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Book WorlD adam Ross’s novel about a n.y. teen’s fateful year is worth the long wait. BuSInESS Boeing’s 2024 plans came unhinged, starting with four missing bolts. arTS & STylE inside “sesame street” as the venerable tV show fights to survive. TravEl Florida glamping with cats awaits at (wait for it) purradise springs. METro d.c. is on a heightened security footing ahead of trump’s inauguration. SporTS When he’s on the run, Jayden daniels is as dangerous as it gets. CONTENT © 2025 The Washington Post / Year 148, No. 54087 7 $240 sunday cOupOn insERts Center in americus, about 10 miles from his hometown, where his body had been since his death Dec. 29 at age 100. under a crystal-clear sky, Cart- er’s casket, draped in an american flag, was escorted by current and former members of his secret service detail to a waiting hearse. it was a detail the late president had requested to honor those who had protected him and his family over the decades, and who were considered “lifelong friends,” ac- cording to memorial organizers. Watching were several mem- bers of the Carter family, including his children, Jack, Chip, Jeff and amy, in their first public appear- ance since their father’s death. among those observing the ceremony were dozens of hospital employees. the small rural sEE cArTer ON A7 BY HOLLY BAILEY, LORI ROZSA AND JIM LYNN iN atlaNta the nation began its formal farewell to Jimmy Carter on satur- day, as the casket carrying the former president started its jour- ney along the rural roads of south Georgia, where he spent much of his life, and onward to atlanta, where his body will lie in public repose ahead of a state funeral in Washington this week. the events marked the first of a multiday celebration of Carter, who died last sunday at his home in Plains, the tiny town of his childhood and the launchpad for his storied political career. after a painful defeat in the 1980 election that ousted him from the White House, he returned there with wife rosalynn and reinvented himself as global humanitarian and champion of democracy. residents of Plains and admir- ers from afar turned out to honor him saturday morning. Carter’s casket emerged shortly after 10:20 a.m. from Phoebe sumter Medical Carter’s final trip begins in the place where it all started Neighbors bid farewell as the 39th president’s motorcade winds through rural Georgia: ‘He was one of us before he became one for everyone’ Matt Mcclain/thE WashingtOn pOst In 1980: Moscow Olympics boycott left american athletes stunned. D1 The hearse carrying the casket of former president Jimmy carter passes through his hometown of plains, Georgia, on saturday on its way to Atlanta. MichaEl E. MillER/thE WashingtOn pOst O llie Filipponi always thought he’d be an electri- cian. But then the 16-year- old started at Findon technical College, a new high school where the curriculum is partly designed by a defense contractor and the welding bays are modeled on those at the local naval shipyard. Now the curly-haired teen dreams of building nuclear- powered submarines. “that’s way cooler than wiring houses,” he said. Ollie is one of the early benefi- ciaries of auKus, the trilateral security pact in which the united states and the united Kingdom are helping australia build nuclear-propelled submarines to counter China’s growing military sEE subMArInes ON A16 Australia, wary of China, dives into preparations for building nuclear subs BY MICHAEL E. MILLER iN aDElaiDE, australia from left, Ollie filipponi, Isla Taylor and Matt Goldsworthy do a metalworking project at findon Technical college. BY SHANNON NAJMABADI AND TRISHA THADANI Video footage and other data collected by tesla helped law enforcement quickly piece to- gether how a Cybertruck came to explode outside the trump inter- national Hotel in las Vegas on New Year’s Day. the trove of digital evidence also served as a high-profile dem- onstration of how much data modern cars collect about their drivers and those around them. Data privacy experts say the investigation — which has deter- mined that the driver, active-duty u.s. army soldier Matthew liv- elsberger, died by suicide before the blast — highlights how car companies vacuum up reams of data that can clear up mysteries but also be stolen or given to third parties without drivers’ knowl- edge. there are few regulations controlling how and when law enforcement authorities can ac- cess data in cars, and drivers are often unaware of the vast digital trail they leave behind. “these are panopticons on wheels,” said albert Fox Cahn, who founded the surveillance technology Oversight Project, an advocacy group that argues the sEE DATA ON A12 In Cybertruck blast’s wake, unease at cars’ data collection ABCDE Prices may vary in areas outside metropolitan Washington. RE V1 V2 V3 V4 Democracy Dies in Darkness sunday, january 5, 2025 . $6Breezy 38/27 • Tomorrow: Cold with snow 30/23 C8 BY MARIANNE LEVINE Days before his second inaugu- ration, President-elect Donald trump faces the uncomfortable prospect of appearing — in per- son or virtually — before a New York state judge to be sentenced for his 34 felony convictions for falsifying business records to cov- er up a hush money payment to an adult-film actress. the court appearance, sched- uled for Friday, offers yet another reminder of the legal woes that dogged trump as he mounted his third bid for the White House. it also cements a distinction that he shares with none of his predeces- sors: He will be the first serving president who is also a felon. No previous president has been con- victed of a felony, let alone sum- moned before a judge just days before their inauguration. While New York supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan said he will not sentence trump to jail time, the appearance will be an opportunity for the judge to de- nounce what he has called the “premeditated and continuous deception by the leader of the free world.” “it’s a reminder that we live, politically speaking, in a split- screen america,” said tim Nafta- li, senior research scholar at Co- lumbia university’s school of in- ternational and Public affairs. “For some americans, [trump’s] legal difficulties were a reason to vote for him because it deepened their sense that they, like him, were victims.” “the fact that the procession to the inauguration will include yet sEE TruMp ON A5 N.Y. case’s coda just latest twist for Trump Sentencing 10 days ahead of swearing-in highlights unusual return to power BY MARIA SACCHETTI, ELLIE SILVERMAN, MARK MASKE AND JUSTIN JOUVENAL the deadly New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans by a man driving a pickup truck and an electric vehicle explosion in las Vegas the same day have prompt- ed law enforcement officials na- tionwide to increase security, is- sue fresh safety warnings and reassess preparations ahead of events that could be targeted for violence. the FBi, Department of Home- land security and u.s. National Counterterrorism Center on Fri- day warned about possible copy- cat attacks in a security bulletin after an army veteran from texas rammed a truck into New Year’s revelers in the early-morning hours of Jan. 1, fatally injuring at least 14 people on Bourbon street in New Orleans. in a statement, DHs urged the public to promptly report suspi- cious activity and “remain vigi- lant of potential copycat or retal- iatory attacks inspired by the New Orleans terrorist attack or other recent, vehicle-ramming in- cidents across the globe.” the warning came as officials from coast to coast gear up for events such as the Golden Globes awards in los angeles, the super Bowl in New Orleans and events in Washington, D.C. — the presi- dential election certification on Monday, the memorial service for President Jimmy Carter on thursday and Donald trump’s inaugurationCarter’s body is scheduled to lie in public repose from Saturday night until early Tuesday, when the casket will be flown to Wash- ington. His body will lie in state in the Capitol rotunda ahead of a state funeral at Washington Na- tional Cathedral on Thursday. rosza reported from americus. lynn reported from Plains. Jimmy Carter 1924-2024 medical facility had treated Carter and his wife, rosalynn, several times over the years, and the cou- ple were key to the hospital’s re- building when it was destroyed by a tornado in 2007. “If one of them had to be hospi- talized, they always wanted a sec- ond bed in the room so the other could stay, too,” said Carlyle Wal- ton, CEo of Phoebe Sumter medi- cal Center. In a pecan grove opposite the hospital, scores of people had gathered in the cold, craning their heads to catch a glimpse of the procession. Some solemnly held signs thanking Carter, while oth- ers waved small American flags. Some wept. “I told them this is an impor- tant, historic moment. This is one of our own, who became president of the United States. And he was a very good man,” said Emily DeV- ane, who had brought her three children to see Carter’s casket as it passed through Americus. Like many around town, DeV- ane had encountered the former president, who was a visible pres- ence in the community. She re- called running into the couple at a restaurant in Plains about eight years ago. “Here I was, a mom with three small kids, and they were so kind and gracious with us. They invited us to their church,” she recalled. “He was such a humble man. They were wonderful people, and did so much good. He was one of us before he became one for every- one.” many stood silently watching the Carter motorcade pass. But as it inched out of Americus, some observers became more vocal. “Goodbye, Jimmy!” someone shouted. “We love you, Jimmy!” another yelled. “Thank you, Jimmy!” The motorcade slowly made its CArter From A1 A farewell to the 39th president, native son as they waited for his hearse to pass through Ellaville, about 20 miles north of Americus. “He was the first president we ever voted for,” royal said. “Every- body around here was excited to have a Georgia peanut farmer in the White House.” Like so many people in the re- gion, royal and Turner have per- sonal connections and memories of the extended Carter family, such as going to Billy Carter’s gas sta- tion in Plains to buy Billy Beer from the president’s brother. Both said they think Carter’s postpresi- dential record of service will be his lasting legacy. “We may never have another president from Georgia,” Turner said. “He made history, and that makes today historic.” The memorial events then con- tinued with a stop in front of the Georgia Capitol, where Carter served as a senator, in the mid- 1960s, and governor from 1971 to left for the Naval Academy. The site, which includes a modest wood cabin that has been restored as part of a national park, remains a working farm. Among its crops: peanuts, which were closely aligned with Carter’s political identity as a farmer turned gover- nor and president. A group of National Park Serv- ice rangers and other employees saluted as an old farm bell rang 39 times in honor of the 39th presi- dent. The gesture was a nod to Carter’s Depression-era boyhood on the farm. Carter often spoke of how the passing of time there was measured not by clocks but by the clanging of the farm bell. The motorcade then turned north, detouring off the main highway and driving past pecan groves and cotton fields to pause in several small towns. Shanon royal and Cathy Tur- ner, both retired teachers, remi- nisced with friends about Carter begged his mother to take him to Carter’s hometown to honor his favorite president. “This was a pilgrimage for him,” Wollenweber said. London, who said he plans to study political science next year at the University of Illinois at Spring- field, said it was an experience he felt he could not miss. “He was certainly our best former presi- dent,” London said. At one point, the procession passed the longtime Carter home, a modest ranch house just off main Street, where the 39th presi- dent and his wife moved after leaving Washington. rosalynn, who died in 2023 at age 96, is buried on the grounds, and Carter will join her in the family cem- etery in a private burial late Thurs- day. A few minutes later, the hearse made its way past sweeping farm- land to Carter’s boyhood home, where he lived until 1941, when he way along Highway 280, through Plains, where it passed an estimat- ed 300 people lining both sides of the old country road. “He was a genuine human be- ing. And it’s nice to be able to sit here and honor him. He deserves much more than that,” said Tucker Gatier, 27, who was among the first to claim a spot early Saturday along the motorcade route in Plains. Gatier, from Americus, sat with his wife, megan, and their 5-year- old twin girls, who wore matching leopard-print coats. Like many, he’d also previously encountered Carter. “He was just another neighbor to people around here,” Gatier said. “I saw him at the Peanut Festival once.” While the crowd included plen- ty of locals, some observers had made the journey from afar. Sarah Wollenweber traveled with her 17- year-old son, London, from Bloomington, Illinois, after he had Kevin D. liles For the Washington Post Members of a Boy Scouts group salute as the motorcade carrying Jimmy Carter’s casket passes in front of the Georgia Capitol on Saturday. 55 1.833.221.8111 Call or Schedule A FREE In-Home Estimate Online * 10 am 7 pmto UP TO WINTER FIRPLACE SALE GAS FIREPLACES 50% OFF JUST ONE OF OUR AMAZING DEALS AS LOW AS $39 PER MONTH Sale Price includes Gas Log System, Gas Line Hook-up, Product Installation, *Permits, County/City Inspections, and any Site Visit or *Riser Diagrams. Gas line required in Fireplace. We have Home Improvement Loans that are between 12 Months up to 240 Months. Interest rates depend upon Approved Credit. See store for Details *Additional Permit & Riser Drawing Fees apply for DC. Up to 99% energy efficientNo soot or ashes to cleanup Works even when you lose power. .. 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A8 eZ Re the washington post . sunday, january 5 , 2025 day could become importantto national security in the future. “Even if there’s no immediate interest in some areas, it’s crucial for the federal government to maintain the flexibility to adapt its energy policy, especially in response to unexpected global changes like the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” Milito said in an email. “Blanket bans only serve to shift energy production and eco- nomic opportunities abroad, ben- efiting countries like Russia at our expense.” Biden plans to invoke the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which gives the president broad powers to withdraw feder- al waters from future leasing. A federal judge ruled in 2019 that such withdrawals cannot be un- done without an act of Congress. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), the new chairman of the Senate En- ergy and Natural Resources Com- mittee, suggested that he would seek to overturn the decision using the Congressional Review Act, which allows lawmakers to nullify an executive action within 60 days of enactment with a simple majority vote. The expected move is “yet an- other attempt by the Biden ad- ministration to undercut the in- coming Trump administration and ignore the will of the Ameri- can people — who decisively vot- ed to reverse this war on Ameri- can energy,” Lee said in an emailed statement, adding, “Sen- ate Republicans will push back using every tool at our disposal.” Biden and his deputies have been working to finalize several conservation policies during his final days in office. The Interior Department proposed restricting energy development across more than 260,000 acres in Nevada’s Ruby Mountains last week. On Tuesday, Biden will travel to California to designate two national monuments on lands sacred to Native American tribes — the roughly 644,000-acre Chuckwalla National Monument in Southern California and the roughly 200,000-acre Sáttítla Na- tional Monument near the Or- egon border. toM PennInGton/Getty IMaGeS BY MAXINE JOSELOW President Joe Biden will move Monday to block all future oil and gas drilling across more than 625 million acres of federal waters — equivalent to nearly a quarter of the total land area of the United States, according to two people briefed on the decision who spoke on the condition of ano- nymity because the announce- ment is not yet public. The action underscores how Biden is racing to cement his legacy on climate change and conservation in his last weeks in office. President-elect Donald Trump, who has described his energy policy as “drill, baby, drill,” is likely to work with congres- sional Republicans to challenge the decision. Biden will issue two memoran- dums that prohibit future federal oil and gas leasing across large swaths of the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska, the two people said. The oil and gas industry has long prized the eastern Gulf of Mexico in particular, viewing the area as a key part of its offshore production plans. Some details of the expected decision were first reported by Bloomberg News. The total acre- age and the inclusion of the Northern Bering Sea have not previously been reported. The White House did not im- mediately respond to a request for comment. Karoline Leavitt, a spokes- woman for the Trump transition team, said in an email: “This is a disgraceful decision designed to exact political revenge on the American people who gave Presi- dent Trump a mandate to in- crease drilling and lower gas prices. Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we will drill, baby, drill.” The move could have the big- gest impact in the Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for about 14 per- cent of the country’s crude oil production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administra- tion. Industry operations there focus on a small sliver of federal waters off Louisiana’s coast. The decision would have little effect on a stretch of the Atlantic from North Carolina to Florida, where no drilling is underway. There is weak industry interest in the region, and lawmakers from both parties have raised concerns about possible oil spills devastat- ing local beaches and tourism. In fact, Trump imposed a 10- year moratorium on offshore oil exploration off the coasts of Flori- da, Georgia and South Carolina when courting voters there dur- ing his 2020 campaign. “This protects your beautiful gulf and your beautiful ocean, and it will for a long time to come,” Trump said as he announced the elec- tion-year reversal during an ap- pearance at a lighthouse in Flori- da. The Northern Bering Sea, off the coast of western Alaska, is home to migrating marine mam- mals including bowhead and be- luga whales, walruses and ice seals, which are hunted by many Alaska Natives. In 2016, President Barack Obama issued an execu- tive order that prohibited oil and gas exploration across more than 112,000 square miles of marine habitat in the Northern Bering Sea and called for tribal coman- agement of the protected area. Environmentalists praised Biden’s plans, saying they would prevent future oil spills that threaten coastal communities and marine wildlife. “No one wants an oil spill off their coast, and our hope is that this can be a bipartisan historic moment where areas are set aside for future generations,” Joseph Biden to block oil drilling across big swath of waters Millions of acres will be off-limits as president cements climate legacy Gordon, climate and energy cam- paign director for the conserva- tion group Oceana, said in a phone interview. The industry has defended its safety record and several indus- try groups blasted the expected decision. Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, which represents the offshore oil and wind industries, said areas with little interest to- MIchael S. WIllIaMSon/the WaShInGton PoSt TOP: Tugboats tow a semisubmersible drilling platform into the Gulf of Mexico in 2020. 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Ring in the New Year WITH THE KOHLER® WALK-IN BATH MAKE RELAXATION YOUR RESOLUTION LIMITED TIME OFFER $1,000 OFF Your KOHLER Walk-In Bath UNTIL 2026† NO PAYMENTS Call Today For Your FREE In-Home Quote! 202-730-9010 sunday, january 5 , 2025 . the washington post eZ re A9 BY EVAN HALPER The Biden administration Fri- day rolled out ambitious plans to subsidize clean hydrogen energy, but details of these long-awaited tax credits illustrate barriers that continue to weigh on the green fuel’s future. The financial incentives, ap- proved by Congress in 2022 and a key pillar of President Joe Biden’s climate agenda, are aimed at en- abling U.S. domination of a new energy source. Potentially worth tens of billions of dollars, the credits could spur the use of climate-friendly forms of hydro- gen to power some of the most polluting sectors of the economy — ranging from cement produc- tion to jet airline travel. “Clean hydrogen can play a critical role decarbonizing multi- ple sectors across our economy, from industry to transportation, from energy storage to much more,” said David Turk, deputysecretary of energy. Much of the debate around the tax incentives focused on how hydrogen is produced. Running the machines that separate hy- drogen from water requires the up-front use of electricity. The new rules will give greater incentives to companies that use solar and wind power to separate hydrogen, while giving smaller incentives to companies that use fossil fuels to do the job. For those that derive hydrogen using solar and wind, the rules require new facilities to be built in many cases — to prevent hy- drogen production from divert- ing clean energy from the existing power supply. The upshot: Energy companies say that these rules demand enor- mous investments and many years of development before making clean hydrogen a signifi- cant factor in the nation’s energy mix. Industry insiders expect Presi- dent-elect Donald Trump to re- vise rather than repeal the subsi- dies, which have broad support among GOP lawmakers and Trump’s allies in the oil industry. Companies are waiting to see if the Trump administration might ease some of the green-energy restrictions, making fossil-fuel- based hydrogen projects easier and less expensive. “We are grateful to see a final rule that will allow some projects to move forward,” Beth Deane, chief legal officer at the company Electric Hydrogen, said of the plan announced Friday. “Howev- er, there is an opportunity for the Trump Administration and the new Congress to unleash the full potential of this industry and ensure the manufacturing jobs stay in America by providing ad- ditional flexibility.” The final framework for the subsidies, included in the Infla- tion Reduction Act of 2022, ar- rives with only weeks left in Biden’s term. The administration in 2023 committed billions of dollars in grants to hydrogen “hubs” around the nation, where businesses and research institu- tions are vying to build produc- tion facilities. The idea is to create a climate- friendly fuel packed with enough energy to power some of the most emissions-intensive industries, thereby shrinking their carbon footprint. The hydrogen pro- duced also could serve as a stor- age tank for green energy. In that scenario, the fuel is made with excess wind and solar power, stored, and used to generate elec- tricity after sunset or when the wind dies down. But making hydrogen exclu- sively from renewable energy re- quires immense amounts of wind and solar power, when there is not enough of either even to cover current needs. The machines that convert electricity from renewable energy or nuclear power into hydrogen, called electrolyzers, are still in early stages of development and are costly to acquire and operate. Big energy companies have warned they would not invest in clean hydrogen if they could not use natural gas and nuclear pow- er to make the fuel. Hydrogen made from gas uses a different process that does not involve electrolyzers. The Natural Resources De- fense Counsel called the new rules “not perfect from a climate perspective” but a nonetheless “important step toward a truly clean hydrogen industry.” Under the Biden rules, compa- nies using natural gas to make hydrogen would still draw the lucrative subsidies if they pair production with carbon capture and storage technology, which traps the resulting methane emis- sions and pipes them into under- ground reservoirs. That technol- ogy also is in its early stages, raising questions about whether it can be deployed effectively. Companies could also acquire subsidies by producing hydrogen with biogas made from livestock manure, a fuel the administration deems climate-friendly despite objections of some environmen- talists. The administration sought to address concerns about diverting existing nuclear power to hydro- gen production by limiting this to cases where surplus nuclear pow- er already exists — typically com- ing from plants at risk of shutting down due to lack of demand. Some experts warn that even with those provisions, the subsi- dies will inevitably drive some nuclear energy off the power grid, with consequences to the envi- ronment. “Other resources, generally fossil fuels, will fill in to make up the difference, driving substan- tial induced greenhouse gas emis- sions,” said Dan Esposito, a man- ager at Energy Innovation, a non- partisan think tank. But Esposito said that on balance, the adminis- tration “got a lot right.” New subsidies show why creating clean hydrogen power is hard CHeT sTrange for THe WasHingTon PosT A hydrogen storage facility at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. New rules will give greater incentives to companies that use solar and wind power to separate hydrogen, while giving smaller incentives to companies that use fossil fuels. Biden’s plan for fuel comes amid debate over how green it should be “There is an opportunity for the Trump Administration and the new Congress to unleash the full potential of this industry.” Beth Deane, chief legal officer at the company electric Hydrogen *Supported by customer ratings from Google®, HomeAdvisor®, Angi®, and internal metrics. **All financial opportunities are subject to credit approval; see the website for full details. ( https://homegeniusexteriors.com/terms-conditions/ ) DC #420219000039 DE #2021706590 MD #5856111 VA #2705064026 Building trust, one roof at a time. Dedicated Project Team Each customer is assigned a unique team of professionals led by a single project manager, guiding you from start to finish. 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The decision to nix Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion takeover bid helps cement Biden’s image as a staunch defender of U.S. unions but leaves the fate of thousands of workers unclear and tees up a potentially protracted legal bat- tle over whether politics influ- enced a security review that is supposed to be left to experts. Biden had long said he op- posed the purchase of U.S. Steel, arguing the iconic company needed to stay in domestic hands, a position that many ob- servers saw as political pragma- tism to shore up the union vote in an election year. But with the election over and President-elect Donald Trump set to take office, some aides thought there might be a slim chance to persuade Biden to relent in his last days in office, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations. At a White House meeting convened by Biden’s chief of staff, Jeff Zients, on Thursday evening, someof these aides, such as national security adviser Jake Sullivan, noted that one option was a conditional block of the acquisition. That would have allowed Nippon Steel to advance more proposals to minimize po- tential national security risks, effectively pushing the matter to the next administration, accord- ing to three officials. Over the last several months, more than a half-dozen senior administration officials — in- cluding Sullivan deputy Jona- than Finer, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, his deputy Kurt Campbell, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen, Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Jared Bern- stein and top Commerce officials — argued against or expressed reservations about the position Biden ultimately took, said offi- cials familiar with the delibera- tions. Several aides stressed that Ja- pan is the United States’ most crucial ally in East Asia and one of its most dependable, as the two nations have significantly strengthened a military alliance in the last few years. Sinking the deal could strain that relation- ship, they said. Japan, they not- ed, also tops the list of foreign country investment in the Unit- ed States. Some Biden advisers main- tained that Nippon Steel’s pro- posal, far from representing a national security risk, was the best deal for the workers and would stabilize U.S. Steel, whose global ranking has tumbled in the last several decades. The Japanese company pledged $2.7 billion to modernize the Penn- sylvania-based firm’s decades- old plants and promised to com- ply with the existing United Steelworkers contract. Thou- sands of rank-and-file workers supported the Nippon bid. Yellen also voiced concern that a flat rejection of the bid without any clear evidence of national security risk could harm the apolitical reputation of the Treasury-led body that the president ultimately used to quash the bid, according to two officials. And the Justice Depart- ment warned that opposing the deal could invite litigation, offi- cials said. Japanese officials pressed their case privately with Blinken and Sullivan that stopping the deal could not be justified on national security grounds, four officials said. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, breaking with what had been to that point Tokyo’s stance of not having the prime minister weigh in on what was deemed a business matter, sent a letter to Biden in Novem- ber asking him to approve the deal. The letter, first reported by Reuters, was never made public, according to two people familiar with the matter. But for some members of the president’s domestic economic team and for his political advis- ers in particular, blocking the deal gave the White House a rare opportunity to protect U.S. jobs, deliver a clear victory to the nation’s labor unions and bur- nish Biden’s legacy. Skeptics of the deal, which was strongly opposed by United Steelworkers President David McCall, thought Nippon had an uneven track record of protecting workers. They also felt that Nippon Steel had a year to advance a meaning- ful mitigation plan but repeated- ly failed to do so, according to one U.S. official familiar with their views. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai sided with McCall — as did, crucially, three of Biden’s most loyal and longest- serving advisers: counselor Ste- ven Richetti, deputy chief of staff Bruce Reed and senior adviser Michael Donilon. The three aides, who were also at Thurs- day’s meeting, had reinforced Biden’s pro-labor inclinations over months, said people famil- iar the matter. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm was also de- scribed by numerous aides as inclined to block the acquisition. Those who opposed the deal as a national security risk — especially in Tai’s office — saw it in the context of a global steel market awash in excess capacity, according to one administration official who spoke on the condi- tion of anonymity to reflect in- ternal deliberations. These officials worried that after the acquisition, Nippon Steel could face pressure from the Japanese government to re- duce steelmaking capacity and jobs in the United States while preserving them at home. If that were to happen, the resulting decline in steel output could leave the United States short of steel needed “to meet the full spectrum of national security requirements” for transporta- tion, infrastructure, construc- tion, agriculture and energy, said the Treasury-led review panel in a Dec. 14 letter to the companies. Biden’s instincts all along were to side with the union, two U.S. officials said. “My hunch is this is just where his heart was,” said one. Even after the election, part of the president’s calculus appeared to involve legacy, said the other. “The argument came down to politics and legacy.” The unusual degree of dissent from his top advisers, emerging at a low point for Democrats days ahead of Trump’s inaugura- tion, reflected frustration with Biden’s decision on a matter that had been debated within the administration for months. The concerns of Sullivan and Blinken were first reported Friday by the Wall Street Journal. Earlier last week, Nippon Steel offered a deal sweetener that effectively gave the U.S. gov- ernment veto power over any reduction in U.S. Steel’s “produc- tion capacity” — a major conces- sion aimed at assuaging doubts about the Japanese company’s intentions. But that offer did not guaran- tee Nippon would maintain em- ployment levels or output, said one official who supported the block. Lori Wallach, director of Rethink Trade at the American Economic Liberties Project, a left-leaning group, said Nippon was not likely to ensure “suffi- cient volume of critical steel products necessary for defense and domestic infrastructure,” citing the company’s history. On Friday, Biden issued a statement announcing he was quashing the deal “to ensure that, now and long into the fu- ture, America has a strong do- mestically owned and operated steel industry that can continue to power our national sources of strength at home and abroad.” Biden’s decision is “unfortu- nate and incomprehensible,” said Yoji Muto, Japan’s economy, trade and industry minister. Nippon Steel has threatened to sue the U.S. government and is likely to seek internal docu- ments created during the delib- erations that pertain to an as- sessment of national security risk. On Friday, the leadership of Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel is- sued a joint statement charging that Biden’s move to block the purchase was a political act made in “clear violation of due process and the law.” The government’s review of the deal “was deeply corrupted by politics and the outcome was predetermined, without an in- vestigation on the merits, but to satisfy the political objectives of the Biden White House,” they said. That statement is a reference to the Treasury-led body that provided the ostensible grounds for Biden to reject the takeover. John Hudson contributed to this report. Biden opposed advice of aides in rejecting sale of U.S. Steel Demetrius Freeman/tHe WasHington Post National security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Japanese officials who expressed doubt about President Joe Biden’s stance. 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FREE** $20 Walmart or Target Gift Card After your FREE* Hearing Evaluation NORTH BETHESDA Towne Plaza 12250 Rockville Pike, Suite 209 1-888-387-3068 SILVER SPRING 12301 Old Columbia Pike Suite 202 301-384-4245 BETHESDA 6931 Arlington Road 1-888-387-3068 BEL AIR 1521 Rock Springs Rd., Unit D 410-774-0250 SPRINGFIELD 6506 Loisdale Rd., Suite 106 1-888-387-3068 GAINESVILLE 7430 Heritage Village Plaza Suite 102 1-888-387-3068 BOWIE Fairwood Shopping Center 12420F Fairwood Parkway 1-888-387-3068 OWINGS MILLS 9351 Lakeside Blvd. Suite 103 410-774-0205 TOWSON 1220A E Joppa Rd. Suite 111 443-320-4680 ANNAPOLIS 509 S. Cherry Grove Ave. Suite A 410-774-0135 FALLS CHURCH 6565 Arlington Blvd. Suite 503 1-888-387-3068 OXON HILL 6196 Oxon HIll Rd., Suite 385 1-888-387-3068 ROCKVILLE 15200 Shady Grove Rd. Suite 304 1-888-387-3068 WOODBRIDGE 1455 Old Bridge Rd. Suite 202 1-888-387-3068 NOTTINGHAM 8837 Belair Rd. 410-999-8570 FAIRFAX 10560 Main Street Suite 606 1-888-387-3068 STERLING 2 Pidgeon Hill Dr. 1-888-387-3068 sunday, january 5 , 2025 . the washington post EZ rE A11 BY ANGIE ORELLANA HERNANDEZ The first ambulance arrived minutes after midnight in a packed Honolulu neighborhood that had been celebrating the new year. The unit rapidly called for reinforcements, an official said, after it saw the scene early Wednesday: dozens of people injured by an explosion of illegal fireworks outside a home. Two women were pronounced dead on-site in the Salt Lake neighborhood, and a third wom- an died at a hospital, Jim Ireland, director of Honolulu’s Emergen- cy Services Department, told The Washington Post on Thursday, describing the incident as “prob- ably the worst call I’ve had in my career.” Twenty other people, includ- ing three minors, were seriously injured. “One of the first units was handed a 3-year-old,” Ireland said, overcome with emotion. The explosion appears to have happened after someone lit an “aerial cake,” a container filled with multiple aerial fireworks, in a driveway, Honolulu Police Chief Arthur Logan said Wednes- day at a news conference. The cake then fell to the side, shoot- ing off into crates filled with more fireworks. A criminal investigation into the incident is underway, Logan said. On Friday, Honolulu’s medical examiner identified two of the dead as Nelie Ibarra, 58, and Jennifer Van, 23. The third woman remains un- identified. Of those who were critically injured, Ireland said burns cov- ered 20 to 30 percent of some patients’ bodies and up to 90 percent of others. Patients also suffered trau- matic blast injuries and experi- enced shrapnel, glass or wood embedding into their bodies af- ter the blast impacted cars and houses. Ireland said some of the in- jured may be transported out of Hawaii, which has just one spe- cialized burn unit — at Straub Benioff Medical Center in Hono- lulu. More deaths are still possi- ble, he said. The incident sparked fierce condemnation from lawmakers, including Gov. Josh Green (D), who signed legislation in July strengthening state law enforce- ment’s ability to address illegal fireworks. A state illegal fireworks task force created in 2023 has so far seized more than 227,000 pounds of illegal fireworks, Green said Wednesday in a state- ment. Honolulu Mayor Rick Blang- iardi (I) vowed at Wednesday’s news conference to shut down the “pipeline of illegal fireworks entering our island,” calling the New Year’s disaster a painful reminder of their danger. Fireworks killed at least eight people nationwide in 2023 and injured about 9,700 others, ac- cording to the Consumer Prod- uct Safety Commission. The number of fireworks injuries in- creased by about 561 each year from 2008 to 2023, the commis- sion found in a report, with 35 percent of fireworks injuries dur- ing a month-long study period in summer 2023 affecting hands and fingers. While the CPSC analysis shows teens between 15 and 19 are most likely to be injured by fireworks, most of the critically wounded patients in the Hono- lulu disaster appeared to be in their 20s and 30s, Ireland said. Online fundraisers have been created for those injured, de- scribing the patients as parents of a newborn baby and a mother of two toddlers. Hawaii blast scene almost as if ‘military bomb had gone o≠’ Officials say explosion of illegal fireworks killed 3, seriously injured 20 The first 911 call was dis- patched two minutes after mid- night, according to Honolulu’s emergency services department. The Defense Department’s Fed- eral Fire Department sent addi- tional ambulances from military bases. Ireland, who said he arrived at the scene at 12:15 a.m., said paramedics set up a triage center on a nearby street. People with critical injuries were prioritized to try to save as many lives as possible, he said. Ten to 15 people had minor injuries and trans- ported themselves to get medical care. When the last ambulance left after 1 a.m., Ireland walked to the blast site to survey the area, he said. It was a harrowing scene of debris, shattered windows and objects burned beyond recogni- tion — almost as if a “military bomb had gone off in the front yard,” Ireland said. “There was the smell of fire,” he recalled, “the smell of people who’d been burned.” PHoToS BY MArco GArciA/AP The Honolulu home celebrating New Year’s Eve where fireworks exploded. Of the 20 people seriously wounded, three are minors. Nelie Ibarra, 58, and Jennifer Van, 23, died in the explosion; a third person killed is not yet identified. 202-734-7055 - for your existing cabinets and pantry. Call for Your Design Consultation *Limit one offer per household. Must purchase 5+ Classic/Designer Glide-Out Shelves. EXP 2/28/25. Independently owned and operated franchise. ©2025 ShelfGenie SPV LLC. All Rights Reserved. A12 eZ re the washington post . sunday, january 5 , 2025 annual threat assessment last year. These groups historically employ tactics such as attacking people with machetes, guns or SUVs because they can inflict mass casualties with little train- ing. Attacks that cause a lot of harm can inspire more violence, offi- cials said. Before the New orleans attack, law enforcement officials re- sponded to a handful of attacks in the United States by extremists from September 2023 and July 2024, the DHS assessment said, and disrupted several other plots. on Dec. 6, DHS, the fBI and the National Counterterrorism Center issued fresh alerts to law enforcement about the potential for violence in the coming months. Among the threats: me- dia groups supporting ISIS, the Islamic State militant group, had called for attacks in the United States and in other countries during the winter holiday season. on Dec. 23, DHS issued a “criti- cal incident note” to law enforce- ment three days after a 50-year- old Saudi man drove a car into a Christmas market in magdeburg, Germany, killing five people and injuring more than 200 others.officials warned that similar violence had happened in the United States. In November 2021, a man driving an SUV rammed into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, killing six and wounding 62 others, the note said. In New orleans, city officials have said they took precautions but acknowledged that security bollards, sturdy posts that re- strict vehicle access to walkways and streets, were under renova- tion when Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, rammed a pickup truck bear- ing an Islamic State flag into a crowd Wednesday. Davis said it’s not just authori- ties that have to remain vigilant. He advises people to stay aware of their surroundings at big events, but also during mundane trips to a shopping mall, a church or a sporting event. He said people should identify safe ways to exit and flee if there is danger. “The best thing you can do is put space between you and what- ever you think can be a problem,” Davis said. “I’m always surprised when people pull out video and start recording things when you hear gunshots. my first reaction is to get the hell out of there.” barriers and water barriers, and staff discussed other ways to stage city vehicles to prevent all vehicular access to event spaces,” marissa Barnett, a city spokes- woman, wrote in an email. Gary Lhotsky, an associate pro- fessor at West Virginia University who has helped coordinate secu- rity for college sporting events, said that after the New orleans attack officials may try to restrict vehicular traffic at more events. “In a perfect world, you would have concrete barricades around a whole facility,” Lhotsky said. “But obviously that costs money, time and personnel.” The Department of Homeland Security has said the terrorism threat in the United States will remain high into 2025, driven by people motivated by varying ideologies, personal grievances and international conflicts. Lone offenders and small groups pose the greatest threat of a surprise attack, DHS said in its In New York City, police ex- tended the perimeter around Trump Tower and law enforce- ment added more patrols around the Trump hotel in Chicago. Davis said the attack in New orleans showed how any public gathering could become a target — not just big events such as the Super Bowl — and that city and state officials should remain vigi- lant. officials in some smaller cities seemed to be following that guidance. In Galveston, Texas, shortly after the New orleans attack, the special events director met with city management to discuss how officials would respond if some- thing similar happened there. That was followed by another meeting on Thursday involving police and officials coordinating special events and traffic. The city has its annual events marking mardi Gras, which is march 4, in february and march. “The city already uses concrete Edward Davis, who was Bos- ton’s police commissioner during the 2013 bombing of the Boston marathon and now runs a secu- rity company for executives, said private companies are also boost- ing their security for the coming weeks. many fortune 500 compa- nies have been on guard since the Dec. 4 fatal shooting of United- Healthcare CEo Brian Thompson in New York. “They are about as much on high alert as they can be,” Davis said of law enforcement. “We’re all holding our breath.” Law enforcement officials moved quickly to ramp up secu- rity in some sensitive sites follow- ing the New orleans attack, which the fBI said was inspired by the Islamic State, and the explosion of the Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. Authorities said Thursday the latter incident was part of an apparent suicide by an active-duty Army soldier. nymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue, acknowl- edged that this week’s attack in New orleans will be taken into consideration but declined to specify what changes, if any, will result. The Super Bowl will be on feb. 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New orleans. “Plans are revisited, modified, enhanced as necessary based on the latest information,” the per- son said. The planning for Super Bowl security begins roughly two years ahead of the game and involves local officials, local and state po- lice, the NfL and a collection of federal agencies, the official said. Airspace restrictions will cur- tail flights over the stadium, as with other NfL games. There will also be a 300-foot “hardened pe- rimeter” around the stadium that will involve street closures, fenc- ing and concrete structures, ac- cording to the person familiar with the NfL’s planning. William “matt” mcCool, the special agent in charge for the Secret Service’s Washington field office, said the series of high-pro- file events calls for heightened security measures. U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas manger said at a friday news conference that “all of us are on high alert.” “As our nation struggles to maintain a sense of safety in light of the recent mass killings and acts of terrorism, the eyes of the world would be on the United States Capitol to see what hap- pens here on January 6,” manger said. “We’re living in a time of a heightened threat environment toward government and elected officials.” This is the first time the elec- toral certification by Congress is designated a special security event, following a request from D.C. mayor muriel E. Bowser and a recommendation by the House select committee charged with investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. Preparations are well under- way for the roughly two-week stretch that will test security in the nation’s capital. fencing has been added around the Capitol, streets are being closed and drones will be sent aloft to moni- tor for problems. All D.C. police officers will be called to work beginning Sunday, joined on Inauguration Day by about 4,000 police officers from across the country and potential- ly nearly 8,000 National Guard troops. officials said there is no indication of specific threats to any of the events and no major protests planned for Jan. 6. The measures had been in the works before the Jan. 1 violence, but officials said they were reas- sessing security protocols after the recent incidents. officials with the Golden Globes did not respond to a re- quest for comment, but Inside Edition reported law enforce- ment and organizers would bol- ster security ahead of the annual awards for movies and television in Beverly Hills, California, on Sunday. The safety measures are expected to include snipers and a no-car zone surrounding the Beverly Hilton, where the event takes place. A person familiar with security planning for the Super Bowl, who spoke on the condition of ano- SECuRITy fRom a1 Jan. 1 violence impels security measures for special events shaWn fink for the WashinGton Post FBI agents investigate the area where a pickup truck driver slammed into a crowd of revelers during the morning of Jan. 1 in New Orleans. autonomous vehicles can record what is happening around them — a level of “passive surveillance” that is invaluable to police, said matthew Wansley, a professor at Cardozo School of Law who fo- cuses on the intersection of tech- nology and law. If law enforcement needs in- formation about what happened outside a club, for example, they might say, “Let’s just call Waymo,” he said, to see whether one of the robotaxis now rolling in San francisco and other cities was driving by. Waymo and the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association did not respond to requests for com- ment. Beyond such passive collection of data, drivers unwittingly give away information about them- selves when they rent a car, data privacy advocates say. Rental companies typically opt in to tracking services and other functions that vehicle owners could turn off, said Eva Galperin, cybersecurity director at the Elec- tronic frontier foundation. If the car titleis in its name, the rental company has control over location history, biometrics and any other personal information a renter leaves behind, said Andrea Amico, who founded a company called Privacy4Cars that works to protect consumers from vehicle data collection. “You have zero rights,” Amico said. The Cybertruck in the Las Ve- gas case was rented through Turo, which operates like an Airbnb for vehicles. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but its terms of service say the rented cars may collect nonpersonal information like acceleration, location and direction. Users authorize the use or disclosure of such data unless prohibited by law, the policy says. The American Car Rental Asso- ciation did not respond to a request for comment. Amico got the idea for Privacy4Cars while running a used-car inspection company. one day, he saw the navigation system in one of the cars still had directions to the previous owner’s home. “I can see the name of the person because they synced their phone … I know where she’s taking her two daughters to school. I know which cancer hos- pital she’s going to,” he said. “That’s when I went, ‘oh, s--t.’” and its nationwide charging net- work. Tesla chief executive Elon musk directly assisted investiga- tors in the New Year’s Day Cy- bertruck explosion and provided charging-station footage tracking the driver as he went from Colo- rado to Las Vegas, Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin mcmahill said. musk offered investigators “quite a bit of additional information” on the truck and sent a team to Las Vegas to help investigators extract data and video from the charred remains of the truck. mcmahill also said investiga- tors were looking for vehicles that may have been at the charging stations at the same time as Livelsberger, “because their vehi- cles would have also had cameras that would have taped anybody in and around them.” on Thursday, the team of in- vestigators in Las Vegas — which includes the local sheriff and fBI — showed video footage of the driver, recorded from multiple angles, at a Tesla charging station in Arizona. Las Vegas Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren did not specify how that exact footage was obtained but said the Tesla team sent by musk helped investigators recov- er a thumb drive that “records other types of data that includes video by the Tesla.” The team also helped investigators retrieve data from the vehicle that determined it was not in self-driving mode at any point during Livelsberger’s volume and precision of data collected can pose civil liberties concerns for people in sensitive situations, like attending protests or going to abortion clinics. federal and state officials have begun to scrutinize companies’ use of car data as evidence has emerged of its misuse. There have been reports that abusive spouses tracked partners’ locations and that insurers raised rates based on driving-behavior data shared by car companies. There have also been cases in which local police departments sought video from Tesla cars that may have recorded a crime or obtained warrants to tow vehicles to secure such footage. “There’s something deeply ironic that this emblem of per- sonal autonomy, the idea of a car on the open road, might be one of the most heavily surveilled places in many of our lives,” Cahn said. more than 75 percent of car brands said they can share or sell drivers’ data, according to a 2023 mozilla foundation report as- sessing 25 international brands’ data privacy policies. more than half said they can share informa- tion at the request of law enforce- ment or the government. only two, Renault and Dacia — neither of which is marketed in the Unit- ed States — said drivers have the right to have personal data delet- ed, the report said. Industry groups say data col- lection protects drivers and al- lows automakers to identify po- tential defects. Sensitive informa- tion can’t be used for marketing or shared without consent, the Alliance for Automotive Innova- tion said in a 2023 memo. “Yes, your vehicle is generating and transmitting certain safety data. That’s by design,” the memo said. “No, your car isn’t spying on you.” many cars have access to loca- tion data and camera footage if they are equipped with features such as parking assistance and navigational systems. But Tesla probably has access to far more data thanks to the suite of camer- as used in its driver assistance features, its onboard computers DaTa fRom a1 Modern cars collect troves of personal data plosion was caused by fireworks and a bomb. He cited the vehicle’s telemetry, the technology that automatically gathers and relays data. Carter Gibson, a 34-year-old tech worker in San francisco who owns a Rivian — an electric vehi- cle also chock-full of sophisticat- ed technology and cameras — said he doesn’t mind if the data is used to enhance public safety or track those who have caused harm and done something illegal. While the amount of available information opens up new prob- lems around profiling and data sharing, he said, he believes it could be a net positive for society — if done correctly. Gibson, a Rivian enthusiast who runs a subreddit of more than 100,000 users about the car, said musk’s willingness to share information so openly was “creepy” and has shaken his trust in how Tesla deals with customer data. “I, like most people, am not reading the privacy policy in de- tail. Everyone just hits ‘agree,’” he said. “But this is where brand perception really starts to play a role in how safe people feel with the car.” Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. The cameras on Teslas and Tesla has at its fingertips about its drivers. “It’s a double-edged sword,” said Demaree, 36, as he drove his Cybertruck in “full Self-Driving” mode from orlando to Las Vegas to attend CES, the prominent annual tech conference. “We want our privacy, and we don’t want our data shared … but you want to help in a situation where terrorism could be a factor.” Tesla owner Adam Gershowitz, a law professor at William and mary who has studied police searches of digital data, said he is willing to sacrifice a level of privacy for the convenience of the car’s navigational systems, info- tainment centers and backup cameras at their disposal. “The thing that makes it so dangerous from a privacy per- spective is the same thing that makes it a terrific automobile,” he said. Still, Gershowitz said, it makes him uneasy to consider how quick musk was to share the information that immediately dispelled speculation that the ex- plosion was caused by an issue with the vehicle itself. As investi- gators pieced together the case on New Year’s Day, musk has posted developments on social media — in one case appearing to beat law enforcement to confirm the ex- journey to Las Vegas. While musk’s swift assistance was applauded by authorities, his highly publicized actions also touched off complicated emo- tions in some people, including Justin Demaree, a Cybertruck owner and Tesla enthusiast who runs a popular YouTube channel called Bearded Tesla Guy. Demaree said that although he appreciates musk’s willingness to help investigators — especially in a case the fBI was initially prob- ing as a potential act of terrorism — the incident showcased just how much personal information Mark LeonG for the WashinGton Post Features such as the many cameras in a Tesla allow companies to collect video footage and other data. Carter Gibson Carter Gibson, 34, with his Rivian electric car. He said Elon Musk’s willingness to share data with investigators so openly was “creepy.” sunday, january 5 , 2025 . the washington post eZ re A13 shootout with the police. He has been described as being “inspired” by the Islamic State and pledged allegiance to the militant group in a video he made. An Islamic Stateflag was found on the hitch of the rental truck he drove, which the Associ- ated Press reported was reserved more than six weeks before the attack. The fBI is examining the transmitter, as well as two fire- arms linked to Jabbar and cloth- ing and shell casings from the truck, and will conduct addition- al testing. The bombs were found by law enforcement and neutral- ized. federal authorities who searched Jabbar’s home on Cres- cent Peak Drive in Houston as well as the short-term rental he had been staying at in New or- leans rendered safe the bomb- making materials they found and sent other items for further pro- cessing. Jabbar tried to destroy the New orleans rental by setting a small fire in its hallway and placing accelerants throughout the home, the fBI said. But after he left, the fire burned out before spreading to other rooms, which allowed for the recovery of evidence, includ- ing bombmaking material and a “privately made device suspected of being a silencer for a rifle.” The fBI said it is going through reams of video and other data captured on street cameras, as well as the over 1,000 tips it has received. Separately, Senate minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D- New York) sent a letter to majori- ty Leader John Thune (r-South Dakota) on Saturday asking him to request that the fBI provide all senators with a briefing on this attack and the unrelated Las Ve- gas Cybertruck explosion before the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. BY LAUREN WEBER The man who killed 14 revelers on New Year’s Day in New or- leans with a pickup truck had bombmaking materials at his home and a transmitter in the vehicle intended for the two im- provised explosive devices he had placed in coolers on Bourbon Street, the fBI said in a statement friday. Investigators have said that Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year- old Army veteran, probably acted alone before being killed in a FBI: Attacker had transmitter for bombs on Bourbon Street many health care facilities al- ready can’t hire enough workers; without CoN laws, proponents say, resources could be spread too thin to fully support any one hos- pital. About 1 in 5 nursing jobs are vacant in West Virginia. “I get a kick when I hear some people say, ‘Well, if you get rid of CoN in West Virginia, you’re go- ing to have all these additional hospital beds,’” said Jim Kaufman, president and chief executive of the state’s hospital association. “We can’t staff all the beds that we’re licensed for today.” Why not ‘something better’? The U.S. government in the 1970s pushed states to adopt cer- tificate-of-need laws to give health care planners more control over resource allocation. But officials in seven consecutive presidential administrations starting with ronald reagan’s have criticized certificate regulations as anticom- petitive or too easily manipulated by businesses interested in pro- tecting their own bottom lines. Congress did away with CoN mandates by 1987, and more than a dozen states have eliminated their requirements since then. But most state governments have kept them, with hospital groups and businesses that already have cer- tificates urging lawmakers to maintain the status quo. Amy Summers, a former emer- gency room nurse and House ma- jority leader in West Virginia, said she repeatedly tried to roll back the state’s CoN law before leaving office this month. “The lobby is just too strong to get it done,” she said. In 2024, Kentucky lawmakers considered scaling back the state’s CoN law after residents in several northern counties complained they had only one hospital system from which to choose, prompting them to drive to ohio if they didn’t like the care. That bill didn’t pass. In oregon’s House of represen- tatives, a bill introduced in febru- ary was supported by some resi- dents and doctors, who said a lack of mental health and rehabilita- tion beds forced patients to seek treatment out of state. Laura Core, a resident of Port- land, oregon, stayed in one of those in-state rehabilitation beds after she sustained severe brain and spinal cord injuries in a 2022 car crash. She said some of the therapies she received, such as spending time in a garden and making cookies, were ineffective. “Why do we not have some- thing better?” she said in an inter- view. “It’s because of the law that is preventing that from happening.” The oregon bill never made it out of committee. Industry groups in oregon and Kentucky have said certificate laws play an important oversight role and that their facilities out- perform those in non-CoN states. other states have seen legal challenges on constitutional grounds; cases are pending in mississippi, North Carolina and Nebraska. Among them is a lawsuit filed by Charles Slaughter, a physical therapist who tried to open a home-health business in missis- sippi in 2020. But the state has a moratorium on new certificates for such enterprises; it hasn’t is- sued one for more than four dec- ades. The number of mississippi home health patients quadrupled from 1981 to 2020, the most recent year for which state data is avail- able. meanwhile, the number of home health agencies dropped by two-thirds during that time, ac- cording to state documents. Slaughter’s only option would be to buy a certificate of need from another company, he said. But the cost is prohibitive: The last time he considered that route two dec- ades ago, it would have cost over $1 million, he said. Application fees for a certificate of need in mississippi can reach $25,000. Slaughter’s attorney, Aaron rice, likened the certificates to taxi medallions that keep small businesses from operating in some markets. “There’s literally certificAteS from A1 30-plus states use certificates of need competition and cost research is mixed on whether states’ certificate requirements make health care more expensive. Because medical charges are of- ten set by insurers or the govern- ment, hospitals typically don’t compete on price, said Steven Ull- mann, director of the University of miami’s Center for Health man- agement and Policy. rather, they try to entice pa- tients with upgraded facilities or cutting-edge services, such as new cancer treatments or robotic sur- geries. That can raise costs, Ullmann said, because there’s an incentive to use new technologies in lieu of cheaper alternatives to justify their purchase — similar to run- ning a CAT scan if an X-ray will do. “It’s a result of overcapitaliza- tion and duplication” of expensive services, he said. The cost and complexity of the application process itself — and the threat of an administrative fight with incumbents — are often enough to repel new or small busi- nesses, say opponents of certifi- cate requirements. West Virginia state Del. Evan Worrell (r) said that even though the state granted a certificate of need to a personal-care business he operates, he has spent more than $100,000 in an ongoing legal battle because rival senior centers raised objections that landed him in the state’s Intermediate Court of Appeals. Worrell said he filled out eight applications in 2023, each to work in a few counties. He had to print two sets of each 150-page applica- tion, put some in binders with tab separators, and drop them off at two government offices. more than 18 months later, he’s still waiting for a decision. Gailyn markham, a spokesper- son for the West Virginia Depart- ment of Health, said that the state’s CoN program is less re- strictive than those in other states and that the regulatory agency “prides itself on its commitment to provide cost-effective health care.” Even if the state ultimately ap- proves a large percentage of appli- cations, the process deters poten- tial participants, Worrell said. “People don’t even apply,” he said. N’da said he decided to start a medical transport business after hearingcomplaints from custom- ers of his home health companies; they said existing options often ran late or didn’t wait for clients whose appointments went longer than expected. The lack of reliability was par- ticularly problematic for people with hard-to-reschedule or can’t- miss appointments, like for dialy- sis, N’da said in court testimony. But N’da didn’t prove that there was sufficient need for his services or that his company would be “harmless” to established players, regulators wrote in denying his application. “Imagine if I want to open a restaurant, but the existing res- taurant(s) have to decide my fate,” N’da said during the 2023 hear- ing. N’da’s case was heard by the Nebraska Supreme Court in De- cember. A decision is pending. of the four companies that con- tested N’da’s application, one ap- pears to no longer offer medical transport and could not be reached for comment. A represen- tative for two others — sister com- panies Camelot Transportation and Triumph Transportation — said their protest was mainly about whether N’da’s small opera- tion had the resources to serve the entire state, as he was proposing, and whether his service filled a need. Camelot and Triumph do not oppose competition and haven’t protested many applications in recent years, said managing direc- tor and owner Alissa Kern. But “we can’t all be carriers, or else none of us are going to sur- vive,” she said. Kirby Young, who until 2019 owned the fourth challenger to N’da, also views Nebraska’s certif- icate rules as anticompetitive. He bought a cab company in the early 2000s in an attempt to break into the market, he said. He later ap- plied for medical transport certifi- cation. His brother and sister had worked for a cab company and told Young they couldn’t start their own. “I said, ‘Why not? This is Ameri- ca. You can do whatever you want,’” Young recalled. “They said, ‘No, not in the state of Nebraska.’” sue in N’da’s case is for medical transportation companies that want to drive patients in govern- ment programs such as medicaid. Half the applications submit- ted from 2015 to mid-2022 were contested by one of four compa- nies, according to filings in N’da’s lawsuit. of the 39 challenged, only one won approval as submitted; 16 advanced after making certain concessions, such as staying out of large cities or limiting the number of handicap-accessible vehicles in their fleet, the lawsuit documents said. N’da said he was presented with a similar offer: Stay out of Lincoln, omaha and Bellevue — the state’s three largest cities — and the established companies would drop their opposition. N’da described his reaction at a 2023 court hearing. “‘What they’re offering me is unheard of,’” N’da recalled telling state regulators. “‘They don’t want competition.’” Question of need When Nebraska began requir- ing medical transport companies to secure certificates in 2002, state and local health officials opposed to the idea said it would limit the market to big companies “who can afford the lawyers to fight for them.” The concern proved prescient, said Crystal rhoades, who served on the state’s Public Service Com- mission from 2015 to 2023. While she was in office, Nebraska’s medi- cal transport industry was domi- nated by a handful of companies that frequently contested applica- tions, according to rhoades and exhibits attached to N’da’s law- suit. “We always had the same issue,” the former regulator said. “The applicant would come in and say, ‘There’s a need, there’s an unmet need.’ And the existing carriers would say, ‘No, there isn’t, and we can handle it.’” The Nebraska certificate at is- only one mississippi-family- owned home health agency left in the state,” he said. A decision by a mississippi court is pending. A mississippi health depart- ment spokesperson said the agen- cy can’t comment on pending liti- gation. A spokesperson for the mississippi Association for Home Care said its facilities perform bet- ter than peers in states without CoN laws, according to federal standards. In 2020, North Carolina oph- thalmologist Jay Singleton sued the state after discovering he couldn’t apply for a certificate to perform cataract surgeries at his New Bern clinic because the state had already decided there was no need. Since 2007 or earlier, regula- tors haven’t seen a need for new surgical centers within a roughly 1,800-square-mile area that in- cludes the city of 32,000, accord- ing to state documents. “I couldn’t even get in the door to apply,” Singleton said. WASHINGTON POST IlluSTrATION; ISTOck/THe WASHINGTON POST INSTITuTe fOr JuSTIce M’Moupientila “Marc” N’da has a case before the Nebraska Supreme court over his efforts to open a medical transportation operation that has faced protests from would-be competitors. A14 eZ re the washington post . sunday, january 5 , 2025 The World BY ISABELLE KHURSHUDYAN AND SERHII KOROLCHUK DOneTSk reGiOn, Ukraine — Russian forces in Ukraine are advancing at their fastest pace since the early days of the inva- sion by using the biggest advan- tage Moscow has in this war: manpower. Ukrainian military personnel in the field said weapons shortag- es persist, but it’s the relentless human assaults that have been most effective for Russian forces exploiting vulnerabilities in Ukraine’s increasingly thin de- fenses. Russian losses are very high, the Ukrainian soldiers said, but the repeated attacks supported by heavy bombardment from artil- lery and drones just keep coming, pushing the Ukrainians back one small piece of territory at a time. Russian forces have advanced within two miles of the eastern town of Pokrovsk, putting in peril key logistical and resupply routes that run through the area to other parts of the front line. “You kill one Russian and it’s like two pop up in his place,” said Valentyn, an infantryman in Ukraine’s 35th Marine Brigade. Like with others interviewed for this story, The Washington Post agreed to identify him by just his first name or call sign, according to rules set by Ukraine’s military. “You get this feeling there is an unlimited number of them,” he added. At the same time, the ranks of Ukrainian soldiers have grown more and more depleted and un- equipped to fend off the Russian onslaught. Those in the field de- scribe exhaustion and slumping morale. And soldiers who said they believed in fighting until the last of the Russian occupiers were pushed off all of Ukraine’s terri- tory are increasingly supporting President-elect Donald Trump’s call to begin negotiations to end the war. The shift in attitude has come as Ukrainian soldiers said they have grown frustrated with their own government in Kyiv, criticiz- ing what has been a slow and disjointed mobilization cam- paign. Many also said they had to invest their own money or were dependent on civilian volunteers for equipment such as drones and the vehicles they drive near front- line positions because they couldn’t rely on the government for essential equipment. Ukraine’s parliament last year adopted new mobilization mea- sures that lowered the country’s minimum conscription age to 25. But military personnel said the draft drive came too late — when units were already severely short- handed after months without re- placements. There have been more deserters, too, they said, because people are no longer vol- unteering to fight but are being forced to. “When I just got into the army, the situation was bad,” said Olek- sandr, a 27-year-old infantry sol- dier in the 35th brigade. “But now, for a new person, the situation is so bad that I don’t judge anyone who’s deserting.” Though Ukraine’s former mili- tary chief, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, called for mobilizing 500,000 people in 2024, President Volod- ymyr Zelensky rejected that num- ber as too high. Ukrainian and Western officials estimate that Kyiv ultimately drafted about200,000 recruits. Zelensky has also turned back suggestions from the White House to further lower the conscription age to 18. “I’m not telling you numbers, but it’s horrible,” said Taras, a deputy battalion commander fighting near Pokrovsk. “People are being called up to fight, but sadly we have losses, and these losses have to be replenished. And it’s truly not enough.” Some soldiers said they’ve also come to terms with the reality that Western arms support has been declining and will probably continue to do so. Without the flow of that aid, Ukraine lacks the military resources to push the Russians back, the soldiers said. Russia maintains an artillery ad- vantage and is now using new self-destructing drones that fly with the use of fiber-optic cables, making them especially deadly; they are largely invulnerable to electronic jamming, as they are controlled through long thin coils, not radio waves. Moscow is occupying more than 20 percent of Ukraine — a large swath of territory stretching from the northeast to the Crime- an Peninsula on the Black Sea in the south. Several Ukrainian mili- tary personnel said they feared the Russians would continue pushing the front line west, toward the major city of Dnipro, which has a population of approx- imately 1 million people. The Post interviewed Ukraini- an soldiers from six different bri- gades fighting in eastern Ukraine for this story. Many were skeptical that Russian President Vladimir Putin would agree to a ceasefire while his troops appear to have the initiative and fear Zelensky will have to make painful conces- sions. Others expressed concern that even if fighting stopped this year, Russia could just attack again in the future. “Let’s be honest, the situation now is worse than at the start of the full-scale invasion,” said 33- year-old Taras, a captain and com- pany commander in the 35th bri- gade. “What can we negotiate now? We can only nod our heads and agree to their demands, and what they will demand is obvious- ly going to be something that we don’t like.” Ukrainian forces can typically fend off the first assault waves, soldiers said. But the Russian strategy is based on overwhelm- ing its enemy with greater num- bers to eventually break through once their probes have identified where Ukraine has gaps in its defenses. A tank commander in the 68th brigade who spoke on the condi- tion he would be identified by his call sign, Physic, called the strat- egy “sheer madness,” as the at- tacking Russians probably under- stand their chances of survival are slim and push ahead anyway. “Maybe one man from the third group reaches their goal,” Physic said. “He digs in there, sets up communication and coordinates the others. They gradually accu- mulate a critical mass of people in one place, near our positions. They endure — mortars hit them, everything imaginable targets them. They suffer heavy losses, but they persist.” Moving in smaller groups on foot, the most-used tactic, also allows the Russians to covertly build up forces one or two people at a time before their next attack. Armored vehicles are rarely used in offensives anymore, soldiers said. “You think everything is all right because you haven’t seen a lot of the enemy and then sudden- ly 10 people run out of one base- ment,” said Taras, the deputy commander fighting near Pok- rovsk. “That happened to us re- cently. Where did they come from?” Ukraine’s most acute person- nel shortages are among infantry — the soldiers needed to stand in the forward-most positions. Last year, Ukraine copied one of Rus- sia’s best recruitment tactics: re- leasing convicted felons who agreed to fight in high-risk as- sault units. But they’ve done little to plug the holes, commanders said. One officer in an interview regretted that Kyiv had waited so long to recruit inmates after Mos- cow did it in the first months of the war. Volodymyr, a 33-year-old who had been serving a prison sen- tence for beating a man to death, was one of the first to join the 93rd Mechanized Brigade’s bat- talion of convicts. He’s already conducted five assaults on Rus- sian positions. “No one forced us to fight — we volunteered — so we might be more motivated than those drafted off the street,” he added. Ukrainian soldiers said casual- ties have been higher in defensive positions than when they’re on the offensive. Drone surveillance has enabled both armies to moni- tor any movement across the bat- tlefield, and the greatest danger now is just getting to a position. Taras said driving any vehicle without an electronic warfare jammer to fend off drones is rare- ly done because the risks are so high. “The worst is when the boys didn’t even manage to get to the position,” he said. “When you’re on the front line and you get wounded there, that’s under- standable. But there are situa- tions where people were going on a combat mission for the first time in their lives and that hap- pened.” The Russians’ transition to drones directed by fiber-optic ca- bles stretching up to 12 miles means jamming isn’t always ef- fective. Oleksandr, from the 35th brigade, said he’s spotted cables on tree branches, but he couldn’t risk trying to sever them with a knife. If he were spotted, he’d almost certainly be killed with another drone, he said. “After a mission, with all these drones, you have very high para- noia,” Oleksandr said. “Every sound, every movement, you de- tect that as a drone and you try to hide from it.” In his New Year’s Eve address to Ukrainians, Zelensky’s mes- sage focused on what he called a “fair peace” — a different tone than previous calls for a total Russian defeat and restoring Ukraine’s 1991 borders estab- lished after the collapse of the Soviet Union. He has said Ukraine could end the “hot phase” of war this year and then seek the return of the occupied areas diplomati- cally at a later date. “Everything is pointing in the direction” of a ceasefire, said Ser- hii Filimonov, the commander of the Da Vinci Wolves battalion. “A lot was influenced by the elec- tions in the U.S. and Trump’s rhetoric.” anastacia galouchka in Kyiv contributed to this report. Among Ukrainians, an openness to stop fighting Exhaustion amid Russia’s relentless assaults has soldiers increasingly supporting Trump’s call to negotiate an end to the war Photos BY ed ram For the Washington Post Antitank obstacles known as dragon’s teeth are seen Dec. 29 deep inside Ukrainian-controlled territory in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Ukrainian soldiers Taras, 33, left, and Oleksandr, 27, discuss the war on Dec. 26. Largely because of more manpower, Russian forces are advancing at their fastest pace since the invasion’s early days. A civilian car drives past a military transportation vehicle bearing a howitzer in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on Dec. 26. sunday, january 5 , 2025 . the washington post eZ re A15 CHiNA Fire at food market kills 8, injures 15 A fire at a food market Saturday in northern China killed at least eight people and injured 15 others, state media said. The fire at the Liguang market in the city of Zhangjiakou broke out midday Saturday and was mostly extinguished by 2 p.m., Xinhua News Agency reported, citing a government official in Qiaoxi District where the market is located. The cause of the fire is under investigation, the report said. Such traditional markets are often tightly packed with shoppers seeking prices lower than at supermarket chains. Fire sources can range from gas bottles to charcoal used to roast meat and discarded cigarettes while aging infrastructure, such as underground gas lines, has also been blamed for fires and explosions. Zhangjiakou, located in Hebei province bordering Beijing, hosted events during the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. — Associated Press HAiti Military police arrive as reinforcements About 150 military policeas president on Jan. 20. sEE securITy ON A12 Mayhem prompts stricter security U.s.: ‘copycat’ attacks possible New Year’s rampage, truck blast stoke fears BY SHANNON NAJMABADI in 2017, M’Moupientila “Marc” N’da sought state approval to drive older and disabled Nebras- kans to doctor’s appointments. Given what he was seeing among clients of his home health busi- ness — who often complained about unreliable rides — the need seemed obvious. But would-be competitors pro- tested, backed by laws that give them sway over new entrants to the market. though state regula- tors determined N’da was quali- fied to run a medical transport operation, they denied his appli- cation because he hadn’t demon- strated it would be “harmless” to the businesses that had come be- fore him. N’da responded with a lawsuit accusing the state of denying him due process. the case is now be- fore the Nebraska supreme Court. N’da is part of a wave of litigants pressing to dismantle regulations that plaintiff lawyers say have fo- mented health-care “cartels” in more than 30 states — limiting, for example, the number of metha- done clinics in West Virginia, youth mental health beds in ar- kansas and Mri centers in North Carolina. these certificate-of-need (CON) laws require certain health care and transportation business- es to demonstrate community need for their services before they can operate. the prerequisite is meant to contain costs and pre- vent oversaturation of the market, but it often comes with a catch: Would-be competitors can chal- lenge applicants whose services could cut into their sales. “it creates these little fiefdoms,” said William aronin, a lawyer with the institute for Justice, the libertarian law firm representing N’da. “No one benefits but the incumbents.” Health-care officials say the rules create a crucial buffer in a system not governed by the usual tenets of a free-market economy. Hospitals must care for emergen- cy room patients regardless of their ability to pay. the govern- ment sets payment rates for pa- tients on public insurance pro- grams. Commercially insured pa- tients and specialty services help subsidize those losses. if an ambulatory surgical cen- ter set up shop next to a rural hospital, “it can cherry-pick the patients that it wants,” said David Dirr, a lawyer who has represent- ed the Kentucky Hospital associa- tion. sEE cerTIfIcATes ON A13 States’ rules led to ‘cartels’ in health care, litigants say Start-ups see stifled competition, but officials insist edicts help patients The Sunday Take: this time, trump faces a more dangerous world. a2 A2 EZ rE the washington post . sunday, january 5 , 2025 cORREcTIONS the Washington Post is committed to correcting errors that appear in the newspaper. those interested in contacting the paper for that purpose can: Email: corrections@washpost.com. call: 202-334-6000, and ask to be connected to the desk involved — National, Foreign, Metro, style, sports, Business or any of the weekly sections. KLMNO NEWSPAPER DELIVERY For home delivery comments or concerns contact us at washingtonpost.com/subscriberservices or send us an email at homedelivery@washpost.com or call 202-334-6100 or 800-477-4679 TO SUBScRIBE 202-334-6100 TO ADVERTISE washingtonpost.com/mediakit Classified: 202-334-6200 Display: 202-334-7642 MAIN PHONE NUMBER 202-334-6000 TO REAcH THE NEWSROOM Metro: 202-334-7300; metro@washpost.com National: 202-334-7410; national@washpost.com Business: 202-334-7320; business@washpost.com sports: 202-334-7350; sports@washpost.com style: 202-334-7535; style@washpost.com TO REAcH THE OPINION PAGES Letters to the editor: letters@washpost.com or call 202-334-9876 opinion: oped@washpost.com President-elect Donald Trump will begin his second term stronger and more dominant as a player on the world stage than when he was sworn in eight years ago. The world that awaits him, however, is far different — andmore threatening — than when he left the presidency four years ago. Trump’s “America First” second-term focus purports to be principally on the home front. The deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants was one of his leading campaign pledges, and his initial appointments suggest he is serious about this priority. The proposal is fraught with practical and political questions. Dealing with the domestic economy through tax and spending cuts and regulatory changes was another key promise. Polls suggest the economy—mostly inflation — counted more than other issues did in Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. But many economists have said that Trump’s economic agenda — tariffs and an extension of tax cuts — could lead to a new round of inflation andmore debt. Deportations, too, would disrupt the economy. Trump has also pledged to bring the civil service to heel. An initiative that includes cost- cutting and finding inefficiencies will be led by multibillionaire entrepreneur ElonMusk and onetime rival Vivek Ramaswamy. The two have grand ambitions and, seemingly, the president- elect’s blessing. Nonetheless, they face multiple challenges before they will be able to deliver more than symbolic changes. Still, Trump could quickly be drawn into foreign policy challenges. He will confront a world of chaos and conflict: a prolonged war in Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin more hostile than ever, and the Middle East still in turmoil after more than 15 months of warfare, with Iran weakened, Syria without Bashar al-Assad and Israel stronger militarily but scarred internationally because of its conduct in the war in Gaza. China presents other challenges for Trump, who has threatened major new tariffs on a country with serious economic problems and growing military ambitions. As an indication of his intentions, Trump plans to populate his incoming administration with several China hawks. Meanwhile, governments of key U.S. allies in Europe, particularly France and Germany, are weakened, with right-wing, populist parties on the rise. Trump prides himself as a dealmaker. His approach to foreign policy in his first term appeared to be more personal than strategic. He prefers dealing with autocrats rather than working with traditional alliances. In his second term, he probably will find it more difficult to work with the likes of Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and the leader who sent him what Trump called “love letters,” North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Daniel Benjamin, president of the American Academy in Berlin, said one of the biggest changes since Trump was last in office is what he called “an axis of resistance,” which includes Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. “That is now a hard and fast reality,” Benjamin said. As one former European diplomat who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations put it, “It’s not like the old Cold War, but you can see a global pattern of jostling and tension.” In that environment, Trump’s jousting adversaries are seen as less inclined to make short-term deals that benefit the incoming president. “Trump’s old playbook involved making believe that, on any given day, he could strike an amazing deal with any of them and be the opposing leader’s best friend. Think back to that wacky personal diplomacy with Kim Jong Un,” Benjamin said. “That won’t cut it now.” Ivo Daalder, chief executive officer of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, said, “The big thing is that Russia is at war with theWest.” He said Putin is focused on subjugating Ukraine, with the longer-term goal of regaining Russia’s strategic position that was lost at the end of the ColdWar. “That means Putin is a very different character,” Daalder said. “More isolated. More focused on a singular goal than he might have been when Trump last met with him.” The war in Ukraine could become a first test for Trump, given the status on the battlefield there, the exhaustion of depleted Ukrainian forces andofficers from Central America have arrived in Haiti to reinforce the embattled government’s fight against violent gangs that have upended daily life for millions in the Caribbean country. The deployment of around 75 security officers, mostly from Guatemala, was greeted Saturday at Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince by the Kenyan commander of the U.N.-backed mission that for months has been struggling to restore order. “The gangs have only two choices: Surrender, lay down their weapons, and face justice, or face us in the field,” the officer, Godfrey Otunge, said in remarks at a welcoming ceremony. “With the addition of the Guatemalan and El Salvador forces, the gangs will have nowhere to hide. We will root them out of their enclave.” A similar-size contingent, which also included a small number of forces from El Salvador, traveled aboard a U.S. Air Force aircraft and was greeted Friday by top Haitian officials and U.S. Ambassador Dennis Hankins. Coordinated gang attacks on prisons, police stations and the main international airport have intensified in Haiti since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Gangs are estimated to control about 85 percent of the capital. In what is perhaps the most brazen attack yet, gunmen opened fire on a crowd that gathered on Christmas Eve for the much-anticipated reopening of Haiti’s biggest public hospital, which was closed after being rampaged by gangs earlier this year. Two journalists covering the event and a police officer were killed. Before this week’s deployment, the international mission seeking to quell the violence was led by around 400 security officers from Kenya. Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin and Chad have also pledged personnel, although it isn’t clear when they would be sent. — Associated Press AUstRiA Chancellor to resign after talks fail again Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said Saturday he will resign in the coming days after talks on forming a new government failed a second time. The announcement came after the People’s Party and the Social Democrats on Saturday continued coalition talks a day after the liberal Neos party’s surprise withdrawal from discussions. “Unfortunately I have to tell you today that the negotiations have ended and will not be continued by the People’s Party,” Nehammer, from the conservative People’s Party, said in a statement on social media. He said that “destructive forces” in the Social Democratic Party have “gained the upper hand” and that the People’s Party will not sign on to a program that it considers to be against economic competitiveness. Social democratic leader Andreas Babler said he regretted the decision by the People’s Party to end the talks. “This is not a good decision for our country,” he said. Babler said that one of the main stumbling blocks had to do with how to repair the “record deficit” left by the previous government. “I have offered to Karl Nehammer and the People’s Party to continue negotiating and called on them not to give up,” he told reporters Saturday evening. The next government in Austria faces the challenge of having to save between 18 to 24 billion euros, according to the E.U. Commission. — Associated Press Digest issues, told NBC News. In just this past year, an array of Islamic State-linked or inspired attacks have struck major cities around the world, including devastating bombings in the Iranian city of Kerman and a shocking attack in April carried out by four gunmen in a Moscow concert venue. The organization’s most potent branch is ISIS-K, or Khorasan, which operates out of Afghanistan and Pakistan and is a font of the group’s online propaganda efforts. But the Islamic State has also made inroads in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. “The ISIS threat in Africa, in our view, is potentially one of the greatest long-term threats to U.S. interests,” Brett Holmgren, the head of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, told Politico last November. “They’ve clearly prioritized Africa as a growth opportunity.” “The single biggest concern I have is the resurgence of ISIS,” outgoing White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN last weekend when asked for his evaluation of the situation in Syria. He added that the Islamic State was doing “everything it can … to regrow its capabilities” in the security vacuum left behind by the fall of the dictatorial regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Sullivan’s imminent successor, Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Florida), is a mainstream Republican hawk who hinted that Trump may not follow through on his long-standing vows to pull out U.S. troops in Syria. “The president has been crystal clear, and his mandate from the voters was to do everything he can to avoid us getting [dragged] into more Middle East wars,” Waltz told Fox News in a recent interview. “But in Syria, he is clear-eyed about the threat of ISIS that’s still there. … We have to keep a lid on it.” Some analysts are skeptical that Trump will persevere. The number of Islamic State fighters in the field in Syria are estimated to be fewer than In his first term, President Donald Trump declared victory over the Islamic State. It was December 2018, and Trump announced that the U.S.-led coalition against the extremist Islamist group had completed the job of dislodging the terrorist faction from its major redoubts in Syria and earlier in Iraq. The campaign to extinguish the Islamic State “caliphate” — its ministate that included major cities like Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq — had been intense, involving waves of heavy bombing and the combined efforts of U.S. and other Western airpower and allied local militia on the ground. “We have won against ISIS,” Trump said in a video at the time, adding that U.S. forces deployed to Syria are “coming back now.” Even then, officials in the Trump administration were more clear-eyed than their boss, telling reporters that Islamic State’s territorial losses didn’t mean the group was extinguished and that an enduring mission was needed to keep its militants in check. More than six years later, a detachment of U.S. troops still operates in Syria as part of that continued mission, and may remain as Trump starts his second term later this month. A low-level counterinsurgency carries on — just this past week, separate U.S. and French missile strikes targeted Islamic State positions in Syria. The U.S. presence is in the spotlight given the political upheavals in Syria. Rebels now rule in Damascus and the country’s political transition has seen an ascendant Islamist faction come to fore, though it has nothing to do with the extremists of the Islamic State. Meanwhile, Turkish proxies are eyeing areas of northeast Syria held by U.S.