ROUGH RIDER USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN 71)
NAVY MEDIA AWARD WINNING NEWSPAPER
August 25, 2014
Underway
Underwraps
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CAPTAIN’S CUP COMPETITION
he aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) held a Captain’s Cup competition in the ship’s hangar bay, Aug. 24. Safety, Supply, Air and Reactor Department, along with Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) helped organize the event. Teams from each department faced off in the athletic competition designed to boost morale and build camaraderie in each department. “It has taken a lot of coordination between departments and I was really happy to see Sailors from Air and Reactor Department out here participating,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Craig Pasqual, a Captain’s Cup coordinator. “It’s great to see all of the happy smiles and see the competitiveness between the departments.” The competition was a chance for Sailors to work together, and meet
new people. “At first I really didn’t know the people that I was going to be competing with today, but we have come together really well,” said Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class Amber Ferguson, a Reactor Department team member. “I have had a lot of fun and it has been a blast to be able to participate.” Some of the events included bench press, corn-hole toss, a free throw contest and a two-point shoot-out. TR’s Executive Officer Capt. Jeff Craig will announce the winners during the Family and Friends Day cruise, and he will present to the winning team the Captain’s Cup with the winning department’s name engraved on a plaque.
UNDERWAY IN REVIEW
The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System sits on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) following the completion of night taxiing operations.
Midnight in New York F R O M T H E PA G E S O F
MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2014
© 2014 The New York Times
FROM THE PAGES OF
Flaws in Nursing Home Ratings System QAEDA AFFILIATE FREES AMERICAN IT HELD IN SYRIA
CARMICHAEL, Calif. — The lobby of Rosewood Post-Acute Rehab, a nursing home in this Sacramento suburb, bears all the touches of a luxury hotel, including high ceilings, leather club chairs and paintings of bucolic rural landscapes. What really sets Rosewood apart, however, is its five-star rating from Medicare, which has been assigning hotel-style ratings to nearly every nursing home in the country for the last five years. Rosewood’s five-star status — the best possible — places it in rarefied company: Only one-fifth of more than 15,000 nursing homes nationwide hold such a distinction. But an examination by The New York Times of the rating system has found that Rosewood and many other top-ranked nursing homes have been given a seal of approval based on incomplete information and that can mislead consumers, investors and others about conditions at the homes. The Medicare ratings, which have become the gold standard across the industry, are based in large part on self-reported data
by the nursing homes that the government does not verify. Only one of the three criteria used to determine the star ratings — the results of annual health inspections — relies on assessments from independent reviewers. The other measures — staff levels and quality statistics — are reported by the nursing homes and accepted by Medicare, with limited exceptions, at face value. The ratings do not take into account potentially negative information, including fines and other actions by state authorities, as well as complaints filed by consumers. Last year, the State of California fined Rosewood $100,000 for causing the 2006 death of a woman who was given an overdose of a powerful blood thinner. From 2009 to 2013, California fielded 102 consumer complaints and reports of problems at Rosewood, according to a state website. California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, which also tracks complaints, put the number even higher, at 164. Nursing home officials are appealing the state fine and point out that only
a small fraction of the complaints at Rosewood, which has about 110 beds, have ever been substantiated. While that may be true, the sheer number could be a sign of trouble, industry experts say. Rosewood struggles with many of the same challenges faced by other nursing homes. Many residents live three to a room, and there is often a scarcity of basic supplies, as well as a shortage of quality staff, according to interviews with current and former patients, their families and statements from former employees. In interviews conducted during a recent visit, a half-dozen current and former residents said they did not believe that the home merited a five-star rating. “If I fell down, they’d pick me up, but that’s about it,” said Michael McFadden, 76, who has lived at Rosewood for several years. John L. Sorensen, the chief executive of North American Health Care, the chain that operates Rosewood, said the quality of the home was excellent. “I would put my parent there,” he said. KATIE THOMAS
Strife in Libya Could Presage Long Civil War TRIPOLI, Libya — “The fire is inside the airport!” a militiaman cried, as he fired an antiaircraft cannon on the back of a pickup truck toward a runway at Libya’s main international airport. “God is great, the flames are rising!” “Intensify the shooting,” responded his commander, Salah Badi, an ultraconservative Islamist and former lawmaker from the coastal city of Misurata. Captured on video by the proud attackers just one month ago, Badi’s assault on Libya’s main international airport has now drawn the country’s fractious militias, tribes and towns into a single national conflagration that threatens to become a prolonged civil war. Both sides see the fight as part of a larger regional struggle, fraught with the risks of a return to repressive authoritarianism or a slide toward Islamist extremism. Three years after the NATO-backed ouster of Col.
Muammar el-Qaddafi, the violence threatens to turn Libya into a pocket of chaos destabilizing North Africa for years to come. Libya is already a haven for itinerant militants, and the conflict has now opened new opportunities for Ansar al-Shariah, the hardline Islamist group involved in the assault on the American diplomatic mission in Benghazi in 2012. Those backing Badi say his attack was a pre-emptive blow against an imminent counterrevolution modeled on the military takeover in Egypt and backed by its conservative allies: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Their opponents, including the militias stocked with former Qaddafi soldiers that controlled the airport, say Badi was merely the spearhead of a hard-line Islamist onslaught resembling the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and supported by the Islamist-friend-
ly governments of Turkey and Qatar. The ideological differences are blurry at best: Both sides publicly profess a similar conservative but democratic vision. What is clear is that Libya is being torn apart by an escalating war among its patchwork of rival cities and tribes. Towns and tribes across the country are choosing sides, in places flying the flags of rival factions, sometimes including the black banners of Islamist extremists. In a broad series of interviews on a five-day trip across the chasm now dividing the country — from the mountain town of Zintan, through Tripoli to the coastal city of Misurata — many Libyans despaired of any resolution. “We entered this tunnel and we can’t find our way out,” said Ibrahim Omar, a Zintani leader. DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Held for nearly two years in a prison run by an affiliate of Al Qaeda in Syria, an American freelance writer was unexpectedly freed on Sunday, following extensive mediation by Qatar, which has successfully negotiated the release of numerous Western hostages in exchange for multimillion-dollar ransoms. Relatives of the freed hostage, Peter Theo Curtis, 45, said that they were told no ransom had been paid. Yet his surprise liberation by the Qaeda affiliate, the Nusra Front, came less than a week after the decapitation Peter Theo of another American journalist, Curtis James W. Foley, held by a different and even more radical jihadist group, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and was likely to raise further questions about what, if any, concessions should be made to militant groups holding Western nationals. The beheading of Foley, which shocked and enraged much of the world, also may have spurred Qatar to press for Curtis’s release. The death of Foley at the hands of a masked ISIS guard believed to be a British national came after European nations and organizations had successfully negotiated the liberation of over a dozen of their citizens held in the same cell as Foley for ransoms averaging $2.5 million, according to former hostages and their families, and negotiators and officials involved in their releases. News of Curtis’s release came as British officials said they were close to identifying Foley’s suspected killer, based on voice-recognition technology, eavesdropped phone recordings and other intelligence tools. If the suspect is identified, it could give officials insight into the ISIS captors, who are holding another American journalist, Steven J. Sotloff and two other Americans. RUKMINI CALLIMACHI
