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FORT BENNING, Ga. — Doz
ens of military leaders clad in var
ying shades and patterns of cam
ouflage watched intently from the
sunscorched grandstands that
line the front of Fort Benning’s
Red Cloud Range as American sol
diers spread out before them, un
leashing firepower on distant tar
gets.
As soldiers with the Army post’s
316th Cavalry Brigade demon
strated the use of some of the U.S.
military’s heaviest landbased
weapons, the military officials —
including generals from some 40
African nations — raised camera
phones and traded impressed
glances. The American soldiers
fired mortars, antitank weapons
and M4 rifles from the ground, and
they shot machine guns and guid
ed missiles from armored Stryker
and Bradley infantry vehicles.
But the biggest bangs were
saved for last.
After about 15 minutes of shoot
ing, a pair of M1A2 Abrams tanks
PHOTOS BY COREY DICKSTEIN/Stars and Stripes
Division Gen. Aly Justin Dem, the chief of staff of the Ivory Coast Army, center, watches a U.S. Army Airborne School demonstration at FortBenning, Ga., on March 22, during the Army’s African Land Forces Summit.
Wooing with firepowerArmy hosts Africans to build relationships amid power competition
BY COREY DICKSTEIN
Stars and Stripes
Soldiers with Fort Benning’s 316th Cavalry Brigade exit a Strykerduring a livefire demonstration March 24, at the Georgia installationduring the Army’s African Land Forces Summit.SEE POWER ON PAGE 4
The flagship of Russia’s Black
Sea Fleet suffered a catastrophic
fire and explosion that Ukraine
said Thursday was the result of a
missile attack.
A fire and subsequent muni
tions blast seriously damaged the
guidedmissile cruiser Moskva,
causing the crew to evacuate, the
Russian Defense Ministry said, as
cited by Russian news agency
RIA.
Maksym Marchenko, governor
of the Odesa region of Ukraine,
said that two Ukrainian missiles
caused the fire and explosion late
Wednesday.
Russian officials contradicted
Ukraine’s claims, instead blaming
the fire on a “localized” source,
without providing details.
The cruiser’s missiles were not
damaged by the fire and experts
were working on towing the ship
to port to investigate the cause,
Russian officials told RIA.
Pentagon spokesman John Kir
by told CNN that the United States
wasn’t able to confirm whether
the explosion was caused by a mis
sile.
“We assess that the ship is able
to make its own way, and it is doing
that; it’s heading more toward,
now, we think the east. We think
it’s probably going to be putting in
at Sevastopol for repairs,” Kirby
told CNN.
Ukrainiansclaim hitas Russianship burns
BY ALISON BATH
Stars and Stripes
WAR IN UKRAINEBiden authorizesanother $800M inUS military aidPage 6
SEE SHIP ON PAGE 7
PAGE 2 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
EUROPE GAS PRICES
PACIFIC GAS PRICESCountry Super E10 Super unleaded Super plus Diesel
Japan .. $4.919 .. $5.139
Change in price .. 8.0 cents .. 7.0 cents
Okinawa $4.159 .. .. $5.139
Change in price 8.0 cents .. .. 7.0 cents
South Korea $4.169 .. $4.929 $5.149
Change in price 8.0 cents .. 8.0 cents 7.0 cents
Guam $4.169 $4.659 $4.929 ..
Change in price 8.0 cents 8.0 cents 8.0 cents ..
*DieselEFD **Midgrade
For the week of April 15-21
BUSINESS/WEATHER
Bahrain80/74
Baghdad81/57
Doha93/77
Kuwait City85/73
Riyadh97/74
Kandahar
Kabul
Djibouti91/80
FRIDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Mildenhall/Lakenheath
61/48
Ramstein61/45
Stuttgart61/48
Lajes,Azores61/58
Rota70/57
Morón79/53 Sigonella
60/53
Naples70/53
Aviano/Vicenza65/44
Pápa58/48
Souda Bay61/55
Brussels61/46
Zagan50/46
DrawskoPomorskie
46/43
FRIDAY IN EUROPE
Misawa47/39
Guam82/79
Tokyo57/45
Okinawa69/66
Sasebo58/51
Iwakuni59/49
Seoul61/40
Osan61/41
Busan56/47
The weather is provided by the American Forces Network Weather Center,
2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
SATURDAY IN THE PACIFIC
WEATHER OUTLOOK
Military rates
Euro costs (April 15) $1.06Dollar buys (April 15) 0.8949British pound (April 15) $1.28Japanese yen (April 15) 123.00South Korean won (April 15) 1193.00
Commercial rates
Bahrain(Dinar) 0.3769Britain (Pound) 1.3042Canada (Dollar) 1.2593China(Yuan) 6.3789Denmark (Krone) 6.9057Egypt (Pound) 18.3954Euro 0.9282Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.8423Hungary (Forint) 349.47Israel (Shekel) 3.2195Japan (Yen) 125.95Kuwait(Dinar) 0.3049
Norway (Krone) 8.8147
Philippines (Peso) 52.20Poland (Zloty) 4.31Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7502Singapore (Dollar) 1.3589
South Korea (Won) 1230.01Switzerland (Franc) 0.9424Thailand (Baht) 33.70Turkey (NewLira) 14.6279
(Military exchange rates are those availableto customers at military banking facilities in thecountry of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., purchasing British pounds in Germany), check withyour local military banking facility. Commercialrates are interbank rates provided for referencewhen buying currency. All figures are foreigncurrencies to one dollar, except for the Britishpound, which is represented in dollarstopound, and the euro, which is dollarstoeuro.)
INTEREST RATES
Prime rate 3.50Interest Rates Discount rate 1.00Federal funds market rate 0.083month bill 0.7630year bond 2.83
EXCHANGE RATES
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TODAYIN STRIPES
Classified .................... 35Comics ..............34,40,41Crossword ........ 34.40.41Faces .......................... 10Opinion ....................... 39Sports ................... 4248
Friday, April 15, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3
93rd Bombard
ment Group
(Heavy), 9th
Air Force,
DPAA said in a
news release.
Baker enlist
ed in the Army
at Fort Haves,
Ohio, in 1929, and a year later
trained for flying at Brooks and
Kelly Fields, Texas, according to
the U.S. Air Force Historical Sup
port Division.
In 1940, he was assigned to the
112th Observation Squadron at
Pope Field, N.C., by which time he
was a captain.
By May 1942 he was a major in
command of the 93rd Bomb
Group’s 328th Bomb Squadron as
Lt. Col. Addison Baker’s B24
was in flames as he led a bomber
formation over oil refineries in Ro
mania on Aug. 1, 1943, during
World War II.
The plane he piloted, nick
named Hell’s Wench, was riddled
with antiaircraft flak and steadily
losing altitude.
“Ignoring the fact he was flying
over terrain suitable for safe land
ing, he refused to jeopardize the
mission by breaking up the lead
formation and continued un
swervingly to lead his group to the
target upon which he dropped his
bombs with devastating effect,”
states the citation for the Medal of
Honor Baker was awarded for his
actions that day.
“Only then did he leave forma
tion, but his valiant attempts to
gain sufficient altitude for the
crew to escape by parachute were
unavailing and his aircraft
crashed in flames after his suc
cessful efforts to avoid other
planes in formation,” the citation
continues.
The entire crew of 10 perished in
the crash, and Baker’s body re
mained unrecovered.
On Wednesday, the Defense
POW/MIA Accounting Agency
announced that Baker’s remains,
unaccounted for all these decades,
had been identified on Friday.
In the summer of 1943, Baker,
then 36, commanded the 328th
Bombardment Squadron (Heavy),
it headed for the European thea
ter.
He flew out of Libya on Aug. 1,
1943, in one of several formations
involved in Operation Tidal Wave,
a massive bombing mission on the
oil fields and refineries in Roma
nia that were crucial to Germany’s
war effort.
The plane carrying the forma
tion’s navigator had gone down en
route to the target, and as a result,
Baker led the planes toward the
target area.
His B24 burned after crashing
into the town of Ploesti, and imme
diately after the end of the war in
1945, the remains of five crew
members were recovered and
identified, DPAA said.
Unidentifiable remains — Bak
er among them — were buried as
unknowns at U.S. military cemete
ries in Europe.
In 2017, DPAA began exhuming
and examining unknown remains
associated with Operation Tidal
Wave, and a set of remains that had
been interred at Ardennes Ameri
can Cemetery in Belgium was de
termined to be Baker, DPAA said.
Baker was awarded the Medal
of Honor on March 11, 1944.
“By extraordinary flying skill,
gallant leadership and intrepidity,
Lt. Col. Baker rendered outstand
ing, distinguished, and valorous
service to our Nation,” the citation
states.
DOD identifies remains of WWII pilot, Medal of Honor recipientBY WYATT OLSON
Stars and Stripes
[email protected] Twitter: @WyattWOlson
Baker
Airmen and guardians strug
gling to conceive are now afford
ed extra time off to undergo fer
tility treatments at a military hos
pital, under a revised Air Force
policy adopted earlier this
month.
Male and female service mem
bers participating in a fertility
treatment program can take up to
35 days of permissive temporary
duty, which can be divided into
separate trips if approved by a
medical provider. It’s the first
time the Air Force has authorized
permissive TDY for fertility
treatment.
The benefit allows military
members to travel at no cost to
the government while conserving
earned leave days.
The Air Force’s women’s initia
tive team championed the new
policy, a service statement said.
Members of the team said the
change is significant for eve
ryone dealing with infertility.
“I have had several members
struggle with fertility issues and
can attest to the rippling effects it
has across the military,” said U.S.
Space Force Chief Master Sgt.
Martha Burkhead, the women’s
team lead for the initiative.
There six military medical cen
ters where service members may
seek infertility treatments are
Tripler Army Medical Center in
Hawaii; Walter Reed National
Medical Center, Bethesda, Md.;
Womack Army Medical Center,
Fayetteville, N.C.; San Antonio
Military Medical Center, Texas;
Madigan Army Medical Center,
Tacoma, Wash.; and Naval Med
ical Center San Diego, Calif.
Other updates include permis
sion for commanders to authorize
up to 30 days of convalescent
leave for sexual assault victims to
receive support or allow time for
recovery. The authorization was
directed by the Pentagon follow
ing an independent review of sex
ual assault in the military.
Convalescent leave is a non
chargeable absence typically
granted to help service members
return to duty after illness, injury
or childbirth.
Another change allows service
members within a year of retiring
to attend Defense Department
sponsored employment seminars
that aren’t available locally.
Air Force allows TDY for fertility treatmentBY JENNIFER H. SVAN
Stars and Stripes
[email protected] Twitter: @stripesktown
MILITARY
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea —
South Korea recently returned approxi
mately 1.3 million rounds of armorpiercing
ammunition made of depleted uranium to
the United States, a welcomed departure,
according to a South Korean legislator.
The rounds presented a risk to public
health and safety, Kim Jinpyo, a member of
the National Defense Committee and the
Democratic Party, said in an email to Stars
and Stripes on April 5.
“If an explosion accident takes place at
the ammunition warehouse, hundreds of
thousands of people could be injured,” Kim
said. “I actively welcome this depleted ura
nium ammunition relocation.”
The U.S. Air Force deemed the 30mm
rounds “unserviceable due to an expired
shelflife,” a 7th Air Force spokeswoman
told Stars and Stripes by email Tuesday. The
rounds should arrive in the U.S. sometime
this month and will be destroyed according
to routine procedures, said spokeswoman
Lt. Col. Kelley Jeter.
The rounds were stored at a South Korean
ammunition warehouse in Gyeonggi prov
ince, she said. The 30mm rounds are typical
ly fired from cannons mounted on A10
Thunderbolt II attack planes.
“The 7th Air Force munitions logistics
and safety experts were involved in this de
cision and have no safety or environmental
concerns,” Jeter said.
The South Korean 10th Fighter Wing
transferred the rounds to the 7th Air Force
in March, a wing official told Stars and
Stripes by phone on Friday.
Depleted uranium is 1.6 times more dense
than lead, making it an ideal material for ar
morpiercing projectiles, according to the
National Library of Medicine.
The U.S. employed depleteduranium
rounds during the Gulf War and as recently
in 2015, when A10s attacked hundreds of Is
lamic State vehicles in Syria, according to
multiple news reports.
Longterm health impacts of exposure to
depleted uranium are being studied by in
ternational organizations.
The health risks depend on several fac
tors, including particle size and the amount
of exposure, to the U.N. Environment Pro
gramme. However, “air, soil, water and veg
etation can potentially be contaminated and
affected” by depleted uranium, according to
the U.N. program.
The International Atomic Energy Agency
found the radiological risk “was not signifi
cant” where depleted uranium in small par
ticles was found in impact areas, according
to the U.N. Office for Disarmament Affairs.
However, there is “a potential risk of radi
ation effects” for anyone who comes into di
rect contact with depleteduranium frag
ments or ammunition, according to the U.N.
In South Korea, the transferred rounds
were part of “an endless debate” over their
safety, Kim said. He cited a risk of leaked ra
diation, a heightened risk of leukemia and
other harmful effects.
South Korea needs to update the Muni
tions Activities Gained by Negotiations
Memorandum of Understanding, Kim said
in his email. The agreement allows the Air
Force to store munitions in South Korean
military facilities.
The current agreement leaves South Ko
rea liable for potential health side effects
and absolves the U.S. military of any respon
sibility, even in the event of a problem at the
ammunition warehouse, he said.
Under the agreement, the South Korean
military was responsible for managing, stor
ing, inspecting and maintaining the muni
tions.
Depleted uranium roundsremoved from South Korea
BY DAVID CHOI
Stars and Stripes
RACHEL YATES/U.S. Air Force
South Korea returned 30mm rounds with depleted uranium after they were deemed“unserviceable due to an expired shelflife.”
[email protected] Twitter: @choibboy
PAGE 4 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
raced onto the range. Without
slowing, the first tank — dubbed
“Death Trap” — unleashed its
120mm smoothbore cannon just
yards in front of the spectators,
sending a shockwave through the
crowd. Battlehardened com
manders who have spent years
fighting terrorists and other forces
across Africa smiled, clapping oc
casionally, as the American tanks
blasted round after round hun
dreds of yards into old military
vehicles scattered across the
range.
This combinedarms demon
stration launched last month at the
Army’s African Land Forces Sum
mit displayed American military
might for key leaders of African ar
mies — many of whom have long
worked with U.S. forces and others
with whom American generals
aim to strengthen ties.
The display was partly to con
vince these allied and potential
partnering militaries to work with
the United States over rivals such
as Russia and China — both of
which have sought to expand influ
ence through economic, military
and others means across Africa in
recent years. But the U.S. Army al
so spent the March 21 to 25 summit
preaching its top values: Civilian
control of the military, respect for
the laws of armed conflict and hu
man rights, and building a resilient
military force centered on empo
wered noncommissioned officers.
The U.S. Army’s power is not in
its weapons systems, top service
officials hosting the summit said.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Patrick Do
nahoe, the longtime armor officer
who leads Fort Benning’s Maneu
ver Center of Excellence, said the
“secret sauce” is those highly
trained NCOs who are empowered
to make critical decisions on the
battlefield.
“So, when you talk to a lot of
these international senior leaders
—yes, they are attracted to the shi
ny objects, the weapons, the tanks,
the Bradleys, right?” said Dona
hoe, who is in charge of the Army’s
infantry and armor training cours
es and its Airborne and Ranger
schools, among other key combat
education courses. “But they’re
absolutely fascinated by how we
train our noncommissioned offi
cers, and that’s where they end up
focusing on ‘how do you get that
done?’ ”
That’s why for the first time in
the African Land Forces Summit’s
decadelong history, Army officials
elected to bring African leaders to
the United States to learn directly
from American soldiers. The sum
mit has been held traditionally in
an African nation and cohosted by
the United States. It is planned and
run each year by the U.S. Army’s
contingent responsible for oper
ations in Africa, the U.S. Army
Southern European Task Force
Africa.
“This is where we create our
combat forces,” said the Army’s
chief of staff, Gen. James McCon
ville, who visited the summit
March 22. “There’s tremendous
capability here to show our allies
and partners what is the best way
to train soldiers and what we do
here, which is really investing in
the future of our Army.”
The summitThroughout the weeklong sum
mit, U.S. soldiers conducted air
borne operations, demonstrated
the capabilities of the Army’s new
est training tool — its Security
Forces Assistance Brigades, and
showed the skills required to earn
the coveted Ranger Tab. The Afri
can leaders participated in semi
nars to teach the tenets of U.S. Ar
my values and capabilities and in
smaller group discussions aimed
at specific security challenges
faced across Africa.
“We want to demonstrate to
African leaders that the U.S. is
committed to their longterm suc
cess,” said Army Maj. Gen. An
drew Rohling, the SETAF com
mander, who is based in Vicenza,
Italy.
Rohling has commanded the Ar
my’s Africafocused forces for
nearly two years during a period
marked by the coronavirus pan
demic and an increase in Russian
and Chinese operations across the
continent. The Chinese have large
ly focused their influence efforts in
Africa on economic initiatives, in
cluding socalled vaccine diploma
cy and debtinducing infrastruc
ture programs, while Russia has
dramatically increased its pres
ence with mercenary fighters in
several African nations, U.S. offi
cials have said in recent months.
But with the uptick in those com
petitors’ activities, Rohling said
discussions with his African coun
terparts rarely venture into those
activities. Instead, he and his sub
ordinates focus on providing them
what they believe to be the best
possible package to strengthen se
curity ties.
Throughout the week, Rohling
said the request that he heard most
often from African officers was for
U.S. military presence in their
countries. He said he especially
expected to field upticks in re
quests for Security Force Assis
tance Brigade soldiers across the
continent.
SFABThe Army created five Security
Force Assistance Brigades, begin
ning in 2017, with an eye toward
providing a force of specially
trained advisersoldiers to partner
with allied militaries. The units
were the brainchild of thenArmy
Chief of Staff Mark Milley, who is
now the chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff.
The SFABs initially rotated
through Afghanistan to train Af
ghan security forces, but they have
since been regionally aligned to
provide small units of trainers to
countries in their area of oper
ations. For the 2nd Security Force
Assistance Brigade, based at Fort
Bragg, N.C., they have been re
sponsible for operations in Africa
since October 2020.
The unit has operated in several
countries since then — including
Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, Moroc
co, Tunisia and Senegal — and
plans to expand its footprint in the
coming months, said Col. Michael
Sullivan, the unit’s commander.
He said his interactions last month
at the African Land Forces Sum
mit were already generating a lot
of new interest from other nations.
African officials have been espe
cially interested in how the SFAB
does austere and battlefield medi
cal response, logistics and intelli
gence among other critical capa
bilities. And while Sullivan said
Russian and Chinese activities in
Africa — including in some of the
nations where his soldiers operate
—do not impact his mission, he be
lieves the quality of his brigade’s
product speaks volumes to African
military leaders.
“We’re there to provide the best
quality adviser, coach, mentor,
partner that any nation could ask
for,” he said. “We can provide the
best training, we’re unintrusive —
small teams of experts — and
we’re not asking for anything in re
turn.
“So ideally, we hope to become
the partner of choice for their
training and capability needs and
that results in more work for the
SFAB, and if that means it’s less
work for our competitors, that’s a
great secondary effect.”
American powerFor many of the African offi
cials, the summit marked a first
visit to the United States, while for
others it was something of a home
coming. Maj. Gen. Chikunkha
Harrison Soko, the land forces
commander for Malawi, is no
stranger to Fort Benning.
Soko, who studied at the U.S.
Military Academy at West Point,
N.Y., is a graduate of Fort Ben
ning’s Airborne School and Ran
ger School. He is also a top propo
nent to his African counterparts of
the merits of working with U.S.
forces instead of others. The gen
eral said Malawi has continued to
send young officers to train in the
United States, and he would al
ways accept more U.S. troops op
erating in his country.
“I am biased, as I spent my youth
training here in America,” he said.
“But look, America is power in the
world. I can see from [the summit’s
livefire] displays for some of these
[other African military leaders],
they see that display of power, and
maybe now they will be looking
more towards America. And, again
Iam biased, but I think that’s a pos
itive thing.”
Other African generals agreed.
Maj. Gen. Thomas OppongPe
prah, the chief of staff of Ghana’s
Army, said he had been awed by
the work of SFAB soldiers in his
country. Brig. Gen. Venuste Ndu
wayo, Burundi’s land forces com
mander, said he had been im
pressed by American troops who
he worked with in Somalia when
he was a commander with a peace
keeping force known as the Afri
can Union Mission in Somalia.
“At that time, I had some advis
ers from the U.S. Army — it was
not easy, this operation in AMI
SOM, but having advisers from the
[U.S. Army] — in logistics for ex
ample … helped us succeed,” Ndu
wayo said.
McConville, the U.S. Army’s top
general, said he hoped more Afri
can nations would see that value as
a result of the summit.
“Many of the leaders [in Africa]
are starting to believe in [Ameri
can] types of values and where
we’re going,” he said. “I think
that’s what we’re trying to do here
— shore up those partnership with
likeminded nations and show
them the benefits of our training
and our partnerships. And, for
those who don’t share the same val
ues and interests — they’re not go
ing to get those benefits of working
with us.”
Power: Summit is held
in US for the first timeFROM PAGE 1
[email protected] Twitter: @CDicksteinDC
PHOTOS BY COREY DICKSTEIN/Stars and Stripes
Top military officials from 40 African nations watch a U.S. Army Airborne School demonstration at FortBenning, Ga., on March 22 during the Army’s African Land Forces Summit.
U.S. and African military officials exit a UH60 Black Hawk helicopterafter a ride above Fort Benning, Ga., on March 22.
MILITARY
Friday, April 15, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 5
MILITARY
NAPLES, Italy — The USS Ge
orgia, an Ohioclass ballistic mis
sile submarine, docked at port in
Gibraltar this week as part of an
ongoing effort to enhance rela
tions with the United Kingdom,
Navy officials said.
The scheduled visit, the third by
a U.S. submarine within a year, in
cludes office calls with local and
military leadership and lets sail
ors experience the history of Gi
braltar, while building relation
ships with a key partner in the
Mediterranean Sea, said Cmdr.
Richlyn Ivey, a spokeswoman for
the Naples, Italybased U.S. 6th
Fleet.
The Wednesday arrival drew
the attention of nearby ship
watchers, who posted photos of
the submarine online. The U.S.
seldom announces the positions of
its submarines.
In June, USS Alaska, also an
Ohioclass ballistic missile sub
marine, visited the navy base in
Gibraltar, which is near Naval Sta
tion Rota in Spain.
That visit was the first by an
Ohioclass submarine to Gibraltar
in more than 20 years, online news
outlet The Drive reported last
year, citing a 6th Fleet spokeswo
man.
The USS Albany, a Los Angeles
class fast attack submarine, also
visited the strategic port in De
cember.
The visit coincides with height
ened U.S. and NATO naval pres
ence in the Mediterranean, in
cluding deployment of the USS
Harry S. Truman carrier strike
group, as the U.S. seeks to reas
sure allies amid Russia’s fullscale
invasion of Ukraine.
DANIEL FERRO/Twitter
The Ohioclass submarine USS Georgia arrived in Gibraltar this weekon a scheduled port visit, U.S. Navy officials said.
US submakes aGibraltarport call
Stars and Stripes
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South
Korea — A decorated Korean War
veteran known for his dedication to
completing the Korean War Veter
ans Memorial has died at age 96.
Retired Army Col. William Web
er died Saturday in his home in Ma
ryland, according to a Korean War
Veterans Memorial Foundation
news release.
Born in Chicago, Weber enlisted
in the Army in 1943 at age 17 and was
assigned to the 11th Airborne Divi
sion, according to his obituary in the
NewsPost of Frederick, Md. He lat
er graduated from Officer Candi
date School and deployed to Korea
in 1950 during the war.
Weber was attached to the 1st Ma
rine Division when he was first
wounded in September 1950. He
went on to serve as company com
mander of 3rd Battalion, 187th Air
borne Regimental Combat Team,
and was wounded again in Febru
ary 1951 during the defense of Won
ju, roughly 50 miles east of Seoul.
Weber lost his right leg and right
arm as a result, according to his obit
uary.
Despite his injuries, Weber re
mained on active duty, one of the
first double amputee Army officers
to do so since the Civil War, accord
ing to his obituary. He retired as a
colonel in 1980. His awards include
the Distinguished Service Medal,
Silver Star, Legion of Merit with an
oak leaf cluster and Purple Heart.
He is survived by his wife of 48
years, Annelie Weber.
Weber was appointed by Presi
dent Ronald Reagan to the advisory
board responsible for constructing
the Korean War Veterans Memo
rial in Washington, D.C. After the
memorial was dedicated in 1995,
Weber still believed it “was not com
plete,” according to the Korean War
Veterans Memorial Foundation.
Weber and others lobbied for the
construction of the Wall of Remem
brance that includes the names of
over 36,000 Americans and 7,100
Koreans who died during the 1950
53 Korean War. The cost of the wall
as well as renovations to the existing
memorial were estimated to be
around $22 million.
The wall is scheduled to be dedi
cated on July 27.
Wall of Remembrance
advocate Weber diesBY DAVID CHOI
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @choibboy
PAGE 6 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
“I think there is a clear indication
that [the Russians] are targeting
quite deliberately everything and
everyone that is associated with Uk
rainians as a national identity,” he
said.
The chances that Russian Presi
dent Vladimir Putin, a man with no
history of reversing course when
cornered, might back down as his
military’s effort faltered were never
very great, and U.S. officials have
questioned Russia’s seriousness
about peace talks. Yet after Mos
cow’s failure to take Kyiv, the shift to
aharder line in state media suggests
that the Kremlin is girding the pop
ulation for a tough and potentially
long fight in Ukraine’s east, one that
could see even greater destruction
and casualties.
It also hints at a punitive path
should Russia win: potentially parti
tioning Ukraine, crushing its mili
RIGA, Latvia — After a month of
fighting, the architects of Moscow’s
war against Ukraine had to explain
to Russians why Kyiv had not fallen.
That’s when the most menacing
rhetoric began.
On state television, a military ana
lyst doubled down on Russia’s need
to win and called for concentration
camps for Ukrainians opposed to
the invasion.
Two days later, the head of the de
fense committee in the lower house
of parliament said it would take 30 to
40 years to “reeducate” Ukrainians.
And on a talk show, the editor in
chief of the Englishlanguage televi
sion news network RT described
Ukrainians’ determination to de
fend their country as “collective in
sanity.”
“It’s no accident we call them Na
zis,” said Margarita Simonyan, who
also heads the Kremlinbacked
news agency that operates Sputnik
and RIA Novosti. “What makes you
a Nazi is your bestial nature, your
bestial hatred and your bestial wil
lingness to tear out the eyes of chil
dren on the basis of nationality.”
Russia’s astonishing shift toward
genocidal speech has been swift and
seamless. Moscow officials stepped
up warnings that Russia was fight
ing for its survival. Pundits con
demned peace talks and scorned
troops’ withdrawal from Kyiv and
surrounding areas.
The change of gears, signaling a
brutal occupation, appeared delib
erate and coordinated in a nation
where detailed Kremlin orders on
messaging are handed down regu
larly to state media.
Eugene Finkel, an expert on gen
ocide at Johns Hopkins University
in Bologna, Italy, said the rhetoric
isn’t just “a few crazy hardliners”
spouting off. It’s coming from prom
inent government officials, showing
up in the press, being heard on state
television — and is “clearly genoci
dal.”
“They’re talking about destroy
ing Ukrainians as a group, Ukraine
as a state and as an identity com
munity,” Finkel said. “The argu
ment is we are going to destroy this
national community as it exists and
create something new that we like
instead, no matter how many people
we kill in the process.”
In late March, the head of Rus
sia’s Investigative Committee
launched a probe into whether Uk
rainian students’ textbooks “target
children with hatred of Russia and
the Russian language” or “distort
history.” There is already evidence,
Finkel noted, of Russian soldiers in
Ukraine going through libraries and
schools and destroying books in Uk
rainian or those about the country’s
history and struggle for indepen
dence.
tary and civil society, and occupying
it for years.
Aformer Kremlin adviser, Sergei
Karaganov, has said that the coun
try would be left as a rump state — or
perhaps as nothing at all — after
Moscow is done. Russia, he made
clear in an interview with the New
Statesman, “cannot afford to lose.”
The threat of Nazism is one of the
Kremlin’s most brazen themes. Last
week, RIA Novosti ran a prominent
opinion piece by pundit Timofei
Sergeitsev, an outspoken supporter
of Putin, that urged the liquidation
of the entire Ukrainian elite, the di
vision of the country, destruction of
its sovereignty and even the aboli
tion of its name.
“Denazification will inevitably be
deUkrainization,” Sergeitsev
wrote, requiring years of ideological
repression and severe censorship in
political, cultural and educational
fields. Ordinary Ukrainians were
complicit and must suffer the “inev
itable hardships of a just war” be
fore total submission to Russian
power “as a historical lesson and
atonement for their guilt.”
Others quickly piled on. Former
president and prime minister Dmi
try Medvedev, who is now deputy
chairman of the Russian Security
Council, wrote on Telegram that
“Ukrainianism, fueled by antiRus
sian poison and allconsuming lies
about its identity, is one big fake.”
Ruth Deyermond, a Russia ex
pert in the Department of War Stud
ies at King’s College London, said
such arguments are “hard to read in
any other way than a justification for
mass killing. It’s extremely disturb
ing language and clearly has genoci
dal overtones. It’s not that they, Uk
rainians, have a Führer or a political
ideology or a Nazi system. They’re
just Nazi.”
In a provincial city in central Rus
sia, a young woman named Valeriya
talked recently about how isolated
she felt as the calls to “fight Nazis”
increased. Valeriya, who declined to
give her full name or where she lives
because of safety concerns, said co
workers viewed her with suspicion
because she has a Ukrainian boy
friend and opposes the invasion.
They demanded she say whose side
she was on.
“They tell me, ‘You don’t know
the reality. There are fascists, and
we need to get rid of them,’” she said.
She has begun seeing social
media posts in support of genocide
and fears that the sentiment might
intensify.
“In our country, we were brought
up with the idea that we should fight
Nazis,” Valeriya said. “If state tele
vision keeps calling for the contin
uation of war and to kill the last Uk
rainian, then maybe ordinary peo
ple will start believing it and lots and
lots of people will think that that’s
what we should do.”
As Russia’s war founders, ominous rhetoric gains groundBY ROBYN DIXON
The Washington Post
UKRAINE DEFENSE MINISTRY/AP
Russian military vehicles reportedly heading toward Izyum on a blown up bridge in Kharkiv region,Ukraine, on Thursday.
WASHINGTON — The United
States will send another $800 mil
lion in weapons that includes artil
lery, helicopters and armored
vehicles to Ukraine as its forces
prepare for a new Russian attack
in the country’s eastern region,
President Joe Biden announced
Wednesday.
“This new package of assistance
will contain many of the highly ef
fective weapons systems we have
already provided and new capa
bilities tailored to the wider as
sault we expect Russia to launch
in eastern Ukraine,” Biden said in
a prepared statement.
Those additional weapons will
include 300 Switchblade drones,
11 Mi17 helicopters, 18 155mm ho
witzers, 200 M113 armored per
sonnel carriers and 100 armored
Humvees, according to the Penta
gon.
“The steady supply of weapons
the United States and its allies and
partners have provided to Uk
raine has been critical in sustain
ing its fight against the Russian in
vasion,” Biden said. “It has helped
ensure that Putin failed in his ini
tial war aims to conquer and con
trol Ukraine. We cannot rest
now.”
The new aid comes as Russia
has been adding helicopters, artil
lery and troops to infantry units
that recently left the capital of Ky
iv and Chernihiv in northern Uk
raine “for what we continue to be
lieve is going to be a renewed
push” to the Donbas, a senior U.S.
defense official said Wednesday.
The expected Russian offensive
on the Donbas region could prove
to be easier for Russian forces
than prior assaults in northern
and southern Ukraine, chief Pen
tagon spokesman John Kirby said
Wednesday. That’s because Rus
sia is more familiar with the ter
rain there after fighting in the re
gion since it last invaded Ukraine
in 2014.
“The other aspect of this is the
topography [of eastern Ukraine.]
It’s been described to me [as] a bit
like Kansas — a little bit flatter, it’s
a little bit more open,” he said.
“It’s the kind of place where we
can anticipate [Russia] to use
tanks and longrange fires, artil
lery and rocket fire to achieve
some of their objectives before
committing ground troops.”
