The Race to Provide Wi-Fi at 30,000 Feet

Abstract: SOME airlines are rushing to offer Wi-Fi Internet connections in their domestic aircraft cabins, but none are talking about the space squeeze. On an AirTran Airways Wi-Fi demonstration flight that went up and back down the Northeast seaboard from Baltimore-Washington International Airport last week, the Internet worked just fine. The problem was actually being able to use it efficiently. My laptop was wedged onto a tray table in the cramped space of a coach seat. I had to slide down in my seat just to read the screen. “I have the same experience,” said Jack W. Blumenstein, the chief executive of Aircell, the company that is providing nearly all of the Wi-Fi installations so far for domestic carriers. “The laptop’s at an angle or it’s propped up almost on my nose.” “Or I’m typing like this,” Mr. Blumenstein said from his own coach seat on the flight. He slouched down, raised both hands and wriggled his fingers like someone scratching on a window. AirTran, a low-cost carrier based in Orlando, Fla., surprised the industry last week with its announcement that it would install Aircell’s Gogo Inflight Internet service on its 50 Boeing 737s and 86 Boeing 717s by midsummer. Doing so would make AirTran the first domestic carrier to offer Wi-Fi on its entire fleet. Delta Air Lines is also speedily installing Wi-Fi. It had previously announced that it was putting the service on its entire mainline domestic fleet of more than 300 aircraft, and said the day before the AirTran demonstration that it now had the Aircell Wi-Fi system on half its planes and would have the other half converted by September. The rush to go Wi-Fi makes for an interesting horse race in the North American airline industry, where American Airlines, United, Virgin America and Air Canada are all installing Aircell’s Gogo system. But there are handicaps, including the lack of electrical outlets in most coach cabins (so usage is limited by battery life), and the question of how much demand there actually is for an Internet hookup at the prices being contemplated. AirTran, for example, is charging $9.95 for flights under three hours and $12.95 for those over three hours. So far, said Joe Brancatelli, publisher of the business travel Web site Joesentme.com , “there is zero proof” that a significant number of passengers are willing to pay for in-flight Wi-Fi service on domestic routes. (The Aircell service depends on land-based cellular towers and cannot be used on overseas flights.) Furthermore, he argued, those who are inclined to use Wi-Fi on a flight, including business travelers drawn by the potential for increased productivity, are exactly the people who most resist being nickel-and-dimed for services like Internet connections in a hotel — or on a plane. The Gogo service costs an average of about $100,000 a plane to install, said an Aircell spokeswoman, Arianne Venuso, , who declined to give specific figures on how many people use it on planes already outfitted, like the 767s flown by American Airlines on its coast-to-coast routes. “Usage has exceeded expectations,” she said. Obviously, the airlines rushing to install Wi-Fi are banking on a viable market. In this sour economic climate, Wi-Fi is one of the few new services that domestic carriers are spending money on. “We’re leapfrogging the industry getting the Internet on board, but in a short period of time, a couple of years, everybody is going to have it,” Robert L. Fornaro, the AirTran chief executive officer, told me on the flight. “It’s too important not to have.” Mr. Blumenstein, of Aircell, pointed out that laptop users going through contortions to use the Internet — perhaps with that seat in front of them cranked back all the way — are not the only market for the service. Aircell and its airline partners are clearly betting on a big increase in the market for Internet-enabled smartphones. AirTran, for example, set a lower price, $7.95 for flights of any length, for passengers using Wi-Fi smartphones. With an iPhone or a BlackBerry enabled for Wi-Fi, that problem with tight space shrinks considerably. “When we started out to build our network two summers ago, there was not a single smartphone with a Wi-Fi chip in it, not a single BlackBerry with a Wi-Fi chip. Now, if you look at the industry data, about 90 percent of all hand-held devices going out in the next five years are going to have Wi-Fi chips,” Mr. Blumenstein said.

Airlines and Airplanes
Computers and the Internet
Wi-Fi
Wireless Communications


UBS Profit Increases 53% in Second Quarter

Abstract: LONDON — The Swiss bank UBS said on Monday that its profit rose 53 percent in the second quarter, driven by gains in its wealth management business as it had higher inflows from the Asia-Pacific region and ultrahigh-net-worth clients. UBS, based in Zurich, reported a profit of 1.21 billion Swiss francs, or about $1.26 billion, for the three months that ended June 30, compared with 792 million francs in the same period last year. The results exceeded analysts’ forecasts and came a day earlier than expected after a report in a Swiss newspaper on Sunday included inaccurate figures for the quarterly earnings. UBS and its rival Credit Suisse reported stronger second-quarter results , overcoming investment bank weaknesses and making gains in Asia, particularly in wealth management. Operating income, which is similar to revenue, rose 9 percent to 7.82 billion francs, from 7.15 billion francs in the second quarter of 2014. Operating expenses rose 2 percent to 6.06 billion francs, from 5.93 billion francs in the same period last year. “I am pleased with the quarter,” Sergio P. Ermotti, the chief executive of UBS, said in a news release . “We maintained our momentum despite ongoing market challenges.” UBS said that its adjusted pretax profit, which excluded items like gains on sales of businesses and restructuring charges, was 1.64 billion francs. Since a government rescue in 2008 , UBS has aggressively cut costs and left businesses to meet stricter Swiss capital requirements and better prepare the bank to weather future financial upheavals. In the second quarter, the bank created a Swiss holding company to wall off its Swiss retail and corporate business as well as some of its wealth management operations from other business lines. UBS said it was the first bank in Switzerland to complete such a step. In recent years, UBS has also shrunk its investment bank and shifted its focus to wealth management, an area it sees as more consistently profitable. Net interest income, the measure of what a bank earns on its lending after deducting what it pays out on deposits and other liabilities, rose 20 percent to 1.49 billion francs in the second quarter, from 1.24 billion francs a year earlier. In the wealth management division, UBS said, the bank’s pretax profit more than doubled to 756 million francs. The wealth management business in the Americas, which is operated separately, experienced a 14 percent decline in pretax profit over the quarter, to $205 million. In its investment bank, pretax profit declined 2 percent.

UBS
Earnings Reports
Switzerland
Banking and Finance
Sergio P Ermotti


British Police Warn Rwandan Dissidents of Threat

Abstract: KAMPALA, Uganda — The British police have warned two outspoken Rwandan dissidents living in London that their lives are in danger because the Rwandan government may be plotting to kill them, according to British officials and documents. In hand-delivered letters dated May 12, the Metropolitan Police Service warned the dissidents that the threat on their lives “could come in any form” and that “unconventional means” had been used before. “Reliable intelligence states that the Rwandan government poses an imminent threat to your life,” the warning letters read. They added, “Although the Metropolitan Police Service will take what steps it can to minimize the risk, the police cannot protect you from this threat on a day-by-day, hour-by-hour basis.” British officials confirmed the documents’ authenticity on Thursday. Human rights groups have increasingly criticized the Rwandan government as being repressive and intolerant of any dissent, and several Rwandan dissidents living abroad have been mysteriously killed. Last year, a former Rwandan general who had broken with the government was shot in South Africa, and assailants later tried to kill him while he was recovering in the hospital. Western diplomats contended that was evidence of a government plot to kill him. The Rwandan government has rejected such accusations, including any threats in London. “The government of Rwanda does not threaten the lives of its citizens wherever they live,” it said in a statement. “The Metropolitan Police have not approached us with evidence of allegations, but we are ready, as always, to work with them to ensure that nobody, be they Rwandan or not, is the victim of violence on British soil.” The form letters, signed by a member of the Metropolitan Police Service, did not vouch for the accuracy of the threat but said it came from a source whose account the police had “no reason to disbelieve.” One of the recipients of the warning, Rene Claudel Mugenzi, has been actively working with Rwandan opposition groups in London and said he was contacted by the British police late on May 12. “They said it was important,” Mr. Mugenzi said, “that I should not leave home.” Mr. Mugenzi, 35, said he was aware that the Rwandan government did not appreciate his political views. But when two police officers showed up at his door in east London around 10:30 p.m. and told him and his wife of a threat to his life, he said he was speechless. “I did not think they could think to kill me here in the U.K.,” he said. Mr. Mugenzi says that in March he asked a pointed question to Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, during a BBC call-in show about whether Mr. Kagame believed an Egypt-style revolution could happen in Rwanda. He also helped organize a recent meeting of exiled Rwandans in London. The Rwandan government has accused many opposition officials of working with a rebel group in eastern Congo that has been classified as a terrorist group by the United States and linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide . Mr. Mugenzi, who says he holds British as well as Rwandan citizenship, also works as a director at the London Center for Social Impact. He ran with the Liberal Democrats in local London elections last year and lost. He has been living in Britain since 1997 and has frequently criticized Rwanda’s government for rights abuses. “Take such remedial action as you see fit to increase your own safety measures, e.g. house burglar alarms, change of daily routines, always walk with an associate,” said the warning letter. “It may even be that you decide that it is more appropriate for you to leave the area for the foreseeable future.” He said he had no plans to leave, but he was not ruling it out. The other recipient of the warning , Jonathan Musonera, said he was a former Rwandan Army captain who fled to Britain in 2001 after defecting while the army was fighting in Congo. He said he was subsequently tortured by the Rwandan government. Now a critic of the government, he said the British police visited his home about an hour before the visit to Mr. Mugenzi. “They told me about the Rwandan government,” Mr. Musonera said, “that they put my life in danger and they were trying to kill me.” Critics of the Rwandan government have been killed or have simply vanished. Seth Sendashonga , a former member of the governing party, was fatally shot in Kenya in 1998. Augustin Cyiza, a former vice president of Rwanda’s Supreme Court, disappeared and is believed to have been killed in 2003. Leonard Hitimana, an opposition politician, disappeared the same year. A Rwandan journalist covering the apparent assassination attempt of the general in South Africa was shot dead the day his story was published . The shooting strained relations between South Africa and Rwanda, with South Africa recalling its ambassador in August. Last month, The Independent, a British newspaper, reported that Britain’s domestic intelligence service, MI5, had warned Rwanda’s high commissioner in London that a harassment campaign against Rwandan dissidents must be stopped or more than $100 million in foreign aid to Rwanda could be cut. The Rwandan government has repeatedly denied that it represses its citizens or has had a hand in any of the attacks on high-profile dissidents.

