that both campaigns could reschedule visits before the April 9 party caucuses.q

A4 U.S.

Thursday 24 March 2016

NEWS

Vowing to defeat ISIS, Hillary Clinton takes on Donald Trump

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton stands on stage as she is introduced by former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul to speak about counterterrorism, Wednesday, March 23, 2016, at the Bechtel Conference Center at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif.

Associated Press

CATHERINE LUCEY Associated Press LISA LERER Associated Press STANFORD, California (AP) — Hillary Clinton is doing what Republican rivals now say they took far too long to do: Taking the Republican front-runner Donald Trump seriously.

In interviews and foreign

policy addresses this week, the Democratic front-runner has worked to undercut Trump’s credentials in the wake of deadly bombings in Brussels. Her goal is to transform the voters’ vision of the bombastic reality TV star into a potential commander in chief with his finger on a nuclear trigger — an image her team believes will repel voters in November.

Clinton is casting herself as a calm harbor in a stormy world, frequently mentioning the need for “steady hands.” The comment is a clear reference to Trump with the implication he’d never fill that need.

In a speech Wednesday at Stanford University, Clinton called for “strong, smart, steady leadership,” arguing that recent comments from Republicans Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz show they are not up to the task of combatting Islamic militants.

“Turning our back on our alliances, or turning our alliance into a protection racket would reverse decades of bipartisan American leadership and send a dangerous signal to friend and foe alike,” she said, referencing a call by Trump to lessen U.S. involvement in NATO. “Putin already hopes to divide Europe. If Mr. Trump gets his way, it will be like Christmas in the Kremlin.”

Clinton also assailed Cruz’s call for patrolling Muslim neighborhoods.

“When Republican candidates like Ted Cruz call for treating American Muslims like criminals and for racially profiling predominantly Muslim neighborhoods, it’s wrong, it’s counterproductive, it’s dangerous,” Clin-

ton said.

Trump quickly dismissed her speech on Twitter and insisted he’s better prepared to take over the country’s fight against Islamic State militants.

“Just watched Hillary deliver a prepackaged speech on terror. She’s been in office fighting terror for 20 years — and look where we are!” he wrote, adding: “I will be the best by far in fighting terror. I’m the only one that was right from the beginning, & now Lyin’ Ted & others are copying me.”

That last was a reference to a Republican rival. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Political strategists in both parties admit to being slightly baffled by the coming general election, acknowledging they have few clear expectations for a match-up between candidates with such high negative ratings and vastly different personal styles.

But there is one prediction they all agree on: It will get ugly.

Though there are still months of primary contests to come, the two front-runners have already begun trading heated attacks.

Trump has accused Clinton of being responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands across the globe. Clinton, in turn, has accused him of inciting violence and likened his rise in the polls to “dark chapters” of history like the Holocaust.

Her aides see foreign policy as an area that allows Clinton to highlight both Trump’s unpredictable temperament and lack of international experience.

Democrats say those points, coupled with his controversial statements about women.

U.S. NEWS A5

Thursday 24 March 2016

Justices divided over new challenge to health care law MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — In a new challenge to President Barack Obama’s health care law, the Supreme Court appeared deeply and evenly divided Wednesday over the arrangement devised by the administration to spare faith-based groups from having to pay for birth control for women covered under their health plans.

Ninety minutes of crisp arguments and frequent interruptions by the justices indicated that the court seemed headed for a 4-4 tie that would leave the issue unresolved nationally.

Or the court could hold a new round of arguments once a ninth justice is confirmed to take the place of Justice Antonin Scalia, who died last month.

The case could factor into the fight over Obama’s Supreme Court nomination of Judge Merrick Garland.

And in its volatile mix of religious liberty and birth control, it also could play a role in the presidential campaign.

If the justices are as firmly split between liberals and conservatives as they signaled Wednesday, the court could say so as early as next week, or wait until the end of June.

Wednesday was the sixth anniversary of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul; the case in front of the justices is the law’s fourth Supreme Court appearance in five years.

Nationwide, eight appeals courts, including four with decisions being challenged in the current case, have sided with the administration, and one has ruled for the groups. A 4-4 outcome would leave different rules in place in different parts of the country.

In 2014, the justices divided 5-4 with Scalia in the majority to allow some “closely held” businesses with religious objections to refuse to pay for contraceptives for women. That case involved the Hobby Lobby chain of craft stores and other companies that said their rights were being violated under the 1993 Reli-

gious Freedom Restoration Act. Catholic and Protestant colleges, charities and advocacy groups are invoking the same law in asking that the government find a way that does not involve them or their insurers if it wishes to provide birth control to women covered by their health plans.

Among the challengers are Bishop David Zubik, head of the Catholic Diocese in Pittsburgh; the Little Sisters of the Poor, nuns who run more than two dozen nursing homes for impoverished seniors; evangelical and Catholic colleges in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington, D.C., and the anti-abortion advocacy group Priests for Life.

Chief Justice John Roberts, who has twice written opinions upholding the law against broad challenges, and Justice Samuel Alito repeatedly challenged Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. on his argument that the policy strikes a balance between religious freedom and access to birth control.

The groups have “used the phrase ‘hijacking,’ and it seems to me that that’s an accurate description of what the government wants to do,” Roberts said.

Alito, who would have struck down the entire law, suggested women affected in this case could get contraceptive coverage on the health care exchanges set up by the law.

When Verrilli objected, Alito said, “Is it because these exchanges are so unworkable, even with the help of a navigator?”

Justice Anthony Kennedy, whose vote could give the administration a majority, also sounded sympathetic to the faith-based groups when he said that “religious organization plans here are, in effect, subsidizing the conduct that they deemed immoral.”

Only Justice Clarence Thomas asked no questions, but he has repeatedly sided with the health law’s challengers.

The four liberal justices seemed just as firmly in the administration’s corner.

Nuns and their supporters rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, March 23, 2016, as the court hears arguments to allow birth control in healthcare plans in the Zubik vs. Burwell case.

Associated Press

A6 U.S.

Thursday 24 March 2016

NEWS

North Carolina reins in local governments, transgender rule

House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, addresses members of the House as North Carolina lawmakers gather for a special session Wednesday, March 23, 2016 in Raleigh, N.C. Associated Press

GARY D. ROBERTSON EMERY P. DALESIO Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina legislators decided to rein in local governments by approving a bill Wednesday that prevents cities and counties from passing their own anti-discrimination rules. The leg-

islation, expected to become law, will deal a blow to the LGBT movement after success with protections in cities across the country.

The Republican-controlled General Assembly took action after Charlotte city leaders last month approved a broad anti-discrimination measure that allows transgender people to use the restroom aligned with their gender identity.

GOP Gov. Pat McCrory planned to sign the bill into law Wednesday night, according to Josh Ellis, the governor’s communications director. McCrory, who was the mayor of Charlotte for 14 years, has criticized the local ordinance.

Although 12 House Democrats joined all Republicans present in voting for the bill in the afternoon, later all Senate Democrats in attendance walked off their chamber floor during the debate in protest. Remaining Senate Republicans gave the legislation unanimous approval.

“We choose not to participate in this farce,” Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue of Raleigh said after he left the chamber.

Senate leader Phil Berger of Eden said he couldn’t recall such an action before a vote, which he said was a “serious breach of their obligation to the citizens that voted to elect them.”

Republicans and their allies have said intervening is necessary to protect the safety of women and children from “radical” action

by Charlotte. There have been arguments that any man — perhaps a sex offender — could enter a woman’s restroom or locker room simply by calling

himself transgender.

“It’s common sense — biological men should not me be in women’s showers, locker rooms and bathrooms,” said GOP Rep. Dean Arp of Monroe before the chamber voted 82-26 for the legislation after nearly three hours of debate.

Gay rights leaders and transgender people said the legislation demonizes the community and espouses bogus claims about increasing the risk of sexual assaults. They say the bill will deny lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people essential protections needed to ensure they can get a hotel room, hail a taxi or dine at a restaurant without fear.

“Protections for LGBT people against discrimination are common sense,” Chris Sgro, executive director of Equality North Carolina, said in a release after the vote. Advocates had hoped to pressure McCrory into vetoing the bill, beginning with a Thursday evening rally.

GOP leaders scheduled the one-day session at the cost of $42,000 because Charlotte’s ordinance was set to take effect April 1.

Otherwise, the legislature wouldn’t have returned until late April.

Current Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts, who pressed since taking office to get the anti-discrimination ordinance approved, said she was appalled by the legislature’s actions.

“The General Assembly is on the wrong side of progress. It is on the wrong side of history,” Roberts said in a prepared statement.q

U.S. NEWS A7

Thursday 24 March 2016

48 more bikers indicted in Waco shootout that left 9 dead NOMAAN MERCHANT Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — A Texas grand jury indicted 48 more bikers Wednesday in connection with a May 2015 shootout outside a Twin Peaks restaurant that left nine dead, bringing the total number of people facing felony charges to 154.

Prosecutors in Waco announced that all the bikers indicted are charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, meaning they’re accused of being complicit in the shooting that also left 20 people injured. They face 15 years to life in prison if convicted.

District Attorney Abel Reyna won indictments against 106 other bikers in November. In a statement Wednesday, he did not rule out more indictments in what he called “an ongoing investigation.”

Six of the 48 people newly indicted have not been arrested, and their indictments remain under seal.

But Reyna and the district clerk’s office confirmed they were facing the same charge as other bikers. A spokeswoman for Reyna did not respond to a question about whether the grand jury declined to indict in any cases presented.

Reyna has been harshly criticized by attorneys who say he’s prosecuting dozens of bikers who were at the restaurant only for a peaceful gathering of motorcycle clubs.

At that gathering, a squabble outside ended in a shootout between bikers from various clubs and police who were already stationed nearby. Surveillance video from the restaurant shows dozens of bikers run-

ning inside and crawling for cover.

Prosecutors have not indicted anyone specifically for murder in the nine deaths. The organized criminal activity charge incorporates allegations that every person indicted was responsible for the deaths and injuries that ensued in the gunfire.

Dallas attorney Don Tittle said Wednesday’s indictments appeared to center on bikers who weren’t members of the two major clubs present — the Bandidos and the Cossacks — but rather part of smaller “support clubs.” Dozens of Bandidos and Cossacks have already been indicted.

Tittle is representing about 15 bikers who have filed or plan to file civil lawsuits against Waco authorities for wrongful prosecution.

“There were people that were tragically killed, and there is no doubt there’s some individuals that should be charged with criminal offenses,” Tittle said. “But the overwhelming majority of the people there that day were nothing more than present at the time that the incident occurred.”

Investigators have offered few details publicly about what sparked the fight or how the gunfire played out. Police have cited a gag order in the criminal case of one of the bikers.

Media groups including The Associated Press have fought the order, contending it is overly broad and unconstitutional.

Much of the narrative about the shooting has come from evidence obtained by the AP. Ballistics reports show four of the

nine people killed were struck by the same caliber of rifle fired by Waco police. Officers only used .223-caliber rifles that day, though it’s not clear if any bikers also did. Police and the district attorney’s office have defended the officers’ use of force, claiming that bikers had also opened fire on authorities.

n this May 17, 2015 file photo, authorities investigate a shooting in the parking lot of Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas.

