GIVE YOUR BRAIN A WORKOUT WITH EXTRA PUZZLES IN LIFE

98-yard glory: Hubbard’s sprint for the NFL books Fumble return for touchdown lifts Bengals over Ravens in wild-card playoff. In Sports

Penelope slithers into Satan role in ‘The Chosen’

Spring break will be busy; it’s not too early to plan Pent-up demand means many are ready to travel. Here are tips for a smooth trip. In Money

USA TODAY

Jonathan Roumie, portraying Jesus, dishes on his co-star, a 16-foot python. “She was a reptilian teddy bear,” he says. In Life

THE NATION'S NEWS | $3 | TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2023

PROVIDED BY @JONATHANROUMIE INSTAGRAM

Rise of GOP right decades in making

Cities cracking down on homeless camps

Latest power struggle is at ‘whole new level’ David Jackson and Candy Woodall USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – Republican congressional leaders have always had trouble with their most conservative members – but not like this. While Kevin McCarthy did finally rack up enough votes to become speaker of the House, the deals he made – and the narrow margin of the GOP majority – may wind up giving the hardcore conservative movement the most power it has ever had, a movement that has lasted for decades. “This takes it to a whole new level,” said Jack Pitney, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College and a former Republican who has studied conservative politics for years.

Laws stiffen even as more people are forced to live on street Speaker Newt Gingrich’s Republican revolution of the 1990s included the party’s “Contract with America.” JOHN DURICKA/AP

How did the GOP get here? Because ever-shifting groups of conservative activists have fought ever-evolving Republican establishments for more than a half-century, from Barry Goldwater to Ronald Reagan to Newt Gingrich to the Tea Party to Donald Trump to, now, the House Freedom Caucus. The battle over McCarthy and the speaker’s job angered many traditional Republicans who see this latest crop of ultra-conservatives as more interested in confrontation and television appearances than in governing or making policy. Some said the power grabs by antiMcCarthy conservatives will lead to more chaos, government shutdowns, a breach of the debt ceiling that will crash financial markets, and GOP campaign losses. “For the past six years, Donald Trump has shown that you do not have to have principles to be the leader of the party,” said Republican strategist Susan Del Percio. “These 20 are doing this because they can. They do not care about governing, just destroying.” The insurgents say that over the years Republican leaders have bowed to the “status quo” and failed to follow through on promises to cut spending and downsize government. The national debt, they often point out, has ballooned over the past decades no matter which party was in charge – though they do not mention that their plans have often been foiled by Demo-

Claire Thornton USA TODAY

Federal data shows 582,462 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2022.

Advocates warn that rising housing costs nationwide are forcing more people into homelessness. RICK BOWMER/AP

As the number of people experiencing homelessness increases across the country, more cities and states have passed laws making it illegal to live out of tents and cars or sleep in public spaces. More than 100 jurisdictions have had such bans on the books for years, according to the National Homelessness Law Center. In recent months, highprofile measures have been approved targeting homelessness in many western U.S. cities and across entire states. Federal data shows 582,462 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2022. Experts

©COPYRIGHT 2023 USA TODAY, A division of Gannett Co., Inc.

HOME DELIVERY 1-800-872-0001, USATODAYSERVICE.COM

See HOMELESS, Page 6A

Bedbugs. Broken windows. No toilet paper.

Farmworkers’ housing is often left unregulated Sky Chadde and Johnathan Hettinger Investigate Midwest

See GOP, Page 4A

QIJFAF-02005y(K)N

warn more people will enter homelessness as housing costs increase, as has been the case for decades in cities such as New Yorkand in much of California. If visible, unsheltered homelessness continues to grow, city leaders will have an easier time passing measures advocates say criminalize basic needs such as sleep and sheltering oneself, Eric Tars, legal director for the National Homelessness Law Center, told USA TODAY. “The danger is that the worse the housing situation gets, the more people we see on the streets, the more will be the push for these punitive policies,” Tars said.

This flooring and shower stall at the Cantu migrant camp in Onawa, Iowa, was documented in an inspection by state health authorities in 2017. The problems were repaired by 2018, records show. PROVIDED BY THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Belinda Cantu seemed perplexed. State inspectors were questioning her about the building where she planned to house migrant farmworkers in rural western Iowa. The inspectors already had visited twice before, and Cantu had failed to remedy some identified problems – a missing shower head, a rat infestation, a toilet that didn’t flush. But one issue seemed to stump her. “You’re required to provide them with toilet paper,” an inspector said. “We have to??” Cantu responded, according to a 2017 transcript Investigate Midwest obtained via a public records request. (The transcript includes two question marks.) See FARMWORKERS, Page 8A

NEWS

2A ❚ TUESDAY JANUARY 17, 2023 ❚ USA TODAY

WORLD

Black boxes, 69th body found after Nepal plane crash John Bacon and Jorge L. Ortiz

Who was on the plane?

USA TODAY

Teams sifting through the debris from a plane crash in a Nepal gorge on Monday uncovered the data and

The passenger list: 53 Nepalese, five Indian, four Russians, two Koreans and one person each from Argentina, Australia, Ireland and France. The Russian Ambassador to Nepal, Alexei Novikov, confirmed the death of the four Russians. Nepal authorities have released the names.

cockpit voice recorders and the remains of a 69th victim, authorities said. h The cause of Sunday’s crash

A history of deadly crashes

near the tourist town of Pokhara remains under investigation. The flight carried 68 passengers and a crew of

Sunday’s crash was Nepal’s deadliest in 30 years when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when the jet slammed into a hill on approach to the Kathmandu airport. Nepal has a history of air crashes. According to the Safety Matters Foundation’s data, there have been 42 fatal plane crashes in Nepal since 1946.

four; three were still missing. h “We pray for a miracle,” local official Tek Bahadur KC told Agence FrancePresse. “But the hope of finding anyone alive is nil.” h At least 41 victims had been identified in the country’s deadliest aviation disaster since 1992, and authorities have begun returning remains to the families. How did the crash unfold? Yeti Airlines Flight NYT691 crashed near the resort town of Pokhara at about 10:50 a.m. local time as it approached the airport, the Nepal Civil Aviation Authority said. The plane was completing a 27-minute flight from Kathmandu. Prem Nath Thakur, general manager of the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, said the plane had been granted landing clearance. The weather was clear, there was very little wind, and the pilots reported no technical problems, he said. Video taken by passenger Sonu Jaiswal, which was verified by The Associated Press, shows buildings, roads and greenery as the plane approaches the airport, followed by a violent jolt and a series of jerky images accompanied by yelling before flames fill the screen.

The aviation authority blamed “hostile topography” and “diverse weather patterns” in a safety report in 2019, noting that Nepal claims eight of the world’s 14 tallest mountains. Mount Everest is among them. The report said many accidents happened at airports that had short runways – and most were the result of pilot error.

Nepal has been accused of weak safety standards

Rescuers on Monday extricate the body of a victim who died in a Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara. PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

The European Union has banned airlines from Nepal from flying into the 27-nation bloc since 2013, citing weak safety standards. In 2017, the International Civil Aviation Organization cited improvements in Nepal’s aviation sector, but the EU continues to demand administrative reforms.

What caused the crash?

What type of plane was it?

Co-pilot joined profession after husband died in plane crash

A dramatic video shot on a smartphone from the ground shows the last moments before the plane crashed. The aircraft’s nose is noticeably high before the left wing suddenly drops and the plane falls out of sight of the video, indicating a likely stall, said Amit Singh, an experienced pilot and founder of India’s Safety Matters Foundation.

The ATR 72-500 plane was built by the French-Italian aerospace company ATR.

‘Like a bomb went off,’ then fire Brig. Gen. Krishna Prasad Bhandari, an army spokesperson, told China’s state-run Xinhua news agency that many bodies were burned beyond recognition and that 80% of the plane had been gutted by fire. Bikash Jaiswal said that he could identify his wife’s brother – Sanjay Jaiswal – only by the ring he wore, and that he had yet to tell his wife, who just gave birth to their daughter. Sanjay was flying to Pokhara for the birth. “He was a hardworking person, and now there’s no one left in his family to earn,” Bikash said. Local resident Arun Tamu, 44, was about 500 yards away and livestreamed some of the blazing wreckage on social media. “I was walking when I heard a loud blast like a bomb went off,” the former soldier told AFP. “A few of us rushed to see if we can rescue anybody. I saw at least two women were breathing. The fire was getting very intense and it made it difficult for us to approach.”

Professor Ron Bartsch, an aviation safety expert and founder of Australia’s Avlaw Aviation Consulting, told Sydney’s Channel 9 that an optical illusion may have caused the pilot to believe the plane was traveling faster than it was, resulting in a stall. “Aircraft require air to fly in and the air is more rarefied at about (2,700 feet) elevation,” Bartsch said. “It may appear that you’re going a lot faster over the ground than what you’re going through the air.”

“Our first thoughts are with all the individuals affected by this,” the company said in a statement. “The ATR specialists are fully engaged to support both the investigation and the customer.” The plane-tracking website flightradar24.com said the aircraft was 15 years old and “equipped with an old transponder with unreliable data.” In July 2014, a TransAsia ATR 72-500 flight crashed while trying to land on the scenic Penghu archipelago between Taiwan and China, killing 48 people. An ATR 72-600 operated by the same Taiwanese airline crashed shortly after takeoff in Taipei in February 2015 after one of its engines failed and the second was shut down, apparently by mistake.

For a Nepalese family, Sunday’s crash evoked a tragic sense of deja vu. Anju Khatiwada was the co-pilot of Yeti Airlines Flight NYT691 and among the 72 people known or believed to have died in the catastrophe, which occurred 17 years after her pilot husband perished in a 2006 plane crash, The New York Times reported. According to the newspaper, her husband’s loss prompted Khatiwada to step away from her career as a nurse and pursue pilot training in the U.S. After returning to Nepal in 2010, she joined the same airline her husband had flown for and became a captain. “Anju’s father had asked her not to choose the pilot profession,” Gopal Regmi, a relative, told The Times. “After her husband’s tragic death, she was determined to become a pilot.” Contributing: The Associated Press

MISSILE STRIKE: Ukraine authorities began “criminal proceedings” Monday against Russian soldiers blamed for the missile strike that devastated a ninestory apartment building in Ukraine and killed at least 40 people.

NABEAH4

BIDEN DOCUMENTS: Republicans said Sunday the White House needs to provide more information about President Joe Biden’s handling of classified information.

BONUS CODE

1) Register and enter codes at: www.diningdealsusa.com 2) Enter today’s code before Thursday, January 19, 2023 at 11:59 p.m.

CALIFORNIA SHOOTING: At least six people including an infant and a 17year-old mother were shot and killed following a violent altercation in Goshen, California early Monday. MLK DAY: On Monday, in honor of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday on Jan. 15, the nation paused to reflect on the life, death, and legacy of the towering historical figure.

3) Redeem today’s bonus code for coupon redemptions that interest you. Coupons cover restaurants, travel, family fun, automotive, shopping and more!

“American Idol” finalist C.J. Harris performs in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in 2014. He died Sunday after a medical emergency. JEFF DALY/INVISION/AP

“IDOL” ALUM DIES: “American Idol” alum C.J. Harris, 31, who competed on Season 13 and placed sixth overall, died Sunday following a medical emergency, a spokesperson for the Walker County Coroner confirmed to USA TODAY.

Short takes on the news, always within reach on your phone and inbox. Freshened daily. Scan this code to subscribe to the any of our daily newsletters.

Contact us Postal information Volume 41, No. 86 USA TODAY, USPS #684090, ISSN #07347456, is published Monday through Friday at 7950 Jones Branch Dr. McLean, VA 22108. Periodicals postage paid at McLean, VA 22108. Postmaster: Send address changes to Customer Service, PO Box 5830, Augusta, GA 30916

Customer Service 1-800-872-0001 Newsroom .....703-854-3400, ext. 5

* Discounts vary by merchant, location and offer; subject to availability. Offers may change without notice. Total savings vary based on the number of discounts and coupons redeemed and value of offers.

Customer service Classified advertising ............. 1-800-397-0070 National, regional advertising . 703-854-3400

Available subscriptions Subscribe and save today by visiting subscribe.usatoday.com. The subscription below is billed monthly and includes 24/7 access to usatoday.com, breaking news on our tablet and smartphone apps, subscriber benefits at usatoday.com/subscriberguide and the eNewspaper, a digital replica of the print edition. h Delivery of the Monday through Friday print editions: $34.00 *Plus applicable taxes

TODAY’S BONUS CODE

THE SHORT LIST

To view important information online related to your subscription, visit aboutyoursubscription.usatoday.com. You can also manage your subscription at account.usatoday.com. Contact USA TODAY for questions or to report issues at feedback@usatoday. com or 1-800-872-0001. Operating hours are: Monday-Friday: 8:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. EST

Corrections and clarifications Our goal is to promptly correct errors. Contact Standards Editor Michael McCarter at accuracy@ usatoday.com to report a mistake. Describe the error, where you saw it, the date, page number or the URL.

NEWS

USA TODAY ❚ TUESDAY JANUARY 17, 2023 ❚ 3A

WORLD

Sicilian Mafia boss arrested after years on the run

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ROME – Italy’s No. 1 fugitive, convicted Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, was arrested on Monday at a private clinic in Palermo, Sicily, after 30 years on the run, Italian paramilitary police said. Messina Denaro was captured at the clinic where he was receiving treatment for an undisclosed medical condition, said Carabinieri Gen. Pasquale Angelosanto, who heads the police force’s special operations squad. Messina Denaro was taken to a secret location by police immediately after the arrest, Italian state television reported. A young man when he went into hiding, he is now 60. Messina Denaro, who had a power base in the port city of Trapani, in western Sicily, was considered

Top Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro leaves an Italian Carabinieri barrack Monday after his arrest at a clinic in Palermo, Sicily. CARABINIERI VIA AP

‘Crazy shift in my perception’ The world’s first openly trans war correspondent makes the leap from observer covering the conflict to participant fighting alongside Ukrainian forces Cady Stanton USA TODAY

On a summer day in Zolochiv, Ukraine, a rocket dropped from the sky and exploded into a building across the street from journalist Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, who caught the blast on cellphone video. The artillery didn’t just crater the sidewalk. It also led Ashton-Cirillo – the world’s first openly transgender war correspondent – to be hit with a new perspective. “There was this crazy shift in my perception of where my place was in the war,” she said. “My mind had undergone a metamorphosis because it was not anymore me covering the war, I was basically living the war. ... I had become very conflicted regarding my feelings as to where I belonged.” In Ukraine she had seen bodies of injured or killed civilians, moved food supplies for the military effort and befriended many a servicemember, all of which caused her to reflect on her work and eventually turn from photographing and writing about gunfire to being a part of it. Now a member of the Ukrainian armed forces, first as a combat medic and now focusing on hybrid warfare, the 45-year-old Las Vegas native is unshakable in the cause for Ukrainian freedom. “If I knew now what I knew nine months ago, I’m not certain I would have chosen this path,” she said. “But because I did choose this path, the only way to go is forward, focused on mission, focused on my convictions and values as to why I’m doing this.”

A story of pivotal moments Ashton-Cirillo had covered the consequences of war before, reporting from the Syria-Turkey border on the refugee crisis during the country’s civil war in 2015. With hesitation but no regret, she moved forward into the war zone in Ukraine. “When I went ahead and saw that the invasion had happened, I basically thought to myself: Am I really going to do this?” she said. Even before entering Ukraine, Ashton-Cirillo faced expected obstacles getting into the country as a transgender woman. She intentionally flew into Berlin on her origin flight with an awareness that the city might be more progressive about her gender identity not matching the photo and details on her passport. At the Ukrainian border, she brought press clippings to prove her identity, fearful of being barred. But in less than an hour, she heard all she needed: “Welcome to Ukraine.”

‘I was basically living the war’ Initially without a combat helmet, a chest protector or press plates, she made a spur-of-the-moment decision to enter the city of Kharkiv, further into a dangerous area of the war zone. Ashton-Cirillo said that at the time, the risks of her decision weren’t something she could process, but she now knows the choice was pivotal for her future. In Kharkiv and later Zolochiv, she witnessed bombings and rockets cratering buildings, hid in bomb shelters with Ukrainians, and shared photos, videos and dispatches on her Twitter account. Working as a freelancer for LGBTQ Nation, she largely focused on the effect of the war on LGBTQ Ukrainians, including Russian military forces targeting LGBTQ civilians in Ukraine and the

Sarah Ashton-Cirillo in Kharkiv in April. PROVIDED BY SARAH ASHTON-CIRILLO

“Because I did choose this path, the only way to go is forward, focused on mission, focused on my convictions and values as to why I’m doing this.” Sarah Ashton-Cirillo Former journalist

expression of LGBTQ acceptance among Ukrainians through the arts. She grew closer with members of the Ukrainian forces and served as an army volunteer to deliver food. In Zolochiv, the village’s mayor even appointed her an official outreach coordinator so she could advocate for aid to its citizens.

more accepting environment. Being LGBTQ is legal in Ukraine, but samesex marriage is not. Ashton-Cirillo said she has seen progress in LGBTQ acceptance in the country because of the equity created by war and doesn’t believe it will be reversed. As for how being transgender comes into play for her in her unit on a daily basis, Ashton-Cirillo called her gender identity a “non-issue” for those around her in Ukraine. “It didn’t register as any big deal that I’m a trans soldier and in Ukraine,” she said. “It turned out to be the easiest part of my time there. ... You are judged on your character, you are judged on your courage, and you are judged on your belief in freedom and your loyalty to Ukraine. I mean, nothing else matters.”

A unexpected role

Sicily’s Cosa Nostra top boss even while a fugitive. He was the last of three longtime fugitive top-level Mafia bosses who had for decades eluded capture. Messina Denaro, who was tried in absentia and convicted of dozens of murders, faces multiple life sentences. He is set to be imprisoned for two bombings in Sicily in 1992 that murdered top anti-Mafia prosecutors, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. Among other grisly crimes he was convicted of is the murder of a Mafia turncoat’s young son, who was strangled and his body dissolved in a vat of acid. The arrest Monday came 30 years and a day after the capture of convicted “boss of bosses” Salvatore “Toto” Riina, in a Palermo apartment after 23 years on the run.

WAR IN UKRAINE NEWS BRIEFING

Ukraine starts a criminal probe of missile attack Ukraine authorities began “criminal proceedings” Monday against Russian soldiers blamed for the missile strike that devastated a nine-story apartment building in Ukraine and killed at least 40 people. At least 30 people remained missing from Saturday’s attack in the central Ukraine city of Dnipro, and rescue teams continued picking through the rubble in hopes of finding survivors, the Ukraine Security Service said. At least 75 people were injured, 14 of them children. In the high-rise building, 72 apartments were completely destroyed and 236 were damaged, leaving hundreds of Ukrainians homeless in the dead of winter. The security service said several dozen Russian soldiers were involved, led by Col. Timoshin Oleg Evgenievich, commander of Russia’s 52nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment. “The Security Service of Ukraine is making every effort to ensure that each of those involved in the terrorist attack on civilians of Ukraine receives a well-deserved punishment,” the security service said in a statement.

Rescuers on Monday search a residential building destroyed after a missile strike in Dnipro, Ukraine. VITALII MATOKHA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

War brings a changed perspective The gradual shift in Ashton-Cirillo’s place in the war, from the professional to the personal, led her to consider what steps would be required for her to join the Ukrainian military. By August, Ashton-Cirillo was working so closely with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, she stopped reporting for LGBTQ Nation to avoid a conflict of interest. She began to write policy papers and analysis for units of the Ukrainian government, while considering how she could become more involved in the war. Il’ko Bozhko, former press officer for the Operation Command East for Ukraine and close friend of Ashton-Cirillo, said he shared his own experience and motivations behind joining the armed forces with her as she made the decision and went with her to apply to serve. “We had many conversations about it. It wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision for her,” Bozhko said. She enlisted in October.

‘The whole gender thing’ In her time as a reporter and now as a servicemember, Ashton-Cirillo says, she experienced next to no pushback to her gender identity from Ukrainians, whose country has made slow but gradual progress in LGBTQ inclusivity. The country, like many in Eastern Europe, has a long history of oppression of sexuality and expansive gender expression. But in recent years it has become somewhat of a haven for those seeking gay nightlife and a marginally

Initially, Ashton-Cirillo also didn’t fully grasp the informal role she’d be playing as a sort of liaison between the U.S. and the Ukrainian Armed Forces because of her enlistment. When returning to the U.S. for the first time in December, she made two trips to Capitol Hill to speak with more than a dozen legislative offices, including members of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission. Politicians regardless of party or perspective on the LGBTQ community have trusted her to deliver an unvarnished message from the other side, she said. “Where we are right now, in this moment, the Ukrainian government entrusted an American soldier to represent them in Washington, D.C., in the middle of a war,” she said. “And oh, yeah, she’s transgender.” Ashton-Cirillo hasn’t entirely abandoned writing. She is writing about her perspective on the war as a contributing columnist for media website Resolute Square. After the war, Ashton-Cirillo hopes to work on veterans rights in the U.S. or elsewhere with her knowledge of the challenges of reintegrating into life after a war zone. “It’s easier to fight a world war against Russia as a transgender female than it used to be in the United States, trying to have to live a life where my gender identity is the No. 1 thing that comes up no matter what.”

Other developments: h The German and Dutch foreign ministers condemned the deportation by Russians of thousands of Ukrainian children, calling it a deliberate policy of cruel and inhumane abductions that is tearing apart families. They demanded that Russia “account for the whereabouts of these children.” h Two alleged Russian agents were detained by Ukrainian counterintelligence officials in Kherson and Odesa. According to investigators, the detainees revealed the secret bases of Ukraine forces in Kherson to the Russians during the occupation of the city. h The Russian and Belarusian air forces began two weeks of joint exercises Monday in Belarus, which borders Ukraine and served as a staging ground for Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion. h Ukrainian Yulianna Tunitskaya won the gold medal at the 2023 Youth Luge World Championship in Austria.

Soldiers arrive in US for training Soldiers from the Armed Forces of Ukraine have arrived at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to begin Patriot air defense training, the Pentagon said. The same instructors who teach U.S., allied and partner nations will conduct the Ukrainian training, “and these classes will not detract from the ongoing training missions,” the Pentagon statement said. The training is expected to take several months. Contributing: The Associated Press

NEWS

4A ❚ TUESDAY JANUARY 17, 2023 ❚ USA TODAY

POLITICS

Biden assails GOP plans on MLK Day He describes priorities as ‘fiscally demented‘

contrast in policies.

Maureen Groppe

Biden delivered what was perhaps his harshest comment Monday indirectly. He said his administration was able to improve the lives of Black Americans and others while being fiscally responsible, touting an increase in the corporate minimum tax and a decrease in the deficit. “These guys are the fiscally demented, I think,” Biden added in an apparent reference to Republicans. “They don’t quite get it.”

Biden attacks Republicans

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden on Monday criticized Republicans as “fiscally demented” and said the GOP’s top priority legislation would worsen inflation while increasing taxes on the working class and helping the super wealthy. “That’s how they’re starting their new term,” Biden said during remarks at an event hosted by the National Action Network, a civil rights organization. “If any of these bills happen to reach my desk, I will veto them.” Biden began his comments, delivered on the federal holiday honoring the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., listing ways he said his administration has helped Black Americans, a group crucial to his 2020 election to the White House. But Biden said those accomplishments now have to be defended because Republicans won control of the House in the 2022 midterm elections. “On this one and so much I have your back,” said Biden, who is expected to announce in the coming weeks that he will run for a second term in 2024. “We’ve got to stand together.” Biden’s comments came as he’s been under increasing attack from Republicans over his handling of classified documents when he was vice president. “A lot of questions to be asked,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, RLa., said Monday on Fox Business Net-

GOP Continued from Page 1A

cratic senators and presidents. During their efforts to block McCarthy, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., said that “for far too long, conservatives left their leverage on the table and let the establishment ignore us and sideline us.” There’s also a more prosaic reason that archconservatives such as Boebert and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., can wield power these angry days: There are about 20 of them, and the Republican Party has only a nine-seat majority in the House – meaning as few as five Republicans can scuttle legislation by switching their votes. “When you don’t have a big margin,” Pitney said, “the people at the margins have a lot of leverage.”

‘It began with us’ Back in the 1930s, humorist Will Rogers made a famous joke about a certain political party: “I am not a member of any organized party. I’m a Democrat.” Charlie Gerow, a Republican strategist and vice chair of the Conservative Political Action Coalition, said he thought about Rogers’ joke while watching Republican infighting this week. “But I guess now you’d say, ‘I don’t belong to any political party. I’m a Republican,’” he said. When did it start to change? Different people cite different eras. Former Illinois GOP Rep. Joe Walsh traced it to the rise of the Tea Party that fueled his election to the House in 2010, the year the Republicans won Congress by running against President Barack Obama and Obamacare. Tea Party members who took office intensified their attacks on Obama, the Democrats, and, in some cases, Republican leaders. “No doubt, it began with us,” Walsh said. “You can draw a direct line.” Walsh served one term, losing in 2012 to then-Democratic candidate and current U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth. In 2020, he switched his party affiliation from Republican to independent, saying his former party “became a cult.”

Never conservative enough The Tea Party and its successor also evolved from movements that have marked Republican politics since they formed in the years before the Civil War. They have differences among themselves, but they share a pattern: Whenever a leader ascends to the top, a new faction develops to argue that the party is drifting from the cause and placating the “establishment.” It happens in all parties, but recent Republicans have been especially noisy. “You’re always going to have some

Brewing fiscal fights

President Joe Biden speaks at the National Action Network's Martin Luther King, Jr., Day breakfast on Monday in Washington. MANUEL BALCE CENETA/AP

work’s “Mornings with Maria.” “At least finally, you have somebody willing to ask those questions now that Republicans are in charge of the House to get some accountability and some answers.” White House spokesman Ian Sams on Monday charged that Republicans are being “shamelessly hypocritical” because they’ve dismissed concerns about the much larger cache of classified documents possessed by former President Donald Trump who resisted relinquishing them.

The latest h Ending 2022 strong: Democrats’

better-than-expected showing in the midterm elections helped Biden end 2022 with a pile of late-year victories. His approval rating had started to tick back up. h Early stumble: But last week’s disclosure that classified documents were found in his private office in Washington and a garage at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, is a problem. They’ve added legitimacy to Republicans’ determination to investigate Biden. h Drawing a contrast: The president didn’t address the documents issue specifically, or Republicans’ investigative bent generally, in Monday’s remarks. Instead, he tried to draw a

Now these conservatives, who in 2015 formed the House Freedom Caucus, are contending with McCarthy. Walsh, the former congressman, said this crop of conservatives is different because they would rather fight than govern. The McCarthy rebellion “doesn’t appear at all to be about policy,” he said. “They don’t seem to have an agenda. They just want to burn (stuff) down.”

folks far out there who don’t think the leadership – the establishment – is liberal or conservative enough,” said Matthew Green, a professor of politics at Catholic University who has written about political factions. The first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, faced the wrath of “Radical Republicans” over the conduct of the Civil War and the pace of slave emancipation. In the pivotal election of 1912, former Republican President Theodore Roosevelt, more progressive than party stalwarts, ran against more conservative successor William Howard Taft. Roosevelt wound up leading a third party that split the GOP vote and helped elect Democrat Woodrow Wilson (and made the GOP a more conservative institution as a result).

Goldwater to Gingrich The current group of hard-liners can also trace its lineage to a defeated presidential candidate from nearly 60 years ago: Barry Goldwater. In 1964, Goldwater mounted an insurgent campaign against the “Eastern Establishment” and managed to capture the nomination at a fractious convention. The Arizona standard-bearer lost in a landslide to President Lyndon Johnson – a year after John F. Kennedy’s assassination – but he inspired a number of conservative followers into politics. One of them, Ronald Reagan, became governor of California and, in 1976, challenged incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford for the Republican nomination. Reagan lost, narrowly, but came back four years later to win the presidency, a milestone for the conservative movement. During his presidency, Reagan also took some flak from his far right – “let Reagan be Reagan!” went the mantra – but other conservatives during the 1980s took aim at a different target: the U.S. House, which Democrats had controlled for decades. One of their leaders was a backbencher named Newt Gingrich, who argued – like conservatives before and since – that Republican leaders gave in too much to the Democratic majority. Launching a steady volley of verbal attacks on Democrats and some moderate Republicans, Gingrich climbed the ladder of Republican leadership. The Georgia Republican also led the party in the historic 1994 election, when Republicans won control of both the House and the Senate. In the years that followed, they repeatedly clashed with Democratic President Bill Clinton, shutting down the government on occasion amid fights over government spending. Gingrich also eventually faced a revolt from conservatives, though those disputes had more to do with powersharing than ideology. Still, after a disappointing election in 1998 – not unlike

Biden was more specific when criticizing some of House Republicans’ legislative priorities. He said the bill Republicans passed last week to rescind a funding bump for the IRS to hire some 87,000 workers including agents would add $114 billion to the deficit by making it easier for the wealthy and big corporations to cheat on taxes. Republicans say their bill, which has little chance of passing the Democrat-controlled Senate, is needed to prevent the IRS from going after hardworking Americans. Biden also criticized a GOP plan, which has not yet been voted on, to abolish the IRS and replace the income tax with a consumption tax. And he accused Republicans of wanting to go after Social Security and Medicare, a potential fight that is brewing as Republicans vow that federal spending must be reined in before they’ll agree to raise the limit on how much the government can borrow.

