Costa Rica Learn Jaguars Need a Smooth Commute

Abstract: LAS LOMAS, Costa Rica — Héctor Porras-Valverdo tried to adopt a Zen attitude when he discovered recently that jaguars had turned two of his cows into carcasses. The jaguars’ numbers may have dwindled, but they still roam the forests here in eastern Costa Rica , making their presence known by devouring the occasional chicken, pig or cow. “I understand cats do this because they need to survive,” said Mr. Porras-Valverdo, 41, a burly dairy farmer. A few years ago, he acknowledged, his first reaction might have been to reach for a gun. But his farm now sits in the middle of land that Costa Rica has designated a “jaguar corridor” — a protected pathway that allows the stealthy, nocturnal animals to safely traverse areas of human civilization. In the past few years, such corridors have been created in Africa, Asia and the Americas to help animals cope with 21st-century threats, from encroaching highways and malls to climate change . These pathways represent an important shift in conservation strategy. Like many other nations, Costa Rica has traditionally tried to protect large mammal species like jaguars by creating sanctuaries — buying up land and giving threatened animals a home where they can safely eat, fight and breed to eternity. But in the past decade or so, scientists have realized that connecting corridors are needed because many species rely for survival on the migration of a few animals from one region to another, to intermix gene pools and to repopulate areas devastated by natural disasters or disease. Placing animals in isolated preserves, studies have found, decreases diversity and risks dulling down a species — like preventing New Yorkers and Californians from getting together to procreate. “It was kind of an epiphany,” said Alan Rabinowitz, a zoologist who is president of Panthera , an organization that studies and promotes conservation of large cats. “We were giving them nice land to live on when what they were doing — and what they needed — was an underground railway.” He said critical migration routes were especially vulnerable in rapidly developing countries, where new roads, shopping malls, dams, playgrounds and subdivisions could spring up overnight, blocking the animals’ passage. To correct this oversight, Costa Rica and other countries have begun identifying and protecting corridors for jaguars and other large mammals, like tigers, snow leopards and pandas. Most of the corridors are not obviously demarcated pathways, but virtual trails, “protected” in the sense that builders and planners are not permitted to introduce obstacles to the animals’ movements through the area. The idea is not to stop building entirely, but to adjust development so that animals can move through landscapes that humans also occupy. A tall fence surrounding a shopping mall may be forbidden, for example, or a two-lane road may have to be substituted for a proposed four-lane highway. Local residents must also be persuaded not to shoot wild intruders or otherwise drive them away when they are in transit, a shift in thinking that is already taking root here. “Of course jaguars sometimes have conflicts with communities, but now people have been educated to change their thinking — not to see them as so dangerous,” said Víctor Fallas Ramírez, an agronomist who grows ornamental plants here. The threat of global warming has added to the urgency of creating corridors because animals will need to shift habitats as temperatures rise from climate change. “This is an idea that people are finding very compelling, and especially compelling now because with changing climate, species will need the capacity to move,” said Norman Christensen , a professor of ecology at Duke University, whose team is working to define corridors in Central America, India and Africa. While Dr. Christensen called Costa Rica “the poster child” for its efforts, he said corridors for large mammals were also being created in places like Uganda and China. The World Bank is financing corridor projects in Brazil and Peru ; more important, the bank’s transportation planners are working with conservationists to ensure that building highways and laying train tracks so humans can move freely does not destroy that movement for animals, Dr. Christensen said. Part of the reason that conservationists had in the past focused exclusively on preserves was that there was a lack of good data on the travel and breeding patterns of large animals like jaguars; these big predators favor dense jungles and are nocturnal and extraordinarily shy. So when new techniques allowed scientists to take a first look at the jaguar genome a decade ago, they were shocked to discover that jaguars from the northern reaches of Mexico had exactly the same genetic makeup as those from the southern tip of South America. That meant that over time, some jaguars were moving up and down the Americas to breed; otherwise, the isolation of jaguar populations in different regions would have caused their genetic makeups to diverge. At least some males from Colombia were traveling to Panama to mate, and others were moving from Mexico to Belize. “It was surprising, but it seemed to say they had one continuous habitat,” said Dr. Rabinowitz, the zoologist. Scientists were convinced that jaguars would never cross a water barrier as wide as the Panama Canal, smack in the middle of their extended habitat. But when they set up cameras to spot jaguars near the canal, they discovered that, every so often, a brave animal took the plunge, ensuring the continuity of genes in the north and south. Costa Rica now requires developers to consider whether a new construction project would interrupt an essential corridor, or else to make other arrangements for jaguars to travel safely through the area. The fact that jaguars and other large cat species travel at night and do not hunt when they are on the move makes it easier for them to co-exist with humans. “The bottom line is big cats can live with people,” Dr. Rabinowitz said. “That’s not true of all animals.” He continued, “The problem with the paradigm of conservation is it’s been seen as a confrontation between nature and development, that won’t let progress happen.” In Costa Rica, Panthera is conducting research to better define the routes taken by jaguars and lobbying politicians and developers to respect them. The organization also sponsors community outreach programs to resolve what the researchers term “jaguar conflict issues.” “Many places don’t want the corridors,” said Roberto Salom, Panthera’s regional coordinator here. “We’ve made alliances with lots of leaders and educators, but it’s a very slow process.” Here in the jungles of Central America, jaguars are regarded as mystical and dangerous. According to local legend, indigenous people turn into jaguars when they enter the jungle, and then shake off their spots when they return to the village. “I’ve seen the tracks, but never an animal,” said Enoc Bajo Chiripó, an indigenous leader who is working with the group. “But you can smell when they’re around.” Families in the region tell jaguar stories the way New Yorkers talk about their families’ arrivals at Ellis Island. “My grandmother saw it at the place where agouti and peccaries come to eat,” said Jordi Ortiz-Camacho, 12, speaking of a jaguar. “My grandfather killed it with a stick because his gun didn’t work.” While local farmers are now willing to forgive a dead cow or two to allow jaguars to survive as a species, they are often reluctant to make larger sacrifices. Just outside Las Lomas, a proposed hydroelectric project would involve building a huge dam across a valley, creating a body of water a third of a mile wide and more than three miles long. As planned, it would block a jaguar corridor. The new project will mean jobs, an increase in property values and improved basic services for the area, including roads and piped water, said Mr. Fallas Ramírez, the agronomist. And the community, he said, cannot just forsake all that. “For us, and the jaguars, it’s just an obstacle,” said Mr. Salom, the biologist, who is looking into alternative solutions, like an animal bridge or a smaller dam. “So we’re thinking, ‘How can we mitigate this?’ ”

Jaguars
Endangered and Extinct Species
Genetics and Heredity
Rabinowitz Alan
Costa Rica
Central America
South America


More Emergency Room Visits Linked to Energy Drinks, Report Says

Abstract: A rising number of patients, many of them young people, are being treated in emergency rooms for complications related to highly caffeinated energy drinks like Red Bull, Monster Energy and 5-Hour Energy, new federal data shows . The number of annual hospital visits involving the drinks doubled from 2007 to 2011, the latest year for which data are available, according to a report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In 2011, there were 20,783 reported emergency room visits in which an energy drink was cited as the primary cause of or a contributing factor to a health problem, compared with 10,068 in 2007. Such problems, which are typically linked to excessive caffeine consumption, can include anxiety, headaches, irregular heartbeats and heart attacks. The energy drink industry, which had estimated sales last year of more than $10 billion, has come under increasing scrutiny after recent disclosures that the Food and Drug Administration has received numerous reports of deaths and injuries in which the drinks were mentioned. A product’s mention in an F.D.A. report does not mean it played a role in a death or an injury, and energy drink producers insist that their beverages are safe. The new report, released Thursday, reflects updated statistics gathered through the Drug Abuse Warning Network , a government system to which hospitals report drug-related emergency room visits. Hospital visits related to energy drinks fell slightly from 2008 to 2009, the year at which a previous report ended. But the new data show that such visits rose again in 2010 and reached a record in 2011. Image Highly caffeinated drinks may contribute to anxiety, headaches and a racing pulse. Credit William P. O'Donnell/The New York Times “Consumption of energy drinks is a rising public health problem because medical and behavioral problems can result from excessive caffeine intake,” the report said. “A growing body of scientific evidence documents harmful health effects of energy drinks, particularly for children, adolescents and young adults.” People from 18 to 25 accounted for the largest group of patients by age, the data show. Over all, male patients accounted for about two-thirds of those treated. Energy drink producers market their products to teenagers and young adults with images that extol extreme sports, rock music and scantily clad young women. About 42 percent of the people treated in emergency rooms for problems related to energy drinks had consumed the drinks along with alcohol or other substances, like Adderall and Ritalin. Both of those drugs, like caffeine, are stimulants. Energy drink producers claim that their proprietary formulations provide consumers with a physical and mental edge. There is little scientific evidence, however, that the drinks provide anything more than a high dose of caffeine similar to that found in a strong cup of coffee. The report also found that a growing number of older patients were experiencing complications from using energy drinks, possibly because of interactions with other medications. “Health professionals can discourage use of energy drinks by explaining that perceived health benefits are largely due to marketing techniques rather than scientific evidence,” the report said.