Associated Press

A8 U.S.

Thursday 24 March 2016

NEWS

Seized spreadsheets list payments to top Brazil politicians JENNY BARCHFIELD Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — In another stunning turn in the snowballing corruption investigation that is shaking Brazil, top newspapers on Wednesday released scans of dozens of spreadsheets seized by police listing what appeared to be payments by one of the country’s biggest companies to about 200 politicians, including code names and monetary values.

The newspapers O Estado de S. Paulo, O Globo and Folha de S. Paulo said the documents were discovered during the search last month of the Rio de Janeiro home of an executive at the Odebrecht construction giant — one of the companies embroiled in the “Car Wash” probe of an alleged kickback scheme at the state-run Petrobras oil company.

The papers cautioned that it was not immediately clear whether the spreadsheets were tracking legitimate campaign donations or illicit payouts. But the sheer scope of the document dump, which lists Cabinet ministers, legislators, governors and mayors from around 18 parties, was sure to raise a slew of questions and further

Brazil’s former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva addresses supporters during a meeting with union leaders in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wednesday, March 23, 2016.

Associated Press

ratchet up the pressure on Brazil’s much disdained political class.

The documents were removed from the home of Benedicto Barbosa da Silva Junior, president of Odebrecht Infrastructure, during a February police search and have been catalogued as evidence in the investigation headed by federal Judge Sergio Moro in the southern city of Curitiba.

Moro’s office was closed Wednesday due to the Easter holiday and not able to answer any questions about the documents.

O Estado de S. Paulo published scans of more than 60 pieces of evidence on

its website. The spreadsheets, some of which include hand-written notes and additions, appear to be linked to payments made during elections in 2010, 2012 and 2014.

G1, the internet portal of the Globo television network, put the total listed in the spreadsheets at more than 55 million Brazilian reais, about $15 million.

Among the politicians on the spreadsheets were Education Minister Aloizio Mercadante, a member of President Dilma Rousseff’s inner circle; opposition Sen. Aecio Neves, who narrowly lost to Rousseff in the 2014 presidential runoff; and the speaker of the lower house,

Eduardo Cunha — a Rousseff foe who brought impeachment proceedings against the president over allegations of fiscal mismanagement by her administration.

Cunha, who has been indicted on bribery charges, denied he received any illicit campaign contributions sand he hot not received any contributions “directly” from Odebrecht, according to G1. Other politicians listed on the spreadsheets also denied receiving illicit payouts.

The lists also include Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes, who is the driving force behind the Olympic Games in the city Aug. 5-21.The document dump came a day after police carried out a wave of searches and detentions linked to Odebrecht. Prosecutors said that corruption was so deeply entrenched in the company, one of Brazil’s biggest, that the firm had a whole department dedicated to making illicit payments.

In a statement hours after Tuesday’s raids, the company issued a statement saying it had decided to collaborate with the investigation.

“We hope that our explanations contribute significantly to the institutions of

law in Brazil and help construct a better Brazil,” the statement said.

The document drop also came on the heels of a legal victory for embattled former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Late Tuesday, Supreme Court Justice Teori Zavascki said Moro erred in releasing tapped phone calls of Silva and at least temporarily removed the judge from any investigation of the former president.

The decision means Moro no longer has the power to order Silva’s provisional detention over suspicions of money-laundering and influence peddling in connection with the Petrobras scheme. Silva denies all wrongdoing.

However, Zavascki stopped short of allowing Silva to become Rousseff’s chief of staff, which has been blocked by other judges. The Cabinet post would make it harder to investigate Silva for possible corruption because only Brazil’s Supreme Court can authorize investigation, charges and detention for top government officials.

Rumors that Silva would be given a Cabinet-level posting surfaced after Moro ordered him taken in for questioning in the corruption probe earlier this month.

WORLD NEWS 9

Thursday 24 March 2016

Obama, new Argentine leader work to break from past tensions JOSH LEDERMAN PETER PRENGAMAN Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — On a fencemending mission, President Barack Obama held up Argentina on Wednesday as an emerging world leader worthy of U.S. support, as he and Argentine President Mauricio Macri broke with years of tensions between their countries.

Obama’s state visit to Buenos Aires quickly turned into a love-fest between him and Macri, who in December replaced Cristina Fernandez, long a thorn in Obama’s side. Obama lavished praise on Macri and said his visit was “so personally important,” even riffing on his boyhood interest in Argentinian literature and culture.

“President Macri is a man in a hurry,” Obama said in Casa Rosada, the pinkhued presidential palace made famous in the U.S. by the movie “Evita.” ‘’I’m impressed because he has moved rapidly on so many of the reforms that he promised.”

Macri, who has committed Argentina to a pro-business approach, was equally effusive about Obama, who leaves office in less than a year.

“You emerged proposing major changes and you showed they were possible — that by being bold and with conviction, you could challenge the status quo,” Macri said. He added, “That was also a path of inspiration for what our dear country is now going through.”

Obama has made no secret of his preference for Macri over the left-leaning Fernandez, whose meandering invectives against the U.S. were a source of frequent eye-rolling in the White House. Fernandez was close with Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s famously anti-American late president, and openly admired Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. She was quick to blame the

U.S. for Argentina’s problems and was accused of helping Iran hide its role in bombing a Jewish center in Buenos Aires, a claim she denied.

So Obama was all too glad to see Fernandez replaced

by Macri, who has started pushing Argentina back toward the political center after years of flirting with the extreme left. To that end, Obama’s visit was a reward of sorts to keep that promising trajectory on track. It’s a theme of Obama’s Latin America policy that was on vivid display a day earlier in Cuba, where Obama paid a history-making visit aimed at spurring further reforms in the communist country.

Obama’s administration has also been heartened by the Venezuelan opposition’s recent success in legislative elections and Bolivian President Evo Morales’ defeat in a referendum on term limits.

Those developments have fueled optimism in Washington “that Latin America is moving toward more rational economic and political policies,” said Gabriel Salvia of the Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America, an Argentina-based think tank.

Yet Obama conceded that America’s history backing repressive regimes in the region had clouded its ability to take the moral highground. His visit, the first for a U.S. president in nearly 20 years, coincides with the 40th anniversary this week of Argentina’s 1976 coup, stirring up lingering questions about America’s role supporting the military dictatorship that followed.

At Macri’s request, Obama has agreed to declassify U.S. intelligence and military records about the period known as the “Dirty War,” a gesture Macri said would help Argentinians “know what the truth is.”

Before closing his visit on Thursday, Obama planned to pay homage to the dictatorship’s victims at Remembrance Park in Buenos

Aires.

“I don’t want to go through the list of every activity of the United States in Latin America,” Obama said.

But he said one of the “great things about America” is that “we engage in a lot of self-criticism.”

Still, there were detractors. Some prominent rights groups threatened to boycott Obama’s visit to Remembrance Park. And a few hundred people gathered at a McDonald’s in protest.

“We reject Obama’s presence because the United States is most responsible for the dictatorship,” said Victoria Remesa, a 25-yearold teacher-in-training.

U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri at the government house in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, March 23, 2016. Obama is on a two day official visit to Argentina.

Associated Press

A10 WORLD

Thursday 24 March 2016

NEWS

Officials: Paris bombmaker among dead in Brussels attack RAF CASERT LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The suspected bombmaker in the Paris attacks in November was one of two suicide bombers who targeted the Brussels airport, officials said Wednesday, in a new sign that both attacks are linked to the same cell of the Islamic State group.

The revelation that Najim Laachraoui was among the bombers came as Belgians began three days of mourning for the victims of the Brussels airport and subway bombings. The country remained on high alert as authorities hunted for one of the suspected attackers seen on surveillance video with Laachraoui and one other suicide bomber.

Turkish authorities, meanwhile, said they had caught one of the suicide bombers near the Turkish-Syrian border in July and sent him back to the Netherlands, warning both that country and Belgium that he was a “foreign terrorist fighter.”

But a Turkish official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly said the bomber was allowed to go free because Belgian authorities could not establish any ties to extremism.

Belgian authorities had been looking for Laachraoui since last week, suspecting him of being an accomplice of top Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam, who was arrested on Friday.

Two officials told The Associated Press that Laachraoui’s DNA was verified as that of one of the suicide bombers Tuesday, after samples were taken from

In this undated combination photo provided by the Belgian Federal Police in Brussels on Monday, March 21, 2016, suspect Najim Laachraoui is shown.

Associated Press

remains found at the blast site at Brussels airport. One European official and one French police official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to divulge details of the Belgian investigation.

Both officials were briefed on the investigation.

Laachraoui is believed to have made the suicide vests used in the Paris attacks, a French police official told The Associated Press, adding that Laachraoui’s DNA was found on all of the vests as well as in a Brussels apartment where they were made.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.

Several people who may be linked to the attacks were still on the loose and the country’s threat alert re-

mained at its highest level, meaning there was danger of an imminent attack, said Paul Van Tigchelt, head of Belgium’s terrorism threat body. The attacks killed 31 people, not including three suicide bombers, and injured 270 others, authorities said.

As government offices, schools and residents held a moment of silence to honor the dead, the mood was defiance mixed with anxiety that others involved in the attacks are still at large.

Belgian Federal Prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw identified two of the Brussels attackers as brothers — Ibrahim El Bakraoui, a suicide bomber at the airport, and Khalid El Bakraoui, who targeted the subway.

Investigators raided the Brussels neighborhood of Schaerbeek after the at-

tacks and found a computer in a trash can on the street including a note from Ibrahim El Bakraoui saying he felt increasingly unsafe and feared landing in prison. He was the brother who Turkish officials said was deported from Turkey to the Netherlands. Belgium’s justice minister said authorities there knew him as a common criminal, not an extremist, and that he was sent back to the Netherlands, not Belgium.

A taxi driver who took Ibrahim El Bakraoui and two others to the airport led investigators to an apartment where they found 15 kilograms (33 pounds) of TATP explosives, along with nails and other materials used to make bombs, Van Leeuw said.

Two were suicide bombers, the prosecutor said; the other was a man in a white jacket and black cap who fled before the bombs went off, leaving behind a bag full of explosives. That bag later blew up, but no one was injured.

The Islamic State group, which was behind the Paris attacks, has also claimed responsibility for the Brussels bombings.

Belgian state broadcaster RTBF, citing sources it didn’t identify, said Khalid El Bakraoui had rented an apartment that was raided last week in an operation that led authorities to Abdeslam.

Abdeslam was arrested Friday in the Brussels neighborhood where he grew up, a rough place with links to several of the attackers who targeted a Paris stadium, rock concert and cafes on Nov. 13. Those attacks killed 130 people.

A Belgian official working

on the investigation told the AP that it is a “plausible hypothesis” that Abdeslam was part of the cell linked to the Brussels attack. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation.

French and Belgian authorities have said in recent days that the network behind the Paris attacks was much larger than initially thought — and developments this week suggest the same group could have staged both the Paris and Brussels attacks.

The airport and several Brussels metro stations remained closed Wednesday, and authorities said the airport would remain closed at least through Thursday, forcing the cancellation of 600 flights each day. Security forces stood guard around the neighborhood housing the headquarters of European Union institutions, as nervous Brussels residents began returning to school and work under a misty rain.