Donald Trump and MAGA

In 1964, Barry Goldwater mounted an insurgent campaign against the GOP establishment but lost the election. AP

“When you don’t have a big margin, the people at the margins have a lot of leverage.” Jack Pitney Professor, Claremont McKenna College

the reversals suffered by Republicans in November – Gingrich resigned from the speakership and from Congress itself. Gingrich has denounced McCarthy’s critics as selfish, noting that more than 90% of the House Republican Conference voted for McCarthy in repeated ballots. “I mean, any five people can get up and say, ‘I’m going to screw up the conference, too’,” he told Fox News.

Tea Party to Freedom Caucus Little more than a decade after Gingrich’s departure came the Tea Party, named for the American colonialists who dumped British tea into Boston Harbor in 1773. After the Republicans claimed Congress in 2010, Tea Party members bedeviled GOP House Speakers John Boehner and Paul Ryan. Both left their posts with harsh comments about the Republican right wing. When reached by phone, Boehner declined to comment on those tumultuous years that ultimately led to his resignation in 2015. “Sorry,” he said, “I’ll just get myself in trouble.” In his 2021 memoir, Boehner said liberals and conservatives have their share of “legislative terrorists,” but the Republican “chaos caucus” devolved into “a predictable pattern.” “The far-right knuckleheads would refuse to back the House leadership no matter what, but because they were ‘insurgents’ they never had the responsibility of trying to actually fix things themselves,” Boehner wrote.

House Freedom Caucus members followed the lead of Trump after he won the presidency. That included Trump’s frequent criticism of the Republican establishment, particularly Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell. Ultra-conservative House Republicans vociferously defended Trump during his two impeachments, including the one that followed the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021. They embraced Trump and his “Make America Great Again” movement throughout the 2024 elections, which generally went badly for the GOP. The Republicans did win the House, but by a far smaller margin than they had hoped – 222-213. That narrow margin gives the hard right more power – and McCarthy found out during the speaker election circus. The 20 members who consistently voted against McCarthy make up a little less than 10% of the caucus, but they picked up more power through opposing the aspiring speakers. Seeking the last several votes needed to prevail, McCarthy agreed to rule changes and committee assignments that, essentially, will make it easier for conservatives to push their agenda. It’s a sign of things to come, said Green, author of “Legislative Hardball: The House Freedom Caucus and the Power of Threat-Making in Congress.” “It doesn’t bode well for the Republican majority,” Green said. “These folks aren’t going away.” Bobbie Kilberg, a former strategist for presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, fears today’s infighting could lead to one-party rule – and not in the favor of her GOP. “If we can’t right the ship this year, by 2024 Democrats will win up and down the ballot,” she said. The majority of American voters are sensible and centrist, she said, and they want center-right problem-solvers who will work across the aisle, Kilberg said. The rounds of voting that failed to produce a House speaker until the 15th try probably will turn off voters, Kilberg. “We’re just giving them normal versus crazy,” she said. The establishment may have a silver lining of its own, some Republicans said: More infighting could give the party an opportunity to remake itself. Said Kilberg: “You almost need to crash and burn and start again.”

NEWS

USA TODAY ❚ TUESDAY JANUARY 17, 2023 ❚ 5A

POLITICS

High court review of ban on bump stocks looks likely Tami Abdollah

What people are saying about the ATF’s authority h “While agencies are empowered to amend their regulations and issue rules, what they can’t do is make law,” said Cody Wisniewski, a senior attorney at the nonprofit Firearms Policy Coalition, which filed a brief in support of the plaintiff in the case. “They can’t pass new statutes and they can’t establish new criminal laws. That’s exactly what this bump stock rule did, it was essentially a federal law in the guise of agency rulemaking. This opinion is important for this agency in particular, but also for other cases (to) establish the limits of rulemaking.”

USA TODAY

A federal appeals court ruling that tossed out a Trump-era ban on bump stocks after a 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas wasn’t just about the nation’s divisive debate over guns. It was also the latest salvo in an effort by conservatives to rein in the power of the executive branch. The case itself concerns the question of whether a semi-automatic weapon equipped with a bump stock is essentially a machine gun, which has been heavily regulated for decades because of its use by organized crime. Bump stock attachments help a shooter use the recoil of a semi-automatic weapon to shoot faster in a way that mimics a machine gun’s automatic fire. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives decided that under a 1986 law, a bump stock made a gun a machine gun. Yet in a 13-3 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit recently disagreed with that definition – which it concluded went against years of agency interpretation – and the Trump administration decision to impose a rule rather than yield to efforts by Congress to legislate the question.

A bump stock device that fits on a semi-automatic rifle to boost firing speed, making it similar to a full automatic, on an AK-47 semi-automatic rifle at a Salt Lake City store. PROVIDED BY GEORGE FREY

What might happen next The 5th Circuit sent the case back to the district court to determine the proper remedy. That could include vacating the rule entirely, which would have national significance beyond the individual plaintiff in the case or the district in which the case is filed. Experts on federal litigation told USA TODAY that there have been more efforts among federal judges to avoid nationwide injunctions coming out of a single case in district court. Instead, there has been a greater effort to tailor a remedy to address the particular plaintiff or to apply specifically to the district court’s jurisdiction.

Why a case on bump stocks matters h Federal court dockets have been filled with high-profile challenges to agency rules in recent years, especially with regard to agencies that deal with hot-button topics such as the environment or public health. What happens with how federal rulemaking is or isn’t limited could have vast implications for executive power. h Appeals courts across the country have been weighing in on the ATF’s bump stock rule, but not all have come to the same conclusion. That makes the question primed for the Supreme Court to eventually resolve. h A decades-old administrative law principle called the Chevron doctrine counsels federal courts to defer to an administering agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous or unclear law. But now the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority appears to be seeking ways to limit agency power and rebalance the separation of powers among the executive, legislative and judicial branches as laid down in the Constitution.

This case is very likely not the last word on bump stocks or federal agency power, said Adam Winkler, a professor who specializes in constitutional law, the Supreme Court and gun policy at UCLA Law. “The Supreme Court has been cutting back executive agency power,” Winkler said. “Many think it’s the new defining characteristic of the new Roberts court. They have been curtailing agency power in case after case. So it’s possible this case would be looked at with the same lens.” “The Supreme Court has been cutting back executive agency power. Many think it’s the new defining characteristic of the new Roberts court.”

h “Critical to gun violence prevention is a strong ATF,” said Eric Tirschwell, executive director and chief litigation counsel at Everytown Law. “We support the bump stocks rule not just because it’s good policy and will save lives but also because it’s important that the ATF have discretion and breathing room to enforce the laws and to adopt to changing technology. That’s what the bump stock rule and ghost gun rule have in common. The gun industry likes to innovate toward products that they think skirt the law or evade the law, and ATF often has to catch up with an industry much less interested in public safety than in how they can get around the laws and rules to sell more products and increase profits.” h “Most of this case really wasn’t about guns, and it wasn’t about bump stocks, it was about administrative law and how one makes rules and who makes the rules,” said Erik Jaffe, partner at Schaerr Jaffe LLP who represents the plaintiffs in a similar case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. “The great irony of this, was this was the Trump administration’s attempt to not let a Democratic Congress get credit for something. He saw the writing on the wall, they were going to pass it.” h Writing separately after the Supreme Court declined to take up another case involving the bump stocks rule in 2020, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch gave a possible preview of how conservatives on the high court might approach the question of the ATF’s authority. The agency was owed no deference when there was the “possibility of criminal sanctions,” Gorsuch wrote. On the question of the ATF reversing its position in recent years, the justice pointed out that “the law hasn’t changed, only an agency’s interpretation of it.” Then Gorsuch asked: “Why should courts, charged with the independent and neutral interpretation of the laws Congress has enacted, defer to such bureaucratic pirouetting?” Contributing: Martina Stewart

Adam Winkler a professor who specializes in constitutional law, the Supreme Court and gun policy at UCLA Law

ONE-DAY CONCRETE FLOOR COATINGS From The Best In The Business

INDUSTRIAL

RESIDENTIAL

COMMERCIAL LIMITED TIME

$500 OFF

Your Next Project When Calling Today!* 6 months same as cash financing *Offer cannot be combined with additional offers and must be presented at point of sale. Limited time offer.

“Professional group of guys who show pride in their workmanship. The concrete looks wonderful and the dedication they have shows in the final products' outcome.”

—Tristan K.

Premium Floor Coatings,

Experienced Installers

Installed In 1 Day!

12 Hours - To Walk ON,

Lifetime Warranty

24 Hours - To Move

Durable Low

Heavy Items and

Maintenance Product

Only 48 Hours -

More Durable Than Epoxy

To Drive On!

Call today

888-976-8854

NEWS

6A ❚ TUESDAY JANUARY 17, 2023 ❚ USA TODAY

How close to midnight will the Doomsday Clock be? Elizabeth Weise

USA TODAY

Each January for the past 75 years, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has published a new Doomsday Clock, suggesting just how close – or far – humanity is from the brink. h The next edition will be revealed Jan. 24 at 10 a.m. EST. h Historically, the clock has measured the danger of nuclear disaster, but climate change, bioterrorism, artificial intelligence and the damage done by mis- and disinformation have been included in the mix. h Each year, the 22 members of the Science and Security Board are asked: h Is humanity safer or at greater risk this year than last year? h Is humanity safer or at greater risk?

What will the Doomsday Clock be set to on Jan. 24? The Doomsday Clock will be reset Jan. 24 at 10 a.m. EST in an announcement that will be livestreamed on the bulletin’s website.

The mushroom cloud from Ivy Mike rises above the Pacific Ocean over the Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands on Nov. 1, 1952. LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY VIA AP

Exactly what time the scientists who make up the board have chosen is a closely held secret. But one hint is this: For the first time, the statement is being translated into Russian and Ukrainian.

Second Colorado library closes due to meth contamination Colleen Slevin and Thomas Peipert ASSOCIATED PRESS

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – For the second time in a month, a Colorado library has closed its doors to clean up methamphetamine contamination. Officials in the Denver suburb of Englewood shut down the city library last week within a couple of hours of getting test results last week showing that the contamination in the facility’s restrooms exceeded state thresholds, city spokesman Chris Harguth said. Other spaces such as countertops also tested positive for lower levels of the drug and will require specialized cleaning, he said. The larger-scale remediation work will include removing tainted surfaces, walls, ductwork and exhaust fan equipment. The city of about 33,000 just south of Denver decided to test after officials in the nearby college town of Boulder closed its main library after finding meth contamination, Harguth said. It is the latest example of the balancing act urban libraries have to navigate between making their facilities be welcoming while keeping them safe. When a rash of overdoses in libraries was reported in the mid-2010s as the opioid epidemic grew across the United States, some libraries were equipped with the antidote Naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan. So far it seems library closures triggered by methamphetamine contamination are limited to Colorado, according to spokesman Raymond Garcia of the American Library Association. Health officials say meth residue can be an irritant, causing symptoms

such as an itchy throat, a runny nose and bloodshot eyes. Secondary exposure isn’t believed to cause long-term, chronic health concerns, Harguth said. Drug use is not common in the Englewood library, but reports of it have increased as colder weather led more people to seek shelter there, library director Christina Underhill said. The library has attracted more homeless people since fully reopening after closing at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. “We’re very accommodating,” Underhill said. But “there are some individuals who abuse this space and unfortunately put us in this position.” Boulder officials suggested that their city’s library closure last month was the result of strict state rules for cleaning up meth once testing reveals contamination. Colorado’s rules are “some of the most conservative in the nation,” the city said in a statement Dec. 28. The Boulder library has since reopened, but its bathrooms remain closed as crews do decontamination work, spokesperson Annie Elliott said. Once that is done, the bathrooms will remain locked, and anyone needing to use them will have to ask a staff member or security guard for access. The Englewood library has made some changes to help homeless people who go there. An outreach group comes each Monday to offer services such as help getting identification, food vouchers and housing, Underhill said. After some library users said they did not feel safe, however, the city hired security guards last year, she said. “The use of the library has changed,” Underhill said. “More people are coming to use it as a shelter area.”

Homeless Continued from Page 1A

These states and cities have passed laws making it illegal to live in tents or sleep on public property:

Missouri bans sleeping in parks How did the Doomsday Clock start? In 1945, on the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, scientists who had worked on the Manhattan Project that built the world’s first atomic bombs began publishing a mimeographed newsletter called The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Two years later, as those same scientists contemplated a world in which two atomic weapons had been used in Japan, they gathered to discuss the threat to humanity posed by nuclear war. “They were worried the public wasn’t really aware of how close we were to the end of life as we knew it,” said Rachel Bronson, president and CEO of the Bulletin. Martyl Langsdorf, an artist and wife of Manhattan project physicist Alexander Langsdorf Jr., came up with the idea of a clock showing just how close things were. It came to be called the Doomsday Clock. “It gave the sense that if we did nothing, it would tick on toward midnight and we could experience the apocalypse,” Bronson said.

Where does the it stand now? For the past two years the Doomsday Clock has stood at 100 seconds to midnight, closer to destruction than at any point since it was created in 1947.

What does midnight represent? Midnight on the Doomsday Clock represents how close humans are to bringing about civilization-ending catastrophe because of the unleashing of human-caused perils either by nuclear disaster, climate change or other cataclysms.

Who decides where the clock is set? The Doomsday Clock is set each year by the 22 members of the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes 11 Nobel laureates.

Why does it exist? At its heart, the bulletin’s founders were asking how well humanity was managing the “dangerous Pandora’s box made possible by modern science,” Bronson said. Though technology makes possible amazing and wonderful things, it can also pose risks. In 1947 the biggest of those was nuclear war. Since then the bulletin has added others, including climate change, bioterrorism, artificial intelligence and the damage done by mis- and disinformation.

Why is it so prominent? Over the years the clock has been referenced by the White House, the Kremlin and the leadership of many other nations. Robert Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein were on the bulletin’s Board of Sponsors, and John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon wrote pieces for the magazine. Though not everyone agrees with the clock’s settings, it is generally respected for the questions it asks and for its science-based stance.

Does it always go forward? The setting of the clock has jumped forward and back over the past 75 years, depending on world events. The furthest from midnight it has ever been was in 1991, when it was set at 17 minutes to midnight after the U.S. and the Soviet Union signed the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, followed by the dissolution of the USSR. “People would go to sleep every night worried about were they going to wake up,“ said Daniel Holz, a professor of physics at the University of Chicago and co-chair of the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board. “That threat was definitely reduced at the end of the Cold War.” The most pessimistic years have been 2021 and 2022, when it was set at 100 seconds to midnight, in part because of global nuclear and political tensions, COVID-19, climate change and the threat of biological weapons. The first clock, announced in 1947, was set at 7 minutes to midnight.

On Jan. 1, a statewide ban on sleeping on state-owned land took effect in Missouri, making it a misdemeanor to sleep in public spaces such as parks or under bridges. Experts say Missouri’s law is concerning because it covers the state and adds pressure on top of municipal bans. It’s wrong to assume people experiencing homelessness can just go to another state, Tars said. People have an “assumption” that “homeless people are infinitely mobile and they’ll go somewhere else,” Tars said. “But most people, contrary to this notion of vagrancy and transience, are homeless in the community where they were once housed.” Missouri’s law also restricts state funding for permanent housing, a model taken from template legislation created by the conservative Cicero Institute, according to the Pew Research Center. “To take funding away from housing that has the appropriate resources attached to it is devastating, problematic and perpetuates the issue of homelessness,” said Kathy Connors, executive director of Gateway180 shelter in St. Louis. She added that people experiencing homelessness who are displaced from rural areas are forced to seek temporary services available only in cities, which is straining the system.

Tennessee’s tent law In July, Tennessee became the first state to make it a felony to live in a tent or sleep on state land. Statewide bans have been introduced in recent years by legislators in five other states, Pew says. “Policies like this are making homelessness worse,” Tars said, because arrest, jail time and a criminal record put up steep barriers to employment, securing an apartment and accessing social services.

Portland, Oregon, gets tougher The City Council in Portland, Oregon, voted in November to approve a plan to ban living in tents and will shift people living in encampments into six city-sanctioned mass encampment sites capped at 250 people. The measure includes plans to build 20,000 additional affordable housing units and eventually would require everyone living on the streets to move into shelters, Oregon Public Broad-

Gabe DeBay, a medical services officer in Shoreline, Wash., checks a resident’s blood pressure at an encampment in July 2022. DAVID RYDER/GETTY IMAGES

casting reported. The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregonsent the Portland City Council a letter warning the new measure could be unlawful. Last month, the civil rights group sued the city of Phoenix over a similar ban, resulting in a temporary block from a federal judge. Oregon’s recently elected Gov. Tina Kotek started her term by declaring a state of emergency for parts of the state that have seen surges in unsheltered homelessness, including Portland.

No car living in Nevada county In December, Washoe County Commissioners in Nevada voted 3-2 to consider an ordinance to ban camping in tents or vehicles and storing personal items in public when it poses “significant harm to any person, or public area.” Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor or a $500 fine. Within the county, Reno and Sparks already had similar ordinances in place. In 2021, 25% of young people experiencing homelessness served by the Eddy House shelter in Reno lived on the streets, CEO Trevor Macaluso told USA TODAY. He added that people displaced by sweeps in Reno and Sparks usually relocate their encampment somewhere else in the city, which makes the bans ineffective.

Los Angeles expands its ban A City Council-approved ban on tent living in certain areas was expanded in August 2022 to prohibit encampments within 500 feet of schools and day care centers after teachers and parents complained students couldn’t access nearby sidewalks. School administrators have said the ban isn’t always enforced by the city and police, according to EdSource, an outlet covering education in California. More recently, the mayors of Los Angeles and Long Beach and Los Angeles County declared states of emergency over the homeless crisis aimed at speeding up services to reduce and prevent homelessness.

NEWS

USA TODAY ❚ TUESDAY JANUARY 17, 2023 ❚ 7A

OPINION

WANT TO COMMENT? We’re on Facebook (USA TODAY Opinion) and Instagram and Twitter (@usatodayopinion). You can also comment directly on columns.

Q&A 1ST BLACK WOMAN TO BECOME CEO OF THE WILLIAM K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION

Racial healing essential to true racial equity Day to connect, work to honor King’s vision

Kristen DelGuzzi USA TODAY

“I want to express how essential we believe racial healing is to truly achieving racial equity.” This is a message La June Montgomery Tabron delivers with passion, conviction and years of results to bolster her beliefs. Tabron is the first woman and first Black president and CEO of the William K. Kellogg Foundation. Under her leadership, the foundation launched the National Day of Racial Healing in 2017 to build relationships and connect in meaningful ways, whether at school, at work, in Tabron neighborhoods, faith communities or homes. Each year since, the movement has grown, supported by Tabron and the William K. Kellogg Foundation, which creates toolkits for conversations. This year, events are scheduled in communities around the country. The capstone will be a town hall in New Orleans on Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on MSNBC. (A town hall in Spanish will air on Telemundo at 7 p.m. ET.) “When we envisioned (in 2016) how we could support the actions of people inspired by Dr. King,” Tabron said, “we envisioned thousands of people coming together. People who we know are in communities doing this work, and we envisioned supporting them to build communities where children thrive. ... Now we are seeing millions of people come together all across our nation, and we are very excited that each year this movement has produced great outcomes for children and families.” This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Question: What is the National Day of Racial Healing? Answer: It’s an observance that follows Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It was created so that we are all inspired by Dr. King’s words, that we support a day

La June Montgomery Tabron, CEO of the William K. Kellogg Foundation, said the foundation timed the National Day of Racial Healing “so that we are all inspired by Dr. King’s words.” JACK GRUBER/USA TODAY

where people can come together and act in accordance with his vision. So we envision this day as a day of connecting people, bringing people together to build relationships and to bridge divides that prevent us from actually creating communities for all children and people to thrive. Did you imagine, seven years ago, that this would be this big? We wanted it to reach every person in the world, but in seven years’ time the movement that is continuing to just fuel the conversations that matter for people – the conversations that are truly acknowledging how we have all been harmed by racism. But yet how we can all come together and connect and build relationships that allow us to heal. And that’s what this work is about. Are there stories that have particularly resonated with you? We’ve done this work all over the nation, so there are many stories. But (New Orleans) is one of our Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation locations. And so we’ll talk about what’s happening in New Orleans around work in the Claiborne corridor, where a community was pretty much disrupted by a freeway that was built right in the middle of their

neighborhood. And because of our Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation work, this community has been working together to create opportunities for families who are disrupted by this freeway, to have opportunities and to rebuild their community in a way that truly respects and values every member of the community. We knew that if we could just connect people in the community and allow them some time and space for dialogue to build trust and relationships and to then create their own future together – respectful futures for everyone – that these type of policy transformations would happen. And we’re seeing the policies change in our communities because of this healing work. Listening to you, your optimism, you make it sound easy. Has it been? This work is not easy. Relationships are hard, but they’re essential, and we believe that healing is essential for racial equity to be realized. We know that structures like segregation prevent people of differences to come together. But we also know that when you create a space for truth telling and true dialogue, where people can connect across their own humanity, and

bringing people together in that space where there is no blame, no shame. It’s a space of true affirmation for everyone engaged, and what always results, and what always brings a smile to my face, is that there’s a space where there’s enlightenment, and love shows up and you can see the connection among people who have not had that – and it’s always inspirational. What is your magic for getting people together who might not want to participate? The first thing we have to say is, this space is about affirming everyone and everyone has a story, everyone has their truth. This isn’t a space to evoke guilty or hurt feelings. It’s really intentionally designed as the space for dialogue, the true methodology that is about truth telling and affirming one’s own story and truth. When you approach it that way, what you see is people listen and there’s a learning that happens, and everyone is risen to a different level of connection and understanding. Once that happens, I’ve just seen the weight lift in a room. The energy just shifts and all of a sudden it’s a safe space. That’s when the real magic happened, because we all learned that we’ve all been hurt and harmed by racism. What is the goal for seven years from now? This should not just be a day. It should be a way of being. And we want this process and the spirit of this process to be invoked whenever there’s crisis, whenever there is tension – a safe way to move beyond that tension and to come together and connect with one another as human beings. We truly believe that through healing we can achieve the kind of equitable communities where families thrive. What we would like coming out of Tuesday’s observance is all of the wisdom that we will receive from the experts that will talk about how they are doing this work every day. We want that wisdom and that knowledge to be converted into daily practice – a daily way of being where we can connect with people across differences and really build relationships that produce just very productive outcomes for children and families. I believe that’s possible. Kristen DelGuzzi is USA TODAY’s senior director of Opinion, Engagement & Partnerships. Follow her on Twitter: @kristendel

Congress must not abandon female Afghan soldiers Warriors made sacrifices to serve with US forces

Bill Richardson U.S. Marines veteran

Unless Congress or the Biden administration acts, U.S-trained female Afghan soldiers who fought alongside U.S. forces in Afghanistan and legally evacuated to the United States will lose their legal status this summer. Starting in 2011, U.S. special forces handpicked women soldiers in the Afghan army to work where men could not:Question and search women on nighttime and other raids hunting terrorists and the Taliban. These Afghan women, the Female Tactical Platoon, part of the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command, went through rigorous screening and training by U.S. Army Rangers and other U.S. agencies. They participated in hundreds of direct-action combat missions against the Taliban with U.S. special forces. As Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in August 2021, the Afghan women platoon wasn’t on anyone’s radar to be evacuated. Attention focused on male interpreters and former U.S. government employees. Because the female warriors’ identi-

ties were known to the Taliban, it was certain that these women would be raped, tortured and killed because of their work alongside the U.S. troops. Thanks to the tireless efforts of current and former women soldiers in the U.S. Army Cultural Support Team, nearly 40 Afghan female fighters were safely and legally evacuated to America with “humanitarian parole” status. Retired U.S. Central Command Commander Joseph Votel has said, “These Afghan women stepped forward in a culture that does not always encourage leadership or action by women and laid it all on the line for their fellow citizens and their U.S. allies. This group deserves our support.” On arrival to the United States, the former platoon members were housed and further vetted on U.S. military bases. They were issued Social Security numbers and now live in communities throughout the country where they have been welcomed with housing assistance, jobs, language classes and Thanksgiving dinners.

Pass the Afghan Adjustment Act to thank them for their service Nevertheless, no matter the courage of these Afghan women as they establish new and productive lives in the United States, unless Washington steps up, their humanitarian parole status is set to expire two years after the fall of Kabul. These women seek no handout. They

mumbo-jumbo, and a highly politicized and failed immigration system. Congressional fears about the vetting thousands of Afghan refugees are no doubt relevant in many cases, but not for the Female Tactical Platoon. Its soldiers were thoroughly vetted multiple times, including U.S.-conducted background investigations, biometric examinations and multiple polygraphs.

Failure would be a mistake that could cost us for many years

Members of the Afghan Female Tactical Platoon in July 2021. One of them later evacuated to Arizona and lived with Bill Richardson’s family for nearly a year. PROVIDED BY BILL RICHARDSON

are getting jobs and starting productive lives. Some want to serve in the U.S. military, and our national security would be enhanced if they were able to do so. They have proved themselves in battle; they know the culture of Central Asia and speak many languages. This small band of pioneering women who gave up everything to serve alongside U.S. forces now live in constant fear and uncertainty. The Afghan Adjustment Act could change that, but it’s stuck in Congress. These women are now adrift in a sea of Washington politics, bureaucratic

Failure to value these brave soldiers would be a mistake that could cost us in many ways for many years. Immigration relief for those who have served alongside the U.S. military in foreign is a well-established tradition in the United States. After the Vietnam War, the U.S. government aided those who served alongside us in combat. But Congress has closed its eyes to these women who sacrificed everything to serve with U.S. forces in America’s longest war. What a sad commentary on what America has become and what a dangerous message it sends to current and future allies. Bill Richardson, whose daughter served with the U.S. Army Cultural Support Team, helped to evacuate members of the Female Tactical Platoon from Afghanistan. He served in the Marines and is a retired police detective living in Tempe, Arizona. This column first published at The Arizona Republic.

“USA TODAY hopes to serve as a forum for better understanding and unity to help make the USA truly one nation.” – Allen H. Neuharth, Founder, Sept. 15, 1982 Chairman and CEO Gannett Co. MICHAEL REED

President, News Editor in Chief, USA TODAY NICOLE CARROLL

Chief Financial Officer: Doug Horne

Senior Vice President/Local News and Audience Development: Amalie Nash

Vice President/Executive Editor, News & Initiatives: Kristen Go Vice President/Executive Editor, Sports: Roxanna Scott

Vice President/Executive Editor, News & Investigations: Jeff Taylor Opinion Editor: Kristen DelGuzzi

NEWS

8A ❚ TUESDAY JANUARY 17, 2023 ❚ USA TODAY

Farmworkers

“It’s a unique situation where often your boss and your landlord are one and the same.”

Continued from Page 1A

Across the country, farmworkers, who perform the menial jobs that sustain the billion-dollar agriculture and food companies, often endure subpar, unhealthy housing. In this case, though, the inspection had done its job: When inspectors visited again the next year, Cantu had corrected all the problems, according to state inspection records. She did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story. But the inspection is an anomaly in Iowa. The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services oversees housing for domestic farmworkers (another agency oversees housing for farmworkers on guest visas). Despite approving applications for multiple labor camps each year, including 18 this past year, the agency inspects housing only when it receives a complaint, a state spokeswoman said. It hasn’t done an inspection since 2018, she confirmed. A flaw of relying on complaints is that farmworkers often don’t report housing problems because they fear retaliation and, in some cases, deportation, advocates and experts said. “It’s a unique situation where often your boss and your landlord are one and the same,” said Lorraine Gaynor, an attorney at Iowa Legal Aid, of many farmworkers’ living arrangements. “If you make a complaint about the housing, you may fear that that’s going to have an adverse effect on your job.” The agency spokeswoman did not respond to a question about possible flaws in complaint-driven inspections. In some cases, farmworkers have been forced to live with shattered windows, leaky doorways and broken fridges. Some are crammed into trailers. Bedbugs are a common concern. One person told Centro de Los Derechos del Migrante, an advocacy group based in Mexico, they lived in an “iron chicken coop” with bunk beds.