Past Brought Home by a Single Wing

Abstract: For the past two weeks, George Taliaferro has been happily transported back in time. He has watched Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown take direct snaps, run for touchdowns and pass for a touchdown. Taliaferro, a single-wing star at Indiana University in the 1940s and a versatile two-way N.F.L. player, drifted back to an era when players wore high-tops and leather helmets without face masks. The Dolphins used the so-called Wildcat offense — a twist on the single wing — two weeks ago in a 38-13 victory over the New England Patriots. On Sunday, in a stunning 17-10 victory over San Diego, Miami unfurled a hardnosed defense and a grinding running game that included an occasional shift into the Wildcat. Brown ran for the decisive touchdown off a direct snap. “That took me back to 1945, 1947, 1948,” Taliaferro said Monday from his home in Bloomington, Ind. When Taliaferro watched highlights of Brown’s performances, he turned to his wife, Viola, and said: “You see what this kid is doing? That was the fear of every defensive coordinator when I was in pro football: ‘You got to watch out for Taliaferro. You got to know where he is.’ ” Miami’s two-week winning streak has pulled the glitzy N.F.L. back to its muddy roots, with Brown playing the role of a latter-day Jim Thorpe, Fritz Pollard, Red Grange or Bronko Nagurski. The single wing, introduced by Pop Warner around 1906, begins with a shotgun snap to the running back, who can run, hand off or pass behind an unbalanced line that places two tackles side by side. In the version used by the 2-2 Dolphins, a wingback comes in motion for a potential handoff. The quarterback is split out as a possible receiver. “They call it a Wildcat because you cannot purposely defense it,” Taliaferro said.  The essence of the single wing was — is — the speed, power and athleticism of the tailback. “It’s the element of uncertainty,” Taliaferro said. “The defense couldn’t determine what I was going to do, and whatever they decided was wrong.” Taliaferro was fast, quick and so strong “that people couldn’t hit me solidly.” “And when a guy hit me,” Taliaferro said, “I delivered the blow.” Taliaferro was a freshman star on Indiana’s great team of 1945, when the Hoosiers won their first Big Ten championship and Taliaferro was first-team all-American. He was a running back, quarterback, wide receiver, punter, punt returner, kickoff returner and defensive back. Why did the single wing finally fade from favor? Taliaferro mentioned platooning and specialization. But the physical punishment a tailback endured surely must have played a role. It certainly played a role in accelerating Taliaferro’s exit from college football. He recalled a game against Purdue his junior year to end the season. “I was the only threat, offensively to Purdue in that game, and they just concentrated on me, and when I got out of that game I was absolutely black and blue,” he said. After the game, Taliaferro approached his mother and asked her whether she knew the difference between college and professional football. “She said no,” Taliaferro said, “and I said: ‘You get paid. They can’t beat me up anymore in professional football than they did out there today.’ ” So he then turned pro. Taliaferro became the first African-American taken in the N.F.L. draft when the Bears selected him in the 13th round of the 1949 draft. Instead of making history, Taliaferro honored the contract he had previously signed with the Los Angeles Dons of the All-American Football Conference. He played with the Dons in 1949, then moved to the N.F.L., where he played with the New York Yanks in 1950 and ’51, the Dallas Texans in 1952, the Baltimore Colts in 1953 and ’54, and the Philadelphia Eagles in 1955. In 1953, Taliaferro was forced into action as a T-formation quarterback when all three of the Colts’ quarterbacks were injured. “The coach asked me if I could play quarterback from the T-formation,” Taliaferro said. “I told him, ‘White people are the ones who said blacks couldn’t play quarterback; that ain’t nothing but another position to me.’ ” The attractiveness of the Dolphins’ single-wing interlude is that it takes us back, however briefly, to the playground, the schoolyard and the ideal of the all-around player. All-around players are rare in an era of specialization. The all-around player, the two-way player, defined Taliaferro’s era.  Meanwhile, the Dolphins have forced every team they will face to spend an extra two hours preparing for the ghosts of Thorpe and Pollard, Grange and Nagurski. The hip, with-it, ever-ahead-of-the-curve N.F.L. saw two of its glamour teams befuddled by a formation that is more than 100 years old. “They can’t call it the single wing,” Taliaferro said, joking. “That would be regressive.” At 81, he can only laugh: The more things change. ...


A Gene by Any Other Name

Abstract: Q. WHAT IS THE LOGIC IN NAMING HUMAN GENES? THE NUMBER-LETTER COMBINATIONS SEEM ABSTRACT AND HARD TO REMEMBER. A. Standard gene names and symbols are combinations of function, history and expediency, said Chris Gunter, the associate director of research at the Marcus Autism Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and the Emory University School of Medicine. “For many well-known genes, the names are long and descriptive, such as mitogen-activated protein kinase 1, or epidermal growth factor receptor,” said Dr. Gunter, a former member of the Human Genome Organization gene nomenclature committee. So “we give all human genes three-to-five-letter symbols for easier reference, resulting in MAPK1 and EGFR.” The guidelines are detailed at genenames.org/hgnc-guidelines. Genes that were discovered early or described first in other species generally have these more illustrative names, she said. The community of scientists that studies the fruit fly Drosophila is particularly known for colorful gene names. For example, when mutated, the “tinman” gene produces fly embryos that have no hearts. Sadly, the human equivalent of the tinman gene was named after the mouse version instead. “It had been picked up in a screen for a number of related genes by two scientists named Nirenberg and Kim, and given the name NK2 homeobox 5, with the symbol NKX2.5,” Dr. Gunter said. “With the arrival of the human genome sequence, we discovered quite a number of genes that we’ve not had time to study the function of yet,” she said. “These have been assigned placeholder symbols and even less imaginative names for now, like ‘chromosome 2 open reading frame 50,’ or C2orf50.” C. CLAIBORNE RAY question@nytimes.com


Hezbollah Station Identifies 10 Supposed C.I.A. Officers

Abstract: WASHINGTON — The militant group Hezbollah has stepped up a public campaign against the Central Intelligence Agency in Lebanon , using a television broadcast to name 10 people who it said were C.I.A. officers who worked from the American Embassy in Beirut in recent years. The report Friday on Al Manar, Hezbollah’s television channel, was the latest in a series of claims from Hezbollah and the Iranian government, its main sponsor, to have unraveled a web of C.I.A. informants and officers in Iran and Lebanon. American officials have confirmed that there have been setbacks in both countries, though they have not been willing to discuss the details. The Manar report used animation to portray supposed meetings between the C.I.A. officers and their Lebanese agents at fast-food outlets in Beirut, including Pizza Hut and Starbucks. Most C.I.A. officers, including those in Lebanon, pose as diplomats, though their true work is often identified by competing espionage services. When an undercover intelligence officer is publicly identified, it can be difficult or impossible for the officer to work again in a covert role overseas, for fear of compromising any informants the officer might recruit. A C.I.A spokeswoman, Jennifer Youngblood, declined to confirm or deny whether the names broadcast by Al Manar were in fact those of C.I.A. employees. “The agency does not, as a rule, address spurious claims from terrorist groups,” she said. “I think it’s worth remembering that Hezbollah is a dangerous organization, with Al Manar as its propaganda arm. That fact alone should cast some doubt on the credibility of the group’s claims.” Hezbollah and the C.I.A. have been bitter foes since the 1980s, when the group was blamed for a 1983 bombing of the United States Embassy in Beirut that killed eight C.I.A. employees and the 1985 kidnapping and murder of William Frances Buckley, the Beirut station chief. Hezbollah was also accused of the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 Americans. An American official who would speak of classified intelligence matters only on condition of anonymity said Hezbollah had killed more Americans than any terrorist group except Al Qaeda. The official complained that “repeating Hezbollah’s claims does nothing but serve that group’s interests” but did not deny that the agency had suffered losses in Lebanon. The official added: “No one is giving up against Hezbollah.” The Manar report said the 10 C.I.A. officers included some women and had recruited spies to provide information on Hezbollah’s fighters and officials. “The C.I.A. officers were active in recruiting agents from various segments of the Lebanese society: government employees, security and military personnel, religious, banking and academic figures,” the report said. Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, bragged last June on the same television station that he had exposed at least two C.I.A. spies who had penetrated the militant group. That was among the first public hints of the agency’s troubles there.

Diplomatic Service Embassies and Consulates


One of Accused Officers Testifies in Rape Trial

Abstract: A New York police officer charged with rape took the stand in his own defense on Friday and for the first time publicly offered his account of what happened the night he and his partner assisted a drunken woman into her East Village apartment. The woman was drunk, maybe stumbling a bit, Officer Franklin Mata testified in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, but she could walk on her own. She engaged in conversation, built a rapport with his partner, Officer Kenneth Moreno , and even flirted. She asked them to come back and check on her throughout the night. His account of the events of that night in December 2008 is in stark contrast to the portrait the woman painted. She testified in mid-April that she had been too drunk to remember much of the night, that she had passed out in her own vomit in the back of a taxi and had awakened to the sensations of one of the officers rolling down her tights and raping her while she lay facedown and dazed on her bed. Both officers are on trial for rape, though prosecutors contend that it was only Officer Moreno who sexually assaulted the woman. “We weren’t doing anything wrong,” said Officer Mata, 29, who was mostly still and soft-spoken, though he occasionally raised his eyebrows and his voice when trying to emphasize a point or expressing incredulity at questions that the prosecutor asked him. The prosecutor, Coleen Balbert, was aggressive and sounded equally incredulous at some of his answers. She shouted into the microphone that the officers’ actual motivation for returning repeatedly to the woman’s apartment was for Officer Moreno to “go back to have sex with her, isn’t that right?” “Absolutely not,” said Officer Mata, curling his eyebrows. “It was because he wanted to go back there and you were helping him do it,” she shot back. “No,” Officer Mata said. Officer Mata testified that they received a call shortly after 1 a.m. on Dec. 7, 2008, to help a drunken woman in the back of a taxi. When they arrived, he said, the taxi driver told them that he wanted the woman out of his cab, not that she was unable to get out, as she testified. Ms. Balbert argued with Officer Mata over that point, a crucial issue because the prosecution is trying to prove that the woman was so drunk that she was unable to consent to sex. Officer Mata said that he did not see or smell any vomit on the woman, and that before they escorted her into the apartment, she was actually standing behind the taxi for a few moments. She walked up five flights of stairs under her own power, he said. After she entered the apartment, the door closed behind her with her keys still in the lock, he testified. The two officers went in to give her the keys, leading to the start of a dialogue between Officer Moreno and her, Officer Mata said. “Ken was telling her about his past drinking problem and about how he had a drinking problem at one point and he was fighting for custody of his daughter and he had to make a decision to stop drinking,” Officer Mata said. “Their conversation seemed very friendly, even a little flirty at times,” he added. Officer Mata said the woman gave them her keys and asked them to return to check on her. The officers returned three times. In one instance, they returned after responding to a 911 call for a homeless person at a neighboring address — a call that Officer Mata conceded had been made by Officer Moreno, though Officer Mata said he did not know that at the time. Ms. Balbert questioned why they made the return trips, asking, “Are you a part of the Department of Social Services that does checks on people in their apartment?” “No, I am not,” Officer Mata responded. During their visits, Officer Moreno and the woman talked in the bathroom most of the time, Officer Mata said, while he sat on the sofa in the living room and watched television or napped. Ms. Balbert asked Officer Mata why they were going to check on the woman if he believed that she could still walk and talk and did not need an ambulance. “Ken was more concerned about her emotional state than he was about her physical state,” Officer Mata said. Is the jury supposed to believe, Ms. Balbert asked, that a woman who was in the bathroom every time they returned to her apartment had the capacity to build a relationship with the officer? “Correct,” Officer Mata said. “She was O.K. She was conscious.”