-linked Kurdish groups, which, among other things, patrol the major open-air prison camps housing unwanted Islamic State detainees for the past decade. Far from Syria, the Islamic State still casts a shadow. The man suspected of being behind the deadly rampage in New Orleans in the early hours Wednesday had an Islamic State flag in the pickup truck he used to ram into a crowd of New Year’s revelers. FBI officials expressed doubt Thursday that the attack involved anyone else beyond the truck driver, but were clear about its ideological inspiration. “He was 100 percent inspired by ISIS,” FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia told reporters at a news conference. “We’re digging through more social media, more interviews … to ascertain more about that.” Whatever the outfit’s operational capacity, its standing in extremist circles has influenced a wave of radicalized “lone wolf” attackers on both sides of the Atlantic. “The New Orleans terrorist attack simply confirms what many in the counterterrorism communityhave been saying for the past year, which is that ISIS remains a stubborn and persistent threat and one which simply isn’t going to fade away,” Colin Clarke of the Soufan Group, a consultancy that focuses on global security 3,000, and they will be confronted by a constellation of other actors, from the new Syrian regime to Syrian Kurds to the Turkish military and its allies. “Trump is going to ask, ‘Why do I have to keep … troops on to fight ISIS, when essentially all of our fighting is mainly bombing them in the desert?’” James Jeffrey, Trump’s Syria envoy in his first term, told my colleagues. “And it’s going to be very hard to answer that question.” The biggest vulnerability lies in the maintenance of Islamic State prison camps in northeastern Syria. Nearly 10,000 fighters and more than triple that number of relatives and children are kept in these squalid detention centers, which U.S. officials have warned are becoming breeding grounds for a new generation of radicalized militants. The camps are run by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a largely Kurdish faction that partnered with the United States to drive the Islamic State out of its major strongholds less than a decade ago. The SDF’s depleted numbers, potential loss of direct U.S. support and looming battles with Turkish proxies could lead to a worrying prison break. Farhad Shamsi, a spokesman for the SDF, told my colleagues that he hoped the incoming Trump administration would preserve the current U.S. footprint in the region, which involves some 2,000 soldiers. “We hope that they will maintain their presence here in Syria, especially in this critical situation, because we think that ISIS will be resurging,” Shamsi said. Islamic State’s shadow will loom over Trump’s presidency, even far from Syria WorldView Ishaan Tharoor nICole tunG For the WAshInGton post A refugee camp in Raqqa, Syria, in 2022. Raqqa was one of the cities in ISIS’s “caliphate.” BY CAT ZAKRZEWSKI In the first three days of 2025, Elon Musk commandeered global politics through dozens of rapid- fire, often inflammatory posts to his 210 million followers on X. The world’s richest person called for the release of a jailed British far-right extremist. He shared a post pressing King Charles III to dissolve Parliament and order a new general election, as he posted memes and a flurry of attacks directed at Prime Min- ister Keir Starmer. Musk accused Starmer of failing to prosecute “rape gangs” more than a decade ago, a child exploitation scandal that has prompted Britain’s Con- servative Party to call for a full national inquiry. Musk reposted a message from Rupert Lowe, a politician in the Reform UK party who serves in Parliament and who said he spent Friday talking to rape gang vic- tims. “Victims, past and present, don’t need ‘thoughts and prayers’ from politicians, they need jus- tice,” Lowe said. “We will fight for that in Parliament.” Musk also briefly turned his attention to the United States’ northern neighbor and praised an interview with Pierre Poilievre, a populist firebrand who leads Canada’s Conservative Party. Musk said that this week he would live-stream a conversation with Alice Weidel, the chancellor candidate for the Alternative for Germany, a far-right political par- ty he has endorsed ahead of that country’s snap elections in Febru- ary. Last year, Musk dominated U.S. politics, using his deep war chest and X microphone to boost Donald Trump and other Repub- licans in the 2024 elections. As the GOP prepares to retake con- trol of the White House and both chambers of Congress, Musk has emerged more powerful than ever. His fortune has exploded, and he has a perch as Trump’s right-hand man, weighing in on his Cabinet choices and joining his conversations with global leaders. In the new year, Musk is flexing his political muscle on the global stage as well. He appears to be applying a playbook similar to the one he used to disrupt American politics, now boosting conserva- tive politicians in the govern- ments of the United States’ top allies. But his disregard for the veracity of his posts and his eleva- tion of far-right and extremist figures have alarmed liberal lead- ers around the world. “Elon Musk is an American citizen and perhaps ought to fo- cus on issues on the other side of the Atlantic,” Health Minister An- drew Gwynne said during a Fri- day interview with the British radio station LBC. The long-running British child exploitation scandals that Musk has seized on have become a rallying point for Reform UK, a right-wing populist party. An in- dependent review in 2022 found that local government agencies in the town of Oldham, England, had left children vulnerable to sexual exploitation. That review followed an earlier probe in 2014 that found an esti- mated 1,400 children had been sexually exploited in Rotherham, England, over 15-plus years. Ac- cording to the report, most perpe- trators were of Pakistani origin, and some in the town said they were nervous about identifying the ethnic origins of perpetrators for fear of being seen as racist. Although these historical cases of abuse go back decades, right- leaning outlet GB News laid blame last week with the ruling Labour Party, reporting that min- ister Jess Phillips had recently rejected a request for the national government to conduct a further investigation into the Oldham “grooming gangs.” Gwynne said the government was carefully considering the rec- ommendations from the 2022 probe. He also said there had been numerous local investiga- tions into the allegations. “Had Elon Musk really paid attention to what’s been going on in this country, he might have recognized that there’ve already been inquiries,” Gwynne added. Gwynne’s boss, the health sec- retary, Wes Streeting, told report- ers, “Some of the criticisms Elon Musk has made, I think, are mis- judged and certainly misin- formed.” Musk’s moves have prompted speculation that he could seek to financially boost conservative politicians abroad, after becom- ing America’s top political donor by spending $277 million on U.S. elections last year. In December, Musk met with British politician Nigel Farage at Trump’s Mar-a- Lago resort in Florida, where they posed for a photo in front of a painting of a young Trump wear- ing a white sweater. Farage, the leader of Reform UK, told the BBC that he and Musk discussed money, perhaps up to a $100 million donation to the party. Musk told Axios that he had not yet donated and was not sure whether it would be legal. As he injects chaos into other countries’ political systems, Musk has faced fierce criticism for ele- vating far-right figures who have made racist comments. He called for the release of Tommy Robin- son, the onetime leader of the English Defense League who for years has organized anti-Islam protests around Britain. Robin- son, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for repeating a libelous claim that a Syrian refugee schoolboy had attacked English girls. Germany’s government has ac- cused Musk of trying to sway its February elections, following his decision to write an opinion piece for a German newspaper about his support for Alternative for Germany, a far-right political par- ty that has been classified by German intelligence as a suspect- ed extremist organization. Musk wrote that the populist party was the “last spark of hope for this country” and praised its ap- proach to regulation, taxes and market deregulation. Musk’s numerous posts at all hours of the day and night about Britain’s politics mirror his recent efforts to test his political influ- ence in Washington. In Decem- ber, the tech billionaire’s critics accused him of behaving as a “shadow president” after he used his X account to pressure House Republicans to torpedo a biparti- san dealintended to keep the government open. Trump and other MAGA allies soon also pub- licized their opposition to the bill, triggering a shutdown crisis just before Christmas. When House leaders reached a new deal to keep the government open, Musk claimed it was a suc- cess because the bill’s text shrank from 1,500 pages to just over 100. The bill was much smaller be- cause it removed highly technical health-care rules, but the overall cost of the deal changed little. Amid his interventions in Eu- rope and Canada, Musk has not taken his eye off U.S. politics. He rang in the new year at Mar-a-La- go, where he and the president- elect donned tuxedos and danced to “YMCA.” In between memes trashing Starmer and calls for new elections in Britain, Musk also retweeted a post from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisi- ana), thanking Trump for his sup- port as he defended his gavel in a contentious speakership vote Fri- day. Johnson won reelection that afternoon. Musk also is directly assisting in the probe of a New Year’s Day Cybertruck explosion, believed to be a suicide, outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. Musk’s international tangles foreshadow how he could seek to influence foreign affairs more di- rectly through his close relation- ship with Trump — especially in ways that could favor his many business interests. On Thursday, Musk reposted a tweet that said Britain’s Online Safety Act will take effect in March 2025. The law requires social media companies like X to prevent children from accessing harmful and age-inappropriate content and to give adults more control over what they want to see online. Companies that run afoul of the law can face fines of up to 10 percent of their global revenue. “President @realDon- aldTrump will take power just in time,” Musk wrote. “Thank good- ness.” Elon Musk goes global with his playbook for political influence ChrIstophe petIt tesson/AFp/Getty ImAGes Elon Musk visits Notre Dame in Paris during a Dec. 7 ceremony to mark the reopening of the landmark cathedral. X owner has boosted the far right in Britain, Germany and Canada A16 EZ rE the washington post . sunday, january 5 , 2025 Australia. The program is one of several new state initiatives de- signed not only to promote STEm but also to make students comfortable with the defense industry. “There are people who are just starting primary school who we would hope to have a career in AUKUS,” said Lockhart, of BAE. “We need to be influencing the academic curriculum today, not only to build up the social license for what we’re trying to achieve but also to try to attract the very best students.” The initiatives have been met with little protest in an indus- trial state still searching to re- place its auto plants, the last of which shut in 2017. At findon, half the students in its advanced manufacturing and engineering pathway are hoping to work for BAE, said instructor Joel Phillips. The defense con- tractor helped design the curric- ulum and welding bays, he said. findon’s workshop even has yel- low safety lines on the floor just like at osborne. Isla Taylor commutes four hours every day after her previ- ous school stopped teaching en- gineering. The 15-year-old was blown away by a field trip to BAE’s shipyard. “AUKUS is one of the main things we talk about here,” she said. Some findon students will head to local universities, which are also transforming for AU- KUS. Last year, flinders University brought in professors from the University of rhode Island to teach nuclear engineering to un- dergraduates. This year it will also offer graduate courses and paid apprenticeship degrees with BAE and ASC. michael Ly, 16, plans to study software engineering in univer- sity before joining BAE. He never thought of working in defense until coming to findon, he said as he pulled up a ship cradle design on his laptop. Now he was hoping to focus on cybersecurity. “We’re going to need that when we’re building submarines,” he said. As a student sparked a weld- ing torch with an air-splitting crackle, filipponi practiced on a digital welding machine. In six years, the steel hull of an AUKUS sub would start to take shape nearby. The teen wants to be part of the effort. “That,” he said, “would be awesome.” richard marles said in an inter- view. “You can look at these time frames and say, ‘That’s a long way in the future.’ But, in fact, it’s not. Every day matters.” About 60 members of the royal Australian Navy are train- ing to work on nuclear-powered submarines in the United States or the United Kingdom, accord- ing to Australian defense offi- cials, and nearly a dozen are already serving on U.S. or U.K. subs. one even piloted the USS Hawaii into Perth in 2024 for the first maintenance of its kind outside the United States or a U.S. base. Scores of Australian ship- builders are in Pearl Harbor training on American subs ahead of rotations of U.S. and U.K. boats to Western Australia start- ing in 2027. Australia is spending $5 billion on upgrading a naval base in Perth ahead of the visits. Both efforts are to prepare Australia for when it buys the first of at least three U.S. Virgin- ia-class submarines around 2032. That’s also around the time Australia will begin building the first of five nuclear-propelled submarines here in Adelaide. “This is a huge horse that we’re getting on here,” marles said. “We can’t just magic this.” a construction and training boom — at a cost Australia’s future nuclear sub- marine factory is currently little more than an empty field on the banks of the Port Adelaide river. assertiveness in the region. Aus- tralia has committed to spend as much as $250 billion over three decades, first to acquire used submarines, then to build its own. Although submarine con- struction won’t start for at least five years, Australia has already begun assembling an AUKUS workforce. It is concentrated here in South Australia, where a new submarine shipyard is under- way. To build these advanced vessels, this state of fewer than 2 million people will need thou- sands of shipbuilders and hun- dreds of engineers, according to federal and state officials and representatives of the defense industry. The state government is boost- ing STEm — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — education in its elementary schools, including lessons de- signed by defense contractors. findon is the first of five new technical colleges built by the state to train teens for AUKUS- related careers. A local university is teaching nuclear engineering with U.S. assistance. And the federal government will soon fund 800 new places for univer- sity students to study STEm in South Australia, plus 3,200 more nationwide. “We are moving at warp speed,” South Australia Premier Peter malinauskas said in an interview. The recent election of Donald Trump has injected some uncer- tainty into the future of AUKUS, however. While Canberra doesn’t expect Trump to scrap the plan, some analysts think Trump could seek to amend or renegotiate it. Australian opponents of AUKUS are meanwhile seeking to capi- talize on the uncertainty and upend the deal. But what that debate often overlooks — partly because the first subs won’t be completed until about 2040 — is that AU- KUS is already very much under- way in Australia. “This is the biggest industrial endeavor that’s happened in Aus- tralian history,” Defense minister SUbmaRiNeS from a1 In Australia, jitters that Trump could revisit deal vanced production lines, saying that “there’s no doubt that will flow into the wider economy.” He wants to speed up South Australia’s pilot program to bring local companies into the U.S. nuclear submarine supply chain. The effort is being run by HII, one of two U.S. shipbuilders that make Virginia-class subs. If Australian companies can make some parts, itwill speed up U.S. production and prepare Aus- tralia to maintain its Virginia- class vessels and, eventually, to make the AUKUS sub. “What we’re trying to do is help ourselves and in the process establish sovereign Australian capability,” said michael Lemp- ke, who leads HII’s AUKUS ef- forts, adding that the company will soon launch a similar pro- gram in Western Australia. aUKUS education starts in elementary school Students as young as 9 recent- ly gathered in a classroom in the small town of moonta, two hours from Adelaide. Using tablets and a 3D modeling program supplied by BAE, they designed an under- water gadget. The company soon will spon- sor similar projects in 80 el- ementary schools across South he said. A joint venture between the two companies will hire roughly 5,000 people over the next dec- ade. The state and federal gov- ernments will begin building a skills academy at osborne this year to train young sub-builders. And as the shipyard goes up, so, too, will schools, day-care cen- ters, housing and transportation links. Something similar is happen- ing in Western Australia, where Perth’s HmAS Stirling naval base is being prepared, to the tune of $5 billion in wharf upgrades and new facilities, for deployments of American nuclear-propelled sub- marines in 2027. AUKUS will create 20,000 jobs in Australia, officials say. But at a cost of up to $250 billion, that works out to roughly $12 million per job, and some critics argue that the program doesn’t justify the price. “It’s an incredibly inefficient way of creating jobs for people who, for the most part, are already employed,” said John Quiggin, a professor of eco- nomics at the University of Queensland. marles, the defense minister, countered that osborne will have some of the world’s most ad- But this barren patch of the osborne shipyard is where BAE Systems, a British defense con- tractor, will build the AUKUS- class sub with a local company, ASC. The AUKUS sub is being de- signed by a U.K. team with Australians “embedded” in it, said Craig Lockhart, chief execu- tive at BAE Systems Australia. The United States is also closely involved since the sub will use U.S. technology and weapons, and preliminary designs are more than 75 percent complete, MiChAEL E. MiLLEr/thE WAShington PoSt Justin Lai, 15, uses a welding bay at Findon Technical College, a new school in adelaide, australia. ASC Pty Ltd. One of the Royal australian Navy’s Collins-class submarines in a shiplift at the Osborne shipyard in South australia. The Washington Post 2025 calendar is available now! our beautiful 12-month calendars make great gift s. Featuring local scenes by award-winning Post photographers, it’s available for $10.00. 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CaseDesign.com 844.831.5966 MD MHIC #1176 | VA # 2701039723 | DC # 2242 Our commitment to providing a safe, healthy, and respectful worksite and experience. ® BY MARÍA LUISA PAÚL A White Colorado man was charged Thursday after he is alleged to have followed a Pa- cific Islander reporter for 40 miles, berated him about his nationality and choked him at his news station in what court records describe as a racially motivated attack. Patrick Thomas Egan, 39, faces one count each of second- degree assault, bias-motivated crime and harassment. Egan faces up to six years in prison if convicted on the assault charge alone. Egan’s attorney Ruth Swift did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Howev- er, during Egan’s court appear- ance Thursday, Swift said he had struggled with his mental health for over two decades, KKCO reported. The Dec. 18 confrontation began while KKCO/KJCT jour- nalist Ja’Ronn Alex was on as- signment in Delta, Colorado, according to an arrest affidavit. Alex’s station did not say what his assignment that day in- volved. While heading north toward Grand Junction, Alex realized Egan’s car, a Sunshine Rides taxicab, was following him, ac- cording to the affidavit. The cab followed Alex as he drove along Highway 50, which cuts through the sparsely populated high desert that separates both cities, the affidavit alleged. At a traffic light, Egan pulled up next to Alex’s car, rolled down the windows and shouted xenophobic threats, according to the affidavit. “Are you even a U.S. citizen? This is Trump’s America now! I’m a Marine and I took an oath to protect this country from people like you!” Alex — who is a Detroit native, according to KKCO/KJCT — recalled, accord- ing to the affidavit. According to the court docu- ment, Alex alerted his manager, who told him to return to the newsroom in Grand Junction. When Alex arrived, Egan fol- lowed him on foot and demand- ed to see his ID while repeatedly questioning whether he was American, the affidavit alleged. After repeating that he had served in the Marine Corps and had taken an oath to protect the nation, Egan tackled Alex to the ground outside the station, placed him in a headlock and began choking him, the affidavit states. Several KKCO/KJCT em- ployees then ran out and tried to separate the two men. When police arrived around 2:30 p.m., the employees had pinned Egan to the ground. Ac- cording to the affidavit, witness- es told police that Alex had been choked for up to 90 seconds, causing his face to turn red and show signs that he was strug- gling to breathe. Alex told police that he couldn’t recall whether he lost consciousness during the attack, which left him with a scraped knee and a cut thumb. Egan was arrested that after- noon and booked at the Mesa County Jail, records show. He has been held under a $20,000 bond — though his attorney un- successfully attempted to have it decreased at Thursday’s hearing. Daniel Rubinstein, the Mesa County district attorney, wrote in an email that he was pleased the court agreed to not lower Egan’s bond. If released, Egan faces several bond conditions — including a prohibition on pos- sessing firearms and an order to remain 1,000 feet away from Alex, Rubinstein said. In a statement to The Wash- ington Post, Kelly Milan, the owner of the Grand Junction- based taxi company Sunshine Rides, said thatEgan’s behavior violated the company’s policies and that his contract has been terminated. Sunshine Rides, she added, is fully assisting law en- forcement. “This violence and hate has no place in our society and I strong- ly condemn it, including the hateful messages attacking our company,” Milan wrote, refer- encing comments on Sunshine Rides’ social media posts. “This is a visceral reminder that we must all take a step back from our politics and start conversa- tions amongst our families, friends and communities about the importance of civility, decen- cy and mutual respect for all.” Egan served in the Marine Corps from 2005 to 2007 as a mortarman, said Marine spokes- woman Yvonne Carlock. He was assigned to a reserve unit in New Hampshire but never deployed, records shared by Carlock show. Donald Trump’s communica- tion director said the alleged attack has “nothing to do with” the president-elect. “Anyone trying to make a false and disgusting equivalency is simply trying to use race as a way to further divide the country,” Steven Cheung said last week. Trump has vilified immi- grants and questioned their place in the country, criticism that has preceded race- and na- tionality-based attacks in other communities. In Aurora, Colora- do, about 250 miles east of Grand Junction, a false rumor of a Venezuelan gang taking over an apartment complex — which Trump amplified — led to xeno- phobic signs and threats against the city’s growing immigrant community, The Post previously reported. The rumor also drew armed vigilante groups. Trump has also repeatedly used violent language to refer to the press, calling journalists the “enemy of the people” and telling his supporters at a rally that he wouldn’t mind if someone shot at reporters, The Post has report- ed. According to an analysis by Reporters Without Borders, Trump verbally attacked mem- bers of the media more than 100 times between Sept. 1 and Oct. 24, just before the presidential election. Stacey Stewart, KKCO/KJCT vice president and general man- ager, said in a statement that the station is “unable to comment on this matter any further than our news report.” The Asian American Journal- ists Association (AAJA) on Mon- day condemned the attack on Alex — noting that it occurred amid a rise in attacks against Asian Americans, which have heightened fears within Asian American and Pacific Islander communities across the nation. Man followed, yelled xenophobic threats and choked reporter, Colo. court filings say iStock The reporter was allegedly followed for 40 miles from Delta, Colorado, to Grand Junction, above. sunday, january 5 , 2025 . the washington post EZ rE a19 SUNDAY Opinion P resident Joe Biden’s final year in office was a disastrous capstone to a catastrophic presi- dency. In my last column, I offered my list of the 10 best things Biden and his administra- tion did in the past year. Here are the 10 worst. It was hard to pick just 10. 10. He withheld critical weapons from Israel. Bending to pressure from his left-wing base, Biden blocked delivery of 2,000-pound MK84 bombs that Congress approved, and slow-rolled others, includ- ing 500-pound MK82 bombs and other weapons. These delays, and Biden’s pressure on Israel not to carry out an offensive in Rafah (where the Israel Defense Forces found and killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in October), helped drag out the war. 9. He wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on failed green-energy giveaways. As of November, his administration had delivered just 93 trucks after Congress provided $3 billion to buy electric vehicles for the U.S. Postal Service, and in two years the administration had completed only about 200 charging stations from a $7.5 billion program. The Trump administration should repeal Biden’s climate spending and use it to cut taxes on tips for working Americans. 8. He failed to punish the International Crimi- nal Court. Not only did prosecutor Karim Khan indict Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he also threatened to prosecute members of Congress who pushed back on the ICC’s illegitimate actions. Yet unlike Donald Trump, who as president imposed sanctions on the ICC for its investigations, Biden imposed no costs on the body, opposing sanctions in Congress and adding none of his own. 7. He broke his promise not to support court- packing. After telling Americans he was “not a fan” of the idea to add extra justices to the Supreme Court, Biden announced his support for a scheme that was court-packing by another name, in which he would negate Supreme Court justices’ constitu- tionally mandated lifetime appointments and re- place them with 18-year “term limits.” 6. He and his administration engaged in a coverup of his cognitive decline. The White House repeatedly misled the American people about Biden’s mental fitness — assuring them, in Vice President Kamala Harris’s words, that the president was “vibrant,” “tireless” and “absolutely authorita- tive in rooms around the globe” — only to have those falsehoods exposed by a single debate performance. If Biden and his aides had been honest sooner, Democrats could have held a competitive primary and picked a more capable and appealing nominee. 5. He broke his promise not to pardon his son. NBC reported that the deception was intentional and that following Hunter’s conviction in June, “it was decided … he would publicly say he would not pardon his son even though doing so remained on the table.” Biden justified his reversal by claiming that “raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice” — essentially accusing his own Justice Department of engaging in politicized prosecutions and validating Trump’s critique that his administration was weaponizing the justice system. 4. He halted the federal executions of serial killers, child molesters and a cop killer. Biden, who is Catholic, said that he was “guided by my con- science” to grant clemency to 37 federal death-row inmates who had committed horrific crimes. But he made support for abortion the centerpiece of his reelection campaign (before he dropped out). The president has it backward: The Catholic Church teaches that the death penalty is a matter of “prudential judgment” while abortion is an “intrin- sically evil” act. 3. He called Trump supporters “garbage.” Biden claimed afterward that he misspoke, but his words were clear: “The only garbage I see floating out there is [Trump’s] supporters.” Biden came to office promising to put his “whole soul” into “bringing America together.” Instead, he compared Republi- cans to racists and traitors, called them “semi- fascist” and “enemies” of America. 2. He broke his promise to avenge the Abbey Gate bombing. After the 2021 suicide bombing at the Kabul airport’s Abbey Gate killed 13 U.S. service members and injured 45 more, Biden warned: “We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay.” Yet, three years later, Biden prepares to leave the presidency having done noth- ing to punish those responsible for the deaths of the brave Americans who gave their lives carrying out his catastrophic retreat in Afghanistan. 1. He continued to slow-roll weapons to Ukraine with no strategy for victory. Biden didn’t provide Ukraine with long-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles until April or F-16 fighter jets until July, and he did not let Ukraine strike Russian territory with longer-range weapons until November — and this on top of sclerotic delays in providing Stinger and Javelin missiles, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Patriot air defense systems and M1 Abrams tanks. If Biden had given Ukraine all these weapons in 2022, when Russia was on its heels after failing to take Kyiv, Ukraine might have won the war long ago. Other disastrous Biden policies that did not make the top 10: He allowed theHouthis to continue firing at U.S. military ships and commer- cial vessels in the Red Sea with virtual impunity; he continued to preside over net cuts in defense spending that have let our defense industrial base atrophy; he allowed U.S. forces to get kicked out of Niger, a major setback for U.S. counterterrorism operations in Africa and a victory for Russia; and he issued a shameful new National Security Memoran- dum (NSM-20) as a sop to the anti-Israel left of his party. Taken together, my four annual lists of Biden’s worst actions in office tell the story of the worst presidency in my lifetime. Jan. 20 cannot come soon enough. Marc a. Thiessen The 10 worst things Biden did in 2024 the world — all interconnected, but many of them unknown to each other — the sprawl of the movement was far from the concentrated, meticulously planned civil rights organizing of the past. And, of course, no movement is without opposition. The challenge of organizing the new movement was compounded by the rise of a right-wing backlash — backlash fueled by White grievance — and led to the emergence of a new conservative champion, Donald Trump. Trump advanced his racist rhetoric using the same tools as the second movement: social media. He used Twitter in much the same way that social justice activists had, but to provoke public outrage, champion the police and oppose calls for racial justice. Activists of the second civil rights movement were understandably disappointed by Trump’s election. For eight years, Obama served as the hopeful harbinger of a post-racial America. He declared in his breakout speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention that “there is not a Black America and a White America and a Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America.” The new generation wanted to believe him. Trump’s victory in 2016 made it all too clear that had not come to pass. Trump’s first term was marked by episode after episode of racial antagonism, from the infamous “Muslim ban” implemented in the first month of his presidency, to the white supremacists in Charlottes- ville with whom he sympathizes, to the murder of Floyd, which led to the height of the movement’s mobility. However, the passionate embrace of the second civil rights movement in that moment turned out to be fleeting. Even after Trump was defeated in 2020, he remained the most popular Republican in the country. His 2024 presidential campaign again relied on racial division, complete with conspiracy theories about immigrants eating pets and taking “Black jobs.” The campaign, with its brassy display of ma- chismo and fierce rejection of progressive social mores, aimed to stir turnout among the youngest members of his most loyal base, non-college- educated White men. But to the surprise of many liberals, it also drew a large share of votes from non-college-educated Latino and Black men. Polls and news reports consistently uncovered wells of frustration among young men of color. Despite talk of a post-racial America, young men of color failed to see evidence of a better life for themselves. And it did not help that Trump’s oppo- nent, Vice President Kamala Harris, was a woman. Trump played into sexist stereotypes by calling her “dumb” and labeling her as weak. The media com- pounded her floundering campaign, with many media figures claiming that Harris failed to clearly state her policies or separate herself from the unpopular President Joe Biden. Harris notably failed to tap into the power of the second civil rights movement. Unlike Obama’s, her campaign was not the face of change. She had none of Obama’s cool, his progressive yet unifying appeal. Her shtick was as a stabilizing figure for the status quo, not a disrupter. Harris never defined herself as a leader pushing into the future, an avatar of fresh thought. Her anti- Trump crusade didn’t cut it. Unlike in 2016, Trump decisively won the election, clinching both the elector- al college and the popular vote. So, what is the second civil rights movement to do? It is up against a foe that detests everything the move- ment stands for: racial equality, equity, diversity. The only option is to reflect and evolve. Indeed, it’s time for a third movement to come to term. As with the second movement, the third movement can thrive only so long as it adopts the strongest parts of what came before. It can be hard to see the second civil rights movement’s achievements through the blizzard of constant backlash and the rising public profile of white supremacists. That understandably leads to frustration among young people looking for immediate change. But they are wrong to think of this backlash as evidence of failure or the diminishing value of their movement. It is simply another phase in a long-term fight, a struggle across time for equal rights. The second civil rights movement has made tre- mendous progress. The 118th Congress, which took office in January 2023, was the most diverse ever elected — more than 100 members were non-White — and it included a 25-year-old from Generation Z as its youngest member. The two houses of Congress had 153 women (28 percent), representative of the profound shifts happening elsewhere in American society. Al- most half the U.S. workforce is female, and nearly 60 percent of U.S. college students are women. Gender equality is another engine for social justice. The soldiers of the second movement must not feel discouraged by 2024’s losses. Wayne Frederick, a former president of Howard University, believes that the issues of race and American democracy behave like a pendulum. “It corrects based on what has happened before. The reality is that you don’t have an Obama if you did not have a George W. Bush,” Freder- ick said, referring to the economic troubles at the end of Bush’s tenure as well as the unpopular, lingering war in Afghanistan. “He gives rise to an Obama, and Obama gives rise to a Trump. Whether we like that or not, it’s a reality.” The second movement is its own epoch of civil rights history. Obama’s rise and the incredible social media engine fueled by BLM were monumental achievements. Now the movement for racial justice is ready for another period of growth. After Trump’s victory, that new energy will probably be born of activists embracing the imperative to counterattack by winning at the ballot box. This will be a departure from the past, from civil rights activists who kept their distance from politics to show their distaste for incremental gains through compromise. But the lack of political enthusiasm on the left is what led to Harris’s defeat. Today’s activists need to break ground by creating new alliances, both within and outside of government, in the most racially diverse population in our nation’s history. Eighty percent of Trump’s support came from White voters — therefore, working with Democrats to get these voters to see their interest in racial justice will be a necessary first step. On the flip side, Democrats need to make them- selves known as the party dedicated to solving real- world problems. Trump derides good, functioning government — one that protects the rights of all people — as a tool of the elites. To ring in the next era of civil rights activism, Democrats must learn from activists how to bring their party’s platform closer to the people — and activists must be willing to help. In the face of Trump, the great divider, racial justice can be achieved only with a united push. Juan Williams is a journalist and political analyst for Fox news. this column was adapted from the forthcoming “new Prize for these Eyes: the rise of america’s second Civil rights Movement,” to be released on Jan. 14. BY JUAN WILLIAMS A s an author and journalist, I have been telling the story of the civil rights movement my entire career. I’m 70 years old, so that is a long time. Today, in the 21st century,I see a great fight for racial justice in action — a second civil rights move- ment, if you will. This second wave builds on the achievements of the first but is not an extension of it. The first civil rights movement was about getting Black people out of the back of the bus. It was about breaking down segregation in all aspects of American life. The second civil rights movement began when we realized that racial inequality did not disappear in 1964 — nor in 2008, with the election of America’s first Black president. Barack Obama’s victory fulfilled the highest aspiration of the first movement: a rise in Black political power. His election gave hope that the longest, ugliest chapter in America’s history — bla- tant, state-sanctioned racial violence and discrimina- tion — was ending. Yet, more than 15 years after Obama’s inauguration — and the historic ascensions to power of Black members of Congress, Black Cabinet secretaries and a Black vice president that have taken place since — a post-racial America has continued to elude us. This is the mantle of the second movement. The newest generation of civil rights activists battles a behemoth of lingering racial inequalities left unresolved by the first movement, and they diverge from their forebears in three significant ways. First, these activists have focused their resistance on a familiar but secondary enemy of the first movement: the extrajudicial killing of Black people, or lynching. The stirrings of a new crusade against violence toward Black people took shape with the creation of BLM, or Black Lives Matter. BLM emerged in 2013, after an aggressive neighborhood-watch volunteer, George Zimmerman, who killed a Black teenager, Trayvon Martin, was found not guilty. It appeared Martin’s life did not matter to the man who pulled the trigger, or to the jury. Martin’s tragic death led to an increased awareness of the second movement. Next, the current movement is larger and more diverse. As we know, Martin was neither the first, nor the last, Black person to be slain. Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, Breonna Taylor — Black Lives Matter de- manded justice for all these lives, and soon the movement became primarily recognized as a fight against police brutality. When George Floyd was murdered by a Minnesota police officer in 2020, the protests in his honor dwarfed the demonstrations of the 1960s: “If we added up all those protests during that period,” said professor Deva Woodly of the New School, “we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of people, but not millions.” Even the most famous demonstration of the first civil rights movement, the 1963 March on Washington featuring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, attracted fewer than 250,000 protesters. People of many races protested the police killing of Floyd. In fact, many of the people marching were White — close to half. Hispanics were the second-larg- est racial group in the protest. Blacks showed out in large numbers, but they were the third-largest racial group in this very diverse movement. Finally — and what is arguably the most significant difference from the first civil rights movement — the current movement exists, in part, within the realm of the internet. This makes organizing both lightning- fast and difficult to manage. Across social media, millions of users have taken to the internet to share personal experiences with racial discrimination, coor- dinate marches and spread awareness of police vio- lence under the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. These young Black people found social media to be an open road. They could hear from one another without waiting for editors and producers to deem their stories worthy of attention. This was different from the 1965 protests for voting rights in Selma, where footage of violence by the Alabama state police against the marchers could not be seen until the film made it back to newsrooms in New York, and only if the networks decided to broadcast it. Social media, on the other hand, provided an immediate connection for people of all races to share details that never made the press. But this instantaneous, unfiltered mode of organiz- ing and information exchange made BLM, and its parent second civil rights movement, a cause without a clear shepherd. Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi — the three radical Black organizers who founded BLM — made it clear from the movement’s outset that they were not interested in re-creating the patriarchal hierarchy of the first civil rights move- ment. With millions of online followers from around The third civil rights movement will rise through the ballot box Washington Post illustration The most significant difference from the first civil rights movement: The current one exists within the realm of the internet. This makes organizing both lightning-fast and difficult to manage. a20 eZ re the washington post . sunday, january 5 , 2025 Carter’s negotiating skills, pushed Congress to protect more than 100 million acres of our natural heritage and ensure subsistence hunting and fishing rights for rural Alaska Natives on these lands. Despite initial opposition, Alaskan towns came to appreciate the law for its benefits to tourism, subsistence, local jobs and ecosystem preservation. In the 1990s, Alaskans and federal officials even backed the use of Exxon Valdez oil spill restoration funds to expand the park. This law — and Mr. Carter’s continued work to defend it — has created or expanded 13 national parks, 15 wildlife refuges, two national forests, two national monuments, 26 wild and scenic rivers, 57 million acres of wilderness, and subsistence rights for present and future generations. And it has done so not just for Alaskans, but for the entire nation. As we confront the imperative of protecting 30 percent of our lands by 2030 to combat biodiversity loss and climate change, Mr. Carter’s foresight in safeguarding more than 100 million acres of intact ecosystems is more important than ever. His legacy as one of history’s greatest conservation heroes will endure. Deborah Williams, Goleta, California The writer worked with Jimmy Carter during her time at the Interior Department, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Alaska Conservation Foundation and Alaska Conservation Solutions. A middle-class champion Jimmy Carter’s passing allows us to reflect on how much the United States has changed since he left the White House. After World War II, every American president devoted his policies to building up the middle class. By 1980, the last full year of Mr. Carter’s term, the middle 60 percent of American households accounted for more than half of the nation’s income. This all changed when Mr. Carter’s successor, Ronald Reagan, entered the White House. Reagan focused on huge tax cuts for earners in the top brackets and tried to pay for them with deep cuts to programs aimed at helping the poor and middle class. These policies were continued with more tax cuts for top earners by George W. Bush and Donald Trump. Other shifts have exacerbated these trends. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the ratio of the average chief executive’s salary to the average worker’s salary rose from 31-1 in 1978 to 384-1 in 2000. Even subsequent recessions have brought that down only to 290-1 in 2023. Harley Frankel, Santa Monica, California The writer was a senior White House aide during Jimmy Carter’s presidency. An advocate for teachers I have visited many presidential libraries and museums, but no display has impacted me as much as a mock-up of a classroom featuring a life-size cutout of Julia Coleman, a high school teacher of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. Coleman instilled in Mr. Carter the belief that he could become president. In the exhibit, he quotes a line he remembered from her class, and which he repeated both in his inaugural address and at celebrations forNational Teacher Appreciation Day: “We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.” I have never forgotten those words, because if anyone adhered to Coleman’s edict, it was Mr. Carter himself. I thank him for honoring the impact of one teacher and for demonstrating those “unchanging principles” every day. Kathy A. Megyeri, Washington The path to peace Despite the setbacks Jimmy Carter faced while in office, including the Iranian hostage crisis and interest rates that rose as high as 18 percent, his record of accomplishments includes several positives, not the least of which was creating almost 8 million new jobs. But the crown jewel of his four years as president most certainly was the Camp David summit with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and the accords that were the result. The photo of their three-way handshake at the White House still reminds us that peace is possible in the Middle East. Mr. President, you showed us that a firm handshake can be just as powerful as a bomb. Denny Freidenrich, Laguna Beach, California Jimmy Carter’s passing is a good time to recognize his involvement in the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, for which Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978. We can also applaud Mr. Carter’s 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts such as those in the Middle East. But I hope we can use this moment to reflect on the courage and worthiness of Sadat in particular. In three previous wars, Arab leaders had used Egyptian blood and treasure to pursue their antisemitic dream of destroying Israel, a cause that had invigorated their despotic regimes. By the conclusion of the 1973 war, Sadat was certain Egypt’s price for Arab victory would include not only countless Egyptian military dead but also the destruction of the Aswân Dam, perhaps by Israel’s undeclared nuclear arsenal, leading to thousands of Egyptian flood victims and catastrophic infrastructure damage. Sadat brought an end to this warring cycle and looming national catastrophe with his historic trip to Israel in November 1977. That visit began a process Sadat formalized by signing the Camp David accords the following September and the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. For Sadat’s extraordinary statesmanship, the Arab League suspended Egypt’s membership. Two years later, Sadat was assassinated by a group of radical Islamists. Among the plotters was Ayman al- Zawahiri, who became the leader of al-Qaeda and an orchestrator of the Sept. 11 attacks. Mr. Carter might have provided the setting and support. But Sadat gave his life for peace. Nolan Nelson, Redmond, Oregon ABCDE William leWis publisher and Chief executive officer nEWs matt murraY .................................... executive editor liZ seYmour......................................managing editor krissah thompson.........................managing editor sCott VanCe......................................managing editor ann gerhart.......................deputy managing editor moniCa norton .................. deputy managing editor mike semel..........................deputy managing editor mark W. smith.....................deputy managing editor Craig timberg.....................deputy managing editor greg maniFold................................................Visuals EdiTOriaL and OPiniOn daVid shipleY.......................................opinion editor marY duenWald.....................deputy opinion editor stephen stromberg.............deputy opinion editor daVid Von drehle..................deputy opinion editor bina Venkataraman...........................editor-at-large strategy & innovation OfficErs kathY baird....................................... ..Communications eleanor breen........................................ ..Chief of staff l. WaYne Connell............................human resources gregg J. Fernandes...........................print operations stephen p. gibson.....................Finance & operations John b. kennedY...................general Counsel & labor Vineet khosla..................technology, product & data Johanna maYer-Jones................................advertising suZi WatFord.....................................................strategy karl Wells...........................................................growth The Washington Post 1301 k st. nW, Washington, d.C. 20071 (202) 334-6000 One Saturday morning in 2010, I took a tour of a building that many Argentines prefer not to think about: the notorious Navy Mechanics School. The neocolonial structure along a busy street in Buenos Aires was where thousands of Argentines were imprisoned during the far-right military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983. Most never made it out; they were tortured and killed, their bodies dumped from planes into the Río de la Plata. It is not difficult to imagine the horrors that took place in that dark and dismal building. What is difficult to imagine is the willful ignorance of the general public. Our guide, a college student, quoted a prisoner who managed to survive: “If we could hear the people outside, how is it that they could not hear us inside?” A famous photograph taken at the time showing a young man being dragged away by plainclothes policemen as a woman at a cafe sits with her head in her hands, choosing not to look at what is happening before her eyes, exemplifies this ignorance. One person who did not look away was Jimmy Carter. A year before Mr. Carter became president, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger gave the green light to the Argentine generals to carry out these horrors. “If there are things that have to be done,” he told them, “you should do them quickly.” But Mr. Carter sharply reversed that policy. He cut economic aid to Argentina and publicly condemned the regime. Encouraged by Mr. Carter’s boldness, F. Allen “Tex” Harris, a diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, took it upon himself to open the embassy’s doors to relatives of the missing people and begin to document the disappearances. Harris worked closely with Patricia Derian, the assistant secretary of state for human rights — a position Mr. Carter created in collaboration with Congress — to draw attention to the regime’s campaign of terror. Human rights activists in the United States — including my father, a retired Foreign Service officer who had quit the State Department in disgust over Richard M. Nixon’s and Kissinger’s support for right- wing anti-communist dictators — did what they could to advance Mr. Carter’s human rights agenda. In a 1984 editorial titled “Thank You, Jimmy,” the English-language Buenos Aires Herald wrote, “It was Jimmy Carter’s government that did more than any other group of people anywhere for the cause of human rights in Argentina.” “What do Americans think of Jimmy Carter?” an Argentine taxi driver once asked me. I told him most Americans think he is a good man but was not a very good president. He thought for a moment and then said, “For us, he is a good man — and a great president.” Donald A. Ranard, Arlington A natural legacy Nineteen years ago, on a small boat gliding through the pristine waters of Kenai Fjords National Park, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter stood on deck, binoculars in hand, surrounded by glaciers, wildlife and endless blue skies. Humpback whales breached, harbor seals and sea otters played, puffins flew past and endangered marbled murrelets floated nearby. It was as if these creatures were offering their thanks to the man who had been instrumental in safeguarding their home. Throughout his presidency and afterward, Mr. Carter showed an unwavering commitment to safeguarding our nation’s environment: He promoted solar energy, opposed unnecessary dams and river diversion projects, and released a prescient report on climate change.But the most important part of his legacy is the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. In the late 1970s, temporary protections for tens of millions of acres of land were set to expire, potentially opening these irreplaceable areas to development. Despite fierce opposition, Mr. Carter invoked the Antiquities Act to protect more than 50 million acres of national public lands in Alaska and oversaw subsequent actions to shield tens of millions of additional acres. Those bold steps, combined with Mr. Be thankful for Jimmy Carter LETTErs TO ThE EdiTOr guest opinion submissions the Washington post accepts opinion articles on any topic. submit a guest opinion at oped@washpost.com or read our guide to writing an opinion article at wapo.st/ guestopinion. Letter submissions letters can be sent to letters@washpost.com. submissions must be exclusive to the post and should include the writer’s address and day and evening telephone numbers. We are unable to acknowledge submissions; writers whose letters are under consideration for publication will be contacted. draWing bOard tim Campbell/Counterpoint media mike smith/las Vegas sun opinion ABCDE AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER I S THE anti-vaccine movement having a moment? If the Senate confirms Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health and human services secretary and Dave Weldon as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it would elevate two prominent vaccine critics to the highest rungs of U.S. health policymaking. In these positions, they would have the power to appoint like-minded peo- ple to the advisory committees that govern the approval of vaccines, and to restrict access to lifesaving technology. Mr. Kennedy campaigned with President-elect Donald Trump, raising questions about whether his views now have substantial public buy-in. And vaccination rates have fallen in some places. But senators should not fear broad public backlash if they reject Mr. Kennedy’s nomination. If anything, they should fear popular discontent if they allow this vaccine skeptic to join the govern- ment and make good on his rhetoric. The vast majority of Americans still support childhood immunization. More than 90 percent of 2-year-olds in the United States have been vaccinat- ed for at least one disease. Americans are not the only ones who trust vaccines. Globally, support for them is widespread; more than 85 percent of 1-year-olds are vaccinated for something. It’s important to recognize the extraordinary consensus that vaccines have enjoyed in the modern era. Every single country participates in the World Health Organization’s child vaccination programs, largely because studies show that immu- nizations have a better return on investment than even building new infrastructure or establishing preschool programs. Their pervasive adoption and long record are among the reasons for skepticism about novel, theorized risks. It’s also important to recognize the astonishing scale of vaccines’ benefits. Consider smallpox: The disease is estimated to have killed 300 million to 500 million people worldwide in the 20th century, but thanks to a 10-year vaccination campaign, the WHO declared in 1980 that the virus was success- fully eradicated. It’s no exaggeration to describe this as one of the greatest public health campaigns in human history. Of course, like all medicines, vaccines are not perfect. Some might result in rare — though potentially serious — side effects, such as Guillain- Barré syndrome, in which the body’s immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system. Coronavirus vaccines have also been associated with inflamma- tion of the heart, known as myocarditis and pericarditis. Critics use these facts to bolster their arguments that vaccines are unsafe, pointing to the $5 billion in payments issued by the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program since 1988 as proof. In fact, the existence of the compensation program is a recognition of vaccines’ extraordinary benefits. The government created it in the 1980s to protect manufacturers from the risk of lawsuits, with the understanding that the benefit of vaccines far outweighs the potential for rare injuries. The goal of the program was to give patients who experience side effects a means of seeking compensation while also safeguarding the development of lifesaving immunizations. Vaccine advocates are sometimes reluctant to acknowledge the shortcomings of immunizations, but transparency about their low — yet real — risks is the best strategy to guard against conspiracy theories and misinformation. History shows people understand that the risks pale in comparison to the benefits these lifesaving innovations have delivered to the world over the past century. Although those who reject this risk-benefit analysis are gathering strength, they still represent a small minority — and it’s imperative that they remain so. Recent years have seen small but serious slippage in Americans’ vaccine adoption. The CDC reported that approximately 93 percent of kinder- gartners met state vaccination requirements in the 2022-2023 school year, down from 95 percent in 2019-2020. Even if nearly everyone welcomes vaccines, small changes on the margins threaten “herd immunity” — the rate of immunity necessary to keep a virus from spreading. The threshold varies by disease; for example, scientists believe the herd immunity threshold for measles is about 95 percent, whereas polio’s is about 80 percent. Faith in — and uptake of — vaccines should be going in the opposite direction, with the unwaver- ing support of those entrusted with guarding public health. The Senate should prevent anyone who fails to understand the history of vaccines from running the U.S. government’s health-care institutions. Inoculate the nation against these vaccine critics EdiTOriaL History shows people understand that the risks pale in comparison to the benefits these lifesaving innovations have delivered to the world over the past century. sunday, january 5 , 2025 . the washington post eZ Re a21 opinion BY LUCIANA BORIO AND SCOTT GOTTLIEB A vian influenza, or bird flu, was first identified in Italy in 1878 and has periodically appeared around the globe ever since, primarily infect- ing wild birds and domestic poultry, with only occasional spillover to mammals. But the strain now afflicting U.S. dairy cows, classified as H5N1 for the signature proteins studding its surface, appears more inclined to spread to mammals. So far, most human infections have been traced to occupational exposure in dairy or poultry farms, resulting in mild illness. None of these strains have shown an ability to transmit efficiently among peo- ple. However, research shows that the virus might be just a few mutations away from adapting to humans. President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team would be wise to prepare for quick action after he takes office. The Biden administration has been mishandling the outbreak in cattle for months, in- creasing the possibility of a dangerous, wider spread. The White House’s last-minute $306 million pack- age announced Friday to address matters such as early-stage research on therapeutics for bird flu and improving hospital preparedness was welcome news. Much more needs to be done in the coming months. Federal health officials over the past year, apparent- ly chastened by accusations of sometimes inflating the risks from covid-19, have too often swung to the opposite extreme, minimizing hazards from the bird flu. America’s ability to take measured, effective steps in mitigating the risks to people — in the event that the virus mutates further, acquiring traits that boost its capacity to spread — will be a crucial test of whether the U.S. public health apparatus can protect Ameri- cans while also properly advising policymakers. Alarm has been sparked by two recent infections —of a teenager in Canada and a man in Louisiana — where the virus acquired mutations that could ampli- fy its ability to infect humans. There’s no sign that these adaptations enable sustained human-to- human transmission, and in both cases, the changes probably arose only after the patients were infected, as the virus evolved within their bodies, searching for ways to thrive in its new hosts. But these episodes show that the bird flu virus has enough built-in ingenuity to become more adept at infecting humans. In both cases, the patients became gravely ill, probably because the virus managed to achieve something it has so far struggled to do: infect a person’s lower airways. Only in the past month has the Biden administra- tion undertaken widespread testing of bulk stocks of raw milk to detect which dairy herds are infected, so farmers can take steps to quarantine sick cows and prevent further transmission on farms and into dairy products. A program to compensate dairy farms upon find- ing infected cattle wasn’t launched until this past summer — a crucial step to ensure that livestock owners aren’t saddled with financial hardship as they identify compromised herds. Yet compensation still falls short of offsetting the losses that farmers incur when they must isolate or cull infected herds and suspend milk production. Contracts to advance de- velopment of updated vaccines for the U.S. strategic stockpile — which could protect the public if a pandemic arose — weren’t awarded until three months ago. Meanwhile, efforts to expand drug stockpiles and distribute testing capacity apparently remain on the back burner. Many of President Joe Biden’s team’s shortcomings stem from a structural tug-of-war. On one side, agricultural health officials — worried about the economic fallout for poultry and dairy farms — downplayed the threat for months, arguing that the virus would fizzle out on its own. On the other, human health officials pushed for stronger measures but repeatedly came up short in policy debates. The result is a persistent tension that continues to reverberate across the government. The incoming Trump administration has an op- portunity to recalibrate the public health strategy. That should include balancing the need to counter looming threats and communicate openly and accu- rately about emerging dangers, all while ensuring that responses are properly scaled to the risks that Americans face. Having spearheaded the effort to develop vaccines that helped tame the coronavirus pandemic, Trump now finds himself presiding over a nation weary of pandemic-era strictures: closures and mandates that many deemed heavy-handed. This disillusionment with public health efforts runs deep, even within his own health team. His new efforts to mitigate the risk from bird flu must do more than condemn past shortcomings during the coronavirus pandemic; it should demonstrate that public health agencies can safeguard Americans while ensuring that the mea- sures they take don’t place undue burdens on every- day life. This can start by shoring up stockpiles of the full range of antiviral drugs capable of targeting bird flu — beyond Tamiflu, which is already in reserve — to guard against the virus’s mutating around one medi- cation while staying susceptible to another. As presi- dent, Trump can lay out contingency plans for the rapid distribution of these treatments, which work best when administered within the first 48 hours of infection. Building a more complete therapeutic ar- senal would serve as a strategic hedge against the virus’s potentially high-impact threat. In addition to antiviral drugs, Trump officials should be prepared to launch nationwide clinical trials that swiftly evaluate the effectiveness of novel therapeutic approaches (such as anti-inflammatory or immune-system-modulating drugs) for patients who might become severely ill or hospitalized. Mean- while, older bird flu vaccines in the U.S. strategic stockpile might not adequately guard against today’s strains; the current administration has supported the development of updated vaccines, but these efforts are advancing too slowly. Another need: greater transparency and solid data showing which current drugs and vaccines will probably prove effective against these new strains — and which will not. Production of self-administered swabs that can quickly detect H5N1 should be ramped up and the tests distributed to farms where animals are raised, allowing workers to more efficiently screen them- selves for the virus. When infections are identified, ranch and farm owners, and their workers, should also be compensated for any losses stemming from employee absences. Right now, those in the agriculture industry are on the front lines of containing outbreaks and thwarting a wider threat. They shouldn’t have to shoulder the entire cost of protecting the nation’s security, or be tempted for financial reasons to ignore warning signs. Every modern presidency has faced a major public health crisis. During his first term, Trump confronted the initial wave of the coronavirus and the frustration that followed — fueled by a sometimes-overenergized public health establishment focused on suppressing the virus while paying too little heed to the costs and public backlash. Trump has an opportunity to show how public health safeguards can be judiciously matched to genuine risks, strengthening national se- curity and mitigating threats before they fully emerge. luciana Borio, a physician and former director for medical and biodefense preparedness policy at the national security council, is a senior fellow for global health at the council on Foreign Relations. scott Gottlieb, a physician and former commissioner of the Food and Drug administration, is a senior fellow at the american enterprise Institute. he serves on Pfizer’s board of directors. Biden faltered on bird flu. Here’s how Trump can course-correct. mIchael m. santIaGo/Getty ImaGes Samples are prepared for testing at the Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, on Dec. 10. could surprise them by wanting to hear polio out. That’s just good politics. It’s not only polio. Everywhere you look, there are battles that once felt existentially important in which you can just surrender, as I’m sure Donald Trump is eager to tell Ukraine. And I am ready to start doing that work — first on polio, then on everything else. Listen, I’m not naive. I know that every indica- tion so far has been that only one side is willing to compromise on anything. That gives us bargaining power! Or is it the other side that gets the bargaining power . . . ? Hang on, let me go look this up. This feels important to get right! Well, let me keep going with my argument, but I will come back and look this up. Don’t let me forget! Where was I? Right: Having core values means that sometimes you have to stand up for them, even when it feels like an uphill battle. For instance, the belief that trans people deserve protection from those who would legislate them out of public spaces and eliminate their right to medical self- determination — a bottom line that I would never budge on, except to completely throw away that principle if I ever decide it’s politically expedient. Which I think I might just have done! Whoops! But, hey, that’s what principles are: inconven- ient. Except for my bedrock principle: that those who want the opposite of what I stand for and who refuse to work with me on any issue probably know something that I don’t, and I should listen to them. That I will never abandon. “As a Democratic member of Congress, I know my party will be tempted to hold fast against Mr. Trump at every turn: uniting against his bills, blocking his nominees and grinding the machin- ery of the House and the Senate to a halt. That would be a mistake. Only by working together to find compromisedeclining support in the United States, particularly among Republicans, for continued assistance to Kyiv. Trump said during the campaign that he could strike a deal to end the war in a day, the kind of hyperbole for which he is famous. Reality is different. The worry among European analysts is that Putin will have maximalist demands and that Trump, eager to get an agreement, might concede too much. Trump’s potential moves on Ukraine are a source of considerable concern among U.S. allies in Europe, who have been part of the coalition assembled initially by President Joe Biden and who have their own security issues depending on what happens. Will Trump sell out the Ukrainians with an agreement that essentially destroys their sovereignty? Could Ukraine be forced to give up territory, but in return for guarantees that would tie them to theWest? Trump has the opportunity to help remake the Middle East, but there are at least two big questions. First, to what extent will he give Israel a free hand in ways that Biden did not? Second, what will his posture be toward Iran?Will he see an opportunity for negotiation or take a very hard-line approach? His choice for Israel ambassador, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who is strongly pro- Israel, has been interpreted as a sign that he will yield more to Israeli PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu than Biden has. Trump will come into office with some U.S. allies weakened and absorbed with internal problems. French President Emmanuel Macron has been dealt a series of political defeats in recent months. In Germany, the coalition government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz has collapsed, with new elections coming. South Korea’s government is in turmoil after the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saw his deputy primeminister resign in protest and is deeply unpopular with the public. In Germany and France, far- right parties are gaining strength, andMusk recently sparked controversy with an op- ed article calling the AfD (Alternative for Germany) that country’s “last spark for hope.” In Britain, Musk has been sharply critical of PrimeMinister Keir Starmer and has flirted with the populist hard-right Reform Party. Party leader Nigel Farage, a Trump ally, has even appealed to Musk for financial support for his party. Europeans will see Trump differently today than at the beginning of his last term. His second victory came as a surprise to many European analysts, and his agenda is now taken more seriously than ever. Trump’s hectoring of NATO is an ongoing concern, and the prospect of new tariffs is deeply worrying to America’s European allies. Among foreign policy analysts, there is a sense that Trump comes to his second term better prepared to carry out his foreign policy priorities. And, they say, Trump begins with some clear assets to enhance his ability to shape events around the world but with perhaps less room for swagger. As Robin Niblett, a distinguished fellow at ChathamHouse, a London-based think tank, noted, in a more dangerous world, “the cost of throwing his weight around could be greater.” This time around, Trump faces a more chaotic and perilous world YUri koChEtkov/EPA-EFE/shUttErstoCk An electronic screen with a picture of President Vladimir Putin and the inscription “2025 declared the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland” looms over a Moscow street. Dan Balz The Sunday Take Download The Washington Post app stay informed with award-winning national and international news, PLUs complete local news coverage of the D.C. metro area. Create customized news alerts, save articles for offline reading in My Post, browse the daily print edition and scroll through the For You tab to find stories that interest you. Free to download on the App store and Play store, subscribers enjoy unlimited access. “Trump’s old playbook involved making believe that, on any given day, he could strike an amazing deal with any of [his adversaries] and be the opposing leader’s best friend. Think back to that wacky personal diplomacy with Kim Jong Un. That won’t cut it now.” Daniel Benjamin, president of the American Academy in Berlin BY AZI PAYBARAH Shortly before Mike Johnson was sworn in as House speaker on Friday, he stood in front of the incoming members of Congress and offered what he said was “a prayer for the nation” that was said every day Thomas Jefferson was in theWhite House and “and every day thereafter until his death.” Johnson attributed that detail to a program distributed at a bipartisan interfaith church service where he spoke earlier that day. Johnson told the lawmakers, it is “quite familiar to historians and probably many of us.” “Endow with Thy spirit of wisdom those whom in Thy name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that through obedience to Thy law, we may show forth Thy praise among the nations of the earth,” Johnson said, reading from a piece of paper. Historians do know the quote — because it has been falsely attributed to Jefferson for years. There is no proof Jefferson ever said it, according to the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which has a page on its website dedicated to correcting this notion, a Voice of America reporter noted on X. “We have no evidence that this prayer was written or delivered by Thomas Jefferson. It appears in the 1928 United States Book of Common Prayer, and was first suggested for inclusion in a re- port published in 1919,” the foun- dation writes. Furthermore, the organization said reciting a prayer like this is not something Jefferson would have ever done. “Ultimately, it seems unlikely that Jefferson would have com- posed or delivered a public prayer of this sort,” the organiza- tion said. “He considered religion a pri- vate matter, and when asked to recommend a national day of fasting and prayer, wrote, ‘I con- sider the government of the US. as interdicted by the constitution from intermedling with religious institutions, their doctrines, dis- cipline, or exercises.’” Emails seeking comment sent to a spokesperson for Johnson and the group that organized the interfaith prayer service were not returned. On Saturday, Rep. Jared Huff- man (D-California) wrote on X that the House speaker’s misrep- resentation of a Founding Father was part of a wider problem. “To be clear, I object to his false attribution of the prayer to Jefferson — part of the endless Christian nationalist campaign to remake Jefferson into a devout Christian when he was actually an enlightenment era freethink- er who thought religion should remain private and out of gov- ernment,” the congressman said in reply to a reporter who cited his first post. A prayer attributed to Je≠erson — that there’s no proof of him saying 7137 Wisconsin Avenue Bethesda, MD FREE Parking & Entrance in back. ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED. Tues.-Sat. 10am-6pm; Sun. 12pm-5pm www.parvizianfinerugs.com 301-654-8989 Fine Persian • Indian • Pakistani • Turkish Rugs Decorative • Designer Antique Rugs • Rare Finds • Pictorial Hanging Rugs • Tapestries JOIN US FOR OUR FAMOUS NEW YEAR’S RUG AUCTION AUCTIONAUCTION F I N E R U G S LAST CHANCE Sunday, 1/5 Daily Previews at 11am Bidding Begins at 1pm A name you have trusted since 1965! Daily Drawing Win a FREE RUG Light Refreshments sunday, january 5 , 2025 . the washington post eZ re A3 Politics & the Nation BY PRAVEENA SOMASUNDARAM When a Texas teenager fed her show goat, Willie, at her high school’s barn one mid-October morning, he seemed fine. But over the next day, Willie’s health dramatically worsened. He had started shaking, coughing and convulsing in his pen. When his owner went to the barn the following morning, she could hear Willie “bellowing in pain,” according to a recent court filing. He died shortly after that in her arms. Several weeks later, Texas offi- cials arrested and charged Aubrey Vanlandingham, a 17-year-old classmate of Willie’s owner, with cruelty to livestockon parts of the president-elect’s agenda can we make progress for Americans who are clearly demanding change in the economy, im- migration, crime and other top issues.” — “Let’s Try Something Different in How We Deal With Trump,” Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-New York), in a New York Times op-ed L ook, some people are still naive enough to believe that polio is, for lack of a better word, “bad.” And recent signs haven’t been encour- aging! It seems like the disease wants to do exactly what it did last time: cripple children and put them in iron lungs. But what if instead of fighting it, we . . . didn’t? When I look at how people voted this election, I am forced to conclude: Some of you want polio. Who am I to stand against that desire? Someone with values? Do I think polio is good? No! Of course not. But some people do, and I just think it would be a mistake not to give them the opportunity to set the course of vaccine policy for the next four years. Which, again, isn’t what I want. But compromise is important. That was why people voted for me, someone who said he didn’t like polio, so that I When I see someone who wants to put polio back on the map, I just see one more opportunity for compromise. Why, if enough of us say, “You know what, in all that ranting about fluoride, I heard one word that made a kind of sense! Say more! I bet we can find common ground!” maybe the other side will stop believing what they believe and change their entire worldview! Isn’t that what happened to Scrooge? It’s not? Well, never mind. If I just listen hard enough and agree to find common ground, I am certain the other party will be the one to change. That’s usually what makes people change: when you give up defending your position completely! Then they budge. I hope! That’s certainly what I’m counting on for the next four-plus years! When I read the sentence “Unless enough people find the spine to oppose his appointment, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will soon be in charge of the Depart- ment of Health and Human Services,” what I see is not a call to find some spine (impossible) and remind others of the stakes of not doing so. When has anyone found a congressional spine, except RFK Jr. while out on one of his weekly Hikes in Search of Surprising Things to Put Into His Freezer? No, what that sentence means is: We need to start thinking of ways to compromise now! Com- promise public health, compromise public safety, compromise all of our principles! Because that’s what the country needs: more things to be compromised. And I, for one, am excited. alexandra Petri Let’s try something di≠erent in how we deal with polio E lon Musk, a Don Quixote with Vivek Ramaswamy tagging along as Sancho Pan- za, recently ascended Capitol Hill to warn the windmills of tiltings to come. They have vowed to cut government down to the size they prefer. But when they descended from the Hill, their most specific proposal remained what it was before they ascended: to eliminate … daylight saving time. How this would improve governmen- tal “efficiency” is unclear. Musk’s instrument for Washington’s betterment is the new “Department of Government Efficien- cy,” which might be more plausible if it did not incorporate two fibs in four words. DOGE is not a department; departments are created by Con- gress, which created pretty much everything Musk’s advisory committee exists to frown about. And his announced, and arithmetically daunting, goal is to slice a third of the federal budget from the less than a third of the budget that does not include Social Security, Medicare, debt service or defense. Musk does not just want government to do what it does more efficiently; he wants it to stop doing much of what it does. Bet on the windmills. Most things government does, it does because a constituency — intense, articulate and well-law- yered — wants it done. Or because government wanted to create such a constituency that, benefit- ing from it, will demand its continuance, and expansion. Transforming the strange and embarrassing charisma of wealth into political power, beginning around 4 a.m. on a December day, Musk unleashed more than 150 posts on X to kill a bill to fund the government. This fusillade of opinions and false- hoods provoked a digital uprising in the country- side and stampeded congressional Republicans. An exultant Musk, confusing himself with the American public, cried, “The voice of the people has triumphed!” And, making God his accomplice, he added: “Vox populi, vox dei.” With remarkable precision, Ramaswamy chimed in, “That’s how America is supposed to work.” This, of course, is exactly wrong. The framers’ institutional handiwork was de- signed to temper and refine, by slowing and filtering, the translation of impulses into policy. That process, however, presupposes elected repre- sentatives who understand the foundational princi- ple of representative government: The people do not decide issues; they decide who shall decide. This, however, presupposes a Congress proudly performing its duty to render independent judg- ments. Pride is one of the seven deadly sins, but its absence is deadly for the legislature’s dignity, without which government’s downward spiral into the public’s distrust and disgust will accelerate. Readers of Walter Isaacson’s meticulous and disturbing biography of Musk can decide the extent to which they think he is bipolar, or on the Asperger’s spectrum. Clearly, however, no one ever entertained an ambition more vaulting than Musk’s. He thinks, Isaacson shows, that because human consciousness might not exist anywhere else in the universe, and because something — war, disease, an asteroid, something — might someday make Earth uninhabitable, he is in a rush to make human beings an interplanetary species. Hence SpaceX, which seems more important to him than electric cars. Meanwhile, Musk’s increasingly manic behavior extends to instructing German voters to embrace the Vladimir Putin-friendly Alternative for Ger- many party. (Musk: “Only the AfD can save Germany.”) And Musk reportedly is contemplating a financial intervention in British politics, pursu- ant to a Scot’s (Robert Browning’s) axiom that a man’s reach should exceed his grasp. Musk’s reach probably does concerning Mars. It certainly does regarding government, which is politics straight through. The young need to learn that. As do the excitable. (Musk: “I’m not just MAGA, I’m Dark Gothic MAGA.”) President William Howard Taft, when being briefed by a young aide who repeatedly referred to “the machinery of government,” reportedly mur- mured, “He really thinks it’s machinery.” Musk is not the first engineer-in-politics to bedazzle Americans. “World’s Biggest Man Chosen to Fill World’s Biggest Job,” said a headline soon after the 1928 presidential election. New York Times reporter Anne O’Hare McCormick wrote in 1930: “We were in a mood for magic. … We had summoned a great engineer to solve our problems for us. … The modern technical mind was for the first time at the head of a government.” (From Kenneth Whyte’s excellent and sympathetic biography “Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times.”) In American parlance, saying that some task is simple often involves saying, “It’s not rocket science.” Radically changing government, as Musk promises to do, is not rocket science. It is harder. As he will understand when, probably sooner than he or many mesmerized Americans expect, he returns to actual engineering challenges. They involve materials more tractable than those of politics: human beings, with their appetites and passions. george F. Will Overhauling government isn’t rocket science. It’s harder. Musk’s instrument for Washington’s betterment is the new ‘Department of Government Efficiency.’ Musk does not just want government to do what it does more efficiently; he wants it to stop doing much of what it does.a22 eZ re the washington post . sunday, january 5 , 2025 opinion W hen President Joe Biden chose Jake Sullivan to be his national security adviser in November 2020, he touted him as a “once-in-a-generation intel- lect with the experience and tem- perament for one of the toughest jobs in the world.” But Sullivan’s dazzling résumé couldn’t prepare him for managing what turned out to be the most perilous events since the Cuban missile crisis. For that, he had to improvise — and weigh some very imperfect responses. “Do I go to bed at night worried that the world could start spinning out of control? Of course I do,” Sullivan told me during one of the interviews I did with him and a dozen close friends and advisers for this piece. He maintains the bland, boyish demean- or of a perpetual graduate student. But at 48, he has carried as heavy a burden as any national security adviser in a half-century. The job, he told one recent interviewer, “ground down my affability.” Sullivan’s story, including many details revealed here for the first time, describes the intersection of a brilliant young strategist with a world on fire. It’s a complicated record, as Sullivan and his colleagues have juggled two hot wars — in the Middle East and in Ukraine — and a potential nuclear confrontation with Russia. Like Biden, Sullivan gets criticism for not using American power more decisively. But the record shows that during crises, Sullivan has demonstrated a rare ability to conduct back-chan- nel diplomacy and think outside the box. “Jake is one of most influential national security advisers in our history,” said Graham Allison, a Harvard Kennedy School professor who has been an informal counselor to Sullivan. Allison puts him in a league with renowned predecessors Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scow- croft. Sullivan has struggled at times because he confronted a more complex world than they did. As he put it in a 2022 talk at the Council on Foreign Relations: “We have to manage the unachievable.” S ullivan grew up in the heartland, an Irish Catholic boy in middle-class Minneapolis. He grabbed every merit badge in sight: He was summa cum laude at Yale; a Rhodes scholar at Oxford, where he won a prized “first”; an editor of the Yale Law Review; a Supreme Court clerk; and, at the astonishing age of 34, director of policy planning at the State Department under then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “He’s won every intellectual race that he ever entered,” Allison said. Despite this superelite pedigree, Sullivan pre- sents a convincing imitation of normal. He’s thin and slightly disheveled. He likes to watch sports with close friend and deputy Jon Finer. (He roots for all Minnesota teams and the English soccer club Chelsea.) He likes to party with his funny, brainy wife, Maggie Goodlander, also a former Supreme Court clerk, who was just elected to represent New Hampshire in Congress. He enjoys romantic come- dies, especially those featuring Reese Witherspoon. His is not exactly a Kissingerian profile. As a junior at Yale, Sullivan found a mentor in Les Gelb, a former journalist, State and Defense official, and president of the Council on Foreign Relations. The lesson he took from Gelb, Sullivan said in 2022, was “what actually makes you smart is if you can simplify things, if you can get to the essence of things.” That has been an operating rule at the National Security Council, where Sullivan confronted a disordered world and an impatient, temperamental boss in Biden. Sullivan came to the White House with a “big idea,” which was that “the American middle class is a national security asset,” as he put it to me. Since 2016, he had been ruminating that there was a disconnect between the United States’ grandiose notion of “exceptionalism” and the experience of ordinary people who felt left behind in the rush to globalization. When Biden was elected in 2020, Sullivan initially wanted a White House job in which he could oversee economic revitalization rather than something at the NSC. Sullivan’s populist economics were initially out of step with the Democratic establishment. I remember chiding him in the fall of 2016 for encouraging Clinton to reject the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a cornerstone of free trade. The conversation took place at a fancy conference in Aspen, Colorado, where, as Sullivan remembers, the hotel had a menu for dogs. He was adamant that the Democratic elite was missing something funda- mental. What he was seeing on the campaign trail that year was an angry, resentful America. Looking back, Sullivan was right to break with neoliberal orthodoxy. Paradoxically, his lasting achievement in the Biden White House might be in economic rather than foreign policy. With NSC aide Tarun Chhabra, he provided the intellectual fire- power for the Chips and Science Act, supply-chain management, infrastructure legislation and other aspects of Biden’s “industrial policy.” Sullivan had a tough first year at the NSC, which might have been a reflection of his youth and lack of experience in top-level management. He had early hopes for new security agreements with Russia, capped by a cheery summit between Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva in June 2021, that look naive in retrospect. Just as Nikita Khrushchev saw President John F. Kennedy as weak and pliable after their initial meeting in Vienna in 1961, encouraging Russia’s later adven- turism in Cuba, Putin might have made a similar judgment about Biden. Then came the disaster of the Afghanistan withdrawal. Biden took office determined to re- move the U.S. troops deployed there. The Pentagon resisted, arguing for a residual force of 2,500 in Kabul as a “term insurance policy” against the regime’s collapse, as retired Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, explained to me. Sullivan initially shared the military’s reluc- tance, two close advisers told me. But he loyally tried to execute Biden’s decision to withdraw. The Afghanistan clocks, unfortunately, were out of sync: The Pentagon, having lost the policy argument, wanted to get out as quickly as possible, arguing that “speed is safety.” The State Department wanted to maintain a big presence at its new embassy, secured by a small military force at the Kabul airport. And unknown to all, the Taliban clock was racing toward victory, while the Kabul govern- ment’s clock was about to crack. The result was catastrophe. Ten days after the Taliban seized its first provincial capital, Kabul fell, and the U.S.-trained Afghan army disintegrated. On. Aug. 26, 2021, a frantic evacuation from the Kabul airport turned into a bloody tragedy when a terrorist suicide bomb killed 13 U.S. service mem- bers and about 170 Afghan civilians. Biden’s popularity never recovered from the aftershocks of that pell-mell retreat. Sullivan offered to resign, several colleagues told me. Biden insisted he remain, but Afghanistan broke the early comity of his national security team, creating tensions between Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken that have been well managed by both — especially in comparison with some past administrations — but never disappeared. Blinken was an exemplary global emissary for Biden, but his State Department was sometimes slow and bureau- cratic in generating ideas. For Sullivan, the Afghan- istan fiasco was a lesson in realpolitik. “You cannot end a war like Afghanistan, where you’ve built up dependencies and pathologies, without the end being complex and challenging,” he told me. “The choice was: Leave, and it would not be easy, or stay forever.” What’s more, he said, “leaving Kabul freed the [United States] to deal with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in ways that might have been impossible if we had stayed.” B y the fall of 2021, Sullivan’s hopes for managing the relationship with Russia had dissolved.In October, U.S. intelligence gath- ered firm evidence that Putin intended to invade Ukraine. To rally NATO, and perhaps give Moscow pause, Sullivan urged the unprecedented step of declassifying very sensitive U.S. intelligence and sharing it with allies. An unlikely inspiration for Sullivan was the film “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.” Sullivan told me he felt like the character in the movie who uselessly shouts “No!” as a steamroller slowly approaches. “How do we make sure we’re controlling the narrative with Russia and denying them the element of surprise?” he wondered. To frame the script, Sullivan devised what he called a “strategic downgrade” of highly classified information about Russian preparations to invade Ukraine — which the NSC pushed to allies and eventually the public. Sullivan had ideal partners in CIA Director William J. Burns, who had worked with him on back-channel Iran diplomacy at the Obama State Department, and Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence. Intelligence diplomacy was a creative piece of statecraft, but it failed to stop the Russian advance. Sullivan is unapologetic. “I do not believe Putin was deterrable, unless we were prepared to go to war directly. He was determined to do it,” he said. Sullivan created what he called “tiger teams” to manage the declassification process and the logis- tics for rapidly supplying weapons to Ukraine. The mandate was “to think through every possible dimension of the U.S. response and produce a ‘break glass’ playbook to guide it,” recalled Alexan- der Bick, who led the first team, in a recent essay. Sullivan’s willingness to delegate and outsource this brainstorming was unusual for an NSC in which officials usually hold sensitive matters tightly. A senior Pentagon official who worked with the tiger team recalled Sullivan saying more than once: “Finer and I can’t be the only people having new ideas. Give me a different idea, a different angle.” U.S. intelligence gave Ukraine a decisive edge in the first days after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The U.S. spy agencies knew that Russia intended to take Kyiv by landing elite troops at Hostomel Airport, northwest of the city, and moving on the capital. Ukrainian troops were there to meet them, and the Russian attack force was savaged. Russia began a retreat that accelerated through 2022. This was a tactical triumph for Ukraine, but it led to the war’s biggest crisis. As the Kremlin panicked, it considered desperate options. U.S. in- telligence analysts began warning that June that, as Russian lines collapsed, Moscow was preparing possible use of tactical nuclear weapons to save its forces. A tiger team explored some of the chilling “what if” scenarios. Sullivan wanted to know the basics. “What is Putin thinking? What are Putin’s options? What would I do if I were Putin?” he told me. Sullivan knew the world was moving toward an abyss. He invited Allison, the leading scholar of the Cuban missile crisis, to visit the White House on Oct. 6, 2022. Allison presented an 11-page scenario of how Kennedy escaped the wooden recommenda- tions of his advisers to craft an “outside the box” compromise that defused that 1962 confrontation. Kennedy’s breakthrough was a “cockamamie cocktail,” Allison believed. The White House crafted a formula that mixed public rejection of Russian missiles in Cuba with a private agreement not to invade the island — as well as a secret sweetener of promising to withdraw U.S. missiles from Turkey. Sullivan’s takeaway, he told me, was that “you need a multifaceted response in a crisis. If you have just one strand, it’s fragile. You need multiple paths.” The Ukraine crisis deepened on Oct. 23 when then-Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made an urgent call to his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin. Shoigu claimed that Russia had intelligence that Ukraine was preparing to use a “dirty bomb.” Maybe his call was a pretext, or maybe Putin really believed the Ukrainians were about to go nuclear. U.S. intelligence analysts warned that it was a “coin flip” whether Russia would use tactical nukes to avert defeat. Sullivan pursued three channels to deter Mos- cow. To buy time, he asked Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to visit Ukraine to investigate Russia’s allegations. Ukraine agreed to accept Grossi, and he found nothing to support the dirty-bomb claim during visits to a Kyiv nuclear research institute, a uranium mining facility at Zhovti Vody and a factory in Dnipro. The second channel was direct to Russia. To warn Putin emphatically of the risks, Sullivan had already stated publicly that Russia would face “catastrophic consequences” if it used nuclear weapons. Biden sent a sharp letter to Putin, and CIA chief Burns met with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Naryshkin, and told him that the United States would destroy Russia’s army in Ukraine if it went nuclear. And third, the White House reached out to Chinese President Xi Jinping. Burns shared U.S. in- telligence documenting Russia’s “active consider- ation” of using tactical nuclear weapons with the head of China’s Ministry of State Security, a senior official told me. Xi took the United States’ secret warnings seriously. He sent a message to Putin and warned him against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, three knowledgeable sources said. Xi made his warning public several weeks later when he met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Nov. 4 in Beijing. Xi said the world should “oppose davId IgnatIus The strategist in the hurricane As national security adviser, Jake Sullivan often had to improvise — and weigh some very imperfect responses. tom brenner For the wAShington PoSt wAli SAbAwoon/AP Top: National security adviser Jake Sullivan at the White House on Sept. 30, 2022. Bottom: Hundreds of Afghans are seen near an evacuation-control checkpoint at the perimeter of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Aug. 26, 2021. sunday, january 5 , 2025 . the washington post EZ rE A23 the use of or the threat to use nuclear weapons,” according to Xinhua News Agency. Biden had also asked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press Putin, which he did at a summit in Uzbekistan that September. It was artful diplomacy that defused a crisis. But Putin learned that by making nuclear threats, he could get Washington’s attention. From then on, Russia had what strategists call “escalation domi- nance” in Ukraine, and Biden calibrated subse- quent U.S. miliary aid to avoid a confrontation. Sullivan’s strategy contained a paradox: Washing- ton wanted a Russian defeat, but not one that would trigger a nuclear conflict. Gen. Mark A. Milley, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned publicly in November 2022 that the stalemate that was emerging might be the best Ukraine could get — and that it was time for diplomacy. “When there’s an opportunity to negoti- ate, when peace can be achieved, seize it. Seize the moment,” he said in a speech in New York, amplifying remarks he had been making privately for weeks. Sullivan publicly rejected Milley’s call for negoti- ations to resolve what was becoming a bloody war of attrition. He encouraged a quiet series of meetings of national security advisers in Copenha- gen, Jeddah and Kyiv in 2023 to explore diplomatic options. But a close adviser explained to me that Sullivan had made a twofold decision on Ukraine: Keep supporting Ukraine to bolster its leverage and diminish Russia’s fighting force; and avoid escala- tion risk with Russia. It was a sensible, cold-blooded strategy for the United States — to attrit an adversary at low cost to America while Ukraine was paying the butcher’s bill. That’s not how Sullivan would have described it, but this was the practical effect. Kissinger would have approved. A delicate moment came in June 2023. U.S. intel- ligence learned thatPutin ally Yevgeniy Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group militia, was planning to march on Moscow to challenge Putin’s manage- ment of the war. This might have been a chapter in a spy thriller: American intelligence officials knew before Putin did that the threat was coming — and that there was an opportunity for worsening his troubles, or maybe helping him escape. Sullivan and his colleagues decided that the risk of failure in meddling in Russian politics was too high — and that a successful Prigozhin might be even worse than Putin. “If Putin thought we were using Prigozhin to undermine his regime, who knows the nuclear risk?” recalled Tom Wright, one of Sulli- van’s top NSC advisers. Prigozhin halted his march and accepted an offer of exile in Belarus. He died two months later in a mysterious plane crash. The Ukraine war ground on, and the number of Russian dead and wounded now exceeds 600,000. A diplomatic settlement remains Ukraine’s best chance, but it will fall to President-elect Donald Trump to negotiate it. Critics argue that Sullivan was needlessly intimi- dated by Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling. Sullivan’s response, in essence, is that Biden’s dual task was to keep pumping weapons to Ukraine and avoid nuclear war. He explained to me: “If you’re national security adviser, and the intelligence community says that the risk of the use of nuclear weapons is material, you don’t have the luxury of waving that off. That’s the difference between sitting in this seat and not sitting in this seat.” G aza was the war that Sullivan and Biden wanted to stop but couldn’t. Like Ukraine, it involved delicate crisis management with a prickly, headstrong ally. Sullivan was traveling in France with his wife when Hamas launched its attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, so the initial crisis-management task fell to Finer and the NSC’s experienced Middle East director, Brett McGurk. The early weeks of the war were among Biden’s finest moments as president. A dazed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the White House on Oct. 8 as Israel was counting its 1,200 dead from the horrific terrorist attack. A senior official remembered the Israeli leader’s message: “Joe, this is the Middle East. If you’re weak, you’re roadkill. Right now, we’re seen as weak.” A jittery Israel feared that Hezbollah was poised for a Hamas-like invasion from Lebanon and on Oct. 11 was about to launch a preemptive strike. Biden spoke that day with the Israeli war cabinet, as Netanyahu and his colleagues debated options with themselves and the president. Israel had a false report that Hezbollah paragliders were in the air. Israeli jets were on the runways, poised to strike. Biden and Sullivan wanted to “slow down Israeli time and space” before Israel leaped into what could have been a disastrous two-front war, a senior official remembered. Biden promised the war cabinet that he would fly to the region. Less than a week later, despite the danger of landing in a war zone, Biden, Sullivan and Blinken were in Jerusa- lem. Israel began to steady itself. Israel struck back at Hamas and other Iranian proxies with a vengeance. More than 20,000 Gazans were killed in the first three months of military operations. “Israel went crazy and shot the s--- out of Gaza,” is how one senior administration official put it. Biden, Sullivan and Blinken demanded that Israel provide more humanitarian assistance in Gaza. Sullivan even listened to arguments about how the United States might encourage a new government to replace Netanyahu but rejected them because it would have amounted to regime change. The administration never budged in its fundamental support for Israel. April 1, 2024, was a particularly difficult day. An Israeli airstrike killed seven relief workers from World Central Kitchen. An emotional chef José Andrés, founder of the humanitarian group, called Biden and beseeched him to help. Biden phoned Netanyahu and warned him, “This has to stop,” a senior official remembered. But on that same call, Biden assured the Israeli leader that the United States would provide heavy military support against an expected Iranian missile strike, which came two weeks later. The Biden team bet on Israel, despite howls of protest at home and abroad — and significant political cost to Democrats in the 2024 election. Backed by a huge commitment of U.S. military power, Israel began to run the table against Iran and its proxies — in Gaza, then Lebanon, Syria and inside Iran itself. The result has been a transformed Middle East. S ullivan had anticipated that China would be the Biden administration’s hardest foreign policy challenge. And paradoxically, thanks to innovative policy, Asia is where the administration had its greatest success. Sullivan’s first step was persuading a reluctant Kurt Campbell, a State Department colleague during the Obama years, to join the NSC staff and oversee Asia policy. Campbell was Sullivan’s oppo- site in temperament — open and gregarious, where Sullivan could be cool and opaque. But Campbell had deep contacts and trust across Asia, and the two were a perfect strategic match. Sullivan’s starting point on China was his insight, dating from 2016, that the United States couldn’t compete unless it strengthened its domestic econo- my and rebuilt the middle class. The threat to America was “from within,” he said in a 2022 talk. Democrats liked to tout the United States as “the indispensable nation,” he continued, “because you’re indispensable to somebody else but … what about to your own people? Where does that fit in?” Sullivan joined Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and other administration figures in pressing for big spending to improve U.S. manufac- turing, technology and infrastructure, as well as for curbs on exporting technology to China. Campbell, the Asia hand, added what he called an “outside-in” approach of building alliances and partnerships in Asia to buffer the confrontation with Beijing. Australia joined a powerful new defense alliance with Britain and the United States called AUKUS; India signed on to an expanded partnership known as the Quad; Japan and South Korea suppressed past differences to join a power- ful trilateral alliance. The Philippines moved strongly into the U.S. camp; Vietnam leaned that way, too. As the United States began to compete more aggressively, China angrily withheld diplomatic contacts. The relationship worsened after a Chinese spy balloon floated over the United States in early 2023. Officials told me the Chinese mission was to collect full-motion video and signals intelligence about ships, port facilities and military bases in the Pacific, but the balloon drifted off course. When the United States shot it down, the relationship deflated further as a result. Sullivan argued that Washington and Beijing needed to talk, even as they competed. With the blessings of Biden and Xi, he developed an unusual relationship with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi. The two have now had a half-dozen meetings and many more phone calls, during which they have discussed the most sensitive and potentially dan- gerous issues. Sullivan told me that, during his first back- channel meeting with Wang in Vienna in May 2023, he explained the logic behind the United States’ technology-export policy, describing it as a “small yard” of prohibited exports with a “high fence” of U.S. control. Wang countered that it was a “big yard with an iron curtain.” But dialogue resumed. “We have used the channel to explain to China what we are doing, and what we are not doing,” Sullivan told me. “It is the essence of managed competition.” Sullivan will leave some big, unresolved issues for his successor in the Trump administration, Michael Waltz, a well-regarded congressman from Florida and former Green Beret. Topping the list will be a just settlement of the Ukraine war. Sullivan toldme that he had expected 2025 to be a year for negotiation, regardless of who won the presidential election. The diplomatic jockeying has already begun. The Trump team will also have to manage a reconfigured Middle East — and try to stop Iran’s nuclear program through coercive diplomacy or military force. Russian space weapons might pose the most dangerous problem ahead — and it’s one the public barely understands. Early last year, the intelligence community advised Sullivan that Russia had launched a satellite — dubbed Sputnik-S — that was configured to potentially carry a nuclear weapon. U.S. analysts feared that if a future satellite ever detonated a bomb, the radiation field would disable any satellite in low Earth orbit that wasn’t shielded. Sullivan reached out to Putin adviser Yuri Ushakov, a Russian official who had been a back-channel contact throughout the war in Ukraine. Sullivan gave Ushakov a stark warning about the satellite weapon. “We know what you are intending to do. We would consider this a grave threat to our national security.” He told the Russian adviser that it would be U.S. policy to “deny the strategic effect of the weapon,” a senior administration official told me. The Biden team reached out to China, whose unshielded low-Earth-orbit satellites would also be vulnerable to the Russian weapon. Beijing ex- pressed its concerns to Moscow. But U.S. intelli- gence analysts today are unsure whether Russia will proceed with launching a nuclear-armed Sputnik-S. Soon after Sullivan delivered his warning to Ushakov, he scheduled a briefing with the congres- sional and intelligence committee leaders known as the Gang of Eight. The day before the briefing, Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio), chair of the House Intelligence Committee, publicly demanded that Sullivan brief the whole Congress on a “serious national security threat” in space. Sullivan didn’t protest; he had been planning to make a public disclosure anyway. If Russia appears to be moving toward deploy- ment of the Sputnik-S weapon, Trump’s NSC will have to decide how to respond. Logic suggests four possibilities: Disable the satellite on the launchpad; shoot it down as it ascends; destroy it in orbit; or threaten decisive retaliation if it’s ever used. Trump and Waltz will have to sort that out. H ow should we assess Sullivan’s performance in “managing the unachievable”? He has tried to oversee national security responsibly in a world where total victory against adversaries such as Russia and China probably isn’t possible. But his critics view his caution and back-channel statecraft as weakness. They want the United States to win conflicts rather than manage them. I put the issue to Sullivan at the end of our last conversation. He responded with a series of questions and answers that amounted to his own report card: “Are our alliances stronger? Yes. Are our enemies weaker? Yes. Did we keep America out of war? Yes. Did we improve our strategic position in the competition with China while stabilizing the rela- tionship? Yes. Did we strengthen the engines of American economic and technological power? Yes.” A more cautious measure would be to assess “strategic solvency,” an approach proposed by Walter Lippmann in 1943. During Sullivan’s time at the NSC, were the nation’s commitments abroad matched by its power? Here, it’s hard not to find an imbalance. The United States is overextended. We can’t keep all the promises we make. “Jake has a remarkable ability to keep balls in the air, but it’s too much even for him,” Allison said. Sullivan tried to cure this imbalance through his focus on rebuilding U.S. economic strength and the middle class. But he conceded to me, “It’s a strategy measured in decades, where elections are measured in two to four years.” Whatever America’s imperfections, the evidence keeps mounting that its potential adversaries are in worse shape. China’s economy has significant weaknesses, Russia is caught in a no-win war and Iran has lost a string of proxies in the Middle East. Sullivan expressed some national security schadenfreude when he heard about Bashar al-Assad’s fall in Syria. He said he told Finer: “We’re constantly worried about our own position and the alignment of our adversaries, but they’re in real trouble here, and it presents America with some opportunities if we play our cards right.” The next administration will be lucky if it plays that hand as well. opinion hEidi lEVinE for thE WAshington Post EVAn Vucci/AP Top: A Ukrainian soldier walks near a destroyed cargo aircraft during fierce battles between Russian and Ukrainian forces at Hostomel Airport outside Kyiv in 2022. Bottom: National security adviser Jake Sullivan and President Joe Biden confer in Kyiv on Feb. 20, 2023, during a visit marking the first anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A24 EZ RE the washington post . sunday, january 5 , 2025 MGM National Harbor celebrates the Washington Commanders on their postseason journey. OFFICIAL PARTNER OF THE WASHINGTON COMMANDERS her lavish parties had a political purpose. B2 | The problem with the entrepreneurial spirit. B3 | What Spotify is really doing to music. B5 Releasing a novel every 15 years is a tough way to build an audience. In 2010, when Adam Ross published his first book, the dark comedy “Mr. Peanut,” Apple had just introduced the iPad and Americans still hadn’t seen “Downton Abbey.” The next year, when Ross published “Ladies and Gentlemen,” a celebrated collection of short stories, anticipation for his second novel started building. And building. Nothing seemed strange. Everything was. Ron Charles More than a decade ago, Ross was giving public readings from a manuscript titled “Playworld” and suggesting that the book was almost done. But in the end, he made us wait so long for his second novel that it risked sliding along the asymptote of never- quite-completed texts like Fran Lebowitz’s “exterior signs of Wealth” or Ralph ellison’s “Three Days Before the shooting.” Happily, “Playworld” is finally in ourworld, and the book’s interminable gestation was worth the wait. Indeed, ‘Playworld,’ Adam Ross’s novel about a fateful year for a New York teenager, is worth the long, long wait starting off 2025 with a novel this terrific gives me hope for the whole year. The story begins with a paragraph that already glimmers with the hallowed luster of the openings of “The Catcher in the Rye” and “The Great Gatsby”: “In the fall of 1980, when I was fourteen, a friend of my parents named naomi shah fell in love with me. she was thirty-six, a mother of two, and married to a wealthy man. Like so many things that happened to me that year, it didn’t seem strange at the time.” see Charles on B4 KLMNO bookworld Sunday, january 5, 2025 . Section B ez ee illuSTraTioN by NaTe SWeiTzer for The WaShiNgToN PoST B2 eZ ee the washington post . sunday, january 5 , 2025 BY JULIA M. KLEIN I n her mid-20th-century heyday, Perle Mesta inspired Irving Berlin’s “Call Me Madam,” a Broadway musical satirizing an American socialite’s posting as a European ambassador. The show drew conspicuously on Mesta’s reputation as “The Hostess With the Mostes’.” Characteristically, Mesta embraced the production and be- friended its star, Ethel Merman. Renowned for her lavish bipartisan shin- digs, Mesta was more than Washington’s premiere party giver. She became the confi- dante of three American presidents, the Unit- ed States envoy to Luxembourg (the fictional Lichtenburg in Berlin’s musical), a passionate advocate of the Equal Rights Amendment and a civil rights supporter who helped to inte- grateHarry S. Truman’s 1949 inaugural festiv- ities. Meryl Gordon’s sympathetic and involving new biography, “The Woman Who Knew Everyone,” rescuesMesta fromnear-obscurity and does her distinctive life justice, underlin- ing its subject’s own assessment: “My life is not just party, party,all the time.” The hostess first captured public attention during the Depression, when the country needed adistraction. “Therewas a fascination that a hick from the sticks could make it in America’s most rarefied environments,” Gor- don writes. “In this pre-feminist era, she symbolized freedom, a style setter who could dowhat she wantedwithout the protection or support of a man.” The parties, which Gordon gamely details, often had a political rationale, connecting Washington power players and advancing Mesta’s pet causes. For decades, no presiden- tial nominating convention seemed complete without them. Unmissable extravaganzas, they featured topflight Broadway and Holly- wood entertainment. Mesta’s prodigious, seemingly compulsive hosting may also have been an effort to abate her loneliness, Gordon suggests. Writing a biography required stripping away someof themyths that its subject helped to create. Mesta, who died in 1975 at 92, lied repeatedly about her antecedents and her age (obituaries pegged her at 85). She even changed the spelling of her name from Pearl, which she found less cosmopolitan. Her contemporaries are long gone. But Gordon, the author of gossipy biographies of other society figures (“Mrs. Astor Regrets,” “Bunny Mellon”), tracked down relatives and younger friends who confirmed Mesta’s affability and generosity. Born inMichigan,Mesta spentmuch of her childhood in Texas, where Gordon reports that she gave her first party at age 11. But she was most intimately associated with Okla- homa, where she lived in her 20s. Oklahoma City today has a Perle Mesta Park and a Perle Mesta restaurant promising an “impeccable dining experience that captures the spirit of our ever-charming, ever-prepared name- sake.” Family mattered to Mesta, as did her Christian Science beliefs, which made her a teetotaler. Her mother died in 1908, when Perle was 25. She had a younger brother, O.W., and was particularly close to her younger sister, Marguerite, with whom she shared entertaining duties and residences in Wash- ington; New York; Newport, Rhode Island; and Arizona. Their father,William Skirvin, an oil and real estate magnate, was a “likable schemer and dreamer” who played loose with family investments and ended up in sprawl- ing, Dickensian litigation with his own chil- dren. Mesta’s allure for the capital’s powerful resided at least partly in her openhearted Parties and power: The life of D.C. hostess Perle Mesta personality. “Her smile, her warmth, and her genuine interest in others would be the draw,” Gordon writes. An aspiring performer, Mesta had no education beyond high school and no profession (though McCall’s magazine paid her handsome sums to chronicle her social whirl). Her rivals and other skeptics — nota- bly Washington hostess Gwen Cafritz and Eleanor Roosevelt—disdained her, until they, too, were won over. A family friend introduced Perle to George Mesta, a Pittsburgh-based steel tycoon two decades her senior, and they wed in 1917. Mesta would later insist that George was her one great love. After he died in 1925 of an apparent heart attack, she dated but never remarried. Mesta studied the rhythms ofWashington’s hierarchical social life with “an anthropolo- gist’s intensity” and cultivated the press assiduously. It helped that she came from money andmarried into yetmoremoney. And that she was willing to spend it on entertain- ing — so much so that she had nearly exhausted her millions by the time she died. Among presidential couples, Mesta was particularly close to the Trumans, who shared her heartland background and unpreten- tiousness. Their daughter, Margaret, was a regular at her parties. Mesta even tried to match her with John Fitzgerald Kennedy, then a dashing and wealthy Massachusetts congressman. Truman, valuingMesta’s loyalty and people skills, appointed her as ambassador to the tiny but strategically important Luxembourg. After some initial blunders, she thrived there, despite the efforts of (male) U.S. Foreign Service professionals to undercut her. Throughout her life,Mesta facedmisogyny on numerous fronts, including press sniping about her “more than ample bulk.” One of her great gifts was recognizing political talent. Shenurtured friendshipswith the Eisenhowers long before Ike’s presidency. The warmth remained even after Eisenhower ousted her, for partisan reasons, from her Luxembourg post. She was powerfully drawn to Lyndon B. Johnson, backing him for president in 1960. “He’s really so very tender,” she once said. Mesta was so disappointed when Johnson accepted second billing to Kennedy that she threw her support to Richard M. Nixon. Not surprisingly, Mesta was persona non grata at the Kennedy White House. After the assassination,with LBJ in power, her star rose again. The Nixons waxed hot and cold; she merited an invite to a state dinner for the shah of Iran but was shut out of Tricia Nixon’s White House wedding. As Gordon describes her, Mesta was the perennial comeback kid. Whenever her social wave seemed to have crested, there was another political realignment around the corner. The biography doesn’t elide Mesta’s missteps, from her enthusiasm for former Nazi rocket scientist Wernher von Braun to her occasional style faux pas. But in the end, readers are likely to find Mesta as endearing as her many party guests did. Julia m. Klein is a cultural reporter and critic in Philadelphia. AP LiBRARy Of COnGRess Perle Mesta, above, and at top with, from left, Sen. J. Howard McGrath (D-Rhode Island), President Harry S. Truman and Wilson W. Wyatt in 1949. Tobroadly generalize, books canbedivided into three sorts. First, there are the established classics,works central to our culture and imagination such as Plato’s dialogues, Shakespeare’s plays and JaneAusten’s novels. Second, there are the books that speak to us at thismoment, that are topical, relevant, part of ongoingnational and societal conversations. The rangehere is vast, encompassing current bestsellers,modern children’s literature, contemporary poetry, self- help guides, political tracts andmuch else. All theseworks are at least tacitly therapeutic; they aim tohelp us enjoy, escape fromor critique the waywe live now. Finally, there is a third category comprising all those idiosyncratic, half-forgotten or “unimportant” books that simply attract us personally. Seldomcanonical, thoughoften old, andof doubtful contemporary pertinence, they chiefly appeal to peoplewho like reading in and of itself. Letmemention three examples, all recently publishedbut quite different. ReidByers’s “ImaginaryBooks: Lost, Unfinished, andFictiveWorks FoundOnly in OtherBooks” is an annotated catalogue for a current exhibition atNewYork’s bibliophilic Grolier Club.Works in the show,which runs until Feb. 15, includehighly desirable editions of Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labour’sWon,” the “Necronomicon” ofAbdulAl-Hazred, Lord Byron’smemoirs,Harriet Vane’s “Death in the Pot,” “TheHitchhiker’sGuide to theGalaxy” and evenLouiseBrooks’s “NakedonMyGoat,” the silent-film star’s tell-allmemoirs. To be clear, these are all authentic-looking simulacra,with period bindings and appropriate-seemingdust jackets enclosing bookswewish existed. To increase their apparent reality, Byers provides bibliographical descriptions andnotes about eachwork’s history andprovenance. It is all a delightfully Keep the bestsellers; give me the wonderfully strange Michael Dirda imaginative jeud’esprit, and the catalogue itself is a handsomepiece of bookmaking. Later printingswill doubtless correct several misspellings, such as “Robert Block” instead of Robert Bloch, and insert themissingM inRosie M.Banks,whose various shopgirl romances, alluded to in the comic novels of P.G. Wodehouse, aremeant to suggest those ofRuby M.Ayres andEthelM.Dell. Picky, picky, I know. Still only one fact reallymatters: “Imaginary Books” is as learnedly entertaining asByers’s earlier study, “ThePrivate Library,”was exhaustive andmagisterial. Paul Valéry’s “Monsieur Teste” offersa somewhat different approach to the imaginary. First published in 1896, it introduces us to a manof pure intelligence, as seen in a brief memoir, a letter fromhiswife and extracts from a logbook. The result is a pioneeringmodernist text. Before relatinghis initial encounterwith Monsieur Teste, thememoirwriter proffers this startling self-description: “Stupidity is notmy strong suit. I have seen many individuals; I have visited a few countries; I’ve played apart in various enterpriseswithout liking them. I have eaten almost every day; I have beenwithwomen. I recollect a fewhundred faces, twoor three epic events, and the substance of perhaps twenty books. I havenot retained the best orworst of these things:whatever could remainhas remained.” That’s fromCharlotteMandell’s fine new translation of this paean to self-inquiry.While Valéry’s prose always remains clear, its interpretation can be challenging. Throughout, he depicts Teste as utterly banal in his outward existence but extraordinary in his inner life. As the narrator declares, “After much reflection, I came to believe that Monsieur Teste hadmanaged to discover laws of themind of which we are ignorant.”We are given only hints about those laws, but as usual, Valéry refracts elements from his own lifelong dialogue with himself. Revered as both apoet and an essayist, Valéry habitually rose at 5 eachmorning to pass several hours scribblinghis pensées about art, politics andphilosophy inhis notebooks (which fill 29 large volumes).While the density and elusiveness of his thought canbedaunting, one cannot help but admire his—andMonsieur Teste’s—almost saintly commitment to intellectual self-exploration. Howcould anyone resist a book titled “The Anthologist’s Folly”? I couldn’t, especially since its editor, JohnnyMains, devotes half this collection of his favoriteweird tales to a short novel till recently hard to find, “TheHole of the Pit” byAdrianRoss. Rosswas the pennameof a Cambridge don, ArthurReedRopes—who eventually abandoned academia towrite lyrics for operettas andmusicals—and thiswas his only novel. Published in 1914, “TheHole of the Pit” is dedicated to the leading exponent of the antiquarian ghost story,M.R. James. Whennecessary, James could imitate English prose of earlier centuries to perfection, whichperhaps explainsRoss’s ownuse of a 17th-century style lightly touchedwith biblical syntax anddiction. The action takes place in 1645, so itmakes sense that its villainous characters resemble the flamboyant antiheroes of Jacobean tragedy fromearlier in that century. Theplot elements, though, recall facets ofWilliamHopeHodgson’s “TheHouse on the Borderland” and someof thatwriter’s shorter tales ofmalignant nature. In a remote section of England, the Earl of Deeping has retreated to the family redoubt on a small island surrounded by watery channels andmarshlands. A royalist, he fought against Oliver Cromwell during the English CivilWars and is, at this point, something of a huntedman. Still, he lords over the surrounding countryside with the help of a small band ofmercenaries and a mysterious, green-eyed Italian signora named Fiammetta, said to be a witch. Called upon to intervene onbehalf of the oppressed locals,Hubert Leyton, the earl’s peaceable cousin, reluctantly travels to DeepingHold,which requires him to row across a darkpatch ofwater called “theHole.” This area, of evil reputation, exudes a fetid, sickening odor that, asHubert observes, seems “to rise froma certain grey glistering slime.” Whenhepeers down into the blackwater, the youngman seems to see somethingmoving: “It was as if a grey tendril, coloured like the slime, werewindingupward through the blackness and rising swiftly towardme.”Hequickly moves on, later dismissing this as an optical illusion. The earlwelcomes cousinHubert but forces him to remain in the castle against hiswill. Fromhere on, the reader senses an invisible trap slowly, inexorably closing shut. The swamp mist grows increasingly foul; violent eddies disrupt the putrid, dankwaters; people hear unidentifiable suckingnoises; solid land suddenly turns to quicksand; and the slime’s gray tendrils latch tight on any exposed armor leg.Hubert remembers an old bit of doggerel: When theLord ofDeepingHold “hath awaken’dwhat doth sit/ In the darkness of the Pit,/ Thenwhat doth sit beneath theHole/ Shall comeand takehimbody and soul.” Ross superbly evokes the oppressive atmosphere of a doom that cannot be forestalled.Or can it? The Italianwitch desperately activates her own infernal countermeasures. Aminormasterpiece of supernatural terror, “TheHole of the Pit”mixes murderous oozewith gothicmelodrama.Give it a chance, and you’ll be pulled right in. michael Dirda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for Book World and the author of the memoir “An Open Book” and of four collections of essays: “Readings,” “Bound to Please,” “Book by Book” and “Classics for Pleasure.” THE woman wHo KnEw EvEryonE The Power of Perle mesta, washington’s most Famous Hostess By Meryl Gordon. Grand Central. 485 pp. $34 Book World sunday, january 5 , 2025 . the washington post EZ EE B3 With cold weather setting in, it’s a perfect time to cozy up with a good mystery novel, and this season offers a wonderful variety of whodunits starring beloved detectives as well as new characters you’ll want to get to know. ‘Against the Grain’ by Peter Lovesey Lovesey concludes his award-winning Peter Diamond series with a classic English- village mystery. Warily facing his looming retirement, Diamond reluctantly heads from his home in Bath to the countryside for a brief holiday to visit his former colleague Julie Hargreaves. But Hargreaves has a hidden agenda: She believes that local police in the idyllic village of Baskerville have accused the wrong person in a murder case, and she wants Diamond to unofficially snoop around, which naturally gets him in deeper than he anticipated. ‘The Author’s Guide toMurder’ by BeatrizWilliams, LaurenWillig andKarenWhite Nevermind that the plot is a bit scatterbrained, the story is a tad long, and there’s way toomuch plaid involved, this murdermystery spoof is just plain fun to read. Co-written by three veteran authors, the story MYSTERIES by karen MacPherson revolves around—you guessed it— three authorswho head off together to awriters retreat at a haunted Scottish castle on a windswept island. The retreat is a just a ruse, though. The threewriters actually are on a mission to humiliate the retreat sponsor, best- selling author Brett Saffron Presley, as he had humiliated each of them.WhenPresley suddenly turns up dead, however, the three revenge-seekers become the prime suspects andmust find the real killer to save themselves. ‘The Case of theMissingMaid’ by RobOsler It’s 1898, and Harriet Morrow can’t believe her luck in landing a job as the first female detective at the prestigious Prescott Agency in Chicago. Assigned to find Agnes Wozniak, the missing live-in maid employed by a wealthy neighbor of her boss, Morrow follows clues that take her into the heart of the city’s Polish community and also lead her to places where LGBTQ folks like herself secretly gather. As she gets closer to the truth of what happened toWozniak, Morrowmust depend on her wits and courage — as well as her newly minted shooting skills — to solve the case. ‘Everyone This ChristmasHas a Secret’ by Benjamin Stevenson Stevenson brings his trademark mix of laughs and cleverness to the holiday season in this delightful third volume of the best- selling Everyone series. Framing his locked- roommystery around an Advent calendar, Stevenson details what happens when narrator and Golden Age mystery buff Ernest Cunningham is drawn into another case after his ex-wife, Erin, is charged with killing her new partner. Despite the seemingly overwhelming evidence against her, Cunningham is convinced of Erin’s innocence and sets out to prove it, overcoming a raft of complications that include people trying to kill him. ‘Echo’ by Tracy ClarkChicago Police Detective Harriet “Harri” Foster has a cause célèbre on her hands: The body of Brice Collier, son of billionaire Sebastian Collier, is found in a field near the campus of the college he attended. Things get worse when Foster learns that the murder echoes one decades ago involving the elder Collier. Meanwhile, Foster is dealing with somemajor issues of her own, as she fends off a stalker and grapples with the death of her former police partner. “Echo” is the third in Clark’s series focused on Foster, but it stands firmly on its own. Karen MacPherson is the former children’s and teen coordinator at the takoma Park Maryland library and a lifelong mystery fan. The Reddit discussion group “r/antiwork” is one of the site’s very biggest communities. The channel’s whopping 2.9 million members share a common frustration: the indignities they face at their jobs. Some of the forum’s stalwarts are disillusioned with the very idea of work; the subreddit bills itself as a place for “those who want to end work, are curious about ending work, want to get the most out of a work-free life, want more information on anti-work ideas and want personal help with their own jobs/work- related struggles.” Other participants, however, yearn not for the abolition of work but for employment of a different — and arguably more demanding — kind. “I want to be an entrepreneur so I can escape,” one user posted in 2022. How can dissatisfaction with work shade so easily into a craving for more of it? In “Make Your Own Job: How the Entrepreneurial Work Ethic Exhausted America,” the historian Erik Baker explains that we have been tricked into regarding personal resilience as the solution to structural injustice. There is plenty of discussion of the “work ethic” in circulation, but Baker’s thesis is rousingly novel and ingeniously fine-grained. He disaggregates America’s workaholism into phases, demonstrating that “the entrepreneurial work ethic” was preceded by “the industrious work ethic,” a cultural paradigm that “emphasizes duty and the virtue of persevering without questioning assigned tasks or expecting much reward.” This ideology kept factory workers toiling at the assembly line. The entrepreneurial ethic, in contrast, is distinguished by its veneration of “people who create work for themselves — as opposed to merely executing, however dutifully, the work assigned to them by others or by circumstance.” Work takes on a moral valence in the entrepreneurial era, and those who do more of it are celebrated as paragons of virtue. For this reason, by the late 20th century, “the relationship between class and work had become inverted,” Baker insightfully observes. “American cultural and political discourse increasingly represented the ‘working’ class as a class without work, while the rich went to ever-greater lengths to demonstrate that they were anything but idle.” “Welfare queens” are lambasted as lazy; Elon Musk, poster child of American industry, brags about working 120 hours a week (while somehow finding the time to incessantly post inanities on X, the social media platform he owns and seems determined to mismanage into oblivion). Baker is a lecturer at Harvard, but “Make Your Own Job” is not dry, insular or detached from everyday concerns. Although it is thoroughly researched and rigorously conceived, it is also gripping. This is history with urgent stakes and real consequences. Is the way to “escape,” as that desperate Reddit user hoped to do, to work harder? To “lean in” further? To wake up earlier and muster more “positive thinking”? Or does our salvation lie in leaning out for once? Baker’s book is a history of three related but distinct aspects of the entrepreneurial phenomenon. It chronicles the different forms that American entrepreneurialism has taken over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries; the hazy justifications for its ascendance that have been proffered by hucksters of many stripes, from New Age gurus to nominally respectable proponents of “positive psychology” at prestigious business schools; and the material conditions that make the entrepreneurial ethic so invaluable to the capitalist enterprise. The can-do spirit that undermines American workers Becca Rothfeld Baker begins by arguing that entrepreneurialism began to supplant its industrialist predecessor after the Depression, when the direct-selling industry took off. “Companies that sold goods directly to consumers” were generally more robust than those that dealt with other companies, he writes. Enter the California Perfume Company — and its famous Avon product line, distributed by the iconic “Avon Ladies,” who went from door to door with suitcases of cosmetics in tow. The California Perfume Company took pains to present its sellers as the face of American resourcefulness: The firm’s monthly magazine, Avon Outlook, touted the fortitude and resolve of the saleswomen. From the first, Baker writes, the independent-contractor model served to foster the illusion of “equal status, a level playing field on which sellers could approach CPC executives as co-creators of the firm’s success.” Direct selling was one of the earliest iterations of what is now called gig work, an arrangement that allows a company to profit from the grueling efforts of its laborers while disclaiming any responsibility for their failures (or their well-being). The tactics pioneered by the California Perfume Company were later aped by American folk heroes like Ray Kroc, the businessman who made McDonald’s ubiquitous, and whose wildly lucrative franchise model held the manager of each store accountable for its fate. Now, companies like Uber have taken the Avon approach to its logical extreme, declining to classify their workers as “employees” so as to head off unionization efforts and avoid coughing up benefits. Why have workers accepted — and occasionally even embraced — such demoralizing treatment? Entrepreneurialism’s apologists, a motley crew of thinkers and charlatans intent on framing exploitative conditions as empowering, bear much of the blame. Baker traces the American fetishization of the can-do attitude back to the New Thought movement, which swept the nation in the early 1900s. The fad’s practitioners held that “the material realm was not something separate from the realm of the mind” and urged their followers “to use the power of their minds to overcome all forms of distress, disease, and deprivation,” including poverty. Ralph Waldo Trine, a favorite of Henry Ford, explained that “creative, spiritually effervescent personalities would be able to conjure up new work opportunities even in the most challenging circumstances.” In other words, unemployment was a product of laziness, not a dearth of jobs — a notion that proved especially useful to executives like Ford in the wake of the Depression. New Thought was zany and metaphysically extravagant, but many of its central claims acquired the veneer of legitimacy when they were taken up by scholars and intellectuals, especially those with perches at renowned business schools. By mid-century, attempts at inducing growth by making technical fixes, popular in the late 1800s, were out; the idea that a company’s prospects hinged on the charisma of its leaders — and the related idea that anyone who tried hard enough could make it — was in. Unfortunately, we have yet to kick it back out: As recently as 2023, Entrepreneur magazine was running articles on how “positive psychology can make you a multimillionaire.” All this publicity served (and still serves) a nefarious purpose. Baker reminds us that the entrepreneurial ethic emerged, not coincidentally, in “an economic landscape in which full-time jobs with regular pay were not merely toilsome but persistently, structurally scarce.” Beginning in the 1910s and 1920s, joblessness was no longer an aberration but “a side effect of irreversible changes to the technical structure of American industry.” The ultimate function of the entrepreneurial ethic was (andis) to reconcile workers to precarity. “One of the core promises of the idea of entrepreneurship, in American culture, has been to transcend the distinction between capitalist and worker,” Baker writes. Anyone with enough gumption can succeed — so it follows that those who fail are not victims of an increasingly punishing labor market but idlers with an inadequate stock of initiative. In the end, the entrepreneurial economy yields “two antipodal figures,” per Baker: “the tech billionaire,” lionized in the media, and his inverse, “the gig worker using that billionaire’s app to scrape out an income.” In truth, of course, the former depends on the exploitation of the latter. The carefully cultivated myth of the maverick — of the hometown hero who practices positive psychology fervently enough to become a millionaire — obscures the cruel truth that the outsize wealth of Uber’s executives is produced by underpaid drivers. And this, Baker acknowledges, explains the enduring appeal of the entrepreneurial ideal. An old adage has it that “antisemitism is the socialism of fools” — a misguided response to a real predicament. The fantasies of entrepreneurial triumph that occasionally surface on the anti-work subreddit are much the same. The forum’s users may be wrong that simple entrepreneurial spirit could solve all their problems, but they are right to despair over their dictatorial and mercurial bosses, their inconsistent employment opportunities, and their general lack of control over the circumstances of their own lives. But buried in all the upbeat prattle about grit and hustle is a tentative reason for optimism: The entrepreneurial ethic, Baker proposes, is a form of “resistance to work- as-usual.” Entrepreneurialism encourages us to strike out on our own, but the collective frustrations simmering beneath the surface may eventually unite us. At last, something to think positively about! And if all this hope won’t make us millionaires, it may yet do something better: make us willing to fight for one another. Becca Rothfeld is the nonfiction book critic for the Washington Post and the author of “all things are too small: Essays in Praise of Excess.” Book World Daily Mail/sHUttErstock “Avon Ladies,” who sold cosmetics door to door, were part of the direct-selling industry that blossomed after the Depression. Avon touted them as resourceful entrepreneurs. MAKE YOUR OWN JOB How the Entrepreneurial Work Ethic Exhausted America By Erik Baker. Harvard University Press. 