War Crimes Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity

Human Rights and Human Rights Violations

Scotland Yard (Metropolitan Police Service)


Redstone Gets More Time to Pay $1.46 Billion Debt

Abstract: Sumner M. Redstone , the media mogul who controls both Viacom and CBS , reached a deal with banks on Friday that gives him two more years to pay down some $1.46 billion in debt without having to sell more stock in either company, the family holding company, National Amusements, said in a statement. Mr. Redstone had been under financial strain since October when he breached the terms of his loans and was forced to sell more than $200 million in stock. The covenants of the bank loans were tied to the value of CBS and Viacom shares, which fell sharply in the fall, causing Mr. Redstone’s problems. Since then, the economy has worsened and expectations that the lenders, led by Bank of America, would force Mr. Redstone to sell certain assets, like part of his movie theater chain, were mitigated by market conditions that have made it nearly impossible to sell real estate assets. The deal to restructure the debt is expected to close by the end of March, and at that time, National Amusements, which holds the debt, said it would make a payment of more than $100 million. That will leave National Amusements with about $1.46 billion in debt, which will come due in December 2010. The loans previously came due last December. “National Amusements would be permitted to satisfy the indebtedness with cash flow from its operations and through tax refunds and the sale of assets as determined by National Amusements,” the company said in a statement. Earlier, also to satisfy lenders, Mr. Redstone sold a large stake in Midway Games to a private investor for about $100,000. Over the years, according to some estimates, Mr. Redstone spent more than $500 million to build his stake in Midway. The losses from the sale of Midway created a tax benefit that Mr. Redstone’s advisers say has helped ease the pressure from lenders.


Blue Jays’ Latest Deal, for David Price, Seems to Amplify the Yankees’ Silence

Abstract: ARLINGTON, Tex. — If there is anybody in the Yankees’ clubhouse who understands how to navigate the emotional roller coaster that kicks into overdrive as the nonwaiver trading deadline approaches, it is Chase Headley. For three consecutive seasons, Headley listened to rumors that the San Diego Padres were going to trade him until they finally did, on July 22, 2014, to the Yankees. After the fact, Headley said, he learned that some of the reports were well founded, that others were not, and that there were twists that never got out for public consumption. “It’s best not to pay too much attention to it,” Headley said. “You don’t want to get too caught up in it where something doesn’t happen and then you’re disappointed.” That may be sound advice, but it is particularly salient in New York, where the Mets are reeling from the trade fiasco that left their nearly former infielder Wilmer Flores in tears and the Yankees are wondering if they would be reaching for their own box of tissues after watching David Price land in Toronto on Thursday. Price, an impending free agent, would have provided the Yankees, who owned a six-game lead in the American League East before Thursday’s games, an ace to fortify their brittle pitching staff and stamp them as legitimate World Series contenders. Image The Yankees’ need for pitching increased on Thursday when Michael Pineda was placed on the 15-day disabled list. Credit Rich Schultz/Getty Images Instead, after their offer for Price was deemed insufficient, the Yankees may be reminded frequently over the rest of the season of what they missed out on. They have 13 games left against the Blue Jays, who trailed them by seven games entering Thursday and earlier this week added shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to their already league-leading offense. The Yankees could see Price as many as four times the rest of the season, beginning with an Aug. 7-9 series at Yankee Stadium. “Well, they’ve been aggressive in the trade market, and obviously we’re going to face them a number of times,” Manager Joe Girardi said of the Blue Jays. “There’s still a lot of baseball to play, and they’ve been a tough opponent, even before they added those guys. Sometimes you see moves not necessarily work out, so we’ll see.” With pitchers like Cole Hamels, Johnny Cueto, Scott Kazmir, Alex Wood, Mat Latos and Price being moved in recent days, the Yankees’ options have dwindled. But their need for rotation reinforcements was amplified Thursday when Michael Pineda was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right forearm flexor muscle strain. Pineda, who missed the 2012 and 2013 seasons because of shoulder surgery, has already thrown 412/3 more innings than he did last season. At times Pineda has been dominant — he struck out 16 against Baltimore in May — but after his last two subpar starts, he dismissed questions about his health and durability. Pineda, though, said he felt a slight tingling after throwing a bullpen session Tuesday. He had a magnetic resonance imaging test Wednesday, which revealed the strain, but nothing more serious. Pineda will not throw for seven to 10 days, and then will get ready to return. Image In exchange for David Price, the Tigers will receive a package of young players, including a pitcher rated as Toronto’s top prospect. Credit Carlos Osorio/Associated Press “It’s not a big deal,” Pineda said. “I feel a little sad today because I want to pitch, but I don’t worry too much.” Although the Yankees successfully gambled that their older, injury-plagued sluggers — particularly Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez — would return to form, their hope that a fragile starting rotation would hold up looks shakier by the day. On Monday, Ivan Nova, who is returning from Tommy John surgery, complained of a fatigued arm. To accommodate Masahiro Tanaka, who is pitching with a slight tear in his elbow ligament, the Yankees have given him five days’ rest before all but one start this season, and are likely to go to a six-man rotation for much of the final two months. If they find no solution before Friday’s 4 p.m. nonwaiver trade deadline, the Yankees can turn to in-house options to bolster the rotation. One may be Adam Warren, who was effective as a starter before being moved to the bullpen, especially if the Yankees acquire another reliever. Other candidates include Bryan Mitchell, who was recalled Thursday and could be in line to start Saturday, or Diego Moreno, who pitched five and a third no-hit innings in relief Tuesday. But the more intriguing option is Luis Severino, the top prospect they may have been unwilling to part with for Price. Severino, 21, allowed one hit and struck out 10 in six innings Wednesday night for Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He is 7-0 with a 1.91 E.R.A. in 11 starts after being promoted from Class AA Trenton. “He’s in the mix,” Girardi said. “He’s one of the starters down there and you’re going to have to talk about him.” General Manager Brian Cashman did make a move Thursday, his first deal this month, acquiring Dustin Ackley, a reserve outfielder with Seattle, in exchange for two minor leaguers, outfielder Ramon Flores and pitcher Jose Ramirez. Ackley, the No. 2 overall draft pick in 2009 who struggled to establish himself in Seattle, could be given the opportunity to play himself into the Yankees’ future as a second baseman. But he has been almost exclusively in the outfield since the Mariners signed Robinson Cano to play second. In the short term, the left-handed hitting Ackley, who is batting .215 with six home runs and 19 R.B.I., could spell the end of Garrett Jones’s tenure as a left-handed hitting reserve outfielder. Girardi said a roster move would be made Friday when Ackley arrives. By then, the Yankees will have a better idea if their roster will look any different. If there was any disappointment in the clubhouse that Cashman did not make a bolder move, it was well hidden. “We can control what we can control,” catcher Brian McCann said. Girardi said his concern was the players in his clubhouse. He bristled at the suggestion that just as a team that acquires a star at the trade deadline might get a boost from the deal, a team that loses out might be deflated. “You know what energizes the clubhouse?” Girardi said. “Winning.”