Thousands of people gathered at Place de la Bourse in the center of downtown Brussels — including dozens of students chanting “stop the war” — in solidarity with those killed.

“In Belgium, it’s not every day that we show solidarity politically,” said Fanny Nicaise, 24. She came out with some friends just to see and be with others. “It’s important that you aren’t alone in your sadness.”

Belgians paid homage and lit candles, the mood almost buoyant as people wrote on the ground with big sticks of chalk, drawing peace signs and hearts.q

WORLD NEWS A11

Thursday 24 March 2016

Pushing territorial claim Taiwan says ‘rock’ is an island JOHNSON LAI Associated Press TAIPING ISLAND (AP) -Taiwan flew international media to its largest island holding in the South China Sea on Wednesday in a bid to reinforce its territorial claims in the disputed and increasingly tense region.

Deputy Foreign Minister Bruce Linghu, who led the trip, said he wanted to show that Taiping is an island capable of sustaining human habitation, and not simply a “rock” as the Philippines claims in a case brought before the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

Islands are entitled to territorial waters, an exclusive economic zone and other rights not enjoyed by mere rocks.

Two dozen journalists were flown to the island aboard a Taiwanese air force C-130 transport plane that landed on an airstrip guarded by coast guard sentries with rifles. They were shown the island’s post office and its fresh water well, and were to visit the harbor and a traditional Chinese temple.

The Philippines and Vietnam also claim Taiping.

Critics say Manila is seeking to have Taiping designated a rock to avoid having to share an exclusive economic zone with its own nearby island of Palawan.

Speaking to reporters in Taipei following the trip, Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said he would invite Philippine government representatives, lawyers, and five members of the arbitration commission to visit Taiping themselves to see that it is “an island with fresh water, capable of sustaining farm production, livestock and human life.”

The Philippines “remains ignorant” of conditions on

Taiping and has “misled the arbiters with absurd reasoning,” Ma said.

Manila’s case, which has been rejected by China, aims to challenge Beijing’s blanket claim to virtually the entire South China Sea. Yet it threatens also to harm relations between the Philippines and fellow pro-U.S. democracy Taiwan, which generally enjoy friendly neighborly relations.

Taiwan, which lacks diplomatic ties to negotiate with the five other governments with territorial claims in the South China Sea, has increasingly turned to public diplomacy to reinforce its own claims.

Ma paid a visit to Taiping in late January, drawing rare criticism from the United States, Taiwan’s key ally, which has urged all parties to avoid steps that might raise tensions. Although Taiwan’s claim to almost the entire region overlaps with China’s, Ma has sought to cast Taiwan as a peaceful, humanitarian player in the region.

Taiwan operates a 10-bed hospital, a lighthouse and a fishing industry aid station on 46-hectare (110-acre) Taiping, also known as Itu Aba, which has a population of around 200 mostly coast guard personnel. It is spending more than $100 million to upgrade the island’s airstrip and build a wharf capable of allowing its 3,000-ton coast guard cutters to dock.

Roughly 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) south of Taiwan, Taiping is the largest naturally occurring island in the South China Sea’s disputed Spratly Islands.

However, it has recently been eclipsed in size by artificial islands China has built by piling sand on top

of reefs and shoals, and then constructing housing, ports, airstrips and other infrastructure. The United States and others say Beijing is exacerbating tensions in the strategically vital region, while China accuses the U.S. of militarizing the area by ordering Navy ships to cruise in defiance of Beijing’s claims.q

This photo provided by the Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense shows an aerial view of Taiwan’s Taiping island, also known as Itu Aba, in the Spratly archipelago, roughly 1600 kms. (1000 miles) south of Taiwan, Wednesday, March 23, 2016.

Associated Press

A12 WORLD

Thursday 24 March 2016

NEWS

IS trains 400 fighters to attack Europe in wave of bloodshed 3 LORI HINNANT PAISLEY DODDS Associated Press PARIS (AP) — The Islamic State group has trained at least 400 fighters to target Europe in deadly waves of attacks, deploying interlocking terror cells like the ones that struck Brussels and Paris with orders to choose the time, place and method for maximum chaos, officials have told The Associated Press.

The network of agile and semiautonomous cells shows the reach of the extremist group in Europe even as it loses ground in Syria and Iraq.

The officials, including European and Iraqi intelligence officials and a French lawmaker who follows the jihadi networks, described camps in Syria, Iraq and possibly the former Soviet bloc where attackers are trained to target the West.

Before being killed in a police raid, the ringleader of the Nov. 13 Paris attacks claimed he had entered Europe in a multinational group of 90 fighters, who scattered “more or less everywhere.”

But the biggest break yet in the Paris attacks investigation — the arrest on Friday of fugitive Salah Abdeslam— did not thwart the multipronged attack just four days later on the Belgian capital’s airport and subway system that left 31 people dead and an estimated 270 wounded. Three suicide bombers also died.

Just as in Paris, Belgian authorities were searching for at least one fugitive in Tuesday’s attacks — this time for a man wearing a white jacket who was seen on airport security footage with the two suicide attackers. The fear is

Belgian Army soldiers patrol at Zaventem Airport in Brussels on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. Belgian authorities were searching Wednesday for a top suspect in the country’s deadliest attacks in decades, as the European Union’s capital awoke under guard and with limited public transport after 34 were killed in bombings on the Brussels airport and a subway station.

Associated Press

— but he’d signed up as an Islamic State suicide bomber for the group in 2014 and returned to Europe as part of the Nov. 13 plot. In claiming responsibility for Tuesday’s attack, the Islamic State group described a “secret cell of soldiers” dispatched to Brussels for the purpose.

The shadowy cells were confirmed by the EU police agency, Europol, which said in a late January report that intelligence officials believed the group had “developed an external action command trained for special forcesstyle attacks.”

French speakers with links to North Africa, France and Belgium appear to be leading the units and are responsible for developing attack strategies in Europe, said a European security official who spoke

that the man, whose identity Belgian officials say is not known, will follow Abdeslam’s path.

After fleeing Paris immediately after the November attacks, Abdeslam forged a new network back in his childhood neighborhood of Molenbeek, long known as a haven for jihadis, and renewed plotting, according to Belgian officials.

“Not only did he drop out of sight, but he did so to organize another attack, with accomplices everywhere. With suicide belts.

Two attacks organized just like in Paris. And his arrest, since they knew he was going to talk, it was a response: ‘So what if he was arrested? We’ll show you that it doesn’t change a thing,’” said French Senator Nathalie Goulet, cohead of a commission tracking jihadi networks.

Estimates range from 400

him and Khalid El Bakraoui, were known to authorities as common criminals, not anti-Western radicals until an apartment one of them rented was traced to Abdeslam last week, according to Belgian state broadcaster RTBF. Similarly, an Algerian killed inside that apartment on March 15 had nothing but a petty theft record in Sweden

Firefighters and first responders stand next to blown out windows at Zaventem Airport in Brussels on Wednesday, March 23, 2016.

Associated Press

to 600 Islamic State fighters trained specifically for external attacks, according to the officials, including Goulet. Some 5,000 Europeans have gone to Syria.

“The reality is that if we knew exactly how many there were, it wouldn’t be happening,” she said.

Two of the suicide bombers in Tuesday’s attacks, Belgian-born brothers Ibra-

on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss briefing material. He is also familiar with interrogations of former fighters who have returned to Europe. Some were jailed after leaving IS while others were kicked out of the terror group, and they include Muslims and Muslim converts from all across Europe.

Fighters in the units are trained in battleground strategies, explosives, surveillance techniques and counter surveillance, the security official said.

“The difference is that in 2014, some of these IS fighters were only being given a couple weeks of training,” he said. “Now the strategy has changed.

Special units have been set up. The training is longer.

And the objective appears to no longer be killing as many people as possible but rather to have as many terror operations as possible, so the enemy is forced to spend more money or more in manpower.”

Similar methods had been developed by alQaida but IS has taken it to a new level, he said.

Another difference is that fighters are being trained to be their own operators — not necessarily to be beholden to orders from the IS stronghold in Raqqa, Syria, or elsewhere.

Several security officials have said there is growing evidence to suggest the bulk of the training is taking place in Syria, Libya and elsewhere in North Africa.

In the case of Tuesday’s attacks, Abdeslam’s arrest may have been a trigger for a plot that was already far along.

“To pull off an attack of this sophistication, you need training, planning.

LOCAL A13

Thursday 24 March 2016

Rabbits and Drink Specials and Easter Eggs, Oh My!

What are your Easter plans this year? Whether you are celebrating at home with your family or putting on the world’s greatest Easter egg hunt for the kids, Bu-

galoe is here to celebrate right alongside you.

Come down to Aruba’s favourite beach bar and enjoy drink specials and menu items made especially for this holiday.

How about a delicious egg salad sandwich for just $7,made with fresh eggs from a local ranch? Be sure to stop by for Happy Hour between 5-6pm for a special Easter egg hunt.

Find the hidden egg and you will win a Breakfast for Two. Later that night The Equator Band is performing live on stage at Bugaloe.

Join Bugaloe on Easter Sunday for a celebration like no other!

Bugaloe is located on the De Palm Pier between the Hilton Resort and the Riu Hotel. Bugaloe will be open all day from 7:30am till midnight.

Come down and celebrate the Easter holiday with all of us at your favorite Aruban hangout!

Happy Easter!q

A14 LOCAL

Thursday 24 March 2016

ARUBA MARRIOTT RESORT PROUDLY PRESENTS THE GRADUATES OF MARRIOTT’S MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

PALM BEACH, ARUBA (March 17, 2016) – The Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino is proud to announce its first four official graduates of the Management Development and Readiness Program.

The Management Development and Readiness Program (MDRP) was officially launched by Marriott International in May 2015 and focuses on developing non-management associates for potential fu-

ture entry-level management.

Eligible non-management associates interested in a management career may voluntarily apply to the MDRP and is expected to create, implement, and complete a personal development

plans together with their direct supervisor’s assistance to achieve certification.

This program helps nonmanagement associates develop skills needed for pursuing an entry-level management position, establishes focused personal development plans with defined action steps and contributes to associate engagement.

After months of preparation the Aruba Marriott is proud to announce its first four graduates; Edmar Goeloe from Loss Prevention & Security department, Merelyn Nichols from Accounting department, Patricia Miranda and Tamara Fingal from Human Resources department.

To recognize this great achievement, an Olympic Themed ceremony was held on Friday March 4th, 2015 where the graduates received their official certification from Leslie Prea, Hotel Manager and Ruthline Tromp-Theysen, Director of Human Resources in the presence of their direct supervisors.

Management and staff of

the Aruba Marriott would like to congratulate the graduates and wish them continuous success in their growing careers.

About Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino: Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino boasts 411 guestrooms -- the most spacious on the island -each with large, private balconies overlooking lush landscape and the sparkling waters of the Caribbean Sea. On property, seven restaurants and cafes provide fare from light to elegant, while the largest casino in Aruba, a 6,500 squarefoot spa, free-form swimming pool, the H2Oasis adults-only pool and highenergy health club offer entertaining diversions. To obtain more information call the Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino at 1.800.228.9290 or visit www. arubamarriott.com. Connect with the Aruba Marriott’s official Facebook fan page by visiting www. facebook.com/ArubaMarriott and follow on Twitter @ArubaMarriott.

