November 12, 2019

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Trump, 2020 Dem contenders tout efforts to boost veterans

By HOPE YEN and HUNTER WOODALL ROCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — On Veterans Day, President Donald Trump paid tribute to America's troops at a New York City parade as top 2020 Democratic candidates outlined their plans for the Department of Veterans Affairs, such as naming a woman to run the agency for the first time.

The Democratic proposals, coming two days before historic impeachment hearings, sought to highlight policy differences with the embattled president before a key bloc of voters.

"The president has let veterans down," said Democrat Pete Buttigieg, the 37-yearold mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

Continued on Next Page

Daniel Garcia with McAllen Police Department Honor Guard bows his head during a moment of silence at the Veterans Day Ceremonies at the Veterans War Memorial on Monday, Nov. 11, 2019 in McAllen, Texas.

Associated Press

A2 UP

Tuesday 12 November 2019 Continued from Front

A former Navy intelligence officer, Buttigieg said female veterans and service members in particular have been neglected, including on concerns about sexual harassment and women's health. Women are the military's fastest-growing subgroup.

"I think leadership plays a huge role so absolutely I'd seek to name a woman to lead VA," he said.

Trump was the first sitting president to attend New York's veterans parade, viewing veterans as standing among his biggest supporters. Past presidents have typically spent Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery for a ceremonial wreath laying.

Trump praised the strength of the U.S. military and the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, saying the nation's veterans "risked everything for us. Now it is our duty to serve and protect them every single day of our lives."

More than 100 protesters booed, some holding black balloons that read "support our troops, impeach." In a liberal city where Trump is deeply unpopular in spite of his roots there, a nearby

FRONT

President Donald Trump attends the New York City Veterans Day Parade at Madison Square Park in New York, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019.

Associated Press

building's soaring windows were adorned with signs

reading "IMPEACH" and "CONVICT." Veterans overall have strongly backed Trump throughout his presidency, though views vary widely by party, gender and age, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of 2018 midterm voters. In particular, younger veterans and women generally were more skeptical of Trump, who received multiple draft deferments to avoid going to Vietnam.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, whose late son Beau spent a year in Iraq with the Army, stressed that he would "restore trust" in VA. Taking aim at Trump's stalled progress in reducing suicide among veterans, Biden pledged to hire more VA staff to cut down office wait times for vets at risk of suicide to zero as well as continuing the efforts of the Obama-Biden administration to stem homelessness.

About 20 veterans die by suicide each day, a rate basically unchanged during the Trump administration.

Trump earlier this year directed a Cabinet-level task

force to develop a broader roadmap for veterans' suicide prevention, due out next spring.

"Our veterans deserve leaders who will fight for them as ardently and as forcefully as they have fought for us," Biden wrote in a Veterans Day statement with his wife, Jill.

In a jab at Trump, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders released a video highlighting his role in working with the late Republican Sen. John McCain, a decorated war hero, to pass legislation that included the Veterans Choice program in 2014.

Trump routinely takes credit for being the first to enact the Choice program. What he actually got done was an expansion of the program achieved by McCain and Sanders, a former chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.

Speaking at an event focused on seniors and veterans in Des Moines, Iowa, Sanders pledged to combat efforts to privatize the VA and assured a questioner that he would end

the "very ugly practice" of deporting military veterans who are not U.S. citizens.

"How cruel is it that when people put their lives on the line to protect us," they are deported, he said.

As president, Sanders promised he would build upon his past legislative efforts by making it easier for veterans to get into the VA system.

He joins Buttigieg and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren in urging increases in doctor pay to attract top VA candidates and fill 49,000 VA positions that have sat vacant as the Trump administration promoted private health care options.

During a Veterans Day speech in Rochester, New Hampshire, Buttigieg reflected on his own military path, while taking some digs at Trump.

"Having seen the outrage of Americans willing to put their lives on the line for this country having their careers threatened by a president who avoided his own chance to serve, yes, we are going to end the transgender military ban right away," Buttigieg said.

He added later in the speech that the VA needs to be depoliticized.

"We're going to have fiveyear terms for key positions so that decisions are made based on what is best for veterans and not based on whoever last spoke to the president during a golf game or made the right campaign contribution," Buttigieg said.

During a campaign stop in southeast Iowa, Biden noted that he carries with him every day the totals of those who have died as a consequence of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As of Monday, he told about 200 people at a private college in Oskaloosa, the total had reached 6,900.

"Every single one of those fallen angels leave a broken community behind," he said.

Tens of thousands more, however, have returned home with post-traumatic stress disorder, Biden said.

"They are in trouble and they deserve every single thing we can give them," he said.q

U.S. NEWS A3

Tuesday 12 November 2019

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Winter already? Snow, deep freeze from Rockies to East Coast CHICAGO (AP) — An arctic air mass that brought snow and ice to an area stretching from the Rocky Mountains to northern New England on Monday was poised to give way to record-breaking cold temperatures.

In mid-Michigan, three people were killed in a two-vehicle crash that the Eaton County sheriff's department attributed to heavy snowfall. And in Kansas, the highway patrol reported that a truck lost control on an icy highway and slammed head-on into another truck, killing an 8-year-old girl in the other vehicle.

In Chicago, where as much as 6 inches (15 centimeters) of snow fell, an Envoy Air flight from Greensboro, North Carolina, slid off an icy runway at O'Hare International Airport as it tried to land at about 7:45 a.m.

None of the 38 passengers and three crew members were injured, according to the city's aviation department.

Snowfall totals could reach up to a foot or more in some areas of Indiana, Michigan and Vermont, according to the National Weather Service.

Other places in the path of the air mass saw ice and rain.

Denver saw just a few inches of snow but suffered numerous accidents on icy roadways because the snow fell during the morning commute.

More than 950 flights were canceled at Chicago's airports and officials in the area opened warming centers. In Michigan, some schools closed early, as did dozens of schools in the St. Louis area.

The snow and ice was just the first punch from

a weather system that pushed frigid air from Siberia across an area stretching from the Rocky Mountains to the East Coast.

Temperatures below freezing were forecast as far south as Texas' Gulf Coast.

"This is an air mass that's more typical for the middle of January than midNovember," said National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Birk. "It is pretty much about the coldest we can be this time of year (and) it could break records all over the region."

Winter doesn't officially start until December 22 this year.

According to Birk, the lows on Tuesday could drop into the single digits or low teens in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa, with highs climbing no further than the low 20s. The forecast high of 21 degrees (-6 Celsius) for Chicago would be a full seven degrees lower than the previous record set for Nov. 12.

In some areas, temperatures plunged quickly.

Temperatures in Denver climbed past 70 degrees (21 Celsius) over the weekend only to fall to 14 degrees (-10 Celsius) early Monday.

One area where the low temperatures was particularly concerning was in central Wyoming, where officials were searching for a 16-year-old autistic boy who went missing wearing only his pajamas on Sunday, prompting a search that included certified human trackers, helicopters, dogs, and planes.

The National Weather Service said areas west of the Rocky Mountains would be spared the arctic air, with above average temperatures expected in some of those places.q

A woman walking the half mile from the Chicago Aquarium to the Adler Planetarium braces in a stiff wind and blowing snow off Lake Michigan, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, in Chicago.

Associated Press

A4 U.S.

Tuesday 12 November 2019

NEWS

Mulvaney to file his own impeachment lawsuit, lawyers say

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — White House acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney plans to file his own lawsuit over testimony in the House impeachment inquiry, withdrawing his bid to join a separate case filed last month by a former Trump adviser, his attorneys said Monday.

The plans were revealed in a court filing that withdrew Mulvaney's earlier request to become part of a suit

by Charles Kupperman, the president's former deputy national security adviser.

Lawyers for Mulvaney had asked Friday evening to join that lawsuit, saying his case presented similar legal issues to that of Kupperman.

But they switched course following a conference call with a federal judge. They said they instead plan to file their own lawsuit asking a court to rule on whether Mulvaney must follow a subpoena from Congress directing him to testify or an order from the White House that he not appear.

Mulvaney faced opposi-

In this Oct. 17, 2019 file photo, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney speaks in the White House briefing room in Washington.

Associated Press

tion from lawyers for both Kupperman and House lawmakers in his bid to join the lawsuit, underscoring the lack of a unified approach from Trump administration officials in responding to the impeachment inquiry, which enters a critical public phase this week.

Several people have testified in defiance of White House orders, while others have skipped their scheduled appearances.

Kupperman's lawsuit aims to have a court decide on

compliance with congressional subpoenas and to resolve conflicting directives from the White House and Congress. He asked a judge to determine which branch of government should prevail.

Like Kupperman, Mulvaney has defied a subpoena from impeachment investigators. Kupperman's subpoena has since been withdrawn. His lawyer also represents former national security adviser John Bolton, who did not appear

for a scheduled interview last week and has not been subpoenaed.

Lawyers for Mulvaney had said their arguments raised similar issues that belong in the Kupperman lawsuit, since they both have been close advisers to the president and in regular contact with him.

But in a court filing Monday, Charles Cooper, who represents Kupperman and Bolton, said there were important distinctions between Mulvaney and Kupperman's situations, including that Mulvaney has already spoken publicly about issues central to the impeachment inquiry from the podium of the White House briefing room.

"Plaintiff, in contrast, has never publicly disclosed information relating to any of his official duties, including the matters under investigation by the House," Cooper wrote of Kupperman.

The attorney said there was a "serious question" as to whether Mulvaney waived the immunity protection with his public comments.

Cooper also suggested

Kupperman and Mulvaney both have arguments at their disposal that the other might not be able to exploit.

Mulvaney, for instance, still works for Trump, while Kupperman does not. That means that even if Kupperman were to be directed to testify, Mulvaney, as a current White House employee, could nonetheless look to shield himself behind a Justice Department legal opinion that says close advisers to the president should not have their attention diverted "at the whim of congressional committees."

But Cooper also suggests his clients may have other, stronger arguments for immunity than Mulvaney since all their duties "concerned advising the President on highly sensitive matters of national security and foreign affairs."

House Democrats separately opposed Mulvaney's effort to join the suit. They said Kupperman's case is moot since the subpoena directing him to appear has been withdrawn.q

Pentagon chief says Vindman should not fear Army retaliation

Former National Security Council Director for European Affairs Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, center, leaves after reviewing his testimony from a closed-door interview on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019, in the impeachment inquiry on President Donald Trump's efforts to press Ukraine to investigate his political rival, Joe Biden.

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday that an Army officer has no reason to fear retribution for testifying before Congress in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.

Esper was asked about potential retribution for Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman during a trip to New York City. The defense secretary said the Pentagon "has protections for whistleblowers" who report waste, fraud or abuse.

He said Vindman or any other whistleblower "shouldn't have any fear of retaliation," according to a

transcript of the exchange released by online publication Defense One. Vindman is the Ukraine specialist at the White House's National Security Council who was on the July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy.

Vindman testified about concerns that Trump was delaying military aid to the Eastern European country while pressing the country to investigate his political rivals.

That phone call, and Trump's request for a "favor" from Ukraine are the

basis of the impeachment inquiry.

According to the Defense One transcript, Esper was asked what he would tell service members who might wonder if Vindman's career is in jeopardy and whether their own careers would be at risk if they blew the whistle on waste, fraud or abuse. Esper responded by saying the Pentagon "has protections for whistleblowers -- they're guaranteed in law. And he shouldn't have any fear of retaliation. That's DoD's position," referring to the Department of Defense.q

U.S. NEWS A5

Tuesday 12 November 2019

Little Rock teachers to go on strike over district's control

By ANDREW DEMILLO Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Little Rock teachers will go on strike for one day this week over an Arkansas panel's decision to strip their collective bargaining power and complaints about state control of the 23,000-student district, union officials said Monday.

The strike that will take place Thursday will be only the second time teachers have walked out of the job in Little Rock history.

The Little Rock Education Association's announcement comes after the state Board of Education in October voted to no longer recognize the union when the contract expired Oct. 31.

The union has been calling for the state to give them back their bargaining power. Before the contract ended on Oct. 31, the Little Rock School District had been the only one in Arkansas where a teachers union had collective bargaining power. But union leaders said Thursday's strike was focused more broadly on returning full local control to the district.

Arkansas has run Little Rock's schools since the state board took over the district in January 2015 because of low test scores at several schools. The state board has voted to put the district under a local board that will be elected in November 2020, but with limits on its authority. The strike will occur the day the state panel is expected to vote on establishing the zones for the new local board.

"As educators, we would rather be in the classroom with our students, not on the picket line," Teresa Knapp Gordon, the union's president, said at a news conference outside Little Rock Central High School.

"However, this community and the passionate, dedicated educators of this district will do what is necessary to protect the futures of our students."

While the union billed it as

a one-day strike, Gordon left open the possibility of it stretching beyond Thursday if the panel doesn't return full local control.

"No options are off the table at this point," she said.

The only other teachers strike in the district was in 1987, when Little Rock students missed six days of school before a new twoyear contract was approved.

Little Rock Superintendent Michael Poore said the district's schools will remain open and buses will continue to run, though some classes may have to be combined. In anticipation of the strike, school officials have been lining up hundreds of substitute teachers and said between 250 and 300 district and state employees can also work as educators.

"We are going to try to have as normal of a day as we possibly can," Poore told reporters. Poore said officials don't know how many teachers will join the strike.

The state Board of Education last month backed off a plan to divide control of the school district after critics said it would return Little Rock to a racially segregated system 62 years after nine black students integrated all-white Central High School.

The union, however, criticizes the latest plan because the state would still maintain some authority.

State Education Secretary Johnny Key and Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican who appointed eight of the nine state board members, said they were disappointed with the strike decision.

"I am disappointed that the union has chosen to lead a strike that encourages teachers to walk out on their students," Hutchinson said in a statement. "Superintendent Mike Poore has made it clear we are going to continue classes and continue education and that we will not let a strike stop the education of our students. We all desire lo-

cal control and next year's school board election is a major step approved by the state Board of Education."

A teachers strike in Little Rock would follow similar actions elsewhere.

A strike in Chicago, the nation's third-largest school district, canceled 11 days of classes for more than 300,000 students before a contract deal was reached on Oct. 31. And teachers in several states, including Oklahoma, West Virginia and Kentucky, protested last year at state capitols over wages and other issues.

Those in support of ending the Little Rock union's recognition have said more teachers will be represented by the district setting up a personnel policies committee made up of teachers that would offer advice on salaries and other issues.

The state board also voted to reinstate employee protections for teachers in the district that it had waived in

Little Rock School District Superintendent Michael Poore speaks to reporters at the district's offices in Little Rock, Ark. on Monday, Nov. 11, 2019.

Associated Press

December.

Wendy Sheridan, a Little Rock parent, said she and her two children will join teachers at the picket line on Thursday before going to the state board meeting.

"While as parents we want

what's best for our children, and that's to be in school, at this point what's best for our children is to support our educators and support others who are trying to do what's right for them in the long run," she said.q

A6 U.S.