Baseball
Blue Jays
Detroit Tigers
David Price
Daniel Norris


Anna Walentynowicz, Polish Provocateur Who Spurred Communism’s Fall, Dies at 80

Abstract: Anna Walentynowicz, a labor leader whose firing as a crane operator at the Lenin shipyard in Gdansk in 1980 touched off the strike that led to the founding of Solidarity and the unraveling of Communism in Poland , died on Saturday in the plane crash in Russia in which Poland’s president and dozens of Polish leaders were killed. She was 80. Those killed, including President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others, were going to a commemoration of the Soviet massacre of Polish officers in the Katyn forest during World War II. Mrs. Walentynowicz, who was in her early 50s when she came to prominence, was known as “the grandmother of Solidarity” and the “conscience of the movement.” A welder, then a crane operator, Mrs. Walentynowicz was a fiercely determined organizer whom her bosses considered a troublemaker. At a time when political opposition to the Communist government was sprouting throughout Poland, her dismissal on Aug. 7, 1980, ostensibly for participation in antigovernment activity, prompted a strike at the shipyard. The firing came just five months before her scheduled retirement. After strikes erupted elsewhere in Poland, the government reinstated Mrs. Walentynowicz, as well as Lech Walesa, the Solidarity leader, who had also been fired but returned to help lead Gdansk strikers. Mr. Walesa would later become president of a non-Communist Poland. The authorities also agreed, with only slight modifications, to worker demands for guarantees of free speech, pay raises and official recognition of the Solidarity union. Within two years the union would have 10 million members. “If we didn’t press them to the wall before, we would not have got anything,” Mrs. Walentynowicz said of Solidarity’s threat of a general strike to win concessions. One of Mrs. Walentynowicz’s provocations was publishing an illegal newspaper, copies of which she not only distributed to workers but personally handed to her bosses. Each December she was arrested for collecting money for flowers to memorialize 50 or more workers who had been shot down in 1970 by police officers as they protested food shortages. Some have compared her role in Solidarity to that of Rosa Parks, who became a catalyst for the American civil rights movement when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in 1955 in Montgomery, Ala. But others say she more resembled Crystal Lee Sutton, the union organizer whose stand on her worktable at a textile factory in North Carolina in 1973 was the inspiration for the 1979 film “Norma Rae.” Mrs. Walentynowicz (pronounced vah-len-teen-OH-vitch) was born in on Aug. 13, 1929, in Rowne, in what was then Poland. She was orphaned during World War II and had to go to work as a maid at age 10. In 1950, she was hired at the Gdansk shipyards and trained as a welder. Because of her small size, she worked in the airless hulls of ships. She later learned to operate a massive crane. She also joined the Communist Party, but only after first refusing to because she did not consider herself sufficiently worthy, according to a published biography. “I was full of enthusiasm for the new Communist government and its slogan, ‘Youth building ships,’ ” she said in an interview with The Christian Science Monitor in 1989. But she soon began to question Communism. She told The Monitor that she had been shocked to be told at a meeting of young Communists in East Berlin that party members should lie if convenient. Mrs. Walentynowicz was further radicalized by the 1970 massacre, which set off civil disturbances that brought down the government of Wladyslaw Gomulka. Yet the reforms that had been promised by the government that replaced Gomulka’s “turned out to be another lie,” she told The Monitor. In May 1978, Mrs. Walentynowicz helped set up independent labor unions to oppose state-sponsored ones. She also became associated with the Committee for Social Self-Defense, which emerged after increases in food prices set off riots in July 1976. In his book “Breaking the Barrier: The Rise of Solidarity in Poland” (1991), Lawrence Goodwyn wrote that Mrs. Walentynowicz enraged Gdansk supervisors in the summer of 1978 when, in her underground newspaper, she reported on their spending for luxuries. Mrs. Walentynowicz was quoted as saying that she felt free to take political risks because she was a widow and because her son was in the military. Information about her survivors was unavailable. When the authorities fired Mrs. Walentynowicz at the Gdansk shipyard in 1980, they said she had stolen candle stubs from a nearby graveyard to make new candles to mark the anniversary of the 1970 killings. Solidarity went on to surge in popularity, and in December 1981 the government responded by imposing martial law. Mrs. Walentynowicz was convicted of antigovernment activities and given a suspended sentence. By 1989 Solidarity had triumphed in parliamentary elections, ending Communist rule. A memorable moment in the 1980 Gdansk strike came when workers meeting with management refused to keep talking unless Mrs. Walentynowicz were present. The shipyard director sent his own sedan to pick her up. When she arrived, workers showered her with cheers and flowers. “Surely at that moment she felt the connection more vividly than anyone else,” Mr. Goodwyn wrote, suggesting that the emotions in the room were fuel for social action still to come. “But everyone there felt something.”

Walentynowicz Anna
Poland
Deaths (Obituaries)
Communism (Theory and Philosophy)
Organized Labor


Sharapova in Sony Open Semifinals

Abstract: Maria Sharapova rallied from a break down in the first set to oust Petra Kvitova, 7-5, 6-1, to earn a spot in the semifinals of the Sony Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., where she has been a finalist five times but has never won. Novak Djokovic reached the quarterfinals of the men’s draw with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Tommy Robredo. Kei Nishikori knocked out fourth-seeded David Ferrer, 7-6 (7), 2-6, 7-6 (9).

Tennis
Sony Open
Maria Sharapova
Petra Kvitova


Details Emerge About Alaska Crash Rescue

Abstract: Rescue workers, rain-soaked and mud-caked, had to hike through a dense Alaska forest to reach the four survivors of the small plane crash that killed the former Senator Ted Stevens and four other people Monday night, the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board said on Wednesday. Investigators were not yet able to reach the crash site because of heavy rain and clouds on Wednesday, but details emerged about the arduous rescue efforts in the remote, mountainous region of southwestern Alaska from a doctor and rescue workers who were at the site to care for the injured. After finally reaching the scene late Monday night, the rescuers spent a cold, wet night administering to the injured when the weather closed in and stranded them there. “It was very challenging,” Deborah A.P. Hersman, the chairman of the safety board, said from Anchorage in a conference call with reporters. “I could certainly tell by the emotion in their voices it was a very difficult evening. It was a long night.” The plane, with a pilot and eight passengers bound for a fishing lodge, crashed 17 miles north of the town of Dillingham shortly after 3 p.m. on Monday afternoon. It made a gash of about 100 yards up the side of the mountain, coming to rest at an altitude of about 900 feet above seal level, Ms. Hersman said. She said she was told by the doctor that rescue helicopters found a landing spot about 1,000 feet higher than the wreckage, and that rescuers had to hike through a thick forest of willows and alders that was “very wet and very slippery.” Rescuers she spoke to were “all soaked and were covered with mud,” Ms. Hersman said. “They were muddied from their eyelashes down to their boots.” The rescuers were able to remove the bodies of the five people killed by lowering ropes from a helicopter overhead, she said. The Alaska Air National Guard said that the injured survivors had been airlifted from the scene on Tuesday and flown to Anchorage. Three survivors were rushed to Providence Hospital in Anchorage: Sean O’Keefe, a former NASA administrator, his son, Kevin O’Keefe, and James Morhard, chief of staff for the Senate Appropriations Committee when Mr. Stevens was its chairman. Mr. O’Keefe was in critical condition on Wednesday, and his son is in serious condition, said Kirsten Schultz, a spokeswoman for the hospital. Mr. Morhard is in serious condition, she added. “Their injuries do not appear to be life-threatening and we are confident they will have a full recovery,” said Paul Pastorek, Louisiana State Superintendent of Education, who is acting as a family spokesman. Based on information from rescue workers and other pilots who saw the wreckage, Ms. Hersman said investigators learned that the damage is “compact,” with the wings of the plane still mostly attached but angled back from the fuselage. The aircraft is pointed up at an angle of about 30 degrees, she said, and came to rest in a ravine where the nose is “wedged in.” “We’ve got to get eyes on the aircraft and investigate it ourselves,” she said. She was not sure how far it was from the helicopter landing site to the wreckage. There is a water route, she said, but from that point it is a two and a half hour hike. When rescuers reached the scene Monday, one of the injured was “ambulatory,” she said, and the others were not. No one was ejected from the fuselage, she said. She would not say which passenger was able to move around. The plan had no cockpit voice recorder or flight data recorder but might have a G.P.S. device or other equipment with microchips that preserved some information, she said; if not, she said, board investigators are experienced at “allowing the wreckage to paint a picture for them.” “I really didn’t get into the difficulty they had, the emotional difficulty they had making it through the night,” she said. “I think we understand it was very difficult.”

Airlines and Airplanes
Accidents and Safety
Rescues
Alaska
Weather
Stevens Ted


Paris Bombing Suspect Refuses to Cooperate With Investigation

Abstract: PARIS — Salah Abdeslam, thought to be the only direct participant in the November terrorist attacks in Paris to have survived, refused to answer questions on Friday at a hearing with a French investigative judge in Paris, the prosecutor’s office and his lawyer said. Although the hearing was just the first in what is expected to be a long inquiry, Mr. Abdeslam’s silence highlighted the obstacles facing investigators as they seek information from him about the attacks, which killed 130 people. Mr. Abdeslam, who is suspected of playing a crucial logistical role in the attacks, was arrested in March in Molenbeek, the neighborhood in Brussels where he grew up, and extradited to France in April. His arrest in Belgium on March 18 came just four days before the terrorist attacks in the Brussels Airport and at a metro station. After initially fighting his extradition to France, he reversed himself, and his lawyer, Frank Berton, had said at the time that his client was ready to cooperate with the French authorities. Mr. Berton said, however, that his client was disturbed by video surveillance in his prison cell. Mr. Abdeslam is being held in isolation at the Fleury-Mérogis Prison, about 20 miles south of Paris, and is barred from contact with other inmates. “He can’t stand being watched 24 hours a day,” Mr. Berton told reporters at the main courthouse in central Paris, where Mr. Abdeslam arrived under heavy police escort on Friday morning. “He has the impression that he is being treated completely differently,” from other inmates, Mr. Berton said, suggesting that it helped explain why he did not want to “collaborate with the investigation.” Image Salah Abdeslam Credit French Police Agnès Thibault-Lecuivre, a spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor’s office, said in a text message that Mr. Abdeslam had “exercised his right to remain silent from the onset” and had refused to answer the questions from the investigative judge. “He also refused to specify the reasons that led him to exercise his right to remain silent in this way,” Ms. Thibault-Lecuivre said, adding that he had even refused to confirm statements previously made to Belgian authorities. She did not indicate whether Mr. Abdeslam would cooperate at a later hearing. No dates have been set for more hearings, she said. French and Belgian investigators have said evidence they found suggests Mr. Abdeslam was heavily involved in preparations for the Paris attacks. He rented cars and at least one safe house, bought material used in explosives and drove across Europe to pick up other suspects. But his exact role on the night of the attacks has not been firmly established. He is suspected of driving three suicide bombers to the Stade de France soccer stadium in St.-Denis, one of the sites that was attacked, but investigators have not determined whether he had intended to carry out another suicide attack. A discarded suicide belt was found in a southern suburb of Paris in the days after the attacks and is thought to have belonged to him. He told Belgian investigators shortly after his arrest on March 18 that he had “backed out” of detonating his suicide vest at the stadium. Mr. Abdeslam has been charged in France with several terrorism-related crimes, including murder connected to terrorism, participation in a terrorist conspiracy and possession of weapons and explosives.