Mata Franklin L
Moreno Kenneth
Sex Crimes
Police Department (NYC)


Markets Mixed After Fed’s Rate Decision

Abstract: Stocks ended mixed but mostly higher Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said the economy was on the mend. Bond prices fell, however, after the Fed said it would not step up its spending to purchase Treasuries and other debt to lower interest rates. The central bank’s decision Wednesday to leave its main lending rate at a low of zero to 0.25 percent was not a surprise, but some investors have been hoping the central bank would do more to revive the economy. Others wanted it to more clearly lay out how it would keep inflation in check. “The Fed is still stuck on that tightrope of trying to make sure they provide enough reassurance to keep the recovery going but at the same time try to allay the concern that they won’t allow inflation to get going either,” said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank in Cleveland. In the economic assessment statement accompanying its rate decision, the Fed said the economy’s rate of decline appeared to be slowing. It noted that consumer spending had shown further signs of stabilizing although job losses, shrinking wealth and tight credit remained problems. Policy makers noted that energy and other commodities prices had risen, although they said “substantial resource slack” would probably rein in cost pressures and that inflation would “remain subdued for some time.” The Fed also did not say it would increase its purchases of Treasuries or other kinds of government debt, disappointing some investors who had hoped for more. The Fed has said it will buy $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities and $300 billion in Treasuries to stimulate the economy by keeping borrowing rates low. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 23.05 points, or 0.3 percent, to 8,299.86. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index rose 5.84, or 0.7 percent, to 900.94, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 27.42, or 1.6 percent, to 1,792.34. The Treasury’s benchmark 10-year note fell 17/32, to 95 12/32, and the yield, which moves in the opposite direction from the price, rose to 3.69 percent, from 3.62 percent Tuesday. Stocks were sharply higher early in the day after a surprise jump in orders for big-ticket manufactured items. In corporate news, Oracle’ s results, released late Tuesday for its most recent quarter, exceeded analysts’ average forecast. The company’s shares gained $1.39, or 7 percent, to $21.26, helping the tech-heavy Nasdaq. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies. Gold prices rose. Following are the results of Wednesday’s Treasury auction of five-year notes:

Stocks and Bonds
United States Economy
Dow Jones Stock Average


Former Finnish President Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Abstract: LONDON — Former President Martti Ahtisaari of Finland , who has worked to end conflicts in troubled spots around the world for more than three decades, won the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. In its announcement, the Norwegian Nobel Committee called Mr. Ahtisaari “an outstanding international mediator” whose efforts “have contributed to a more peaceful world and to ‘fraternity between nations’ in Alfred Nobel’s spirit.” Mr. Ahtisaari’s work — as a Finnish diplomat, a United Nations envoy and the representative of various negotiating groups — has taken him to Namibia, Kosovo, Indonesia and Northern Ireland, among other places. He has led humanitarian missions, presided over contentious talks between sworn enemies and helped resolve disputes involving delicate matters of ethnicity, religion and race. Mr. Ahtisaari has said that the highlight of his career may well be his work over 13 years in helping Namibia make the transition to independence after years of violent conflict with South Africa. But he has done much more. His work in the former Yugoslavia during the war of the late 1990s, and then in 2005-07, helped work toward a solution of the question of Kosovo’s future. As the head of his own organization, Crisis Management Initiative, he organized unpublicized meetings earlier this year in Finland between Iraqi Sunni and Shiite Muslims. His work in 2005 set the stage for a peace agreement between separatists in Aceh Province and the Indonesian government, after years of bitterness and fighting. “This is wonderful news,” Muhammad Nazar, a former rebel leader who is now the acting governor of Aceh, said in a statement. He credited Mr. Ahtisaari with “bringing an end to 30 years of violence and conflict.” To outsiders, Mr. Ahtisaari, 71, a portly man who is stiff with rheumatism, can seem undemonstrative and aloof. But Gareth Evans, president of the International Crisis Group — of which Mr. Ahtisaari was chairman from 2000 to 2004 — called him “a brilliant negotiator and mediator, with a tremendously effective personal style that combines charm and good humor with an iron determination.” In a book published by the Brookings Institution, Mr. Evans wrote that Mr. Ahtisaari “combines, to great effect, immense personal charm with a tough, no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to conducting negotiations.” The book quotes one of the negotiators in the Aceh conflict as saying: “His method was really extraordinary. He said, ‘Do you want to win, or do you want peace?’ ” Former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright said in an interview that she could not “think of a prize that is more richly deserved.” Mr. Ahtisaari’s role in Kosovo, she said, far exceeded his appointment in 2005 to represent the United Nations in “final status” talks to determine the future of what was then a Serbian province. She said he was also deeply involved in the region during the 1996-99 Kosovo War. “He was part of a whole set of diplomatic maneuvers we had during the war itself, in terms of trying to sort out how to deal with the Russians and a host of issues to do with carrying out the actual ending of the war,” she recalled. As special envoy of the United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, to Kosovo from 2005 to 2007, Mr. Ahtisaari presided over contentious talks. When they bogged down, he devised his own settlement proposal under which Kosovo would have independent status overseen by international institutions. The proposal was stymied by Russia in the Security Council and ultimately overshadowed by Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence in February. Kosovo has since been recognized as an independent nation by the United States and most European countries, but still not by Russia or Serbia. Ms. Albright said Mr. Ahtisaari had been instrumental in creating “a glide path” toward a final resolution that underpins Kosovo’s independence. “When I talked to him just last week, he thought things were moving in the right direction,” she said. “He has done a remarkable job.” Mr. Ahtisaari, whose name was selected from a list of 197 nominees, told a Finnish television station that he was “very pleased and grateful” at receiving the prize, which is worth $1.4 million and is to be awarded in a ceremony in Oslo on Dec. 10. “I hope this will bring positive attention to Finland, and that it tells about our society and what is important to us,” he said. Mr. Ahtisaari was born in Viipuri, Finland, which is now part of Russia, in 1937. Multilingual — he speaks English, French, German and Swedish, as well as Finnish — he worked as a primary school teacher before becoming a diplomat in 1965, focusing on international development and then becoming the Finnish ambassador to Tanzania. He worked as United Nations commissioner for Namibia from 1977 to 1981 and served on and off in the region through 1991. As the special representative in charge of the United Nations Transition Assistance Group, or Untag, he helped smooth along Namibia’s transition to independence. For his efforts, Mr. Ahtisaari was named an honorary citizen of Namibia and was honored in South Africa for “his outstanding achievement as a diplomat and commitment to the cause of freedom in Africa and peace in the world.” Mr. Ahtisaari also served as president of Finland from 1994 to 2000. Nobel Peace Prizes have been won in recent years by people whose work is less traditionally peacemaking, but can be seen to have broadly contributed to world peace. Former Vice President Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations body, won last year. Recent prizes have also gone to a Kenyan environmentalist, Wangari Maathai, and to the Bangladeshi “banker to the poor,” Muhammad Yunus. Stein Toennesson, director of International Peace Research Institute in Oslo, praised the decision to return to a more traditional candidate. “It’s important to make clear to the world that this prize is a peace prize and not just a prize for doing good,” Mr. Toennesson said. “For several years the committee has widened the prize. They have not always provided a good enough justification for doing it, and they’ve done it too often.” When he was a child, Mr. Ahtisaari’s home region was swallowed by the Soviet Union, and he and his family had to move from place to place before finally settling in a strange community. He said that experience had given him a lifelong sympathy for the “eternally displaced” and a “desire to advance peace and thus help others who have gone through similar experiences.” In an interview on Friday that was published on the Nobel Foundation’s Web site, Mr. Ahtisaari said that the international community should not allow conflicts “to become frozen” or intractable. “Every conflict can be solved,” he said.

Ahtisaari Martti
Nobel Prizes
Finland
Awards Decorations and Honors
International Relations
Arbitration Conciliation and Mediation


Icahn Buys a Stake in Chesapeake Energy

Abstract: Carl C. Icahn , the billionaire investor, bought a 7.56 percent stake in the Chesapeake Energy Corporation and demanded a new slate of directors amid growing shareholder concern about the company’s management. Four of Chesapeake’s nine directors should be replaced by candidates nominated by himself and other major investors, Mr. Icahn said Friday in a letter to the company’s board that was included in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Chesapeake, the natural gas producer, lost almost half its market value in the last year as the impact of falling gas prices was compounded by revelations that the chief executive, Aubrey K. McClendon, used personal stakes in the company’s wells to obtain more than $800 million in private loans. The board said on May 1 that it would replace Mr. McClendon with an independent chairman and halt the perk that allowed him to amass personal stakes in Chesapeake property. The company warned this month that it might run out of money next year. Chesapeake is facing a $22 billion shortfall between cash flow and spending by the end of 2013, said James Sullivan, an analyst at Alembic Global Advisors in New York. Mr. Icahn blamed the company’s financial problems on a board that failed to protect shareholder interests. “Rather than act as a source of stability and provide assurance to shareholders, this board has led the company through a highly publicized spate of corporate governance breakdowns while amassing an astounding” funding gap, Mr. Icahn wrote in the letter. He accused Mr. McClendon of “unchecked risk-taking” and accused the board for “halfhearted” efforts to improve governance that he said were intended to let it “skate by for one more year.” Chesapeake’s immediate priority is finding a new chairman, the company said in a statement responding to Mr. Icahn’s letter. “After an independent chairman is named, the board’s nominating committee will consult with shareholders and carefully review Mr. Icahn’s request for board representation,” the company said. Stock in Chesapeake, which is based in Oklahoma City, rose 23 cents, to $15.81 a share. The stock has declined 29 percent this year after a 14 percent fall in 2011. The 7.56 percent stake makes Mr. Icahn one of the biggest holders of Chesapeake. Southeastern Asset Management, an investment company based in Memphis, is the largest, with a 13 percent stake. Mr. Icahn said in his letter he recently asked Mr. McClendon to consider allowing direct shareholder representation on the board. The idea was rejected the next day, a move Mr. Icahn described as “completely disingenuous and illogical.” Southeastern Asset Management did not return a phone message seeking comment. “Having the current board select a new chairman without shareholder approval and without allowing for shareholder representation is akin to asking the fox, who has plundered the hen house, to choose another fox to assist it in standing guard over the remaining hens,” Mr. Icahn wrote. Mr. Icahn recommended replacing four of the current directors with two of his nominees and two to be named by another big holder like Southeastern. Mr. Icahn noted that Louis Simpson, a director and former Warren E. Buffett protégé, should not be among the directors dismissed. “This club needs to be broken up. Nobody has been on the side of shareholders,” said Fadel Gheit, an analyst for Oppenheimer & Company. “Carl Icahn is an opportunistic guy. He’s seen an opening and he’s not going to let it go.” Mr. Icahn said this was his second attempt to reform Chesapeake’s board. In 2010, he said he acquired a “substantial position in the company” and used it to persuade management to sell assets, closing a funding shortfall and slowing land purchases. His requests for shareholder representation on the board were rebuffed, and management soon reverted to its former strategy of large land acquisitions and costly drilling programs, Mr. Icahn said in the letter. Frustrated, he sold his Chesapeake stock.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation
Icahn Carl C
Shareholder Rights and Activism
Appointments and Executive Changes