The range of weapons in the lat
est military aid package was cho
sen, in part, based on that assess
ment. The security package also
includes 10 AN/TPQ36 counter
artillery radars, two AN/MPQ64
Sentinel air surveillance radars,
500 Javelin missiles and thou
sands of “other antiarmor sys
tems,” 40,000 artillery rounds,
30,000 sets of body armor and hel
mets, and more than 2,000 optics
and laser rangefinders, according
to the Pentagon.
An undisclosed number of “un
manned coastaldefense vessels”
is also being sent to Ukraine, along
with C4 explosives and demoli
tion equipment for clearing obsta
cles, M18A1 Claymore antiper
sonnel munitions, medical sup
plies and protective equipment to
guard against chemical, biologi
cal, radiological and nuclear expo
sure, the Pentagon said.
U.S. troops will need to train Uk
rainians on some of the systems in
the new package, Kirby said, such
as the howitzers, counterartillery
and air surveillance radars, ran
gefinders and Claymores.
“We’re still working on what
that’s going to look like,” he said.
“Because they are in an active
fight, [we may conduct] a train
thetrainers program — pull a
small number of Ukrainian forces
out so they can get trained on these
systems and then send them back
in.”
Biden OKs $800M more in military aid to UkraineBY CAITLIN DOORNBOS
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @CaitlinDoornbos
EUROPE
Friday, April 15, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 7
Loss of the 11,490ton ship is a
serious blow to the Russian navy’s
prestige and national pride. It also
comes as the navy is reportedly
preparing to support ground forc
es for a new offensive in eastern
Ukraine.
Throughout the war, Russian
navy ships have launched cruise
missiles, enforced a blockade in
the northern Black Sea and sup
ported smallscale amphibious as
saults.
Moskva was reported to be one
of two ships involved in the take
over of Snake Island in the open
ing days of the fullscale invasion
in late February.
A Ukrainian guard at the Black
Sea outcropping near the Danube
delta, called Zmiinyi Island in Uk
rainian, famously said “Go f—
yourself” when the Russians de
manded the unit’s surrender.
All the guards on Snake Island
were originally thought to have
been killed, but it was later deter
mined that Russia had captured
them. They were released in a
prisoner swap in late March, ac
cording to news reports.
Analysts using satellite imagery
have reported the Moskva’s pres
ence in the northern Black Sea,
which includes Snake Island,
throughout the war.
“It has been confirmed that the
missile cruiser ‘Moscow’ today
went exactly where it was sent by
our border guards on Snake Is
land,” Marchenko said in a
Wednesday post to his account on
the social media platform Tele
gram. “Neptune missiles guard
ing the Black Sea caused very se
rious damage to the Russian ship.”
If that proves true, the destruc
tion of the Moskva would be the
second successful Ukrainian at
tack on a Russian ship in the past
month.
Opensource intelligence analy
sts on Twitter reported March 24
that a Russian Alligatorclass
landing ship, likely the Saratov, in
port at Berdyansk on the Sea of
Azov had caught fire, potentially
because of a strike by a Ukrainian
missile.
Neptune antiship missiles re
cently were developed by Uk
raine, based on an earlier Soviet
design, The Associated Press re
ported Thursday. The missiles are
truckmounted and have a strike
range of up to 175 miles, according
to the report.
The system, some analysts said
Thursday, could be a game chang
er for Ukraine in its effort to de
fend its coastline, potentially mak
ing it possible for ground troops
protecting Odesa to detach and
fight in eastern Ukraine.
“If the Moskva and Saratov in
cidents were the result of Ukrai
nian strikes, we can now safely say
that Ukraine has the means to at
tack and disrupt an amphibious
landing near Odessa,” tweeted
Frederik Van Lokeren, a former
Belgian navy officer and naval
analyst studying the Russian na
vy.
The Moskva was put into oper
ation in 1983, receiving its current
name in 1996, the Russian News
Agency Tass reported Thursday.
In 20182020, it underwent signif
icant repairs and modernization,
RIA said.
It is the lead ship of Project 1164
Atlant and is armed with 16 Yak
hont cruise missile launchers, an
AK130 artillery system and an
S300F Fort antiaircraft missile
system, among other defense and
artillery systems, according to
RIA.
Two other Russian cruisers —
the Marshal Ustinov in the North
ern Fleet and the Varyag, flagship
of the Pacific Fleet — are part of
the same project, RIA reported.
Those ships were last sighted sail
ing near Crete and Cyprus, re
spectively, according to OSINT
analysts.
Ship: Damage to cruiser seen as large blow to Russian pride
[email protected]: @alisonbath_
Russian Defense Ministry
The Russian cruiser Moskva, or Moscow, fires a missile in the BlackSea in April 2021.
FROM PAGE 1
EUROPE
sia’s invasion and shuttered its
Kyiv office entirely on Feb. 28.
Diplomats and staff have been
working from Poland ever since.
White House Press Secretary
Jen Psaki on Monday declined to
set a timetable for a return this
week.
Jake Sullivan, the national se
curity adviser, said Sunday that
U.S. officials are “working
through” when to send diplomats
back to Kyiv.
The State Department said it is
constantly evaluating safety in
Kyiv and does not have specifics
on when the U.S. Embassy there
could reopen.
Ernst criticized the administra
tion of President Joe Biden for be
ing “far too riskaverse” about
restoring a diplomatic presence in
Ukraine and said a U.S. diplomat
she met in Poland last month
“tearfully told me she wanted to
return.”
WASHINGTON — Some Repu
blican lawmakers are calling for
the United States to resume its
diplomatic presence in Ukraine
and reopen its embassy in the cap
ital Kyiv now that Russia’s invad
ing forces have withdrawn from
the city’s surrounding areas.
Multiple countries recently an
nounced plans to reopen embas
sies in Kyiv, including Italy, Por
tugal, Belgium, Austria and Tur
key. The embassies of Slovenia,
the Czech Republic and Lithuania
have already opened their doors,
as has the diplomatic office of the
European Union. The U.S. needs
to quickly follow suit, Republicans
said.
“It’s time,” said Sen. Joni Ernst,
RIowa, an Army veteran. “We
have numerous American [non
governmental organizations] op
erating in Ukraine, thousands of
Americans who never left and
American news operations in the
country. It’s time to return — and
show Ukraine, and the world, our
enduring commitment to their
freedom.”
The U.S. Embassy moved its
consular operations to the western
Ukrainian city of Lviv, near the
Polish border, days before Rus
Republican lawmakers call for reopening US Embassy in Ukraine capitalBY SVETLANA SHKOLNIKOVA
Stars and Stripes
BRUSSELS — Russia warned
Finland and Sweden on Thurs
day that if they join NATO, Mos
cow will reinforce the Baltic Sea
region, including with nuclear
weapons.
The threat came a day after
Finnish officials suggested the
country could request to join the
30member military alliance
within weeks and as Sweden
mulled making a similar move.
Helsinki and Stockholm are
officially nonaligned militarily,
but they are reconsidering their
status in light of Russia’s inva
sion of Ukraine — escalating
warnings from Russia.
Dmitry Medvedev, a Putin al
ly who serves as deputy chair
man of Russia’s Security Coun
cil, said Thursday that NATO
expansion would lead Russia to
strengthen air, land and naval
forces to “balance” military ca
pability in the region.
“If Sweden and Finland join
NATO, the length of the land
borders of the alliance with the
Russian Federation will more
than double. Naturally, these
boundaries will have to be
strengthened,” he wrote on Tel
egram.
His comments echo those of
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry
Peskov who told British media
last week that if the two Nordic
countries join NATO, Russia
would be forced to “rebalance
the situation.” He added, “we’ll
have to make our western flank
more sophisticated in terms of
ensuring our security.”
Russia threatens to move nukes to Baltic if Finland, Sweden join NATOThe Washington Post
PAGE 8 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
NATION
NEW YORK — Frank James
posted dozens of videos ranting
about race, violence and his strug
gles with mental illness. One
stands out for its relative calm: A
silent shot of a packed New York
City subway car in which he rais
es his finger to point out passen
gers, one by one.
Even as police arrested James
on Wednesday in the Brooklyn
subway shooting that wounded 10
people, they were still searching
for a motive from a flood of details
about the 62yearold Black man’s
life.
An erratic work history. Arrests
for a string of mostly lowlevel
crimes. A storage locker with
more ammo. And hours of ram
bling, bigoted, profanitylaced
videos on his YouTube channel
that point to a deep, simmering
anger.
“This nation was born in vio
lence, it’s kept alive by violence or
the threat thereof, and it’s going to
die a violent death,” says James in
a video where he takes on the mo
niker “Prophet of Doom.”
After a 30hour manhunt,
James was arrested without inci
dent after a tipster — thought by
police to be James himself — said
he could be found near a McDo
nald’s on Manhattan’s Lower East
Side. Mayor Eric Adams trium
phantly proclaimed “We got
him!” Police said their top prior
ity was getting the suspect, now
charged with a federal terrorism
offense, off the streets as they in
vestigate their biggest unanswer
ed question: Why?
A prime trove of evidence, they
said, is his YouTube videos. He
seems to have opinions about
nearly everything — racism in
America, New York City’s new
mayor, the state of mental health
services, 9/11, Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine, and Black women.
A federal criminal complaint
cited one in which James ranted
about too many homeless people
on the subway and put the blame
on New York City’s mayor.
“What are you doing, brother?”
he said in the video posted March
27. “Every car I went to was load
ed with homeless people. It was so
bad, I couldn’t even stand.”
James then railed about the
treatment of Black people in an
April 6 video cited in the com
plaint, saying, “And so the mes
sage to me is: I should have gotten
a gun, and just started shooting.”
In a video posted a day before
the attack, James criticizes crime
against Black people and says
things would only change if cer
tain people were “stomped,
kicked and tortured” out of their
“comfort zone.”
Surveillance cameras spotted
James entering the subway sys
tem turnstiles Tuesday morning,
dressed as a maintenance or con
struction worker in a yellow hard
hat and orange working jacket
with reflective tape.
Police say fellow riders heard
him say only “oops” as he set off
one smoke grenade in a crowded
subway car as it rolled into a sta
tion. He then set off a second
smoke grenade and started firing,
police said. In the smoke and
chaos that ensued, police say
James made his getaway by slip
ping into a train that pulled in
across the platform and exited af
ter the first stop.
Left behind at the scene was the
gun, extended magazines, a
hatchet, detonated and undetonat
ed smoke grenades, a black gar
bage can, a rolling cart, gasoline
and the key to a UHaul van, po
lice said.
That key led investigators to
James, and clues to a life of set
backs and anger as he bounced
among factory and maintenance
jobs, got fired at least twice,
moved among Milwaukee, Phila
delphia, New Jersey and New
York.
Investigators said James had 12
prior arrests in New York and
New Jersey from 1990 to 2007, in
cluding for possession of burglary
tools, criminal sex act, trespass
ing, larceny and disorderly con
duct.
James had no felony convic
tions and was not prohibited from
purchasing or owning a firearm.
Police said the gun used in the at
tack was legally purchased at an
Ohio pawn shop in 2011.
Police searchingsubway shootingsuspect’s videos
Associated Press
JOHN MINCHILLO/AP
Law enforcement officials lead subway shooting suspect Frank R. James, 62, right, away from a policestation and into a vehicle in New York on Wednesday.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is offer
ing to buy Twitter, saying the so
cial media platform he has criti
cized for not living up to free
speech principles needs to be
transformed as a private compa
ny.
Twitter Inc. said in a regulato
ry filing on Thursday that Musk,
currently the company’s biggest
shareholder, has proposed buy
ing the remaining shares of Twit
ter that he doesn’t already own at
$54.20 per share, an offer worth
more than $43 billion.
Musk called that price his best
and final offer, although he pro
vided no details
on financing.
The offer is non
binding and
subject to fi
nancing and
other condi
tions.
“I invested in
Twitter as I believe in its poten
tial to be the platform for free
speech around the globe, and I
believe free speech is a societal
imperative for a functioning de
mocracy,” Musk said in the fil
ing. “However, since making my
investment I now realize the
company will neither thrive nor
serve this societal imperative in
its current form. Twitter needs to
be transformed as a private com
pany.”
Twitter said it has received
Musk’s offer and will decide
whether it is in the best interests
of shareholders to accept or con
tinue to operate as a publicly
traded company.
Analyst Daniel Ives of Wed
bush said in a client note that he
believes “this soap opera will end
with Musk owning Twitter after
this aggressive hostile takeover
of the company.” He thinks it
would be hard for any other bid
ders or consortium to come for
ward and said Twitter’s board
will likely be forced to accept
Musk’s offer or start a process to
sell the company.
Musk revealed in regulatory
filings over recent weeks that
he’d been buying shares in al
most daily batches starting Jan.
31, ending up with a stake of
about 9%. Only Vanguard
Group’s suite of mutual funds
and ETFs controls more Twitter
shares.
The billionaire has been a vo
cal critic of Twitter in recent
weeks, mostly over his belief that
it falls short on free speech prin
ciples. The social media platform
has angered followers of Donald
Trump and other farright politi
cal figures who’ve had their ac
counts suspended for violating
its content standards on violence,
hate or harmful misinformation.
Musk, who has described himself
as a “free speech absolutist,” also
has a history of his own tweets
causing legal problems.
After Musk announced his
stake, Twitter quickly offered
him a seat on its board on the con
dition that he not own more than
14.9% of the company’s outstand
ing stock, according to a filing.
But the company said five days
later that he’d declined.
Tesla’s Elon Musk offers to buy Twitter for $43 billionAssociated Press
Musk
they’ve added an average of
560,000 more each month so far in
2022. The unemployment rate,
which soared to 14.7% in April
2020 in the depths of the CO
VID19 recession, is now just
3.6%, barely above the lowest
point in 50 years. And there is a
record proportion of 1.7 job open
WASHINGTON — The number
of people seeking unemployment
benefits ticked up last week but
remained at a historically low lev
el, reflecting a robust U.S. labor
market with near recordhigh job
openings and few layoffs.
Jobless claims rose by 18,000 to
185,000, the Labor Department
said Thursday, after nearly touch
ing the lowest level since 1968 in
the previous week. The fourweek
average of claims, which levels
out weektoweek ups and downs,
edged up from 170,000 to 172,000.
Two years after the coronavirus
pandemic sent the economy into a
brief but devastating recession,
American workers are enjoying
extraordinary job security. Week
ly applications for unemployment
aid, a proxy for layoffs, have re
mained consistently below the
prepandemic level of 225,000.
Last year, employers added a
record 6.7 million jobs, and
ings for every unemployed Amer
ican.
The resilience of the job market
and the overall U.S. economy is
striking in light of a stilldestruc
tive pandemic, the economic con
sequences of Russia’s war against
Ukraine and the highest consum
er inflation in 40 years.
US jobless claims rise to 185,000 but remain near a halfcentury lowAssociated Press
Friday, April 15, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 9
Firefighters scouted the
droughtstricken mountainsides
around a New Mexico village as
they looked for opportunities to
slow a winddriven wildfire that a
day earlier had burned at least 150
homes and other structures while
displacing thousands of residents
and forcing the evacuation of two
schools.
Homes were among the struc
tures that had burned, but officials
on Wednesday did not have a
count of how many were de
stroyed in the blaze that torched at
least 6.4 square miles of forest,
brush and grass on the east side of
the community of Ruidoso, said
Laura Rabon, spokesperson for
the Lincoln National Forest.
Rabon announced emergency
evacuations of a more densely
populated area during a briefing
Wednesday afternoon as the fire
jumped a road where crews were
trying to hold the line. She told
people to get in their cars and go.
New Mexico State Police re
leased a statement late Wednes
day saying two people have been
found dead in a residence. Their
identities will not be released until
the Office of the Medical Examin
er can positively identify them.
Strong winds prevented forced
asuspension of the aerial attack on
the flames and kept authorities
from getting a better estimate of
how large the fire has grown. But
some planes returned to the air as
winds subsided late in the day, and
seven airtankers and two helicop
ters have now been assigned to the
fire, Forest Service officials said
Wednesday evening.
While the cause of the blaze was
under investigation, fire officials
and forecasters warned Wednes
day that persistent dry and windy
conditions had prompted red flag
warnings for a wide swath that in
cluded almost all of New Mexico,
half of Texas and parts of Colora
do and the Midwest.
Five new large fires were re
ported Tuesday, and nearly 1,600
wildland firefighters and support
personnel were assigned to large
fires in the southwestern, south
ern and Rocky Mountain areas,
according to the National Intera
gency Fire Center.
ALEXANDER MEDITZ/AP
The remains of a home after a wildfire spread through the Village of Ruidoso, N.M., on Wednesday.
Wildfires rage in New MexicoAssociated Press
“Most of the people we talked to
as we were doing a housetohouse
search explained that they were in
their bathroom or an interior hall
way, so they were listening to
those warnings and without that I
think we would have been looking
at a much different situation,” he
said.
In Arkansas, the woman died
when a tree toppled on her home
in Rison shortly after 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, pinning her to the
couch, said Stephen McClellan,
Cleveland County’s emergency
management coordinator. Rison
is about 55 miles south of Little
Rock.
Aday earlier, 23 people were in
RISON, Ark. — A 20yearold
Arkansas woman was killed when
a tree fell on her home as severe
storms swept through the state
and a possible tornado ripped
roofs off homes in Alabama, offi
cials said.
The woman’s death occurred
Wednesday as part of a multiday
severe weather outbreak that
caused tornadoes, powerful winds
and huge hail in parts of the cen
tral and southern United States.
A possible tornado tore roofs off
homes in a public housing com
munity and peppered cars with
debris Wednesday night in rural
Greene County, Ala., located
about 90 miles southwest of Bir
mingham. Billy Hicks, who lives
in the area, told WBMATV he was
lying down when he heard a rush
of wind that lasted only a few sec
onds.
“I jumped up and put my
clothes on, put my shoes on when
everything was over with. I come
to the side door and looked across
the street. I knew that something
had hit all these houses,” said
Hicks, who got in his car to go
check on neighbors.
Authorities swarmed the area
but didn’t find anyone who was
hurt, said Zac Bolding of Greene
County Emergency Medical Ser
vices.
jured in the central Texas town of
Salado. The National Weather
Service in Fort Worth said
Wednesday that the twister was
rated an EF3 with peak wind
speeds of 165 mph.
Tornadoes were also reported
Tuesday in parts of Iowa and Min
nesota. And a blizzard struck
North Dakota this week, closing
the state Capitol, schools, govern
ment offices and interstates.
Arkansas woman killed byfalling tree as storms hit
Associated Press
JAY JANNER, AUSTIN AMERICANSTATESMAN/AP
Amanda Lopez, of McGregor, salvages belongings from the home ofher friend Michelle Light on Wednesday, a day after a tornadodestroyed the house near Salado, Texas.
NATION
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A jury
convicted a British national
Thursday for his role in an Islamic
State hostagetaking scheme that
took roughly two dozen Wester
ners captive a decade ago, result
ing in the deaths of four Ameri
cans, three of whom were behead
ed.
In convicting El Shafee El
sheikh, the jury concluded that he
was one of the notorious “Beat
les,” ISIS captors nicknamed for
their accents and known for their
cruelty — torturing and beating
prisoners, forcing them to fight
each other until they collapsed
and even making them sing cruel
song parodies. Surviving hostages
testified that the Beatles delighted
themselves rewriting “Hotel Cali
fornia” as “Hotel Osama” and
making them sing the refrain
“You will never leave.”
The guilty finding came even
though none of the surviving hos
tages could identify Elsheikh as
one of their captors. Although the
Beatles had distinctive accents,
they always took great care to hide
their faces behind masks and or
dered hostages to avoid eye con
tact or risk a beating.
Prosecutors suggested in open
ing statements that Elsheikh was
the Beatle nicknamed “Ringo” but
only had to prove that Elshiekh
was one of the Beatles because
testimony showed that all three
were major players in the scheme.
Elsheikh, who was captured by
the Kurdishled Syrian Defense
Forces in 2018, eventually con
fessed his role in the scheme to in
terrogators as well as media inter
viewers, acknowledging that he
helped collect email addresses
and provided proof of life to the
hostages’ families as part of ran
som negotiations.
But testimony showed that he
and the other Beatles were far
more than paper pushers. The
surviving hostages, all of whom
were European — the American
and British hostages were all
killed — testified that they dread
ed the Beatles’ appearance at the
various prisons to which they con
stantly shuttled and relocated.
Surviving witness Federico
Motka recounted a time in the
summer of 2013 when he and cell
mate David Haines were put in a
room with American hostage
James Foley and British hostage
John Cantlie for what they called a
“Royal Rumble.” The losers were
told they’d be waterboarded.
Weak from hunger, two of the four
passed out during the hourlong
battle.
The jury deliberated for four
hours before finding Elsheikh
guilty on all counts. Elsheikh stood
motionless and gave no visible re
action as the verdict was read. He
now faces up to a life sentence in
prison.
Several victims’ family mem
bers, who were present through
out throughout the threeweek
trial, fought back tears as the
guilty counts were read.
“Praise God! I’m so thankful,”
said Diane Foley, the mother of
James Foley, after the verdicts
came in. “I’m so proud of the
American justice system. El Sha
fee Elsheikh was treated with a
great deal of mercy. He had four
attorneys. ... Hopefully we were
able to turn this into justice, not re
venge.”
Brit convicted in trialover ISIS beheadings
BY MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press
PAGE 10 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
FACES
In “Roar,” there is no such thing as subtlety.
The anthology series, premiering Friday on Apple
TV+, takes its eight stories from Cecelia Ahern’s
book of short stories of the same name. In one epi
sode, a mother (Nicole Kidman) eats photographs to relive
happy memories. In another, a trophy wife (Betty Gilpin)
sits on a shelf for her husband to stare at all day.
“There’s a literalization to some of the ideas, which is ap
pealing from the visual standpoint,” coshowrunner Liz
Flahive, reuniting with creative partner Carly Mensch
from “GLOW,” told the Daily News.
“Especially with female stories, there’s an expectation of
everything being emotional or internal.”
So they leave nothing up to the imagination.
In its boldness, “Roar” sheds the layers that its women
have had to cloak themselves in to conform. A lonely wife
(Meera Syal), discontent with her inattentive husband,
brings him back to the store to exchange him. An ignored
Black woman (Issa Rae) becomes invisible.
“These are not revolutionary ideas by any means,” Mer
ritt Wever, who previously worked with Flahive and
Mensch on “Nurse Jackie,” said.
Instead, they are the same ideas women have been talk
ing about forever, told in a new way that hopefully gets
them attention.
In Wever’s episode, “The Woman Who Was Fed By A
Duck,” she plays a single woman studying for her Medical
College Admission Test who, egged on by her sister, brings
home a duck, voiced by Justin Kirk, that she finds at the
park. Quickly, their relationship turns toxic.
“It’s quite a dark, troubling, upsetting dynamic, but it’s
given the container that has a romcom gloss to it,” the 41
yearold said.
Every episode is tinged with darkness, some more than
others. In “The Woman Who Solved Her Own Murder,” Ali
son Brie’s character haunts her crime scene as two detec
tives, played by Chris Lowell and Hugh Dancy, ignore the
evidence and write her off as a party girl because that is the
only way they can see a young woman.
There are lessons, Brie said, about “violence against
women and incel culture and the casual misogyny that
we’ve all become a little too comfortable with in the online
world.”
But it’s also about just getting people, particularly men, to
think about how they treat women.
In “The Woman Who Found Bite Marks on Her Skin,”
Cynthia Erivo’s character rushes back to work after giving
birth, juggling a newborn, a toddler and a workplace where
she’s already being cut out because she had the nerve to be a
mother. Her fears of being torn apart by her responsibil
ities, and guilt about not being good enough for any of her
roles, manifests physically.
“A lot of women don’t get that moment when they can fi
nally voice that thing they are feeling, finally voice how un
derwater they are feeling,” Erivo said. “We spend so much
time swallowing how we feel and trying to manage it all.”
Across eight episodes, “Roar” tells eight distinct stories,
all tied together by a woman. Not a single woman but the
idea of a woman and who she’s supposed to be: a perfect
wife, a perfect mother, a perfect piece of eye candy. She
exists for the role she provides for others.
“The wonderful thing about this series is that it takes the
things we’ve been talking about for years and centuries and
makes it visible,” Erivo said.
“The absurdity is in front of people’s eyes.”
Screamingfor attention‘Roar’ anthology series usesmagical realism to tell storiesof female sadness and rage
BY KATE FELDMAN
New York Daily News
Apple TV+ photos
Betty Gilpin is a literal trophy wife in “Trophy Wife,” an episode of “Roar” now streaming on Apple TV+.
Issa Rae, surrounded by people wearing VR headsets,portrays a ignored Black woman who becomes invisible inan episode of the Apple TV+ series “Roar.”
With tensions around the war in
Ukraine as a backdrop, the
Cannes Film Festival plans a spe
cial honor for Tom Cruise’s “Top
Gun” comeback and to host some
35,000 people as the movie indus
try looks to reclaim its prepan
demic allure.
On Thursday, organizers of this
year’s festival unveiled the 18
films that will compete for the cov
eted Palme d’Or prize at the May
1728 event. They include “The
Natural History of Destruction”
by Ukrainian director Sergei Loz
nitsa, “All that Breathes” by Indi
an director Shaunak Sen, and Eth
an Cohen’s “Jerry Lee Lewis:
Trouble in Mind.”
Organizers will announce the
jury at a later date.
After a pandemicrelated pro
duction delay, “Top Gun: Maver
ick,” in which Cruise reprises his
1986 role as a U.S. Navy pilot, will
be showcased at Cannes but out
side the official competition, alongwith Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley drama “Elvis.”
The 75th anniversary of theFrench Riviera film extravaganza“is happening in special circumstances: the pandemic, the war inUkraine, a world that has changedand will keep changing,” festivaldirector Thierry Fremaux said.
Cannes’ international village offlagwaving pavilions annuallyhosts more than 80 countries fromaround the world. But organizerssaid no Russian delegations wouldbe welcome at the most global offilm festivals this year because ofRussian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.
Cobain’s ‘Teen Spirit’
guitar up for auctionThe guitar Kurt Cobain played
in Nirvana’s iconic “Smells LikeTeen Spirit” music video morethan 30 years ago is headed to theauction block.
Julien’s Auction will put the
1969 lefthanded Fender Mustang
guitar up for bidding during its
“Music Icons” event, commenc
ing both online and live at New
York City’s Hard Rock Cafe run
ning May 2022.
The Beverly Hillsbased auc
tion house hopes the Competition
Lake Placid bluecolored string
instrument could fetch $800,000.
The auction of Cobain’s guitar
will also include an NFT (nonfun
gible token) of his longtime guitar
tech Earnie Bailey discussing its
importance. Cobain’s 1964 Dodge
Dart automobile, his painting of
Michael Jackson, a personally
drawn 1985 Iron Maiden “Killers”
skateboard and his United Air
lines boarding pass are also up for
grabs.
A portion of the proceeds for the
threeday event will be donated to
the Indianapolis Colts’ and the Jim
Irsay family’s national mental
health charity’s “Kicking the Stig
ma” campaign in honor of MentalHealth Awareness Month in May.
J.Lo documentary to
premiere at Tribeca There’s a new reason for Jennif
er Lopez fans to get loud with excitement.
“Halftime,” a documentary exploring the career of the superstarsinger, will make its world premiere on the Tribeca Festival’sopening night of June 8, organizers announced Wednesday.
This year’s festival runs fromJune 819. The rest of its selectedprojects haven’t been announced.
“Powerful storytelling —whether in music, film or games— encourages us to fight for universal values that bind humanitytogether. ‘Halftime,’ featuringJennifer Lopez, reminds us ofthat,” actor Robert De Niro, whocofounded the Tribeca Festival,said Wednesday.
Directed by Amanda Micheli,
the film will debut at the United
Palace in Washington Heights.
Lopez, 52, grew up nearby in the
Bronx.
IMDb TV will be renamed
Amazon FreeveeAmazon announced Wednes
day its free streaming service
IMDb TV will be renamed Ama
zon Freevee.
The new name will take effect
on April 27, the company said in a
news release.
The retailer said the streaming
service will also expand its origi
nal programming by 70% in 2022,
with spinoffs of shows such as
“Bosh: Legacy” and other series.
It will also add more original mo
vies.
Amazon said the adsupported
service has tripled its monthly ac
tive users in the past two years and
is expected to launch in Germany
later this year.
Cannes film fest will showcase Cruise’s ‘Top Gun’ comebackFrom wire reports
PAGE 12 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
PACIFIC
TOKYO — Demolition of an
iconic apartment tower built 50
years ago in Tokyo’s highend
Ginza district began this week, de
spite efforts to save it.
Nakagin Capsule Tower, which
resembles stacks of washing ma
chines, has attracted admirers
from around the world. It ap
peared in TV shows and films in
Japan and overseas. “The Wolve
rine,” a 2013 Marvel blockbuster,
featured a scene filmed there.
Workers fenced off the tower on
Tuesday and began removing
items, including a vending ma
chine, as onlookers took selfies in
front of the building and recorded
the scene.
Efforts by some of its owners
and tenants to preserve the build
ing by replacing its distinctive
capsule units and making it earth
quakeresistant fell short due to
the costs involved, the Tokyo
Shimbun reported in October.
They also could not find a new
owner with the funds to preserve
the structure, according to the
newspaper.
Nakagin’s owners’ association
voted to sell the building last year
to a real estate company, which
decided to demolish the deterio
rating tower and construct a new
building, the Yomiuri newspaper
reported last month.
The capsule tower was built in
1972 as an apartment building de
signed by Japanese architect
Kisho Kurokawa, who also de
signed a wing of the Van Gogh Mu
seum in Amsterdam.
Nakagin exemplifies Metabo
lism, a Japanese postwar architec
tural movement that envisioned
structures that change, grow and
evolve like living things.
The tower is made up of two sec
tions, 11 and 13 stories high, and
104 cubeshaped capsules, each
107 square feet. The capsules are
attached with hightension bolts
and were to be replaced as they
aged just as living things renew
their cells by metabolism.
Each capsule has a single por
tholelike window and a bathroom
comparable to an airplane lavato
ry. They were originally furnished
with a bed, stove, TV, minifridge
and a reeltoreel tape deck.
The idea was to build many such
structures, and people could move
their capsules from one to another
to live in various neighborhoods.
The capsules were meant to be
replaced every 25 years, but that
concept proved unfeasible. Even
tually, the cost to replace the cap
sules exceeded the cost to erect a
new building from scratch.
The last tenants vacated the
towers in March, the Yomiuri re
port said.
Some capsules may be saved
and displayed at exhibitions
around the world or recycled as
living facilities.
Demolition on Tokyo landmarkNakagin Capsule Tower begins
BY HANA KUSUMOTO
Stars and Stripes
AKIFUMI ISHIKAWA/Stars and Stripes
People snap photos of Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo’s Ginzadistrict Tuesday.
LONDON — Britain announced a
deal with Rwanda on Thursday to
send some asylumseekers thou
sands of miles to the East African
country — a plan it said would stop
peoplesmugglers sending desper
ate migrants on treacherous jour
neys across the English Channel.
U.K. opposition politicians and
refugee groups condemned the
move as inhumane, unworkable
and a waste of public money.
The plan would see some people
who arrive in Britain as stowaways
on trucks or in small boats picked up
by the U.K. government and flown
4,000 miles to Rwanda, apparently
for good.
Critics accused Prime Minister
Boris Johnson of using the issue to
distract attention from a scandal
over government gatherings that
breached pandemic lockdown
rules. Johnson is resisting calls to
resign after being fined by police
this week over the parties.
Migrants have long used north
ern France as a launching point to
reach Britain, either by hiding on
trucks or ferries, or — increasingly
since the coronavirus pandemic
shut down other routes in 2020 — in
small boats organized by smug
glers. More than 28,000 people en
tered the U.K. in boats last year, up
from 8,500 in 2020. Dozens have
died, including 27 people in Novem
ber when a single boat capsized.
UK plans to fly asylum-seekers to Rwanda Associated Press
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Friday, April 15, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 13
WEEKENDWahlberg explores
faith in ‘Father Stu’Pages 15, 17
Los Angeles Times/Warner Music/Stars and Stripes illustration
Gen X rock band with present-day vibe regroups to produce 12th studio album, ‘Unlimited Love’
Page 28
Video games — 18 Travel & Food — 1925 Television — 3031 Health — 32 Crossword — 34
PAGE 14 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
WEEKEND: GADGETS & TECHNOLOGY
another donor animal. Then, the egg’s nu
cleus is removed with a “teeny, tiny needle,”
Ko said, and swapped with the nucleus of the
pet’s cells. The new egg, which carries the
pet’s DNA, is placed in a mixture with the
nutrients usually found in a uterus, culturing
them until they can become embryos to be
implanted into a surrogate.