337 pp. $35 B4 EZ EE the washington post . sunday, january 5 , 2025 Fiction Talk about quaint.) Because it’s impossible to give a sense of how very clever the plot of “The Note” is without ruining the fun of reading it, I’ll simply say that nothing is as it seems in that inciting scene I’ve described. Burke is also celebrated for her nuanced takes on women’s lives, both in her suspense novels (some co-written with the late mary Higgins Clark) and in her two mystery series (featuring NYPD Detective Ellie Hatcher and Deputy D.A. Samantha Kincaid). Here, it’s the complications of friendship among women that’s the deeper mystery Burke explores. Kelsey and Lauren are the more lightly drawn characters, seen primarily through may’s eyes and the scrim of her insecurities. Like Burke, may is a half-Asian former pros- ecutor who’s now a law professor. from there, Burke’s imagination fleshes out a smart striver in her 30s who’s engaged to a nice (read: unexciting) guy but can’t stop monitoring herself for the wrong remark, clothes or emo- tion. Kelsey, the “queen bee” of the group, who wears her privilege as lightly as a summer pashmina, is a trigger for may’s anxieties, but so is Lauren, who’s recently attained the heady position of director of the Houston Symphony. In the opening of the novel, may picks up Lauren at JfK Airport for the drive out to the Hamptons. The instant she spots her friend, may’s self-confidence melts: “[Lauren] wore wide-legged peach linen gauchos with a silk paisley wrap blouse. … Her giant square sun- glasses screamed peak Jackie o. If may tried to pull off Lauren’s look, people would say how nice it was that she was able to get around by herself.” Who among us could not identify? “The Note” is sharp about the ways in which women — especially a woman like may, who’s been conditioned to see herself as “less than” — undermine themselves. And, given that may is the central character of this twisty thriller, her chronic self-doubt just might turn out to be a fatal flaw. Maureen Corrigan is the book critic for “Fresh Air” and a professor of English at Georgetown university. ninA SuBin alafair Burke centers her new novel on three old friends and a reunion that goes awry. BY MAUREEN CORRIGAN S ummertime in the Hamptons. Three women — reunited old friends — cruise a traffic-clogged street searching for a parking space. Kelsey, the driver, knows she’ll find one. She’s a beautiful, blond rich girl, so everything usually goes her way. Sure enough, a space opens up near the hotel where the three friends plan to sip their first cosmos. But just as Kelsey is about to park, a white sedan zips into the spot. The smarmy driver’s date smirks from the passenger seat. While Kelsey and may shrug off the offense, Lauren seethes, even if, as a Black woman in the White-as-sand Hamptons, she is cautious and tamps down her anger. Hours later, as the now well-lubricated friends step out of the hotel, Lauren hits upon a brilliant retribution. She grabs a napkin and scrawls the perfect note to leave on the windshield of the spot- stealing couple’s car: “He’s cheating. He always does.” But this clever revenge prank quickly turns dark: The parking bandit, who happens to be the scion of a prominent rhode Island family, vanishes the following day. Because the note is the only clue, the police regard the three women as prime suspects in what looks like foul play. There’s something quaint about this open- ing setup of Alafair Burke’s new suspense novel, “The Note.” Who writes notes anymore? How many women carry a pen in their purse A perfect summer thriller is here already instead of relying on their smartphone? The note itself is a hoary mystery device, harking back to Edgar Allan Poe’s 1844 classic, “The Purloined Letter.” “The Note” may turn out to be the very last mystery or suspense novel set in the 21st century whose plot centers on a message written in cursive on a piece of paper. Comple- menting Burke’s bow to tradition, however, is her contemporary awareness of the malicious power of the internet. Kelsey, may and Lauren, in their 30s and early 40s when we meet them, met decades ago at a summer arts camp. Kelsey and may were campers; Lauren was a counselor. As the girls grew up, their bond, especially the con- nection between privileged Kelsey and may, the daughter of a Chinese immigrant single mother, withered. Then, an awful coincidence drew the women together again: one by one, all three were publicly “canceled” on social media for different perceived offenses. Dub- bing themselves “The Canceled Crew,” they reconnected online. The Hamptons getaway was intended to be a grand in-person reunion. Now, that impetuous note threatens to stir up the internet haters again, once it’s revealed that “The Canceled Crew” may be involved in a high-profile disappearance. As a storyteller, Burke is a master knot maker. The plot twists and loop-the-loops she executes here put me in mind of those how-to- tie-a-scarf instructional videos that have been popping up on my facebook page. (facebook! the Note By Alafair Burke. Knopf. 304 pp. $29 the boy’s efforts to starve off nine pounds in just a few days before a meet. Worse, when Coach strong-arms Griffin to his apartment for secret workouts, the boy’s dread feels almost too much to bear, and the narrator’s language sputters into dismay: “my great shame was strangely somehow for him. ofwhich I could not speak. To anyone.” This particularly propulsive section of “Playworld” takes up the mantle of John Irving. When ross writes about wrestlers, “quicksilver runs through their veins,” and we’re right there on the mat with Griffin, fighting for purchase, torquing for any advantage. There are strong muscle memories at work here. In fact, “Playworld” is built with reused timbers from the author’s actual life. ross really did wrestle in high school and loved it. His parents were showbiz folks, and he had a successful career as a child actor. Apparently, when I was a high school senior, I saw ross play Alan Alda’s son in “The Seduction of Joe Tynan,” but I remember nothing of that movie except the sex scene in a senator’s office, which shocked 17-year-old me. But as autobiographical as “Playworld” appears to be, it’s not a survivor’s memoir disguised in a wrestler’s too-revealing singlet. This is a bildungsroman from which anger has been vented, and what’s left behind is redolent with insight, tenderness and forgiveness. (Among the most touching elements is the way Griffin comes to understand and even respect his bloviating dad.) The narrator’s voice is an extraordinary hybrid of a boy’s plaintive innocence and a man’s wry reflection. Somehow, ross can recall high school with enough fidelity to re- create on the page that visceral feeling of utter bafflement at the behavior of adults. But nothing baffles ross as a narrator. His powers of observation and sensation seem to invade every nook of these lives like the tentacles of some giant octopus with consciousness in every sucker. You may hear echoes of Garth risk Hallberg or even a young Jonathan franzen, but ross writes without their exhausting voraciousness. There’s not a dull line, and yet his prose doesn’t feel like a Christmas tree so freighted with baubles that the branches risk shearing off. forget the long delay; all those years of polishing “Playworld” to a high sheen paid off. The story captures that precarious moment in a young man’s life when he managed — despite interference and neglect from adults who owed him more — to ride his bike around the greatest city in the world and luxuriate in a kind of freedom that feels impossible nowadays. of course, the story of such a sexual initiation is fraught territory. Like Irving before him, ross is constantly traveling along the razor’s edge between glamorizing the boy’s erotic experience or reducing him to a ruined victim. Griffin’s budding interest in girls his own age is entangled with his experiences with adults in ways he has no words to understand. The abiding paradox of the novel is that he remains so profoundly naive even in the thralls of such exploitation. Such is the resilience of youth, sometimes. Given the novel’s considerable length, including its various scandals and crimes, readers may be perplexed by how allergic ross seems to dramatic retribution. Instead, Griffin’s attention is repeatedly drawn back to the usual book bag of teenage concerns: Will he start on the wrestling team? Will that pretty girl call him back? Will he get a part in the school’s production of “The Tempest”? And so, “Playworld” unfolds in a series of broad movements that hew closely to the tendency of real life to muddle on and, finally, if we’re lucky, to leave us with a little deposit of wisdom and the satisfaction of surviving. Perhaps the only good advice Griffin’s psychologist ever gives him is to consider that he was put on this Earth “to come up with a language for your life.” It’s a comment the boy can’t grasp but his older self has clung to. Whatever past rough experiences ross may be mining here, they’ve been compressed under the pressure of time and genius into a cluster of literary gems. I’m reminded that in his 2011 collection, “Ladies and Gentlemen,” there’s a story called “The Suicide room” about Griffin Hurt’s life in college. Near the end of that grim piece, Griffin and ross seem to merge into one voice: “I became a writer,” the narrator says, “and every job I’ve ever held or choice I’ve ever made has been ancillary to this task. This means I’m free to embellish, to treat memory as fact or shape it to suit whatever I’m working on. my primary responsibility, I suppose, is to set you dreaming.” Such is the stuff great novels are made on. ron Charles reviews books and writes the Book Club newsletter for The Washington Post. He is the book critic for “CBS Sunday morning.” Emily DoRio That narrator is Griffin Hurt — a name half mythological, half allegorical. for 500 pages, Griffin’s abiding subject will be the parade of strange things that happened during a fateful year when his adolescence was dominated by a pack of wolfish adults. That may sound like a long, breathless whine, but you won’t regret a moment with this young man teetering on the precipice of maturity as America throws off the malaise of the Carter administration and embraces the optimism of ronald reagan. “Playworld” presents us with a story dipped in molten nostalgia and flecked with love and sorrow. ross captures a bygone era of New York when parents let their kids run free so long as they got themselves to school and showed up for their weekly sessions with the family psychologist. Griffin’s family lives at Lincoln Towers on the Upper West Side, where they hobnob with much wealthier friends and cling to a lifestyle they can almost afford. Griffin’s mother teaches ballet to children in the afternoons; his father is a voice actor in popular commercials but craves something more legitimate. Ironically, plum parts have been dropping down on Griffin since he was in second grade and appeared on Allen funt’s “Candid Camera” in a bit with muhammad Ali. Casting directors love him because he’s blessed and cursed with a talent for “naturalism” — an instinctive ability to feign real life. When the novel opens, many people know Griffin from his ongoing role as Peter Proton on a Saturday morning edutainment show called “The Nuclear family.” But nothing about his acting career under the lights at 30 rock strikes Griffin as unusual — or desirable. His disregard for fame is reflected by what scant space ross’s big novel gives to this glittery part of Griffin’s life. Acting is just something incidental the boy does on the side because his father insists. So far as Griffin is concerned, the work has only made him “a student of all forms of dissembling,” by which he means a kind of numbing disassociation from himself. Unfortunately, that quality renders him particularly vulnerable to the attention of his parents’ friend Naomi Shah. She’s no Humbert Humbert, but the narrator considers her lascivious behavior from the cool distance of several decades when everything has boiled off except Naomi’s pathetic selfishness. Indeed, this is ross’s greatest performance: a narrative voice that cloaks the adult’s perspective within the sweaty skin of a high school boy. “The truth was that I felt no physical desire for her,” Griffin says. “What I did want, what I desperately needed, was her audience. Hers was a great comfort I could find nowhere else, but securing it required I take on a specific role: one of a young man who seemed outwardly confident but was inwardly unsure, a watchful boy so lacking in adult guidance he’d been forced, in nearly all matters, to improvise. Every time I saw her that year, I did the very thing required of me whenever I stepped in front of the camera: I played myself.” The authenticity that Griffin yearns for he finds only on the wrestling mat at his prestigious private school (paid for with his TV salary). There, pitted against opponents in swift, physical contests, pretense means nothing and, thrillingly, the outcome is unknown. But here, once again, he’s subjected to the desires of a predaceous adult: a coach whose approval he craves.animals. Van- landingham later confessed to au- thorities that she had fed the goat pesticide because she believed the owner was a “cheater,” according to an affidavit filed in November. She was charged with cruelty to livestock animals, a felony in Tex- as, and is scheduled to next appear in court on Jan. 15. An attorney representing Van- landingham did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Washington Post on Tuesday. Attempts to reach the family that owned the goat were unsuccessful. Vanlandingham and the stu- dent who owned the goat, whom The Post is not naming because they are a juvenile and not ac- cused of wrongdoing, both appear to have been a part of the Future Farmers of America program at Vista Ridge High School in Cedar Park, Texas. The FFA program allows stu- dents interested in agriculture to compete in events related to the field, including livestock shows and science fairs, where students can win awards and scholarships. It was not clear from court docu- ments whether Vanlandingham was upset over a specific competi- tion involving the goat, or why she believed Willie’s owner had cheat- ed. Crestina Hardie, chief commu- nications officer for the Leander Independent School District, which includes Vista Ridge, said in a Dec. 5 statement that the school could not comment on the status of specific students but that “disciplinary action was taken consistent with policy and pro- cedures.” “Leander ISD is proud of its nationally recognized FFA pro- gram and saddened to hear of the loss of one of its livestock,” Hardie said. Approved students in Vista Ridge’s FFA program can access its barn to check on animals after normal operating hours, accord- ing to Hardie. The barn was equipped with at least one surveil- lance camera, which authorities used to review footage from the day of the incident. On the morning of Oct. 23, Van- landingham allegedly went into the barn, grabbed “supplies” and walked to the goat pens, accord- ing to a probable cause affidavit. She then walked into Willie’s pen, straddled the goat and forced a “syringe like item” into his mouth, the document states. Van- landingham allegedly used the sy- ringe on the goat two more times before leaving its pen. The same day, she returned to the barn around noon and 2 p.m. to check on Willie, according to the affidavit. During the third instance, Van- landingham appeared to make a phone call in the security footage, the affidavit states. The mother of the student who owned Willie lat- er told authorities that Vanland- ingham called her to tell her that Willie was “acting funny and was shaking or convulsing and not acting right,” according to the affi- davit. Immediately after the call, the mother went to the barn to check on Willie and take him to the veterinarian. Vanlandingham was no longer at the barn when she got there, the affidavit says. Willie was given medicine, but the veterinar- ian, despite running tests, could not determine what had caused the goat’s rapid decline. About 21 hours after Vanland- ingham allegedly injected the pes- ticide, Willie was dead. A pathologist who performed a necropsy on Willie at the family’s request said that when he cut open the goat’s stomach, “The smell of pesticide permeated the room,” according to the affidavit. In November, a toxicity report ruled that Willie had died of or- ganophosphate intoxication. That same month, officials ob- tained a warrant to look through Vanlandingham’s phone, accord- ing to the affidavit. Authorities said they found a search history that included queries like: “If goats inject bleach do they die,” “Poisoning pets, what you should know,” and “How to clear search history,” the affidavit says. Vanlandingham was arrested Nov. 22. She posted a $5,000 bond, with conditions including no con- tact with the family that owned Willie, no animals in her care or custody, and no contact with her dog, cat and rabbit allowed with- out adult supervision, court rec- ords show. During her Oct. 29 interview with a police detective, Vanland- ingham at first denied giving Wil- lie the pesticide before admitting she had done so using a bottle of pesticide from the barn’s storage closet and a drench gun — often used to feed medication to live- stock — from another student’s storage box, according to the affi- davit. This was the second time she had attempted to poison the goat since another attempt three days prior failed, she added, ac- cording to the document. She allegedly told the detective that she had injected the pesticide because the student who owned Willie was “a cheater” and she “doesn’t like cheaters,” the affida- vit states. If convicted of cruelty to live- stock animals, Vanlandingham faces up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Texas teen accused of poisoning classmate’s goat calls girl ‘a cheater’ BY MAEVE RESTON AND RACHEL TASHJIAN President Joe Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to a star-studded list of celebrities, donors and former politicians on Saturday, bestowing the nation’s highest civilian honor on some of the country’s best-known names and others who were integral in securing the victory of Biden and other Democrats in recent elec- tions. Several recipients have been outspoken critics of President- elect Donald Trump, and Biden’s decision to honor them is yet an- other way in which he is trying to affirm institutions central to de- mocracy. The honorees included 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, billionaire donor George Soros, actor Michael J. Fox and Democratic political icons includ- ing Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968. “You inspire. You bring healing and joy to so many lives that other- wise wouldn’t be touched,” Biden said at the White House ceremony. “You answer the call to serve and lead others to do the same thing, and you defend the values of Ameri- ca, even when they’re under attack, which they have been as of late.” The medal is the highest civil- ian honor, given to individuals who have “made exemplary con- tributions to the prosperity, val- ues, or security of the United States, world peace, or other sig- nificant societal, public or private endeavors.” The 19 people honored on Sat- urday were: José Andrés: Andrés, 55, first made his name as a chef in the United States, promoting Spanish cuisine through his restaurants, cookbooks and TV. But in 2017, he transformed his small nonprofit, World Central Kitchen (WCK), into an influential humanitarian group. The turning point for WCK came after Hurricane Maria dev- astated Puerto Rico in September 2017, leaving the island without electricity, food and water. Andrés landed five days after Maria hit and, without waiting around for permission, started working with local chefs. The group has since fed people after floods, earth- quakes, tornadoes and wildfires, as well as in war zones such as Ukraine and Gaza. The organiza- tion says it has served 450 million meals across the globe. Bono: Born Paul Hewson, 64- year-old Bono is the lead singer for the Irish rock band U2. Bono is also a longtime political activist: He took part in efforts to end apartheid in South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s. He notably lob- bied the George W. Bush adminis- tration in the 2000s to enact the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which was championed by Biden, then a U.S. senator. Bono attended Biden’s State of the Union address in 2023 as a guest of first lady Jill Biden. Ashton B. Carter: Carter, who died in 2022, helped shape de- fense policy in both Democratic and Republican administrations, including as defense secretary for President Barack Obama. His con- tributions included containing the spread of nuclear technology after the collapse of the Soviet Union, overseeing the opening of military combat roles to women, and allowing transgenderIt’s impossible not to wince when reading about CHaRles from B1 In 1980 New York, a teenager endures a pack of wolfish adults adam Ross published his first novel, “Mr. Peanut,” in 2010. His fans have waited 15 years for “Playworld,” his second novel. Playworld By Adam Ross. Knopf. 506 pp. $29 Ross captures a bygone era of New York when parents let their kids run free so long as they got themselves to school and showed up for their weekly sessions with the family psychologist. sunday, january 5 , 2025 . the washington post eZ ee B5 fICTION 1 JaMeS (Doubleday, $28). By Percival everett. a reimagining of “adventures of huckleberry Finn” told from the point of view of Jim as he flees from enslavement. 2 INTerMeZZO (Farrar, straus & Giroux, $29). By sally rooney. two brothers mourning the loss of their father grapple with their relationships with women and with each other. 3 SMall ThINGS lIKe TheSe (Grove, $20). By claire keegan. an Irishman in a small town must make a choice between conformity and resistance. 4 The GOd Of The WOOdS (riverhead, $30). By Liz moore. tragedy revisits the owners of a summer camp when their teenage daughter disappears, echoing a similar loss years before. 5 The WOMeN (st. martin’s, $30). By kristin hannah. an army nurse in Vietnam treats soldiers wounded in combat but struggles to find support when she returns home. 6 all fOUrS (riverhead, $29). By miranda July. a woman embarks on a solo cross-country road trip but instead hides in a nearby hotel and explores life without the responsibilities of family. 7 The CITy aNd ITS UNCerTaIN WallS (knopf, $35). By haruki murakami. a man, haunted by the disappearance of a girl he loved when he was a teenager, journeys between worlds that offer new possibilities. 8 PlayGrOUNd (w.w. norton, $29.99). By richard Powers. the lives of four people intersect on a French- Polynesian island where they consider creating an ocean-based civilization. 9 WINd aNd TrUTh (tor, $39.99). By Brandon sanderson. the stormlight archive series culminates with battles that could upset the balance of power in the cosmere. 10 The WeddING PeOPle (henry holt, $28.99) By alison espach. an accidental encounter with a bride and her wedding guests leads a woman to reevaluate her life. NONfICTION 1 The SerVICeBerry (scribner, $20). By robin wall kimmerer, illustrated by John Burgoyne. the Indigenous scientist illustrates the value of reciprocity using the example of a tree whose bountiful berries nourish the world around it. 2 Be ready WheN The lUCK haPPeNS (crown, $34). By Ina Garten. the cookbook author and television personality known as the Barefoot contessa shares stories from her upbringing and her career. 3 reVeNGe Of The TIPPING POINT (Little, Brown, $32). By malcolm Gladwell. the best-selling author considers the way social epidemics have evolved over the past 25 years. 4 The MeSSaGe (One world, $30). By ta-nehisi coates. essays in the form of a travelogue consider how prejudice can complicate the stories people tell. 5 NeXUS (random house, $35). By yuval noah harari. the author of “sapiens” shares how the flow of information has shaped the world over centuries. 6 WhaT I aTe IN ONe year (Gallery, $35). By stanley tucci. the actor reflects on his life as experienced through a year’s worth of meals. 7 The deMON Of UNreST (crown, $35). By erik Larson. the author of “the splendid and the Vile” chronicles the months after abraham Lincoln’s election that set the stage for the civil war. 8 The WIde WIde Sea (Doubleday, $35). By hampton sides. an account of the explorer captain James cook’s ill-fated final voyage. 9 The CreaTIVe aCT (Penguin, $32). By rick rubin. a Grammy-winning music producer shares how artists work and suggests ways to foster creativity in everyday life. 10 The WaGer (Doubleday, $30). By David Grann. after enduring storms, sickness and a shipwreck, the surviving crew members of hms wager turn against each other. rankings reflect sales for the week ended Dec. 29. the charts may not be reproduced without permission from the american Booksellers association, the trade association for independent bookstores in the united states, and indiebound.org. copyright 2024 american Booksellers association. (the bestseller lists alternate between hardcover and paperback each week.) Washington Post hardcover Bestsellers cOurtesy OF the amerIcan BOOkseLLers assOcIatIOn 5 SUNday | 5 P.M. Marvin Kalb discusses “a Different russia” at Politics and Prose, 5015 connecticut ave. nw. 202-364-1919. 6 MONday | 7 P.M. Caroline Adams Miller discusses “Big Goals: the science of setting them, achieving them, and creating your Best Life” at Politics and Prose. 7 TUeSday | 7 P.M. Brittany Friedman discusses “carceral apartheid” with DeRay Mckesson at Politics and Prose. 8 WedNeSday | 7 P.M. Adam Chandler discusses “99% Perspiration: a new working history of the american way of Life” with Marcia Chatelain at Politics and Prose at the wharf, 610 water st. sw. 202-488-3867. 7 P.M. Christopher Cox discusses “woodrow wilson: the Light withdrawn” at Politics and Prose. 9 ThUrSday | 7 P.M. Timothy Heaphy discusses “harbingers: what January 6 and charlottesville reveal about rising threats to american Democracy” at Politics and Prose. 7 P.M. Rebecca Winthrop and Jenny Anderson discuss “the Disengaged teen” at Politics and Prose at union market, 1324 Fourth st. ne. 202-544-4452. 10 frIday | 7 P.M. Adam Ross discusses “Playworld” with Elliot Ackerman at Politics and Prose. 7 P.M. Edward Alden discusses “when the world closed Its Doors: the covid-19 tragedy and the Future of Borders” at Politics and Prose at the wharf. 11 SaTUrday | 2 P.M. Gale Galligan discusses “Fresh start: a Graphic novel” with Megan Wagner Lloyd at scrawl Books, 11911 Freedom Dr., reston. 703-966- 2111. 5 P.M. Meryl Gordon discusses “the woman who knew everyone: the Power of Perle mesta, washington’s most Famous hostess” at Politics and Prose. For more literary events, go to wapo.st/literarycal. lITerary CaleNdar Jan. 5-11 Book World BY FRANZ NICOLAY F rom the perspective of a music fan, streaming is, unfortunately, a spectacular product: the univer- sal jukebox! If some have a twinge of discomfort about the ethical compromises that enable its convenience — as when they use Amazon, or Uber — the uneasiness can be ambient and unspecific enough to avoid changing one’s usage: Are the alternatives really any more righteous? For musicians, though, Spotify has been a more existential threat than the file-shar- ing revolution that spawned it, because it has the veneer of legitimacy. Meanwhile, says Liz Pelly, the company leaches profits from working musicians while preparing the ground to replace those musicians with AI-generated neo-Muzak. Since she first wrote about Spotify in 2017, Pelly has established herself as the most lucid and rigorous critic of the rot at the heart of an apparently magical service. Her new book, “Mood Machine,” promises to become a new standard text for tech- skeptic artists. It expands on essays that she published in the Baffler and else- where, and does to the company what Robert Caro did to Robert Moses’s public works (in about a thousand fewer pages than Caro took in “The Power Broker”): It identifies patterns of behavior behind the scenes of what can seem like an inevitable product of mass convenience and exposes their consequences. The broad strokes of the indictment — the neo-payola promotional schemes; the minuscule royalties paid to artists, not to mention the royalty-free “ghost artists”; the designation of huge swaths of artists as royalty-ineligible “hobbyists”; the invest- ments in podcasts, military technology and aural wallpaper repackaged for well- ness culture — may be familiar to those interested in the issues confronting musi- cians in the 21st century. But it’s invalu-able to have the brief for the prosecution in one place, narrated in plain language with a sense of righteous outrage. Pelly builds her tendentious but con- vincing case on internal Slack transcripts, anonymous interviews with disenchanted current and former employees, the compa- ny’s changing narratives of itself, and some door-knocking in Stockholm, where Spotify is headquartered, to present a bruising portrait of the company that has become as synonymous with streaming music as Xerox is with copiers. The roots of Spotify can be found in the anti-globalist protests of the early 2000s, when local activists in Sweden — in the anti-capitalist, “copyleft” spirit of “infor- mation wants to be free” — set up what they called the Bureau of Piracy, which evolved into the Pirate Bay file-sharing behemoth and made Sweden a global hub for copyright infringement. As one of the bureau’s founders told Pelly: “I don’t mean gratis,” as in cost-free, but “more like libre. Actual free culture that is not based on financial incentive … but on actual love for culture itself.” In this context, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek reads like a millennial analogue to the Jann Wenner portrayed in Joe Hagan’s 2017 biography of the Rolling Stone founder: both beneficiaries of a generational idealism vulnerable to blithe, opportunistic chancers. Sweden and the United States present opposing visions of music as a core cultural good. Sweden has been historical- ly distinguished by public support of musicians (Ek himself benefited from “robust local public music education pro- grams”) and lackluster copyright protec- tion; the United States is shorter on the public support and much more protective of copyrights. But both Stockholm and the Bay Area appear to share the slippery optimism of tech entrepreneurship (Pel- ly’s book, among other things, is a store- house of the inadvertently self-parodic names of tech start-ups: Boomy, Suno, Songza, Udio, Lenddo, Acxiom and more). The Spotify portrayed here sees music the way Amazon initially saw books: as a Trojan horse to give it an exploitable foothold in customers’ lives, “more as a Are you really listening to Spotify? utility than an art form.” The recipe for Spotify’s aural supremacy relies on increasingly specific, homog- enous and automated playlists (the compa- ny’s term of art is “algotorial,” a combina- tion of algorithmic suggestion and editori- al hand). The idea isn’t new; Pelly situates the playlist in the lineage of both active and passive listening: the user-driven mixtape (abetted by the emergence of the cassette tape and the Walkman) and the top-down sameness of corporate commer- cial radio. Likewise, Spotify’s blockbuster “chill” playlists amount to a rebranding of the familiar concept of “easy listening,” or a conceptually barren imitation of Erik Satie’s “furniture music” and Brian Eno’s “ambient” sound: artistic and intellectual developments, Pelly writes, now doomed to “going the way of punk and folk — traditions that started out rooted in philos- ophies of musical relationships, now flat- tened to the point that many listeners hear them solely as aesthetics.” Spotify, Pelly writes, simply encourages the making of music “just inoffensive enough not to get shut off.” The habits of both listeners and musi- cians are distorted by the gravitational pull of Spotify’s market dominance. Listeners encouraged to approach music as purely functional — for sleeping, studying or wallpapering a public business — have no particular investment in individual, identi- fiable artists, which has allowed Spotify to populate playlists with inexpensive soun- dalikes. Ironically, for a platform that markets its capacity to enable “discovery,” the company’s primary effect, Pelly writes, is “keeping users within their comfort zones (or as Spotify thought of it, customer retention zones)” and pushing artists to stay within them as well, to avoid the dreaded skip button. This customer-service model of creativi- ty leads to aesthetic stagnation. Some producers and songwriters call the result the “Spotify sound”: “muted, mid-tempo, and melancholy” — “streambait pop” made by entrepreneurial “solo creative[s]” who are hyper-attuned to listener metrics and willing to give up 30 percent of their royalties for preferential placement. Music journalists, too, may feel themselves side- lined by automated recommendation and curation, even aesthetic taxonomy: Former Spotify engineer Glenn McDonald took it upon himself to invent names for “data clusters” of listeners and stylistic tags that, he thought, indicated nascent micro- genres. “At what point does a recommendation system stop recommending songs and start recommending a whole idea of culture?” Pelly asks. She refers to the composer Pauline Oliveros’s distinction between pas- sive hearing and active listening — Spotify prefers that you engage as passively and distractedly as possible. As in politics, panoptic superstructures work best when their subjects aren’t paying too much attention. As Ek once put it, “Our only competitor is silence.” franz Nicolay is a musician and the author, most recently, of “Band People: Life and work in Popular music.” mIchaeL m. santIaGO/Getty ImaGes Liz Pelly, a longtime critic of Spotify, writes that the main effect of the music streaming service is “keeping users within their comfort zones (or as Spotify thought of it, customer retention zones),” leading to creative stagnation. FeLIx waLwOrth MOOd MaChINe The rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist By Liz Pelly. One signal. 274 pp. $28.99 Liz Pelly argues that the app turns music into background noise, at the expense of real artists B6 eZ ee the washington post . sunday, january 5 , 2025 Book World seum near downtown bears his name) ran redlined property developments that ensured tribal descendants wouldn’t live near him. In border cities like El Paso, the Border Patrol relies on humanitarian groups to support mi- grants awaiting processing but dedicates none of its $17 billion budget to maintain shelters. Such contradictions exemplify what Paoletta calls the “Southwest Syndrome: delusions of grandeur mixing with the pursuit of pleasure to disastrous results, all of it amplified by the extremity of its desert setting.” Still, Paoletta is right to note that the region’s reputation for environmental recklessness and cultural know-nothingism isn’t entirely de- served. Since the 1990s, Las Vegas and Phoenix have practiced much-improved water steward- ship, maintaining consistent levels of consump- tion even while the population has exploded. They’ve achieved it through a mix of carrots (subsidies to households that tear out their lawns and farmers who let their fields go fallow) and sticks (jacked-up water rates in summer). As the whole of the United States slides into drought, their lesson will be worth heeding. As for culture, Paoletta argues that the Southwest, by burying its Native past, has risked polishing itself into nothingness. Sur- prisingly but not wrongly, one of the places he makes a point to visit in Arizona isn’t a dry well or a water-sucking cotton farm but the offices of Arizona Highways, a magazine that has persistently celebrated the state’s natural (and tourist-drawing) wonders. For Paoletta, this idealism offers a scapegoat: So long as there’s a field of saguaros somewhere, we can run roughshod over everything else. That kind of boosterism, bundled with willful neglect, de- fines the region and ignores its realities — Natives still live here; life on the border need not be a function of surveillance and demoniza- tion. But dismiss Vegas at your peril: It “has lMPC/geTTy IMAges Popeye in 1934. The original iteration of the cartoon sailor is now in the public domain. BY RON CHARLES F arewell to Arms and Copyright. If you’ve been waiting since 1929 to publish your own editionof Hemingway’s classic war novel, happy days are here again. On Jan. 1, a shelf of famous books — and the song “Happy Days Are Here Again” — fell into the public domain. With the copyrights finally expired, anyone can now reprint William Faulkner’s “The Sound and the Fury” or turn Virginia Woolf ’s “A Room of One’s Own” into an opera of one’s own. For more than a decade, Jennifer Jenkins at the Duke Law School has been celebrat- ing Jan. 1 as Public Domain Day. Each year, that day marks the end of the 95-year U.S. copyright protection for another collection of works created when our grandparents were sneaking off to dance the Charleston. (The song “Ain’t Misbehavin” lost its copy- right protection on Wednesday, too.) Agatha Christie’s “The Seven Dials Mys- Popeye and Papa bust out of copyright protection tery” and John Steinbeck’s first novel, “Cup of Gold,” grab the headlines, but most works from 1929 are now entirely forgotten. Lucia Trent’s “Children of Fire and Shad- ow”? Phyllis Austin’s “Small Beer”? Anyone? Anyone? For Jenkins, that’s the great tragedy of our ever- expanding copyright law. Congress originally of- fered just 14 years of protection (too short); now U.S. copyright law confers almost a century of exclusive use (too long). That endless lockdown period is tremendously valuable to a few corporations (I’m lookin’ at you, Mickey Mouse), but it permanently con- signs the vast majority of books to a forgotten legal attic where their copyright owners often can’t be identified. And so, books that might have been reprinted or adapted while they still had a faint pulse are, instead, buried alive until no one remembers them. If you doubt the value of the public domain, Jenkins points to two of last year’s biggest cultural successes: the movie “Wick- ed,” based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel inspired by L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” and Percival Everett’s “James,” based on Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huck- leberry Finn.” Who knows what old treasures are slowly being dissolved by the acid of time while we wait for their nonagenarian copyrights to expire? Meanwhile, as you welcome in this new year, remember to congratulate the original version of Popeye: “I yam what I yam, and now I yam free!” This article was excerpted from our free Book Club newsletter. To subscribe, visit wapo.st/ booknewsletter. ANdRew CABAlleRo-ReyNolds/AFP/geTTy IMAges TOP: A walk past saguaro cacti in Tucson on a summer day. RIGHT: Channing Concho prays in June 2020 at the site in Albuquerque where a statue of the conquistador Juan de Oñate had just been removed. BY MARK ATHITAKIS L iving in the Southwest means being routinely scolded by outsiders. How can you live in a place so unsustain- able? With that kind of politics? With that kind of culture, or, rather, the lack of it? Rarely does a summer pass in my home city without somebody standing up a roundta- ble with a title like “Should Phoenix Exist?” In his book “American Oasis,” journalist and Albuquerque native Kyle Paoletta does a little bit of scolding, too. Yes, the region’s develop- ment outpaces its resources. And it is indeed a gaudy and strange place — he’s not wrong to liken Las Vegas to “a pop-up ad the country didn’t mean to click on.” But Paoletta also understands that we un- derestimate and segregate the Southwest at our peril. No part of the country is immune from drought or reckless development, which is to say that the Southwest’s critics are often committing an epic feat of projection. The region is not America’s weird cousin but its starkest mirror. And, if we’re willing to see it clearly, a source for solutions. Making that case means rejecting some of the region’s most familiar origin stories. The Southwest story, for Paoletta, is a tale not of Wild West frontiersmen but mistreatment of Indigenous peoples and willful neglect of their legacy — Puebloans in New Mexico exploited and massacred by conquistadors, Phoenician settlers who reused abandoned ancient canal lines but removed Native tribes from any dis- cussion of water rights. In the centuries since the region was first visited by non-Native set- tlers, he notes, it has been marketed as a blank (read: White) slate — the better for resort developers to draw visitors. That vision is bolstered by a softly romantic vision of “a prelapsarian world where comely doñas gam- boled about the estates their princely families established along the Rio Grande.” Paoletta lays bare the hypocrisy that drove the region’s development, where Dwight Heard, Phoenix’s most dedicated collector of Indigenous Southwestern art (an excellent mu- From the Southwest, lessons for our hot future become one of the few cities in America where service work is a sustainable career, one that can provide a home, health insurance, and a comfortable life.” So forget “Should Phoenix exist?” It does, and will. But thriving requires a kind of reckon- ing with itself that the region (and the country) is only intermittently interested in. Violent protests in 2020 in Albuquerque over a statue of conquistador Juan de Oñate are, for Paoletta, a signal of the battles ahead, as people whom developers wish away won’t magically disap- pear. The same thinking afflicts the border, where hyper and bigoted “invasion” rhetoric complicates the tense relationship between residents, humanitarian nonprofits and the Border Patrol. (The incoming Trump adminis- tration’s threats to remove restrictions on Im- migration and Customs Enforcement from en- tering sanctuary spaces like churches could further roil the region.) Living in a humanitarian way, and within one’s means, is the Southwest’s constant chal- lenge. That, Paoletta notes, will require more than a few water policy and development changes, a slow-moving prospect at best. Here in Arizona, water managers are forever squab- bling with other states over its apportionment from an ever-thinning Colorado River, agree- ing just enough to fend off federal intervention. Paoletta rightly recommends that Phoenix ad- dress its sprawl issues by promoting denser housing, but lobbying groups have stood in the way for years; laws addressing the matter passed in 2024 but will be slow to take effect and will be fought tooth and nail by municipali- ties and developers. The blank slate is too appealing, too profitable. What Paoletta suggests is something closer to an existential transformation. “How different would the contemporary Southwest be if, when Anglos arrived, they’d simply accepted that the desert was hot?” he writes. It’s a good question, and not a regional one — a whole country on a heating planet will have to reckon with it. Mark Athitakis is a critic in Phoenix and the author of “The New Midwest.” PAul RATje/AFP/geTTy IMAges AMERICAN OASIS Finding the Future in the Cities of the Southwest By Kyle Paoletta. Pantheon. 352 pp. $30 KLMNO METRO sunday, january 5, 2025 eZ re c the regiOn D.C.-area schools ponder their options as a major snowstorm is poised to blanket the region. b2 retrOpOlis For stories about the past, rediscovered, visit washingtonpost.com/ retropolis. Obituaries olivia hussey, 73, embodied shakespeare’s teenage protagonist in “romeo and Juliet.” b426° 35° 37° 34° 8 a.m. noon 4 p.m. 8 p.m. high today at approx. 