New York Assemblyman Agrees to Plea Bargain on Marijuana Possession Charge

Abstract: A New York State assemblyman from the Hudson Valley who had been charged with marijuana possession has agreed to a plea bargain that will result in the dismissal of the charge if he performs community service and stays out of trouble. The assemblyman, Stephen M. Katz, 59, a Republican from Mohegan Lake, was stopped for speeding on the New York State Thruway in Coeymans, south of Albany, on March 14; a small bag of marijuana was found in his car, the State Police said. On Thursday, a town justice in Coeymans, Philip A. Crandall Sr., agreed to dismiss the charge of unlawful possession of marijuana, but required that Assemblyman Katz complete 20 hours of community service and avoid reoffending. Justice Crandall also reduced Mr. Katz’s speeding ticket — he was cited for driving 80 miles per hour in an area where the speed limit was 65 m.p.h. — to a parking violation that carries a $75 fine. Mr. Katz did not appear in court. His lawyer, Susan Chana Lask, said Mr. Katz, who is a veterinarian, planned to complete his community service by volunteering at an animal shelter. “Everybody wants to take a chomp out of you when you’re in Albany, and something happens and you’re a bad guy,” Ms. Lask said. “He’s not a bad guy. He’s a hard worker for the people, and this story is behind him.” Mr. Katz was first elected in 2010, and represents a district that includes parts of Westchester and Putnam Counties. He remains a member of the Assembly Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, among other legislative panels.

Stephen M Katz
Drug Abuse
Hudson Valley
Marijuana,Pot,Weed
New York
Philip A Crandall Sr
State legislature


Gingrich and Beck Galvanize Conservatives

Abstract: WASHINGTON — Glenn Beck , a hero of the political right and the closing speaker at a conference of political conservatives here, offered a sweeping denunciation of progressivism on Saturday, calling it a cancer that must be cut out of the nation’s political system. Blaming President Obama for the nation’s problems was “too simple an answer,” Mr. Beck, a popular conservative talk show host, told thousands of cheering supporters at the annual meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference . The real problem, he said, is progressivism, scrawling the word with chalk on a portable blackboard, a prop from his television show. “This is the disease in America,” he said. But Mr. Beck aimed his fire at Republicans, too, giving them little quarter and saying he did not know what the party stood for. Mr. Beck, along with Newt Gingrich , the former House speaker who led the Republican revolution in 1994, were among those who championed limited government and lower taxes at the three-day gathering of influential conservatives. Mr. Beck, a recovering alcoholic, drew a parallel to addiction recovery programs and said that the Republican Party had to admit it was in trouble. “Hello, my name is the Republican Party, and I have a problem!” he declared. “I’m addicted to spending and big government,” he said, drawing cheers from the audience in a ballroom of the hotel where the conference was held. But both parties are to blame, he said. The Democrats tax and spend, while the Republicans just spend. He also said people were losing a fundamental belief that things would get better. “It is still morning in America,” he said. “It just happens to be kind of a head-pounding, hung-over, vomiting-for-four-hours kind of morning in America. And it’s shaping up to be kind of a nasty day. But it is still morning in America.” Earlier in the day, Mr. Gingrich called for “principled bipartisanship” at a health care summit next Thursday at the White House with the Democrats — what he called the “secular socialist machine.” Mr. Gingrich made a rock-star-like entrance, wading into the audience to the throbbing beat of the song “Eye of the Tiger,” a searchlight flashing across the crowd as he shook hands with well-wishers. He predicted that the Democrats would lose the House and Senate in November and Mr. Obama would lose in 2012, undone by “the coming massive conservative majority.” He said that the Democratic health care proposals — all 4,500 pages from the House and Senate combined — “are among the worst legislation” ever to emerge from Capitol Hill. Mr. Obama should begin the summit by tossing out those bills and starting from scratch, Mr. Gingrich said, and Republicans should have the same amount of time that Democrats will have to present their views. “Let’s test the president’s willingness to be bipartisan,” he said. Unlike some of the other speakers who addressed the conference, Mr. Gingrich gave little hint of whether he planned to run for president in 2012. He has said that he would make up his mind by next February. Other possible contenders for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, including former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and Representative Ron Paul of Texas, tested their own messages with the attendees. Mr. Paul, who inspired an intense following when he ran for president in 2008, swept the conference’s presidential straw poll. With 31 percent of the nearly 2,400 votes cast, he finished ahead of Mr. Romney, who won the straw poll last year and captured 22 percent of the vote on Saturday. Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska, who did not attend the conference, was third, with 7 percent of the vote, and Mr. Pawlenty received 6 percent. About half of the 10,000 people attending the conference are students, according to the poll. Despite the suspense surrounding the poll, the results have rarely predicted the winner of the Republican nomination.


Technology Devices Either Sell Big or Die Fast

Abstract: Seven weeks after it was put on sale, Hewlett-Packard killed its TouchPad tablet, the company’s competitor to Apple ’s iPad . Last year, Microsoft pulled the plug on its Kin mobile phones only 48 days after they went on sale. In recent years, technology companies have been cutting their losses with increasing speed. Google proudly released Wave, its platform of collaborative work tools, to the general public in May 2010. It canceled Wave 77 days later. Palm announced its first tablet, the Foleo, on May 30, 2007. By Sept. 4, the company halted development and the product was never sold. Pure Digital, maker of the Flip camcorder, had planned to release the Flip-Live on April 13, but Cisco, which had acquired Pure Digital in 2009, shut the entire division on April 12. These days, big technology companies — particularly those in the hypercompetitive smartphone and tablet industries — are starting to resemble Hollywood film studios. Every release needs to be a blockbuster, and the only measure of success is the opening-weekend gross. There is little to no room for the sleeper indie hit that builds good word of mouth to become a solid performer over time. When Microsoft released the Xbox 360 in 2005, there were widespread reliability issues and the console faced serious competition from the Nintendo Wii, yet the company stayed the course, and now the Xbox is one of the best-selling video game consoles of all time. That kind of tenacity seems to be in diminishing supply. Some analysts trace the origin of this blockbuster-or-bust mentality to Apple. Each release of the company’s popular iPads and iPhones crosses over into being a mainstream media event. Al Hilwa, an analyst at the research firm IDC, described the accelerated lifecycle of high-end hardware as “Darwinian.” “There’s a level of desperation from anyone whose name is not Apple,” said Mr. Hilwa. The crush of tech bloggers and Twitter-using early adopters who chronicle every bit of news — good and bad — about new phones and tablets also raises the stakes around how well new products perform in the marketplace. “You know pretty quickly, and in a very public way, whether a product is successful or not,” said Mr. Hilwa. Similar to opening week at the movies, early reviews on the Web panning a new tablet or phone can be disastrous for its makers. “Once you lose momentum, it's hard to regain it,” said Chris Jones, an analyst at Canalys. The rapid life cycles of products can play with the affections of consumers, who may rush out to be the first on their block with a new product, only to find that the manufacturer has canceled any future support or development weeks after it went on sale. Neal LoCurto, the owner of TeamLogic IT, an information technology consulting company in Syosset, N.Y., said he bought his TouchPad the morning it went on sale. “On release day I went to Best Buy that morning and waited at the door,” Mr. LoCurto said. “I was the first one in and the first one out.” Mr. LoCurto, who ultimately grew unhappy with the TouchPad because of the lack of apps, received a refund for his TouchPad, but he says he no longer trusts H.P. “I feel like they lied to us,” Mr. LoCurto said. “They didn’t give it a chance.” Companies kill new products more quickly now because of the higher cost of staying competitive, said Jim McGregor, research director for In-Stat, a market research firm. Quickly pulling the plug on an obvious failure makes sense, although it can be embarrassing. “The life cycles are very short because there is obviously huge competition,” Mr. McGregor said. “Even if you do have a blockbuster, you know you’re going to get leapfrogged in six months. You have to come out with something that really knocks off the pants and then follow it up. You can’t just sit there and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got a success.’ ” In the case of the TouchPad, analysts agree it failed because its operating system, webOS, had few of the apps that made Apple’s iPad a runaway hit, he said. Microsoft’s Kin had a similar problem. Mr. McGregor said that Google TV, Google’s Internet-connected television accessory, faded into obscurity because of content providers declined to make their content available. Google had lined up various manufacturers as partners, including LG, Toshiba and Sharp, only to tell many of them last December to delay the release of their Google TV products . While Google’s strategy for Google TV remains unclear, none of those partners have come out with a Google TV product. “The content is worth more than the device,” said Mr. McGregor. “If you don’t have everything — the content, the applications and the experience — you might as well drop your anchor and jump off the ship.” Even mighty Apple was not always so skilled. Like other companies today, Apple suffered a streak of bad luck with new products more than a decade ago and, like them, it cut its losses. The company killed the Power Mac G4 Cube , a desktop computer, in 2001 after only 11 months because consumers believed the price was too high and balked at having to buy a monitor separately. Two days after announcing it would kill the TouchPad , H.P. started unloading its inventory through a fire sale. The steep discount — 80 percent off the original price — succeeded in setting off a buying frenzy that H.P.’s executives had hoped for when they introduced the device. H.P.’s online store, along with Best Buy, Target and Wal-Mart, quickly ran out of TouchPads after putting them on sale for $100 for the 16G version and $150 for the 32G version. When originally available in July, they were listed at $500 and $600. People strategized on online message boards about how to find a TouchPad. H.P.’s call center was overwhelmed. “All this clamoring for the TouchPad, kind of bittersweet,” H.P.’s customer service arm said in a post on Twitter.