If everything turns out right, the surrogate
will carry the pregnancy to term — and
boom, a clone is born.
The problem is that cloning does not have a
100% success rate. Not all pregnancies will be
fruitful, and not all embryos will be viable,
which means several surrogate and egg do
nor animals may be used in the process.
Because cloning is not a natural process,
there can be abnormalities in the embryos
that lead to miscarriages or death just after
birth, Ko said.
“People think, ‘Oh, I’ll just press a button
and out will come Fido,’ but that’s just not the
case,” said Robert Klitzman, director of the
masters of bioethics program at Columbia
University. “So you may love Fido, but do you
really want several animals to die and suffer
in order to have the one healthy Fido?”
Another concern, Klitzman said, is the
“naive notion that the clone will be the same
and that you’ll have the same emotional rela
tionship.”
“I can either pay thousands of dollars to
create a new pet that’s actually going to have
a different history and personality,” he said.
“Or maybe I could adopt an animal that
would otherwise be killed in a shelter. Those
are things that ethically need to be consi
dered.”
Losing a pet can be devastating, but clon
ing “may not allow one to process the grief
and to then develop a relationship with anoth
er being,” Klitzman said. And thinking of the
clone as a sort of substitution places an unfair
expectation on the new animal, he added.
But Anderson said she never expected
Belle to be a Chai 2.0.
“I’ve always told people that I cloned not
because I wanted to bring my cat back to life,
but because I wanted to carry on a piece of
Chai’s death came unexpectedly — a
freak accident of sorts after she
swallowed a piece of a wrapper that
got lodged in her intestines.
When the beloved 5yearold cat died in
2017, there was nothing her owner, Kelly
Anderson, could do — or so she thought.
Chai’s body was not yet cold when An
derson remembered a conversation with her
roommate about the Texasbased ViaGen
Pets, one of a few companies worldwide that
clones pets. The next day, she called them.
Some $25,000 and five years later, An
derson — a 32yearold dog trainer from
Austin — has a 6monthold carbon copy of
Chai curled up in her lap. Belle is nearly
identical to Chai, down to her deepblue eyes
and fluffy white coat. The two cats share a
couple of quirks, like sleeping with their
bodies stretched out against Anderson’s back.
But that’s where the similarities end, An
derson said.
Although clones carry the same genetic
material, they are not the same animal —
after all, they do not carry the same memo
ries and experiences that turned the original
creatures into adored pets. It’s a bit like re
setting a phone: While the model and tech
nology are one and the same, all the data has
been wiped out.
More than 25 years after the controversial
Dolly the sheep case, Anderson is part of a
growing group of people paying a small for
tune to clone their pets.
But while scientific advancement has al
lowed the practice to become more commer
cial, the procedure itself raises ethical dilem
mas, experts say.
The process of cloning is relatively simple,
said CheMyong “Jay” Ko, a professor at the
University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign’s
comparative biosciences department.
It starts with a couple of cells from the
pet’s tissue, usually from the ear or belly. In a
lab, the cells are then placed into a concoc
tion of enzymes to pluck out the DNA. Next,
scientists retrieve an unfertilized egg from
her, and I think it’s definitely really com
forting to have that in Belle,” Anderson said.
“Even though they’re different cats, there’s
still a piece of Chai in her. So it’s comforting
in a way that I don’t really know how to ex
plain.”
In a way, Belle is enjoying the life Chai
never knew. Because of a long list of illnesses
she had when she was young, Chai never got
to experience the joy of her kittenhood, An
derson said. Instead of socializing and play
ing, the first five months of her life were
spent under treatment — maybe contributing
to her “very reserved and standoffish” perso
nality, she said.
The fact that her relatively difficult life was
cut short — plus, tests showing that none of
her illnesses were genetic — was what
prompted Anderson to clone her.
“It’s a bit about giving her a second
chance,” she said.
Another reason, Anderson said, was the
deep attachment she had to Chai, who served
as beloved companion and source of hope
when she was struggling with depression.
That same love has prompted others, in
cluding singer Barbra Streisand, to clone
their pets. But with the hefty price tag, some
have resorted to extraordinary means to pay
for the procedure — such as trading in veh
icles or selling rare artwork.
ViaGen Pets clones dogs for $50,000 and
cats for $35,000. For those still undecided, the
company also offers to store and preserve
pets’ cells for $1,600 — an amount that is
included in the total cloning cost.
About 10% of all ViaGen Pets customers
who’ve preserved their pets’ DNA ultimately
take the leap, said Melain Rodriguez, the
company’s client service manager. But for
the other 90% who have preserved cells,
“there’s no length of time that they have to be
used by,” she said.
“We have clients that have stored cells with
us for 17 years and are cloning now,” Rodri
guez said. “So you’ve got a puppy now that
was from a dog that was alive 25 years ago,
which is a really incredible thing to think
about.”
PHOTOS BY KELLY ANDERSON/For The Washington Post
Left: Chai, a ragdoll cat, was Kelly Anderson’s beloved pet until she died in 2017. Right: Belle, a 5monthold ragdoll cat, is cloned from Chai.
A clone, but not an exact copycatWoman who spent thousands to make pet replica says the animals have differences
BY MARÍA LUISA PAÚL
The Washington Post
Although clones carry the same genetic material, they are not the same animal — after all, they do not carry the same memories and
experiences that turned the original creatures into adored pets.
Abode’s new Color LED smart
bulbs are 2.4 GHz WiFi enabled
and, when connected, can be
controlled with a smartphone or
smart home voice assistants.
The dimmable bulbs are 800
lumens, equivalent to a 60watt
incandescent bulb or 12 LED
watts. It has a standard light bulb
mount and is hubfree with only
the Abode app (App Store and
Google Play) needed for setup.
Bluetooth is built in for easy
pairing during the setup, and
then, using the app, can be con
trolled from anywhere.
Along with the wireless func
tions and connection to existing
Alexa or Google Assistant voice
command systems, the fullcolor
RGB bulbs have features to dim
and change color and adjust the
color temperature.
The color temperature choices
range from warm white at 1800
Kelvin to cool daylight at 6500 K.
Presets for specific scenes (TV
watching, family meals, night
time security, etc.) can be set
combining schedules, the light
color and the color temperature.
With Alexa and Google Assis
tant, the light can be turned on
and off with a command. Or set
up automation to activate at a
specific time of day, turn on
when an alarm is triggered, or
set it to particular scenes with
sunset and sunrise.
The bulbs are available in a
twopack for $32.99.
Another easytouse smart
home device from Abode is the
Abode Cam 2 ($39.99). The com
pact camera is built in an IP65
rated weatherproof housing,
enabling it to be used inside or
outside.
The camera is USBpowered
and has a lens with a 121degree
horizontal angle of view. The
MP4 files produced have a video
resolution of 1080p in full HD at
20 fps. The Abode app easily
views a video timeline, which
shows 24/7 recordings and has
addon features with up to 10day
video reviewing.
Camera setup is as simple as
any security camera I’ve used. It
connects to your WiFi and has
an easytouse twoway voice,
fullcolor night vision and person
detection features.
With Abode’s Smart Detect,
person detection can alert you
instantly when someone is ap
proaching a specified zone, cap
tured in a video clip.
There’s no limit to the number
of cameras added to the system.
A USB cable and USB to AC
power adapter are included.
Online: goabode.com
GADGETS
LED bulbs canbe controlledfrom anywhere
BY GREGG ELLMAN
Tribune News Service
Friday, April 15, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 15
WEEKEND: MOVIES
Mark Wahlberg has been preparing for his
latest role as bad boy pugilist turned Cathol
ic priest, Father Stuart Long, his entire life.
“I’ve gotten so much joy and comfort from
my faith,” Wahlberg said last week from the Four Sea
sons Philadelphia. “It’s always been my security blanket.
Being able to show that through this film and talk about
my own personal story is something I’m excited to do.”
“Father Stu” opened in theaters this week, which is also
Holy Week, the commemoration of the last days of Christ
ending on Easter Sunday. Wahlberg, 51, is a practicing
Catholic who attends Sunday Mass at St. Patrick’s in
Rittenhouse Square when he’s in Philadelphia filming
movies. The timing of this release is not a coincidence.
The actor was
in town last week
to screen “Father
Stu” to a group of
clergy and laity at
Villanova Uni
versity, part of a
sixcity tour. In
many ways Phila
delphia, Wahlberg
said, reminds him
of South Boston
where he grew
up.
“Father Stu,” a
biopic also star
ring Jacki Weaver
and Mel Gibson
as Long’s es
tranged parents,
is a true story
about faith, deter
mination, re
demption and
reconciliation. We
meet Long in the
mid1980s. He’s
an aging, agnostic
boxer living in Montana with a salty mouth and a bad
attitude. He takes a beatdown in the ring and his doctors
advise him to quit, so he picks up and moves to Los An
geles to pursue a career in acting.
Life happens: He falls in love with a devout Catholic,
converts to Catholicism, has a neardeath experience and
after that decides to become a priest. After all of that, the
rector of the seminary refuses to admit him because of
his past.
Long argues that many of the church’s most important
historical figures — St. Matthew, St. Augustine and St.
Francis — were reformed. “Besides, if the church doesn’t
celebrate the capacity for change,” Long asked, “What
does it stand for?”
After a short time in the seminary, he’s diagnosed with
inclusion body myositis, a rare and fatal autoimmune
disease that causes muscle atrophy and shuts down bod
ily functions. Eventually he’s ordained, but is only a priest
for four years, before dying at an assisted living facility in
Montana in 2014 at 50.
Wahlberg learned of Long’s story seven years ago while
having dinner with two priests. He invested his own mon
ey and began working on the project. Gibson’s girlfriend,
Rosalind Ross, wrote the screenplay and directs the film.
Wahlberg’s transformation to the ailing Father Stu is so
complete, it could generate some Oscar buzz.
Before he became a rapper, actor, husband to model
Rhea Durham and father of four, he was a gang member,
a coke addict and he served 45 days in jail for assaulting
two Asian men in an attempted robbery turned hate
crime. Today he is an Academy Awardnominated actor
and philanthropist whose eponymous foundation helps
troubled youth.
“The message of this film is that no one is beyond re
pentance,” Wahlberg said.
Wahlberg recently talked to the Philadelphia Inquirer
about the film’s message. The interview has been edited
for clarity.
The Philadelphia Inquirer: What did you admire most
about Father Stu’s story?
Wahlberg: His dedication and commitment to serving
God. It was remarkable the amount of people he touched
in the short time that he was a priest. I got to meet the
people and see how many people he touched in such a
profound way. It was really remarkable. His life experi
ence was invaluable when he was ministering to them.
They were all going through something Stu had gone
through. He utilized all that reallife experience when
communicating to them; it was really powerful.
Was there a time when your faith was shaky?
Oh yes, definitely. Especially during COVID. I got CO
VID myself and I went through a bout of depression that I
never dealt with before. The only way I got through it: I
start my day every day on my hands and knees thanking
God. It’s a good reminder of the path I needed to be on
and what I needed to put my trust and focus into the Lord.
What did you bring from your real life to this role?
Well, many things, many things. My dad had a stroke
and I watched his physical deterioration. I saw firsthand
what Stu must have gone through and all of the things, the
good, the bad and everything in between helped me see
that faith is at the core of my foundation.
Tell me about your transformation in this movie.
Packing on that amount of weight in such a short
amount of time was difficult. (Wahlberg put on 30 pounds
for the role and ate between 7,000 and 11,000 calories a
day including glasses of olive oil). But it was important to
Stu’s journey because he was such a strong, fit guy. For
him to lose that physicality and gain the strength of a
thousand men through his face is what I wanted audienc
es to see and understand, to see how quickly the disease
had taken its effect and how the Lord really empowered
him.
Did this film strengthen your commitment to the pow
er of forgiveness?
I try to judge people based on the experiences I have
with them. I did a lot of things in my life and when I start
ed focusing on my faith and doing good works, good
things started happening ... I know people who never had
a chance in life. They were caught up in drugs, violence
and incarcerated, and if they feel like nobody cares, what
are they working for? Let’s not be the judge. There is only
one judge. We know who that is.
Q&A
Power ofredemptionMark Wahlberg leans on his faith as boxer turned priest in ‘Father Stu’
BY ELIZABETH WELLINGTON
The Philadelphia Inquirer
PHOTOS BY SONY PICTURES/AP
Mark Wahlberg stars as an aging boxer who finds redemption and becomes a priest in the movie “Father Stu.”
Wahlberg drew from personal experience and leanedheavily into his faith for his role as Stuart Long.
“I’ve gotten somuch joy andcomfort from myfaith. It’s alwaysbeen my securityblanket. Beingable to show thatthrough this filmand talk about myown personalstory is somethingI’m excited to do.”
Mark Wahlberg
PAGE 16 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
WEEKEND: MOVIE REVIEW
Grindelwald. (The pending criminal
charges against him, alluded to in the title
of the previous film, get dropped early in
“Secrets.”)
This being the wizarding world, the
election involves acclamation not by any
thing so pedestrian as the popular vote,
but by the approval of the qilin, which has
the magical ability to sense a man or wom
an of honor and good character. That
doesn’t mean the vote can’t be rigged. This
little bit of topicality is a nice dig at recent
events. Exactly how the election is rigged
— and unrigged — is best left unsaid, but
it does involve a sort of sprawling game of
threecard monte, conducted by Newt and
incorporating suitcases, some empty and
some not, over the streets and alleyways of
a mountain village in Bhutan.
Newt is joined in the con by family and
friends, both old and new, magical and
Muggle: his brother Theseus (Callum
Turner); his assistant Bunty (Victoria
Yeates); the baker Jacob Kowalski (Dan
Fogler); charms professor Eulalie “Lally”
Hicks (Jessica Williams); and Yusuf Ka
ma (William Nadylam), whose sister Leta
Lestrange was killed by Grindelwald in
the last film. It’s a modest and not espe
cially clever gambit, and the story seems
to peter out with a disappointing whimper,
rather than with a bang.
Potter fans will grade “Secrets” on a
curve, despite its weaknesses. It may not
be the most spellbinding of the prequels so
far, but it does advance this saga in an
entertaining, if less than fantastic, way.
The latest installment in the “Fantastic
Beasts” series of movie prequels based on
characters from the Harry Potter universe
— the third of five planned films — in
volves a bit of a feint, in more ways than
one. Although subtitled “The Secrets of
Dumbledore,” the movie is only nominally
about Dumbledore family secrets: not just
those involving the great wizard Albus
Dumbledore (Jude Law) in the years be
fore he became headmaster of Hogwarts,
but those concerning other branches of his
family tree.
To be sure, the film does open with
Albus having a genteel tea with his un
likely paramour, evil wizard Gellert Grin
delwald (Mads Mikkelsen, replacing John
ny Depp). As a villain, Grindelwald is less,
er, villainous than Ralph Fiennes’ Volde
mort was, but he’s still nasty, and Mik
kelsen brings a distinctive air of the psy
chopath to his creepy portrayal.
But their romance — which includes a
blood oath whereby neither man can at
tack the other — is no secret by now. Nor
is the fact of their falling out, over Dum
bledore’s disagreement with Grindel
wald’s plan to, as the latter puts it, “burn
down” the world of nonmagical Muggles
(whom he dismisses as foulsmelling “ani
mals”). The real skeleton in the Dumble
dore closet, so to speak, is something quite
apart from the character’s sexuality, and
was alluded to at the end of the last film.
Involving a character with the Dickensian
name of Credence Barebone (Ezra Mill
er), it holds some mystery yet, for much of
this overlong film.
These plot points involving human rela
tionships are fascinating. They are, in fact,
the most fascinating aspects of “Secrets,”
which was written by J.K. Rowling and
Potter veteran Steve Kloves, reuniting
with director David Yates for his seventh
film in the beloved fantasy franchise. But
they are not the main engine that drives
the plot here. Rather, that driver of narra
tive is an exotic animal — part dragon and
part, I don’t know, unicorn? — called a
qilin (and pronounced “chillin”).
What would you expect from a series
called “Fantastic Beasts”? After the tea
prologue, the film jumps to a scene with
its hero, magizoologist Newt Scamander
(Eddie Redmayne), trying to save an or
phaned baby qilin (more on the signif
icance of this later). It may be a bit of a
disappointment for adult fans, especially
after installment two, “The Crimes of
Grindelwald,” which focused intensely on
some deliciously dark human doings, and
less on the (admittedly very exotic) crit
ters, all of which, though nicely rendered
via CGI, seem geared toward children.
The current story, in its broadest con
tours, does center on human affairs: spe
cifically, an election. More specifically,
1932’s threeway contest for the office of
supreme mugwump, or leader of the In
ternational Confederation of Wizards,
featuring candidates Vicência Santos
(Maria Fernanda Cândido), Liu Tao (Da
vid Wong) and — wait for it — Gellert
‘Fantastic Beasts 3’ is more beasts, slightly less fantasticBY MICHAEL O’SULLIVAN
The Washington Post
Warner Bros. Pictures/AP
Callum Turner as Newt Scamander’s brother, Theseus, left, and Eddie Redmayne asNewt Scamander in a scene from “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.”
“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” is rated PG13for fantasy action and violence. Running time: 142 minutes.
Jude Law is back for an
other round as Albus
Dumbledore, the might
iest of wizards, in “The
Secrets of Dumbledore,” the
newest chapter in the “Fantastic
Beasts” series spun from J.K.
Rowling’s Harry Potter universe.
In the eight Potter films, Dum
bledore — initially portrayed by
Richard Harris in the first two
films and after his death by Mi
chael Gambon — is headmaster
of Hogwarts, the wizarding
school, and the prime antagonist
of the evil Voldemort.
But “Fantastic Beasts” is a
prequel, so Law’s Dumbledore
isn’t exactly what has been previ
ously seen, he said during a vir
tual press conference.
“It’s not a process of change,
it’s more process of regression.
One of the joys that David (Yates,
the director of all the ‘Beasts’
films) allowed me was to in
vestigate, rather than feel the
weight of the brilliant perfor
mances of Richard Harris and
Michael Gambon; he’s not really
the fully formed Dumbledore of
the Harry Potter books and films.
“He’s a man still finding his
way, still confronting and resolv
ing his demons. That’s what I
mean by regression, I suppose.
This film particularly he’s facing
his past, he’s facing himself and
his own guilt.
“But if there were a quality
that links him (to the Dumble
dore we knew from the Harry
Potters), I would say it’s his mis
chievousness, his humor and his
belief in people. He sees the
positive. He sees the potential
good, and that’s something he’s
always had.”
As to what made him initially
say yes to this youthful Dumble
dore, Law, 49, and with a full
beard, laughed. “It was a no
brainer! I felt like I had been in
preparation subconsciously when
I started reading the books to my
children” — he has four, now 25,
21, 19 and 12.
“There’s just so much in the
character to mine and investigate
as an actor. And that’s before you
get into this extraordinary world
of magic; that’s just him as a
human.
“But the magic’s really fun,
too. I remember Eddie (Red
mayne) telling me on the second
film, which was the first one for
me, if you have a problem with a
scene, ‘Remember you’ve got
magic at your disposal.’
“There’s a scene in Berlin
where I had to pass on informa
tion to the team. It went from
being a scene where I was ba
sically holding a map to a scene
where I had a magic hat with
things flying out. The excuse
was: It’s magic! I get to do that.”
And he did.
“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets
of Dumbledore” is now in thea
ters.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Jude Law, foreground, with, from left, Jessica Williams, Callum Turner, Fiona Glascott, Dan Fogler andEddie Redmayne in “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.”
Dealing withpast demonsJude Law rolls back time in the Potteruniverse to find a youthful Dumbledore
BY STEPHEN SCHAEFER
Boston Herald
Friday, April 15, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 17
WEEKEND: MOVIE REVIEWS
“Father Stu”? He’s
not a regular
priest; he’s a cool
priest. A tough
priest. A priest who swears (a
lot), a priest with a history of
boozing and boxing. That’s the
story told, at least by the film’s
poster, which features a diptych
of star Mark Wahlberg, looking
rough and rueful in a mug shot,
and then beatific in Catholic
clergy apparel. The journey
between the two photos is the
dominion of “Father Stu,” the
directorial debut of Rosalind
Ross, who also wrote the screen
play, though there’s more to the
story of Catholic priest Stuart
Long.
It’s fascinating to watch the
evolution of what the industry
has called the “faithbased film”
over the past decade or so, espe
cially with “Father Stu” as an
example of how far they’ve come,
progressing from lowbudget
projects aimed at niche audienc
es to major studio star vehicles,
hoping to scoop up a mainstream
audience showing up for the
latest Wahlberg movie.
For Wahlberg, a devout Cathol
ic, Long’s life story as a former
boxer and actorturnedpriest is
an ideal one to try his hand at a
faithbased film. Released in
time for Easter, this Rrated
biopic isn’t your typical Catholic
programming, but the message to
be found in Long’s life and his
personal salvation through faith
may resonate for a religious
audience interested in edgier
content.
Though the abundance of f
bombs is an anomaly in a faith
based film, “Father Stu” does
adhere to some conventions of
the genre. It’s based on a strang
erthanfiction true story and
involves a neardeath experience
in which Stuart experiences a
spiritual visit. Envisioning him
self cradled by the Virgin Mary
after a harrowing motorcycle
accident, Stuart pledges himself
to his newfound Catholic faith
and ultimately pursues the
priesthood despite his original,
more prurient motivation for
showing up to church, which
was, of course, for a woman,
Carmen (Teresa Ruiz).
The twist is that despite a long
life of suffering, including an
alcoholic father, Bill (Mel Gib
son), the childhood death of his
brother, a failed amateur boxing
career and struggles with drink
ing, Stuart is in for even more
suffering. During his time at the
seminary, he is diagnosed with
inclusion body myositis, a degen
erative muscle disease that ren
ders him disabled, but ultimately
leads to his greatest spiritual
awakening.
It’s a remarkable story, but
“Father Stu” is a broad, some
what brutish film. Ross’ screen
play lightly pummels the au
dience with the basic beats and
beatdowns of Long’s life without
ever letting us in on the emotion
al experience. The characters
talk at each other (and at the
audience) in vague platitudes,
folksy aphorisms, biblical quotes
and streetsmart retorts. Wahl
berg is in the familiar rapidfire,
ratatat style he has developed
over the years, tussling and ban
tering with everyone around him,
not even his encroaching dis
ability slowing down his motor
mouth.
It can be entertaining, but it’s
rarely truly engaging, and the
tellnotshow approach to the
screenwriting renders the char
acters twodimensional and hol
low. We barely know who anyone
really is, aside from Stuart, and
large parts of his spiritual pro
gression are all too easily glossed
over.
Cinematographer Jacques
Jouffret brings a naturalist hand
held camera, a desaturated color
palette and lots of slowmotion to
elevate the look and feel of the
film, and the soundtrack is load
ed with classic country and
blues. It all lends a prestigious
sheen, though the story itself is
often frustratingly shallow. As
viewers, we’re observers, not
participants, in Stuart’s spiritual
journey, and it’s not until very
late in “Father Stu,” as the film is
dawdling and meandering to its
conclusion, when Stuart takes a
breath and simply delivers the
message of what he’s learned,
that the resonance of what we’re
to take away from this comes
through.
There is a profound grace to be
found in “Father Stu,” when
everyone gets out of the way to
let the message of suffering as
spirituality just breathe. But one
can’t help but feel like that comes
too little and too late to have any
significant impact.
“Father Stu” is rated R for language throughout.Running time: 124 minutes. Now playing in selectAAFES theaters.
SONY PICTURES/AP
Mark Wahlberg, as Stuart Long, appears in a scene from biopic “Father Stu.” Before pursuing the Catholicpriesthood, Long would attend church to pursue a woman, Carmen, played by Teresa Ruiz.
Spirituality of sufferingImpact of ‘Father Stu’ message limited by shallow storytelling
BY KATIE WALSH
Tribune News Service
“Navalny” is so taut and sus
penseful you’d think John le
Carré had left behind a secret
manuscript that’s only just com
ing to light now.
This spellbinding portrait of a
Russian opposition leader follow
ing an attempt on his life has all
the makings of a Hollywood
thriller. It has shadowy oper
atives, truthseeking journalists,
conspiracy theories, Sovietera
poisons and, at its center, a hand
some, altruistic family man risk
ing his life to fight a wouldbe
despot.
But “Navalny” is not fiction.
And it’s somehow even more
chilling and prescient now than it
was just three months ago when
it premiered at the Sundance
Film Festival hours after Russian
authorities officially added Alex
ei Navalny to their registry of
terrorists. Thanks to Fathom
Events, it opened in select thea
ters Tuesday. It’ll also be broad
cast on CNN and streamed on
HBO Max later this year.
For the uninitiated, Alexei
Navalny is a mediasavvy, anti
corruption campaigner in his
mid40s who has for many years
been a headache for Russian
President Vladimir Putin. He’s
released numerous reports about
corruption in Russia and the
Putin administration and become
a popular and rallying figure
among likeminded Russians.
The media has called him the
Kremlin’s fiercest critic. And he
is seemingly undaunted by the
intimidation and the arrests he’s
endured.
The fame, he thought, might
even make it more problematic
for him to be killed, he tells di
rector Daniel Roher in the docu
mentary.
“Boy, were you wrong,” Roher
says off camera.
“Yes, I was wrong,” Navalny
says.
Roher was able to sit down
with Navalny during his brief
stay in Berlin in 2020 and early
2021, while recovering from
being poisoned and seeking the
truth behind the unsuccessful
murder attempt.
In August 2020, he’d fallen
violently ill on a flight from Sibe
ria to Moscow. The pilot staged
an emergency landing in Omsk
where he was immediately hospi
talized. His wife and supporters
helped make the case for him to
be treated elsewhere and he was
soon transported to Berlin for
care. After emerging from a
coma, the German government
determined that he’d been poi
soned by a lethal, Sovietera
nerve agent. The Kremlin denied
the allegation.
Though eager to get back to
Russia (Navalny says at the out
set that he’s not in Berlin by
choice), it’s there that he is able
to team up with investigative
journalists Christo Grozev and
Maria Pevchikh, who help track
down his suspected poisoners. In
one jawdropping scene, Navalny
calls the suspects one by one on
speakerphone. It’s a testament to
Roher and his editors just how
exciting this is on screen. And it
all culminates with Navalny’s
January 2021 flight back to Rus
sia where he knows that he will
be immediately arrested and
imprisoned.
The film captures these epi
sodes and this unbelievable saga
extraordinarily well. Roher
maintains a delicate balance of
amplifying Navalny’s story, in
cluding moving testimonies from
his wife and daughter, while also
resisting full hero worship. Na
valny is also a politician, after all,
and Roehr does not hold back in
interrogating what he stands for
outside of his opposition to Putin.
Blame history, but “Navalny”
feels somehow unfinished de
spite many, many title cards and
newsreels that precede the cred
its.
With everything that has tran
spired in the past few months
with Russia’s invasion of Uk
raine, perhaps its biggest flaw is
that it has an ending at all.
WARNER BROS. PICTURES/AP
Alexei Navalny appears in a scene from the documentary “Navalny.”The documentary was filmed in 2020 and early 2021 when theRussian politician was in Berlin healing from attempted murder.
‘Navalny’ documentarylike a Hollywood thriller
BY LINDSEY BAHR
Associated Press
“Navalny” is rated R for language. Running time:98 minutes. Now playing in select theaters.
PAGE 18 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
WEEKEND: VIDEO GAMES
When you play LEGO
Star Wars: The
Skywalker Saga,
you can see the vast
blueprint TT Games drafted for
its creation. The studio has re
imagined the Lego game’s com
bat system, not just by changing
the player’s point of view but by
introducing an entire leveling
system for different classes of
characters. You’re able to ex
plore every world from the Star
Wars universe, but in that expan
siveness, sometimes searching
for largely meaningless ingame
items and completing fetch
quests, the greatest revelation is
a question: Was
this ambitious
vision for The
Skywalker Saga
worth its cost?
To be clear,
the game is
entertaining,
leaning into its
witty trademark
humor and
delivering the sort of nostalgia
that will compel you to impul
sively relive your childhood (as I
did when I recently purchased a
474piece XWing Lego set). The
game, which released April 5, is
also the best iteration of the Lego
franchise. But the box set of all
nine episodes is filled with nu
merous pieces that I skipped
over entirely — and that’s not
just because I rushed to write
this review. Parts of The Sky
walker Saga feel unnecessary,
which is frustrating because the
people who made the game say
they crunched six days a week to
get it out the door.
The game stretches a bit thin
across the many galaxies it’s
attempting to recreate. Whether
you’re walking through the
streets of Coruscant or Naboo,
the scenes are just places for you
to find more studs (the ingame
currency) or Kyber bricks
(which help you level up along
with studs). I don’t believe every
page of the studio’s plan needed
to exist — especially, again, when
you consider the amount of over
time reportedly required to piece
this massive Lego set together.
The Skywalker Saga tells the
combined story of all nine Star
Wars episodes, stretching from
the blockade of Naboo to the rise
of the Final Order on Exegol.
When you start the game, you get
the chance to play through the
series at the beginning of any of
the threeepisode arcs, with “The
Phantom Menace,” “A New
Hope” or “The Force Awakens.”
And like all the Lego games from
TT Games, The Skywalker Saga
is an abbreviated version of the
movies, briskly moving you
through the key moments from
every episode in multiple mis
sions that require you to fight
enemies, build tools and solve
puzzles to advance.
The crowning achievement of
The Skywalker Saga is that it
never takes the franchise too
seriously. TT Games managed to
turn even the most questionable
plotlines from “The Rise of Sky
walker” into palatable moments.
There are plenty of times where
the game had me chuckling to
myself on the couch. Anakin
Skywalker is always complaining
about sand — even long after his
death. And Luke Skywalker is
always searching for that strange
blue milk he drinks on his hermit
island.
In one of the most notable
changes from the studio’s stan
dard Lego format, The Skywalk
er Saga does away with the wide,
thirdperson camera angle from
past games. Instead, you play
through a tighter, overtheshoul
der perspective. It works perfect
ly, and it’s the best piece TT
Games has added to the Lego
franchise. The closer camera
angle focuses on your character’s
point of view, which makes sim
ple tasks like aiming a blaster a
lot less complicated.
Speaking of blasters, there are
a number of new bells and whis
tles added to combat as well. You
can dash behind cover, parry
incoming attacks and string to
gether a flashy set of moves with
a simple combo of your own. It’s
all a very basic version of the
combat system first perfected in
Batman: Arkham Asylum from
Rocksteady Studios. You can
even parry closerange attacks; I
just often had to intentionally
wait for enemies to attack before
I could counter them. The game
— which, admittedly, is devel
oped with firsttime gamers in
mind — never actually requires
that you master these mechanics.
I only ever mixed up my combi
nation of attacks because, even
tually, pressing the same button
gets boring.
As you progress through the
game’s nine episodes, you slowly
collect Kyber bricks (Lego’s
version of the crystals that power
lightsabers). And the bricks al
low you to develop unique skills
for the different classes of char
acters in the game — the Jedi,
the protocol droids, the bounty
hunters, etc. I largely ignored all
of this while playing. A few of the
basic upgrades are nice to have
(to build Lego sets faster or carry
along a bit more health), but the
entire skill tree system largely
felt like a waste of time. I spent
the studs I collected on unlocking
characters — like a shirtless Kylo
Ren — not maxing out my dark
lord skill tree.
Every major location in Star
Wars has a playable open world
that you can explore along your
journey, from the iconic Mos
Eisley spaceport to the capital
planet Coruscant. But I was sur
prised to see some locales that
are basically footnotes in the
cinematic series received the
same openworld treatment. The
small outpost Poe Dameron visits
with BB8 on Jakku at the begin
ning of “The Force Awakens”
and Maz’s castle on Takonda are
both — spoiler alert — blown to
pieces by the First Order almost
as soon as the audience is in
troduced to them. You spend so
little time in either location dur
ing the movie, I didn’t really feel
the urge to explore the blocky
burning ruins in The Skywalker
Saga — especially because the
only reason to do so is to find
every collectible the game has
buried there.
Those venues and missions
provided a stark answer to the
question of “What’s worth your
time?” from both a player and
developer perspective. Notably,
the answer is not found amid the
rubble of Maz’s restaurant.
TT Games intended for The
Skywalker Saga to be the compa
ny’s most ambitious Lego game
yet. It took the studio almost five
years to develop the game after
repeated delays. And, according
to a Polygon report published in
January, current and former
employees say management’s
grand ambitions fostered a toxic
work environment where some
staffers worked 80 to 100 hours a
week to make this game a reality.