3 p.m. 38° precip: 0% Wind: W 10-20 mph BY ELLIE SILVERMAN Local and federal law enforce- ment leaders in Washington said Friday they are on high alert head- ing into an unprecedented series of prominent events in D.C., after the new Year’s Day attack in new orleans and a Cybertruck explo- sion in Las Vegas rattled the na- tion. The city will see a heightened security posture as residents brace for a month packed with high-profile national events and the road closures, parking restric- tions and potential protests that come with them. In a span of 15 days, law en-forcement will be providing secu- rity for three “national special se- curity events,” the highest federal protective status, for the electoral count on Monday, former presi- dent Jimmy Carter’s state funeral on Thursday and the inaugura- tion on Jan. 20. In between, there will also be demonstrations and other events, such as President- elect Donald Trump’s rally at Capi- tal one Arena on Jan. 19. “That has never happened be- fore,” William “Matt” McCool, the special agent in charge for the secret service’s Washington Field office, said at a news conference Friday, referring to hosting three national special security events so close together. Authorities said this is the first time the electoral certification is designated a special security event. The request came from D.C. Mayor Muriel e. Bowser and fol- lowed a recommendation by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.s. Capitol. This designation unlocks funds and law enforcement re- sources from across the federal government to protect members of Congress while they certify the election results. Residents can ex- pect this increased security on Monday to “look and feel like a state of the Union address,” McCool said. officials said there are no known threats to the District. D.C. Police Chief Pamela A. smith said there has been an in- see jAN 6 on C4 District steps up security posture carter funeral, inauguration near Series of prominent events spurs vigilance BY CLARENCE WILLIAMS Mark simms craned his neck and listened to the rustle of leaves before slowly extending his Winchester sx4 semiautomatic shotgun toward the crest of the wooded Powhatan County ridge. “Hold still. Hold still,” he whispered. simms carefully aimed at the cluster of three or perhaps four deer and slid his finger to the trigger. He didn’t fire. The deer trotted away down the hill, shielded from danger by the camouflage of Virginia pines and dense brown brush that probably would have deflected buckshot. “Deer in the block, deer in the block … anybody copy?” simms breathed into his headset to alert his fellow Town Hill Hunt Club members, who were dispersed across a makeshift skirmish line in the woods. For Town Hill hunters — a small band of Black men and their sons from across the state — the six or so weeks of rifle hunting at year’s end and the spring gobbler turkey hunts are not to be missed. But simms, the club’s president and treasurer, is on the hunt for a few stout men in their 20s to help keep the three-decade-old club going — and to help bag more game on a consistent basis so that more deer don’t slip away. see HUNTErS on C3 For hunters, it’s not only about the meat A small band of Black men and their sons gather in Virginia to connect and carry on a tradition capital letters phoTos by maxWell posner For The WashingTon posT Top: Mark Simms, president and treasurer of the Town Hill Hunt Club, walks to his position during a deer hunt in powhatan, virginia, on Nov. 30. ABovE: Greg Medley before the hunt. cant humanitarian gesture and would be viewed as such by much of the international community” — a statement that was in sync with a president who made hu- man rights a priority. But foreign and domestic polit- ical factors were at play, as well. Cuban President Fidel Castro, who backed Puerto Rican inde- pendence, had offered to free four Americans jailed in Cuba for po- litical crimes if the United states released the Puerto Rican nation- alists; soon after Carter freed the four Puerto Ricans, Castro made good on his offer. The Puerto Ricans’ release also took place on the eve of an elec- tion year, when Carter was facing a tough Democratic primary chal- lenge from sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts. Although Puerto Rico didn’t, and still doesn’t, have see rETropoliS on C3 BY FREDERIC J. FROMMER When President Jimmy Carter commuted the prison sentences of the four living Puerto Rican nationalists who launched at- tacks against members of Con- gress and President Harry s. Tru- man in the 1950s, he cited “hu- mane considerations.” Critics wondered whether there were other motivations. In 1979, Carter freed three Puerto Ricans who had shot and wounded five members of Con- gress, and an attacker who had attempted to kill Truman. “I freed them because I thought 25 years was enough,” Carter said at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus dinner, to a mix of catcalls and cheers. Carter’s secretary of state, Cyrus R. Vance, concluded that their release “would be a signifi- retrOpOlis 4 Puerto Rican attackers received Carter clemency He cited “humane considerations.” But foreign and domestic political factors were also at play. nel, graduated from West Point in 1941. He is the last living member of that class. “not only that, I’m the only West Pointer to make it to 106,” he said. Born and raised in what was then the small rural community of Rockville, Md., stern was ap- pointed to the academy in 1937. His West Point class played a crucial role in World War II as America fought bloody cam- paigns on two sides of the globe. stern is featured in the 2014 book “West Point ’41: The Class That Went to War and shaped Ameri- ca.” Family phoTo Herbert Stern, at left as a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West point in 1941, is now its oldest living graduate. BY DAVE KINDY At age 106, Herbert stern has made some life adjustments. “I don’t go pheasant hunting anymore,” said stern, the oldest living graduate of the U.s. Mili- tary Academy at West Point. “I had to give it up when I turned 102. I’ve lost a lot of my strength.” He now walks with the aid of a cane, but he still drives a car, goes shopping and cooks two meals a day for himself in his apartment at Falcons Landing senior living community in Potomac Falls, Va. stern, who turned 106 on Christmas eve, said he is sur- prised he has made it this far. “I did everything I shouldn’t do,” he chuckled. “I smoked until 1969. I have been a social drinker since 1942 and still am. My prefer- ence is single malt scotch, but I have tried it all.” stern, a retired U.s. Army colo- “We were very close because we were the last class to graduate before the war,” stern said. “I’m the last one left now, but I still hear from children of my military friends. It’s very gratifying.” After artillery training at Fort sill, oklahoma, stern went to europe as a commander with the 325th Field Artillery Battalion of the 84th Infantry Division, arriv- ing in France in 1944. on Dec. 16, his unit was fighting at the sieg- fried Line in Germany when the Battle of the Bulge began, and was then ordered to Belgium to help stop the enemy counterattack. In the Ardennes Forest, stern recalled, he set up 105mm Howit- zer cannons, then went to scout the terrain. He soon encountered a Belgian woman, he said, who was screaming, “Les Boches! Les Boches!” — a disparaging slang term for German soldiers. “The Germans were nearby, so I picked up the battalion and moved it behind an infantry unit because we needed protection,” he recalled. “That night, the Ger- mans took the area we had vacat- ed. It actually could have been our elimination.” see vETErAN on C3 The path to age 106? ‘I did everything I shouldn’t’ Virginia man who fought in WWII cooks, drives and likes a good scotch C2 eZ Re the washington post . sunday, january 5 , 2025 BY LAUREN LUMPKIN, NICOLE ASBURY AND KARINA ELWOOD It’s official: Snow is coming. The D.C. area could get up to 6 inches (or more) of the white stuff starting late Sunday into Monday in what will be the first big winter storm for much of the country. As the region prepares, schools are also sharing guidance with families about the potential effect on classes. One Northern Virginia district, Culpeper County Public Schools, has already extended its winter break by two days in antici- pation of the weather. For thelatest forecast, tune into the Capital Weather Gang. In the meantime, here is a roundup of inclement-weather policies for several large districts in the D.C. region: 1. D.C. Public Schools Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) de- cides whether to close D.C. Public Schools, according to the district’s inclement-weather policy. She uses factors such as snow and ice, wind chill, road conditions and the avail- ability of public transit to make her call. Families will be notified via email and text if the mayor decides to have a snow day, and officials will post information online and with local news outlets. In the event of a closure, the district would have traditional snow days, meaning schools won’t offer virtual instruction. Snow days will have to be made up at the end of the school year if the district drops below the required 180-day school year. Officials may also decide to start school late or dismiss early because of weather. Typically, schools will open two hours later than usual, and before-school programs will be canceled. Individual school leaders will determine how to alter their bell schedules and whether they’ll serve breakfast. Other times, if wintry weather develops during the day, school may end early. In these cases, stu- dents will be served lunch before getting dismissed. Schools Chan- cellor Lewis D. Ferebee will decide whether to cancel after-school pro- grams and athletic events. Snow day procedures vary across the city’s charter schools. In anticipation of the winter storm, Friendship Public Charter School, one of the city’s largest networks, is gearing up for possible virtual in- struction on Monday, a spokesper- son said Friday. Officials will make a final decision and announcement on Sunday. This posture follows guidance from D.C.’s Office of the State Su- perintendent of Education, which encouraged campuses to be pre- pared to offer distance learning, according to an email sent to school leaders. Schools have a re- serve of five virtual learning days that can be used at their leader- ship’s discretion, city officials said. 2. Alexandria City Public Schools Alexandria Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt said in an inter- view that the school division moni- tors and considers many elements before making the call to close or delay school. The school district is set to return from winter break on Monday, but Kay-Wyatt said the district is monitoring conditions. She works with a team to consid- er snow accumulation, ice pres- ence and temperature. They weigh factors such as sidewalk conditions for students who might walk or bike to school and road conditions for staff who live outside the city. Kay-Wyatt said her team begins organizing for snow days about 72 hours before a storm is expected. They strive to communicate the decision by 6 the evening before but will send a final update the next morning if needed. Kay-Wyatt said the district also works with community groups and partners to communicate any planned cancellation of after- school programming or child care. They consider whether food can be distributed to students who rely on school meals and whether power outages might affect students’ abil- ity to participate in online learn- ing. The school district decides whether to use online learning or a “traditional” snow day on a case- by-case basis. “There are so many factors that I don’t think people know that we put into the decision,” Kay-Wyatt said. “We spend many hours mak- ing those decisions.” 3. Arlington County Public Schools Arlington County Public Schools is set to return from winter break on Monday. Spokesman Frank Bellavia said in an email that the division was monitoring the weather and would probably make a decision on Sunday evening on whether classes will be canceled or delayed. District leaders collaborate with county staff to assess factors such as road conditions and snow or ice accumulation. Typically, the divi- sion will make a decision by 6 the evening before a weather event and communicate it to parents. Leaders then review the weather forecast again at 4:30 a.m. with a final update made by 5 a.m. the day of school. Arlington has 13 traditional snow days built into its calendar. If the district exceeds the allotted days, it will turn to distance learn- ing to avoid adding makeup days. Otherwise, students are complete- ly off from school. 4. Fairfax County Public Schools Students in Fairfax County Pub- lic Schools, Virginia’s largest school district, are scheduled to return from winter break on Mon- day. School officials are monitoring the impending storm. “Decisions about the impact of weather conditions on school oper- ations are made with a focus on the safety of students and staff,” FCPS spokeswoman Julie Allen said in a statement. “A team of employees, in conjunction with emergency management and state highway administrators, assess the road conditions. School personnel also go out and inspect roads, side- walks, FCPS parking lots and bus lanes.” The district uses a traditional snow day policy, with 10 snow days built into the calendar. According to the weather policy online, the school district aims to have a decision on whether to delay or close school the evening before a weather event. When there’s uncer- tainty, leaders will wait for the morning forecast. In those cases, parents can expect the superinten- dent to make a final call by about 4:30 a.m. Fairfax is a large district where different parts of the county experi- ence different weather outcomes. The policy notes that leaders make decisions about closures based on the entire district rather than clos- ing schools in only some parts be- cause some students travel across the county for certain school pro- grams. 5. Loudoun County Public Schools In Loudoun, the superintendent decides when schools are delayed or closed based on a recommenda- tion from the district’s chief opera- tions officer, who works with the district’s transportation and facili- ties services directors, the division of safety and security, local utility companies and others to make the recommendation. According to the district’s web- site, a decision “will be made as early as possible.” The district uses a traditional snow day policy, with snow days built into its calendar. Loudoun, which is the northernmost county in Northern Virginia, can experi- ence more snow than some sur- rounding areas. 6. Montgomery County Public Schools Montgomery, Maryland’s larg- est school system, typically an- nounces any weather-related clo- sures by 7 the evening before class- es. But if officials decide to take more time, an announcement is made in the morning before 5 o’clock, according to the school sys- tem’s guidelines. Officials monitor weather and road conditions before making a decision. The school system doesn’t con- duct partial closures; all schools will close even if just one area of the county is affected because, officials said, poor conditions can make it difficult for staff or families to ar- rive. The school system won’t con- duct a virtual instruction day if there’s a closure. It has four make- up and several possible makeup days built into its calendar for the 2024-2025 school year. Superintendent Thomas Taylor, who joined the Montgomery dis- trict this summer, gained fans last year after he released a video an- nouncing a snow day for the school system he previously led in Vir- ginia. In November, Taylor and his new team released a faux movie trailer in which the superintendent is seen walking into a meeting with other high-ranking school admin- istrators and carrying a red box that says, “Emergency. In case of snow, press button.” “Coming this winter *maybe*,” the trailer teases. 7. Prince George’s County Public Schools Prince George’s officials aim to announce decisions about whether to close schools because of inclem- ent weatherbefore 5:30 a.m. on the day of classes. School officials say they try to make a decision with “as much advance notice as possible,” according to their policy. Superintendent Millard House II generally makes the decision, according to the school district’s weather policy. Officials monitor the National Weather Service, county agencies and other school systems in the area before making a call. The transportation team also surveys roads, school driveways and sidewalks. The district instructs families to monitor their social media, phone and other methods of communica- tion to get word of any weather-re- lated closure. School system officials built three inclement-weather makeup days into its calendar in case of closures, according to its school calendar. the region A snow day? Delay? What’s forecast for D.C.-area schools in bad weather? miChael s. Williamson/the WashinGton Post Light snow coats a stop sign in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on Friday. More snow is expected this week. Get the latest on the winter storm from the Capital Weather Gang at www.washingtonpost.com/ capitalweathergang. MD MHIC #1176 | VA # 2701039723 | DC # 2242 Our commitment to providing a safe, healthy, and respectful worksite and experience. ® Our ultimate pursuits. 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Since he cel- ebrated his birthday, he set a new goal: “To be 107,” he said. “It’s been a great life,” he added. “I feel good that I was able to make a contribution to our free- dom. I got to travel in parts of the world I never heard of before. Not bad for a little country boy.” on Christmas Eve, he marked his 106th birthday with fellow resi- dents. It was fun, he said, but did not compare to the celebration he had 80 years ago in Belgium. In 1944, his unit was headquar- tered in a chateau during the Battle of the Bulge. A countess who lived in the castle learned it was his birthday, he said, so she served mulled wine to the Ameri- cans. Then she asked Stern to follow her upstairs. “The countess opened the door and there was a big bathtub full of hot water. She says, ‘This is your birthday present. Happy birth- day,’” he recalled, adding that she what we were doing in Vietnam, so I retired.” Stern left the Army in 1968 as a colonel after 27 years of service, returning to rockville to run his father’s furniture store and to work as a property manager for a realty company. He retired in 1975, and spent his days hunting and fishing. He was happy to finally have time to spend with his family, but was heartbroken years later when his daughter died, followed by his wife in 2015. “rose and I had a great life together,” he said. Stern moved to falcons Land- ing in Virginia several years ago. onto its Southeast Asian colony, but lost the first Indochina War, leading to Vietnam’s independ- ence in 1954. Stern said he could see things were difficult there and hoped the United States would not get involved. “It was a complete mistake to be there,” he said. “from the very beginning, it was obvious this was going to be a meat grinder.” When the United States sent combat troops to Vietnam in 1965, Stern said, it was only a matter of time before he was ordered there. “I never went back,” he said. “I just told them I never agreed with ley to just be himself — alone with his own thoughts rather than those he hears working in mental health in Harrisonburg. JmU Associate Athletic Direc- tor Kevin White uses the quiet time to reflect on his blessings, led by his four sons. Two of them — Austin, 23, and Peyton, 15 — join him to safely learn the craft. Town Hill isn’t the only all- Black hunting club in Virginia. But these men pay $325 annually for one purpose summed up by Austin White: “family.” About an hour after the men prayed, the sound of two shots echoed across an open field. “That’s one of our guys,” Simms said from a perch between two cedar trees. A moment later, a third shot boomed. “That’s a finishing shot,” he said. By lunchtime, four tiny black hooves extended above the bed of Booth’s blue pickup truck, one of a pair of bucks spotted. “Dad got away,” someone joked. “Let’s go get him,” Booth re- sponded as he spat wintergreen tobacco on the ground. But the Town Hill hunters didn’t find another shot to take. At day’s end, Simms and his brother Tim sharpened a hatchet and bowie knife to butcher the buck. By tradition, the shooter gets his choice between a hind- quarter or the prized tenderloin. Booth deferred his portion. “I don’t mind feeding y’all to- day. Y’all been feeding us all year,” Booth said, explaining that sev- eral members “haven’t had any meat yet” this season. “A few more guys” could equal more game, Simms said. But hunting for deer and for good people has no guarantees. for now, this tradition survives with these happy few. “I wouldn’t trade these guys for anything,” Simms said. “We don’t have enough guys to cover it like we want to,” Simms lamented. Every fall and winter, blaze orange travels over rural roads long before the sun rises over the central Virginia horizon as woods fill with hunters. In a dirt and gravel driveway outside the house of Cleveland robinson, 10 Town Hill men, a 15-year-old boy and a guest hunt- er load their 12-gauge shotguns with buckshot. They banter about who will be the best shot this day. robinson’s brothers founded the club in 1995 and named it for a man who owned the property surrounding the tiny trailer that serves as clubhouse in his back- yard. family, friends and college connections helped Town Hill flourish for many years, though the founders have died, and their legacy may not last. Before the day’s temperature approached 30 degrees, club el- der Lonnie “LB” Booth called the group to hold hands in a prayer circle. “Lord, thank you for another day, father, another day of thanksgiving. … As we go out, father God, we ask for a safe hunt,” Booth said. The hands connected an eclec- tic group of backgrounds: Simms, a 62-year-old UPS truck driver; robinson, a retired richmond city government truck driver; three former James madison Uni- versity football teammates in their 50s. They hail from Loudoun and Prince George’s counties and ar- eas around the state capital. Each winter, they share pots of chili or sweet potato pies. Simms comes for the connec- tion to nature, a reverence for the animal’s intelligence and for the meat that produces his delectable deer burgers. These woods allow Greg med- HuNTers from C1 Club is looking for more men to keep its tradition going and serving as provost marshal in Bavaria during the Allied occupa- tion of Germany. He was joined by his wife, rose, whom he met while stationed in oklahoma. They had two children: Bette, who died 15 years ago, and rob- ert, who still lives near his father. Because Stern spoke french, he was sent to Vietnam in 1950 as an adviser. france was trying to hold He was later presented with both the Silver Star and Legion of meritfor his bravery and for putting himself in harm’s way, even after being ordered to stay behind the lines of battle. After World War II, Stern re- mained in the Army, attending the french War College in Paris VeTerAN from C1 WWII veteran’s 1944 birthday gift? A full bath. human rights.” “I am a revolutionary and a member of the atomic age. . . . I hate bombs, but we might have to use them,” she said at a United Nations news conference, while Collazo insisted, “I decide wheth- er terrorism is necessary after I return to Puerto rico.” They received a hero’s welcome upon landing at the San Juan airport, where 6,000 Puerto ri- cans surged against police lines and tore down fences, chanting “Lolita! Lolita!,” “Viva Puerto rico libre!” and “Jíbaros si, Yan- quis no” (“Puerto rican farmers yes, Yankees no”). Collazo’s 45- year-old niece rushed to hug him, then suffered a fatal heart attack. “We have done nothing to cause us to repent,” Lebrón told the crowd. “Everyone has the right to defend his God-given right to liberty.” frederic J. frommer, a writer and sports historian, is the author of several books, including “you gotta have heart: Washington baseball from Walter Johnson to the 2019 World series Champion nationals.” They’ve served plenty of time, and enough is enough.” Garcia, who was the only vot- ing member of Congress of Puerto rican descent, put together a coalition of lawmakers to rally for the cause. Some of the island’s politicians and religious leaders supported the effort. But Puerto rico Gov. Carlos romero Barceló urged Carter not to release the nationalists unless they showed remorse and vowed to eschew violence. Without those conces- sions, he warned, a release “would constitute a menace to public safety.” The jailed Puerto ricans had refused to seek clemency, claim- ing they were political prisoners. And after Carter released them, they pointedly refused to rule out violence. Before returning to Puerto rico, they appeared at receptions in Chicago and New York, demanding Puerto rican independence. They expressed no gratitude toward Carter. Their release, insisted Lebrón, the ring- leader of the Capitol attack, “was done for political expediency and not because of a concern for Collazo to death. But in 1952, Truman commut- ed Collazo’s sentence to life in prison about a week before he was to be executed by electric chair. That year, Puerto rico be- came a U.S. commonwealth, al- lowing it to draft its own constitu- tion with a measure of self-rule. “The president prides himself as one who has done more for Puerto rico than any other presi- dent,” the New York Times wrote at the time. Truman had appoint- ed the first native Puerto rican as governor in 1946 and visited Puerto rico in 1948. In a historical twist, robert Garcia, who as a teenager lived next door to Collazo in the South Bronx at the time of the 1950 attack, led the effort to free him and the surviving Capitol Hill attackers as a Democratic con- gressman in the late 1970s. “I’m not a nationalist, I’m not an independista,” Garcia said in a march 1979 interview. “I just want to do what I think is right. These people have served longer than anybody who has ever been convicted of crimes like theirs. The attack on Truman took place in 1950, when Puerto rican nationalists oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola tried to shoot their way into Blair House, where Truman was living temporarily during renovations to the White House across the street. A White House guard was killed, along with Torresola. After Collazo’s conviction on four counts, includ- ing premeditated murder of the White House guard, he struck a defiant tone at his 1951 sentenc- ing hearing. Addressing federal Judge Alan T. Goldsborough, Collazo said: “I’m not pleading for my life. I’m pleading for my cause. Anything I may have done I did for the cause of my country. I use this last plea for the right of my country to be free. Even if I die today, and I realize the Americans have the right to kill me, they will never be able to kill the ideals I stand for.” Goldsborough lectured Collazo on how Puerto rico was much better off as part of the United States than under Spanish rule and said he felt sorry for the defendant. Then he sentenced who had been shot in the chest, was the most seriously wounded congressman. But he and the other four members who were struck that afternoon all recov- ered. The attackers were Lolita Leb- rón, Andres figueroa Cordero, rafael Cancel miranda and Irvin flores rodríguez. Cordero was freed two years before the others, when Carter in 1977 commuted his sentence on “humanitarian grounds” because he was termi- nally ill with cancer. Cordero expressed no remorse for the attack, saying in an interview a year after his release that he did it to draw attention to the fight for Puerto rican independence and “the colonial situation of our peo- ple.” “I would do it half a million times if I had to. To save your country, there is no other re- course than to give your life,” said Cordero, who died in march 1979 in Puerto rico, which was a Span- ish colony for four centuries be- fore Spain transferred the island to the United States in 1898 after the Spanish-American War. a vote in presidential general elections, it was set to have its first presidential primary in 1980. “With straight faces, White House aides deny any link be- tween the release of the prisoners and the island’s 41 Democratic convention delegates,” Time mag- azine sneered at the time. (Carter wound up narrowly defeating Kennedy in the Puerto rico pri- mary.) The attack on the Capitol had occurred march 1, 1954. four members of the Puerto rican Nationalist Party entered the spectators gallery with hand- guns, at a time when there was minimal security on Capitol Hill. Shouting “Viva Puerto rico li- bre!” they unfurled a Puerto ri- can flag and shot indiscriminate- ly into the House chamber. “five Congressmen Wounded in House by Shots of 4 Puerto rican Terrorists; Bentley Given ‘50-50’ Chance to Live,” ran a three-line headline across the top of the next day’s Washington Post. Alvin m. Bentley (r-michigan), reTroPolIs from C1 Puerto Rican nationalists attacked Capitol, Truman. Jimmy Carter freed them. PhoTos by MaxWell Posner for The WashingTon PosT Town Hill Hunt Club member Greg Medley waits for action during a deer hunt in Powhatan, Virginia, on Nov. 30. A buck killed during the hunt. It’s tradition for the shooter to get his choice between a hindquarter or the prized tenderloin. The Guide to Offers Eat this up: The Washington Post Recipe Finder Plan meals and try new foods with our database of recipes. browse hundreds of recipes by name or keywords. from breakfast foods to breads, snacks and more, there’s truly something you’re sure to adore. Trending: american goulash Casserole, anthony bourdain’s boeuf bourguignon and linguine With Miso butter, shiitakes and spinach. Get cooking at washingtonpost.com/recipes/ C4 EZ rE the washington post . sunday, january 5 , 2025 OBITUARIES BY BRIAN MURPHY olivia Hussey, who shot to in- ternational fame as a teenager for her smoldering performance in a 1968 film version of Shake- speare’s tale of ill-fated young love, “romeo and Juliet,” but dec- ades later claimed that a nude scene in the movie amounted to exploitation of a minor, died Dec. 27 at her home in Los Angeles. She was 73. The death, from breast cancer, was announced in a family state- ment. ms. Hussey’s wide-ranging ca- reer included playing a stalker’s victim in the seminal slasher film “Black Christmas” (1974) and roles in religious-themed televi- sion dramas such as director franco Zeffirelli’s miniseries “Je- sus of Nazareth” (1977) as mary and the 2003 biopic “mother Te- resa” as the future Catholic saint who worked among the destitute in Calcutta, now known as Kolka- ta. Yet nothingcame close to the dizzying ride after her portrayal of the love-struck and defiant Juliet Capulet in Zeffirelli’s “ro- meo and Juliet.” “So much hap- pened so fast,” ms. Hussey re- called in a 2018 interview with People magazine. “It was over- night superstardom, and I wasn’t prepared for it.” To the public, she tried to project a mix of ingenue inno- cence and jet-setting glamour. At an event in Chicago to promote the film, she talked about dating a french singer and twirled her long chestnut hair with her finger like a schoolgirl. In Britain, she once put her dance-weary feet on Prince Charles’s lap to get a foot rub. “He was so sweet,” she said. She described playing the part of romeo in an acting class proj- ect and acknowledged that it took her a while to appreciate Shake- speare’s dramatic rhythm and power. “I thought Shakespeare was dull, boring and old-fash- ioned,” she told a reporter in 1968, “and I couldn’t make heads or tails of it.” “But miss Hussey,” joked her film romeo, British actor Leon- ard Whiting, “what a way to speak of the immortal bard.” Zeffirelli had seen ms. Hussey in a 1966 stage adaptation of muriel Spark’s novel about an inspirational teacher, “The Prime of miss Jean Brodie,” alongside Vanessa redgrave in London’s West End. After two auditions, ms. Hussey was cast by Zeffirelli as Juliet alongside Whiting. The two young performers were relatively unknown but fit well into Zeffirelli’s vision. He sought to convey the all-consum- ing passions of young love with actors similar in age to Shake- speare’s characters. (The original Juliet was approaching 14 years old; ms. Hussey was 15 and Whit- ing was 16 when filming began.) reviewers widely praised ms. Hussey’s performance as a fresh and emotionally nuanced depic- tion of Shakespeare’s drama of feuding families, secrecy and gen- erational divides that lead to trag- edy. Los Angeles Times film critic Charles Champlin wrote that ms. Hussey brought a teenage au- thenticity to the famous lines of longing: “o romeo, romeo, wherefore art thou romeo?” “It is as if this delicious 15-year- old Juliet had only that moment thought to say them,” Champlin wrote, “so that she and we are all hearing for the first time.” In a fleeting but much-ana- lyzed scene, Zeffirelli filmed ro- meo from behind rising naked from bed and pulling on some clothes. Juliet is under the covers and, as the sheets are pulled away by romeo, she appears to be naked as well. (The film won Academy Awards for cinematog- raphy and costume design.) Some commentators called the nudity gratuitous and inappro- priate for teen actors. Yet even the National Catholic office for mo- tion Pictures, a watchdog group for Catholic filmgoers, raised only limited cautions and said that “mature teenagers will find the film a most engaging introduc- tion to Shakespeare.” ms. Hussey long defended Zef- firelli’s decision, although she re- counted in a 2018 memoir, “The Girl on the Balcony,” that she had a “small panic attack” when she realized that she and Whiting would be shooting the scene. “It was needed for the film,” she told Variety in 2018. four years later, however, she filed a lawsuit in California seek- ing damages of at least $100 million from the film’s distribu- tor, Paramount Pictures. ms. Hussey alleged that she and Whiting were forced to perform the nude scene and that the mov- ie constituted “child pornogra- phy.” The case was dismissed in 2023 by a Los Angeles County judge, who found that the scene did not meet the standard of child por- nography. A related lawsuit by ms. Hussey and Whiting was thrown out in october. ms. Hussey said that she and Whiting were each paid 1,500 British pounds (about $2,200) at the time for their work on the film. “Everyone says, ‘You must be so well off — you were in a classic,’ ” she told Variety. “And we say, ‘No, we didn’t get paid for that.’ We got minimum. We were always broke. I felt exploited, really. Looking back on all of that, Leonard and I, we felt exploited throughout.” Born in argentina olivia osuna was born in Bue- nos Aires on April 17, 1951, and moved to London with her moth- er when she was 2 years old following her parents’ divorce. Her father was a singer whose work included tango music; her mother was the daughter of Scot- tish expatriates. olivia and her brother used their mother’s surname after leaving Argentina. She studied at the Italia Conti Academy of Thea- tre Arts outside London and ap- peared in several British stage productions before being cast for “romeo and Juliet,” in which she won a Golden Globe Award for “most promising newcomer.” She was reunited with Zeffirel- li for “Jesus of Nazareth,” which was filmed in morocco and Tuni- sia. ms. Hussey starred as mother Teresa in director fabrizio Costa’s television film and later that year was at the Vatican for mother Teresa’s beatification, the last step before possible sainthood in the Catholic Church. “I started to cry and buried my head in my hands,” recounted ms. Hussey, who described herself as a devout Catholic. “It was the dream of a lifetime.” mother Tere- sa was canonized in 2016. ms. Hussey’s movie work in- cluded the 1978 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s mystery novel “Death on the Nile,” the horror film “Psycho IV: The Beginning” (1990) and 1988’s “The Jeweller’s Shop,” based a 1960 play written by Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II. “I regret that I didn’t stretch myself more as an actress, take on meatier roles,” she said in 2018. ms. Hussey also said she battled agoraphobia since she was young. “Which isn’t a good trait for an actor,” she told Britain’s Daily Express newspaper. “Sometimes I couldn’t leave the house. I had mounting panic attacks until I finally got medication that helped.” Two marriages ended in di- vorce, with actor and singer Dean Paul martin (son of actor Dean martin) and Japanese pop star Akira fuse. She married musician David Glen Eisley in 1991. other survivors include their daughter; two sons from her previous mar- riages; a brother; and a grandson. While promoting her memoir, ms. Hussey surveyed her acting career with appreciation for whatever roles came her way. “I can look back on 60 percent of the work I’ve done and say, ‘You know what? I wasn’t terrible in that,’” she said. “You work when you have to. Unless you’re meryl Streep or Judi Dench you can’t always play wonderful roles. You just keep working to pay the bills.” OLIVIA HUSSEY, 73 Film actress noted for ‘Romeo and Juliet’ aP Ms. Hussey had alleged that her “Romeo and juliet” nude scene with co-star Leonard Whiting, right, was “child pornography.” DovE/gEtty imagEs Olivia Hussey as a teenager in 1968, when she starred as juliet in the Franco Zeffirelli film “Romeo and juliet.” The role shot her to global stardom, though she said she was paid about $2,200 for it. said maj. Gen. John C. Andonie, commanding general of the D.C. National Guard. There is a pending request for 7,800 officers to assist on Inaugu- ration Day, Andonie added. There were 25,000 National Guard members deployed in Washington for the inauguration in 2021, fol- lowing the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. This Jan. 6, Andonie said 500 soldiers will be on standby to sup- port the election certification — a marked difference in prepared- ness and coordination among agencies compared with four years ago, when mobilizing the National Guard was hamstrung by bureaucratic delays. While there is no indication there will be a mass demonstra- tion similar to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas manger said “all of us are on high alert.” “As our nation struggles to maintain a sense of safety in light of the recent mass killings and acts of terrorism, the eyes of the world would be on the United States Capitol to see what happens here on January 6,” mangersaid friday. “We’re living in a time of a heightened threat environment toward government and elected officials. our nation’s capital is prepared to ensure that the legis- lative process will proceed with- out disruption, and our govern- ment will have a peaceful transfer of power.” David Sundberg, assistant di- rector in charge of the fBI field office in Washington, said the agency remains concerned that the suspect who placed pipe bombs near the headquarters of the republican and Democratic national committees the night be- fore the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol remains at-large. The agency released new foot- age from the case this week in hopes of securing the public’s help in solving the case. “We’re absolutely concerned that person is still on the loose,” he said. “That is going to remain a threat until we can identify that person.” creased presence of police officers throughout the city since New Year’s Day “out of an abundance of caution.” All D.C. police officers will also be called upon to work beginning Sunday, and the de- partment is close to reaching Smith’s goal of an additional 4,000 officers from across the country to assist with the inauguration. In addition to the main events — electoral certification, Carter’s funeral and the inauguration — there are several planned protests this month with estimates of tens of thousands of demonstrators coming to the District. Among them are the People’s march on Jan, 18, which is organized by leading civil rights, racial justice and reproductive health organiza- tions; a large anti-Trump protest on Inauguration Day, organized by pro-Palestinian coalitions, la- bor groups and socialist move- ments; and the march for Life on Jan. 24, an annual antiabortion rally. “We are committed to uphold- ing the right to peacefully assem- ble and protest here in our city,” Smith said. “We will not tolerate any violence, rioting, destruction of property, or any behavior that threatens the safety and security of our city.” At Trump’s first inauguration, thousands of protesters descend- ed on the District, with some blockading security checkpoints along the mall and parade route, setting a vandalized limo ablaze, and breaking car and store win- dows. Police arrested more than 200 people that day, but nearly all of the charges were dropped after prosecutors struggled in initial trials to tie defendants to specific damage. The Secret Service will bring in agents from field offices across the country, and fencing already erected around the Capitol com- plex will remain through Inaugu- ration Day, officials said friday. five hundred soldiers will be on standby to support the election certification and escort officers for governors at the state funeral, jan 6 from C1 Prominent events have o∞cials in D.C. on high alert EvElyn HockstEin/rEutErs Security fencing encircling the Capitol will remain up through the inauguration of Donald Trump on jan. 20. FUNERAL SERVICES D I R E C T O R Y DC FUNERAL SERVICES Stewart Funeral Home Inc. 4001 Benning Road NE Washington, DC 20019 202-399-3600 www.stewartfuneralhome.com DC FUNERAL SERVICES 5130 Wisconsin Ave, NW Washington, DC 20016 Phone: (202)966-6400 Fax: (202)966-6186 www.josephgawlers.com MD FUNERAL SERVICES FORT LINCOLN FUNERAL HOME 3401 Bladensburg Road Brentwood, MD 20722 Phone: (301) 864-5090 Fax: (301) 864-3277 www.fortlincolnfuneralhome.com MD FUNERAL SERVICES OUR NEW LOCATION 170 Rollins Ave. Rockville, MD 20852 519 Mabe Drive Woodbine, MD 21797 301.296.6864 410.442.3662 INFO@GOINGHOMECARES.COM $1795 (casket included) $4495 $3095 (Just a Simple Cremation and 1 hour Memorial Service) EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE AFFORDABLE PRICES $3395 $4595 starting at MD FUNERAL SERVICES MD FUNERAL SERVICES 11800 New Hampshire Ave Silver Spring, MD 20904 Phone: (301)622-2290 Fax: (301)622-1254 www.hinesrinaldifuneralhome.com sunday, january 5 , 2025 . the washington post EZ RE C5 INMEMORIAM HARRIS CAMILLA WILKERSON HARRIS 1/6/68 - 1/5/05 In Loving Memory Received her Heavenly wings on this day 20 years ago Happy Heavenly Anniversary & Happy Earthly 57th Birthday Greatly missed but never forgotten in our hearts With Love, Mother, Kevin I & II, Mark, Dani, Markie and Family MEMORIAL SERVICE ROBERTSON DONALD B. ROBERTSON A memorial service will be held on Satur- day, February 8, 2025 at 3 p.m. at the Wom- an’s Club, 7931 Connecticut Ave, Chevy Chase, Maryland. DEATH NOTICE BIGELOW ISABEL BIGELOW (March 25, 1966 - July 7, 2024) Isabel Bigelow died July 7, 2024 in hospice care at the Life Enrichment Program at Kimball Farms in Lenox, MA. Born in New York City, NY, Isabel grew up in Virginia before returning to NYC after graduating from Harvard. She and her family later moved to Ghent, NY. She is survived by her husband Luis Castro, daughter Lucia, mother Deborah, and sister Anna, as well as many family and friends. Isabel was a visual artist of extraordinary ability, earned an MFA from MICA, and was represented primarily by galleries in New York City and Richmond, VA. Brilliant, funny, and kind, Is- abel is deeply missed. Services will be held at a later time. CAVE HUBERT L. CAVE JR. “Sonny” On January 2, 2025. The beloved husband of 64 years to the late Carol Cave, loving father of Diane Cave, Jean (Dale) Teetsell, and the late Butch Cave, and Nancy Bash- am, grandfather to Michael (Katy) Staples, Jr. and Raquel Cave, and great-grandfather to Kinlee Staples. Family and friends are invited to celebrate Sonny’s life on Friday, January 10, 2025, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. at the Kalas Funeral Home & Crema- tory, 2973 Solomons Island Rd., Edgewater, MD. A Memorial Mass will be offered on Saturday, January 11, 2025, at 11 a.m. at Holy Family Catholic Church, 826 W. Cen- tral Ave., Davidsonville, MD 21035. Inter- ment private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. Online condolences www.KalasFuneralHomes.com. GODLOVE MARK RHANDALL GODLOVE Of Manassas, Virginia Born August 22, 1955, in Falls Church, VA Died December 2, 2024 Mark is survived by his children, Zac, Lind- sey, and Casey Godlove; their mother, Traci Godlove; grandchildren, Eden and Riley Reed; sister, Darlene Woodland; and broth- er, Matt Godlove. A service will be held at Prince of Peace UMC, 6299 Token Forest Dr., on January 25 at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to INOVA Schar Heart and Vas- cular. HOLMES JOHNNIE DUANE HOLMES (Age 83) Entered eternity on Thursday December 26, 2024. Beloved husband of Agnes Lo- gan Holmes, loving father of Christopher and Michael Holmes; adored brother of Ann Burney, Constance (Connie) and the late Isaac and Willie Holmes. He is also survived by several nieces, nephews, and other cherished relatives. On Saturday Jan- uary 11, 2025, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., family and friends will be gathering at STEWART FUNERAL HOME, 4001 Benning Road, NE, Washington, DC 20019. At 2 p.m., a cel- ebration of life service in his honor. Final resting place will be held at Cheltenham Veterans Cemetery. www.stewartfuneralhome.com HOLMES JUANITA B. HOLMES Juanita B. Holmes passed away at home on December 23, 2024. She was preced- ed in death by her husband, Vernon A. Holmes, Sr. and is survived by two devoted sons, Vernon A. Holmes, Jr. and Jonathan E. Holmes. She was a long time Washing- tonian. Juanita was a native of Richmond, Virginia and retired from the U. S. Depart- ment of State prior to the pandemic. Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Tues- day, January 7, 2025 at St. Gabriel Catholic Church, 26 Grant Circle, N.W. Washington, DC 20011. Viewing at 10 a.m. followed by Mass at 11 a.m. Internment will be held at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, 1300 Bladensburg Road, N.E. Washington, DC. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Gabriel Catholic Church. Whenthe need arises, let families find you in the Funeral Services Directory. To be seen in the Funeral Services Directory, please call paid Death Notices at 202-334-4122. DEATH NOTICE MEANS DR. GWENDOLYN BARNES MEANS (Age 94) Gwendolyn Barnes Means, wife, moth- er, sister, aunt, godmother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend, civic activist and native Washingtonian earned her heavenly wings on November 22, 2024, surrounded by her family and a friend. She is survived by her four children (Dar- ah Means, Patrice Means-Marlow, Bracy Means, Jr. (Winnie) and Wanda Means-Har- ris (Bertrand), two siblings Duane Barnes, Sherrill Chase (Deryck), 14 grand children, 11 great grand children and numerous godchildren, nieces, nephews and friends. A wake for Dr. Means will be held on Sat- urday, January 11, 2025 at 9 a.m., followed by a funeral service at 10 a.m. at St. Antho- ny of Padua Catholic Church on 12th and Monroe Sts., NE, DC. Graveside services to follow the repast at 2 p.m. at Gates of Heaven Cemetery, 13801 Georgia Ave, Sil- ver Spring, MD 20906. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Gwendolyn Barnes Means can be made to the Dunbar Alumni Federation, Inc. at www.daf-dc.org or the Gwendolyn Barnes Means Legacy Fund with the Pearl and Ivy Educational Foundation, Inc. at akaxo.org. MODZEL ALICE MODZEL The family of Alice Modzel, of Rockville, Maryland, is saddened to announce her passing on December 24, 2024 in Olney, Maryland at the age of 95 years. She was born in Washington, DC on July 22, 1929, and spent her entire life as a resident of Montgomery County, Maryland. She lived a long and healthy life until her last days, as a devoted Mother and loyal friend to many. Alice is preceded in death by her husband, James Paul Modzel. She is survived by her two children, Gary Modzel (Wilma) and Vicki Duggan (Daniel), her grandchildren, Bradley Duggan (Colleen) and Allison Proa- no (Diego) and her six great grandchildren, Charlotte, Quinn, James, Connor, Teagan and Landon. A celebration of life service will be held on Friday, January 10, 2025 at Cattail Creek Country Club in Glenwood, MD at 1:30 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association. www.pumphreyfuneralhome.com CORRIGAN HELEN FRANCOISE CORRIGAN It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved matriarch, Hel- en Francoise Corrigan (nee Mary), 96, on December 23, 2024. She peacefully entered Eternal life in her sleep at home. Helen was born on February 1, 1928 in Sar- tene, Corsica, France to her dear parents, Jean Baptiste Mary and Annonciade Marie Mary (nee Lovighi). She was raised in Rabat, Morocco, and treasured lifetime memories of the people and places of her life there. Foremost of which was her marriage to Jo- seph Francis Corrigan on June 20, 1953. Joseph’s military career as a U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate took them to numerous locations. They settled in Arlington, Virginia in 1964. Helen was widowed in 1967, and raised her four children with the greatest of love and devotion, while working in var- ious teaching positions. In later years, she enjoyed working as an Assistant Secretary at St. Stephen Martyr Catholic Church in Washington, DC. Helen is predeceased by her parents, her brother, Jean Baptiste, and her son, John Timothy Corrigan. Survivors include her daughters, Anne-Marie Corrigan and Pa- tricia Corrigan, and a son, Peter Corrigan; her daughter-in-law, Maureen Corrigan; her grandchildren, Timothy Joseph Corrigan (Danielle), Chantal Corrigan, Ted Corrigan, and Bonnie Corrigan O’Hara (Jon), and four great grandchildren, of whom she was so proud. Helen’s Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Stephen Martyr Catholic Church, 2436 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, on Saturday, January 11, 2025, at 2 p.m. Courtesy bus service will be available to and from the church to attendees who wish to park at Murphy Funeral Home of Arlington, 4510 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA. Bus de- parts for St. Stephen’s at 1 p.m. and returns after the reception. “I cannot thank you as I would For all you’ve done for me; I cannot find the words I should To tell you fittingly. Your kindliness has meant so much That only One I know Can e’er repay a service such As this one here below.” We love you with all our hearts, Dearest Mama OSTENSO JOHN OSCAR OSTENSO John Ostenso passed away in Washington, DC on December 16, 2024. John was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on September 20, 1940 and graduated from Edison High School, Hamline University, and the Universi- ty of Minnesota Law School. His career took him to Washington, DC where he worked in the federal government. John was an athlete and enjoyed working with wood, travel and cooking for friends. He leaves us with memories of his kindness and generosity. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Bev- erly and dear cousins Margareta Lund- strom, Brigitta Axelsson, Anders Lundstrom, Anne Christine Stromgren, Erik and Ebba Stromgren, Eva and Jaswant Sisodiya, Karin Lundstrom, Peder Jonsson, Kajsa Sandstrom, Goran Axelsson, Kerstin and Bengt Peterson, Malin Peterson, and the family of Richard Ostenso. A visitation will be held on Thursday, January 9, 2024 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Joseph Gawler’s Sons Funeral Home, 5130 Wisconsin avenue NW Washington, DC 20016. Interment will be private at Hillside Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota. VAN WAGENEN ROSALIE LINDA VAN WAGENEN Rosalie Linda (Martin) Van Wagenen, 85, of Baltimore, MD, passed away suddenly on De- cember 26, 2024. She was born on June 28, 1939 in Poughkeep- sie, New York to John L. Martin, Jr. and Rosalie M. (Winfield) Martin. She was married to the love of her life John Alan (Jack) Van Wagenen for 64 years. Linda attended Mt. St. Mary’s Academy, Newburgh, NY and graduated from Pough- keepsie High School in Poughkeepsie, New York. Upon graduation she began her career in banking as a bank teller with Poughkeep- sie Savings Bank. After she and Jack married and began their family she paused her career to raise her three children. She resumed it again in the early 1980’s with Citizens Bank of Maryland. As a Branch Manager she suc- cessfully guided her staff and customers through several bank mergers and acqui- sitions before retiring after 18 years as As- sistant Vice President/Branch Manager for SunTrust Bank in Chevy Chase, Maryland. She enjoyed traveling with her husband Jack and their friends as well as visiting with her children and grandchildren. Mom always had just the right advice, whether for family, friends, or co-workers and clients; and she always knew when it wasn’t advice that was needed, but a sup- portive ear instead. She was ready for every day, not a hair out of place, face made up, and dressed in style. She was the epitome of class and grace. Linda is survived by two daughters, Lynn Rehn (Michael), Carol Jones (Craig); daugh- ter-in-law Loretta Van Wagenen; six grand- children, Curtis, Christopher, Colleen, Shelby, Alonna, Ashley; and many nieces and neph- ews. She was predeceased by her parents and a son, John M. Van Wagenen. The family would like to thank the staff and caregivers at Brooke Grove Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Sandy Spring, Mary- land for their support and excellent care over the past months. Private interment at St. Peter’s Cemetery, Poughkeepsie, NY. www.collinsfuneralhome.com DEATH NOTICE PALERMO MARTHA A. PALERMO (Age 98) Martha Agnes Palermo, 98, beloved moth- er, grandmother and great-grandmother, entered eternal rest on January 2, 2025, surrounded by her family. She is survived by her children: Andrea Palermo of Spring- field, Patricia Palermo of Manassas, Mon- ica Blank (Rich) of Woodbridge, Peter A. Palermo (Stephanie) of Midlothian, Michael Palermo of Woodbridge,and Anne O’Malley (Kevin) of Centreville, 23 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Peter M. Palermo. A visitation will be held on Tuesday, Janu- ary 7, 2025, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Alexandria,men and women to enlist in the armed forces. Hillary Clinton: Clinton made history numerous times, includ- ing as the first first lady who was elected to the U.S. Senate. After serving as secretary of state, she became the first woman nominat- ed for president by a major politi- cal party. Tim Gill: Software entrepre- neur Tim Gill has been a top Dem- ocratic donor to several candi- dates over the decades and has worked to press for LGBTQ+ rights. Jane Goodall: Goodall’s work as a conservationist helped open up the understanding of primates and human evolution. She has also been an advocate for environ- mental conservation. Fannie Lou Hamer: Hamer, who died in 1977, was a founder of the Mississippi Freedom Demo- cratic Party. She challenged the exclusion of Black people in poli- tics and helped press for the pas- sage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Earvin “Magic” Johnson: The famed basketball player helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers to five championships. After retiring, he became an entrepreneur and phi- lanthropist through his Magic Johnson Foundation. Robert F. Kennedy: Kennedy served as attorney general, a U.S. senator from New York and was a Democratic presidential hopeful who fought segregation, poverty and inequality. Notably, his son Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsed Trump for president in the 2024 race, drawing the rebuke of many of his surviving family members. Ralph Lauren: Lauren, 85, is the first fashion designer to re- ceive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Perhaps more than any other designer, Lauren has cap- tured the essence of American fashion and exported it around the world. Lauren, who was born Ralph Lifshitz to a family of immigrants in the Bronx, exploded those con- cepts into a kind of cinematic wardrobe available to all. Restau- rants, coffee shops and the home goods industry helped expand his vision, both abroad and at home. Biden has worn several of Lau- ren’s suits, including at his 2021 inauguration. Jill Biden’s ward- robe includes a number of Ralph Lauren ensembles. Michael J. Fox: The Canadian- born Fox, 63, is an Emmy, Golden Globe and Grammy winner, best known for his roles as the Reagan- loving Alex P. Keaton on “Family Ties” and the time-traveling Marty McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy. For decades, he has been a high-profile advocate for Parkin- son’s research, after he publicly revealed in 1998 that he had been battling the degenerative neuro- logical disorder. Fox received the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Jean Hersholt Hu- manitarian Award in 2022 for hav- ing helped raise $1.5 billion for medical research. Lionel Messi: Messi, the most decorated player in the history of professional soccer, has been a voice for health care and educa- tion programs for children around the world through the Leo Messi Foundation. He also serves as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. (Messi was unable to attend the event.) Bill Nye: Nye, known as “Bill Nye the Science Guy” from the public television show, continues to advocate for space exploration and environmentalism. He has challenged deniers of climate change as well as creationists who question evolution. George Romney: The late George Romney, the father of for- mer Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, was a busi- nessman who served as chairman and president of American Motors Corp. He later served as the 43rd governor of Michigan, pressing ahead with an aggressive civil rights agenda that put him at odds with the leaders of his party. He refused to back Barry Goldwater as the 1964 Republican presiden- tial nominee, for example, be- cause he told Goldwater in a letter that he was alarmed by indica- tions that Goldwater’s strategists “proposed to make an all-out push for the Southern white segrega- tionist vote” and “exploit the so- called ‘white backlash’ in the North.” David M. Rubenstein: Ruben- stein, co-founder and co-chair- man of private equity firm the Carlyle Group, is a philanthropist who has supported the restoration of historic landmarks and cultural institutions, including the Ken- nedy Center, where he served as chairman for 14 years. George Stevens Jr.: Stevens is a director, author and playwright who founded the American Film Institute and created the Kennedy Center Honors. George Soros: Soros, the Hun- garian-born Holocaust survivor and philanthropist to liberal causes globally, has been one of the top donors to Democratic causes over the years and has been villainized by the Republican right. A hedge fund manager, he has given billions to his charity, the Open Society Foundations, but also has been a key funder of many organizations that have helped Democrats notch key victories in recent cycles. Denzel Washington: Washing- ton, an actor, director and pro- ducer, has served as national spokesman for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for more than 25 years. The 70-year-old has won two Academy Awards, a Tony and two Golden Globes. He was ex- pected to receive the award in 2022 but couldn’t attend the event due to covid. Anna Wintour: Wintour, 75, a longtime fundraiser for the Demo- cratic Party, has led Vogue since 1988, as the magazine has en- meshed itself more in politics over the past decade. Jill Biden has been on the cover twice during her husband’s administration. Wintour was a cheerleader throughout the 2024 race, both for Biden and, after he stepped aside, for Vice President Kamala Harris. At a voting march during New York Fashion Week in September, the first lady praised Wintour’s influence beyond fashion. “No one has shaped this industry more than you have,” she said. “But you haven’t stopped there. Now you’re shaping the world. The president and I value your counsel and your friendship.” ashley Fetters Maloy, tim Carman and Pradnya Joshi contributed to this report. Celebrities, donors among Biden’s honorees Some of the nation’s best-known names are among those awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom annabelle gordon For the Washington Post President Joe Biden at the White House on Saturday with actor Denzel Washington, who was among those given the United States’ highest civilian honor. Other recipients included billionaire donor George Soros, designer Ralph Lauren and basketball player Magic Johnson. Hillary Clinton at Saturday’s ceremony, where she was among those awarded the civilian honor. Fouy Chov Trunk Show January 9th - 11th Thursday - Saturday A most special collection. Meet Fouy in person!in person! Wedding, Inaugural, Occasion, Casual, Work, Travel and Sportswear. NEW location! 2231 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202 | Mon - Sat 10-5 Personal Appointments crystalboutique.com 703.415.1400 Beautiful Clothes Impeccable Service A4 eZ re the washington post . sunday, january 5 , 2025 House Speaker Mike Johnson (R- Louisiana) won his second election to lead the chamber on Friday. And he did so with a little drama — but less than some people were anticipating. With Johnson being able to spare only one Republican vote in the closely divided House, several Republicans withheld their support in the run-up to the vote. And three members initially voted against him — Reps. Thomas Massie (Kentucky), Ralph Norman (South Carolina) and Keith Self (Texas). But after the vote was held open for a while, Norman and Self ultimately changed their vote to Johnson, giving him the 218 votes he needed and reelecting him on the first ballot. Below are some takeaways from what happened. A big win for Johnson The fact that Johnson apparently came so close to losing on the first ballot is no small thing; it would have been just the third time that happened in the past 100 years. And the vote reinforces trouble ahead, for reasons I’ll get to. But in a number of other ways, Johnson’s win is a pretty impressive accomplishment. For one, both of the other two modern examplesVA, followed by a funeral Mass on Wednes- day, January 8, 2025, at 10 a.m. at the same location. Burial will be Wednesday in Fair- fax Memorial Park in Fairfax, VA at 12 p.m. To view the full obituary, please visit www. dignitymemorial.com. PIETY MARILYN TALABAY PIETY AUTHOR AND CIVIC ACTIVIST Passed away on January 1, 2025. Preceded in death by her daughter Ann Tere- sa Piety, DVM and survived by brother Charles (Chuck) Talabay; children Philip, Tim- othy, Catherine Piety Keech, and Charles; grandchildren Aubrey and Austin Keech, Melissa Keech Zuppal Dustin, Joshua and Thomas Piety; and great-granddaughter Josie Keech. Born and raised in Whiting In- diana, she studied journalism at Marquette and joined the National Press Club the first year women were allowed. She worked at the Smithsonian Institution, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and Mont- gomery County Public Health Department. She was active in civic issues leading Al- lied Civic Federation and the Sligo-Bran- view Civic Association. Her proudest civic accomplishment was the Long Branch Library that came about through positive civic action from her and others and gov- ernment openness to new ideas. Visitation at Collins Funeral Home on January 11, from 2 to 4 p.m. Interment will be private. DEATH NOTICE DEATH NOTICE SMITH MARIE L. SMITH On December 23, 2024. The beloved wife of 71 years of the late Thomas J. Smith, Sr. and devoted mother to Robert, Michael, and John Smith, Patricia Newgent, Marie Mattingly, Jean Mahat, Catherine Scanlan, Theresa Harrell, and the late Thomas J. Smith, Jr. Also survived by 25 grandchil- dren, 38 great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren. Friends and family are invited to celebrate Marie’s life on Thursday, January 9, 2025 from 10 to 11 a.m. at Holy Family Catholic Church, 826 W Central Ave., Davidsonville, MD 21035, followed immediately by Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. Interment will follow at 2 p.m. at Resurrection Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Heart Homes Bay Ridge (3023 Arundel on the Bay Rd A, Annapolis, MD 21403) or Hospice of the Chesapeake (90 Ritchie Highway, Pasadena, MD 21122). On- line condolences may be made at: KalasFuneralHomes.com TEED WILLIAM GEORGE TEED Bill (Age 82) Of Arlington, VA passed away peacefully on December 30, 2024. Bill was born on May 25, 1942 in Milford, MA to Roy and Isabelle Teed. Bill is survived by his lov- ing wife of 57 years Margaret Teed ‘nee Forbes, his children Rebecca Teed of Bear- creek, OH, Joseph Teed of Falls Church, VA, and Jacqueline Lapacek of Palm Har- bor, FL; his grandchildren Malcom Teed & Elizabeth Lapacek. A visitation will held at Murphy Funeral home Falls Church on Thursday, January 9th from 5 to 8 p.m.. A Mass of Chrisition burial will be held the following day, January 10 at 10 a.m. at St. James Catholic Church, 905 Park Ave, Falls Church, VA 22046. A private Inurnment will be held at Quantico National Cemetery at a later date. To share condolences with the family or for more information please visit: www.murphyfuneralhomes.com FORD WILLIAM VERNON FORD (Age 94) William Vernon Ford, 94, of Arlington, VA, passed away peacefully at home on De- cember 22, 2024. Born July 21, 1930 to Charles James and Ruth Bridges Ford in Round Hill, VA, he graduated from the Uni- versity of Richmond, later earning a Ph.D. in Government from the American University. A Korean War veteran and Fulbright fellow, he began working for Arlington County in 1959, concluding his service as county man- ager in 1981. He served for sixty years as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the historic Ketoctin Baptist Church. Preceded in death by his wife, Patricia DeLashmutt Ford, his three brothers, and his parents, he is survived by his son, Richard Vernon Ford, his daughter, Elizabeth Ford Friend (David), and two grandsons. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, January 11, 2025 at Ketoctin Baptist Church, 16595 Ke- toctin Church Rd., Purcellville, VA 20132. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Ketoctin Baptist Church Endow- ment, 17765 Lakefield Rd., Round Hill, VA 20141, or a charity of your choice. www.murphyfuneralhomes.com KAAS PATRICIA SUSAN KAAS On November 28, 2024, Patricia Susan “Pat” Kaas (nee Becks) died at her home in Ar- lington, Virginia. She was born in Newberry, Michigan in 1944 to Mary Albina (nee Col- lins) and Frederick William Becks, Jr. She is survived by her husband of 57 years, the love of her life, Michael; their children, Michelle (Doug-partner), Nicole (Mike), and Christopher (Kristi); and her grandchildren, Collins and Colton Kaas. She is also sur- vived by her brother, Robert Becks (Carol) of Grayling, Michigan, two nieces and their families. After graduating from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota, Pat taught at Lincoln Junior High School in Mil- waukee, Wisconsin, and the Duluth Area Technical Institute. While living in Palatine, Illinois, Pat worked for Borg-Warner Educa- tional Systems. Upon moving to Arlington, VA, Pat became a full-time Mom while her children were in school. She volunteered in many capacities including at the local schools, the Red Cross, and Scouts. Later, she became an English for Speakers of Oth- er Languages (ESOL) teacher at both Taylor and Oakridge Elementary Schools. Pat and Mike shared many interests including volun- teering, genealogy, travel, and vacationing in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and the Jer- sey Shore. Please join us celebrating Pat’s life at a visitation at the Murphy Funeral Home (4510 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22203) on Monday, January 6, 2025, 5 to 8 p.m. On Tuesday, January 7, 2025 at 10:30 a.m., mass will be held at Holy Trinity Cath- olic Church in Georgetown (3513 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20007). A private burial will take place in New Jersey. In lieu of flow- ers, donations can be made to the Patricia Becks Kaas ‘66 Endowed Scholarship in her honor at the College of St. Scholastica, 1200 Kenwood Avenue, Duluth, MN 55811. www.murphyfuneralhomes.com NIGHSWANDER PATRICIA T. NIGHSWANDER With great sadness, our beloved mother, grandmother, aunt and lifelong friend Patricia (aka “Pat”) Nighswander, 87, of Washington, DC passed away peacefully in the company of her loved ones on December 20, 2024. Pat was born in Laconia, NH and grew up in Mer- edith, NH. After graduating Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts, she went on to study German at Connecticut College and received a master’s degree in German literature at Middlebury College. From 1968 to 1984, Pat served as a labor relations spe- cialist in a variety of Federal Government agencies ranging from Civil Rights Commis- sion to US Customs Service. Following that, she spent nearly thirty years as Executive Di- rector of the National Border Patrol Council where she received annual recognition for outstanding service. One of Pat’s notable attributes was her boundless generosity to so many people. Her home was a welcoming environment to her family, friends, and animals in need. She thrived on having a set of long-lasting friends that spanned multiple age groups. Later in life, Pat embarked on a series of overseas volunteer projects for children in places such as Cook Islands, Hungary, and Malta. She was a gifted listener and healer—one could always reach out to her in time of need and Pat would seldom seek a favor in return. She also engaged in volunteer work in animal shelters and food pantries in Washington, DC. Besides her love of people, her devotion to animals, particularly dogs was legendary. Very seldom throughout her entire life did she not have at least one dog that she cared for. Always with an artistic eye, Pat was a lover of the arts and culture. She introduced her grand children to glass fusion, jewelry mak- ing, and painting and often exposed them to the diverse cultural offerings of Washington, DC, a city she loved immeasurably. Pat is survived by her son Peter, daughter-in- law,of speaker nominees initially failing came in the past two years; this is just what the Republican Party is these days. For another, Johnson has the second smallest majority in the history of Congress, meaning he had considerably less margin for error than your average speaker. However we arrived at the conclusion, losing only one GOP vote in today’s Republican Party is a pretty remarkable achievement. The party isn’t that unified on much of anything. And it’s relatively impressive even outside the GOP. Indeed, the last speaker to be elected without any defections from his or her party at the start of a Congress was John A. Boehner in 2011. (Johnson’s one defector matches Paul D. Ryan’s total in 2017.) If Johnson had a bigger majority, it’s likely we’d have seen more defections. It’s a lot easier to cast a protest vote than to be the one to defeat your party’s nominee. But getting all but one Republican to fall in line these days is no small task, regardless of the other variables. Trump’s win played a huge role Johnson can also thank Donald Trump and GOP Senate candidates for making this relatively painless. Republicans flipping the presidency and the Senate in the 2024 election meant there was considerably less appetite for upheaval at this juncture. The party now has an opportunity to govern and implement its agenda, and starting off with a fierce internecine battle probably wasn’t what even many Johnson holdouts really wanted. If Republicans didn’t have that kind of power, you can bet there would have been more urgency behind either turning the page on Johnson or forcing him to make major concessions. Also, there was the complicating matter that Congress is due to certify Trump’s win on Monday. A drawn-out battle could have complicated or delayed that in ways Trump surely wouldn’t have liked. Johnson was certainly bolstered by Trump endorsing him in recent days and actually going to bat for him — which Trump doesn’t always do — by talking to the holdouts and pressing the case publicly for Johnson. That made clear to the holdouts that they could be blamed for standing in Trump’s way, which few Republicans have an appetite for right now. The holdouts still sent a message The process by which Johnson won shouldn’t go unnoticed — and surely won’t by Johnson. One of the quirks of the speaker vote was not just that two members wound up flipping their votes, but that six potential holdouts didn’t initially respond when their name was called. (Those six also ultimately voted for Johnson.) Combine those six with the three who initially voted against Johnson, and that’s nine Republicans who at least registered some reservations about backing Johnson. And as my colleague Leigh Ann Caldwell noted to me, that number is telling. The new rules package for the House make that the number of GOP members who can force a vote to remove the speaker. (When Kevin McCarthy was removed in late 2023, just one member could force such a vote.) Since the vote, these nine and other Republicans have re-upped many of their concerns with Johnson and called for a new way of doing business, making clear that their support isn’t a blank check. One such letter from 11 members of the House Freedom Caucus said that they voted for Johnson “because of our steadfast support of President Trump and to ensure the timely certification of his electors.” “We did this despite our sincere reservations regarding the Speaker’s track record over the past 15 months,” the members said. In other words: Don’t celebrate too hard. This isn’t the end of Johnson’s problems It’s quite possible we’ll look back on this in the very near future as only a momentary thawing of the frosty internal GOP relations that have characterized Johnson’s 15 months as speaker. That’s because the fundamental problems he has haven’t really changed, even if Trump’s and the GOP’s 2024 wins have papered over them and injected some more unifying dynamics. Republicans still face the intractable problem that is some members of their conference wanting to cut spending — a lot of it — but that being very difficult, especially with such a tiny majority. And the fact that Trump did the opposite during his first term, sending spending soaring. Republicans are also continually divided between an establishment, pragmatic wing of the party and the more MAGA- aligned elements that don’t have as much concern about party unity and their broader party’s electoral fortunes — and plenty of concern about attention- seeking. What happens, for example, if Trump really pushes hard for Congress to get rid of the debt ceiling without major spending cuts? What happens when these members threaten a shutdown over spending cuts and Johnson again needs the votes of Democrats to keep the government functioning? What happens when Johnson tries to pass something pragmatic (like on border security) that can overcome a Democratic filibuster in the Senate? Perhaps Trump can help mend some of those fences, as he has here. But he’s also shown precious little interest over the years in the nitty gritty of congressional dealmaking — and precious little loyalty to people like Johnson. In other words, Johnson can feel good about what happened Friday. But he surely knows this isn’t the end of the infighting. Johnson got a big win in the speaker vote, but Republican infighting isn’t over riCky CAriOTi/THe WAsHinGTOn POsT Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) applauds Friday as House members take the oath of office for the 119th Congress. Nine Republicans registered at least some reservations about backing him. THE FIX aaron blaKe everyone falls in line behind his choice for speaker, as well as key legislation. “I do think it’s going to be different having President Trump in the executive office,” Rep. Elijah Crane (R-Arizona), a Freedom Caucus member, said leaving the House floor. But Trump has a tendency to fixate on only a handful of policy areas such as border security and tariffs and to delegate other issues that Johnson probably will need to cut the type of deals with Democrats that anger critics such as Roy. One of Johnson’s predecessors, then-Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wisconsin), learned this lesson during Trump’s first two years in office when Republicans also controlled both the House and Senate. Ryan frequently had to negotiate agency funding bills with members of the Appropriations Committee, congressional leaders and Trump aides, deals the president supported but which drew staunch opposition from Freedom Caucus members. Ryan had a big majority, with a cushion of more than 20 seats, so rebellions back then were mostly just noise. Now, under the rules approved Friday, a small group of nine could oust Johnson. tossed aside after less than nine months as speaker in a dispute over living up to the private deals he brokered to claim the gavel. “If anything happens like happened before, right before Christmas, there will be consequences for that,” Roy told reporters. Add in Rep. Thomas Massie (Kentucky), the lone Republican who refused to vote for Johnson, and that’s a dozen far-right members who have put Johnson on notice that he is walking on a very short political leash. To keep power, Johnson may need Trump to keep serving as a unifying force who demands that lawmakers stay loyal to his choice for speaker and help pass key legislation. The optimistic Republican view relies almost entirely on Trump to continue serving as a unifying force who demands that policy riders that Democrats and Republicans alike had been seeking. Conservatives and even establishment Republicans blew up after the roughly 1,500-page package was released, which eventually got trimmed to a less ambitious bill. “We can have no more of the nonsense that happened beforeChristmas,” Roy said Friday, referencing the funding bill. To formalize their demands, 11 Freedom Caucus members issued a letter with proclamations that range from aspirational (increasing the number of legislative work days) to the next-to-impossible (“secure the border to stop the flow of illegal aliens completely”). It served as a thinly veiled threat that Johnson could end up like Kevin McCarthy, who got “It remains to be seen what the attitude of the dissidents is,” Rep. Harold Rogers (R- Kentucky), the dean of the House and senior member of the committee, said. “We have people on our side who won’t vote for any appropriations bills. So, yeah, we’re not out of the woods yet.” Bacon, who won a district that Vice President Kamala Harris won by almost 5 percentage points in the presidential race, suggested Johnson and Trump need to isolate these far-right members. “Nobody could do better than Johnson. None of these guys offered an alternative. And so they’re just … ,” he said, pausing to find the right description. “They like to piss on their own team. That’s what goes on, and they feel good about it. And then they’re mad when we don’t perform well.” Johnson’s dissident faction, in allowing him to win Friday’s vote, might have calculated that the mercurial Trump will grow frustrated with the slow pace of his agenda on Capitol Hill and seek to blame Johnson for the failures. The final holdouts at Friday’s speaker vote made clear that they were working to support Trump’s agenda, not oppose him. “This was about how we support President Trump, as the House with a very narrow majority,” Rep. Keith Self (R- Texas), who initially voted for another Republican, said afterward. “How is that going to happen?” Self said he spoke twice to the president-elect Friday, including during the hour-long pause in the vote when Johnson was two votes short of the 218 needed to win an outright majority. Trump never threatened him or Rep. Ralph Norman (R-South Carolina), who was also on the phone with him, according to Self, declining to elaborate on the details of their talk. Eventually, Norman and Self went to the House well and switched their votes to Johnson, giving him the majority. Roy, who was one of six far- right Republicans who initially did not cast a vote during the alphabetic roll call, said Johnson persuaded him that a vote for him was a vote for enacting Trump’s agenda. “Speaker Johnson contends that in an environment where we have the White House and the Republican Senate, that he’s going to be able to go get the job done. So we’ll give him a chance,” he said. That chance came with a warning. “There’s no room for any excuses now,” Roy said. “Quick, you know it when you see it.” requiring significant Democratic support. With just 53 Republicans in the Senate, that chamber’s rules requiring a 60-vote hurdle to end debate on most legislation mandates Democratic votes there. Those will be needed on funding federal agencies and lifting the Treasury’s borrowing limit, both of which must be acted upon by mid-March and the late spring or early summer, respectively. But Johnson’s math problem in the House has little to do with the Senate filibuster. Roughly a dozen or more hard-line conservatives refuse to vote for government spending and lifting the debt limit, no matter who is president. Unless those far-right lawmakers change their tune, Johnson will be forced to negotiate with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) for Democratic support. And when Johnson does that, the legislation will include Democratic priorities that drive Roy and a couple dozen members of the House Freedom Caucus politically apoplectic. Johnson faced that precise dilemma just before Christmas when he took a simple extension of government funding and negotiated a sprawling set of The House Republicans have been so dysfunctional over the last few years that once mundane tasks are celebrated like major milestones. Every speaker vote from 1925 through 2021 ended in one ballot. But after the intra-GOP wars of the 118th Congress, Mike Johnson’s reelection Friday — with just one, messy, vote — was hailed as a win, and a sign that the fractured caucus could come together in the 119th. “We just elected a speaker of the House and we got Republicans on board. So there’s a path,” Rep. Andrew Ogles (R- Tennessee), one of the far-right lawmakers who have needled Johnson, told reporters after the vote. But there are perhaps more signs that the speaker vote was just the first fight in a long battle between a far-right faction of about 20 conservatives and the more establishment-leaning Republicans who want to govern in a more traditional or pragmatic way. “Make no mistake about it, there are things that will be, in fact, red lines that we need to deliver on,” Rep. Chip Roy (R- Texas), one of the last conservative Republican holdouts to vote for Johnson, told reporters. Republican moderates, feeling emboldened after winning close elections that kept Republicans in the majority, are ready to take on the likes of Roy. “We’re tired of it. We’re tired of being nice,” Rep. Don Bacon (R- Nebraska) said Friday. “We dealt with these guys for three years, and we have very little tolerance or patience. And you could see a little bit of that today.” This conflict will play out as House Republicans try to push ahead with legislation to impose strict migration laws and fund President-elect Donald Trump’s long-sought border wall, along with the bid to slash taxes on the wealthy. Given that Johnson’s caucus will range in size from 217 to 220 over the next year, he will have only one or two GOP votes to spare to hit a majority, as every Democrat is expected to oppose these measures just as they all voted against Johnson for speaker Friday. Just like Friday’s vote — which ran almost an extra hour as Trump and Johnson tried to twist Republican arms — Johnson will need more than 99 percent unity to get those plans across the finish line. But Congress is staring down several must-pass items in the next six months or so that will almost certainly end up Contentious speaker vote may signal dysfunction to come in House GOP @PKCapitol Paul Kane AllisOn rObberT FOr THe WAsHinGTOn POsT Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) registers his choice for House speaker during the first day of the 119th Congress on Friday. Massie stood as the lone Republican to decline voting “yes” to reelect Mike Johnson. Some of his Freedom Caucus colleagues were persuaded otherwise. “We’re tired of being nice. We dealt with these guys for three years, and we have very little tolerance or patience. And you could see a little bit of that today.” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska), on dealing with House GOP hard-liners sunday, january 5 , 2025 . the washington post eZ re K A5 who was so evilly and illegally treated as I. Corrupt Democrat judges and prosecutors have gone against a political opponent of a President, mE, at levels of injustice never seen before.” He proceeded to complain about special counsel Jack Smith. Trump also frequently talked about his legal cases on the cam- paign trail, describing them as a “witch hunt” and portraying him- self as the victim of a weaponized federal justice system, even though local authorities brought two of the criminal cases against him, and Smith, acting indepen- dently of the White House, brought the two federal cases against him. But Trump’s comments friday and Saturday indicated that win- ning the election — and evidence that the cases against him may have aided him in the contest — hasn’t changed his message. Some polls early last year had suggested that a criminal convic- tion would hurt Trump political- ly. In an AP-NorC Center for Public Affairs research survey in April, half of U.S. adults polledsaid they would view Trump as unfit for president if he were convicted in the hush money case. Yet Trump also tried to capitalize politically on his seven- week trial, despite often appear- ing angry and frustrated in court. He addressed reporters frequent- ly, reading printouts of news arti- cles about legal scholars defend- ing him and falsely claiming that “every legal scholar” had said another trip to court, it’s consis- tent with the peculiarities of Don- ald Trump’s return to power,” Naftali added. In the hours after merchan upheld Trump’s conviction and scheduled his sentencing, the president-elect railed against the judge, his political opponents, and the federal justice system that his appointees will soon oversee. At 8:43 p.m. friday, Trump complained on social media that he was “the only Political oppo- nent in American History not allowed to defend myself.” At 7:29 Saturday morning, he was back at it, describing merchan as “cor- rupt” and “crooked” and calling for him to be “disbarred.” The president-elect also la- mented that his prized florida home, mar-a-Lago, was underval- ued at $18 million in a separate New York civil fraud case (“it is worth 50 to 100 times that amount”) and repeated his claim that he had never met writer E. Jean Carroll, who alleged that he sexually assaulted her in a New York department store decades ago. In 2023, a civil jury in New York found Trump liable for sexu- ally abusing and defaming Car- roll. In December, a federal ap- peals court upheld the jury’s $5 million verdict against the presi- dent-elect. At 8:03 a.m. Saturday, Trump posted again, complaining that “there has never been a President TruMP from A1 Trump’s N.Y. sentencing sets up an unusual scene ahead of his swearing-in BY MAEVE RESTON Vice President Kamala Harris has called President-elect Donald Trump a threat to American de- mocracy. She has said he is a fascist. She has predicted he would abuse the powers of the presidency. She has warned that he should “never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States.” But on monday, in her consti- tutional role as president of the Senate, Harris will preside over a joint session of Congress that oversees the counting and certifi- cation of the electoral college votes affirming that Trump — despite the alarms she sounded during her 107-day sprint to the November election — will again assume the powers and trappings of the presidency. The task, by statute, always falls to the vice president on Jan. 6 following a presidential elec- tion, and this will not be the first time the role may be excruciat- ing. four other vice presidents who sought the nation’s highest office — including Al Gore and richard m. Nixon — have had to stand in the House chamber, in front of hundreds of lawmakers, and formalize their own loss. But monday’s event stands out for the sheer intensity of the warnings that Harris and other Democrats sounded about the dangers of the man whose victory she is set to formalize. The certification carries addi- tional historical importance be- cause it comes just four years — and one presidential election — after a violent mob, infuriated by Trump’s false claims that the election had been stolen by Joe Biden, stormed the U.S. Capitol as then-Vice President mike Pence presided over the 2020 electoral count. This time, Trump is welcoming the result and Democrats are showing no signs of claiming fraud. Even so, law enforcement officials are planning extensive security arrangements to ensure nothing disrupts the proceeding. Harris intends to make sure the certification goes smoothly, aides say, partly as a pointed contrast to Trump’s unwilling- ness to do so four years ago. Presidential historian Tim Naftali noted that from the first days after Harris’s loss, she and Biden made it clear they would provide “the kind of transition for Donald Trump that Donald Trump refused to provide for them four years ago.” Harris promised in her conces- sion speech to ease the new administration’s transition to power, while Biden hosted Trump — whom he had called an “existential threat” — in a White House meeting that was so cor- dial it annoyed some of Biden’s fellow Democrats. “This is, in a sense, a way to meet one of their campaign promises,” said Naftali, a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s School of Interna- tional and Public Affairs. “Their administration came to power to restore dignity and to restore American institutions. And even though they are leaving the oval office to the person they re- placed, whose chaos they were elected to eliminate, they have one last opportunity to send a message about the importance of traditional norms.” Donna Brazile, who was Gore’s campaign manager for the 2000 election and advised Harris dur- ing her 2024 campaign, said that even though the moment will resonate with the sting of Har- ris’s loss, the vice president is intent on ensuring the country sees “what it truly means to have a peaceful transition of power.” “She’s not holding grudges. She’s not finger-pointing,” Bra- zile said, adding that the certifi- cation “is going to be just another chapter, another chapter in her very long and distinguished ca- reer.” Brazile recalled watching Gore preside over the 2001 certifica- tion of his defeat in a much closer election, one that required the Supreme Court to affirm George W. Bush’s victory following a bitterly fought recount in flori- da. In that moment, Brazile said, Gore — who won the popular vote only to fall short in the electoral college — was a “states- man” who knew that when the Supreme Court rendered its ver- dict, “the fight was over.” “The same is true of what happened with Kamala Harris — after the verdict came in, she accepted the verdict,” Brazile said. “Gore, like Harris and like Pence — they are institutional- ists. They believe in the rule of law. They believe in a peaceful transition.” Harris is ready to restore a norm that Trump shattered She will certify the victory of a man she called unfit for office Beyond the physical assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, some republican senators chal- lenged Biden’s win in key states, although most reversed their po- sition after the riot, which result- ed in several deaths. for decades, Congress’s count- ing and certification of the elec- toral college votes was a routine event, until some Trump sup- porters in 2021 devised theories and strategies for upending it, none of which held up in court. Although there is no dispute over the results of the 2024 election, the unexpected violence that unfolded in 2021 has cast a shadow over monday’s proceed- ings as law enforcement authori- ties face pressure to ensure that no security threats mar the day. for the first time, the Depart- ment of Homeland Security has designated the certification of votes as a “National Special Secu- rity Event,” which paved the way for the Secret Service and other agencies to develop what they described as “a comprehensive and integrated security plan to ensure the safety and security of this event and its participants.” monday also marks the first time the certification will take place after the 2022 overhaul of the Electoral Count Act, which Congress enacted to shore up weaknesses in that law that were exposed by the events of Jan. 6, 2021. The legislation reaffirmed that the vice president has only a ministerial role at the session where electoral college votes are counted, a direct response to Trump’s false assertions in 2021 that Pence could have overturned the election results. That asser- tion led to threats on Pence’s life from Trump supporters when he refused to do so. The measure also raised the threshold necessary for members of Congress to object to a state’s electors. At the time, Biden called the bill a “critical bipartisanac- tion that will help ensure that the will of the people is preserved.” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-min- nesota), chairwoman of the Sen- ate rules and Administration Committee, added after the legis- lation’s passage that “the Elector- al Count process was never meant to be a trigger point for an insurrection, and that is why we are reforming it.” She added, “We are now one step closer to protecting our de- mocracy and preventing another January 6th.” In the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack, leaders of both parties were quick to condemn it as an inexcusable assault on de- mocracy, and many directly blamed Trump. Senate republican Leader mitch mcConnell of Kentucky called Trump “morally responsi- ble,” and many participants have been convicted of such crimes as assaulting a police officer and entering a restricted federal building. But since then, many in the GoP, led by Trump, have sought to reframe the riot as a heroic act by patriots concerned about de- mocracy. The president-elect has pledged to pardon, within min- utes or hours of taking office, people convicted in the Jan. 6 insurrection, and he has base- lessly said that members of the House committee that investigat- ed it, including former republi- can congresswoman Liz Cheney, “should go to jail.” Biden and others are seeking to challenge that rewriting of history. on Thursday night, the president awarded Cheney the Presidential Citizens medal for “putting country before party.” Biden noted during the medal ceremony that he had previously honored “law enforcement offi- cers who defended our Capitol on January 6th and the state and local election officials, elected leaders who defended the free and fair election 2020.” Brian fallon, a Democratic strategist who advised Harris during her 2024 run, said she views monday’s certification as a critical moment in reestablishing the historical norm that a presi- dential candidate who falls short voluntarily concedes power to their opponent. “It is important to the vice president that the day go as the Constitution intends, to show that January 6, 2021, was an aberration and the American tra- dition of the peaceful transfer of power is being restored,” fallon said. Still, monday will be a difficult day for many of Harris’s support- ers as they come to grips with the reality of Trump’s return to the White House on Jan. 20. When Gore certified the elec- toral votes in 2001, his backers approached him at the Capitol to tell him he should have been affirming his victory rather than his defeat. “It’s a surreal and humiliating moment for Kamala Harris to have to certify her own loss to a man that she dubbed a fascist,” said Douglas Brinkley, a presi- dential historian at rice Univer- sity. “Yet that’s what duty calls her as the vice president to do.” JoSe LuiS MAgAnA/AP Vice President Kamala Harris at the Senate’s ceremonial swearing-in ceremony on Friday. Harris will preside over a joint session of Congress on Monday for the 2024 election certification, four years after a Donald Trump-fueled riot interrupted the last one. “She’s not holding grudges. She’s not finger-pointing.” Donna Brazile, who advised Vice President Kamala harris during her campaign cy. on Jan. 10, 2009, for example, President-elect Barack obama stopped by Ben’s Chili Bowl and visited the Lincoln memorial with his wife and daughters. on Jan. 10, 2001, President-elect George W. Bush visited the Penta- gon. But on Jan. 10, 2025, Donald Trump is expected to be in court. Shayna Jacobs contributed to this report. election, has been delayed by allegations of prosecutorial mis- conduct. many experts say it can- not move forward against Trump while he is president. But even as Trump’s election victory has given him at least a temporary reprieve from most of his legal woes, his expected re- turn to the courtroom ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration illus- trates the unprecedented nature of his candidacy — and presiden- federal election interference case because of the Justice Depart- ment’s policy against prosecuting a sitting president. Last year, Judge Aileen m. Cannon dis- missed the classified-documents case against Trump, saying — in a decision that contradicted prec- edent — that Smith had not been properly appointed. Trump’s case in Georgia, where he and allies are charged with conspiring to overturn the 2020 there was no case against him. After Trump’s may 30 convic- tion in the hush money case, donations to his campaign surged, essentially erasing Presi- dent Joe Biden’s fundraising ad- vantage at the time. The New York criminal case is the only one still dogging Trump as he prepares to return to the White House. After Trump won the election, Smith asked a judge to drop his indictment in the JABin BoTSford/The WAShingTon PoST Donald Trump departs after speaking at a rally in Lititz, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 3. Trump frequently talked about his legal cases on the trail, portraying himself as the victim of a weaponized federal justice system. He will be the first serving president who is also a felon. A6 eZ re the washington post . sunday, january 5 , 2025 Jimmy Carter 1924-2024 mATT mCCLAIn/The WAshInGTOn POsT JOe rAedLe/GeTTy ImAGesALex BrAndOn/POOL/AP BELOW: A U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to the Carter detail places his hand on the hearse at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Georgia. mATT mCCLAIn/The WAshInGTOn POsT BELOW: Flowers are left near “The Smiling Peanut” on Saturday in Plains. The statue is a nod to Carter’s work as a peanut farmer. ALex BrAndOn/POOL/AP RIGHT: People watch as the hearse carrying former president Jimmy Carter's flag-draped casket is driven past on Saturday in Plains, Georgia. ABOVE: At the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park, Sam Peterson and Marilyn Cleveland watch a live feed of a service at the Carter Center. LEFT: Military pallbearers carry the flag-draped casket at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta. sunday, january 5 , 2025 . the washington post eZ re A7 1975. Several prominent state and lo- cal elected officials, including Gov. Brian Kemp (r) and Atlanta may- or Andre Dickens (D), greeted the procession with a moment of si- lence. They and Georgia lawmak- ers then joined members of the Carter family and other dignitar- ies at the Carter Center, the home of his postpresidential work. The hearse carrying Carter’s casket arrived at the center shortly before 4 p.m. members of the Cart- er family walked behind the vehi- cle. A military honor band played “Hail to the Chief” as the casket was unloaded and carried down the steps to the building for a private service that included com- ments from Jason Carter, the late president’s grandson, who vowed that the Carter Center’s work on such issues as democracy and hu- man rights will continue. “All of us have been thinking about this day and planning for it for a long time,” he said. “But it is obviously still hard for us.” Later in the service, Chip Carter recalled some of his favorite child- hood memories with his father. The former president’s son re- counted how he’d struggled in school with Latin, until one day when his father asked for his text- book, went to work and came back and taught him everything he’d learned that day from reading it. Chip Carter went on to describe how Jimmy Carter’s work some- times meant sacrificing time with family, recalling, “We didn’t lose touch but you had to get an ap- pointment in advance.” But he said that in frequent trips later in life, he’d had the experience of becoming friends with his busy parents, something he relished. “He was an amazing man. And he was held up and propped up and soothed by an amazing wom- an. And the two of them together changed the world,” he said, chok- ing up. “And it was an amazing thing to watch from so close, and to be able to be involved in.”
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