LOCAL A15

Thursday 24 March 2016

Celebrate Easter with a Sunday Brunch on the Beach at Hadicurari Restaurant

Free mimosas, orange juice and an incredible selection of the tastiest, most delicious brunch items that you can think of are included in the superb Easter Brunch on the Beach at Hadicurari Restaurant. On Sunday, April 27, you will feel so blessed!

Just to give you an idea, we hereby list some menu selections: smoked salmon

on toast, asparagus and truffles, ceviche and prosciutto, eggs benedict and tuna tataki, omelettes and eggs how you want them, spicy shrimp and crisp calamari rings with a tartar sauce, Asian salad, Caribbean fish, consommĂŠ, tenderloin, catch of the day, petto di pollo and garlic shrimp. All these dishes are waiting for you, begging

you to sample them.

Eat as much as you like, enjoy it to the hilt and spend the rest of your day savoring the aftertast.

Hadicurari, the restaurant at the Fishermen’s Pier, is located between the Marriott Surf Club and MooMba Beach. The Easter Brunch is held from 11 am until 2 pm. Happy Easter to all of you!q

A16 LOCAL

Thursday 24 March 2016

The Boydas are honored at Tamarijn Aruba Beach Resort

Recently John and Sharon Boyda were honored as an `Distinguished Visitors’ to Aruba after visiting the island for more than 10 years consecutively.

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 and 20 years consecutively.

Mr. Ricardo Croes rep-

resenting Aruba Tourism Authority conducted the ceremony at the Tamarijn Aruba Beach Resort John commented, “he will never change his vacation island for any other island.”

The prime reason for returning provided by the honorees is they consider Aruba to be “One Happy Island,” plus the great weather, and friendly Aruban hospitality, white sandy beaches

and the local food.

On the pictures Mr. Ricardo Croes from ATA together with John & Sharon with families and also Francis from the Tamarijn Beach.

SPORTS A17

Thursday 24 March 2016

ROLL of THUNDER Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, celebrates after winning a point against Milos Raonic, of Canada, in a final at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, Sunday, March 20, 2016, in Indian Wells, Calif.

Djokovic won 6-2, 6-0.

Associated Press

Serena, Djokovic differ on issue of equal pay in tennis SANDRA HARWITT Associated Press KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) — Some of the top players in tennis expressed disgust Tuesday with the comments made by the nowformer director of the BNP Paribas Open tournament in Indian Wells, with Serena Williams also disagreeing with fellow No. 1 Novak Djokovic on the issue of equal pay.

Raymond Moore, the former chief operating officer and tournament director, resigned late Monday, a day after telling reporters that female players should be thankful to their male counterparts “because they ride on the coattails of the men.”

Continued on next Page

Westbrook’s 15th triple double lifts Thunder Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) shouts following a dunk against the Houston Rockets during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Oklahoma City won 111-107.

Associated Press Page 19

A18 SPORTS

Thursday 24 March 2016

Serena, Djokovic Continued from Page 17

Serena Williams stands with tournament director Raymond Moore after Victoria Azarenka, defeated Williams in a final at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, Sunday, March 20, 2016, in Indian Wells, Calif. Azarenka won 6-4, 6-4.

“If I was a lady player, I’d go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born, because they have carried this sport,” he added.

Moore later apologized, but stepped down 24 hours later.

Players, both men and women, quickly denounced the comments and that continued Tuesday at the Miami Open.

But there was also concern raised about comments Djokovic made suggesting the men should seek

more money because their matches tend to attract more spectators.

“I think that our men’s tennis world, ATP world, should fight for more, because the stats are showing that we have much more spectators on the men’s tennis matches,” Djokovic said earlier this week. “I think that’s one of the reasons why maybe we should get awarded more.”

Williams disagreed when asked about the comments.

“If I have a daughter and she plays tennis, and I have

a son who plays tennis, I wouldn’t say that my son deserves more money because he’s a man,” she said. “I would say they deserve the same amount of money.

“I think (Djokovic) is entitled to his opinion,” she added.

“But if he has a daughter — I think he has a son right now — I think he should talk to his daughter and tell her his son deserves more money than you because he’s a boy.”

Andy Murray, ranked No. 2 in the world, believes in equal pay.

“I think there should be equal pay, 100 percent, especially at all combined events,” Murray said. “The timing of it was just so strange. It was right before you had a great women’s final with like 16,000 people sitting in the stadium.

He also noted that interest and attendance differs depending on the matches, saying a Williams match in Miami will pack a stadium more than many men’s matches.

“Men’s tennis has been lucky over the last 10 years because of the quality of players,” he said. “But the whole of tennis should capitalize on that and not just the men’s game, in my opinion.”

WTA chief executive officer Steve Simon, who came to the WTA last fall after being the tournament director of the BNP Paribas Open, released a statement related to Moore’s departure on Tuesday.

“Raymond Moore has taken full responsibility for the unacceptable comments he has made,” Simon said. “It is the right decision for him to step down.

SPORTS A19

Thursday 24 March 2016

NBA Capsules

Westbrook’s triple-double leads Thunder past Rockets 111-107 The Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Russell Westbrook had 21 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds to help the Thunder beat the Houston Rockets 111-107 on Tuesday night.

Westbrook has 15 tripledoubles this season and 34 in his career. It’s the most triple-doubles by a player in a season since 1988-89, when Magic Johnson had 17 and Michael Jordan had 15.

It was also Westbrook’s sixth triple-double in March. According to STATS, it’s the most by a player in a calendar month since Jordan had seven in April 1989. It was his third in a row and fourth in his past five games.

Kevin Durant scored 23 points and Dion Waiters added 17 to help the Thunder win their fifth straight.

James Harden had 24 points, a career-high 16 assists and seven rebounds for the Rockets. Dwight Howard had 16 points and 13 rebounds and Patrick Beverley added 16 points.

LAKERS 107, GRIZZLIES 100 LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jordan Clarkson scored 22 points and Kobe Bryant added 20 as the Lakers snapped a four-game losing streak.

Bryant scored 12 points in the third quarter, but the superstar sat out the final 4:20. Brandon Bass got eight of his 18 points in the fourth while Los Angeles’ younger players closed

out an unlikely victory over the playoff-bound Grizzlies, who had won the clubs’ first three meetings of the season.

The Western Conferenceworst Lakers wrapped up an eight-game homestand with three wins, beating contenders Golden State and Memphis.

Tony Allen made all 12 of his shots while scoring 27 points for the Grizzlies, who had won two straight. Zach Randolph and Lance Stephenson added 16 points apiece.

HEAT 113, PELICANS 99 NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Hassan Whiteside had 24 points, 14 and three blocked shots to lead Miami past injuryravaged New Orleans.

Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic each scored 23 points for the Heat, who’ve won nine of 12 games to put Miami in position to grab a playoff seeding as high as third in the Eastern Conference.

Jrue Holiday scored 24 for New Orleans, but missed 16 of his 23 shots. His shooting struggles against Miami’s stout defense was part of a theme for New Orleans, which shot only 39.1 percent (34 of 87) for the game.

Luke Babbitt scored a season-high 23 points for the Pelicans, who trailed by double digits for much of the game before briefly getting as close as five points in the fourth quarter.

HORNETS 105, NETS 100

NEW YORK (AP) — Nicolas Batum scored 23 points to lead Charlotte past Brooklyn.

Jeremy Lin added 21 points, a night after scoring 29 in Charlotte’s rally from 23 down to beat the San Antonio Spurs.q

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) shoots as Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) defends during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Oklahoma City won 111-107.

Associated Press

20 SPORTS

Thursday 24 March 2016

Brussels attacks add urgency to Boston Marathon security WILLIAM J. KOLE Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Boston’s top law enforcement official says the attacks in Belgium have added a sense of urgency to securing next month’s Boston Marathon.

Police Commissioner William Evans told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday that he has no information suggesting a specific threat against the marathon, which was targeted in 2013.

Two bombs planted near the finish line killed three spectators and wounded more than 260 others on April 15, 2013.

Evans, an avid runner, said he’s canceled his plans to run the 2016 edition of the race on April 18 so he can tend to security duties. He said he had planned to make it his 50th marathon and 19th Boston, but Tuesday’s attacks in Brussels prompted him to reconsider.

Instead, he said, marathon security will be his main focus. “I can’t in my right mind go out and lace up the sneakers and run that day,” he said in his office, where dozens of marathon medals decorate the walls.

In this April 19, 2014 file photo, Boston Police Commissioner William Evans leaves the course after running in the 5-kilometer race in Boston in advance of Monday’s 118th Boston Marathon.

Associated Press

“We’re only 3½ weeks away. My priority is here, doing my job and making sure the race goes off without any problems.”

Evans did not elaborate on

security precautions being taken around the 120th running of Boston, America’s oldest and most celebrated footrace.

He said heightened mea-

sures used since the 2013 attacks would be in place, including stepped-up patrols by uniformed and undercover officers, a greater use of surveillance camer-

as and tactical units, and checkpoints for the tens of thousands of spectators lining the route.

Within hours of the Belgium bombings, Boston authorities were on the phone with the FBI as well as state and international law enforcement agencies to review threats and security plans, Evans said.

“You worry about copycats. You worry about these homegrown terrorists who are in their basement plotting something,” he said. “It’s a constant worry for me.” Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was sentenced to death for the 2013 marathon bombing and is being held at the Supermax federal prison in Colorado.

Tsarnaev’s brother, Tamerlan, was killed in a shootout with police several days after the attacks. Evans had run the Boston Marathon in 2013 and was soaking in a hot tub when word came of the attacks.

He hasn’t run his beloved race since. “Right from the get-go, I said it would be a game time decision” whether to run next month, Evans said. “But yesterday’s attacks were troubling to me.”

SPORTS A21

Thursday 24 March 2016

Jason Day tweaks back in victory at Match Play DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Jason Day overcame an early deficit to win his opening match Wednesday in the Dell Match Play.

Now he has to overcome a bad back.

In the latest in a series of injuries for Day, he was reaching for his back on the 15th hole and then winced and grabbed it after a tee shot on the 16th hole. He took a knee on the green, where he closed out Graeme McDowell, 3 and 2.

Day headed straight for the fitness trailer for treatment.

The severity of the injury was unclear. Day left without speaking to reporters, and his agent later sent a statement that he tweaked his back, had some work done on it, was pleased with winning and is getting prepared to play Thursday.”

Day told the Australian Associated Press before getting treatment, “It’s really hard to play with searing pain in both sides of your lower back. Just my back has seized up and I need

Jason Day of Australia watches his tee shot on the first hole during round-robin play against Graeme McDowell at the Dell Match Play Championship golf tournament at Austin County Club, Wednesday, March 23, 2016, in Austin, Texas.

Associated Press

to get inside right away for treatment and see what’s wrong.”