Tuesday 12 November 2019

NEWS

AP-NORC poll: Many youths say high school diploma is enough

By COLLIN BINKLEY and HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press Although most young Americans believe in the value of higher education, many still consider a high school diploma alone to be enough for success, according to a survey of teens and young adults by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The findings alarm some experts who say young Americans don't seem to be getting the message that college pays off. Federal labor data shows a wide earnings gap between Americans who do and do not have a college degree, and unemployment rates are far lower for those with a bachelor's or master's degree.

More than half of Americans ages 13 through 29 do see college as a path to economic success, but about 4 in 10 believe a bachelor's degree prepares people only somewhat well, or even poorly, for today's economy.

Meanwhile, about half said their high school education has provided the skills they need to get a good job right after they graduate.

And 45% say a high school diploma is good preparation for future successful workers.

Researchers disputed that notion, saying it has been decades since a high school diploma was enough to earn a good living.

"With a high school diploma alone, it's very hard to earn the kinds of wages one would need to support a family," said Thomas Brock, director of the Community College Research Center at Columbia University.

"There's just such a strong association between employment rates, as well as earnings, and education."

In 2018, the median earnings for workers with only a high school diploma was $730 a week, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For those with a bachelor's degree, it was $1,200, while those with a master's degree typically

made $1,400 a week.Teens are especially likely to think high school is a good path to success in today's econ-

The finding was a surprise to some researchers who say students — and their parents — often think of col-

college at all. Those from wealthier families were also more likely to say their parents were helping pay for

In this April 15, 2019, file photo, instructors from Raphael House lead a classroom discussion about consent and healthy relationships with a class of sophomores at Central Catholic High School in Portland, Ore. Associated Press

omy, while young adults were less likely to say so, 51% versus 42%. And there were stark differences by race: At least half young black and Hispanic Americans said high school is a good path to success, compared with 41% of young white Americans.

More than any type of degree, 73% of young Americans said they think job experience is good preparation for success.

Their esteem for practical experience is shared by the Trump administration, which has pushed to expand apprenticeship programs, and experts say it reflects today's economy, in which more employers require internships or other work experience.

While 6 in 10 said a bachelor's degree is a route to success, an equal number said they see vocational school as good preparation, and about half see the same value in an associate degree.

lege only as a bachelor's degree.

"That's not what I would expect to see," said Heather McKay, director of the Education and Employment Research Center at Rutgers University. "It's really great that young people are thinking of these alternatives, because there are some really good non-degree credential options out there."

The survey also found disparities in the types of colleges young Americans choose. Overall, 3 in 4 said they plan to attend some type of college or have already done so. For about half, their plans included a four-year university, while about a quarter opted for community college or vocational school. Another quarter had no college plans.

Wealthier Americans were more likely to pursue fouryear universities, while those from poorer families leaned toward other options or no

tuition and many forms of college preparation.

McKay said the findings suggest students are steering toward education choices they think they can afford.

"It's a little bit saddening," she said. "We need to do a better job of educating students and parents on that life-long learning pathway, and the value of different kinds of education."

A common thread among many young Americans is a concern over the cost of education. Nearly 8 in 10 said they think college affordability is a very or extremely serious problem, and a majority said they were at least somewhat concerned about debt. Of those with college plans, a majority said they were borrowing or planning to borrow loans to pay for tuition.

In some ways, young Americans are right to be worried, said Anthony Carnevale, director of Georgetown University's Center on

Education and the Workforce. The transition to adult independence is taking place later in life, he said.

Education requirements for good jobs have grown, and there are fewer available to young people.

Still, he said, there's evidence that investments in college pay off.

"Eighty percent of four-year college degrees do bring sufficient earnings to pay for the cost over a career," Carnevale said. "The truth is, it's very hard for colleges at the four-year level to build programs that aren't worth the loan."

Debate over student debt and college affordability has come to the fore recently as Democratic presidential candidates court young voters with promises to make college free and erase debt. And many young Americans say they like those ideas, the poll found.

Overall, 65% of young Americans said they support making tuition free at community colleges, an idea that has been adopted by some states and is being proposed nationally

by Democrats including former Vice President Joe Biden.

Meanwhile, 60% support plans to make tuition free at all public colleges and universities, a proposal that's supported by Sens.

Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

Both ideas have wider support from Democrats, but each one had backing from nearly half of young Republicans.

Young Americans also widely support plans allowing student debt to be refinanced and plans to forgive debt for households earning less than $100,000 a year, the poll found.

Despite their reservations about debt and affordability, young Americans ultimately see value in college. Only about a quarter said attending a four-year college brings more disadvantages than advantages. More than 7 in 10 said college brings more benefits or that the balance is equal.q

U.S. NEWS A7

Tuesday 12 November 2019

In this April 12, 2019, file photo, Sidney Draughon holds a sign as she takes part in a protest in Provo, Utah, against how the Brigham Young University Honor Code Office investigates and disciplines students.

Associated Press

Scientific groups remove job posts over LGBTQ policy at BYU Vaping-related lung transplant

In this Oct. 18, 2019 file photo, a man blows a puff of smoke as he vapes with an electronic cigarette.

Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Two well-known scientific groups have dropped job postings from their websites from Brigham Young University because of the school's LGBTQ policies, igniting a debate on whether research organizations should take a stance on social issues.

The Washington-based American Geophysical Union and the Coloradobased Geological Society of America took down the ads amid mounting pressure from members, the Salt Lake Tribune reported Monday.

Both groups say the ads require applicants to abide by the school's honor code, which includes a ban on homosexual behavior.

Members of both nonprofits criticized the ads as discriminatory.

The Geological Society of America, which has 27,000 members, told the newspaper it has returned the $800 cost of the job post to BYU. BYU spokeswoman Carri

Jenkins declined to comment.

The Provo, Utah, university is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and mandates students follow the code that also prohibits premarital sex and the consumption of alcohol among other rules.

The code prohibits "not only sexual relations between members of the same sex, but all forms of physical intimacy that give expression to homosexual feelings."

As a private school and religious institution, the school can legally maintain the honor code.

Benjamin Abbott, a professor in BYU's College of Life Sciences, believes dropping the ads limits diversity in religious ideologies.

"It removes an opportunity for a diverse candidate from outside of the BYU system from finding the job," Abbott said.

"If we want to learn from and potentially influence others, we shouldn't cut them off."q

performed at Detroit hospital

By COREY WILLIAMS Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Doctors at a Detroit hospital have performed what could be the first double lung transplant on a man whose lungs were damaged from vaping.

No other details of the transplant were released Monday by Henry Ford Health System, which has scheduled a news conference Tuesday.

The patient has asked his medical team to share photographs and an update to warn others about vaping.

The team of medical experts that performed the procedure believes it is "the first double lung transplant in the world for a patient whose lungs were irreparably damaged from vaping," the health system said in a news release Monday.

"It would be nice if it's the last — if the epidemic of acute lung injury can be

brought under control," said Dr. David Christiani at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Christiani said he's not sure if the number of double lung transplants due to vaping illnesses will increase. He said factors include the availability of donor lungs and the chronic effects of illnesses from vaping that could lead to other types of conditions.

More than 2,000 Americans who vape have gotten sick since March, many of them teenagers and young adults, and at least 40 people have died.

"We've certainly seen people who are very sick with this," said Dr. Denitza Blagev, a pulmonologist at Intermountain Health Care in Salt Lake City. "I'm not aware (of any other double lung transplants) and 100% certain none of the patients in our system have

had a lung transplant from e-cigarette or vaping-associated lung injury."

Christiani and Blagev were not involved in the Detroit transplant.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week announced a breakthrough into the cause of a vaping illness outbreak, identifying the chemical compound vitamin E acetate as a "very strong culprit" after finding it in fluid taken from the lungs of 29 patients. Vitamin E acetate previously was found in liquid from electronic cigarettes and other vaping devices used by many who got sick and only recently has been used as a vaping fluid thickener.

Many who got sick said they had vaped liquids that contain THC, the highinducing part of marijuana, with many saying they received them from friends or bought them on the black market.q

A8 WORLD

NEWS Brexit Party shifts tactics, won't challenge Tories in vote Tuesday 12 November 2019

By JILL LAWLESS GREGORY KATZ HARTLEPOOL, England (AP) — Brexit Party chief Nigel Farage changed course Monday, announcing that his party would not challenge Conservative candidates in nearly half of the U.K.'s districts, a tactical move that may make it easier for pro-Brexit forces to prevail in the Dec. 12 election.

Farage said his party will not put forward any candidates in 317 seats that the Conservatives won in the last election so as not to split the pro-Brexit vote.

The move should boost the chances that Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives win a majority in an early election that Johnson sought to increase his Brexit mandate.

A Conservative majority would likely mean that Johnson's Brexit divorce deal would be passed by Parliament, clearing the way for Britain to leave the European Union at the end of January.

Farage said he was putting country before party by unilaterally forming a "leave alliance" with the Conservatives at the expense of parties seeking to slow or even stop Brexit. Those parties include the opposition Labour Party, the anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party.

Brexit party leader Nigel Farage speaks during an event as part of the General Election campaign trail, in Hartlepool, England, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019.

Associated Press

All 650 seats in the House of Commons are up for grabs in the Dec. 12 election, the first December vote in nearly 100 years. Right now the governing Conservatives have 298 seats and Labour has 243.

Farage has been under huge pressure from Brexit supporters not to run candidates in seats where there is a risk of splitting the Brexit vote.

"If we field 600 candidates, there will be a hung Parliament," Farage said, warning that might well lead to another referendum on Britain's EU membership that could cancel Brexit altogether.

"I think this announcement today prevents a second referendum from happening," he said. "And that to me, I think right now, is the single most important thing in our country."

After three years of negotiations and repeated delays, Britain is now scheduled to leave the EU on Jan. 31.

Monday's move represented a substantial change in tactics, for only last week Farage had threatened to run against the Conservatives in every seat in England, Wales and Scotland unless they agreed to team up with his Brexit Party.

Johnson refused the offer,

which included a demand that he drop his Brexit divorce deal.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Monday called Farage's decision "a Trump alliance," saying it reflected a desire to please U.S. President Donald Trump, who had pushed publicly for Farage and Johnson to unite in a pro-Brexit front.

"One week ago Donald Trump told Nigel Farage to make a pact with Boris Johnson," Corbyn tweeted.

"Today, Trump got his wish."

Corbyn also claimed the "Trump alliance" would allow profit-driven U.S. drug companies to get a foothold in Britain's beloved

but financially stressed National Health Service — a constant theme of his campaign.

Over the weekend, several right-wing British newspapers urged Farage to change tack, saying there was a risk that Britain might not leave the EU if the Labour Party comes to power.

On the campaign trail, Johnson told reporters he was "glad that there's a recognition" that only his party can get Brexit done. The prime minister said he had not discussed any election deal with Farage.

Earlier in the campaign, Farage had been strongly critical of Johnson's EU divorce deal — saying it wasn't a real Brexit — but he softened his tone Monday.

Farage said he had been encouraged by recent comments from Johnson that rule out extending the Brexit transition period beyond the end of 2020. He said the plan now is "to take the fight to Labour," which he accused of betraying 5 million of its supporters who had voted to leave the EU in the 2016 Brexit referendum.

"The Conservative Party say they want Brexit, but have been taking that in a very questionable direction. But overnight the prime minister signaled a change of direction," Farage said.q

Austria's Kurz to launch coalition talks with Greens

Sebastian Kurz head of the Austrian People's Party, OEVP, speaks to journalists during a press conference about the beginning of the coalition negotiations with the Austrian Greens in Vienna, Austria, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019.

Associated Press

By GEIR MOULSON PHILIPP JENNE Associated Press VIENNA (AP) — Austrian conservative leader Sebastian Kurz announced Monday that his party will enter coalition talks with the environmentalist Greens. If negotiations succeed, they will likely produce a very different government from his previous alliance with the far-right.

Kurz, 33, announced the start of what he called a "challenging process" of negotiations after lengthy exploratory talks.

He wouldn't be drawn on how long it would take.

Kurz's People's Party emerged as by far the biggest in parliament from an election in late September.

The Greens, who have not previously been part of a federal government, saw their support soar and returned to parliament after a two-year absence.

Kurz acknowledged that "creativity" will be needed to put together a coalition with the Greens.

"The Greens have strong positions on the environment and climate that, in part, are not easy for us, but for which they were elected — we have to recognize that," he told report-

ers in Vienna.

"Equally, we as the People's Party have clear positions on migration and security policy, business location and tax policy, for which we were elected."

The Greens already backed formal negotiations on Sunday.

Green leader Werner Kogler said that "of course this is a risk, but we want to attempt this step."

The two parties have a combined 97 seats in Austria's 183-seat parliament.

Kurz could have sought a coalition with the centerleft Social Democrats, who also performed badly. q

WORLD NEWS A9

Tuesday 12 November 2019

Spain's reinvigorated far right makes its presence felt

By ARITZ PARRA SERGIO RODRIGO Associated Press TORRE-PACHECO, Spain (AP) — To understand Spain's polarized politics, a visitor to the southern farming town of Torre-Pacheco needs only to read the graffiti scrawled near a main square.

Next to a bull's-eye drawn on a wall are the crossedout words "Go away, Moors" — an old term for Muslims from north Africa.

These words are replaced with the phrase, "Go away, racists." And a third message reads, "Go away, reds."

The town, which relies heavily on foreign workers, nevertheless voted in droves Sunday for a party that vows to build walls to contain migrants and prioritize Spaniards in its policies.

Vicente García, a 55-yearold retired truck driver, backs the nationalist Vox party as "the only ones saying the truth," adding that he believes public subsidies and other services should go "first to Spaniards, second to Spaniards, third to Spaniards and, if something is left, then for others."

Hyping the threat of migration, but mostly playing up Spanish nationalism in response to a fresh bid to make the region of Catalonia independent, Vox emerged from the election as the third political force in a country that long saw itself as being immune to the wave of nationalist populism that has been sweeping Europe recently.

Vox has already joined forces with the other two right-

Santiago Abascal, leader of Vox Party attends a press conference in Madrid, Spain, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019.

Associated Press

of-center parties to take over many city and regional governments, influencing policy there. The party's proposals include imprisoning those who advocate for separatism, banning illegal migrants from enjoying free healthcare and cutting off funding for gender reassignment surgery. They also want to restrict abortion and protect both hunting and bullfighting.

In Torre-Pacheco, Vox came out on top with 38% of votes among its 35,000 inhabitants. The province of Murcia, where the town is located, was hit badly by the past decade's economic crisis. Murcia also turned out to be the first Spanish region where the far-right finished first.

Vox leader Santiago Abascal, who speaks of "recon-

quering" Spain in terms that echo the medieval wars between Christian and Moorish forces, said Monday that "those suffering the consequences of illegal migration" had delivered their victory in southern Spain.