‘Good reasons’ for oversight An entire regulatory apparatus, enforced by the federal government, exists to inspect housing for farmworkers on guest, or H2A, visas. No such system exists for migrant or domestic farmworkers, resulting in patchwork and often weak oversight among Midwestern states, according to an Investigate Midwest review. Not all migrant or domestic farmworkers live in employer-provided housing – the kind that needs to be inspected – while working, but many, especially in the Midwest, do, according to federal surveys. The differences among states range from no system to inspect domestic farmworker housing (Missouri) to multiple inspections of the same housing in the same year (Michigan and Illinois). “Not all housing is horrible, but there are many situations in which there certainly are workers living in substandard housing,” said Amy Liebman, chief program officer at the Migrant Clinicians Network, a national nonprofit headquartered in Austin, Texas. “And there are some good reasons to have some sort of local oversight.” Despite news stories and studies over the past 60 years on poor housing, there has been no successful, concerted effort nationwide to change them. “For decades and decades, housing for many migrant and seasonal farmworkers has not changed over time,” said Claudia Corwin, a staff physician at University of Iowa Occupational Health who also works with Proteus, a federally qualified health center that provides care to migrant and seasonal farmworkers. “Housing is one of the fundamental social determinants of health.” In the short-term, she said, if housing doesn’t provide access to clean water, it’s difficult to remain hydrated – an important goal for people laboring under the sun for hours. But unsafe or unhealthy housing might also affect a person’s long-term health. Corwin said Proteus often sees farmworker patients with high blood pressure or poorly controlled diabetes. That could be a result of not being able to keep fresher, healthier food because of poor refrigeration, a problem state inspectors have noted across the Midwest, according to the inspections Investigate Midwest has obtained. Many farmworkers live and legally work in the U.S. Some reside near the fields where they work, and some travel from Texas or Florida for seasonal harvests or jobs in the Midwest. Others visit the U.S. on guest visas for a specific period of time, usually a few months, before returning to their home country. A vast majority of these H2A visa workers come from Mexico. Both domestic workers and visa

Lorraine Gaynor Iowa Legal Aid

The kitchen and sleeping area at the Cantu migrant labor camp in Onawa, Iowa, photographed during a 2017 inspection. PROVIDED BY IOWA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH

holders, who nominally have more protections, have experienced unsanitary and unhealthy living conditions. Information on the number of dilapidated houses farmworkers live in is difficult to come by. States hold the records, many of which are on paper. In the past five years, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined only about 50 employers – a fraction of the number of total agricultural employers – for violations related to temporary labor camps, according to government data. The workers are a crucial component in the food supply chain, performing labor machines can’t. They pick and package fruits and vegetables to ensure modern grocery store convenience. They also work, through labor contractors, for multibillion-dollar agribusinesses. For instance, in Illinois, migrant workers detassel corn, a critical step in helping companies such as Corteva and Bayer develop corn seeds that can produce higher yields. Big Ag companies often continue to use labor contractors that have been accused of abuse, Investigate Midwest found in 2017. In Illinois, two agencies share responsibility for inspecting farmworker housing: the Department of Public Health and the Department of Employment Security. The state inspects the housing before workers arrive. Then, to ensure any problems it identified have remained fixed, it inspects the housing again while workers are present. Recently, Illinois inspectors have found housing with mold, rodent infestations and showers with no hot water, inspection records obtained through a public records request show. Many didn’t have the required emergency contacts posted or batteries in smoke detectors. (A few owners of the inspected housing that Investigate Midwest spoke to said workers would remove the batteries so they could cook.) The consistent oversight in Illinois has made some employers rethink their approach to housing. Advance Services Inc., a temporary staffing agency that connects farmers with labor contractors, prefers using migrant workers because the housing standards are easier to navigate than for H2A workers, said Christy Sandall, the company’s administrative director. Advance Services operates in six to eight states annually, and inspectors in Illinois have dinged the company for not posting required signage. The company has settled on housing workers in hotels, she said. States’ standards are “all over the place,” Sandall said.

One job, two populations Government interviews with domestic and migrant farmworkers stretching back to the early 1990s paint a picture of a largely settled, older population. In 1993, about two-thirds reported owning their own home or renting from someone other than their employer. In 2020, the figure was four out of five. Most live within an hour’s drive of worksites. Regional differences exist, according to the survey data. A small number of respondents lived in the Midwest during the most recent survey, but about 60% said they either rent or own their home. The figure was about 80% in the rest of the country. Still, while the Midwest might see more migration than other regions, the number of domestic farmworkers traveling for work has declined over the years, said James Johnson, director of the Environmental Stewardship Division, the state agency in the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development that inspects housing. “Traditional migrants moved up from Texas, Georgia, Florida into Michigan, and we’re seeing less and less of those

more traditional migrant movements than we have in the past,” said Johnson, who has been regulating the state’s industry since 1987. Another trend over the past 30 years is the increasing age of domestic farmworkers. In 1993, the average age of a farmworker was about 31. In 2020, it was about 42. Most have lived in the U.S. for more than a decade at least. While domestic farmworkers aged and settled down, employers turned to a different source of labor: H2A visa holders. Since 2006, the number of workers who have worked in the U.S. through the program has soared more than 350%. Midwestern states with only a few hundred H2A workers a decade ago now have several thousand. Michigan farmers, for instance, employed about 350 visa workers in 2012; eight years later, it was almost 10,000. The federal government requires inspections of H2A housing. It requires certain standards to be met, such as enough room for each person. But even then, oversight can be lax. In 2018, a labor contractor named Jorge Marin applied to house H2A workers in Kennett, Missouri. He told regulators he’d keep them in two houses, but he didn’t say anything about an old county jail he had recently purchased. When a state inspector arrived in town, Marin told her no one would stay in the jail, Investigate Midwest reported. She left without inspecting it. But when workers arrived, Marin moved them into the old jail. The bathrooms had no lights and the showers were cold, investigators later found. Advocates have pointed to a lack of funding as one reason problems persist with H2A housing. Until recently, states had to process an increasing number of applications for workers while receiving the same amount of grant money. From 2006 to 2016, the number of workers in the H2A program increased 180%. The grant money to states during that time just rose with inflation, from about $12 million to $14 million. But the federal government now provides an extra $7 million that is split among states to implement their programs, according to federal paperwork. That raises the total number to about $21 million.

Owners policing themselves Iowa first learned about problems at Cantu’s building in the town of Onawa, population 2,800, in 2016, according to inspection records. Inspectors discovered little to no hot water available, mouse droppings in a bedroom and mattresses on the floor. The state asked the owners, Belinda and Paul Cantu, to send in photos of repairs, and it informed them the state would inspect the building again the next year before workers arrived. In 2017, inspectors confronted Belinda Cantu about the building’s faults, according to the transcript. But the problems were fixed by 2018, records show. Gaynor, the legal aid attorney, said most of the concerns about housing she has heard come from migrant farmworkers, not H2A workers. She attributes that to the state not having an in-person, pre-occupancy inspection for migrant worker housing. “When there’s not an actual human being going out to lay eyes on the place before workers come, it’s just not the same level of assurance that everything is as it should be,” she said. “You’re relying on camp operators to make that assessment themselves. “They may have some self-interest in maybe bending the truth somewhat so they don’t have to pay to make some repairs. Or maybe there’s not even any malice. Maybe they just don’t understand the regulations as well as an inspector would and so they think they’re complying, but they’re not.”

She also suspects, she said, not all farmworker housing outside of the H2A program is recorded with the state. The number of employers that apply for state permits is low, she said – just about 20. A reliable number of farmworkers in the state is difficult to come by, but the state estimates about 23,000 farmworkers lived in Iowa in 2021, Gaynor said. About 40% are domestic farmworkers. In Iowa, there is at least the potential for inspectors to visit suspect housing. But in Missouri, there’s not even that: No state agency is responsible for permitting domestic farmworker housing. In Missouri, the state’s Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development inspects H2A housing. But it has “no legal authority to inspect the housing of domestic farmworkers,” an agency spokeswoman said.

Hotels, student housing In recent years, some employers in Illinois have used housing that nonfarmworkers stay in, including hotels and student housing. Ryan Prevo, of Young America Realty in Normal, said he rents apartments to college students during the school year and to migrant workers in the summer. In at least one case, state oversight pushed one employer to move workers into motels. J & S Agriculture employs workers to detassel corn and weed soybean fields. State inspectors have cited it for too many cots in bedrooms, malfunctioning stoves and fridges, and not enough tables and chairs, state records show. But now it uses hotels, said Sonia Munoz, its operator. “It’s much easier. I’ve never had any issues,” Munoz said. “It’s more efficient for me and for the workers. The bus driver takes them to get groceries, wash clothes. We leave our vans so they can move around.” Each year, seven inspectors from the Department of Public Health inspect the 22 migrant labor camps, once before occupancy and once in the middle of the season. Mike Claffey, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Public Health, said in an emailed statement that inspections occurring before opening day allow for operators to fix violations before workers live there. Because of inspectors being “very aggressive in addressing/fixing any violations,” the department has not issued any fines in recent years, Claffey said.

Critical vs. incidental violations In Michigan, migrant workers and H2A workers are afforded the same housing oversight. Like Illinois, Michigan inspects its farmworker housing once before occupancy and once during. A separate agency processes the paperwork employers file for H2A workers. That allows seven staffers of Johnson’s agency to inspect housing full-time. While on the premises, state inspectors are looking for two kinds of violations, said Johnson, the division director in Michigan. There are incidental violations, such as ripped screens, and critical, such as exposed wiring, he said. If there are critical violations, the state won’t license the housing. Each year, Johnson said, about 90,000 domestic workers and their families come to Michigan. About 27,000 of those live in housing the state inspects, he said. Michigan has 38 crops that require picking by hand, and, due to the variety of those crops’ seasons, workers come to the state year-round, he said. “Good housing attracts migrants. If you have lousy housing, I can’t imagine why people would want to come to your state in order to work.” Contributing: Galen Zavala Sherby This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting.

MONEY

Avoid travel plan disruption when seeking a US passport

Get in festive spirit to make most of Disney World trip

Wait times have decreased, but be prepared for the cost and a weekslong process. Page 2B

USA TODAY | TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2023 | SECTION B

EPCOT’s four festivals offer unique experiences, all of which are included in admission. Page 3B

MONEYLINE

Sun, fun and uncertainty await

MARY ANN CHASTAIN/AP

WENDY’S JANUARY DEALS GO BEYOND FREE-FRIES ‘FRYDAY’ Lucky for us, Wendy’s free fries “FRYday the 13th” promotion continues until Thursday, as consumers will be able to get a free order of fries, at any size, with the purchase of an online order. All you need to get free fries is download the Wendy’s app. Users can add the order of fries to any online order, and can be redeemed in-store or by in-app delivery. Other offers for January, all in the app only: Jan. 2022: Free 6-piece nuggets with purchase of medium or large fries. Jan. 13-29: Free jr. bacon cheeseburger with purchase of medium or large fries. Jan. 30-Feb. 6: Buy one get one free medium or large fries.

Plan ahead, book early and know the risks to avoid issues when traveling for spring break

On Travel

PATRICK SEMANSKY/AP

Christopher Elliott USA TODAY

SURVEY: YOUNG PEOPLE USE PAYMENT APPS DIFFERENTLY

Ready for spring break? So is everyone else. And that’s the problem. “My phone is ringing off the hook,” said Shane Mahoney, CEO of Lugo’s Travel. “There’s such a pent-up demand for travel and people can finally travel wherever they want without restrictions.” Experts predict this spring break – typically from late February to the end of March – will be busier than last year’s and maybe busier than 2019. But this won’t be your typical travel season. Not even close. The holiday air travel meltdowns and this week’s FAA computer outages have cast a long shadow across the spring break travel season. And there are other uncertainties: inflation, a soft economy and wars. Travelers are not sure what to do. So what does that mean? Well, there are places everyone wants to go, which you might consider avoiding this spring break. And there are mistakes travelers will make, but you can avoid these, too.

A recent study from Forbes Advisor found people are changing the way they use peer-to-peer payment apps such as Venmo, Zelle and Cash App. About half (47%) of users say they’re using payment apps to split costs due to inflation, according to an online survey conducted in November by Forbes Advisor and OnePoll. Six in 10 of 18- to 25-year-olds said they were turning to payment apps to split bills at least once a week, while the same held true for 58% of those in the 26to 41-year-old group. Half of 26- to 41-year-olds and 53% of 18- to 25year-olds say they rely on payment apps more often.

MUSK IN COURT OVER TWEETS ABOUT TESLA Long before Elon Musk purchased Twitter, he had set his sights on Tesla. Musk claimed in a Aug. 7, 2018 tweet that he had lined up the financing for a buyout of Tesla, which he amplified with a statement that made a deal seem imminent. But the buyout never materialized and now Musk will have to explain his actions in federal court in San Francisco. The trial, which begins Tuesday, was triggered by a lawsuit on behalf of investors who owned Tesla stock for a 10-day period in August 2018.

See ELLIOTT, Page 2B

Domestic destinations Here are Priceline’s most popular domestic destinations for spring break 2022: h Las Vegas h Orlando, Florida h Miami h New York City “Travelers are seeing 2023 as the year to take the big trips they had postponed due to COVID-19 and border restrictions.” Christina Tunnah General manager of marketing and brands for World Nomads

h New Orleans h Nashville, Tennessee h Chicago h San Diego h Fort Lauderdale, Florida h Houston

GETTY IMAGES

h No markets: The stock market was closed Monday in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Holiday bonuses shrink as outlook dims

USA TODAY SNAPSHOTS ©

Average down 9.7% for small, midsize firms Paul Davidson USA TODAY

Treasury rates Rates as of Friday market close. Rate Week ago 1 mo. T-bill

4.46%

4.19%

3 mo. T-bill

4.62%

4.62%

5-yr. T-note

3.60%

3.90%

10-yr T-note

3.50%

3.72%

30-yr T-bond

3.61%

3.79%

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Here’s another sign the economy and labor market face a rockier road: Year-end bonuses are shrinking. Average holiday bonuses for small and midsize companies fell 9.7% to $526 last month from a year earlier, according to Gusto, a payroll processor that mostly serves small businesses. “As economic uncertainty increases, companies are reducing bonuses,” says Gusto economist Luke Pardue. “This is the first place they look” to cut costs. Most economists are forecasting a mild recession this year as the Federal

Smaller bonuses In December, the typical bonus declined:

10.7%

in professional services

10%

in restaurants, retail and other personal services

4.5%

in health care, education, social services and nonprofits

Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes increasingly dampen consumer and business borrowing and spending. Some companies, in turn, are conserv-

ing cash for the tougher times ahead. The trend also reflects a somewhat less intense competition for workers. As firms struggled to find employees during the pandemic, year-end bonuses grew 27% in 2020 and 9.6% in 2021, Gusto figures show. Companies use bonuses as a tool to retain workers who may be thinking of jumping ship. While many companies are still struggling to find workers, labor shortages have eased somewhat. There were 10.5 million job openings in November, down from a record 11.9 million in March but still well above an average of 7 million or so in 2019, before the pandemic. And 4.2 million workers quit jobs in November, typically to take higher-paying positions, down from a peak of 4.5 million late last year but above the preSee BONUSES, Page 2B

MONEY

2B ❚ TUESDAY JANUARY 17, 2023 ❚ USA TODAY

Plan for time, cost to obtain a US passport Nathan Diller

Where do I go to get a passport?

USA TODAY

As you run down your pre-travel checklist, there is one item you may need that requires some planning: a passport. Though some destinations do not require U.S. travelers to have a passport, most of the time you’ll need one for international travel. Wait times are down from the levels seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, when travelers could expect to wait about four months for routine service, but travelers still need to think ahead if they want to avoid any disruptions to their plans. “The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically reduced the Department’s capacity to issue passports,” a U.S. State Department official told USA TODAY in an email. “However, we made great strides over the last year to lower passport processing times and are currently meeting our service standards, which almost match prepandemic norms.” Here’s what travelers need to know about getting a U.S. passport.

For routine and expedited service, travelers can apply at an acceptance facility or renew by mail (some must apply in person, including those who have never had a U.S. passport and children under 16). Those with urgent – but non-emergency – international travel plans within 14 calendar days can call 1-877-487-2778 to make an appointment, though some restrictions apply, according to the State Department.

How long does it take to get a US passport? Travelers can expect to wait six to nine weeks for routine service and three to five weeks for expedited service, according to the State Department. Those processing times do not include mailing times, which may vary across the U.S. Travelers might also have to wait as long as two weeks from the day they apply for their application to be “In Process.”

Wait times for passports are down, but travelers still need to think ahead. PROVIDED BY JENNY KANE

How much is a US passport? That depends. Travelers 16 and older applying for a passport for the first time must pay both an application fee and an acceptance fee, according to the State Department. Application fees run $130 for a passport book, $30 for a passport card and $160 for both. The acceptance fee is $35 for each option. Those 16 and up who are renewing their passports have to pay the same application fees but do not have to pay an acceptance fee. For children under 16, application fees run $100 for a passport book, $15 for a passport card and $115 for both, with a $35 acceptance fee for each option. For the procrastinators out there, travelers can pay a $60 fee to expedite their passports. They can opt to pay an additional $18.32 for one- to two-day delivery, though that option is not available to applicants for passport cards alone. The State Department offers a fee calculator on its website, which can help travelers determine how much they will pay.

Do you need a passport for a cruise? Not always. U.S. citizens booked on closed-loop cruises, which start and end at the same U.S. port, can enter the country with a government-issued photo ID and birth certificate instead, but the State Department encourages having a passport “in case of an emergency, such as an unexpected medical air evacuation or the ship docking at an alternate port,” according to its website. Cruise lines might also require it.

Elliott

What’s different about this spring break? Experts say this year, everyone is pushing the boundaries a little. They’re waiting until the last minute, trying to squeeze more time into their vacation and taking more risks. Here’s my free guide to holiday travel: h Don’t wait until the last minute: “Book early,” advised Melanie Fish, a travel expert at Expedia. “Last-minute deals are becoming exceedingly rare.” When is the best time to book? At least a month before domestic flights and six months before international flights will save you about 10%, according to Expedia’s latest research. To find out if it’s a good time to buy, Hudson recommends

of 10% in 2022 from about 6% the previous year, Lowe says. Job seekers “just see the salary number,” she says. In December, the typical bonus declined 10.7% in professional services; 10% in restaurants, retail and other personal services; and 4.5% in health care, education, social services and nonprofits, Gusto figures show. Bonuses increased by 6.7% in manufacturing, construction, warehousing and transportation. A separate Challenger survey of companies of all sizes, out late last month, also revealed a reduced emphasis on bonuses. Eighty-one percent of firms surveyed said they kept bonuses flat and just 4.3% increased them. In late

2021, 59% kept bonus values unchanged and 17.2% bumped them up. “They’re not increasing bonuses into a slowing economy,” Challenger says. Some companies continued to fatten holiday payouts. Cumberland Creative, a Nashville, Tennessee-based video production and social media company, handed out holiday bonuses of $1,000 to $16,000 last month, up from $500 to $1,000 the previous year, says CEO Kyle Bush. Annual revenue, he says, jumped to $2.3 million from $1.6 million the prior year, in part, because of the shift to all things digital. “Everybody can get a piece of the pie,” Bush says. “We’re really focused on retaining employees.”

Where’s everyone going this spring break?

What are some spring break travel trends? The new travel trends driving travel spring break 2023 focus on outdoor activities, fuel efficiency and predictability, according to experts. h Spring camping The Dyrt’s 2022 Camping Report, which surveyed thousands of campers and members of the general public, found that spring is one of the fastestgrowing camping seasons. “Spring camping is up 27% from pre-pandemic levels,” said Sarah Smith, founder of the camping information app. “Spring

Bonuses Continued from Page 1B

COVID-19 level of 3.5 million. “People aren’t moving around as much,” says Andy Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray and Christmas, an outplacement firm. “Companies and employees are both seeing things are starting to slow down.” U.S. employers added a still healthy 223,000 jobs in December from an average of more than 400,000 earlier last year, according to the Labor Department. By mid-2023, economic research firms Barclays and Wells Fargo expect the economy to be shedding jobs. Tech

People flock to the pool at Encore Beach Club in Las Vegas on April 2, 2022. Las Vegas was among the top 2022 spring break destinations. BAILEY SCHULZ/USA TODAY

break can be an excellent time to snag more competitive campsites before the summer season gets into full swing.” But she said don’t wait too long to book, or you might not find a site for your RV or tent. h Closecations Booking patterns for spring break suggest Americans prefer a “closecation” – traveling to a region within three to four hours of driving distance from home. A softer economy is driving this trend, according to Noël Russell, chief experience officer for Whimstay, a vacation rental platform. “These closecations will be an increasing trend for travelers who want to experience the joy of a vacation while staying within their budget and maintaining more control over their experiences,” she said. h Return to “normal” Christopher Falvey, co-founder of Unique NOLA Tours, a ghost tour company in New Orleans, has been analyzing the bookings for spring break. His conclusion: It’s looking a lot like 2019.

companies such as Meta, Twitter, Amazon and Lyft announced a total of more than 20,000 layoffs last year. Until last July, Austin, Texas-based ROI Swift, a digital marketing company, doled out quarterly bonuses to help hold onto the company’s 13 workers. “You felt like you had to do everything you could,” says company CEO Carolyn Lowe. But, she says, ROI scrapped the perk last July. “It’s gotten much easier” to hire, she says. “There’s a lot more people looking for work after the big layoffs.” The company still wants to incentivize employees and attract job candidates, but it has funneled its bonus dollars into wages, raising pay an average

Applicants can find the forms and photo requirements on the State Department’s website.

setting up a fare alert online. Expedia uses machine learning to identify patterns in historical data and forecast price changes. h Give yourself plenty of time to get there and back: “Spring break is a pretty tight window, usually one week with a weekend on each end to get to your destination and back,” said Michael Rust, a professor at Western New England University. Rust helps plan educational trips during spring, and knows there isn’t a lot of margin for error. “It doesn’t leave much time for changing travel plans if something unexpected happens,” he said. h Understand the risks: Spring break can be dangerous. After all, you’re headed to the beach with thousands of other people. If you have travel insurance – and you probably should – take a few minutes to read the exclusions related to high-risk behaviors. “It’s especially important to understand the alcohol-related exclusions of your insurance policy,” said Narendra Khatri, principal of Insubuy, a travel insurance company. Put differently, if you overindulge during spring break and get into a moped accident on the way back to your hotel, you might not be covered. I’ve never understood the spring break travel phenomenon. School districts give their students a week during spring; everybody drives to Florida or flies to Cancun. High prices and chaos follow. That’s no way to spend your vacation. And this year, with all the air travel problems we’ve had, you might not even get to your destination. So what will happen this spring break? It’s too early to know for sure. And it may be impossible to predict, say experts. “The unpredictability of travel, including flight cancellations, labor shortages, the impact of inflation, and potential illness, is unlikely to let up by springtime,” said Angela Borden, a product strategist for travel insurance company Seven Corners. So for spring break 2022, the only thing we know with absolute certainty is that we know nothing.

Continued from Page 1B

When it comes to popular destinations, think warm. Many travelers want to head south to catch a few rays – and maybe waves. But this year, for the first time since 2019, Americans are also considering traveling internationally for spring break. “The strength of the dollar, coupled with lifted or lessened COVID restrictions, is leading to an uptick in searches for international travel destinations throughout Europe and even Asia,” said Priceline spokeswoman Christina Bennett. “So while inflation is driving up costs overall, your dollars are going further with current conversion rates.” Travel insurance company World Nomads reports that for 2023, 52% of Americans’ top destinations are European regions and 19% for South America and Asia respectively. The rest are domestic trips. “Travelers are seeing 2023 as the year to take the big trips they had postponed due to COVID-19 and border restrictions,” said Christina Tunnah, general manager of marketing and brands for World Nomads.

Travelers also can make an appointment if they “have a life-or-death emergency that requires international travel within 72 hours (3 business days).” Qualifying travelers also can renew their passports online. “Full availability to the public for online passport renewal is targeted for later in 2023,” the State Department says.

“Our seasonal ebb and flow has come back to normal,” he said. “Finally, predictability!” But that means all the travel tricks you learned during the pandemic, like waiting until the last minute to find a deal, will no longer work.

Expert advice for your spring break trip

MONEY

USA TODAY ❚ TUESDAY JANUARY 17, 2023 ❚ 3B

EPCOT’s festivals are prime time for visit to Disney World

What is Festival of the Arts at EPCOT?

Eve Chen

“This is one of the few times where you can meet some of those artists,” Kesting said, citing renowned artist and conservationist Wyland and “Beauty and the Beast” star Paige O’Hara as examples. “You know the voice of Belle is also an artist, and to meet the voice of Belle and have that person sign your artwork is on some people’s bucket list.”

USA TODAY

You could visit Walt Disney World any time of year, but savvy travelers will want to strategically plan around four key events: EPCOT’s festivals. The first one of 2023, EPCOT International Festival of the Arts, just started. Each one features unique experiences you won’t find at other times. “That steak dish and that beer cheese soup at Canada for Food and Wine, you’ll only find it during Food & Wine. That Candlelight Processional entertainment, only time that you’re gonna see it is if you come during Festival the Holidays,” Dave Kesting, general manager of EPCOT Festivals, told USA TODAY. “So they all have similar components, but each one has a different star of the show.” All of the experiences are included in the price of park admission. And there are only a few weeks of the year when there isn’t a festival going on. So guests who don’t time their trips accordingly, miss out on the extra value of their tickets. Here’s what travelers planning trips to Disney World should know:

EPCOT International Festival of the Arts is a weekslong celebration of visual, performing and culinary arts, featuring more than 100 artists.

Guests also can take drawing lessons from Disney artists and see Broadway stars live in the Disney on Broadway concert series, among other activities.

EPCOT International Festival of the Arts kicks off the festival calendar. This year’s edition started last Friday and runs through Feb. 20. PROVIDED BY DAVID ROARK/THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY

How many festivals does Disney World have?

“One of our most highly rated experiences during Festival of the Arts is the Expression Section, which is our paint-by-numbers art mural that evolves throughout the day and throughout the week as guests paint and actually get to contribute to that piece of art,” said Rick DeCicco, business relations manager for EPCOT Food & Beverage.

Is EPCOT’s Flower & Garden Festival worth it?

EPCOT hosts four festivals each year: h EPCOT International Festival of the Arts

For many fans, the answer is yes because EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival offers more than head-turning topiaries. There’s a butterfly house, there’s the Garden Rocks concert series, and there are Outdoor Kitchens that serve up snack-size garden-to-table cuisine.

h EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival h EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival h EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays

What are the dates? The only 2023 dates announced so far are for the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts, last Friday through Feb. 20. Last year, Flower & Garden ran from March 2 through July 4, Food & Wine ran from July 14 through Nov. 19 and Festival of the Holidays ran from Nov. 25 through Dec. 30.

Topiaries of iconic Disney characters can be found all around the park during the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival.

How much does a day at EPCOT cost?

PROVIDED BY COURTNEY KIEFER/THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY

Disney World recently increased prices for all of its theme parks except Disney’s Animal Kingdom. One-day, one-park EPCOT tickets now range from $114 to $179 daily, depending on the time of year. The previous starting price was $109.

How long is Festival of the Holidays at EPCOT? EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays runs about a month, traditionally from around Thanksgiving to nearly the New Year. During the event, guests can learn how various cultures from around the world celebrate different holidays and try traditional foods from yule logs to latkes. Many guests make a point to visit EPCOT during the festival to catch its Candlelight Processional, in which celebrity narrators tell the Christmas story alongside a live chorus and orchestra. Last year’s narrators included Josh Gad, Mariska Hargitay, Simu Lu and Angela Bassett.

“Next to each outdoor kitchen, our horticulture team plants the ingredients of that food that’s being made. ... You can actually see the ingredients that you will be eating,” Kesting said, noting that it’s inspired some guests to go home and grow their own plants. “The gardening bug bit them because they came for the food and were exposed to the gardens.”

Is EPCOT Food & Wine free? Entertainment experiences like Eat to the Beat concerts and other EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival activities are free, but the food and drinks at its Global Marketplaces are not. Guests pay for those à la carte. “We keep it small portions that are designed for share-ability ... lower price points so people can explore,” Kesting said. “Just close your eyes and open your mind, and the world of culinary will come to life if you just allow yourself to try a few items that you may (have) never thought you liked.” Accommodations may be available for guests with dietary restrictions or food sensitivities. “If they have a dietary need, they can let the cast know, and (the cast is) going to reach out to one of the chefs and one of our festival chefs will go through and make sure based off of the dietary needs if a dish is safe, if there’s anything they can have from those kiosks or if there’s a way we can make that dish for them safe, so they can at least have part of it,” said Chef Kevin Downing, executive chef of EPCOT Festivals.