Top-seeded Jordan Spieth, the crowd favorite at Austin Country Club who helped Texas to a national title in 2012, had the largest crowd and delivered a solid performance. Spieth was 4 up through seven holes, and outlasted Jamie Don-

aldson, 3 and 2.

“I felt like everybody was on our side today,” Spieth said. “I almost felt like a home Ryder Cup match.

And Jamie, I’m not sure what he would say about it. ... Everyone was very respectful, but every single step I took, somebody was yelling at you, ‘Hook ‘Em Horns’ or ‘Go Jordan, we’re rooting for you.’ Which is really, really cool.”

Rickie Fowler, the No. 5 seed, rallied from 3 down on the back nine to square his match on the 15th hole, only for Jason Dufner to win the next two holes with birdies to beat him on the 17th hole.

Dustin Johnson (No. 8) lost to Robert Streb, and Hideki Matsuyama (No. 12) lost to Rafa Cabrera-Bello. Adam Scott (No. 6), who has lost seven straight matches in this event, had to settle for

a halve with Thomas Pieters of Belgium. Players and caddies wore black ribbons in their caps to honor the victim of Tuesday’s bombings in Brussels.

In the round-robin format, all of the players still have a chance to advance from their groups and reach the knockout stage. A year ago, only three players who lost in the first round managed to reach the round of 16. It might be easier this year because there are halves during group play.

Bubba Watson (No. 4) halved his match with PGA Tour rookie Patton Kizzire.

Phil Mickelson, playing this World Golf Championship for the first time in five years, ran off three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the front nine to build a big lead and Matthew Fitzpatrick couldn’t catch up. The match ended on the 14th

hole. Matt Kuchar had the shortest match, a 6-and-5 victory over Anirban Lahiri, who flew to Texas from a runner-up finish in India.

Most of the drama on a windy day involved Day, who was coming off a victory Sunday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Day’s career has been filled with injuries. He withdrew after one round in the 2012 Masters with an ankle injury. A wrist and thumb injury kept him out for much of the spring in 2014 after he won the Match Play. He suffered vertigo symptoms at the U.S. Open last year.

He took three months off at the end of last year to be with his wife when she gave birth to their second child and to concentrate on his health. The back pain grabbed when the match was in hand.

Day lost two straight holes early in the match, including the par-3 third when he came up well short of the green and into a hazard.

But he kept smashing tee shots and converting them into birdies, ending the back nine with two birdies for a 1-up lead. McDowell found the water on the 11th, and Day went 3 up through 13.

Lacking on a warm, blustery day were the number of great shots typically seen in match play. Part of that was Austin Country Club, unknown to just about everyone except for Spieth and Dufner, whose coach lives in Austin.

“I think everybody is kind of feeling out how it’s going to be this week,” Dufner said.q

A22

Thursday 24 March 2016

SPORTS

Caps beat Sens to clinch top spot in the Eastern Conference The Associated Press OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Alex Ovechkin scored his 43rd goal as the Washington Capitals clinched the Metropolitan Division title and the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 4-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night.

Mike Richards, Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie, into an empty net, also scored for the Capitals.

Braden Holtby stopped 28 shots.

Chris Wideman and Mika Zibanejad scored for the Senators. Craig Anderson made 18 saves.

Ottawa lost defenseman Dion Phaneuf after he took a hit from Brooks Orpik in the second period. Phaneuf managed to play a few more shifts, but did not return for the third period because of a lower-body injury.

STARS 6, BLACKHAWKS 2 CHICAGO (AP) — Vernon Fiddler scored two of Dallas’ four goals in the first period to help the Stars clinch a playoff spot with a victory over Chicago.

Dallas stretched its win streak to three and improved to 4-1 against Chicago, outscoring the Stanley Cup champions 20-11 in the season series. Colton Sceviour and Patrick Eaves also scored in the first, and Jamie Benn had two assists in his 500th NHL game.

The Stars lead the Western Conference with 97 points with eight games left on their schedule. They are on track for their first division title since they took the Pacific in 2006.

The Blackhawks played without starting goalie Corey Crawford for the fourth straight game due to an upper-body injury, and Scott Darling was pulled after Dallas’ big first period.

Michael Leighton made 16 saves in his first NHL appearance since January 2013.

Chicago has dropped six of seven to fall off the pace in the tough Central Division, including a pair of losses to the Stars. Andrew Shaw and Richard Panik scored for the second

Dallas Stars’ Johnny Oduya, left, collides with a former teammate, Chicago Blackhawks center Andrew Shaw, during the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 22, 2016, in Chicago. The Stars won 6-2.

Associated Press

straight game.

LIGHTNING 6, RED WINGS 2 TAMPA, Florida (AP) — Erik Condra ended a 20-game drought with a pair of goals to lead Tampa Bay past Detroit.

Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat each had a goal and an assist, and Vladislav Namestnikov also scored for the Lightning. Brian Boyle, Tyler Johnson and Victor Hedman added two assists apiece.

Tampa Bay tied the Florida Panthers atop the Atlantic Division with 89 points. Both teams have nine games remaining.

Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm scored for the Red Wings, who were outshot 34-25.

Coupled with Philadelphia’s shootout loss at Columbus, Detroit fell into a tie with the Flyers for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the New York Islanders.

BLUE JACKETS 3, FLYERS 2, SO COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) —

Boone Jenner scored late in the third period and again in the shootout after Cam Atkinson’s tying goal with 8 seconds left, rallying Columbus to an improbable victory over Philadelphia.

Jenner scored in the fifth round of the shootout when he faked goalie Steve Mason out of the net and fired the puck in. Sergei Bobrovsky turned away Sean Couturier moments later to secure the victory.

Jenner and Atkinson both scored in the final 1:04 of regulation to force the extra session. Atkinson lifted a shot over Mason to tie it 2-all after Jenner tipped in a shot by Seth Jones nearly a minute earlier.

Mason finished with 51 saves for the Flyers, who blew a two-goal lead in the final 65 seconds but still earned a point. That was enough to pull them into a tie with Detroit for the final playoff position in the East.

Ryan White and captain Claude Giroux scored for the Flyers. The loss was Philadelphia’s eighth straight in Columbus since Decem-

ber 2005.

WILD 2, KINGS 1 ST. PAUL, Minnesota (AP) — Devan Dubnyk made a season-high 38 saves and Minnesota’s penalty kill kept up its strong work as the Wild beat Los Angeles to move back into possession of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Erik Haula and Mikko Koivu scored for the Wild, who have killed 15 straight penalties over the last eight games since March 6.

Tyler Toffoli had the goal for the Pacific Division leaders, who lost for the second time in two nights after winning 11 of their previous 14 games.

BLUES 1, SHARKS 0 SAN JOSE, California (AP) — Brian Elliott made 37 saves in his second consecutive shutout since returning from an injury and Robby Fabbri scored midway through the third period to lift St. Louis over San Jose.

Elliott has stopped all 56 shots he’s faced against Vancouver and San Jose after missing nearly four weeks with a knee injury sustained in a loss to the

Sharks last month. His return helped the Blues finish their road trip 3-2-0 to remain two points behind Central Division-leading Dallas.

Martin Jones made 23 saves but the Sharks failed to convert on a late twoman advantage and missed an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth.

CANADIENS 4, DUCKS 3 MONTREAL (AP) — Lucas Lessio scored his first goal in 11 games with Montreal to help the Canadiens defeat Anaheim.

Torrey Mitchell, Alex Galchenyuk and Mike Brown also scored for the Canadiens.

Jakob Silfverberg scored twice and Corey Perry reached the 30-goal mark for the Ducks. It is the sixth time in his career that Perry has scored 30 or more goals and the third season in a row.

Joel Hanley assisted on the goals by Mitchell and Brown for his first two NHL points in his second career game.

SABRES 3, HURRICANES 2 RALEIGH, North Carolina (AP) — Johan Larsson scored with 2:49 left as Buffalo rallied to beat Carolina.

Larsson’s winner came a minute after Evander Kane tied it, and Carlo Colaiacovo also scored to help the Sabres earn their third win in five games.

Joakim Nordstrom gave the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead with 6:20 remaining. Chris Terry also scored for Carolina, which has lost five straight.

Chad Johnson stopped 25 shots for the Sabres, while Cam Ward made 22 saves for the Hurricanes.

JETS 2, CANUCKS 0 WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Ondrej Pavelec made 28 saves for his first shutout of the season to help Winnipeg beat reeling Vancouver.

Adam Lowry and Mark Scheifele scored for the Jets. Scheifele’s emptynetter was his team-leading 24th goal of the season.

The Canucks were shut out for the third consecutive game, tying a franchise record.

TECHNOLOGY A23

Thursday 24 March 2016

Startup makes virtual reality intuitive with eye-tracking YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — No more fiddling with remote-controller buttons or a mouse.

Just look. San Franciscobased startup Fove has developed eye-tracking for virtual reality — that kernel of technology many feel is key for the illusion of becoming immersed in a setting.

Glance, and a video-game character talks back. Or use a death stare to shoot down virtual spaceships.

Watch a movie of a forest or a room and be able to look around wherever you want.

“It allows you to go inside the world that’s behind the display,” said Yuka Kojima, Fove’s co-founder and a rare female chief executive in male-dominated Japan Inc. Fove, which comes from “fovea,” the part of the eye with the sharpest vision, from “field of view,” and the word’s similarity with “love,” has devised a way to use tiny infrared sensors inside headset goggles to monitor the movements of a wearer’s pupils.

It’s a small company, founded in 2014, with offices in Tokyo, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and employing just 17 people. But Fove is getting attention from the fledgling VR industry, as “virtual reality” is known, and winning backing from innovative financiers. It has raised about $500,000 through Kickstarter.

Virtual reality could revolutionize entertainment, like movies, games and livestreaming of sports. It has myriad potential business applications, such as giving apartment hunters a virtual look at real estate options and car buyers tours of virtual showrooms.

It could also prove useful for training of pilots and surgeons, and has already been adopted by the military. The make-believe experience could aid in socalled “empathy training” for police and other service

which enables users to see three-dimensional objects in the real world, while VR delivers a 360-degree fictional universe. “It allows connecting — going fishing with your father who is far away.”

In this March 7, 2016 photo, Fove’s staff wearing an eye-tracking headset goggles demonstrates virtual reality at his office in Tokyo. San Francisco-based startup Fove has developed eyetracking for virtual reality - that kernel of technology many feel is key for the illusion of becoming immersed in a setting. Fove has devised a way to use tiny infrared sensors inside headset goggles to monitor the movements of a wearer’s pupils.

Associated Press

providers. Pornography is another potentially lucrative application.

A recent report by New York-based Superdata, which analyzes data on games, said smaller companies could become “first-movers,” as established players keep a cautious wait-and-see attitude.

Rahat Ahmed, co-founder and chief of strategy at New York-based Trinity VR, an investor in technologyand emerging markets, says the big plus of VR is “intuitive interaction.”

Augmented reality enables users to see three-dimensional objects in the real world, while VR delivers a 360-degree fictional universe.

“Every major company has to have a VR-AR strategy,” Ahmed said recently at the CLSA Japan Forum in Tokyo, referring by AP to “augmented reality,”

New technology usually has its share of detractors, and there are worries that VR could have harmful effects if users become too immersed in their fantasy environments and estranged from reality.