INTERNATIONAL
Hamas Official Killed by Missile GAZA CITY — An Israeli missile strike that killed a man riding in a car in Gaza City on Sunday afternoon ripped open the vehicle, revealing bags of American dollars inside and scattering currency on the street, some burned by the blast, according to a witness. The Gaza authorities did not immediately identify the victim, but the Israeli military identified him as Muhammad al-Ghoul and said he had been responsible for Hamas’s financial transactions and handled its “terror funds.” The witness said security men in plain clothes kept photographers and onlookers away, collected the money and searched what remained of the car for more cash. The witness spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. The missile attack was the latest in a string of recent Israeli airstrikes based on what appears to be precise intelligence about the movements of some Hamas operatives who have emerged from their bunkers as the more intensive fighting has subsided. Last week airstrikes killed three senior Hamas commanders in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, and Israel tried to assassinate the chief of Hamas’s military wing, Mohammed Deif, whose fate remains unknown. Israeli forces continued on Sunday to strike Palestinians suspected of being militants and buildings in which they are said to operate in Gaza. Militants fired scores of rockets and mortar rounds into Israel. FARES AKRAM and ISABEL KERSHNER
MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2014
2
Ukraine Rebels Mock Independence Celebration DONETSK, Ukraine — On a day when Ukrainians celebrated their independence from the Soviet Union with parades and speeches, pro-Russia separatists in the eastern part of the country staged a grim counterspectacle: a parade that mocked the national army and celebrated the deaths and imprisonment of its soldiers. Leading the procession was an attractive young blond woman carrying an assault rifle, followed by several dozen captured Ukrainian soldiers, filthy, bruised and unkempt, their heads shaved, wearing fetid camouflage uniforms and looking down at their feet. Onlookers shouted that the men should be shot, and pelted the prisoners with empty beer bottles, eggs and tomatoes as they stumbled down Artyomovsk Street, Donetsk’s main thoroughfare. A loudspeaker played Tchaikovsky’s “Slavonic March,” a Russian patriotic piece. Behind the prisoners were two tanker trucks spraying soapy water, demonstratively cleaning the pavement where the Ukrainians had passed.
Pro-Russia rebels paraded Ukrainian prisoners of war through the main street in central Donetsk on Sunday. MAURICIO LIMA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
People in the crowd shouted “fascists!” and “perverts!” The Geneva Conventions’ rules for treating prisoners of war prohibit parading them in public, but the treatment of the wounded, disheveled prisoners seemed to offend few of those watching, who had turned out for the promise of seeing a ghoulish spectacle. “Shoot them!” one woman yelled. The anti-Independence Day parade staged by the main rebel group in eastern Ukraine, the Donetsk People’s Republic, was one of its most provocative public
affronts to the Ukrainian government in the conflict to date. It contrasted with the traditional military parade in Kiev, the capital, where soldiers of the national army crisply saluted President Petro O. Poroshenko and crowds of cheering citizens on Sunday. Poroshenko plans to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia for peace talks in Belarus on Tuesday, yet he warned in his speech of a long struggle ahead against “insidious treachery.” ANDREW E. KRAMER and ANDREW HIGGINS
ISIS Militants Capture Air Base From Syrian Forces BAGHDAD — Extremist fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria seized a military base in northern Syria on Sunday from forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, solidifying control inside their self-declared Islamic state spanning the Syria-Iraq border. The fall of the Tabqa air base followed the group’s seizing of two other Syrian military bases and gave it effective control of
Raqqa Province, which abuts the Turkish border and whose capital city, Raqqa, has long served as the group’s de facto headquarters. Military advances by ISIS in Syria have highlighted the lack of local military forces that can effectively battle the group, which President Obama last week called a “cancer” that must be eradicated from the Middle East. Syrian rebel groups that formed
to fight Assad’s government never managed to take the air base, and while Assad’s forces have been bombing ISIS from the air and killing its fighters, they lack the ground troops necessary to challenge the group’s hold on terrain. The United States began airstrikes on ISIS positions in Iraq this month, but Obama has declined to intervene in Syria’s civil war. BEN HUBBARD
In Brief Progress on Finding Suspect
Teen Cites Ordeal as Captive
China Says 8 Are Executed
The British ambassador to the United States said on Sunday that investigators were close to identifying the young militant with a British accent who beheaded the American journalist James W. Foley on a video released last week by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The ambassador, Peter Westmacott, said in an interview on CNN that British counterterrorism officers, supported by their American counterparts, were making progress in using clues in the video to pick the killer out of the hundreds of British Muslims who had joined ISIS. Westmacott said investigators were trying to match the killer’s voice against recordings of known British militants now in Syria and Iraq. (NYT)
A Palestinian teenager claims that Israeli soldiers detained him for five days last month, forcing him to sleep blindfolded and handcuffed in his underwear and to search and dig for tunnels in Khuza’a, his village near Gaza’s eastern border. The teenager, Ahmed Jamal Abu Raida, said the soldiers assumed he was connected to Hamas, the militant Islamist group that dominates Gaza, insulted him and Allah and threatened to sic a dog on him. His assertions, of actions that would violate both international law and a 2005 Israeli Supreme Court ruling, could not be independently corroborated. The Israeli military confirmed that troops had suspected Ahmed of being a militant and had detained him. (NYT)
The authorities in Xinjiang, the ethnically divided region in far western China, said on Saturday that eight people had been executed on charges related to separatist violence, including an attack last year in which a car plowed through tourists near Tiananmen Square in Beijing and erupted in flames. The executions were the latest in a succession of displays of resolve by the Chinese government, which is trying to extinguish violent discontent among Uighurs in Xinjiang, their homeland, where they now form a minority of the population. Tianshan, the official news service, said that death sentences approved by China’s highest court had been carried out under the supervision of local courts. (NYT)
MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2014 3
NATIONAL
Two Lives at Crossroads in Ferguson An Unremarkable Past Provides Few Clues About Police Officer
Teenager’s Last Week Spent Grappling With Life’s Mysteries