New Models Design and Products
Computers and the Internet
Consumer Behavior
Tablet Computers
Smartphones
iPad
Hewlett-Packard Company
Apple Incorporated
Google Inc
Microsoft Corporation


With Cam Talbot in Net, Rangers Continue Mastery of Flyers at the Garden

Abstract: The Rangers would be thrilled to see the Philadelphia Flyers visit as often as possible. On Wednesday, for the ninth straight time, the Rangers beat the Flyers at Madison Square Garden — this time by 2-0 — on goals by Kevin Klein and Rick Nash. The backup goaltender Cam Talbot made 31 saves. The Rangers have outscored the Flyers over those nine games, 33-9. The Rangers also ousted the Flyers in their first-round playoff series last spring with a 2-1 home victory and went on to reach the Stanley Cup finals. Wednesday’s game did not have the usual vitriol between the longtime rivals — perhaps because fighting is down leaguewide. But the skating and playmaking were crisp, and there were opportunities at both ends. Flyers goaltender Steve Mason was particularly strong, making 32 saves, many of the acrobatic variety. He made outstanding stops on Jesper Fast, John Moore and Mats Zuccarello while keeping his team in the game. Klein, a force from the blue line this season, scored his fourth goal at 5 minutes 10 seconds of the first period, and the Rangers — wearing white at home for a change — were off and running in the fast-paced contest. Klein joined the Rangers in a trade with Nashville last January for his fellow defenseman Michael Del Zotto, who signed with the Flyers last summer and played for the first time against the Rangers. Del Zotto, a first-round draft pick in 2008 who played parts of five up-and-down seasons for the Rangers, was booed each time he touched the puck. Nash made the score 2-0 at 7:43 of the second with a power-play goal, his team-leading 13th goal this season. Tyler Seguin of Dallas has 14 to lead the league. Nash has been a powerhouse, with points in 14 of 19 games. Nash, a 30-year-old left wing, is on pace to easily continue his streak of consecutive 20-goal seasons, which stands at 10. “We have to roll four lines to be successful,” Nash said. “That’s what we did tonight. It was fun to watch. And of course, Cam made some great saves.” Martin St. Louis assisted on the Nash goal and is 4 points from 1,000 in his N.H.L. career. Talbot registered his first shutout and win in his fourth start this season — his first start since Nov. 8, when he lost at Toronto, 5-4. He was 12-6-1 with three shutouts last season as the understudy to Henrik Lundqvist. He punctuated his performance with a glove save on Mark Streit and a smother stop on the Flyers’ leading scorer, Jakub Voracek, in the closing seconds. “We did a great job of really coming out as a group and supporting the puck in our end,” Talbot said. “To be able to come out and provide a big win after what’s been kind of a low stretch for us, it’s pretty big.” The Rangers (8-7-4) improved to 14-4-0 in their last 18 regular-season games against the Flyers (7-8-2). The Rangers have been a team in flux since opening night, when defenseman Dan Boyle broke his hand against St. Louis. They have had to shuffle defensemen in and out of the lineup with Ryan McDonagh out with a separated shoulder and scramble lines with the first-line center Derek Stepan missing the first month with a broken fibula. They have found their game sporadically, and it has become clear that when key rivals appear, so does the Rangers’ best effort. “The only thing I can say is, we know the right way to play,” Coach Alain Vigneault said. “We need to do it with consistency.” The teams meet again for a home-and-home series next week. SLAP SHOTS The Flyers scratched defenseman Luke Schenn and forwards Michael Raffl and Jason Akeson, while the Rangers were without forward Lee Stempniak, who missed the game with lower back stiffness.