The win was a rebound from a loss of momentum over the summer, said Andrew Dowling, an expert on Spanish contemporary politics at Cardiff University.

He said it was mostly due to protests in the restive Catalonia region that erupted last month, at times with rare instances of violence over the imprisonment of nine separatist politicians.

"Vox was the party best able to capitalize on its strong anti-independence message," Dowling said.

Garcia, the retiree, offered

his own analysis of the results at a social center with newspapers spread on a table nearby.

"The right thing is to take care of the country, of all the country. Not Catalonia, nor Seville, nor Murcia, but all the country," he said. "Politicians should begin by lowering taxes and giving us a bit of space to breathe."

Vox won 52, or roughly 15%, of all the seats in Spain's Congress of Deputies. That was more than double than in the April election, when the party finally broke into the national parliament five years after branching out from the conservative party.

The win of the nationalpopulist party reverberated across Europe, where likeminded politicians Marine

Le Pen in France and Matteo Salvini in Italy praised Abascal for the strong showing.

The result also delivered a blow to Spain's chances to sort out its political deadlock any time soon. Interim Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who had called the election expecting to widen his support, now must find backing in an even more fragmented parliament.

Abascal was quick to say that Vox would vote against a Socialist administration, presenting his party as "a containment dam against separatism and the totalitarian legislation of the progressists who, for the first time in a long time, will have a firm opposition."

Political analysts also say the Socialists' traditional opposition, the conservative Popular Party, is likely to be even more reluctant to abstain and allow a Sánchez-led government because, despite rebounding in the election, it now must compete with Vox for the votes furthest to the right in the political spectrum.

Vox won't be limited to trying to break the political stalemate but rather will make an impact on Spain's political culture, said José Ignacio Torreblanca, the Madrid office chief of the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank.

Because Vox is "a campaign party rather than an institutional party," Torreblanca said, its success will hinge on whether Spain returns to a stable path or instead holds another election soon.q

A10 WORLD

NEWS Top Shiite leader backs UN plan to resolve Iraqi crisis Tuesday 12 November 2019

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's most powerful Shiite religious leader said Monday he backs a U.N. roadmap aimed at meeting the demands of anti-government protesters who have been rallying in recent weeks despite a bloody crackdown by security forces, but he expressed concern that political parties would not carry them out.

At least 12 protesters were wounded in new confrontations with security forces in and around central Baghdad's Khilani Square.

Most were hit directly with tear gas canisters, according to security and hospital officials who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Four others were killed overnight in clashes in a southern city, raising the death toll from the confrontations to 320 since the protests began last month.

Protesters ran for cover while police and security forces, some of them masked, fired the tear gas in daylong confrontations that engulfed the area in gray smoke.

Grand Ayatollah Ali alSistani said he welcomed the proposals announced by the U.N. in a bid to end the unrest, according to a statement from his of-

Anti-government protesters are engulfed in tear gas fired by Iraqi security forces during clashes between Iraqi security forces and anti-government protesters, in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019.

Associated Press

fice after meeting in the Shiite holy city of Najaf with Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the U.N. special representative to Iraq.

But he said he was concerned that political parties "do not have sufficient seriousness to implement any true reform." If they do not, he said, a "new approach" was needed.

"The situation cannot continue in the same way it has before the protests," said

al-Sistani, without elaborating.

As Iraq's top Shiite cleric, the 89-year-old spiritual leader holds significant sway over public opinion and has intervened in previous times of crisis to wield influence over Iraqis.

In sermons since the unrest began Oct. 1, Sistani has sided largely with protesters, saying recently that security forces had a responsibility to show restraint with

peaceful demonstrators.

So far, however, there has been no reaction by the government or leading politicians to the proposal put forward Sunday by the U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq to address the protesters' demands.

The plan calls for a series of ambitious short- and longterm measures focusing on electoral, security and constitutional reforms. The immediate steps include

releasing peaceful demonstrators detained since early October, an investigation into cases of abduction, and punishment for those found guilty of using excessive force against protesters.

The roadmap also calls for the political elite to publicly declare their assets in Iraq and abroad, ban armed groups "outside state control" and set up a new electoral framework to be completed within the next two weeks.

Hennis-Plasschaert said the U.N. would monitor the government's progress to ensure measures were being "done promptly, swiftly and decisively because this country needs to move forward."

The demonstrators have demanded the removal of Iraq's political leadership and complain of widespread corruption, lack of job opportunities and poor basic services, including regular power cuts, despite Iraq's vast oil reserves.

Shiite politicians, meanwhile, denounced a statement Sunday by the White House that backed a previous call by Iraqi President Barham Saleh for the election system to be reformed and early elections to be held.q

3 blasts hit north Syria town inflicting casualties

People check the aftermath of a car bomb blast in the city of Qamishli, northern Syria, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019.

Associated Press

Associated Press DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Three car bombs went off in the northern Syrian town of Qamishli near the border

with Turkey on Monday inflicting casualties, while a priest was shot dead in a nearby area by unknown gunmen, state media and

activists said.

Northern Syria has been hit by explosions that have killed and wounded scores of people over the past months.

State news agency SANA, which has reporters in the town, said the explosions were triggered by car bombs. It said two blasts went off in a commercial street while the third exploded near a hotel.

The Kurdish news agency Hawar said the blasts killed three people and wounded five others. It said two of the explosions hit a market.

The Rojava Information Center, an activist collective, earlier reported that the blasts were caused by motorcycles rigged with

explosives but later said the three were car bombs. It said several people were wounded in the blasts.

Different casualty figures are not uncommon in the immediate aftermath of explosions.

Also in northern Syria, unknown gunmen shot dead an Armenian Catholic priest and his father as they drove from Qamishli to the northeastern city of Hasakeh, according to Hawar and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor.

Earlier in the day, Russia Today aired an interview with Syrian President Bashar Assad, who said his forces will soon retake control of the last major rebel strong-

hold in the country's northwestern province of Idlib.

Assad said in the interview that they are now giving civilians some time to leave the area, which is dominated by al-Qaida-linked militants.

Syrian troops launched a four-month offensive on the province earlier this year, forcing hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee their homes and capturing the important town of Khan Sheikhoun and several other villages and towns.

A cease-fire stopped the government offensive on Idlib at the end of August but in recent days, opposition activists have reported shelling and airstrikes in the area.q

WORLD NEWS A11

Tuesday 12 November 2019

Russian court arrests murder-suspect professor

By IRINA TITOVA Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — A St. Petersburg court on Monday ordered a prominent history professor suspected of murdering and dismembering a female student to be held in custody pending trial.

The case of 63-year-old Oleg Sokolov, who taught at the St. Petersburg State University who became famous for his books about the Napoleonic era, has dominated national newscasts in Russia.

Sokolov confessed to the murder, according to his lawyer, Alexander Pochuev.

Investigators alleged that Sokolov shot and killed 24-year-old Anastasia Eshchenko on Thursday at

Oleg Sokolov, a history professor at St. Petersburg State University is escorted to the courtroom in St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019.

Associated Press

his apartment and then dismembered her body.

He was detained Saturday after being pulled from St. Petersburg's Moika River with a backpack containing two severed arms.

The limbs were identified as those of the student; other body parts were found in the river and in Sokolov's riverside home in the historic part of St. Petersburg, less than one mile from the

Hermitage Museum.

Sokolov broke into tears in the courtroom. He said he had a romantic relationship with Eshchenko and gave a rambling account of a quarrel they had, but didn't talk about his action in detail.

Russia's state television carried comments by Eshchenko's brother who said she had called him just before she was killed, crying and saying that she had quarreled with Sokolov who beat her. She told her brother that she had rushed out of his apartment but needed to come back to pick up her things.

The judge rejected Sokolov's appeal to be released under house arrest and ordered him to be held in jail for two months pending

trial.

Sokolov has been awarded with France's highest award, the Legion of Honor, for his studies of Napoleonic France.

A fluent French speaker, he has been an enthusiastic member of military reenactment movements since the early 1990s and represented Napoleon in numerous representations of historic battles and other events.

Sokolov was popular among his students for his flamboyant style and fiery way of delivery.

In past interviews to Russian television, he spoke about his passion for the Napoleonic era. Napoleon was his idol and fellow history buffs would address him 'Sire,' the emperor's title.q

China's Xi on investment drive in EU member Greece

By ELENA BECATOROS DEREK GATOPOULOS ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping is meeting political leaders in Greece on Monday as part of a trip aimed at furthering a major global investment initiative inside the European Union.

China's state-owned transport giant Cosco controls Greece's largest port of Piraeus, near Athens, and Beijing is keen to boost Chinese investment in Greece as part of its global Belt and Road investment initiative.

Xi met with President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

He is due to join Mitsotakis later on a visit to the port facility.

"I think our cooperation can

combine our advantages and benefit everyone. At the port of Piraeus, we can see that the result of our cooperation has made it the largest port in the Mediterranean," Xi said.

Greek officials said the two countries are planning to sign 16 bilateral cooperation agreements during Xi's three-day state visit — that will include a range of investment deals and the presence of the stateowned Bank of China in Athens.

Emerging from a decadelong financial crisis, Greece and its new conservative government are keen to attract overseas investment despite concerns from some of Athens' western allies over the rapid ex-

China's President Xi Jinping inspects the guard of honor by Evzones, the Greek Presidential guards, with his Greek counterpart Prokopis Pavlopoulos, outside the Presidential palace in Athens, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019.

Associated Press

pansion of China's global influence.

"Greece recognizes China

not only as a great power but as a country that with difficultly has gained a

leading geostrategic, economic, and political role," Mitsotakis said.

The Greek prime minister traveled to Shanghai last week to meet Xi at the 2019 China International Import Expo.

In April, Greece joined a Chinese trade initiative launched seven years ago that includes mostly central and eastern European countries.

Thousands of Chinese investors have snapped up apartments around in Athens and other Greek cities under a so-called "golden visa" scheme which offers a five-year residence permit to buyers who spend more than 250,000 euros ($275,750) on the local property market.q

A12 WORLD

Tuesday 12 November 2019

NEWS

Havana celebrates 500th anniversary facing dire challenges

By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN Associated Press HAVANA (AP) — Havana has been ruled by Spanish colonial governors, American-backed strongmen and communist revolutionaries.

It's an architectural jewel box where buildings collapse from lack of maintenance. It's a coastal capital facing a sea nearly devoid of boats, thanks to U.S. sanctions and Cuban prohibitions.

Its leaders denounce global capitalism as they build new chain hotels for tourists arriving from Miami, Mexico City and Madrid.

Havana, a metropolis of conundrums and contradictions, will celebrate its 500th anniversary Saturday facing some of the toughest challenges in its history, from climate change to U.S. sanctions to the stagnation and brain drain plaguing one of the world's last communist economies.

Despite the hard times, the Cuban government is planning a jubilee week, with hundreds of events at restored monuments and historic sites, a visit from the Spanish royal family and

In this Nov. 10, 2019 photo, tourists take a joy ride along the malecon sea wall in Havana, Cuba.

The city of Havana will celebrate its 500th anniversary on Nov. 16.

Associated Press

fireworks over the Malecon seaside promenade.

The mood of resignation often found on the streets of Havana has lifted slightly, with the city's 2.1 million residents admiring the restoration work — although much appears rushed and incomplete — and enjoying street fairs and special exhibitions that have already begun ahead of the anniversary festivities.

María de los Ángeles Mat-

amoros, a retired state worker, lives in a 19th century town house in Old Havana that has been carved up into 20 small apartments.

For decades she shared a bathroom with neighbors and hauled buckets of water to her apartment from the building's single working tap.

"I wouldn't live anywhere else in the world. It's a profound love," she said. "Old Havana, where I live, it's

part of me."

Most other Spanish capitals in Latin America retain a kernel of colonial center in a sea of glass office buildings, concrete towers and strip malls. Havana largely stopped building after its 1959 socialist revolution, and what it did put up were mostly Soviet-style apartment blocks on empty land on the city outskirts.

For tourists frustrated by the homogeneity of so many

global destinations, Havana is a chance to see something unique.

"In Chile our architectural history has been lost, not conserved, something that's really positive to see in Havana," said Esteban Gajardo, a Chilean tourist.

A drive through the city today can take you from 16th century Spanish plazas in Old Havana to neoBaroque apartment buildings and Art Deco theaters in central Havana to early 20th century mansions in the shady Vedado neighborhood and modernist homes in the semi-suburban districts of Miramar and Siboney.

"Havana has a very clear urban structure that grew and was maintained over time, but development practically stopped in the '60s," said architect Orlando Inclán, an urban development specialist at Havana's Office of the City Historian. Cuba allows every citizen to own two homes, one in the city and one in a rural area, and they can be freely bought and sold under laws enacted after Raul Castro became president in 2008 and launched a series of reforms.q

Opposition rejects plan for new Chilean Constitution

Chile's President Sebastian Pinera arrives to La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, Chile, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019.

Associated Press

By EVA VERGARA Associated Press SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A plan by Chilean President Sebastián Piñera to draft a new constitution was criti-

cized on Monday by the opposition and even his own political ranks.

Interior Minister Gonzalo Blumel unveiled the government's plan on Sunday,

one of a series of measures aimed at quelling weeks of protests in Chile over economic inequality and other grievances.

The new document would be drafted by a "constituent congress" and then put to a plebiscite, according to Blumel.

But the opposition says the process is inadequate, partly because it relies on current legislators who are viewed with suspicion by protesters. They also say the plebiscite should occur at the beginning of the process, so that people's views can be considered.

"The citizenry is demanding something different," said opposition Sen. Felipe Harboe. He said people want a "constituent assembly" or some other form of direct participation.

"Parliamentarians don't have credibility today," said Sen. Manuel José Ossandón, who is part of Piñera's ruling coalition. "The parliament doesn't have credibility to do something without the more active participation of the community."

Karla Rubilar, the government spokeswoman, on Monday rejected the call for a constituent assembly, which would involve the election of a group of citizens to draft the new constitution.

Students in Chile began protesting nearly a month ago over a subway fare hike. The demonstrations have morphed into a massive protest movement demanding improvements in basic services and benefits, including pensions, health,

and education.

While most protests have been peaceful, at least 20 people have died in clashes between protesters and police.

A key demand of demonstrators has been to throw out the constitution that was drafted in 1980 during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The constitution is the legal basis for the market-driven system that protesters say favors Chile's affluent minority.

The public health care system is bogged down with months-long waiting times, and those seeking higher education are often saddled with crushing student debt. Protests continued on Monday in the capital of Santiago, ahead of a national strike planned for Tuesday.q

A13

Tuesday 12 November 2019

Hong Kong Artist Karen Cheung features her story

‘My childhood in Hong Kong and Aruba’ at Aruba Art Fair 2019 SAN NICOLAS — Karen Cheung is an artist based in Hong Kong specializing in ink pen sketching of travel and cultural themes.