FERGUSON, Mo. — On the early afternoon of Feb. 28, 2013, Officer Darren Wilson answered a call of a suspicious vehicle where, the police said, the occupants might have been making a drug transaction. After a struggle, Wilson subdued the suspect and grabbed his car keys before help arrived, the police said. A large amount of marijuana was found in the car, the police said, and the 28-year-old suspect now faces seven charges, including possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute and resisting arrest. The incident won Wilson a commendation. It was, until this month, the work for which Wilson was best known in his five years as a police officer. But two weeks ago, Wilson gained far wider attention when he fatally shot an unarmed black teenager named Michael Brown, setting off many nights of unrest in Ferguson and reopening a national debate over issues of race and policing. “I’m a little shocked,” said Doris Stewart, the aunt of the man arrested in the driveway, after learning for the first time this weekend that her nephew’s arrest had resulted in an award for the same officer who had fatally shot Brown. “I’m also a little relieved that he wasn’t badly injured,” she said of her nephew Christopher Brooks, who, like Brown, is black. The focus on Wilson’s actions marks a jarring change for a man who, over most of his 28 years, had left a muted, barely noticeable trail behind. While protesters have marched nightly, a grand jury has begun hearing evidence, and supporters of the officer have raised more than $350,000 for him. Wilson has vanished from public view in this town southwest of St. Louis; he is believed to be under police protection. Wilson, who is divorced, was born in Texas but has spent most of his years in the suburbs that surround St. Louis, records show. In October 2011, he went to work for the police department in Ferguson, where he now makes $45,302 a year. Chief Thomas Jackson has reported no disciplinary actions against him. In the case involving Brooks, his family said there were similarities to Brown’s circumstances. Brooks was just sitting in a car in his grandmother’s driveway when Wilson confronted him, his relatives say. Brooks’s grandmother, Georgia Austin, 73, said he had denied having drugs, but she was not sure who to believe. MONICA DAVEY and FRANCES ROBLES
FERGUSON, Mo. — It was 1 a.m. and Michael Brown Jr. called his father. He had seen something overpowering. In the thick gray clouds that lingered from a passing storm this past June, he made out an angel. And he saw Satan chasing the angel and the angel running into the face of God. Brown was a prankster, so his father and stepmother chuckled at first. “No, no, Dad! No!” the elder Brown remembered his son protesting. “I’m serious.” And the black teenager from this suburb of St. Louis, who had just become the first person in his family to graduate from high school, sent his father and stepmother a picture of the sky from his cellphone. “Now I believe,” he told them. In the weeks afterward, until his shooting death by Darren Wilson, a white police officer, on Aug. 9, they detected a change in him as he spoke about religion and the Bible. He was grappling with life’s mysteries. Brown, 18, due to be buried Monday, was no angel. Before his encounter with Wilson, he was caught on a security camera stealing a box of cigars. He lived in a community that had rough patches, and he dabbled in drugs and alcohol. He had taken to rapping in recent months, producing lyrics that were by turns contemplative and vulgar. At the same time, he overcame struggles in school to graduate on time. He was pointed toward a trade college and a career. But then came the fatal encounter with Wilson. Shortly after the confrontation in the store, Brown and a friend were walking down the middle of a nearby avenue when Wilson told them to get on the sidewalk. The police say Brown hit the officer and scuffled with him over his weapon, leading to his being shot. Brown’s friend said he was shot after running away. Brown’s uncle, Bernard Ewings, recalls talking to his nephew about the police. “I let him know like, if the police ever get on you, I don’t care what you doing, give it up,” he said. “Because if you do one wrong move, they’ll shoot you. They’ll kill you.” After graduating in May, Brown talked about getting a job at a grocery store. He planned to pursue heating and cooling technician courses at a technical college. Brown was sometimes philosophical, as he showed in his final hours. “Everything happen for a reason,” he posted to Facebook the night before he was shot. “Just start putting 2 n 2 together. You’ll see it.” JOHN ELIGON
California Temblor Injures Scores and Destroys Buildings NAPA, Calif. — Early Sunday morning, Franz Oehler’s house blew apart. “My girlfriend and I were thrown straight in the air and the windows exploded,” said Oehler, a 44-year-old creative director, whose home is nestled among some of the country’s most celebrated vineyards. An earthquake measuring a magnitude of 6.0 hit the Napa Valley at 3:20 a.m. Sunday — the
strongest temblor in the San Francisco Bay Area in a quarter-century — destroying opulent and modest homes, rupturing dozens of water and gas mains and causing injuries to more than 100 people. Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency, and directed state resources toward a recovery effort in Napa. At Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, three patients remained in critical condition,
including a child who had been crushed by a falling fireplace, said Vanessa DeGier, a hospital spokeswoman. “We owe wine country in part to earthquakes,” which created Napa Valley’s terrain that is so suitable to vineyards, said Ross S. Stein, a geophysicist at the United States Geological Survey. “We all want to enjoy the fruits of the quakes, so we all have to prepare for the downside, too.” IAN LOVETT
In Brief Town Remembers Beheaded Journalist Residents of Rochester, N.H., came together Sunday to remember James W. Foley, the New Hampshire native and freelance journalist who was killed last week by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. “This moment in our lives is international in scope, crossing all boundaries, yet very personal,” Bishop Peter A. Libasci of the Manchester diocese said during a Mass. “It’s just beyond belief, I can’t put it into words. It’s just heart-wrenching,” said Donna Hinch of Barrington, who met the Foley family through the church. Foley appeared last week in a video that showed him being beheaded by an ISIS fighter, who said the killing was payback for the recent United States military operations in Iraq. (NYT)
Methane Discovered Off U.S. East Coast Scientists have discovered methane gas bubbling from the seafloor in an unexpected place: off the East Coast of the United States where the continental shelf meets the deeper Atlantic Ocean. The methane is emanating from at least 570 locations, called seeps, from near Cape Hatteras, N.C., to the Georges Bank southeast of Nantucket, Mass. While the seepage is widespread, the researchers estimated that the amount of gas was tiny compared with the amount released from all sources each year. (NYT)
Record Executive Shot at Nightclub A billboard advertising Chris Brown’s next album overlooks the east side of the 1Oak nightclub on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, where a party Brown co-hosted on Saturday night went from star-studded revelry to chaos to crime scene in less than 24 hours. Police tape blocked off the area on Sunday as an investigation continued into a shooting that injured three people, including Marion Knight, the founder of Death Row Records better known as Suge. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that Knight, 49, and two others — a man, 32, and a woman, 19 — were shot. No suspects have been named. (NYT)
MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2014 4
BUSINESS
Fed’s New Aim: Spurring Jobs and Inflation JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — The last time the economic policy conference held here every August devoted its agenda to labor markets, it was 1994 and the Federal News Reserve’s vice chairman scandalized Analysis the audience by suggesting central banks worried too much about reducing inflation and not enough about unemployment. Twenty years later, heresy has become gospel. Leaders of the world’s major central banks made clear in speeches at this year’s conference, which ended Saturday, that they were focused on raising employment and wages. The pursuit of lower inflation has been replaced by a conviction that inflation is actually too low for the good of the economy. The Fed’s chairwoman, Janet L. Yellen, opened the conference with a call to maintain low inter-
est rates to support job growth. Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, said that it was expanding its stimulus campaign, and he called on European governments to do the same. Haruhiko Kuroda, who leads the Bank of Japan, said it was committed to increasing its own campaign until annual inflation rose to 2 percent. “Central bankers never used to say things like that,” said Alan Blinder, the former Fed vice chairman who was criticized for doing so in 1994, and who now attends the conference as an economist at Princeton University. “Now I think you can go to the most hawkish end of the Fed and whoever you pick as the most hawkish will not say that we just shouldn’t pay any attention to unemployment.” It was dogma for a generation that central banks should focus