Ice hockey
Cam Talbot
Kevin Klein
Michael Del Zotto
Rick Nash
Flyers
Rangers


Events in New Jersey for May 11-17, 2014

Abstract: A guide to cultural and recreational events in New Jersey. Items for the calendar should be sent at least three weeks in advance to njtowns@nytimes.com. Comedy ENGLEWOOD Bergen Performing Arts Center Martin Short. May 16 at 8 p.m. $50 to $100. Bergen Performing Arts Center, 30 North Van Brunt Street. (201) 227-1030l; bergenpac.org. MORRISTOWN Mayo Performing Arts Center Manhattan Comedy Night All Stars, featuring Ted Alexandro, Lynne Koplitz, Darryl Lennox and Modi. May 16 at 8 p.m. $25. Mayo Performing Arts Center, 100 South Street. (973) 539-8008; mayoarts.org. RED BANK Count Basie Theater Jim Breuer. May 16 at 8 p.m. $20 and $25. Count Basie Theater, 99 Monmouth Street. (732) 842-9000; countbasietheatre.org. Film TEANECK Puffin Cultural Forum “Aftermath” (2012), Polish film written and directed by Wladyslaw Pasikowski. May 17 at 8 p.m. $10 suggested donation. Puffin Cultural Forum, 20 Puffin Way. (201) 836-3499; puffinculturalforum.org. For Children MORRISTOWN Mayo Performing Arts Center “Cinderella,” by the New Jersey Ballet, with storyteller narration. May 18 at 1:30 and 4 p.m. $15 to $25. Ages 4 and up. Mayo Performing Arts Center, 100 South Street. (973) 539-8008; mayoarts.org. NEWARK Victoria Theater, New Jersey Performing Arts Center “Stuart Little,” an adaptation presented by the Dallas Children’s Theater. May 17 at 2 p.m. $13 and $22. Victoria Theater, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center Street. (888) 466-5722; njpac.org. Music and Dance ENGLEWOOD Bergen Performing Arts Center Tommy James and the Shondells. May 17 at 8 p.m. $35 to $75. Bergen Performing Arts Center, 30 North Van Brunt Street. (201) 227-1030; bergenpac.org. HOLMDEL PNC Bank Arts Center Dierks Bentley, country. May 18 at 7 p.m. $39.75 to $69. PNC Bank Arts Center, Garden State Parkway, Exit 116. (732) 203-2500; livenation.com. MONTCLAIR Alexander Kasser Theater CoisCeim Dance Theater, “Swimming With My Mother.” Through May 11. $20. Alexander Kasser Theater, 1 Normal Avenue. (973) 655-5112; peakperfs.org. MONTCLAIR Wellmont Theater Dark Star Orchestra, rock. May 15 at 6:30 p.m. $41.50 to $79.75. Wellmont Theater, 5 Seymour Street. wellmonttheatre.com; (973) 783-9500. MORRISTOWN Mayo Performing Arts Center Straight No Chaser, male a cappella group. May 13 at 8 p.m. $39 to $79. Neil Sedaka, pop/rock singer, pianist and composer. May 15 at 8 p.m. $59 to $99. New Jersey Ballet: Ballet on Broadway. May 17 at 8 p.m. $29 to $59. Mayo Performing Arts Center, 100 South Street. (973) 539-8008; mayoarts.org. NEWARK Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart New Jersey Symphony Orchestra presents “Music of Anton Bruckner,” featuring the Archdiocesan Festival and Cathedral Choirs. May 16 at 8 p.m. $20 and $30. Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, 89 Ridge Street. (973) 624-3713; njsymphony.org. NEWARK Prudential Hall, New Jersey Performing Arts Center Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Through May 11. $25 to $89. Moscow Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, with Vladimir Spivakov, violinist, performing a program of Italian Baroque music for strings and other works by Vivaldi, Boccherini, Rossini and Tchaikovsky. May 16 at 8 p.m. $25 to $79. Dick Fox’s Golden Boys: Frankie Avalon, Fabian and Freddie Roman. May 17 at 8 p.m. $39 to $79. New Jersey Symphony Orchestra presents “17th Annual UJA Benefit Concert,” led by Jacques Lacombe and featuring dancers from the Joffrey Ballet Concert Group. May 18 at 3 p.m. $20 to $85. For tickets: (973) 624-3713; njsymphony.org. Prudential Hall, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center Street. (888) 466-5722; njpac.org. PATERSON Lambert Castle Museum William Paterson University Department of Music presents Frank Pavese, faculty member and pianist. May 18 at 5 p.m. $10 and $15. Lambert Castle Museum, 3 Valley Road. (973) 247-0085; lambertcastle.org. PRINCETON Christ Congregation Church Folk music concert with Tom Chapin, singer-songwriter. May 16 at 8:15 p.m. $20. Christ Congregation Church, 50 Walnut Lane. (609) 799-0944; princetonfolk.org. PRINCETON McCarter Theater Center Moscow Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, with Vladimir Spivakov, violinist, performing a program of Italian Baroque music for strings and other works by Vivaldi, Boccherini and Rossini. May 15 at 7:30 p.m. $52 to $75. Straight No Chaser, male a cappella group. May 17 at 8 p.m. $50 and $60. McCarter Theater Center, 91 University Place. (609) 258-2787; mccarter.org. Image ENGLEWOOD The comedian and actor Martin Short performs at the Bergen Performing Arts Center, 30 North Van Brunt Street, on May 16 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $50 to $100. (201) 227-1030; bergenpac.org . Credit Brad Barket/Getty Images PRINCETON Richardson Auditorium, Princeton University Princeton Pro Musica, Handel’s “Israel in Egypt.” May 11 at 3 p.m. $25 to $55. Richardson Auditorium, Princeton University, Nassau Street. (609) 497-0020; princeton.edu. RAHWAY Hamilton Stage Split Level Concerts: Tracy Bonham, alternative rock musician, and Jim Boggia, pop singer-songwriter. May 17 at 8 p.m. $20. Hamilton Stage, 360 Hamilton Street. (732) 499-8226; ucpac.org. RED BANK Count Basie Theater Mother’s Day Soul Jam: the Stylistics, the Manhattans and Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. May 11 at 7 p.m. $45 and $85. Joe Bonamassa, blues-rock. May 12 at 8 p.m. $79 to $125. Get the Led Out: Led Zeppelin tribute concert. May 17 at 8 p.m. $21.50 to $39.50. Count Basie Theater, 99 Monmouth Street. countbasietheatre.org. (732) 842-9000. SOUTH ORANGE Papillon 25 Bossa Brasil, Brazilian jazz group. May 17, 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Free. Papillon 25, 25 Valley Street. (973) 761-5299; papillon25.com. SOUTH ORANGE South Orange Performing Arts Center The Mavericks, country, pop/rock and Americana. May 15 at 7:30 p.m. $60 to $85. Richie Furay with special guest Rusty Young, rock/country. May 17 at 8 p.m. $40 to $225. Youth Orchestras of Essex County Spring Concert, classical. May 18 at 4 p.m. $5 to $50. South Orange Performing Arts Center, 1 Sopac Way. sopacnow.org; (973) 313-2787. STANTON Stanton Reformed Church The 25th Raritan River Music Festival, featuring Laura Gilbert and friends. May 17 at 7:30 p.m. $14 to $21. Stanton Reformed Church, One Stanton Mountain Road. (908) 213-1100; raritanrivermusic.org. SUMMIT Calvary Episcopal Church “Rejoice in the Lamb,” the Masterwork Chorus performing Britten’s “Rejoice in the Lamb,” Vierne’s “Messe Solennelle” and African-American spirituals. May 17 at 8 p.m. $25 and $30. Calvary Episcopal Church, 31 Woodland Avenue. (973) 692-6051; masterwork.org. SUMMIT Christ Church The Jed Levy Quartet performs Mr. Levy’s original composition “The Italian Suite.” May 17 at 8 p.m.; pre-concert talk and meeting with the artists at 7 p.m. $10 and $20. Christ Church, 561 Springfield Avenue. (908) 273-5549. TEANECK Puffin Cultural Forum The Son of Tango, Tribute to Carlos Gardel. May 24 at 8 p.m. $10 suggested donation. Puffin Cultural Forum, 20 Puffin Way. (201) 836-3499; puffinculturalforum.org. Spoken Word EAST ORANGE East Orange Public Library May Cultural Cafe celebrates Malcolm X’s birth with readings by poets Lamont Dixon and Zayid Muhammad. May 15, 6 to 8:30 p.m. Free. East Orange Public Library, 21 South Arlington Avenue. (973) 266-5600; eopl.org. NEW BRUNSWICK Crossroads Theater Glenis Redmond, performance poet. May 22 at 7 p.m. Free. Crossroads Theater, 7 Livingston Avenue. (732) 545-8100; crossroadstheatrecompany.org. Theater CAPE MAY Cape May Stage, The Robert Shackleton Playhouse “The Mountaintop,” by Katori Hall. May 21 through June 13. $15 to $35. Cape May Stage, The Robert Shackleton Playhouse, 405 Lafayette Street. (609) 770-8311; capemaystage.com. CHATHAM Chatham Playhouse “Barnum,” musical by Mark Bramble, Michael Stewart and Cy Coleman. Through May 24. $23 and $25. Chatham Playhouse, 23 North Passaic Avenue. (973) 635-7363; chathamplayers.org. HACKENSACK Hackensack Cultural Arts Center “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” pop-rock musical by Alex Timbers and Michael Friedman. Through May 18. $12 to $18. Hackensack Cultural Arts Center, 39 Broadway. (201) 692-0200; go-tnt.org. HAMMONTON Eagle Theater “Glengarry Glen Ross,” black comedy by David Mamet. Through May 17. $30 and $40. Eagle Theater, 208 Vine Street. (609) 704-5012; theeagletheatre.com. HAMPTON Hunterdon Hills Playhouse “Busybody,” comedy-mystery by Jack Popplewell. Through May 22. $50.50 and $63.50; includes entree and desserts. Hunterdon Hills Playhouse, 88 Route 173 West. hhplayhouse.com; (800) 447-7313. LONG BRANCH New Jersey Repertory Company, Lumia Theater “A View of the Mountains,” drama by Lee Blessing. Through May 24. $35 and $42. New Jersey Repertory Company, Lumia Theater, 179 Broadway. (732) 229-3166; njrep.org. NEW BRUNSWICK George Street Playhouse “Our Town,” by Thornton Wilder. Through May 25. $40 to $67. George Street Playhouse, 9 Livingston Avenue. (732) 246-7717; gsponline.org. Image TEANECK The actor Ireneusz Czop in “Aftermath” (2012), a film written and directed by Wladyslaw Pasikowski about the massacre of Jews in a Polish village in 1941, is at the Puffin Cultural Forum, 20 Puffin Way, on May 17 at 8 p.m. There is a suggested donation of $10. puffinculturalforum.org ; (201) 836-3499. Credit Menemsha Films ORADELL Bergen County Players, Little Firehouse Theater “Ruthless!” musical comedy by Joel Paley and Marvin Laird. Through June 1. $22. Bergen County Players, Little Firehouse Theater, 298 Kinderkamack Road. (201) 261-4200; bcplayers.org. RAHWAY Hamilton Stage “Marry Harry,” musical by Jennifer Robbins, Dan Martin and Michael Biello. Through May 11. $35. Hamilton Stage, 360 Hamilton Street. (732) 499-8226; ucpac.org. RAHWAY Union County Performing Arts Center “Reasons to be Pretty,” comedy written by Neil LaBute, presented by the Mystic Vision Players. Through May 17. $15. Union County Performing Arts Center, 1601 Irving Street. (732) 499-8226; ucpac.org. SOUTH ORANGE The Baird “Into the Woods,” musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine. Through May 18. $15 and $18. The Baird, 5 Mead Street. interactproductions.org. (973) 544-8489. SUMMIT Dreamcatcher Repertory Theater at Oakes Center “Motherhood Out Loud,” featuring the work of 14 playwrights. Through May 11. $30 and $35. Dreamcatcher Repertory Theater at Oakes Center, 120 Morris Avenue. dreamcatcherrep.org; (908) 514-9654. TRENTON Passage Theater “Tamer of Horses,” by William Mastrosimone. May 15 through June 8. $30 and $35. Passage Theater, 205 East Front Street. (609) 392-0766; passagetheatre.org. WEST ORANGE Luna Stage “Marisol,” urban fantasy by José Rivera. Through May 11. $25 to $35. Luna Stage, 555 Valley Road. (973) 395-5551; lunastage.org. Museums and Galleries BOUND BROOK Hamilton Street Gallery “Artists of Bound Brook,” group show. Through May 29. Hamilton Street Gallery, 6 Hamilton Street. hamiltonstreetgallery.com; (732) 748-2092. CLINTON Hunterdon Art Museum “Erin Endicott: Healing Sutras,” works created with thread, stitching and inking vintage fabrics. Through May 11. “Glass! From the Wheaton Arts Museum of American Glass.” Through May 11. $5 suggested donation. Tuesdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hunterdon Art Museum, 7 Lower Center Street. hunterdonartmuseum.org; (908) 735-8415. ENGLEWOOD Mark Gallery “America’s Women,” paintings and works on paper by America Martin. Through May 22. Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mark Gallery, 11 Grand Avenue. mark-gallery.com; (201) 568-6275. FREEHOLD Monmouth County Historical Association Museum and Library “Properly Dressed: Art and Reality in 18th- and Early-19th-Century Dress in Monmouth.” Through Aug. 2. $5; $2.50, seniors and students. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monmouth County Historical Association Museum and Library, 70 Court Street. monmouthhistory.org; (732) 462-1466. JERSEY CITY Curious Matter “Terra Incognita,” a group exhibition of contemporary art. May 18 through June 22. Reception: May 18, 3 to 6 p.m. Hours: Sundays noon to 3 p.m. and by appointment. Curious Matter, 272 Fifth Street. curiousmatter.org. (201) 659-5771. LAMBERTVILLE The Quiet Life Gallery “Family, Friends and Other Strangers,” paintings by Elise Dodeles. Through June 8. The Quiet Life Gallery, 17 South Main Street. quietlifegallery.com; (609) 397-0880. LAYTON Sally D. Francisco Gallery at Peters Valley School of Craft “Considering the Kylix: Contemporary Interpretations of a Classical Form,” works by 45 contemporary craft artists. Through May 18. Mondays and Tuesdays, and Thursdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sally D. Francisco Gallery at Peters Valley School of Craft, 19 Kuhn Road. petersvalley.org; (973) 948-5202. LINCROFT Monmouth Museum “What’s So Funny? Humor in Art,” an exhibition featuring comically inspired artworks in a variety of styles and media. Through June 22. $7; members and children under 2, free. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Monmouth Museum, 765 Newman Springs Road. (732) 747-2266; monmouthmuseum.org. MADISON Museum of Early Trades and Crafts “The American Revolution in New Jersey: Where the Battlefront Meets the Homefront.” Through Feb. 13. $3 to $13; free for members. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Museum of Early Trades and Crafts, 9 Main Street. (973) 377-2982; metc.org. MAHWAH Mahwah Museum “Neighborhoods of Mahwah.” Through June 29. $3 to $5; members and children under 5, free. Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, 1 to 5 p.m. Mahwah Museum, 201 Franklin Turnpike. (201) 512-0099; mahwahmuseum.org. MONTCLAIR Montclair Art Museum “Spencer Finch: Yellow,” site-specific installation for the museum’s facade. Through July 31. $12 adults, $10 seniors and students; members and children under 12, free. “Robert Smithson’s New Jersey,” works by Robert Smithson (1938-1973). Through June 22. “100 Works for 100 Years,” a centennial exhibition. Through July 31. $12 adults, $10 seniors and students; members and children under 12, free. Wednesdays through Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Montclair Art Museum, 3 South Mountain Avenue. (973) 746-5555; montclairartmuseum.org. Image HOLMDEL The country music singer and songwriter Dierks Bentley performs at the PNC Bank Arts Center, Garden State Parkway, Exit 116, on May 18 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $39.75 to $69. livenation.com ; (732) 203-2500. Credit Chris Pizzello/Invision MONTCLAIR Montclair Historical Society “A Persistent Passion: The Art of Lora Eberly Ballou, 1870-1976,” landscape and still-life paintings on view at the Charles Shultz House, 30 North Mountain Avenue. Through July 20. Open on the first and third Sundays of the month, 1 to 4 p.m. Montclair Historical Society, 108 Orange Road. (973) 744-1796; montclairhistorical.org. MORRIS TOWNSHIP Morris Museum “An Alternate Vision: A Celebration of the National Association of Women Artists,” works produced by members over the past 125 years. Through July 1. “Legacy in Clay: Contemporary American Indian Pottery.” Through Sept. 28. $7 to $10. “Fresh Perspectives 2014,” works by high school students. Through June 1. $7 to $10. Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sundays, 1 to 5 p.m. Morris Museum, 6 Normandy Heights Road. (973) 971-3700; morrismuseum.org. MORRISTOWN Gallery at 14 Maple “Capturing Nature,” Natalia Margulis and Joseph Losavio. Through Aug. 27. Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Fridays 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and by appointment. Gallery at 14 Maple, 14 Maple Avenue. morrisarts.org; (973) 285-5115. MORRISTOWN Macculloch Hall Historical Museum “Thomas Nast Brings Down Boss Tweed,” political cartoons. Through Aug. 3. $6 to $8; children 6 to 12, $4; children under 5, free. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, 1 to 4 p.m. Macculloch Hall Historical Museum, 45 Macculloch Avenue. maccullochhall.org; (973) 538-2404. NEW BRUNSWICK Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum “Maples in the Mist: Chinese Poems for Children, Illustrated by Jean and Mou-sien Tseng.” Through June 22. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. “Striking Resemblance: The Changing Art of Portraiture.” Through July 13. “Odessa’s Second Avant-Garde: City and Myth,” exploring the formal and conceptual trends in art created from the 1960s to the 1980s. Through Oct. 19. General hours: Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Admission will be waived on May 16 and 17 in honor of Rutgers alumni and the class of 2014. Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, 71 Hamilton Street. zimmerlimuseum.rutgers.edu; (848) 932-7237. NEW BRUNSWICK Museum of the American Hungarian Foundation “Eva Zeisel: Life, Design and Beauty,” modern industrial design. Through June 29. Donation, $5. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sundays, 1 to 4 p.m. Museum of the American Hungarian Foundation, 300 Somerset Street. hstrial-pfazekaz.homestead.com; (732) 846-5777. NEWARK The Newark Museum “American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell.” Through May 26. “Papyraceous: Recent Acquisitions, Contemporary Works on Paper,” printmaking, collaging, drawing and painting. Through June 29. “City of Silver and Gold From Tiffany to Cartier,” documenting the rise of the city’s gold and silver industry. Through 2015. $7 and $12; members, free. Wednesdays through Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. The Newark Museum, 49 Washington Street. (973) 596-6550; newarkmuseum.org. ORANGE ValleyArts Firehouse Gallery Open Orange Exhibition, group show. Through June 8. ValleyArts Firehouse Gallery, 580 Forest Street. valleyartsnj.com. (862) 252-7035. PEAPACK-GLADSTONE Blairsden Mansion Blairsden Mansion Designer Showhouse: “An Art Collector’s Sanctuary,” fine art and design exhibition and fund-raiser. Through May 31. Daily, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. $50. Blairsden Mansion, 30 Blair Drive. mansioninmayorg; (732) 993-5278. PRINCETON Bernstein Gallery “Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Water and War,” works by the Native American artist Jaune Quick-to-See Smith. Through Aug. 4. Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Bernstein Gallery, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University. (609) 258-8880; wws.princeton.edu/about-wws/bernstein-gallery . PRINCETON Morven Museum and Garden “Micah Williams: Portrait Artist.” Through Sept. 14. $5 and $6. Wednesdays through Fridays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 4 p.m. Morven Museum and Garden, 55 Stockton Street. (609) 924-8144; morven.org. PRINCETON Princeton University Art Museum “500 Years of Italian Master Drawings From the Princeton University Art Museum.” Through May 11. “Edvard Munch: Symbolism in Print,” 26 compositions. Through June 8. “Installation of Outdoor Sculpture by Alexander Calder.” Through June 15. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sundays, 1 to 5 p.m. Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton campus. (609) 258-3788; artmuseum.princeton.edu. PRINCETON Princeton University Library “From a Thankful Nation: The Robert L. Ross Collection of Latin American Orders and Medals.” Through Aug. 3. Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Princeton University Library, 1 Washington Road. (609) 258-3184; princeton.edu/rbsc/. SCOTCH PLAINS Scotch Plains Public Library “Civil War 150,” letters, images and personal accounts from the Gilder Lehrman Collection. Through May 17. Scotch Plains Public Library, 1927 Bartle Avenue. (908) 322-5007. SPARKILL Elizabeth V. Sullivan Gallery Naomi Campbell: “Spawning: Conversations That Go On With the Virtual Identity.” Through July 6. Wednesdays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sundays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Elizabeth V. Sullivan Gallery, 241 Kings Highway. theartstudentsleague.org. SUMMIT Visual Arts Center of New Jersey “Jon Rappleye: In Tangled Splendor,” imaginary landscapes. Through June 29. Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, 68 Elm Street. artcenternj.org; (908) 273-9121. TRENTON New Jersey State Museum “Artists of Roosevelt,” exploring the community of artists in Roosevelt, N.J. Through May 25. $5 suggested donation. “Nano,” an interactive exhibition of nanoscience. Through Aug. 17. Tuesdays through Sundays, 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. New Jersey State Museum, 205 West State Street. statemuseum.nj.gov; (609) 292-6464. TRENTON Trenton Social “Politically Incorrect,” new work by urban artist Leon Rainbow. Through May 30. Noon to 10 p.m. daily. Trenton Social, 449 South Broad Street. (609) 989-7777; trentonsocial.com. WEST ORANGE Luna Stage “Goddess on Earth: Women of Essex County,” multimedia installations by Lisa Levart, photographer. Through May 11. Free. Luna Stage, 555 Valley Road. (973) 395-5551; lunastage.org.