Paris Attacks
Salah Abdeslam
Prison
Terrorism
Murders and Homicides
Paris France


New York Transit System Struggles Toward Normalcy

Abstract: New York’s many forms of mass transit stumbled back to life on Tuesday, a day after fierce snow and wind knocked out much of the city’s vast network of buses, trains and planes. But while some parts of the city moved toward regaining mobility, other areas barely budged. Two subway lines, the B and the Q, remained shut down, and others ran on truncated routes that often ended before the far reaches of Brooklyn and Queens. No trains ran on half of the Long Island Rail Road ’s branches for most of the day, and some passengers along its functioning routes had to wait hours for rides. Kennedy and Newark Airports each had only a single runway open, and nearly 1,000 flights were canceled at the metropolitan region’s three major airports on Tuesday. There was no service on dozens of city bus routes, and 250 buses were still stranded in snowbanks and on unplowed streets by midafternoon. New Yorkers who ventured outside encountered sights seemingly borrowed from a post-apocalyptic movie. “It was pretty much like a ghost town,” said Aaron Jacobsen, 32, who wandered for an hour through the streets of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, seeking a way into Manhattan, where he works. Silent city buses and abandoned plows littered the streets. “I walked toward the corner of my block,” he said, “and a sanitation truck was crashing into a car on my corner.” Mr. Jacobsen later caught an F train, the only subway line that functioned on Tuesday in the southeast reaches of Brooklyn. With the B and the Q out, denizens of Ditmas Park and Sheepshead Bay were marooned. D train service was briefly restored, until a stalled train blocked the part of the route to Coney Island. And the N train did not operate south of Manhattan. “On a day-by-day basis, we are building back to normalcy,” said Thomas F. Prendergast, the president of New York City Transit , which operates the city’s buses and subways. “I would say in two or three days we will be totally back to normal.” Transit officials said Wednesday would be easier on travelers. New Jersey Transit , the Metro-North Railroad and the Long Island Rail Road all plan to provide nearly normal weekday commuter rail service. The airports expect their runways to be reopened, and subway officials said they hoped to reopen segments of many lines. But on Tuesday, the tales spoke more of woe than recovery. As dawn broke at La Guardia Airport in Queens, hundreds of stranded passengers struggled to sleep on cots, luggage and the occasional black-plastic trash bin. The airport’s general manager circulated a memorandum to his staff, asking workers to keep quiet so people might sleep. At Kennedy Airport , several flights that arrived early Tuesday morning were forced to wait on the tarmac for at least four hours before they could unload passengers. Passengers on one Cathay Pacific plane waited on the tarmac for 11 hours, according to a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, who said the plane’s crew members had not called ahead to see if there was an open gate. Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, residents accustomed to riding the B or Q trains found themselves stranded. When Marilyn Warrick, 60, a nursing assistant, realized no trains were running by the Parkside Avenue station, she asked a driver inside a parked B16 bus if he could take her. He said the bus was not running because of poor road conditions. Ms. Warrick, who had already missed a day of work on Monday, walked away, hoping to catch another bus that might connect her to the R train, two miles to the west. A few minutes later, another bus driver pulled up, but she had already left. The B and Q trains in Brooklyn run along an exposed track that is at or below ground-level, making the line particularly susceptible to snowdrifts. Mr. Prendergast, of New York City Transit, said that snow blowers, de-icing trains and hundreds of workers armed with hand-shovels had been dispatched to clear the track of up to five feet of snow, and he hoped that service would resume on Wednesday. Politicians were already announcing plans to review the actions of transit and sanitation officials. James Vacca , chairman of the City Council’s Transportation Committee, said he planned to hold an oversight hearing next month focused on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority . Jay H. Walder, the authority’s chairman, pledged on Tuesday to conduct a formal review of his agency’s recovery efforts. “We shouldn’t pretend that there were any easy choices here,” he wrote in a memorandum to the agency’s board. Referring to the A trains stranded near Kennedy Airport on Monday, he said the agency was “left to either turn people away with no other options, or attempt to run service.” Visitors had just as much trouble reaching the city as residents had getting around town. Nep Sidhu, 32, had planned to fly to New York on Monday from Toronto, but he was rerouted, to Rochester, where every bus to the city was sold out. He finally made it to New York, after 27 hours, at 3 p.m.

New York City
Snow and Snowstorms
Transit Systems
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
New York City Transit Authority
Long Island Rail Road Co
New Jersey Transit
Metro-North Commuter Railroad
LaGuardia Airport (NYC)
Kennedy International Airport (NYC)


Ex-Iran President Seeks Comeback Against Odds

Abstract: TEHRAN — There was a time when Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani seemed to have it all. A founder of the Islamic Revolution, he headed a family empire that owned the second biggest Iranian airline, Mahan, had a near monopoly on the lucrative pistachio trade and controlled the country’s largest private university, Azad. But then things started to go wrong. Iranians, angered by his wealth, back-room dealings and supposed involvement in the killing of dissidents, nicknamed him “Akbar Shah,” after the old Persian rulers who sat on velvet cushions in lush courtyards. Political rivals, jealous of his grip on the economy, seized on his support for reformists and labeled him an “aristocrat,” a “capitalist” and a supporter of “American Islam” His political stock fell so low that in 2002 he could not even muster the votes to win a seat in Parliament. He suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 2005 presidential election, and two of his children ended up in jail. His speech in favor of greater freedom during the 2009 protests alienated him from Iran’s conservative clerics and military commanders. Now, from the fringes of Iran’s closed circle of power, Mr. Rafsanjani, 79, is attempting a comeback, entering his name last Saturday for the June 14 presidential elections. Though once widely reviled, his reputation as an economic pragmatist and modernizer — by Iranian standards, anyway — seems to be hitting a responsive chord with the public. “He is the only one that can fix this mess,” said Farshad Ghorbanpour, a journalist who spent several months in jail for his ties to the opposition. “This man is an icon of our revolution. He owns the shop, so to speak. He will fix the economy.” Tired of Iran’s stumbling economy and galloping inflation rate, most Iranians yearn for policies that stimulate business while lowering the prices of staples, real estate and foreign exchange. While generally fed up with politics, many in Tehran say that Mr. Rafsanjani, whose policies as president formed the basis for Iran’s modern day middle class, is the man for the job. “He is a master of economy, and at the moment my business is doing really bad,” said Hasan Sarhangi, 35, a trader from the poorer southern part of Tehran. “We have no one with his qualities. He can make us rich again.” If approved as a candidate — and that is by no means assured — Mr. Rafsanjani is likely to find himself walking a tightrope, trying to address his natural constituency of dissatisfied urban Iranians who want more freedoms and realistic economic policies while not further alienating the country’s leaders, many of whom say he should be tried for corruption and links to the opposition. A close associate of the Islamic republic’s founder, Ayatollah Khomeini, and president from 1989 to 1997, Mr. Rafsanjani was once the nation’s kingmaker, said to have brought the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to power after Ayatollah Khomeini’s death. It is only that pedigree, most analysts agree, as well as Ayatollah Khamenei’s continuing support, that has allowed him to survive his fall and even hope to fight his way back into power. And even then, the road back is bound to be treacherous. Iran’s intelligence minister, Heydar Moslehi, an appointee of Ayatollah Khamenei’s, recently warned Mr. Rafsanjani not to become a candidate. The only reasons Mr. Rafsanjani was not under house arrest for his speech in 2009, the minister said, were “certain considerations by the system,” meaning his relationship with the supreme leader. “Do not make the mistake to think the role you have played is forgotten by the revolution,” said Mr. Moslehi, referring to the 2009 protests. Another hurdle is whether the Guardian Council, an evaluating body whose 12 members are appointed by Ayatollah Khamenei, as well as the head of the judiciary, and confirmed by Parliament, will even allow Mr. Rafsanjani to participate in the elections. On Tuesday, 100 members of Parliament sent a letter to the Guardian Council, asking its jurists and clerics to reject Mr. Rafsanjani’s candidacy, calling him a “seditionist” for “supporting” the 2009 protests. In fighting that effort, Mr. Rafsanjani can count on his relationship with Ayatollah Khamenei, his “friend for 50 years,” as Mr. Rafsanjani likes to say. The supreme leader, who preserves his power by playing various factions against one another, has refused to cut the lifeline that protects Mr. Rafsanjani from his foes. In turn, Mr. Rafsanjani has been careful never to criticize the supreme leader. Nevertheless, despite their longtime ties, the two men have fundamentally different ideas regarding the state the country is in. For years now, Mr. Rafsanjani has been arguing that Iran faces the threat of “Islamic fascism” and is in a “dangerous crisis,” while the supreme leader insists that Iran is a “beacon of freedom” and is making “astonishing leaps of progress.” The effect is to severely limit what Mr. Rafsanjani can say in any campaign, analysts say. Not only does his relationship with Ayatollah Khamenei limit him from bluntly addressing the issues facing the country, Ayatollah Khamenei’s supporters are eager to label any potential criticism as an insult of the supreme leader, which is illegal under Iranian law. But Mr. Rafsanjani is plainly dependent on the support of his old friend. In an interview with the reformist Shargh newspaper on Sunday, his daughter Fatemeh described how her father had waited next to the phone all day on registration day for Ayatollah Khamenei to call and give his blessing for his candidacy. He had earlier said he would not run without it. The phone did not ring, and Mr. Rafsanjani had given up hope and had ordered his staff to write a letter explaining why he had not joined the race. There are different versions of what exactly happened, but around half an hour before the closing of the registration period, Fatemeh said that her father suddenly rushed out of his office and said, “In the name of God, let us go!” barely making it in time for registration. “We don’t know if Mr. Khamenei clearly gave his blessing,” said one Iranian journalist close to Mr. Rafsanjani’s camp, who asked to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the situation. “But I guess we will find out soon.”

Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Election
Guardian Council Iran
Ali Khamenei
Iran
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad


A Tale of Love and Lineage and Anna Wintour

Abstract: A Tale of Love and Lineage And Anna Wintour A couple of weeks ago, SAMUEL SHAFFER, son of SERENA BASS, the caterer, and stepson of ANNA WINTOUR, the -- you know -- got married. Mr. Shaffer had asked his fiancée, KATHRYN NEALE, a New Zealander now in New York, if she was planning to take his last name. She, however, asked him whether he would take hers. So it was decided that at the wedding, in Wellington, New Zealand, the name issue would be resolved -- on the playing field! Or pitch, or whatever it is in New Zealand. "It was New Zealand's home game so it had to be a sport that we were good at," the bride explained yesterday, having just returned from their honeymoon in Tahiti. "It was either softball or rugby because we were world champions at both. I decided against rugby. I didn't want people to come away with broken bones." The New Zealand guests represented the bride; the groom was represented by the rest of the world. Ms. Wintour was in the stands. "It was 8 to 7, bases loaded, nobody out," the groom said, his team being the one down. Whereupon Ms. Neale's team brought out a 14-year-old girl -- "she's like my half cousin, I guess," Ms. Neale said -- who, we were told, was the best pitcher in New Zealand in the under-15 category, a claim we are disposed to accept. And so he lost. "Was it playful? Was it more than playful? Sure," he said evasively, adding that he was not going to change his name legally, though he would probably answer to Mr. Neale with Ms. Neale's relatives. For her part, she said she wasn't asking him to change all his credit cards or anything. For Ms. Wintour's part, she said in a somewhat lengthy story about the game in The Dominion Post, a Wellington newspaper, "I thought it was a really fun idea but I don't know." In other words, no one is really sure what any of this means, other than some well-connected people playing softball. "Needless to say, it's sparking debate in New Zealand," Mr., uh, Newlywed Man said. "Some of the tough guys think it's the beginning of the end." Meditations on Sundance Out of the many corporate booths littering the streets of Park City, Utah, our correspondent chose the HP/WireImage tent. Celebrities like LUCY LIU, TERRENCE HOWARD and JENNIFER ANISTON were going there to have their portraits taken by JEFF VESPA, who, a publicist informed us, is best known for having taken more pictures of PARIS HILTON than any other photographer in the world. In his off time, we were told further, his hobby is taking pictures of hamburgers. In the makeup lounge we saw TIMOTHY HUTTON, JIM GAFFIGAN and AMBER TAMBLYN, who addressed the eternal problem of going to a festival in a small town in Utah: "The paparazzi out there is insane. So dumb. They are trying to chase you and you're not going anywhere." And on that note, Boldface once again presents: Meditations on the Conflict In the Middle East We would not have missed a party for a book called "The OSAMA BIN LADEN I Know," for the world. The book, by PETER BERGEN, is a profile of Mr. bin Laden based on interviews with the man himself and his associates. But, after showing up at the Core Club on Monday night, we discovered that Mr. bin Laden was not going to make it. (Note to Osama: Hello? Uh, "Truce"? Do you even watch your own tapes?) Which is too bad because we had heard he is great fun at parties. "No, no, as far as I can tell he's only told one joke," Mr. Bergen said, "and it's something not very funny about, 'Why have only one wife when you can have four wives? You're always treated like a groom.' " Hm. "So that's bin Laden's idea of a joke."

PARK CITY (UTAH)
SHAFFER SAMUEL
NEALE KATHRYN
WINTOUR ANNA
WEDDINGS AND ENGAGEMENTS
MARRIAGES
NAMES PERSONAL


Who Else Besides Hillary Clinton in 2016?

Abstract: WASHINGTON — If Hillary Rodham Clinton doesn’t run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 — and there’s one chance in five of that — the party could have a nervous breakdown. On the national level, the Democratic bench is weaker, or more overshadowed, than at any time in the past several decades. There are several reasons. The election disaster in 2010 wiped out many possibilities, especially at the gubernatorial level. More important, with two heavyweight camps — President Obama and the Clintons — there is no political oxygen for anyone else. Suppose, for example, that upon taking over as secretary of state, Mrs. Clinton had declared that she wouldn’t run for elective office again. The field might look much different today. For one, several ambitious female Democrats might be dipping their toes in the presidential waters: for example, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota or Kirsten E. Gillibrand of New York. Now, the Democratic political sisterhood is completely vested in Hillary Clinton. This sense that America is overdue to elect a woman is powerful and extends even beyond its borders. “I’m optimistic I’ll live to see a female president of the United States,” Julia Gillard, the former Australian prime minister, said in an interview last week. If Mrs. Clinton doesn’t run, the focus will be on Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who is 71 and personally popular with Democrats. But his two previous presidential runs crashed, and in 2016, he would be older than Ronald Reagan was when he was re-elected in 1984. Most of the passion in the party would center on Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Her brainy populism puts her more in sync with party activists — and most voters — than any other major figure, including Mrs. Clinton. But she’s a political neophyte — 2012 was her first campaign — and she has expressed doubts privately about whether she would be comfortable with a national run at this stage. Other women certainly might jump in if Mrs. Clinton is out. So, too, could Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, testing whether his brand can fly outside the Empire State. Then there are the what-do-we-have-to-lose guys: Brian Schweitzer, the former governor of Montana, and — a little less likely — Martin O’Malley, the governor of Maryland. No list is complete without Jerry Brown, California’s maverick 75-year-old governor, who was first elected to that position nearly 40 years ago. Then, the overarching narrative for the primary campaign would be: If only Hillary Clinton ... The reluctance of any other Democrats to raise their hands now doesn’t reflect a lack of talent in the party. Just consider the rich menu of choices candidate Clinton would have for a running mate. She has a keen appreciation, associates say, of the dynamics, the pull of electing a female president. Thus, her initial instinct in selecting a running mate might be to emulate her husband in 1992 and shun convention. By choosing Al Gore, also a young centrist progressive Southern policy wonk, Bill Clinton made the election about generational change instead of seeking geographic and ideological balance on the ticket. Similarly, Mrs. Clinton might look for a woman, though there is no natural fit. With her long experience, she might have more leeway to pick the head of the Senate Budget Committee, Patty Murray of Washington, or Ms. Klobuchar or Gov. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire. More likely, she would take a conventional approach, and there would be attractive options, starting with politicians from two swing states: Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, both former governors (a job qualification that is lacking on Mrs. Clinton’s résumé), Or, from Colorado, Gov. John W. Hickenlooper and Senator Michael Bennet, once superintendent of Denver’s public school system. Or, if she wants to emphasize fiscal issues, Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. All would be top-tier choices. For 2016, the Democrats have no shortage of political talent, except at the very top.

2016 Presidential Election
Hillary Clinton
Joe Biden
Andrew Cuomo
Martin J O'Malley
Jerry Brown
Brian Schweitzer
Democrats


Women Lagging in Birthplace of Golf

Abstract: ST. ANDREWS, Scotland, Aug. 1 — Up the road from the 18th green at the Old Course, roughly 160 paces as a caddie counts, is a two-story stone building barely big enough to contain the history of women’s amateur golf in the British Isles. There are 114 years of memories stashed away in the Ladies’ Golf Union headquarters at No. 4 The Scores, its picture windows with the sweeping views of the Firth of Tay a felicitous architectural nod to the broad vision of Issette Pearson, who founded the union in 1893 to promote and govern the women’s game in England. Down the hill and around the corner, on a road that runs parallel to the 18th fairway of the Old Course, sits the St. Andrews Ladies’ Golf Club, which was formed in 1867. These buildings, either of which the long-hitting Englishwoman Laura Davies could reach with an iron from the first tee, are mileposts along a passage in Britain’s sporting history that seems to end at the gates of professional golf. After paving the way for women in amateur golf, Britain has lagged behind the United States, South Korea and Sweden in turning out top female professionals. When the 150 entrants in the Women’s British Open reach the Old Course on Thursday for the first time in pro competition, the title hopes of a golf-mad Britain will be shouldered by three of the older women on the L.P.G.A Tour: Davies, 43; Catriona Matthew, 37; and Janice Moodie, 34. By contrast, the United States contenders include a 19-year-old, Morgan Pressel, who won the year’s first major, the Kraft Nabisco Championship; a 20-year-old, Paula Creamer; a 21-year-old, Brittany Lincicome; and a 24-year-old, Natalie Gulbis, who is fresh off her first L.P.G.A. Tour victory, at the Evian Masters . Two 21-year-olds, Seon Hwa Lee and Jee Young Lee, are among five South Koreans ranked in the top 15 on the current L.P.G.A. money list. The 36-year-old Annika Sorenstam leads the Swedes, but she is being pursued by a handful of countrywomen in their 20s, including the 23-year-old Karin Sjodin, one of the Tour’s longest hitters, and the 22-year-old Louise Stahle. In South Korea, a young woman’s quest to become a professional golfer is considered a family project, lending her the support, both financial and otherwise, that she needs to succeed. Moodie pointed out that the United States draws from a large population pool and that golfers in Sweden will go to the ends of the earth to develop their talent. “They will take girls, and they will go to the south of Spain and play all year,” said Moodie, who grew up in Scotland, attended college at San Jose State and makes her home in Florida. “We have a very, very short season,” she said, referring to the Scottish summer, “which I think people forget about.” Susan Simpson, the Ladies’ Golf Union’s director of championships, said something else was worth remembering about women’s golf in Britain. Its patrician beginnings, she suggested, have proved harder to shed than the puffy-sleeved blouses and knitted skirts that for a long time were required golfing attire for women. “It’s more a tradition here,” Simpson said. “And in some aspects, we’ve been not held back, but maybe bound by that tradition.” She added: “It’s very much an elite game. For men, it was also an elite game, but for women, more so. You had to be out of the ordinary to play golf 100 years ago, whereas in Sweden and the European countries, it’s a new game and it’s been embraced as a sport.” Lewine Mair, the author of the book “One Hundred Years of Women’s Golf” and a golf correspondent for The Daily Telegraph, said: “I would say the label attached to lady golfers in the Isles is that they’re second best. And that it’s the lesser option, the women’s game.” The crowds that followed 17-year-old Michelle Wie during her pro-am round Wednesday are another sign that the times are changing, Mair said. “You talk to people here now who want to see Michelle Wie as much as they want to see Tiger Woods,” she said. Perhaps 15 years ago, Moodie said, a stigma was attached to being a female touring pro. The lingering perception was that it was an unladylike pursuit. “But I think it’s really turning around,” she said. On Wednesday, Moodie spoke enthusiastically about having the run of the Royal and Ancient clubhouse, which until this week had never been opened to women. Moodie gave birth to her first child, a son, last year and talked about changing his dirty diaper in the clubhouse. “I used a towel and I was very respectful,” she said, her eyes sparkling. It is a huge step forward to inhabit a place where, until now, only men had convened, she said. Melissa Reid, a 19-year-old English amateur, posted the low score during Open qualifying this week. She is one of six amateurs from Britain who will be playing in this year’s tournament. Davies, who grew up in Surrey, England, said that was another positive sign. “Hopefully, our turn will come,” she said. Every winter, Davies conducts a golf clinic in Surrey. In December, she said, an 8-year-old girl showed up with a swing so lovely it nearly made Davies swoon. “So there’s a potential youngster that might come through in 10 years’ time, maybe,” she said. She said she could not remember the girl’s name — or perhaps she did not want to divulge it. After all, few women in golf know better than Davies the burden of being a Briton with that kind of talent.