above all on stabilizing inflation, and that doing so would stabilize the economy too. The financial crisis and its aftermath, however, suggested that this relationship between inflation and economic stability was just a coincidence. In the view of Ben Broadbent, a deputy governor of the Bank of England who spoke to the conference on Saturday, “the divine coincidence may no longer apply.” The Fed and the Bank of England have said they are now looking at wage as well as price inflation to gauge how close the economy is to running at capacity. “Most of us have come to the conclusion that we can’t just look at the unemployment rate anymore,” Blinder said. “That’s a huge change and a kind of confession of our ignorance or uncertainty about the labor market.” BINYAMIN APPELBAUM
Swedish Online Pay System Plots Global Expansion STOCKHOLM — Ready to check out online? Just enter your email address and a postal code to complete the purchase. The bill will be in the mail. That is the simple option offered to shoppers on 45,000 e-commerce sites using Klarna, a fast-growing online payments service start-up run from a downtown office here. Enter a few bits of information and, in seconds, Klarna analyzes reams of credit sources and online purchasing data to determine whether it will assume the liability for your purchase. If you are a returning Klarna user, buying during regular working hours or shipping to your usual
address, an email and postal code are probably enough. Klarna may even let you pay for the goods up to two weeks after they have arrived. But if you are buying at odd hours or sending goods to an unused location, expect greater scrutiny. That includes Klarna asking you to pay upfront with a credit card. The payment system has found legions of fans in Europe. What remains to be seen is whether the company — which is valued at over $1 billion after amassing almost $300 million in venture financing from Sequoia Capital — can expand into the United States and elsewhere, where it would compete with larger companies like PayPal
that offer a similar service. The company recently hired its first employee in the United States and hopes to become available in America early next year, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The company’s goal to make Internet purchases a simple one-click process could leave it vulnerable to security breaches — something the company says it is well aware of. “We can’t offset all the risk,” said Niklas Adalberth, one of Klarna’s co-founders. “We want to make online payments as simple as using Google.” MARK SCOTT
In Brief Iceland Lowers Alert On Volcanic Eruption Iceland lowered its aviation alert level to orange from red Sunday, saying there was no sign of an imminent eruption at the Bardarbunga volcano. And scientists at the Icelandic Meteorological Office said their announcement Saturday that the volcano had experienced a subglacial eruption was wrong. Two earthquakes measuring over 5 in magnitude — the biggest yet — shook the volcano beneath Iceland’s vast Vatnajokull glacier early Sunday. Iceland had raised the alert for aviation Saturday to red, the highest level on a five-point scale, warning that an ash-emitting eruption could be imminent. (AP)
Burger King in Talks To Buy Tim Hortons Burger King may be the home of the Whopper, but Canada may be the new home of Burger King. The restaurant operator said on Sunday that it was in talks to buy Tim Hortons, the Canadian doughnut-and-coffee chain, in a potential deal that would create one of the world’s biggest fastfood businesses. If completed, the deal would mean the burger giant’s corporate headquarters would move to Canada, raising the specter of yet another U.S. company switching its national citizenship to lower its tax bill. Burger King would create a new corporate parent that would house both chains. Together, the companies would have a market value of over $18 billion. (NYT)
Roche to Buy InterMune for $8.3 Billion to Bolster Its Drug Offerings The Swiss drug maker Roche agreed on Sunday to buy InterMune — which sells a drug to treat a deadly lung disease — for $8.3 billion, as pharmaceutical companies continue to seek new products to bolster their offerings. The price, $74 a share, represents a 38 percent premium to InterMune’s closing price on Friday and a 63 percent premium to the price on Aug. 12, before news reports that InterMune might be acquired. The acquisition was announced during a flurry of pharmaceutical deals and attempted deals. About $87 billion in pharmaceutical ac-
quisitions were made in the first half of this year, eclipsing the total for 2013, according to Evaluate, a research firm. The total for the first half does not include the $54 billion acquisition of Shire by AbbVie, which was announced in July. InterMune, based in Brisbane, Calif., has one product on the market: a drug called pirfenidone to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a fatal scarring of the lungs. InterMune sells pirfenidone under the name Esbriet in Europe and Canada, where it received regulatory approval in 2011 and 2012. The drug could receive U.S.
approval by Nov. 23. Sales of Esbriet were $35.7 million in the second quarter, but some analysts expect annual revenues to eventually top $1 billion. “We are obviously focused on high unmet medical needs and looking for medicines that make a significant difference clinically, and this clearly fits that bill,” Daniel O’Day, who runs Roche’s pharmaceutical business, said Sunday. He said the acquisition would strengthen its portfolio of drugs for respiratory diseases. That has not been a major business for a company mainly known for its cancer
treatments. Roche sells Xolair, a drug for asthma and Pulmozyme for cystic fibrosis. But it has another drug, lebrikizumab, that is in late-stage clinical trials to treat severe asthma and is also being evaluated as a possible treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Roche, however, has historically not relied much on acquisitions for its pharmaceutical business. The big exception was its acquisition of the part of biotechnology pioneer Genentech that it did not own for $46.8 billion in 2009. ANDREW POLLACK and MICHAEL J. de la MERCED
MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2014 5
BUSINESS
Data Upstarts Adapt as Tech Giants Enter Fray Hackers Target SAN FRANCISCO — Nothing concentrates minds at a tech startup like living in the middle of a price war between Amazon and Google. Just ask executives at Box, Dropbox and Hightail. They pioneered a new kind of Internet service that allows people and companies to store all kinds of electronic files in an easy-to-use online locker. But as often happens, the much bigger companies liked the idea so much they decided to do the same thing — at a much lower price. “These guys will drive prices to zero,” said Aaron Levie, co-founder and chief executive of Box. “You do not want to wait for Google or Amazon to keep cutting prices on you. ‘Free’ is not a business model.” So how do you avoid free? Box is trying to cater to special data storage needs, like digital versions of X-rays for health care companies and other tasks specific to different kinds of customers. Hightail is trying to do something similar for customers like law firms. And Dropbox? It is trying to make sure that its consumer-minded service stays easier to use than what the big guys provide. “It’s very tough just to be in the storage business,” said Brad Garlinghouse, the chief executive of Hightail. “We don’t think that is what we’re selling anymore.”
of 1,000 books or seven minutes of high-definition television. A version for $10 a month offers 100 gigabytes. Hightail, formerly YouSendIt, says it has over a half-million business customers paying $25 a month or more. Managing data ANDREW RODRIGUEZ/THE NEW YORK TIMES should be a good The industry calls this sort of re- business. The problem is price. invention a “pivot.” Another way to Amazon and Google have decimated competition in Internet adverdescribe it is a fight for survival. Box, founded in 2005, has attract- tising and retail. As they move to ed $512 million in investment, and dominate cloud computing, includin March it filed papers for an initial ing online storage, they are turning public offering of stock. In July, the that relentlessness on each other. None of the smaller storage company said it had 39,000 businesses, paying $15 to $35 a month a companies doubt that Amazon and user. It is hard to know how many Google can make seemingly impospeople that is. Some of the busi- sible pricing moves. Box and Hightail say they asnesses have just a couple of people, and others include General Electric sume they will offer customers unlimited storage free and push their and Eli Lilly. Dropbox has 300 million cus- costs into the prices they charge for tomers worldwide and actually other services. “At this point, it’s runs inside Amazon Web Ser- better just to say ‘unlimited,’ ” said vices, as do parts of Box. Many Levie. “The thing to do is take into Dropbox customers pay nothing account why someone is storing and get two gigabytes of storage something online and what their QUENTIN HARDY capacity a month, the equivalent needs are.”