Her creative work and art brand, Karen Aruba Art, takes inspiration from the year she spent as a small kid in Aruba with her grandmother during 1980s.

Spending part of her childhood in totally two different places, Hong Kong and Aruba, Karen gives a unique perspective on the lives, and shared values among local communities.

This year April, she debuted her first art solo exhibition in Hong Kong about her interesting childhood stories in Hong Kong and Aruba. Her six art pieces are delivered from Hong Kong to Aruba for display at Aruba Art Fair 2019.

Life in Hong Kong and the beautiful Caribbean island of Aruba could not be more different. But for the Chinese communities living here or working abroad, there are common values people take with them

which allows them to adapt and thrive. Karen’s art pieces are a discovery of the spirit, attitudes and activities among people, how they sustain their lives and maintain harmonious relationships within society, no matter where they are.

Her illustrations reveal the humble living styles among people in Aruba: perseverant, collaborative and united.

Last year December, Karen returned to Aruba and interviewed the Chinese

people on the island. She revisited her primary school and her grandma’s restaurant in Dakota (which was already sold out). She also interviewed people of Aruba New China Club Association, owner of a grocery and a hardware factory, trying to enhance the intimate understanding of Chinese people living here.

In April, she launched her art solo exhibition in Hong Kong which generated a lot of media coverage.

Through attractive colors

and beautiful scenery, her illustration capture distinctive local stories and love to this happy island.

‘My grandmother and uncle’s settlement in Aruba many years ago. I lived in Aruba for a year when I was a small kid. Now, I still travel from Hong Kong to Aruba sometimes despite very long haul of flight. I love this small island. The values of Aruba are still influencing my drawing today. That’s why my art brand, Karen Aruba Art, shares my art values related to happiness, peaceful and harmony.’ said Karen.

In Aruba, there are only very few families coming from Hong Kong. For the first time of Hong Kong artist, Karen’s art pieces illustrating a lot of Aruba beautiful sceneries will be featured at Aruba Art Fair 2019 from Nov 22-24 in San Nicolas. All art pieces are available for sale.

About the artist Karen Cheung is a self-

taught illustrator based in Hong Kong specializing in ink pen sketching related to travel and cultural theme.

With a passion of art, she derives inspiration from everything she comes across by incorporating themes of travel, energy, peace and happiness. Her art brand ‘Karen Aruba Art’ was set up in 2015, sharing her amazing illustration with creativity combining Eastern and Western features which are made into nice gift and home décor.

Her illustration related to ‘Travel Mahjong City’ achieved a number of awards in Hong Kong and attracted media attention.

She loves to draw while she travels. Her drawing of ‘Art Journey’ in Aruba was shared on social media after visiting Aruba last December.

For more information of Karen’s work, please visit Facebook Karen Aruba Art or www.karenaruba. com.q

A14 LOCAL

Tuesday 12 November 2019

The Aloe industry of Aruba

Episode XLIII

ORANJESTAD— Aloe led a thriving existence on our island where it was introduced around 1840; limestone soil and dry weather were the best conditions for aloe to thrive. Of the 500+ species, only a few were used traditionally as herbal medicines, Aloe Vera being the most commonly used species.

1 Aloe barbadensis with its’s yellow flowers @ Etnia Nativa garden

The Aruba aloe also known as ‘barbaloin’, has an aloin content of 22 percent bitter, yellow-brown colored compound noted in the exudate of at least 68 Aloe species, whereas the content of the aloe elsewhere in the world is supposed to average 15 percent at the highest.

From March to June the harvest is brought in, a very suitable time for Aruba since this is the dry season, during which in the seventeenth century and virtually till about 1928, there was little employment.

The resin-sap, called ‘azeta’ in Papiamento, what stands for oil, was allowed to leak from the plants. The thick pulpy leaves sharply dentate at the edges were laid in drip-troughs, sloping gutters consisting of two boards. Payment for this heavy work was made by the gallon; hence deceit was sometimes practiced by thinning the sap. It was transported in small lidded casks, strapped on donkeys in pairs, to the boiling -pots, to

be reduced by evaporation. This reducing of the sap to resin took place in open brass pots of about 200 liters content. The thick liquid was subsequently ladled into oil-boxes where it cooled off and coagulated into a mass which contracted to a considerable degree. Such a box contained 57.5 kilos of resin. Sometimes the resin was poured into calabashes, in which packing slightly higher prices could be made.

Today modern aloe products are made locally.

Mr. Laurens Oduber was once one of the main exporters of this coveted resin owning vast pieces of land surrounding Oranjestad. The aloe resin was sent abroad, most of it by far to New York, but also to Texas, Hamburg and London.

About 1890 prices began to fall and in 1900 no more than three dollar cents per pound could be obtained. Nevertheless during this period aloe-growing was continued on Aruba though it was impossible to make profits.

2 Aloe drip system

3 Old times of aloe recollection Continued on Page 15

LOCAL A15

Tuesday 12 November 2019

The Aloe industry of Aruba

Episode XLIII

Continued from Page 14

The better grades in particular went to London, realizing as much as 60 shillings per hundred pounds. In the London of before the First World War the aloe from all the three islands was priced a little higher than that from the Cape: 31 to 36 shillings for the island grades, 29 to 32 shillings for the Cape ones.

As a source of income at any rate the aloe was important enough for the parish-priest of Sabaneta to keep a field as 1916 “in favor of the Church�.

Like all other industries aloe-growing was affected by the coming of the oil-industry. Not until 1950 was aloe-planting on a large scale resumed.

In 1947 the Aruba aloe products company was inaugurated, meanwhile in the previous century the use of aloe was common among the inhabitants but without applying any previous process not until about 1890 did they begin to extract its aloin in order to work it up to laxatives, etc. Aruba always shipped plain aloe-juice, which had to be thinned elsewhere so as to obtain aloin. The Aruba Aloe Products Company now purchases this juice to work it up at factory in 1949. This aloin is shipped direct from Aruba to the United States, export to England.

Under the supervision of an expert, the American Irving D. Cantor, about six men are at work in this industry, whose foundation cost half a million guilders. It goes without saying that the factory only works full time in the period from July to January, but since already in March the first sap is bought, this newest industry on our island represents an important asset. However, the growth of the marketing of aloe was threatened by the rights of protection in other countries and by the circumstance that young people are not inclined to seek employment in it and prefer another type of work. In 1951 its production amounted to approximately 15,000 pounds, representing around 30 percent of world production.q

4- Aloe Art by recycled plastic by Etnia Nativa

A16 LOCAL

Tuesday 12 November 2019

Swearing in of 20 new Aruban Militia members

SAVANETA — A special swearing-in ceremony took place at the Marine barracks Savaneta last Wednesday. The commander of the barracks, Lieutenant Colonel of the Marines Art van Beekhuizen, was sworn in for the first time in his position as Commander of the Marines barracks Savaneta, which

also houses 20 Aruban soldiers (ARUMIL).

Once soldiers have successfully completed their ARUMIL training, they must take the oath in the presence of the governor of Aruba Mr. Alfonso Boekhoudt. In connection with a visit to the Netherlands, the Naval Commander in the

Law of Reflection ORANJESTAD — One’s external reality is only a reflection or a mirroring of what exists within oneself.

If one has anger, they shall experience circumstances or beings that trigger the anger. It’s as if the universe is trying to let you know what needs to be transcended within oneself.

Life is like a school, it only signals to you messages of what lessons we need to learn through circumstances that reflect our own inner beliefs or patterns of thoughts and feelings that may not be aligned to Truth. q Suresh Mirchumal is a spiritual writer. “Well, you can categorize it like that, although I don't call myself one. These thoughts come in effortlessly.”

His aim is in a way to reach out to whoever gets inspired or has an eye opening event within them that may transcend their current state of consciousness. “Or let's say current emotional state too. If one in a thousand benefits, that is already great.” Due to the current world state, lots of struggles and stresses, we seem to lose touch with that inner peace that we long for, Suresh explains. “I wish to ease that through these small articles or tidbits.” You will find his tidbits in Aruba Today from now on, like a sunray of the day. If you wish to make use of Suresh his services like meditation or just a talk, please email to: Thedimensionofsilence@gmail. com.

Caribbean, Brigadier General of the Marines Peter Jan de Vin, was not present at the ceremony. From Curacao the commander of naval barracks Suffisant, where the ARUMIL does its eleven-month training as a soldier, Major Christ van Dinteren was present at the ceremony. The 20 soldiers recited the oath in front of

their colleagues, families and friends.

dedication are inextricably linked.

Just like the soldier, a militiamen stands for loyalty, unity, honor and the ties that the Defense organization has with the Royal Family. The traditional oath or promise consists of three elements: loyalty to the King, obedience to the laws and submission to the discipline of war. By taking the oath, the militiamen expresses their willingness to give the best of themselves and places the group interest above their own interests, with which integrity and

The following people are sworn: Corporal Marine: Figaroa, J.D.I. Hill, G. and Kerpens, C.E. MARN 1: Angela, J.H., Robert, A.I., Thomas, R.J. and Tromp, P.B. MARN 2: AR Abreu, F., Bethencourt, A.J., Croes, K.M., Everon, E.E., Everon, N.T., Henriquez, J.M.K.E., Kelly, G.G.H., De Kort, M.R., Lopez, A.A., Martinez Ojeda, L.M., Ramirez Fornez, J.J., Thijsen, R.M. and Tromp, S.J.I.

A17

Tuesday 12 November 2019

RAPT UP U.S. forward Carli Lloyd shoots and scores a goal against Costa Rica during the first half of an international friendly soccer match Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019, in Jacksonville, Fla. Associated Press

U.S. women beat Costa Rica 6-0 in 2019 finale

By JEFF ELLIOTT Associated Press JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The U.S. women's soccer team closed out the year with a one-sided victory over Costa Rica, giving the Americans 20 wins in 2019. It was the second win in two matches for new coach Vlatko Andonovski.

Carli Lloyd and Morgan Brian scored in the first 10 minutes and Lynn Williams came off the bench to add a pair of second-half goals in the United States' 6-0 victory over Costa Rica on Sunday night at TIAA Bank Field. The U.S. was 20-1-3 in 2019, finishing with a 23-match unbeaten streak.

Lloyd started the scoring in the fourth minute, taking a long pass from Rose Lavelle and drilling a shot from the left side of the box past goalkeeper Noelia Bermudez.

Lloyd scored twice in a 3-2 victory over Sweden on Thursday night.

Continued on Page 20

Raptors end Lakers' 7-game winning streak in 113-104 victory Toronto Raptors' Pascal Siakam (43) dunks past Los Angeles Lakers' Kyle Kuzma (0) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019, in Los Angeles.

Associated Press Page 19

A18 SPORTS

Tuesday 12 November 2019

Defending champ Zverev beats error-prone Nadal at ATP Finals

By MATTIAS KAREN Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Defending champion Alexander Zverev pulled off another big win at the ATP Finals, beating top-ranked Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-4 Monday for his first career victory over the Spaniard.

Nadal had a 5-0 record against Zverev but had an uncharacteristically mistake-filled performance at the O2 Arena.

In his first match since pulling out of the Paris Masters semifinals with an abdominal injury just nine days ago, Nadal dropped his serve three straight times, didn't force a single break point, and his normally powerful forehand was responsible for more than four times as many unforced errors (13) as winners (3).

Still, Nadal insisted his poor play wasn't the result of any physical problem.

"I did not feel pain in the abdominal at all," he said.

"So the physical issue was not an excuse at all. The only excuse is I was not good enough tonight."

The whole thing was over in just 84 minutes and means Zverev has beaten each of tennis' Big Three in his last three matches at the O2.

The German defeated sixtime champion Roger Fe-

derer in last year's semifinals and then five-time winner Novak Djokovic in the final.

Nadal has a history of being far from his best at the ATP Finals, which comes at the end of a gruelling season that often takes its toll on the Spaniard because of his ultra-physical playing style. He has qualified for the event for 15 years in a row but has pulled out of it on six occasions because of injuries. He has never won the title, reaching the final twice.

This year he hasn't finished a tournament since winning the U.S. Open in August, also pulling out of Shanghai because of a hand injury. But he showed up to London hoping to stave off Djokovic for the year-end No. 1 ranking.

Djokovic won his opening match on Sunday and this loss cuts Nadal's lead over the Serb to just 440 points in the rankings table - each round-robin win is worth 200 points - with a total of 1,300 more points up for grabs for each player.

"Knowing that I would not be at my 100% in terms of feelings, in terms of movement, in terms of confidence or hitting the ball, I needed my best competitive spirit this afternoon, and I was not there in that

way," Nadal said. "I need to play much better in two days."

Earlier, Stefanos Tsitsipas earned his first career win over Daniil Medvedev - a victory that clearly meant a lot to the Greek.

Not only because Tsitsipas was 0-5 against the Russian before winning 7-6 (5), 6-4, or that it came in his ATP Finals debut.

But mainly because two of the biggest rising stars in tennis simply don't like each other that much.

"It's a victory that I craved for a long time now, and it's great that it came at this moment," Tsitsipas said.

"Our chemistry definitely isn't the best that you can find on the tour. It's not that I hate him (but) we will not go to dinner together."

The grudge dates to their first meeting, in Miami last year, when Medvedev berated Tsitsipas for not apologizing after hitting a net cord during a point, a spat that ended with both players trading insults on court.

"After that, I think I didn't win a single game. He did get into my head, and I was very frustrated that it did go this way," Tsitsipas said. "He started telling me that I should apologize, that what I do is unsportsmanlike. . Somehow it did

Alexander Zverev of Germany celebrates winning match point against Rafael Nadal of Spain during their ATP World Tour Finals singles tennis match at the O2 Arena in London, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019.

Associated Press

affect me. I did get (angry) and said what I said, which I do regret, but at the time I was very frustrated."

Since that match, Medvedev had earned another four straight wins over Tsitsipas, including in the Shanghai semifinals in October.

But on Monday, the sixth-

seeded Greek earned the only break of the match to take a 5-4 lead in the second set and clinched the win with a forehand overhead at the net.

"He was better today, but I felt like I was missing some things," Medvedev said.

"This frustrates me after. q

Suzuki shoots 67 to win Japan Classic by 3 strokes

Japan's Ai Suzuki poses with trophy after winning the LPGA Japan Classic golf tournament in Otsu, Shiga prefecture, western Japan Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019.

Associated Press

SHIGA, Japan (AP) — Overnight leader Ai Suzuki shot a bogey-free 5-under 67 on Sunday to win the Japan Classic by three

strokes for her first LPGA career victory.

Suzuki carded her fifth birdie of the day on the par-5 18th hole at the Seta

Golf Course to finish with a 17-under 199, three shots ahead of Hyo Joo Kim (66).

"This one is special because it's a US LPGA tour event," Suzuki said through a translator. "It's beyond Japan, an International event."

Suzuki is the second straight Japanese winner of the Japan Classic following Nasa Hataoka. With the win, Suzuki, a regular on the JLPGA, becomes eligible for LPGA Tour membership.