U.S. Presses China on Valuation of Renminbi

Abstract: BEIJING — China’s reluctance to allow the value of its currency to rise “is a real concern” to both the United States and the country’s other major trading partners and could be subject to negotiations in coming weeks, the American ambassador to China said on Thursday. At the same time, a Chinese trade official offered the first hint of flexibility on the issue, saying his organization was polling more than a thousand Chinese manufacturers on how a change in exchange rates would affect their business. In a speech to students at Tsinghua University in Beijing, the ambassador, Jon Huntsman, said that economic problems in the United States had increased pressure there for a change in the value of the renminbi , which China currently ties to the value of the dollar . That has kept Chinese exports comparatively cheap and, some contend, hampered other nations’ recovery from the global recession . “My Chinese friends like to pitch this as just an American issue. I like to say that there are many countries that feel the same way,” Mr. Huntsman said. But he focused on the growing political opposition from Americans who say the currency policy is hurting them. “This is a real concern to people in my country. Unemployment is almost 10 percent. It’s a difficult economic period,” he said. “I’d be misleading you if I left you with the impression that this wasn’t a very, very important issue in the United States, and will continue to be.” Tensions between China and United States have also risen this year after the United States’ decision to sell arms to Taiwan. China also reacted sharply after President Obama’s recent meeting with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan religious leader. “To put our relationship on a more stable and secure footing, we have to de-link our differences on bilateral issues from our cooperation on global issues,” Mr. Huntsman said. The Treasury Department is under growing pressure to brand China a currency manipulator in a report to be issued next month. That could open the door to retaliatory measures that could increase the cost of Chinese imports and raise the risk of a trade war between the two nations. In his speech at Tsinghua, one of China’s elite universities, Mr. Huntsman said he anticipated that recent disruptions in United States-China relations would be rapidly overcome. In a question-and-answer session after his speech, Mr. Huntsman said citizens of both nations should listen to both sides of the dispute, then “allow negotiators to find a pathway forward.” China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, echoed that at a briefing on Thursday, saying that the American demands were not fair, but that the dispute “requires that both sides be calm and rational.” Separately, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade disclosed Thursday that it was surveying experts in 12 export-related industries to determine how badly they would be affected by a rise in the renminbi’s value. The quasi-government group’s vice chairman, Zhang Wei, predicted that labor-intensive industries like garment and furniture makers would be hard hit by more valuable renminbi. “Their profit margin is already very narrow,” Reuters quoted Mr. Zhang as saying. “So for these companies, the consequences would be disastrous.” Mr. Huntsman also urged China to “take immediate action” to force Iran to comply with international inspections of its nuclear program, and said he hoped the two nations could agree this year on verifiable goals to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

Japan
Yuan (Currency)
International Trade and World Market
Economic Conditions and Trends
Recession and Depression


Volkswagen Curbs Company E-Mail in Off Hours

Abstract: FRANKFURT (Reuters) — Volkswagen has agreed to deactivate e-mails for its German staff members’ company BlackBerrys when they are off duty. Under an agreement reached this week with labor representatives, staff members at Volkswagen will receive e-mails via BlackBerry from half an hour before they start work until half an hour after they finish, and will be in blackout mode the rest of the time, a spokesman for the company said. The new e-mail protocol for Europe’s biggest automaker applies to staff members covered by collective bargaining, so it would seem that board-level executives will still be attached to their BlackBerrys. Very few companies have taken such drastic measures to force workers toward a better work-life balance. Deutsche Telekom, the telecommunications company, introduced a “smart device policy” last year that calls on workers to claim communication-free time when they are off work, in exchange for a promise that management will not expect them to read e-mail or pick up the phone at all times. “Mobile communication devices offer a great amount of freedom, but also embody the risk of no longer being able to switch off,” the company said. In Europe’s biggest economy, where burnout is blamed for almost 10 million sick days a year, labor representatives want to limit the amount of time that employees spend responding to e-mails on weekends and during vacation. Bitkom, a German technology organization, published a study this year showing that 88 percent of German workers are reachable for clients, colleagues and bosses by e-mail or mobile phone outside of working hours, compared with 73 percent two years ago.