Taking Helm, NBC News President Rouses Network In her first year as president of NBC News, Deborah Turness received one message loud and clear: Welcome to the feeding frenzy. It didn’t take long for Turness to realize that the attention paid to broadcast journalism in America — the ratings, the rumors, the gossip — is exponentially more intense than anything she experienced during her TV news career in her native Britain. “The heat that happens here is quite unique,” Turness said after NBC News announced its latest upheaval: the ouster of David Gregory as anchor of “Meet the Press” and the naming of Chuck Todd as his replacement. That move came a few weeks after Turness was criticized for the decision to remove an Egyptian-American correspondent, Ayman Mohyeldin, from Gaza. The criticism suggested NBC withdrew him because his reports were anti-Israel, a charge she disputed as “dead wrong.”
Deborah Turness
Turness is hardly cowed and is unapologetically upbeat. “It has been an incredibly productive year,” she said. “I have achieved more in the first year than I ever
thought I could.” And, in her view, much needed to be accomplished: “People in the organization from top to bottom recognized that NBC News hadn’t kept up with the times in all sorts of ways, for maybe 15 years,” she said. “I think the organization had gone to sleep.” When Turness, 47, took over last August, the division’s ratings had gone to seed. The “Today” show had lost its once impregnable morning news lead over ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Sunday morning’s “Meet the Press”
was in steady decline. Only its nightly newscast with Brian Williams maintained supremacy. Patricia Fili-Krushel, the chairwoman of the NBCUniversal News Group, conducted a broad search to find a leader to fix the wounded division, which employs 2,000. She identified Turness, who had earned a reputation for high-spirited leadership as a top news executive for the British network ITN. A former colleague, who asked not to be identified, said Turness “brought a bit of rock-chick swagger to a newsroom full of middle-aged men.” Her reputation for full-on energy has settled in at NBC. “She is a dynamo,” said Williams. Matt Lauer, the “Today” anchor, was equally effusive. “We have all been impressed by how she is able to focus on every aspect of the organization,” he said. “For the first time in a very long time, everybody wants to be on the team.” BILL CARTER
Video Games For Better Scores Hackers are breaking into American companies for credit card numbers, passwords, trade secrets and — it turns out — for phony video game scores. For the last five years, hackers in China have been breaking into American video game makers’ systems, collecting proprietary source code in an effort to crack the games for free use and to develop tools to cheat them, according to research by the counterthreat unit at Dell SecureWorks, a security firm that Dell acquired in 2011. The new research offers a reminder that despite the continued focus on hackers at the National Security Agency and military units in Shanghai, some of the most prolific and sophisticated attacks are still the work of individual hackers. Dell SecureWorks would not name the victims, but its report may help shed light on attacks against video game makers. In the last year, Nintendo reported that it had been a victim of an attack in which hackers managed to gain unauthorized access to a Nintendo members-reward site 23,000 times, after 15 million attempts. Ubisoft, based in Montreuilsous-Bois, France, announced that its networks had also been hacked. Japanese game maker Konami said hackers had tried to gain access to its systems some four million times and were successful in 35,000 cases. Crytek, a game developer, also reported a breach. In March, a British security company discovered that an Electronic Arts server had been hacked. And in May, Bohemia Interactive, a Czech game developer, confirmed that it had been hacked after the source code for its DayZ game appeared on a game-hacking forum. Dell SecureWorks’ researchers traced several tools to the online alias “Laurentiu Moon,” a Chinese hacker. Laurentiu Moon has been a member of China Cracking Group since 2009 and AntiGameProtect since last December. Both are dedicated to video game cracking. Other tools were traced to another member of the China Cracking Group, with the alias “Sincoder.” It appears this person is based in Shenzhen, China. Efforts to reach these individuals through their online accounts were unsuccessful. NICOLE PERLROTH
OBITUARY
MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2014
7
Richard Attenborough, 90, Giant of British Cinema, Dies cast in the 1963 war film “The Great Escape,” his first Hollywood feature, that he found a trans-Atlantic audience. His role, as a British officer masterminding an escape plan from a German prisoner-of-war camp, was Sir Richard integral to one of the most Attenborough revered and enjoyable of all World War II films. That performance established him in Hollywood and paved the way for a series of highly visible roles, including the alcoholic navigator alongside James Stewart’s pilot in “The Flight of the Phoenix” (1965).