Each EPCOT festival features unique treats designed for snacking and sharing with others. PROVIDED BY CAITLYN MCCABE/THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY

ASK HUMAN RESOURCES

Seeking update on a background check is not badgering Johnny C. Taylor Jr. Columnist USA TODAY

Johnny C. Taylor Jr. tackles your human resources questions as part of a series for USA TODAY. Taylor is president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, the world’s largest HR professional society and author of “Reset: A Leader’s Guide to Work in an Age of Upheaval.” The questions are submitted by readers, and Taylor’s answers below have been edited for length and clarity. Question: I recently accepted an offer for a U.S. federal job that requires a security clearance. The position is contingent on a background check. I was initially told it would be about two to three months, but I’ve been waiting for just over four months. Should I be concerned? I will be relocating to take this job, so I’m anxious to get things moving. How can I follow up without badgering them? – Rian Answer: Certainly, a lot is hanging in the balance as you await the finalization of your background check. I understand your trepidation, but I wouldn’t be overly concerned, especially since you’ve received the offer. I’m sure you’re ready to start your new job and finalize the details regarding your relocation. As you

prepare for the new position and sort out the many elements of your relocation, it is understandable for you to be anxious. Start by reaching out to the recruiter for an update. Let them know you are trying to firm up details as you prepare to relocate. It may feel like you are badgering them, but it is just one conversation. If they regularly hire candidates who require a security clearance, they’ll be accustomed to fielding requests for updates. Your new employer can let you know if there’s additional information needed or give a more accurate timeline for starting your new job. While normal hiring, even those involving relocation, typically progresses faster, adjudicating a security clearance can significantly delay the process. A background check for a security clearance is far more comprehensive than a traditional one that you would typically complete before starting a new job. With a security clearance background check, investigators will look at your education, work, criminal, and financial history. Obtaining access to and reviewing all those records can be time-consuming and often depend on third-party cooperation. If the position requires a top secret clearance, investigators will likely need to complete reference checks of your friends, neighbors, and co-workers. The government needs to ensure that your close relationships do not compromise

your loyalty to the United States and your ability to handle classified material. It is a long process, to begin with, and because of the pandemic, there may also be a backlog of clearance applications the government is processing. Occasionally, the government issues interim clearances to allow individuals to work on a provisional basis until their clearance is complete. Ask if this is a possibility. It may help move things forward. Best of luck to you! I’m sure you’ll do well in your new role. I work for a contractor based in Washington, D.C., but work out of our client’s office in Maryland. District regulations mandate that employers separate PTO from sick days, effectively giving staff more flexibility to take leave. My company only applies this benefit to employees working out of the district office, which includes my supervisor. It creates a disparity of benefits between people working for the same organization but in different locations. Is this common practice to limit employee benefits based on assignment location? – Warwick I realize your co-workers having more leave simply because they work in another location may seem unfair. However, it is common practice for employers to provide leave benefits to employees based on their assigned work location. Many employers like yours offer all employees a baseline Paid Time Off

benefit. If mandated by the state, employers will provide additional leave as required. For instance, about 16 states require employers to provide employees with a minimum number of sick days each year. State regulations apply to the physical work location, not where employees live or where the employer is based. Take an employee who lives in West Virginia, but commutes to the district. She or he would fall under district employment regulations since that is their primary work location, even if their company headquarters is in Delaware. There are varying factors to consider when designing a PTO Program. One is the local paid leave requirement, and another is cost. Your company may need to determine what best suits its budget to tailor leave benefits to an employee’s work location rather than provide the same benefits to all employees. On the other end, employers who operate in multiple states should communicate to employees how their given assignment location impacts their benefits. Such notification would help quell any confusion arising from perceived inconsistency. I hope this gives you some perspective on employer approaches to applying alternate leave policies across multiple states. However, if still you have concerns about the fairness of your benefits, I’d encourage you to speak to Human Resources.

MONEY

4B ❚ TUESDAY JANUARY 17, 2023 ❚ USA TODAY

News from across the USA

ALABAMA Montgomery: The state’s already shorthanded prison system sustained substantial losses to security staffing last year, new data from the Alabama Department of Corrections shows. In a new quarterly report published this week, corrections reported a net decrease of 415 security employees, including correctional officers and wardens, in the 2022 fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30. That equates to a 18.7% decrease in staffing since Sept. 30, 2021.

HIGHLIGHT: MISSOURI

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The Oklahoma City Community Corrections Center, used since 2017 as a transitional facility for female inmates nearing the end of their sentences, will officially close Jan. 20, a spokesman for Oklahoma State Department of Corrections confirmed. Josh Ward, the agency’s communications chief, said the center was identified as needing to be closed as part of routine, ongoing evaluations of correctional facilities.

ALASKA Anchorage: A man won more than $3.5 million in a Lotto Alaska game, the largest prize ever distributed in the game, Alaska Public Media reports. ARIZONA Tucson: A former actor in Western films and his wife have survived a fire that destroyed their home plus decades of Arizona movie history. Ivan Wolverton says thousands of props, books and artwork were burned in the fire along with almost everything he and Margery ever owned. ARKANSAS Benton County: William

Asa Hutchinson III, the son of former Gov. Asa Hutchinson, was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and possession of drugs and firearms, the sheriff ’s office reports. Court records online show Hutchinson III was charged in 2019 in Washington County with driving 15 mph over the speed limit and refusing to submit to a chemical test stemming from a May 2018 traffic stop. CALIFORNIA Irvine: A 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder after his father was found dead at the home they shared in Southern California, authorities said. COLORADO Poulsbo: A coalition of organizations have presented a proposal to the city to rename Pueblo Boulevard as Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The coalition, led by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Pueblo branch, wants to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. CONNECTICUT Bridgeport: A 29year-old man pleaded guilty to a federal terrorism charge, more than three years after he was arrested at an airport while trying to travel to Syria to help the Islamic State group, officials said. DELAWARE Frankford: Two people

were killed, including a 3-year-old child, after their vehicle skidded off the road, according to Delaware State Police.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washing-

ton: Nine people were injured when a crash led a car to slam into a building, WUSA-TV reports. FLORIDA Fort Myers: The remains of

a man who was reported missing after Hurricane Ian hit Florida’s Gulf Coast last year have been recovered from a sunken sailboat, sheriff ’s officials said. The Lee County Sheriff ’s Office said that the remains were identified as James “Denny” Hurst, 72, who was last known to be aboard the sailboat “Good Girl” as the category 4 storm hit the region in late September. Hurst had told his family he planned to ride out the storm on the boat, officials said.

GEORGIA Savannah: The man who detectives accused of killing another man at the Jennifer Ross Soccer Complex in October 2021 allegedly violated the conditions of his bond agreement after he was seen on video footage during the commission of another murder. HAWAII Honolulu: Two professional surfers were injured during a competition at the famous Pipeline surf break, HawaiiNewsNow reports. IDAHO Newdale: Officials are in-

vestigating after a man lost his leg in a farm accident in Fremont County, East Idaho News reports.

ILLINOIS Chicago: A man has died

after he fell onto the electrified third rail at a Chicago Transit Authority station, authorities said. Rueben Castro, 31, fell onto the tracks at the Merchandise Mart CTA station, police and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said.

INDIANA Noblesville: A Subway restaurant was the target of an armed robbery, according to a news release from the police department. Citing witnesses and potential evidence at the scene, police said a man came in, demanded money from two employees and left with an amount of money that has not been determined.

OREGON Hammond: A beached

Members of the Missouri House of Representatives begin their annual legislative session Jan. 5 in Jefferson City, Mo. DAVID A. LIEB/AP

Jefferson City: Women who serve in the Missouri House are facing a tougher dress code after a debate that Democrats panned as a pointless distraction from the issues facing the state. The new rules require female legislators and staff members to wear a jacket such as a cardigan or blazer. Democrats called it ridiculous, saying women shouldn’t be policed for their fashion choices. Republican Rep. Ann Kelley, who introduced the amendment, said it cleans up language in current House rules so that the dress code for women will mirror the dress code for men.

IOWA Iowa City: A University of Iowa professor did not violate another university employee’s rights by criticizing him in the press, multiple federal courts have ruled. Dr. James Brown, a urologist for University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, sued Marc Linder, a University of Iowa law professor, in 2021, alleging defamation and unlawful retaliation against protected speech. KANSAS Topeka: The rate at which

Kansas high school students graduate continues to climb, jumping by nearly a full percentage point to the highest percentage in state history. But quicker progress is needed, especially with the state’s lowestperforming students, if Kansas is to reach its goal of 95% graduation by the end of the decade, education commissioner Randy Watson said.

KENTUCKY Louisville: The health department is feeling the strain of a record-high number of job openings, according to officials from the Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness Department. LOUISIANA Shreveport: A church is speaking out after it was discovered that an individual broke in and attempted to set the building on fire. “I pray for the individual, if he is able to see this, that you would come to know the Love of Jesus,” Pastor James McMenis at Word of God Ministries said. MAINE Lebanon: The state scored its first Mega Millions jackpot when a ticket purchased in the state matched the winning numbers for the lottery’s estimated $1.35 billion grand prize. The winning ticket was sold at Hometown Gas & Grill, according to the Maine State Lottery. MARYLAND Ocean City: The Coast Guard rescued seven people from a disabled, adrift tug towing a barge 30 miles offshore from Ocean City. MASSACHUSETTS Boston: A man is facing a charge of abusive sexual contact while on a cruise ship from Iceland to Boston, according to federal prosecutors in Massachusetts. The man is accused of sexually assaulting a male crewmember on Aug. 30, 2022, while aboard the Celebrity Summit Cruise Ship, according to the charging documents. MICHIGAN Wellston: A man was arrested after being accused of holding two women hostage, state police said. Troopers were called to the man’s home, a shed in Wellston, over the weekend. One of the women told police she and a friend were visiting the suspect at his shed when he accused the women of stealing his methamphetamine. He assaulted them and brandished a handgun, telling them they could not leave, police said. MINNESOTA Sartell: The city unveiled a new logo last week, coinciding with improvements to the city website. MISSISSIPPI Jackson: Police officers fired on several people as they investigated an armed robbery, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said. One suspect was hurt in the shooting along U.S. Highway 80 and was taken to the hospital, investigators said.

MONTANA Billings: Rep. Mallerie Stromswold, R-Billings, announced she is resigning from the state Legislature, Montana Free Press reports. The 21-year-old cited “backlash from members of my caucus,” as well as the challenges of balancing public service with student life, according to the news outlet. NEBRASKA Omaha: A man, child

and puppy were rescued after getting stuck in mud at Standing Bear Lake, the Omaha World-Herald reports.

NEVADA Boulder City: A small plane that was forced to make an emergency landing three months ago has been found at the bottom of Lake Mead, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The newspaper reports that a local environmental consulting firm located the sunken aircraft last month using remotely operated vehicle and sonar technology. NEW HAMPSHIRE Portsmouth: An affordable housing development being discussed for what is now the 5-acre former Sherburne School property could include anywhere from 80 to 160 housing units. NEW JERSEY Pompton Lakes: A house where smoke had been reported exploded with volunteer firefighters inside, injuring five of them and sending two to a hospital for treatment of burns, authorities said. All were able to get out on their own. Two were sent to St. Barnabus Hospital where they were treated for burns and released, officials said. Three others were treated for minor injuries at the scene. Police also evacuated the lone resident who told authorities he didn’t know how the blaze started. NEW MEXICO Roswell: Authorities

continue to investigate the reported shooting of a man at the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, but say the victim isn’t being cooperative. Chaves County Sheriff ’s officials placed the refuge’s visitor center and trails on lockdown Friday afternoon after a man was found bleeding from a gunshot wound.

sperm whale was spotted at Fort Stevens State Park, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard received reports of the beached whale and have shared the information to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as the leading response agency, the Coast Guard said. The agency is asking people to remain at least 200 yards away from the whale, which was seen near the Peter Iredale shipwreck, for the safety of people and the whale.

PENNSYLVANIA Hazleton: Authorities say a man shot in a movie theater over the weekend has died of his injuries and a suspect is being sought. State police in Luzerne County said the victim was struck by gunfire in the arcade/lobby of the Regal Cinema next to the Laurel Mall. RHODE ISLAND Warwick: Airport officials have begun planning a new $100 million cargo terminal at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport. The new cargo facility would boost operations for FedEx and UPS, which now fly around five planes per day into the airport. SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: State senators said a bill that would give some parents and guardians up to $6,000 a year for private school tuition will be the first thing they debate in the 2023 session. The bill will allow what supporters call education saving accounts to up to 5,000 students the first year, increasing to 15,000 students in the third year. Lawmakers would set aside $90 million for what they said is a pilot program. The program will be limited to families that qualify for Medicaid, which is usually about twice the federal government’s poverty level. SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: Residents have submitted 158 complaints about potholes through the City of Sioux Falls app since Jan. 5, a few days after a massive storm dumped more than a foot of snow on the city. TENNESSEE Memphis: Police say officers face disciplinary action after a 29-year-old driver died following a traffic stop. Memphis Police Chief CJ Davis said that the department was serving notice to the officers involved concerning policy violations. Davis said the administrative process was expected to be completed this week. TEXAS Houston: A former trooper has been found guilty of assaulting two women while he was on duty in 2020, federal prosecutors said. UTAH Salt Lake City: Police were investigating the third crash in 24 hours between cars and pedestrians, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. VERMONT Burlington: The Burlington and Rice high school girls basketball teams postponed games against Champlain Valley after learning of a since-deleted TikTok video posted by a CVU player that had a racial slur.

NEW YORK Queens: Officials are investigating a close call at John F. Kennedy International Airport between a plane that was crossing a runway and another that was preparing for takeoff.

VIRGINIA Petersburg: Richard Bland College is asking the General Assembly to allow its operation as a school separate from The College of William & Mary, its parent higher-education institution for the past 63 years.

NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: Armadillos are increasingly being spotted in the state, making their way there from southern states, attracted by the promise of a temperate and warming climate, vast tracts of diggable land and room to expand.

WASHINGTON Seattle: Police are investigating several shootings in the city over the weekend, including one that killed a man at a restaurant.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: A bill would block officials from banning deer-baiting in the state, the Bismarck Tribune reports. OHIO Columbus: The state’s restrictive new election law significantly shortens the window for mailed ballots to be received – despite no evidence that the extended timeline has led to fraud or any other problems – and that change is angering active-duty members of the military and their families because of its potential to disenfranchise them.

WEST VIRGINIA Ripley: A man convicted in the death of his daughter has been sentenced to 15 years to life for death of a child by child abuse, one year for involuntary manslaughter and one to five years for strangulation, the Jackson County Magistrate told news outlets. WISCONSIN Fort Atkinson: A driver fleeing a deputy died after crashing his car, a sheriff said. WYOMING Cheyenne: Some legisla-

tors want the state to phase out the sale of electric vehicles by 2035, citing economic concerns, Jackson Hole Daily reports. From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

SPORTS USA TODAY | TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2023 | SECTION C

Harbaugh is staying as coach, Michigan president says Eighth-year Wolverines football coach says “my heart is at the University of Michigan.” Page 4C

Latest news, results, opinion 24/7 at sports.usatoday.com See who won the last NFC wild-card playoff game and how between the Cowboys and Buccaneers E2

SAM HUBBARD DELIVERS PLAY OF A LIFETIME Chris Bumbaca USA TODAY

Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard recovered and returned a fumble for a touchdown in the fourth quarter during the AFC wild-card playoff victory against the Ravens. KAREEM ELGAZZAR/THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER

The local kid turned into the hometown hero over the course of one play. All Sam Hubbard had to do was run 98 yards without being caught. “Just get to the end zone,” Hubbard said after the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Baltimore Ravens 24-17 to advance to the AFC divisional round. “We know that these playoff games are never pretty. By any means, get it done.” Hubbard got it done. Fifteen seconds after the snap, Hubbard was in the end zone with six points and a play that will be remembered forever. The defensive end played his high school ball at Archbishop Moeller in Cincinnati. He went on to Ohio State and was selected by the Bengals in the third round of the 2018 draft. For someone who has spent his entire lifetime playing ball in Ohio, he now has the play of a lifetime to his name. He wouldn’t have found himself in that position without teammate Logan Wilson, who knocked the ball away from Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley at the opposite goal line with the score tied at 17 in the fourth quarter. Hubbard’s first thank you should be to Huntley for serving the ball on a platter toward the goal line. According to NextGen Stats (and the ap-

Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley fumbles the ball at the goal line while defended by Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt. JOSEPH MAIORANA/USA TODAY SPORTS

Kid QBs are all right, and NFL will be, too

Suns appreciate playing on MLK Jr. Day in Memphis Duane Rankin The Arizona Republic | USA TODAY Network

Nancy Armour Columnist USA TODAY

Step aside, Tom Brady. After commandeering the NFL playoff spotlight for two decades, weathering challenges by veterans and youngsters alike, Brady isn’t the main attraction this season. Partly because his Tampa Bay Buccaneers don’t look long for this postseason, even if the skidding Dallas Cowboys allow them to stall for a week. Mostly, though, it’s because the next generation, the one rumored to be coming for Brady’s place for oh, the last decade or so, has finally arrived in force. Brock Purdy, Trevor Lawrence and Daniel Jones all won their playoff debuts this weekend, while Joe Burrow advanced. See ARMOUR, Page 4C

Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence celebrates after rallying his team past the Chargers on Saturday. MARK J. REBILAS/USA TODAY SPORTS

parent chip inside the football), the ball was 0.6 yards away from the end zone. Wilson met the ball there with both hands and pushed it loose from Huntley’s grasp. “I’m going to be thinking about that the whole offseason,” Huntley said, “just how one play, they won the game.” As the ball floated toward the ground, running back Gus Edwards could not react in time to snag it. But Hubbard, 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds, corralled it with both hands. Ahead of him was nothing but green turf. The race was on. Joe Burrow, from the sideline, thought: “ ‘Go! Run faster!’ ” the Bengals quarterback told NBC’s Melissa Stark. “Big-time play. It won us the game.” Hubbard had a few advantages working for him. The Ravens, in their jumbo goal-line package, did not have their fastest players on the field. Since Hubbard’s responsibility on the play was to rush and contain on the edge, he was untouched through the line. His main antagonist proved to be Mark Andrews. The Ravens tight end emerged from the scrum in hot pursuit of the ball. He passed Edwards and was within 6 yards of the ball almost immediately. By that point, Bengals defenders were running with him, almost shielding him. “ ‘He’s coming,’ ” Hubbard thought to himself. “ ‘Somebody block him. Please, please don’t get caught.’ That’s all I was thinking about.” Andrews made his last-ditch effort, a dive, 30 yards from the end zone. He came up empty. Hubbard kept running and didn’t stop until he saw his teammates’ smiling faces on the sideline. He reached a top speed of 17.43 mph, while Andrews ran the fastest speed of his career (20.72 mph) in chase. Huntley was pleading that the ball crossed the plane. Replay quickly showed that it didn’t. After the game, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said the plan was for Huntley to go low on the sneak. In the process of Hubbard’s 98 yards of glory, Cincinnati’s win probability increased from 46% to 88%, per Next Gen Stats. It was the longest fumble return in postseason history. Hubbard traveled 123.6 yards on the play, the most distance by a ball carrier on a touchdown this season. The oxygen mask he wore was necessary. The Bengals communications staff revealed that Hubbard was wearing a microphone. The audio clips will, presumably, feature heavy breathing and be worth the wait. For now, an addition to the “Momentum Swing Hall of Fame” will do for Hubbard and the Bengals. “You can’t even dream that one up,” Hubbard said. “It’s pretty special.”

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Phoenix Suns big Bismack Biyombo credits Martin Luther King Jr. for leading the civil rights movement that he believes helped paved the way for someone like him to play in the NBA. “I came from a different country,” said Biyombo, who was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “When I got to this country, to be able to learn about the history and, I think because of the sacrifices that so many people made before me coming into this physical world that have allowed me to be here.” The Suns played on Martin Luther King Jr. Day for the second time in three years Monday in Memphis against the Grizzlies. “I’m always grateful for days like that,” Biyombo continued. “We’re kind of reminding ourselves of what was done for us and what we can do for the next generation. That’s the way I look at this. Days when we celebrate our

heroes and the amount of dedication that they have and sacrifices they have done.” Playing the game in Memphis gives the game even greater meaning because King was assassinated in the city April 4, 1968. The civil rights leader was 39 years old. “We’ve come a long way in the world,” Suns forward Ish Wainright said. “That it means to play on this day. We’ve come a long way. Being an African American, we’ve come a long way. This world isn’t perfect, but it means everything. It’s a blessing to be able to play in this day in honor of his life and his legacy. It’s pretty cool.” Suns coach Monty Williams has often used the trip to Memphis as an opportunity to visit the National Civil Rights Museum. “What an honor and a blessing to play in this city on that particular day,” Williams said before the Suns played the Grizzlies on the holiday during the 2020-21 season. “I just hope it doesn’t See MLK JR. DAY, Page 4C

SPORTS

2C ❚ TUESDAY JANUARY 17, 2023 ❚ USA TODAY

NFL WILD-CARD ROUND 32 THINGS WE LEARNED

Slim margins to victory after 49ers roll Nate Davis USA TODAY

1. The average margin of victory in a game during the regular season was 9.7 points, the league’s lowest in 90 years. Things were even tighter at the outset of the playoffs, the first five games decided by an average of 7.2 points. 2. Seven of the teams that were in action on Saturday and Sunday – the Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants and Seattle – didn’t qualify for the playoffs last year. Of that group, only the Jags and G-Men advanced. 3. This was the first time in 23 years that all three Florida teams – Jaguars, Fins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers – made it to the Super Bowl tournament. 4. How quickly can a playoff game’s script flip? As long as it takes to force a fumble at the goal line of a 17-17 contest and for a 6-foot-5, 265-pound defensive end to return it 98 yards the other way for the go-ahead TD. Salute to the Cincinnati Bengals’ Sam Hubbard, who now owns the longest fumble recovery return in NFL playoff history and longest TD in Cincy’s postseason log. 5. ... As in the number of head coaches who reached these playoffs in their first season with their current team: Tampa Bay’s Todd Bowles, the Giants’ Brian Daboll, Miami’s Mike McDaniel, Minnesota’s Kevin O’Connell and Jacksonville’s Doug Pederson. 6. ... As in the number of matchups, i.e. all of them, that were rematches from the regular season, the most in any playoff round in league history. 7. ... As in the number of quarterbacks who made their playoff debuts during the wild-card round: the Chargers’ Justin Herbert, Baltimore’s Tyler Huntley, the Giants’ Daniel Jones, Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, San Francisco’s Brock Purdy, Seattle’s Geno Smith and Miami’s Skylar Thompson. 8. Purdy and Thompson were the first rookies drafted in the seventh round to start in the postseason. Purdy became the first rookie to notch a playoff victory since Russell Wilson.

8. Sunday’s 31-24 loss to the Giants dropped Vikings QB Kirk Cousins’ playoff record to ... 1-4. 9. Cousins’ stat line (31-for-39 for 273 yards and 2 TDs) looked good – but the 3-yard checkdown to TE T.J. Hockenson on the Vikes’ final play, which was run on 4th-and-8, had to be infuriating. 10. Meanwhile, Jones looked every bit the player poised to cash a hefty signing bonus. A pending free agent after the Giants declined his fifth-year option, he passed for 301 yards and two scores and ran for 78 more yards as the centerpiece of an offense that repeatedly gashed the Vikings despite a relative lack of playmakers aside from Jones and RB Saquon Barkley (109 total yards, 2 TDs). But given what this duo has proved in 2022, gonna be hard for GM Joe Schoen to move on from either. 11. The 49ers’ 10-game winning streak entering the playoffs was the longest regular-season-ending heater since the NFC was formed in 1970. 12. The Niners were one of five teams – Bengals (8), Bills (7), Chiefs (5) and Jaguars (5) – to begin the postseason riding a winning streak of at least five games, the most in league history. 13. All five of those streaks remain intact heading into divisional weekend, when at least two will be snapped given Buffalo will host Cincinnati and the Jags will head to Kansas City. 14. Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen certainly didn’t submit his greatest playoff performance in Sunday’s 34-31 escape from the Dolphins, but – despite three turnovers – he did join Matt Ryan as the only players with at least 300 passing yards and three TD passes in three postseason games in a row. 15. In 12 games, including Saturday’s win, this season with San Francisco, RB Christian McCaffrey has 1,346 yards and 11 TDs from scrimmage. 16. If you thought Miami-Buffalo took forever ... yep. 3 hours and 53 minutes – but them’s the breaks when teams combine for 141 plays, 31 drives, nine penalties ... and 43 incompletions. 17. San Francisco’s sweep of Seattle was the first time the 49ers had beaten the same opponent three times in one

Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard’s 98-yard fumble recovery return is the longest in NFL playoff history. SAM GREENE/USA TODAY SPORTS

season. Their failure to achieve that against the Los Angeles Rams last season cost them a berth in Super Bowl 56. 18. Number of seasons without a repeat Super Bowl champion. The longest streak in history was extended weeks ago when the Rams, whose 12 losses were the most ever by a defending Super Bowl champion, were officially cooked. 19. The 2003 and ’04 New England Patriots remain the most recent backto-back champions. 20. Philadelphia will go for its firstever three-game sweep of the Giants in next weekend’s divisional around. The bitter NFC East rivals have split four previous playoff meetings, Big Blue sweeping the Eagles in 2000. 21. For anyone comparing the 2020 draft class’ QBs to 1983, let’s pump the brakes a touch. Herbert’s Bolts couldn’t hold a 27-0 lead, Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) couldn’t post, and the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts (throwing shoulder) may still not be the player we saw for the first three months of the regular season. 22. But that Joe Burrow sure is sweet, even when he’s getting pummeled while operating behind three backup O-linemen. Joey Brrrr’s playoff record is now an anti-Cousins 4-1. 23. The Jags became the first team to

win a playoff game the season after they owned the NFL’s worst record. Their 2021 edition, mostly coached by Urban Meyer, finished 3-14. 24. The Bosa brothers seem to be ships passing in the night. Niners DE Nick Bosa is 5-2 in playoff games. He was 1-1 in bowl games at Ohio State. Chargers OLB Joey Bosa is 1-2 in playoff games. He was 3-1 in postseason games at Ohio State and part of the Buckeyes’ 2014 national champions. 25. The Dolphins’ Mike Gesicki became the first (and only) tight end to catch a TD pass on the Bills this season. 26. Shoutout to Dean Marlowe, the Bills’ third-string safety after injured Micah Hyde and Damar Hamlin. It would be easy to think of Marlowe as a weak link in the defense, but he made four tackles and picked off a pass Sunday. 27. As for Hamlin, though he visited his teammates Saturday, he wasn’t ready to appear at Buffalo’s Highmark Stadium on Sunday and cheered on the Bills while continuing his recovery from home. 28. Were Melissa Stark’s questions really that invasive, Harbs? 29. The Ravens were the first team in 13 years to open the playoffs on the road in the same venue (Cincinnati’s Paycor Stadium) where they ended the regular season. 30. The Buccaneers-Cowboys winner Monday night will head to Northern California to face the 49ers, who – aside from their scalding streak – are also 3-0 in playoff games at Levi’s Stadium. 31. With the one game left, six teams have scored at least 30 points in Super Wild Card Weekend, tied for the most in any playoff round during the Super Bowl era (since 1966). 32. One last bit of “Super Wild Card” context? Teams playing on wild-card weekend have won the Super Bowl 11 times, seven of those clubs true wild cards. A year ago, both the Bengals and Rams advanced from the wild-card round to Super Bowl 56. The season prior, the Buccaneers took the wild-card path – three road playoff wins – to victory in Super Bowl 55.