That didn’t need to happen. The
Skywalker Saga didn’t need to
hide collectibles in every nook
and cranny across the galaxy.
The Star Wars fandom has
already realized that more does
not always mean better. The
Skywalker Saga has a lot of heart,
but I could have done without the
superfluous leveling system or
paperthin open worlds. Part of
me will always enjoy watching
QuiGon Jinn slice up droids on
the streets of Naboo.
The Skywalker Saga is a beau
tiful nod to that nostalgia. Beyond
that, I’m still stuck on a final
question. You have to wonder
whether, for those managing the
game, the end product equates to
time well spent during devel
opment.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch,
PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5,
Xbox One, Xbox Series X and
Series S
Online: starwars.com/games
apps/legostarwarstheskywalk
ersaga
BY TEDDY AMENABAR
The Washington Post
Both major and minor locales get an openworld treatment in TheSkywalker Saga, but that means some areas are paperthin and theonly reason to explore them is to find collectibles.
Too many piecesLEGO’s Skywalker Saga fun, but builds in excessive expansion
TT Games photos
The Skywalker Saga uses a tighter, overtheshoulder perspective for combat, a welcome change to thethirdperson camera angle standard during combat in past LEGO video games.
All nine Stars Wars episodes areplayable, like this moment from“The Phantom Menace.”
Friday, April 15, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 19
WEEKEND: TRAVEL
It was Easter week in Sevil
la, Spain, and the scene
was holier than ever. Pa
raders in purpleandwhite
cone hats shuffled past, carrying
crusader swords and fourfoot
candles. Like American kids
scrambling for candies at a pa
rade, Spanish kids collected
dripping wax from religious
coneheads, attempting to amass
the biggest ball on a stick for
their Easter souvenir.
The procession squeezed down
narrow alleys. Legions of drums
cracked eardrums in the con
fined space. Kids sat wideeyed
on parents’ shoulders. Finally a
float rumbled by: gilded, candle
lit and edging bystanders against
rustic ancient walls. I looked up,
and high in the sky I saw what
Good Friday was all about: A
Baroque Jesus lurched forward
under the weight of that cruel
cross, symbolically climbing to
his crucifixion.
Later, it occurred to me that he
floated not on wheels, but on
manpower. Unseen and unher
alded, bent under all that tradi
tion, a team of boys had been
trudging for hours through the
throngs.
Throughout Europe, Easter
related festivities fill streets,
squares and stores. For the reli
gious, it’s a time of church ser
vices, prayers and rituals. For
the secular world, it means feast
ing, candy, games and yes — the
Easter Bunny. But even though
most of Europe celebrates, each
diverse culture pays homage in
its own way.
Easter begins in
earnest with Holy
Week, the seven
days leading up to
Easter Sunday.
Not just in Sevilla,
but all over Spain,
Semana Santa
processions clog
the streets. In
Britain, Holy
Week heralds the arrival of the
Morris Dancers. Men in black
and white clothes — with straw
hats, red sashes, ribbons and
bells on their ankles — dance in
the streets to chase away winter.
They also chase young women,
hitting them with an inflated pig
bladder on a stick to summon
good luck.
Easter markets in Prague sell
traditional foods and crafts, in
cluding handpainted eggs perso
nalized with your name. From
Thursday through Saturday, boys
go door to door, shaking rattles to
scare off the betrayer, Judas.
People give them money in re
turn. Throughout the week, girls
paint eggs and boys braid pussy
willowtwig whips. On the morn
ing after Easter, the boys go from
house to house, bonking the girls
with their whips to grant them
good health. In return, the girls
give them handpainted eggs,
and for the grownups, shots of
alcohol.
On Easter all over Europe,
people gather in their Sunday
best for the biggest church ser
vices of the year. London holds
an Easter parade in Battersea
Park, and ladies get decked out
in fancy handmade bonnets,
decorated with ribbons and flow
ers.
As in the U.S., many Euro
peans celebrate Easter with
candy, chocolate eggs (Cadbury
Creme Eggs in Britain), gifts and
the Easter Bunny. The English
host Easteregg hunts; other
countries hold eggrolling and
eggtossing contests. Germans
hang hollowedout, decorated
eggs from trees and bushes.
In France, it’s not about bun
nies, but bells. The Flying Bells
— having left on Good Friday to
magically fly to the pope to drop
off everyone’s misery over the
crucifixion — return on Easter
morning with joy and chocolate
and eggs.
Easter day culminates with a
big meal, in which friends and
family gather to gorge on meats
and sweets. The Brits cook up
ham, the Danes eat herring and
the French and Italians serve up
lamb. In Greece, people sleep till
noon, then rise for the big goat
onaspit family lunch.
From floats to feasts to family,
Easter is a celebration that rivals
Christmas in Europe.
Easter in Europe
RICK STEVES
Every Good Friday, this 3ton float, depicting the sentencing of Christ, is carried through the streets ofSevilla, Spain, by teams of 48 men. For the rest of the year, it resides here at the Basílica de la Macarena.
RickSteves
Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) writes European guidebooks, hosts travel shows on publicTV and radio and organizes European tours. Youcan email Rick at [email protected] and followhis blog on Facebook.
Catholic and Protestant communities throughout most
of Western Europe will celebrate Easter Sunday on April
17, a date that shifts each year according to
complex ecclesiastical rules. For practical
purposes, the rule of thumb that Easter is
the first Sunday after the full moon follow
ing the spring equinox is often accurate.
The date of Easter, in turn, determines the
dates of the feast days for Ascension, Pen
tecost and Corpus Christi. Across Europe,
this cycle of religious holidays is met with
folkloric and traditional events fun to be
hold, or even better, take part in.
Easter SundayFlorence, Italy, celebrates the day with a stunning show
of fireworks. In a ritual dating back 350 years, The Scop
pio del Carro, or Explosion of the Cart, sees a pair of
garlandbedecked bulls pull an elaborate cart through the
streets to its usual spot on the Piazza del Duomo. Once the
cart has been brought into position, an elaborate cere
mony concludes with a doveshaped rocket symbolic of
the Holy Spirit crashing into it, setting off a spectacular
display of fireworks. The procession will take place on
Easter Sunday, April 17 at 10 a.m., and the explosion at 11
a.m.; entry is free. Online: tinyurl.com/47wp9sxx
Easter MondayEmaischen is a traditional folk festival held on Easter
Monday in Nospelt, a small Luxembourgish village just
northwest of the tiny nation’s capital. The stars of the day
here are not bunnies or chicks but rather “Péckvillerch
er,” small clay whistles fashioned into the shapes of birds.
Festivalgoers can also enjoy concerts, traditional foods,
watching the town’s potters at work or visiting the pottery
museum. Emaischen is also celebrated in the capital,
where festivities will play out along the rue Marché aux
herbes and on Place du MarchéauxPoissons. Online:
tinyurl.com/5n85d33z
The citizens of Herve, Belgium, a small town outside
Liège, also celebrate Easter Monday in a big way. The
Cavalcade of Herve is a procession of colorful floats
pulled by the magnificent, locally bred Ardennais and
Brabant draught horses. Some 150 horses in all take part
in this spectacle dating back to 1876. Contemporary ver
sions of the event feature dancing, live music and the “Tir
de Campes” explosives show, set off by a local brother
hood specializing in pyrotechnics. Related festivities
including a market and horse fair take place throughout
Easter weekend. Entry to the parade, which begins at 2
p.m., costs 4 euros for those ages 12 and above. Online:
cavalcadeherve.be
Orthodox EasterWhile both Western and Orthodox Easters are calculat
ed based on the same formula, they most often fall on
different dates, due to the fact that Western churches use
the Gregorian calendar, whereas Orthodox churches use
the much older Julian calendar as their point of refer
ence. This year, Orthodox Easter will be celebrated on
April 24. European countries that officially observe Or
thodox Easter include Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Re
public of Macedonia, Romania, Russia and Ukraine.
While all of Greece marks Easter with great reverence,
the village of Pyrgos on Santorini, one of the Cyclades
islands, is particularly well known for its celebrations. On
the night of Good Friday, residents stuff flammable mate
rials into countless aluminum cans and place them on
ledges of buildings, alongside paths, atop roofs and along
the ramparts of the ancient Venetian castle. The flicker
ing flames are a moving backdrop to the funeral proc
ession. As a representation of the body of Christ is carried
through the narrow streets, thousands follow, holding lit
candles as they go. Online: tinyurl.com/2p97wbxf
Ascension DayAscension Day marks the 40th day after Jesus Christ’s
resurrection and is celebrated as the day he led his dis
ciples to the Mount of Olives, where they watched as he
rose up to heaven. What is heralded as the end of the
Easter season is an official holiday in many countries.
Venice’s celebrations marking the “Festa della Sensa”
commemorate two important dates in history. The first
event took place in 1000 AD, when the Doge Pietro II
Orseolo managed to defend the inhabitants of Zara and
Dalmatia from incursions by the Slavs; the second, in 1177
AD, was when the Doge Sebastiano Ziani facilitated a
peace agreement between the papacy and the Holy Ro
man Empire. To celebrate both events, a ceremony titled
“Sposalizio del Mare,” or “Marriage of the Sea,” includes
a maritime parade of traditional rowing boats, celebrating
the rite of marriage with the sea; the launching of a ring
into the waters; and a religious ceremony at the church of
San Nicolo on the Lido. The program concludes with a
rowing competition. Online: tinyurl.com/2p9dsuyv
Religious holidays observed far and wide throughout the week
iStock
A maritime parade of decorated rowboats is part of theMarriage of the Sea ceremony, one of the celebrationssurrounding Ascension Day in Venice.
KarenBradbury
PAGE 20 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
WEEKEND: TRAVEL
For the fifth year in a row, Finlandhas been named the happiest country in the world by the United Nationssponsored World Happiness
Report. And for the fifth year in a row, I’msurprised. I lived in Finland for a year as astudent in the Rotary Youth Exchange program from 2001 to 2002. It was a lifechanging experience. I made incredible Finnishfriends. I drank too much vodka. I pet a reindeer in Lapland. I saunaed, ice swam androlled in the snow naked until my pink bodylooked like a honeybaked ham. It was certainly one of the happiest years of my life.But my Finnish friends? Well, I’m not entirely sure they’ve ever been that happy.
The thing about the Finns, in my experi
ence, is they’re one of the most reserved
people on the planet. Blatant signs of glee
are not in their playbook. I remember
silent breakfasts with my first host father,
watching him stare out the window, barely
acknowledging my presence. He wasn’t
being rude. He was being Finnish. Class
room management wasn’t an issue at my
high school, Imatran Yhteislukio, either.
Behavior isn’t a problem when no one
speaks out. Even when I joined a school
friend for aerobics classes at the local
gym, the mood was more silent disco than
fitness frenzy. Was this lowkey melanch
oly vibe happiness? Do Americans — who
came in at No. 16 on the World Happiness
Report — have this entire happiness thing
all wrong?
I decided to contact my Finnish friends
to find out: Is the World Happiness Report
right? Are Finns really that happy?
“We have a saying in Finland: ‘If you’re
happy, you should hide it,’ “ says Veera
Lavikkala, a consultant at a software com
pany in Kirkkonummi, west of Helsinki.
The 37yearold mother of two says that,
in Finland, boasting about one’s good
fortune is considered gauche.
“Finns have a subdued happiness,”
agrees Katja Pantzar, an expert on the
topic and author of “Everyday Sisu: Tap
ping into Finnish Fortitude for a Happier,
More Resilient Life.” Pantzar was born in
Finland before her family moved to New
Zealand and finally Vancouver, B.C.,
where she grew up. When an opportunity
to work for Finnair’s inflight magazine
came up 20 years ago, she returned to her
homeland and has never looked back. In
fact, she’s so enthusiastic about the Finn
ish lifestyle — including its frequent trips
to the sauna and its bikefriendly city
planning — that she’s written two books
on the topic. And she has a special insight
into the Finnish psyche. “They might be
totally satisfied, but they don’t have the
same body language, like smiling,” she
says. But don’t let Finns’ poker faces fool
you. If the World Happiness Report is to
be believed, Finns are masking a deep
contentment built on an appreciation for a
society that puts the public good first.
“Everybody has access to the basics,”
says Liisi Hatinen, a communications
coordinator in Espoo, a city outside of
Helsinki, and a mother of two. She’s talk
ing about guaranteed health care, tuition
free school, a living wage and affordable
housing. “These programs are well
thought out and work, so that’s the basic
foundation for you to be happy.”
Where people of other nations, includ
ing our own, measure success in material
wealth — the right car, the bigger house,
the best job, the better neighborhood —
Finns find satisfaction elsewhere. This
was never more obvious to me than on
Christmas Eve 2001. As is custom in Fin
land, that night, Santa came to my host
family’s home to greet my excited 4year
old host brother, Otto. We ate a nice meal,
exchanged small gifts and went to bed. I
then shut my bedroom door and quietly
cut open an enormous box overflowing
with presents that my parents had shipped
to me. I tore the paper as delicately as
possible so as not to alert my hosts; the
display of American excess was far too
embarrassing. But to my surprise, when
my host sisters found my holiday loot the
next day, they simply said, “Oh, that’s
nice,” with nary a look of jealousy between
them. The joy of sharing the holiday with
their family seemed to be reward enough.
Who needed more stuff?
“We do want to achieve things in our
life,” says Johanna Ovaska, a principal at
the middle school in Imatra and mother of
two. “But it’s not like ‘Keeping Up with the
Kardashians.’”
Essi AlaKokko, a 46yearold photog
rapher who grew up in Kauhajoki and
moved to Chicago for art school, fell in
love and stayed, puts it this way: “I’ve
come to a conclusion that it has to be that
we’re just satisfied with very little. We
don’t have to have extremely successful
careers. We don’t have to have a ton of
money. We like the simple things in life,
like our forest walks and hanging out with
friends.”
Enjoying downtime is easy thanks to the
Finnish worklife balance. “We get five
weeks’ vacation,” says Jukka Multisilta, a
strategy consultant in Helsinki. That’s
opposed to Americans’ average 10 days of
paid time off, according to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics. Multisilta recently joined
a friend on a 10day motorbike trip from
Helsinki to Nordkapp, the northernmost
tip of Norway. Along the way, he and his
friend had access to free open wilderness
A sort of reserved contentmentFinns answer the question ofwhether Finland is really thehappiest country in the world
BY KINSEY GIDICK
Special to The Washington Post
VEERA LAVIKKALA/For The Washington Post
Veera Lavikkala cooks hot dogs in the snow with her family. For the fifth year in a row, Finland has beennamed the happiest country in the world. Residents of the country have very little to worry about becauseall of their basic needs are met with the help of programs that benefit the public at large.
SEE FINLAND ON PAGE 21
SIRJA LASSILA/For The Washington Post
The view of Lake Saimaa from the dock of Sirja Lassila’s summer cottage. Finns get fiveweeks of paid leave per year compared to the American average of 10 days.
Friday, April 15, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 21
WEEKEND: TRAVEL
huts maintained by Finland’s
national park system, a perk
making outdoor adventure more
affordable. The trip was amazing,
he says. “The light is so crazy
when you go up north, so eve
rything looks magical.”
Of course, Finns don’t have to
drive at all to enter nature. Green
space is everywhere in the coun
try of more than 5 million. “I
have four winter swimming holes
within two kilometers from my
house,” Pantzar says. But let’s be
real: Although ice plunges are
believed to be physically and
mentally beneficial, I find it hard
to believe that Finns are polar
bear swimming themselves to
happiness.
And a forest walk isn’t the
answer, either, although I’m sure
it’s great for mindfulness. Tui
tionfree education, however?
That’ll improve your mood. Sure,
Finns pay more taxes for the
privilege, but my friends tell me
that not sweating college expens
es was well worth it.
Lavikkala and her sister were
the first people in her family to
go to high school, she says, and
they “both went to university. We
both have a degree. We didn’t
have to take student loans. If you
have the capability, you can be
anything you want in Finland.”
I have to laugh. I recently
opened a 529 college savings
account for my son. He’s 6.
And that’s the thing. There are
a lot of stressors that Finns, espe
cially Finnish women, don’t have
to worry about.
“I really think that the position
of women is a big thing in our
happiness,” Ovaska says. “Have
you seen our government? We
have a woman prime minister.
She’s [36] years old. Then we
have four other main ministers
who are also young women. So
it’s pretty big girl power.”
Reaching the highest rungs of
public office isn’t such a wild
idea when the government ac
tually supports motherhood.
Hatinen is now on Month 12 of
her maternity/parental leave.
She could take three years total if
she wanted to, but opted for a
little over a year. “I get 70% of
my salary, and then if I keep
taking time after 10 months, I
think it drops to 300 euros [about
$330] a month,” she says. As for
day care, there’s no need to fret
about that price tag, either. “Fin
land provides free universal
daycare from eight months until
the start of formal education at
age seven,” according to the
World Economic Forum. I tell
her about my rather luxurious —
by American standards — eight
weeks of maternity leave. The
minute it was up, we enrolled my
son in a Montessori school. His
monthly tuition was the same as
our mortgage.
But more importantly, should a
woman or her baby get sick in
Finland, regardless of the prog
nosis, treatment won’t be as fi
nancially devastating as it can be
in the United States and elsewh
ere.
“I’m planning to tell my son
about his birth soon,” says Sirja
Lassila, a Swedish teacher and
mom of two in Imatra. Three
weeks before his due date, she’d
noticed her baby had suddenly
stopped moving in the womb.
Her husband drove her to the
nearby hospital, where she had
an emergency Csection. Re
suscitated after delivery, her son
still needed critical care, so he
was raced by ambulance 142
miles to Helsinki, to the country’s
best children’s hospital. He got
great care and was able to come
home — by ambulance again — a
week later.
“It wasn’t totally free,” she
says in a correction email to me a
day after our interview. I brace
myself for the figure, scrolling
down the email. According to a
Health Care Cost Institute study
of more than 350,000 commer
cially insured deliveries in 35
U.S. states between 2016 and
2017, the average spending per
Csection was $17,004. Average
outofpocket expenses ranged
from ranged from $1,077 in
Washington, D.C., to $2,473 in
South Carolina. “We did pay
some bills, altogether about 200
to 300 euros,” she writes, or
about $220 to $330. How’s that
for a happy ending?
Of course, life isn’t perfect in
Finland. Toni Tikkanen, a docu
mentary writer for Finnish TV
series “Arman Pohjantahden
alla” (“Arman Under the North
Star”) is quick to tell me that
racism, inequality, violence,
depression and suicides happen
there, just like in the rest of the
world. But, he adds, “I think, as a
nation, we are trying pretty hard
to make a change for the better,
and we have a pretty strong sup
port system.” So is Finland the
happiest country? Tikkanen says
yes.
After talking with these Finns,
I’ve come to agree as well. Turns
out, I had Finnish happiness all
wrong. Resting Finn face isn’t
rude, it’s a look of understated
serenity. And although I would
never trade my U.S. passport for
anything, for a nation born out of
the idea of the pursuit of happi
ness, we might consider what
Finns can teach us about the
subject. While the American
ethos to individually fight our
way to personal success is ad
mirable, the Finnish system that
ensures that no one has to worry
about basic needs — well, that
sounds like a recipe for happi
ness to me.
Finland: Basic needs like health care,child care and college are taken care ofFROM PAGE 20
LIISI HATINEN/For The Washington Post
Liisi Hatinen teaches her daughter how to ice skate on Lake Kuolimo.
The days of being forced
at airport security
checkpoints to remove
laptops and liquids
from carryon bags may be com
ing to an end.
The Transportation Security
Administration announced it is
spending $781.2 million for hun
dreds of scanners that use tech
nology employed in hospitals to
examine internal organs to more
quickly and thoroughly scan
carryon bags for weapons and
explosives. That means you can
leave your laptops, liquids and
other devices in your carryon
bag before it goes through the
screener, making the screening
process faster.
TSA hopes to install 938 scan
ners — using computed tomog
raphy technology — at most
major U.S. airports over the next
few years. The first 38 scanners
will be installed by this summer,
just in time for the busy travel
season.
The scanners “provide our
dedicated frontline officers with
one of the best tools available to
screen passenger carryon items
and also improves the passenger
experience by allowing pas
sengers to keep more items in
their carryon bags during the
screening process,” TSA Admin
istrator David Pekoske said in a
statement.
Analogic Corp., a Massachu
settsbased technology company,
was awarded the $781.2 million
order.
The Xray scanners currently
used at most airport checkpoints
can generate only a twodimen
sional image of the contents of
each carryon bag, making it
difficult to distinguish the items
inside, especially when bags are
crammed with electronics and
other devices.
The new CT scanners allow
TSA officers to see a 3D image
of the items in a carryon bag.
The images produced by the
scanners can be rotated on three
axes, making it easier for the
officers to identify weapons and
explosives.
“That’s the beauty of the com
puted tomography process,” said
TSA spokesman R. Carter Lang
ston.
Larger CT scanners have been
used for several years to scan
checked baggage, but until now
have been too big to use in the
TSA security lines. The TSA
began testing CT scanners in
2018 at airports across the coun
try, including Los Angeles In
ternational Airport, Oakland
International Airport, San Diego
International Airport, McCarran
International Airport and Chica
go O’Hare International Airport.
LAX now has six CT scanners in
use throughout the airport.
iStock
TSA will soon install hundreds of hospitallike CT scanners at carryonscanning locations in airports across the country. Use of the scannerswill eliminate the need to remove items such as laptops and liquidsfrom carryon luggage, speeding up the screening process.
Bag check getsspeedy upgradeClearing security without removing laptopsor liquids is coming to major US airports
Los Angeles Times
PAGE 22 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
WEEKEND: QUICK TRIPS
When I moved my wife and
kids to the U.K., I figured we
would experience a new
culture, new foods and me
mories to last a lifetime.
What I didn’t expect was how much my
kids would love British cartoon character
Peppa Pig in a way that rivaled the love
my wife and I had for Mickey Mouse dur
ing our childhood.
Peppa Pig has taken families by storm
since her introduction to the world in
March 2004, even making an impact in
countries outside the one where she orig
inated.
The moment that my daughter, now 4,
heard that there is a theme park dedicated
to the world of Peppa Pig, she made it
clear that’s what she wanted more than
anything for her birthday.
The drive there was just under three
hours. We made a weekend out of it, stay
ing in a hotel and also getting to know the
area around the park. For our family of
four, the total cost of the hotel stay, park
tickets, food and gas was a little over 500
pounds.
Peppa Pig World is one of five theme
worlds in the constellation of attractions
called Paulton’s Park. This layout lets
families decide between devoting their
time to the individual parks they like best
or taking on the challenge of visiting them
all.
We spent an entire day at Peppa Pig
World, which shows how much there is to
do there.
If Peppa isn’t your cup of tea, the other
options do have more mature sides and
roller coasters like Tornado Springs, a
1950s American Midwestthemed world,
and Lost Kingdom, a dinosaurthemed
world. Little Africa is a mini zoo with
animals and birds of the savannah; and
Critter Creek is described as a world of
strange animal hybrids called “curious
critters.”
We walked through Tornado Springs
and Lost Kingdom, and I would say they
are your best bet for older kids, as their
rides are more adrenalinefilled.
Seeing my kids happy and outside
alongside other families running around
still feels like a luxury these days, despite
the fact that we’ve been living with the
COVID19 pandemic for a couple of years
now.
My daughter was in Peppa Pig fandom
bliss, every few moments calling out the
characters she recognized from the show,
from the namesake porker and her family
to side characters like Suzy Sheep and
Pedro Pony.
The park even had some lifesized ver
sions of characters who greeted visitors. It
was a fun reminiscence for me of my trips
to Disney World when I was a child.
The happygolucky music set the tone
for the entire time, immersing us in the
world of Peppa. We couldn’t help but have
a skip in our step as we walked through
the park.
All the rides were easygoing and fun to
do with my kids. Grampy Rabbit’s Sailing
Club is a boat ride. Ms. Rabbit’s Rescue
Helicopter, which is a mini Ferris wheel,
gives a good view of the entire park, and
the popular Queen’s Flying Coach goes
around the Queen’s Castle.
Yes, in the world of Peppa Pig, Britain’s
Queen Elizabeth II is one of only two hu
mans, I learned that day in the park. Santa
Claus is the other.
Despite all the enjoyment we derived
from the park’s diversions, however, the
food left much to be desired. It was runof
themill theme park grub: sandwiches,
pizza, fries, potato chips and desserts.
I had a chiliandcoleslaw burrito, and I
did not enjoy it but scarfed it down any
way since the money had been spent.
All in all, it was a great day, and being
able to see my daughter live in the world
of her favorite show was well worth the
trip.
PHOTOS BY KYLE ALVAREZ/Stars and Stripes
Families wait in line to meet Peppa Pig and her brother George at Peppa Pig World in Romsey, England. The park also has interactive events for visitors to participate in.
Put some Peppa in your stepA park dedicated to a beloved pig ispart of a British theme park 5-pack
BY KYLE ALVAREZ
Stars and Stripes On the QT
Address: Paulton’s Park, Romsey, S051 6AL,EnglandHours: Monday, 10 a.m.4:30 p.m.; TuesdayThursday, closed; Friday, 10 a.m.4:30 p.m.;Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Cost: People 3 feet tall and up, 48.50 pounds.Children under 3 feet tall do not require a ticket.Family of three, 143 pounds; family of four, 190pounds; family of five, 237 pounds. Ticketsinclude admission to all themed worlds in Paulton’s Park. Each ticket is a oneday pass unlessyou purchase a twoday package, which includeshotel and free admission on your second day. Information: Phone, +44 0 23 8081 4442;Online: paultonspark.co.uk
Kyle Alvarez
Kelly Alvarez and daughter Penelope ride Grandpa Pig’s Boat Trip at Peppa Pig World.All the rides at the theme park allow the option for parents to ride with their kids.
[email protected]: @Kal2931
Friday, April 15, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 23
WEEKEND: FOOD & DINING
The experience at Taj Mahal Ristorante Indiano
in Naples can be summed up in one word: meh.
Casual observation will tell you that eating at
the restaurant won’t be an immersion in haute
cuisine, but holeinthewall joints often yield some of the
best culinary memories. Sadly, Taj Mahal isn’t among
them.
Situated in the Quartieri Spagnoli neighborhood, the
eatery includes a small indoor dining room, outdoor seat
ing and a walkup/togo option. One of the few pluses of
the place is that the
staff is friendly,
efficient and accom
modating.
The dining room is
decorated with In
diathemed murals
on one side, posters
on the other side and a giant photo of the Taj Mahal at the
back. Insider tip: A secret door on the back wall leads to
the bathroom.
On a recent visit, a friend and I ordered vegetable and
chicken samosas and fritters called onion bhaji pakora to
start.
The vegetable samosas contained mostly potato, with
no other vegetables visible. They had a slight cumin
curry flavor, while their chicken counterparts were dry
and flavorless.
Overall, the samosas were a poor pretender of those
I’ve tasted at other Indian restaurants. The fritters too
were a disappointment. I couldn’t see any onion or taste
its flavor in the greasy pieces, which had a slight curry
like essence.
More promising were the butter paneer and dal mak
hani main dishes. The former featured a rich tomato
sauce with just the right amount of spiciness.
But the paneer cheese was cut into thin slices about the
size of Scrabble tiles rather than the halfinchsquare
chunks commonly found in Indian dishes. There just
wasn’t enough substance to the entree.
Easily the best item on the table was the dal, which
featured cooked black lentils expertly seasoned with
onion, garlic, red chili, garam masala and other ingre
dients. It was rich, thick and perfect for scooping up with
naan flatbread.
For me, naan is critical when eating Indian food. It
must be piping hot with a crispy bottom but chewy and
sturdy enough to allow me to scrape up every last bit of a
delicious sauce.
Here again, Taj Mahal missed the mark. The small,
lunch platesized discs were too thick and not as crispy as
they should have been, leaving the impression they were
undercooked. An onionandcheese variation, which
should have been flavorful, was bland.
Two meat dishes, chicken shahi korma and gosht birya
ni rice with mutton, were equally unimpressive. The meat
in both was dry, chewy and nearly tasteless.
The sauce in the korma was delicious with a strong
coconut flavor. But crunchy, hard seeds in the biryani
made it unenjoyable for my meateating companion.
Taj Mahal isn’t inexpensive, either. Dinner for two,
without alcohol, was 71 euros.
Admittedly, we tried many dishes and had plenty of
leftovers to take home, but overall, the meal was under
whelming.
While Taj Mahal has good service, fun decor and a
convenient location, it’s the food that matters. And its
many deficiencies on that score make a return trip hard
to justify.
Taj meh-alCharm cannot disguise the foodflaws at Indian eatery in Naples
BY ALISON BATH
Stars and Stripes
AFTERHOURS
ITALY
PHOTOS BY ALISON BATH/Stars and Stripes
The menu at Taj Mahal Ristorante Indiano in Naples, Italy, is extensive, with a variety of meat and vegetarian dishes.Clockwise from lower left are butter paneer, raita, chicken shahi korma and gosht biryani rice with mutton.
[email protected] Twitter: @alisonbath_
Taj Mahal Ristorante Indiano
Address: Via San Giacomo 25, Naples, ItalyInformation: Phone: +39 3203520399; online: facebook.com/ristoranteindianonapoli1Hours: Seven days a week, 10 a.m.midnight; dinein, takeawayand delivery optionsPrices: appetizers, 37 euros; main dishes, 710 euros; tandooribarbecue, 518 euros; and desserts, 34 eurosInformation: Online: ristorantetajmahal.it
Alison Bath
Taj Mahal offers a variety of vegetarian dishes. Clockwiseare dal makhani, garlic naan and raita.
The cozy indoor dining room at Taj Mahal features agiantsized photo of India’s Taj Mahal on its back wall.
Taj Mahal Ristorante Indiano is located in the city’sQuartieri Spagnoli neighborhood and offers indoor andoutdoor dining, takeout and delivery options.
Appetizers at Taj Mahal are priced from 3 to 7 euros andinclude traditional favorites such as vegetable fritters andsamosas. Clockwise are onion bhaji pakora, vegetablesamosas and chicken samosas.
PAGE 24 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
WEEKEND: QUICK TRIPS
Astatue of a dog with one ear up outside Shibuya
Station, close to the madness of the Shibuya
Scramble intersection, is one of the most pop
ular meeting places in Tokyo.
The statue on the station’s west side is easy to find. The
Hachiko exit is named for it. Just follow the signs.
Hachiko’s story of loyalty went worldwide more than 90
years ago. Also known as Hachi, his story was made into
two films: in Japanese, “Hachiko,” in 1987, and an Amer
ican version, “Hachi: A Dog’s Tale,” starring Richard
Gere, in 2009.
But the wellknown statue is just one stop on a path that
takes Hachiko’s admirers past other sites associated with
the story, including his final resting place and a perhaps
unsettling recreation of the animal itself.
Hachiko was an Akita born in 1923 whose master, pro
fessor Hidesaburo Ueno, taught at what is now known as
the University of Tokyo. Every morning, Hachiko walked
with Ueno to Shibuya Station where the two would part
ways for the day as Ueno boarded the train to head to
work.
Each evening, Hachiko returned to the station to greet
Ueno and together they walked home. On May 1, 1925,
Ueno boarded the train but did not return; he suffered a
stroke that day and died.
Afterward, Hachiko was sent to live with a relative.
That didn’t stop the dog from visiting the station every
morning and every evening, searching for his owner.
Setsuko Yamashita, 92, of Tokyo, said she first met the
nowfamous Hachiko when she was 5 or 6 years old.
“Every time when my parents took me to Shibuya, I
was excited to pet his back,” she told Stars and Stripes
during an interview Feb. 11. “He was a big and quiet dog.
I think Hachiko surely went to the station to get his owner
at first, then he made this a habit, eventually.”
Hachiko waited about 16 feet from the station gate,
looking straight ahead, wearing his collar on his neck,
Yamashita said.
“The real Hachiko was bigger than the statue you now
see at Shibuya Station,” she said.
Some people treated Hachiko poorly, thinking he was a
stray, according to the Hachiko Legacy page online. He
was teased and taunted and some even poured water on
him, hoping he would leave.
The Asahi newspaper published a story on Oct. 4, 1932,
with the headline: “Tale of a Poor Old Dog: Patiently
Waiting for Seven Years for the Dead Owner.” With that,
Hachiko became a celebrity.
Until then, Yamashita didn’t know the dog she used to
pet was Hachiko, she said.
In 1934, a bronze statue was erected in front of the
ticket gate of Shibuya Station, and Hachiko even attended
the event. He continued to wait at the station, and locals
recall seeing him looking at the statue.
During World War II, the statue was melted down to
support the war efforts. The version seen today went up
in 1948.