Golf
St Andrews
Ladies Professional Golf Assn
Davies Laura
Matthew Catriona
Moodie Janice
Pressel Morgan
Creamer Paula
Sorenstam Annika


Jimmy Rollins Sees José Reyes in His Own Image

Abstract: Before becoming one of baseball’s best leadoff hitters, Jimmy Rollins had to bat seventh or eighth for the Philadelphia Phillies . Before becoming the clubhouse bedrock, he had to endure criticism from teammates. Before winning the Most Valuable Player award last season, he had to hit .245. Which is why Rollins said he was not at all concerned about the Mets ’ mercurial shortstop, José Reyes . “Sometimes it takes a year or two, but with me, it took three,” Rollins said in a recent interview. “I was the same way until I figured out who the heck I was. I could run, I could play, I was fast, but it was all raw ability. But now, I’m showing off my raw ability, with learning, with knowledge. I’ve learned the game. I understand the game. You come out of that, you’re a completely different player.” Rollins says he loves watching Reyes play, and it is easy to see why. In Reyes, Rollins sees a younger, faster version of himself — a switch-hitting dynamo, right down to their shared initials, spot in the lineup and division. To much fanfare, each reached the majors at an early age — Rollins at 21, Reyes a day shy of his 20th birthday — and succeeded somewhat quickly. And when they started struggling soon after, they found ample criticism. Reyes turned 25 last month. With a stunning season in 2006, he helped lead the Mets to the cusp of the World Series. With a disappointing season in 2007, he shouldered much of the blame, perhaps disproportionately, for dragging them down during their collapse. Those troubles carried into the first six weeks of this season, but at the plate at least, he is looking more like his 2006 self these days. After Friday night’s game against the Phillies, he was batting .292 with 9 homers, 38 runs batted in and 29 stolen bases. He can be alternately electrifying and petulant, precocious and immature. He turns doubles into triples, then flings his helmet when disagreeing with a managerial move. He throws runners out from his knees, then, as he did last Sunday against the Yankees, tosses his glove after making an error. That prompted the SportsNet New York analyst Keith Hernandez to suggest that the Mets were “babying” him, which prompted an argument between them on the team charter Sunday night to St. Louis. Reyes has been criticized for not reaching base enough, for striking out too much, for celebrating too exuberantly, for not controlling his emotions. No other Met is as regularly dissected or analyzed as much as he is. Each argument has its merits and flaws, but this is who Reyes is at this stage of his evolution. It is not bad or good, just part of a process that Rollins understands. “The big thing for me is: how do you make that adjustment? That’s the learning curve,” said Rollins, who from 2004 to 2007 averaged 20 home runs, 76 R.B.I. and 125 runs. “He still has the tools, a great arm. He does have power, hits from both sides of the plate, speed, good glove. The mental makeup. He’s a smart baseball player. He’s the complete package, but he won’t fully mature until his failures start making sense to him.” From the time he was drafted out of high school, in 1996, Rollins said he felt pressure to change his style. Hit the ball to shortstop and run, Jimmy. Use a bigger bat, Jimmy. Slap the ball, Jimmy. He knew he had much to learn. But after making his second consecutive All-Star team in 2002 — the season he batted .221 over the final three months to finish at .245 — Rollins returned home confused. The next spring training, the Phillies’ manager at the time, Larry Bowa, said Rollins seemed more subdued, perhaps burdened by the organization’s preference that he improve his average and on-base percentage. “At times, it was like, I don’t care what you say,” Rollins said. “Other times, it was like, O.K., let me try it. Or, I’m struggling, let me try what they say. If I’m feeling good, I didn’t listen to what they say. When I’m feeling bad, all right, I’ll try it. But now, I’ve processed all the information, and I know me. I can’t do Ryan Howard. I can’t do Chase Utley. I can only do Jimmy Rollins.” So he spent more time around Bobby Abreu and Milt Thompson, a coach, learning the subtleties of the game. He discovered it was futile trying to conform to the role of a prototypical leadoff hitter. He strikes out a fair amount — though less frequently than before — and does not work the count much. He concentrated on driving the ball into the gaps and, like Reyes, eschews bunting for hits because, he said, he grew up realizing that “in Oakland Babe Ruth ball, there was no glory in bunting.” “People always have more expectations for you than they have for themselves,” Rollins said. “Put that out of your mind, learn who you are, know who you are and go out and do it. Believe me, people will accept you, because my on-base percentage has never been high, but I score runs. What’s more important? Me being on base or me scoring runs? If I’m scoring more runs, I’m doing my job.” Reyes said it had been sometimes difficult reconciling what coaches and teammates told him with how he felt he should play. “I feel like my head’s going to explode,” he said last Thursday in St. Louis. The Mets have consistently asked him to capitalize on his speed by hitting the ball on the ground, and they sent Rickey Henderson to spring training in 2006 to improve his plate discipline. His walks have steadily increased, from 27 in 2005 to 53 in 2006 to 77 last season, as his strikeouts have remained level. Only two other players — Honus Wagner in 1908 and Willie McGee in 1985 — did what Reyes accomplished in 2006 at age 23: hitting .300 with at least 50 steals, 20 doubles, 15 triples and 10 home runs. As good as he was, Reyes was not perfect, and he committed the same sort of mental errors and base-running mistakes that he does now. The difference is, the team’s success cloaked them. “You’re getting judged on something that you’ve done at a very early age that most people have never done, and now you’re supposed to sustain that forever?” said Marlon Anderson, who has been a teammate of Rollins and Reyes. “You’re playing on a team with guys who’ve never done that, in a league with guys who’ve never done that, and now you’re doing that at 23. “With José, people forget just how young he really is.” In 2001 and 2002, Anderson and Rollins formed a double-play combination and a friendship in Philadelphia. “The only advice I ever give Jimmy is that he did right by doing the things the way he wanted,” Anderson said. He joined the Mets in 2005, witnessing Reyes’s first full season up close, and returned last summer. After that 2005 season, Anderson said he remembered comparing Reyes to Rollins and concluded that, although Rollins was more consistent, Reyes seemed more likely to win a World Series. Three years later, Anderson said his opinion had not changed. Rollins and Reyes share many qualities, although they remain distinct personalities. Earlier this season, Rollins was benched during a game for his lack of hustle. He reacted by taking responsibility for his play and publicly backing up what could have been a controversial decision by Manager Charlie Manuel. A year ago, Reyes was similarly benched for failing to run out grounders. He acknowledged his lapses and said he did not want to look “like an idiot.” But from that point on, he seemed to languish as the team faded down the stretch. Now, as both teams prepare again for the pressure of a division race, they will be counting their star shortstops to overcome their worst habits and lead the way. “I know there’s a lot more talent inside me,” Reyes said. “I haven’t learned everything yet. I have to keep working and working until I’m the best.”