But Fove developers say VR can play a positive role.

In one poignant demonstration, a bed-ridden grandmother wears a Fove headset to “attend” her grandson’s wedding, sending a human-shaped robot controlled by her eyes in her place. The woman gestures happily, reaching out from her bed as if the newlyweds are standing before her.

Eye-tracking can enable disabled people to use their eyes to control devices, says Kojima’s co-founder at Fove, Australian Lochlainn Wilson.

He developed Fove’s breakthrough technology for eye-tracking.

With the help of Fove and a Japanese university, for example, a young man with spinal muscular atrophy, an

illness that has weakened his arms and fingers, used eye movements to play a piano.q

A24 BUSINESS

Thursday 24 March 2016

March is a good month to find deals on Japanese cars DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — If you’re in the market for a Japanese car, March is a good time to buy.

Unlike U.S., European and Korean automakers, which end their financial year on Dec. 31, Japanese companies such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. close their books on March 31. In order to hit their annual sales targets, Japanese automakers usually ramp up the promotions and deals in March.

Honda’s “Dream Garage” ads are currently running between college basketball games. Lexus will make your first month’s lease payment. Nissan is promising bonus cash. Subaru’s “Love Spring” sale promises zero-percent financing on Impreza and Legacy sedans. Toyota is offering $1,000 cash on a 2016 Corolla.

“March tends to be a strong sales month for the auto industry, but is particularly strong for the Japanese makes as shoppers flock to these sales,” says Jeremy Acevedo, an analyst with the car buying site Edmunds.com.

Among the current deals: — The 2016 Toyota Camry SE is currently selling for as much as 11 percent off the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, or MSRP, according to car buying site TrueCar.com. That’s a savings of $2,885. Deals for the

This Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015, file photo shows a sign at a Honda dealership in Miami Lakes, Fla. Associated Press

Camry include $500 cash plus zero-percent financing for up to 60 months.

— Honda is offering the 2016 Civic compact car for $179 per month with a 36-month lease. In February, Honda was offering the Civic for the same monthly price but for a longer term of 39 months. That’s a difference of $537.

— Subaru will lease you a 2016 Outback SUV for $269 a month for 36 months. In February, a 36-month lease was $289 per month. That’s a savings of $720 over three years. Japanese automakers spend an average of $1,592 on incentives per vehicle in March, says auto analyst and industry consultant Jesse Toprak, who bases his numbers on data from 2012 to the present.

They spend a little more in

August and September, when the model year ends and they want to clear the way for new models. But Toprak says there are fewer vehicles available then, so buyers are better off shopping in March.

“March results in the best combination of very high incentives and plenty of vehicles to choose from for the consumers,” Toprak said.

Buyers also should watch for other car companies mimicking the Japanese brands to stay competitive. TrueCar says Hyundai is offering savings of up to $4,000 off the retail price of the 2016 Sonata — a midsize competitor to the Toyota Camry. Chevrolet is offering $1,500 cash to buyers

of a 2016 Malibu, another Camry competitor.

Japanese automakers tend to spend less than their Detroit rivals on incentives, partly because they sell fewer pricey trucks. Incentives can also cheapen a brand’s image and lower vehicles’ resale value.

Still, incentives help automakers compete, especially if they have older models that are in danger of being eclipsed by newer rivals.

And they can pad sales totals in a competitive marketplace. Toyota was the world’s largest automaker last year, beating Volkswagen AG by around 220,000 vehicles.

TrueCar hasn’t yet issued its sales forecast for this month, which includes in-

centive spending per automaker.

But last March, TrueCar said, buyers paid less than they did in January or February for many popular Japanese vehicles, including the Toyota Camry, Toyota RAV4, Honda Civic, Honda CR-V. Several Nissan vehicles, including the Rogue, Pathfinder and Armada SUVs and the Frontier pickup, were cheaper in March than in any other month of the year.

Deals vary by model. Buyers shopping for cars, for example, are more likely to find bigger incentives than buyers shopping for SUVs. Low gas prices have helped make SUVs more appealing to consumers, so automakers are struggling to sell cars. Nissan is offering zero-percent financing for 72 months plus $250 cash on its Sentra small car, for example, but is only offering zero-percent financing for 60 months on its Rogue small SUV. Deals may also vary by region or even by shopper. Nissan is offering $500 cash this month to owners of competing vehicles who buy or lease an Altima sedan or a Rogue SUV. Members of the military, first-time buyers or recent college graduates may get special deals. Dealers can also add extra cash or perks, such as free car washes.q

Amazon sues logistics exec hired by Target NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon. com has sued its seasoned logistics executive nearly a month after he was hired

by Target, saying he’s violated a non-compete clause that prohibits him from joining a rival for at least 18 months.

The suit filed by Amazon this week in King County Superior Court in Washington claims that Arthur Valdez, hired as Target’s new chief supply chain and logistics officer, has already shared trade secrets during the interview process.

And Amazon says Valdez would be required to disclose Amazon’s confidential information in his posi-

tion at Target. Valdez’s duties will include overseeing planning, distribution and transportation.

Valdez, a 16-year-veteran at Amazon.com, was most recently vice president of operations, which handled Amazon.com’s international supply chain expansion.

“Mr. Valdez’s new position with a key Amazon competitor will involve the disclosure and use of Amazon’s confidential and proprietary information to Amazon’s detriment and Target’s advantage in a core area of competition between the companies: the cost-effective and rapid movement of goods in

the most efficient way possible for retail customers,” Amazon said in the suit.

The non-compete clause was signed by Valdez in 2012, according to the suit.

Valdez is expected to start his new job next week.

“We have taken significant precautions to ensure that any proprietary information remains confidential and we believe this suit is without merit, “ said Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder in an email to The Associated Press Wednesday.

“However, as this is pending litigation, we are not going to comment further at this time.”q

Stocks slip, led by energy and materials companies ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer Falling prices for oil and other commodities pulled U.S. stocks modestly lower on Wednesday, nudging the Standard & Poor’s 500 index slightly into the red for the year and putting it on course to snap a fiveweek winning streak.

Energy and mining companies led the decline, while consumer staples and utilities stocks bucked the broader downward trend.

Disappointing earnings from several companies, including Nike, also weighed on the market. Oil slumped 4 percent.

Trading was muted ahead of Friday, when markets will be closed for the Good Friday holiday.

Investors can expect similarly low trading volume on Thursday.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 79.98 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,502.59.

The S&P 500 index lost 13.09 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,036.71. The Nasdaq

composite dropped 52.80 points, or 1.1 percent, to 4,768.86.

The Dow is now up 0.5 percent for the year, while the S&P 500 is down 0.4 percent and the Nasdaq is off 4.8 percent.

Major U.S. indexes moved lower early on as falling prices for oil, natural gas, precious metals and other commodities put traders in a selling mood.

Chesapeake Energy lost 69 cents, or 14.3 percent, to $4.13, while Marathon Oil fell $1.12, or 9.9 percent, to $10.19. Southwestern Energy slid 73 cents, or 9 percent, to $7.35.

Mining companies also slumped, including Newmont Mining, which fell $2.41, or 8.8 percent, to $24.98, while Freeport-McMoRan lost $1.24, or 11.28 percent, to $9.75.

A batch of company earnings also gave investors reasons to sell.

Nike, one of the 30 stocks in the Dow, fell 3.8 percent after reporting revenue that

fell far short of what analysts were expecting. The athletic apparel maker also gave a weaker-than-anticipated outlook for 2016. The stock dropped $2.46 to $62.44.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts slid 7.1 percent after the chain reported disappointing fourth-quarter revenue and a weaker-than-expected annual profit forecast. The stock shed $1.09 to $14.29.

Software maker Red Hat also declined, losing 4.2 percent after it reported disappointing forecasts.

The stock fell $3.38 to $72.33.

Most homebuilders slumped after the Commerce Department reported that new-home sales rose only 2 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 512,000. Sales in the opening two months of 2016 are running slightly below last year’s pace. Beazer Homes USA fell the most, sliding 63 cents, or 7.2 percent, to $8.07. All told, eight of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500

BUSINESS A25

Thursday 24 March 2016

Trader Benedict Willis, left, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, March 18, 2016.

Associated Press

index lost ground, with energy stocks sliding the most, 2.1 percent. The sector is down about 18 percent over the past 12 months.

Utilities and consumer staples stocks moved higher.

Not all companies got caught up in the broad decline. Pepco Holdings vaulted $5.69, or 26.8 percent, to $26.93 after a Washington D.C. regulator approved Pepco’s $7 billion sale to rival utility Exelon. The deal will only go through if Exelon agrees to the regulator’s terms,

however. Exelon slipped 28 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $34.72.

European stocks were mixed following Tuesday’s deadly bombings in Belgium.

Germany’s DAX rose 0.3 percent, while France’s CAC 40 fell 0.2 percent.

Britain’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.1 percent. Belgium’s main index increased 0.1 percent.

In Asia, markets mostly fell moderately. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.3 percent.

Starbucks to offer prepaid cards to boost rewards program NEW YORK (AP) — Starbucks says it will introduce a prepaid card by the end of the year that lets people earn points for its rewards program.

The Seattlebased company plans to offer the card through Chase and says people would be able to use it wherever Visa is accepted.

It’s the latest move by Starbucks Corp. to convince people to sign up for its loyalty program by giving them more ways to earn rewards “stars” outside of its cafes. The company also previously announced deals that entail selling its stars to The New York Times, Spotify and Lyft.

Those companies would then distribute the stars as incentives to their own customers, Starbucks has said.

Starbucks said Wednesday it already has more than 12 million active members for its loyalty program in the U.S., and that people who sign up tend to spend

ny’s prepaid card at the same rate that they do for purchases at cafes. He said the rate of rewards for the prepaid card would be announced at a later date.

A representative for Chase said the Starbucks prepaid card will not have monthly service or reloading fees, which often come with pre-

Kevin Johnson, president and chief operating officer of Starbucks Corp., holds up one of the coffee company’s new prepaid Visa debit cards, Wednesday, March 23, 2016, at the coffee company’s annual shareholders meeting in Seattle.

Associated Press

more.

Last month, Starbucks announced an overhaul of its rewards program that hinted at plans to further expand the universe for its stars. Previously, people earned a star for each visit, and got a free drink or food item after 12 visits.

Starting April 12, people will earn two stars for every dollar they spend, and get a

free drink or food item after earning 125 stars.

By diminishing the unit value of a star, Starbucks Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Ryan has said the company would have more flexibility to award stars for “very small transactions.”

Kevin Johnson, chief operating officer for Starbucks, said people would not earn stars on the compa-

paid cards. Chase said the card will have three fees; a $5 fee for a rush card replacement, a 3 percent foreign transaction fee, and a $75 legal processing fee, which would be triggered if the bank was required to hold or pay out funds from the account as a result of a legal action.