Near the statue, behind an information building, is a
mural, a massive piece of art dedicated to Hachiko.
Another statue, this one of Ueno and Hachiko together,
was dedicated at the University of Tokyo on March 8,
2015, marking the 80th anniversary of Hachiko’s death at
age 11 from cancer and a parasitic infection.
The statue, much bigger and more detailed than the
one in Shibuya, depicts Hachiko jumping up playfully at
his owner. It is easy to find on the left side while entering
the main gate onto the campus.
The university dissected Hachiko after he died in 1935,
according to the Asahi newspaper. The beloved dog’s
heart and other preserved organs are on display at an
oncampus museum that’s closed to the public because of
the coronavirus.
For another macabre experience, visit “the real Hachi
ko” at the National Museum of Nature of Science.
On the trail
of HachikoLoyal dog’s legacy lives on in Tokyo
BY KELLY AGEE
Stars and Stripes
KELLY AGEE/Stars and Stripes
This statue of Hachiko with his owner was dedicated at the University of Tokyo on March 8, 2015, marking the 80thanniversary of Hachiko’s death. Hachiko became well known for his loyalty after it was discovered that he would awaitthe return of his owner, Hidesaburo Ueno, every day even after the man died following a stroke in 1925.
The statue of Hachiko outside Shibuya Station, locatednear the madness of the Shibuya Scramble intersection,is one of the most popular meeting places in Tokyo.
SEE HACHIKO ON PAGE 25
On the QT
Hachiko Memorial StatueAddress: 2 Chome1 Dogenzaka, Shibuya City, Tokyo 1500043Directions: Just outside Shibuya Station’s Hachiko exit.Hidesaburo Ueno and Hachiko StatueAddress: 1 Chome1 Yayoi, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 1130032Directions: A short walk from Todaimae Station. National Museum of Nature and ScienceAddress: 720 Uenokoen, Taito City, Tokyo 1108718Directions: A short walk from Ueno Station Price: Adults are 620 yen and high school students and youngerare free. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday. Closed Mondays.Grave of Ueno and Hachiko Address: 2 Chome33 Minamiaoyama, Minato City, Tokyo 1070062Directions: A short walk from the AoyamaItchome Station.
Kelly Agee
Friday, April 15, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 25
WEEKEND: FOOD & DINING
An Irish pub on a street corner in
Shibuya is a likely place to find
expats from around the world, a
bite of traditional Irish food and
a good laugh.
Now that pandemic emergency mea
sures in Tokyo are a thing of the recent
past, a little bit of comedy is just what the
virologist ordered. Monthly standup
nights at the An Solas Irish Pub deliver a
wicked roster of comedians from around
the world who perform their routines in
English.
I caught the Come Again Comedy show,
a troupe of nine comedians, in early April
at a cover charge of 1,500 yen, or about
$12.25.
I didn’t know what to expect or if the
show would be funny or if the jokes would
be lost in translation, but the bar filled
with laughter during the whole show.
The headliner, Evans Musoka, 34, a
native of Nairobi, Kenya, has been a come
dian for 10 years and has performed in 14
countries in Southeast Asia and Africa. In
Kenya, he performed in Swahili, but ad
justed his jokes once he started perform
ing in Japan.
“When I moved here and I noticed my
material doesn’t work, I had to change my
comedy around because of the different
people and different culture,” Musoka
said, “and this actually helped me to be
came more universal.”
Comedian Jon Sabay, 39, a native of
Dallas, said the comedy nights are a great
way for people from around the world to
connect through laughter.
“Living in Japan when you are not from
Japan is a pretty unique experience,” he
said. “Japan is a very welcoming place but
at the same time it can make you feel quite
foreign. There is a shared understanding
that it is very unique that we are all here
in Japan. So, it is just nice to revel in that
and celebrate it.”
Comedy night at An Solas (Irish for
“The Light”) rolls around again at 6 p.m.
on May 21.
In the meantime, the pub is a pretty
good spot for authentic Irish fare. The
staff speaks English and English menus
are available. Typical selections include a
roast beef sandwich for 1,100 yen, fish and
chips for 700 yen, shepherd’s pie for 1,100
yen and Irish lamb stew for 1,200 yen.
It sounds like a meateater’s paradise,
but I found a veggie tofu burger for 1,100
yen. The burger is topped with fresh avo
cado, tomatoes, red onions, radish sprouts,
lettuce and balsamic sauce. The dish is an
ample portion and comes with a side of
fries.
Good laughs, good service and good
food make An Solas worth the trip, but the
real attraction for me was the warm and
friendly Irishpub atmosphere. Add to that
a clientele of expats from around the
world, and it’s definitely a destination to
experience.
Dinner & comedyAn Solas Irish Pub, an expat hangout in centralTokyo, will supply patrons with food and laughs
BY KELLY AGEE
Stars and Stripes AFTERHOURS
JAPAN
AN SOLAS
Location: Sendagaya Apartment Building 103,Toei Housing Building 1, 522 Sendagaya, Shibuyaku, Tokyo 1510051Directions: Walking distance from ShinjukuStation via the Southeast Exit Hours: 11 a.m. to midnight, Monday throughFriday; 3 p.m. to midnight, Saturday and Sunday Prices: 700 yen to 1300 yen for most menuitems; cover charge for the monthly comedyshow is 1,500 yenInformation: Online: facebook.com/AnSolasIrishPub
Kelly Agee
KELLY AGEE/Stars and Stripes
The veggie tofu burger from An Solas Irish Pub in Shibuya, Tokyo, is topped with freshavocado, tomatoes, red onions, radish sprouts, lettuce and balsamic sauce.
[email protected] Twitter: @KellyA_Stripes
The taxidermy version of Ha
chiko is on display in the north
wing, second floor, of the mu
seum in the Japanese People and
Nature. He stands alongside two
other Akitas.
It is neat to see a part of him,
his fur, but don’t expect this
version to look exactly like the
real Hachiko. Photos depict him
much bigger than the dog dis
played, and taxidermy does not
always render a specific animal
or pet as they appeared in real
life.
On a lighter note, the mu
seum’s gift shop offers a variety
of items, including gift cards,
cups, bags, Tshirts, and even a
cute stuffed animal version of
Hachiko.
Lastly, pay respects to Hachiko
and Ueno by visiting their resting
place at Aoyama Cemetery. This
large cemetery is also famous for
its beautiful cherry blossoms in
the spring.
The grave itself is not hard to
find. Hachiko’s ashes are report
edly buried beside Ueno, and
there’s a tiny shrine there in his
honor. Visitors have been known
to leave dog toys and food for
Hachiko’s spirit.
Hachiko: Dog’s legacy isloyalty beyond owner’s deathFROM PAGE 24
KELLY AGEE/Stars and Stripes
You can pay your respects toHachiko and his owner at AoyamaCemetery in Tokyo. Visitors havebeen known to leave dog toysand food for Hachiko’s spirit.
[email protected] Twitter: @KellyA_Stripes
PAGE 26 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
WEEKEND: LIFESTYLE
I’m tired. If you’re reading this, you
probably are, too.
Pandemic living, societal shifts,
inflation and global uncertainty will
do that to a person. So when I saw a sign
for Nap Pod, “a relaxation oasis for those
tired of being tired,” I knew I had to visit.
Nap Pod, which opened in downtown
Tampa, Fla., in September, is exactly what
it sounds like: a cozy refuge where em
ployees can sneak off during the workday
and curl up for a little bit of shuteye. A
20minute session in a zerogravity pod
goes for $16; a full hour costs $48. Both are
Health Savings Account and Flexible
Spending Account eligible and come with
complimentary water bottles, mints and
lemonscented face towels.
I picked a Monday, my sleepiest day of
the week, and headed over for a siesta.
Maybe this could help me unwind.
“The only people who aren’t stressed
are babies,” Nap Pod founder and CEO
Scott Chester, 42, told me shortly after I
arrived. “That’s because they are always
taking naps.”
As a father of three kids, Chester knows
stress. He found himself burned out after
seven years of working long hours in in
formation technology at Raymond James.
So Chester quit his job and cashed out his
retirement plan to start Nap Pod: a place
where anyone, from doctors and lawyers
to fastfood workers and salon techs, could
stop during the day and doze.
Chester’s research taught him that short
naps can improve mood, inspire creativity
and boost productivity. He dropped
$30,000 to buy two MetroNaps Energy
Pods from a New Yorkbased company
called Restworks. Billed as “the world’s
first chair designed for napping at work,”
these are the same glossy, spaceship
looking thrones where Google employees
snooze on the job. The chairs have been a
big hit at hospitals and airports around the
world.
Before visitors slip away into sweet
dreams, Chester encourages them to
spend some time in the relaxation lounge
in the lobby. This nook is filled with air
purifiers, houseplants, a foot massager
and a Moon Pod (a fancy, zerogravity
beanbag chair). A projector casts a looping
video of a Japanese river on the wall, and
the gurgling sound of flowing water plays
on a Bluetooth speaker.
“It’s like cooking,” he said. “You’ve got
to preheat the oven.”
While I reclined in the beanbag chair,
Chester told me about his own hectic
schedule. He starts his remote work as a
Department of Defense contractor around
7 each morning before coming into the
Nap Pod space at 10. He welcomes clients
until about 4 p.m., working on his primary
job in the meantime. Even though Nap
Pod is his passion project, he doesn’t use it
himself.
“I don’t feel like I have enough time to
do that right now,” he said. “I want to get
to that point.”
I was exhausted just thinking about it,
or maybe the foot massager was doing its
job. Either way, I was ready to close my
eyes. I stepped into a small, windowless
room lined with a strip of glowing blue
LED lights. A container of earplugs sat on
a small table in the corner. A galactic
display of cascading laser beams and
swirling stars were projected up onto the
ceiling, while four diffusers oozed the
scent of lavender and sandalwood. Chester
explained that his fiancee’s daughter, who
has autism, finds these scents helpful
when she’s trying to rest.
Against the wall was the star of the
show: the sleek white and gray nap pod,
consisting of a large orb with a protruding
long footrest. The chair is ergonomically
designed to take pressure off the lower
back as the seat tilts back.
Chester showed me headphones I could
use and a light at the top of the pod, plus
buttons to control the tilt, the volume of
the music and the optional vibration that
would help wake me up. I pulled the pri
vacy visor across the front of the pod to
cocoon myself, leaned the chair back
slightly and tried to relax.
The laser lights were still a little dis
tracting, so I got up and turned them off.
Back to the chair, where I pressed the
arrow button to lean back as far as I could.
Wait — should I grab a pair of earplugs?
My zerogravity chair was too far re
clined for me to get out of it, and the dark
ness made it hard to see the buttons to
raise me back up. I decided to reach from
my seat and nearly fell out of the pod.
Never mind.
I inhaled the lavender air and tried not
to guess how many minutes of precious
napping time I was wasting. I slid on the
set of headphones and soaked in the tran
quil soundtrack: chimes. The lilt of a gen
tle piano melody. The chatter of seagulls.
Any sense of peace I felt was interrupt
ed by the music, which shifted into an
almost menacing rhythm of gongs and
bells. I fumbled in the dark until my fin
gers found a button to change audio
tracks. A serene woman’s voice instructed
me to enjoy my nap.
I would like to say that I instantly
slipped into dreamland. I was definitely
tired. But between a stressful drive, a mad
scramble to find parking downtown and
the novelty of this futuristic seating ar
rangement, I couldn’t quite calm my mind
enough to nap. So I gave up on my mission
to slumber and focused on chilling out.
I listened to the voice guiding me into
relaxation, breathing in and out deeply,
and tried not to think about work, traffic
on the drive home, or any of the other
worries waiting for me. Instead of reac
hing for my phone to distract me, I paid
attention to the sensations in my body.
My therapist would be so proud right
now, I thought.
Then there was a shimmery sound, like
a twinkle of bells. The back of my seat
started to gently rumble. The woman’s
voice through the headphones was re
placed with a man’s, and he was telling me
to stretch. It’s time for you to wake up and
rejoin the day, he said.
The pod automatically readjusted, prop
ping me back up. As I pulled back the
privacy shield, I heard chatter in the lobby
and the rush of flowing water from the
projector.
Was I less sleepy than before? Maybe.
Did I enjoy a break from the day? Abso
lutely.
IVY CEBALLO, TAMPA BAY TIMES/TNS
Reporter Gabrielle Calise prepares to rest in a MetroNaps EnergyPod at the Nap Pod in Tampa, Fla. The zerogravity chairs are ergonomically designed and also tilt back.
“The only people who aren’t stressedare babies. That’s because they arealways taking naps.”
Scott Chester
Nap Pod founder and CEO
Siestas for stressThe EnergyPod couples a zero-gravity chair with a soothing environment to encourage daytime dozing
BY GABRIELLE CALISE
Tampa Bay Times
Friday, April 15, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 27
WEEKEND: BOOKS
In 1912, a young “remittance man” —
an earl’s third son who aimlessly
immigrated to British Columbia —
stumbles into a forest and encoun
ters a brief, inexplicable anomaly in time:
a violin being played in a vast, echoing
space.
Two centuries later, a bestselling book
about a pandemic has been published by a
writer named Olive Llewellyn, and it has
made her famous. In it, there’s a passage
about a violinist busking in an Oklahoma
airship terminal when, for a bizarre in
stant, he is surrounded by a forest.
How are these two things connected?
How could a novelist born in a moon colo
ny know such a thing once actually hap
pened? How could a third person, a 21st
century girl, have experienced and rec
orded the same strange event in the same
forest as the earl’s son in 1912? And how
can a time traveling secret agent from yet
another future century discover the truth
of the anomaly without disrupting time
itself?
These are the questions at the heart of
“Sea of Tranquility,” the new novel by
Emily St. John Mandel. The author of
“Station Eleven” and “The Glass Hotel”
has said this story was inspired by one of
her favorite novels, David Mitchell’s
“Cloud Atlas,” and also by her lifelong
fondness for speculative fiction. Elegantly
written, heartbreaking and full of surpris
es, “Sea of Tranquility” will capture read
ers’ imagination and take them on a jour
ney they will long remember. What, after
all, is reading if it is not time travel?
This interview was conducted via email
and edited for length.
Dallas Morning News: Olive seems to
be your doppelgänger in the 23rd
century, touring on behalf of the tiein
edition of a novel that sounds very much
like “Station Eleven.” Later, three months
into pandemic lockdown, she is working
on “this crazy scifi thing” that sounds as
if it might be “Sea of Tranquility.” Is this
new novel your sciencefiction debut,
since it centers on time travel?
St. John Mandel: The whole question of
genre is so slippery, isn’t it? ... I have al
ways loved scifi, and, in fact, growing up
it was really mostly all I read. I think it’s
possible that a
more expansive
way of looking at
the question is to
use the term “spec
ulative fiction”
instead, which I’d
define as fiction in
which the author’s
speculating about
what the future
might look like. By
that measure, I’d
say that “Station Eleven” was my spec
ulative fiction debut.
So time travel wasn’t an interest you
developed just for this book.
I’ve read a ton of scifi and have always
been fascinated by time travel stories. I
believe a lot of people are drawn to time
travel without necessarily thinking of it in
those terms — I think part of what ex
plains the popularity of sites like Ances
try.com and 23andMe is that, on some
level, we harbor a longing to meet our
ancestors.
Here and there, you dropped intriguing
or troubling hints about future
possibilities: The U.S. being broken up
into sectors like the Republic of Texas,
for one; Oklahoma City becoming a
midcontinental airship hub; holographic
meetings during a future pandemic,
instead of Zoom videos; and the idea that
within 100 years, China will be the
world’s remaining superpower. Have you
seen things happening that make you
believe some of these changes might
actually come to pass?
Those are all changes that seem plaus
ible to me, but that doesn’t mean they’re
inevitable. I think a lot of Americans,
myself included, feel a deep unease about
the current political landscape. It’s one
thing to disagree on matters of policy, but
it’s something else entirely to find oneself
in a situation where different groups of
people believe in entirely different ver
sions of reality, and it’s hard to escape a
queasy sense that the country is becoming
increasingly ungovernable. Also, yes, I
think eventually Zoom will probably in
volve sitting around in holographic rooms
with your fellow holographs.
I like the ideas that 200 years from
now, people still will be reading printed
books, that there still will be coins to be
thrown into musicians’ hats, and that
human beings will live on the Sea of
Tranquility. Do you ever envision how
things might be in your grandchildren’s
time, hoping certain things will change a
lot and others not at all?
Yes, definitely. I did an interview re
cently where the interviewer was like, “I
made a list of things that persist into the
far future in your book, and it’s red velvet
cake, cupcakes and misogyny.” It would
be nice if only the first two things on that
list are still with us in the coming centu
ries.
Time over matterSt. John Mandel lets her imagination roam in new novel
JIAHAO PENG
Emily St. John Mandel says that her latestnovel, “Sea of Tranquility,” was inspiredby one of her favorite novels, DavidMitchell’s “Cloud Atlas,” and by herlifelong fondness for speculative fiction.
BY JOYCE SÁENZ HARRIS
The Dallas Morning News
Q&A
Emily St. John Mandel’s new novel,
“Sea of Tranquility,” is smart, brisk and
entertaining. Let’s hope it’s less prophetic
than her previous work.
In 2014, the Canadian author published
“Station Eleven,” a novel (recently adapt
ed by HBO) about the survivors of a mer
ciless pandemic. Six years after that book
came out — well, you know.
Her latest, “Sea of Tranquility,” is a
mindblower. Mandel has crafted an en
thralling narrative puzzle, plunging her
relatable characters into a tale that spans
five centuries.
It’s 1912 when the story starts, and
young Briton Edwin St. John St. Andrew
has committed quasiblasphemy, suggesti
ng England shouldn’t rule the world. Sent
packing by his aristocratic family, Edwin
comes to rest on Vancouver Island. One
day, in the Canadian woods, he’s enve
loped in “a flash of darkness, like sudden
blindness or an eclipse.” He feels like he’s
entered a “vast interior” — a train station,
maybe — and he hears a violin. It’s a “su
pernatural” episode he’ll never forget.
In the book’s next section, Vincent
Smith — a female character from Man
del’s 2020 novel “The Glass Hotel” — is a
1990s teen when she films some nature
footage. In Vincent’s video of a wooded
area, we hear “overlapping sounds” — a
train station and a violin.
Subsequent chapters — each with their
own uncanny occurrences — focus on a
23rdcentury author commuting between
her home on the moon and the heavily
polluted Earth, and 25thcentury siblings
working for a secretive company.
Mandel alludes to global crises like
climate degradation and lifeconsuming
tech devices, but she doesn’t quite offer us
original ways to think about them. But she
more than compensates for this shortcom
ing with a bracing set of storylines about
virtual reality, time travel and the essence
of human life itself.
Readers who enjoy some weirdness
with their literary fiction are likely to
become immersed in this deceptively
poignant novel.
‘Sea of Tranquility’challenges notionsabout life’s essence
BY KEVIN CANFIELD
Star Tribune
Garrison Keillor’s new novel, “Boom Town,” is an odd
book, an example of autobiographical fiction, or perhaps
merely of hubris.
It opens with the narrator — a 79yearold former radio
host named Garrison Keillor who left his job under a
cloud — returning to Lake Wobegon for the funeral of his
old friend Norm Gunderson. The town has changed: it’s
booming with an influx of young entrepreneurs, vegans,
yoga practitioners and folks who drink wine at $21 a glass.
Bunsen Motors and Krebsbach Chev are gone. The
Chatterbox Cafe has changed its menu to include health
ier items. Lots of the old folk are dead or have moved to
Florida.
The narrator says he’s just an observer of the changes,
“a mere stenographer,” but it’s clear where his senti
ments lie. “The town feels lively and prosperous and so
what if the old culture is dying off,” he says, a bit wistfully
and perhaps bitterly.
Norm has bequeathed to him the
old Gunderson family lake cabin, a
place where the narrator spent a
magical summer between high
school and college. He recalls in
sensuous detail the long days read
ing Thoreau and learning about sex
with Norm’s sister, Marlys, who —
it is apparently important to note —
made the first move and spent
most of the summer wearing noth
ing more than a green bikini.
At summer’s end, he drove off in his 1956 Chevy to
attend the University of Minnesota. “I was eighteen, had
tasted gin and made love to a girl. ... I was a man,” he
says, and you do not get the sense he is being ironic.
Poor Marlys, though, ended up in a mental institution.
This is just one of the weirdly hostile details in this
novel, which veers between reality, fantasy (the narra
tor’s wife, Giselle, flies from New York to Minneapolis for
one night because she so misses having sex with him) and
revenge (the hipsters get their comeuppance).
Throughout the novel, the narrator ponders his fall
from grace — he lost his radio show because he recited a
raunchy limerick on the air. (The reallife story of Keil
lor’s downfall is more complicated.)
“It’s a lesson in the transitory nature of fame,” he says.
“One year you’re the ace of spades and then you’re a pair
of twos.” And, “I was a divisive figure in town. People
over sixty liked me, people under forty did not.”
Still, there’s humor here, too. At 79, Keillor remains a
smooth writer, and his ability to create realistic but quir
ky characters and then spin endless, oddball stories about
them is as strong as ever. While the book is largely plot
less, the soliloquies are often funny, if you don’t mind the
occasional joke about flatulence.
Is it worth reading? I think the narrator said it best. If
you’re over 60, “Boom Town” might bring back fond
memories of “A Prairie Home Companion.”
But if you’re under 40, well, it might just leave you cold.
Keillor’s ‘Boom Town’ part humor, part fantasy, part grievanceBY LAURIE HERTZEL
Star Tribune
PAGE 28 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
WEEKEND: MUSIC
Dressed in the sig
nature colors of
the basketball
team he loves —
loves even when
the team pains him as it has over
the past few months — Flea
comes roaring into the parking
lot of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’
Van Nuys, Calif., rehearsal space
astride a glittering HarleyDa
vidson that matches his purple
sweatpants and gold sneakers.
“It’s the best way to get around
this town,” he says of the motor
cycle, which the bassist’s wife,
streetwear designer Melody
Ehsani, recently had painted Los
Angeles Lakersstyle for his 59th
birthday. Flea has been a Lakers
season ticketholder for 22 years,
and he reckons that this latest
go’round, in which the iconic
NBA club will miss the playoffs,
“is the single most disappointing
season in the history of the
team.”
“It’s hard, because I really like
all the guys,” he says. “Love
Malik Monk. Love Talen Horton
Tucker. Really love Austin
Reaves — you know, ‘Hillbilly
Kobe.’ When they boo Russell
Westbrook, it breaks my heart.
But basketball, like music, is
such an energetic, spiritual thing.
You can put a bunch of great
players together, and it doesn’t
mean they’ll create magic.”
Unless you’re the Red Hot
Chili Peppers, which nearly four
decades after forming in L.A. in
the mid1980s are somehow still
thriving. On April 1, the day after
the band received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame, the
Chili Peppers released “Unlimit
ed Love,” their 12th studio album
in a career that’s contained no
shortage of turmoil.
Full of springy punkfunk jams
and lightly psychedelic ballads,
the new 17track LP is the Chili
Peppers’ first since 2006’s Gram
mywinning “Stadium Arcadi
um” with guitarist John Frus
ciante, whose playing on hits like
“Give It Away” and “Under the
Bridge” helped propel the group
to altrock superstardom in the
early ’90s before the rigors of
fame and a debilitating drug
addiction led him to quit. (Frus
ciante, who’s now 52, returned in
1998, then left again in 2009.)
More impressive than the
album, the Chili Peppers — Flea
(born Michael Peter Balzary),
Frusciante, singer Anthony Kie
dis, 59, and drummer Chad
Smith, 60 — are set to tour this
summer as one of the few Gen X
rock bands capable of filling
stadiums at a moment when
hiphop dominates pop music.
Among their opening acts will
be fellow Angelenos Thundercat,
Anderson .Paak and Haim — just
some of the younger admirers
who’ve kept the Chili Peppers’
anythinggoes spirit alive
through cultural shifts that have
made other legacy acts seem
stuck in the past by comparison.
From left: Flea, Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith and John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers kick out thejams. The band recently released “Unlimited Love,” its first album with Frusciante since 2006.
PAVEL SUSLOV/Warner Music
Clara Balzary
From top: Smith, Frusciante,Flea and Kiedis clown around.
Warner Music
The 17track “Unlimited Love” is full of springy punkfunk jamsand lightly psychedelic ballads.
True ‘Love’ prevails
How the Red Hot Chili Peppers regrouped andrediscovered the best version of themselves
BY MIKAEL WOOD
Los Angeles Times
SEE LOVE ON PAGE 29
“The Chili Peppers were such
early genreblenders,” says Remi
Wolf, the 26yearold L.A. mu
sician whose madcap debut fea
tures a song called “Anthony
Kiedis.” “The freedom in their
music — so raw, so funky, so
California — is superinspiring to
me.”
Indeed, it’s not quite that the
band’s vintage sound is all over
the charts these days — though
one charttopper, Bruno Mars,
did bring the band along with
him when he played the Super
Bowl halftime show in 2014.
“Back in the ’90s, you couldn’t
shake a stick without hitting a
singer with long hair and his
shirt off and a bass player slap
ping,” Smith says of the era when
such groups as Incubus, 311 and
Sublime were building on the
success of the Chili Peppers’ 1991
smash, “Blood Sugar Sex Ma
gik.” “But now? I’m not sure I
could name a new band and say,
‘Oh, yeah, I hear us in there,’” the
drummer says.
Rather, it’s the Chili Peppers’
vibe — kind of brainy, kind of
broy, attuned to pleasure yet
always seeking some higher
plane of fulfillment — that seems
to be resonating in an age of
wellness centers and micro
dosing.
“It’s nice not to feel like the
world has passed you by,” says
Kiedis, whose ’70sstyle mus
tache bespeaks a certain confi
dence in his status. (“When the
boyish charm fades, you have to
invite in the next type of charm,”
he replies when asked why he
opted for the ’stache.) “I love it
when my son’s friends put on
their playlists and we’re on there
with Kid Cudi or someone.”
Though Frusciante wasn’t a
founding member of the band —
he joined at age 18 in 1988 follow
ing the fatal heroin overdose of
original guitarist Hillel Slovak —
everyone in the group agrees that
the Chili Peppers are at their
Chiliest with the spacey but
soulful Frusciante on guitar.
Says Rick Rubin, who pro
duced the band’s classic ’90s
records and returned to the stu
dio with them for the first time in
years for “Unlimited Love”:
“John is an incredible technician,
and that’s the least of his musical
gifts. The connection between
members of this version of the
band is unlike any other.”
Precisely why Frusciante quit
the second time is unclear; he’s
said he wanted to focus on solo
music but recently told Classic
Rock magazine that he “got deep
into the occult” while on tour
behind “Stadium Arcadium.”
For this story, the guitarist, a
sweet but more standoffish pres
ence than his backslapping band
mates, would talk only through
email and declined to engage the
question directly.
Of rejoining his old pals —
something Rubin says he never
considered as a possibility — he
wrote, “It was mainly because I
love them and felt that we had
unfinished business on a soul
level. There are aspects of our
love and respect for each other
that can only be communicated
by playing together.”
Flea says they eased back into
action by doing covers: the
Kinks’ “Waterloo Sunset” (“Such
a beautiful song”), the New York
Dolls’ “Trash,” blues tunes by
Freddie King and John Mayall.
“That was John’s idea,” he says.
“Let’s not get right into writing
songs or playing our old songs.
Let’s just have some fun.”
Frusciante’s return, of course,
meant a forced exit for his for
mer replacement, Josh Kling
hoffer, who played on 2011’s “I’m
With You” and 2016’s “The Geta
way.” Letting the guitarist go was
uncomfortable, Kiedis admits.
“‘Awkward’ is probably an un
derstatement. But when the his
tory that you have with somebo
dy dates back to the 1980s and
they avail themselves to you,” he
adds of Frusciante, “you really
don’t have a choice.” (Klinghoff
er is now touring as a member of
Pearl Jam, which according to
Smith was the guitarist’s favorite
band when he was growing up.
“So it kind of all seems like this is
how things were supposed to go,”
Smith says.)
Having gotten up to speed with
those covers, the Chili Peppers
started writing songs in 2019 and
soon had dozens to choose from;
Flea, Frusciante and Smith
tracked their parts in L.A., Kiedis
and Rubin then went to Kauai to
work on vocals.
At one point, a massive land
slide blocked one of the island’s
main roads. “I had to take a boat
across this river every day with
my backpack full of papers and
lyrics and pencils,” the singer
recalls. “Then I’d walk down a
beach and up a small jungle
mountain where there would be a
Jeep waiting to take me to Rick’s
garage studio. I loved it.”
Long one of rock’s most dis
tinctive stylists, Kiedis employs
his full battery of grunts and
bellows and funny voices on
“Unlimited Love.” In “Black
Summer,” which he hears as a
cross between early Nirvana and
Welsh folk music, he even adopts
an accent that he says is his trib
ute to the Welsh indierock sing
er Cate Le Bon.
Yet Kiedis also gets in his
feelings amid Frusciante’s shim
mering guitar lines in songs like
the tender “Not the One” and
“White Braids & Pillow Chair,” a
gorgeous California travelogue in
which he gazes up at the “deep
Ventura sky” and ponders the
gloom of “Santa Cruz in June.”
It’s a reminder that another rea
son the Chili Peppers have en
dured, beyond the prescience of
their mixandmatch approach, is
the frontman’s unembarrassed
emotionalism.
Remi Wolf says she wrote
“Anthony Kiedis” after being
moved by how “candidly and
vulnerably” the singer discusses
his complicated relationship with
his father in his 2004 memoir,
“Scar Tissue.”
Kiedis’ dad, Blackie Dammett,
was an actor and Hollywood
scenester who raised Kiedis in a
heady atmosphere of sex and
drugs; Dammett died last year
after a lengthy bout with what
the singer describes as “Alz
heimer’slike dementia.”
Given the nature of that dis
ease, “I didn’t feel a wave of loss
and sadness when he died,” Kie
dis says. “I’d actually been feel
ing waves of loss and sadness for
the last few years while he was
alive, because he wasn’t able to
communicate verbally or really
in any way, other than possibly
telepathically. So by the time he
was ready to die, I was ready for
him to go wherever he got to go.
He’d finished his job here on
Earth.
“I miss him. Many times, I’ll
be riding my motorcycle down
Sunset Boulevard, through the
curvy section, and I’ll just re
member little things that I
shared with my dad in the ’60s
and ’70s. I wish I could holler at
him, tell him what I’m thinking
about. But it’s not painful. It’s
more like a happy melancholia.”
Kiedis says his own coparent
ing of his 14yearold son, Everly
— his mom is model Heather
Christie, with whom the never
married Kiedis was romantically
involved in the mid2000s — is
“the single greatest thing that I
have going on.”
He laughs. “And teenagers are
a hard lot to coexist with, espe
cially when you’re trying to have
any say with their molding and
shaping. It’s like trying to sculpt
some clay on a pottery wheel
that’s going 8 million miles an
hour.”
The singer, who’s spoken open
ly about his struggles with addic
tion, says “sobriety is a way of
life for me”; Flea, who in his own
words spent his 20s in a “drug
shooting, cracksmoking freak
out,” now “has a hit of weed
maybe once a month and a Blue
Moon like twice a year.” (Like
Kieidis, Flea and Smith are dads
as well.)
As he recounts in “Scar Tis
sue,” Kiedis has a history of
“sexual indulgence” that, as he
puts it today, “wasn’t necessarily
completely healthy.” Yet he looks
back philosophically on the more
extreme phases of his life: “Liv
ing in this ultrafree scenario
came with maybe a wolf bite or
two, but it also came with the
feeling of being alive — and
maybe you don’t want to forget
what it feels like to be that alive
and that much in danger.”
And what of the Chili Peppers’
optimism regarding the future of
the Red Hot Chili Peppers? Frus
ciante, after all, has made so
mething of a habit of leaving;
Flea acknowledges that the in
tensity of the band’s world tour,
which launches in June in Spain,
could be a taxing enterprise for
the introverted guitarist.
Still, “everything’s great right
now,” says Smith. “John’s ded
icated. He’s totally into it.”
In his email, Frusciante wrote
that “the experience has been as
positive and healthy as I had
hoped it would be.”
Love: Band’s vibe more resonant today than its musical styleFROM PAGE 28
MARIAH TAUGER, LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS
The Red Hot Chili Peppers pose for a portrait in Los Angeles on March 21. The band began writing songsin 2019 and soon had dozens from which to choose for “Unlimited Love.”
“The connection betweenmembers of this version ofthe band is unlike any other.”