L CKin 2022 WINDOW

savings

Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud threw for 348 yards and four touchdowns in the CFP semifinal Peach Bowl against Georgia. ADAM CAIRNS/THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Ohio State QB Stroud declares for NFL draft Bill Rabinowitz The Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud made official Monday what has been long expected – he will forgo his remaining eligibility to enter the NFL draft. Stroud is expected to be among the top overall selections and perhaps the earliest Buckeyes quarterback to be taken since Art Schlichter went fourth in 1982. “This process has been difficult, and the decision one of the hardest I’ve ever had to make,” Stroud said in his announcement. “As a kid, I dreamed of paying football at the highest level and after much prayer, I’ve made the decision that it’s time to turn those dreams into a reality. “With that said, I am declaring for 2023 NFL Draft. “This ain’t goodbye... Buckeye For Life!” Stroud completed 69.3% of his passes for 8,123 yards and 85 touchdowns and only 12 interceptions in his two seasons as a starter. His yardage total and touchdowns thrown rank second behind J.T. Barrett, who played four years for Ohio State. Stroud was named the Big Ten’s offensive player of the year the past two seasons. He finished his career with perhaps

his most impressive game. Stroud threw for 348 yards and four touchdowns in Ohio State’s 42-41 loss to Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. His 27-yard scramble moved the Buckeyes into field-goal range in the final minute, but Ohio State missed the kick, ending their season. Stroud was a late bloomer as a recruit from Rancho Cucamonga, California. He didn’t start until his junior year of high school and didn’t emerge as a top prospect until winning the Elite 11 competition. He signed to join Ohio State’s 2019 recruiting class despite the Buckeyes having an earlier commitment from quarterback Jack Miller. Stroud won a competition with Miller and true freshman Kyle McCord in 2021. Despite battling a shoulder injury, he had a superb season. He threw for 44 touchdowns and only six interceptions, capping the season with a brilliant performance in Ohio State’s comeback victory over Utah. He threw for six touchdowns and 573 yards, mostly to wide receiver Jaxon SmithNjigba. Smith-Njigba played in parts of only three games this past season, but Stroud flourished anyway as he developed a strong connection with Emeka Egbuka and especially Marvin Harrison Jr.

0% INTEREST

for

5 YEARS

†

OR

% 50 LABOR

OFF *

PLUS

WE INSTALL ALL WINTER LONG! OFFERING DOUBLE & TRIPLE PANE OPTIONS LASTING THERMAL PERFORMANCE & BEAUTY FOR YOUR HOME YOU DESIGN IT

WE INSTALL IT

YOU’LL LOVE IT

12

MONTHS

no interest, no payments and no money down!**

SCAN HERE TO DISCOVER A TRANSFORMATION!

‘‘I love my new NEWPRO windows, because they open, they close easily, they are easy to clean. I know that they are safe and secure. Come winter time there is not going to be any cold air shooting through the gaps anymore!” - Marc “Beetle” Bertrand 98.5 The Sports Hub radio host

AWNING • BAY • BOW • DOUBLE-HUNG • CASEMENT • HOPPER • AND MORE!

BEFORE

AFTER

FREE DESIGN CONSULTATION! • DOWN-TO-THE-PENNY QUOTE! • BEST-IN-INDUSTRY WARRANTIES!

DON’T DELAY, CALL TODAY! SCHEDULE YOUR FREE QUOTE NOW

(617) 263-8313

*Rules and restrictions apply. Not valid on previous sales or estimates. May not be combined with other offers. Valid on initial visit only. *50% off installation equals 20% off retail. Other restrictions may apply. See a NEWPRO product specialist for complete details. **Subject to credit approval. Greensky Plan #2521. Interest is billed during the promotional period but all interest is waived if the purchase amount is paid before the expiration of the promotional period. There is no minimum monthly payment required during the promotional period. Financing for GreenSky® consumer loan programs is provided by federally insured, equal opportunity lender banks. NMLS #1416362. † May not be combined with other offers. Subject to credit DSSURYDO)L[HG$35RIIRUPRQWKV$FWXDOSD\PHQWVEDVHGRQXVDJH,IIXOOFUHGLWWDNHQRQDSSURYDOGDWHSD\PHQWVIRUPRQWKSURPRZLOOEHIROORZHGE\PRQWKO\SD\PHQWVRIIRUHDFKƓQDQFHG,IWUDQVDFWLRQLV later, the 54 monthly payments could be as high as $18.52. Financing for GreenSky consumer loan programs is provided by federally insured, equal opportunity lender banks. GreenSky® plan #6160. NMLS #1416362. All offers expire January 31, 2023. MA REG #146589, RI REG #26463, CT REG #0605216

SPORTS

USA TODAY ❚ TUESDAY JANUARY 17, 2023 ❚ 3C

Key Giants offensive players prove worth Tyler Dragon USA TODAY

The New York Giants wouldn’t be traveling to Philadelphia next weekend for a divisional round matchup if it weren’t for quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley – two players on expiring contracts. Both made their playoff debuts on Sunday, and the duo engineered the Giants to a 31-24 NFC wild-card playoff victory over the Minnesota Vikings at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. “It’s a big win for us,” Jones told reporters. “It was a big playoff game. I thought we played well in all three phases and did enough to win the game. We’ll enjoy it tonight, but we have a lot of work to do going forward.” Playing in the biggest game of his football life, Jones had perhaps the best performance of his career. Jones passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns, and his 78 rushing yards were the most ever by a Giants quarterback in postseason history. Jones’ stat line made him the first quarterback in playoff history with over 300 passing yards, at least two touchdowns and 70-plus rushing yards in a playoff game, per NFL Research. Barkley compiled 109 yards from scrimmage (53 rushing and 56 receiving) and two touchdowns, including the

Giants quarterback Daniel Jones and head coach Brian Daboll knocked off the Vikings in an NFC wild-card playoff game. STEPHEN MATUREN/GETTY IMAGES

winning touchdown in the fourth quarter. “Whatever I got to do to help the team win,” Barkley said. “If it’s carry the ball 50 times, block, run the ball as many times, that’s what I’m going to do.” The Giants offense amassed 431 total yards, and all five of their scoring drives were at least 75 yards. “The game plan that we put together on offense, kind of was the game plan

for the game. What we did is what we wanted to do,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said. “There are always adjustments, but I thought (offensive coordinator) (Mike) Kafka and all the assistant coaches had those guys ready to play.” Sunday’s win, though, was an endorsement for the Giants’ two most indispensable players on offense who are both playing in the final year of their contracts.

The Giants declined Jones’ fifth-year option last April, and Barkley’s fifthyear option of his rookie deal is set to expire. Both will become unrestricted free agents. The Giants will have $54 million in cap space this offseason, according to overthecap.com. Barkley, the two-time Pro Bowler and 2018 NFL offensive rookie of the year, has battled injuries throughout his career. But when he’s healthy, he’s still one of the best running backs in the NFL. He’s topped 1,000 yards rushing in three of his first five seasons, including a career-high 1,312 rushing yards this season. Jones has had an up-and-down time in New York, but on a contract year and with a new coaching staff, he is playing revitalized. The fourth-year quarterback had a single-season best 3,205 passing yards. His 92.5 passer rating was also a career best. “I’m just trying to focus on what I got to do and focus on just executing. Keeping it that simple. Not thinking bigger than that or not getting outside that moment,” Jones said Sunday. “Just trying to stay present and locked into what I got to do.” Barkley and Jones showed the Giants organization that they need to strongly consider bringing them both back for the 2023 season, regardless of the outcome in Philly. The two were instrumental in the Giants’ first playoff victory since the franchise went on its Super Bowl run in 2011.

Allen turnovers could be problem in playoffs Safid Deen Columnist USA TODAY Sports+

Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills just exhaled in a sigh of relief. Allen was equal parts electric with three touchdown passes as he was an enigma with three turnovers as the Bills escaped with a 34-31 win in their AFC wild-card playoff game against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. The Bills were pushed to the brink, and they have plenty to improve on heading into their next playoff game Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. “We’ll grow from it,” Allen said after completing 23 of 39 passes for 352 yards. “All that matters is surviving and advancing. “It doesn’t matter how we win, it’s if we win. And I’m proud of our guys.” The Bills will celebrate this win, but they were dealt a reality check against the Dolphins: If Allen keeps turning the ball over, he’ll be the reason Buffalo’s goal of reaching and winning the Super Bowl falls short. Allen is regarded as one of the NFL’s best young quarterbacks, but his 16 interceptions and 22 giveaways this season, including this playoff game, tell another story of careless play. And that’s not an encouraging sign for Allen and the Bills, three games from their end goal of the Super Bowl. “At the end of the day, you turn the ball over, you die a pretty quick death,” said Bills coach Sean McDermott. Perhaps more important, Allen must stay within the means of Buffalo’s offense. Allen has a penchant for playing loose with the football, and he often finds himself trying to play hero, taking deep shots downfield that don’t convert. Sometimes, those plays work. And sometimes, they hurt more than they help. Buffalo’s playoff hopes nearly came crashing down against Miami. The Bills entered the game as doubledigit favorites to beat the Dolphins, who were without starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, recovering from his second

From left, Bills offensive tackle Spencer Brown, Josh Allen and center/guard Ryan Bates look on against the Dolphins during the second half. TIMOTHY T LUDWIG/GETTY IMAGES

documented concussion of the season. After the Bills stormed out to a 17-0 lead against the Dolphins and thirdstring rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson in the second quarter, Allen threw two interceptions in the second quarter that allowed Miami to get back in the game. Allen’s worst turnover was a fumble that resulted in a Dolphins touchdown and their first lead of the game early in the third quarter. “The turnovers, they hurt us. It really let them back in the game,” Allen said of his three miscues that led to 18 points for the Dolphins. “It’s just things you can’t do, and you can’t expect to win like that. It’s stuff we have to clean up.”

That’s where Allen’s prowess came into play. Allen broke free for a 12-yard run inside his own red zone on a 3rd-and-8 play, and he threw two touchdown passes in the span of three minutes to help the Bills retake a double-digit lead with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter. “The thing is you have to keep the foot on the gas,” wide receiver Cole Beasley said. “You can’t ever get complacent. You have to be consistent, and we were a little inconsistent, and we can’t do that moving forward.” Allen and the Bills had two final drives to score again and put away they game but were unable to get much going offensively.

They punted the ball back to Miami on both possessions and relied on their defense and Miami’s inexperience, including a crucial delay of game penalty on 4th-and-1 on the Dolphins’ final drive, to escape with a victory. The Bills may not be so lucky again this postseason. While the Dolphins were inexperienced, other teams with Super Bowl experience like the Kansas City Chiefs and Bengals won’t be so forgiving. “I give our guys credit,” McDermott said. “They hung in there and figured out a way to get a win. That’s one of the things they’ve been really good at this year. “But we definitely have a lot to take from this game and learn from.”

Raven rips play calls: ‘Would have won with Lamar’ Chris Bumbaca USA TODAY

Baltimore Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins did not take the team’s 24-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC wild-card round Sunday well. Dobbins called out Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley, playing for the injured Lamar Jackson, for failing to execute a sneak near the goal line. Huntley fumbled the ball and the Bengals’ Sam Hubbard returned it 98 yards for what wound up being the

game-winning touchdown. “He should have never been in that situation,” Dobbins said of Huntley, according to ESPN. “I don’t get a single carry. I didn’t get a single carry. He should never have been in that situation. I believe I would have put it in the end zone, again.” Dobbins did not receive a carry inside the 5-yard line and clearly believed he should have. Earlier in the game, he scored a touchdown on a pass from Huntley. On that play, Dobbins barely extended the ball over the goal line.

Dobbins finished with 62 rushing yards on 13 carries (4.8 yards per rush) and had four catches for 43 yards. “I should be the guy,” Dobbins said, per ESPN. “I’m tired of holding that back. I’m tired of that. Twelve (carries), it’s the playoffs. I’m tired of holding that back. Let’s go win the game. I’m tired of that.” Dobbins took another shot at Huntley by saying, “If we had Lamar, we would have won, too.” Dobbins missed the first two games of the season while recovering from an

“I should be the guy. I’m tired of holding that back. I’m tired of that. Twelve (carries), it’s the playoffs. I’m tired of holding that back. Let’s go win the game. I’m tired of that.” J.K. Dobbins

Ravens running back, per ESPN

ACL injury that cost him all of 2021. The third-year running back missed six games in the middle of the year with knee issues.

4C ❚ TUESDAY JANUARY 17, 2023 ❚ USA TODAY

SPORTS

E2

Jim Harbaugh returning as Michigan coach Mike Brehm and Cydney Henderson USA TODAY

Jim Harbaugh, who had been considered a top candidate for an NFL coaching job this offseason, is staying with Michigan, the university’s president announced Monday. Santa Ono tweeted that Harbaugh had called him and “shared with me the great news that he is going to remain as the Head Coach of the Michigan Wolverines.” In a statement Monday, Harbaugh said: “I love the relationships that I have at Michigan – coaches, staff, families, administration, President Santo Ono and especially the players and their families. My heart is at the University of Michigan. I once heard a wise man say, ‘Don’t try to out-happy, happy.’ Go Blue!” People close to the situation have told the Detroit Free Press that a contract extension is in the works for Harbaugh that would include a pay raise and a bigger buyout from his contract. The people were granted anonymity because they are not at liberty to speak publicly on the ongoing negotiations. Harbaugh has gone 74-25 at Michigan in eight seasons, including a 25-3 mark in 2021-22, the best two-year stretch for Michigan in the 21st century. His past two seasons at Michigan have yielded two wins over Ohio State, two Big Ten championships and two appearances – and two losses – in the College Football Playoff semifinals. Michigan is 1-6 in bowl games under Harbaugh, losing the past six, including an upset to TCU this season in the Fiesta Bowl. The NFL rumor mill started spinning following the conclusion of Michigan’s season. There were reports that Harbaugh was contacted by the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos, but he released a statement saying he expects to be “enthusiastically coaching Michigan in 2023.” Reports also emerged after the campaign that say Harbaugh, 59, is facing potential discipline by the NCAA after being accused of committing a Level I violation. Harbaugh had interviewed with the Minnesota Vikings last year, a job that eventually went to Los Angeles Rams

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, gesturing from the sideline during this season’s College Football Playoff Fiesta Bowl semifinal game against TCU, has led the Wolverines to the CFP the past two seasons. KIRBY LEE/USA TODAY SPORTS

offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell. Harbaugh appeared to close the door on his return to the NFL in March, saying, “Ultimately, I decided this is where I wanted to be.” Harbaugh professed a commitment to trying to win a national championship title at Michigan. He then signed a new contract for the second straight offseason and made $10 million this

season in salary and bonuses. Monday’s announcement rules out his return to the NFL. Harbaugh spent four seasons as coach of the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 to 2014, racking up a 44-19-1 record. He led Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII following the 2012 season (San Francisco lost 34-31 to the Baltimore Ravens, coached by his broth-

er, John Harbaugh). Harbaugh jumped to Michigan in December 2014 following an 8-8 final season with the 49ers. Harbaugh has also served as the head coach of the University of San Diego (2004-2006) and Stanford (2007-2010). Contributing: Marlowe Alter, Tony Garcia and David Jesse, Detroit Free Press

Armour

MLK Jr. Day

Continued from Page 1C

Continued from Page 1C

Jalen Hurts, meanwhile, had the weekend off after leading the Philadelphia Eagles to the No. 1 seed – and a wild-card weekend bye – in the NFC. That’s five quarterbacks who’ve been drafted since 2019. And it doesn’t include Tua Tagovailoa, who might have orchestrated a different ending to that Miami Dolphins-Buffalo Bills game if he wasn’t still in the concussion protocol. “We’ll keep going,” Jones said after the New York Giants held off the Minnesota Vikings 31-24 on Sunday evening. “We’ve got a lot ahead of us, but we’ll keep going. It’s been fun so far.” Jones was talking about the Giants, who got their first playoff win since Eli Manning and Ahmad Bradshaw rallied to beat that Brady guy and the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl following the 2011 season. But Jones could also have been talking about this long overdue changing of the guard. There have, obviously, been plenty of talented young QBs over the last 20 years. Patrick Mahomes comes to mind, a Super Bowl champion and NFL MVP in his first two seasons as a starter. Lamar Jackson was an MVP in his second NFL season. But a collection of young talent that has gone beyond the hype stage to measurable success in the form of playoff wins? Not all together. Not like this. Purdy’s distinction was supposed to be as Mr. Irrelevant, the last pick of last spring’s draft. Instead, he salvaged San Francisco’s season after first Trey Lance and then Jimmy Garoppolo got hurt, and he is unbeaten in six games as a starter. That includes Saturday’s win over the Seattle Seahawks, in which he threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score. Since becoming the starter, he’s thrown just two interceptions. Lawrence threw twice as many just in the first half against the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday! Lawrence’s miscues seemingly doomed the Jacksonville Jaguars as they fell into a 27-0 hole in the second quarter. But the overall No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft is unflappable, and he rallied the Jaguars – with considerable help from Brandon Staley and the Chargers –

just become that we do. I hope it continues to become a moment in time or season in the year where we really think about what Dr. King sacrificed so a guy like me can be in this position, ’cause that’s what I think about.” “To play in that day, I don’t take lightly,” Suns guard Landry Shamet said. “It’s pretty cool.” The league uses this opportunity to have video tributes to King at arenas where the games are played, as the players wear shirts celebrating the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize winner. “Many people like Dr. King spoke and sacrificed a ton so that someone like me would have an opportunity to be in this position, an African American in a position of leadership making more money than I deserve,” Williams added. Shamet sees playing on the holiday as an opportunity to remind society about how to conduct itself. “I think everyday people should live the right way,” Shamet said. “We definitely need a lot of that in the world today. I think there’s a lot of people in situations that give people reason to be out of touch and feel out of touch with the world and other humans and how to treat one another. It’s an opportunity to bring more conversation back around and awareness back around. Like hey, how am I living day-to-day, how are we living and how are we treating people? And I hope other people view it the same way.”

49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score in his playoff debut. CARY EDMONDSON/USA TODAY SPORTS

for an improbable 31-30 win that was the third-largest comeback in NFL postseason history. Beginning with their final possession before halftime, Lawrence and the Jaguars went touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, game-winning field goal. Lawrence was 23 of 29 for 253 yards in those drives. With the score tied at 24, Jones directed the Giants on a 12-play, 75-yard drive capped by Saquon Barkley’s 2yard scoring run. Jones threw for 58 yards on the drive and ran for another 7, including two on a 4th-and-1. He finished with 301 yards passing and also led the Giants with 78 yards rushing, joining Jackson and Steve Young as the only quarterbacks in postseason history to throw for 300 yards and run for 75. And Jones did Jackson and Young one better, doing it in a win. “Daniel – I’ve said it all year, he’s been good for us, continues to be good for us and he played a good game,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said. “I think there’s a lot of other people that played good games, too, to help him play a good

game, and he’ll be the first to admit it. But as the leader of our football team, I’m proud of him.” Daboll isn’t wrong that other Giants had a hand in this win. But rightly or wrongly, quarterbacks get the credit when things go well and the blame when they don’t. That Jones – and Purdy and Lawrence – had the composure to win their first playoff games bodes well for their futures. And the future of the league. Brady can’t play forever, even if he does seem hellbent on trying. If this wasn’t Aaron Rodgers’ last season, it’s getting close. Matthew Stafford and Russell Wilson are nearer to the end of their careers than the beginning. There will be a void when they’re gone, and it’s reassuring to see there are players capable of filling it. Mahomes and Jackson had already injected new energy into the league, and Burrow and Josh Allen have built on that. Now come Hurts, Purdy, Lawrence and Jones. It’s a new era in the NFL, and it looks as if it’s been worth the wait.

Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks, right, and teammates wear shirts reading Honor King before Monday’s game against the Suns. BRANDON DILL/AP

SPORTS

USA TODAY ❚ TUESDAY JANUARY 17, 2023 ❚ 5C

Jones should use power to be diversity force the authors of the Post story. “I grew up being coached up to be right around fellow human beings,” Jones said.

Jarrett Bell Columnist USA TODAY

Could he do more with his influence? FRISCO, Texas – How many times over the years has something come out of the mouth of Jerry Jones that made you wonder: “Did he just say that?” This popped into mind during an extended interview recently with the Dallas Cowboys owner as we discussed race – including the flood of criticism that came after The Washington Post published a 1957 photo that showed Jones in the background of a disturbance where a mob of white students blocked six Black students from integrating North Little Rock High School – and his role in NFL diversity efforts. I asked Jones, arguably the NFL’s most influential owner, why he hasn’t been more of a force on the diversity front within the league. “The people they put on the diversity committee,” Jones said, “I sure would have gladly ... if they had put in the Jerry Jones Rule rather than the Rooney Rule, I would have been there.” The Jerry Jones Rule? C’mon, man. The Rooney Rule was named after Dan Rooney, the late Pittsburgh Steelers owner who in the early 2000s worked with then-Commissioner Paul Tagliabue – under the threat of legal action led by attorneys Johnnie L. Cochran and Cyrus Mehri – to establish the mandate that teams must interview minority candidates for head coaching vacancies (which has been revised multiple times and includes other key positions). Rooney was chairman of the NFL’s diversity committee, which is now led by his son and Steelers owner, Art Rooney II. The Cowboys, who closed out Martin Luther King Day with a first-round NFC playoff game in Tampa against the Buccaneers, are one of 13 NFL teams to have never had a Black coach in a league where an estimated two-thirds of the players are Black. While acknowledging that, Jones alluded to the new Diversity Advisory Committee, a group of outside experts enlisted last spring by the NFL as another resource. “I was the very first owner to volunteer with the professional group they organized to come in and visit with every owner and not only give them ideas but get their ideas,” Jones said. “I was the very first in line.” Yet it wasn’t too long ago that Jones was widely viewed as the NFL’s face of resistance for his hard-line, “toes on the

Jerry Jones: “I have totally lived my life without a biased bone in it. It was just a part of the sensitivity that my young life was about.” RAYMOND CARLIN III/USA TODAY

line” stance against players kneeling during the Colin Kaepernick-inspired protests during the national anthem that aimed to bring attention to police slayings of Black people and social injustices. That angered many Black fans of the Cowboys. While Jones still contends his position against the protests had more to do with business and the use of the NFL stage than it did social statements, a significant number of fans – especially minorities – could better relate to the need to shed light on social injustices. During one game, Jones tried a compromise that involved him kneeling with players away from the flag before the anthem, then standing for the anthem. Yet most of the criticism came because he threatened the jobs of players who knelt. The stance was overruled by the NFL, but except for a couple of marginal players who took a knee and were later released, no Cowboys protested. “Whatever I am, or whatever I became, it sure as hell wasn’t that I wasn’t genuinely with my heart trying to give everybody the best I could to get the issues and handicaps (minorities) are facing, resolved,” Jones told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s the way I do it. So you say, ‘I disagree with that way,’ but it’s not that I’m not pouring my soul out ... and it’s not an insensitivity to biasness. You’re getting the best I’ve got. The same thing my grandson gets. The same principles for what the NFL is about.” In any event, when the photo from 1957 was published, depicting a 14-yearold Jones on the wrong side of history – despite his contention that he was there as a curious teenager – it was easy for

some to connect the dots to his stance on the protests during the anthem. The recent firestorm as it related to race seemed to sting. “You know my heart,” he said.

Growing up during Jim Crow era Jones maintained that his upbringing in Little Rock during the Jim Crow era heightened his sensitivity, although he never attended school with Black classmates and played on all-white teams in high school and at the University of Arkansas. His father, Pat, owned a grocery store, where Jerry worked as a teenager, that was progressive for the times because it was desegregated. Jones said the store was also a community hub where people would meet or gather and distribute emergency items during times of crisis. Then there was his Uncle Jack, whom Jones said headed the only white family to live, for 40 years, in the College Station section of Little Rock (where, shortly after he bought the Cowboys, he took the team on a relief mission after a tornado). Undoubtedly, Jones was eager to share such details about his family history to add contrast to the heat he’s received over the photograph. “I have totally lived my life without a biased bone in it,” he declared. “It was just a part of the sensitivity that my young life was about.” When it was mentioned that The Washington Post story revealed that his grandfather was a member of the Citizens Council that typically advanced racist causes, Jones said the first that he had heard of it was when told by one of

I haven’t forgotten Jones’ response several years ago when I sat in his office and shared the opinion that with his profile and platform, he could have a huge impact on social issues. “I know,” he stated flatly. Jones is already in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a contributor to the sport, prominently on the front lines when it comes to media deals, labor pacts, marketing and the development of stadium and revenue streams for the league. Yet it’s still true: Jones can make another significant mark by demonstrating and promoting how diversity is good for business. “I’ve been in the league a long time,” he said. “You know me. Would you say that I’ve been sensitive to diversity?” Sure, the Cowboys have had some significant diversity hires during Jones’ regime, which began in 1989. No, Jones has never hired a Black GM (he serves as his own GM), but one of the team’s highest-ranking executives is Will McClay, a Black man who has risen through the ranks to become vice president of personnel. During the 1990s, Jones hired former Cowboys running back Calvin Hill and his wife, Janet, to build what has become a robust player development program that includes counseling services. The culture that Jones has helped instill with the Cowboys includes several stories about how he has aided some former Black players, financially or otherwise, confronted by challenging circumstances. The Cowboys have one of the NFL’s most diverse coaching staffs, according to research done by USA TODAY Sports, with minorities consisting of 50% of the assistants assembled by Mike McCarthy, tied for the sixth-highest rate in the league. They also have the distinction of being the only NFL team where all of the strength and conditioning coaches (three) are Black. But by another measure it’s not so progressive: None of the four coaches listed as coordinators or higher are minorities. Still, in living up to the “America’s Team” tag, the Cowboys are always on watch – beyond the big TV ratings – as social issues such as equal opportunity increasingly intersect with the NFL’s business. Yet the challenge remains for Jones to use his tremendous resources to help level the playing field.

Jones: Who could blame Snyder if he moves on? Jarrett Bell USA TODAY

FRISCO, Texas – Jerry Jones maintains that he is still an ally of embattled Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder. Then again, the relationship isn’t what it used to be. “I would say we’ve had to be more formal in our conversations,” Jones, the Dallas Cowboys owner, told USA TODAY Sports during a December interview. “We’re not as cavalier as we might have been. Follow me? Don’t know who’s listening. Who’s what? So, we’ve had to be more formal.” Snyder has enlisted Bank of America as a facilitator as he explores selling part or all of his franchise, while an NFL investigation headed by former U.S. attorney Mary Jo White, stemming from allegations of sexual harassment of a team employee more than a decade ago, re-

mains open. Snyder, also probed previously by the NFL in addition to a congressional panel and other entities, technically relinquished the day-to-day control of the franchise to his wife, Tanya, per an agreement with the NFL. Jones, one of the NFL’s most powerful owners, said he has yet to see conclusive evidence that would rise to the level of other owners voting to force Snyder to sell his franchise, which would be allowed by bylaws. Yet with Snyder embroiled by so many issues – including an inability, at least to this point, to secure a stadium deal – Jones recognizes the momentum for a sale. “He’s got the perfect storm,” Jones said. “If he decided to move on, who could possibly blame him? Or her? On top of that, he’s not the most beloved guy around, which I guess I might identify with a bit, too.” Pointedly, Jones added, “Is he worth

me taking a sword? He’s not Al Davis. For me, he’s not.” For decades, Jones has spoken glowingly about Davis, the late Raiders owner, who was a huge resource for him before and after he purchased the Cowboys in 1989. Although Jones downplayed a report by ESPN.com in October which maintained, citing an unnamed source, that Snyder told another NFL owner that he “had dirt on Jerry Jones,” he indicated his primary concern about the future of the Commanders franchise involves the bigger picture of the NFL’s long-term growth financially. In other words, it’s big business, not personal. “My main thing about Washington is that I don’t want to do damage to the ability to attract capital,” Jones said. “With sponsors alone, you want people to stand in line to be associated with the

team. There are a lot of natural things that will occur on their own if you don’t mess it up.” It is hardly lost on Jones that the Denver Broncos sold last year for a record $4.65 billion to a group headed by Walmart heir Rob Walton. A Washington sale, some industry analysts project, could set a record and fetch at least $5 billion. “One of the strengths of the NFL is that when you’ve had, for whatever reason, ownership stumble or get tired or get compromised, we have great capital available to us, new owners willing to put in,” Jones said. “So, your future investment in the league doesn’t need to have people that are going to get into a (expletive) storm every time they walk out their door as potential owners. That’s going to keep them from coming in. We want to encourage people to come into the ownership of the league.”

To view more Classified listings, visit: classifieds.usatoday.com

NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICE

BUSINESS

PUBLIC NOTICE

The University of California is requesting proposals from qualified and experienced firms to provide Systemwide IT Consulting Services (RFP No. 002997). In order to be considered, the Supplier must complete and submit a proposal to the University of California in accordance with the solicitation documentation available at https://calusource.net. PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE: Wednesday, February 1st, 2023, 10:00 am PST, via ZOOM. Details are provided in the RFP document. PROPOSAL DUE DATE: March 3rd, 2023, BEFORE 5:00 PM LOCAL TIME. CONTACT: Hilary Steinman, [email protected]

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

This De Jure Grand Jury Finding of Facts that the grievances brought before this Grand Jury on this day December 17th, 2022, in a Presentment of Declaration by People assembled in Illinois State, and find these grievances true and correct. Therefore, the Grand Jury finds that the People in Illinois shall assemble to re-assemble a De Jure Constitutional Republic. This entire document may be viewed by internet at: http://national-assembly.net/blog/index.php/na-blog/ illinois-general-jural-assembly-public-notice Notice to Agents is notice to Principals. Notice to Principals is notice to Agents. The content of this notice is not the opinion or claims of this News Paper publication, its employees or management.