Richard Attenborough, who after a distinguished stage and film acting career in Britain reinvented himself to become the internationally admired director of the monumental “Gandhi,” died on Sunday. He was 90. His death was confirmed by his son, Michael, according to the BBC. Until the early 1960s, he was a familiar actor in Britain but little known in the United States. In London he was the original detective in Agatha Christie’s play “The Mousetrap.” On the British screen, he made an early mark as the sociopath Pinkie Brown in an adaptation of Graham Greene’s “Brighton Rock” (1947). But it was not until he appeared with his friend Steve McQueen and a sterling ensemble
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Years later Attenborough became known to a new generation of filmgoers as the wealthy head of a genetic engineering company whose cloned dinosaurs run amok in Steven Spielberg’s box-office hit “Jurassic Park.” But for most of Attenborough’s later career, his acting was sporadic while he devoted much of his time to directing. “Gandhi” (1982), an epic but intimate biographical film, was his greatest triumph. With the little-known Ben Kingsley in the title role, the film traces Mohandas K. Gandhi’s life as an Indian lawyer who forsakes his job and possessions and takes up a walking staff to lead his oppressed country’s fight for independence from Britain. “Gandhi” was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won eight, including best picture and best actor (Kingsley). Attenborough brought the film to fruition after a 20-year battle to raise money and interest often reluctant Hollywood producers, one of whom predicted that there would be no audience for “a little brown man in a sheet carrying a beanstalk.” As Attenborough put it, he spent “so much money I couldn’t pay the gas bill.” His life was entwined with the establishment. He was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1967. He was knighted in 1976. Attenborough was credited with inspiring Diana, Princess of Wales, whom he coached in public speaking at Prince Charles’s urging, to start her campaign against land mines. In his maiden speech in the House of Lords, he criticized the government for neglecting the arts. Christopher Hart, writing in The Sunday Times in London, called him “an ennobled champagne socialist of the old school, a mass of good causes and inconsistencies.” On the set he was known for his genial charm, calling everyone “darling,” however mighty or marginal they were. William Goldman, the screenwriter of “A Bridge Too Far,” called him “by far the finest, most decent human being” he had ever met in the movie business. BENEDICT NIGHTINGALE
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SPORTS
9
MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2014
In Brief
South Korea Secures Title in Return to Series SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — It was difficult to tell who had more fun Sunday at the championship game of the Little League World Series, South Korea’s players or its supporters. Cheerleaders waved ornate fans. Between innings, spectators danced to music from artists as varied as Elvis, Pharrell Williams and the Ramones. The players also danced beforehand, but quickly grew serious in purpose. After an absence of 29 years from the youth Series, South Korea defeated Jackie Robinson West of Chicago, 8-4, for its third title, each coming without a defeat in the tournament. South Korea took an 8-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth and final inning, when Chicago finally hit the ball out of the infield. Starting pitcher Hwang Jae-yeong retired the first six batters he faced — four
SOUTH KOREA 8, CHICAGO 4
by strikeout — then felt a twinge in his elbow and was relieved after allowing an infield single. But the Koreans did not lack for depth. Choi Hae-chan moved from first base to the mound, bringing along an explosive fastball and a powerful swing. He and teammate Sin Dong-wan homered as South Korea put the game beyond reach in the late innings. Chicago had been resilient through the Series and rallied in the bottom of the sixth on Sunday, but there were too many runs to make up against a poised and skilled opponent. With the title won, the Korean players tossed their gloves and hugged and doused one another with cups of water. They bowed to the Chicago players and their parents. Next, they went to their knees in appreciation of their own
fans and parents, most of whom watched on television from Seoul, the capital, where it was early Monday morning, 13 hours ahead. Finally, the players filled a cup with dirt and planted a tiny national flag on the mound, then circled the mound and pantomimed the shooting of arrows. “Teamwork is more important than winning,” said Choi, the victorious pitcher. Even in defeat, Jackie Robinson West, the United States champion, will be feted with a parade upon returning to Chicago. The all-black team became a powerful symbol of possibility for urban baseball in a sport where African-American participation is in decline. “Until the tournament starts next year,” said William Haley, whose father, Joseph, started the Jackie Robinson West league in 1971, “we’re America’s team.” JERÉ LONGMAN
Mahan Wins Barclays, and Gets a Better Surprise PARAMUS, N.J. — When he dropped his arms after sinking his eight-foot putt on the 18th hole, the look was one of relief more than of exhilaration for Hunter Mahan. He had made an adventure out of the final hole at Ridgewood Country Club on Sunday, hitting into the woods, then finding the sand before finishing with a bogey. But with a two-shot advantage over Jason Day, Mahan still believed he had enough separation to win the Barclays, the first of four tournaments that make up the FedEx Cup. “I was thinking, ‘That was harder than it needed to be,’ ” Mahan said of his five strokes on 18, his
only bogey of the day. Only then did Mahan finally notice his wife, Kandi, and their 1-year-old daughter, Zoe, standing off the green, a little road-weary after a trip from Kandi’s family’s home in Odessa, Tex., that afternoon. They had landed around 4:15 p.m. and had raced to the course, arriving when Mahan was two holes from finishing. “He had always said it’s a dream to win a tournament and have his baby girl there,” Kandi said. Last July, Mahan left the Canadian Open, which he was leading after three rounds, to be at Zoe’s birth. On Sunday, Zoe was crawling around on the green as her
WEATHER High/low temperatures for the 21 hours ended at 4 p.m. yesterday, Eastern time, and precipitation (in inches) for the 18 hours ended at 1 p.m. yesterday. Expected conditions for today and tomorrow. Weather conditions: C-clouds, F-fog, H-haze, I-ice, PC-partly cloudy, R-rain, S-sun, Sh-showers, Sn-snow, SS-snow showers, T-thunderstorms, Tr-trace, W-windy.
U.S. CITIES Yesterday Today Albuquerque 87/ 59 0.05 85/ 64 T Atlanta 87/ 75 0.05 84/ 65 PC Boise 80/ 54 0 79/ 57 S Boston 74/ 62 0 81/ 66 S Buffalo 80/ 60 0 83/ 65 S Charlotte 80/ 73 0 82/ 61 S Chicago 87/ 68 0 93/ 75 T Cleveland 80/ 67 0 85/ 67 PC Dallas-Ft. Worth 98/ 80 0 100/ 79 S Denver 84/ 52 0 78/ 56 T Detroit 78/ 68 0 85/ 71 PC
Tomorrow 81/ 62 T 85/ 65 S 85/ 60 S 83/ 68 S 82/ 64 PC 83/ 60 S 87/ 66 T 85/ 67 PC 99/ 78 S 76/ 57 T 87/ 65 PC
father lifted a trophy for his first PGA Tour victory since 2012. “To see them right now and to win is a special feeling,” said Mahan, who finished at 14 under par. Day finished in a tie for second place at 12 under with Stuart Appleby and Cameron Tringale. Morgan Hoffmann, the fan favorite from nearby Wyckoff, N.J., could not stay in contention, finishing at nine under, but he had a front-row seat to an exceptional performance from Mahan. “He made birdies where he needed to and didn’t make mistakes,” Hoffmann said. “He’s a consistent player. It’s good to see.” ZACH SCHONBRUN