Rick Rubin
producer of “Unlimited Love”
Friday, April 15, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 29
WEEKEND: MUSIC
PAGE 30 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
WEEKEND: TELEVISION
Spring is sprung and winterseems to be properly over,but bingewatch weather isin the eye of the beholder.
Here are the buzziest new TVshows of the season to watch, try oravoid — based solely on trailersand descriptions (no spoilers here).
Watch“The First Lady,” April 17, Showtime
It’s hard to pass up this one: Viola Davis as Michelle
Obama, Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford and Gillian An
derson as Eleanor Roosevelt. The Showtime anthology
series seems interested in exploring the first ladies out
side of their husbands (OT Fagbenle, Aaron Eckhart and
Kiefer Sutherland, respectively), including Roosevelt’s
suspiciously close friendship with reporter Lorena Hick
ok (Lily Rabe).
“Gaslit,” April 24, Starz
Cashing in on the podcasttoTVseries pipeline is
“Gaslit,” based on the first season of Slate’s “Slow Burn”
series and starring Julia Roberts and Sean Penn. Rather
than the Watergate story we all know, “Gaslit” goes be
hind the scenes with whistleblower Martha Mitchell, wife
of Attorney General John Mitchell, and shows how Ri
chard Nixon’s world came crumbling down around him.
“We Own This City,” April 25, HBO
“The Wire” creator David Simon brings the true story
of the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task
Force to the small screen. Simon also appears to have
brought back a decent chunk of the lesserknown “Wire”
cast, since the 2020s are all about the reboots.
“Under the Banner of Heaven,” April 28, Hulu
It’s unlikely that Andrew Garfield will be singing in this
one, but we’ll survive. Instead, he’s playing a Mormon
detective who finds his faith shaken as he investigates the
1984 murder of Brenda Wright Lafferty (Daisy Edgar
Jones) and her baby daughter in a Salt Lake City suburb.
Andrew Garfield, super sleuth, is intriguing enough, but
now we’ve got religion? Tick tick, we’re waiting.
“I Love That For You,” April 29, Showtime
Sure, “Search Party” already did the “faking cancer to
get a job” angle, but there is just something so undeniably
charming about Vanessa Bayer that you can’t even be
mad at her, playing a desperate woman who dreams of
hosting a show on a shopping channel to the point of pre
tending her childhood cancer is back. Throw in Molly
Shannon and Jennifer Lewis, and we’d hire her, too.
“Candy,” May 9, Hulu
“Based on disturbingly true events” could lead the
trailer for any number of true crime series, but “Candy”
seems to promise something more from suburban house
wife Candy Montgomery (Jessica Biel) accused and then
acquitted of the bloody murder of church friend Betty
Gore (Melanie Lynskey) by hitting her 41 times with an
ax.
“Angelyne,” May 19, Peacock
It’s difficult to explain mysterious blond billboard mod
el Angelyne, who was as well known as she was little
understood around Los Angeles in the ’80s. Was she a
singer? An actress? An alien? Star Emmy Rossum is going
to find out, in all her pink glory.
“ObiWan Kenobi,” May 25, Disney+
Here’s your Star Wars show. Have fun.
Try“Roar,” April 15, Apple TV+
The great thing about anthologies is that, theoretically,
there’s always going to be something that catches your
attention. The bad thing is that sometimes they get rushed
or are lazy; you only have 45 minutes with these charac
ters, so you don’t have to put that much work in. With
“Roar,” the creators of “GLOW” have promised us “dark
ly comedic feminist fables.”
“Anatomy of a Scandal,” April 15, Netflix
In a post#MeToo world, stories about powerful men
vehemently denying rape allegations feels a little over
done. On the other hand, done well, a show about a British
politician, his alleged victim, his wife and the prosecutor
determined to take him down could be a fascinating study
of the consequences of the elite.
“Shining Girls,” April 29, Apple TV+
Time travel shows are almost impossible to pull off, but
when they work, they can be magnetic. Elisabeth Moss as
a newspaper archivist in early 1990s Chicago who finds
herself linked to a serial killer through her own assault
could be the definition of an unreliable narrator and with
Moss, it could work.
“Now and Then,” May 20, Apple TV+
Early descriptions of “Now and Then” sound an awful
lot like “Yellowjackets” meets “The Afterparty,” minus
the implied cannibalism: Twenty years after a group of
six college best friends celebrate a weekend that ended
with one of them dead, they find themselves faced once
again with their own actions. Of course, “Yellowjackets”
and “The Afterparty” were great, but without something
special, we’ve been there, done that.
Avoid“61st Street,” April 10, AMC
The TV industry has been accused of being too procop,
and it’s responded with a few shows that acknowledge
that not all officers are always virtuous. “61st Street”
appears to be another like that. The effort is nice, but at
some point one of them needs to actually say something.
“The Man Who Fell to Earth,” April 24, Showtime
This is no offense to Chiwetel Ejiofor, but when you’ve
already had David Bowie playing the alien who crashes
onto your planet, you should probably just let that be.
“The Offer,” April 28, Paramount+
You know the last thing anyone needs right now? Holly
wood applauding itself for being so good at its job. Sure,
“The Offer” has a great cast and promises the behindthe
scenes story of the making of “The Godfather,” one of the
most important movies in cinematic history, but weren’t
all those Oscars enough?
New showsfor spring
RAMONA ROSALES/Showtime
From left to right: Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford, Viola Davis as Michelle Obama and Gillian Anderson as EleanorRoosevelt in Showtime anthology series “The First Lady.”
STARZ/TNS
Sean Penn, left, and Julia Roberts appear in a scene from“Gaslit,” about the whistleblower Martha Mitchell(Roberts) behind Watergate. Penn plays her husband.
BY KATE FELDMAN
New York Daily News
Hulu
Candy Montgomery, right (Jessica Biel), is a 1980housewife and mother who is acquitted of murderingchurch friend Betty Gore, left (Melanie Lynskey).
Friday, April 15, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 31
WEEKEND: TELEVISION REVIEW
Jake Adelstein, the first
nonJapanese reporter on
staff at Japan’s largest
newspaper, has had his
2009 memoir about working the
police beat adapted into a 10
episode series for HBO Max,
“Tokyo Vice.” Half of that meal
has been made available for
review, and it is so far an in
triguing mix of familiar flavors
and unusual spices. How it fin
ishes we will learn together, but
so far, so very good.
Ansel Elgort (lately loved
hatedtolerated as Tony in Steven
Spielberg’s “West Side Story”)
plays Jake, a beanpole out of
Missouri, who stands out in and
above the Tokyo crowds. (He’s
Jewish, to boot, which makes him
an even more curious figure.) We
meet him two years in advance of
the actual beginning of the story,
in a private room in a fancy res
taurant where a yakuza suggests
he might want to back off a story,
before skipping back to 1999,
where he is still a floppyhaired
teacher of English to housewives.
It’s quickly established, to
percussive underscoring, that
he’s not an ugly American but is
at home in and in love with the
local culture. He speaks Japa
nese fluently and is friendly with
shopkeepers and cooks. He prac
tices martial arts and hops
around in dance clubs. Mean
while, he studies for the exam
ination that will qualify him to
work for the nation’s largest
newspaper; he’s hired, which is
when his troubles begin. Eve
rything there runs by the book,
and it is a very big book. And
rulefollowers make poor heroes.
Created by the Tony Award
winning J.T. Rogers (“Oslo”),
who had earlier worked with
Adelstein (a childhood friend) on
an abandoned bigscreen adapta
tion, “Tokyo Vice” avoids the
pitfall of making this the story of
a white American showing the
Japanese how it’s done by mak
ing Jake a bit of a doofus, a cock
sure big lug who stumbles as
much as he succeeds, and by
surrounding him with local char
acters who are equally motivat
ed, more experienced and/or
better informed.
“Why do I feel like the greatest
investigative journalist that ever
lived?” Jake asks a colleague,
having gotten his first piece pub
lished.
“Because you’re an Amer
ican,” says one of his friendly
colleagues, “so you think that
you’re more talented than you
actually are.” In the short run,
this will be prove true. For all he
knows about his adopted country,
there’s a lot he misses.
“I’m trying really hard to get it
right, to fit into their system,
which is mentally tyrannical,
which is not what I expected
from a newspaper,” he com
plains, when he is expected only
to report, or reprint, the official
police version of any case. “You
don’t get to think,” he is told, but
that’s not going to happen; a
routine investigation leads him to
collect clues like Nancy Drew,
and we are off.
It’s a big show, with a vivid
supporting cast of friends and
foes and people just met along
the way, but it revolves around
five characters who in one way
or another seem set to become
allies. Along with Jake, whose
constitutional inquisitiveness
allows for a lot of exposition,
there’s Hiroto (Ken Watanabe), a
police detective in the organized
crime division who would rather
find the truth than simply, as his
boss would prefer, clear a case;
Samantha (Rachel Keller), a
fellow American, working in a
hostess bar, where we first see
her singing “Sweet Child of
Mine” in Japanese; Emi (Rinko
Kikuchi), Jake’s assignment
editor, inclined herself to follow a
story to the end but hamstrung
by hidebound superiors; and Sato
(Shô Kasamatsu), a sensitive
yakuza with a thing for Saman
tha. Jake is the hub from which
they radiate, but each has busi
ness apart from him.
Of all these characters (and
universally fine performers),
none is as structurally important
to the series’ success than Wata
nabe’s detective — perhaps not
even Elgort, who gets from Wata
nabe the same sort of olderman
support Jake gets from Hiroto.
Serious of mien, furrowed of
brow and just a little in need of a
shave, he is a classic noir type,
with the wornin quiet authority
of lateperiod Bogart or Stewart
or Wayne.
Like many of the most effec
tive adventure stories, “Tokyo
Vice” does not shy from cliche;
it’s a basket of tropes, familiar
not only from police procedurals
and newspaper dramas, but
gangster films and Westerns: the
rookie reporter and the veteran
cop, each chafing against the
conservative strictures of their
superiors; the screaming editor
who wouldn’t know a good story
if it were laid out in 20point type
and taped to his face; a dance
hall girl looking for something
better; a good guy bonding with a
bad guy; oldschool mobsters
with a sense of honor facing
competition from less scrupulous
rivals.
Even as one recognizes them,
one greets them as old friends,
because they are wellhandled
here and give the series a solid
core that lets it concentrate on
character. The machinations of
the plot are less important than
the people it carries along; and
it’s our concern for them —
heightened by the feeling that
things might go very wrong at
any moment — that keeps “To
kyo Vice” suspenseful and, in the
bargain, makes us care about the
characters all the more.
“Tokyo Vice” is now streaming
on HBO Max.
Defying thestatus quo
Characters, not plot, driving force insuspenseful crime series ‘Tokyo Vice’
BY ROBERT LLOYD
Los Angeles Times
Photos by HBO Max/TNS
Ansel Elgort portrays reporter Jake Adelstein in crime drama “Tokyo Vice,” inspired by Adelstein’smemoir. Adelstein is frustrated when told he must reprint the official police version of the cases he covers.
Ken Watanabe plays policedetective Hiroto in “Tokyo Vice.”
The HBO Max drama series “Tokyo
Vice” takes the perennial story of a novice
reporter on the police beat but places it in
the bustling exotic landscape of the Japa
nese capital of the 1990s.
Ansel Elgort of “West Side Story” im
mersed himself in the leading role not
only by learning Japanese so he could
speak like a native, but also learning the
ropes of an investigative reporter: in
terviewing people, getting quotes and
writing up a story.
“It was really cool,” he told AP.
The characters had to feel real, not just
be archetypes, Elgort said.
The series, which premiered April 7,
weaves in allusions to the Japanese film
genre depicting organized crime, called
“yakuza,” and also explores the glitzy
night life of hostess bars, where powerful
corporate Japanese men rub shoulders
with their underworld counterparts.
“You see the yakuza characters. You see
them as a family, too. It’s kind of like ‘The
Godfather,’ where you see them being bad
guys, but you see them at home and how
it’s really a family,” Elgort said.
The whole point was to go back and
forth smoothly between languages and
cultures, all carefully put together to ap
pear authentic to global audiences, the
creators and actors said.
Ken Watanabe, who plays a somber and
seasoned police detective, said he also
served as Japanese language adviser, and
gave Elgort the tip to learn all his lines in
his native tongue first before trying them
out in the foreign language.
That has been a trick Watanabe uses
acting in Hollywood, starting with the
Tom Cruise period piece “The Last Sam
urai.” For “Tokyo Vice,” Watanabe also
studied cops, he said, to probe deeper into
his character, a loving family man and
tough crime fighter.
“Tokyo Vice” is loosely based on a non
fiction firsthand account by Jake Adel
stein, who spent years in Japan and
worked for a top newspaper.
“You’re always looking at the storyteller
for a dynamic genre story by characters
with incredible stakes, but how to come in
with a different angle?” said Tonywinning
J.T. Rogers, writer of the series and a
friend of Adelstein since they were teens
in Missouri.
“It creates a dynamism that we hope the
audience will find interesting,” he said.
Footage shot in Tokyo is filled with
iconic touchstones, from the famous Shi
buya intersection where crowds crisscross
in perfect choreography, to the rigidly
bureaucratic offices of the Japanese “sala
ryman,” whose hierarchical emphasis on
respect for higherups is oddly paralleled
by the yakuza world.
“All those worlds are very interconnect
ed in ways that are different from what
you might assume, coming in from a West
ern point of view. And so discovering the
ways they are interconnected, as Jake
figures it out on his own, is part of the
pleasure of following the story,” said exec
utive producer Alan Poul.
Elgort studied journalism, Watanabe cops for roles in ‘Tokyo Vice’BY YURI KAGEYAMA
Associated Press
PAGE 32 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
WEEKEND: HEALTH & FITNESS
Many socalled night people
feel that, when it comes to
society’s expectations about
when the workday should
start, they drew the short straw.
Research shows that “night owls” are
hardwired to sleep later, yet 9to5 work
schedules force them to battle their physi
ology and wake up early. Research also
has shown that conventional timetables
leave them vulnerable to physical and
mental health issues.
“It is harder for night owls to function in
the world because they’re out of sync with
the conventional schedule,” said Kelly
Baron, an associate professor at the Uni
versity of Utah who studies sleep health
and clinically treats patients who have
insomnia. She noted that poor sleep is also
a driver of worker absenteeism and use of
sick days. “We would get better perfor
mance out of employees if they were al
lowed to work at their best working time.”
Her research has found that keeping
late evening hours can cause even healthy
night owls to be prone to bad habits like
eating fast food, not exercising and socia
lizing less.
But the COVID19 pandemic, which
forced many people to telework, allowed
more flexibility in work schedules,
prompting sleep scientists to rethink as
sumptions about sleep and how to assess
patients.
The pandemic “was an international
experiment to understand how sleep
changes when work hours and work envi
ronments change,” Baron said.
Researchers in Italy are among those
tapping into this question. In a recent
study, they found that many Italians who
don’t typically fit into a traditional day
light timetable thrived and their health
improved when the pandemic’s remote
working conditions allowed them to work
later hours.
Federico Salfi, a doctoral student at the
University of L’Aquila and selfprofessed
night owl, joined with colleagues late in
2020 to examine how the workfromhome
trend influenced Italian sleep habits.
Through social media, they identified 875
people who represented inoffice and
remote workers. They then used web
based questionnaires to discover the im
pacts of remote working on sleep health.
The findings: The pandemic’s workfrom
home flexibility helped the participants
better align their work and sleep sched
ules — many of them for the first time.
More specifically, the researchers found
evidence that eveningtype people slept
longer and better while working from
home, with a corresponding decrease in
symptoms of depression and insomnia.
They also pointed out an important
theme that echoes other studies — that
people who fall into the nightowl category
regularly sleep less than early risers.
On his podcast, Matthew Walker, a
professor of neuroscience and psychology
at the University of California, Berkeley,
and author of “Why We Sleep,” said it was
the difference of 6.6 hours a night versus
more than 7 hours a night, leading night
owls to accumulate a chronic sleep debt.
(The study is available as a preprint and
has not yet been peerreviewed.)
So why don’t such people just go to bed
earlier? The answer is complicated.
To feel sleepy requires a biochemical
cascade of events to kick into action, and
that timing is determined by a person’s
chronotype. A chronotype is an internal
“body clock” that determines when people
feel awake or tired during a 24hour peri
od. The cycles are genetically set, with
about half of people falling into the mi
drange — meaning they neither wake at
dawn nor fall asleep past midnight — and
the others evenly split as morning larks or
night owls.
In prehistoric times, a mix of bedtimes
served an evolutionary purpose. Evening
types would watch over morning types
while they slept, and vice versa. Modern
society, however, rewards early risers
while stigmatizing those burning the mid
night oil, said Brant Hasler, associate
professor at the University of Pittsburgh
and part of the university’s Center for
Sleep and Circadian Science. “We are
catering to one portion of our population at
the expense of another,” he said.
Walker has outlined specific health
consequences on his podcast. Latenight
types are 30% more likely than early birds
to develop hypertension, which can lead to
strokes or heart attacks, and 1.6 times as
likely to have Type 2 diabetes since sleep
affects blood sugar regulation. They are
also two to three times as likely to be diag
nosed with depression and twice as likely
to use antidepressants.
A study published in February also
found that evening people who slept more
during the pandemic still had remarkably
poorer mental health compared with that
of morning larks.
Neither Walker nor Hasler was involved
in the Italian study.
Still, some experts noted that the Italian
study had limitations.
“I couldn’t find clearly included in the
study: Were people always on those sched
ules? [Or did they change after the pan
demic?] Because that is something that
really matters,” said Stijn Massar, a senior
research fellow at the National University
of Singapore. Plus, since COVID19 has
drastically affected almost all aspects of
life, pandemicera sleep data can get mud
died by the many lifestyle changes people
have had to endure.
Moreover, sleep scientists are still won
dering if it is always healthier for someone
to sleep in sync with their chronotype. It’s
a question of prioritizing individual sched
ules versus community schedules.
“This is all somewhat speculative,”
Massar said, with each new study provid
ing glimpses of the bigger picture.
iStock
Brighter days for night owlsAn Italian study found teleworking during the COVID pandemic helpful for individuals hard-wired to sleep later
BY KRISHNA SHARMA
Kaiser Health News
Friday, April 15, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 33
WEEKEND: FAMILY
Have visions of colorful foil been dancing in your dreams
recently? Have you detected the distinct aroma of coconut in
the air? Have you seen rabbit tracks in your yard? Have you
been drooling for no apparent reason?
Despite what you think, you are NOT suffering from a
serious mental disorder. There’s no need to take a Xanax. Do
not voluntarily commit yourself to a psychiatric ward.
Do not be alarmed. These seemingly strange symptoms
are normal during this time of year, because Easter makes
us all a little crazy.
Of course, we expect children to spool themselves into an
allout frenzy on Easter. If we manage to wrestle them into
their Sunday best for Easter religious services, they burst
out of church before the final hymn is over like prison escap
ees. It’s all we can do to snap a blurry photo of them wearing
their stiff Easter ties and flouncy Easter dresses at home,
before they bolt around the house and yard, knocking each
other over in a maniacal search for eggs.
Why, then, does this sweetest of holidays cause grown
adults to go bonkers too? Believe it or not, our temporary
lunacy is triggered by the same irresistible stimuli that affect
our children — CANDY.
Considering that mature adults have highly developed
impulse control, you might not believe that sugary treats
could make parents lose their minds. But you’d be wrong.
It all starts when parents voluntarily deprive themselves
of life’s simple pleasures in the name of Lent or looming
bathing suit season, declaring that they’ve given up choco
late, carbohydrates, alcohol or desserts. Forty days of that
can turn even the most stable adult stark raving mad. We are
then faced with sparkling displays of pastel foilcovered
miniaturized candy bars in every store, which taunt and
torture us in our selfstarved state.
To add insult to injury, we must purchase that tempting
candy and fill the eggs for our kids’ Easter egg hunts. With
trembling hands and spittle on our chins, we load the col
orful candy bags into our grocery carts and hide them under
our beds and in our closets to await the egg hunts. We know
all too well that the candy is there, calling like Sirens,
“C’mon ... just open a little corner of the bag and take a few.
No one will know. Chocolate tastes so good...”
We waffle between resistance and bargaining: “I’ll have
one teensyteensy peanut butter egg [staring into space with
small drop of drool forming in corner of mouth] ... No! [slap
ping hands over ears, squeezing eyes shut] ... I can make it to
Easter, just a few more days [breathing into a paper bag] ...
and then on Easter Sunday [eyes widening, grin forming] ...
I’ll sneak into the kids’ Easter baskets after they’ve gone to
bed [drooling again]... and go … hog ... wild!”
As for me, I swore off caffeine and sugar several weeks
ago in a halfhearted Lenten promise. But, as always, I
bought candy for our family’s annual Easter egg hunt and
hid it in my office. The tiny Snickers have been whispering
to me at night. I’m pretty sure the dog hears them too. I can’t
stop muttering, “Gimme a break, gimme a break, break me
off a piece of that Kit Kat bar,” and I’ve developed an invol
untary eye twitch.
Despite my declining mental state, I’m determined to
control my urge to rip the secreted bags open and gobble the
candycoated catalysts, foil wrapping and all. I am an adult,
after all.
However, on Easter Sunday, after our children have
opened every plastic egg, after the dog has ingested colored
Easter grass, after the leftover ham has been sliced for sand
wiches, and after I give up scraping burned scalloped pota
toes off the dish and let it soak in the sink, I will sit down and
calmly open a handful of pastel Peppermint Patties.
And there, in that sweet moment, I will reclaim my sanity.
Sweet sanity beckonsin the form of Snickers
Read more at themeatandpotatoesoflife.com, and in Lisa’s book, The Meat and Potatoes ofLife: My True Lit Com. Email: [email protected]
If your child is afraid of the dark, they’re not
alone.
“It’s very common in children and adoles
cents alike,” says Thomas Ollendick, a dis
tinguished professor emeritus at the Child Study
Center at Virginia Tech who has dedicated much of
his career to understanding fears and phobias in
children. He says a fear of the dark is among the
three most recurrent he encounters.
“One review of 29 studies published over 40 years
on the psychosocial treatment of nighttime fears in
children found that children presented with a fear of
the dark in 72% of the studies,” said Simon Rego, the
chief psychologist and director of the cognitive be
havioral therapy training program at Montefiore
Medical Center in New York.
The fear is so common that Gene Beresin, a pro
fessor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and
executive director of the Clay Center for Young
Healthy Minds at the Massachusetts General Hospi
tal, called it “a normal phase of development.”
A fear of the dark occurs for reasons such as bi
ological predispositions and evolution, as night is
when ancient humans were most vulnerable to pred
ators, experts say. Some children have had negative
nighttime experiences they associate with the dark
such as wetting the bed or nightmares, while others
struggle with more general fears and anxieties that
are exacerbated by darkness or solitude. Limited
visibility plays a part as well.
“When we cannot see well, we feel more vulner
able,” says Joel Bienvenu, an associate professor of
psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins
School of Medicine.
The reasons a child may be afraid of the dark can
change.
“Different things contribute to a fear of the dark
for different age groups,” said Wendy Silverman, the
director of the Yale Child Study Center Program for
Anxiety Disorders at Yale School of Medicine. “For
young kids ages 2 to 4, seeing shadows and hearing
noises is enough to make them think of monsters and
boogeymen. For kids ages 5 to 7, starting school may
develop separation anxieties from their parents,
which can translate into not wanting to be alone at
night. Kids ages 8 to 12 catch bits and pieces of the
news and may hear scary stories about burglars and
violence from other kids in the neighborhood.”
The common thread linking every age group —
and the most frequently cited contributing factor of
this fear — is excitable imaginations.
“Children who are old enough to let their imag
ination run wild, but not yet old enough to distinguish
their imagination from reality,” are especially prone
to a fear of the dark, Rego says.
Parents can help alleviate a fear of the dark
through a variety of proven practices:
Limit exposure: Parents can handle overactive
imaginations by limiting exposure to scary stories
and images and by giving children something more
enticing to think about instead.
Beresin says parents could find bedtime stories
that are fun and stimulating to a child’s imagination
and choose books that specifically address a fear of
the dark. Doing so, he said, “has proven to be an
effective technique in helping kids tackle fears of the
dark.”
Add a comfort item: Coupling bedtime stories with
comfort items such as a stuffed toy can also be help
ful as these items can be “transitional objects” be
tween a parent and child.
Tamar Chansky, a psychologist in suburban Phila
delphia and author of “Freeing Your Child From
Anxiety,” said that children often see soft comfort
items as extensions of themselves that can help them
build a relationship with oneself, “through the ‘mid
dle person’ of their stuffed animal.”
“The goal is for kids to increasingly be able to
reassure themselves,” she said. “Hugging a comfort
item is a concrete way for kids to selfcomfort even
when their parents aren’t there.”
Try behavioral therapy: Another technique parents
can use is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
“The best evidencebased approach to treat any
anxiety is” CBT, Silverman said. She said that the
behavioral part of CBT involves helping a child con
front the fear that scares them.
“The more they associate with their fear, the less
power it has over them,” she said. “By contrast, the
more they avoid the thing that scares them, the more
it governs their life.”
The cognitive side of CBT comes in helping chil
dren reason through their fears.
“If a young child can grasp that the boogeyman
simply doesn’t exist, it loses power over them,” Sil
verman said.
iStock
The reasons why kids are afraid of the dark may change as they grow, but the common thread linking every agegroup is an overactive imagination and the inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality.
Are monsters under my bed? Experts say it’s normal for children to fear the dark. Here’s how to help.
BY DARYL AUSTIN
The Washington Post
PAGE 34 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
WEEKEND: CROSSWORD AND COMICS
NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD
SOFT OPTIONS BY BYRON WALDEN / EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ
49 Knee-jerk response
50 Remove cargo from
53 Describing the 32-Down’s image
55 Milk source
56 Impends
57 Inscribed with some ancient characters
58 Whirling toon, familiarly
59 Order, in a way
60 Nonfiction films, informally
61 Metaphor from an hourglass
64 ‘‘Come ____!’’
65 This: Sp.
66 Sitcom planet of the ’70s and ’80s
67 Animal life
68 Pondered
69 It’s probably over your head
70 One star, typically
73 Relentless go-getters
74 Carl XVI ____ (king of Sweden beginning in 1973)
76 Little bump
77 Eve’s third son
78 Soccer chant
79 ____ 3000, half of the hip-hop duo Outkast
80 Persuade with patter
84 A majority
86 Offensive football positions
88 Ruby of ‘‘The Jackie Robinson Story’’
89 Edgar Rice Burroughs novel, with ‘‘The’’
94 Talk Like a Pirate Day outbursts
95 Dormer section96 Turn aside97 Actress Amanda98 Taking a bow at the
symphony?99 Waif100 ‘‘A warehouse of
facts, with poet and ____ in joint ownership’’ (‘‘The Devil’s Dictionary’’ definition for ‘‘imagination’’)
101 Its motto is ‘‘Agriculture and Commerce’’
104 Opposite of exo-105 Woe for a speeder106 ____ Blinken, Biden’s
secretary of state107 Bit of ‘‘kit chat’’108 1974 spoof with the
tagline ‘‘Would you buy a used secret from these men?’’
109 Bits of machinery110 Latin phrase
meaning ‘‘based on forecasts’’
DOWN
1 Having legs2 Cool shade3 Weakness4 Sledge, wedge, etc.5 Sports org. with the
Pittsburgh Maulers and Philadelphia Stars
6 SFO setting: Abbr.
7 Sang hosannas to
8 Car part the Brits call a ‘‘wing’’
9 Heading for commonly sought info
10 Capote nickname
11 ____ light
12 Sweeping works
13 Reveals
14 Don’t give up
15 Intellectual movement
16 Tyke
17 Performing well on
18 Candy with two flavors in one box
21 Flexible cutters
24 Kid Cudi or Lil Baby, e.g.
29 Fixed look
31 Enveloping atmospheres
32 Pope Pius XII called it ‘‘a holy thing perhaps like nothing else’’
33 Odor-fighting spray brand
35 Parts of some brackets
36 ‘‘Yankee Doodle’’ has 16 of them
39 Entertainers with bright futures
41 Partner of poivre
42 See 29-Across
44 Juice regimen
45 Like épées vis-à-vis foils
46 Stretches out
48 Curve
50 Experience
51 Music genre for Erykah Badu and D’Angelo
52 Many people find it intolerable
53 About 98% of the human genome
54 Word meaning ‘‘desire’’ in a classic Sanskrit text
57 ____ avis
61 Big tear-jerker
62 Went under
63 Word with fine or signature
68 Hands, in slang
71 1980s White House nickname
72 Dilute something, in a way
73 Battery parts?
75 Up in the air
77 Maker of the Ring in ‘‘The Lord of the Rings’’
80 Surgical instrument with thumbholes
81 Joy who wrote ‘‘Born Free’’
82 Forgiving
83 Talent for discernment
85 Mic-check noise
87 Cattle-ranch identifier
89 ‘‘The Crucible’’ setting
90 Sheepish?
91 ‘‘Swell!’’
92 ‘‘I can do this. Hit me.’’
93 Some 10-pointers in Greek Scrabble
95 Dish made from durum, say
98 Prefix with futurism
99 Kids of boomers
101 Grads-to-be: Abbr.
102 Not prescription, in brief
103 Scottish negative
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
22120291
4232 25
92827262
33231303
73635343
645444342414049383
948474
554535251505
95857565
4636261606
86766656
3727170796
77675747
382818089787
8878685848
59493929190998
99897969
301201101001
601501401
011901801701
Byron Walden, a math and computer-science professor at Santa Clara University, is a regular crossword contributor to The Times. He says the idea for this puzzle started with the title. ‘‘I learned the phrase ‘soft option’ from the 1980s Pet Shop Boys hit ‘West End Girls,’ ’’ and everything sprang from there. Byron packs his grids with fresh vocabulary, like 20A, 35A, 53A, 70A, 86A, 105A, 51D and 61D, none of which have ever appeared in a Times crossword before. — W.S.
ACROSS
1 Hearten
7 ‘‘. . . and it flopped’’
11 Attack with snowballs, say
15 Graceful bird
19 Crossword header
20 Clearer in hindsight?
22 ____ Winans, 12-time Grammy-winning gospel singer
23 Apollo 11 landing spot
25 Eligible receiver?
26 Quickly maturing security, for short
27 Helps
28 Flying terrors of myth
29 With 42-Down, Oscars category from 1963 to 2019
30 Misfortunes
31 Semicircular recess
32 Items used by barkeepers, barbecuers and blacksmiths
34 Wackadoodle
35 Enhanced tape format released in 1987
37 Beat poet Cassady
38 Spewed forcefully
40 Take off the board
43 À la ____ (spit-roasted)
47 Spree
48 Black-____ albatross
GUNSTON STREET
“Gunston Street” is drawn by Basil Zaviski. Email him at [email protected], and online at gunstonstreet.com.
RESULTS FOR ABOVE PUZZLE
LIFTUPPFFTPELTSWAN
ACROSSREARWIPERCECE
SEAOFTRANQUILITYHEIR
TBILLAIDSROCSSOUND
ILLSAPSESETSOFTONGS
NUTSUPERVHSNEAL
GEYSEREDERASEBROCHE
TEARBROWEDREFLEX
UNLADEJESUSLIKETEAT
NEARSRUNEDTAZHAVE
DOCSSANDSOFTIMEONIN
ESTOORKFAUNAMUSED
ROOFBADRATINGTIGERS
GUSTAFNODULESETH
OLEOLEANDREFASTTALK
MOSTWIDEOUTSDEE
SONOFTARZANARRSPANE
AVERTPEETARCOGAMIN
LIARSTATEOFTENNESSEE
ENTORADARTRAPANTONY
MEOWSPYSCOGSEXANTE
Friday, April 15, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 39
Max D. Lederer Jr., Publisher
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stripes.com
“America and Britain play
coldwar games with Rus
sia in the Arctic.”
That headline sums up a
situation growing steadily more ominous.
The message is not current, but rather
from two years ago in the influential British
weekly The Economist. Since then, Russia’s
massive infrastructure and military buildup
in the Arctic has continued.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the con
tinuing bloody war, underscore the impor
tance of the Arctic rivalry. The headline re
flects British fondness for irony, but Arctic
developments are no game. Big money and
big militaries are involved. Today, Russia
gives disciplined, longterm priority to the
Arctic.
Currently, melting ice encourages both
commercial investment and military activ
ity. Other major powers have devoted rela
tively little attention to the changing geopolit
ical dimensions of Northern latitudes.
Neither the Obama nor Trump adminis
tration gave the Arctic priority, but we no
longer can afford that complacency. Both
China and Russia are extremely assertive
there, as elsewhere.