A26 COMICS

Thursday 24 March 2016

Mutts

Conceptis Sudoku

6 Chix

Blondie

Mother Goose & Grimm

Baby Blues

Zits

Yesterday’s puzzle answer

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

CLASSIFIED A27

Thursday 24 March 2016

Classifieds

Danes, once again, take top spot in world happiness report TIME SHARE JAN M.OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark, perhaps better known for its fictional, suicide-agonizing prince Hamlet and fierce marauding Vikings than being a nation of the happiest people, has just won that very accolade. Again.

Even U.S. Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have singled out the small Scandinavian country as an example of a happy, well-oiled society.

On Wednesday, the United Nations made it official: It found Danes to be the happiest people on Earth in a study of 156 countries.

Knud Christensen, a 39-year-old social worker, knows one reason why his compatriots are laid-back — they feel secure in a country with few natural disasters, little corruption and a near absence of drastic events.

“We have no worries,” Christensen said, smiling as he stood on a Copenhagen street near the capital’s City Hall. “And if we do worry, it’s about the weather. Will it rain today, or remain gray, or will it be cold?”

The Scandinavian nation of 5.6 million has held the happy title twice before since the world body started measuring happiness around the world in 2012.

The accolade is based on a variety of factors: People’s health and access to medical care, family relations, job security and social factors, including political freedom and degree of government corruption.

For Rent /Sale

Divi Golf and Beach wk 12, 3/19 starts Studio Rm 4107. Affinity pool +bar Deluxe furnishings king bed. Eagle 2 $4975 seller sp pay 2016 assessment buyer pays 2016 maintenance fee of $650.= and 2017 assessment of aprox $525,= 28 weeks left on contract e-mail: rmwjmw@aol.com or us 508-651-0016

204725 ____________________________

FOR SALE Townhouse Orlando, Fl. 1862 Sq. Ft. 2 stories, Year 2014 City of Medic Lake Nona 32827 E-mail: gustavorf28@gmail.com 204746 __________________________

FOR RENT Paradise Beach Villas

week 13 - 1 bedroom March 24- April 2 $800 Tel. 740-4988 info@arubadirectdeals.com 204831 ___________________________

1)Time Share Resale Dutch Village Non Mandatory Maintenance Fee one bedroom week 10 room #27 12 weeks remain on the contract $4000 Two Bedroom Lock-out week 12 Room #85 32 weeks remaining on the contract $8500 call:(297)630-1307 info@arubatimetravel.com 204833 _____________________________ 2)Time Share Resale Playa Linda Beach Resorts 2 BR Wk 11&12Lania #40 right on the Beach $25,500 each week call:(297)630-1307 info@arubatimetravel.com 204833 _____________________________ 3)Time Share Resale La Cabana BRC one Bedroom Week 11&12 Room#414A one of the Best Ocean View Sunday Check in , Call:(297)630-1307 info@arubatimetravel.com 204833 _____________________________ 4)Time Share Resale Marriott Surf Club 2 BR G.V. Platinum $15,000 2 BR O.V. Platinum $16,000 2 BR O.Side Platinum $18,000 2 BR O.Front Platinum $27,500 Gold Coast Property 3 BR O.V Platinum $29,000 call:(297) 630-1307 FOR SALE info@arubatimetravel.com Townhouse 2 floor, 2 bedrooms, 204833 _____________________________ 3 bathrooms, kitchen, dinning 5)Time Share Resale room,patio, security 24/7, pools, Marriott Ocean Club club house.

One Bedroom O.V. Platinum $11,500 Sunset Residences Two Bedroom O.V. Platinum $17,000 For Sale Apartment at Eagle Beach, 3 mins Two Bedroom O.F. Platinum $29,000 call:(297)630-1307 from beach 2 bedrooms, 2 info@arubatimetravel.oom bathrooms, pool. Info 594-1496 204833 204814 _____________________________ ___________________________

TIMESHARE FOR SALE

RENAISSANCE Week room price wk 38 room 529 $4,750 wk 40 room 336 $3,750 wk 42 room 338 $4,000 wk 43 room 329 $3,250 wk 49 room 144 $5,500 wk 50 room 546 $6,000 wk 49 room 2571 $3,750 wk 48 room 517 $3,750 wk 48 or 49 room 119 $4,750 wk 48 or 49 room 551 $5,500 wk 49 or 50 room 203 $5,500 wk 21 or 22 room 347 $4,000 wk 1+2 room 517 $19,000 Contact Brian Cell: 593-0200 vr.realty@mac.com

204343 ____________________________

FOR SALE

by owner Marriott Surf Club 2 br O.V. lock off unit Gold season price $16.000 Marriott Ocean Club 2 Br O.V. Gold season 5 floor lock off unit Price $16.000 negotiable 567-6024 / 587-2633 martem1@aol.com USA 718-748-0395 204825 ____________________________

TIME SHARE RESALE

35000 points Gold Member with blue Green Time Share up to 5 wks vacation Price $45,000.00 Tel. here till 20 of March 583-0440 E-mail: klausyblitzy@aol.com 204808 ___________________________

FOR SALE Divi Golf & Beach week 11

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DIVI DUTCH VILLAGE For Sale week 27

June 25 start 3 room suite, lock off master bed rm, with lock off studio one other room with queen sofa, $4900, 565-9394 e-mail: rmwjmw@aol.com or us 508-651-0016

204717 ____________________________

Time Share For Rent/Sale

Studios and 1 Bdrm at Divi Village / Dutch Village March 12 to Dec 11th.

Also wk 17 Rm 3205 Studio bldng 2 from 4/24 $3950 or B/O e-mail: rmwjmw@aol.com or us 508-651-0016

204724 ____________________________

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Dr. Esschendal Tel. 586-0334 San Nicolas Dr. Ramautar Tel: 584-4280

EMERGENCIA

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A28 SCIENCE A28 A28 SCIENCE SCIENCE

Thursday 10 March 2016 Thursday 24 March 2016 Thursday 10 March 2016

NASA salvages Mars mission that should have launched by now NASA salvages mission that should have launched now Space station Mars cargo launches by light of nearly full by moon MARCIA DUNN

AP Aerospace Writer MARCIA MARCIA DUNN DUNN CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. AP AP Aerospace Aerospace Writer Writer (AP) — NASA’s next Mars CAPE CAPE CANAVERAL, CANAVERAL, Fla. Fla. mission is still alive.

(AP) Fresh next supplies (AP) ——NASA’s Mars Instead of scrapping the shipped late Tuesday mission is out still alive. grounded Mars InSight for the International Space Instead of scrapping the spacecraft, the space Station, where the shelves grounded Mars InSight agency announced finally are getting after spacecraft, the fullspace Wednesday it’s shooting a string of failedannounced deliveries. agency for a 2018 launch.

Launching the Wednesday beneath it’s shooting The robotic lander was light a nearly full moon, for a of 2018 launch. supposed to lift off this the unmanned The robotic lander was month, Atlas V rocket supposed to liftprovided off this but ended up sidelined in late-night sparkle as it month, December by a leak in a headed north its prebut ended up with sidelined in key French instrument. Projcious cargo by andaparalleled December leak in a ect managers said the dethe Coast on its way to keyEast French instrument.

Projvice should be redesigned orbit. ect managers said the dein time.

Orbital ATK’sbe Cygnus capvice should redesigned May 2018 represents the sule holds nearly 8,000 in time. next available launch pounds of represents food, equipMay 2018 the window. Opportunities to ment scientific renext and available launch launch to Mars arise just search forOpportunities NASA, including window. to every two years, based on a commercial-quality launch to Mars arise 3-D just the alignment of Earth and printer anyone every two years, can basedrent on its neighbor. and experimental robotic the alignment of Earth and The InSight spacecraft aims grippers modeled after the its neighbor. to study the interior of Mars thousands sticky hairs on The InSight of spacecraft aims by drilling deep within. The geckos’ to study feet. the interior of Mars sensors for the French seisAs usual, deep somewithin. surprises by drilling The mometer need to operate were tucked for seisthe sensors for theaway French in a vacuum chamber in six spaceneed station astromometer to operate order to measure subtle nauts, who should receive in a vacuum chamber in ground movements. the delivery Saturday.subtle order to measure The vacuum chamber was “Maybe they’ll find a few ground movements. leaking. The other main Easter eggs on board, who The vacuum chamber was science instrument, a Gerknows?”

Culbertson, leaking. Frank The other main man heat-flow probe, was Orbital space sysscience ATK’s instrument, a Gerready to fly. tems said with a man president, heat-flow probe, was It’s unknown how much smile Wednesday. He readyearly to fly. the two-year delay will said he didn’t want give It’s unknown how tomuch cost. NASA’s only other opaway too much, in case the two-year delay will tion was to kill the project. the crew got only windother of it. opcost.

NASA’s John Grunsfeld, head of There’s fireproject. experition wasalso to killathe NASA’s science mission diment will remain John that Grunsfeld, head on of rectorate, said the scienthe Cygnus.

NASA’s science mission ditific goals are compelling Researchers willthe ignite a rectorate, said scienand the repair plans are tific goals are compelling and the repair plans are

An Atlas V rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Tuesday, March 22, 2016, carrying the Cygues supply module into orbit.

This August 2015 artist’s rendering provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech depicts the InSight Mars lander studying the interior of Mars. On Associated Press Wednesday, March 9, 2016, NASA said it’s shooting for a 2018 launch of the InSight spacecraft.

This August 2015 artist’s rendering provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech depicts the InSight Mars lander studying the interior of Mars.

On Associated Press Wednesday, March 9, 2016, NASA said it’s shooting for a 2018 launch of the InSight spacecraft. large-scale blaze, in a con- high space station. Both explosion at Wallops Island, its Dragon cargo carrier; Press sound. box, The to Jetsee Propulsion decades,” said Virginia. sending This humans to second the red the sance Maven tained how it haulers haveGrunsfeld lost shipments is the last Orbiter one Associated wasand destroyed

Laboratory in Pasadena, spreads in weightlessness. sound. The Jet Propulsion California, will take over the The fire will not set unLaboratory in be Pasadena, redesign, building and testtil the Cygnus departs the California, will take over the ing of the vacuum chamspace station in May, full redesign, building and testber, while the French space of trash for a destructive reing of the vacuum chamagency focuses on the scientry. ber, while the French space ence instrument itself. conNamed the on swan agencyafter focuses the sci“The quest to understand stellation, the Cygnus ence instrument itself.is one the of Mars has of twointerior commercial vehicles “The quest to understand beento a stock long-standing goal used the 250-milethe interior of Mars has of planetary scientists for been a long-standing goal of planetary scientists for

in a statement.

“We’re exto rocket failures over said the decades,” Grunsfeld cited1½ to years be back on the past and are still in a statement. “We’re expath for acatch launch, now in working up.on cited totobe back the 2018.”

A Russian shipment also path for a launch, now in Mars is NASA’s prime focus ended 2018.” up destroyed. these days.has Justbeen last week, Orbital using Mars is ATK NASA’s prime focus astronautcompany’s Scott Kelly comanother Atlas these days. Just last week, pleted to a keep 340-day mission rockets the station astronaut Scott Kelly comat the International Space supplies flowing in themission wake pleted a 340-day Station that’s considered a of its October 2014 launch at the International Space scientific steppingstone for Station that’s considered a scientific steppingstone for

planet in the 2030s.