SUCCESSFUL ADVERTISEMENTS start with USA TODAY Marketplace

Call: 1-800-397-0070

NEW GREAT MARKETPLACE RATES! Scan QR Code for Current Specials

Financial Freedom Starts Here! Travel Discounts and Healthcare Specials! Better Health, Better Wealth! Find Out How You Can Become Healthier and Wealthier in 2023.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

REALITY BENDER! This works waaay too fast! Picked up $24k (pot’l) my first month. No selling. I just point to a website and that’s it! www.toodamneasy.com 24-Hr.Rec.1-800-249-9549 ext.1 Referral ID HP103351 Affiliate Opp

BUSINESS SERVICES

Visit Our Opportunity Website at declarewhatyoudesiretoday.com or Call Our 24/7 Opportunity Hotline at 1-888-701-0320.

BUSINESS DEBT CONSOLIDATION

Find Out How to Make 2023 Your Year!

Free Consultation 888-927-0499 businessdebtcounsel.com

Is your business choking due to the daily payment of merchant cash advances? Let our expert attorneys negotiate with your lenders and save your business.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Are you getting hit with high interest rates because of a low credit score? Improve it today! FREE Consultation FREE Credit Evaluation

800-852-4931

IMPROVE YOUR CREDIT SCORE

6C ❚ TUESDAY JANUARY 17, 2023 ❚ USA TODAY

SPORTS

E2

FOR THE RECORD

PGA TOUR

All times ET

Metropolitan Division

Friday’s Game

NBA

Carolina New Jersey N.Y. Rangers Washington N.Y. Islanders Pittsburgh Philadelphia Columbus

Saturday’s Games

EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W 33 27 27 25 20

Boston Brooklyn Philadelphia New York Toronto

L 12 15 16 20 24

Southeast Division W 24 22 18 16 11

Miami Atlanta Washington Orlando Charlotte

Central Division

W 28 28 23 20 12

Milwaukee Cleveland Indiana Chicago Detroit

Pct .733 .643 .628 .556 .455

L 21 22 26 28 34

Pct .533 .500 .409 .364 .244

L 16 17 22 24 35

Pct .636 .622 .511 .455 .255

WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W 29 26 24 13 10

Memphis New Orleans Dallas San Antonio Houston

L 13 18 21 31 33

Northwest Division Denver Utah Minnesota Portland Oklahoma City

Pacific Division Sacramento L.A. Clippers Golden State Phoenix L.A. Lakers

Pct .690 .591 .533 .295 .233

GB — 4½ 5 8 12½ GB — 1½ 5½ 7½ 13 GB — ½ 5½ 8 17½

GB — 4 6½ 17 19½

W 30 23 22 21 21

L 13 24 23 22 23

Pct .698 .489 .489 .488 .477

GB — 9 9 9 9½

W 24 23 22 21 19

L 18 22 22 23 24

Pct .571 .511 .500 .477 .442

GB — 2½ 3 4 5½

Sunday’s Games

Man United 2, Man City 1 Brighton 3, Liverpool 0 Everton 1, Southampton 2 Nottingham Forest 2, Leicester 0 Wolverhampton 1, West Ham 0 Brentford 2, Bournemouth 0

GP 44 44 42 42 44 42 43 41

W 29 25 24 22 21 19 13 11

Chelsea 1, Crystal Palace 0 Newcastle 1, Fulham 0 Tottenham 0, Arsenal 2

L OT Pts GF GA 14 1 59 148 114 12 7 57 152 119 14 4 52 134 118 17 3 46 131 121 20 3 45 139 159 17 6 44 118 126 25 5 31 115 158 26 4 26 94 154

Pacific Division

GP W Vegas 44 28 Seattle 43 26 Los Angeles 46 25 Calgary 44 21 Edmonton 45 24 Vancouver 43 18 San Jose 45 13 Anaheim 43 12 NOTE: Two points for overtime loss.

L OT 14 2 13 4 15 6 14 9 18 3 22 3 23 9 27 4 a win,

Pts 58 56 56 51 51 39 35 28 one

Wednesday’s Game

Crystal Palace vs. Man United, 3 p.m.

Thursday’s Game

Man City vs. Tottenham, 3 p.m.

Saturday’s Games

Liverpool vs. Chelsea, 7:30 a.m. Bournemouth vs. Nottingham Forest, 10 a.m. Leicester vs. Brighton, 10 a.m. Southampton vs. Aston Villa, 10 a.m. West Ham vs. Everton, 10 a.m. Crystal Palace vs. Newcastle, 12:30 p.m.

GF GA 147 126 159 134 154 157 142 134 164 150 150 173 137 172 100 181 point for

Sunday’s Games

Leeds vs. Brentford, 9 a.m. Man City vs. Wolverhampton, 9 a.m. Arsenal vs. Man United, 11:30 a.m.

Monday, Jan. 23

Fulham vs. Tottenham, 3 p.m.

Sunday’s Games

NFL

Monday’s Games

Wild-card Playoffs Saturday’s Games

Montreal 2, N.Y. Rangers 1 Vancouver 4, Carolina 3, SO Winnipeg 2, Arizona 1 Florida 4, Buffalo 1 Boston 6, Philadelphia 0 Colorado 6, Detroit 3 Tampa Bay 4, Seattle 1 New Jersey 4, San Jose 3, SO Dallas at Vegas Anaheim at Pittsburgh N.Y. Rangers at Columbus Washington at N.Y. Islanders Calgary at Nashville Ottawa at St. Louis

San Francisco 41, Seattle 23 Jacksonville 31, L.A. Chargers 30

Sunday’s Games

Buffalo 34, Miami 31 N.Y. Giants 31, Minnesota 24 Cincinnati 24, Baltimore 17

Monday’s Game Dallas at Tampa Bay

Divisional Playoffs Saturday’s Games

Tuesday’s Games

Jacksonville at Kansas City, 4:30 p.m. (NBC) N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia, 8:15 p.m. (FOX)

Sunday’s Games

Cincinnati at Buffalo, 3 p.m. (CBS) Dallas/Tampa Bay winner at San Francisco, 6:30 p.m. (FOX)

COLLEGE BASKETBALL USA TODAY Sports Men’s Coaches’ Poll

W-L Pts LW 1 Houston (17) 17-1 777 1 2 Kansas (9) 16-1 768 2 3 Purdue (5) 16-1 743 3 4 Alabama (1) 15-2 699 4 5 UCLA 16-2 645 6 6 Gonzaga 16-3 616 8 7 Texas 15-2 574 10 8 Xavier 15-3 555 11 9 Tennessee 14-3 537 5 10 Virginia 13-3 499 12 11 Arizona 15-3 410 9 12 Iowa State 13-3 379 14 13 TCU 14-3 372 17 14 Connecticut 15-4 367 7 15 Kansas State 15-2 364 13 16 Miami (Fla.) 14-3 266 15 17 Auburn 14-3 235 22 18 Marquette 14-5 197 23 19 Clemson 15-3 177 28 20 Providence 14-4 172 19 21 Charleston 18-1 153 24 22 Baylor 12-5 133 27 23 Illinois 12-5 97 26 24 Saint Mary’s 16-4 88 31 25 Arkansas 12-5 82 16 Dropped out: No. 18 Wisconsin 11-5, No. 20 Missouri 13-4, No. 21 Duke 13-5, No. 25 San Diego State 13-4. Others receiving votes: Rutgers 13-5 74; Duke 13-5 64; Florida Atlantic 16-1 58; Michigan State 12-5 42; Wisconsin 11-5 41; Indiana 11-6 32; New Mexico 16-2 25; San Diego State 13-4 24; Iowa 12-6 23; Ohio State 10-7 21; Missouri 13-4 21; Arizona State 15-3 20; North Carolina State 14-4 16; Kentucky 11-6 10; Texas A&M 12-5 8; Boise State 14-4 7; North Carolina 12-6 3; Texas Tech 10-7 3; Nevada 15-4 2; Tulane 12-5 1. The USA TODAY Sports board of coaches is made up of 32 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

Thursday’s Games

Tuesday’s Games

Toronto at Milwaukee, 7:30 p.m. Brooklyn at San Antonio, 8 p.m. Portland at Denver, 9 p.m. Philadelphia at L.A. Clippers, 10 p.m.

Wednesday’s Games

Atlanta at Dallas, 7:30 p.m. Washington at New York, 7:30 p.m. Charlotte at Houston, 8 p.m. Cleveland at Memphis, 8 p.m. Indiana at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m. Miami at New Orleans, 8 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Utah, 9 p.m. Minnesota at Denver, 10 p.m. Sacramento at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday’s Games

Chicago at Detroit, 3 p.m. Golden State at Boston, 7:30 p.m. Toronto at Minnesota, 8 p.m. Brooklyn at Phoenix, 10 p.m. Philadelphia at Portland, 10 p.m.

NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division

L OT Pts GF GA 5 4 72 166 94 11 7 59 147 117 13 1 57 152 122 20 4 46 148 153 19 2 44 160 146 17 7 43 131 145 20 3 41 125 137 23 3 39 116 162

Anaheim at Columbus, 7 p.m. Boston at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m. Chicago at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. Florida at Montreal, 7 p.m. Minnesota at Carolina, 7 p.m. Winnipeg at Toronto, 7 p.m. N.Y. Islanders at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m. Nashville at St. Louis, 8 p.m. Tampa Bay at Edmonton, 9 p.m. Washington at Arizona, 9 p.m. Detroit at Vegas, 10 p.m. New Jersey at Seattle, 10 p.m. Dallas at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.

SOCCER English Premier League GP Arsenal 18 Man City 18 Newcastle 19 Man United 18 Tottenham 19 Fulham 20 Brighton 18 Brentford 19 Liverpool 18 Chelsea 19 Aston Villa 19 Crystal Palace 18 Nottingham For. 19 Leeds 18 Leicester 19 Wolverhampton 19 Bournemouth 19 West Ham 19 Everton 19 Southampton 19

W 15 12 10 12 10 9 9 7 8 8 7 6 5 4 5 4 4 4 3 4

D 2 3 8 2 3 4 3 8 4 4 4 4 5 5 2 5 4 3 6 3

L 1 3 1 4 6 7 6 4 6 7 8 8 9 9 12 10 11 12 10 12

GF 42 46 33 29 37 32 35 32 34 22 22 17 15 26 26 12 18 15 15 17

GA 14 18 11 21 27 29 25 28 25 21 27 26 34 33 33 27 41 25 26 34

Pts 47 39 38 38 33 31 30 29 28 28 25 22 20 17 17 17 16 15 15 15

WEATHER TODAY’S FORECAST

Si Woo Kim (500), $1,422,000........................67-67-64-64—262 (-18) Hayden Buckley (300), $861,100 ...................67-64-64-68—263 (-17) Chris Kirk (190), $545,100..............................64-65-68-68—265 (-15) David Lipsky (115), $332,458.........................65-66-66-69—266 (-14) Andrew Putnam (115), $332,458....................70-66-62-68—266 (-14) Ben Taylor (115), $332,458 ............................66-66-65-69—266 (-14) Aaron Baddeley (80), $231,865 ......................67-70-65-65—267 (-13) Matt Kuchar (80), $231,865............................70-67-64-66—267 (-13) Nate Lashley (80), $231,865..........................69-65-65-68—267 (-13) Maverick McNealy (80), $231,865...................66-67-67-67—267 (-13) Nick Taylor (80), $231,865..............................70-68-62-67—267 (-13) Byeong Hun An (54), $138,908 ......................70-65-66-67—268 (-12) Corey Conners (54), $138,908.......................69-66-68-65—268 (-12) Nicolas Echavarria (54), $138,908 .................69-69-65-65—268 (-12) Austin Eckroat (54), $138,908 .......................66-66-68-68—268 (-12) Ben Griffin (54), $138,908..............................65-68-67-68—268 (-12) Seonghyeon Kim (54), $138,908....................65-67-68-68—268 (-12) Taylor Montgomery (54), $138,908 ...............64-66-70-68—268 (-12) Andrew Novak (54), $138,908 ........................66-70-67-65—268 (-12) J.J. Spaun (54), $138,908 ................................66-64-71-67—268 (-12) Stewart Cink (37), $77,025..............................66-68-67-68—269 (-11) Brice Garnett (37), $77,025 .............................70-67-68-64—269 (-11) J.T. Poston (37), $77,025..................................67-66-67-69—269 (-11) Adam Scott (37), $77,025................................69-66-67-67—269 (-11) Brendon Todd (37), $77,025 ............................65-68-71-65—269 (-11) Kevin Yu (37), $77,025 ....................................67-66-68-68—269 (-11) Carl Yuan (37), $77,025 ...................................70-65-66-68—269 (-11) Will Gordon (29), $55,300 ...............................69-67-63-71—270 (-10) Harry Hall (29), $55,300................................66-69-66-69—270 (-10) Stephan Jaeger (29), $55,300 .......................67-66-69-68—270 (-10) Kyoung-Hoon Lee (29), $55,300 ...................69-67-65-69—270 (-10) Tyson Alexander (20), $41,387 ........................68-69-65-69—271 (-9) Cameron Davis (20), $41,387............................66-70-68-67—271 (-9) Brian Harman (20), $41,387 ..............................67-69-70-65—271 (-9) Russell Henley (20), $41,387 ............................67-69-67-68—271 (-9) Ben Martin (20), $41,387..................................68-68-67-68—271 (-9) Denny McCarthy (20), $41,387.........................65-68-68-70—271 (-9) Ryan Palmer (20), $41,387 ................................71-67-68-65—271 (-9) Doc Redman (20), $41,387................................67-68-67-69—271 (-9) Michael Thompson (20), $41,387.....................69-65-69-68—271 (-9) Ryan Brehm (12), $28,045 ...............................69-69-68-66—272 (-8) Nick Hardy (12), $28,045 ..................................71-63-68-70—272 (-8) Tom Hoge (12), $28,045 ...................................68-70-67-67—272 (-8) Augusto Nunez (12), $28,045 ..........................67-68-69-68—272 (-8) Chez Reavie (12), $28,045 ................................67-67-69-69—272 (-8) Justin Suh (12), $28,045 ..................................70-65-68-69—272 (-8) Adam Svensson (12), $28,045..........................69-69-67-67—272 (-8) Zac Blair (8), $20,250........................................67-69-72-65—273 (-7) Danny Lee (8), $20,250....................................69-68-67-69—273 (-7) Adam Long (8), $20,250...................................68-70-67-68—273 (-7) Hideki Matsuyama (8), $20,250 .......................68-69-65-71—273 (-7) Greyson Sigg (8), $20,250 ................................71-67-66-69—273 (-7) Brendan Steele (8), $20,250 ............................66-72-68-67—273 (-7) Joseph Bramlett (6), $18,249..........................68-69-68-69—274 (-6)

Sunday’s Games

WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division Winnipeg Dallas Minnesota Colorado St. Louis Nashville Arizona Chicago

Sony Open in Hawaii Sunday Waialae Country Club, Honolulu Purse: $7.9 million Yardage: 7,044; Par: 70 Final Round

Aston Villa 2, Leeds 1

Pittsburgh at Ottawa, 7 p.m. Boston at N.Y. Islanders, 7:30 p.m. Colorado at Calgary, 9:30 p.m. Dallas at San Jose, 10 p.m. Tampa Bay at Vancouver, 10 p.m.

Boston 130, Charlotte 118 Milwaukee 132, Indiana 119 Cleveland 113, New Orleans 103 Golden State 127, Washington 118 Toronto 123, New York 121, OT Atlanta 121, Miami 113 Utah 126, Minnesota 125 Phoenix at Memphis Houston at L.A. Lakers

W 34 26 28 21 21 18 19 18

L OT Pts GF GA 9 8 62 141 120 12 3 61 156 116 13 7 55 141 119 16 6 52 144 126 18 3 49 133 120 15 6 48 135 127 19 7 43 122 143 27 2 28 109 167

Wednesday’s Games

Monday’s Games

GP 43 44 42 45 42 42 42 44

W 27 29 24 23 23 21 18 13

Anaheim at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. Florida at Toronto, 7 p.m. Minnesota at Washington, 7 p.m. Winnipeg at Montreal, 7 p.m. Columbus at Nashville, 8 p.m. Buffalo at Chicago, 8:30 p.m. Detroit at Arizona, 9 p.m. Seattle at Edmonton, 9 p.m.

New York 117, Detroit 104 L.A. Clippers 121, Houston 100 Chicago 132, Golden State 118 Oklahoma City 112, Brooklyn 102 Sacramento 132, San Antonio 119 Denver 119, Orlando 116 Portland 140, Dallas 123 Philadelphia 113, L.A. Lakers 112

Boston Toronto Tampa Bay Florida Buffalo Detroit Ottawa Montreal

GP 44 44 44 45 44 42 44 42

ODDS PROVIDED BY

AP Men’s Top Twenty Five

Odds available as of print deadline

Favorite

Spread

Favorite

Spread

CHIEFS EAGLES

9.0 7.0

BILLS

4.0

48

Underdog

-200

Bengals

lines and compete in Daily Ticket free-to-play games

The top 25 teams in the Associated Press’ women’s college basketball poll, with firstplace votes in parentheses, and total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking. W-L Pts LW 1. South Carolina (28) 18-0 700 1 2. Ohio St. 18-0 670 3 3. LSU 18-0 604 5 4. Stanford 17-2 601 2 5. UConn 15-2 600 4 6. Indiana 16-1 586 6 7. Notre Dame 14-2 546 7 8. Utah 15-1 477 10 9. UCLA 15-3 428 8 10. Iowa 14-4 414 12 11. Maryland 14-4 413 9 12. Virginia Tech 14-3 391 13 13. Duke 16-1 361 16 14. Michigan 15-3 341 17 15. Oklahoma 14-2 304 19 16. Gonzaga 17-2 249 20 17. North Carolina 12-5 237 22 18. Iowa St. 11-4 205 15 19. Arizona 14-4 185 14 20. NC State 13-5 139 11 21. Illinois 15-3 120 24 22. Villanova 16-3 94 25 23. Oregon 13-5 75 21 24. Colorado 14-3 65 25. Texas 13-5 62 Others receiving votes: Baylor 51, Middle Tennessee 39, Arkansas 34, South Florida 24, Miami 23, Florida St. 23, Tennessee 19, Southern Cal 7, Creighton 4, Louisville 4, Kansas 3, West Virginia 2.

DEALS BASKETBALL WNBA

MINNESOTA LYNX — Announced the retirement of F Maya Moore.

FOOTBALL National Football League

DALLAS COWBOYS — Reinstated DT Johnathan Hankins from injured reserve. Promoted T Aviante Collins and CB Xavier Rhodes from the practice squad to the active roster. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS — Reinstated C Ryan Jensen from injured reserve.

HOCKEY National Hockey League

BUFFALO SABRES — Recalled G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen from Rochester (AHL). Loaned G Peyton Krebs to Rochester. CAROLINA HURRICANES — Returned G Pyotr Kochetkov to Chicago (AHL). COLORADO AVALNACHE — Recalled LW Anton Blidh from Colorado (AHL). EDMONTON OILERS — Returned G Calvin Pikard to Bakersfield (AHL). FLORIDA PANTHERS — Recalled LW Grigori Denisenko from Charlotte (AHL). MINNESOTA WILD — Signed F Matt Boldy to a seven-year contract. NASHVILLE PREDATORS — Reassigned G Tomas Vomacka from Milwaukee (AHL) to Norfolk (ECHL). SEATTLE KRAKEN — Recalled RW John Hayden from Coachella Valley (AHL). WINNIPEG JETS — Recalled D Ville Heinola from Manitoba (AHL). Assigned C Jansen Harkins to Manitoba.

Download our free app

PRECIPITATION FORECAST Rain

Snow

Ice/mix

37

47

Burns

37

Eureka Sacramento

54

San Francisco

24

Reno

34

Carson City

Los Angeles

61

42

59

62

MidlandOdessa

El Paso Fairbanks Anchorage

2

Juneau

Hawaii

64

51

74

80

80

62

57

Shreveport

79

Baton Rouge

77

Houston

78

New Orleans

52

Columbia

61

64

Mobile

Tallahassee

72

74

77

53

Raleigh

71

74

Richmond

57

Montgomery Jackson

Charleston

68

Below 10

10s

20s

74

HOTTEST: 87° Zapata, Texas

68

Miami

40s

50s

60s

76

83

82

30s

70s

Note: For contiguous 48 states through 3 p.m. ET yesterday

73

Jacksonville

San Juan

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather Inc. ©2023

80s

90s

100s

WEDNESDAY

EXTREMES

Savannah

Tampa

Puerto Rico Brownsville

46

49

52

Charleston

Atlanta

68

69

TODAY

Philadelphia

Washington Annapolis

55

67

46

43

51

Charlotte

Nashville

Hartford New York

45

58

37

Boston

47

36

Harrisburg

Cincinnati

Little Rock Birmingham

San Antonio

79

55

Indianapolis

68

34

Pittsburgh

Columbus

Memphis

Dallas/Ft. Worth

Austin

69

Honolulu

38

28

55

46

Tulsa

64

Lubbock

47

42

53 55

55

Oklahoma City

48

52

Lansing Chicago

Montpelier

Albany

Cleveland

Jefferson City St. Louis Louisville Knoxville Wichita

51

Albuquerque

Phoenix

60

48

48

Santa Fe

Flagstaff

29

San Diego

Alaska

Topeka

32

29

Kansas City

Dodge City

Palm Springs

58

38

Denver

Aspen

46

52

39

39

41

Detroit

45 48

43

Madison

Des Moines

Omaha

33

St. George

Las Vegas

53

39

Cheyenne

36

30

North Platte

33 Buffalo

Grand Milwaukee Rapids

Sioux Falls

27

27

Salt Lake City

33

Pierre

Casper

33

Elko

38

Fresno

35

Idaho Falls Jackson Hole

36

Augusta

Burlington

Mpls-St. Paul

19

Rapid City

39

34

33 Fargo

Billings

34

Marquette

Duluth

22

28

36

40

Bismarck

Miles City

Helena

Boise

45 54

Bangor

Spokane

Bend

55

ML

Jaguars Giants

See up-to-the-minute

The weather changes. Stay up-to-date, 24/7.

WEATHER ONLINE USATODAY.COM

Portland

48

50

Underdog

Seattle

Olympia

Salem

Sunday O/U

ML

-420 -320

Scan for latest odds

T-storms

47

52 48

For the latest picks and expert analysis, go to sportsbookwire.com

TODAY’S HIGH TEMPERATURES

A storm will lift northward across the Great Lakes region today. Some snow and mixed precipitation will fall on part of the Upper Midwest and in the northern parts of the Appalachians. Mostly rain will fall from the eastern Great Lakes to the mid-Atlantic Coast and the central Gulf Coast. A few thunderstorms are likely to occur in the Southern states. While dry weather is in store for much of the central Plains, a new storm will push inland of California and on through the interior West with areas of snow. Some of the snow will be heavy over the mountains of Arizona, Utah and Colorado while rain showers dampen the deserts. Rain and mountain snow showers will tend to linger in the coastal Northwest while much of California is likely to be dry.

O/U

Odds are subject to change. Tipico Sportsbook does not offer lines for New Jersey-based college sports teams. Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of any such relationships and there is no influence on news coverage. Terms and conditions apply, see site for details. 21+ only. Gambling Problem? Call: 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, PA, IL, VA), 1-800-522-4700 (CO, NV, KS), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-589-9966 (OH), 1-877-770-7867 (LA), 1-888-238-7633 (MO), 1-888-777-9696 (MS). Call or text: 1-800-889-9789 (TN).

AP Top 25 Women’s Poll

The top 25 teams in the Associated Press’ college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, and total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking. W-L Pts LW 1. Houston (34) 17-1 1460 1 2. Kansas (23) 16-1 1446 2 3. Purdue (3) 16-1 1382 3 4. Alabama 15-2 1347 4 5. UCLA 16-2 1237 7 6. Gonzaga 16-3 1178 8 7. Texas 15-2 1122 10 8. Xavier 15-3 1047 12 9. Tennessee 14-3 1019 5 10. Virginia 13-3 926 13 11. Arizona 15-3 838 9 12. Iowa St. 13-3 795 14 13. Kansas St 15-2 771 11 14. TCU 14-3 753 17 15. UConn 15-4 668 6 16. Auburn 14-3 553 21 17. Miami 14-3 487 16 18. Coll of Charleston 18-1 351 22 19. Clemson 15-3 339 20. Marquette 14-5 306 25 21. Baylor 12-5 267 22. Providence 14-4 262 19 23. Rutgers 13-5 131 24. FAU 16-1 126 25. Arkansas 12-5 115 15 Others receiving votes: NC State 111, Saint Mary’s 106, Arizona St 79, New Mexico 67, Illinois 61, San Diego St. 44, Michigan St. 29, Duke 24, Wisconsin 14, Creighton 9, Kent St. 8, Boise St. 6, Texas A&M 5, Ohio St. 3, Missouri 3, Iowa 2, VCU 2, North Carolina 1.

NFL Saturday

COLDEST: -7° Big Piney, THURSDAY Wyo.