Houston 98/ 74 0 98/ 78 S Kansas City 95/ 72 0 95/ 73 PC Los Angeles 82/ 67 0 81/ 64 PC Miami 94/ 80 0 92/ 78 T Mpls.-St. Paul 87/ 73 0.02 83/ 59 PC New York City 80/ 64 0 85/ 68 S Orlando 98/ 74 0.05 89/ 75 Sh Philadelphia 83/ 64 0 83/ 64 S Phoenix 104/ 80 0 100/ 76 S Salt Lake City 78/ 51 0 82/ 61 T San Francisco 75/ 58 0 73/ 59 PC Seattle 76/ 56 0 83/ 59 S St. Louis 97/ 79 0 97/ 78 PC Washington 82/ 68 0 83/ 65 S
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Rams Quarterback Has Torn A.C.L. Sam Bradford, the starting quarterback for the St. Louis Rams, has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee for the second year in a row and is out for the season. Rams Coach Jeff Fisher confirmed the extent of the injury Sunday night. Bradford was injured in the first quarter of Saturday night’s 33-14 preseason victory at Cleveland. Bradford missed the last nine games last season after injuring his knee against Carolina. The veteran Shaun Hill is the Rams’ backup quarterback. (AP)
A.L. SCORES SATURDAY’S LATE GAMES Cleveland 3, Houston 2 Kansas City 6, Texas 3 Detroit 8, Minnesota 6, 2nd game Oakland 2, L.A. Angels 1 SUNDAY Yankees 7, White Sox 4, 10 innings Cleveland 3, Houston 1 Tampa Bay 2, Toronto 1, 10 innings Seattle 8, Boston 6 Detroit 13, Minnesota 4 Texas 3, Kansas City 1 L.A. Angels 9, Oakland 4
N.L. SCORES SATURDAY’S LATE GAMES St. Louis 6, Philadelphia 5, 12 innings Cincinnati 1, Atlanta 0 Pittsburgh 10, Milwaukee 2 Colorado 5, Miami 4, 13 innings Arizona 5, San Diego 2 L.A. Dodgers 7, Mets 4 SUNDAY Cincinnati 5, Atlanta 3 Washington 14, San Francisco 6 Philadelphia 7, St. Louis 1 Milwaukee 4, Pittsburgh 3 Chicago Cubs 2, Baltimore 1 Colorado 7, Miami 4 Mets 11, L.A. Dodgers 3 San Diego 7, Arizona 4 72/ 44 61/ 37 68/ 54 90/ 80 88/ 81 65/ 59 64/ 45 91/ 61 74/ 54 82/ 59 72/ 51 90/ 80 70/ 46 61/ 52 86/ 68 81/ 64 52/ 42 63/ 48 66/ 48 86/ 79 77/ 64 72/ 57 59/ 57
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MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2014 10
SPORTS JOURNAL
Weary of Delays in Professional Tennis? Cry Into the Towel When the United States Open begins Monday, the best tennis players in the world will unleash overpowering serves, crackling forehands and paralyzing returns. Then they will retreat behind the baseline and use a no-less-visible weapon of choice: a 100 percent cotton official tournament towel. In the men’s game in particular, tennis and towels are much more in tandem now than the faded tactic of serve-and-volley. For various reasons, sometimes including actually drying off, players have increasingly been, as they say, going to the towel. As Roger Federer recently described it, “For some players, like a security blanket.” Beyond noticeable, it has made some people irritable. At Wimbledon, John Newcombe, the No. 1 player in 1967 who is now 70, summed up the incredulity of his generation: “Can we stop the towel, please? Hit one ball, towel.” Quantifying how rampant towel use affects the length of tennis matches is difficult because the matches differ wildly in terms of competitiveness. But people watching know when one is dragging on, seemingly forever. On the men’s tour, players are allotted 25 seconds between
vak Djokovic when you are dripping wet off your hat, shirt, shoes and shorts.” Around the men’s tour, Greg Rusedski, who retired in 2007, is generally acknowledged as the ANDREW BROWNBILL/ASSOCIATED PRESS godfather of point-by-point Stanislas Wawrinka throws a towel during a — or pointless break at the Australian Open in January. — toweling. He considered it points. The women’s tour allows an unbreakable habit, while con20 seconds, as do the four Grand ceding, “It must have been annoySlam events. But players, espe- ing to watch and play against.” Federer said he was a regular cially the stars, often bend and break the rules. In the 2012 Aus- towel user as a temperamental tralian Open men’s final, Rafael teenager, tour newcomer and perNadal, a notorious dawdler, and haps trendsetter. “I don’t want to Novak Djokovic routinely took say I was one of the first to start 30 to 35 seconds between points, it, but I needed it to calm down, albeit on a hot, humid day. Their you know, to not throw the rackmatch lasted 5 hours 53 minutes, a et or not yell,” he said. “I was like, ‘O.K., go back to the towel and rerecord for a Grand Slam final. Few would challenge the argu- lax.’ That was for me a thing I conment of the pro-turned-commen- sciously tried to do at the end of tator Justin Gimelstob, who said: the ’90s. Has it gone over the top? “The sport has changed; it’s more Sometimes, absolutely.” Like Gimelstob, Andy Murray physical and the rallies are longer. In the summer, try serving to No- added that the towel use was most-
An August Classic Helps a Surge Toward October In six weeks or so, if the Yankees play a game the way they did on Sunday, it will immediately become part of franchise lore. There were homers at the start and the finish. On BaseBall An ace starter Tyler Kepner blew a lead, and a star closer blew a save. A visiting slugger took called third strikes to end two late innings, and a pinstriped icon bounced into a double play with a chance to be a hero. A new Yankee stood tallest at the end. “Amazing,” Ichiro Suzuki said in English. Suzuki might as well have been speaking of the game itself — a 7-4 victory in 10 innings against the Chicago White Sox — but he was responding to a question about his own feat. With a two-run, go-ahead single in the sixth inning, he became the first left-handed hitter in over a year to drive in a run against Chris Sale, Chicago’s angular lefty. Joe Girardi, the Yankees’ manager, showed deference to Sale
(his career earned run average in four starts against the Yankees: 0.79) with his lineup card. He rested four left-handed hitters: Brett Gardner, who had a sore ankle; Stephen Drew; Jacoby Ellsbury; and Brian McCann. The makeshift order had two hits and six strikeouts in the first five innings before a dropped fly ball sparked a four-run rally. The victory would not have happened without big hits from Mark Teixeira and Suzuki. Four innings later — after critical strikeouts by Chicago’s Jose Abreu, an 0-for-5 day for Derek Jeter and a rare misstep by David Robertson — McCann hit a three-run homer. Girardi called this the best win of the year. “Considering who we were facing; we got down, 3-0; we were able to tie it up and win the game,” he said. “I think that’s fair to say.” The Yankees are not yet watching the standings, McCann said, and that may be a good thing. The Yankees are three and a
half games behind the Seattle Mariners for the second wildcard spot, and the Tigers are also ahead of them in that race. Then again, perhaps the American League East is still up for grabs. Right when the Baltimore Orioles seemed to be running away with the division, the Yankees chopped three games off their lead this weekend. The Orioles dropped three straight at Wrigley Field to the Chicago Cubs and now stand six games ahead of the Yankees. “There’s just so much time left,” McCann said. “We just focus on us. We’ve just got to win.” McCann said that he would never forget the home run, and that it would rank at the top of his greatest moments. The only thing off was the timing — an August afternoon, not an October night. But it might help the Yankees earn the right to host games like that, and for now it is the high point of an uneven season.