E-Mail
Work-Life Balance
Volkswagen A.G
Germany


Sanchez Practices With Jets’ First Team, and He Looks Good Doing It

Abstract: Mark Sanchez reared back and lofted a pretty pass downfield that landed in Jerricho Cotchery’s hands for a touchdown. It was the first play of team drills Saturday in Cortland, N.Y., and the beginning of a brilliant practice for Sanchez, the Jets ’ rookie quarterback. “I put it in a place where only J-Co can get it, and he made a great adjustment for the ball,” Sanchez said. Working exclusively with the first-team offense for the first time this summer, Sanchez completed 10 of 19 passes with two touchdowns and an interception. He also further solidified his edge over Kellen Clemens in the team’s quarterback competition. “Every day needs to be a step forward when you get a chance to go with that first-team group,” Sanchez said. “I thought it really showed that I was ready for that, and I took advantage of that time.” Clemens struggled running the second-team offense, going 4 of 12 with no scores, an interception and two other passes that could have been intercepted. “Sanchez getting more reps with the ones is not based on Kellen’s performance, it’s based on Mark’s performance,” Coach Rex Ryan said. Cornerback Darrelle Revis, whom Cotchery beat for the early touchdown, was held out of the afternoon practice as a precaution with tightness in his left hamstring. MANNING DEAL STILL IN WORKS A number of details in quarterback Eli Manning’s new contract need to be ironed out before he signs the extension with the Giants that could be worth $97.5 million over six years and would make him the N.F.L. ’s highest-paid player based on annual salary. Three days after the agreement was reached, General Manager Jerry Reese said lawyers for the two sides were still putting the final touches on the deal that would keep Manning with the Giants through 2015. “There’s no timetable,” Reese said between practices at training camp in Albany. “Hopefully, it will be done sooner than later.” Reese declined to comment when asked whether an issue about marketing Manning was holding up the contact, saying he never discussed what was in a contract. Manning has refused to talk about his new contract until it is signed. In the Giants’ night practice, the free-agent offensive lineman Cliff Louis hurt his left ankle when defensive tackle Dave Tollefson threw offensive tackle William Beatty into Louis’s knee. Coach Tom Coughlin immediately stopped practice and screamed at the team in the wake of the injury, which was preceded by several scuffles. Louis was taken off the field on a golf cart. The extent of his injury was unclear. ACCUSER SAID TO HAVE BRAGGED The woman suing Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for sexual assault has been accused of bragging about having consensual sex with him to a co-worker. According to court documents filed late Friday, Angela Antonetti said the woman who made the rape claim “did not appear to be upset, stressed out or nervous” about her time with Roethlisberger, who was at a 2008 celebrity golf tournament at Lake Tahoe. Antonetti, the accuser’s co-worker at Harrah’s hotel-casino, said the accuser “appeared happy and boastful” and later said she thought she might be pregnant from the encounter. Antonetti made the remarks in a sworn statement attached to a motion to move the case to Minden, Nev., from Reno. Cal Dunlap, a lawyer who represents the accuser, declined to comment. VICK MAKES APPEARANCE The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick visited a community center in Decatur, Ga., for the first of what could be dozens of appearances to urge low-income youths to avoid the tragic trail left by dogfighting . But the visit was largely off limits. In an agreement between Vick’s associates and the Humane Society of the United States, only 55 people and a news media crew were allowed inside. Most people who live in the largely black neighborhood southeast of Atlanta were unaware of Vick’s appearance. Several showed up after he had left. Vick is apparently planning to do his first major interview since completing a 23-month prison sentence with the CBS program “60 Minutes,” which sent a three-person crew to film the event. SEAHAWKS SIGN TOP PICK The Seattle Seahawks signed their first-round draft pick, outside linebacker Aaron Curry, eight days into training camp. Curry, the No. 4 overall pick from Wake Forest, ran onto the field a few minutes into practice. Terms of the multiyear contract were not immediately disclosed, but Curry was expected to receive about $30 million in guarantees. EAGLES ROOKIE INJURED The Philadelphia Eagles rookie tight end Cornelius Ingram has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and is probably out for the season. To provide depth, the Eagles signed the undrafted rookie tight end Rob Myers, who signed with the Jets after the draft but was released May 29. AROUND THE LEAGUE The Cleveland Browns released the veteran defensive lineman Shaun Smith. ... Running back Willie Parker sat out the Steelers’ practice with back spasms, but team officials did not believe the problem was serious.

Football
New York Jets
National Football League
Sanchez Mark


Arizona’s Jobless Lose Checks for Want of a Word

Abstract: One word, just one little word. That’s all that Frank Ballesteros, a 62-year-old desperate for work, needs to stay afloat. The word is not “hope” or “God” or “patience.” It is, improbably, “three.” Arizona ’s legislature has resisted making a small word change, from “two” to “three,” in its statutes. Only if it does will Mr. Ballesteros continue to receive jobless benefits through November, allowing him to pay his mortgage and medical bills. Otherwise, his checks stop next week. “It is almost 100 degrees out there, and I am walking door to door handing out résumés,” said Mr. Ballesteros, who worked for 21 years at a nonprofit group in Tucson before getting laid off when funding dried up. “Now Arizona decided to kill the benefits extension from the federal government because some legislator decided we’re just sitting around on our butts waiting for a check.” That last extension of unemployment benefits — typically received in weeks 80 through 99 of unemployment — is paid for entirely with federal money and does not affect state budgets. But because of ideological opposition and other legislative priorities, Arizona and a handful of other states , like Wisconsin and Alaska , have not made the one-word change necessary to keep the program going. Right now about 640,000 jobless Americans are receiving this last tier of benefits, according to the National Employment Law Project. The money, appropriated in the 2009 federal stimulus package , was initially intended for states with jobless rates higher than they were two years earlier. Since the recovery has been much slower than predicted, though, Congress decided last December to allow states to continue receiving the money if their unemployment rates were higher than they were three years earlier. States simply needed to change “two” to “three” in the relevant state law. Some economists say that cutting off the long-term unemployed from extended federal assistance could backfire by putting further strain on state economies instead. Indeed, most states were quick to make the one-word change, counting on the federal money not only to support ailing families but also to serve as a strong stimulus (jobless benefits are normally spent more quickly than, say, tax refunds). Nearly every state — Arizona included — had opted into the extended benefits program when it was introduced. But now Arizona is reluctant. When Gov. Jan Brewer called a special session to address the issue last week, legislators didn’t introduce a bill. Republican legislators said they would consider the change only if it were packaged with other provisions, including tax cuts and stricter rules for receiving unemployment benefits in the first place. “We prefer to look for long-term solutions so when the Obama administration money runs out Arizonans will have jobs,” said Andy Tobin, the Republican speaker of the house. Some Arizona lawmakers expressed discomfort with the prospect of accepting more federal money. “This is not free money,” said Al Melvin, a Republican state senator representing Tucson. “This is America’s money. We have a $14 trillion debt that has to be paid, and we need to stop spending money we don’t have.” The last tier of federal benefits injects about $2.3 million a week into Arizona, and Mr. Melvin says he believes “every dollar’s important.” Arizona’s deadline for continuing the federal benefits passed on June 11, though they could be reinstated retroactively. In the meantime, 15,000 workers have stopped receiving checks, and 30,000 more will most likely lose out on these benefits later this year, said Matthew Benson, a spokesman for Governor Brewer. Mr. Ballesteros, who is on his 78th week of unemployment, is one of those workers. He receives $240 a week in benefits, or about $5 an hour for a full-time worker. “These politicians just don’t realize how important that one $240 check is,” he said. When he worked at a nonprofit managing a microloan program, Mr. Ballesteros earned $73,000 annually; now, he says, he is getting rejected — or worse, ignored — by employers who pay minimum wage. “A grocery store here announced it had 100 positions available, and then they had 1,500 applying for the job,” he said. “I got there about 4:30 that first day but by that time it was too late. They told me they’d call me. That was a month ago.” Five states — Arkansas , Louisiana , Mississippi , Montana and Utah — never accepted these federally funded benefits. Of those that did, some fought for months over whether to extend the program before finally acting as the deadline approached, including Florida , Pennsylvania and Nevada just this week. In North Carolina , the governor issued an executive order forcing the change after a long standoff with legislators. Besides Arizona, two other states have not yet made the one-word change required to continue receiving the money. In Wisconsin, for example, the advisory council that refers bills on unemployment insurance to the state legislature has not even taken up the issue. The council comprises representatives from business and labor; the labor side has been too busy fighting back attacks on public unions . “The management side is not inclined to approve this anyway absent concessions on their part,” said James Buchen, the lead management representative on the council. “The real question is whether there is still a need for extended benefits. We are increasingly hearing from people that they are having trouble hiring workers who are on unemployment because they want to wait until their benefits are exhausted.” In Alaska, the issue has fallen by the wayside as well, and the state’s legislature has already adjourned for the year. In separate moves, five states — Illinois , Michigan , Florida, Arkansas and Missouri , according to the National Employment Law Project — have cut the first 26 weeks of unemployment benefits, which are paid by the state rather than the federal government. Labor leaders have argued that cutting jobless benefits — particularly money provided by the federal government — may be self-defeating. When the unemployed stop receiving federal money they will cut back on spending, which means less income for local businesses. Many of them may also start relying more heavily on state services like Medicaid and homeless shelters, which are already strained for cash. “I hate the idea that I’d become indigent if I can’t even get unemployment anymore,” Mr. Ballesteros said, fighting back tears as he described his unpaid medical bills and his struggles to afford his cholesterol medication. “I’m already afraid to get sick. I don’t want to be standing in a stupid line waiting for food, too.” “I’m physically fit, and there’s no reason I don’t have another five years in me where I’ll be able to work,” he said. “For now I just need that stopgap.”

Unemployment benefits
Arizona
Federal Aid
Legislation
US states
Wisconsin
Alaska


Auston Matthews Scores Four Goals in His First N.H.L. Game

Abstract: The N.H.L. started its regular season on Wednesday with a couple of big names set to miss their openers: Sidney Crosby, the Pittsburgh Penguins star, who is recovering from a concussion; and Jack Eichel of the Buffalo Sabres, the No. 2 draft pick last year, who injured his ankle on Wednesday. But the 19-year-old Auston Matthews made sure no one noticed. On Wednesday, Matthews, selected No. 1 in this year’s draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, became the first player to score four goals in an N.H.L. debut — a feat he accomplished by the end of the second period in a game at Ottawa. The first three goals came on his first three shots as an N.H.L. player. Here are 75% of @AM34 's goals tonight. 🎩🎩🎩 pic.twitter.com/SeLSFhPHBw — NHL (@NHL) October 13, 2016 His first came 8 minutes 21 seconds into the game off a pass from Zach Hyman. He added another, unassisted, six minutes later, then helped the Maple Leafs to a one-goal lead at the end of second with two more in that period. Somehow, the Maple Leafs still managed to lose, as the Senators’ Kyle Turris tied the score in the third period and again in the first minute of overtime to give Ottawa the win. Matthews was just the fifth player to score three goals in an N.H.L. debut since the 1943-44 season, according to The Associated Press, and the first since the Rangers’ Derek Stepan did it in 2010. “I couldn’t believe that was happening out there,” Matthews said after the game, according to the A.P. The spectacular performance was met with near disbelief on social media (and on Wikipedia ). But those who have followed Matthews for the past several years were probably the least surprised by the sensational debut. Matthews grew up in the nontraditional hockey market of Arizona and was born just 15 months after the Coyotes moved to Arizona from Winnipeg. He was born two days after the cutoff that would have made him eligible for the 2015 N.H.L. draft. As it became clear that professional hockey would be his goal, his family weighed the options and chose an unusual route for a young prospect: After high school, Matthews eschewed playing college hockey or joining a junior team, instead spending a year playing professionally for the Zurich Lions in Switzerland . The experience helped him grow as a player, he said — as well as in other areas (“The recycling here is intense,” he said in an interview with The New York Times last year.) And in recent weeks, he earned a good share of the spotlight at the World Cup of Hockey as a member of Team North America, scoring two goals in three games as part of a line that included Connor McDavid, the 2015 No. 1 draft pick. But on Wednesday, the limelight was all his. His parents, who were in attendance, were among those who could scarcely believe it. “I hope that nobody’s going to wake me up here anytime soon,” his father, Brian Matthews, told The A.P. “This is unbelievable.”

Ice hockey
Maple Leafs
Ottawa Senators
Auston Matthews