Russia President Vladimir Putin relent
lessly pursues power and influence in this
part of the world, as in others. Operations of
surface ships go beyond customary presence
of submarines. Early this year, analysts in
terpreted Barents Sea operations as prepa
ration to invade Ukraine. Russia publicly de
nied any such intent.
Russia’s deployments comprise compo
nents of a wider disciplined, comprehensive
strategy. That nation spearheads organizing
a region of tremendous economic potential.
In April 2019, Russia hosted leaders from
Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in an
Arctic Forum held in St. Petersburg.
In 2021, Russia succeeded Iceland in
chairing the Arctic Council, which also in
cludes Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway,
Sweden and the United States
President Barack Obama did visit Alaska
in 2016, but the trip was largely symbolic and
rhetorical. This is unfortunate since the U.S.
also chaired the Arctic Council at the time.
There has been some Atlantic area assert
iveness. In 2018, NATO held the Trident
Juncture military maneuvers anchored in
Norway. This large operation was unusual
since the end of the Cold War. A U.S. aircraft
carrier entered the Arctic Circle for the first
time since the Cold War. Also notable, Fin
land and Sweden participated along with
NATO nations.
Historically Britain has led in Polar mat
ters, joined in the 19th century by the United
States. Germany also emerged as a leader,
until disastrously sidetracked by militarism.
Traditional, serious territorial conflicts
continue, and Russia’s aggressive actions ex
acerbate them. Current disputes align Rus
sia against Canada and Denmark regarding
control of the Lomonosov Ridge, most of
which is in international waters. Other in
volved nations include Finland, Iceland,
Sweden and the U.S.
Longer term, history is encouraging re
garding international Arctic cooperation. In
ternational Polar Years occurred in 1882
1883, 19321933 and 20072009. The first two
inspired the International Geophysical Year
(IGY) of 19571958, during the height of the
Cold War.
Discovery of the Van Allen Radiation Belts
was among important IGY scientific discov
eries. American scientific and government
leadership was instrumental in launching
and completing this comprehensive global
enterprise.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower also ini
tiated demilitarization of Antarctica. This
was the first major arms control agreement
of the Cold War, and laid the foundation for
others.
Eisenhower combined scientific coopera
tion with attention to national defense. In Au
gust 1958, the new nuclear submarine Nauti
lus made the first undersea voyage to the
North Pole. In 2007, two minisubmarines
planted Russia’s flag on the North Pole
seabed, far below the surface.
That president provides a particularly im
pressive example of strategic thinking, care
ful implementation of policy, and sensitivity
to both diplomatic and political realities. He
ended the costly, enervating stalemated war
in Korea, avoided another armed conflict,
and found areas of agreement with the Soviet
Union at the height of the Cold War.
Putin’s Ukraine invasion is one brutal
component of comprehensive strategy. New
ly energized NATO must plan, and act, ac
cordingly. Complacency no longer is an op
tion.
The Arctic, Ukraine war and Russia’s expansionBY ARTHUR I. CYR
Special to Stars and Stripes
Arthur I. Cyr is author of “After the Cold War.”
Should a family of four, earning
$96,000 annually and living in the
country illegally, be eligible to re
ceive taxpayerfunded cash gifts to
taling $36,000 over the next three years? Poli
ticians in Los Angeles County, Calif., believe
so. And like so many other recent bad ideas,
it’s being bankrolled in the name of federal
COVID relief.
LA County has been accepting applications
for a lottery that will divide a $36 million prize
among 1,000 lucky winners, each of whom
will receive $1,000 per month for 36 months.
Officials boast that their “Guaranteed In
come Program” will “come without the scru
tiny and work requirements of certain public
benefits.” And this time they mean exactly
what they say: Winners aren’t even required
to complete followup surveys and inter
views.
While the researchers behind the program
set a lofty goal to “determine the impacts of
guaranteed income on the overall health and
wellbeing of recipients,” the only data they
are certain to obtain is a list of transactions
made with the debit cards used to pay win
ners. They can be expected to inform us that
the vast majority of winners spent their wind
falls at ordinary stores, like ordinary people,
just like they did in a similar program in
Stockton.
They may even find that those who respond
to their voluntary survey report slightly bet
ter physical, mental or financial health. After
all, who wouldn’t expect to be a bit better off
after getting an extra $1,000 every month,
with no strings attached? Even if they aren’t,
those who respond to the survey may feel they
should report an improvement in their life cir
cumstances, if only to show appreciation for
such a substantial gift.
The researchers are guaranteed not to re
port one thing, however: that the Guaranteed
Income Program is not feasible as a longterm
national policy. Expanding to program to pro
vide the same $1,000 per month to every cur
rent resident of the United States would cost
$4 trillion per year. Paying for this would re
quire more than doubling federal revenue.
That would require Washington to gobble up
an additional 17 cents of every dollar of U.S.
GDP — a level of taxation that would cripple
the economy.
Furthermore, with world GDP hovering
around $11,000 per capita, a guaranteed
payout of $12,000 per year would attract an
overwhelming flood of illegal immigrants,
driving costs through the roof. Even with lit
erally all the money in the world, a program
like this is simply not affordable.
Thankfully, the choice is not between pro
viding nostringsattached universal han
douts and leaving those in need to fend for
themselves. In fact, the most popular and ef
fective alternative is a meanstested welfare
system with precisely the “scrutiny and work
requirements” the sponsors of the Guaran
teed Income Program find so objectionable.
More than 90% of the public agrees that
“ablebodied adults who receive cash, food,
housing and medical assistance should be re
quired to work or prepare for work as a condi
tion of receiving those government benefits.”
And history proves that they are correct.
The 1996 federal welfare reforms intro
duced the principle of reciprocity to the wel
fare system, requiring beneficiaries of the
primary cash welfare program for families
with children to take positive steps toward
selfsupport in exchange for assistance. After
these reforms were implemented, the overall
child poverty rate — which had remained lar
gely frozen for decades — dropped dramat
ically.
Children today are half as likely to live be
low the official poverty threshold as were chil
dren in 1996. Deep child poverty (with re
sources less than half the official poverty
threshold) has been nearly eliminated. More
over, the rapid disintegration of the family
came to a halt, as the percentage of children
raised by two biological parents has remained
relatively constant since welfare reform.
Recent Biden administration proposals for
a permanent child allowance, which violate
the principle of reciprocity, would enable
longterm dependence, undermine work and
marriage, and ultimately harm poor families.
Instead, Congress should reform other wel
fare programs, such as the Earned Income
Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit
cash grant programs, to reduce waste and
fraud and redirect the savings to remove mar
riage penalties and encourage American
families to thrive.
The LA County “experiment” is just the lat
est effort to disregard and deliberately under
mine the success of welfare reform. Policy
makers should reject proposals that threaten
to destabilize marriage and erode the tremen
dous progress made over the past quarter
century in the fight against child poverty.
‘COVID relief’ lottery shows folly of guaranteed incomeBY JAMIE BRYAN HALL
The Heritage Foundation
Jamie Bryan Hall, a research fellow at The Heritage Foundation,specializes in the quantitative analysis of welfare programs.
OPINION
PAGE 40 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
ACROSS
1 Vegas opener
4 Each
8 True pals, in texts
12 Author Umberto
13 Sultry Horne
14 Slightly
15 Witch’s pot
17 Pen tips
18 Doja Cat’s music
19 Suitable
21 Ger. neighbor
22 Bathtub seals
26 Gather
29 Stanley Cup org.
30 Storm center
31 In — land
32 Chemical suffix
33 Like ganders
34 Comic Philips
35 Crime lab
evidence
36 Stir
37 Political meeting
39 Mess up
40 Verse by Pablo
Neruda
41 Brainteaser
45 Serb or Croat
48 Guarded
50 Skin opening
51 Carton sealer
52 Ton fractions
(Abbr.)
53 Chopping tools
54 Pre-college
exams
55 Author
Tolstoy
DOWN
1 Nobelist Walesa
2 Superfruit berry
3 Gumbo or
bisque, e.g.
4 Novelist Huxley
5 Criminals,
to cops
6 Yoko from Tokyo
7 Grand style
8 African language
group
9 J. Edgar’s org.
10 Little lie
11 Rds.
16 — apso
(small dog)
20 Bud
23 Tap problem
24 Mac-Lachlan of
“Twin Peaks”
25 Beheld
26 Sir Guinness
27 Nursery cry
28 Slugger Moises
29 Secret-
protecting doc.
32 Bugs
33 — Gras
35 Flop
36 Jots down
38 Small inlets
39 Blow one’s top
42 Ken or Barbie
43 Garage job
44 Old U.S. gas
brand
45 Hotel amenity
46 Bagel topper
47 “— you for real?”
49 Small battery
Answer to Previous Puzzle
Eugene Sheffer CrosswordFra
zz
Dilbert
Pearls B
efo
re S
win
eN
on S
equitur
Candorv
ille
Beetle B
ailey
Biz
arr
oCarp
e D
iem
Friday, April 15, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 41
ACROSS
1 Test a perfume
6 Low-budget flick
12 Sports venues
13 Sore
14 Debt indicator
15 Soprano Renata
16 Golfer Aoki
17 Reverberate
19 Gore and Green
20 Diner’s card
22 Thanksgiving
veggie
24 Potbellied pet
27 Existed
29 Actor Neeson
32 Parties for new
neighbors
35 Frozen
desserts
36 Ticket half
37 Drunkard
38 Salty expanse
40 Milky gem
42 Six-pack
muscles
44 Humorist Sahl
46 Dazzles
50 Cover anew,
as a gift
52 Meaning
54 Where Gauguin
painted
55 Westerns
56 Cheap cigar
57 Poor
DOWN
1 Fr. holy
women
2 Zilch
3 Figure of
speech
4 Shark feature
5 Misinformation
6 Wild party
7 “Star Trek”
doctor
8 “So that’s it!”
9 A, B and C, e.g.
10 Worldwide
(Abbr.)
11 Conceits
12 — Lanka
18 Museum VIP
21 Ram’s ma’am
23 Will Smith
biopic
24 — Beta Kappa
25 Winter Games
org.
26 “Recognize
my voice?”
28 Volcanic event
30 Previously
31 Rockies hrs.
33 Compass dir.
34 CEO’s degree,
maybe
39 Ritzy violin
41 Starbucks
offering
42 — and crafts
43 Tempo
45 Andy’s boy
47 Garden intruder
48 Prof. ’iggins,
to Eliza
49 Rds.
51 Predetermine
53 Scot’s refusal
Answer to Previous Puzzle
Eugene Sheffer CrosswordFra
zz
Dilbert
Pearls B
efo
re S
win
eN
on S
equitur
Candorv
ille
Beetle B
ailey
Biz
arr
oCarp
e D
iem
PAGE 42 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
SCOREBOARD/GYMNASTICS
TENNIS
Monte Carlo Rolex MastersWednesday
At Monte Carlo Country ClubMonte Carlo, MonacoPurse: Euro 5,207,405
Surface: Red clayMen’s SinglesRound of 32
Laslo Djere, Serbia, def. Lorenzo Sonego(16), Italy, 64, 64.
Albert RamosVinolas, Spain, def. Cameron Norrie (7), Britain, 64, 26, 64.
Sebastian Korda, United States, def. Carlos Alcaraz (8), Spain, 76 (2), 67 (5), 63.
Hubert Hurkacz (11), Poland, def. PedroMartinez, Spain, 63, 46, 64.
David Goffin, Belgium, def. Daniel Evans,Britain, 76 (5), 62.
Taylor Fritz (10), United States, def. Marin Cilic, Croatia, 63, 46, 64.
Casper Ruud (4), Norway, def. Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune, Denmark, 76 (5), 75.
Pablo Carreno Busta (13), Spain, def.Alexander Bublik, Kazakhstan, 46, 76 (3),43, ret.
Diego Schwartzman (12), Argentina, def.Marton Fucsovics, Hungary, 60, 76 (4).
Jannik Sinner (9), Italy, def. Emil Ruusuvuori, Finland, 75, 63.
Lorenzo Musetti, Italy, def. Felix AugerAliassime (6), Canada, 62, 76 (2).
Alexander Zverev (2), Germany, def. Federico Delbonis, Argentina, 61, 75.
Andrey Rublev (5), Russia, def. Alex deMinaur, Australia, 26, 61, 64.
Men’s DoublesRound of 16
Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal(6), Colombia, def. Santiago Gonzalez,Mexico, and Andres Molteni, Argentina,62, 64.
Michael Venus, New Zealand, and TimPuetz (5), Germany, def. John Peers, Australia, and Aslan Karatsev, Russia, 46, 64,104.
Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic (2), Croatia, def. Stefanos Tsitsipas and PetrosTsitsipas, Greece, 63, 63.
PRO SOCCER
MLS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W L T Pts GF GA
Philadelphia 5 0 1 16 10 2
Orlando City 3 2 2 11 8 7
New York 3 2 1 10 10 6
Atlanta 3 2 1 10 9 9
Charlotte FC 3 4 0 9 7 9
Chicago 2 1 3 9 5 2
Columbus 2 2 2 8 10 7
Toronto FC 2 2 2 8 9 11
CF Montréal 2 3 1 7 11 15
D.C. United 2 3 0 6 5 5
Cincinnati 2 4 0 6 8 14
NYCFC 1 3 1 4 5 6
New England 1 4 1 4 8 12
Inter Miami CF 1 4 1 4 6 15
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W L T Pts GF GA
LAFC 4 1 1 13 14 6
LA Galaxy 4 2 0 12 9 6
Real Salt Lake 3 1 3 12 9 7
Austin FC 3 1 2 11 14 5
FC Dallas 3 1 2 11 10 4
Houston 3 1 2 11 10 7
Nashville 3 2 1 10 6 6
Portland 2 2 3 9 10 13
Colorado 2 2 2 8 8 8
Minnesota 2 2 2 8 5 5
Seattle 2 2 1 7 6 6
Sporting KC 2 5 0 6 5 11
Vancouver 1 4 1 4 5 12
San Jose 0 4 2 2 9 15
Note: Three points for victory, one pointfor tie.
Sunday, April 10
Charlotte FC 1, Atlanta 0Austin FC 1, Minnesota 0
Saturday’s games
Vancouver at CF MontréalNashville at San JoseCincinnati at AtlantaPortland at HoustonFC Dallas at New YorkOrlando City at ColumbusAustin FC at D.C. UnitedCharlotte FC at New EnglandPhiladelphia at Toronto FCLA Galaxy at ChicagoColorado at MinnesotaMiami at Seattle
Sunday’s games
Real Salt Lake at New York City FCSporting Kansas City at Los Angeles FC
Saturday, April 23
Houston at FC DallasCF Montréal at PhiladelphiaChicago at MinnesotaNew England at D.C. UnitedVancouver at Austin FCColumbus at Sporting Kansas CityCharlotte FC at ColoradoReal Salt Lake at PortlandSeattle at San JoseNashville at LA Galaxy
Sunday, April 24
Atlanta at MiamiNew York at Orlando CityLos Angeles FC at CincinnatiToronto FC at New York City FC
DEALS
Wednesday’s transactionsBASEBALL
Major League BaseballAmerican League
KANSAS CITY ROYALS — Placed LHP Daniel Tillo on waivers.
MINNESOTA TWINS — Placed OF Alex Kirilloff on the 10day IL. Designated RHPJharel Cotton for release or assignment.Recalled OF Trevor Larnach and selectedthe contract of RHP Dereck Rodriguezfrom St. Paul (IL).
SEATTLE MARINERS — Selected the contract of RHP Matt Koch from Tacoma(PCL). Placed RHPs Sergio Romo on the 10day IL and Casey Sadler on the 60day IL.
TAMPA BLUE RAYS — Selected the contract of RHP Dusten Knight from Durham(IL). Placed Luis Patino to the 60day IL.Optioned RHP Ralph Garza Jr. to Durham(IL).
National LeagueSAN FRANCISCO GIANTS — Activated
RHP John Brebbia from the bereavementlist. Optioned RHP Yunior Marte and OFHeliot Ramos to Sacramento (PCL).
BASKETBALLNational Basketball Association
NBA — Suspended Denver G FacundoCampazzo one game without pay for ashoving incident in a game on April 10against the Los Angeles Lakers. Fined LosAngeles Lakers G Wayne Ellington $20,000for escalating the incident on socialmedia.
Women’s National BasketballAssociation
ATLANTA DREAM — Signed G Que Morrison to a training camp contract.
CHICAGO SKY — Signed Gs Kayla Wellsand Lexi Held to training camp contracts.
CONNECTICUT SUN — Signed Gs KiaraSmith, Jordan Lewis and Nia Clouden to required tender contracts.
DALLAS WINGS — Signed G/F JasmineDickey, F Jazz Bond and G Veronica Burtonto rookie scale contracts.
INDIANA FEVER — Waived F Emmas Cannon.
LAS VEGAS ACES — Signed F Mya Hollingshed, C Aifuwa Faustine, Gs AishaSheppard and Kierstan Bell to rookie scalecontracts and G Deja Winters to a trainingcamp contract. Signed G Khayla Pointer toa required tender contract.
MINNESOTA LYNX — Signed G CeCeHooks, G/F Chloe Bibby and F Kayla Jonesto training camp contracts and C HannaSjerven to a rookie scale contract.
NEW YORK LIBERTY — Signed Fs NyaraSabally, Lorela Cubaj and Sika Kone to required tender contracts.
PHOENIX MERCURY — Signed F MaelGilles, F/C Macee Williams and F MayaDodson to rookie scale contracts.
SEATTLE STORM — Signed C Elissa Cunane, Gs Evina Westbrook and Jade Melbourne to required tender contracts.
FOOTBALLNational Football League
BALTIMORE RAVENS — Signed LB JoshBynes.
CLEVELAND BROWNS — Signed OL BlakeHance to an exclusive rights contract.
DETROIT LIONS — Signed LB Jessie Lemonier to an exclusive rights contract.
HOUSTON TEXANS — Signed CB StevenNelson.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — Signed LB Brandon King.
HOCKEYNational Hockey League
BOSTON BRUINS — Signed C John Beecher to an amateur tryout contract (ATO).
CALGARY FLAMES — Recalled C AdamRuzicka and D Juuso Valimaki from Stockton (AHL).
COLORADO AVALANCHE — Signed C BenMeyers to a oneyear contract.
DETROIT RED WINGS — Signed G MagnusHellberg to a oneyear contract. Reassigned LW Taro Hirose to Grand Rapids(AHL).
LOS ANGELES KINGS — Reassigned G Jacob Ingham to Ontario (AHL) from Greenville (ECHL).
NASHVILLE PREDATORS — Signed DAdam Wilsby to a twoyear entrylevelcontract.
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS — Recalled CTanner Laczynski, D Egor Zamula and GFelix Sandstrom from Lehigh Valley (AHL).
SOCCERMajor League Soccer
MLS DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE — Announced Chicago M Brian Gutierrez wasfound guilty of failure to leave the field in atimely manner in a match on April 9against Orlando and fined him an undisclosed amount for his actions. AnnouncedVancouver F Cristian Dajome was foundguilty of simulation/embellishment in amatch on April 9 against Portland andfined him an undisclosed amount for hisactions. Announced LAFC has been foundin violation of the Mass Confrontation Policy during a postmatch phase of theirgame on April 9 against the LA Galaxy andboth LAFC and head coach Steve Cherundolo have been fined an undisclosedamount for the club’s second violation ofthe League’s policy this season.<
DC UNITED — Signed M Jackson Hopkinsto a fouryear contract.
FC CINCINNATI — Signed M Obinna Nwobodo to a contract through the 2024 season pending receipt of his P1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate (ITC).
FC DALLAS — Loaned M Nicky Hernandez to San Antonio FC for the remainder ofthe 2022 season
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC — SignedWB/F Cristian Dajome to a contract extension.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Sunisa Lee arrived in To
kyo last summer relatively unknown. Then came the
Olympics, the meet of her life, a gold medal she once
thought unattainable and firstnameonly status in
her sport for life.
Her allaround title and the splash of fame that
came with it did little to mess with her plans. She
moved to Auburn to start her freshman year just a
couple of weeks after coming back to the U.S. with
three medals in her carryon. Relaxed rules on name,
image and likeness meant she didn’t have to choose
between “Dancing With the Stars” and taking online
classes while competing for the Tigers.
The now 19yearold has done everything she has
set her mind to, both on the mat and off. Her personal
brand is booming and Auburn is in this week’s NCAA
national championships for the first time since 2016,
exactly as she hoped when she left Japan last sum
mer.
Still, Lee and fellow Olympians Jade Carey (Oregon
State), Grace McCallum (Utah) and Jordan Chiles
(UCLA) will take the floor on Thursday with someth
ing the rest of the field does not: the weight of outsized
expectations, the kind that comes with the territory af
ter you’ve stood on an Olympic podium with the flag of
your country being raised to the rafters.
“I think all the Olympians have that burden,” Au
burn coach Jeff Graba said. “I think Suni has it maybe
more than most just because the allaround gold med
alist always has a little bit of an extra burden on
them.”
Yet Graba is quick to point out that Olympic gym
nastics and NCAA gymnastics are the same sport in
spirit, but not necessarily in practice.
The skill level is different. The time commitment is
different. The scoring is different. The teamfirst vibe
is different. All of which can require an adjustment
period.
Carey, who won gold on floor exercise in Tokyo, ac
knowledges going from 30plus hours in the gym
while training for the Olympics to the NCAAmandat
ed 20hour limit with the Beavers — not to mention
cramming a dozenplus meets into three months —
took some getting used to.
“We’re not training as much, so I’m not super
tired,” Carey said. “But I would say, like the middle of
the season, I was like, ‘Whoa, like this is a lot of com
peting.’ ”
That’s because it is. The elite calendar is geared to
ward making sure athletes peak a handful of times a
year. The collegiate season spans a fraction of that
while asking gymnasts to pull on their leotard and sa
lute the judges far more frequently.
It’s one of the reasons collegiate gymnastics puts a
premium on precision. Yes, the level of gymnastics
might not be what you see at the Olympics, but if you
held the Olympics every week for 13 straight weeks,
they might look an awful lot like what will be show
cased inside Dickie’s Arena this weekend.
Yet the distinction might get lost in translation.
Eight months ago, Lee stunned the world — per
haps herself most of all — when she became the fifth
straight American woman to claim the Olympic title.
This week, the reality is she’s not the prohibitive favo
rite to win the NCAA crown.
Florida senior Trinity Thomas put together 18 rou
tines this year the judges scored a 10.0, the most in the
country. A former and maybe future elite — she said
“nothing is set in stone” after this weekend.
CARLOS OSORIO/AP
Auburn gymnast Sunisa Lee performs during a meet at Michigan on March 12 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Lee isone of the leading contenders for the NCAA women’s allaround championship.
Olympic gymnasts facingbig expectations at NCAAs
BY WILL GRAVES
Associated Press
AMANDA LOMAN/AP
Oregon State freshman Jade Carey won the goldmedal on the floor exercise at the Tokyo Olympics.
Friday, April 15, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 43
NHL
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
xFlorida 73 52 15 6 110 305 216
xToronto 73 47 20 6 100 279 226
Tampa Bay 73 44 21 8 96 239 205
Boston 73 45 23 5 95 229 199
Detroit 73 28 35 10 66 210 281
Buffalo 75 27 37 11 65 208 266
Ottawa 73 27 40 6 60 197 237
Montreal 74 20 43 11 51 193 284
Metropolitan Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
xCarolina 74 48 18 8 104 247 177
xN.Y. Rangers 75 48 21 6 102 231 191
Pittsburgh 75 42 22 11 95 247 210
Washington 73 41 22 10 92 249 212
N.Y. Islanders 72 34 29 9 77 200 200
Columbus 74 35 33 6 76 240 274
New Jersey 73 26 41 6 58 227 271
Philadelphia 74 23 40 11 57 190 269
Western Conference
Central Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
xColorado 73 53 14 6 112 284 201
Minnesota 72 45 21 6 96 268 223
St. Louis 73 43 20 10 96 268 209
Nashville 73 42 26 5 89 237 210
Dallas 73 42 27 4 88 215 217
Winnipeg 74 35 28 11 81 230 232
Chicago 73 24 38 11 59 194 260
Arizona 73 22 46 5 49 181 271
Pacific Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Calgary 73 45 19 9 99 258 181
Edmonton 74 42 26 6 90 256 235
Los Angeles 76 39 27 10 88 220 225
Vegas 74 40 29 5 85 238 221
Vancouver 74 36 28 10 82 217 210
Anaheim 75 29 33 13 71 210 245
San Jose 72 29 33 10 68 186 229
Seattle 73 23 44 6 52 189 255
Note: Two points for a win, one point forovertime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per conferenceadvance to playoffs.
xclinched playoff spot yclinched division zclinched conference
Tuesday’s games
Buffalo 5, Toronto 2 Carolina 4, N.Y. Rangers 2 Washington 9, Philadelphia 2 Florida 3, Anaheim 2, OT St. Louis 4, Boston 2 Ottawa 4, Detroit 1 N.Y. Islanders 5, Pittsburgh 4, SO Minnesota 5, Edmonton 1 Nashville 1, San Jose 0, OT Los Angeles 5, Chicago 2 Calgary 5, Seattle 3 Dallas 1, Tampa Bay 0 New Jersey 6, Arizona 2 Vancouver 5, Vegas 4, OT
Wednesday’s games
Columbus 5, Montreal 1 N.Y. Rangers 4, Philadelphia 0 Colorado 9, Los Angeles 3
Thursday’s games
Anaheim at Tampa Bay Detroit at Carolina N.Y. Islanders at Pittsburgh Ottawa at Boston St. Louis at Buffalo Washington at Toronto Edmonton at Nashville Minnesota at Dallas San Jose at Chicago New Jersey at Colorado Vegas at Calgary Arizona at Vancouver
Friday’s games
N.Y. Islanders at Montreal Winnipeg at Florida
Saturday’s games
Chicago at Nashville Detroit at N.Y. Rangers Pittsburgh at Boston Minnesota at St. Louis Vegas at Edmonton Philadelphia at Buffalo Toronto at Ottawa Washington at Montreal Winnipeg at Tampa Bay San Jose at Dallas Carolina at Colorado Arizona at Calgary New Jersey at Seattle Columbus at Los Angeles
Sunday’s gamesCarolina at DetroitBuffalo at PhiladelphiaSt. Louis at NashvilleSan Jose at MinnesotaN.Y. Islanders at TorontoColumbus at Anaheim
NHL scoreboard
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nash
ville captain Roman Josi finally
has chased down Paul Kariya for
the Predators’ singleseason scor
ing record.
Next up is Brian Leetch, some
one who might be much tougher to
catch.
Josi added three assists last
week at Ottawa in his career sea
son, giving him 87 points to top the
mark of 85 set by Hall of Famer
Kariya in 200506. Josi is just the
10th defenseman in NHL history
to put up 87 points in a season and
he has nine games remaining to
become the first defenseman in
three decades to reach the 100
point mark.
Leetch is the last defenseman to
reach that mark, with 102 points to
win his first of two Norris Trophy
awards in his Hall of Fame career.
Josi’s 87 points are the most by an
NHL defenseman since Ray Bour
que had 91 and Sergei Zubov 89 in
199394.
Not that Josi has taken time to
enjoy the best scoring season of
his career. He’s too busy trying to
extend Nashville’s playoff streak
to an eighth straight season, with
the Predators trying to hold onto a
wildcard spot in the Western
Conference.
“This time of the year, it’s all
about winning,” said Josi, the 2020
Norris Trophy winner.
Josi leads all NHL defensemen
and ranks 10th in the NHL in
points. Through Wednesday
night, he had 19 goals with his 68
assists second among all NHL
skaters.
He led the league with 32 points
in March, the first defenseman to
do that in any month since Paul
Coffey in February 1990. He also
joined Coffey and Bobby Orr as
the only defensemen to score at
least 28 points in a calendar
month.
The Nashville captain also has
four fourpoint games this season,
twice as many as any other defen
seman this season. He had four
straight games with at least three
points, a feat only Orr in 197071,
managed among NHL defense
men.
The Predators played a video
from Kariya congratulating Josi
on topping his franchise mark last
weekend. Josi credits his success
to teammates who also are having
career years.
Despite his career season, Josi
might not even be a shooin to win
the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s
top defenseman for a second time.
Colorado’s Cale Makar, who has
81 points and averages 25:43 of ice
time, appears to be the frontrun
ner for that award, and Tampa
Bay’s Victor Hedman remains a
top candidate.
“I just see him doing his thing so
consistently, just dominating the
puck, dominating the ice, making
bigtime plays every game,” Pred
ators center Ryan Johansen said
of Josi. “It’s really a pleasure to be
a part of and watch.”
Empty-net OviAlex Ovechkin on Sunday
scored his ninth emptynet goal of
the season, tying the record set by
Pavel Bure in 19992000. It was
Ovechkin’s 45th goal of the season
and 775th of his NHL career.
As Ovechkin chases down
Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894
that long seemed untouchable, it’s
worth noting a vast majority of
each player’s goals came against a
goaltender.
JEFFREY T. BARNES/AP
Nashville Predators’ Roman Josi is just the 10th defenseman in NHL history to put up 87 points in a season. He has nine games to become the first defenseman in three decades to reach the 100point mark.
Fresh off Preds’ scoringmark, Josi chasing Leetch
JULIO CORTEZ/AP
Washington Capitals left wingAlex Ovechkin (8) has nine emptynet goals this season,tying the record set by PavelBure in 19992000.
BY TERESA M. WALKER
Associated Press
AROUND THE NHL
AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed tothis report.
WASHINGTON — Three days
after winning the national title
with a fully caged helmet, Bobby
Brink stepped onto the ice in the
U.S. capital for his rookie lap with
nothing on his head but a big smile.
North of the border in the center
of the hockey universe, Owen
Power did the same in his fresh
Buffalo Sabres uniform in the To
ronto arena where he attended
games as a kid.
Brink and Power were among
five players making their NHL de
but Tuesday night, fresh off the
end of the college season. Matty
Beniers became the first Seattle
draft pick to play for the expansion
franchise when the Kraken visited
the Calgary Flames, and Arizona
got a double debut of Beijing
Olympics with American Nathan
Smith and Canadian Jack McBain
in the lineup against New Jersey.
Brink couldn’t sit still two hours
before warmups and couldn’t stop
smiling and fidgeting with his
stick in the seconds before he went
down the tunnel before his Phila
delphia teammates. The accom
plishment of moving so quickly
from the Frozen Four to the pros
with a handful of others wasn’t lost
on him.
“It’s definitely cool seeing other
guys playing and making their de
buts,” said Brink, who was the na
tion’s leading scorer on the way to
helping Denver win its ninth na
tional title. “I imagine their situa
tion is pretty similar to mine. It’s
pretty special for them, too.”
There was no easing in for either
player. Power’s first shift came
against Maple Leafs stars Auston
Matthews and Mitch Marner,
while Brink lined up next to child
hood hero Alex Ovechkin for the
opening faceoff.
“A guy that I watched a lot,” he
said. “It’s definitely a really cool
moment to be playing against a
legend and one of the greatest
players to ever play the game.”
Power, fourother collegeplayers gettheir debuts
BY STEPHEN WHYNO
Associated Press
NATHAN DENETTE/AP
Buffalo Sabres defensemanOwen Power was among fiverecent college players whodebuted Tuesday in the NHL.
PAGE 44 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
HIGH SCHOOL: DODEA PACIFIC/AUTO RACING
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan —
He doesn’t say much around
school or anywhere off the track.
But when Jeremiah Hines
charged out of the blocks during
this track and field season, his
times have spoken volumes.
The Kinnick junior enters Sat
urday’s DODEA Japan district fi
nals as the leader among DODEA
Pacific sprinters, having clocked
11.23 seconds in the 100meter
dash and 23.37 in the 200.
One might never know it chat
ting with him off the track, says his
coach, Luke Voth.
“Quiet and as humble as a
church mouse,” Voth said. “Pound
for pound, one of the strongest
people on our base, obsessed with
the weight room and getting fas
ter. He’s coachable and has a
teamfirst mentality. He eats up
any and all workouts we give him
and asks for more.”
Hines leads the secondfastest
DODEA Japan sprinter, Yokota’s
Isaiah Nelson, by almost a full sec
ond in the 100 (12.12) and more
than 1½ seconds in the 200 (24.97).
Hines’ closest Pacificwide
competition won’t be at Yokota’s
Bonk Field on Saturday; Kubasa
ki’s Godfrey Wray and Gavin
McKnight trail Hines by .01 sec
onds in the 100, but the closest
they’ll come to meeting Hines will
be the virtual Far East meet two
weeks from now.