Reyes Jose
Baseball
Rollins Jimmy
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies


Review: Destination Bistro in Yorktown Heights Pays Attention

Abstract: The first time I went to Destination Bistro , I was with a girlfriend and we sat at the bar for dinner because a private event had taken over the dining room. We had a lovely time, chatting with everyone from the friendly bartender to other guests to a chef who came out of the kitchen to say hello. The next time I visited the Yorktown Heights restaurant, I was with family and we wanted to have a more intimate conversation. But every time we began to engage, a staff member came over. No fewer than six people, from a busboy to the owner himself, approached our table within minutes after our entrees came out to ask us if we liked the food. We had barely had a chance to taste it. Image The pork belly special entree. Credit Gregg Vigliotti for The New York Times It feels ungenerous to complain about too much attention, but there’s a tyranny to the constant refrain, “Is everything all right?” Destination Bistro is not alone in this, and I hardly object to restaurants that want to make sure diners’ needs are met. But sometimes that includes giving people a little privacy. Paying attention can mean knowing when people don’t want to be disturbed. The restaurant’s food is similarly exuberant. Most dishes reflect an abundance of ideas and influences, starting with appetizers like the slider trio that features not just a mini beef burger, but a zucchini cake with roasted red pepper and horseradish aioli, and chipotle pulled pork with apple slaw. Chicken Carol, the house specialty offered in memory of chef and owner Rob Del Balzo’s mother, is a seasoned chicken breast in a white wine and tomato reduction that also includes caramelized shallots and garlic, artichokes, olives and mushrooms — mixed with horseradish mashed potatoes. The dessert menu includes something called “coconut rice pudding crème brûlée” that is basically a mashup of two different dishes. Image The crab cake with manchego polenta. Credit Gregg Vigliotti for The New York Times But if it sometimes feels as though the kitchen needs to pull back — or drop an ingredient or two — it also is possible to revel in Mr. Del Balzo’s enthusiasm. Those sliders were delicious, all served on warm brioche buns. A honey wasabi-crusted salmon struck just the right balance between sharp and sweet, and came with fragrant black rice that helped keep the flavors from becoming overpowering. There are wonderful starches, like the cilantro parsnip purée that accompanied tender braised short ribs, the panko mac and cheese that came with the honey teriyaki baby back ribs and the disk of manchego polenta placed under a meaty and large crab cake appetizer. Mr. Del Balzo also frequently uses liquors in his cooking, and they can give the dishes unexpected, and welcome, flavors. An appetizer special called “lobster mojito” was created with meat from a lobster tail mixed with fresh lime, mint and simple syrup, and then deglazed with a shot of rum. Served around a fresh and creamy guacamole and fried plantain slices, the tastes complemented and amplified each other. Shrimp and grits, billed as “New Orleans meets Italy,” could have been a mess: It started with prosciutto di Parma polenta and bacon fried brussels sprouts, then gave the shrimp a Sambuca tarragon glaze. I wondered about overkill. But it was so well executed, and the intention so generous, it won me over. Mr. Del Balzo opened Destination Bistro a little over two years ago after several years as a caterer, often for television cooking shows such as “Chopped” and “Rocco’s Dinner Party” (his company, Nuttin to It, is still going strong). He describes compliments from chefs Rocco DiSpirito, for his meatballs, and Bobby Flay, for his ribs, as career highlights. It’s easy to imagine his big personality and flavor-filled food creating a lively atmosphere on a set. That can be true at his restaurant, too. You just have to be in the mood for a party.

Restaurant
Yorktown Heights NY
Destination Bistro


With Yanks’ Help, Red Sox Edge Closer

Abstract: A quick glance at the American League East standings reveals that no team has clinched the title — not the Yankees , not the Tampa Bay Rays and not the Boston Red Sox , who do not care about the injuries that have ravaged their infield, outfield, catching depth and rotation. The Yankees fully expect Boston to loiter in the division race, and they made it easy on the Red Sox on Friday night with a sloppy performance that undercut any plans of using this four-game series to pull away. By losing, 6-3, before the largest crowd to witness a game at Yankee Stadium this season, the Yankees watched their right fielder drop one ball, their new designated hitter opt not to slide to break up a double play and their catcher bungle a second-inning pop-up that led to three unearned runs. Not helping was a shaky start by the lately reliable Javier Vazquez , who over five and one-third innings allowed all six runs, the most since he gave up eight in his season debut against the Rays. The only redeeming aspect of the evening for the Yankees happened 500 miles to the northwest, in Toronto, where the Blue Jays edged Tampa Bay, enabling the Yankees to maintain their lead in the A.L. East by a half-game. Playing without the injured stalwarts Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia and Mike Cameron, the Red Sox won for the eighth time in 11 games to draw within five games of the Yankees. “Everyone keeps talking about how their lineup has been depleted,” Manager Joe Girardi said before the game, adding, “Mikey Lowell’s hitting seventh,” as if to say that the demise of the Red Sox’ offense, which has scored more runs than any team but the Yankees, is greatly exaggerated. Hitting behind Lowell was Ryan Kalish, a rookie from Red Bank, N.J., who slugged his first career homer, a two-run shot in the sixth. When Vazquez walked the next hitter, he was removed, and many in the crowd of 49,555 responded with boos. In reality, the evening had unraveled well before then, when, with one out and Adrian Beltre on second base in the second inning, Lowell lofted a pop-up along the first-base line. Converging on the ball, Vazquez and Francisco Cervelli camped beneath it before Vazquez backed away. He said he should have called for the ball. Cervelli actually did, and he tried making a basket catch at shoulder level. The ball glanced off his glove and plopped to the grass. “I called off Javy,” Cervelli said. “You never let the pitcher catch a fly ball. It was my fault. I dropped it; I’m supposed to catch that ball. If I catch that ball, maybe nothing happens.” Girardi said, “Somebody’s got to catch it, that’s the bottom line.” Both players stared in apparent disbelief, and the inning got worse from there. Vazquez struck out Kalish for the second out but walked the No. 9 hitter, Jed Lowrie, to load the bases for Jacoby Ellsbury, who walked to force in the tying run. One strike from limiting damage, Vazquez threw a 1-2 fastball that Marco Scutaro ripped into the left-field corner for a two-run double. Rather than again deal with David Ortiz, who homered in the first, Vazquez intentionally walked him to face Victor Martinez, who flied out to end the inning. Vazquez said he was not unnerved by Cervelli’s error — the first committed behind him all season — but it took 39 pitches for him to escape the second, running his total to 57. An early call to the bullpen seemed inevitable. Since May 17, when he stopped “trying to win 10 games in a couple weeks” with a superb — and, at four pitches, brief — relief outing against the Red Sox, Vazquez had gone 8-3 with a 3.35 earned run average entering Friday’s start. In turning around his season, Vazquez had managed to pitch effectively despite a drop in velocity because he had been able to command his pitches. Ortiz’s homer came on an 87-mile-per-hour fastball that he hit into Monument Park. Vazquez topped out at 88, and Girardi called it “something we’ll look at.” “I really can’t look at that,” said Vazquez, who said his velocity was down but that he felt fine physically. “Once you’re out there pitching, you have to do the best with what you have.” Vazquez corkscrewed Beltre into the ground on a 63-m.p.h. curveball and retired 11 of 12 hitters as the Yankees sought a comeback against the All-Star Clay Buchholz. One rally was defused in the fourth, when, with runners on first and second and no outs, Curtis Granderson hit into his first double play of the season, a sharp grounder to the first baseman Lowell, who tagged the bag and fired to second. Lance Berkman ran into the tag, and past the base, and Cervelli struck out to end the inning. Berkman, who said he was trying to get in the way of Lowell’s throw, said Buchholz had a lot of late movement on his pitches. “As a hitter, it’s really tough when you see a ball in a certain spot and you go to swing at it and it ends up being a couple inches lower than you thought it was,” Berkman said. He added, “In the National League, we always say, ‘Hey, if we get three runs off a tough pitcher, off the other team’s ace, then that’s all you can expect.’ The guy’s E.R.A. is 2.71. We got three runs off the guy.” The Yankees drew to within one run in the fifth, with the score 4-3, on a single by Alex Rodriguez, but the Red Sox roared back in the top of the sixth. Lowell — hitting seventh, by the way — poked a one-out single and jogged home when Kalish hammered the first pitch into the Yankees’ bullpen. “Every time we come here and play, we have to play our best ball to beat these guys,” Buchholz said, “and we played pretty well tonight.” INSIDE PITCH With his first-inning single, Derek Jeter tied Babe Ruth with 2,873 career hits. ... The Yankees expect to map out a plan Saturday for Andy Pettitte, who threw off a pitching rubber for the first time since straining his left groin July 18. Pettitte is expected to throw at least another bullpen session before starting a minor league rehabilitation assignment. Dustin Moseley should make two more turns in the rotation, including Monday against Boston and Saturday in Kansas City, before Pettitte is ready to regain his rotation spot. ... As long as Alfredo Aceves comes through his bullpen session Saturday without discomfort, he is scheduled to pitch Tuesday night for Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, after missing three months with a lower back injury.