"It was my dream so I feel like I want to challenge," Suzuki said. "But I can't

speak English so I need to talk to my family because I need their support."

Minjee Lee finished in third place at 11-under 205 after shooting a 68 in the final event of the LPGA Tour's Asia Swing.

Jennifer Kupcho of the United States was tied for fourth with Jin Yang of China after a 68 left her seven strokes back.

"I was hitting the ball really well," Kupcho said. "Gave myself a lot of putts. I even missed a couple, left them on the lip," Kupcho said. "I

played really well this week and I'm pretty happy with it."

Gaby Lopez, who started the final round in second place three strokes back, offset a pair of birdies with two bogeys for an evenpar 72 that left her tied for sixth place with three others including two-time Japan Classic winner Shanshan Feng (70). Lexi Thompson, making her first start since the Indy Women in Tech Championship in September, was tied for 24th place after a 71.q

SPORTS A19

Tuesday 12 November 2019

Raptors rally to end Lakers' 7-game winning streak

By The Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pascal Siakam had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Fred VanVleet finished with 23 points and 10 assists and the Toronto Raptors snapped the Los Angeles Lakers' sevengame winning streak with a 113-104 victory Sunday night.

Chris Boucher matched his career high with 15 points for the Raptors, who have won three straight and six of seven. The defending NBA champions played without two key regulars after losing starter Kyle Lowry to a broken left thumb and top reserve Serge Ibaka to a sprained right ankle, but Toronto still rallied in the fourth quarter and hung on late for its 10th consecutive win over the Lakers.

Anthony Davis scored 27 points and LeBron James had 13 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds in his 85th career triple-double, but the Lakers lost for the first time since opening night against the Clippers.

Toronto led 104-92 with 3:50 to play on Terence Davis' third 3-pointer after a rally by four reserves and Siakam, but Kyle Kuzma hit back-to-back 3-pointers while LA scored eight straight points.

The Lakers then missed four consecutive 3-pointers with the chance to pull even, and Siakam threw down back-to-back dunks on the fast break to seal it.

Norman Powell scored 14 points while starting in Low-

ry's spot for Toronto.

NUGGETS 100, TIMBERWOLVES 98, OT MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Nikola Jokic hit a fadeaway jumper with 2.4 seconds left in overtime to lift Denver past Minnesota.

Jokic had 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists to help Denver win its fourth straight game. Will Barton had 13 points, including a pair of 3s in overtime, and 12 rebounds. Paul Millsap scored all 14 of his points during a big third-quarter run and had 10 rebounds.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 16 rebounds for Minnesota. Towns sent it to overtime with a corner 3, but the Wolves shot a season-low 13.3% from 3-point range and 35.1% overall from the field.

Andrew Wiggins added 25 points in Minnesota's third loss in four games.

SUNS 138, NETS 112 PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker scored 27 points and hit four 3-pointers, Ricky Rubio added a season-high 22 points and 12 assists and Phoenix routed Brooklyn.

Booker was 10 of 14 from the field, making 4 of 5 3-pointers, hit all three of his free throws and had nine assists.

Kelly Oubre Jr. added 18 points, rookie Cameron Johnson had a careerhigh 15. The Suns trailed just once, at 1-0.

The Suns won for the fourth time in five games and ended the Nets' four-game

Toronto Raptors' Fred VanVleet, left, strips the ball from Los Angeles Lakers' Danny Green, center, as OG Anunoby (3) closes in during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019, in Los Angeles.

Associated Press

winning streak in Phoenix.

Spencer Dinwiddie led the Nets with 18 points. Kyrie Irving finished with 15 points on 7-of-16 shooting.

The Suns made 10 of their first 11 shots, including 4 of 5 3-pointers. Phoenix led by 20 points in the quarter.

76ERS 114, HORNETS 106 PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid had 18 points and nine rebounds, Al Horford scored 15 points and Philadelphia beat Charlotte to snap a three-game losing streak. Furkan Korkmaz scored 17 points and keyed a Sixers' run in the third quarter in their return home from a four-game trip. Korkmaz hit a 3 with just 0.4 seconds left to beat Portland for the

lone win on the trip.

Cody Zeller had 24 points for the Hornets.

PACERS 109, MAGIC 102 ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Domantas Sabonis had 21 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists in Indiana's victory over Orlando, Malcolm Brogdon and T.J. Warren scored 19 points each to help the Pacers win for the sixth time in seven games. Doug McDermott had 18 points and T.J. McConnell added 12 points and eight assists.

Evan Fournier scored 22 points to lead Orlando.

Nikola Vucevic had 18 points and 17 rebounds.

BUCKS 121, THUNDER 119 OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Gi-

annis Antetokounmpo had 35 points and 16 rebounds to help Milwaukee rally and beat Oklahoma City.

Antetokounmpo scored 24 points in the second half.

Eric Bledsoe added 25 points and nine assists for the Bucks, who have won five of six.

Dennis Schroder scored 25 points and Shai GilgeousAlexander added 22 for the Thunder, who had won three straight home games.

Oklahoma City's Danilo Gallinari hit a 3-pointer with 32.3 seconds left to tie the game at 114, but Milwaukee's Brook Lopez made a 3-pointer at the other end with 24.5 seconds remaining.q

Greece coach Pitino makes plans without Giannis

Rick Pitino the new coach of the Greek national basketball team leaves the panel after a press conference in Athens, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019.

Associated Press

By DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece coach Rick Pitino is planning on trying to qualify for the 2020 Olympics without Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Pitino officially took over as coach of the Greek national basketball team on Monday. He said he would leave a roster place open for Antetokounmpo in qualifying games but is not

sure if he will be able to rely on his best player.

Greece will try to reach the Tokyo Olympics by winning a qualifying tournament.

But the dates could clash with the NBA schedule, probably ruling out Antetokounmpo.

"It is a possibility he will not be playing with us in the qualifying round if he goes far (in the playoffs). I understood that coming into this situation, and that's why it's such a high mountain

to climb," Pitino said. "But Giannis is something, it's a bridge we have to cross later on. But we are going to leave a roster spot even if he has to take my place."

Pitino said he hoped to meet Antetokounmpo and his brother, Milwaukee teammate Thanasis Antetokounmpo, in March when the Bucks travel to Miami.

"And for the next eight months. I'm not American.

I'm not Italian. q

A20 SPORTS

Tuesday 12 November 2019

Continued from Page 17

Brian added a goal in the 10th minute, taking Lavelle's pass and sending a scorching shot into the corner of the net. It was especially gratifying for Brian, who grew up in nearby St. Simons Island, Georgia, and conducts camps in the Jacksonville area during the offseason.

"It means a lot to score a goal here," Brian said. "It's been a really long year and a great year and to cap it off here in Jacksonville with a goal is great. Growing up here and coming here in front of family and friends and be able to score a goal is really great. I had over 30 friends and family members here.

"I don't have a home here anymore but I come back in the offseason to train and

U.S. midfielder Julie Ertz (8) attempts a shot on goal off a corner kick, against Costa Rica defender Lixy Rodriguez (12) during the first half of an international friendly soccer match Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019, in Jacksonville, Fla. Associated Press

to play so this is my soccer home. Yes, my heart is still here."

Andonovski made several substitutions at halftime

and it quickly paid dividends.

Williams converted in the 50th minute off a pass from Tobin Heath. Williams added a second goal in the 68th minute, taking an assist from Jessica McDonald.

Williams narrowly missed a hat trick when her pointblank shot was caught by Bermudez late in the game.

Williams said she tries to take advantage of her

playing time on the field.

"Any time I get a chance on the field at all, it's a blessing," Williams said.

"If my role is to come off the bench and provide a spark, I'll take it. I'm always going to want to start but I know I have a lot of work to put in and I view it as I have a lot to learn wherever they play me."

That's what Andonovski is looking for in Williams' contribution coming off the bench.

"Lynn did what she's supposed to do — come off the bench and provide a spark," the U.S. coach said.

"She stretched the lines for us. Ultimately, she did what every 9 is supposed to do, score goals for us. She checked all the boxes. It's very comforting and nice to see her doing well in this environment and growing as a player."

Christen Press also added a second-half goal and the team's final goal was a Costa Rica own goal.

The closest Costa Rica came to scoring was when Melissa Herrera hit the cross

bar on a shot in the 62nd minute and teammate Priscilla Chinchilla did the same in the 76th minute.

Costa Rica, ranked 38th in the world, has never beaten a USA team, having lost 15 consecutive matches.

The next time the two teams will meet will be on February 3, 2020 when they play in Houston in the final Group A game in Olympic qualifying.

Even with the lopsided win, Andonovski said there are areas that the U.S. must improve on in the months ahead.

"I don't want to sound arrogant by any means, but there are things we can grow, that's the coach in me," he said. "Regardless of how well we do, we can always find clips where we can do better in the future.

But what is great about this team is that they want to get better. They don't want to settle for where they are now.

"If you ask me about the result, I'm extremely happy with the result, but we do have to get better."q

SPORTS A21

Tuesday 12 November 2019

Titans edge Chiefs in Mahomes' return; Packers hold on

By The Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Ryan Tannehill threw a 23yard touchdown to Adam Humphries with 23 seconds left, and the Tennessee Titans blocked a last-second field goal attempt to beat the Kansas City Chiefs 3532 to spoil the return of NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes.

The Titans (5-5) only had a chance to take the lead after a bad snap by the Chiefs on Harrison Butker's fifth field goal attempt of the day. The snap caught holder Dustin Colquitt by surprise, and he threw the ball away in desperation for an intentional grounding call, setting the Titans up at their own 39.

Tannehill scrambled for 18, hit Anthony Firsker for 20 yards and then found Humphries who ran in for the TD. Tannehill also ran for the 2-point conversion for a 35-32 lead.

The Chiefs (6-4) had a final chance with Mahomes. He drove them down, setting up Butker for another field goal try from 52 yards.

Joshua Kalu blocked the kick with his left hand, and the Titans poured onto the field to celebrate.

Derrick Henry ran for 188 yards, including a 68-yard TD that put Tennessee up 20-19 with 5:58 left in the third. His 1-yard TD with 6:26 remaining pulled the Titans within 29-27.

Tannehill finished with 181 yards passing and ran for 37 yards for the win.

The loss spoiled the best passing game this season for Mahomes as the Chiefs outgained the Titans 530371. Mahomes threw for 446 yards and three touchdowns. His best play came with the pocket collapsing around him when he jumped up to throw over the linemen to Mecole Hardman who ran for a 63-

Pittsburgh Steelers free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (39) heads for the end zone for a touchdown after intercepting a pass from Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff (not shown) during the first half of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019.

Associated Press

yard TD with 11:54 left and a 29-20 lead.

Mahomes looked very healthy playing for the first time since dislocating his right kneecap Oct. 17.

He got lucky when his first pass first ruled an interception was overturned by replay for Titans safety Kenny Vaccaro trapping the ball on the ground. Mahomes capped the Chiefs' first drive with a 3-yard shovel pass to Travis Kelce.

PACKERS 24, PANTHERS 16 GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Preston Smith and Green Bay's defense stopped Christian McCaffrey at the goal line as time expired and the Packers beat Carolina at snowy Lambeau Field.

Aaron Jones scored three rushing touchdowns for the second time this season to lead Green Bay (8-2).

The Panthers got the ball back with 2:25 left on their 11-yard line, trailing by eight. Quarterback Kyle Allen drove Carolina down

the field, including completing a 12-yard pass to D.J. Moore on fourthand-10 with 56 seconds left.

The Panthers also benefited from an offside penalty with 13 seconds remaining to convert another fourth down. After Allen threw an incompletion to McCaffrey, the Packers stopped him just short of the end zone as time expired. A brief replay review upheld the call.

Aaron Rodgers was held out of the end zone, but the two-time MVP completed 17 of 29 passes for 233 yards, including 118 yards to Devante Adams.

McCaffrey had a relatively quiet 108 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries for the Panthers (5-4).

VIKINGS 24, COWBOYS 24 ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Dalvin Cook ran for 97 yards, including the goahead touchdown on fourth down, and had another 86 yards receiving to set up three other scores, helping Minnesota beat

Dallas.

Cook, the NFL rushing leader, easily outplayed two-time rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott as the Vikings (7-3) beat a winning team on the road for the first time in almost two years. Minnesota was 0-9-1 in its previous 10 such games.

Amari Cooper had the most circus catches on a night full of them for both teams, including a toe-tapping TD for Dallas' only lead in the third quarter. Dak Prescott threw for 397 yards and three touchdowns.

Kirk Cousins threw for two touchdowns, both to Kyle Rudolph, for just his second victory in nine prime-time road games.

Elliott had 47 yards rushing after three straight 100-yard games as the Cowboys (54) fell into a first-place tie with Philadelphia in the NFC East.

FALCONS 26, SAINTS 9 NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Matt Ryan passed for two touchdowns and Atlanta ended

its six-game slide with a victory over the Saints that stopped New Orleans' sixgame winning streak.

Atlanta's defense stunningly dominated New Orleans' normally stout offensive line. Coming in with an NFL low seven sacks all season, the Falcons sacked Drew Brees six times, with Grady Jarrett, Vic Beasley Jr., Adrian Clayborn and De'Vondre Campbell all getting involved. Jarrett finished with a team-high 2½ sacks. It was the second time this season the Saints were held without a touchdown at home, but the first time with Brees under center. New Orleans also failed to score a TD in a 12-10 victory over Dallas in Week 4 with Teddy Bridgewater filling in at quarterback.

Ryan, returning from an ankle injury that sidelined him in the game before the Falcons' Week 9 bye, was 20 of 35 for 182 yards.

His first touchdown went for 8 yards to tight end Austin Hooper in the second quarter and his second to running back Brian Hill in the fourth quarter to put Atlanta in front 20-9.

BROWNS 19, BILLS 16 CLEVELAND (AP) — Baker Mayfield threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Rashard Higgins with 1:44 left and Cleveland Browns snapped a four-game losing streak — and took some pressure off first-year coach Freddie Kitchens — with a win over Buffalo.

The Browns (3-6) rallied for a win that kept their season from completely collapsing. Cleveland survived more problems in the red zone but sealed the muchneeded win when Buffalo kicker Stephen Hauschka's 53-yard field-goal attempt was short with 22 seconds left.

Earlier, Hauschka missed a 34-yarder.q

A22 SPORTS

Tuesday 12 November 2019

Devils strike fast, hold off Canucks 2-1

By The Associated Press VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Wayne Simmonds and Jesper Bratt scored 22 seconds apart in the first period and Mackenzie Blackwood made 30 saves in the New Jersey Devils' 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.

Brock Boeser had a powerplay goal for Vancouver.

The Canucks are 0-3-1 in their last four games.