For now, Hines will line up
against the best within DODEA
Japan and Kanto Plain interna
tional schools starting at 10 a.m.
Saturday.
The weather outlook calls for
cloudy skies Saturday morning,
turning sunny in the afternoon
with a forecast high of 61.
A tailwind of 5 meters per sec
ond, two over the legal limit of 3
mps, is forecast for the afternoon
of the event.
That 11.23 that Hines ran was
during last Saturday’s Kinnick
Matthew C. PerryE.J. King tri
meet at Marine Corps Air Station
Iwakuni, “after a 14½hour bus
ride, skipping meals and sleeping
on a classroom floor,” Voth re
called.
A far shorter bus trip from Yo
kosuka Naval Base to Yokota
could mean a time “maybe closer
to 11.1 or 11.0,” Voth said.
Hines’ stated goals are to beat
the school records set in 2016 by
Jabari Johnson, 10.78 and 21.23,
and perhaps chase the Pacific rec
ord of 10.77 set in 2019 by Hum
phreys’ Tevijon Williams.
“With his work ethic and natu
ral abilities, he’ll have the best
shot any kid from Kinnick has
had” at those marks, Voth said.
Hines won’t be the only one with
speed to burn at Yokota on Satur
day.
Zama’s “Fantastic Four,” girl
sprinters Theori Lindsey, Tianna
King, Naviah Blizzard and reign
ing Far East sprint champion Ma
dison Anderson lead the Pacific in
the 400meter relay.
They have the Trojans coaching
staff comparing this group to the
one that set a Pacific mark of 48.54
in 2017.
“This group is younger,” Tro
jans coach Veronica Jones said,
but they could be just as good;
Blizzard, Anderson and King are
each sophomores. “DODEA has
awesome kids,” she said.
Trojans sophomore Lilianna
Fennessey and reigning Far East
cross country champion Morgan
Erler of Edgren are poised to
chase distance medals, as is reign
ing Far East boys cross country
and 2021 Far East 800, 1,600 and
3,200 champion Austin Shinzato of
Kinnick.
“Morgan may not peak until Far
East,” Eagles coach Tim Schwehr
said. “We’ve been really pushing
some hard workouts. I think she’s
preferring the 1,600 at this point.
Trying to break 5:20 is her goal.”
Erler holds the Pacific’s top time
of 5:33.69.
Competitors in Japan will get
one more shot at their events at a
regularseason meet next Satur
day at Perry before the virtual Far
East event the following week.
Japan track meet a tuneup for Far EastKinnick’s Hines leads Pacific sprinters
BY DAVE ORNAUER
Stars and Stripes
DAVE ORNAUER/Stars and Stripes
Kinnick junior sprinter Jeremiah Hines leads DODEA Pacific runners in the 100 meters with a seasonbest11.23 seconds. He also has the best time this season in the 200 at 23.37.
[email protected]: @daveornauer
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Through just
three races, the IndyCar Series is already
building enough dynamic storylines to be
worthy of its own Netflix program.
Speculation has been mounting that Indy
Car, just like NASCAR and any motorsports
series with a finger on the pulse of pop culture,
is trying to put together a behindthescenes
docuseries similar to Formula One’s “Drive to
Survive.” The show has led to an explosion in
F1 popularity in the United States, the market
every sponsorseeking race entity in the
world wants to crack.
Well, it’s time to mic the IndyCar paddock,
which has packed a season’s worth of drama
into the first three events with the Indianapo
lis 500 still seven weeks away.
Josef Newgarden has “The Greatest Spec
tacle in Racing” on his wish list and he is al
ready talking about it. His first career Long
Beach Grand Prix victory on Sunday kept
Team Penske a perfect 30 to start the the sea
son. Scott McLaughlin won the season open
er, and Long Beach made it two straight wins
by Newgarden, the twotime IndyCar cham
pion who is 0for10 in the Indianapolis 500.
The American — he lives just outside of
Nashville and his wife, Ashley, is expecting
their first child any day now — is eyeing the
BorgWarner Trophy.
“I’m focused on it. I can’t do more than what
I’ve done in the past, I can tell you that,” New
garden said. “You can go your whole career
and not win the Indy 500, and I accept that, if
that’s the case. But I’m not going to go down
without a fight.”
A win by Newgarden — or McLaughlin or
Will Power — would extend Roger Penske’s
record to 19 as an owner, and happen at his
first true Indy 500 as owner of the series and
iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
His first Indianapolis 500 after closing the
sale was delayed and held in front of empty
grandstands for the first time in race history.
Last year was a limited crowd, but the 150,000
or so in attendance unofficially reopened
America as the largest sporting event at the
time.
Now he’s expecting a packed house, the re
turn of Carb Day and its traditional concerts
and the reopening of the Snake Pit party zone
in the infield.
There will be 33 cars in the field, Penske in
sisted, although 33 entrants have yet to be an
nounced.
“Look, anything can happen, you know? But
what we’ve got on paper today has us at 33,”
Penske told AP, insisting that did not involve
him pulling together some kind of entry
backed by Team Penske.
“It would have to be an end zone catch or so
mething, we’d certainly fill the field if we had
to, but that’s not in our plans,” Penske told AP.
The 500 got a boost from a careerbest,
sixthplace finish in Jimmie Johnson’s debut
in an IndyCar oval race at Texas Motor
Speedway last month. It sparked discussion
the seventime NASCAR champion could be a
legitimate contender next month in his Indy
debut, but that was overshadowed by a terri
ble weekend in Long Beach.
Johnson crashed Friday and broke his
hand, so he had to compete in a cast. He
crashed Saturday and again on Sunday before
hustling off to see a specialist in North Caroli
na.
IN THE PITS
IndyCar rich in drama as Indianapolis 500 looms
ASHLEY LANDIS / AP
Team Penske driver Josef Newgardencelebrates last weekend after winningIndyCar’s Grand Prix of Long Beach inLong Beach, Calif.
BY JENNA FRYER
Associated Press
Friday, April 15, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 45
MLB
American League
East Division
W L Pct GB
Tampa Bay 4 2 .667 _
Toronto 4 2 .667 _
Boston 3 3 .500 1
New York 3 3 .500 1
Baltimore 1 5 .167 3
Central Division
W L Pct GB
Chicago 4 1 .800 _
Cleveland 4 2 .667 ½
Kansas City 2 3 .400 2
Detroit 2 4 .333 2½
Minnesota 2 4 .333 2½
West Division
W L Pct GB
Houston 4 2 .667 _
Los Angeles 3 3 .500 1
Oakland 3 3 .500 1
Seattle 2 4 .333 2
Texas 1 4 .200 2½
National LeagueEast Division
W L Pct GB
New York 5 2 .714 _
Philadelphia 3 3 .500 1½
Atlanta 3 4 .429 2
Washington 3 4 .429 2
Miami 1 4 .200 3
Central Division
W L Pct GB
St. Louis 3 1 .750 _
Chicago 3 2 .600 ½
Milwaukee 3 3 .500 1
Pittsburgh 2 3 .400 1½
Cincinnati 2 4 .333 2
West Division
W L Pct GB
Colorado 4 1 .800 _
San Francisco 4 2 .667 ½
Los Angeles 3 2 .600 1
San Diego 4 3 .571 1
Arizona 2 4 .333 2½
Tuesday’s games
Boston 5, Detroit 3Chicago White Sox 3, Seattle 2Cleveland 10, Cincinnati 5L.A. Angels 4, Miami 3N.Y. Yankees 4, Toronto 0St. Louis 6, Kansas City 5Milwaukee 5, Baltimore 4Tampa Bay 9, Oakland 8, 10 inningsColorado 4, Texas 1L.A. Dodgers 7, Minnesota 2Houston 2, Arizona 1Chicago Cubs 2, Pittsburgh 1N.Y. Mets 2, Philadelphia 0Atlanta 16, Washington 4San Francisco 13, San Diego 2
Wednesday’s games
Cleveland 7, Cincinnati 3L.A. Dodgers 7, Minnesota 0Boston 9, Detroit 7Arizona 3, Houston 2, 10 inningsOakland 4, Tampa Bay 2Chicago White Sox 6, Seattle 4Milwaukee 4, Baltimore 2Toronto 6, N.Y. Yankees 4Kansas City at St. Louis, ppd.Washington 3, Atlanta 1Pittsburgh 6, Chicago Cubs 2N.Y. Mets 9, Philadelphia 6San Francisco 2, San Diego 1
Thursday’s games
Oakland at Tampa Bay Seattle at Chicago White Sox Toronto at N.Y. Yankees L.A. Angels at Texas Detroit at Kansas City St. Louis at Milwaukee Washington at Pittsburgh Philadelphia at Miami Atlanta at San Diego Chicago Cubs at Colorado Cincinnati at L.A. Dodgers
Friday’s games
Minnesota (Ryan 01) at Boston (Pivetta01)
N.Y. Yankees (TBD) at Baltimore (Lyles01)
Oakland (Jefferies 10) at Toronto (TBD)San Francisco (Rodón 00) at Cleveland
(Plesac 00)Tampa Bay (TBD) at Chicago White Sox
(Cease 10)L.A. Angels (Detmers 00) at Texas (TBD)Detroit (Skubal 01) at Kansas City (TBD) Houston (Odorizzi 00) at Seattle (TBD)Arizona (Davies 00) at N.Y. Mets (Bas
sitt 10)Washington (Fedde 00) at Pittsburgh
(Keller 01)Philadelphia (Elfin 00) at Miami (López
00)St. Louis (Mikolas 00) at Milwaukee
(Peralta 00)Chicago Cubs (Stroman 00) at Colorado
(Márquez 00)Atlanta (Wright 10) at San Diego (TBD)Cincinnati (Gutierrez 01) at L.A. Dodg
ers (Gonsolin 00)
Scoreboard
MINNEAPOLIS — Clayton Ker
shaw was in prime form — call it
perfect — in his season debut for
the Los Angeles Dodgers, leaving
no concern about his health after
facing no resistance from the Min
nesota Twins.
When the time came for manag
er Dave Roberts to relieve him,
Kershaw didn’t put up a fight, ei
ther.
Kershaw took a perfect game
through seven innings for the
Dodgers until he was pulled after
80 pitches, dominating the Twins
with 13 strikeouts in 21 batters dur
ing a 70 victory on Wednesday.
“Those are selfish goals. We’re
trying to win. That’s really all we’re
here for,” Kershaw said.
Roberts consulted with Ker
shaw after the sixth, and the three
time NL Cy Young Award winner
told him his preference: one more
inning with an 85pitch limit.
“I would have loved to have
stayed, but bigger things, man, big
ger things,” Kershaw said.
So on a gray, windy, 38degree
afternoon at Target Field, Alex Ve
sia entered for the eighth to boos
from the blueclad Los Angeles
fans in the crowd of 17,101. Vesia
gave up Minnesota’s first and only
hit, a oneout single by Gary Sán
chez.
Cody Bellinger, Gavin Lux and
Austin Barnes hit backtobackto
back home runs in the eighth
against reliever Dereck Rodri
guez, who made his Twins debut.
Resigned with the Dodgers for
$17 million this year after missing
more than two months in 2021 with
inflammation in his left forearm,
Kershaw was slotted fifth in the ro
tation out of the gate. That unusual
assignment was to give his arm
more time to build up strength in
light of the limited spring training
schedule.
“Blame it on the lockout. Blame
it on me not picking up a baseball
until January,” said Kershaw, who
threw a nohitter against Colorado
on June 18, 2014. “My slider was
horrible the last two innings. It
didn’t have the bite. It was time.”
Kershaw pulled from perfect gameDodgers top Twins 70 asKershaw doesn’t allow abase runner through 7
BY DAVE CAMPBELL
Associated Press
CRAIG LASSIG/AP
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw threw 13 strikeouts and allowed no base runners throughseven innings and 80 pitches Wednesday in a 70 defeat of the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis.
DENVER — Randal Grichuk already has
deep thoughts about playing the outfield at ca
vernous Coors Field.
Namely, a little deeper the more beneficial
for the Colorado Rockies center fielder.
It’s an outfield reorientation for Grichuk and
fellow Rockies newcomer Kris Bryant. Back
ing up a step or several becomes a necessity at
the hitterfriendly park, given there’s so much
ground to cover — and the ball carries so well in
the thin air at a mile high.
“Give me a homestand or two,” said Grichuk,
whose new team got off to a 41 start going into a
fourgame series with the Chicago Cubs at Co
ors on Thursday. “I’ll be locked in.”
Part of the park’s trickiness has to do with its
asymmetrical design. It’s 347 feet to left field,
where Bryant will be patrolling. But the power
alley in leftcenter juts out from 390 feet to 420
and goes to 415 in straightaway center.
There’s a spot in rightcenter that measures
424 feet before retreating back to 375 near the
tall outoftown scoreboard in right, where Col
orado veteran Charlie Blackmon plays. It’s 350
feet down the rightfield line.
That’s a lot of dimensions.
“There’s always a quirk in every park that
you’ve got to figure out,” explained Bryant,
who’s facing his former team — the Cubs took
him No. 2 overall in 2013 — this week. “Maybe
the grass and how the ball snakes out there
when it kind of dies on the ground. Just stuff I’m
going to get used to.”
Grichuk found out firsthand the importance
of playing deep in the season opener against the
Los Angeles Dodgers, when he tracked down a
liner that carried and carried in the thin air to
ward the gap.
“I felt like I was running for days for that
ball,” said Grichuk, who was acquired in late
March from Toronto. “I felt like the wall was go
ing to come up sooner rather than later.
“Luckily, I was able to make a play before
getting to the wall. It just goes to show you
there’s a lot of room to cover out there.”
He thought he was playing deep, too. The
Rockies suggested him moving back even
more. He prides himself on his ability to turn
and track down hard hits — no matter where
he’s positioned.
“I don’t want to be the guy that just looks good
on paper because I play deep,” said Grichuk,
who reached over the fence to rob Corey Seager
of a threerun homer Tuesday night in Texas. “I
want to look good on paper because I play well,
get good jumps, good reads and I’m able to play
against the wall. I’m not really scared of the
wall. I’m not wanting to say, ‘Let me play deep
er so I can see the wall, see the wall early and get
there and feel it.’ I’m cool with running full
speed and trying to make a play up against it.”
A casualty of playing deep at Coors has al
ways been this — the blooper falling in.
It’s part of the territory and something Col
orado’s players have learned to live with in or
der to prevent doubles and triples into the al
leys.
“Those guys are natural, instinctual baseball
players,” Rockies manger Bud Black said. “So
cutting the learning curve should be fairly
quick for them.”
In Grichuk’s estimation, the toughest outfield
spot in the majors is right field at Oracle Park in
San Francisco.
“A lot of different moving parts in right with
the padding, brick, chainlink fence, little nooks
and crannies, that the ball can get caught into —
or you can get caught into,” Grichuk said.
Bryant concurred. He played a handful of
games in right for the Giants last season after he
was acquired in a deal with the Cubs.
“There’s just so much that can go wrong out
there,” Bryant said. “Wrigley Field, too, is
tough.”
Gideon grinned. His answer to the most diffi
cult place to play outfield would be much closer
to home.
“It’s here,” Gideon said.
The deep end: New Rockies outfielders adjust to Coors
DAVID ZALUBOWSKI/AP
Players warms up for the team’sregularseason home opener Thursday atCoors Field in Denver. The park’s deepdimensions and the city’s thin air makeplaying the outfield challenging.
BY PAT GRAHAM
Associated Press
PAGE 46 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
COLLEGE FOOTBALL/NBA PLAYOFFS
PlayoffsPLAYIN
FIRST ROUNDTuesday, April 12
Eastern ConferenceBrooklyn 115, Cleveland 108
Western ConferenceMinnesota 109, L.A. Clippers 104
Wednesday, April 13Eastern Conference
Atlanta 132, Charlotte 103Western Conference
New Orleans 113, San Antonio 103PLAYIN
SECOND ROUNDFriday, April 15
Eastern ConferenceAtlanta at Cleveland
Western ConferenceNew Orleans at L.A. Clippers
FIRST ROUND(Bestofseven)xif necessary
Eastern ConferencePhiladelphia vs. Toronto
Saturday, April 16: at PhiladelphiaMonday, April 18: at PhiladelphiaWednesday, April 20: at TorontoSaturday, April 23: at TorontoxMonday, April 25: at PhiladelphiaxThursday, April 28: at TorontoxSaturday, April 30: at Philadelphia
Miami vs. East Eighth SeedSunday, April 17: at MiamiTuesday, April 19: at MiamiFriday, April 22: at East Eighth SeedSunday, April 24: at East Eighth SeedxTuesday, April 26: at MiamixThursday, April 28: at East Eighth SeedxSaturday, April 30: at Miami
Boston vs. BrooklynSunday, April 17: at BostonWednesday, April 20: at BostonSaturday, April 23: at BrooklynMonday, April 25: at BrooklynxWednesday, April 27: at BostonxFriday, April 29: at BrooklynxSunday, May 1: at Boston
Milwaukee vs. ChicagoSunday, April 17: at MilwaukeeWednesday, April 20: at MilwaukeeFriday, April 22: at ChicagoSunday, April 24: at ChicagoxWednesday, April 27: at MilwaukeexFriday, April 29: at ChicagoxSunday, May 1: at Milwaukee
Western ConferenceMemphis vs. Minnesota
Saturday, April 16: at MemphisTuesday, April 19: at MemphisThursday, April 21: at MinnesotaSaturday, April 23: at MinnesotaxTuesday, April 26: at MemphisxFriday, April 29: at MinnesotaxSunday, May 1: at Memphis
Golden State vs. DenverSaturday, April 16: at Golden StateMonday, April 18: at Golden StateThursday, April 21: at DenverSunday, April 24: at DenverxWednesday, April 27: at Golden StatexFriday, April 29: at DenverxSunday, May 1: at Golden State
Dallas vs. UtahSaturday, April 16: at DallasMonday, April 18: at DallasThursday, April 21: at UtahSaturday, April 23: at UtahxMonday, April 25: at DallasxThursday, April 28: at UtahxSaturday, April 30: at Dallas
Phoenix vs. West Eighth SeedSunday, April 17: at PhoenixTuesday, April 19: at PhoenixFriday, April 22: at West Eighth SeedSunday, April 24: at West Eighth SeedxTuesday, April 26: at PhoenixxThursday, April 28: at West Eighth
SeedxSaturday, April 30: at Phoenix
Scoreboard
Ain’t got none of that. But we are
winning basketball games collec
tively as a unit and a team. I’m sor
ry to everybody in the basketball
world that that’s not sexy enough
for you guys, but we’re thankful
for the guys that we have and the
opportunity that we have to be the
No. 1 seed.”
Miami opens the playoffs at
home on Sunday afternoon; the
Heat will find out their opponent
on Friday night. By then, the Heat
expect to have center Bam Ade
bayo — out because of a stint in the
league’s health and safety proto
cols — back and ready for Game 1.
He was the only Heat player mis
sing Wednesday when the team
resumed practice after a twoday,
playersonly, bonding trip to the
Bahamas.
“In terms of whether there’s
motivation because people are
counting us out or not giving us a
due respect, each person can
translate that on their own,” Heat
coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I think
the more powerful motivation is
what we’re trying to play for and
compete for, which is the hardest
thing you attempt to do in a team
sport, to compete for a title.”
It might seem surprising to
some that a team that made hea
dlines a few weeks ago for an in
game argument — AllStar for
ward Jimmy Butler exchanging
words with Spoelstra during a ti
meout, then Haslem getting in
volved in a rather demonstrative
way — went on vacation together.
Whatever caused that argument
was forgotten by the next day any
way, since some players arrived
for work the following morning
and found Butler and Haslem al
ready in the locker room and car
rying on with their usual brand of
conversation and nonsense.
The Heat insist they’re united.
They bicker, and that argument
wasn’t the worst dustup the team
has experienced this season, but
Haslem said that’s all part this
team’s DNA.
“Typical day in Miami, man,”
Haslem said of the timeout mess
last month. “That’s how we get
stuff done around here. We be
lieve in eyetoeye communica
tion. ... You say what you’ve got to
say, I’ll say what I’ve got to say, I
love you, you love me, let’s get
back on the basketball court, let’s
play.”
That dustup came during a four
game Miami losing streak. When
that slide ended, the Heat won six
straight to lock up the No. 1 seed in
the East before losing a meaning
less regularseason finale in Or
lando. Most Heat regulars didn’t
play in that game, and the Baha
mas trip then got underway.
The Heat, just as they were in
the bubble two years ago when
they went to the NBA Finals as the
East’s No. 5 seed, insist that they
believe they have enough to con
tend for a title.
“I feel good. I do,” Butler said. “I
don’t put a ceiling or basement on
anything, man, because we can’t
control everything. I just know
that if we focus in on us, and what
we can control, and what we’re ca
pable of, we’re going to be OK.”
LYNNE SLADKY/AP
Miami guard Tyler Herro is averaging 20.7 points per game and shooting 39.9% from threepoint range.
Unfazed: Heat uniteddespite past argumentsFROM PAGE 48
Did you know?Being the No. 1 seed guarantees
nothing; no top seed has won the
East title since Cleveland in 2016,
and a top seed has only made one
East finals in the last four years —
that being Milwaukee, when it
lost to Toronto in 2019.
SOURCE: Associated Press
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nick Sa
ban’s willingness to adapt and of
ten be a catalyst for change in col
lege football, both on the field and
off, has propelled Alabama to six
national championships in 13 sea
sons.
The 70yearold coach is confi
dent his program will continue to
thrive during this new era of col
lege athletics, with players having
more opportunities to earn money
than ever before and more power
to determine where they play.
But the current state of college
football has Saban concerned.
“I don’t think what we’re doing
right now is a sustainable model,”
Saban told The Associated Press
in a recent interview.
That’s a common theme among
coaches these days, with Clem
son’s Dabo Swinney and Southern
California’s Lincoln Riley among
the most prominent who have
echoed Saban’s sentiments. The
combination of empowered ath
letes and easily accessible pay
days is changing the way coaches
go about their business.
The uncertainty comes with the
NCAA in a weakened state follow
ing last year’s Supreme Court loss
and in the midst of a dramatic res
tructuring. Schools and the NCAA
itself would prefer federal legisla
tion to regulate how athletes are
compensated for their names, im
ages and likenesses, but when that
might come and in what form is
unknown.
That has led to concerns about
vast sums of money flowing in and
around college athletics, includ
ing brazen entities called collec
tives put together by wellheeled
donors whose donations have tra
ditionally funded everything from
lavish facilities to multimillion
dollar buyouts of fired coaches.
“The concept of name, image
and likeness was for players to be
able to use their name, image and
likeness to create opportunities
for themselves. That’s what it
was,” Saban said. “So last year on
our team, our guys probably made
as much or more than anybody in
the country.”
Paying a player to attend a par
ticular school is still a violation of
NCAA rules, but NIL deals have
quickly become intertwined with
recruiting — both high school pro
spects and the growing number of
college transfers.
“But that creates a situation
where you can basically buy
players,” Saban said. “You can do
it in recruiting. I mean, if that’s
what we want college football to
be, I don’t know. And you can also
get players to get in the transfer
portal to see if they can get more
someplace else than they can get
at your place.”
Swinney told ESPN major col
lege football needs a “complete
blowup” that might result in so
mething that looks more like pro
fessional football.
“I think you’ll have 40 or 50
teams and a commissioner and
here are the rules,” he said.
Saban said he is not against the
shift toward players being com
pensated and given more freedom
to switch teams.
“We now have an NFL model
with no contracts, but everybody
has free agency,” said Saban. “It’s
fine for players to get money. I’m
all for that. I’m not against that.
But there also has to be some re
sponsibility on both ends, which
you could call a contract, so that
you have an opportunity to devel
op people in a way that’s going to
help them be successful.”
Saban: Currentstate of gamenot ‘sustainable’
Associated Press
PAUL SANCYA/AP
Alabama coach Nick Saban is the latest prominent college footballcoach to express concern about the current state of the sport as NILdeals have quickly become intertwined with recruiting.
Friday, April 15, 2022 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 47
NBA PLAYOFFS
NEW ORLEANS — CJ McCol
lum got New Orleans going early
and Brandon Ingram took over
late to send the Pelicans to Los An
geles for a chance at the final
playoff spot.
McCollum scored 27 of his 32
points in the first half to carry the
young Pelicans to a 113103 win
over the San Antonio Spurs on
Wednesday night. New Orleans
will face the LA Clippers on Fri
day night for the eighth playoff
seed.
“He was great,” Pelicans coach
Willie Green said of McCollum.
“He set the tone early. He under
stood the moment, and it sort of
calmed the rest of the guys down.
We just got the ball to him and he
made play after play, score after
score, and then the rest of the guys
that just started to feed off CJ.”
Playing in his 57th playoff
game, McCollum displayed a
calming presence to his younger
teammates. Rookies Herb Jones,
José Alvarado and Trey Murphy
played large chunks of the fourth
quarter.
“I was just trying to be locked in
and aggressive early,” McCollum
said. “The playoffs is a lot of anti
cs, a lot of momentum plays, a lot
of back and forth. You’ve got to be
stable and mentally locked in to
withstand a certain level of
(chaos). … There’s going to be a lot
of winning in our future.”
McCollum wasn’t alone. In
gram shook foul trouble to add 27
points and center Jonas Valanciu
nas added 22 points and 14 re
bounds as New Orleans’ stars deli
vered under pressure of the Peli
cans’ first postseason game since
2018.
“The three best players for New
Orleans all played great, and if
that happens, you’re going to
lose,” Spurs coach Gregg Popov
ich said of his team’s inability to
contain McCollum, Ingram and
Valanciunas. “We stayed in it and
got back in it, but then we made
the same mistakes as we did in the
first three quarters — nonphysical
defense.”
“We’re just playing for each oth
er,” Valanciunas said of combin
ing for 81 points with McCollum
and Ingram. “When things strug
gle, we need somebody to slow the
game down, which (CJ) does. Next
step is on Friday.”
Popovich said his young team,
which averages 25 years in age,
learned a lesson the hard way.
“It’s the playoffs, and you’ve got
to be into people,” Popovich said.
“The grunt is important. Ingram
scored two in a row right in the
middle of the lane with no one
even touching him. It’s a great les
son for our guys.”
New Orleans, which finished
ninth in the West after starting the
season 316, will play at the Clip
pers with the winner facing the
topseeded Phoenix Suns in the
first round. The Pelicans beat Los
Angeles in three of four meetings
this season.
New Orleans seemed headed to
a rout, leading 9675, with 10:39
left, but 10thseeded San Antonio
used a 161 run over the next 5:25
to cut it to 9791. The Pelicans mis
sed seven consecutive shots dur
ing the run.
Ingram hit a pair of soft jumpers
in the lane and Valanciunas added
a short jumper to put New Orleans
back on top, 10391.
Devin Vassell led the Spurs with
23 points. Dejounte Murray had 16
points, but he went just 5for19
from the floor while being sha
dowed by New Orleans rookie de
fensive stopper Herb Jones.
“You have to take the good and
bad and learn from it,” Murray
said. “We had guys not shoot well,
starting with myself. They were
physical. I ain’t making no excus
es.”
After Ingram went to the bench
with three fouls 5:17 before half
time, McCollum carried the Peli
cans offensively. In a 144 run over
the final 3:36 of the half, McCol
lum made two threepointers and
pierced the San Antonio defense
for two fingerroll layups on
strong drives into the lane as New
Orleans built a 6150 lead.
PHOTOS BY GERALD HERBERT/AP
Pelicans guard CJ McCollum, left, drives to the basket against San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassellduring the second half of Wednesday’s playin game in New Orleans.
McCollum powers Pelicanspast Spurs in play-in game
BY PETER FINNEY JR.
Associated Press
Spurs head coach GreggPopovich said the loss was alesson for his young players.
ATLANTA — For one night, at
least, the Atlanta Hawks looked
like the team that made a stunning
run to the Eastern Conference fi
nals last summer.
Trae Young bounced back from
a sluggish start to score 24 points
and De’Andre Hunter led a third
quarter surge Wednesday that car
ried the Hawks to a 132103 rout of
the Charlotte Hornets in a playin
game.
“We’re definitely confident right
now,” Hunter said. “But we’ve got a
lot more work to do. We’re not satis
fied yet.”
Atlanta was a bit of a disappoint
ment during the regular season,
finishing ninth in the East after its
surprising playoff success in 2021.
It still must win one more playin
game just to make the playoffs,
heading to Cleveland to face the
Cavaliers on Friday night. The win
ner claims the No. 8 seed in the East
and will face the topseeded Miami
Heat in the opening round of the
playoffs.
The season is over for the Hor
nets, who were overwhelmed in the
910 playin game for the second
year in a row and haven’t made the
playoffs since 2016.
Still, Charlotte coach James Bor
rego called it another step forward
for a rebuilding team.
“A lot of good things have hap
pened for this franchise based on
where we’re at today compared to
where we were two or three years
ago,” he said.
Miles Bridges was ejected in the
fourth quarter and could be facing
additional punishment from the
league office after he appeared to
strike a young fan with his mouth
piece.
All five Hawks starters scored in
double figures, as did Bogdan Bog
danovic off the bench. It was Hun
ter who came up big in the decisive
third period, bursting out with 16
points after being held to three in
the first half.
“I think I’m a big part of this
team,” Hunter said. “Me being ag
gressive, scoring and defending,
helps this team a lot.”
Hunter finished with 22 points,
while Danilo Gallinari added 18
and Clint Capela 15. Kevin Huerter
and Bogdanovic chipped in with 13
apiece.
The Hornets closed the regular
season strong and felt like they had
a good chance to win a couple of
playin games on the road. But
those hopes came crashing down
against their I85 rival.
LaMelo Ball led Charlotte with
26 points on 7for25 shooting.
The Hornets should’ve known
what kind of night it would be on its
way to State Farm Arena.
Their chartered bus was blocked
by a freight train that stopped on a
crossing near the downtown sports
complex. The bus had to turn
around and take a different route to
the arena, delaying Charlotte’s ar
rival for pregame warmups.
It didn’t get much better once the
game tipped off.
Bridges ejectionThe Hornets’ frustration boiled
over with about 6½ minutes to go
when Bridges complained so vehe
mently about a goaltending call
that he picked up two quick techni
cals and was ejected.
Then, with an Atlanta fan yap
ping at him on the way to the locker
room, the Charlotte player wildly
threw his mouthpiece and ap
peared to strike a female who was
simply watching the scene.
Bridges went on Twitter shortly
after the game looking to make
amends.
“Somebody get me in contact
with the young lady,” he said.
“That’s unacceptable.”
Bridges said he’ll accept whatev
er punishment he gets from the
league.
“I was upset about a call, a couple
of calls really,” he said. “I let my
temper get the best of me. It was
definitely the wrong thing to do.”
JOHN BAZEMORE/AP
Hawks guard Trae Young, right, drives to the basket past CharlotteHornets forward P.J. Washington during the first half of Wednesday’splayin game in Atlanta. Young finished with 24 points.
Young leads Hawksto rout of Charlotte
BY PAUL NEWBERRY
Associated Press
PAGE 48 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, April 15, 2022
SPORTSPlaying it safe
Dodgers pull Kershaw after 7 perfectinnings against Twins ›› MLB, Page 45
Saban: state of game not ‘sustainable’ ›› College football, Page 46
Udonis Haslem started the Miami Heat postseason with anapology.
It wasn’t a real apology.Haslem, like many other Heat players,
is amused by the notion that the No. 1 seedin the Eastern Conference playoffs isn’tconsidered a favorite to win the EasternConference title. Miami doesn’t have anMVP candidate, didn’t have anyone qualify for the top 20 in the league’s scoring
race, and according to FanDuel Sportsbook only has the thirdbest odds ofwinning the East behind Milwaukeeand Boston.
“It might not be the sexiest,” Haslem, the longtimeHeat captain and 19yearveteran, said of Miami’s5329 regularseason mark.“We ain’t got nobody out herescoring 85 points in one game.
The Miami Heat are ranked No. 1 in the Eastern Conference as the playoffsbegin despite not having a single player ranked among the NBA’s top 20scorers. AllStar forward Jimmy Butler (22) is the team’s leading scorerat 21.4 points per game.
AP photos
All apologiesBY TIM REYNOLDS
Associated Press
SEE UNFAZED ON PAGE 46
NBA PLAYOFFS
“We are winning basketball games
collectively as a unit and a team.
I’m sorry to everybody in
the basketball world that
that’s not sexy enough
for you guys.”
Udonis Haslem
Miami Heat forward
Eastern Conference top seed Miami unfazed by lack of believers
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