Baseball
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Vazquez Javier


In United-Continental Deal, a Coast-to-Coast Behemoth

Abstract: Jeffery A. Smisek has held the top job at Continental Airlines for just five months — long enough to show he is not going to follow quietly in the steps of his predecessors. Already, he has started charging for exit-row seats, eliminated Continental’s free food on domestic flights and quickly matched a bag fee increase that Delta Air Lines introduced. He has also criticized as “inane” the new federal rule imposing fines for tarmac delays of more than three hours and compared Continental’s previous membership in the SkyTeam alliance, where Delta Air Lines was the dominant carrier, as “a lot like being married to a woman who wants to poison your food.” If there was any doubt, Mr. Smisek, 55, put it to rest on Monday when he shared the stage of a Midtown Manhattan hotel with Glenn F. Tilton , the chairman of United Airlines , to announce United’s purchase of Continental. The announcement capped an expedited courtship with a long history. Continental and United were hours away from merging two years ago, but Continental walked away from that deal after seeing the weak state of United’s finances, particularly amid soaring oil prices. The fundamentals are different this time. First, United’s fortunes have begun to turn around after deep cost and capacity cuts. And as the economy starts to improve, airlines are eager to position themselves for a rebound in air travel, particularly from lucrative business travelers . So when Mr. Smisek saw reports that United was in talks to merge with US Airways in early April, he said he took just two days to make up his mind. Unwilling to let Continental be marginalized, he called Mr. Tilton and renewed talks with United, nudging US Airways out of the way. Three weeks later, they had a deal. He will be the combined airline’s chief executive, and take over the chairman role in two years from Mr. Tilton. “I recognized that United was the best partner for Continental, and I didn’t want to marry the ugly girl; I wanted to marry the pretty one,” Mr. Smisek said. The combination of United and Continental creates a coast-to-coast giant, with 10 national hubs, including a leading presence in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles . It also merges United’s strong routes to Asia with Continental’s extended network in Latin America and Europe . The airline would replace Delta as the world’s top carrier. Still, the risks of a tie-up are significant. Since Gordon M. Bethune revived Continental’s fortunes in the mid-1990s, the company has thrived on a culture emphasizing customer service and peaceful employee relations. It is a culture Mr. Smisek knows well. He was hired by Mr. Bethune in 1995 as general counsel. Both Mr. Smisek and Mr. Tilton took pains to say that the merger would have “minimal” effects on their front-line employees, with reductions in staff mainly from “retirements, attrition and voluntary programs.” But they said they expected that positions at the Chicago and Houston offices of the two airlines would be cut. Both men insisted that the deal was a “merger of equals,” even though United’s shareholders would end up with 55 percent of the combined company, and Continental’s with 45 percent. The new board will be equally split between the two companies, and include two employee representatives. Philip Baggaley, an airline analyst with Standard & Poor’s, said that Mr. Smisek did not want to let United run away with US Airways. “He quickly judged that the train was leaving the station,” said Mr. Baggaley. “And he was more willing to move aggressively than his predecessors.” One potential snag could be opposition from employees. Unlike the Delta- Northwest transaction, where the airlines agreed to a new seniority list for pilots before the merger, there was not enough time to work out a similar list for United and Continental pilots, given the speed of the talks. “We came together very, very quickly, I think perhaps in an unprecedented abbreviated period of time,” Mr. Tilton said in the joint interview with Mr. Smisek on Monday. “Frankly, we were already familiar with each other.” Unions representing Continental and United pilots said Monday that they expected a “fair and equitable” seniority integration of the two groups, and threatened to oppose the transaction if a new collective bargaining agreement was not reached. “While there is potential for this transaction to create a truly great airline, there are also risks involved,” the unions said in a joint statement. The airline also needs to secure regulatory approval. Analysts expect a lengthy and complex review, but Mr. Smisek said he did not anticipate problems since the companies had few overlapping domestic routes and did not compete internationally. Through the Star Alliance, United and Continental already cooperate on foreign routes and have antitrust immunity on trans-Atlantic flights. “From an antitrust perspective, I don’t think there is any other airline merger with less concerns,” Mr. Smisek said in an interview. Mr. Tilton, too, gets what he wanted. Since taking the top position at United Airlines in 2002 after more than three decades in the oil business, Mr. Tilton has been ridiculed by many of his peers, scorned by employees, including flight attendants wearing orange bracelets proclaiming “Glenn Must Go,” and was described as “clueless” by Mr. Bethune in 2002, who at the time was also lobbying against United’s bid for a federal bailout. But Mr. Tilton is now close to the goal he set when joining United: return the company to profitability and merge it with another airline. United is not profitable yet. But it reported narrower losses than analysts expected last week and is expected to turn a profit this year. “The industry and the pundits totally underestimated Glenn,” said Mo Garfinkle, a veteran airline consultant who is close to Mr. Tilton and United.

Mergers and Acquisitions
United Airlines
Continental Airlines


A Leader in China Reappears in Public

Abstract: BEIJING — China ’s next designated leader, Xi Jinping, reappeared in public on Saturday, two weeks after mysteriously disappearing from view. Mr. Xi, 59, was shown in photographs , posted on the Web site of the official Xinhua news agency, as he walked through the campus of China Agriculture University in Beijing for National Science Popularization Day. One of the photographs was accompanied by a brief caption saying that he would attend activities at the university on Saturday. Mr. Xi, whose health had been called into question, looked fit, dressed in dark slacks, an open-collar white dress shirt and a dark jacket — the unofficial uniform of Communist Party officials out on inspection. He was flanked by several other officials in similar clothing. It was the first time that Mr. Xi had been seen in public since he gave a speech on Sept. 1 to students at a party indoctrination school that he runs. Since then, he had canceled at least two meetings with foreign dignitaries and was conspicuously absent from evening newscasts or party-run newspapers, which usually give detailed accounts of the activities of top leaders. The report on Saturday did not mention any of this, part of a policy of not commenting on the health of leaders. Over the past week, government spokespeople have consistently refused to address the issue. His absence set off discussion among Chinese and foreign observers about his fate. When he failed to meet Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton 10 days ago, diplomats were told he had a bad back. Variations of this story soon circulated, including that he had slipped at a swimming pool. But Chinese observers with ties to the leadership began to hear that his condition was more serious. One rumor had it that he had suffered a mild heart attack, or a stroke, and was undergoing physical therapy. Saturday’s photograph showed no evidence of facial paralysis, with Mr. Xi’s lips pursed in his customary fashion and his eyes alert. Like most Chinese leaders, his hair appeared dyed and was slicked back. Other not necessarily contradictory versions seeking to explain his absence said that he was in political difficulty after a contentious meeting of senior leaders at a resort in August. Mr. Xi is expected to take over as head of the Communist Party at an important congress, held just once every five years. He is to take over from the departing party secretary, Hu Jintao, part of a broad transition of power affecting almost all senior positions in the party and government.

Xi Jinping
Communist Party of China
China


Chicago Police Commander Acquitted in Gun-in-Mouth Case

Abstract: CHICAGO — A Chicago police commander accused of sticking a gun in a suspect’s mouth, holding a Taser to his groin and threatening to kill him was acquitted of felony charges on Monday by a circuit court judge. Judge Diane Gordon Cannon of the Cook County Circuit Court, who presided over the bench trial, found the commander, Glenn Evans, not guilty of aggravated battery and official misconduct. His lawyers and the judge questioned the reliability of his accuser as well as the quality of the evidence. The police have faced heightened scrutiny over the use of force as city leaders seek to stem a tide of distrust and protests. In the last month, a Chicago officer has been charged with first-degree murder ; the police superintendent has resigned ; the Justice Department has started an investigation of Chicago police practices; and demonstrators have repeatedly called for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to leave office . Commander Evans, 53, was charged in August 2014. Lauren Freeman, a prosecutor, said in her closing statement that officers had to be held accountable when they acted wrongly, and that Commander Evans “became as much a criminal as any thug on the street.” Ms. Freeman also acknowledged the accuser Rickey Williams’s criminal record, but said that should not discount his story. “He’s a human being, he’s not a rabid dog,” she said. “He matters.” As prosecutors told it, Commander Evans encountered Mr. Williams on a January afternoon in 2013, and chased him on foot after radioing that he had seen a gun in Mr. Williams’s hand. Commander Evans and other officers caught up to Mr. Williams in a nearby house and found him hiding in a closet. At that point, prosecutors said, the commander placed his gun in Mr. Williams’s mouth, pressed a Taser to his groin and threatened to kill him if he did not reveal where he had stashed his weapon. Prosecutors noted that Mr. Williams’s DNA was later found on the commander’s gun. Three police officers at the scene backed up the commander’s version of events, and said Mr. Williams had not been abused. Commander Evans’s lawyers hinged much of their defense on critiques of the city’s Independent Police Review Authority , which they said had conducted a shoddy investigation aimed at taking down the commander rather than finding the truth. The review authority, which referred the case to prosecutors, has been criticized by protesters for rarely faulting officers after shootings or citizen complaints of excessive force. The agency’s leader resigned this month. Laura Morask, one of Commander Evans’s lawyers, called the review board “inept, corrupt and at times comically laughable,” and said its investigation was “incredibly, horribly flawed.” “The display that we saw over the last few days is nothing short of disgusting, and it should be condemned,” she said last week of the state’s case, which presented many of the review board’s findings as evidence. After the hearing, Commander Evans left the courtroom and walked to a staircase with reporters and police officers. At one point in the stairwell, he pointed to a reporter and called him “disgusting.” At another point, Commander Evans, who is black, said, “They think all black people are criminals, they think all cops are corrupt,” but it was not clear whom he was referring to. Ms. Morask said that her client was “extremely happy” with the verdict, but that she did not know whether Commander Evans, who she said was eligible for retirement, would return to active duty. She said he was “one of the most effective police officers” in the city and had spent his career “getting rid of crime and gangs.” But Stephan Blandin, a lawyer for Mr. Williams, criticized the verdict and said the judge “went out of her way in this case to give every benefit of the doubt” to the commander. “How do you ignore DNA evidence?” he said. Anita Alvarez, the Cook County state’s attorney, said in a statement that she stood “strongly behind the decision” to bring charges against Commander Evans. Up for re-election next year, she has been criticized by protesters who see her as slow to act on issues of police misconduct. “This case underscores the reality that it is extremely difficult to convince judges or juries in Cook County and around the country to convict police officers of misconduct in the line of duty, despite the fact that this victim made an immediate outcry and we had DNA evidence to support our case,” Ms. Alvarez said. In another case that has stirred tensions here, Judge Matthew F. Kennelly of United States District Court found Monday that a police employee had used “brute force” to remove Philip Coleman from a cell in 2012 and that a sergeant who was watching failed to intervene. City officials released footage of a Taser being used repeatedly on Mr. Coleman, who was black, and then dragging him from the cell. Mr. Coleman, whose family said he was suffering a mental health emergency, later died. Judge Kennelly said a jury would determine damages.

Police Brutality,Police Misconduct,Police Shootings