Simmonds opened the scoring on a power play with 8:12 left in the first period. Taylor Hall sent a pass into the Canucks' zone that Kyle Palmieri directed to Simmonds. He put it past goalie Jacob Markstrom for the Devils' second road power-play goal of the season.

Bratt quickly made it 2-0 at 12:10 when he deflected Damon Severson's point shot.

Boeser scored with 7:20 left in the second. He took J.T. Miller's pass, used his speed to skate into the Devil's zone, then beat Blackwood with a low shot to the far corner.

It was the second headto-head brother clash between Vancouver's Quinn Hughes, the 20-year-old defenseman picked seventh overall in the 2018 draft, and Jack Hughes, the 18-year-old center picked No. 1 by the Devils this year.

Quinn Hughes assisted on Boeser's goal.

RED WINGS 3, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2 DETROIT (AP) — Anthony Mantha scored with 30.9

New Jersey Devils' Kyle Palmieri, left, crashes into Vancouver Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom, of Sweden, as New Jersey's Wayne Simmonds, back right, scores during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019.

Associated Press

seconds left to give Detroit the comeback victory over Vegas.

Mantha broke in alone off the right wing after taking a pass off the boards from Robby Fabbri, then beat goalie Malcolm Subban with a wrist shot from the right circle. Mantha has 11 goals this season.

Andreas Athanasiou and defenseman Madison Bowey also scored and Jonathan Bernier made 17 saves to help the Red Wings win their second straight games.

Jonathan Marchessault and Max Pacioretty scored for Vegas and Subban stopped 16 shots. The Golden Knights are 1-2-3 in their last six.

PANTHERS 6, RANGERS 5, SO

NEW YORK (AP) — Vincent Trocheck scored the shootout winner for Florida against New York.

Frank Vatrano scored in regulation and converted in the shootout for the Panthers. Evgenii Dadonov had a goal and two assists, Aleksander Barkov had a goal and a helper and Dominic Toninato and Brian Boyle also scored. Sam Montembeault made 34 saves.

Kaapo Kakko scored the lone shootout goal and had a power-play goal for New York. Ryan Lindgren, Filip Chytil, Brady Skjei and Chris Kreider also scored for the Rangers.

JETS 3, STARS 2, OT WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Mark Scheifele scored 21 seconds into overtime to lift

Winnipeg past Dalla.

Scheifele went in on a 2-on1 with Kyle Connor, kept the puck and beat Anton Khudobin with a low shot for his seventh goal.

Patrik Laine snapped a 10game scoring drought with a power-play goal and Andrew Copp also scored for the Jets. Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves to help Winnipeg improve to 4-0-1 in its last five.

Mattias Janmark and Radek Faksa scored for Dallas in the opener of a four-game trip. The Stars had won four in a row.

BLACKHAWKS 5, MAPLE LEAFS 4 CHICAGO (AP) — Patrick Kane had two goals and an assist, Robin Lehner made 53 saves and Chi-

cago struck early and then held off Toronto.

Jonathan Toews, rookie Kirby Dach and Brandon Saad also scored for the Blackhawks. Alex DeBrincat had three assists and Dylan Strome added two.

William Nylander scored twice for the Maple Leafs, and John Tavares and Andreas Johnsson added power-play goals in the third as Toronto stormed back with 26 shots in the final period. Auston Matthews had four assists for Toronto, which was 3-0-2 in its last five and lost in regulation for the first time in two weeks.

Toronto backup Michael Hutchinson stopped 29 shots and remained winless at 0-4-1.

FLYERS 3, BRUINS 2, SO BOSTON (AP) — Joel Farabee scored in the shootout to lead Philadelphia to its fourth straight win.

Travis Konecny had a goal and an assist, and Phillipe Myers also scored in regulation for the Flyers. Carter Hart finished with 26 saves.

Danton Heinen and Brad Marchand each had a goal and Jaroslav Halak stopped 27 shots for the Bruins, who lost their third straight (0-2-1) after sixgame win streak.

Farabee, who played at nearby Boston University, beat Halak high glove-side on the Flyers' first shootout attempt.

Hart stopped all three tries by the Bruins, poke-checking away David Pastrnak's attempt to seal Philadelphia's win.q

Coyotes sign GM John Chayka to long-term extension GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — John Chayka arrived in the desert with an analytics background and made a big splash when, at 26, he became the youngest general manager in North American sports history.

As Chayka started to rebuild the Arizona Coyotes into playoff contenders, the recognition grew.

On Monday, the Coyotes rewarded Chayka, signing him to a long-term con-

tract extension.

"I think the key thing is we're on the right track.

We've had a solid process and that's always the main thing," Chayka said. "Obviously, you're never satisfied until you reach your goals.

We want to win a championship here, but it starts with making the playoffs and getting your foot in the door."

Chayka was hired in 2015 as assistant general man-

ager, analytics after cofounding the hockey analytics firm Stathletes.

Chayka was elevated to GM when Don Maloney was fired in 2016. He began rebuilding Arizona's roster in hopes of revitalizing a franchise that was among the NHL's worst in both attendance and wins.

The Coyotes struggled with injuries early in Chayka's tenure, but were in postseason contention a year ago,

finishing four points out of the final Western Conference playoff spot. With an added scoring boost to go with its staunch defense, Arizona has opened this season 9-6-2, right in the thick of the Western Conference race.

"John is one of the brightest and hardest-working general managers in the entire NHL and over the past four seasons, he has done an excellent job of re-

building our franchise and transforming the Coyotes into a contender," Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo said in a statement. "I am fully confident that John is the right person to lead us moving forward and help us bring the Stanley Cup to Arizona."

Chayka has been praised for revamping a team that had been one of the NHL's best defensively and worst offensively.q

SPORTS A23

Tuesday 12 November 2019

Indians Carrasco, Perez honored for strong 2019 seasons CLEVELAND (AP) — Carlos Carrasco's courage while fighting cancer and community service earned him another postseason honor.

Carrasco won the Frank Gibbons-Steve Olin Good Guy Award, given annually by the Cleveland chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, for being accommodating with media members as well as for his work in the Cleveland community.

The right-hander was honored along with catcher Roberto Pérez, who was named the team's Man of the Year.

Carrasco was diagnosed with leukemia in May. The 32-year-old was always available while battling the blood disorder and his inspirational battle became one of baseball's biggest stories this season. Carras-

co was a unanimous selection by a panel of writers.

Carrasco recently received the Roberto Clemente Award for his charitable efforts.

Pérez emerged as one of the Indians' most consistent players in his first season as a full-time starter.

After being a backup for the past five seasons, Pérez became a regular when the Indians traded Yan Gomes to Washington last winter. Pérez became the first catcher not to allow a passed ball in at least 118 games since Hall of Famer Johnny Bench in 1975.

He also made just three errors in 1,137 total chances while playing on an ankle that required postseason surgery.

Pérez batted .239 with a career-24 homers and 63 RBIs.q

U.S. drops to 0-2 in Olympic baseball qualifying round

By The Associated Press The United States stumbled for the second time in Olympic baseball qualifying, losing to South Korea 5-1 on Monday night in Tokyo.

The Americans dropped to 0-2 in the super round of the Premier12 tournament, which serves as Olympic qualifying. The record includes an 8-2 group stage loss on Nov. 3 against Mexico (2-0), which is carried over to the super round standings. The Mexicans opened the super round with a 2-0 win over Taiwan on Monday at Chiba City.

The U.S., managed by Scott Brosius, plays Japan on Tuesday, Australia on Wednesday and Taiwan on Friday.

Kim Jae-hwan hit a threerun homer in the first inning off loser Cody Ponce, a right-hander acquired by

Pittsburgh in July for Jordan Lyles.

Minnesota's Brent Rooker homered in the sixth against starter Yang Hyeon-jong, who got the win.

The South Koreans widened their lead in the seventh on consecutive RBI doubles by Kim Ha-seong off Seattle's Wyatt Mills and Lee Jung-hoo against Atlanta's Caleb Thielbar. The U.S. loaded the bases with one out in the first, but Tampa Bay's Jake Cronenworth and Rooker struck out.

After the super round, which also includes Japan and Australia, the first- and second-place teams advance to the gold-medal game and the third- and fourth-place teams play for the bronze. The top finisher from the Americas, the U.S. or Mexico, qualifies for the Tokyo Olympics next year.q

Joey Logano climbs into his race car prior to a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at ISM Raceway, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019, in Avondale, Ariz.

Associated Press

Logano can't defend NASCAR title after mystery slide AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Joey Logano's promising start to the afternoon fell apart with a slow, helpless slide though the field at ISM Raceway. Now he won't have the opportunity to defend his NASCAR title at Homestead.

The outcome would have been disappointing no matter how it happened.

It's even worse because he still doesn't understand why his No. 22 Ford suddenly failed him at the worst possible time.

"It stinks," Logano said. "I don't have the answer of what happened. I wish I did, I really want to know.

But nobody has it right now."

Logano had one of the strongest cars in the field during the first half of the race, leading 93 laps and winning the second stage.

But a few laps later after a pit stop and a restart, the 29-year-old quickly realized something was wrong.

He stayed in the lead for a few laps — helped by the cleaner air with no other cars around — but once the pack caught up Logano didn't have a chance.

Multiple cars blew past him as he hoped for a yellow flag that never materialized. By the time he came to pit road he had been

knocked off the lead lap.

He finished ninth.

"It went from a really good car, to a car that couldn't stay on the lead lap after changing tires and a half pound of air," Logano said.

"A lot of things don't line up there. That doesn't make any sense."

Logano was among the four drivers — including Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott — who didn't advance to next week's championship round at Homestead. Denny Hamlin won on Sunday to leapfrog Logano for the final spot in the four-car championship round.

Logano's rough afternoon was also a rare disappointment for team owner Roger Penske, who made huge news earlier this week when he purchased Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

His teams this year won the Indianapolis 500, the IndyCar championship, the IMSA sports car championship and the V8 Supercars championship.

Logano looked like he had a shot to join the fun, but NASCAR's top honor will belong to someone else this year.

"It hurts," Logano said. "It's not what you fight all year for, to go for fifth now."

Blaney had the best day of the playoff drivers who

didn't advance to the championship. He was fairly strong all day, finishing third. A late caution gave him a chance to finally get past Hamlin, but he couldn't get a big push with two fresh tires on the final restart with three laps to go.

"I felt like I got an OK start," Blaney said. "It's really hard for the guy on the bottom on the front row to accelerate and turn down the hill.

It's the way it's shaped. It's kind of tough, especially on two. But I don't know, you can always get a better start, right?

Elliott's day ended midway through the race after a crash. He said he thought he felt a tire go down and it led to a hard hit into the outside wall. The 23-yearold was running among the leaders before the accident.

Elliott was in good position to advance to the championship round before crashing early in last week's race at Texas. Already in a bad position coming to Arizona, Sunday's flat tire and crash ended any hope.

"These last three weeks have been pretty rough," Elliott said. "So, hopefully Homestead goes better, and we can get prepared good for next season."q

A24 technology

Tuesday 12 November 2019

A Whole New World: Disney streaming debuts with hit brands

By MAE ANDERSON NEW YORK (AP) — Disney will sprinkle its pixie dust on the streaming arena Tuesday, as its Disney Plus service debuts with an arsenal of marquee franchises including Marvel and Star Wars, original series with a built-in fan base and a cheap price to boot.The $7-a-month commercialfree service is poised to set the standard for other services like WarnerMedia's HBO Max and NBCUniversal's Peacock to follow, as major media companies behind hit TV shows and movies seek to siphon the subscription revenue now going to Netflix and other streaming giants.

Disney's properties speak to its strengths. Besides classic characters such as Snow White and Pinocchio, Disney has Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic — big names that most people would recognize. Disney Plus will also have all 30 past seasons of "The Simpsons." Original shows include "The Mandalorian," set in the Star Wars universe, and one on the Marvel character Loki.

Melissa Knerr, 26, a criminal defense attorney in Springfield, Missouri, already has Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime and wasn't sure she wanted to pay for another one. She said she was swayed by Disney Plus's price tag and its "sheer amount of content."

"I really love both the Star Wars and Marvel franchises and I grew up watching classic Disney shows and movies so I do think there will be enough content for me," she said.

Marlina Yates, who works

In this April 3, 2019, file photo characters from Disney and Fox movies are displayed behind Cathleen Taff, president of distribution, franchise management, business and audience insight for Walt Disney Studios during the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures presentation at CinemaCon 2019, the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Associated Press

in marketing in Kansas City, said she signed up because of her husband's enthusiasm about the Star Wars series "The Mandalorian" and her daughter's "love affair with princesses and everything Disney."

Disney Plus's $7 a month price is about half of the $13 Netflix charges for its most popular plan, and there are discounts for paying for a full year up front.

Disney is also offering a $13 package bundling Disney Plus with two other services it owns, Hulu and ESPN Plus.

That's $5 cheaper than signing up for each one individually.

Everything won't be available to stream right away, though, as Disney needs to wait for existing deals with rival services to expire.

Recent movies missing at launch include the ani-

mated Pixar movie "Coco" and the live-action "Beauty and the Beast." Others like "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil" haven't been released for streaming yet. Disney expects 620 movies and 10,000 TV episodes by 2024, up from 500 movies and 7,500 episodes on Tuesday.

Disney has said that it is losing about $150 million in licensing revenue in the most recent fiscal year from terminating deals with Netflix and other services. But Disney is betting that what it makes through subscriptions will more than make up for that — at least eventually.

Disney is boosting its subscription base initially with heavy promos, much as Apple TV Plus has done and HBO Max and Peacock plan to do. Members of Disney's free D23 fan club

were eligible to buy three years of Disney Plus service up front for the price of two years. Customers of some Verizon wireless and homeinternet plans can get a year free.

The hope is that subscribers will stick around once they see what the service offers.

Long-term success is by no means guaranteed. With a slew of services launching, subscription fees can add up quickly. Consumers might be reluctant to drop an existing service such as Netflix or Amazon Prime to pay for something untested.

"I can't keep up with so many services. It gets expensive," said William Pearson, a Drexel University student who describes himself as a "massive" Marvel fan but already pays for Netflix, HBO and the DC Comics

streaming service.

But compared with other newcomers, experts believe Disney will have no problem gaining — and keeping — the 60 million to 90 million worldwide subscribers it is targeting for 2024. It took Netflix twice as long to get to 90 million.

"Disney Plus has a gigantic array of content and a library that's unmatched, so it feels like an easy addition for consumers to get a gigantic library at that low price," said Tim Hanlon, CEO of Vertere Group.

Bernie McTernan, internet and media analyst at Rosenblatt Securities, said Apple's venture into streaming, Apple TV Plus, has to build brand recognition for its new shows, while viewers may have difficulties seeing what HBO Max offers beyond the standard HBO subscription.

Disney said it was pleased with a recent test in the Netherlands, in which consumers got to try the service for free, without original content or full library of classics.

"The service connected with users across all four quadrants, male and female, adults and kids, driven by the breadth of our content and the affinity people have with it," Disney CEO Bob Iger told financial analysts Thursday.

Connor Clifton, 29, from Houston, Texas, said he is looking forward to "The Mandalorian" Star Wars series as well as catching up on recent Pixar films.

"Paying for individual channels is frustrating," he said, "but I want to see the content so I'm willing to pay for it."q

Group says misinformation on the rise on Facebook SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — In a story Nov. 6 about misinformation on Facebook, The Associated Press reported erroneously that a false story about Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar had an estimated 770,000 views. It had an estimated 77,000 views.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Group says misinformation on the rise on Facebook An advocacy group tracking misinformation says it has found an increase in fake political news shared on Facebook ahead of the 2020 presidential elections SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — An advocacy group tracking misinformation says it has found an increase in fake

political news shared on Facebook ahead of the 2020 presidential elections.

The group, Avaaz, said Wednesday that misinformation is still being spread on Facebook despite measures the company has put in place since the 2016 elections.

The researchers tracked the 100 most widely shared

false news stories between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31 this year.

The stories they tracked had all been fact-checked and debunked by Facebook's third-party fact-checking partners, which include The Associated Press.

The group found that, collectively, the fake stories were posted more than 2.3 million times and had an es-

timated 158.9 million views, along with 8.9 million likes, comments and shares. The false stories targeted both political parties, though Avaaz says the majority were against Democrats and liberals. Most of the false news sources were individual users' or non-official political pages. q

BUSINESS A25

Tuesday 12 November 2019

Uncertainty over US-China trade talks pushes stocks lower NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are falling Monday on Wall Street as investors weigh mixed signals about the status of U.S. trade talks with China.

Late last week, Chinese officials said both sides agreed to roll back tariffs if the trade talks progressed.

But Saturday, President Donald Trump said that reports on how far the U.S. is willing to go on rolling back tariffs were "incorrect." Investors hope the world's largest economies can make enough progress to avoid another round of tariffs scheduled to take effect next month.

Health care companies led the decline. Johnson & Johnson fell 1%.

Banks also fell broadly. BB&T

In this Nov. 7, 2019, file photo specialist Gregg Maloney, left, and trader David O'Day work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Associated Press

shed 1%.

Bond markets are closed for the Veterans Day holiday. The yield on the 10year Treasury rose to 1.93% late Friday.

Technology stocks also fell.

Qualcomm slipped 2%. The sector is sensitive to shifts in trade policy as many of the companies rely on China for their sales and supply

chains.

Investors took more defensive positions. Real estate stocks held up better than the rest of the market.

Companies in those sectors are considered safer investments when economic growth is threatened.

The market remains higher so far in the fourth quarter.

Hopes for a trade deal, along with solid economic reports and corporate profits, have fueled a rally since early October.

The S&P 500 index has posted gains for five straight weeks. It reached a record high on Friday.

KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index fell 0.3% as of 12:05 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 33 points, or 0.1%,

to 27,649. The Nasdaq fell 0.3%. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks fell 0.5%.

WEEK AHEAD: Investors will be closely watching any developments in U.S.-China trade talks this week as the latest corporate earnings season nears a close. Nearly 90% of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported results, according to FactSet. This will be a relatively quiet week for economic data.

The Labor Department will report October data for the Consumer Price Index on Wednesday and for the Producer Price Index on Thursday. The Commerce Department will report retail sales data for October on Friday.q

UK avoids recession but economy growing at near decade lows

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The British economy avoided falling into recession in the third quarter of the year, but annual growth is running at a near-decade low rate as a result of ongoing uncertainty related to Britain's departure from the European Union and a subdued global backdrop, official figures showed Monday.

The Office for National Statistics said Monday that the economy grew by a quarterly rate of 0.3%. That increase was solely due to a firm pick-up in July, as

August and September showed monthly declines.

Following the 0.2% contraction in the second quarter, there had been fears that the British economy would fall into recession — commonly defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

Though a recession was avoided largely because of resilient household spending and higher government spending, the British economy remains relatively weak, largely because of uncertainty related to Brexit, which is particularly impacting on business in-

vestment. On an annual basis, the British economy was only 1% bigger in the third quarter, its weakest year-on-year growth since the first quarter of 2010, when Britain was emerging from a deep recession in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

With the global economy slowing and Brexit uncertainty still prevalent in the run-up to Britain's general election on Dec. 12, few economists anticipate any marked improvement in the British economic outlook in the fourth quarter or even next year.q

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sajid Javid, looks at new build homes during a visit to the Woodgate Housing Estate, near Crawley, southern England, Monday Nov. 11, 2019.

Associated Press

A26 COMICS

Tuesday 12 November 2019

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

Tuesday 12 November 2019

Swine fever: New Indonesian festival celebrates pigs LAKE TOBA, Indonesia (AP) — Christian residents in Muslim-majority Indonesia's remote Lake Toba region have launched a new festival celebrating pigs that they say is a response to efforts to promote halal tourism in the area.

The festival features competitions in barbecuing, pig calling and pig catching as well as live music and other entertainment. Organizers say the events are part of the culture of the largely Christian community that lives in the area.

Lake Toba is one of the destinations that the government is promoting under its "10 new Balis" program, which aims to boost tourism and diversify Southeast Asia's largest economy.

Indonesia is a secular nation, but it is also the world's most populous Muslimmajority nation. The event, held for the first time late last month, attracted more than a thousand people from nearby villages and some tourists. Organizer say they plan to make it an annual event. The government has denied it is promoting halal tourism.q

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A28 SCIENCE

Tuesday 12 November 2019

Mini Mercury skips across sun's vast glare in rare transit

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Associated Press

SpaceX launches 60 more mini satellites for global internet

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX launched 60 mini satellites Monday, the second batch of an orbiting network meant to provide global internet coverage.

The Falcon rocket blasted into the morning sky, marking the unprecedented fourth flight of a booster for SpaceX. The compact flat-panel satellites — just 575 pounds (260 kilograms) each — will join 60 launched in May. SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk wants to put thousands of these Starlink satellites in orbit, to offer high-speed internet service everywhere. He plans to start service next year in the northern U.S. and Canada, with global coverage for populated areas after 24 launches.

Last month, Musk used an orbiting Starlink satellite to send a tweet: "Whoa, it worked!!"

Employees gathered at company bases on both coasts cheered when the first-stage booster landed

on a floating platform in the Atlantic.

"These boosters are designed to be used 10 times.

Let's turn it around for a fifth, guys," company's launch commentator said.

This also marked the first time SpaceX used a previously flown nose cone. The California-based company reuses rocket parts to cut costs.

Stacked flat inside the top of the rocket, the newest satellites were going to maneuver even higher following liftoff, using kryptonpowered thrusters. SpaceX said there was a potential problem with one of the 60 that could prevent it from moving beyond its initial 174 mile-high (280 kilometer-high) orbit. In that case, the faulty satellite will be commanded to re-enter and burn up harmlessly in the atmosphere.

Each satellite has an autonomous system for dodging space junk. In September, however, the European Space Agency had to move one of its satellites out of the way of a Starlink satellite.q

This still image from video issued by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows Mercury as it passes between Earth and the sun on Monday, Nov. 11, 2019.

Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Mini Mercury skipped across the vast, glaring face of the sun Monday in a rare celestial transit.

Stargazers used solar-filtered binoculars and telescopes to spot Mercury

— a tiny black dot — as it passed directly between Earth and the sun on Monday.

The eastern U.S. and Canada got the whole 5 ½-hour show, weather permitting, along with Central and

South America. The rest of the world, except for Asia and Australia, got just a sampling.

Mercury is the solar system's smallest, innermost planet.

The next transit isn't until 2032, and North America won't get another shot until 2049.

In Maryland, clouds prevented NASA solar astrophysicist Alex Young from getting a clear peek. Live coverage was provided by observatories including NASA's orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory.

"It's a bummer, but the whole event was still great," Young wrote in an email.

"Both getting to see it from space and sharing it with people all over the country and world."q

Cholesterol levels dropping in U.S., but many still need care

By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Some good health news: Americans' cholesterol levels are dropping, and more people at especially high risk are getting treatment.

Researchers say Monday's report suggests a controversial change in recommendations for cholesterol treatment may be starting to pay off.

"It is very heartening," said Dr. Pankaj Arora of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who led the study. "But there is more to do."

Heart disease is the world's leading killer and high cholesterol is a key risk factor — but not the only one. Doctors long treated patients based mostly on their level of so-called "bad" cholesterol, whether they had other risks or not. In 2013, national guidelines urged them instead to focus more on people's overall heart risk, by taking into account age, blood pressure, diabetes and other factors.

Those at highest risk would

get the most benefit from cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.

The Alabama team examined records from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that tracked cholesterol information from more than 32,000 adults between 2005 and 2016.

Among people taking cholesterol medication, the average level of that "bad" cholesterol — what's known as LDL cholesterol — dropped 21 points over the study period, the researchers reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. It was declining even before the 2013 guidelines but continued to inch down afterward.

Total cholesterol levels and another fat known as triglycerides likewise decreased.

"These are surprisingly impressive results" that together predict a 15% to 20% reduction in risk of heart attacks and strokes, said Dr. Michael Miller, preventive cardiology chief at the University of Maryland Medi-

cal Center, who wasn't involved with the study.

Moreover, there was an uptick in statin use by people with diabetes over the study period, from less than half to over 60% getting one. Diabetics are particularly vulnerable to heart attacks and tend to have poorer outcomes.

"It's very important for those with a diagnosis of diabetes to not get that first heart attack," said Dr. Neil J. Stone, a cardiologist at Northwestern University. He led development of the 2013 guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association, and he co-authored an update last year.

Arora cautioned that other high-risk groups haven't seen an increase in treatment — and that still too many Americans don't know if they have a cholesterol problem.

The advice for consumers?

If you haven't had a cholesterol check recently, get one, Miller said. Testing is easier than ever, as fasting no longer is required. q

PEOPLE & ARTS A29

Tuesday 12 November 2019

Soprano Hei-Kyung Hong extends her run of Mimis at the Met

By MIKE SILVERMAN Associated Press Soprano after soprano has knocked on the door of Rodolfo's garret over the years in Franco Zeffirelli's production of Puccini's "La Boheme" at the Metropolitan Opera. But none as often as Hei-Kyung Hong.

The Korean-born lyric soprano has portrayed the role of Mimi 66 times since her first outing in 1987. During that period, more than a dozen different tenors have opened that door for her — including one or two she hadn't expected to see.

"Of course we rehearse, but sometimes somebody gets sick and you don't know Rodolfo until you enter. So it's, 'Oh, OK, you're my Rodolfo,'" Hong recalled in an interview at the Met last month.

"Those times are scary and wonderful," she added, "because you really feel like you're meeting somebody for the first time and you can use that moment.

It's very impromptu."

Now, at age 60, Hong is about to add to her total with a performance on November 14 as the young seamstress who falls in love with the poet Rodolfo only to die of consumption in the final scene. Her sad story will again play out in the richly detailed Zeffirelli production, which premiered in 1981 and has become the most performed production of any opera in Met history.

How has her approach to the role changed over the decades?

"The more you live, you add a little more pepper and seasoning because you understand life," Hong said.

"When you're starting out, you just sort of imagine. But as you grow older, you see people die from diseases, all this stuff happening."

Hong's husband of more than 20 years died of cancer in 2008.

Her interpretation may have deepened with age, but "your voice has to stay young," she said. "If your voice is old, it doesn't quite match."

The secret for keeping that

This Nov. 16, 2011 photo released by the Metropolitan Opera shows Korean-born soprano HeiKyung Hong during a rehearsal for the role of Mimi in Puccini's "La Boheme" at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Associated Press

youthful sound Hong traces back to the very beginning of her career. She had come to America to study at The Juilliard School at age 15 and remained there for nine years, during high school, college and postgraduate work.

"I would go to the New York City Opera and hear these phenomenal young singers, but within three years they would lose their voices," she said. "Too much

singing, too much partying, too much pressure" — plus taking on roles that were too big for their voices.

Hong vowed not to go down that path, and after getting married at age 24, "I didn't have to sing to make money," she said.

"My husband said I could quit whenever I wanted. I had that luxury that I didn't have to chase so desperately to succeed."

She mostly stayed close to

home, living in Queens and raising three children while quietly building a reputation as one of the Met's most valuable assets. Since her debut in 1984 as Servilia in Mozart's "La Clemenza di Tito," she's performed nearly 400 times in a wide variety of roles. Other than Mimi, her most frequent portrayals have been as the slave girl Liu in Puccini's "Turandot" and as Micaela in Bizet's "Carmen," both of

which she has sung nearly three dozen times.

And this season she took on a new role, Euridice in a revival of Gluck's "Orfeo ed Euridice." Critic Anthony Tommasini wrote in The New York Times that "though there were moments of patchy tone and shaky pitch in her singing, the radiance of her voice came through."

Over the years she's turned down many offers of roles she felt would be too heavy for her voice. "The day I realized I couldn't be Aida and Tosca, I had a moment of 'Awww ...'" she said. "But the soprano is a blessed category. I had to find what voice I had and make peace with that."

One role she especially regrets wasn't right for her is Puccini's "Madame Butterfly." "Last year I said, 'I'll wait until I'm ready to retire and I have no fear of losing my voice and I'll just go and do it, I'll go blazing out,'" she said. "But no, I tried, it stressed me so much, I got sick."

Although Hong holds the mark for the most Mimis in the Zeffirelli production, she's far from the all-time Met leader. Frances Alda sang it 80 times from 19091929 and Lucrezia Bori sang it 72 times from 1912-1936.q

Winfrey picks 'Olive, Again' for her next book club read

By HILLEL ITALIE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Author Elizabeth Strout, whose "Olive, Again" is Oprah Winfrey's latest book club pick, has a pretty good idea about how the plainspoken Olive Kitteridge would have responded.

"Olive would say, 'Godfrey Mighty!'" Strout told The Associated Press in a recent email. "But even Olive would be impressed with Oprah onboard with her story. Olive — who would not admit to it publicly — would be really pleased that Oprah finds her life so worthy of respect."

Published last month by Random House, Strout's book is Winfrey's second selection for her new part-

nership with Apple. Her first pick, Ta-Nehisi Coates' novel "The Water Dancer," was announced in September and quickly topped the Apple and Amazon.com bestseller lists. "Olive, Again" was already off to a strong start, debuting at No. 6 on The New York Times' hardcover fiction bestseller list.

The Guardian has praised the book as a "tour de force."

"Olive, Again" is the followup to Strout's Pulitzer Prize winning "Olive Kitteridge," which came out in 2008.

"Ah, Olive. She teaches us so much about loneliness, judgment, aging, and loss.

And empathy, too," Winfrey said in a statement Thursday. "I'm in awe of Strout's ability to convey so much

in so few words."

"Olive Kitteridge" is a series of connected stories based in Crosby, Maine. The book sold more than 1 million copies and was adapted into an Emmy-winning HBO miniseries starring Frances McDormand as the title character. "Olive, Again" is also a book of stories, following Kitteridge through her courtship with fellow widower Jack Kennison and her tense relationship with her son, Christopher.

"I think people care about Olive because she is enormously complicated," Strout told the AP. "And frankly, most of us are. We try and keep these different aspects of ourselves damped down, but Olive is so out there — there are

This image released by Random House shows "Olive.

Again," by Elizabeth Strout.

Oprah Winfrey has chosen Strout’s novel as her next book club read.

Associated Press

many pieces of her that people can relate to."q

A30 PEOPLE

& ARTS Bale and Damon go into overdrive for 'Ford v Ferrari' Tuesday 12 November 2019

This image released by 20th Century fox shows Christian Bale, right, and Matt Damon in a scene from "Ford v. Ferrari," in theaters on Nov. 15.

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — France's legendary Le Mans race, the central contest depicted in James Mangold's "Ford v Ferrari," runs more than 3,000 miles over the course of 24 hours. But that's nothing compared to the distance Christian Bale had to cover coming off playing Dick Cheney in "Vice."

"When I first signed up for it, Jim said, 'This is great, we've got six months until we start. Christian weighs 240 pounds,'" recalls Matt Damon. "I was like, 'He weighs what?'"

Bale, sitting next to his costar, lights up. "He's rolling down the track!" Bale says, laughing. "Without a car!"

"I would just get these periodic updates. But he did it," says Damon, shaking his head. "When I saw him on set, I said, 'How did you lose 70 pounds?' And he just said, 'Didn't eat.'"

In "Ford v Ferrari," Damon plays visionary automotive designer Carroll Shelby and Bale plays maverick British racer Ken Miles. Shelby and Miles were brought together by the Ford Motor Co. to defeat perennial Le Mans champions Ferrari in 1966.

They are both dedicated, driven personalities who chafe at the dictates of the overlords at Ford. "Ford v Ferrari," a rare big-budget original film, is about highspeed mavericks shrugging off corporate control to accomplish something singular.

For its two movie stars, it's a story not so unlike the battles of getting movies — movies like "Ford v Ferrari" — made in today's Hollywood.

"The parallels to the movie business, they were pretty easy for all of us to see," says Damon. "Shelby and Ken needed Ford. They weren't going to get anywhere without Ford, and they knew it. And Ford needed them. That's the movie business. There's always that tension."

"There should be," adds Bale. "There has to be that tension in order to create something wonderful.

There's got to be love for something and there's got

to be a certain amount of hate for it as well. I think both sides understand, 'Hey, we can't do it without them. And they can't do that without us.'"

"But if you get too pally, the films won't be any good," quips Bale, letting out a roar.

Bale and Damon were meeting for an interview earlier this fall at the Toronto International Film Festival shortly before "Ford v Ferrari" premiered there, quickly finding glowing reviews as a fine-tuned throwback thrill ride predicated on the swaggering, charismatic performances and easy chemistry of its two stars.

Damon, having flown in from France where he was in the middle of shooting Tom McCarthy's "Stillwater," had his own role-to-role transformation to make.

Before posing for a photograph, a make-up artist worked to remove a shoulder tattoo Damon had acquired for the film. "Be gentle," said Damon. "I'm an actor."

"Ford v Ferrari" is their first film together even though Damon, 49, and Bale, 45, are roughly contemporaries.

"I think I've taken a lot of roles that Matt passed on," says Bale. "I've worked thanks to Matt, just not with Matt."

A significant part of the fun of "Ford v Ferrari," which will open in theaters Nov. 15, is seeing their dynamic together. Shelby, a sunny, hat-wearing Texan and already a Le Mans champion, was the more famous of the two. He's more adept at balancing their racing needs with those of their corporate overlords. Miles, with his chin upturned, is a proud, pugnacious perfectionist who can't, for a second, suffer fools.

Mangold, the maker of muscular genre films like "Cop Land" and the Oscarnominated "Logan," had worked with Bale before on the 2007 western "3:10 to Yuma," and he was convinced Bale was intended to be Miles.

"Jim had taken the script to Christian and I guess he

was taking his time with it," remembers Damon. "Jim finally called and he goes, 'This is you! What is taking you so long?!' And Christian's like, 'Do you think I'm a (expletive)?' He goes, 'No, not that part. The part about him being a perfectionist and a pure racer.'"

"Yes, he was a real purist and would happily, knowingly win the battle and lose the war at the same time," says Bale, an actor renowned for the intensive immersion of his performances. "They're both absolutely insane. "They just exhibit it in different ways."

Bale and Damon are playing extensions of themselves, Mangold says.

"Matt's been a movie star forever. Shelby was a star in racing forever," said Mangold, speaking by phone from Los Angeles. "And Christian, one of the things I've always felt about him is he's such a lovely, charming, loving person. So many of the characters he's chosen to play along the way are incredible portrayals but are very, very dark. But there's something extremely effervescent and playful and inspired about this character and it's so much closer, to me, about who Christian really is."

"Ford v Ferrari" cost nearly $100 million to make for 20th Century Fox. Following the studio's acquisition, the movie will be released by the Walt Disney Co., and it will likely be the company's top awards contender.

While films sometimes split leads into separate categories, both Bale and Damon will be campaigned as best-actor candidates.

The actors, though, say they always thought "Ford v Ferrari" was, first and foremost, a crowd-pleaser, a "moviemovie." Both already have an Oscar (best-supporting actor in "The Fighter" for Bale, best original screenplay for "Good Will Hunting" for Damon). But they identify with their characters in that they care more about results than trophies.

"I do think it's different in that in what we do, any awards are a matter of opinion," says Bale. q

PEOPLE & ARTS A31

Tuesday 12 November 2019

Something old, something new for Michael Stipe

By DAVID BAUDER NEW YORK (AP) — After Michael Stipe opens a gate to the abandoned Manhattan storefront that serves as his studio, you find a man easily traversing his past, present and future creative lives.

He's promoting a 25th anniversary package of the R.E.M. album "Monster" while excited by the response to the first solo music he's released since the band's 2011 retirement. Surrounding him are examples of the photography and visual art that has occupied much of his time since then.

He made the single, "Your Capricious Soul," available first on his website last month with proceeds going to the environmental group Extinction Rebellion. He held it back from streaming services for a month, a quiet protest against monopolistic behavior, but it's there now.

The song's throbbing electronic pulse and percussion mark a clean musical break from the guitar-based rock of R.E.M. Stipe would generally write lyrics to R.E.M. songs with music composed by bandmates Peter Buck, Mike Mills and, until he left the band in 1997, Bill Berry. With "Your Capricious Soul," it was all on him.

"It's terrifying," he said.

"That's why I'm doing it."

Pleased by the reaction,

This Oct. 28, 2019 photo shows former R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe posing for a portrait in New York his first solo song since that band retired in 2011.

Associated Press

Stipe said he expects more new music soon. He has no record company, so he's free to release it whenever and however he wants.

"It sounds great," said Rita Houston, program director at WFUV-FM in New York. "It sounds fantastic to hear Michael's voice on the radio in this new incarnation. The song sounds nothing like an R.E.M. song, but it sounds completely like Michael Stipe. It's very 2019."

Now 59, Stipe easily rewinds the clock to 1994 when

R.E.M. was at the height of its popularity. After two relatively quiet and commercial records, "Out of Time" and "Automatic for the People," R.E.M. wanted to crank the volume with songs that would contrast on a concert stage to hits like "Man on the Moon."

They were touring for the first time in five years, with millions of new fans.

On "Monster," they embraced glam rock, influenced by forebears like T. Rex and the New York

Dolls, as well as contemporaries like "Achtung Baby"era U2. The signature track was "What's the Frequency, Kenneth," its title inspired by an odd phrase someone once shouted at newsman Dan Rather.

"I can't believe looking back ... that we had the audacity and the courage to jump off a cliff together, not literally but figuratively, to create something sounding so different from the records before," he said.

The new "Monster" has the

requisite outtakes that illustrate how the songs took shape in the studio. Stipe recognizes that fans like hearing the progression, but he finds it excruciating.

He listened to the outtakes once.

"To pull the curtain back that far is a bit humiliating, frankly," he said. "I want people to think of me as this perfect genius who emerged completely into the world. Of course, that's not the case."

Stipe exhibits a vulnerability, a sensitive side that he takes pride in. In R.E.M.'s early years, he'd often sing from the shadows, his back to the audience. His shyness never left, but he developed into a confident rock frontman.

He came out as gay at the time of the album's release, feeling some pressure because rumors spread that he was HIV-positive when the band didn't tour for two albums and he didn't give interviews for a lengthy period.

"I was never closeted," he said. "That's the thing that's beautiful about it and I'm so proud of. You can never find a single picture of me pretending to have a girlfriend or being somebody that I'm not. I was never that guy. Any longstanding R.E.M. fan who had not figured out I was queer before that point wasn't looking very hard."q

Painting stolen by Nazis recovered from New York museum Associated Press CANAJOHARIE, N.Y. (AP) — A painting seized by the Nazis from a Jewish family in 1933 has been recovered from a museum in upstate New York by the FBI. The work, "Winter" by American artist Gari Melchers, was part of the collection at the Arkell Museum in Canajoharie until Sept. 10, according to federal court documents.

The recovery is part of an international effort to find artwork that was stolen after the Nazis' ascension to power.

German publisher and phi-

lanthropist Rudolf Mosse first acquired the painting from the Great Berlin Art Exhibition in 1900. The Nazi government seized control of the family's art collection after Mosse's family members fled Germany in 1933.

The Nazis had persecuted the family because they were Jewish and because of their affiliations with Berliner Tageblatt, a newspaper critical of the party, according to court documents.

Bartlett Arkell, the first president of the BeechNut Packing Company, brought the painting from

This undated image taken from evidence filed in a forfeiture case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, is of the painting often entitled "Winter," by the artist Gari Melchers.

Associated Press

a New York City gallery in 1934 for his personal col-

lection and it later became part of the collection at the

museum 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of Albany that bears his name.

Suzan D. Friedlander, the museum's executive director and chief curator, said in an emailed statement that the museum "was of course very upset to learn the history of the painting's seizure from the Mosse family by the Nazis in 1933." The museum waived all rights to the painting, which is also known as "Skaters" or "Snow."

The painting will remain at the FBI's Albany office until it is reunited with the Mosse family.q

A32 FEATURE

Tuesday 12 November 2019

Bringing the world's buried wetlands back from the dead

By MATTHEW BROWN JAMES BROOKS Associated Press HINDOLVESTON, England (AP) — The ghosts are all around the gently rolling farmlands of eastern England. But you have to know where to look.

These are not the kind of phantoms that scare or haunt — they are ghost ponds. Over the years, landowners buried them, filling in wetlands so they had more land for planting crops and other needs, or let their ponds fade away with neglect. Along with those ponds, they erased entire ecosystems — and contributed to the decline of wetlands worldwide.

The result: an array of environmental calamities, ranging from rising floods to species hurtling toward extinction.

There are some who are trying to reclaim these lost waterbodies. In eastern England, a motley team of farmers, university researchers and conservationists is digging into the region's barley and wheat fields to turn back the clock.

With chain saws, an excavator and plenty of sweat, it takes just a few hours to resurrect one dying pond near Hindolveston, a thousand-year-old village not far from the North Sea. They fell trees and shrubs, then start digging until reaching their goal: an ancient pond bottom that once supported insects, aquatic plants and the birds and animals that feed on them.

"As soon as they get water and light, they just spring

Canada geese swim on a prairie pothole near Lake City, S.D., on Saturday, June 22, 2019.

Associated Press

to life," says Nick Anema, a farmer in nearby Dereham who has restored seven ponds on his property.

"You've got frogs and toads and newts, all the insects like mayflies, dragonflies, damselflies. ... You can't really beat a pond."

But the battle for the wetlands is a struggle. While efforts are under way to stem losses and regain some of what's been lost, wetlands around the world continue to be filled in and plowed over. ___ Almost 90% of the world's wetlands disappeared over the past three centuries, according to the Ramsar Convention, an organization formed around a 1971 treaty to protect wetlands.

And the losses have accelerated since the 1970s.

The consequences are pro-

A wetland sits next to farmland near Hindolveston, Dereham, eastern England, on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.

Associated Press

found — wetland-dependent species threatened with extinction, more severe flooding and the release of huge amounts of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

Climate change threatens to worsen the problem.

Warmer temperatures and changing rainfall patterns can trigger drought, leading to more pumping of water reserves that would otherwise feed surface wetlands, scientists say.

"We now know the value of wetlands, and we know with increasing precision how many wetlands we're losing. The next step is for the governments to act," says Royal Gardner, director of the Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy at Stetson University in Florida. ___ A few hours of heavy rain in North Dakota are all it takes to transform the dry, cracked earth of the prairie into thousands upon thousands of pocket-sized wetlands.

The rain pools in shallow depressions known as prairie potholes and quickly flushes out insects from beneath the soil.

Each pothole becomes a haven for a pair of ducks.

Two blue-winged teals dabble on one pothole. On the next pothole are two more ducks, then two more and so on to the horizon.

But to farmers, these wet-

lands carved into the earth by glaciers some 10,000 years ago can be an adversary. They bog down tractors and can kill young crops, leaving patches of lifeless stalks.

Some farmers steer around them, planting in swirling patterns to avoid wet areas. Other times, the wetlands are removed, often to make way for corn.

Despite their mind-boggling numbers — several million potholes are spread across a region that covers portions of five states and three Canadian provinces— these wetlands are steadily blinking out.

One by one, they're being drained or plowed under.

Only human-made wetlands buck the trend toward global decline. Rice paddies, reservoirs and agricultural stock ponds all

increased in acreage since the 1970s, according to Ramsar.

Barton Schott, a thirdgeneration farmer in the small community of Kulm, North Dakota, recently installed networks of perforated pipes beneath some of his fields to drain off the standing water. He must offset the losses under federal regulations, installing a berm across a low area in different field to create a small pond.

The guiding principle is to have "no net loss" of U.S. wetlands. A similar tactic has been adopted in China.

Yet in both nations, scientists are concerned that the approach papers over significant differences between natural wetlands and those created by humans. That's because constructing ponds or reservoirs with water year-round doesn't fulfill the same ecological role as the smaller wetlands they replace.

"People brag about the fact that there's been no net loss. But what they've done is destroy natural wetlands and created artificial ones," says Stuart Pimm, a Duke University professor. ___ Since the start of the 20th century, 75% of the United Kingdom's ponds have been lost. Nick Anema describes how his view of farming differs markedly from his father's, who regarded the natural world as an obstacle to overcome. For Nick Anema, farming and preservation are inextricably linked.q

Brad Sands surveys his cattle on a restored wetland and grassland project near Ellendale, N.D., on Thursday, June 20, 2019.

Associated Press