110+

TOP TRAVEL CITIES Air quality index (AQI) BALTIMORE

ATLANTA

BOSTON

CHARLOTTE

TUE

Rain 64/57

TUE

Shower 49/41

TUE

Milder 47/38

TUE

WED

Shower 67/60

WED

Partly sunny 57/40

WED

Breezy 50/34

WED

THU

Showers around 40/35

THU

T-storms 69/43

AQI Good

AQI Good

WED THU

Partly sunny 76/62 Sunny, nice 79/67 Partly sunny 82/66

WED THU AQI Good

AQI Good c Cloudy

Snow at times 36/26 Low clouds 33/26 Snow, 1-2” 28/17

TUE

f Fog

U.S. CITIES Akron, Ohio Albany, N.Y. Albuquerque Allentown, Pa. Amarillo, Texas Anaheim, Calif. Anchorage, Alaska Aspen, Colo. Atlantic City, N.J. Augusta, Ga. Austin, Texas Baton Rouge, La. Billings, Mont. Birmingham, Ala. Bismarck, N.D. Boise, Idaho Buffalo, N.Y. Burlington, Vt. Cedar Rapids, Iowa Charleston, S.C. Charleston, W.Va. Cheyenne, Wyo.

i Ice

r Rain

THU

AQI Good

MPLS-ST. PAUL

MIAMI

TUE

Rain 54/43

THU

WED 42/38c 43/30c 40/22pc 48/36c 50/25w 61/41s 22/19c 24/2sn 54/39pc 72/59pc 77/47pc 56/39f 80/59t 40/25s 69/62c 21/14c 40/30pc 38/34sn 37/25sn 34/29sn 71/57pc 54/48pc 27/17sn

Partly sunny 74/58

TUE

WED

Cloudy 40/36

WED

Shower 70/40

WED

THU

Rain, snow 39/28

THU

Cooler 57/41

THU

Rain 77/65

TUE

Shower 43/40

TUE

WED

Showers 78/64

WED

Breezy 52/38

WED

T-storm 72/52

THU

sn Snow

Rain 45/40

AQI Moderate w Windy

Cincinnati Cleveland Colorado Springs Columbia, S.C. Columbus, Ohio Corpus Christi, Texas Dayton, Ohio Daytona Beach, Fla. Des Moines, Iowa Duluth, Minn. Durham, N.C. El Paso, Texas Fairbanks, Alaska Flagstaff, Ariz. Fargo, N.D. Fort Myers, Fla. Fort Smith, Ark. Fort Wayne, Ind. Fresno, Calif. Grand Rapids, Mich. Green Bay, Wis. Greensboro, N.C. Greenville, S.C. Harrisburg, Pa.

dr Drizzle

TODAY 58/38pc 52/39c 39/24sn 61/54t 55/38c 79/67pc 55/37c 73/48s 39/27pc 33/17sn 49/42r 55/36sh 2/-15pc 29/21sn 19/11sn 75/56s 69/51pc 48/36c 53/39pc 45/36c 40/31sn 52/43r 52/46r 45/40r

AQI Good

h Haze

WED 49/46c 41/37c 32/15sn 71/57pc 46/41c 85/53t 46/44c 77/57pc 36/29sn 26/22c 60/50pc 53/32w -2/-9pc 34/9pc 20/16c 80/61s 63/38r 42/39c 55/42f 39/36c 35/30c 64/53pc 63/55pc 51/37c

THU AQI Good

pc Partly cloudy

Shower 46/42

TUE

WED

Breezy 54/39

WED

Rain 49/43

AQI Moderate s Sunny

Hartford, Conn. Indianapolis Islip, N.Y. Jackson, Miss. Jacksonville, Fla. Jefferson City, Mo. Kansas City Key West, Fla. Knoxville, Tenn. Laredo, Texas Lexington, Ky. Lincoln, Neb. Little Rock, Ark. Long Beach, Calif. Louisville, Ky. Lubbock, Texas Madison, Wis. Manchester, N.H. Memphis, Tenn. Milwaukee Mobile, Ala. Modesto, Calif. Montgomery, Ala. Myrtle Beach, S.C.

sh Showers

TODAY 46/33pc 51/34pc 45/37pc 74/61r 74/53s 53/38pc 48/37pc 76/68s 57/49r 86/63pc 59/40sh 42/26pc 69/53pc 61/43pc 62/42pc 62/35c 39/30c 48/36pc 68/56pc 43/34c 72/59r 50/36pc 71/56r 62/55c

Cold 32/15

WED 47/34c 44/43r 51/35c 76/54sh 78/55pc 49/39r 40/32r 78/71pc 62/56sh 81/52c 55/52c 32/25sn 66/43t 59/43c 56/53r 55/27w 36/29c 49/32c 68/49t 38/34c 75/65sh 51/40f 74/63sh 64/56pc

THU

Mostly cloudy 59/42 Partly sunny 58/39 Mostly sunny 60/41

AQI Good

HONOLULU

TUE

Shower 48/38

TUE

WED

Low clouds 40/36

WED

THU

Rain 48/33

THU

AQI Good

PHOENIX

TUE

THU

Mostly cloudy 32/21 Snow, 2-4” 25/13

AQI Good

PHILADELPHIA

Mostly sunny 74/49 Partly sunny 79/57 Clouding up 84/62

DETROIT

DENVER

TUE

TUE

THU

DALLAS/FT. WORTH

Shower 42/34

ORLANDO

NEW YORK

AQI Good

TODAY

CHICAGO

TUE

AQI Good

AQI Good

NEW ORLEANS

sf Snowflurries

52/38c 36/32sf 48/27sh 43/37r 61/33c 59/41pc 28/17pc 29/16sn 46/42c 65/53t 80/63pc 50/37c 77/65r 39/23s 68/59r 22/13sf 40/24c 41/37r 33/30pc 36/27pc 68/56c 57/40r 33/20c

A little rain 55/48 Partly sunny 67/58 A few showers 67/44

AQI Good

SALT LAKE CITY A bit of snow 36/25 Rather cloudy 34/22 Snow, 1-2” 30/22

TUE WED THU

Partly sunny 79/65 Partly sunny 82/66 Some sun 80/69

AQI Good

WED THU

Fog 78/68 Heavy t-storms 73/50 Partly sunny 68/45

WED THU AQI Good

SAN DIEGO

TUE

HOUSTON

TUE

Shower 60/45 Clouding up 61/45 Partly sunny 60/44

AQI Good

Clouds, sun 55/46 Mostly cloudy 57/46 Partly sunny 56/42

WED THU

WED THU

Partly sunny 52/37 Mostly sunny 52/35 Cold 49/39

AQI Moderate

SAN FRANCISCO

TUE

LAS VEGAS

TUE

AQI Good

SEATTLE

LOS ANGELES

WED THU AQI Good

WASHINGTON

TUE

A P.M. shower 48/44

TUE

WED

Rain 47/36

WED

THU

A stray shower 43/35

THU

AQI Good

Partly sunny 58/42 Mostly sunny 60/45 Partly sunny 58/42

TUE

A few showers 52/44 Partly sunny 56/44 Rain at times 56/45

AQI Good

t Thunderstorms

Nags Head, N.C. Nashville, Tenn. Newark, N.J. New Haven, Conn. Norfolk, Va. Oakland, Calif. Oklahoma City Omaha, Neb. Palm Springs, Calif. Pensacola, Fla. Pierre, S.D. Pittsburgh Portland, Maine Portland, Ore. Providence, R.I. Raleigh, N.C. Rapid City, S.D. Reno, Nev. Richmond, Va. Rochester, N.Y. Sacramento, Calif. San Antonio San Jose, Calif. Santa Fe, N.M.

TODAY 48/44sh 67/49r 45/40sh 44/37pc 51/47c 55/43pc 64/51c 38/27pc 61/42c 74/63r 27/18c 51/40r 40/29pc 47/43sh 48/35sh 52/44r 35/24c 38/20c 53/44sh 43/36r 54/36c 80/62pc 56/39pc 42/22c

WED 50/44pc 65/56sh 52/38pc 51/38c 63/48pc 56/43c 60/30r 33/25sn 64/43s 76/67pc 22/16sn 44/38c 44/25c 46/36r 48/34pc 66/54pc 34/20sn 40/29pc 62/46pc 38/31c 53/42f 78/45c 58/40c 34/13c

Sarasota, Fla. Savannah, Ga. Scottsdale, Ariz. Shreveport, La. Sioux Falls, S.D. South Bend, Ind. Spokane, Wash.

St. Louis St. Petersburg, Fla. Syracuse, N.Y. Tallahassee, Fla. Tampa, Fla. Toledo, Ohio Topeka, Kan. Tucson, Ariz. Tupelo, Miss. Tulsa, Okla. Virginia Beach, Va. Wichita, Kan. Wilmington, Del. Winston-Salem, N.C. Worcester, Mass.

TODAY 70/54s 73/56pc 57/41c 79/63c 30/20c 44/34c 37/32c 57/44s 46/33pc 55/39pc 69/57s 38/35r 74/59t 68/56pc 51/39c 48/37s 56/37sh 73/56r 64/50pc 52/47sh 55/41pc 45/38c 53/45r 46/33pc

WED 77/62pc 74/59pc 57/37pc 70/45t 26/21sn 41/37c 40/29sn 54/31r 44/38r 45/42r 76/64pc 38/31sn 75/62c 77/61pc 43/36c 41/30r 55/33s 71/54sh 64/33r 62/49pc 56/26r 53/39pc 64/53pc 44/32c

WORLD CITIES Beijing Buenos Aires Cancun, Mexico Dubai, UAE Frankfurt Hong Kong Istanbul Jerusalem Johannesburg London Mexico City Montreal Moscow Mumbai, India Paris Rio de Janeiro Rome Seoul Singapore Sydney Toronto Tokyo

TODAY 42/11h 88/74pc 81/73pc 83/69c 39/28pc 61/56pc 60/56w 57/44s 84/58pc 38/28pc 79/41pc 28/25c 33/31sn 83/68h 39/30r 86/78s 59/51r 34/23c 89/76c 82/70pc 40/35r 46/39pc

WED 40/13h 84/71h 83/76pc 74/62pc 37/27sn 67/58pc 64/53h 60/44s 86/62pc 41/30pc 78/45c 36/19c 37/35sf 86/69h 41/30pc 87/75t 55/47r 36/19s 85/76sh 87/69w 39/30c 52/39pc

SPORTS

USA TODAY ❚ TUESDAY JANUARY 17, 2023 ❚ 7C

Nadal struggles at times in 4-set win at Australian Open Howard Fendrich Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia – Rafael Nadal never truly seemed in danger of becoming the first Australian Open defending men’s champion to lose in the first round since his current coach, Carlos Moya, managed to beat Boris Becker a quarter of a century ago. Still, this was not a vintage performance by Nadal, who came into Monday’s matchup against 21-year-old Jack Draper with a 0-2 record in 2023 and six losses in his past seven outings overall. After nearly two hours of so-so play, Nadal found himself even at a set apiece. He appeared to be pulling away, taking advantage of his opponent’s bout with cramps on an afternoon with the temperature at about 85 degrees, when suddenly Draper went up by a break in the fourth set. From there, though, Nadal would not drop another game, beginning his pursuit of a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam championship with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 win that took more than 3 1⁄2 hours in Rod Laver Arena. “I need a victory, so that’s the main thing,” Nadal said. “Doesn’t matter the way.” That’s good, then, because the 36year-old from Spain was not in peak form. All in all, it was a bit of a struggle. He tried to put a silver-lining spin on things, nonetheless, given his recent track record and knowing that he tore an abdominal muscle twice in the past six months. “I was humble enough to accept that (there were) going to be a little bit of ups and downs during the match,” Nadal said. That’s a “typical thing when you are not in a winning mood.” Both men are left-handers, but that is pretty much where the similarities end, whether in terms of style or age or experience or accomplishments. Nadal, who is seeded No. 1 because top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz is sidelined with an injury, is appearing in his 67th Grand Slam tournament. Draper, ranked a career-best No. 38 this week, was making his fourth trip to a major tournament and his best showing was getting to the third round at the US Open last September. Draper also has faced problems dealing with steamy conditions: In his ATP Tour debut at the Miami Open in March 2021, he collapsed on court and needed to stop playing after one set. “Real honor to play against him, someone I’ve idolized growing up. To go

MONDAY REWIND Key results Women’s first round: No. 1 Iga Swiatek beat Jule Niemeier 6-4, 7-5; No. 3 Jessica Pegula beat Jaqueline Adina Cristian 6-0, 6-1; No. 6 Maria Sakkari beat Yuan Yue, 6-1, 6-4; No. 7 Coco Gauff beat Katerina Siniakova 6-1, 6-4; No. 13 Danielle Collins beat Anna Kalinskaya 7-5, 5-7, 6-4; No. 15 Petra Kvitova beat Alison van Uytvanck 7-6 (3), 6-2; No. 17 Jelena Ostapenko beat Dayana Yastremska 6-4, 6-2; No. 24 Victoria Azarenka beat Sofia Kenin 6-4, 7-6 (3); Bianca Andreescu beat No. 25 Marie Bouzkova 6-2, 6-4; Marta Kostyuk beat No. 28 Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 6-4. Men’s first round: No. 1 Rafael Nadal beat Jack Draper 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1; No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz beat Pedro Martinez 7-6 (1), 6-2, 6-2; No. 15 Jannik Sinner beat Kyle Edmund 6-4, 6-0, 6-2; No. 28 Francisco Cerundolo beat Guido Pella 6-4, 6-4, 6-3; No. 16 Frances Tiafoe beat Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6); No. 20 Denis Shapovalov beat Dusan Lajovic 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1; No. 29 Sebastian Korda beat Cristian Garin 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2; Alex Molcan beat Stan Wawrinka 6-7 (3), 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4.

Stat of the day

0

Number of main-draw wins at the Australian Open in the professional era by Chinese men until Monday, when 17-year-old qualifier Shang Juncheng beat Germany’s Oscar Otte 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5.

Quote of the day

Coco Gauff, seeded seventh, overcame Katerina Siniakova 6-1, 6-4 Monday in the first round of the Australian Open. MIKE FREY/USA TODAY SPORTS

toe-to-toe with him on a big court like that is special,” Draper said. “I can take away the fact that my tennis is getting closer and closer. And physically, I’ll be first to say I’m still a work in progress.” This time, signs of trouble showed up early, and Draper was treated by a trainer during changeovers. Later, he massaged his right thigh between points. Nadal, not surprisingly, wore Draper down from the baseline, engaging in exchanges before finding an opening to yank a big forehand this way or that. “When you win matches, you are more relaxed,” Nadal said. “You are more confident.” His next opponent will be Mackie McDonald, a past NCAA champion at UCLA who won an all-American matchup against Brandon Nakashima that lasted four hours by a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1), 1-6, 6-7 (10), 6-4 score. The No. 1-seeded woman, Iga Swiatek, followed Nadal into Laver for the night session and found herself in a tight second set before reeling off the last four games to eliminate 69thranked Jule Niemeier 6-4, 7-5. Americans Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff and Danielle Collins, the 2022

runner-up at Melbourne Park, also reached the second round with straightset victories Monday, and 2017 US Open finalist Madison Keys won in three sets. Other women advancing included 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu and sixth-seeded Maria Sakkari, while two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka got past 2020 winner Sofia Kenin 6-4, 7-6 (3). There were plenty of other major titlists on the packed Day 1 schedule, with Petra Kvitova, Elena Rybakina, Jelena Ostapenko and Barbora Krejcikova among the winners. But three-time Slam champ Stan Wawrinka bowed out with a 6-7 (3), 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 loss to Alex Molcan. The biggest surprise of the day came off the court: the withdrawal of Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios, who needs surgery on his left knee. “I’m devastated, obviously,” said Kyrgios, a 27-year-old from Australia who won the men’s doubles championship at Melbourne Park a year ago. Men who moved on included No. 3seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas, No. 6 Felix

“Yes, we feel pressure being the top Americans and want to do well for our country, but I feel they’re on the ‘GOAT’ status and we’re not even close to reaching that, so there’s no need for us to put pressure on ourselves for that yet.” – Coco Gauff, asked if she and Jessica Pegula feel pressure trying to represent the U.S. after the success of Serena and Venus Williams. – Associated Press

Auger-Aliassime, No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz, No. 16 Frances Tiafoe and No. 20 Denis Shapovalov. Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion and the runner-up in Melbourne the past two years, breezed past Marcos Giron of the U.S. 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 at night. The No. 3-seeded Pegula overwhelmed Jaqueline Cristian of Romania 6-0, 6-1 in just 59 minutes, No. 7 Gauff overcame a second-set wobble to beat Katerina Siniakova 6-1, 6-4, and No. 13 Collins had her left knee treated and taped up while defeating Anna Kalinskaya 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. Pegula and Gauff could meet in the semifinals; Collins could play Swiatek in the fourth round. “Today is just one of those days everything was working,” said Pegula, a quarterfinalist in Melbourne each of the past two years. “Always feels good when you win a match like that. “I think when those days come you just kind of take it and don’t complain and don’t critique. You kind of just move on to the next one.” Contributing: AP freelancer Simon Cambers

Maya Moore announces ‘Aggressive’ birdie chip-in retirement from WNBA gives Kim 4th tour win CONVERSATIONS WITH CHAMPIONS

Jaylon Thompson

Todd Kelly Golfweek | USA TODAY Network

Si Woo Kim now has four wins on the PGA Tour, the most recent coming Sunday after he birdied the last two holes to snatch victory away from Hayden Buckley. Kim started the day three shots off the lead and posted his second 64 of the weekend to charge up the leaderboard. Playing a group ahead, he watched as Buckley failed to get up-and-down on the last hole to post a birdie that would’ve forced a playoff. The 27-year-old Korean, who calls Dallas home these days, claimed to be a “little shaky” over the last four holes but also “was trying to get confidence and keep calm.” No doubt the shot of the week was the chip-in for birdie on the par-3 17th hole, which came just moments after Buckley birdied the 16th. “Right before that, I heard a noise and I knew he made it, so it was kind of tough lie into the greens, so I had to hit aggressive,” Kim said. “So I just hit it aggressive and goes in. Yeah, it was exciting.” From Sunday’s post-round news conference, here’s everything Si Woo Kim said after winning the 2023 Sony Open in Hawaii. Q: Getting this victory so early in the year, what does this do for the attitude as you move forward? SWK: It’s like first time winning like first event, so I think this is, can’t be better than this. So this is really exciting, and hopefully a lot of the seasons left. Hopefully trying to get more confidence and then like hopefully get more wins.

Q: You start the day 12 under par, three shots back. Shoot 64. How good did you play today? SWK: It was feel great and then like first three holes like was on fire. … So knew it’s going to be like chance to winning, so I just trying to kept calm, and calm was like little like less back nine, but I was keep trying to calm. Was lucky chip on 17. I think that helps; 18 got more confidence. Was really comfortable on the last hole. Q: Tell us about 17. I thought you drew a pretty good lie off the back of the green there. SWK: No, it was like not as rough much, but like into the green have to be like carry on the green so it was little tricky. But I knew it, he made a birdie. I heard the noise so I have to hit it aggressive. So I have nothing to lose, so I just hit it aggressive. Q: The bunker shot at 18 out the fairway bunker, that was a really good shot, too. SWK: I’ve been there like yesterday, like pretty much 10 yards farther, so I knew how to hit it and I knew how like bunker feel was there. So I think that makes me more like comfortable, and then, yeah, I just hit the great shot. Q: How special was this? Your wife is here? She was here to give a big hug and kiss. K.H. came out. Ben An. How special is this one? SWK: I like all the Korean players, so we win a lot of like last couple years, so we helping more trying to get more motivation. So I think that really helps for all the Korean players see each other. And then, yeah, my wife here, feel like we’re honeymoon because we came here another early last week. Yeah, it was everything comfortable.

USA TODAY

WNBA superstar Maya Moore is walking away from the hardwood. In an interview with “Good Morning America,” Moore announced her retirement after eight seasons. “I think it is time to put a close to the pro basketball life,” Moore told GMA reporter Robin Roberts on Monday. “I walked away four seasons ago, but I wanted to officially retire.” Moore spent her decorated career with the Minnesota Lynx. She helped redefine the franchise while leading the WNBA in a new direction. Moore won four WNBA championships and was a six-time WNBA All-Star. Moore formed a terrific quartet alongside WNBA greats Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson and Sylvia Fowles. The Lynx became a dynasty with Moore leading the way and reached the WNBA Finals six times in a sevenyear period. Minnesota won titles in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017. Moore won the 2014 WNBA MVP, averaging 23.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists during that season. She was an elite playmaker and registered a 24.6 player efficiency rating (PER) during her career. Before her WNBA success, Moore dazzled in the collegiate ranks. She starred at Connecticut, helping lead the school to 90 consecutive wins and two national championships. She became a four-time All-American and is the program’s all-time leading scorer. Connecticut went 150-4 in Moore’s four seasons on the roster. In 2018, Moore found a greater purpose away from basketball, focusing

Maya Moore won four WNBA titles with the Lynx and was a six-time All-Star. DAVID BUTLER II/USA TODAY SPORTS

on criminal justice reform. She worked to reverse a 50-year prison sentence that Jonathan Irons received at 16 years old. Moore was successful in helping Irons get released, and the couple got married and had a son. “This is such a sweet time for us and our family,” Moore said. “The work that we’ve done, I want to continue that in this next chapter.” Moore will look to continue focusing on social justice. She plans to continue to work in her community and help those in need. This includes doing work with her nonprofit, “Win with Justice.” “I want to continue to be present at home, for our community and also doing work with our nonprofit,” Moore said. “That’s what I’m moving into.”

SPORTS

8C ❚ TUESDAY JANUARY 17, 2023 ❚ USA TODAY

FREE DATE CHANGES DATES FOR 2023 & 2024 BUY NOW, CHOOSE DATES LATER

MALDIVES

ULTIMATE ALL-INCLUSIVE PARADISE Indulge with unlimited premium drinks, all-inclusive dining, roundtrip transfers and much more

Get the world’s best escapes, handpicked by experts. Luxury Escapes believes everyone should travel in style. That’s why they offer the world’s most amazing travel experiences at great prices.

MERCURE MALDIVES KOODDOO RESORT

5 + Nights From

$

2,569

Mercure Maldives All-Inclusive Adults-Only Oasis with Unlimited Drinks & Roundtrip Malé Flights

YOUR HANDPICKED INCLUSIONS:

• Discover the Gaafu Alifu Atoll, where you'll be surrounded by the kind of blue ocean you just can't conjure up – even with the help of a filter. • Choose from beachfront and overwater villas, each offering a bespoke hideaway with private terrace, and for those over water, direct access to the glistening waves.

Per Room

Valued up to US$6,845

Includes taxes & fees • Secure with 20% deposit

Use code LUX100 for an extra $100 off Cancel 14 days prior to check-in for 100% credit

PULLMAN MALDIVES MAAMUTAA RESORT

5 + Nights From

$

3,344

Discover paradise with an all-inclusive stay at Pullman Maldives Maamutaa, where stunning villas perched over blue waters provide the ultimate escape.

YOUR HANDPICKED INCLUSIONS: • • • •

Five nights in an overwater Ocean Villa Unlimited all-inclusive for two across 3 restaurants and 3 bars Free-flow premium drinks including an 80-variety wine wall Includes roundtrip transfers to resort and all fees

Per Room

Valued up to $8,085

Price includes taxes and transfer fees • Secure with 20% deposit

Use code LUX100 for an extra $100 off Cancel 14 days prior to check-in for 100% credit

TURTLE BAY - HAWAII RESORT Watch the waves roll in from this modern room, which offers breathtaking views of the ocean and scenic landscape of the North Shore

YOUR HANDPICKED INCLUSIONS:

• Peaceful hideaway set on nearly 1,300 oceanfront acres • Hawaii Five-Star Oceanfront Oahu Stay with Four Pools & Two Championship Golf Courses • Eight onsite dining experiences

5 Days From

$

3,100

Per Room

• Secure with 20% deposit

Use code LUX100 for an extra $100 off Cancel 14 days prior to check-in for 100% credit

MARQUIS LOS CABOS - MEXICO

ONE OF MEXICO'S TOP ALL-INCLUSIVE RESORTS Let cool ocean vibes wash over you in this traditional 'casita', located on the pool level, with a private garden terrace or rooftop sundeck, plunge pool, separate living and dining areas and a wet bar

5 Days From

$

2,197

• Secure with 20% deposit

YOUR HANDPICKED INCLUSIONS:

• Scenic Sea of Cortez views and a 40-foot cascading waterfall • Dive into one of three swimming pools • Visit the 1,207 sqm holistic spa and putt at one of five 18-hole golf courses surrounding this multi-award-winning retreat

Per Room

Use code LUX100 for an extra $100 off Cancel 14 days prior to check-in for 100% credit

SOUTH AFRICA: 10-DAY LUXURY PRIVATE TOUR FROM CAPE TOWN WITH 3-NIGHT ROVOS RAIL JOURNEY & ALLINCLUSIVE KRUGER SAFARI

Embrace the natural beauty of South Africa on a once-in-alifetime, 10-day private luxury tour.

YOUR HANDPICKED INCLUSIONS:

• Indulge in all-inclusive drinks and dining onboard and watch the world go by as you relax in the observation car all before retreating to your opulent suite • You will also have the opportunity to explore the townships of Matiesfontein and Kimberley.

10 or 12 Days from

$

7,727

Per Person

Valued up to US$9,349 Includes taxes & fees • Secure with 20% deposit

Use code LUX100 for an extra $100 off Cancel 14 days prior to check-in for 100% credit

888 597 4618 7-DAY CHANGE OF MIND REFUND GUARANTEE DATES AVAILABLE UNTIL DECEMBER 20, 2024 WITH FREE UNLIMITED DATE CHANGES

BOOK NOW

For full terms and conditions please go to www.LuxuryEscapes.com or call the Luxury Escapes information line on 888-597-4618. Images are for illustrative purposes only. Information correct at time of print. Blackout and surcharges dates apply, check website for full details.

PF-SPAD1129213043

LIFE

Yeoh and Quan to reunite in ‘American Born Chinese’

USA TODAY | TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2023 | SECTION D

Fresh off Golden Globe victories, the actors star in Disney+’s graphic novel adaptation. Page 2D

Hollywood’s nicest guy has made a lot of feel-good films Where does Tom Hanks’ new comedy/drama, “A Man Called Otto,” rank on his résumé? Page 4D K1 K1

LIFELINE

TELEVISION

STREAMING

There is not a lot of levity in ‘Glee’ doc Hannah Yasharoff USA TODAY

“The Price of Glee,” a three-part limited series, explores what has been dubbed among viewers of the 2009-15 hit Fox musical high school drama, created by Ryan Murphy, as “the Glee curse”: Five tragic, dramatic situations that played out in the public eye: the deaths of stars Cory Monteith, Naya Rivera and Mark Salling; abuse allegations from Melissa Benoist toward her ex, Blake Jenner, and allegations of racism against Lea Michele.

CHRIS PIZZELLO/INVISION/AP

MAKING WAVES BRENDAN FRASER Brendan Fraser tearfully accepted the best actor award for his performance in “The Whale” at Sunday night’s Critics Choice Awards. “The Mummy” star beat a field of actors that included “Elvis” heartthrob Austin Butler, who took the drama actor award at last Tuesday’s Golden Globes. In his emotional speech, Fraser acknowledged his return to acting prominence and said the award meant “more than I know how to say in words.” In “The Whale,” Fraser, 54, plays an English teacher housebound by severe obesity who tries to restore his relationship with his teenage daughter. Fraser said the film is about “finding the light in a dark place” and urged those suffering emotionally to take heart.

IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY WHO’S CELEBRATING TODAY Jim Carrey is 61. Steve Harvey is 66. James Earl Jones is 92.

“Glee,” the tabloidy docuseries explains, featured young, largely undiscovered actors who were suddenly thrust into the world’s biggest spotlight and were not equipped to handle it. “The Price of Glee” premiered Monday with all episodes airing back-to-back on Investigation Discovery (9 EST/PST) and streams on Discovery+. Here’s everything you need to know:

Jesus (Jonathan Roumie) in “The Chosen.” PROVIDED BY THE CHOSEN

Serpent slithers to stardom in ‘The Chosen’ Bryan Alexander USA TODAY

HOROSCOPE | SANCTUARY More: www.sanctuaryworld.co Aries (March 21-April 19). Seeking guidance? Your intuition will be strengthened and aid in your decision-making skills. Taurus (April 20-May 20). Jackpot! Today, the moon and Neptune will align to bring your work to the attention of some influential people. Gemini (May 21-June 21). You might be feeling moody today. Things in your head may feel mixed up. Cancer (June 22-July 22). Feeling lucky? Your love life gets an added boost today. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22). Expect some big emotions to arise today. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You will get a boost of motivation to your routines today. Embrace productivity! Libra (Sept.23-Oct. 23). Zip your lips! You may speak before you think if you’re not careful. Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Looking for a sign? You’ll find it. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You will be reminded you can’t run away from your problems forever. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Talk is cheap. Luckily, a connection today will align in your favor. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Cha-ching! The moon in Scorpio and Neptune in Pisces are lighting the way for some major career moves for you. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20). Keep an eye on your expenses today, as some pressure is put on your pocketbook.

Jonathan Roumie knew that portraying Jesus in the faith-based streaming series “The Chosen” would lead to an inevitable intense confrontation with Satan. h Roumie had no idea, however, that Satan would be portrayed in serpent form by a gigantic – and real – 16-foot python named Penelope. h Despite a healthy fear of snakes, Roumie (and Penelope) pulled off the pivotal opening scene for Sunday’s Season 3 episode (now streaming). “She was formidable, to say the least, even just to look at her,” Roumie tells USA TODAY. “I held her, and I’ve never even held a snake before. To go right to this gargantuan serpent and feel her musculature as it moved on you: Impressive.” A computer-generated image reptilian Satan was not going to be an option for “Chosen” series creator and director Dallas Jenkins who was intent on using a real snake for the scene, which depicts a dream sequence experienced by Claudia, the wife of Roman governor Pontius Pilate, who because of her powerful visions ultimately begs her husband not to allow Jesus to be crucified. Naturally, there was a snake emergency after producer Chris Juen secured two medium-sized pythons. Days before the shoot, the hired snakes started molting, the natural process of shedding old skin. They were not ready for their close-up. “When the backup snake started molting, we knew we were really up against it,” says Juen, who scrambled to secure the superstar 16-foot Penelope just in time. “We all gasped when they brought this snake out.” Roumie joked on Instagram at the

From left, Jenna Ushkowitz, Cory Monteith, Amber Riley, Lea Michele and Chris Colfer star in “Glee.” PROVIDED BY CARIN BAER/FOX

Who is in ‘The Price of Glee’ – and who isn’t? Gleeks hoping to catch a glimpse of the show’s alumni won’t find them here. “Price” features dozens of interviews, but hardly any of the names are recognizable. Naya Rivera’s father and a former performer in rival show choir Vocal Adrenaline are the closest you’ll find. Otherwise, interviews with entertainment reporters, behind-the-scenes staff who worked on “Glee” and friends of some of the cast members tell the story.

Cory Monteith’s substance abuse struggles and overdose Cory Monteith, who played jock Finn Hudson and love interest (on and offscreen) to Michele (who played Rachel Berry), died July 13, 2013, in Vancouver, Canada, of an overdose of heroin and alcohol. He was 31. Monteith had disclosed his struggles with substance abuse but had attended rehab and told his roommates he was sober when he moved to Los Angeles. “I remember him telling me once ‘I thought I was going to die young,’ ” says his former roommate Justin Neill. “He was mixed up with the wrong stuff back then.”

Naya Rivera’s accidental drowning

Roumie shows off his work with Penelope the 16-foot python on his Instagram account. PROVIDED BY @JONATHANROUMIE INSTAGRAM.

Naya Rivera, who played snarky cheerleader Santana Lopez, died July 8, 2020, in an accidental drowning in California’s Lake Piru. She was 33. Her body was found five days later, on the seventh anniversary of Monteith’s death.

Mark Salling’s legal issues, suicide time: “I DIDN’T wet myself a little bit when they first brought her out … I don’t know who started that rumor.” In the verdant garden built inside the new 30,000-square-foot soundstage that was constructed to film

Mark Salling, who played bad boy Noah “Puck” Puckerman, was found dead Jan. 30, 2018, by the Los Angeles River in what was later ruled a suicide. He was 35.