Cygnus to the an red Atsending assigned humans to Another NASA Mars Cape landlas; the first flew from planet in the 2030s. er — this one a car-sized, Canaveral Air Force Another NASA MarsStation landwheeled rover — is schedin December. er — this one a car-sized, uledcompany for a 2020hopes launch.

The to rewheeled rover — is schedThe red planet already sume supply runs from Wal-is uled for a 2020 launch. teeming activewith spacelops this with summer The red planet already itsis craft,Antares including NASA’s own rockets. teeming with active spaceOpportunity and Curiosity SpaceX, meanwhile, is aimcraft, including NASA’s rovers on the surface, and ing for an April 8 launch of Opportunity and Curiosity Odyssey, Mars Reconnaisrovers on the surface, and Odyssey, Mars Reconnais-

orbiter from high above. in a June launch accident. sance Orbiter and Maven Europe has its Express Itorbiter will be from the firsthigh time both a above. spacecraft in orbit around Cygnus and Dragon are at Europe has its Express the orbiting red planet. the outpost at the spacecraft in orbit around Europe is launching ansame time. the red planet. other Mars mission Monday Orbital named this Europe ATK is launching anfrom Kazakhstan — anRick orcapsule after the late other Mars mission Monday biter for measuring atmoHusband, commander of from Kazakhstan — an orspheric gasesspace and a shuttle lander the doomed biter for measuring atmocollectively known as ExoColumbia. spheric gases and a lander Mars 2016.q collectively known as ExoMars 2016.q

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Dealing with loss helped Bonnie Raitt tackle songwriting MESFIN FEKADU AP Music Writer NEW YORK (AP) — After back-to-back tours and albums, Bonnie Raitt said finally finding time to deal with the deaths of her father, mother and brother helped her break writer’s block and craft songs for her latest album and tour.

“I don’t write often and easily ...This particular time after a period of about 10 years when my family — my parents and my older brother — were all ill and passed away in a short period of time... I was pretty fried, and I took 2010 as a complete break from thinking about what I wanted to do next,” she said. “(I did) some grief work with a support person and I just really felt all the things that had been pushed aside by all that loss and trauma. And I came out of it really grateful.”

“Dig In Deep,” released last month, features a number of personal songs Raitt cowrote as well as her signature guitar. She also said she got a boost from her last album, 2012’s “Slipstream,” which won the Grammy for best Americana album.

“I was rejuvenated by ‘Slipstream’ ... and I co-wrote a song on that one with my guitarist ...The words didn’t go, so it forced me to write some songs that went with what my experience was, and that kind of got the wheels greased,” she said.

“I kind of wrote on assignment. ...After all that loss, to finally have the time and freedom and not have to be worrying about family members, I had more opportunity to write.”

On the new album, 66-yearold Raitt co-wrote five of the 12 tracks, including upbeat album opener “Unintended Consequence of Love” and the political “The Comin’ Round Is Going Through.” The album

also includes her versions of INXS’ “Need You Tonight” and Los Lobos’ “Shakin’ Shakin’ Shakes.”

She said the second verse of the piano ballad “The Ones We Couldn’t Be,” which she co-wrote, is “really about family members.”

“I know they were sorry they couldn’t be what I needed and I was sorry I couldn’t live up to the expectations,” she said. “And at the time when the relationship’s not working or you’re under stress, you tend to put blame not necessarily where it’s really accurate — it’s all about them, if only they acted different — so the reckoning that happens years later is your realize you both just did the best you could.”

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, whose hits include “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” ‘’Something to Talk About” and “Love Sneakin’ Up on You,” said she’s thrilled to be touring with the new songs. The “Bonnie Live in 2016” tour kicked off last week and will visit New York City, Oakland, Austin and Nashville, Tennessee.

She will also play international dates in the summer.

Raitt also said there was some anxiety when she began writing for her new album.

“It made me nervous knowing I was going to be writing more of the songs and I was saying, ‘Oh my God, I know so many people out there, they’re gonna say, ‘This one unfortunately is not as good,’” she said. “I don’t like to be compared (to myself), I just wish everybody would say, ‘She’s doing the best she can’ — especially because it was more risk with my own tunes. But so far everyone’s relating to them so I’m really smiling a lot these days.”

Raitt also wants more people outside of her fan base

to gravitate to the new music: “I hope people can relate to it, no matter what age they are.”

Though it’s hard to tell, Raitt said she started to play guitar and write songs as a “hobby.” She recalls getting her first guitar for Christmas and playing some much her fingers bled.

“I just played till I had calluses and my fingers bleed and I just learned every Joan Baez song I could learn, and I became the camp fire counselor that sang the songs at my camp,” she said. “And I just thought music can change the world, and I still feel that way.” usic can change the world, and I still feel that way.”

Thursday 24 March 2016

In this March 7, 2016 photo, singer Bonnie Raitt poses for a portrait in New York to promote her new album, Dig In Deep.”

Associated Press

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Thursday 24 March 2016

& ARTS

Bassist John Taylor spills Duran Duran secrets ahead of tour SANDY COHEN AP Entertainment Writer BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — John Taylor is an only child, but if he’s ever experienced anything like a family road trip, it’s been while on tour with Duran Duran.

The British rockers are about to get that old family feeling again as they head out for a North American tour with dates scheduled through summer. The “Paper Gods Tour,” which kicks off Friday, is split into two monthlong legs: the first covers the east coast from Canada’s Niagara Falls to San Juan, Puerto Rico; the second launches July 6 in Nashville, Tennessee, and wraps in Glendale, Arizona.

Sitting in a sunny room at Warner Bros. Records recently, Taylor, 55, shared a few secrets about himself and the musical family he calls Duran.

— Touring now is not like it was in the 1980s: “When people say how’s it like now

In this Feb. 9, 2016 photo, John Taylor from the band Duran Duran poses for a portrait at Warner Bros. Records in Burbank, Calif., to promote the band’s upcoming “Paper Gods Tour,” kicking off March 25.

Associated Press

compared to how it was, they’re probably thinking of the ‘80s, the crazy ‘80s — particularly the early ‘80s, where the band sort of cruised at a very high altitude for a couple of years. Well, I wouldn’t want to work like that again... I think when fame hits you — we were quite young, we’d only been in the business for like two years really

when it started taking off.

We weren’t really — well I wasn’t really ready for it.

It’s like being given your first car — and it’s a Ferrari. So now we’re in a Buick. It’s a very sedate Buick, but it gets around into all the sightseeing trips. It’s good.”

— Duran Duran reinvents itself with every album: “It’s like a restyling excercise always. And I think that’s

the blessing and the curse of being in Duran, which is a band whose blueprint was really based on being modern. We weren’t like the Stones, who are really rooted in R&B. We just had this thing, and it’s essentially kind of a good thing, because it allows us to change and morph.”

— The band never knew what lead singer Simon LeBon was talking about in some of their early songs: “In the ‘80s, Simon had very specific way of writing lyrics — which was amazing — and half the time I had no idea what he was singing about. And none of us really did. But it didn’t matter, because the pictures he was making were extraordinary.”

— Taylor was disappointed the “Paper Gods” album didn’t get a Grammy nod: “That was just something that was driving me through the second year of the making of ‘Paper

Gods.’ I was like, ‘This is why I’m doing it.’ None of the rest of the band could care less, but it was driving me.”

— He regrets that the Internet has made music so easy to “burn through”: “All art, whether it’s music or painting or cinema, it’s got a shelf life. It doesn’t matter how good you like it, you’re going to burn through it.

And there’s something about delayed gratification. And certainly to me, some of my favorite music, it took me a long time to get hold of it and when I got it, it was precious.

I knew every note, every beat of those songs. And now, music’s almost too accessible.

It’s too easy to get a hold of... Now I almost want music to be harder to get.

I want the experience to be a little bit harder. I need to appreciate it. I need to work for it. And that way I will appreciate it more.”q

PEOPLE & ARTS

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Thursday 24 March 2016

Want to be a zombie? Join ‘The Walking Dead’ immersive show MARK KENNEDY AP Drama Writer SECAUCUS, N.J. (AP) — When the lights come on, the scene in front of you isn’t pretty: There’s a gagged woman handcuffed to a wall, a TV on at full volume and a guy lying on a couch with a gaping belly wound.

Such is the troubling landscape that greets audience members at the beginning of the touring immersive show recreating the chilling world of AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” in which the world has been plagued by a zombie apocalypse. The horror drama series is one of the most popular shows on television.

Visitors make their way through the 10,000-squarefoot attraction — six sets built into tractor trailers, plus various tents — as either a postapocalyptic survivor or, after a quick makeup session, an undead zombie.

If you go in as a human, the handcuffed woman — she’s the one moaning “They’re going to kill me!”

— needs to be ungagged.

Then she’ll give you some more unsettling news: The key to her handcuffs was swallowed by the gentleman on the couch. The one with the hole in his gut.

“Someone’s got to go and get the key,” says creator and director Michael Counts, one of the early pioneers of immersive theater, during a backstage tour. “Use your imagination to figure it out.”

After that gross situation, you must handle simulated gunfire, holographic images of Walkers, billowing smoke, tunnels, realistic light and sound effects, and actors playing Walkers hunting for you. And that’s just the first part.

“It’s all these effects that are highly designed, very specific, very produced that ultimately create this totally immersive, totally transportive experience where you’re in the world of ‘The Walking Dead,’”

says Counts.

“The Walking Dead Experience — Chapter One” is set the night that the zombie apocalypse starts. It’s backed by the fan-driven Walker Stalker Con and Skybound Entertainment, the company led by “The Walking Dead” creator Robert Kirkman.

It’s traveling the country in three tractor trailers and is part of both the Walker Stalkers tour and the Heroes & Villains Fan Fest. It’s currently in Salt Lake City and will make stops in April in Denver and Nashville, Tennessee; Chicago in May; Charlotte, North Carolina, in June; Boston and Secaucus, New Jersey, in July; San Jose, California, in August; Philadelphia and Atlanta in October; Atlanta again in November; and Edison, New Jersey, in December.

Walker Stalker Con, the second largest fan convention in North America, plans 16 events across America, a meet-up in London in February and a cruise to the Bahamas.

“Whether we’re in New York, London or Atlanta — which is our biggest event of the year with 50,000 people — they still manage to keep it very intimate,” says Jackie Prutsman, vice president of operations at Walker Stalker. “I think fans are often surprised by how much they feel they’ve claimed of the experience.”

There are various ways to experience the immersive show: as a survivor who goes through in waves of seven at a time ($60), or getting made up as a gruesome Walker, including prosthetics, and scaring the wits out of survivors ($60). Combo tickets go for $120, and for $20 more, there’s a package with no time limit.

Counts prides himself on realism, and he promises high production values.

“We’ve gone overboard with sets and authenticity in depicting the reality of it,” he says.

If “Chapter One” is a success, new narratives for a sequel may be borrowed from Counts has this warning for first-timers, who gather in small groups in a completely dark living room when the experience begins: “It’s very possible that not everybody in your group makes it out alive.”q

This undated image released by Walker Stalker Con shows a scene from “The Walking Dead Experience - Chapter One,” a touring immersive show based on the popular zombie series on AMC. Associated Press