ly justified because rarely do other athletes have to labor for hours in warm, humid conditions with no teammate to allow them a rest. As for those who towel off out of habit, Murray said that was getting into the realm of the sports psychologist. He happened to have a good one. Alexis Castorri, a psychologist based in South Florida who has worked with Murray and other athletes, described towel reliance as a sound strategic tactic. “I don’t teach towel,” she said. “The routine I do teach is that you have to take some of the 20 or 25 seconds to do something. If that’s what you want to do, go to the towel, go ahead. It’s all about what you’re doing with your mind.” Castorri cited Maria Sharapova’s habit of gathering herself behind the baseline, back to her opponent, as a good example. Golfers, she said, rely on ticks and body gyrations in preparation for the next shot. Basketball players slapped teammates five at the free-throw line even after a missed shot. Castorri said that some athletes, when advised to find that security blanket, have told her, “I don’t want to look goofy.” She has responded, “Actually, you’ll look professional.” HARVEY ARATON
In Brief Dream Evens Series Angel McCoughtry was determined to make sure the Atlanta Dream weren’t done in the W.N.B.A. playoffs. McCoughtry scored 39 points, and the Dream beat the Chicago Sky, 92-83, on Sunday night to even their Eastern Conference semifinal series at one game apiece. Game 3 is Tuesday in Atlanta, with the winner moving into the Eastern Conference finals against Indiana. (AP)
Cubs Get Rare Sweep Tsuyoshi Wada allowed Steve Pearce’s leadoff homer in the seventh inning for Baltimore’s only hit Sunday, and the host Chicago Cubs beat the Orioles, 2-1, for a three-game sweep. Wada got a popout after the homer and departed to a standing ovation from the announced crowd of 32,774. The Cubs recorded their first series sweep since one in Boston on June 30 to July 2. (AP)
YOURNAVY IN THE NEWS Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group Departs for Deployment From Commander, U.S. Third Fleet Public Affairs
The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group departed Aug. 22 for a scheduled deployment to the Western Pacific and U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17, and embarked Destroyer Squadron 1 deployed with guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) and guidedmissile destroyers USS Gridley (DDG 101), USS Sterett (DDG 104), and USS Dewey (DDG 105). Carl Vinson also embarked the aviation squadrons of CVW-17 which includes the “Fighting Redcocks” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 22, the “Sunliners” of VFA-81, the “Stingers” of VFA-113, the “Mighty Shrikes” of VFA-94, the “Cougars” of Electronic Attack Squadron 139, the “Sun Kings” of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 116, the “Red Lions” of
Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron For More information on http://www.public.navy.mil/ 15, the “Battlecats” of Helicopter Carrier Air Wing 17 visit: http:// surfor/cds1/Pages/default.aspx Sea Maritime Strike Squadron www.public.navy.mil/airfor/ For more news from 73, and Fleet Logistic Support cvw17/Pages/default.aspx Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet, visit Squadron 30. For more information on www.navy.mil/local/c3f/. The strike group deploys with DESRON 1 ships visit: approximately 6,200 Sailors and will focus on maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts. Bunker Hill, Dewey, Gridley and Sterett, multi-mission ships that possess the Aegis Weapons System, will support Carl Vinson carrier operations and provide deterrence to potential adversaries, promote peace and security, preserve freedom of the seas, and provide humanitarian/ disaster relief as necessary. For more information on USS Carl Vinson visit: http://www. cvn70.navy.mil/ For more information on Carrier Strike Group 1 visit: Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Edward Perez kisses his son moments before boarding the guidedhttp://www.public.navy.mil/ missile destroyer USS Dewey (DDG 105) for a scheduled deployment to the western Pacific and airfor/csg1/Pages/CSG1%20 U.S. Central Command areas of responsibility. Dewey is part of the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Welcome.aspx Group. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Zachary Bell/Released
USS Cole Deploys to 6th Fleet By Lt. j.g. Douglas Kroh, USS Cole Public Affairs
The guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) departed Naval Station Norfolk today, on a deployment to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility. After transiting the Atlantic Ocean, Cole will enter the Mediterranean Sea and surrounding waters to conduct maritime operations and strengthen partner nations’ maritime capabilities, promoting a secure maritime environment. “It is an honor to command Cole as we set sail,” said Cmdr. Dennis Farrell, the ship’s commanding officer. “The men and women who make up the crew of Cole are this nation’s best and brightest and they have answered the call to serve America, protect the nation’s security and carry out the maritime strategy.” Cole returned from her last deployment in January 2013. Between maintenance periods, the crew was underway for certification exercises, participation in the NATO
exercise Joint Warrior and Fleet Week New York earlier this year. “The history of this ship carries great weight,” said Fire Controlman 3rd Class Bradley Dowden. “We are all proud to carry it into the world. Showing her off gives me a great sense of personal pride.” The ship was commissioned June 8, 1996, and is named after U.S. Marine Sgt. Darrell Samuel Cole, who received the Medal of Honor for his “conspicuous gallantry” at the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. For more Cole information, visit the ship’s website at www. public.navy.mil/surflant/ddg67/. For more news from Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, visit www.navy.mil/local/surflant/. Quartermaster Seaman Kelsey Quarterman and Cryptologic Technician 3rd Class Ekaterina Smith raise the national ensign aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) during morning colors at Naval Station Norfolk. Cole is preparing to depart on a deployment to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Ensign Jessica Kellogg.
Staff Commanding Officer Capt. Daniel Grieco Executive Officer Capt. Jeff Craig Public Affairs Officer Lt. Cmdr. Reann Mommsen Media Officer Ensign Jack Georges Senior Editor MCC Adrian Melendez Editor MC2 Katie Lash MC3 John M. Drew Layout MCSA Wyatt Anthony Rough Rider Contributors MC3 Heath Zeigler Theodore Roosevelt Media Command Ombudsman Sabrina Bishop Linda Watford Michelle V. Thomas cvn71ombudsman@gmail.com The Rough Rider is an authorized publication for the crew of USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Contents herein are not necessarily the views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government, Department of Defense, Department of the Navy or the Commanding Officer of TR. All items for publication in The Rough Rider must be submitted to the editor no later than three days prior to publication. Do you have a story you’d like to see in the Rough Rider? Contact the Media Department at (757) 443-7419 or stop by 3-180-0-Q.
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WHAT’S ON underway movie schedule
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0900
QUANTUM OF SOLACE
THE INCREDIBLES
THE POSSESSION
1100
MYSTIC RIVER
A HAUNTED HOUSE 2
TRANSFORMERS 2: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
1230
MYSTIC RIVER (Cont.)
THE SITTER
TRANSFORMER 2 (Cont.)
1400
IDES OF MARCH
VAMPIRE ACADEMY
MEN IN BLACK 3
1600
NEED FOR SPEED
THINK LIKE A MAN
PACIFIC RIM
1830
KICK-ASS 2
MOM’S NIGHT OUT
CHERNOBYL DIARIES
2030
QUANTUM OF SOLACE
THE INCREDIBLES
THE POSSESSION
2230
MYSTIC RIVER
A HAUNTED HOUSE 2
TRANSFORMERS 2: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
2400
MYSTIC RIVER (Cont.)
THE SITTER
TRANSFORMERS 2 (Cont.)
0130
IDES OF MARCH
VAMPIRE ACADEMY
MEN IN BLACK 3
0330
NEED FOR SPEED
THINK LIKE A MAN
PACIFIC RIM
0600
KICK-ASS 2
MOM’S NIGHT OUT
CHERNOBYL DIARIES
*Movie schedule is subject to change.