See THE CHOSEN, Page 2D

See GLEE, Page 2D

LIFE

2D ❚ TUESDAY JANUARY 17, 2023 ❚ USA TODAY

STREAMING

‘Ted Lasso’ Season 3 goes into extra time Marco della Cava USA TODAY

Where is Season 3 of Emmy-winning “Ted Lasso”? Filming has wrapped in England, and the results are in an editing bay somewhere in Los Angeles under the supervision of star Jason Sudeikis, “Lasso” executive producer Bill Lawrence tells USA TODAY. “Jason is cutting it now, and I’d expect to see the show soon,” says Lawrence, who over the course of the show’s first two seasons transferred more of the workload onto Sudeikis and others. Lawrence says he has little to do with Season 3. He’s running a new Apple TV+ series, “Shrinking,” alongside star Jason Segel and writer/actor Brett Goldstein, who won an Emmy for playing cranky “Lasso” footballer Roy Kent and had writing duties on “Lasso” along with Brendan Hunt, who plays Coach Beard. “It’s been a long shoot, and now it’s in editing. I don’t know the release date yet,” says Goldstein, who has been working via Zoom with Lawrence on “Shrinking” by night and filming “Lasso” outside London by day. Is a vacation next? “Nah,” Goldstein says with a very Kent-ian growl. “I’m a

Nick Mohammed, from left, Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt star in Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso.” The third season is in the works. PROVIDED BY APPLE TV+

workaholic. Besides, I had my break. Watched every single game of the World Cup. It was brilliant.” The anticipation for coming “Lasso” episodes is partly the result of the drought fans have experienced since 12episode Season 2 wrapped in October 2021. The 10-episode first season began airing in August 2020, a welcome reprieve for a nation in a pandemic funk. The show scored big with critics and

fans alike, an unlikely hit given that it was born out of a goofy ad conjured by Sudeikis, who was channeling an optimistic American college football coach, to promote NBC’s broadcasting of Premier League soccer matches. “Lasso” won seven Emmy Awards for its debut season and four more last year for its sophomore effort, including backto-back wins for outstanding comedy series. Its creators are Lawrence, Sudei-

kis, Hunt and Joe Kelly. The success of the show helped Lawrence, best known for “Spin City” and “Scrubs,” land a five-year, nine-figure deal with Warner Bros television that starts this year. Lawrence says he doesn’t envy the pressure on Sudeikis, which has led to online reports that the Season 3 holdup stems from its demanding star and leader requiring numerous script rewrites. Apple representatives would not comment on those reports or when the third season will be released. “I ran ‘Lasso’ the first year, but you could tell early on Jason is a monster talent in front of and behind the camera,” Lawrence says. “The second year, Jason and I ran it together, but now he’s got this responsibility of landing the plane with all these big expectations.” As lead actor, head writer and executive producer of this third – and apparently final – season, Sudeikis is justified in taking all the time he needs to wrap up, says Lawrence. “Jason is a perfectionist, and I have tons of confidence in him,” he says. “He’ll knock it out of the park, but not under weird time constraints that don’t mean anything to anyone other than streaming sites.”

MOVIES

Yeoh has ‘ninja-kicked’ Hollywood’s glass ceiling Bryan Alexander USA TODAY

Co-stars Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan do seem to be “Everything Everywhere All at Once” as they reunite for the Disney+ series “American Born Chinese.” For the comedy series premiering this spring, the Golden Globe winners are telling an Asian-American story with a primarily Asian cast, which shows progress for Asian actors, directors and producers. “I think we’ve broken that glass ceiling. We’ve ninja-kicked it to hell,” said Yeoh, speaking on a panel for the Television Critics Association on Friday. “And hopefully it will never come back, broken like Humpty Dumpty pieces.” Yeoh, 60, was born in Malaysia and was a major Hong Kong action movie star before moving to America to a vastly different Hollywood landscape. “There were no faces that looked like me, there were no roles out there that represented us,” Yeoh said.

Michelle Yeoh in “American Born Chinese.” PHOTOS PROVIDED BY CARLOS

Ke Huy Quan is back with “Everything Everywhere All at Once” co-star Yeoh.

LOPEZ-CALLEJA/DISNEY

But the actress has helped blaze the trail, appearing in breakthrough films such as the 1997 Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies” alongside Pierce Brosnan, 2018’s hit comedy “Crazy Rich Asians” and Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. Cretton, an executive producer on “American Born Chinese,” persuaded

Yeoh to join the cast. “He texted me saying ‘Let’s play,’” Yeoh said. “American Born Chinese,” based on the 2006 graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang, follows struggling student Jin Wang (Ben Wang), who meets a Chinese-born student and is pulled into a supernatural world that includes Yeoh as the undercover Goddess of Mercy and Daniel Wu as the Monkey King. Quan, 51, who broke out as a child ac-

tor playing Short Round in 1984’s “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and Data in 1985’s “The Goonies,” said he had dropped out of acting because the roles were so scarce. “For two decades it didn’t work out, but the landscape has changed.” Quan’s “American Born Chinese” character is the Asian star of a fictional ’90s show “Beyond Repair” who encounters behavior that will be controversial “through the lens of 2023.” “For me to step into that character scared the heck out of me,” Quan said. “But it was important to show the audience today what it was like to be an Asian actor back in the late ’80s and early ’90s.” Yeoh said she was also overwhelmed by the outpouring of support over her Golden Globes win. After accepting the award, she was thrilled to run into director Guillermo del Toro. “He came over and hugged me and said, ‘I love your movie,’” Yeoh said. “I said ‘My God, did you just tell me that?’ It was so emotional.”

Glee Continued from Page 1D

Salling had recently pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography and was scheduled to be sentenced two months later.

Blake Jenner and Melissa Benoist’s allegedly abusive relationship

The garden inside a 30,000-square-foot soundstage. PROVIDED BY THE CHOSEN

The Chosen Continued from Page 1D

“The Chosen” in Midlothian, Texas, Penelope’s TV debut was straightforward. With snake wrangler Tim Halbert overseeing the action, the production crew lowered the set temperature and allowed the coldblooded python to slither toward the largest heat source: Roumie, as Jesus, praying in the garden. “The best footage came from letting her go on her own just exploring the garden with us following, catching the shot,” Juen says. “She started going right up close on Jonathan, and for a moment there we were like ‘Uh oh.’ ” Roumie was unaware of the approaching snake but turned after being prompted to face it with a look of alarm for the scene. After the shoot was over, Roumie was eager to make nice and hold Penelope. “I thought I would be a little more

freaked out, but she was an absolute doll, a gentle, even shy python,” says Roumie, who cherishes his cast photos with Penelope. “She was a reptilian teddy bear.” Mood lighting, smoke and music were added to the garden scene to enhance the foreboding mood, along with moving footage shot from ground level with a special lens to give a “snake view” perspective. Roumie says the scene is crucial in setting the tone as “The Chosen” moves toward Season 6 which will feature Jesus’ crucifixion. Pontius Pilate washes his hands of capital punishment to appease the crowds, despite his wife’s pleas. “This garden scene is a good way to start prepping people for what’s going to happen in Season 6,” Roumie says. “Our depiction of the crucifixion and the story that we will build during five seasons is going to affect people on a level they’ve never experienced. It’s going to rock them.”

Melissa Benoist, who joined “Glee” in Season 4 as wallflower Marley Rose, opened up in 2019 about being the victim of domestic violence while married to Blake Jenner, another former star in the series. Jenner admitted to and apologized for the abuse a year later, but claimed there was “mental, emotional and physical abuse inflicted from both ends.”

Lea Michele’s racism scandal In the summer of 2020, a former “Glee” actress accused Michele, of “traumatic microaggressions.” Samantha Ware, who appeared in the final season, called out Michele after the singer and actress tweeted using the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag. Michele, now the star of Broadway’s “Funny Girl,” lost a brand sponsorship as a result, and several “Glee” stars suggested on social media and in interviews that the actress was difficult to work with.

Michele

What has the former ‘Glee’ cast said about the series? Reactions from “Glee” stars to the docuseries have been overwhelmingly negative. h Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina

Santana (Naya Rivera) and Finn (Cory Monteith) in the “A Very Glee Christmas" episode. Both actors met untimely deaths. PROVIDED BY FOX

Cohen-Chang) to BuzzFeed in November: “We were the ones who were there. And we were the ones experiencing this. And we know what really happened.” h Kevin McHale (Artie Abrams) to In Touch in December: “You don’t necessarily want to give something more attention than it maybe deserves or needs. ... Us and all of our friends have nothing to do with it, so we’ll see what happens.” h Chord Overstreet (Sam Evans) on the “Elvis Duran” morning radio show in November: “I don’t think anybody really knows anything about it. I think it’s just like a tabloid thing trying to sell.” h Becca Tobin (Kitty Wilde) on the “Everything Iconic With Danny Pellegrino” podcast in August: “It doesn’t matter what happened on that set. At the end of the day, it’s a family. It’s like a big dysfunctional family, and there is a loyalty there. Like mob mentality. Where I’m like, ‘I don’t care how much I hated this person at work. There’s something that runs so deep in my blood that I could hate you so much, but I don’t hate you enough. I don’t hate us enough to go do that.’ ”

LIFE LIFE

USA TODAY ❚■ TUESDAY JANUARY 17, 2023 ❚I 3D

Numbers Numbers

USA TODAY CROSSWORD USA TODAY CROSSWORD eZ
`G
w

VGZZqGV 2

1

,` Ķãñ
рĶª

3

6

8

12

,p, B
`,GB

14

10

11

18

" 21

22

■ 31

24

ZeG9e SUDOKU SUDOKU

32

1: I26 1 ■

27

34

33

36 39

ċýĞóµōµ ōÞµ ÑĶ㪠Ľċ ōހō µŰµĶŷ Ķċű¨ ċóśýĂ €Ăª ŒŶŒ “ċŶ ċĂō€ãĂĽ ōÞµ Ăśý“µĶĽ ĕ ōÞĶċśÑÞ Ć ĠĂċ ĶµĞµ€ōĽġĤ

”

25

28

29

Œ Ê

30

35

Ň

40

42

Ř ĕ Ć

44

46

47

■ 57

58

■

49

53

50

51

52

56

59

60

62

©
ĂªĶµűĽ AAµµó

ĕʼnĕŅ

9µŷ ţţţ¨ #óċĶ㪀 śōÞµĶ ĽÞċĞ śō GĞĞċĽãōµ ċÈ ÈĶµµŽµ Zãóñ ō€Èȵō€ ȵ€ōśĶµ ĶãĂÑĽ ōċ € ċÝóśĽãċĂ

GqB ĕ €ĂōċĞċĞ ċĶ |€ýĶċñ Ř €Ķõ ţţţ “śĶĶãōċĽ Œ
ó
Ķ€“ãŷ€ ċĶ BB ,ĂōµĶÀōãċÀó Î `űµó۵âýċĤ ĽĞ€ĂĽ Ê óśµĽ óµÑµĂª VśĽÞ Ň ãĽĞµĂĽµĶ űãōÞ € ĽĞãÑċō Ņ €óÈâĶċĞãĂÑ ċĂōµĽō ½ S󀝵 ÈċĶ рĶªµĂãĂÑ ōċċóĽ Ć A㪪óµ ċÈ € ۀª€ ĕƁ Zċãµō€ó ĞĶċ“óµýĽ ĕĕ ZýċċÞãĂÑ ċĂ ōÞµ ĽōĶµµō¨ ÈċĶ µŶ€ýĞóµ ĕŒ $ĶċśÞŷ óċċñ ĕÎ Zō€ōµâċÈâōÞµâ€Ķō ĕÊ Góã۵Ķ `űãĽōijĽ ĞċĶĶãªÑµ

SśōĽ ċĂ ōÞµ ý€Ķñµō Êĕ ;ãñµ Ľċýµ óãñ“€ãō #µóóµª űãōÞ €Ă €Ŷµ Þµ€ªóãõĽ SċĶñ ċĶ ۵ĂãĽċĂ ÊŘ Zō€ĶōĽ ĽµĶŰãĂÑ )ċóãµĽō ãōŷ ãĂ śĽōċýµĶĽ ,Ľó€ý ÊÎ eõŶãōãĂÑ ZśĽĞµōijĽ ĽōċĶŷ ÊŇ ċãĂÑ ĂċōÞãĂÑ İ`ÞµãĶ ĽÞ€Ķµª ó€Ľō ÊŅ ZĞ€µâĽ€ŰãĂÑ “µª Àýµ ãĽ ïśĽō € ʽ İ`ހō ý€ñµĽ ċãĂãªµĂµı ĽµĂĽµı qãĂōµĶ ó€ŷµĶ ÊĆ
ōĶµĽĽ ;ċĂÑ Zããóã€Ă Űċó€Ăċ ŇƁ SċĶōó€ĂªijĽ ĽōĤ Vµ€Þ ÈċĶ ōÞµ ţţţ AċĂª€ŷijĽ
ĂĽűµĶ A€Ķѵ □□□ H! ZãýĞĽċĂijĽ nramnra ĂãñÀýµ ÈċĶ □□□□ □□□no □□□□□□ ÞµĶ ÞśĽ“€Ăª □□□□□ □□□□□ □□□ Zċó€Ķ űãĂª □□□□□I ■«□□□ □□□I Ğ€Ķōãóµ □ ċśýµĂōĽ □ □□□□I □□□□ ĽōċĶµª □ □□□□ ĶċóóµªâśĞ □ □□□□ ZµċĂª ōċ ţţţ □ □□□ I E uscii ĠśĂĞ€Ķ€óóµóµªġ GQD □□□□□ QDQQO □□□□□□ □□□□□
ÈÈãĶý€ōã۵ Űċōµ İwċś €óĶµ€ªŷ ĕʼnĕŇ ōċóª ýµÆı ²ÊƁâŇƁñ¨ ÈċĶ

VGZZqGVZ ON wGeV YOUR PHONE @ GB µŶ€ýĞóµ S)GB

ĕĆ ŘŘ ŘŒ ŘÊ ŘŅ Ř½ ŘĆ ŒƁ Œĕ ŒŘ

ŒÎ ÎƁ ÎŒ ÎÊ ÎŅ ÎĆ

ѵō ċśĶ ĶċĽĽűċĶª €ĞĞ


ĂĽűµĶĽ§ €óó ĕâĆƁƁâĆ½½â½ŒƁƁ¨ ĆĆ µĂōĽ € ýãĂśōµń ċĶ¨ űãōÞ € Ķµªãō €Ķª¨ ĕâ½ƁƁâŒŘƁâÎŘ½ƁĤ

TXTPERT TXTPERT 2

3

Across

Across 1.73778233 1. 73778233 4.2427 4. 2427 5.8253 5. 8253 8.476642 8. 476642 9.363 9. 363

4 5

6

Today’s theme Literary terms

TXTPERT

7

8

Down 1. 7568 2. 7325 3. 3425328 6. 25427 7. 38653

1

1 2 3 OO, abc Ldef 4^ 7 W*

1/17

9

5 jkl imno 8 tuv

9

wxyz

1

T

O

E 2

I

Use the phone keypad to decode the clues. For example: 2 could be A, B or C ... and 5678 could be LOST

5

B

O N

A E

Y

A

© USA TODAY and Rich Coulter

3

I

N

4

R

S

P

S 7

8

E

E 6

I

V

I S

E

I

S

N

T

M

U

S

Yesterday’s solution

Words Words ŷ €Ű㪠;Ĥ )ċŷō €Ăª 7µÈÈ 9ĂśĶµñ


ōċĶ ZހĶãÈ S󀝵 ōċ Þãō ōÞµ óãĂñĽ ââØ

ĕʼnĕŅ

oca mn ant □CO

 B  Z

` A #  ,  7 9


p
V Z 7
;

;  | B  G ) ; BqG T ` $ Z B ; A  Z  9 V

)

` e )  w

` S 7 G B  Z p

ŷ €Ű㪠;Ĥ )ċŷō €Ăª VśĽĽµóó ;Ĥ )ċŷō

ĕʼnĕŅ

ÎĤ

ÊĤ

't/1'

ŇĤ

VśĽĽã€Ă ýċśĂō€ãĂ Þ€ãĂ

ĕʼnĕŇ

) Z V V ;
G `

ŒĤ

ţśŶśĶŷâţĂâţċōãċĂ ţĞōãċĂĬ

V  B 

  e 9
, ) ;

ŘĤ

qċċªµĂ ĽÞċµ

G S V w

7 V Z V ) # V

ĕĤ ;,#

©
ĂªĶµűĽ AAµµó

#ċĶýµĶ ,ō€óã€Ă ýċõō€Ķŷ śĂãō

$  G G


G

UP‰& &GqB DOWN WORDS eS qGVZ UP DOWN WORDS

QUICKCROSS Te, 9 VGZZ QUICKCROSS ââØ ċĶ ōċċó ōċ Þãō ōÞµ óãĂñĽ

©
ĂªĶµűĽ AAµµó


















AċĂª€ŷijĽ €ĂĽűµĶ§ Z
;AGB Z)
V9 ZA;` ZG; ʼn $V` )VGB #,B ) 
$; ʼn ZA
;; A,eA ;
V$ ʼn VG 9 7
|| ʼn 7G)B

AZ

ŷ 7ċÞĂ qãóýµĽ

 | 

 T ) Z

ĕʼnĕŅ

#ãĂª €Ăª ãĶóµ§ ZãŶ Ğ㵝µĽ ċÈ ÈśĶĂãōśĶµ )µ Űċ㝵ª €ĶōÞ p€ªµĶ§ ţţţţ ţţţţ ţţţţ `ÞĶµµ ó€ŷµĶĽ ċÈ ōÞµ €ĶōÞ `ÞĶµµ ÈċśĶâóµōōµĶ ýµō€óĽ #ċśĶâóµōōµĶ eĤZĤ Ľō€ōµ

AċĂª€ŷijĽ
ĂĽűµĶ

Ň Œ ĕ Ê Œ Ř Ň Î Œ Œ Î Ê Î Ň Œ Ř Ê Ň ZZ

,##, e;`w V
`,B$ UUU AċĂª€ŷijĽ
ĂĽűµĶĽ

Ņ ĕ Œ ZZUUU

©
ĂªĶµűĽ AAµµó

KENKEN KENKEN

Œ Î Ê Ņ Ř ½ Ć ĕ Ň

½ Ň Ć Ê ĕ Î Ř Ņ Œ

Ř ĕ Ņ Œ Ć Ň Ê Î ½

Ê Ř Î Ň ½ Œ ĕ Ć Ņ

Ć Œ ĕ Î Ņ Ř ½ Ň Ê

Ņ ½ Ň ĕ Ê Ć Î Œ Ř

Ň Ê Œ Ř Î ĕ Ņ ½ Ć

ĕ Ņ ½ Ć Ň Ê Œ Ř Î

Î Ć Ř ½ Œ Ņ Ň Ê ĕ

Œ Ř Î Ê Ň ĕ

Î Ê ĕ Ň Ř Œ

Ň ĕ Œ Ř Î Ê

Ê Ň Ř ĕ Œ Î

Ř Œ Ê Î ĕ Ň

ĕ Î Ň Œ Ê Ř ĕʼnĕŇ

KUBOK 16 KUBOK 16

Kubok 16

12X

3+

By Davide Coppo

'LIILFXOW\ MEDIUM

34) (42 31 (29 3

2-r

3-

2-r

6 7

4+

4

5+

3 8

02023 KenKen Puzzle, LLC www.kenken.com

1. Each row and column must contain the numbers 1 through 4 (easy) or 1 though 6 (challenging) without repeating.

3 4 2

4

6ROXWLRQWR0RQGD\·VSX]]OH 4+

2-r

2

15 9

12

35

YESTERDAY’S YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION SOLUTION 12X

11 14

1

3-

2

1 3 1 3 4 2 1 3 4

1 2 4 11

3 10 15 7

13 5 8 14

12 6 16 9

(QWHUWKHPLVVLQJ QXPEHUVIURP WRZLWKRXW UHSHWLWLRQVVR WKDWWKHVXPRI WKHIRXUQXPEHUV LQHDFKURZDQG FROXPQLVWKH VDPHDVWKH FRUUHVSRQGLQJ FLUFOHGQXPEHU 1/17/23

‹.XERN'LVWULEXWHGE\7ULEXQH&RQWHQW$JHQF\ $OOULJKWVUHVHUYHG

3. Freebies: fill in single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner.

BONUS CROSSWORD BONUS CROSSWORD

WORDVGeBeS ROUNDUP WORD ROUNDUP qGV

; G S 

ZeG9e #eZ,GB ON wGeV YOUR PHONE GB S)GB ĞśŽŽóµĽĤśĽ€ōċª€ŷĤċý

2

E R

L

W R

S T

N

,##, e;`w V
`,B$

ċýĞóµōµ ōÞµ ÑĶ㪠Ľċ ōހō µŰµĶŷ Ķċű¨ ċóśýĂ €Ăª ŒŶŘ “ċŶ ċĂō€ãĂĽ ōÞµ Ăśý“µĶĽ ĕ ōÞĶċśÑÞ Ň ĠĂċ ĶµĞµ€ōĽġĤ

½ Œ Ć Ř ĕ ½

4+ ¿T 2. The numbers within the heavily outlined 3+ 3 boxes, called cages, must combine using fctu the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 1/16

1

Î Ć ½ Ň ĕ Œ Œ Ň Î Ê Ć Œ Ř Ň Ņ Î ĕ ½ Ř Ć

ĕʼnĕŅ

65

ŇŒ ŇÎ ŇÊ ŇŇ ŇŅ

More puzzles: puzzles.usatoday.com Want solutions? answers.usatoday.com Feedback: [email protected]

15

■

16


VGZZ ĕ
űÞċóµ “śĂÞ Ê wċśĶ €Ăª ýŷ ½ Zµ€È€ĶµĶijĽ ۵ĽĽµó ĕŘ SµĶĽċĂ ċĂ €Ă €ĞĞ ĕŒ #ċĶōĶµĽĽ ĕŇ ;ċÑ❶ōōãĂÑ ōċċóĽ ĕŅ ހĶ€ōµĶ űÞċ Ķċªµ ãĂ € ĞśýĞñãĂ ċ€Þ ĕ½ $ĶµµĂ €ĶªĽ¨ Ğ€ĽĽĞċĶōĽ¨ µōĤ ĕĆ ãĽōĶµĽĽ ĽãÑÀó €ō Ľµ€ ŘƁ V€ªã€ōµĽ Řĕ ZĞĶãĂÑÈãµóªâĽōŷóµ ţţţ ÞãñµĂ ŘŒ VµĞµōãōã۵ óµ€ĶĂãĂÑ ýµōÞċª ŘÎ İ, ű€Ăō ōċ Þµ€ĶÆı ŘŇ Zõ€ñ € еµñ Œĕ SĶ€ŷµĶ ţţţ ĠĽÞċśóªµĶ рĶýµĂōġ ŒŒ İqހō ,
ýı ĽãĂѵĶ Ķãñµóó ŒÊ $ċċªĽ ÈĶċý € ÞµãĽō ŒŇ Vċċýŷ “€ÑĽ ŒŅ İ)śĶĶŷ śĞÆı Œ½ $ċċÑċċĽÞijĽ ċśĂōĶŷ ŒĆ ,Ă ōÞµ ōÞãñ ċÈ ÎƁ ZµÑýµĂō ċÈ € Ğó€ŷ Îĕ ZċÈōű€Ķµ ۵ĶĽãċĂ ōހō ýãÑÞō Ľōãóó Þ€Űµ Ľċýµ “śÑĽ ÎŘ Ķ€Žãóã€Ă ãōŷ¨ ÈċĶ ĽÞċĶō ÎŒ ċóóµÑµ ĽĞċĶōĽ ċĶÑĤ ÎÎ $ĶãĂª ţţţ ĠĽñ€ōµ Ğ€Ķñ ȵ€ōśĶµġ ÎŇ ZċċĂâōċ⓵ ÑĶ€ªś€ōµ ν )ãÑޝހãĶ ċýĞċõĂō ÊƁ Ķ€Ăª ċÈ ŷċр Ğ€ĂōĽ ÊŒ Ķ€űµĶ Þ€Ăªóµ ÊÊ `ċō€óóŷ €µĞōµª € óãµ ÊŅ S€Ľō€ Ľãýãó€Ķ ōċ ý€Ăãċōōã Ňĕ )ãÑÞóŷ śĶѵĂō ŇŘ śñµŷµ ÞśñijĽ Ľō€ōµ

9

5

‘

w |ÞċśīãĂ śĶĂãñµó

7

7ċÞĂ €Ăªŷ Ķċóµ ãĂ İZĞ€µ“€óóĽı

Te, 9 VGZZ ON YOUR PHONE GB wGeV S)GB ĞśŽŽóµĽĤśĽ€ōċª€ŷĤċý

7G Z

ŅĤ

󜵼§ ĕĤ ċĂĽãªµĶ€“óµ Ľśý ċÈ ýċõŷ ŘĤ `ŷе ċÈ ÈãÀÝã€ó ãĂĽōãōśōãċĂ ŒĤ S󀝵 ÈċĶ € ōµóóµĶ ÎĤ ,ō ñµµĞĽ ãĂĽµōĽ ċśō ÊĤ GĂóãõ Þ€Ăªóµ ŇĤ AċĂãñµĶ €óōµĶ€ōãċĂ ŅĤ ZűãōÞ űċĶñ ĞċĽãōãċĂĽ

AċĂª€ŷijĽ
ĂĽűµĶ
V
V
)VZ)w
V )VZ)w
V

G qGV

G $
A qGV Z)GqZ $
A eS Z)GqZ

©

S;
w GB;,B PUZZLES.USATODAY.COM Se||;ZĤeZ
`G
wĤ GA

ACROSS 1 Male relative 7 Magazine execs 10 Ponderosa son 14 Down the road (2 wds.) 15 100 square meters 16 Mezzanine 17 Like moccasins 18 Wool giver 19 Delight 20 Not enough 23 British currency 26 Fanatic 27 Takes ten 28 Air-breather’s organ 29 A thousand G's 30 Impair 31 Wrap up 32 “Seinfeld" uncle 33 Oil source 37 First-class 38 Fleming of 007 fame 39 Journalist — Curry 40 Fem. saint 41 Homilies 43 Dale's favorite cowboy 44 Well-known pharaoh 45 Colony member 46 Insect killer 47 Yield territory

48 Flared garment (hyph.) 51 “Crocodile” Dundee's girl 52 More peeved 53 Multifaceted business 56 Burglar’s take 57 Greer or Holbrook 58 Horse-drawn carriage 62 French I verb 63 Ait, on the Seine 64 Revenue 65 Drop feathers 66 Dilapidated 67 Went to a restaurant (2 wds.)

PREVIOUS PUZZLE SOLVED

Â] L D A R O I L T| o O T S T R I T AS S U SA N D K L E' s I S A] WA K E N F 0 U R I N F A S T 0 P H O s T

R L A s E R E C U R ME T I R P R 0 T Y U B E R M E D H I A Ll [s U E L A P E L D □ Y L A F U L s E A Pi A |T D s P E P■ T U A T E D T! I N In Y E R A s E

E B 0 N

D E M A N D

Y

EN D' 1 EN NE

LI 1 1

C UL 0 0 DL G R ES E E E n ■ c 1T A V0 N AN

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Pen point Navigator's dir. School org. Holing up Correct Unites Scolding Rough sketch Turnpike rumbler 10 North African port 11 Parcels out 12 Cause

13 Shakes hands with 21 Weddings 22 Nook 23 Supplications 24 Weight unit 25 Beneath 29 Signified 30 North Dakota city 32 A Barrymore 33 Pantry 34 Banana oil, e.g. 35 Liszt opus 36 Hinder

12

13

35

36

©
ĂªĶµűĽ AAµµó

éé

MEANS

PARKING

YOU ________ YOU’RE ___________ OLD WHEN ___________ LUCKY ___________ YOU’VE ___________ YOUR ________ IN THE ___________ LOT.

23

24

25

1/17

Monday’s Answer: “If the host is sitting there thinking about his next joke, he isn’t listening.” - Merv Griffin

28

7 Little W©rds

THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME

SOLUTIONS

Unscramble these Jumbles, one letter to each square, to form four ordinary words.

RFATE KACOL

INVIED

BR

RM

SU

LE

AF

FI

LA

MO

KM

IL

Bl

ICK

AN

PER

SIG

DE

NS

CS

CAD

Al

Monday's Answer«: 1. VERAIVJOAS 2 CREATORS 3 TOUCHOOmi 4. FORMIDABLE 5. SQJRRELS Ö CC^TCNDCRS 7. NODDNO V

XSCESE ©2023 Tribune Content Agency, LLC All Rights Reserved.

Ans. here: