What a return to the office MLB’s ‘most anticipated Get ready

may mean for trans people opening day’ ever is here for billions
For those who transitioned in the lockdown, will After a shortened 2020 season, Major League
of cicadas in
workplaces be tolerant and safe? In Money Baseball has a full 162-game schedule. In Sports a few weeks

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E3

Biden pitches $2T

CORONAVIRUS
PANDEMIC
Vaccines for
younger teens
A study by Pfizer-BioNTech showed its
vaccine is effective in 12- to 15-year-
olds, while the company begins tests
jobs plan, tax hike
on younger groups. It remains unclear
when kids can start getting shots. 3A What's in Biden's plan? Sweeping proposal
Transportation and infrastructure for infrastructure
Electric
vehicles
$174B $80B Amtrak's
repair biggest since 1960s
backlog
Joey Garrison
USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden

unveiled a $2 trillion plan Wednesday to
rebuild the nation’s aging infrastruc-
$50B $25B Miscella- ture, support electric vehicles and clean
Allison Oler, 17, receives a Pfizer shot "Infrastructure neous energy and boost access to caregivers
resiliency” to projects
in Utah on Wednesday. RICK BOWMER/AP and their pay in a massive undertaking
climate
Bridges, that would be the centerpiece of his eco-
highways,
$115B disasters
nomic agenda.
roads, and Biden billed the American Jobs Plan
main streets

Even while in need of

repair
$25B $20B Improve
as a domestic investment not seen in
the USA since the construction of the in-
terstate highways in the 1950s and the

home, kids Modernize

$85B
Airports road safety space race a decade later.
The plan seeks to reshape an Amer-
ican economy struggling amid the coro-

do drills for public transit

$20B
Connect
$17B Water-
ways, ports
navirus pandemic, while positioning
the United States to fight climate
change and out-compete China in man-
shooters neighbor-
hoods
and ferries
ufacturing. It would pump billions into
rebuilding roads, bridges and rail with a
dual goal of creating millions of “good-
US schools may be more Quality of life at home
paying union jobs.”
Biden wants to raise taxes on corpo-
at risk than before virus Create, $213B $100B $100B Upgrade
and build
rations to pay for the eight-year spend-
preserve, High-speed ing package. He proposed increasing
†“‰—Š™—”²™ broadband public
Alia Wong
more than schools the corporate tax rate to 28% – resetting
USA TODAY 2 million to the level before passage of President
affordable
Margaret Fram’s 5-year-old daugh- and See ECONOMY, Page 2A
ter knows what to do if there is an ac- commercial
tive shooter at her school. She’s partic- properties
ipated in six emergency drills this year.
She did so from the comfort – or at
least within the confines – of her New
Jersey home. When the school re-
opened for in-person classes, the fam-
ily opted to stick with distance learn- Water $111B
ing for the rest of the semester. infrastructure $18B $16B Clean up
$40B
Though the coronavirus has dom- Public housing VA old oil, gas
hos- wells and
inated discussions about school safety
pitals mines
over the past year, two mass shootings
that killed 18 people remind parents of
a threat that had momentarily receded $27B Federal President Joe Biden unveils his jobs
Electric grid $100B
Clean Energy $12B $10B
from their list of fears: school massa- Comm-
buildings plan in a speech Wednesday in
cres. unity moderniza- Pittsburgh. EVAN VUCCI/AP
college tion
Experts worry that schools may be
$25B $5B Industrial
more vulnerable to violent attacks Child care
$10B
Public and energy
than they were before the pandemic, facilities lands sites
citing underlying factors such as gun-
related deaths and mental health con-
cerns among youths. Caregivers for elderly and disabled Republicans
Active shooter drills – required in

See VIOLENCE, Page 6A

Expand access
to quality,
affordable
$400B pan Biden’s
home or
community-
spending plan
based
care for aging as overly broad
QIJFAF-04005w(b)N
relatives and
people with
disabilities Joey Garrison
©COPYRIGHT 2021
USA TODAY, USA TODAY
A division of
Gannett Co., Inc.
HOME DELIVERY WASHINGTON – Before President
1-800-872-0001, USATODAYSERVICE.COM Joe Biden even offered specifics of his
aim to fix the nation’s roads, bridges and
railways, Republicans he’ll need to work
with in Congress panned it, saying it
Research and development goes too far beyond traditional infra-
When all this is over … Rural $52B $48B $40B $35B Technolo- structure spending and comparing its
What Americans say they’re excited manufacturing gy
American Upgrading climate aspects to the Green New Deal.
about once life is back to something and clean addressing
workforce research Republicans argue the package
like the pre-pandemic “normal”: energy the
development infrastruc- should be limited to transportation,
climate
infrastructure ture
Looking crisis broadband internet and other basics,
forward not green energy like Biden has touted
to it % National $50B since he was a candidate. Biden doesn’t
Science $46B
Already
Clean energy $31B $20B Regional want to just fix roads, Republicans
doing it % Foundation for R&D for small innovation warn, he wants to upend American life.
manufacturing
new business hubs They’ve also balked at raising taxes –
Not thinking about virus, distancing:
74 6 technology
long a sticking point for Republicans to
Ditching the mask in public: $30B get behind big-ticket Democratic pro-
72 5 yŠœ”‹²ˆŠ™” $50B Preventing future grams. To find bipartisan support, the
Meeting with friends and family: monitor $40B pandemics president will have to persuade skepti-
62 18 domestic Dislocated cal Republicans to support an increase
R&D at
Greeting via physical touch: industrial workers $28B $10B of the corporate tax rate to pay for infra-
58 9 program HBCUs
capacity Others structure and a wide range of other
Traveling for a vacation: spending.
56 7 These dynamics foreshadow a possi-
SOURCE: USA TODAY reporting and research; whitehouse.gov
SOURCE Ipsos poll, March 2-3
GRAPHIC: Javier Zarracina and Joey Garrison/ USA TODAY
AMY BARNETTE, BILL CAMPLING/USA TODAY See GOP REACTION, Page 2A
2A ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ USA TODAY
WASHINGTON
Economy
Continued from Page 1A
Donald Trump’s tax cuts in 2017 – and
overhauling how the United States tax-
es multinational corporations by in-
creasing the minimum tax on U.S. cor-
porations to 21%.
Biden detailed the plan Wednesday
afternoon in a speech at a carpenters
training center in Pittsburgh, calling it a
“once-in a generation investment” that
rewards “work, not just wealth.” He said
the plan would be the country’s largest
jobs program since World War II and
make the country more competitive
globally.
“It’s big – yes. It’s bold – yes. And we
can get it done,” he said.
It’s the first piece of Biden’s larger
“Build Back Better” agenda. A separate
proposal addressing health care, educa-
tion and child care is expected in April.
The package continues a shift in U.S.
policy under the Biden administration
to expand the role of the federal govern-
ment to meet the nation’s challenges.
“Put simply, these are investments
we have to make,” he said. “Put another
way, we can’t afford not to.”
Biden faces a giant test politically to
find Republican support in Congress for
his legislative package, though infra-
structure generally has widespread bi-
partisan support. Republicans have
balked at the suggestion of tax hikes
and warned they would oppose a pack-
age that strays from core transportation
infrastructure and tackles climate
change and “social justice.”
“This apparently is not going to be an
infrastructure package,” Senate Minor-
ity Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said.
The Republican called it a “Trojan
horse” for borrowed money, debt and
tax increases on “the most productive
parts of our economy.”
$621 billion for roads, bridges, rail
The American Jobs Plan would allo-
cate $621 billion to transportation infra-
structure and resilience, including the
repair and construction of roads,
bridges, transit and rail service.
That includes $115 billion to modern-
ize 20,000 miles of roads, fixing the 10
most “economically significant” bridges
GOP reaction
Continued from Page 1A
ble repeat of Biden’s first major legisla-
tive victory, when he won approval of a
$1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, the
American Rescue Plan, last month with-
out a single Republican supporter in
Congress.
“What taxes are the Republicans who
want infrastructure spending for?” said
Matt Grossman, who heads the Institute
for Public Policy and Social Research at
Michigan State University. “I think the
answer is not many. And if so, they
won’t be ones that Democrats are likely
to support. So that, right off the top, lim-
its the potential for bipartisanship pret-
ty fundamentally.”
Biden’s proposal – in addition to ad-
dressing roads, bridges, railways and
broadband – includes spending on
manufacturing, research and develop-
ment and “the caregiving economy.”
‘A Trojan horse,’ GOP warns
The White House has billed the pro-
posal as a way to create “good-paying
union jobs” and a first step toward eco-
nomic recovery amid the coronavirus
pandemic. A second proposal in Biden’s
“Build Back Better” agenda addressing
health care, education and child care is
expected later in April.
To build their case for the large infu-
sion of domestic spending, the White
House said the U.S. ranks 13th globally
in infrastructure quality, down from
fifth in 2002, and significantly lags rival
superpower China in infrastructure
spending. More than one-third of Amer-
ica’s bridges need repairs, and one in ev-
ery five highways are in poor condition.
“We know that 80% or more of people
in this country, Democrats and Repub-
licans, support investing in infrastruc-
ture,” White House press secretary Jen
Psaki said.
Yet Republican lawmakers have
spent recent days fine-tuning their at-
tacks.
“We’re hearing the next few months
might bring a so-called infrastructure
proposal that may actually be a Trojan
horse for massive tax hikes and other
job-killing left-wing policies,” Senate
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-
Republicans have balked at tax hikes and say they will oppose a plan that strays
far from rail, roads and other core transportation infrastructure. MATT ROURKE/AP
in the USA and repairing 10,000 smaller
bridges in poor condition.
Federal funds for transit projects –
improvements and expansion – would
double under the plan to $85 billion. The
plan would provide $80 billion to Am-
trak to cover the rail service’s backlog of
repairs, $25 billion would go toward up-
dating airports and $17 billion for sea
ports.
Racial equity and rural infrastructure
are major themes throughout the pack-
age, which would set aside $20 billion to
reconnect neighborhoods historically
cut off by investments. The plan pro-
poses $50 billion to create “resilient in-
frastructure” that can withstand weath-
er-related events.
Biden wants to direct $174 billion to
electric vehicles: the construction of a
national network of 500,000 electric
vehicle stations, replacing diesel vehi-
cles, electrifying bus fleets and offering
tax incentives and rebates to make elec-
tric cars more affordable.
Retrofitted homes
An additional $213 billion in the plan
would go toward retrofitting and build-
ing more than 2 million affordable
homes and commercial properties, and
$111 billion would replace all the nation’s
lead pipes and service lines and up-
grade drinking water, wastewater and
stormwater systems.
“So that every American, every child
Ky., said from the Senate floor last week.
His office seized on recent comments
from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-
N.Y., likening the proposal to the Green
New Deal, a sweeping environmental
effort pushed by Democrats to fight cli-
mate change. “Sold as an infrastructure
plan,” warned Scott Sloofman, a top
McConnell aide, it “actually intends to
reshape the U.S. economy and other
parts of American life.”
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.,
the leading Republican on the Senate’s
Environment and Public Works Com-
mittee, said she’s “very disappointed”
the plan could include so-
cial programs in addition
to infrastructure.
“They’re terming it
‘social infrastructure.’
Never heard that before,”
Capito said, predicting a
Capito hard legislative fight. “I
think we need to talk to
the American people and
say: ‘Is this what you en-
vision with infrastruc-
ture? Are these job cre-
ators? Are we reengi-
neering our own social
Buttigieg fabric here with a 50-vote
majority?’ ”
House Republicans warned Biden’s
transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg,
that any plan that strays from core
transportation priorities won’t get GOP
support. “I don’t think the bill can grow
into a multi-trillion-dollar catch-all,” s
aid Missouri Rep. Sam Graves, the top
Republican on the House Transporta-
tion & Infrastructure Committee. “A
transportation bill needs to be a trans-
portation bill, not a Green New Deal. It
needs to be about roads and bridges.”
Former President Donald Trump re-
peatedly promised an infrastructure
package but never delivered one.
The road to passage
Democrats could choose to pass the
infrastructure legislation in the Senate
through budget reconciliation – just like
they did Biden’s COVID-19 relief bill
known as the American Rescue Plan –
which would require just a simple ma-
jority in the evenly split chamber and
therefore no Republican votes.
In an interview Monday on CNN, But-
tigieg said he believes there’s “a tremen-
can turn on a faucet or fountain and
drink clean water,” Biden said.
The plan would provide $100 billion
to upgrade and construct public
schools; $100 billion to build high-speed
broadband infrastructure to reach all
Americans; and $100 billion to upgrade
the nation’s electric grid and invest-
ment in clean electricity.
The plan sets aside $10 billion to
modernize federal buildings, $12 billion
for community college infrastructure,
$18 billion to modernize Veterans Affairs
hospitals and facilities and $25 billion to
upgrade child care facilities.
Biden proposes a new national “ener-
gy efficiency and clean electricity stan-
dard” aimed at cutting the cost of elec-
tricity bills and electricity pollution. The
plan would earmark $16 billion to plug
orphan oil and gas wells and $10 billion
to build a conservation workforce.
The ‘caregiving economy,’
In one of the plan’s most expensive
programs, Biden proposed $400 billion
to expand access to affordable care for
the elderly and disabled. This would in-
volve aid to Americans to obtain ser-
vices they need and expand the care
workforce, including a pay boost for
care workers. The majority are women
of color and earn about $12 an hour.
Biden proposed expanding access to
long-term care services under Medicaid
and increasing pay through the same
dous opportunity now to have biparti-
san support for a big, bold vision of in-
frastructure,” arguing Americans “don’t
need a lot of selling” on the proposal.
He also defended the inclusion of
green investments in the infrastructure
package.
“You can’t separate the climate part
from this vision,” he said, “because ev-
ery road we fix, every bridge we build,
we can either do it in a way that’s better
for the climate or worse for the climate.
Why wouldn’t we want to be creating
these jobs in a way that’s better for the
climate?”
Buttigieg said he believes the admini-
stration can get Republican votes on in-
frastructure, adding “We’re going to
work with them to try shape it in a way
that earns as much support as possible.”
To pay for the sweeping package, Bi-
den wants to make large corporations
pay more taxes. He will propose in-
creasing the corporate tax rate to 28%
and overhauling how the U.S. taxes mul-
tinational corporations by increasing
the minimum tax on U.S. corporations
to 21%. The White House eliminated us-
er fees, such as a gas tax, to pay for the
infrastructure plan.
Public support for infrastructure
A poll this month from The Hill-
HarrisX found 54% of American voters
believe an infrastructure package
should be a priority right now for the
federal government, compared with
46% who said other initiatives should.
Sixty percent of Democrats, 54% of in-
dependents and 46% of Republicans
agreed infrastructure should be priori-
tized.
“To have a bill like this that can
generate jobs, help improve transporta-
tion, and infrastructure in general is a
win-win all around,” said David Paleolo-
gos, director of the Suffolk University
Political Research Center. “Paying for it,
obviously, is going to be the sticking
point for Republicans.”
Green energy investments are also
popular among the public, according to
Grossman. And while polls generally
find opposition to raising the federal tax
on gas to pay for infrastructure, the pub-
lic gives higher marks to raising taxes
for corporations and higher-income
Americans.
“In that sense, this developing bill
NEWS
federal program.
Aiming to make the country more
competitive against China and other
nations, the plan would pump $180 bil-
lion into research and development in
technology and climate science. This in-
cludes $50 billion for the National Sci-
ence Foundation to invest in new tech-
nology, $40 billion to upgrade outdated
research labs, $35 billion to build tech-
nology to address the climate crisis and
$10 billion for research centers at his-
torically Black colleges and universities.
The plan calls for $300 billion in
manufacturing spending. It’s headlined
by $50 billion for a new federal office to
monitor domestic industrial capacity
and the production of critical goods on
the supply chain such as semiconduc-
tors, batteries and clean energy technol-
ogies.
“I’m convinced that if we act now,
that in 50 years, people will look back
and say this was when America won the
future,” Biden said.
Fully paid for in 15 years
The tax overhaul, which the White
House labeled the Made in America Tax
Plan, seeks to incentivize job creation
and investment in the USA, end profit-
shifting to tax havens and ensure large
corporations pay “their fair share.”
The plan would eliminate a rule that
allows U.S. companies to pay no taxes
on the first 10% of returns when they lo-
cate investments in other countries.
Under the tax hikes and other
changes – eliminating tax loopholes for
intellectual property and denying com-
panies deductions for offshoring jobs,
for example – the White House projects
the spending would be fully paid in 15
years and reduce deficits in the years af-
ter.
Biden said no Americans who earn
less than $400,000 would pay more
taxes under his proposal.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce ap-
plauded Biden for “making infrastruc-
ture a top priority” but said the tax in-
creases “will slow the economic recov-
ery and make the U.S. less competitive
globally – the exact opposite of the goals
of the infrastructure plan.”
“Everybody is for doing something on
infrastructure. But why haven’t we done
it?” Biden said. “Nobody wants to pay
for it.”
does have the potential to at least start
out with bipartisan support in the pub-
lic,” Grossman said.
Such a scenario would also reflect the
dynamics of Biden’s relief bill, which
multiple polls found was backed by
more than 70% of Americans. But as Bi-
den learned, that doesn’t mean Repub-
licans in Congress will jump on board.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called
an infrastructure package the “the best
chance” for Republicans and Democrats
to do something together, saying “Ev-
erybody needs roads and bridges and
ports.”
But, he added, “we just want to make
sure it’s related to infrastructure.”
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NEWS
NATION
Pfizer
vaccine
safe for
youths
Study says drug is 100%
effective for ages 12-15
Karen Weintraub
USA TODAY
The COVID-19 vaccine from drug
company Pfizer and its German part-
ner BioNTech vaccine is safe for and
extremely effective in adolescents, ac-
cording to a company-sponsored
study released early Wednesday.
In adolescents 12 to 15 years old,
vaccination led to a higher protective
antibody response than in adults and
was 100% effective against symptom-
atic disease, the study of 2,260 adoles-
cents found.
The two-shot Pfizer-BioNTech vac-
cine had been authorized for use in
those 16 and up based on previous
trials, but not in younger adolescents.
Last week, the companies began
testing their vaccine in children ages 5
to 11; next week, they will begin testing
in ages 2 to 5, and later they will look at
children 6 months to 2 years. Results
from those trials should be available
later this year.
Moderna, which also has a CO-
VID-19 vaccine, has been studying its
shot in teenagers since December and
launched a trial in younger children in
mid-March. That vaccine is not yet ap-
proved for use in older teens.
Pfizer and BioNTech plan to submit
their adolescent data to the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration to ask that
authorization to provide BNT162b2 be
quickly amended to include that age
group. It's not clear how long the FDA
will take to review the request.
Albert Bourla, chairman and CEO of
Pfizer, said in a prepared statement
that he hoped to make the vaccine rap-
idly available to younger adolescents.
"We share the urgency to expand
the use of our vaccine to additional
populations and are encouraged by the
clinical trial data from adolescents be-
tween the ages of 12 and 15,” he said.
“We plan to submit these data to FDA
as a proposed amendment to our
Emergency Use Authorization in the
coming weeks and to other regulators
around the world, with the hope of
starting to vaccinate this age group be-
fore the start of the next school year.”
In the trial, 18 adolescents who re-
ceived a placebo came down with CO-
VID-19, but none in the vaccinated
group, the companies said. Side effects
in adolescents were consistent with
those observed in participants 16 to 25
years old.
All participants will be monitored
for two years after their second dose to
track long-term protection and safety.
The BNT162b2 vaccine, as those
from Moderna and Johnson & John-
son, has received emergency use au-
thorization rather than full FDA ap-
proval. To save time during the pan-
demic, the companies were allowed to
provide two months of safety data in-
stead of waiting the full two years to
see whether the vaccine will remain
effective. Serious side effects, if any,
are mostly likely to occur within the
first six weeks after vaccination.
It remains unclear how long the CO-
VID-19 vaccines will remain protec-
tive, but trial results and real-world
data suggest the Moderna and Pfizer-
BioNTech vaccines are more than 90%
effective at preventing symptomatic
COVID-19.
Hospitalizations and severe disease
appear to be extremely rare after vac-
cination with two doses of both vac-
cines.
So far, 96 million Americans – near-
ly 30% – have received at least one
dose of the three vaccines, according
to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. More than 75 million of
those doses have been the Pfizer-
BioNTech vaccine, nearly 69 million
have gotten Moderna, and just over 3
million adults have received the sin-
gle-dose J&J shot.
Health and patient safety coverage
at USA TODAY is made possible in part
by a grant from the Masimo Founda-
tion for Ethics, Innovation and Com-
petition in Healthcare. The Masimo
Foundation does not provide editorial
input.
CHAUVIN TRIAL
Witnesses break down,
express guilt over Floyd
Several testify of regret
for inability to help him
N'dea Yancey-Bragg
USA TODAY
MINNEAPOLIS – Firefighter Gene-
vieve Hansen broke down in tears
Tuesday as she testified about being
prevented from helping George Floyd
as police officer Derek Chauvin knelt
on his neck.
The 27-year-old, who also trained
as an EMT, was on a walk last Memori-
al Day when she encountered Floyd
and Chauvin. She can be heard on
video of the arrest begging officers to
check Floyd’s pulse.
She described feeling “totally dis-
tressed” and “helpless” that the police
wouldn’t let her give medical attention
to Floyd.
Almost everyone who has testified
in Chauvin’s trial became choked up
on the witness stand as they described
watching Floyd go unconscious and
lose his pulse. Many expressed regret
that they couldn’t help Floyd, a Black
man who was pinned beneath Chau-
vin’s knee for more than nine minutes
on May 25, 2020.
Sometimes survivors of traumatic
events hold a “false belief ” about their
role – for example, that they could’ve
saved Floyd from dying, said Nadine
Kaslow, a professor of psychiatry and
behavioral sciences at Emory School
of Medicine.
Among those who testified were a
mixed martial arts fighter, the teenager
who recorded a video showing Floyd’s
death and her 9-year-old cousin and
the cashier who took a counterfeit $20
bill that Floyd allegedly tried to pass,
which led to the 911 call for police.
Chauvin, who is white, is charged with
second-degree murder, third-degree
murder and second-degree man-
slaughter.
Simply watching video of Floyd’s
death can take an emotional toll on
viewers, especially people of color who
have been repeatedly exposed to mi-
croaggressions and viral incidents of
racism and police brutality, said Kas-
low, director of the Atlanta Trauma Al-
liance.
Gaetz denies wrongdoing amid probe
Matthew Brown
USA TODAY
WASHINGTON – Rep. Matt Gaetz, a
firebrand Florida Republican and close
ally of former President Donald
Trump, is under investigation over al-
legations he had sex with an underage
girl, media reports said Tuesday.
The revelation that the Justice De-
partment is investigat-
ing Gaetz for potential
violations of sex traf-
ficking laws swiftly
roiled national politics.
Gaetz was accused of
having a sexual relation-
Gaetz ship with a 17-year-old
girl and paying for her
travel, The New York Times reported.
The third-term congressman de-
nied wrongdoing, insinuating that he
and his family have been under the
threat of extortion from a former Jus-
tice Department official. Gaetz has not
been charged and said he was cooper-
ating with the investigation.
Who is Matt Gaetz?
Gaetz, 38, has represented Florida’s
1st Congressional District, which en-
compasses much of the Panhandle,
since 2017. Before that, Gaetz had
served in the Florida House of Repre-
sentatives since 2010.
He was raised in a political family:
His father, Don, served in the Florida
Legislature as Senate president after
co-founding the hospice care compa-
ny VITAS Healthcare. He lives in Fort
Walton Beach, near Destin.
Since entering national politics,
Gaetz has been a frequent presence on
conservative media and a viral hit
across social media platforms.
In June 2020, after a fellow con-
USA TODAY ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ 3A
From left, witnesses Donald Williams, Genevieve Hansen and Charles McMillian
get emotional in court recounting the death of George Floyd last year. AP
Witnessing a severely traumatic
event – such as Floyd’s death – in per-
son can have “profound” psychological
effects, both short and long term, she
said.
“It will impact them for the rest of
their lives,” Kaslow said. “When people
are telling the story, it’s almost like they
are reliving a lot of memories.”
Wednesday, Judge Peter Cahill had to
call a 10-minute recess when Charles
McMillian, the prosecution’s 11th wit-
ness, began to sob as he watched the
video showing Floyd struggling with po-
lice and calling out for his mother.
“I feel helpless,” McMillian said,
struggling to regain his composure. “My
mom died June 25th.”
McMillian can be seen in a video
standing in the street behind a patrol
car during Floyd’s initial struggle with
police. After McMillian regained his
composure, prosecutor Erin Eldridge
asked him whether he could handle
hearing and watching more of the video.
“What stood out to you about what
Mr. Floyd was saying when you saw him
on the ground?” Eldridge asked.
“When he said ‘I can’t breathe,’ and
when he said, ‘Mama, they’re killing me,
they’re killing me.’ That’s what I kept
hearing: ‘I can’t breathe, they’re killing
me,’ ” he replied.
Darnella Frazier, the teenager who
filmed the video, broke down in tears
multiple times Tuesday as she told at-
torneys that witnessing and recording
the incident changed her life.
Frazier, who was 17 at the time, said
she has stayed up some nights “apolo-
gizing and apologizing to George Floyd
for not doing more and not physically
interacting and not saving his life.”
Donald Williams, a wrestler trained
in mixed martial arts who asked officers
Media reports say the Florida
congressman is under investigation
over allegations of sex with an
underage girl.
gressman said his white colleagues did
not understand what it meant to raise a
child of color in the U.S., Gaetz revealed
he had raised a Cuban immigrant son,
Nestor Galban, 19, who has no blood re-
lation to Gaetz.
In December 2020, Gaetz became en-
gaged to Ginger Luckey, 26, sister of
Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey.
The investigation
The Justice Department is investi-
gating whether Gaetz violated federal
sex trafficking laws in paying for the
travel of an underage girl, The New York
Times reported, citing anonymous
sources familiar with the matter.
The investigation, which began un-
der Attorney General Bill Barr and was
led by some Trump-appointed federal
agents, is part of a larger investigation
into a close Gaetz ally, Seminole County
tax collector Joel Greenberg. In August,
Greenberg was charged with sex traf-
ficking girls ages 14 to 17. Greenberg
faces 14 other federal charges, including
stalking a political opponent by alleged-
ly impersonating the candidate in fake
Twitter accounts and claiming the rival
was “a segregationist and in favor of
white supremacy.”
It is unclear how central the con-
gressman is to the overall investigation,
though charges against him, if levied,
would constitute federal crimes.
Gaetz confirmed to Axios that he was
under Justice Department investiga-
tion. He told Axios: “I have definitely, in
my single days, provided for women I’ve
to stop the “blood choke,” wiped away
tears as he listened to the 911 call he
made once officers left the scene.
Witnessing Floyd’s death could cre-
ate emotional anguish, fear, sadness
and other “classic symptoms of post-
traumatic stress disorder” such as in-
trusive memories, flashbacks or night-
mares, Kaslow said.
She said witnesses may experience a
symptom of PTSD called survivor’s
guilt, a feeling that they did something
wrong because they survived a trauma
while others did not or that they didn’t
do enough to help.
Christopher Martin, the Cup Foods
employee who took the counterfeit $20
bill, told jurors Wednesday that he ex-
perienced “disbelief and guilt” after see-
ing Floyd taken away in an ambulance.
“If I had just not taken the ($20) bill,
this could have been avoided,” Martin,
19, said.
Martin said he left his job at Cup
Foods because he didn’t feel safe.
Kaslow said people trying to cope
with traumatic events may become iso-
lated and avoid talking about it.
High school student Alyssa Nicole
Funari, 18, told the court Tuesday that
she hasn’t been to Cup Foods since.
Funari said she felt like she was fail-
ing because she wanted to intervene but
an officer was pushing the crowd back.
“There was nothing I could do as a
bystander there,” she said. “I couldn’t do
physically what I wanted to do.”
The avoidance coping mechanism is
“severely challenged” in a trial, Kaslow
said. “We need to be mindful as we ask
people to testify,” she said. “This is real-
ly going to stir a lot of people up.”
Contributing: Grace Hauck, Kevin
McCoy, Tami Abdollah and Eric Ferken-
hoff
dated. You know, I’ve paid for flights, for
hotel rooms. I’ve been, you know, gener-
ous as a partner. I think someone is try-
ing to make that look criminal.”
He denied to The New York Times
that he had committed any improper
acts and alleged his family is the victim
of an extortion racket.
Tuesday night, Gaetz appeared on
Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” to
discuss the controversy with the con-
servative host. Gaetz again claimed the
investigation into him was a cover for
extortion, suggesting the effort was
concocted by Democratic rivals in the
House. “I know that there was a demand
for money in exchange for a commit-
ment that he could make this investiga-
tion go away along with his co-conspira-
tors,” Gaetz insisted, referring to the for-
mer Justice Department official.
“They even claimed to have specific
connections inside the Biden White
House,” Gaetz claimed. “Now, I don’t
know if that’s true. They were promis-
ing that Joe Biden would pardon me.
Obviously, I don’t need a pardon. I’m not
seeking a pardon. I have not done any-
thing improper or wrong.”
After the interview, Carlson declared,
“That was one of the weirdest inter-
views I’ve ever conducted.”
No stranger to controversy
Gaetz has been a lightning rod since
entering Congress. In his early days in
office, he quickly crafted an image as a
close ally of Trump, adopting the pug-
nacious attitude toward politics.
One of his first acts in Congress was
to call for the abolition of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency. Gaetz was
also early to call on Trump to fire special
counsel Robert Mueller for his investi-
gation into the Trump campaign’s deal-
ings with the Russian government.
4A ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ USA TODAY NEWS

Brood X cicadas 2021:

A visual guide to the emerging insect
JANET LOEHRKE AND DOYLE RICE/USA TODAY

Every 17 years, portions of the central, eastern and southern U.S. see a massive
emergence of “periodical” cicadas. The largest of the many generations of cicadas,
Brood X, will surface in May, creating a monstrous cacophony.

Where the Brood X cicada will emerge this season Anatomy of the Brood X cicada
Brood X is one of the largest and most broadly distributed groups of periodical Unlike greenish, annual cicadas, periodical cicadas are known
cicadas. They can be found from northern Georgia to New York, west to the for their black bodies, clear wings and bold red eyes. They
Mississippi River and in the Midwest. There can be as many as 1.5 million cicadas breathe through 10 pairs of spiracles, two of which are on the
per acre, which brings the brood population into the trillions. thorax; eight are on the abdomen. The antennae are short
and bristly.

Foreleg Eye Antenna

Head

Thorax
WI NY MA
M Forewing

MI RI
Hind wing Abdomen
CT
Harrisburg
Ha
Har
H arrisbu
rri
rrris
rr
risb
is
isbu
is
sbu
bu
bu
urrrg
g Hind leg
Tymbal Mid leg
IA
PA
PA NJ
J covers
OH
OH
Ind
IIn
Indianapolis
n
nddia
di
d ian
an
naap
a pol
p
poollis
oli
olis
o MD
MD DE
E t‰Š“™Ž²ˆ†™Ž”“ Win
Wingspan
Ci
C in
nccin
inna
nati
nat
Cincinnatiti Washington,
Wa
Washington,
as
ash
a shin
shin
sh in
nggttton
g on, D.C.
on D.C.
D. Š$ZžŠ†—ˆŽˆ†‰†˜†—Š‡‘†ˆ A fully grown cicada
IL
IL
IN
IN WV
WV with red eyes. Adults have clear wings can have
h a wingspan
i
St. Lo
Louis
ouis
ouis
s VA
VA with distinctive orange veins. of 3 to 4 inches.
KS
KY
KY
MO
O

NC How big are the Brood X cicadas?

TN
TN Nashville
Nash
Nas
Na sh
hvi
viilllle
v
They’re 1 to 2 inches long with a wingspan of 3 to 4 inches.
OK AR Size comparison in inches:
SC
Atlanta
A
GA 0 1” 2” 3”
AL
MS

TX
LA

How loud do cicadas get?

Male cicadas contract ridged membranes on their abdomens to make the
˜”š“‰œŽˆŽ˜†’•‘Ž²Š‰‡ž™ŠŽ—†‘’”˜™Z”‘‘”œ†‡‰”’Š“˜p†ˆ˜•ŠˆŽŠ˜†˜
its own sound, and the chorus can reach 90 to 100 decibels – as loud as a lawn Do cicadas
mower, CicadaMania said.
bite or sting?
Sound measured in decibels No. Cicadas aren’t equipped to sting like bees or wasps. They
do have prickly feet that could prick your skin if held.
Jet aircraft taking off
140 at 100 feet Sounds of the cicada Are cicadas considered
Periodical cicadas are known for their earsplitting locusts?
Jackhammer at 6 feet sounds, which are produced by the male of the No, they are different species of insects.
130 Threshold of pain species to attract females. Locusts belong to the same family of
insects as grasshoppers. Locusts are far
One Australian cicada Two vibrating membranes called tymbals sit behind more destructive, as they feed on a
species is said to be the the wing on either side of the male cicada’s abdomen. variety of plant life. Large swarms of
120 loudest insect on Earth, Female cicadas don’t have sound producing organs. locusts can cause severe damage to
reaching 120 decibels at croplands. Cicadas don’t cause the same
close range. Tymbal level of destruction as locusts. Although
The air sac acts as a
resonating chamber, large swarms of cicadas can damage
110 Extremely loud Air
œŽˆ†’•‘Ž²Š˜™†™ young trees as they lay their eggs in
sac
cicada’s songs. branches, larger trees can usually
Cicadas can be as loud
withstand the cicadas.
as 90-100 decibels.
100 Locust Cicada

Life cycle of a cicada

Periodical cicadas from Brood X has the longest
90 Lawn mower at 3 feet life cycle of any insect.

1
Loud Male cicadas will live two to four weeks. They begin producing
their loud mating calls to attract female cicadas.
80 w”š‰™—†‹²ˆ
Noisy restaurant

70 Hairdryer

Moderate to quiet
2 After mating,
female cicadas lay
their eggs in
•Š“ˆŽ‘Z˜ŽŸŠ™œŽŒ˜
of trees and
60 Normal conversation shrubs, which can
at 3 feet number as many
as 600.
ž•Žˆ†‘”‹²ˆŠ
50
Faint 5 l‹™Š—Ž™˜²“†‘’”‘™™Š“ž’•¨˜
skin splits open and the mature
adult cicada emerges. The
40 cicada will appear white before
its outer skeleton hardens.

30
Faint whisper

20
3 Six to 10 weeks later,
the eggs hatch. Tiny
nymphs fall from the
twigs and burrow

4
Leaves
10 rustling For 17 years, the nymphs get their beneath the soil 6 to
nutrition by sucking on roots of 18 inches.
trees and shrubs. When the soil
Threshold of temperature reaches 65 degrees,
0 human hearing mature nymphs simultaneously emerge
from the ground.

~z€}npŠ€“Ž›Š—˜Ž™ž”‹xŽˆŽŒ†“xš˜Šš’”‹…””‘”Œžp“™”’”‘”ŒŽˆ†‘~”ˆŽŠ™ž”‹l’Š—Žˆ†y†™Ž”“†‘lš‰š‡”“~”ˆŽŠ™žªl’†ŸŽ“ŒmšŒ˜«‡žt“˜Ž‰ŠovršŽ‰Š˜†“‰€~lzol„—Š˜Š†—ˆ
n”“™—Ž‡š™Ž“Œy¨‰Š†„†“ˆŠžZm—†ŒŒ†“‰v†—Ž“†…†ŽŠ™˜€~lzol„vŠŽ™x†™Š“ž†“‰rŠ”—ŒŠ†v”›†“Ž˜oŠ™—”Ž™q—ŠŠ{—Š˜˜
NEWS USA TODAY ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ 5A

NATION

Billions of cicadas set to swarm

Buzz surrounds their
comeback after 17 years
Dustin Barnes
USA TODAY
It’s a debut that’s been 17 years in the
making, and in a matter of weeks, it’s
one that will grab the attention of mil-
lions of Americans.
Billions of periodical cicadas will
emerge across 15 states and Washing-
ton, D.C., with some possibly coming
out as early as late-April or the first
week of May, said Gene Kritsky, a peri-
odical cicada expert and dean of Behav-
ioral and Natural Sciences at Mount St.
Joseph University in Cincinnati.
This year’s group, known as Brood X,
is the largest of the 17-year-broods in
both density and geographical area.
And while the name may sound dra-
matic, the “X” is technically the Roman
numeral 10 in this instance, Kritsky told
USA TODAY.
Read below for some of the most
common questions surrounding these
large, red-eye insects.
Where will the Brood X cicadas
emerge?
Essentially, there are three major
patches where you’re likely to see the
largest swarms of these cicadas, Kritsky
said:
h The southeast corner of Pennsylva-
nia, almost all of Maryland, parts of Del-
aware and New Jersey, and a few areas
in New York.
h Ohio, almost the entire state of In-
diana, a few areas in eastern Illinois,
and northwest and eastern parts of
Kentucky.
h Western North Carolina, east Ten-
nessee and a scattering around west
Tennessee and the northern part of
Georgia.
Overall, this large emergence will af-
fect the District of Columbia and at least
parts of these 15 states: Delaware, Geor-
gia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mary-
land, Michigan, New Jersey, New York,
North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
When are the cicadas coming?
When soil temperatures hit 64 de-
grees a few inches below ground, the ci-
cadas will start to emerge.
That usually comes on the first or
second day when temperatures reach
the low 80s, Kritsky said.
“It’s hard to make predictions other
than just (looking at) long-term climate
trends,” Kritsky said.
But generally, those temperature
markers come earlier for Southern
states.
So northern Georgia could see the
right conditions for Brood X emergence
around the first part of May, while Cin-
cinnati could reach that point near the
middle of May.
But Kritsky said Brood X areas that
see an unseasonably warm April could
see the cicadas earlier than past years.
How loud can a swarm of cicadas
get?
While doing quadrant studies under
a large oak tree, Kritsky estimated thou-
sands of cicadas in the surrounding
area. Standing a few feet away, he mea-
sured the insects’ sounds at 96 decibels,
slightly higher than a low-flying air-
plane, which can hit about 80 decibels.
“These individuals will crawl out ev-
ery 17 years and they know they have
only one purpose, and that is to mate
and reproduce,” said Jerome Grant, a
University of Tennessee entomologist.
“So they’re going to make a lot of noise
to attract females to mate.”
Competitive males are all about flex-
ing their muscles. That’s how they make
their trademark catcalls, Grant told the
Knoxville News Sentinel, part of the
USA TODAY Network. Male cicadas
have a special ribbed organ called a
tymbal. When they flex their muscles,
the ribs rub together and produce
sound.
Cicada expert
Gene Kritsky said
Brood X areas
that see an
unseasonably
warm April could
see the cicadas
earlier than past
years.
Brood X of periodical
cicadas are large,
winged, mostly harmless
flying insects known for
their almost deafening
buzz. GETTY IMAGES
Do people really eat cicadas?
Yes. There’s evidence dating back to
the 18th century showing people would
eat the swarming insects, said Kritsky,
who has tried them himself once. “I
don’t make it a habit of eating them.”
“They taste kind of like cold, canned
asparagus to me,” said Grant, adding
that they’re best when harvested right
after they’ve molted. “Then they’re still
soft. You can freeze them or cook with
them. They make a good stir fry, and
they’re good in dumplings and in stews.”
In 2004, the last time Brood X was
swarming parts of the country, a group
called the Cicadamaniacs at the Univer-
sity of Maryland released a cookbook
filled with recipes for the bugs, includ-
ing Soft-Shelled Cicadas, Cicada Dump-
lings and Cicada Stir-Fry.
Save room for dessert: “Cicada-Li-
cious” includes recipes for chocolate
chip cookies and rhubarb pie – each
containing the special ingredient.
Contributing: Brittany Crocker,
Knoxville News Sentinel

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NATION’S HEALTH
Violence
Continued from Page 1A
roughly 40 states – may make
matters worse. There is scant
evidence of their effectiveness
and growing concern about the
traumatizing effect they may
have on the children they’re in-
tended to keep safe.
Fram recalled observing a
drill alongside her daughter,
whose teacher captured the
event in real-time through her
iPad. The lights went off, and
everything went still. Students
– including those like her
daughter who were learning
from home – were instructed to
do nothing and stay quiet for 10
or so minutes.
Fram has worked as a sub-
stitute teacher and under-
stands the school’s desire to
“keep everything as normal as
possible” now that classrooms
have reopened. In a country
where there are more school
shootings than in all the other
most advanced industrial na-
tions combined, she recognizes
that normal means preparing
for a mass shooting.
But the drills “felt complete-
ly pointless to me,” Fram said.
“It just seems like it’s unneces-
sarily digging up trauma. … It’s
one more thing to put on my
mental checklist of ‘OK, I have
to explain this to my child.’ ”
Return of school
shootings?
The 10 school shootings re-
ported in 2020 while schools
were closed by COVID-19 for
part of the year were down
from the 25 shootings the pre-
vious year and the 24 shootings
in 2018.
There was a record-breaking
number of gun-related deaths
and a record number of gun
sales last year in the USA. Rates
of mental health challenges
such as anxiety and depression
among the country’s youth got
worse over the past year.
Kenneth Trump, president
of the consulting firm National
School Safety and Security Ser-
vices, said the pandemic exac-
erbates conditions in certain
students that could “add an-
other level” to the likelihood of
violent behavior.
“For those who tend to be
higher risk of perpetrating vio-
lence – whether it’s bullying or
a school shooting – we know
that undiagnosed or untreated
mental health issues are often a
factor,” Trump said.
“I am very concerned about
this time bomb that could be
heading for us if we’re not ade-
quately prepared,” said Nicole
Hockley, co-founder of Sandy
Hook Promise, an organization
that aims to protect children
from gun violence. Hockley’s
son Dylan was one of the 20
children, along with six educa-
tors, who were murdered in
the Sandy Hook Elementary
School massacre in 2012 in
Newtown, Connecticut.
Hockley launched the Say
Something Anonymous Re-
porting System, a hotline of
sorts through which students
can report classmates who may
be at risk of harming them-
selves or others. The rate of
students reporting concerns
about suicidal classmates in-
creased over the past year and
became the top reason for in-
coming tips, followed by bully-
ing and depression.
Half of the country’s school
shootings are perpetrated by
current or former students, ac-
cording to a report in June 2020
by the U.S. Government Ac-
countability Office. Children’s
access to guns remains high in
some parts of the USA. In Colo-
rado, 1 in 5 high schoolers say
they have easy access to a fire-
arm, according to a studyin the
Journal of Pediatrics.
“The school violence threats
are not going to pause simply
because we’re pivoting” after a
year of COVID-19, Trump said.
“These threats are real and can
happen any day, so we have to
make sure we’re ready to hit the
ground running and ensuring
Law enforcement takes part in a drill at a Hudson Falls, N.Y., school last year. OMAR RICARDO AQUIJE/AP
that those traditional emergen- tactics are effective, and in
cy plans are up to date.” many cases, they can be detri-
mental to participants’ mental
‘Just call it a drill’ health. Active shooter drills are
associated with increases in
In some cases, drills demand depression, stress and anxiety
that students not only stay qui- and physiological health prob-
et but also secure the room, lems, according to a report
shut off lights and replicate published last September by
methods for fighting back and Everytown, a gun safety advo-
distracting a hypothetical cacy and research organiza-
shooter. tion, and Georgia Tech.
There’s little evidence such Experts – from therapists to
IN THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS, HOUSTON DIVISION
In re: SUNDANCE ENERGY ) Chapter 11
INC., et al.,1 ) Case No. 21-30882 (DRJ)
Debtors. ) (Jointly Administered)
NOTICE OF (I) COMMENCEMENT OF CHAPTER 11
BANKRUPTCY CASES, (II) COMBINED HEARING ON
DISCLOSURE STATEMENT AND CONFIRMATION OF
JOINT PREPACKAGED CHAPTER 11 PLAN, AND (III)
OBJECTION AND VOTING DEADLINES, AND SUMMARY
OF DEBTORS’ JOINT PREPACKAGED CHAPTER 11 PLAN
TO: ALL HOLDERS OF CLAIMS AGAINST, AND EQUITY
INTERESTS IN, SUNDANCE ENERGY INC. AND ITS
AFFILIATED DEBTORS AND DEBTORS-IN-POSSESSION
AND ALL OTHER PARTIES IN INTEREST IN THE ABOVE-
CAPTIONED CHAPTER 11 CASES
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT on March 9, 2021 (the “Petition
Date”),Sundance Energy Inc.and its affiliated debtors,as debtors and
debtors in possession (collectively,the“Debtors”),each commenced
a case under chapter 11 of title 11 of the United States Code (the
“Bankruptcy Code”) in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the
SouthernDistrictofTexas(the“BankruptcyCourt”).
PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE THAT prior to the filing of these
Chapter 11 Cases,the Debtors commenced solicitation of votes on the
Joint Prepackaged Plan of Reorganization for Sundance Energy Inc.and
itsAffiliateDebtorsUnderChapter11oftheBankruptcyCode (as may be
amended,modified,or supplemented from time to time,the“Plan”)2
from Holders of Claims in Class 4 (Prepetition RBL Claims) and Class
5 (Prepetition Term Loan Claims) of record as of March 5, 2021 (the
VotingRecordDate”).
PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE THAT on March 10, 2021, the
Bankruptcy Court entered an order [Docket No. 80] conditionally
approving the Disclosure Statement for Joint Prepackaged Plan of
Reorganized for Sundance Energy Inc. and its Affiliate Debtors Under
Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code (as may be amended, modified, or
supplementedfromtimetotime,the“DisclosureStatement”).
PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE THAT on the Petition Date, the
Debtors filed with the Bankruptcy Court the Plan [Docket No.21] and
the Disclosure Statement [Docket No.22]. Copies of the Plan and the
Disclosure Statement may be obtained free of charge by visiting the
website maintained by the Debtors’ solicitation agent, Prime Clerk
LLC (the “Solicitation Agent”), at the following website: http://
cases.primeclerk.com/sundanceenergy. Copies of the Plan and
Disclosure Statement may also be obtained by calling the Solicitation
Agent at 877-470-4340 (domestic, toll free) or 347-919-5764 (local/
international, toll) or by sending an electronic mail message to
sundanceinfo@PrimeClerk.comwith“Sundance”inthesubjectline.
PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE THAT a hearing (the
“Combined Hearing”) is scheduled for April 19, 2021 at 9:30
a.m. (Prevailing Central Time) to consider approval of the
Disclosure Statement on a final basis and confirmation of the Plan.
The Combined Hearing will take place in Courtroom 400,4th Floor,515
Rusk Street, Houston,TX 77002 or via videoconference, if necessary.3
The Combined Hearing may be continued from time to time by the
Bankruptcy Court or the Debtors without further notice other than
by such adjournment being announced in open court or by a notice
of adjournment filed with the Bankruptcy Court and served on such
parties as the Bankruptcy Court may order. Moreover, subject to
the terms of the Restructuring Support Agreement, the Plan may
be modified or amended, if necessary, pursuant to section 1127 of
the Bankruptcy Code, prior to, during, or as a result of the Combined
Hearing,withoutfurthernoticetopartiesininterest.
SUMMARY OFTREATMENT OF CLAIMS AND EQUITY
INTERESTS ANDVOTING RIGHTS UNDERTHE PLAN
1. In accordance with sections 1122 and 1123 of the Bankruptcy
Code, the Plan contemplates classifying Holders of Claims and Equity
Interests into various Classes for all purposes,including with respect to
votingonthePlan,asfollows:
Class Claim/EquityInterest Status VotingRights
1. OtherPriorityClaims Unimpaired PresumedtoAccept
2. OtherSecuredClaims Unimpaired PresumedtoAccept
3. SecuredTaxClaims Unimpaired PresumedtoAccept
4. PrepetitionRBLClaims Impaired EntitledtoVote
5. PrepetitionTermLoan Impaired EntitledtoVote
Claims
6. GeneralUnsecuredClaims Unimpaired PresumedtoAccept
7. IntercompanyClaims
8. OldParentInterests
Impaired PresumedtoAccept
Impaired DeemedtoReject
9. OldSundanceSubsidiary Unimpaired PresumedtoAccept
Interests
2. Only Holders of Claims in Class 4 and Class 5 are entitled to vote
to accept or reject the Plan. Class 8 (Old Parent Interests) are deemed
to reject the Plan and, therefore, are not entitled to vote. All other
Classes of Claims and Equity Interests are presumed to accept the Plan
and,therefore,arenotentitledtovote.
VOTING DEADLINE
3. The deadline for the submission of votes for Holders of Claims
in Class 4 and Class 5,to accept or reject the Plan is March 23,2021 at
5:00p.m.(PrevailingCentralTime)(the“VotingDeadline”).
SUMMARY OFTHE PLAN
4. PlanTreatment.Article IIIof the Plansets forth treatment to be
providedtoeachClassofClaimsandEquityInterestsunderthePlan.
1. Class1-OtherPriorityClaims
(a) Classification: Class1consistsoftheOtherPriorityClaims.
(b) Treatment: Subject to ArticleVIII of the Plan,to the extent such
Class 1 Claim has not already been paid in full during the Chapter 11
Cases, on the Effective Date, or as soon as reasonably practicable
thereafter, each Holder of an Allowed Class 1 Claim shall receive
in full and final satisfaction, settlement, discharge and release of,
and in exchange for, such Class 1 Claim, at the option of the Debtors
or the Reorganized Debtors, as applicable, and with the consent of
the Required Consenting Term Lenders: (a) payment in full in Cash
in an amount equal to the due and unpaid portion of such Allowed
Class 1 Claim; (b) such other less favorable treatment as to which the
Debtors or Reorganized Debtors,as applicable,and the Holder of such
Allowed Class 1 Claim shall have agreed upon in writing; or (c) such
other treatment such that such Allowed Class 1 Claim will be rendered
Unimpaired in accordance with section 1124 of the Bankruptcy
Code; provided, however, that Class 1 Claims incurred by any Debtor
in the ordinary course of business may be paid in the ordinary course
of business by such applicable Debtor or Reorganized Debtor in
accordance with the terms and conditions of any agreements relating
theretowithoutfurthernoticetoororderoftheBankruptcyCourt.
(c) Voting: Class1isanUnimpairedClass,andtheHoldersofClaims
in Class 1 are conclusively presumed to have accepted the Plan pursu-
ant to section 1126(f) of the Bankruptcy Code. Therefore, the Holders
of Claims in Class 1 are not entitled to vote to accept or reject the Plan.
Holders of Claims in Class 1 will be provided a Release Opt Out Form
solelyforpurposesofaffirmativelyoptingoutoftheThirdPartyRelease.
2. Class2-OtherSecuredClaims
(a) Classification: Class 2 consists of the Other Secured Claims.
Class2consistsofseparatesubclassesforeachOtherSecuredClaim.
(b) Treatment: Subject to ArticleVIII of the Plan,to the extent such
Class 2 Claim has not already been paid in full during the Chapter 11
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Cases, on the Effective Date, or as soon as reasonably practicable
thereafter, each Holder of an Allowed Class 2 Claim shall receive in
full and final satisfaction,settlement,discharge and release of,and in
exchange for,such Allowed Class 2 Claim,at the option of the Debtors
or the Reorganized Debtors,as applicable,and with the consent of the
Required Consenting Term Lenders: (a) payment in full in Cash in an
amount equal to the due and unpaid portion of such Allowed Class 2
Claim; (b) the return or abandonment of the Collateral securing such
Allowed Class 2 Claim;(c) reinstatement of such Allowed Class 2 Claim;
(d) such other less favorable treatment as to which the Debtors or
Reorganized Debtors, as applicable, and the Holder of such Allowed
Class 2 Claim shall have agreed upon in writing; or (e) such other
treatment such that such Allowed Class 2 Claim will be rendered
Unimpaired in accordance with section 1124 of the Bankruptcy
Code; provided, however, that Class 2 Claims incurred by any Debtor
in the ordinary course of business may be paid in the ordinary course
of business by such applicable Debtor or Reorganized Debtor in
accordance with the terms and conditions of any agreements relating
theretowithoutfurthernoticetoororderoftheBankruptcyCourt.
(c) Voting: Class 2 is an Unimpaired Class, and the Holders of
Claims in Class 2 are conclusively presumed to have accepted the Plan
pursuant to section 1126(f) of the Bankruptcy Code. Therefore, the
Holders of Claims in Class 2 are not entitled to vote to accept or reject
thePlan. HoldersofClaimsinClass2willbeprovidedaReleaseOptOut
Form solely for purposes of affirmatively opting out of the Third Party
Release.
3. Class3-SecuredTaxClaims
(a) Classification: Class3consistsoftheSecuredTaxClaims.
(b) Treatment: Subject to ArticleVIII of the Plan,to the extent such
Class 3 Claim has not already been paid in full during the Chapter 11
Cases, on the Effective Date, or as soon as reasonably practicable
thereafter, each Holder of an Allowed Class 3 Claim shall receive in
full and final satisfaction, settlement, discharge and release of, and in
exchange for,such Allowed Class 3 Claim,at the option of the Debtors
or the Reorganized Debtors, as applicable, and with the consent of
the Required Consenting Term Lenders: (a) payment in full in Cash
in an amount equal to the due and unpaid portion of such Allowed
Class 3 Claim; (b) such other less favorable treatment as to which the
Debtors or the Reorganized Debtors, as applicable, and the Holder of
such Allowed Class 3 Claim shall have agreed upon in writing; (c) the
return or abandonment of the Collateral securing such Allowed Class 3
Claim; (d) such other treatment such that such Allowed Class 3 Claim
will be rendered Unimpaired in accordance with section 1124 of the
Bankruptcy Code; or (e) pursuant to and in accordance with sections
1129(a)(9)(C) and 1129(a)(9)(D) of the Bankruptcy Code, Cash in an
aggregate amount of such Allowed Class 3 Claim payable in regular
installment payments over a period ending not more than five (5)
years after the Petition Date, plus simple interest at the rate required
by applicable non-bankruptcy law on any outstanding balance from
the Effective Date,or such lesser rate as is agreed to in writing by a par-
ticular taxing authority and the Debtors or the Reorganized Debtors,as
applicable,pursuant to section 1129(a)(9)(C) of the Bankruptcy Code;
provided, however, that Class 3 Claims incurred by any Debtor in the
ordinary course of business may be paid in the ordinary course of busi-
ness by such applicable Debtor or Reorganized Debtor in accordance
with such applicable terms and conditions relating thereto without
furthernoticetoororderoftheBankruptcyCourt. Anyinstallmentpay-
ments to be made under clause (d) or (e) above shall be made in equal
quarterly Cash payments beginning on the Effective Date (or as soon as
reasonably practicable thereafter),and continuing on a quarterly basis
thereafteruntilpaymentinfulloftheapplicableAllowedClass3Claim.
(c) Voting: Class 3 is an Unimpaired Class, and the Holders of
Claims in Class 3 shall be conclusively presumed to have accepted the
Plan pursuant to section 1126(f) of the Bankruptcy Code. Therefore,
Holders of Claims in Class 3 are not entitled to vote to accept or reject
thePlan. HoldersofClaimsinClass3willbeprovidedaReleaseOptOut
Form solely for purposes of affirmatively opting out of the Third Party
Release.
4. Class4-PrepetitionRBLClaims
(a) Classification: Class4consistsofthePrepetitionRBLClaims.
(b) Allowance: The Prepetition RBL Claims are deemed Allowed
Prepetition RBL Claims in the aggregate principal amount of
$146,950,000.00, plus all applicable accrued but unpaid interest at
the applicable rate, fees, costs, charges, premiums or other amounts
arising under the Prepetition RBL Credit Agreement and the
PrepetitionRBLLoanDocumentsthroughtheEffectiveDate.
(c) Treatment: On the Effective Date, the Prepetition RBL Credit
Agreement shall be deemed to be amended and restated in its
entirety by the Exit Facilities Credit Agreement and, in full and final
satisfaction,settlement,discharge and release of,and in exchange for,
eachAllowedPrepetitionRBLClaim:
(i) each Holder of an Allowed Prepetition RBL Claim that votes
to accept the Plan (and/or its designee) that is not otherwise a Non-
ParticipatingRBLLendershallreceive:
a. its Pro Rata share (determined as a percentage of all Allowed
Prepetition RBL Claims held by Holders electing to participate in the
Exit RBL Facility) of the loans and commitments under the Exit RBL
Facility;
b. its Pro Rata share (determined as a percentage of all Allowed
Prepetition RBL Claims held by Holders electing to participate in the
Exit RBL Facility) of the loans under the Exit Second Out Term Loan
Facility;and
c. its Pro Rata share (determined as a percentage of all Allowed
PrepetitionRBLClaims)oftheCashPaydown.
(ii) each Non-Participating RBL Lender (and/or its designee) shall
receive:
a. loans under the Exit Third Out Term Loan Facility in a principal
amount equal to the amount of such Holder’s Allowed Prepetition RBL
ClaimminustheamountofCashPaydownreceivedbysuchHolder;and
b. its Pro Rata share (determined as a percentage of all Allowed
PrepetitionRBLClaims)oftheCashPaydown.
(d) Voting:Class 4 is Impaired,and Holders of Claims in Class 4 are
entitledtovotetoacceptorrejectthePlan.
5. Class5-PrepetitionTermLoanClaims
(a) Classification: Class 5 consists of the Prepetition Term Loan
Claims.
(b) Allowance: The Prepetition Term Loan Claims are deemed
Allowed Prepetition Term Loan Claims in the aggregate principal
amount of $252,997,054.45, plus all accrued interests at the
applicable rate, fees, costs, charges, premiums or other amounts
arising under the Prepetition Term Loan Credit Agreement or the
PrepetitionTermLoanDocumentsthroughtheEffectiveDate.
(c) Treatment: On the Effective Date, except to the extent that a
Holder of an Allowed Class 5 Claim agrees,in writing,to less favorable
treatment, in full and final satisfaction, settlement, discharge and
release of,and in exchange for,each Allowed Class 5 Claim,each Holder
of an Allowed Class 5 Claim shall receive its Pro Rata share of the New
Common Equity Interests Term Loan Pool (subject to dilution by the
MIPEquity).
(d) Voting: Class 5 is Impaired,and Holders of Claims in Class 5 are
entitledtovotetoacceptorrejectthePlan.
6. Class6-GeneralUnsecuredClaims
(a) Classification: Class 6 consists of the General Unsecured Claims
andthePPPLoan(ifnotforgivenasfurthersetforthinthePlan).
(b) Treatment: The legal, equitable, and contractual rights of the
Holders of General Unsecured Claims are unaltered by the Plan. Except
GET NOTICED!
school security consultants –
have called for less intrusive
methods of preparing students
for an attack.
Most states require schools
to conduct a certain number of
active shooter drills per year
but seldom stipulate that stu-
dents enact a response to a hy-
pothetical attack.
Walking students through
the motions of what to do if an
active shooter is on campus
to the extent that a Holder of an Allowed Class 6 Claim has already
been paid during the Chapter 11 Cases or such Holder agrees, in
writing,to less favorable treatment,each Holder of an Allowed Class 6
Claim shall receive,in full and final satisfaction,settlement,discharge
and release of,and in exchange for,such Allowed Class 6 Claim,at the
option of the Debtors or the Reorganized Debtors, as applicable, and
with the consent of the Required Consenting Term Lenders:(a) if such
Allowed Class 6 Claim is due and payable on or before the Effective
Date, payment in full, in Cash, of the due and unpaid portion of such
Allowed Class 6 Claim on the Effective Date; (b) if such Allowed Class
6 Claim is not due and payable before the Effective Date, payment in
the ordinary course of business consistent with past practices; or (c)
suchothertreatment,asmaybeagreeduponinwritingbytheDebtors
or the Reorganized Debtors (as applicable), the Required Consenting
Term Lenders,and the Holder of such Allowed Class 6 Claim,such that
the Allowed Class 6 Claim shall be rendered Unimpaired in accordance
withsection1124oftheBankruptcyCode.
(c) Voting: Class 6 is an Unimpaired Class, and the Holders of
Claims in Class 6 are conclusively presumed to have accepted the Plan
pursuant to section 1126(f) of the Bankruptcy Code. Therefore, the
Holders of Claims in Class 6 are not entitled to vote to accept or reject
thePlan. HoldersofClaimsinClass6willbeprovidedaReleaseOptOut
Form solely for purposes of affirmatively opting out of the Third Party
Release.
7. Class7-IntercompanyClaims
(a) Classification: Class7consistsoftheIntercompanyClaims.
(b) Treatment: On the Effective Date, each Class 7 Claim shall be,
at the option of the Debtors or the Reorganized Debtors,as applicable,
and with the consent of the Required Consenting Term Lenders,
reinstated, compromised, or canceled and released without any
distribution.
(c) Voting: Class 7 is an Impaired Class. However, because the
Holders of such Claims are Debtors,the Holders of Claims in Class 7 shall
beconclusivelypresumedtohaveacceptedthePlan.Therefore,Holders
ofClaimsinClass7arenotentitledtovotetoacceptorrejectthePlan.
8. Class8-OldParentInterests
(a) Classification: Class8consistsoftheOldParentInterests.
(b) Treatment: On the Effective Date, all Old Parent Interests shall
be canceled, and each Holder of Old Parent Interests shall receive no
recoveryonaccountofsuchOldParentInterests.
(c) Voting:Class 8 is Impaired,and Holders of Old Parent Interests
in Class 8 are conclusively deemed to have rejected the Plan pursuant
to section 1126(g) of the Bankruptcy Code. Therefore, Holders of Old
Parent Interests are not entitled to vote to accept or reject the Plan.
Holders of Old Parent Interests in Class 8 will be provided a Release Opt
Out Form solely for purposes of affirmatively opting out of the Third
PartyRelease.
9. Class9-OldSundanceSubsidiaryInterests
(a) Classification: Class 9 consists of the Old Sundance Subsidiary
Interests.
(b) Treatment: Subject to the Restructuring Transactions, all Old
Sundance Subsidiary Interests shall remain effective and outstanding
on the Effective Date and shall be owned and held by the same Person
or Entity that held and/or owned such Old Sundance Subsidiary
InterestsimmediatelypriortotheEffectiveDate.
(c) Voting: Class 9 is an Unimpaired Class, and the Holders of
the Old Sundance Subsidiary Interests in Class 9 are conclusively
presumed to have accepted the Plan pursuant to section 1126(f) of
the Bankruptcy Code. Therefore, the Holders of the Old Sundance
Subsidiary Interests in Class 9 are not entitled to vote to accept or reject
thePlan.
CRITICAL INFORMATION REGARDING
OBJECTINGTOTHE PLAN
ARTICLE X OFTHE PLAN CONTAINS RELEASE,EXCULPATION
AND INJUNCTION PROVISIONS. THUS,YOU ARE ADVISED
TO REVIEW AND CONSIDERTHE PLAN CAREFULLY BECAUSE
YOUR RIGHTS MIGHT BE AFFECTEDTHEREUNDER.
1. Plan Objection Deadline. The deadline for filing objections to
the Plan is April 12, 2021 at 4:00 p.m.(Prevailing Central Time)
(the“ObjectionDeadline”).
2. Objections to the Plan. Any objection to the Plan must:(i) be
in writing; (ii) conform to the Bankruptcy Rules and the Bankruptcy
Local Rules;(iii) set forth the name of the objecting party,the basis for
the objection,and the specific grounds thereof; and (iv) be filed with
the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court and served so that it is actually
received no later than the Objection Deadline by the parties listed
below (the “Notice Parties”). CONFIRMATION OBJECTIONS NOT
TIMELY FILED AND SERVED IN THE MANNER SET FORTH HEREIN
MAY NOT BE CONSIDERED BY THE BANKRUPTCY COURT AND MAY BE
OVERRULEDWITHOUTFURTHERNOTICE.
3. Notice Parties. The Notice Parties include: (i) Counsel to the
Debtors:Latham & Watkins LLP,885 Third Avenue,New York,NY 10022
(Attn: David A. Hammerman, Keith A. Simon, Annemarie V. Reilly, and
Jeffrey T. Mispagel) (david.hammerman@lw.com, keith.simon@
lw.com annemarie.reilly@lw.com, and jeffrey.mispagel@lw.com)
and Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP,600 Travis Street,Suite 4200,Houston,
TX (Attn:Timothy A.(“Tad”) Davidson II,Ashley L.Harper,and Philip M.
Guffy) (taddavidson@HuntonAK.com, ashleyharper@HuntonAK.com,
and pguffy@HuntonAK.com);(ii) Counsel to the agent for the Debtors’
prepetition revolving credit facility: Haynes and Boone, LLP, 2323
Victory Avenue Suite 700,Dallas,TX 75219 (Attn:J.Frasher Murphy and
EliColumbus)(frasher.murphy@haynesboone.comandeli.columbus@
haynesboone.com); (iii) Counsel to the agent for the Debtors’
prepetition term loan facility: Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP, 425
LexingtonAve.NewYork,NY10017(Attn:DavidZylberbergandMichael
H.Torkin) (david.zylberberg@stblaw.com and michael.torkin@stblaw.
com); (iv) Counsel to any statutory committee appointed in these
Chapter 11 Cases; and (v) the Office of the United States Trustee for
the Southern District of Texas,515 Rusk Street,Suite 3516,Houston,TX
77002 (Attn: Stephen Statham, Esq. and Hector Duran, Esq. (stephen.
statham@usdoj.govandhector.duran.jr@usdoj.gov).
NON-VOTING STATUS OF HOLDERS OF CERTAIN CLAIMS
AND EQUITY INTERESTS
1. As set forth above, certain Holders of Claims and Equity
Interests are not entitled to vote on the Plan. As a result,such parties
did not receive any ballots and other related solicitation materials
to vote on the Plan. The Holders of Claims in Class 1 (Other Priority
Claims), Class 2 (Other Secured Claims), Class 3 (Secured Tax Claims),
Class 6 (General Unsecured Claims), and Class 9 (Old Sundance
Subsidiary Interests) are Unimpaired. Pursuant to section 1126(f) of
the Bankruptcy Code,the Holders of Claims or Equity Interests in each
of the foregoing Classes are conclusively presumed to have accepted
thePlanand,thus,arenotentitledtovote.
2. While Class 7 is Impaired,such Holders are not entitled to vote
astheyareDebtorsandarealsopresumedtoacceptthePlan.
3. While Class 8 is Impaired,such Holders are not entitled to vote
astheyaredeemedtorejectthePlan.
NOTICE REGARDING CERTAIN RELEASE,EXCULPATION AND
INJUNCTION PROVISIONS INTHE PLAN
PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT ARTICLE X.B.2 OF THE PLAN CONTAINS
A THIRD-PARTY RELEASE, THE TEXT OF WHICH HAS BEEN SET
FORTH BELOW FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE. YOU SHOULD REVIEW
THE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT AND THE PLAN FOR A COMPLETE
DESCRIPTIONOFSUCHPROVISION.
Release By Third Parties. Except as otherwise expressly pro-
vided in the Plan, effective as of the Effective Date, to the fullest
NEWS
may trigger or otherwise trau-
matize certain students, un-
dermining their ability to pro-
tect themselves in the event of
a real attack, said Nancy Kislin,
a New Jersey-based child and
family therapist and author of
the book “LOCKDOWN: Talk-
ing to Your Kids about School
Violence.”
She recommends an ap-
proach summarized in her
mantra: “Just call it a drill.” As
an example, she pointed to the
generations-old method of
conducting fire drills at
schools. Officials don’t activate
the fire extinguisher or have
students stop, drop and roll. In-
stead, they typically describe
the steps and walk children
through the school’s fire escape
route.
Kislin and other experts
worry the unintended conse-
quences of active shooter drills
may be especially pronounced
amid the pandemic, given the
trauma with which many stu-
dents – and educators – are al-
ready grappling.
“There isn’t research that
supports (the idea) that scaring
a child … will actually protect
them and save their life,” Kislin
said.
extent permitted by applicable law, for good and valuable con-
sideration provided by each of the Released Parties, the ade-
quacy and sufficiency of which is hereby confirmed, and without
limiting or otherwise modifying the scope of the Debtor Release
providedbytheDebtorReleasingPartiesabove,eachNon-Debtor
Releasing Party shall be deemed to have conclusively, absolutely,
unconditionally, irrevocably, and forever provided a full dis-
charge, waiver and release to each of the Released Parties (and
each such Released Party so released shall be deemed forever
released, waived and discharged by the Non-Debtor Releasing
Parties) and their respective assets and properties (the “Third
Party Release”) from any and all Claims, Causes of Action,
Litigation Claims, and any other debts, obligations, rights, suits,
damages, actions, remedies, and liabilities whatsoever, whether
known or unknown, foreseen or unforeseen, liquidated or unliq-
uidated, whether directly or derivatively held, existing as of the
Effective Date or thereafter arising, in law, at equity or otherwise,
whether for tort, contract, violations of federal or state securities
laws,orotherwise,basedinwholeorinpartuponanyactoromis-
sion, transaction, or other occurrence or circumstances existing
or taking place prior to or on the Effective Date arising from or
relatedinanywayinwholeorinparttoanyoftheDebtors ortheir
Affiliates, including, without limitation, (i) the Chapter 11 Cases
(including the filing thereof), the Disclosure Statement, the Plan
(including the Plan Supplement), the Restructuring Support
Agreement (and any annexes, exhibits, and term sheets attached
thereto), the Prepetition RBL Facility and Prepetition RBL Loan
Documents, the Prepetition Term Loan Facility and Prepetition
Term Loan Documents, the DIP Facility and DIP Loan Documents,
the Exit Facilities and Exit Facilities Loan Documents, the New
Common Equity Interests and any related documentation,
the Amended/New Organizational Documents, the Exit Debt
Commitment Letter, and any other Restructuring Documents,
(ii) the subject matter of, or the transactions or events giving
rise to, any Claim or Equity Interest that is treated in the Plan, (iii)
the business or contractual arrangements between any Debtor
and any Released Parties, (iv) the negotiation, formulation or
preparation of the Disclosure Statement, the Plan (including
the Plan Supplement), the Restructuring Support Agreement
(and any annexes, exhibits, and term sheets attached thereto),
the DIP Facility and DIP Loan Documents, the Exit Facilities
and Exit Facilities Loan Documents, the New Common Equity
Interests and any related documentation, the Amended/New
Organizational Documents, the Exit Debt Commitment Letter,
and any other Restructuring Documents, or related agreements,
instruments or other documents, (v) the restructuring of Claims
or Equity Interests prior to or during the Chapter 11 Cases, (vi) the
purchase, sale, or rescission of the purchase or sale of any Equity
Interest or Plan Securities of the Debtors or the Reorganized
Debtors, and/or (vii) the Confirmation or Consummation of the
Plan or the solicitation of votes on the Plan that such Non-Debtor
Releasing Party would have been legally entitled to assert
(whether individually or collectively) against any of the Released
Parties; provided, however, that the foregoing provisions of this
Third Party Release shall not operate to waive or release (A) the
rights of such Non-Debtor Releasing Party to enforce the Plan
and the contracts, instruments, releases, and other agree-
ments or documents delivered under or in connection with the
Plan (including, without limitation, the Exit Facilities and Exit
Facilities Loan Documents) or assumed or assumed and assigned,
as applicable, pursuant to the Plan or pursuant to a Final Order
of the Bankruptcy Court and (B) claims or liabilities arising out
of or relating to any act or omission of a Released Party that con-
stitutes actual fraud, willful misconduct, or gross negligence, in
each case as determined by Final Order of the Bankruptcy Court or
any other court of competent jurisdiction. The foregoing release
shall be effective as of the Effective Date without further notice to
or order of the Bankruptcy Court, act or action under applicable
law, regulation, order, or rule or the vote, consent, authorization
or approval of any Person or Entity and the Confirmation Order
shall permanently enjoin the commencement or prosecution by
any Person or Entity, whether directly, derivatively or otherwise,
of any claims, obligations, suits, judgments, damages, demands,
debts, rights, Causes of Action, or liabilities released pursuant to
thisThirdPartyRelease.
Entry of the Confirmation Order shall constitute the
Bankruptcy Court’s approval of the Third Party Release, which
includes by reference each of the related provisions and
definitions contained in the Plan, and further, shall constitute
the Bankruptcy Court’s finding that the Third Party Release is:
(i) consensual; (ii) essential to confirmation of the Plan; (iii) in
exchange for the good and valuable consideration provided
by the Released Parties; (iv) a good faith settlement and
compromise of the Claims released by the Third Party Release; (v)
in the best interest of the Debtors, their Estates, and all Holders
of Claims and Equity Interests; (vi) fair, equitable and reasonable;
(vii)givenandmadeafterduenoticeandopportunityforhearing;
and (viii) a bar to any of the Releasing Parties asserting any claim
orCauseofActionreleasedpursuanttotheThirdPartyRelease.
SECTION 341 MEETING
4. A meeting of creditors pursuant to Section 341(a) of the
BankruptcyCode(the“Section341(a)Meeting”)hasbeendeferred.
The Section 341(a) Meeting will not be convened if the Plan
is confirmed by May 10, 2021. If the Section 341(a) Meeting will
be convened,the Debtors will serve on the parties on whom it served
this notice and any other parties entitled to notice pursuant to the
Bankruptcy Rules,and post on the website at http://cases.primeclerk.
com/sundanceenergy not less than twenty-one (21) days before the
date scheduled for such meeting,a notice of,among other things,the
date,time,andplaceoftheSection341(a)Meeting.
UNLESS AN OBJECTION IS TIMELY FILED IN ACCORDANCE
WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS NOTICE, IT MAY NOT BE
CONSIDEREDBYTHEBANKRUPTCYCOURT.
1
The Debtors in these cases,along with the last four digits of each
Debtor’s federal tax identification number, are Sundance Energy Inc.
(9225), Sundance Energy, Inc. (3113), Armadillo E&P, Inc. (2735), and
SEA Eagle Ford, LLC (8743). The Debtors’ address is 1050 17th Street,
Suite700,Denver,CO80265.
2
Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the
meaningsgiventosuchtermsinthePlan.
3
If the hearing occurs over videoconference the Court will
utilize GoToMeeting for the hearing. You should download the free
GoToMeeting application on each device that will be used to connect
to the hearing. If a browser connection is used, Chrome is generally
recommended. A mobile version of the application is also available.
Please note that connecting through a browser may limit the
availability of some GoToMeeting features.To connect to the hearing,
you should enter the meeting code“JudgeJones”.You can also connect
using the link on Judge Jones’s homepage on the Southern District of
Texas website.Once connected to GoToMeeting,click the settings icon
in the upper right corner and enter your name under the personal
information setting.In either event, audio for the Combined Hearing
will be available by using the Court’s regular dial-in number. The
dial-in number is +1 (832) 917-1510.You will be responsible for your
own long-distance charges.You will be asked to key in the conference
roomnumber. JudgeJones’sconferenceroomnumberis205691.
NEWS
OPINION
My patient thought
COVID was over.
He was wrong.
Precautions can prevent
more unnecessary death
Dr. Thomas K. Lew
I was out on the streets of San Fran-
cisco last weekend when I noticed
something I hadn’t seen in over a year:
The hustle and bustle of city life was
coming back. People were gathered
outside bars and restaurants, crowded
and unmasked. There were hand-
shakes and hugs as they moved from
one group of friends to the next. It
seemed so … normal.
The difference was stark when I re-
turned to work as a hospital physician
the next day and witnessed my elderly
patient with COVID-19 pass away after
days of gasping. A grandfather, he had
traveled from the Midwest to visit his
family right after receiving his first vac-
cine shot — too soon to be protected.
Within a week, he developed difficulty
breathing.
Like many people across the nation,
my patient believed the pandemic to be
essentially over and the dangers of re-
turning to normal life to be minimal.
But the pandemic is not over. Tens of
thousands of new cases are still being
diagnosed and there is ominous talk
about a “fourth wave.” We are so close
to putting COVID-19 to bed, but we
should not let up on our precautions
just yet.
I hate to be the naysayer to those
who just want to go out and party like
it’s 2019, especially after the horren-
dous year that we have had. Especially
when the overall trend of this virus is
positive: Hospitalizations are down,
deaths have decreased, and we have
reached President Joe Biden’s goal of
100 million vaccinated within 100 days.
We are even on track to reach his
very ambitious goal of 200 million vac-
cinations within 100 days. In my own
hospital, our COVID-19 ward is filled
with mostly non-COVID-19 patients,
with only a smattering affected by the
virus or its post-infectious complica-
tions.
Danger still lurks
If everything is going so well, why
am I and other public health officials on
our pedestal asking people to keep
wearing masks and continue social dis-
tancing?
First, despite the numbers going
down, we are not out of the danger zone
yet and the number of new infections is
still enormous. States are averaging
more than 60,000 new cases per day,
according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
To clarify, that’s not per month or
even per week, that’s per day. That’s
not to say all those people will be at risk
for death, or even hospitalization. For-
tunately, the majority of those cases
will be mild, but the numbers are still
staggeringly high and can lead to a pro-
Crowds defiantly gather in the street an hour past curfew in Miami Beach, Fla.,
on March 21, 2021. DANIEL A. VARELA/AP
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longing of the pandemic and exposure
of the vulnerable.
Second, it’s important to remember
that we got to where we are today be-
cause of these precautions. Until every-
one is vaccinated, this is our best pro-
tection. There is an alarming trend that
some areas of the United States are
seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases despite
improving vaccine distribution. States
in the Northeast, such as Connecticut,
are even having increases in hospital-
izations.
As states lift restrictions,
we are at increased risk
and must continue mask
and socially distance.
“Right now I’m scared,” Dr. Rochelle
Walensky, director of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, said
Monday. She said she has a “recurring
feeling … of impending doom.”
Wait for full protection
A fourth wave of COVID-19 may be
smaller than the previous surges we
have seen, but will lead to more unnec-
essary death nonetheless. As states
choose to open up and lift restrictions,
we have to realize this puts us at in-
creased risk and act accordingly, by
continuing the common sense caution
that has gotten us this far.
Finally, it’s wise to remember that
full protection from the Pfizer and Mo-
derna vaccines is not achieved until
two weeks after the second shot. The
same two-week time frame applies af-
ter the one-shot Johnson & Johnson,
and likely will be similar after the sec-
ond shot of the upcoming AstraZeneca
vaccine.
Until those two weeks pass, we are
still at risk of contracting severe infec-
tion. This is evidenced by the ill-fated
and now deceased patient I mentioned
at the start. He was under the assump-
tion that partial protection was good
enough. Unfortunately, it was not.
Being the voice of caution is certain-
ly no fun, and at times, even I know that
the public health messaging can sound
like a broken record. But it is still the
message we need to hear as business-
es, restaurants and bars flip their signs
to “Open.”
Look, we are almost through this
pandemic. Get vaccinated, wear your
mask, and continue to use caution as
life slowly creeps back to normal. Even-
tually, it will be. Just not quite yet.
Dr. Thomas K. Lew is an assistant
clinical professor of Medicine at the
Stanford University School of Medicine
and an attending physician of Hospital
Medicine at Stanford Health Care –
ValleyCare. All opinions expressed here
are his own.
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USA TODAY ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ 7A
MIKE THOMPSON/USA TODAY NETWORK
Inmates face COVID’s
tough digital divide
My client came home
to an online-only world
Maria Burnett
When my client missed his first sup-
port group Zoom call, I didn’t think
much about it. When he missed his tele-
medicine appointment, I assumed that
he was slow to get organized. He had ev-
ery reason to need some time.
He had just been released from 30
years of incarceration after we won our
motion for compassionate release in
Washington, D.C.
The judge ruled that because my cli-
ent was over 60 years old, had served
more than 20 years in prison, had un-
derlying health conditions making him
vulnerable to COVID-19 and did not
pose a danger to society, he could go
home for the first time since 1991.
He was soon trapped in a court-or-
dered two-week quarantine at his el-
derly sister’s home, while the rest of the
world continued to navigate the pan-
demic.
Once he got home, he did not return
emails I sent to the address his daugh-
ter set up for him. He called me often
saying that he had emailed, but nothing
came. Then, he missed the Zoom sup-
port group meeting, and then another
one. I got more worried.
The internet’s deep end
As part of our motion, we crafted a
release plan to explain step by step
where he would live, what job training
he would do, how he would support
himself. We talked through those plans
during our brief 30-minute legal calls in
the fall of 2020. But then the first case
of COVID in his prison was detected.
Soon, the number of infected people
skyrocketed, and the prison went on
quarantine status. That meant no more
legal calls for a while.
On my own and terrified for his
health, I pieced together the remaining
issues to file the motion as quickly as
possible. I checked and rechecked the
arguments, and filed.
About six weeks later, at a court
hearing via Zoom, which my client at-
tended by phone, a judge granted our
motion. We were overjoyed. The judge
noted that the release plan was thor-
ough. As a rookie lawyer in these pro-
ceedings, I cherished a compliment.
But in all that thinking and planning,
we had completely missed a glaring
and fundamental piece. After 30 years
in prison, my client had never seen a
laptop or smartphone. And in the pan-
demic, every step of the plan was con-
tingent on navigating the internet.
When he went to prison in 1991, a
portable computer was a mammoth de-
vice. My client came home in January
to a radically different world. Although
he had sent emails while in prison
through a restricted platform, that in no
way prepared him to navigate an inter-
net-ready laptop on his own, with end-
Vice President & Executive
Editor/Investigations: Chris Davis
Executive Editor/Audience: Patty Michalski
Opinion Editor: Kristen DelGuzzi
less access and no help. It became clear
he struggled with everything we take
for granted — Wi-Fi passwords, tabs,
icons, cursors, touchpads and hyper-
links. With offices closed throughout
the city at the height of the pandemic,
the internet was the gateway to every-
thing — a Social Security card, a doc-
tor’s appointment, a support group
meeting. He was missing appoint-
ments because he didn’t know how to
use the internet; the user interfaces
were not intuitive.
Dignity of digital literacy
Under normal circumstances, a
superhero public librarian could have
helped him, but the libraries were
closed, and time was passing. We got
him a laptop, and my 9-year-old daugh-
ter and I went to visit him. The three of
us spent a cold afternoon in March
wearing our masks at an outdoor café
for an inexpert session of Tech 101.
Together, we walked through many
topics, from how to input the Wi-Fi in-
fo., to how to log in to his email and
open his inbox. I emailed him Zoom
links and ran around the corner. Even-
tually he clicked along until he could
see my face on his screen. He practiced
muting and unmuting, video on and
video off. His confidence grew with
each click.
We didn’t cover everything that af-
ternoon, but he got himself pointed in
the right direction. More important, he
was confident asking questions. Twen-
ty-four hours after our afternoon, he
triumphantly joined a Zoom meeting
support group of other recently re-
turned citizens. Now, he emails me
each day, listing off the things he has
learned to do — drafting an email,
opening an app, reading on Facebook,
watching how-to videos on YouTube
when he is struggling.
Make re-entry easier, not harder
Without COVID and D.C.’s emergen-
cy law, my client would still be behind
bars. But COVID has also made re-en-
try exponentially harder for those with-
out digital skills, as support services
themselves moved nearly entirely on-
line. As Americans begin to imagine a
post-COVID reality, we should not for-
get the countless lessons the pandemic
has taught us about our society’s many
inequalities. Traditional concepts of
literacy must encompass digital litera-
cy to reflect the reality of our lives. No
doubt re-entry service providers
should be better funded to ensure digi-
tal literacy skills for all.
My client quickly faces the joy and
challenge so many of us have confront-
ed these past months. Last night he
emailed to ask me what techniques my
daughter recommends so that he does
not get addicted to sitting in front of his
laptop all day.
Maria Burnett is a pro bono attorney
with the Washington, D.C., Compas-
sionate Release Clearinghouse.
Executive Editor/News and
Network Enterprise: Jeff Taylor
Executive Editor/News
and Initiatives: Kristen Go
8A ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ USA TODAY NEWS

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MONEY+LIFE
Elba back to work after
fighting allergy and COVID-19
The actor rides into “Concrete Cowboy” on Netflix
USA TODAY | THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 | SECTION B and has several projects coming soon. Page 5B

MONEYLINE
Trans
people
SABRA RECALLS SOME
PACKAGES OF HUMMUS
Sabra is issuing a voluntary recall on
some packages of its Classic Hummus
due to a possible salmonella contami-
nation. The Food and Drug Admini-
set for
stration said Monday that Sabra is
recalling about 2,100 cases of 10 oz.
Classic Hummus following a routine
screening by the FDA. The packages
office life
of hummus contain a “Best Before Those who came out in
Date” of “4/26/21” along with a time-
stamp of Feb. 10 between “18:00:27 pandemic are cautious
and 23:49:00,” reads the notice. The
Sabra products were distributed in Charisse Jones and David Oliver
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Cali- USA TODAY
fornia, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi,
Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, North For Jess Mayer, it was the mirrors.
Carolina, New Jersey, Utah, Virginia, Any time she saw her reflection, she
Washington and Wisconsin. didn’t recognize the person. And she
resented herself.
“It just got so overwhelming that I
had to reprioritize my own personal
health,” Mayer, 34, says.
So she did something about it.
While working from home during the
COVID-19 health crisis,
Mayer came out as
transgender.
“Not being in the of-
fice, and being able to
take the time at home to
find, discover ... and
CHRIS DELMAS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES evolve yourself, I think Mayer
it’s a unique opportuni-
FACEBOOK USERS TO GET ty to begin that transition,” she says.
MORE CONTROL OF FEED But then she needed to tell her man-
agers and team.
Facebook is launching new updates Jo Marie Thompson, left, a Monroe County volunteer nurse, gives a COVID-19 “They were very welcoming and
that allows users to control their News vaccine to Mark Flock of Norwalk during the vaccine clinic at Organic Valley in happy for me,” says Mayer, who adds
Feed algorithm, according to a state- Cashton, Wis. MIKE DE SISTI/USA TODAY NETWORK that she initially felt some trepidation.
ment by the tech giant. The platform Those who experimented with gen-
der identity behind masks and screens

Curd
will introduce the Feed Filter Bar,
which allows users to switch between during the pandemic may soon be re-
an algorithmically-ranked News Feed turning to the workplace as the rollout
and a feed sorted chronologically by of vaccines ramps up and businesses
choosing the “Most Recent” button. reopen.
The updates are available for Android But will workplaces be ready to pro-
vide a tolerant, safe environment for

immunity
and will be available for iOS soon.
employees who now identify different-
ly?
“I would hope so,” says Sasha Buch-
HOUSING CONTRACTS AT ert, senior attorney with Lambda Le-
LOWEST LEVEL SINCE MAY ’20 gal, a national organization dedicated
to protecting the civil rights of the
The number of Americans who signed
contracts to buy homes last month fell
Cheesemakers help out with LGBTQ community. “There’s been a lot
of work in the last few years to work
with companies to create inclusive
by the most since last year’s virus
outbreak sent the economy into free- immunization efforts in Wisconsin workplaces,” she explains, adding,
fall. The National Association of Real- “I’m cautiously optimistic that compa-
tors’ index of pending home sales nies and organizations will be ready
tumbled 10.6% to 110.3 in February, Mary Spicuzza for folks coming back that have transi-
its lowest level since May of last year. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tioned during the pandemic.”
Combined with a 2.4% dip in January, USA TODAY NETWORK “As someone In recent years, businesses have
contract signings are now 0.5% be- generally emerged as champions of
hind where they were last year after MILWAUKEE – The list of registered COVID-19 who spent time transgender equity amid a rash of fed-
eight straight months of year-over- vaccine providers in Wisconsin features hundreds of in a cheese eral policies and state laws aimed at
year gains. hospitals, pharmacies, doctors and health centers – eroding their civil rights, advocates
and some cheesemakers. factory ... I say. “We’re battling a full-frontal as-
Grande Cheese Co., a longtime Fond du Lac-based sault on transgender equality in this
family business known for its Italian cheeses, began
couldn’t be country,” says Deena Fidas, chief pro-
Dow Jones Industrial Avg. holding vaccination clinics after food supply chain prouder of the grams and partnerships officer for Out
workers became eligible earlier this month. & Equal Workplace Advocates, which
34,000 Sargento Foods, a nearly 70-year-old cheese com- work our helps companies be more supportive
32,981 pany founded in Plymouth has started administering cheesemakers of LGBTQ employees. But “the busi-
32,000
-85.41 vaccine doses at its on-site wellness centers and is ness community has become one of
planning to soon host a mass vaccination site for oth- are doing.” the most vocal defenders of trans in-
30,000
er food production workers. Wisconsin Gov. clusion and equality.”
28,000
Meanwhile, Organic Valley, the largest farmer- Tony Evers
owned organic cooperative in the nation, has started See TRANS PEOPLE, Page 2B
26,000
holding vaccination clinics for not just workers, but
SEPT. MARCH for any member of the community who is eligible.
AP It’s all hands on deck in America’s Dairyland,
where the push to vaccinate people across the state is
WEDNESDAY MARKETS getting an unexpected boost from cheesemakers and
INDEX CLOSE CHG dairy farmers.
Dow Jones Industrial Avg. 32,981.55 y 85.41 Call it an effort to help reach, well, curd immunity.
S&P 500 3,972.89 x 14.34
Nasdaq composite 13,246.87 x 201.48 “We want to get these vaccines to our employees,
T-note, 10-year yield 1.745 x 0.023 but we recognize that we’re all in this together,” said
SOURCES USA TODAY RESEARCH, BLOOMBERG
Jerry McGeorge, an official at Organic Valley, which is
headquartered in La Farge. “And helping get it into
these rural communities that we’re a part of is impor-
USA TODAY SNAPSHOTS © tant to us as well.”
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, whose first job was at
a cheese company, praised the dairy industry for
helping with the state’s vaccination efforts.
“As someone who spent time in a cheese factory
scraping mold off of cheese, I couldn’t be prouder of
the work our cheesemakers and dairy farmers are do-
ing to support our state and get shots in arms faster
so we’re not just bouncing back Gouda but better
than we were before this pandemic hit,” Evers said in
a statement.
CD yields ‘We’re all in this together’
National averages on deposits as of
March 31. On a recent Saturday morning, people began gath-
This Last Year ering outside an Organic Valley office building in
week week ago Cashton, a tiny village in Monroe County.
With COVID-19 safety signs reminding everyone
6-month 0.13% 0.14% 0.29% to stay at least one cow apart, the crowd included a
1-year 0.19% 0.19% 0.46% mixture of retirees, farmers, Organic Valley employ-
ees and others.
2 1⁄2-year 0.19% 0.19% 0.51%
“I might be the first one because I saw the email
5-year 0.32% 0.32% 0.71%
BANKRATE.COM See VACCINE, Page 2B
2B ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ USA TODAY
Trans people
Continued from Page 1B
Among Fortune 500 companies, 9 in
10 have gender identity protections and
7 in 10 have health coverage that in-
cludes transgender people, Fidas says.
But policies on paper don’t always
mean transgender employees will feel
comfortable and welcomed. No explicit
statewide laws exist in 27 states that
protect LGBTQ people from employ-
ment discrimination, according to Free-
dom for All Americans.
“How those LGBTQ-inclusive poli-
cies translate to a daily culture is an area
that businesses continue to work with
us on,” Fidas says. “We’re not in a place
where we can say with authority every
major workplace has established a cul-
ture of true belonging for transgender
people.”
‘Not something I did lightly’
Mayer’s employer, Ernst & Young,
lets her work anywhere in North Amer-
ica as long as it’s within an hour or two
of a major airport. During the pandemic,
she moved from Washington, D.C., to
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to be closer to
friends who have been supportive.
She was aware during her transition
that Ernst & Young had inclusive poli-
cies. Still, shifting her gender identity
was “not something I did lightly.”
When she told her senior manager
and division partner about her gender
transition, they were encouraging.
Mayer’s team was accepting as well.
The experience was nothing like the
horror stories she’d heard from friends,
some of whom lost their jobs for being
trans.
A LinkedIn survey found that 70% of
job seekers feel it’s important that po-
tential employers know their gender
pronouns. Starting this month, Linke-
dIn members can note their preferred
pronouns in their profiles.
Nico Craig, an 18-year-old DJ from
Los Angeles, also transitioned during
the pandemic.
He says his transness is connected to
his DJing. “Being able to manipulate
songs and music is what really sparked
Vaccines
Continued from Page 1B
and said, ‘Boom! Gotta get it done,’” Glen
Hoff of Coon Valley, who works as a milk
hauler for Organic Valley and an event
planner, said as he checked in for his ap-
pointment shortly after 8 a.m.
Maurice Condon, a welder and farm-
er from Wonewoc, also arrived shortly
after the doors opened. He and his wife,
Amy, who works at Organic Valley, said
they’d heard horror stories from other
parts of the state about the scramble for
a vaccine, such as people selling ap-
pointments for shots.
The Condons, who raise cattle, chick-
ens and pigs, said instead they got to
sleep in until 5 a.m. and snuck in a few
chores before their appointments.
“I just had to feed the cattle a little bit
and make sure everybody was watered,”
Maurice said. “They were happy.”
“And no one was out,” Amy added.
Apparently, not even Arnold, the
Condons’ 120-pound pig who some-
times gets loose and meets them at the
end of their driveway.
McGeorge said Organic Valley – a co-
op known for its milk, cheese and other
dairy products, as well as meat and pro-
duce – got interested in hosting commu-
nitywide clinics while waiting for vac-
cine to become available.
“I think like a lot of people, you know,
we were waiting and waiting,” he said.
“But we also felt like anything we could
do to help facilitate our workers – and
actually beyond just our workers, but
our community members – to get access
to the vaccines, we wanted to help.”
The Organic Valley buildings in Cash-
ton are surrounded by rolling hills and
sprawling farm fields, many with graz-
ing cows or horses, that spread across
Monroe County.
The vaccination clinic in Cashton
was a joint effort with the Monroe and
Vernon County health departments,
along with Scenic Bluffs Community
Health Centers. More than 400 doses of
vaccine were administered. And be-
cause the health departments brought
the doses with them, the co-op did not
need to store vaccine doses at its facil-
ities.
McGeorge added that many at Orga-
nic Valley, such as office staffers, have
been working from home, and those
who can’t work remotely have been get-
ting an extra $2 an hour, known as
“Hometown Hero” pay, since last
March. Employees working in-person
have also been getting free meals for the
my interest,” Craig says, “because I feel
like I haven’t had too much control in
other points in my life.”
His uncle dying of COVID-19 last year
sparked his gender evolution, Craig
says.
“COVID has brought out so much
pain in people that it kind of made me
feel even more inclined to begin my
transition,” he says.
But beginning that journey during
the pandemic has sparked conflicting
emotions. “Both in person and virtually
it has felt surreal to socialize with others
now that I am addressed the way I’ve
wanted to be seen,” Craig says.
The office may be the safer space
Long before the pandemic, Bank of
America had a policy that allowed tran-
sitioning employees to work from home.
And some staffers continued to make a
gender shift as the majority of the
bank’s workforce began to work re-
motely amid the COVID-19 crisis.
“We have definitely had people who
leveraged the pandemic to kind of move
their transition forward,” says Lauren
Alleman, vice president, global transac-
tion services product manager at Bank
of America.
While some of those staffers told Al-
leman that it was a positive experience,
some also spoke of downsides, such as
not being able to connect as easily with
a supportive social network, difficulties
getting doctor appointments, and “not
being able to do name changes because
courts were closed,” Alleman says.
Advocates for transgender and non-
binary workers agree that transitioning
remotely might have been more com-
fortable for some than for others.
“For some people, the physical struc-
ture of the office has presented chal-
lenges,” says Fidas. “If I want to show up
as ‘I am transitioning’ – perhaps I’m
growing my hair out, perhaps I’m taking
on some vocal therapies – access to
restrooms and appropriate facilities is
still a worry for too many transgender
people. So, for those who are employed
who are able to work from home, there
can be some alleviation of those partic-
ular stresses.”
But even those who feel more com-
fortable exploring their identity in pri-
Glen Hoff, center, waits with Bob Phillips, right, at a vaccine clinic
at Organic Valley in Cashton, Wis. MIKE DE SISTI/USA TODAY NETWORK
last year.
The co-op plans to host more clinics
at its facilities with local health depart-
ments and health centers, and hopes to
hold a larger event with Wisconsin Na-
tional Guard when more vaccines be-
come available.
“I really think we all have a responsi-
bility as it relates to helping us on a com-
munity basis, state basis, and national
basis, to get through this very challeng-
ing time that we’ve experienced this
past year,” McGeorge said.
Many who showed up Saturday came
from Monroe, Vernon and Juneau coun-
ties, and praised Organic Valley for
opening its doors to the public – saying
they’d been struggling to find appoint-
ments.
Kathleen Berg, 65, said the clinic was
a relief after the weeks of waitlists that
she’d been facing. Berg, a retired house-
keeper, has no connection to Organic
Valley but heard about the clinic from
the staff at Scenic Bluffs Cashton clinic
and was able to make an appointment
over the phone.
Berg said she’s excited to be able to
“get together and feel comfortable” see-
ing her family again.
Cheesemakers at cutting
edge in vaccination push
Grande Cheese Co. is known for its
Italian cheeses, including mozzarella,
provolone, ricotta and parmesan. Since
last month, the company also has been
registered with the state as a COVID-19
vaccinator.
vate may have lingering concerns.
“The fundamental question of am I
accepted in my workplace and do I be-
long is still going to be there,” says Fidas.
“That doesn’t get mitigated by Zoom or a
phone call.”
And others may have felt freer when
they had an office to go to because the
people they live with are not supportive
of their transition.
“Work is where they went to actually
be themselves,” says CV Viverito, Out &
Equal’s associate director of global ini-
tiatives. “So their mental health is strug-
gling. That’s the reality for lots of folks
depending on where they live and de-
pending on their support system.”
Make it clear: bias
won’t be tolerated
“I would say the evolution of the lit-
mus test right now is… can I express my
gender authentically and fluidly to my
colleagues?” Fidas says. “Can my pro-
nouns be honored and respected in per-
son, and across platforms in terms of
email signatures and business cards?”
Companies should make clear, from
their online hiring page to their written
policies to their onboarding process,
that gender identity will be respected
and discrimination won’t be tolerated,
advocates say.
“One paragraph would mean the
world to a lot of people who’ve transi-
tioned over the pandemic,” says Buchert
with Lambda Legal. “That you have the
right to be referred to with your proper
name and pronouns and to use the rest-
room that goes with your gender identi-
ty. That’s the law. But for trans employ-
ees there’s a lot of insecurity … so having
those clarifications is really helpful for
folks and also for people who aren’t
trans.”
Businesses should also make sure
their health plans are equitable, cover-
ing gender-affirming surgeries and oth-
er procedures. And workplaces are in-
creasingly detailing protocols to make
sure an employee’s transition process is
acknowledged and respected by their
manager and colleagues.
In 2006, Bank of America added gen-
der identity to its nondiscrimination
policy. But in the last decade, the com-
pany has significantly bolstered a
Grande already had health clinics at
its seven facilities throughout Wiscon-
sin, which are staffed by SSM Health
practitioners. Those clinics typically of-
fer everything from primary health care
to flu shots for the company’s more than
1,000 employees.
Deciding to also offer COVID-19 vac-
cine shots at the clinics was a no-brain-
er.
“For us, it was not a difficult decision
to apply for this and we’re happy that we
were authorized to become one,” said
Maureen Toshner, who is Grande’s vice
president of human resources. “We
place a great emphasis on the health
and well-being and safety of our asso-
ciates, so that just made a lot of sense to
us.”
It’s unclear how many Wisconsin
companies have applied to be vaccina-
tors, but cheese companies seem to be
on the cutting edge.
“It was not difficult to apply, but there
was – rightfully so – checks and bal-
ances,” Toshner said.
She added that while the process was
time-consuming, it helped her gain
more confidence in the process.
Grande received 60 doses the week
of March 1 and administered them to its
workers who became eligible as food
supply chain workers through Phase 1B
of Wisconsin’s vaccine rollout, as well
as any eligible spouses.
Grande received another 200 doses
last week and has expanded its vaccine
distribution to include the farms it
works with as well as their employees.
Grande also launched a campaign
MONEY
framework of programs and policies
that support transgender and nonbina-
ry employees.
Those include full health benefits for
transgender-related needs, such as
voice therapy, facial surgery and coun-
seling. Human resource specialists rec-
ognize transitioning as a critical life
event, offering training to managers and
giving support.
The company’s internal systems use
an employee’s preferred name, not their
legal name. Bathrooms can be used ac-
cording to a person’s gender identity.
And Bank of America’s dress code is
gender-neutral.
Other efforts to create a welcoming
community include a buddy program
and web-based forum where transgen-
der and nonbinary staffers can connect,
and transgender individuals helping to
lead Bank of America’s employee re-
source group focused on LGBTQ inclu-
sion.
“It’s not just one thing that creates
the supportive network,” says Alleman,
who is also the transgender representa-
tive for Bank of America’s LGBT+ exec-
utive council steering committee. “You
really have to create this full robust set
of activities to support your employees.”
Bank of America’s policies and initia-
tives focused on the transgender and
nonbinary community have a very per-
sonal meaning for Alleman.
“I transitioned at Bank of America
about 10 years ago,” she says. “I’ve actu-
ally benefited from these systems, this
culture of support.”
Support matters
Every staff member can include their
preferred pronouns in the signature line
of their emails, advocates say. And they
can also state their pronoun preferences
when introducing themselves.
Craig says he finds it affirming to DJ
events for the transgender, queer and
nonbinary communities, but he feels
that he has to adjust the expression of
his transness according to who’s book-
ing him.
Meanwhile, Mayer says she is now
having a different reaction when she
passes a mirror.
“I’m starting to see someone that I
recognize,” she says.
aimed at supporting independent and
locally-owned pizzerias and Italian food
restaurants during the pandemic to en-
courage people to patronize local shops.
“A very meaningful phrase in our
mission and our culture is our constant
pursuit of ‘to fulfill a purpose greater
than ourselves,’” Toshner said.
Homemade masks
and cheese donations
When the pandemic hit last spring,
Newton-based Pine River Pre-Pack
quickly instituted a mask policy. But
when the company decided to require
masks during the first week of April
2020, masks were hard to find.
So Laura Behm, the wife of Pine Riv-
er’s general manager, Ian Behm, sewed
about 300 cloth face masks for the com-
pany’s 25 employees and their families.
“Some of us had Green Bay Packers,
some of us were wearing buck hunting
masks, some of us wearing polka dots
and pretty colors,” Ian Behm said. “We
just took whatever we got and tried to do
our best to try to supply our team with
them because there was a shortage.”
When food production workers be-
came eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine,
Ian Behm and his brother, Chauncey
Behm, the company’s director of opera-
tions, started helping employees sign
up for vaccine appointments at Wal-
greens – and is paying them their hourly
wages while they’re out getting shots.
‘Tremendous power
of people coming together’
Sargento Foods was approved by the
state to administer the COVID-19 vac-
cine at its wellness centers, which are
operated by Marathon Health, a work-
place health care service.
Sargento plans to work with Meijer
pharmacies and other local companies
to host a mass vaccination site for food
production workers from as many as
eight employers in the coming weeks,
Sargento CEO Louis Gentine said.
“Collectively, we’re all very excited
about the opportunity to provide easy
access for all of our employees,” said
Gentine.
Sargento has also donated about $2
million to address food insecurity is-
sues.
“I think what 2020 to me exhibited is
just the tremendous power of people
coming together to help each other out,”
Gentine said.
Andrew Mollica and Daphne Chen of
the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to
this report.
MONEY
USA & MAIN
Brothers revamp dining at hotel in Asbury Park, NJ
Manzos feel obligation
to make family proud
Sarah Griesemer
Asbury Park Press
USA TODAY NETWORK
ASBURY PARK, N.J. – Most people
would take one look at what Albie and
Chris Manzo are planning for Asbury
Park’s Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel and
walk away.
They have taken on quite a job: Re-
vamp the dining scene at the hotel, an
iconic city building built nearly 100
years ago, without erasing its history.
But the brothers are all in, and their
newest additions – Cenzo, a coffee shop,
and Rewind Pizzarama, a pizzeria,
opened Friday. These follow the quiet
fall opening of Bang Bang, an Asian-in-
spired gastro pub, and a pop-up from
Patsy’s Italian Restaurant in New York
City, and precede the introduction of
Johnny and June, a lounge and event
space dedicated to Johnny Cash, who
once invested in what was then known
as The Berkeley Carteret Oceanfront
Hotel.
“It’s a lot to take on at once,” Albie,
34, said. “It’s an easy place to get swept
up in and addicted to. You really have to
have the attitude to do what it takes to
get it done.
“We’re going to do it the best we can,”
he said. “You just have to care.”
It’s fate: Kismet Bagels is thriving
Philly couple mix old
ways with new flavors
Hira Qureshi
Bucks County Courier Times
USA TODAY NETWORK
PHILADELPHIA – From a bagel crav-
ing at the start of the pandemic to a
thriving business on its anniversary,
Philadelphia couple Jacob and Alexan-
dra Cohen have established Kismet Ba-
gels as a new favorite in the region.
The Cohens began selling bagels
from their home, and later shifted to
pop-ups after securing a commercial
kitchen. They did all that while they
worked their “day jobs” – Jacob as real
estate agent and Alexandra as an adver-
tising salesperson and painter. Jacob
also is a professional musician who has
worked on Broadway.
With unique bagel and spread flavors
– turmeric bagels, golden milk
schmears and coffee schmears – the
two have built a following in Philadel-
phia neighborhoods with pop-ups and
in South Jersey through farmers mar-
kets and local grocers.
Bagelivery also is available via goPuff
and Culinary Harvest in some ZIP
codes.
A portion of the proceeds from Kis-
met sales are donated to local charities
and such organizations as Project
Home, Black Lives Matter Philly and
The West Philly Bunny Hop.
The Bucks County Courier Times,
which is part of the USA TODAY Net-
work, spoke to the couple about their
accidental business boom, success dur-
ing a pandemic and what’s next for Kis-
met Bagels. The interview has been ed-
ited for length and clarity.
Question: Walk me through a time-
line of when you guys started and how
you guys started this bagel business.
Alexandra: Yeah, so we started ini-
tially baking in general. We were baking
bread and cooking a lot during quaran-
tine. One Saturday morning, we decided
to try and make bagels because you
know we weren’t really eating out or do-
ing any takeout or anything at that time.
So, we just woke up, like, I want to make
bagels. So, we made our first bagel – it
was like April 3. And we started picking
bagels and dropping them off at our
family and friends’ houses literally in
the mailbox because we weren’t seeing
or talking to anybody then. Everyone
kept reaching out being like, “These are
like, the best bagels we’ve ever had.” It
was shocking, like maybe everyone’s
just crazy because they’re stuck inside
not eating anything.
I wanted to do something for charity.
And we made a post on a Facebook page
in our neighborhood. Does anyone
know where I can donate bagels to
health care workers, and somebody ac-
tually reached out in the post and said,
A Smokin’ pizza, left, and a Wastoid
pizza and at Rewind Pizzarama at The
Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel in Asbury
Park, NJ. TANYA BREEN/USA TODAY NETWORK
He and Chris are calling on a lifetime
in the hospitality industry – their family
owns The Brownstone in Paterson, New
Jersey – and on television (their mother
is Caroline Manzo of “Real Housewives
of New Jersey”), to bring their vision to
life.
“Being on TV and in catering taught
us to be creative,” Albie said. “Going into
a place and seeing what we can do with
it – it’s like Christmas. The new aspects
of this place ... are exciting. What can we
make this? What can we make that?
“We’re really tailor-made for it,” he
said. “If we do our job right here, it’s the
kind of place people are excited to come
to.”
The Manzos’ partnership with the
hotel began in summer 2020. Both
Jacob and Alexandra Cohen started baking while also doing their day jobs.
And on April 3 or so last year, made their first bagel.
“Can I actually buy the bagels and then
you can donate the money instead?”
And from that post that one week we got
over 30 orders, probably two or three
weeks later, from the day we made ba-
gels. And that week we started cooking
in our house and our kitchen baking ba-
gels. We had people lined out of our door
waiting to pick up the bagels from us.
Then a couple of days later we get a
message from someone at our North
Liberties Business Association, asking
if we wanted to work in a real kitchen for
a day and host a pop-up. Our first official
pop-up it was May, probably May 20.
We baked in a restaurant, a pizza spot in
our neighborhood and did a pop-up, and
we donated all the proceeds to a local or-
ganization here.
After that, ever since basically that
day, we’ve had a pop-up pretty much ev-
ery weekend, and we went from our
house to a commissary kitchen, and
then in November we built out our own
space, and now have our own commer-
cial kitchen.
Q: Tell me about the bagels and
schmears. What’s your process in
making them? What makes them
unique?
Jacob: We make old-school, kettle-
boiled bagels. We use whole wheat flour
from Castle Valley Mill in Doylestown,
(Pennsylvania) so you have some locally
milled flour in every single bagel. We
boil our bagels in a kettle, which is, you
USA TODAY ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ 3B
brothers relocated from North Jersey to
be close to the project.
“I moved here to become part of the
community,” said Chris, 31. “We don’t
know how to operate without involving
the community.”
“We really try to immerse ourselves
in a culture, no matter where we are,” Al-
bie said. “There’s a sense of obligation
to do this thing, but also to make every-
body proud.”
The new additions
To experience what the Manzos and
their team including manager Urbano
Steriti and executive chef Pete Fisch-
bach, have done, wind your way through
the lobby and pause in the forthcoming
Museum Cafe.
Keep walking and arrive at Cenzo, a
coffee bar and breakfast, dessert and
grab-and-go spot, which shares space
with Rewind Pizzarama.
Next is Bang Bang, where “we took a
pub menu and applied different (Asian
cuisines) and just made fun, funky
food,” Fischbach said.
They designed Bang Bang to feel both
intimate and roomy, with socially dis-
tanced dining nooks leaving plenty of
room to spread out.
They made more room for Bang Bang
by accident, after opening a door off the
dining room and finding a storage area.
“We’re trying to make use of every
space,” Albie said, adding that the team
Kismet Bagels is known for its unique
flavors and spreads. PHOTOS BY JOE
LAMBERTI/USA TODAY NETWORK
know the old-fashioned way. We use in-
credible seeds from all over the world
and smother the bagels and seeds to the
point that unless you’re eating a plain
bagel, you can’t really actually see the
bagel until you bite into it. And as far as
flavors, we’re always trying to think out-
side the box and push the boundaries.
We have your standard everything, ses-
ame, plain, etc. But we’ve been experi-
menting a lot of different kinds of stuff.
We just worked on a turmeric bagel
that we’re really excited to launch. We
are working on some different fruit ba-
gels. We’re always playing around with
that – and then the cream cheese is ac-
tually where we’ve been the most ad-
venturous. First of all, like our classic
scallion and veggie, they’re just chock-
full of veggies, just like smothering the
bagels with seeds. We just want you to
has spent a lot of time digging through
closets, unearthing artwork, and mov-
ing furniture around the hotel. “We’re
not afraid to get our hands dirty.”
Aside from dining, the brothers han-
dle the hotel’s events and envision con-
cierge services that show guests all the
city has to offer.
“A hotel itself should be a hub for ev-
erything that’s going on, if you want a
surfing lesson, if you want a music les-
son, from where to get a snow cone to
where to get a haircut,” Albie said.
“We’re trying to make it perfect for
what Asbury needs, for what our guests
need,” Chris said.
Henry Vaccaro of Neptune, who pur-
chased and restored The Berkeley Car-
teret Hotel in the 1980s, shared his
thoughts on the plans in a July 2020 let-
ter to the editor in the Asbury Park
Press, part of the USA TODAY Network.
“I was curious ... so I reached out to
Albie and Chris Manzo and met with
them and their family and was blown
away by the total commitment in carry-
ing on that tradition,” Vaccaro wrote.
“For me, this is the first time in over 25
years that I can say I’m proud to return
to The Berkeley.”
It is comments like this that keep Al-
bie going. “I’m insanely proud when
someone comes in and says, ‘I hear
what you’re doing,’ “ he said. “This place
really does mean a lot, and we want it to
be this place that you come that’s trans-
formative.”
have a burst of flavor.
As far as some of our more adventur-
ous stuff, I’m a huge fan of golden milk,
the turmeric drink. And early on when
we started this, I was just thinking what
can we do with some different cream
cheese flavors. So what if you took the
milk out of golden milk and replaced it
with cream cheese and voila, we have
golden milk schmear. It’s become one of
our bestsellers. We just recently part-
nered with a local coffee roaster and we
did a coffee cream cheese, which people
freaked out about.
Q: Clearly this wasn’t something
you anticipated to bloom into a full-on
business. How did you manage to get
off the ground and continue success-
fully through the pandemic?
Jacob: I would say the biggest thing
has just been that we’ve truly just been
ourselves. Like we are such big foodies,
and we bake bagels just because we
were hungry. I still think to this very day
despite the fact that it’s become a full-
fledged business, we carry that mind-
set with us. We are not people that went
to culinary school. We didn’t go to busi-
ness school. We just love community;
we love collaborating with other food
purveyors. We love, frankly, just the fact
that we get to meet people that make
food that we would consistently go buy
all the time before the pandemic broke
out. That’s such a thrill.
Alexandra: How we grew it was the
pop-ups and then did a different kind of
model where it’s like we do pickups at
specific locations.
So on Saturdays and Sundays we’re
at specific places every week. So instead
of us opening a shop, we created these
kinds of pickup spots every week, and
people can preorder and also walk up
and get bagels. Then also adding in tons
of different wholesale partners and re-
tail shops as well, which I think also
helped.
Q: You started selling from your
home, then at pop-ups and now you
have your own commercial kitchen,
what’s next?
Jacob: We are not planning on open-
ing a brick and mortar so everyone that
is hoping for that, we can confirm right
now that is not our current plans.
I think one day, absolutely, but it’s
not in our current plans. We have so
many other things going on, and, frank-
ly, it’s so nice to be able to hit so many
places every week as opposed to brick
and mortar where you’re stuck in one lo-
cation.
I think a big plan is to just continue to
be available in more locations and part-
ner with these coffee shops to create
nice destination and brings more busi-
ness to the cafe.
The staff members get more tips ev-
ery week (and) that works out for every-
body because in these crazy times, you
need to find ways to get creative.
4B ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ USA TODAY MONEY

AMERICA’S MARKETS ALL THE MARKET ACTION IN REAL TIME

MARKETS.USATODAY.COM

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE
-85.41
S&P 500 • STANDARD & POOR’S NASDAQ COMPOSITE RUSSELL 2000
Closing: 32,981.55 Closing: 3,972.89 Closing: 13,246.87 Closing: 2,220.52
Change: -.3%
YTD % Chg: +7.8% +14.34 Change: +.4%
YTD % Chg: +5.8% +201.48 Change: +1.5%
YTD % Chg: +2.8% +24.72 Change: +1.1%
YTD % Chg: +12.4%

MARKET PERFORMANCE BY SECTOR MARKET NOTEBOOK TOP 10 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS COMMODITIES
Sector Close Chg. 4wk 1 YTD 1 Issues NYSE NASDAQ ETF, ranked by volume Ticker Close Chg. % Chg %YTD Commodities Close Prev. Chg. % Chg. % YTD
Energy 49.06 -0.34 -1.6% +29.4% Advancing 1,330 2,164 SPDR S&P500 ETF Tr SPY 396.33 +1.60 +0.4% +6.0% Cattle (lb.) 1.21 1.21 unch. unch. +7.1%
Declining 1,157 1,148 ProShs UltPro ShtQQQ SQQQ 13.12 -0.63 -4.6% -13.6% Corn (bushel) 5.64 5.39 +0.25 +4.6% +16.6%
Financials 34.05 -0.26 +1.8% +15.5%
Unchanged 58 127 iPath Sh Term Fut VXX 11.40 -0.09 -0.8% -32.1% Gold (troy oz.) 1,713.80 1,683.90 +29.90 +1.8% -9.5%
Industrials 98.45 -0.32 +6.1% +11.2%
Total 2,545 3,439 Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ 319.13 +4.81 +1.5% +1.7% Hogs, lean (lb.) 1.01 1.01 unch. +0.1% +43.8%
Materials 78.80 -0.39 +5.0% +8.9% 89 Natural Gas (Btu.) 2.61 2.62 -0.01 -0.6% +2.7%
Issues at SPDR Financial XLF 34.05 -0.26 -0.8% +15.5%
Telecom 80.38 +0.32 +1.2% +8.3% 19 iShs iBoxx HY CpBd HYG 87.18 +0.42 +0.5% -0.1% Oil, heating (gal.) 1.77 1.79 -0.02 -1.1% +19.4%
New 52 Week High 155
Consumer discret. 168.07 +1.30 +5.6% +4.5% ProShs UltraPro QQQ TQQQ 91.26 +3.92 +4.5% +0.4% Oil, lt. swt. crude (bar.) 59.16 60.55 -1.39 -2.3% +21.9%
New 52 Week Low 4
Health care 116.74 +0.23 +3.9% +2.9% iShs Emerg Mkts EEM 53.34 +0.27 +0.5% +3.2% Silver (troy oz.) 24.52 24.12 +0.40 +1.6% -6.9%
Share Volume
Technology 132.81 +2.08 +2.6% +2.1% Total 4,051,048,673 4,448,336,246 iShares Gold Trust IAU 16.26 +0.24 +1.5% -10.3% Soybeans (bushel) 14.37 13.67 +0.70 +5.1% +9.2%
2,906,337,890 iShares Brazil EWZ 33.45 +0.66 +2.0% -9.8% Wheat (bushel) 6.18 6.02 +0.16 +2.7% -3.5%
Utilities 64.04 +0.47 +9.0% +2.1% Advancing 1,803,518,434
Declining 2,197,869,579 1,505,102,705
Consumer staples 68.31 -0.22 +7.5% +1.3%
Unchanged 49,660,660 36,895,651
FOREIGN CURRENCIES FOREIGN MARKETS
Currency per dollar Close Prev. 6 mo. ago Yr. ago
S&P 500’S BIGGEST GAINERS S&P 500’S BIGGEST LOSERS British pound .7258 .7287 .7754 .8040
Country Close Prev. Change %Chg. %YTD
Frankfurt 15,008.34 15,008.61 -0.27 ...% +9.4%
Company (ticker) Price $ Chg . % Chg. YTD Company (ticker) Price $ Chg . % Chg. YTD Canadian dollar 1.2570 1.2633 1.3314 1.4090 Hong Kong 28,378.35 28,577.50 -199.15 -0.7% +4.2%
Enphase Energy Inc (ENPH) 162.16 +11.56 +7.7 -7.6 Kroger Co (KR) 35.99 -2.09 -5.5 +13.3 Japan (Nikkei) 29,178.80 29,432.70 -253.90 -0.9% +6.3%
Chinese yuan 6.5527 6.5720 6.7908 7.0824
PVH Corp (PVH) 105.70 +5.58 +5.6 +12.6 CBS Corp B (VIAC) 45.10 -1.51 -3.2 +21.0 London 6,713.63 6,772.12 -58.49 -0.9% +3.9%
Fleetcor Tech (FLT) 268.63 -8.02 -2.9 -1.5 Euro .8528 .8535 .8535 .9077
Applied Matls (AMAT) 133.60 +6.84 +5.4 +54.8 Mexico City 47,246.27 47,905.00 -658.74 -1.4% +7.2%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) 667.93 +32.31 +5.1 -5.3 Fox Corp A (FOXA) 36.11 -1.00 -2.7 +24.0 Japanese yen 110.75 110.36 105.50 107.63
Teradyne Inc (TER) 121.68 +5.72 +4.9 +1.5 Marathon Oil (MRO) 10.68 -.30 -2.7 +60.1 Mexican peso 20.4443 20.5749 22.1180 23.5963 SOURCE Morningstar, Dow Jones Indexes, The Associated Press

As Hawaii tourism surges, rental STIMULUS CHECKS

car inventory is low, prices high Payment

ASSOCIATED PRESS
on the
way to
HONOLULU – A recent surge of tour-
ists in Hawaii has driven up the price of
rental cars after fleets were thinned out
during the pandemic.

Some companies in Honolulu had
only large vans for $500 a day and con-
vertibles for $1,000 a day or more, Ha-
waii News Now reported Monday.
Timo Lee, a part-time Honolulu resi-
dent, said some vendors she checked
with were “completely out of stock.”
“Some companies have cars, but they
are very expensive,” she added.
The pandemic resulted in limited
rental inventory.
“Because of the pandemic, the car
rental companies had nowhere to put all
the cars. So what they had to do is they
had to get rid of them. They had to sell
them,” said Jerry Agrusa, a professor in
the School of Travel Industry Manage-
ment at the University of Hawaii.
Uncertainty about when tourism
would return is another factor for the
high prices, he said.
Rental car fees on Kauai remained
less than $100 per day, which Agrusa
said is because the island still has strict-
er quarantine and testing rules in place
until April 5.
The islands have seen a surge of visi-
tors recently as coronavirus restrictions
ease and more people begin to travel.
“It feels like we went back to 110 mph
just in the last couple of weeks,” Lindsey
Dymond, owner of Kalapawai Cafe, told
Hawaii News Now. “I was over here at
the Kailua town location over the week-
end on Saturday, and it looked like Kai-
Got your heart set on renting a convertible in Hawaii? Be prepared to settle
for something else or pay a premium in Honolulu. SWISSMEDIAVISION/GETTY IMAGES
lua from 2019.”
She said the the new arrivals also
meant a return to gridlock on local
roads. “Traffic was a nightmare,” Dy-
mond said.
Some visitors agreed. “I wasn’t ex-
pecting Hawaii to have so much traffic,”
said Daniela Hayek, who was visiting
from Philadelphia.
On Maui, the cheapest rental car was
$722 each day for a sedan, according to
Hawaii News Now.
There were more than 25,000 visi-
tors to Maui from Friday to Sunday.
Maui also has seen a recent surge in
COVID-19 cases, and the island’s mayor
seniors
Some Social Security
recipients still waiting
Jessica Menton
USA TODAY
Stimulus payments are set to be
processed this weekend for Social Se-
curity recipients and other federal
beneficiaries who don’t normally file a
tax return, the IRS said Tuesday. The
agency projects that the majority of
these payments will be sent electron-
is warning visitors to follow local man- ically and received by April 7.
dates. The move comes as many Social Se-
“You see these people on the beach curity recipients and other beneficia-
back here, they’re visitors and they’re ries still haven’t received a third round
not wearing masks,” Mayor Mike Vic- of stimulus payments that amount to
torino said. $1,400, according to the chairs of the
“If you can’t obey our rules, don’t House Ways and Means Committee.
come if you can’t wear a mask or do The Social Security Administration
what is right.” sent information to the IRS that helped
Hawaii still requires people to wear clear the way for almost 30 million
masks. people to receive their checks, law-
“I don’t care if you come from Texas, makers said Thursday.
I don’t care if you come from Missis- After receiving data from the Social
sippi, or any state that doesn’t require Security Administration last week, the
it,” Victorino said. “Here in Hawaii and IRS began to review, validate and test
Maui County, it is a mandate.” tens of millions of records to ensure el-
igibility and proper calculation of Eco-
nomic Impact Payments, the agency
said.

More protection for kids’ apps urged
Groups want FTC to be
tougher on Google Play
Terry Collins
USA TODAY
Two advocacy groups want the Fed-
eral Trade Commission to take a tougher
stance against Google, accusing its app
store of recommending apps that trans-
mit kids’ personal information such as
location without their parents’ consent
in violation of a 1998 law that protects
children online.
The Campaign for a Commercial-
Free Childhood (CCFC) and the Center
for Digital Democracy (CDD) said they
plan to file a complaint with the FTC
Wednesday asking regulators to investi-
gate how the Google Play Store pro-
motes apps for kids.
The groups say three recent studies,
including one conducted by the Amer-
ican Medical Association last year,
found that 67% of apps used by kids 5
and younger were transmitting infor-
mation to third-party advertisers.
“If you’re under 13, your data is not
supposed to be shared with advertisers,
but that’s happening routinely, and at
scale on the apps on Google Play,” Josh
Golin, the CCFC’s executive director,
told USA TODAY.
A Google spokesperson said
Wednesday that Google Play is commit-
ted to providing “a positive and safe en-
vironment” for children and families.
“Over the last few years, we’ve taken
significant steps including updating our
Google Play Families and Designed for
Families programs with more stringent
requirements around ads, content, and
personal data and introducing a Kids
tab in Google Play filled with “Teacher-
Google Play Store’s marketing to kids
is under fire. PROVIDED BY ALPHABET
approved” apps to help families find
quality apps and games for their kids,”
the Google spokesperson said. “We will
continue to make the protection of chil-
dren on our platform a priority.”
The advocacy groups raised similar
concerns in 2018 and acknowledge that
Google has made some improvements
including tightening the rules for apps
that target kids under the age of 13.
But Google has not done enough, Go-
lin said. “They need to go after this in a
more systematic way,” Golin said. “If
Google actually did the vetting that they
imply that they do, then the apps would
be much safer for children.”
Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, a
Democrat who wrote the Children’s On-
line Privacy Protection Act, said that
while he’s both “disturbed, but not sur-
prised” that it remains a problem.
“Children are spending an unprece-
dented amount of time on their devices
right now, and they shouldn’t be tracked
at every turn,” Markey said. “That has to
stop. It’s time for Big Tech to be held ac-
countable for prioritizing profits over
privacy, particularly when it comes to
“If no additional issues arise, the
IRS currently expects to complete that
work and to begin processing these
payment files at the end of this week,”
our children.”
Parents have become increasingly
the IRS said in a statement.
Because the majority of these pay-
concerned about how to keep kids safe ments will be disbursed electronically
on the internet during the pandemic through direct deposits and payments
when screens are in such heavy use. to existing Direct Express cards, the
In 2019, Google’s YouTube agreed to IRS confirmed they will be received on
provide new protections for children the official payment date of April 7.
and paid a $170 million fine to settle a
yearlong investigation by the FTC and Which federal beneficiaries
the New York state attorney general are included?
into complaints from consumer
groups that it illegally collected data Many federal beneficiaries who
from children under the age of 13 chil- filed 2019 or 2020 returns or used the
dren to target advertising. online Non-Filers tool last year were
The new complaint comes amid in- issued Economic Impact Payments, if
creased government scrutiny of the eligible, during the past three weeks,
tech giants. Google faces antitrust law- the IRS said.
suits from the Justice Department and The latest update applies to Social
separate coalitions of states. Security, Supplemental Security In-
Concern over Big Tech’s effect on come, and Railroad Retirement Board
children’s well-being has become a beneficiaries who didn’t file a 2019 or
rare bipartisan issue on Capitol Hill. 2020 tax return or didn’t use the Non-
Reuters reported Tuesday that Re- Filers tool.
publican lawmakers requested that
Facebook, Twitter, and Google hand What about VA beneficiaries?
over studies that show how their ser-
vices affect children. The request The IRS is continuing to review data
came after last week’s congressional received for Veterans Affairs benefit
hearing. recipients and expects to determine a
At the hearing, Rep. Cathy McMor- payment date and provide more de-
ris Rodgers, R-Wash., told the CEOs tails soon. Economic Impact Payments
that their platforms are her “biggest for VA beneficiaries who don’t regular-
fear as a parent.” ly file tax returns could be disbursed by
Kids’ privacy advocates say better mid-April, the agency said.
enforcement is needed, but say devel-
opers also need more guidance on how How can I track my payment?
to make their apps safer for children.
“These advocacy groups should ask You can use the Get My Payment
the FTC to investigate the developers’ tool on IRS.gov. It is updated for eligi-
practices to determine if their apps are ble individuals once their payment is
healthy or unhealthy for kids,” said Gi- processed, according to the IRS. The
rard Kelly, a senior counsel for Com- tool won’t be updated until this week-
mon Sense Media’s privacy program. end with information for federal bene-
Contributing: Jessica Guynn, USA ficiaries expecting payments next
TODAY week, the agency added.
LIFE
USA TODAY | THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 | SECTION B
LIFELINE
LARRY MCCORMACK/USA TODAY NETWORK
HOW WAS YOUR DAY?
LUKE BRYAN
The singer was “Hooked on It.”
Literally. The country singer post-
ed a video to Instagram Tuesday of a
bait and hook attempt gone wrong.
Bryan says that, while on a fishing
trip, his hook became lodged in his
thumb and pierced his hand. He de-
tailed his journey to a medical facility
to have it removed. Bryan’s repre-
sentative Jessie Schmidt told USA
TODAY Wednesday the singer is do-
ing “fine.”
ANDREW NELLES/USA TODAY NETWORK
MAKING WAVES
BONNAROO
Bonnaroo is back. After canceling its
2020 event due to the pandemic, the
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival has
revealed its 2021 lineup – filled with
familiar names and a few big sur-
prises. Foo Fighters, Lizzo, Tyler The
Creator, Tame Impala, Megan Thee
Stallion and Lana Del Rey top the bill
at this year's festival, which takes
place Sept. 2–5 in Manchester, Ten-
nessee. Other big acts include Lil
Baby, Run The Jewels, Janelle Monáe,
Phoebe Bridgers, deadmau5, G-Eazy,
Jack Harlow, Jason Isbell & The 400
Unit and Brittany Howard.
IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY
WHO’S CELEBRATING TODAY
Ali MacGraw is 82. David Oyelowo is
45. Hillary Scott is 35.
USA TODAY SNAPSHOTS ©
USA TODAY Top 40
From the March 26 Airplay Charts
drivers license, Olivia Rodrigo
Therefore I Am, Billie Eilish
34+35, Ariana Grande
Put Your Records On, Ritt Momney
positions, Ariana Grande
USA TODAY/MEDIABASE
‘Top Chef’ bubble kept ‘A Little Devil in America’
the contestants cooking praises Black performance
The Bravo series, which adapted to COVID-19 on Book examines intersection of expression and
Portland, Ore., set, looks bit different. Page 7B liberation through history and culture. Page 8B
K1
K1
MOVIES TELEVISION PREVIEW
‘United
States of
Al’ can’t
meet good
intentions
Kelly Lawler
Columnist
USA TODAY
Chuck Lorre’s “United States of Al”
is trying very hard. Maybe a little too
hard.
The new CBS sitcom (premiering
Thursday, 8:30 EDT/PDT, eeEE),
about the friendship between an ex-
Marine and his unit’s Afghan inter-
preter, is an earnest and open-hearted
attempt at a sitcom bromance between
two very different men who become
the best of friends.
However, Lorre and producers Da-
vid Goetsch and Maria Ferrari have
tried so hard to create a perfectly palat-
able story of an immigrant of color that
they manage to turn Al into a carica-
ture that borders on offensive. Without
a fully formed title character or identi-
ty, “Al” adds up to a lackluster sitcom
that doesn’t often land its jokes.
The series kicks off as Riley (Parker
Young) is trying to adjust to civilian life
Idris Elba stars as an urban horse rider in Philadelphia who learns to be a back home, and Awalmir (Adhir Ka-
dad in “Concrete Cowboy.” PROVIDED BY JESSICA KOURKOUNIS/NETFLIX lyan) finally arrives in the U.S. after
waiting years for his chance at a new
life in America. He moves in with his
Elba is back former brother-in-arms, currently liv-
ing in his dad Art’s (Dean Norris) ga-
rage. Since returning from Afghani-
stan, Riley and his wife Vanessa (Kelli
on the horse
Goss) have separated, sharing custody
of their daughter Hazel (Farrah Mac-
kenzie), much to Al’s horror. Riley’s
sister Lizzie (Elizabeth Alderfer) also is
in ‘Concrete
back home after her fiancé died in
combat in Afghanistan.
Cowboy’
Brian Truitt USA TODAY
Idris Elba is the king of Benadryl. h The British actor braved a
horse allergy to work with equine co-stars while filming not just
one but two Black-centered Western movies coming to Netflix:
“Concrete Cowboy” (streaming Friday), which premiered at last
fall’s virtual Toronto International Film Festival, and “The Harder
Parker Young stars as Riley and Adhir
They Fall” (premiering later this year). h “I’m ready to go and Kalyan is Al in “United States of Al.”
move out to the wild, wild West,” Elba quips to USA TODAY via PROVIDED BY ROBERT VOETS/CBS
Zoom. (His allergy symptoms: “My eyes swell up, and my chest
gets tight.”) Al rarely is the butt of the broad sit-
com’s jokes, unlike many portrayals of
In “Concrete Cowboy” (on which Elba says the film was “particu- Middle Eastern characters on TV. But
Elba also is a producer), he stars as larly moving” for him “being able to his character also is rarely written as a
Harp, one of several modern-day tell a story about a father and a son, coherent human. Although his name is
Black cowboys who are part of the but also give a little amplification in the title, the white characters get the
Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club in about some of this really happening depth, the emotions and the relatabil-
North Philadelphia. When Harp’s where these small, tiny communi- ity. We feel Lizzie mourning her late
estranged son Cole (Caleb ties that historically own this land fiancé while drinking heavily and self-
McLaughlin) is kicked out of school are now being moved out.” destructively seeking out anonymous
in Detroit, he’s sent to live with his The 48-year-old actor, one of the sex; we see Riley struggle to find his
dad for the summer, and Harp tries first major celebrities to reveal a place in civilian life by rebuffing a job
to keep Cole from a life of crime positive test for COVID-19 a year with his dad and hitting on every
while also dealing with the gentrifi- ago, has a busy slate coming up. woman he sees; and we understand
cation that’s affecting the riders’ Vanessa’s frustration with her ex’s in-
way of life. See ELBA, Page 7B ability to show up as a husband and fa-
ther after he keeps letting her down.
But with Al, we see a man who only
wants to help everyone else achieve
actualization.
His wants and needs are unimpor-
tant to the narrative. His simplistic
story lines, in the four episodes made
available for review, include being
bowled over by seeing a woman in
shorts for the first time and trying to
make Hazel conform to his conserva-
tive standards of how children should
behave.
Al is a stand-in for a model minor-
ity: an unthreatening, sexless, subser-
vient presence in Riley’s home.
Before its premiere, “Al” received
immense backlash on social media
based on promos that romanticized
Polka Dot Man (David Dastmalchian, left), Peacemaker (John Cena), occupying military forces, and for
Bloodsport (Idris Elba) and Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior) are new to
James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad.” PROVIDED BY JESSICA MIGLIO/WARNER BROS. See TV PREVIEW, Page 7B
6B ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ USA TODAY LIFE

USA TODAY BEST-SELLING BOOKS BOOKLIST.USATODAY.COM WHAT

AMERICA’S
READING®

n Rank this week n Rank last week (F) Fiction (NF) Nonfiction (P) Paperback (H)Hardcover (E) E-book Publisher in italics The book list appears
THE TOP 10 every Thursday.
For each title, the format
1 — Dog Man: Mothering Children: While the world seems dark for Dog Man and 6 9 Little Blue Truck’s Children: Little Blue Truck learns about baby animals (F) and publisher listed are for
Heights his friends, they discover love may save the day; 10th in Springtime (H) HMH Books for Young Readers the best-selling version of
Dav Pilkey series (F) (H) Scholastic Alice Schertle that title this week.
Reporting outlets include
Amazon.com, Amazon
2 5 It’s Not Easy Being a Children: P.J. tries to decide if it’s better being another 7 — The Other Emily After losing the love of his life, writer David Thorne Kindle, Apple Books,
Bunny animal instead of a bunny (F) (H) Random House Books for Dean Koontz meets a woman who is eerily familiar (F) (E) Thomas & Barnes & Noble.com,
Barnes & Noble Inc., Barnes
Marilyn Sadler Young Readers Mercer & Noble e-books,
BooksAMillion.com,
3 8 Books-A-Million, Costco,
4 The Four Winds Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, Elsa 20 How to Catch the Children: An examination of potentially different ways to Hudson Booksellers,
Kristin Hannah Martinelli must journey west in search of an ever-elusive Easter Bunny catch a certain bunny (F) (H) Sourcebooks Jabberwocky Joseph-Beth Booksellers
better future (F) (H) St. Martin’s Press Adam Wallace (Lexington, Ky.; Cincinnati,
Charlotte, Cleveland,
Pittsburgh), Kobo, Inc.,
4 3 Rowley Jefferson’s Youth: Collection of comically spooky stories involving 9 — The Bounty FBI agent Kate O’Hare and criminal Nick Fox race against Powell's Books (Portland,
Awesome Friendly zombies, ghosts, vampires and more (F) (H) Amulet Books Janet Evanovich and the Brotherhood to uncover a buried train filled with Nazi Ore.), Powells.com, R.J.
Spooky Stories Steve Hamilton gold; seventh in series (F) (E) Atria Books Julia Booksellers, Schuler
Jeff Kinney Books & Music (Grand
Rapids, Okemos, Eastwood,
5 — Double Jeopardy Stone Barrington is called to action when an old family 10 — The Consequences of Maisie Dobbs investigates a possible murder that threat- Alpine, Mich.), Target,
Stuart Wood matter needs attention; 57th in series (F) (E) G.P. Put- Fear ens to have repercussions for Britain’s WWII efforts; 16th Tattered Cover Book Store
(Denver).
nam’s Sons Jacqueline Winspear in series (F) (E) Harper

THE REST
11 1 Win/Harlan Coben Windsor “Win” Horne Lockwood III has no idea how his suitcase became tied to a murder and kidnapping (F) (H) Grand Central Pub-
lishing
12 7Oh, the Places You’ll Go!/Dr. Seuss Children: Dr. Seuss’ advice on life is a favorite for graduations (F) (H) Random House
13 —Eternal/Lisa Scottoline A love triangle set against the rise of fascism and the eruption of WWII that unfolds over decades (F) (E) G.P. Putnam’s Sons
14 11
Later/Stephen King All Jamie Conklin wants is an ordinary childhood, but he is no ordinary child (F) (P) Hard Case Crime
15 15
The Midnight Library/Matt Haig Nora Seed has the opportunity to change her current life to one that could have been (F) (H) Viking
16 35
Pete the Cat: Big Easter Adventure/James Dean Children: Pete the Cat wakes up on Easter morning and discovers the Easter Bunny needs his help (F) (H) HarperFestival
17 16
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse/Charlie Mackesy A tale of unlikely friendship among a young boy and animals (F) (H) HarperOne
18 29
How to Do the Work/Nicole LePera Subtitle: “Recognize Your Patterns, Heal from Your Past, and Create Your Self” (NF) (H) HarperWave
19 25
Biscuit’s Pet & Play Easter/Alyssa Satin Capucilli, Rose Mary Children: Biscuit and fuzzy yellow chick hunt for Easter eggs (F) (P) HarperFestival
Berlin, Pat Schories
20 8 Eat Better, Feel Better/Giada De Laurentiis Subtitle: “My Recipes for Wellness and Healing, Inside and Out” (NF) (H) Rodale
21 10 The Code Breaker/Walter Isaacson Subtitle: “Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race” (NF) (H) Simon & Schuster
22 — The Palm Beach Murders/James Patterson Contains the stories “The Palm Beach Murders” (previously published as “Let’s Play Make-Believe”), “Nooners” and “Stingrays” (F) (E)
Grand Central Publishing
23 — I Love You to the Moon and Back/Amelia Hepworth; art by Children: A mama bear and her cub spend the day together (F) (H) Tiger Tales
Tim Warnes
24 14 Green Eggs and Ham/Dr. Seuss Children: Turns out green eggs and ham aren’t so bad in this Seuss classic (F) (H) Random House
25 44 God Gave Us Easter/Lisa Tawn Bergren; art by Laura J. Bryant Children: Little Cub celebrates Easter with Papa, Mama, and her brother and sister (F) (H) WaterBrook Press
26 26 Cat Kid Comic Club/Dav Pilkey Children: Li’l Petey, Flippy and Molly introduce a group of baby frogs to the art of comic making (F) (H) Scholastic
27 21 They Both Die at the End/Adam Silvera Youth: Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio are strangers who become friends on the day they are told they will die (F) (P) Quill Tree Books
28 37 Happy Easter, Mouse!/Laura Joffe Numeroff, Felicia Bond Children: The mouse from “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” tries to figure out who’s leaving Easter eggs all over his house (F) (H) Harper-
Festival
29 45 Llama Llama Easter Egg/Anna Dewdney Children: The Easter Bunny brings lots of treats for Llama Llama (F) (H) Viking Children’s
30 24 The Very Hungry Caterpillar Board Book/Eric Carle Classic children’s story of a caterpillar that eats all the time and turns into a butterfly (F) (H) Philomel
31 — Cherished/Helen Hardt Dale Steel fights his feelings for his intern, Ashley White; 17th in series (F) (E) Waterhouse Press
32 32 Atomic Habits/James Clear Subtitle: “An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones” (NF) (H) Avery
33 34 The Four Agreements/Don Miguel Ruiz Subtitle: “A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom” (NF) (P) Amber-Allen
34 42 You’re My Little Honey Bunny/Natalie Marshall Children: Mother explains what she loves about her child (F) (H) Silver Dolphin Books
35 12 The Cat in the Hat/Dr. Seuss Children: Much happens when Mom is away and the cat turns up (F) (H) Random House
36 28 The Rose Code/Kate Quinn Three female code breakers from WWII’s Bletchley Park reunite after the war is over to crack one last code (F) (P) William Morrow Pa-
perbacks
37 39 Dog Man: Grime and Punishment/Dav Pilkey Youth: Dog Man faces a new problem and needs his pack to help him; ninth in series (F) (H) Graphix
38 49 Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?/Bill Martin Jr., Children: Animals take turns catching glimpses of each other (F) (H) Henry Holt and Co.
Eric Carle
39 — What the Road Said/Cleo Wade; art by Lucie de Moyencourt Children: Sometimes we mistakenly walk down the wrong path, but when that happens we should lead with kindness and curiosity (F)
(H) Feiwel & Friends
40 19 One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish/Dr. Seuss Children: A collection of rhymes that includes old fish and new fish (F) (H) Random House
41 17 Fox in Socks/Dr. Seuss Children: A book of increasingly difficult tongue-twisters (F) (H) Random House Books for Young Readers
42 — The Queen’s Gambit/Walter Tevis Orphan Beth Harmon becomes a chess phenom (F) (E) RosettaBooks
43 27 Dr. Seuss’s ABC/Dr. Seuss Children: Book teaches the alphabet in a fun way (F) (H) Random House Books for Young Readers
44 — Medical Medium/Anthony William Subtitle: “Secrets Behind Chronic and Mystery Illness and How to Finally Heal” (F) (H) Hay House Inc.
45 72 The Good Egg Presents: The Great Eggscape!/Jory John; art Children: Good Egg and his pals escape their carton for a morning of fun (F) (H) HarperCollins
by Pete Oswald
46 — The Tale of Peter Rabbit: A Story Board Book/Beatrix Potter Children: Storyboard version of the classic tale (F) (H) Warne
47 38 Bridgerton: The Duke and I/Julia Quinn Historical romance: Duke and debutante feign an attachment (F) (P) Avon
48 50 Greenlights/Matthew McConaughey An unconventional memoir filled with raucous stories and hard-won wisdom from the Academy Award-winning actor (NF) (H) Crown
49 48 The Song of Achilles/Madeline Miller In a retelling of the Trojan War, golden child Achilles and his friend, the shamed Patroclus, join the fight when Helen of Sparta is kid-
napped (F) (P) Ecco
50 62 Love You Forever/Robert Munsch; art by Sheila McGraw Children: A mother never stops loving her child (F) (P) Firefly Books

PUZZLES
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For more puzzles, get the USA TODAY Crossword app.
CROSSWORD WORD ROUNDUP F X H E T H I O P I A H
EDITED Erik Agard By David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek 4/1 R R Z E T O R F Z P GW
BY Amanda Rafkin Find and Circle: O R OW R D A Q I X J O
Four amphibians ☑☐☐☐ D C E G R O I D M N P N
BURY THE Four five-letter birds ☐☐☐☐
© Andrews McMeel

Three countries starting with E ☐☐☐ A N L P B E N G A L C S

HATCHET Three forms of precipitation ☐☐☐
ACROSS Part of the Indian Ocean: Bay of ____ ☐ U S A L A M A N D E R H
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14 Repurposed T-shirt, QUICKCROSS UP & DOWN WORDS
maybe By John Wilmes 4/1 By David L. Hoyt and Russell L. Hoyt 4/1
15 Watering can part
16 Basic skateboarding April Fools’ practical ____ 1. TOP
move 2.
17 Female sheep Eurasian mountain chain
18 “Vote for ___” 3.
(“Napoleon Disease organism 4.
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19 Model airplane By oneself
wood 6.
20 Source code issues
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23 Grand ___
National Park Cookie brand
Clues: Wednesday’s Answer
24 Dancer’s advanced 1. Maximum velocity RIDGEMONT HIGH
degree Wednesday’s Answer
Malone or Marx
2. Accelerate HIGH WATER
25 Witnessed 3. The Arctic, to the Antarctic WATER VAPOR
28 “. . . ish”
F A C T 4. Polaris nickname VAPOR TRAIL
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29 German article © Andrews McMeel 4/1 L U A U 6. Strategic maneuver MIX TOGETHER
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65 Made more Museum’s state who’s a lesbian icon
34 Parasitic creature manageable (Abbr.) 54 Historical periods T A S K ON YOUR PHONE PLAY ONLINE
36 Destination for a 3/31 puzzles.usatoday.com PUZZLES.USATODAY.COM © Andrews McMeel
66 “___ day now” 27 Internet 55 Name that’s “M” in
dog breed test 29 Dispose of the NATO phonetic
37 Speak at length DOWN 30 Knee stabilizer, for SUDOKU
alphabet
39 Expert suggestion 1 Magician’s short 56 Furry sitcom alien
41 Closing bit of music exclamation 31 Disturbed Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x2
42 “Deep Impact” 57 First word in some box contains the numbers 1 through 9 (no repeats). box contains the numbers 1 through 6 (no repeats).
2 TV journalist Diane 33 Microscopic rap names
threats 3 Secret ones do machine
43 Lock’s partner missions 35 Highway turnoffs
58 Enjoyed some 5 8 3 4 2
44 Esperanza matzo ball soup,
4 Capitol Hill TV 37 Uterus
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say 1 8 6 6 1
instrument 5 ___ predator (top “what” Wednesday’s Answer
48 React to the first of a food chain) 39 Some HP 3 6 5 8 6 1 4
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perhaps 7 Gucci Mane ad-lib 40 Pooh’s young 5 4 5 3
49 Drilling platform 8 Lightning event pal
51 Kinda 9 Obvious choice 45 Actress 2 4 6 4 1
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56 Device with a 11 For ___ intents and 46 Taken without 1 5
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59 A bit creepy 12 Not trans 47 ___ check 5 1 8 6 Wednesday’s Answers
60 Boxer Muhammad 13 Chicken pot pie (evaluation of 6 8 2 9 3 5 7 1 4 1 5 6 4 2 3
61 Smiled from ear to veggie rationality) 9 6 2 1 5 3 8 4 7 6 9 2 3 2 4 1 6 5
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62 Animal in a 2001 sailed” a Mary Oliver 4 9 3 2 3 1 5 7 9 6 2 4 8 2 6 1 5 3 4
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63 Pickleball divider shaker 52 “T,” on a test ON YOUR PHONE ON YOUR PHONE 4 3 9 2 7 8 1 6 5 6 3 5 2 4 1
Answers: Call 1-900-988-8300, 99 cents a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-320-4280. get our crossword app puzzles.usatoday.com © Andrews McMeel 2 6 1 3 5 9 4 8 7 3/31

1 2 3 © WIGGLES 3D GAMES
TXTPERT Today’s theme
1 2 DON’T QUOTE ME®
Countries K E Y B O A R D
Across Down Movie producer Rearrange the words to complete the quote.
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4 5 1. 62529742 1. 62534837 Use the 3 Samuel Goldwyn AFTER ANYONE AUTOBIOGRAPHY DEAD I THINK WRITE
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be LOST E J E C T E
Wednesday’s Answer: “It’s so beautifully arranged on the plate -
4/1

© USA TODAY and Rich Coulter Yesterday’s solution you know someone’s fingers have been all over it.” - Julia Child
LIFE
TELEVISION
‘Top Chef’ simmered in its bubble
Andrea Mandell
USA TODAY
Think of the NBA bubble, but with
kitchens instead of courts.
Last September, Season 18 of Bravo’s
“Top Chef ” (premiering Thursday, 8
EDT/PDT) sharpened its knives and be-
gan filming during the pandemic, keep-
ing its original location of Portland, Ore-
gon, and reimagining some of the kitch-
en standards that make the Emmy-win-
ning competition show sizzle.
This season’s “cheftestants,” as Bra-
vo calls them, include 15 executive chefs
and restaurant owners. All involved
quarantined ahead of production, in-
cluding the crew, host Padma Lakshmi,
head judge Tom Colicchio and Gail Sim-
mons.
Lakshmi’s preproduction bubble in
Portland included her 11-year-old
daughter, Krishna. During Colicchio’s
own lockdown, “I had my dog with me,
so I went outside to walk her. And that
was it,” says the judge, who stayed solo
in an Airbnb. Both say they were tested
every other day during the two-month
taping.
The goal of filming Season 18 was to
“keep people working” and COVID-free,
says Casey Kriley, co-CEO of production
company Magical Elves. “We really
spent six months preparing to try and
shoot during the pandemic.”
But ‘Top Chef’ couldn’t ignore the
reality of 2020
In step with the times, the season
premiere opens with a somber look at
the decimated restaurant industry, as
chefs share personal stories of shutting
down their acclaimed restaurants and
furloughing staff. “Those are conversa-
tions I’ll never forget,” says contestant
Sasha Grumman, wiping a tear. (A for-
mer chef de cuisine at an Italian Los An-
geles hot spot, Grumman’s official bio
currently lists her as starting a focaccia
business during the pandemic.)
“Top Chef ” also rolled its cameras
amid Black Lives Matter protests mak-
ing international headlines in Portland.
“Everything was so intense,” says
Lakshmi, noting the unrelenting trifecta
of the political climate, the pandemic
and a deadly wildfire season that hit
Oregon after they arrived. “One of the
reasons we went to Portland is because
it has such beautiful open space and
glorious nature. Because of the fires, we
had to just completely lock down again
in another way.”
What does Season 18 look like?
The new season was shot inside a
cavernous convention center. “Once we
were on the set, you had to wear masks
the entire time, except when the judges
and contestants were in the kitchen
cooking or eating,” says Colicchio.
The judges’ table, refashioned as a gi-
ant horseshoe, seats the series’ most
discerning palates six feet or more
apart. The contestants grocery shop vir-
tually and live in a hotel instead of shar-
ing a house, to create physical distanc-
ing. Challenges were rethought, includ-
ing the all-important ‘Restaurant Wars,’
Elba
Continued from Page 5B
He straps on major weaponry to play
Superman villain Bloodsport in James
Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” (in theaters
and on HBO Max Aug. 6); stars as the
archenemy of a vengeful outlaw played
by Jonathan Majors in “The Harder
They Fall”; and is in Sydney finishing up
director George Miller’s fantasy “Three
Thousand Years of Longing” co-starring
Tilda Swinton.
Elba – dad to daughter Isan, 19, and
son Winston, 6 – opens up about “Con-
crete Cowboy,” his bout with COVID-19
and what he binged during lockdown:
Question: As a father yourself,
what scene between Harp and Cole
most touched you?
Elba: There’s one where Harp talks
about his mother and the advice she
used to give him. It’s that father/son di-
alogue I have with my kids that really
resonated with me. The Harp storyline
was very different from mine, but I
could relate to it just being a dad.
Q: What’s the best piece of advice
your dad gave you?
Elba: Weirdly enough, my dad said to
me, “When you’re speaking to some-
body, if you want to connect with them,
look them in the eyes.”
But right now I’ve been told to look at
“Top Chef” contestants Chris Viaud, from left, Roscoe Hall and Shota Nakajima shoot a Season 18 challenge on the
Portland, Ore., set. PHOTOS PROVIDED BY DAVID MOIR/BRAVO
Everyone quarantined for the duration of the two-month “Top Chef” shoot,
including host Padma Lakshmi, center, and all the judges.
now scaled back to “micro-restaurants”
in which contestants serve a seven-
course tasting menu.
The show itself “wasn’t that differ-
ent,” says Colicchio, a shrug almost per-
ceptible by phone. “We couldn’t bring
200 people in to do big parties, but we
worked around that, and we did other
things. Restaurant Wars was a com-
pletely different Restaurant Wars. But I
loved it.”
“Top Chef ” fans will notice some dif-
ferences. For Quickfires (the first timed
challenge of every episode), “I was no
longer able to go around to (contes-
tants’) stations to check out what they
my camera on my screen. So it’s a bit of
an irony.
Q: What’s the best piece of advice
you’ve given your kids?
Elba: “I don’t know” is not an answer.
That’s what I say to my kids.
Q: You have a horse allergy, but
does that fade away when you’re up
there, riding and connecting with this
majestic animal?
Elba: There’s something very unnat-
ural for the horse to have someone sit on
its back. And if they don’t want you on
their back, there is no connection. They
will very quickly let you know that.
So immediately, if you can get onto a
horse’s back, you definitely connect
with them. There’s a language: They’re
sensing you, reading your movements
and relating to you. I really found that so
fascinating.
Q: There are no horses but plenty of
colorful misfits in “The Suicide
Squad.” What was that experience
like?
Elba: It’s an incredible bit of work.
James Gunn really worked hard on it
and we all did. It’s very different from
running around Philadelphia on horse-
back but equally as exciting.
Q: Your COVID-19 announcement
early on in the pandemic really shook
a lot of people about how serious this
thing was. A year later, how are you
feeling?
Elba: I don’t suffer any residual ef-
USA TODAY ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ 7B
did,” says Lakshmi, who was brought
plated dishes instead. “I gain a lot of in-
formation from looking at their station
and seeing, are they a messy cook?
Have they wasted a lot of food? I could
try to see from far, but it wasn’t the
same.”
Viewers will spot judges being served
by waitstaff in masks and face shields.
Production also rethought guest judges,
given the strict quarantine standards:
This season, “Top Chef ” alumni includ-
ing Richard Blais, Melissa King, Brooke
Williamson and Dale Talde step in as a
rotating panel of judges, who “quaran-
tined with us all the way though,” notes
fects and during my time with COVID, I
was asymptomatic.
But I guess I feel incredibly lucky to
have not gone down the worst route
and thus it’s given me a slightly differ-
ent perspective on life, a little bit more
of a new lease on life.
There are things that I’ve always
wanted to do and haven’t done that I’m
doing and want to do and pursuing.
Personal things, small goals, things
that I just put aside, things that I just
said, “Oh, I’ll do that one day,” but now
I’m doing.
Q: How was it to get back to work
after your diagnosis?
Elba: More than anything, we all
binged on films and stories and books
during this time, especially during the
hardest times of lockdown. To have a
seat at the table, I feel really lucky and
thankful to be able to be back to work
making films, telling stories, making
characters.
Q: What was your favorite binge?
Elba: There’s an old (British) TV
show from the ’70s called “The Profes-
sionals,” which is Bodie and Doyle.
They were like a double act. And I
watched “The Queen’s Gambit.” That
was incredible, Anya (Taylor-Joy) was
amazing.
Having watched so much stuff, I
was sitting going, ‘Oh, I wish I could be
an actor.’ And then going, ‘Oh, I am an
actor! Great! Let’s go!’ ”
Lakshmi. (Massimo Bottura and Alice
Waters pop in as guests, too.)
‘Top Chef’ set was divided into
zones
As with other TV production, desig-
nated zones kept everyone apart as
much as possible. “I couldn’t go into the
culinary department where they were
keeping the groceries because that’s not
my zone,” says Lakshmi, who resorted
to phoning a friend. “We would stand
across the soundstage and look at each
other and be on the phone talking to
each other.”
Lakshmi also applied new rules for
her daughter, normally a regular on set.
She visited “only on a handful of days;
my crew couldn’t have family with them
because of COVID,” she says. “I just
thought that this is going to be such an
emotionally taxing season anyway, that
my daughter didn’t need to be running
around on her scooter reminding every-
body of their children at home.”
Fast-forward to March: Colicchio,
whose restaurants in Los Angeles and
New York have reopened, sees hope for
his industry. “The stimulus package has
earmarked $28.6 billion for indepen-
dent restaurants, so that’s a bright
spot,” he says. “Little by little, we’re get-
ting there.”
And the season’s biggest win?
“Top Chef,” which at times balloons
to a crew of 190, emerged with zero
cases of COVID, says Kriley, describing a
“very emotional” last day of filming. “As
difficult as all of the protocols were, they
were more than worth it,” says Lakshmi.
“And they were the least we could do be-
cause it worked. Nobody got sick.”
TV preview
Continued from Page 5B
casting an actor of Indian and South
African descent to play an Afghan
character.
Iranian-born producer Reza Aslan
defended the series, tweeting, “The
only way you will no longer be under-
represented on TV is if people like me
try to do something about it. And peo-
ple like you support it. My whole life
I’ve been misrepresented on TV. That’s
why I came to Hollywood to change
that. You don’t have to support the ef-
fort. But maybe watch it then (exple-
tive) on it not other way round.”
Aslan noted the series has four Af-
ghan writers and worked with advoca-
cy organizations, soldiers and transla-
tors. And while “Al” may derive inspi-
ration from true stories, they don’t
translate well to a sitcom format.
While Lorre’s other immigrant sitcom,
“Bob Hearts Abishola,” is a series with
a lot of heart and well-rounded charac-
ters, “Al” is far more superficial.
“Al” certainly has good intentions.
But good intentions aren’t enough to
make the show a worthy representa-
tion of a culture or even a good sitcom.
There has to be something more sub-
stantial to back them up, and “Al” just
doesn’t have it.
8B ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ USA TODAY LIFE

BOOK REVIEW

‘Little Devil’ examines joy that lifts Black performance

Darryl Robertson new to Abdurraqib. In “They Can’t Kill ing them a break from fighting Ameri- ing back to see if she could match the
Special to USA TODAY Us Until They Kill Us,” he writes: “Once can racism. Where misogyny, racism swelling voices of a choir; to see if the
you realize that it’s all performance the and gender bias limited Black agency, words of hymn could still move her to
Black performance has been a part of medicine goes down easier.” “Soul Train” provided a space where tears midsong.”
the Black radical imagination since In “A Little Devil in America,” Abdur- Black people could move, twist and Abdurraqib has drawn parallels be-
America’s inception. From enslaved Af- raqib digs into historical, musical and shout, smile and laugh freely. tween Chance the Rapper’s music and
ricans frolicking dur- personal vaults to unearth layered mo- Abdurraqib’s ideas about Cornelius’ the church. Chance’s “Coloring Book”
ing quilting parties on ments of performance, such as dancing dream of Black freedom borrows from project found the rapper waxing poetic
plantations to Jay-Z in a basement in Columbus, Ohio, to the “They Can’t Kill Us,” where he writes: about “Blessings,” “Angels” and God on
conceding in his song music of Whitney Houston; conversa- “The only way to build yourself into the choir-backed record, “How Great.”
“Kill Jay-Z” to creat- tions with elders at a BBQ joint in Mem- something unstoppable is to become in- According to Abdurraqib, Chance’s
ing a careerlong char- phis; and Josephine Baker working as a timate with all of that which would oth- church-influenced album spread
acter for mass con- spy for France’s military. Abdurraqib erwise attempt to stop you.” enough positive energy to usher people
sumption, Black per- details how these performances fit into Abdurraqib touches on the Black through the election of Donald Trump
formance has guided the conversation about American cul- church, where many Black people have- and the Pulse nightclub shooting.
American culture. ture. held hands with the message of freedom For Chance, like Franklin, Cornelius,
When juxtaposed The way in which Abdurraqib writes found in Exodus. Combining popular Houston and Baker, joy has been made
with Black radical imagination, Black about performance in “A Little Devil in culture and church music, he writes of into a brand. As Abdurraqib writes in his
performance serves as a form of Black America” posits Black freedom. For in- Aretha Franklin, who brought her faith previous work, joy is both “hollow and
liberation. stance, Abdurraqib tells the story of the to American culture. touchable, in part because it is some-
Performing and freedom is what stirs late Don Cornelius, who began his ca- Of Franklin’s album “Amazing Grace,” thing that can’t be explained as well as it
Hanif Abdurraqib’s “A Little Devil in reer as a journalist reporting on the civil Abdurraqib writes: “Aretha sings ‘What can be visualized and experienced.”
America: Notes in Praise of Black Per- rights movement. Cornelius’ creation of a Friend We Have in Jesus,’ ‘Mary Don’t “Little Devil in America”sheds light
formance” (Random House, 320 pp., “Soul Train,” was his way of abating the You Weep,’ and ‘Amazing Grace’... This is on repeated acts of joy that lift us during
eeeE). Examining performance isn’t stress of protesters and laborers by giv- Aretha, at the height of her game, com- traumatic experiences.

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week in Texas and California
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See who won in the NBA and NHL as the leagues
enter the homestretch of their regular seasons

Black coaches make women’s history

South Carolina women’s coach Dawn
Staley is headed back to the Final Four.
DAWSON POWERS/USA TODAY SPORTS
Nancy Armour
Columnist
USA TODAY
SAN ANTONIO – Everyone knows
the saying that you need to see it in or-
der to be it. But Dawn Staley would like
to suggest an alternate interpretation.
Athletic directors who watch the
women’s NCAA Tournament on Friday
night will see history made, the first Fi-
nal Four to feature two Black women as
head coaches. When they see her and
Arizona’s Adia Barnes, South Carolina’s
Staley wants those athletic directors,
the people who can bring about pro-
gress and change by who they hire, to
know there are dozens of other Black
women coaches out there who can have
similar success, if only they’re given the
opportunity.
“I was cheering for (Barnes) to get it
done, not for any other reason besides
us being represented at the biggest
stage of women’s college basketball,”
Staley said. “That’s because so many
Black coaches out there don’t get the op-
portunity. When ADs don’t see it, they
don’t see it.
“And they’re going to see it on the big-
gest stage Friday night.”
Staley’s credentials are second-to-
none, a force of nature as a player, an
Olympian and now a coach. She is only
the second Black woman to win a na-
tional championship as a coach, which
she did when the Gamecocks won the ti-
tle in 2017, and will coach the U.S. wom-
en’s team at this summer’s Tokyo Olym-
pics.
But Staley is painfully conscious that
some of the doors that were open for her
remain sealed shut for so many others.
See ARMOUR, Page 2C

Paul Myerberg
Columnist
USA TODAY

Celebrate
UCLA’s
return to
Final Four
Congratulations to UCLA!
The Bruins punched a ticket to the
Final Four with a 51-49 win against
Michigan assisted by the Wolverines’
offensive swoon in the game’s final
three minutes Tuesday night.
UCLA has returned to the brightest
stage in men’s college basketball in
coach Mick Cronin’s second season,
allowing Cronin to answer the critics,
doubters and naysayers who ques-
tioned the hiring of a coach who had
failed to get out of the first weekend of
the men’s NCAA Tournament in his
previous seven appearances.
In fact, getting to the Final Four is
such an incredible feat that anything
achieved from this point forward is
gravy, especially given the Bruins’ lack The main gates are prepared Monday for opening day at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati. The Reds
of preseason hype – not to mention introduced a number of new amenities, concessions and COVID-19 related regulations. SAM GREENE/THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER
their status as one of the teams in this
year’s First Four.
Despite owning the most national
championships of any team in college
basketball, the Bruins are a success
story worthy of being celebrated and
On opening day, MLB
eyes return to normalcy
commended for the next three days.
Of course, Gonzaga is going to beat
UCLA like a drum.
The Final Four field is set: UCLA and
Gonzaga will meet in one game, Baylor
and Houston in the other. Is it too soon League, just as it has been since 1973. even felt like a real season.
to skip ahead to the final two? There will be three divisional win- “It’s definitely exciting,” said Mets
Baylor and Gonzaga have been on a Bob Nightengale ners and two wild-card teams making ace Jacob deGrom, who will be facing
collision course for months in a cross- Columnist the playoffs from each league just as it Max Scherzer of the Nationals on Thurs-
country rivalry pitting the unques- USA TODAY has been since 2012, but expanded to a day. “Last year, no one really knew what
tioned best teams in college hoops. 16-team field a year ago. to expect. You came in, had a month to
After dismantling overmatched Finally, a dose of normalcy, and it has get ready, you then play a short season.
Southern California in the Elite Eight, DENVER – There will be no down- never felt so good. We’re trained to play 162, and hopefully
Gonzaga is two wins from becoming town parades with high school march- “I have never seen the kind of antici- play more than that. We’re excited to
the first team since Indiana in 1976 to ing bands. No traditional sellout pation for an opening day that I sense have fans back in the stands and get
go unbeaten, potentially doing so with crowds outside the state of Texas. No with respect to this one,” Commissioner that going.”
enough style points to stake a claim for beer and hot dog vendors roaming the Rob Manfred told USA TODAY Sports. Spring training tickets were selling
being placed in the pantheon of the stadium aisles. No cash, credit cards “It’s the most anticipated opening day for nearly $200 in the Cactus League,
greatest teams in the history of the only. And no masks, no admittance. I’ve ever seen. I have to tell you the idea despite games lasting as few as five in-
sport. Once unbeaten before being Different norms, for sure, but Major being back, looking at a full 162-game nings and funky rules.
temporarily derailed by COVID-19, League Baseball’s opening day Thurs- season, with at least some fans in the “I just think people want to be back at
Baylor has rolled through tournament day has never been so beautiful. ballpark, I could not be more excited.” the game,” Manfred said. “They are real-
play, where the Bears’ tremendous There’s a 162-game schedule – 102 It’s no different than with the players, ly anticipating being back in the ball-
backcourt has paced a series of im- more than a year ago. who spent all last season talking about park.”
There will be a DH in the American how cold and unemotional it felt with-
See MYERBERG, Page 2C League and not in the National out the fans, questioning whether it See NIGHTENGALE, Page 8C
2C ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ USA TODAY
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL THREE TAKEAWAYS
Gonzaga’s USC thrashing revealing
Paul Myerberg
USA TODAY
Gonzaga took control from the open-
ing tip against Southern California and
dominated the Trojans in an 85-66 win
Tuesday night to advance into the NCAA
men’s basketball tournament Final Four
for the second time in program history.
The top-seeded Bulldogs made it
look easy during the regular season and
have done the same in the NCAA Tour-
nament, winning four games by an aver-
age margin of 24 points to remain un-
beaten entering the national semifinals.
For USC, the loss caps a successful
season that included the program’s
fourth Elite Eight appearance overall
and first since 2001. But the game likely
marks the end of true freshman forward
Evan Mobley’s college career; after scor-
ing 17 points against Gonzaga, Mobley is
expected to enter the NBA draft and be
one of the first players selected.
And for Gonzaga, the win was as un-
ANALYSIS
Super soph sparks Stanford to Final Four
Lindsay Schnell
USA TODAY
surprising as it was easy. With a lineup
loaded with All-American picks and its
own contender for the top pick in the
draft, the Bulldogs are building a case
for being one of the great teams in re-
cent college basketball history.
Here are the three biggest takeaways
from Gonzaga’s win:
Gonzaga keeps chasing perfection:
Not to mention a place in college basket-
ball history. Now 30-0, the Bulldogs are
attempting to become the first team
since Indiana in 1976 to put together a
perfect season.
Doing so would cement the pro-
gram’s place among the best in college
basketball, secure longtime coach Mark
Few’s place among the most storied
coaches in the history of the sport and,
in a development Gonzaga would be
only too happy to embrace, forever re-
move the Cinderella label that has fol-
lowed the Bulldogs for more than two
decades.
The 19-point win against USC sends
Having depth like that, where everyone
is excited for the other players, is really
Gonzaga into the national semifinals
and a matchup with UCLA, which de-
feated Michigan in the second of Tues-
day night’s Elite Eight pairings.
After going the entire regular season
and into the Final Four with just one
game decided by a single-digit margin,
the Bulldogs are expected to win the
whole thing – though Baylor might have
something to say about that, should the
Bears get past Houston in the other
semifinal.
USC never stood a chance: Don’t feel
too bad: Gonzaga’s made just about ev-
ery opponent look incompetent. The
Trojans fell into an early hole after
struggling to match the Bulldogs’ defen-
sive intensity, leading to a slew of first-
half turnovers and a 19-point deficit
heading into halftime. While the Bull-
dogs made it look easy on both ends, ev-
ery possession was a struggle for USC –
and even when the Trojans did convert
on offense, as in an 8-0 run to cut into a
21-point hole, Gonzaga had a response.
1 Stanford 89 ynlloŽ›Ž˜Ž”“t
SPORTS
Again, don’t feel too bad for USC.
While undeniably disappointing to
reach this point but fall just short of the
Final Four, this was a breakthrough sea-
son at long last for the Trojans and
coach Andy Enfield, who landed the job
eight years ago on the back of Florida
Gulf Coast’s unexpected run to the
Sweet 16 and now has a second deep
tournament run on his résumé.
How do you stop Gonzaga’s big
three? Hmm. Maybe you don’t? You can
focus on slowing down freshman phe-
nom Jalen Suggs, the likely No. 1 pick in
this year’s NBA draft, but that just
opens up room for sophomore forward
Drew Timme. If Suggs or Timme are off
the mark, the Bulldogs can turn to the
team’s other All-American pick, senior
forward Corey Kispert. Most likely, your
best defensive effort fails to slow one of
Gonzaga’s three stars, let alone the en-
tire trio. Suggs, Timme and Kispert
combined for 59 points with 23 re-
bounds and 14 assists.
Connecticut 92 1
important.” œ”’Š“˜‡†˜Š™‡†‘‘
Sometime about 7 p.m. CT, the Stan- Prechtel epitomizes Stanford this San Antonio, ™”š—“†’Š“™ San Antonio,
Texas Stanford 78 Connecticut 69 Texas
ford women’s basketball team remem- year – the Cardinal don’t just have the March 28 March 27
All times Eastern
bered how talented, and how deep, it is. most talent in the country, but the most
Trailing 38-26 at halftime, Cardinal depth (they might have the most inches
coach Tara VanDerveer, a Hall of Famer in wingspans, too, but I digress). If her 5 Missouri St. 62 Iowa 72 5
and one of the steadiest, calmest coach- starters aren’t hitting, VanDerveer has Alamo Connecticut River Walk
es in college hoops, didn’t panic. Her tons of other options, including a San Antonio, Texas Stanford San Antonio, Texas
March 30 March 29
team had played maybe its worst half of 6-foot-5 post who can stroke it from be-
basketball of the season, shooting 10 of yond the arc. Not many teams can say 6 Oregon 42
n†’•Ž”“˜Ž• Michigan 75 6
36 (28%) from the field and a dismal 1 of that. San Antonio, Texas OT
9 from 3. The Cardinal’s senior leader “What a great substitution that was San Antonio, Sunday, 6 p.m., ESPN San Antonio,
Texas Texas
Kiana Williams, a San Antonio native because she by far changed the entire March 28 March 27
who has dreamed of leading her team to game,” said Louisville coach Jeff Walz of Louisville 63 Baylor 67
the national championship in her Prechtel. “Now you’ve got a post that
hometown, was 1 of 11. can pick and pop and shoot the 3, and 2 Louisville 60 Baylor 78 2
“I didn’t recognize the people in the we knew that’s what she does and
jerseys in the first half,” VanDerveer you’ve got to give the kid credit. qŽ“†‘q”š— qŽ“†‘q”š—
San Antonio, Texas, Friday, 6 p.m., San Antonio, Texas, Friday, 9:30 p.m.,
said. “I told them, ‘Don’t worry about “She won the game for them.” ESPN ESPN
winning – compete!’ I did go through In four NCAA Tournament games so 1 S. Carolina 76 N.C. State 70 1
some statistics that I think got people’s far, the Cardinal have had four different
attention.” leading scorers (senior guard Lexi Hull San Antonio, San Antonio,
Then, she put in Ashten Prechtel. led them Tuesday night with 21 points, Texas S. Carolina 62 Indiana 53 Texas
March 28 March 27
With freshman Cameron Brink not nine rebounds and three steals). As
moving as well defensively as VanDer- VanDerveer said earlier this week, it’s
veer wanted, in came Prechtel. The 6- very much a “pick your poison” situa-
5 Georgia Tech 65 Indiana 73 4
foot-5 sophomore from Colorado tion when you play Stanford. You can
Hemisfair Mercado
Springs came off the bench to score 16 hope to contain, or even shut down, a San Antonio, Texas
Arizona San Antonio, Texas
points in 16 minutes Tuesday night, go- couple of players. But good luck doing it March 30 S. Carolina March 29
ing 3 of 3 from deep. She missed just one to the entire roster.
6 Texas 64 Arizona 74 3
shot all game, a free throw. Prechtel did Stanford also has a seasoned coach
not play at all in the first half. who tends to be more analytical than fi- San Antonio, San Antonio,
But once she got in, the Cardinal got ery. Though Prechtel said VanDerveer Texas Texas
going, ripping off a 17-2 run midway “ripped into us a little bit” at halftime, March 28 Texas 34 Arizona 66 March 27
through the third quarter to trail by just VanDerveer never loses her cool on the Xl“ž˜ˆ”—Š‘Ž˜™Š‰†˜
Z
—Š‹‘Šˆ™˜†ˆ†“ˆŠ‘Š‰Œ†’Š‰šŠ™”
two going into the fourth quarter. And floor, instead studying and strategizing nztoZ&•—”™”ˆ”‘˜œŽ™™Šš“†‹‹Šˆ™Š‰™Š†’†‰›†“ˆŽ“Œ
she hit the go-ahead 3-pointer to open how to put her team in the best position 2 Maryland 61 Texas A&M 59 2
the last period that gave Stanford the to win. ~”š—ˆŠ€~lzol„~•”—™˜
lead for good. That coolness was also on display
“It probably looks like I should have postgame: midway through Stanford’s
put her in in the first half,” VanDerveer Zoom news conference, the fire alarm later revealed that a hot dog roller in the was the perfect metaphor for Cardinal
quipped. “Maybe watching the first half went off at the Alamodome and a voice concession stand caught fire, prompt- basketball.
she understood what to do better. Obvi- came over the loud speaker instructing ing the alarm; by VanDeerver’s second Stanford’s depth, coupled with Van-
ously you can’t expect someone to go 6- everyone to evacuate. answer, the sirens had stopped.) Deerver’s unwavering confidence, is
for-6 every game, but I liked how she re- Prechtel left quickly only to be re- VanDerveer barely acknowledging why the Cardinal are staying in San An-
bounded, she finished inside. She placed by a Zen-looking VanDeerver, the chaos, similar to how she acted in tonio this week. It also might be why it
looked very confident. who sat down, studied the stat sheet the first half when her team couldn’t brings home its first national champi-
“Our team was so excited for her. and then calmly took questions. (It was have thrown a basketball in the ocean, onship since 1992.

Armour “For this to be happening in 2021, to

Continued from Page 1C
So she has made a point of using the in-
fluence that her name and résumé give
her to carve out paths for other Black
coaches.
Without even looking at her phone
after Tuesday night’s win over Texas
that put South Carolina in the Final
Four, Staley knew it was blowing up
with messages from coaches she has
mentored and tried to elevate. Coaches
who see her as both a source of inspira-
tion and answers.
But Staley cannot change the world
on her own. Which is why Friday night
matters so very much.
me, is long overdue,” Staley said. “But
we’re proud. We’re happy.”
Deserving, too.
This is the third time in six years that
Staley has led South Carolina to the Fi-
nal Four, and anyone who doubts the
Gamecocks can go all the way didn’t
watch them dismantle Texas on Tues-
day night. The overmatched Longhorns
couldn’t manage a single point in the
fourth quarter, a first in NCAA women’s
tournament history. (Quarters were in-
troduced in the 2015-16 season.)
This is Barnes’ first trip to the Final
Four, but she has been transformative at
Arizona. When she returned to her alma
mater five years ago, the Wildcats were
buried at the bottom of the Pac-12. Now
the school is one of the last four teams
playing for the first time in its history.
And the entire country will have a
front-row seat to watch two, strong
Black women succeed at the highest
level of their sport. If Staley and Barnes
can do it, surely athletic directors will
realize there must be others out there
who can, too.
Arizona, a No. 3 seed, plays top-seed-
ed UConn while South Carolina will play
Stanford in a game of No. 1 seeds.
“Representation matters,” Staley
said. “There are a lot of people out there
that aren’t getting the opportunities
they should. Because this is exactly
what can happen when you give a Black
woman an opportunity.”
Staley doesn’t want to see token
hires. She wants schools to hire Black
female coaches because they deserve it,
and then support them with the re-
sources they need to succeed. She
wants schools to hire Black coaches be-
cause the game has been built around
Black women.
She wants schools to hire Black
coaches because their success will open
other doors. And even more eyes.
“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want
people to start bashing me on social
media about, ‘Just hire the most quali-
fied coach,’ ” Staley said. “If it was that
easy, there would be more Black head
coaches in our game.”
Which brings us back to the Final
Four. Barnes and Staley won’t just show
other Black female coaches what they
can achieve. They will show athletic di-
rectors and university presidents what
Black women can achieve, too.

Myerberg dantly clear the national championship

Continued from Page 1C
pressive wins.
For two weeks, the Bulldogs and
Bears have inched toward each other
from across two regions, picking apart
lesser competition and making it abun-
will belong to one or the other, but no
one else.
UCLA is the fifth No. 11 seed to make
the Final Four, joining Loyola Chicago,
George Mason, VCU and LSU. The Bru-
ins limped into the tournament having
lost their last four games of the regular
season and reached the semifinals only
after surviving an overtime game
against Michigan State, another over-
time game against Alabama and the
narrow win in regulation against Michi-
gan.
Houston has been building toward a
deep tournament run under coach Kel-
vin Sampson but has looked average
against the easiest run of opponents for
any Final Four team in history: The Cou-
gars have defeated No. 15 Cleveland
State, No. 10 Rutgers, No. 11 Syracuse
and No. 12 Oregon State, becoming the
first to reach the semifinals with four
wins against double-digit seeds.
These are the teams that will derail
Gonzaga and Baylor? With one game
separating the inevitable, the Bulldogs
and Bears are getting closer to the
matchup college basketball has been
expecting all season.
SPORTS
Supreme Court justices grill NCAA
Steve Berkowitz
USA TODAY
The U.S. Supreme Court justices on
Wednesday expressed significant ques-
tions about the NCAA’s athlete-com-
pensation limits, but they also showed
concerns that a case challenging those
limits could destroy college sports as
they currently exist.
Their comments came during oral ar-
gument in a case appealed by the NCAA
and 11 major-conference co-defendants
after lower courts ruled the associa-
tion’s compensation limits violate anti-
trust trust law and that there should be
no nationwide limits on the education-
related benefits athletes playing Divi-
sion I men’s or women’s basketball or
Bowl Subdivision football can receive.
The arguments were heard by tele-
conference, as has been the high court’s
procedure during the COVID-19 pan-
demic. A ruling is expected this spring
or in early summer.
Among the benefits that would be al-
lowed by the lower courts are cash pay-
ments for various academic achieve-
ments, scholarships to complete under-
graduate or graduate degrees at any
school and paid internships after they
have completed their collegiate sports
eligibility.
NCAA needs to fulfill its pledge to women
Dan Wolken
Columnist
USA TODAY
The last gasp of NCAA President
Mark Emmert’s apology tour started
Wednesday morning in a news confer-
ence before the women’s Final Four end-
ed on a Zoom call with Division I wom-
en’s basketball coaches that was sup-
posed to be private.
In the 70-minute meeting hosted by
the Women’s Basketball Coaches Asso-
ciation, which USA TODAY Sports was
granted access to listen in on, Emmert
said all the right things.
From allocating more financial re-
sources to staffing to intellectual prop-
erty, he’s more committed than ever to
ensuring gender equity at all levels and
all sports under the NCAA umbrella.
He’ll raise ideas and issues with the
board of governors that could potential-
ly help grow the women’s game. And, of
course, Emmert along with NCAA vice
presidents Dan Gavitt and Lynn Holz-
man who oversee men’s and women’s
basketball, respectively, were pro-
foundly sorry for the fiasco in San Anto-
nio that revealed inequities in certain
areas of the tournament management
like weight rooms, player gifts, meals
and branding.
“Clearly we have an opportunity and
that’s really the pivot I’ve taken and had
to take after the first 24 to 48 hours of
the emotion and heartbreak and disap-
pointment about some of the things we
didn’t deliver the way we should have in
San Antonio,” Holzman told the coach-
es. “But it’s time for us to do more and
we will seize that.”
They better, because it’s clear wom-
en’s basketball coaches aren’t going to
stand for anything less. Empowered by
the public outcry that social media
posts by players in the tournament gen-
erated, some of the most prominent
names in the sport grilled Emmert on
Wednesday in a session that at times
was contentious.
They also made it clear that the time
for apologies was over.
“It appears you have violated your
own gender equity guidelines,” former
Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw told
18 therapists defend Watson as two more suits filed
Tom Schad
USA TODAY
The legal teams representing Desh-
aun Watson and the women accusing
him of sexual misconduct continued
their public posturing Tuesday night
and early Wednesday, as two more
women filed lawsuits against the Tex-
ans quarterback.
Watson’s team, led by Rusty Hardin,
issued a news release with on-the-rec-
ord statements from 18 women who say
they have previously had massage ses-
sions with Watson and he never acted
inappropriately.
Meanwhile, Tony Buzbee, who has
The NCAA’s lawyer, Seth Waxman,
contended that legal precedents and the
law itself should allow the NCAA to set
the compensation rules because the
public benefits from having a choice be-
tween pro and amateur sports, as the
NCAA defines amateur sports.
However, he faced pointed inquiry
from nearly all the justices, with Justice
Brett M. Kavanaugh asserting that “the
antitrust laws should not be a cover for
exploitation of the student-athletes.”
Kavanaugh added: “It does seem …
schools are conspiring with competitors
– agreeing with competitors, let’s say
that – to pay no salaries for the workers
who are making the school billions of
dollars on the theory that consumers
want the schools to pay their workers
nothing. And that just seems entirely
circular and even somewhat disturb-
ing.”
On the other hand, Chief Justice John
G. Roberts Jr., in questioning the plain-
tiffs’ attorney, Jeff Kessler, talked about
the notion the decision by, and the addi-
tional benefits, approved by lower
courts in this case could lead to more
and more legal erosion of any limits on
athletes compensation.
“It’s like a game of Jenga,” Roberts
said. “You’ve got this nice solid block
that protects the sort of product the
Emmert. “However, it’s not just San An-
tonio. It’s way deeper than that.”
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley
cross-examined Emmert on whether
the NCAA commissioning New York-
based Kaplan Hecker & Fink law firm to
do an independent review was going to
truly be independent.
“You know whoever is paying the
piper more than likely, they’re going to
give you what you want to hear,” Staley
said. “Is there any way that there is a
possibility that we can get somebody
that is independent of us or you to look
into what’s happening here?”
Georgia Tech coach Nell Fortner
railed against the fact that the courts
used during the men’s tournament in
Indianapolis were “eye candy” with
fancy March Madness branding and lo-
gos while a TV viewer might look at the
courts used for the women that lacked
NCAA Tournament branding and think
it was a high school game.
“We’re a huge potential revenue
stream,” Fortner said. “Our numbers
bear that out on TV and they’ve done
that without a lot of help other than just
our coming along by ourselves, growing
our own product within our institutions.
I think we’re going to miss a huge win-
dow if we don’t change things now, if we
don step up to the plate at the NCAA as a
whole to really water this sport to give it
the attention it deserves in how we have
shown we are a viable product for the
public.”
Now that the mea culpas are done,
it’s time for the important and more dif-
ficult part: Turning the attention and
passion into action once the tourna-
ments end. And given Emmert’s dec-
ade-long history of talking a big game
while accomplishing little – what exact-
ly is his signature accomplishment as
NCAA president? – there’s plenty of rea-
son to be skeptical.
But some interesting topics emerged
during the call with coaches that could
pave the way for changes within the
NCAA to enhance the women’s tourna-
ment in relatively short order.
One of them occurred when UCLA
coach Cori Close asked Gavitt how many
full-time staff were devoted to putting
on of the tournaments.
“I believe it’s 12 on the men’s staff and
six on the women’s staff, thereabouts,”
Gavitt said, which certainly could pro-
filed lawsuits on behalf of Watson’s ac-
cusers, reversed course and indicated
that his clients do not intend to file re-
ports with police. “My clients will go
elsewhere to provide our evidence to in-
vestigative authorities,” Buzbee wrote
in part of a lengthy statement on social
media. “Stand by.”
Watson, 25, is now facing civil law-
suits in Harris County District Court
from a total of 21 unnamed women, in-
cluding two complaints that became
publicly available Wednesday morning.
The women have accused Watson of in-
appropriate conduct or sexual assault
during separate massage sessions over
the span of more than a year.
K1 USA TODAY ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ 3C
schools want to provide. And you pull
out one log and then another and every-
thing’s fine and another and another.
And all of a sudden the whole thing
comes crashing down. So what’s your
answer to that way of looking at it?”
Kessler responded that in this in-
stance the issue is only about educa-
tion-related benefits.
However, there already is a new case
underway that not only asks that the
NCAA be prevented from having associ-
ationwide rules that “restrict the
amount of name, image, and likeness
compensation available” to athletes but
also seeks unspecified damages based
on the share of television rights money
and the social media earnings the plain-
tiffs claim athletes would have received
if the NCAA’s current limits on NIL com-
pensation had not existed.
That case is being directed by some
of the lawyers involved in the case that
was argued Wednesday. And it is pend-
ing before the same U.S. district court
judge who handled this case, as well as a
previous case on behalf of former UCLA
basketball star Ed O’Bannon that helped
set up this case.
Addressing acting solicitor general
Elizabeth Prelogar, who joined the argu-
ments for the plaintiff because the Jus-
tice Department has taken a position on
vide an explanation for how basic things
were missed.
“When I look back on the planning
and execution of this championship I
wish I’d realized Lynn needed a lot more
bodies to pull this off,” he continued.
Another question related to whether
the NCAA was restricted by its contracts
with CBS and Turner Sports, which have
the broadcast rights to the men’s tour-
nament, from using March Madness
branding on the women’s tournament,
which is televised on ABC and ESPN.
Emmert said the NCAA has already re-
viewed those contracts and sees no rea-
son why that problem can’t be resolved
easily depending on what the women’s
basketball community wants to do.
“You’ve got my commitment we’re
going to make sure we deploy our intel-
lectual property, all of our marks, what-
ever it is as effectively as possible,” he
said. “There’s always been internal de-
bates about where and how to deploy
those marks and I want to make sure I
understand that clearly and that’s part
of what our review is about is how those
decisions get made, but there’s no re-
straints there.”
One clarifying piece of information
on the court designs came from Holz-
man, who explained that the women’s
tournament has historically needed
fewer courts because in previous years
the first- and second-round sites have
been played on the campuses of the top
16 seeds whereas the men’s first week-
end is played at eight neutral sites.
To ensure quality control and consis-
tency, the NCAA has courts stored in its
warehouse ready to rebrand and lay
down when they take over a facility to
get it ready for tournament play. This
year, Holzman said the question was
asked “in passing” if the women could
have tournament-branded courts for
use at some of the facilities used in the
early rounds but that the company the
NCAA uses couldn’t produce them in a
shortened time frame.
“That’s an important thing looking
forward, and if there’s a decision to keep
those first and second rounds as we
have them, that’s an important discus-
sion around that,” she said.
In a pointed exchange with McGraw
about why Holzman reports to Gavitt
rather than the president directly, Em-
mert acknowledged it was “a question
A 22nd woman came forward with
similar allegations in a Sports Illustrat-
ed article this week, but she said she has
not filed a lawsuit and is not one of Buz-
bee’s clients.
Watson has not been charged with a
crime and broadly denied wrongdoing.
His attorney, Hardin, pointed to the
18 statements in support of Watson as
evidence “the other side to this story
that has been so lacking in the flurry of
anonymous complaints filed by oppos-
ing counsel.” He added that the women
in the news release, most of whom are
massage therapists, have collectively
worked with Watson more than 130
times.
the case in their favor, Justice Sonia So-
tomayor said: “I’m not sure that you
have given me comfort on some of the
questions that my colleague, the chief
justice, asked, which is, ‘How do we
know that we’re not just destroying the
game as it exists, meaning we’re being
told by Mr. Waxman that all of these
educational-related payments can be-
come extravagant and, as a result, be
viewed by the public as pay for play?’ ”
Or, as Justice Elena Kagan called it
during questioning of Kessler, “the kind
of floodgates argument – like what’s
next? (Athlete compensation) is just go-
ing to go up and up and up, and pretty
soon it will just be a regular labor mar-
ket.”
But Kagan also showed little interest
in the NCAA’s long-stated position that
its right to set athlete compensation
limits is grounded in the Supreme
Court’s decision in NCAA v. Board of Re-
gents of the University of Oklahoma, a
case relating to control of football televi-
sion rights that the high court decided in
1984. The NCAA lost that case, but, as it
has in many other legal filings over the
years, it now points to language from
that ruling that says NCAA rules prohib-
iting athletes from being paid to play are
essential if its “product” – amateur col-
lege sports – “is to be available at all.”
“Clearly we have an opportunity and
that’s really the pivot I’ve taken and
had to take after the first 24 to
48 hours of the emotion and heart-
break and disappointment about
some of the things we didn’t deliver
the way we should have in San
Antonio. But it’s time for us to do
more and we will seize that.”
Lynn Holzman
NCAA Vice President
we need to look at.” And when he was
asked why the NCAA doesn’t have a fi-
nancial formula to distribute revenue
“units” to conferences based on ad-
vancement in the women’s tournament
like it does for the men, Emmert pledged
to raise that topic with the university
presidents on the NCAA’s finance and
audit committee who would be in posi-
tion to make that change.
“I think it’s an intriguing idea,” Em-
mert said. “Whenever you talk about
distribution of money, the politics go
way up and there’s no reason to believe
they wouldn’t in this case, but we also
know money is an indicator of what you
value. So if there’s a way to do that, it’s
an important conversation to have. We
immediately run into other sports say-
ing OK, but what about us, whether it’s
baseball or softball, and that answers
the complexity of it. But it’s a good time
to have that conversation.”
At the very least, it seems to have fi-
nally sunk in at the top level of NCAA
leadership that the issue is not just pub-
lic relations or perception. There’s a
substantive problem here, and the
coaches who live it every day are not in
the mood to let things slide.
“I want to use this moment to become
that point in time where we say, yeah we
made some progress,” Emmert told the
coaches. “How do we, after all these
years, stop and say now we have enough
momentum and sense of urgency and
attention to this and enough embarrass-
ment about what went wrong to say, it’s
time to make a really consequential
shift. I think we can do a lot of that, I
really do, and you’ve got my commit-
ment. The things we have control over,
we can do.”
Now that the apologies are over, Em-
mert must be judged on the follow
through. We’ll see if he’s up to the task.
“Deshaun never made me feel un-
comfortable or intimidated,” massage
therapist Masako Jones said in one of
the statements. “I am just completely
floored by these lawsuits. The behavior
described in them doesn’t sound like
him at all.”
Their collective defense of Watson
came just a few hours after two new
lawsuits against him appeared in the
court’s online docket.
The NFL is investigating the allega-
tions under the auspices of its personal
conduct policy. Legal experts have sug-
gested Watson could also potentially
face criminal charges, given the volume
and nature of the civil claims.
4C ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ USA TODAY SPORTS SPORTS USA TODAY ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ 5C

Legendary.
qŽ—˜™}”š“‰x†—ˆ& ~Šˆ”“‰}”š“‰x†—ˆ ~œŠŠ™#x†—ˆ$% p‘Ž™ŠpŽŒ™ qŽ“†‘q”š— p‘Ž™ŠpŽŒ™ ~œŠŠ™#x†—ˆ$% ~Šˆ”“‰}”š“‰x†—ˆ qŽ—˜™}”š“‰x†—ˆ&
x†—ˆ&  l•—Ž‘ x†—ˆ& 
 Gonzaga (30-0) 98 Baylor (26-2) 79 
Indianapolis Gonzaga 87 Baylor 76 Indianapolis
March 20 March 19
All times Eastern
# Norfolk State (17-8) 55 Indianapolis
March 22 Gonzaga 83 Baylor 62 Indianapolis Hartford (15-9) 55 #
March 21

% Oklahoma (16-11) 72 N. Carolina (18-11) 62 %

Indianapolis Indianapolis
March 20 March 19
Oklahoma 71 Wisconsin 63
& Missouri (16-10) 68 Indianapolis Wisconsin (18-13) 85 &
March 28 Indianapolis
Gonzaga 85 Baylor 81 March 27
" Creighton (22-9) 63 Villanova (18-7) 73 "
Indianapolis Creighton 72 Villanova 84 Indianapolis
March 20 March 19

 UC Santa Barbara (22-5) 62 Indianapolis Indianapolis Winthrop (23-2) 63 

March 22 March 21
Creighton 65 Villanova 51
! Virginia (18-7) 58 Purdue (18-10) 69 !
Indianapolis Indianapolis
March 20 OT
Ohio 58 West South North Texas 61 March 19

South
West

 Ohio (17-8) 62 Indianapolis Gonzaga Indianapolis North Texas (18-10) 78 

March 30 March 29
# So. California (25-8) 72 Baylor Texas Tech (18-11) 65 #
Indianapolis So. California 85 Texas Tech 66 Indianapolis
March 19
March 20

 Drake (26-5) 56 Indianapolis

So. California 82 Arkansas 72 Indianapolis Utah St. (20-9) 53 
March 22 March 21

Kansas (21-9) 93 Arkansas (25-7) 85

Indianapolis Indianapolis
March 20 March 19
Kansas 51 Arkansas 68
! E. Washington (16-8) 84 Indianapolis
Indianapolis Colgate (14-2) 68 !
March 28
March 27

$ Oregon (21-7) 1 So. California 66 Arkansas 72 Florida (15-10) 75 $

Indianapolis Oregon 95 Florida 78 Indianapolis
March 20 OT March 19

 VCU (19-8) Indianapolis

Indianapolis
Virginia Tech (15-7) 70 
March 22
March 21
 Iowa (22-9) 86 Oregon 68 Oral Roberts 70 Ohio St (21-10) 72 
n†’•Ž”“˜Ž•
Indianapolis
March 20
qŽ“†‘q”š— Œ†’Š qŽ“†‘q”š— OT
Indianapolis
March 19
Iowa 80 Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Oral Roberts 81
" Grand Canyon (17-7) 74 Saturday, 8:34 p.m., Saturday, 5:14 p.m., Oral Roberts (18-11) 75 "
CBS April 5 CBS
 Michigan (23-5) 82 Illinois (24-7) 78 
Indianapolis Michigan 86 Illinois 58 Indianapolis
March 20 March 19

# Texas So. (17-9) 66 Indianapolis

Loyola-Chicago 58 Drexel (12-8) 49 #
March 22 Michigan 76 Indianapolis
March 21

% LSU (19-10) 76 Loyola-Chicago (26-5) 71 %

Indianapolis Indianapolis
March 20 March 19
LSU 78 Loyola-Chicago 71
& St. Bonaventure (16-5) 61 Indianapolis
Michigan 49 Oregon St. 61 Indianapolis Georgia Tech (17-9) 60 &
March 28 March 27

" Colorado (23-9) 96 Tennessee (18-9) 56 "

Indianapolis Colorado 53 Oregon St. 80 Indianapolis
March 20 March 19

 Georgetown (13-13) 73 Indianapolis

Indianapolis Oregon St. (20-13) 70 
March 22
March 21
Florida St. 58 Oregon St. 65
! Florida St. (18-7) 64 Oklahoma St. (21-9) 69 !
Indianapolis Indianapolis
March 20
Florida St. 71 East Midwest Oklahoma St. 70
March 19

Midwest
 NC-Greensboro (21-9) 54 Indianapolis UCLA Indianapolis Liberty (23-6) 60 
East

March 30
March 29
# BYU (20-7) 62 Houston San Diego St. (23-5) 62 #
Indianapolis UCLA 67 Syracuse 75 Indianapolis
March 20 March 19

 UCLA (22-9) 73 Indianapolis

UCLA 88 Syracuse (18-10) 78 
March 22 Syracuse 46 Indianapolis
March 21

Texas (19-8) 52 West Virginia (19-10) 84

Indianapolis Indianapolis
March 20 UCLA 51 Houston 67 March 19
Abilene Christian 47 West Virginia 72
! Abilene Christian (24-5) 53 Indianapolis qŽ—˜™q”š— Indianapolis
March 27
Morehead St. (23-8) 67 !
March 28

$ Connecticut (15-8) 54 Wichita St. 52 Mount St. Mary's 52 Clemson (16-8) 56 $

Indianapolis Maryland 77 OT Rutgers 60 Indianapolis
March 20 Final Final March 19

 Maryland (17-14) 63 Indianapolis Drake 53 Texas So. 60 Indianapolis Rutgers (16-12) 60 

March 22 March 21
Alabama 78 Houston 62
 Alabama (26-7) 68 Norfolk State 54 Michigan St 80 Houston (28-3) 87 
Indianapolis Xl“ž˜ˆ”—Š‘Ž˜™Š‰†˜ Z —Š‹‘Šˆ™˜† Indianapolis
March 20 Final OT Final March 19
Alabama 96 ˆ†“ˆŠ‘Š‰Œ†’Š‰šŠ™”nztoZ& Houston 63
•—”™”ˆ”‘˜œŽ™™Šš“†‹‹Šˆ™Š‰™Š†’
" Iona (12-6) 55 †‰›†“ˆŽ“Œ Appalachian St. 53 UCLA 86 Cleveland St. (19-8) 56 "
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6C ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ USA TODAY SPORTS

Getting into Masters state of mind Stat

fuels Spieth at Valero Texas Open 3 Consecutive first-time winners

in the Valero Texas Open –
Kevin Chappell (2017), Andrew
Landy (2018) and defending cham-
pion Corey Conners, who could not
Steve DiMeglio
defend his 2019 title last year due
Golfweek | USA TODAY Network
to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Abraham Ancer and Scottie Schef-
Jordan Spieth’s mind might wander a
fler are strong contenders to keep
bit this week during the Valero Texas
streak going.
Open, his attention at times drifting
away from the task at hand. Tee times
Which isn’t a bad thing.
Golf Channel’s Thursday coverage
Turns out, thinking about next
will feature Phil Mickelson along-
week’s Masters will do him good.
side Matt Kuchar and Hideki Mat-
“Looking forward to next week only
suyama (2:04 p.m. ET). Tony Finau
drives me more for this week, so I don’t
is out with Cameron Champ and
think there’s difficulty in letting my
Joel Dahmen, who won hist first
mind wander and having that affect in
PGA Tour title last week in the
any negative way,” Spieth said Tuesday
Dominic Republic (1:53). Friday’s
in a conference call with reporters. “If
second-round coverage features
anything, it can only drive me to do a lit-
defending champ Corey Conners,
tle bit more this week.”
Jordan Spieth, Gary Woodland,
The 2015 Masters champion, who
Scottie Scheffler, Rickie Fowler,
also finished second at Augusta Nation-
Ryan Palmer and Keegan Bradley.
al in 2014 and 2016 and third in 2018,
isn’t one to get too far ahead of himself, FedExCup points leaders
so, no, he won’t be thinking about the
With his win in the World Golf
tee shot on the 12th at Augusta National
Championships-Dell Technologies
as he’s teeing off on the par-3 16th at the
Match Play, Billy Horschel jumped
AT&T Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio.
38 spots into the top 10. The 2020-
Instead, he’ll be concentrating on the Jordan Spieth hits his tee shot on the eighth hole during the pro-am Wednesday
21 season culminates with the
steps he wants to follow to peak for next before the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio. STEVE DYKES/GETTY IMAGES
season-ending Tour Champion-
week as he does the other three major
ship, the FedExCup Playoffs finale,
championships. That means continuing
Sept. 2-5 in Atlanta.
the progress he’s made recently with his then feel more comfortable each time likes the course and the vibe of the tour-
1. Bryson DeChambeau ........... 1,565
swing and trying to win for the first time you get into contention. That’s always a nament, which is about an hour south of
2. Justin Thomas ...................... 1,508
since capturing the Claret Jug in the great thing leading into a major. The last week’s Tour stop and four hours
3. Patrick Cantlay ...................... 1,280
2017 British Open Championship, the next couple days is about doing what I from his home in Dallas.
4. Viktor Hovland ...................... 1,215
most recent of his 11 PGA Tour titles. can in practice leading into that and He’ll get into a Masters state of mind
5. Xander Schauffele ................ 1,155
“The best way to prepare for next then go out there and play.” while trying to win a 12th Tour title.
6. Dustin Johnson ..................... 1,139
week is to win this week. That’s the Much of his practice will be spent on “When I drive down Magnolia Lane,
7. Billy Horschel ......................... 1,061
most confidence you can gain out of this his short game. for me it’s like, ‘It’s go time,’ ” Spieth
8. Harris English ......................... 1,011
week is to win,” Spieth said. “I’ve hit the ball better the last few said. “Almost regardless of form, regard-
9. Tony Finau .............................. 1,005
Spieth’s confidence has been grow- tournaments than I did even on the less of if you just won or if you’ve missed
10. Joaquin Niemann .................. 977
ing since emerging earlier this year from West Coast, but just kind of lost a little the previous cut, it really makes no dif-
a long slump. He has three top-4 finish- confidence at The Players after not see- ference to me in my confidence level Valero Texas Open
es in his last six starts and advanced ing any putts go in,” Spieth said. “Kind of when I pull into Magnolia Lane.
Course: TPC San Antonio (AT&T
out of pool play in last week’s World started to feel a little bit better through- “I’m looking to build up a little bit to
Oaks)
Golf Championships-Dell Technologies out the Match Play, but just got some be able to taper down next week as far
Yardage: 7,494. Par: 72.
Match Play before losing in the Round of work to do on my stroke and then just as the amount of golf balls hit and the
Prize money: $7.7 million
16 to Matt Kuchar. dial in some short game shots that I may amount of focus on technique so that
Winner’s share: $1.386 million
“Each tournament round I’m gaining just have taken my mind a little off of when I get there, I can just kind of go
TV (ET): Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m.
a little bit more confidence, I’m learning with a lot of swing work. Just fine-tun- through the gates, go down that first day
(Golf); Saturday, 1-3:30 p.m. (Golf)
a little bit about kind of where things are ing the short game is going to be kind of and just say, ‘All right, we’re here to play
and 3:30-6 p.m. (CBS); Sunday,
at, and on-the-course repetitions are No. 1 priority.” this week.’ ”
1-2:30 p.m. Golf) and 2:30-6 p.m.
different than practice repetitions,” he Spieth will be making his sixth start He said the same thing driving into
(CBS)
said. “When you work your way into in the Valero Texas Open, a second- TPC San Antonio for the Valero Texas
contention, that’s where you start to place finish in 2015 his best result. He Open.

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T-storms Rain Snow Ice/mix
Seattle
A potent cold front sweep- Olympia
57 Bangor
ing off the Eastern Seaboard 57 Spokane
51
Portland 64 Miles City
Bismarck Duluth Marquette
today will send a burst of Salem 66
Helena
70 62 40 30
64 68 Burlington Augusta

February-like air into the Boise Fargo Mpls-St. Paul 37 Montpelier

48
Bend
71 Billings 52 44 Boston
Eastern states. Gusty winds 68 70
Rapid City Grand Buffalo 36 56
Burns
70 Milwaukee Rapids 34 Albany
and snow showers will add 71 Pierre Sioux Falls
38 37 35
Detroit
40
Hartford
Eureka Idaho Falls Jackson
66 53 Cleveland 49
to the wintry feel across the 58 61 Hole Casper
Des Moines Madison
Lansing 32 Pittsburgh New York
Sacramento
Reno
Elko 49 60 North Platte
46 40 36 33 48 TODAY
Northeast, with a swath of 85 74 70 Salt Lake City 67 Chicago
Harrisburg Philadelphia
steady snow expected from Carson City 66
Cheyenne Omaha
40 Columbus
47 50
71 64 54 Kansas City Springfield 36 Washington Annapolis
upstate New York to Canada. San Francisco
53 44 Indianapolis Cincinnati
49 49
76 St. George Aspen
Denver
37 38
As the cold blast pushes Las Vegas
78 56 68 Topeka
Charleston Richmond
Fresno
78 55 Jefferson City St. Louis Louisville 41 52
south, any wet surfaces or 86 Wichita 49 48
Knoxville
45
Dodge City
61 46 Raleigh
blooming plants could freeze Los Angeles Santa Fe 66 Memphis
Charlotte 53
88
Palm Springs Flagstaff
66 Oklahoma 52 Nashville
52 Columbia
overnight due to freezing con- 92 67 City
Tulsa
49
Albuquerque 61 57
ditions. San Diego
67 63 Little Rock Birmingham Atlanta Charleston
Phoenix FRIDAY
80 Lubbock Dallas/Ft. Worth 59 53 53 62
Warmer weather is expect- Alaska 94 66 66 Montgomery
EXTREMES
Savannah
ed in the North Central states El Paso Midland- Shreveport Jackson 57 64 Note: For contiguous
48 states through
with the core of the warmth 71 Odessa Austin
65 58 Jacksonville 3 p.m. ET yesterday
Fairbanks Hawaii 67 68 Mobile
Tallahassee
66
targeting the Southwest, but 12 Juneau
Honolulu San Antonio
Baton Rouge 60 63 HOTTEST:
Anchorage 38 82 68 Houston 62 New 90°
daily records may be chal- 28 69
Orleans Bartow, Fla.
63 Tampa
lenged in the West. Puerto Rico
74
Miami
San Juan COLDEST: -3°
Brownsville 85 84 West
SATURDAY
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66 Yellowstone,
Mont.
Below 10 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110+
TOP TRAVEL CITIES Air quality index (AQI)
ATLANTA BALTIMORE BOSTON CHARLOTTE CHICAGO DALLAS/FT. WORTH DENVER DETROIT HONOLULU HOUSTON LAS VEGAS LOS ANGELES
Windy, Windy, Rain, Windy, Mostly Plenty of Some Mostly Partly Very
THU THU cooler THU THU THU THU THU Sunny THU Colder THU THU THU THU
cold cooler cold sunny sun sun sunny sunny warm
50/28 68/40 35/23
53/32 56/31 52/30 40/25 66/44 82/69 69/43 78/58 88/59
Sunny, Chilly Partly Sunny, Mostly Mostly Mostly Partly Very Sunny,
FRI FRI FRI FRI FRI FRI FRI FRI Sunny FRI Rain FRI FRI FRI
cool 46/28 sunny cool sunny sunny sunny sunny warm warm
49/32 80/69
55/36 46/30 52/28 52/40 69/50 73/42 68/46 87/62 80/60
Plenty of Sunny, Periods Partly Mostly Fog to
SAT Cold SAT sun SAT SAT Cold SAT Warmer SAT SAT SAT Breezy SAT Shower SAT SAT Hot SAT
milder of sun sunny cloudy sun
64/43 56/41 60/38 69/44 63/41 80/70 90/63
52/38 68/54 76/47 69/54 78/59
AQI Good AQI Good AQI Good AQI Good AQI Good AQI Moderate AQI Moderate AQI Good AQI Good AQI Moderate AQI Moderate AQI Moderate
MIAMI MPLS-ST. PAUL NEW ORLEANS NEW YORK ORLANDO PHILADELPHIA PHOENIX SALT LAKE CITY SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO SEATTLE WASHINGTON
Not as Morning Very Partly Mostly Clouds,
THU T-storms THU cold THU Windy THU THU Cooler THU THU Breezy THU Sunny THU THU THU THU Windy
rain windy sunny sunny sun
84/62 44/30 63/46 74/47 94/68 66/46 49/32
48/30 50/29 80/57 78/50 57/42
Not as Breezy Sunny, Sunny, Sunny, Mostly Not as Not as
FRI FRI FRI FRI Cold FRI FRI Cold FRI FRI FRI FRI FRI Rain FRI Chilly
warm 60/41 cool breezy warm sunny warm warm
43/31 43/30 54/40 47/32
75/63 62/48 65/47 92/65 73/51 72/57 65/49
Sunny, Partly Mostly Plenty of Mostly Fog, Mainly Mostly
SAT Breezy SAT warmer SAT SAT SAT Cold SAT SAT Hot SAT SAT SAT SAT SAT Sunny
sunny sunny sun sunny then sun cloudy cloudy
73/65 70/46 69/52 95/64 59/44
69/56 56/45 54/43 78/54 74/56 63/49 57/44
AQI Good AQI Good AQI Good AQI Good AQI Good AQI Good AQI Moderate AQI Good AQI Moderate AQI Good AQI Moderate AQI Good
c Cloudy f Fog i Ice r Rain sf Snowflurries sn Snow w Windy dr Drizzle h Haze pc Partly cloudy s Sunny sh Showers t Thunderstorms

U.S. CITIES TODAY FRI

Cincinnati
TODAY
38/23pc
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TODAY
49/27r
FRI
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TODAY
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TODAY
75/49sh
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70/49s
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Austin, Texas 68/39s 71/48pc El Paso, Texas 71/53pc 83/55s Lincoln, Neb. 58/39s 74/44w Pittsburgh 33/22sf 41/25s Syracuse, N.Y. 36/23sf 36/24pc London 62/39pc 54/40pc
Bakersfield, Calif. 87/57s 89/57s Fairbanks, Alaska 12/3sn 15/15c Little Rock, Ark. 59/31s 60/36s Portland, Maine 50/26r 42/26c Tallahassee, Fla. 63/37w 63/35s Mexico City 62/49t 73/49s
Baton Rouge, La. 62/37s 63/38s Flagstaff, Ariz. 67/38s 66/37pc Long Beach, Calif. 84/55pc 73/54s Portland, Ore. 66/41s 60/40pc Tampa, Fla. 74/48sh 69/49s Montreal 35/22sn 35/25pc
Billings, Mont. 70/42s 72/42s Fargo, N.D. 52/34s 68/34pc Louisville, Ky. 45/25pc 52/33s Providence, R.I. 55/29r 46/29s Toledo, Ohio 38/21c 49/31s Moscow 44/35r 44/34sn
Birmingham, Ala. 53/30s 56/34s Fort Myers, Fla. 81/52t 73/50s Lubbock, Texas 66/42s 70/45s Raleigh, N.C. 53/29w 50/29s Topeka, Kan. 55/37s 70/50w Mumbai, India 91/79h 91/79h
Bismarck, N.D. 62/32w 74/35pc Fort Smith, Ark. 63/35s 68/42s Madison, Wis. 40/22s 52/38pc Rapid City, S.D. 70/37s 74/41s Tucson, Ariz. 90/61w 89/59s Paris 79/45pc 61/40s
Boise, Idaho 71/44s 75/48pc Fort Wayne, Ind. 37/20pc 47/31s Manchester, N.H. 53/26r 46/28pc Reno, Nev. 74/40s 75/43pc Tupelo, Miss. 56/30s 59/32s Rio de Janeiro 83/73w 82/73t
Buffalo, N.Y. 34/23sf 41/26pc Fresno, Calif. 86/54s 87/55s Memphis, Tenn. 52/31s 58/36s Richmond, Va. 52/28w 48/27s Tulsa, Okla. 61/40s 70/50s Rome 67/48s 66/46pc
Burlington, Vt. 37/22r 35/24c Grand Rapids, Mich. 37/18pc 47/32s Milwaukee 38/26s 50/41s Rochester, N.Y. 34/23sf 38/26pc Virginia Beach, Va. 54/36pc 48/40sh Seoul 73/50c 70/55c
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 42/25s 57/41w Green Bay, Wis. 38/22s 49/38s Mobile, Ala. 60/37pc 62/37s Sacramento, Calif. 85/49s 81/47pc Wichita, Kan. 61/42s 69/48w Singapore 90/79c 91/78t
Charleston, S.C. 62/36s 55/34s Greensboro, N.C. 50/27w 49/27s Modesto, Calif. 84/49s 82/49pc San Antonio 68/45pc 72/51pc Wilmington, Del. 51/29w 43/29pc Sydney 75/60pc 76/61s
Charleston, W.Va. 41/23pc 46/24s Greenville, S.C. 52/30w 54/31s Montgomery, Ala. 57/33s 60/34s San Jose, Calif. 83/47s 75/46pc Winston-Salem, N.C. 50/28w 50/28s Toronto 33/22sf 41/27s
Cheyenne, Wyo. 64/38s 68/40s Harrisburg, Pa. 47/29w 45/28pc Myrtle Beach, S.C. 57/34w 51/36s Santa Fe, N.M. 66/35s 72/40pc Worcester, Mass. 50/26r 42/25pc Tokyo 65/56c 67/55pc
SPORTS USA TODAY ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ 7C

True island green may create more drama

Beth Ann Nichols two though, so nothing really changes for her.
Golfweek | USA TODAY Network “I hit 5-iron yesterday, landed in the middle of the
green and went over in the water,” said Ryann O’Toole.
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – The ANA Inspiration The same thing happened to Jennifer Kupcho with a
celebrates its 50th anniversary this week, and the 18th 4-iron.
green has gone retro. Nelly Korda hit a 6-iron just short and it rolled into
No grandstand. the middle of the green. Her 5-iron went over the
No Great Wall of Dinah. green. Korda said she was undecided on whether or
Just an island of drama. not she likes the change.
Or will it be? Last year, Lexi Thompson had a 7-iron in from the
“I honestly find it a bit boring,” said Madelene Sag- forward tee to a back pin. That’s the shortest she has
strom, who believes not many will go for the green in seen it play. Tuesday morning, Thompson hit a 4-iron
two, even with a forward tee. Tournament officials that worked out quite nicely. If it’s more than a 6-iron
typically move the tee up on two days during the ANA though, Thompson said she likely won’t go for it in
Inspiration. competition. “It would have to be a perfect number
Mel Reid will likely go for it with a 5-iron in hand honestly, with any club, to get the full max height to be
because she’s that kind of aggressive player, but she able to stop it,” she said. “But it’s good, it’s a major. It
too believes fewer players will take on the risk with should be challenging and require more thought.”
greens as firm as they are and the grass mowed down Brooke Henderson said it’s no longer an automatic
in the back and nothing there to stop it. Not to mention green light with 3-wood in hand, but if she has hybrid
the yellow hazard stakes. or 7-wood in, she’ll definitely going for it.
For years there has been typically a grandstand be- If Maria Fassi finds the fairway, she’ll likely go for it.
hind the green for VIP hospitality. With no fans at last From the back tee on Monday, she hit 5-iron with a
September’s ANA, organizers opted to instead put up a helping wind onto the green. On Tuesday, she hit 7-
giant blue wall – closer than the grandstands usually iron from the forward tee.
sit – with ANA scripted in small letters across the top. “It makes you think a little bit more,” said Fassi. “It
As far as billboards go, it wasn’t exactly effective. demands a better golf shot as well. I think it’s fun.”
Not surprisingly, the wall came into play in a big way Yani Tseng, the 2010 ANA winner, believes the raw
when Mirim Lee rocketed a 5-wood at it, banking on island green makes for a great finish: “This is real golf.”
the wall to stop her ball from going in the water. It To ensure more drama over the weekend, Katherine
worked, and Lee proceeded to chip for eagle to make Kirk believes softening the green more is the answer.
her way into a playoff against Brooke Henderson and Sue Witters, LPGA vice president of rules and com-
Nelly Korda that Lee quickly won. Henderson’s second petition, said they have already started adding water
shot in regulation got stuck under the wall and her sis- to the greens after Monday played particularly firm.
ter/caddie Brittany crawled inside the blue mesh to re- “The greens got firm on us yesterday,” Witters said
trieve it. on Tuesday.
“The amount of time the boys hit it into grand- With temperatures expected to reach 99 degrees
stands and get away with shots and bounce onto over the weekend, players expect the Dinah Shore
greens,” said Reid, “and then they just made a big fuss Tournament Course to get more baked out as the week
because we didn’t have any crowds. I mean, it’s been goes on.
like that for years. I don’t think they needed to change World Golf Hall of Famer Judy Rankin, lead analyst
it, but I get why they have because it does look a little for Golf Channel this week, likes to see the most iconic
bit stupid with no crowd, but it’s tough.” hole on the LPGA return to its original form. This is
Stacy Lewis, a past champion of this event, appre- how the closing par 5 played when she won in 1976.
ciates that the hole now plays as it was originally de- “You have find a way to reward a shot that’s well-
signed. (It’s also played this way during the first stage struck,” Rankin said of making sure that the green is
of LPGA Q-School.) Lewis never goes for this green in receptive throughout the week.
Women’s tournaments
ANA Inspiration
Course: Mission Hills Country Club, in Rancho Mirage,
Calif.
Yardage: 6,763. Par: 72.
Prize money: $3.1 million. Winner’s share: $465,000.
TV (ET): Thursday-Friday, noon-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.
(Golf); Saturday-Sunday, 5-9 p.m. (Golf).
Notes: The first LPGA major of the year will be held for
the second time in roughly six months. Mirim Lee won
in a playoff in September when the ANA Inspiration
was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. …
This is the 50th edition of the tournament, although it
was not designated as an LPGA major until 1983. … For
the second consecutive time at Mission Hills, the
major will be played without spectators. But there will
not be a blue advertising wall behind the 18th green,
allowing it to play like an island.
Augusta National Women’s Amateur
Courses: Champions Retreat (Yardage: 6,445. Par: 72)
and Augusta National Golf Club (Yardage: 6,365. Par:
72).
TV (ET): Noon-3 p.m. Saturday (NBC)
Notes: The tournament made an auspicious start in
2019 when Jennifer Kupcho went 5 under over the
final six holes for a 67 to defeat close friend Maria
Fassi. … The international field of amateurs plays the
opening two rounds at Champions Retreat on
Wednesday and Thursday, a practice round at
Augusta National on Friday and the final round at
Augusta National on Saturday. … The 36-hole cut is for
30 players, with a playoff if necessary to decide the
final spots. … The winner is exempt into the U.S.
Women’s Open and Women’s British Open if she stays
an amateur. … The field features U.S. Amateur
champion Rose Zhang and most of the best from
around the world. Because the ANA Inspiration on the
LPGA tour does not have amateurs this year due to
COVID-19 protocols, there is no conflict for top
amateurs on which event to play.
– The Associated Press

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GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Washington 35 23 8 4 50 121 104
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Tampa Bay 35 24 9 2 50 124 85 New York 24 23 .511 8
Florida 36 23 9 4 50 119 99 Milwaukee at Sacramento, 10 p.m. Kecmanovic, Serbia, 6-2, 6-2. Pregame.com Line Interleague
Boston 23 24 .489 9 Oklahoma City at Portland, 10 p.m. Rajeev Ram, United States, and Joe Salisbury
Carolina 34 23 8 3 49 113 86 Toronto 18 29 .383 14 Major League Baseball Favorite Line Underdog Line
Nashville 37 19 17 1 39 95 109 (7), Britain, def. Michael Mmoh and Sebastian MILWAUKEE -105 Minnesota -105
Chicago 37 17 15 5 39 106 115 Southeast Korda, United States, 7-5, 6-2. Thursday Tampa Bay -145 MIAMI +135
Columbus 37 14 15 8 36 94 118 W L Pct GB MLB Women’s Doubles - Quarterfinals National League SEATTLE -105 San Francisco -105
Dallas 33 11 12 10 32 91 91 Charlotte 24 22 .522 — Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara (5), Japan,
Atlanta 23 24 .489 1½ def. Caroline Garcia, France, and Nadia Podo- Favorite Line Underdog Line
Detroit 37 12 21 4 28 80 119 NBA
Miami 23 24 .489 1½ Spring Training roska, Argentina, 6-3, 6-2. CHICAGO -215 Pittsburgh +195
West Washington 17 29 .370 7 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, United States, and PHILADELPHIA -105 Atlanta -105 Thursday
GP W L OT Pts GF GA Orlando 16 31 .340 8½
Tuesday’s Games SAN DIEGO -230 Arizona +210 Favorite Line O/U Underdog
Vegas 33 24 8 1 49 108 75 Pittsburgh 1, Minnesota 1 Iga Swiatek, Poland, def. Lyudmyla Kichenok,
Colorado 34 22 8 4 48 118 77 Central Tampa Bay 5, Detroit 0 Ukraine, and Jelena Ostapenko, Latvia, 6-1, LA Dodgers -210 COLORADO +190 Philadelphia 9 (214) CLEVELAND
Minnesota 33 21 10 2 44 97 82 W L Pct GB Atlanta 5, Boston 3 6-4. CINCINNATI -115 St. Louis +105 DETROIT OFF OFF Washington
St. Louis 35 16 13 6 38 100 113 Milwaukee 29 17 .630 — Milwaukee 6, Texas 3 New York -145 WASHINGTON +135 BROOKLYN OFF OFF Charlotte
Arizona 35 16 14 5 37 92 103 Indiana 21 24 .467 7½ Colorado 2, Chicago White Sox 1 MIAMI 2 (2191⁄2) Golden State
Los Angeles 33 13 14 6 32 92 94 Chicago 19 26 .422 9½ Arizona 3, Cleveland 2 DEALS American League NEW ORLEANS 10 223 Orlando
San Jose 34 14 16 4 32 95 118 Cleveland 17 30 .362 12½ L.A. Dodgers 6, L.A. Angels 4 Favorite Line Underdog Line SAN ANTONIO OFF OFF Atlanta
Anaheim 37 11 20 6 28 83 123 Detroit 13 33 .283 16 NEW YORK -177 Toronto +165 LA CLIPPERS OFF OFF Denver
North BASEBALL Cleveland -190 DETROIT +175
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
WESTERN CONFERENCE SOCCER Major League Baseball BOSTON -165 Baltimore +155 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Toronto 35 22 10 3 47 116 91 Southwest American League KANSAS CITY -162 Texas +152 Saturday
Winnipeg 36 22 12 2 46 119 99 W L Pct GB Chicago -113 LA;ANGELS +103
Dallas 24 21 .533 — KANSAS CITY ROYALS — Placed INF Adalberto Favorite Line Underdog
Edmonton 37 22 14 1 45 122 107
San Antonio 23 21 .523 ½
CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Mondesi on the 10-day injured list. Recalled OAKLAND -105 Houston -105 Baylor 5 Houston
Montreal 32 15 8 9 39 104 87 Qualifying INF Nicky Lopez from the alternate training Gonzaga 14 UCLA
Calgary 37 16 18 3 35 96 112 Memphis 22 22 .500 1½
New Orleans 21 25 .457 3½ CHAMPIONSHIP site.
Vancouver 37 16 18 3 35 100 120 MINNESOTA TWINS — Named Kevin Morgan National Hockey League
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Tuesday’s Games Northwest Mexico 1, Honduras 1, OT, Mexico won 5-4 on
National League
W L Pct GB penalty kicks BetMGM.com does not offer lines Favorite Line Underdog Line
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Columbus 3, Tampa Bay 1 Portland 28 18 .609 7 GP W D L GF GA Pts Norwood for assignment.
Chicago 2, Carolina 1 PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES — Selected the con- revenue from audience referrals to NY Rangers -200 BUFFALO +180
Oklahoma City 19 27 .413 16 Man City 30 22 5 3 64 21 71 TAMPA BAY -270 Columbus +240
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Man United 29 16 9 4 56 32 57 BOSTON -129 Pittsburgh +119
Montreal 4, Edmonton 0 Leicester 29 17 5 7 53 32 56 ley (Triple-A East). independent of this relationship
Boston 5, New Jersey 4, SO Pacific BASKETBALL and there is no influence on news Montreal -200 OTTAWA +180
W L Pct GB Chelsea 29 14 9 6 44 25 51
Wednesday’s Games coverage. Carolina -165 CHICAGO +155
Phoenix 32 14 .696 — West Ham 29 14 7 8 45 35 49 WNBA Dallas -124 NASHVILLE +114
Philadelphia at Buffalo L.A. Clippers 32 17 .653 1½ Tottenham 29 14 6 9 49 30 48 WASHINGTON MYSTICS — Signed G Shavonte
Toronto at Winnipeg L.A. Lakers 30 17 .638 2½ Liverpool 29 13 7 9 48 36 46 Zellous. VEGAS -180 Minnesota +165
Arizona at Colorado Golden State 23 24 .489 9½ Everton 28 14 4 10 40 37 46
Los Angeles at Vegas Sacramento 22 25 .468 10½ Arsenal 29 12 6 11 40 32 42
FOOTBALL
Calgary at Vancouver Aston Villa 28 12 5 11 39 30 41 National Football League
Minnesota at San Jose Tuesday’s Games Leeds 29 12 3 14 45 47 39 BUFFALO BILLS — Signed LB Tyrell Adams and
Charlotte 114, Washington 104 LB Marquel Lee to a one-year contracts.
Thursday’s Games Denver 104, Philadelphia 95
Crystal Palace 29 10 7 12 31 47 37
CINCINNATI BENGALS — Re-signed DT Mike
Columbus at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m. Wolverhampton 29 9 8 12 28 38 35
Phoenix 117, Atlanta 110 Southampton 29 9 6 14 36 51 33 Daniels and DL Amani Bledsoe to a one-year
Detroit at Florida, 7 p.m. Orlando 103, L.A. Clippers 96
Montreal at Ottawa, 7 p.m. Burnley 29 8 9 12 22 37 33 contracts.
DALLAS STARS — Signed F Jordan Kawaguchi TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING — Signed F Odeen Tur-
N.Y. Rangers at Buffalo, 7 p.m. Wednesday’s Games Brighton 29 7 11 11 32 36 32 PITTSBURGH STEELERS — Signed LB Jarvis
to a one-year entry level contract. to to a one-year entry-level contract.
Pittsburgh at Boston, 7 p.m. Miami at Indiana Newcastle 29 7 7 15 28 48 28 Miller and WR Matthew Sexton to a one year
contracts. FLORIDA PANTHERS — Agreed to terms with G SOCCER
Washington at N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m. Portland at Detroit Fulham 30 5 11 14 23 38 26 Spencer Knight on a three-year entry-level
Carolina at Chicago, 8 p.m. Dallas at Boston West Brom 29 3 9 17 20 57 18 SEATTLE SEAHAWKS — Signed WR Tyler Lock-
contract. Recalled D Brady Keeper from San
Major League Soccer
Dallas at Nashville, 8 p.m. Houston at Brooklyn Sheffield Utd 29 4 2 23 16 50 14 ett to a four-year contract extension. DC UNITED — Announced the return of MF
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS — Re-signed RB Jose (AHL) loan. Paul Arriola from loan to Swansea City A.F.C.
Minnesota at Vegas, 10:30 p.m. New York at Minnesota Saturday’s Games LOS ANGELES KINGS — Assigned D Daniel
Toronto at Oklahoma City Leonard Fournette. (EFL).
Friday’s Games Utah at Memphis
Chelsea vs. West Brom, 7:30 a.m.
HOCKEY
Brickley to Ontario (AHL). FC CINCINNATI — Signed W Isaac Atanga via
Washington at New Jersey, 7 p.m. Leeds vs. Sheffield United, 10 a.m. NEW JERSEY DEVILS — Assigned RW Marian transfer to a three-year contract.
Sacramento at San Antonio Leicester vs. Man City, 12:30 p.m. National Hockey League Studenic to Binghamton (AHL).
Toronto at Winnipeg, 8 p.m. Chicago at Phoenix MINNESOTA UNITED — Named Damian Roden
Calgary at Edmonton, 9 p.m. Arsenal vs. Liverpool, 3 p.m. NHL — Fined Edmonton F Connor McDavid for NEW YORK ISLANDERS — Assigned D Grant
Milwaukee at L.A. Lakers elbowing Montreal F Jesperi Kotkaniemi dur- senior director of sports science.
St. Louis at Colorado, 9 p.m. Sunday’s Games Hutton and G Cory Schneider to Bridgeport PHILADELPHIA UNION — Signed MF Leon
Arizona at Anaheim, 10 p.m. Thursday’s Games Southampton vs. Burnley, 7 a.m. ing a March 30 game. (AHL). Recalled G Jakub Skarek from Bridge-
Philadelphia at Cleveland, 7 p.m. BOSTON BRUINS — Assigned C Greg McKegg Flach from FC St. Pauli to a two-year contract.
San Jose at Los Angeles, 10 p.m. Newcastle vs. Tottenham, 9:05 a.m. port (AHL).
Washington at Detroit, 7 p.m. and G Jeremy Swayman to Providence (AHL). PITTSBURGH PENGUINS — Assigned LW Drew COLLEGE
Saturday’s Games Charlotte at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.
Aston Villa vs. Fulham, 10:30 a.m.
CAROLINA HURRICANES — Assigned F Jason O’Connor to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL). CAMPBELL UNIVERSITY — Named Weston Gla-
Detroit at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. Man United vs. Brighton, 1:30 p.m. ser assistant head football coach.
Golden State at Miami, 8 p.m. Cotton to Chicago (AHL). SAN JOSE SHARKS — Recalled Cs Noah Gregor
Pittsburgh at Boston, 1 p.m. Orlando at New Orleans, 8 p.m. Monday’s Games COLORADO AVALANCHE — Assigned D Greg and Fredrik Handemark from the minor NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY — Named Jack
Chicago at Nashville, 3 p.m. Atlanta at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m. Everton vs. Crystal Palace, 12 p.m. Smithlin assistant softball coach and hitting
Columbus at Florida, 7 p.m. Pateryn to Colorado (AHL). Recalled LW Liam league taxi squad and D Christian Jaros from
Denver at L.A. Clippers, 10 p.m. Wolverhampton vs. West Ham, 2:15 p.m. O’Brien Colorado (AHL) loan. San Jose (AHL) loan. instructor.

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8C ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ USA TODAY SPORTS

MLB fans return as 4th wave threatens

Jim Sergent, Gabe Lacques How many fans each MLB team will allow on Opening Day Texas Rangers
and Mike Stucka
100% capacity 100%
USA TODAY

As scientists raise concerns about a
potential fourth COVID-19 wave, MLB
teams will open their gates to fans be-
ginning Thursday.
The majority will start the regular
season with their stadiums at 20% to
30% capacity, allowing groups to social-
ly distance in the stands. Some are even
more conservative: The Nationals, Red
Sox and Blue Jays will allow 5,000,
4,500 and 1,275 fans, respectively.
Many have April 5 circled on their
calendars: when the Rangers plan to
open all 40,300 seats to fans – a deci-
sion announced the day the state’s face
mask requirement was lifted.
“The Rangers are encouraged that
the Governor’s Office has given clear-
ance for us to fully open Globe Life Field
at the start of the 2021 Major League
Baseball season,” Neil Leibman, the
Rangers’ president of business opera-
tions and chief operating officer, said in
a statement.
The Rangers said they will reduce ca-
pacity slightly after the opening-day ex-
citement wanes, offering socially dis-
tanced seating in four sections.
How many fans each MLB team
will allow on opening day
COVID-19 infection rates in each of
the counties where the 30 MLB teams
play are down substantially from their
peaks. Many hit their highs in January
but ticked up in the past week.
Experts worry that a combination of
spring break and complacency could
lead to a fourth wave of infections
across the country. “We’re skating on a
knife’s edge right now,” said Nicholas
Reich, a biostatistician at the University
of Massachusetts Amherst.
Rather than look at the state of infec-
tions in the abstract with rates per
100,000 residents, perhaps it’s easier to
grasp in the context of a baseball stadi-
um. Considering it can take several days
for people to recognize they’re conta-
gious – if they ever do – we have used
weekly new infections throughout.
The average MLB stadium holds
about 40,000 people. At its peak,
112,542 Los Angeles County residents
contracted COVID-19 infections on a
weekly basis. That’s almost 450 people
in a 40,000-seat stadium – 561 in Dodg-
ers Stadium, the largest in the MLB.
COVID-19 infection rates in
counties with MLB teams
Even under the substantially lower
infection rates, the possibility of coming
into contact with a recently infected
person remains.
Consider the Rangers’ Globe Life
Field in Tarrant County. At the county’s
peak in January, a filled stadium – on
average – would have had 375 recently
infected fans inside. Based on March
90%
80%
70%
60%
Houston
H
Ho ston
t A Astros
Ast
t os
50% Colorado Rockies 50% Washington
43% Nationals
40% Boston Red Sox 12%
12% capacity
30%
20%
10%
SOURCE USA TODAY research
JIM SERGENT/USA TODAY
6 feet away from others who don’t live
Elements that make sports events increasingly risky with you, including people at outdoor
events. That’s going to be difficult in
Lower risk More risk Highest risk
many of the stadium’s sections that are
Location completely or mostly filled with fans sit-
ting shoulder to shoulder.
Outdoors Open, well-ventilated n”“²“Š‰•””—‘žZ
indoor space ventilated indoor space Elements the CDC says make
outdoor events increasingly risky
Masks
The CDC underscores the impor-
tance of clearly communicating these or
similar guidelines to fans and reiterat-
Yelling, chanting or singing ing them throughout an event.
A study of English sporting events
Discouraged While wearing masks No restrictions from July 26 to Oct. 3, 2020, found “pro-
viding clear and actionable information
Groups stay 6 feet apart about how to follow safety measures”
made fans feel safer and more likely to
adhere to the guidelines.
For those who question all the mach-
inations required to bring fans back into
Attendees stadiums and the potential risks in-
volved while a pandemic still rages, the
Only athletes' family Just from local Travel from outside
survey reminds us that sports are not
and friends community the area
just games.
SOURCE CDC Respondents said they saw the
games as a chance to retain “some nor-
mality back to my life,” get “a massive
29’s weekly rate, 26 recently infected spreader event,” the Rangers’ Leibman lift to mental health” and experience “a
fans could be walking among the other told The Associated Press. sense of community.”
spectators on opening day. These protocols could fall short on a Regardless of the inherent risks of at-
Should infection rates or hospitaliza- couple of counts: eating and drinking tending a packed house on opening day,
tions rise to more worrisome levels, and social distancing. Rangers fans appear to agree. The least
MLB said it will defer to local health offi- Globe Life Field hosted a playoff expensive ticket available via the Rang-
cials to determine appropriate stadium round and the World Series in front of ers box office Tuesday was $90; most
capacities in their markets. more than 11,000 spectators last fall. were in the triple digits. On the second-
Tarrant County reports a “substan- Many fans used the “except when ac- ary market, tickets start in the low $70
tial” level of community spread on its tively eating and drinking“ loophole. range from StubHub and SeatGeek.
COVID-19 dashboard; the seven-day av- It’s a surefire way to reduce a mask’s A Washington Post-University of
erage of test positivity is 6%, down from efficacy, public health experts say. Maryland poll released Wednesday sug-
a peak of 30% in January but worse than “If you make an exception for booze, gests that two-thirds of Americans “feel
the 5% mark public health experts often and everyone is drinking booze, then comfortable attending a ticketed sport-
cite as a bench mark to loosen many re- there’s no mask,” Will Humble, execu- ing event” when the event is outdoors,
strictions. tive director of the Arizona Public masks are required and stadium capac-
“With all the protocols that we’re fol- Health Association, told USA TODAY ity is restricted.
lowing, we’ll be extremely responsible Sports in January. The CDC makes it clear the safest op-
and provide a very comfortable environ- The CDC tweaked its guidance for tion for fans this spring is watching any
ment for somebody to enjoy the game outdoor activities in mid-February, but sporting event with those in your bubble
without worrying we’re going to be a a core element remains: Stay at least at home.

Nightengale eight staff members tested positive for

Continued from Page 1C
There’s growing optimism in the
game, and really across the country,
that things could feel quasi-normal by
midsummer.
“We hope to have a sense of normalcy
sooner than later based on the trends
that we are seeing,” said Tony Clark, ex-
ecutive director of the Major League
Baseball Players Association.
Teams, beginning with the Astros
and Cardinals on Monday, have begun
mass vaccinations. Most teams will fol-
low suit. The vaccinations aren’t man-
datory, but if 85% of the teams’ players
and staff get the shots, those safety and
health protocols will be removed, en-
abling players to dine together again,
have their families join them on the
road, and go back to playing cards and
video games together in clubhouses.
“That’s an individual decision. I
would never force anyone to do that,”
Phillies President Dave Dombrowski
said. “However, I would point out, we
would point out, players would probably
point out, that if we get to 85%, their
lives change dramatically as far as travel
is concerned.”
Said Cardinals President John Moze-
liak: “I’m hopeful people will do it, be-
cause the more vaccines that go into
arms, ultimately the more freedom or
normalcy we’ll be able to experience.”
The Cardinals were shut down for 19
days last summer when 10 players and
COVID-19, so even if they do reach the
85% threshold, they’re not about to hit
the streets without masks.
“It doesn’t mean you can relax the
protocols or put your guard down,” Mo-
zeliak said. “I do feel being down here in
Florida (during spring training) there’s
this sense that the pandemic is behind
us. I don’t think that’s a healthy mental-
ity yet.”
Case in point was when the Nationals
discovered Wednesday that one of their
players tested positive for COVID-19 and
another four players and a staffer need
to quarantine because of contact trac-
ing, making them inactive opening
night.
MLB players certainly showed their
resolve and discipline this spring, si-
lencing the notion that the season need-
ed to be pushed back a month. Only 12
players and five staff members tested
positive for COVID-19 after reporting to
camp, among the 72,751 tests.
“The players and their families
have been outstanding,” Clark told USA
TODAY Sports, “understanding the im-
portance of the need for the protocols
and obviously wanting to play and have
the season start on time and continue as
scheduled. The guys committed to it,
and helped each other stay accountable.
“We still have some challenges and
concerns, and the diligence is going to
have to continue. But the position the
guys took with an eye on playing a full
season over a full slate of days rather
than a shortened window was the right
position to take.”
Said Manfred: “I cannot say enough
about what the players and club person-
nel did during spring training. They did
a phenomenal job to get us through 60
(games) last year, and I think they were
even better and more careful in spring
training.”
There will be obstacles. Pitchers who
haven’t picked up a bat in 1 1⁄2 years now
will be required to hit in the NL. Minor
leaguers who didn’t play a single game
last season, like Andrew Vaughn of the
White Sox, now will be playing integral
roles in the big leagues. And who knows
how home run hitters will react with the
modification in baseballs after a record
6,776 homers were hit in 2019.
The players union still wishes that a
universal DH was implemented this
season considering it will likely be
around to stay in 2022. MLB offered a
universal DH during the winter in ex-
change for an expanded postseason
with 14 teams. The union soundly reject-
ed the proposal. There were no counte-
roffers. The subject was never revisited.
“The position we’ve taken since Day 1
on the DH issue is that it’s a health and
safety issue,” Clark said. “So that con-
cern remains.”
While the conflict and distrust be-
tween the union and MLB is ugly, and
the potential of the first work stoppage
since 1994 looms in the winter, there’s a
full, unadulterated 162-game season to
play first.
There will be fans at ballparks, with
the capacity increasing each month.
Revenue for clubs will grow. Players will
be paid full salaries again. Fans will be
cheering their favorite teams and play-
ers. They’ll be booing the Astros. And
they’ll be screaming and cursing at the
umpiring crew and instant replay re-
sults.
Yep, just like old times.
“I really don’t believe that our players
ever took the fans for granted,” Manfred
said, “but I am a believer in the adage
that absence makes the heart grow fon-
der. I think playing for the first time ever
without fans that it reminded every-
body how important fans are to the
atmosphere in the ballpark.”
And after playing the shortest season
since 1878, turning a marathon into a
sprint, maybe there will be a deeper ap-
preciation of the grueling sport.
“It is a separator and why baseball is
the national pastime,” Maddon said.
“You come home from work any day
during the summer and either put the
radio on or watch TV and see your favor-
ite team play. And then there’s all this
stir about that night, that game, your fa-
vorite player, your favorite team, what’s
going on, and you can do that every
night during the summer. Every night.
You start in school, go through the sum-
mer, go back to school, and it’s still going
on.”
Baseball, in almost its pure and natu-
ral version (there still will be seven-in-
ning doubleheaders and a runner start-
ing on second base in extra innings), is
finally back.
The two most beautiful words in the
sport will never be so passionately em-
braced on opening day:
“Play ball.”
NATION+HEALTH
Wis. blocks mask
order from governor
State’s high court: Mandate needs
USA TODAY | THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 | SECTION D lawmakers’ approval. Page 3D

What to
do with
kids still
at risk
Parents can cut anxiety
with these activities
Adrianna Rodriguez
USA TODAY

Parents received good news

Wednesday when Pfizer-BioNTech an-
nounced its COVID-19 vaccine is safe
and effective in children 12 to 15 years
old. The vaccine is currently autho-
rized for use starting at age 16.
The company announced last week
it had begun testing in children under
12 years old. These trials are expected
to take longer as younger children may
need different doses than teens and
adults. If the benefits outweigh the
risks, some experts predict authoriza-
tion of the vaccine for young kids early
next year.
Moderna is testing its vaccine in 12-
to 18-year-olds, and experts expect re-
sults soon. The company said it began
Kelsey Townsend kisses her baby, Lucy Kyu, at their home March 12 in Poynette, Wis. MARK HOFFMAN/USA TODAY NETWORK testing in children under 12 years old in
mid-March.
As the trials in children and teens

Mom, baby meet after progress, millions of parents getting

vaccinated are unsure how to navigate
a post-vaccine world where they’re
protected but their kids can get sick

‘miraculous’ recovery
and spread the virus.
Outdoor activities represent a rela-

Months after giving birth in coma,

irreversible lung damage reverses
Mark Johnson
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY NETWORK

Kelsey Townsend delivered her fourth child while

deep in a coma, her lungs scarred and inflamed from Domestic travel may be safer than
COVID-19, her body starved of oxygen. She’d been international trips, but the CDC still
minutes from death, her obstetrician said. recommends Americans hold off on
Seven weeks later on Christmas Eve, the 32-year- all nonessential travel. RICK BOWMER/AP
old office manager still clung to life at University Hos-
pital in Madison, Wisconsin, two machines delivering
the oxygen her lungs no longer could. tively low risk of infection, said Rich-
On that night, of all nights, the doctor had more bad ard Malley, a physician in the division
news to deliver, and it appeared Kelsey would have to of infectious diseases at Boston Chil-
face it alone. Pandemic restrictions had put an end to dren’s Hospital and professor of pedi-
regular hospital visits. atrics at Harvard Medical School.
“This has to be an extenuating circumstance,” her Though policies vary depending on
husband, Derek Townsend, 32, pleaded on the phone. the state, county and school district,
“You’re not breaking that news to her without me at he said, masks remain an important
the bedside.” part of further reducing that risk.
No. He would come and tell her himself. “We’re trying our best to really limit
So, while their children — Payton, 8, Beau, 5, Faith, transmission in a field where there’s
11⁄2, and newborn Lucy — waited at home with their still a fair amount of uncertainty,” Mal-
grandparents, Derek drove to the hospital past streets ley said. “Reduction in risk doesn’t
aglow with Christmas lights. His gut churned. mean elimination of risk.”
How could he tell Kelsey that the only way she’d What if it’s impossible to wear a
come home was with two transplanted lungs in her mask? Some parents have signed their
chest? children up for swim classes in antici-
Home for the Townsends is a four-bedroom ranch pation of the summer. Malley recom-
in the small, central Wisconsin village of Poynette. mends skipping indoor classes in favor
Farm country. The Townsends grow most of their own of outdoor pools.
vegetables and butcher their meat. They recite the “Outdoor swimming is always going
Lord’s Prayer before each meal because they want the to feel safer than indoor swimming,”
children to grow up remembering to be thankful. he said. “As long as the kids are not on

See RECOVERY, Page 4D Derek Townsend holds newborn Lucy. PROVIDED BY TARYN MEINHOLZ See REDUCED RISK, Page 2D

Vaccine side effects have easy home treatments

Sara M Moniuszko
USA TODAY
Whether you’ve read about it in the
news or heard personal accounts from
friends and family, COVID-19 vaccines
can cause side effects – but there are
ways to minimize symptoms.
Dr. Michael Daignault, an emergency
physician in Los Angeles and chief med-
ical adviser for Reliant Health Services,
tells USA TODAY that common post-
vaccine symptoms shouldn’t make peo-
ple wary of getting vaccinated against
the coronavirus.
“The side effects of the vaccine are
100 times better than getting COVID it-
self,” he said. “I’ve seen firsthand what
COVID does to people and does to their
body – having symptoms for a few hours
or even a day is much more agreeable.”
He added that having a vaccine reac-
tion is actually a good sign.
“It means your immune system is
working,” he explained.
If you’re looking to lessen some of the
potential side effects, however, here’s
how to treat some common symptoms:
How to treat injection-site pain
One area that may react to the vac-
cine is the arm where you received the
shot. The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention lists injection-site pain,
swelling and redness as normal side ef-
fects.
Here are some things you can do:
h Pain relievers: Though the CDC
and the World Health Organization rec-
ommend against the preventive use of
over-the-counter pain relief medica-
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention lists injection-site pain,
swelling and redness as normal side
effects after getting a COVID-19
vaccination. GETTY IMAGES
tions such as acetaminophen or ibupro-
fen, they do allow them if symptoms de-
velop after the shot. Daignault recom-
mends checking with your doctor first,
however, if you’re already taking other
medications.
h Cool it down: “Ice is a great treat-
ment for swelling – plus for pain, and it’s
often overlooked, but it’s something we
all have and it doesn’t interact with any
medications you have already,” Daig-
nault said. Out of ice? The CDC says you
can use a “clean, cool, wet washcloth
over the area” as well.
h Epsom salt baths: “If it’s really
sore or if you have general body aches,”
Daignault said, “just take 2 cups of Ep-
som salt, put it in some relatively warm
water and soak in there for 20 minutes,
See SIDE EFFECTS, Page 3D
2D ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ USA TODAY
NATION’S HEALTH
FACT CHECK
Pfizer CEO did not
refuse vaccination
McKenzie Sadeghi
USA TODAY
In an attempt to cast doubt on the
safety and efficiency of the coronavirus
vaccines, one Facebook user shared a
video claiming Pfizer Chairman and
CEO Albert Bourla refused to take the
vaccine created by his company.
“#Pfeizer (sic) CEO Refuses to get
COVID Vaccine,” reads the caption of
the March 24 video on
Facebook with more than
3,100 shares and 1,500 re-
actions.
The video features a
CNBC interview with
Bourla in which he is
Bourla asked when he would get
vaccinated. In response,
he says that he is 59 years old, in good
health and is not working on the front
lines, so he “is not recommended to get
vaccinated now.”
“As soon as I can, I will. The only sen-
sitivity here, Meg, is that I don’t want to
have an example that I’m cutting the
line,” Bourla says in the video, which
also includes a clip of Dr. Anthony Fauci,
director of the National Institute of Al-
lergy and Infectious Diseases.
In the second clip, Fauci tells CNN’s
Brianna Keilar that he would not get a
coronavirus test after touching the
same microphone as then-President
Donald Trump because he was not ex-
periencing any symptoms and practiced
social distancing.
Following the video of Fauci is a clip
of Dr. Oz trying to persuade television
personality Wendy Williams, who says
she does not trust the coronavirus vac-
cination or flu shots, about the safety of
the vaccine.
The video was shared by the Face-
book page Tru York, which has shared
other videos discouraging people from
getting vaccinated, according to
FactCheck.org. USA TODAY reached out
to the Facebook page for comment.
The interview in which Bourla says
he has not gotten vaccinated took place
with CNBC on Dec. 14, three days after
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
issued the first emergency use authori-
zation for the vaccine.
Since the interview, Bourla has been
vaccinated; 28.6% of the U.S. popula-
tion has received at least one dose, and
15.8% have completed vaccination, ac-
cording to the Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention.
“That report is categorically false,”
Pfizer spokeswoman Sharon Castillo
Reduced risk
Continued from Page 1D
top of one another in the pool, that’s an-
other way to minimize risk.”
Birthday parties
Birthday parties can be a fun and safe
celebration, health experts said, as long
as kids wear masks and stay outside.
Parents may lower the risk of infec-
tion by keeping the party at 10 kids or
fewer, said Lee Beers, medical director
of community health and advocacy at
Children’s National Hospital in Wash-
ington and president of the American
Academy of Pediatrics. She suggested
modifying some traditions that may in-
crease risk of infection such as gather-
ing to open presents or eat cake.
“Talk to kids about what things about
their birthday celebration is important
to them,” she said.
If blowing out candles is important to
your child, Beers suggested replacing a
traditional cake with individual cup-
cakes. Children should be at least 3 to 6
feet apart during any activities that in-
volve drinking or eating, Malley said.
Parks and family outings
Parks are a great way to relieve stress
from the pandemic with family and pre-
sent a relatively low risk of infection
compared with other activities, Malley
said.
If there are other families at the park
enjoying the lovely weather, Beers sug-
gested bringing a mask and finding an
area that’s not as crowded. Parents can
be creative by exploring new places and
“finding things that are off the beaten
path,” she said.
“Excited to receive
my 2nd dose of the
Pfizer/BioNTech #COVID19
vaccine.”
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla
In a March 10 tweet
told USA TODAY via email. “Dr. Bourla
has been fully vaccinated with the
Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.”
Bourla told Axios on HBO that he
felt “liberated” after receiving the first
of two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. He
added that he would advise family
members to get any vaccine, even if it
is not the Pfizer shot.
“If it was the case, can I get a vac-
cine now – any vaccine now – or a vac-
cine that I prefer two months later, I
would go with whatever I can get now,”
Bourla said.
On March 10, Bourla tweeted: “Ex-
cited to receive my 2nd dose of the
Pfizer/BioNTech #COVID19 vaccine.”
Fauci on testing
The included video clip of Fauci on
CNN saying he would not take a coro-
navirus test is from March 15, 2020,
very early in the pandemic in the U.S.
and before tests for the virus were
widely available to the public.
Later on in the interview, Fauci
says: “Not everybody in the United
States should take a test. I mean, I
have no symptoms, there’s no reason
for me to take a test. If I’m in a situation
where I’m at a higher risk, I will take a
test.”
During that time, health officials
were advising Americans to get tested
only if they were showing symptoms,
according to The Associated Press.
Fauci received the first dose of the
Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 22
and got his second dose on Jan. 19. He
told CNN: “Got it. So far, so good.”
Our rating: False
Pfizer confirmed that Albert Bourla
has been fully vaccinated against CO-
VID-19. Bourla shared images of him
receiving the vaccine on Twitter, and
the interview clip of Bourla saying he
had not yet received the vaccine is
from Dec. 14.
Our fact check work is supported in
part by a grant from Facebook.
“(The park) seems to me like
a very healthy way to make
ourselves feel better.”
Richard Malley
Physician in the division of infectious diseases at
Boston Children’s Hospital and professor of
pediatrics at Harvard Medical School
Though it’s preferable to maintain a
distance from people who are not in the
same household, Malley said it’s unlike-
ly one can get sick from a brief interac-
tion with a stranger outside.
“You don’t catch this virus from a
very brief interaction with somebody
else,” he said. “(The park) seems to me
like a very healthy way to make our-
selves feel better after the year that
we’ve had.”
Indoor dining is still considered a
risky activity even if both parents are
vaccinated, health experts said.
“My advice would be to continue to
avoid (indoor dining), particularly
knowing that we’re on the cusp of things
improving but also on the cusp of anoth-
er spike,” Beers said, referring to a White
House briefing Monday where Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention Di-
rector Rochelle Walensky warned that
the next few weeks may bring a rise in
cases.
“Hanging in there a little longer gives
us the opportunity to do whatever we
want, wherever we want much sooner,”
Beers said.
Though it may be too risky to bring
unvaccinated children into restaurants,
health experts said that shouldn’t stop
vaccinated parents from enjoying a
night out by themselves.
A CDC study released Monday shows
vaccines may affect asymptomatic
transmission, which suggests it is un-
FACT CHECK
Jamaica is 109th for most active cases per capita. NARVIKK/GETTY IMAGES
Jamaica records over
38K COVID-19 cases
Bayliss Wagner
USA TODAY
The distribution of COVID-19 vac-
cines this year has inspired optimism
about beating the pandemic. However,
many countries face new waves of
cases, and the majority of the global
population remains unvaccinated and
at risk.
Jamaica has had a relatively low
number of cases compared with other
countries, but it, too, announced new
lockdown measures in recent days. On
March 22, Jamaica’s Minister of Fi-
nance, Nigel Clarke, announced a CO-
VID-19 relief package totaling $126 mil-
lion, as well as three weekends of a
curfew from noon to 5 a.m.
But a meme from March 19 claims
that no coronavirus cases have been
recorded in Jamaica. The post has
6,600 reactions and more than 1,300
shares.
“JAMAICA has not recorded any
case of the CORONAVIRUS. Are you
thinking what I’m thinking?” the
meme reads, next to a photo of rapper
and cannabis aficionado Snoop Dogg.
Meme is outdated
The claim that Jamaica has not re-
corded any coronavirus cases is clearly
false. Jamaica, which has a population
of just under 3 million people, has con-
firmed 38,514 cases of the virus and
likely parents would bring home the vi-
rus to their kids. Another national study
is underway to determine whether the
virus spreads among vaccinated college
students, Anthony Fauci, medical ad-
viser to the president, revealed during a
White House briefing Friday.
“With these data, it seems likely that
a vaccinated individual would be much
less likely to transmit the virus to some-
one else,” Malley said. “So for this par-
ticular situation, a parent who is hang-
ing out with others would not be very
likely to come home and transmit the vi-
rus to their children.”
Visiting the grandparents
According to CDC guidelines re-
leased in early March, fully vaccinated
grandparents don’t have to wear a mask
or physically distance if they visit fully
vaccinated family or unvaccinated fam-
ily not at risk for getting severely ill.
Grandparents and family should all
wear masks and physically distance if
there is more than one household visit-
ing.
According to the CDC example, fully
vaccinated grandparents can visit with
their unvaccinated daughter and her
children indoors without a mask or so-
cially distancing. But if the neighbors
decide to show up, everyone should put
on a mask and stay at least 6 feet from
one another. The gathering should be
taken outdoors or to a well-ventilated
area.
“We emphasize that this is a rule for
people who are not at high risk,” Malley
said. “If somebody has a kid that is high
risk, you would want to be extraordi-
narily careful.”
Family vacations
Even as more people get vaccinated
NEWS
It is true that Jamaica has
fared better than many
other countries.
586 deaths since the pandemic began,
according to the World Health Organi-
zation.
The meme first appeared on a hu-
morous Facebook page on March 21,
2020, just over a year ago. It was slightly
closer to the truth at that time: Jamai-
ca’s daily new cases were in the single
digits, the country’s coronavirus data
shows, and the country had received
very little international attention about
its COVID-19 situation as a result.
However, Jamaica’s Minister of
Health and Wellness Dr. Christopher
Tulson had announced its first con-
firmed case 11 days earlier, a Jamaican
citizen who returned from a trip to the
U.K. on March 4 and had become ill.
It is true that Jamaica has fared bet-
ter than many other countries; even
now, it is No. 109 in the world for most
active cases per capita, according to
Worldometer.
Our rating: False
Jamaica has recorded more than
38,000 coronavirus cases.
Our fact check work is supported in
part by a grant from Facebook.
against COVID-19, the CDC continues to
advise against nonessential travel, and
health experts agree.
Travel exacerbates the spread of
COVID-19 and the country has seen a
surge in cases after every holiday since
the pandemic’s onset, Walensky said
during the White House briefing Mon-
day.
“What we’re seeing now is more trav-
el than we saw – than we saw through-
out the pandemic, including the Christ-
mas and New Year’s holidays,” she said.
“I would just sort of reiterate the recom-
mendations from the CDC, saying
please limit travel to essential travel for
the time being.”
These guidelines may change in the
next couple of months if Americans
continue to get vaccinated and corona-
virus cases decline, health experts said.
Malley said domestic travel is less
risky than international travel as med-
ical care may be limited in foreign coun-
tries. Families run the risk of getting
stuck in a country for weeks to quaran-
tine if they test positive for the corona-
virus.
Malley suggested booking summer
trips that are fully refundable in case the
CDC is still not recommending travel by
the summer.
“We don’t know where things are go-
ing to be over the summer,” Beers said.
“(But) if we can really all continue to do
our part and see the rate of transmission
go down, summer travel may be very
realistic.”
Contributing: Karen Weintraub and
Morgan Hines
Health and patient safety coverage
at USA TODAY is made possible in part
by a grant from the Masimo Foundation
for Ethics, Innovation and Competition
in Healthcare. The Masimo Foundation
does not provide editorial input.
NEWS
NATION’S HEALTH
CORONAVIRUS NEWS BRIEFING
Wis. high court
ends statewide
mask mandate
The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday
blocked Democratic Gov. Tony Evers from issuing
public health emergency orders to mandate face
masks without the approval of the state Legislature,
which is controlled by Republicans.
In a 4-3 decision, conservative justices in the ma-
jority also declared the current statewide mask man-
date invalid and ruled Evers exceeded his authority
in issuing multiple emergency declarations during
the pandemic. Evers used the emergency orders to
require face coverings be worn indoors statewide af-
ter lawmakers opted not to.
“The question in this case is not whether the gov-
ernor acted wisely; it is whether he acted lawfully. We
conclude he did not,” said Justice Brian Hagedorn,
writing for the conservative majority.
President Joe Biden this week urged governors to
reimpose mask mandates as the U.S. once again
faces increasing daily totals for infections and hospi-
talizations. On Tuesday, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchin-
son, a Republican, lifted the statewide mask man-
date, and Wyoming Gov. Gov. Mark Gordon said he
won’t reinstate a mask order lifted two weeks ago.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, on Wednesday
cited the rising numbers in again urging Americans
to wear masks and socially distance. “We are distri-
buting billions of dollars to communities dispropor-
tionately affected to help mount the most aggressive,
equitable vaccination campaign in modern times,”
Walensky said at a White House briefing.
All states to expand vaccinations by May 1
All 50 states have announced when they plan to
open up vaccinations to all adults by May 1, and the
day arrived Wednesday for residents of Indiana and
South Carolina. More than a dozen have already lift-
ed restrictions. Montana and Connecticut join the
growing list on Thursday; New Hampshire on Friday.
Next week, 11 more states, New York and Florida
among them, join the group. President Joe Biden has
urged states to open up vaccination opportunities to
all states by May 1. All are scheduled to do so.
US tops 12,000 known variant cases
The nation reported more known variant cases in
the last week – nearly 4,300 – than through the mid-
dle of March, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data
shows. Tuesday night’s tally reflected more than
1,000 new cases just since Sunday’s report. The U.S.
now has 12,053 known cases of variants that can
spread COVID-19 more easily, dodge some treat-
ments and immunities, or both. California alone re-
ported 289 new variant cases Tuesday, bringing it up
to 865 known cases. Massachusetts reported 266
new cases, bringing its total to 732.
Several states that hadn’t had much of a known
variant problem suddenly have much larger prob-
lems. West Virginia went from three known cases on
Sunday to 53 on Tuesday, while Nevada went from 11
cases on Sunday to 63 cases on Tuesday. Idaho
jumped from 18 to 32. Ohio reported its first two cases
of the B.1.351 variant first detected in South Africa.
COVID-19 third-highest cause of death in ’20
More than 3.3 million Americans died in 2020, the
most ever in one year in large part because of the
pandemic, federal health officials reported. The
death toll was 16% above 2019. The coronavirus
caused about 375,000 of the deaths, the third-lead-
ing cause after heart disease and cancer, the CDC re-
ported.
Contributing: John Bacon, Elinor Aspegren, Mike
Stucka, The Associated Press
Side effects
Continued from Page 1D
finish with a cold shower and get into bed.”
h Exercise your arm: “The muscle ache comes from
localized inflammation,” Dr. Richard Pan, a pediatri-
cian and California State Senator who chairs the Sen-
ate Committee on Health, explained to USA TODAY.
“So moving the arm around can sometimes make it feel
better.”
h Don’t worry about redness: Daignault says red-
ness around the injection site is “no cause for concern
and will resolve on its own.” If accompanied itchiness
is bothersome, he suggests taking a dose of Benadryl.
How to treat vaccine symptoms
You may also experience symptoms including fever,
chills, tiredness, headaches and nausea.
h Rest up: “I would say rest as much as you can,”
Daignault said, before advising not to overdo it. “I’m
also encouraging people to go about their daily activ-
ities... because you always want to maintain the best
cardiovascular system as possible.”
h Drink fluids: The CDC recommends this as a way
to “reduce discomfort from fever.” To help with nau-
sea, Daignault says it’s important to be “well hydrated
in the days before your vaccine” as well. If nausea is
intense, he recommends sipping ginger tea packets or
steeping hot water over sliced or grated fresh ginger.
FACT CHECK
Dandelions are still viewed as beneficial by gardeners. KOGYTUK/GETTY IMAGES
Dandelions beneficial,
but meme partly false
McKenzie Sadeghi
USA TODAY
With the return of warm weather and the spring
season, some social media users have recently taken
to Facebook to share a viral meme of purported “Dan-
delion Facts.”
“Dandelions are NOT weeds, but are from the
same family as sunflowers,” reads a March 26 Face-
book post. “A dandelion seed can travel up to 5 miles
before it lands. 1 cup of dandelion greens = 535% of
your daily recommended vitamin K and 112% of vita-
min A.”
The post continues and claims that every part of
the dandelion is edible and that until the 1800s, dan-
delions were seen as beneficial, and people would re-
move grass to plant them.
The text is accompanied by an image of dande-
lions and references the website royalmaze.uk. The
post has more than 1,600 shares and 1,400 reactions.
The post is accurate in saying dandelions come
from the same family as sunflowers. According to
The Daily Garden, dandelions are part of the Astera-
ceae family, also known as the Compositae family.
Most members of the Asteraceae family include
shrubs, trees and vines; however, it also includes
other plants such as sunflowers, dandelions and oth-
er familiar food plants.
Whether a dandelion is considered a weed de-
pends on a variety of circumstances, such as where it
is growing. A weed is a plant growing where it’s not
wanted.
According to The Transmutational Garden, most
people consider a dandelion to be a weed; however, it
is not listed on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
list of noxious weeds.
Dandelions are edible, contain vitamins
It’s true that dandelions are edible and contain
many different nutritional benefits.
Data from the Department of Agriculture shows
that raw dandelion greens contain 508 micrograms
of vitamin A and 778.4 of vitamin K. According to nu-
tritiondata.self.com, that is 112% daily value for vita-
min A and 535% daily value for vitamin K, based on a
2,000-calorie diet, as the meme claims.
According to Healthline, dandelions are highly
“Not everything that happens after
you get a vaccine is necessarily due to
the vaccine.”
Dr. Richard Pan
Pediatrician and California State Senator who chairs the Senate
Committee on Health
h Dress lightly: The CDC also recommends this for
fevers.
When should I see a doctor?
Pan said that if you feel like your reactions are “par-
ticularly severe,” without relief or “prolonged” – last-
ing more than the typical few days – you should call
your doctor.
Pan also points out that “not everything that hap-
pens after you get a vaccine is necessarily due to the
vaccine,” meaning another illness could be causing
more severe symptoms.
“So call you doctor... certainly if you feel like you
need medical care,” he said. “If you’re short of breath,
that shouldn’t be from the vaccine. So don’t think,
‘Well, maybe that’s just the vaccine.’ ”
CDC also recommends seeing your doctor if redness
or pain at your injection site increases after 24 hours.
Daignault noted the “most severe” side effects peo-
ple could experience from the vaccine are usually al-
lergic reactions shortly after the shot. For that reason,
USA TODAY ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ 3D
The petals can also be used for wine,
tea, jelly sorbet or fritters, while the
roots can be used to extend coffee.
nutritious and also contain vitamin E, folate and small
amounts of other B vitamins. The greens provide iron,
calcium, magnesium and potassium.
Foodprint.org recommends that dandelion leaves
be eaten raw when they are fresh and young and
blanched before including in any recipe. The petals
can also be used for wine, tea, jelly sorbet or fritters,
while the roots can be used to extend coffee.
The claim that people through the 1800s would re-
place lawns with dandelions is an assertion that is
commonly repeated on the internet without any cita-
tion, according to TruthorFiction.
Dandelions are still viewed as beneficial by garden-
ers for their nutrients, ability to attract ladybugs look-
ing for nectar, and other medicinal properties.
It’s true that dandelion seeds can travel far distanc-
es; however, they are able to travel 0.6 miles, not
5 miles, according to New Atlas.
“The distances are achieved because of what the re-
searchers call ‘the separated vortex ring’ which sees
the seed bristles, collectively called the pappus, create
ring-shaped air bubbles,” New Atlas reported. “These
form vertically above the pappus, increasing air-resis-
tance and slowing descent much like a parachute.”
Researchers discovered that while dandelion seeds
can travel 0.6 miles, they typically land within 6.6 feet
of the flower.
Our rating: Partly false
It is true that dandelions are part of the same family
as sunflowers; however, whether it is a weed is situa-
tional. Dandelions contain 112% daily value of vitamin
A and 535% daily value for vitamin K, as the meme
claims. Every part of a dandelion is edible, but there is
no evidence that people through the 1800s would re-
place lawns with dandelions, and the plant is still
viewed as beneficial. Further, a dandelion seed can
travel 0.6 miles, not 5 miles.
Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant
from Facebook.
he asks patients to wait in their car or at their testing
center for about 15 to 30 minutes after the injection.
“Usually, if you can make it through that without
any severe symptoms, the chances of having any se-
vere symptoms hours or days after that are very un-
likely,” he assured.
Reminders for after your vaccine
So, you got a vaccine! That means you’re immedi-
ately and totally safe, right? Not quite.
Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines
require two doses per patient to be as effective as pos-
sible. The first Pfizer-BioNTech dose is more than 50%
effective in preventing COVID-19, and the second dose
increases that protection to about 95%.
It can also take weeks for a person’s body to build up
immunity after getting vaccinated, the CDC said.
Because the vaccine is neither 100% nor immedi-
ately effective, public health measures – such as
avoiding crowds, physical distancing and wearing
masks – help reduce the risk of contracting all strains
of the virus, as well as other respiratory diseases.
Daignault explained, “It’s only until we get that
herd immunity... that we may be able to return to a lit-
tle bit of normalcy... but we’re not there yet.”
Pan echoed that “even after you’ve gotten the vac-
cine, you should still continue to wear your mask (and)
try to keep your physical distancing to try to minimize
your exposure.”
Contributing: Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY
and Liz Szabo, Kaiser Health News
4D ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ USA TODAY
NATION’S HEALTH
Recovery
Continued from Page 1D
The family had big plans for the com-
ing years. In spring, they would break
ground on a new house, 10 miles north
on land Derek’s father had bought — 40
tillable acres they would operate togeth-
er as a hobby farm. The whole family
would pitch in with daily chores.
A double-lung transplant was not
part of those plans.
When Derek entered Kelsey’s room in
the intensive care unit that evening, she
lay in bed, awake but groggy. The seda-
tion levels had been lowered to bring her
out of the coma long enough to hear, and
perhaps understand, what needed to
happen.
Derek looked into her brown eyes and
held her weak hand. His own eyes were
swimming.
One of the doctors began to describe
her condition. Every few sentences, De-
rek stopped him and leaned close to Kel-
sey, trying to clarify the situation as best
he could. Her lungs were shot. Her name
would go on the waiting list for a trans-
plant.
If all went well, she would come
home to her loving family. But like many
of the families ravaged by COVID-19, the
rest of their lives would be different.
Hers would be a life of limits: medica-
tions she would be unable to live with-
out; favorite activities, such as swim-
ming, that she would be unable to do.
Again and again, Derek turned back
to the doctor: “Are you sure this has to
happen, that her lungs can’t turn around
on their own?”
The damage, the doctor said, was ir-
reversible.
The talk lasted an hour, maybe long-
er, then Derek walked back to the park-
ing garage. He got into his truck and
tried to drive home, but made it only as
far as the second floor of the garage be-
fore pulling into an empty space.
There, he broke down weeping.
A full life
Derek and Kelsey had known each
other almost 10 years. They had grown
up just 16 miles apart.
They met in a volleyball league and
went to a county fair on their first date.
In July 2013, on a trip to Panama City
Beach, Florida, Derek wrote a message
on a seashell and planted it, half-cov-
ered, in the sand. They were walking on
the beach when he got down and uncov-
ered the shell. On it were the words:
“Marry me?”
“Derek, put that back,” Kelsey scold-
ed. “You’re going to ruin someone’s en-
gagement.” That’s when Derek got down
on his knee, and she understood. They
married one year later on July 13, 2014.
Theirs was a full life — busy, but
blessed. Derek owned a flooring busi-
ness. Kelsey was the office manager for
a window cleaning firm.
The Townsends enjoyed 5-mile
walks, and boating and swimming at
the family cabin up north. In early Feb-
ruary 2020, Derek and Kelsey decided to
try for a fourth child.
To the Townsends, and no doubt to
many Americans, the new coronavirus
registered as a distant concern at that
point. The U.S. had only confirmed a
half-dozen cases; no deaths.
Two months later in April, Kelsey
took a home pregnancy test. She and
Derek waited for the result together.
Two lines appeared on the test. Preg-
nant! They embraced and kissed.
By this time, the COVID-19 pandemic
had become the most pressing crisis on
the planet. More than a half-million
people in the U.S. had tested positive;
deaths exceeded 25,000. Schools
closed. Stay-at-home orders spread
across the country.
Kelsey knew the new coronavirus
would complicate her pregnancy. Yet
the pandemic still felt somewhat dis-
tant, something that could not cause the
same devastation in their small Wis-
consin community that it was causing
in places like New York City.
Not that they were taking any
chances. Kelsey and Derek followed the
advice of the experts. They wore masks
in public, avoided crowds, washed their
hands frequently and practiced social
distancing.
Kelsey visited a doctor in Sauk Prairie
for her prenatal checks, all of which
went well. She entered the ninth month
feeling fine. She was due Nov. 5.
A quirk of her previous pregnancies
had been that in the final week or so she
would get sick, usually a cough and
body aches. The Townsends had de-
vised an explanation that reflected their
optimism.
The sickness at the end was the baby
telling them: I’m here. It’s time.
During a trip to Florida in 2013, Derek Townsend wrote “Marry me?” on a seashell
and planted it, half-covered, on the beach in Panama City. He pretended to find
it during a walk and showed it to Kelsey. Thinking it was for someone else, she
told him to put it back before he ruined someone else’s surprise. Derek then got
down on one knee and pulled out a ring. PROVIDED BY TOWNSEND FAMILY
Kelsey Townsend’s chest X-rays from Nov. 10, 2020, at left, and the
much-improved image from Jan. 25. PHOTOS PROVIDED BY UW HEALTH
Coronavirus hits the family hard
Looking back, the Townsends cannot
point to one moment when the family
might have been exposed to the new
coronavirus. They believed they were
following all of the medical guidance.
Still, on Oct. 27, Payton’s school
called to say that she was feeling sick
and would need to be taken home. By
the next day, she and Kelsey were both
sick, though their symptoms seemed
mild and neither was tested for the coro-
navirus.
The same day, Derek grew sick. He
was driving his truck and briefly consid-
ered pulling over and calling an ambu-
lance.
“It hit me immediately and it was
very hard,” he recalls. “I had extreme
body aches. From the back of my neck to
my lower back was just excruciating
pain. I had the chills. I was driving and
having trouble breathing.”
Derek made it home safely. Later, in
the middle of the night, he sat up in bed
in a panic.
“You have to take me to the hospital. I
can’t breathe,” he told Kelsey. It felt as if
an elephant were crushing his chest. He
assumed he had the virus and feared
that if he fell asleep he would never
wake up.
But Derek recognized too that going
to the hospital would be a major head-
ache for the whole family. He would
have to wake the three children and
have his pregnant wife drive all of them.
Instead, he gutted out the pain. After
20 minutes, it eased.
The following morning he felt better.
Kelsey, however, felt much worse.
Derek drove her to St. Mary’s Hospital in
Madison, where she was admitted on
Oct. 29 and kept overnight.
It’s not entirely clear why St. Mary’s
released Kelsey the next morning. Doc-
tors felt that her COVID-19 symptoms
appeared stable.
“Like Derek,” said Kelsey, “I tried to
NEWS
be strong and stick things out.”
Five days later, on the morning of
Nov. 4, Derek walked into the living
room and found Kelsey sitting on the
couch. It was a day before her due date
and she looked odd.
The whole right side of her face had
turned blue. Her lips had no color at all.
She was struggling to breathe.
Trying not to panic, Derek helped her
into the truck and they rushed back to
St. Mary’s. As he drove, Kelsey slipped
in and out of consciousness.
Derek talked to her constantly, will-
ing her to stay awake. He talked about
how excited everyone was for the baby.
They’d already decided to name her Lu-
cy Kyu; Lucy after Kelsey’s great-grand-
mother, and Kyu after Derek’s grand-
mother.
Because Derek had been sick recent-
ly and was likely infectious, he was told
that he could not stay with Kelsey. She
would be giving birth for the first time
without him beside her.
He returned to the parking garage
and started to drive off. Almost immedi-
ately his cellphone rang.
“Where are you?” the voice on the
other end demanded.
“On the fourth floor of the parking ga-
rage,” he said.
“You need to come back right now.”
Wearing a mask, Derek was escorted
to the emergency room. Doctors ex-
plained that the body’s oxygen level is
measured on a scale of zero to 100, with
95 to 100 considered normal. A level of
60 is considered extremely low. Kelsey’s
was 45.
To save her life, doctors would have
to place a breathing tube in the main air-
way to the lungs, a procedure so uncom-
fortable the patient must be sedated.
The sedation would, in effect, send Kel-
sey into an induced coma.
While she lay in the coma, they would
deliver the baby by emergency caesar-
ean section.
“Derek, I’ve never had a c-section,”
Kelsey pleaded. “I can’t do this. I’m
scared.”
He told her everything would be OK.
He and baby Lucy would be waiting for
her after the delivery.
“I didn’t know,” he said, “this was the
last time I’d see her for three months.”
A delivery in about 40 seconds
The birth went quickly.
Kelsey lay in the delivery room, an
oxygen mask strapped over her nose
and mouth. Her blood-oxygen level was
now 65; her skin still blue.
Thomas Littlefield, a 42-year-old
doctor of obstetrics and gynecology, cut
a horizontal incision of about 4 inches
through the skin just above the pubic
bone, and then deeper through the
tough layer of connective tissue called
the fascia.
Kelsey’s abdominal muscles were
separated. Pressure was placed on the
outside of the upper abdomen to help
guide the baby through the incision. The
umbilical cord was clamped twice and
cut away from the placenta. Then Lucy
Kyu, all 6 pounds and 5 ounces of her,
was handed to a nurse.
The entire procedure, from incision
to handoff, took about 40 seconds.
Doctors upgraded Kelsey’s condition
from critically ill and unstable to criti-
cally ill and stable.
The day after her birth, Lucy Kyu
Townsend was tested for the coronavi-
rus.
NEWS
NATION’S HEALTH
Derek and Kelsey Townsend had three children – Payton, Beau and Faith – when they decided to add to their family in 2020. PROVIDED BY TOWNSEND FAMILY
Lucy Kyu Townsend was born via cesarean section while her mother was in an induced coma. PROVIDED BY TARYN MEINHOLZ
Her test came back negative.
Protection in the placenta
Two days after Kelsey gave birth, the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention published a large study of
more than 400,000 women – about
23,000 of them pregnant – who’d tested
positive and shown symptoms of CO-
VID-19.
“After adjusting for age, race/ethnic-
ity and underlying medical conditions,
pregnant women were significantly
more likely than nonpregnant women to
be admitted to an intensive care unit,”
the CDC reported. In fact, pregnant
women were nearly three times as likely
as nonpregnant women to require ICU
care.
The finding makes sense because
COVID-19 attacks the lungs, making it
hard to breathe. The lungs of a woman
in the latter stages of pregnancy are al-
ready under greater pressure from the
growing fetus and uterus.
However, scientific papers have also
suggested that pregnant women often
mount a strong immune response
against COVID-19 and seldom transmit
the virus to their babies.
“The placenta is swimming in mater-
nal blood and is exposed to everything
that is in the mother. But the placenta
has maintained many of the character-
istics of the shell of an egg,” explained
Gil G. Mor, scientific director of the C.S.
Mott Center for Human Growth and De-
velopment at Wayne State University in
Detroit. “The shell allows some nutri-
ents to go inside but protects the egg
from the environment. The placenta has
a lot of antiviral factors.”
Mor co-authored a paper last August
that noted COVID-19 does not increase
rates of miscarriages, stillbirths or pre-
term labor. He recommended pregnant
women get vaccinated.
Further, Weill Cornell Medicine in
New York recently released a study of 88
pregnant women sick with COVID-19,
finding that 78% of their babies had
antibodies against the virus in their um-
bilical cord blood. None had the new
coronavirus, according to the study
published in The American Journal of
Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Clinging to life after the birth
Lucy left the hospital on her third day
of life.
Although Derek felt fine, he got test-
ed for the coronavirus on Nov. 8 and
learned that he was positive. A family
friend, Lucy’s godmother, took the in-
fant to stay with her.
Kelsey remained in a coma, depen-
dent on a breathing tube. Her sister,
Kassy, typed a prayer onto Kelsey’s on-
line CaringBridge journal:
God, if you can hear me, please I beg
you to bring my sister back to me and my
family. The devil named COVID has test-
ed her strength and right now he’s win-
ning ... She has a brand new bundle of
joy that needs her momma’s hand and
heart to hold.
Friends and neighbors organized a
meal train so that Derek would not need
to cook. Kelsey’s cousin, Janel Hellen-
brand, took charge of updating the Ca-
ringBridge journal.
On Nov. 9, she wrote:
USA TODAY ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ 5D
Kelsey has taken a turn in the wrong
direction. She remains dependent on the
ventilator and has been transferred to
the UW Hospital ...
PLEASE, PLEASE PRAY!!
The ventilator, which carried oxygen
through her windpipe and into her
lungs, was no longer enough. Her lungs
were too scarred, stiff and inflamed. In
addition to the ventilator, Kelsey now
needed the assistance of a heart-lung
machine known as ECMO.
Blood from the femoral vein in her
groin was drawn into the ECMO ma-
chine, which acted as an artificial lung,
adding oxygen to the blood and remov-
ing carbon dioxide. The machine then
pumped the blood back into the jugular
vein in Kelsey’s neck.
“I think of it, not as a treatment. It
does not make the lungs better,” said
Dan McCarthy, director of the ECMO
program for UW Health and the doctor
who took charge of Kelsey’s care. “It
supports the patient while their lungs
heal.”
For Kelsey, that would mean reducing
the inflammation and removing the ex-
cess fluid collecting in her lungs. Kel-
sey’s chest X-rays left no doubt some-
thing was terribly wrong.
“Usually lungs look gray or black (on
X-rays),” explained McCarthy, who is
also the hospital’s surgical director of
the lung transplant program. “For peri-
ods of time, her lungs were completely
white. They call that ‘white out.’ ”
Among COVID-19’s most alarming
features, is the extreme, sometimes
deadly, response it provokes from the
body’s immune system.
In its effort to destroy the infection,
the immune system begins “indiscrimi-
nately bombing,” McCarthy said, at-
tacking both diseased and healthy tis-
sue. Kelsey’s immune system had
reached this point, known to doctors as
a cytokine storm.
At the time McCarthy began treating
Kelsey, the doctor had already wit-
nessed COVID-19 patients her age
who’d had to be placed on the ECMO
machine. Some had died anyway.
In her room, the ventilator made a
compression sound, air passing in and
out. ECMO worked silently. Both ma-
chines had different settings and could
be adjusted to fit the patient’s condition.
At one point, Kelsey would need both
pushed to their maximum settings just
to survive.
Word spreads on social media
Late at night, after the children had
gone to bed, Derek would sit in a blue
velvet wingback chair in his living room
and write letters to Kelsey. He described
what the children had done that day and
urged her to keep fighting.
But he never mailed the letters.
Each day, though, he texted her
phone at University Hospital to say how
much he missed her. Sometimes he
tried to make her smile.
“You don’t by chance know where
your wallet is do you?” he joked Nov. 16.
He found it difficult to maintain the
cheerful tone.
“It was a rough day for you today, but
you have made some good steps to-
night,” the text continued. “It breaks my
heart to pieces hearing what you are go-
ing through every day.”
He sent each text hoping his phone
would ping with a reply, but it never did.
On the night of Nov. 16, Kelsey’s left
lung collapsed, a life-threatening com-
plication in which the lung ruptures and
air leaks into the chest. The ICU team
positioned a tube to drain the air in Kel-
sey’s chest until the lung could heal.
Word of her struggle spread on social
media, and then over the airwaves. A ra-
dio listener posted a note about the
Townsends on the Facebook page for
the Q106 morning show.
Madison-based WWQM-FM, known
as Q106, plays country music to an audi-
ence that stretches from Janesville 80
miles north to Baraboo. Staff at the sta-
tion pride themselves on their local fo-
cus and refer to the audience as their
“Q-Munity.”
“So we know that COVID hits every-
body differently, every family different-
ly ... but there is a family in Poynette that
really needs our help right now,” morn-
ing show host Steph Peters told listeners
on Nov. 17.
“Let’s rally around this family.”
Speaking by phone, Hellenbrand de-
scribed her cousin’s condition. Derek
then introduced listeners to two of the
children.
“I miss Mommy’s touch,” said Pay-
ton, at 8 the oldest.
See RECOVERY, Page 6D
6D ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ USA TODAY
NATION’S HEALTH
Three-month-old Lucy Kyu meets her mother, Kelsey Townsend. PROVIDED BY TARYN MEINHOLZ
Recovery
Continued from Page 5D
“I miss my momma’s stories,” said
Beau, 5.
Derek thanked the friends and neigh-
bors who had already brought meals to
the family and coloring books to keep
the children occupied.
As November turned to December,
more help poured in.
The Culver’s in Cross Plains sold
1,500 orders of cheese curds to raise
money for the family.
KD’s Bar & Grill in Lodi held a “Meet
Santa” benefit.
In January, a listener texted the
morning show to say, “I’m donating my
stimulus check to the Townsend fam-
ily.”
The family’s GoFundMe page would
wind up raising more than $110,000.
‘Awake, staring at the ceiling fan’
Kelsey continued to struggle. Her
right lung collapsed. Her left lung col-
lapsed a second time.
Doctors said Kelsey was suffering
from acute respiratory distress syn-
drome, a severe complication of CO-
VID-19. Even with treatment, 25% to
40% of the COVID-19 patients who get
the syndrome do not survive.
At times, Derek allowed himself a
grim thought: “This is it.”
“A lot of that information I kept to
myself,” he said later, “because at 1 in the
morning there’s no need for anyone else
to be awake, staring at the ceiling fan.”
Mixed in with the bad days were bet-
ter ones, even flashes of hope.
In mid-December, Faith and baby Lu-
cy got to FaceTime with Kelsey, who still
could not have family in her room. Hel-
lenbrand described the moment on Ca-
ringBridge:
Kelsey smiled as a tear rolled down
her cheek, as this was the very first time
Kelsey has seen her newborn, Lucy, who
is now six weeks old (this gave me chills
when I received this update!).
On Christmas Eve, before driving to
the hospital to tell Kelsey that she need-
ed a double lung transplant, Derek text-
ed her:
“It’s been over seven weeks since I
got to hold you in my arms. ... This is not
the way I wanted it to go but we have a
path for you to come home now.”
Kelsey had now been on the artificial
lung for 46 days. She could not remain
on the machine indefinitely.
McCarthy, her main doctor, was dis-
appointed that her lungs had improved
so little.
“After approximately six weeks of
support,” he said, “if we don’t see signs
of significant recovery, we have to have
a backup plan.”
That plan was the transplant, a risky
operation that takes eight to 12 hours.
Preparing to tell Kelsey that this was
her path home brought back difficult
memories for Derek. At 15, he had stood
E2
at his mother’s bedside as she died of
breast cancer.
Hard as that had been, the talk with
Kelsey on Christmas Eve was harder
still, the most difficult thing he’d ever
done. There were times when his emo-
tions overflowed and the medical staff
turned away to give the couple privacy.
The next morning, Derek kept his
emotions in check as best he could.
The children opened presents and he
videotaped them. Kelsey could watch
when she came home.
Other cases, other results
In December and early January, as
Kelsey fought for her life, three similar
cases of pregnant women with CO-
VID-19 were reported.
Erika Becerra, a 33-year-old from De-
troit; Vanessa Cardenas Gonzalez, a 33-
year-old from Los Angeles; and Ashley
Gomez, a 30-year-old from Northridge,
California, all gave birth to healthy ba-
bies. All three women died soon after-
ward.
In Poynette, Derek kept sending his
hopeful texts to Kelsey. They were Hail
Marys, not so different from the mes-
sages stranded sailors once stuffed in-
side bottles and tossed into the ocean.
Derek checked his phone each day in
the slim hope of finding a response.
The doctors in Madison prepared the
paperwork for the lung transplant. Al-
though she was still quite ill, Kelsey be-
gan to receive physical therapy. She had
been in bed for more than eight weeks,
so long she’d lost the muscle strength to
stand or sit up.
The weeks had been hard on her
medical team, too. McCarthy felt ner-
vous much of the time. He worried that
despite their efforts, she might not sur-
vive.
The doctor made himself available at
all times. Once, after working a 30-hour
shift, McCarthy received word that De-
rek was trying to reach him. It was late
at night, but the doctor phoned Derek,
then spent an hour patiently answering
his questions.
In early January, Hellenbrand wrote
on CaringBridge:
Physical therapy is a work in progress
— yesterday, she was able to sit up at the
edge of her bed and dangle her feet, and
today, with a lot of assistance, they had
Kelsey out of bed and standing!
It was around this time that Kelsey
remembers waking from her coma. She
remembers thinking of her husband and
the children. She remembers praying.
Then her eyes fixed on the window in
her room, on a flash of bright red. A car-
dinal had perched outside on the win-
dow ledge.
In Christianity, the cardinal is con-
sidered a symbol of hope. The bird also
reminded Kelsey of her grandmother,
Sally, who had been blessed with the
most vivid red hair.
“It was a sign to me,” Kelsey would re-
call much later. “I have so much to live
for. I have to fight.”
On the morning of Jan. 5, Derek woke
“What is Lucy’s DOB? I don’t
remember having her.”
Kelsey Townsend
Part of first text sent to her husband after coming
out of coma
and checked his phone, as he always
did. This time the screen wasn’t blank.
At 3:39 a.m., Kelsey had texted:
“What I wouldn’t give to be next to
you.
“What is Lucy’s DOB? I don’t remem-
ber having her.”
Derek stared at his wife’s first words
to him in two months, then he typed:
“Oh my goodness baby I’ve sent you
over 100 text messages.
“To see you reply brought me to tears
this morning. I’m sorry!”
An astonishing development
The day after texting her husband,
Kelsey was placed on the national lung
transplant list.
The elation Derek felt seeing Kelsey’s
text did not drive away his doubts. He
never felt certain she would come home.
Then, on Jan. 10, he answered a call
from McCarthy.
“Derek,” the doctor said. “Something
miraculous has happened.”
The images of Kelsey’s lungs had be-
gun to look much better. McCarthy
could see more air filling the lungs. It
was possible Kelsey might not require a
transplant.
The following day the doctor called
again. “I don’t know why this is happen-
ing,” he told Derek, “but her lungs are
significantly better than yesterday.
They look like a set of lungs. There’s a
good chance that she comes home with
her own lungs.”
Kelsey’s cousin wrote a new entry on
CaringBridge:
Divine intervention! A miracle or an
act of God!
In retrospect, McCarthy believes Kel-
sey’s lungs must have been improving
steadily in January, a trend that began
subtly. But he cannot fully explain the
change. The irreversible had reversed.
Kelsey’s doctors stopped considering
offers for her lung transplant.
She focused on physical therapy.
Early on, she was so weak she could
only wiggle her toes and fingers. But
knowing that she might come home
with her own lungs inspired Kelsey, and
she pushed herself.
Eventually, she would work through
60 minutes of in-person physical thera-
py, and then ask for 30 minutes more.
She disliked depending on machines to
help her breathe.
The medical team asked, “Are you
more nervous about having ECMO tak-
en off, or about having it stay in?”
“If it’s safe,” she said, “I want to be off
it.”
On Jan. 13, after nearly 65 days on the
artificial lung — the longest of any CO-
VID-19 patient at University Hospital —
Kelsey was disconnected from the ma-
NEWS
chine. She was still supported by the
ventilator, but the amount of support
diminished.
One day she told Derek that she
wished she could be moved to the inter-
mediate care section, or even the hall-
way, so that her ICU bed could be freed
up for another patient.
The morning of Jan. 27, Kelsey
rushed through everything: breakfast,
brushing her teeth, showering.
She was going home.
As Derek drove to the hospital, he felt
more nervous than he had on his wed-
ding day. The children stayed at home
with their grandparents.
Their four-bedroom white ranch
looked unchanged – “like home,” Kelsey
remembers thinking as they pulled into
the driveway. Inside, she sat down on a
chair in the living room so the children
could hug her.
Then Derek brought over Lucy. The
baby was almost 3 months old. Kelsey
had never held her.
“We both locked eyes,” she said.
“I love you,” Kelsey said. And then
she thought about all of the time she had
missed with Lucy.
“Momma’s sorry.”
Epilogue
Twice during Kelsey’s long coma,
priests visited her hospital bed to anoint
her, one of the seven sacraments in the
Catholic Church.
In daily prayers, the Townsends now
ask not for things they seek, but for
“strength in the process.”
They pray, also, for all of the doctors
and nurses, and the COVID-19 patients
struggling in intensive care.
As Kelsey reads bedtime stories to
the children, they sometimes ask about
the scars on her neck. She tells them
about the trouble she had breathing and
the machines that had to do it for her.
She and Derek are determined to be
transparent about what happened.
McCarthy, her UW Health doctor, de-
scribes Kelsey’s prognosis as “guarded.”
Medicine has only been dealing with the
new coronavirus for a little more than a
year; doctors have not seen what hap-
pens to survivors five, 10 or 20 years out.
“We are optimistic for a complete or
near-complete recovery,” McCarthy
said, “but there is simply not enough da-
ta yet for us to accurately predict long-
term prognosis.”
Kelsey enjoys small things: folding
laundry, cleaning countertops, loading
the children’s backpacks in the morn-
ing.
She labors through hourlong ses-
sions of physical and occupational ther-
apy, twice a week for each.
But she can sit and stand without as-
sistance, and no longer uses a walker.
She sees the recovery process trans-
porting her back to some of the same de-
velopmental markers that her baby, Lu-
cy Kyu, is now approaching.
They are learning together.
Reach the reporter at mark.johnson@
jrn.com.
LIFE
ALABAMA Auburn: Auburn Univer-
sity officials say they’ll reinstate the
school’s bass fishing team this spring
following allegations that it repeated-
ly violated a travel and events policy
under the pandemic. The school ini-
tially suspended the highly ranked
team for the entire year.
ALASKA Juneau: The state health
department is floating the idea of
providing COVID-19 vaccinations to
travelers at the state’s busiest air-
ports with the summer tourism and
fishing seasons looming.
ARIZONA Phoenix: Pima County
officials said Tuesday that they will
continue to enforce a mask mandate,
joining local leaders defying Gov.
Doug Ducey’s order banning govern-
ment face-covering requirements.
ARKANSAS Little Rock: Lawmakers
on Tuesday gave final approval to
Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s plan to over-
haul the state’s Medicaid expansion
by encouraging work by recipients
rather than requiring it. A work re-
quirement was blocked by courts and
President Joe Biden’s administration,
which must still approve the changes.
CALIFORNIA Sacramento: The Placer
County sheriff announced in January
that a man died hours after receiving
a COVID-19 vaccine even though
county health officials said the decla-
ration was premature and detrimen-
tal, The Sacramento Bee reports. The
vaccination was ultimately deter-
mined coincidental to the death, but
Sheriff Devon Bell’s Facebook post
was used by anti-vaccine activists to
try to discredit COVID-19 shots.
COLORADO Denver: Residents over
age 16 will be eligible for vaccines
Friday, Gov. Jared Polis announced.
He said the state will have six mass
drive-in sites, plus four mobile bus
clinics for underserved communities.
CONNECTICUT Hartford: Lawmakers
granted final approval Tuesday to
extending Gov. Ned Lamont’s emer-
gency powers during the coronavirus
pandemic to May 20, despite con-
cerns raised by Republicans who
argued it’s time for the General As-
sembly to take back its authority.
DELAWARE Dover: Firefly Music
Festival has teased a return Sept. 23-
26 on its website. The festival was
canceled last year due to COVID-19.
State Sen. Trey Paradee, D-Dover,
said he’s optimistic Firefly will be
safe because of President Joe Biden’s
progress with vaccinations.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washing-
ton: Restaurants and bars near Na-
tionals Park have been getting ready
to welcome back fans for Opening
Day, WUSA-TV reports. While atten-
dance will be low due to COVID-19
restrictions, bar managers voiced
excitement for the season’s start.
FLORIDA Tallahassee: Schools and
universities that took precautions to
prevent the coronavirus’ spread
would be protected from related law-
suits, including those seeking a re-
fund of tuition after classes moved
online and campus activities were
canceled, under a bill approved by a
state Senate committee Tuesday.
GEORGIA Atlanta: The state will not
grade schools and districts using
state test results for the second year
in a row, with traditional learning
having been interrupted by the pan-
demic, the Georgia Department of
Education announced Tuesday.
HAWAII Honolulu: Officials are look-
ing into vaccine passports, especially
for inter-island travel. Lt. Gov. Josh
Green said the state hopes to work
with a local company to create an app
that would verify a traveler has been
inoculated, KHON-TV reports. Tour-
ism officials are supportive of the
idea, but the decision will ultimately
be made by Gov. David Ige.
IDAHO Boise: Vaccine eligibility
opens to those 16 and up April 6. But
four of the state’s seven health dis-
tricts say they’ve already expanded.
INDIANA Indianapolis: The state
Senate has approved a proposal that
would curb the governor’s authority
under the state emergency powers
law following months of complaints
from conservatives about Gov. Eric
Holcomb’s coronavirus orders.
IOWA Des Moines: Residents from
racial and ethnic minorities are in-
creasingly willing to get COVID-19
vaccinations, advocates say. The gap
between white and nonwhite Iowans
is far smaller than between Demo-
crats and Republicans, a Des Moines
Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll found.
HIGHLIGHT: ILLINOIS
Chicagoan Charlie Moore, 80, stands outside Wrigley Field in a Cubs jersey. AP
Chicago: As thousands of people get ready to flock to Wrigley Field on Thursday
for the city’s largest mass gathering in more than a year, officials warned that
they may again shut the venerated ballpark to fans if COVID-19 cases keep climb-
ing. The warning from the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Commu-
nications also applies to the White Sox’s ballpark, as well as bars, restaurants
and other businesses, amid an increase in cases, particularly among young
adults. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office announced a few hours later
that the county that includes Chicago had recorded its 10,000th COVID-19 death.
KANSAS Topeka: Republicans in
the GOP-controlled House formally
registered their opposition Tuesday
to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s
plan for encouraging counties to
retain mask mandates. Lawmakers
voted 84-39 along party lines for a
resolution telling legislative leaders
to revoke any order from Kelly for a
statewide mask policy.
KENTUCKY Louisville: The Liber-
tarian Party of Kentucky compared
COVID-19 “vaccine passports” to
star-shaped identification badges
people of Jewish descent were
forced to wear during the Holocaust
in a tweet this week, drawing out-
rage from across the nation.
LOUISIANA Shreveport: Caddo
Parish Schools has approved a
$1,000 supplement for employees to
thank them for their work during a
school year filled with challenges
due to the coronavirus pandemic.
MAINE Rockland: The state’s cele-
bration of all things lobster is a no-
go for this summer. The board of the
Maine Lobster Festival voted unani-
mously Tuesday night to cancel the
event for a second straight year.
MARYLAND Annapolis: A bill that
would require the state health de-
partment to create and implement a
two-year plan for COVID-19 recov-
ery by June 1 is nearing passage in
the General Assembly.
MASSACHUSETTS Boston: U.S. Rep.
Stephen Lynch is urging govern-
ment agencies, schools and busi-
nesses to use COVID-19 relief funds
to buy protective equipment made
in the U.S. rather than China.
“We’ve got China hacking federal
agencies, hacking our military and
hacking our domestic companies;
we’ve had theft of intellectual prop-
erty,” the Democrat said.
MICHIGAN Lansing: Gov. Gretchen
Whitmer on Wednesday doubled
the state’s daily COVID-19 vaccina-
tion goal to 100,000 shots. Michi-
gan, facing a third surge in cases,
had the nation’s second-highest
infection rate in the past two weeks.
MINNESOTA Minneapolis: Demo-
cratic Gov. Tim Walz and Repub-
lican former Gov. Tim Pawlenty
each got a COVID-19 shot Tuesday
in a bipartisan display to boost ac-
ceptance of the vaccine as eligibility
opened up to all residents 16 and up.
MISSISSIPPI Jackson: Health offi-
cials are recommending that reli-
gious organizations continue to hold
off on hosting indoor services dur-
ing the pandemic, even after Gov.
Tate Reeves relaxed regulations on
other kinds of social gatherings.
MISSOURI St. Louis: A federal suit
seeks a return of a 1% earnings tax
paid by people who normally work
in the city but worked from sub-
urban homes amid the pandemic.
MONTANA Great Falls: The Lake
County-Confederated Salish and
Kootenai Tribes Unified Command
Center is hosting two vaccine clinics
open to all Lake County and Flat-
head Reservation residents this
month. Relying on a centralized
health care system, personal out-
reach methods and incentives, Na-
tive American tribes’ vaccination
efforts have been a huge success.
USA TODAY ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ 7D
NEBRASKA Omaha: Pivot Concierge
Health and Banyan Medical Sys-
tems have agreed to settle with the
state attorney general’s office on
charges of misleading advertising,
marketing, distribution and sales of
coronavirus antibody testing.
NEVADA Las Vegas: The world’s
two biggest casino companies –
MGM Resorts International and
Caesars Entertainment Inc. – are
bringing vaccines to Las Vegas Strip
workers, with inoculation clinics at
the Mandalay Bay resort convention
center and the Rio All-Suites Hotel.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: Out-of-
state college students may not be
out of luck, after all, for getting a
COVID-19 vaccine. The head of a
nonprofit consortium that includes
21 public and private campuses said
Wednesday that it is working to
change Gov. Chris Sununu’s plan for
those students to return to their
home states to get inoculated.
NEW JERSEY Trenton: State statis-
ticians predict that even in the best-
case scenario, this summer will see
thousands more new coronavirus
cases each day than last summer. In
the more dire predictions under
Department of Health models Gov.
Phil Murphy presented Wednesday,
the state could see a record high of
infections, depending on how effec-
tively vaccines work against variant
strains, whether residents follow
public health measures and how
quickly they get vaccinated.
NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: Orga-
nizers are planning for the Albu-
querque International Balloon Fies-
ta’s return this fall, with spectators
likely allowed, after 2020’s event
fell victim to the pandemic.
NEW YORK New York: The West-
minster Kennel Club said Monday
that spectators and vendors won’t
be allowed at this year’s dog show
because of coronavirus limitations.
NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: Gov.
Roy Cooper on Tuesday announced
a three-month extension, to
June 30, of the statewide eviction
moratorium that had been set to
expire at the end of March.
NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: State
officials on Monday announced a
new food assistance program for
families whose children have been
eligible for free or reduced-price
school meals. The Pandemic Elec-
tronic Benefits Transfer program
provides benefit cards to families to
buy food for days when students are
learning at home.
OHIO Columbus: Republican Lt.
Gov Jon Husted dug in his heels
Wednesday on a tweet in which he
referred to the coronavirus as the
“Wuhan virus,” even as advocates
warn such rhetoric empowers vio-
lence against Asian Americans. “I
was just pointing out that this is an
international crisis, in my opinion,
that the Chinese government is
responsible for, and I wanted an
independent investigation,” he said.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The
City Council voted Tuesday to delay
for two weeks a vote on whether to
lift a mask mandate imposed to
curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The rule is set to expire April 30.
News from across the USA
OREGON Portland: The state House
returned to action Tuesday after a
week of canceled floor sessions due
to coronavirus cases at the Capitol.
Lawmakers began using a computer
program to read hundreds of pages of
proposed bills after Republicans re-
fused to suspend full readings before
final votes. In an attempt to decrease
health risks, lawmakers are working
in their offices as bills are read and
will return for discussions and voting.
PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: Every
adult resident will qualify for a CO-
VID-19 vaccine April 19, and emergen-
cy responders, grocery workers and
others will be able to set up shots
immediately, Gov. Tom Wolf ’s ad-
ministration announced Wednesday.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: Gov.
Daniel McKee on Wednesday nomi-
nated Providence City Council Presi-
dent Sabina Matos as his lieutenant
governor. If confirmed by the state
Senate, she will be the first person of
color to hold the job. Matos said her
priorities will be continuing vaccina-
tion efforts, getting the state back to
work and children up to speed in the
classroom after the pandemic, and
addressing what she called the “af-
fordable housing crisis.”
SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: Law-
makers are considering a proposal to
prevent employers from mandating
COVID-19 vaccines for workers.
SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: Anyone
over 16 will be eligible for a COVID-19
vaccination starting Monday. Gov.
Kristi Noem’s announcement
Wednesday followed an uptick in
cases statewide.
TENNESSEE Manchester: After can-
celing its 2020 event due to the pan-
demic, the Bonnaroo Music & Arts
Festival has revealed its 2021 lineup.
Foo Fighters, Lizzo, Tyler the Creator,
Tame Impala, Megan Thee Stallion
and Lana Del Rey top the bill at this
year’s festival, slated for Sept. 2-5.
TEXAS Austin: The state is receiving
more than 1 million doses of COVID-
19 vaccines this week, and shipments
are expected to increase in April, said
Imelda Garcia, head of the state’s
expert vaccine allocation panel. In-
oculation rates in Texas have lagged
much of the nation; officials say some
appointments are going unfilled.
UTAH Salt Lake City: Utah Jazz play-
er Donovan Mitchell will give the
keynote address for the University of
Utah’s 2021 commencement, the
school announced. The campuswide
commencement will take place virtu-
ally May 6. In-person college convo-
cations will be held May 5-8.
VERMONT Newport: Recent testing
returned no positive results for the
coronavirus in inmates or staffers for
the first time since an outbreak start-
ed at the Northern State Correctional
Facility in late February, the Depart-
ment of Corrections said Wednesday.
VIRGINIA Richmond: The Richmond
and Henrico health districts have
scheduled the first round of Phase 1c
COVID-19 vaccine events. Those eligi-
ble include workers in fields such as
energy, wastewater, construction,
food service, higher education, trans-
portation and legal services.
WASHINGTON Yakima: Just in time
for the asparagus harvest that will
employ large numbers of farm work-
ers, the federal government has
opened a mass vaccination center in
the center of the state’s agricultural
region. The site opened Wednesday
at the Central Washington State Fair
Park will administer close to 1,200
doses per day, according to the Feder-
al Emergency Management Agency.
WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: Gov. Jim
Justice announced 34 previously
unreported coronavirus deaths Wed-
nesday and for the first time pinned
blame on the Department of Health
and Human Resources for a data
issue that’s led to the late disclosure
of more than 200 deaths so far.
WISCONSIN Green Bay: Dozens of
high schools are playing football this
spring after opting out of the fall
season because of the pandemic. The
Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic
Association says about 250 high
schools played last fall, but over 100
are playing this spring, including
about 50 games this past weekend.
WYOMING Casper: Gov. Mark Gordon
is rejecting a call by President Joe
Biden for states to reimpose mask
orders in response to the coronavirus.
From USA TODAY Network and
wire reports
8D ❚ THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021 ❚ USA TODAY LIFE

Comparing the COVID-19 vaccines

Three vaccines are authorized for use in the United States and another two are coming soon.

KARINA ZAIETS, JENNIFER BORRESEN AND KAREN WEINTRAUB/USA TODAY

Which vaccines have

been authorized?
Dec. 11, 2020: Authorized
BioNTech

Moderna Dec. 18, 2020: Authorized

Johnson Feb. 27, 2021: Authorized

& Johnson

First half of April: The How many shots do Do we have 150

company announced
the results of the U.S.
I need to get? enough million
AstraZeneca- trial and will apply for
All the vaccines except the one from Johnson
vaccine to
Oxford FDA authorization
& Johnson require two shots to train the go around? -
Novavax April or early May: Expected BioNTech
President Joe Biden
to release results of its large coronavirus. 150
said in March that the
U.S. trial and then apply for U.S. will have enough million
FDA authorization The Centers for Disease Control and
vaccines for every
Prevention suggests getting the second shot
adult in the U.S. by Moderna
as close to the recommended dose schedule
the end of May.
What technology does as possible, but not earlier.
each vaccine use? Number of doses
200
million
Many vaccines use weakened or inactivated
versions or components of the disease-causing 328.2
Johnson
pathogen to stimulate the body’s immune million
& Johnson
response. However, the vaccines developed by Moderna

of messenger RNA (mRNA), which instructs cells Johnson & Johnson

to produce a protein on the surface of the virus. 150
The immune system recognizes those AstraZeneca-Oxford million
vaccine-triggered spike proteins as invaders Outside the U.S., 2 doses AstraZeneca-
8-12 weeks apart Oxford
and creates antibodies to block future attacks
of the virus that causes COVID-19. Novavax

adenovirus that can enter cells but can’t 2 6 10 14 18 22 26 30 50 Novavax

replicate inside them or cause illness. The million
Number of Days
US population Full vaccinations
delivers a spike protein, activating the immune purchased
system. What about safety
Moderna and side effects? Do some vaccines work
Serious side effects, allergic reactions or better than others?
adverse incidents stemming from the vaccines
are rare, though in clinical trials, mild to Public health experts emphasize that all the
moderate side effects were common. The most vaccines are effective, particularly at preventing
mRNA mRNA
common complaints were pain at the injection serious disease.
site, fatigue and aching muscles and joints.
Johnson AstraZeneca- Novavax Because trials were conducted differently at
People with a history of anaphylaxis or severe
& Johnson Oxford allergic reactions should inform health
directly compared.
professionals before they are vaccinated, and
anyone with an allergy to one of the vaccine's
ingredients should consult a health care vaccine was shown to prevent 95% of
provider before getting vaccinated. symptomatic COVID-19, just 1 percentage point
Nonreplicating Nonreplicating Protein-based
Ad26 viral vector chimp adenoviral recombinant more than Moderna's. Both vaccines appear to
vector nanoparticle How much do vaccines be equally protective across age groups and
racial and ethnic groups.
with an adjuvant
cost per dose?
The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine also uses an The J&J vaccine was shown to be 72% effective
$20 in moderate to severe disease and 85% effective
adenovirus, in this case a monkey virus that the
human immune system doesn't recognize. It Moderna $15 in preventing the most severe disease.
delivers the gene that encodes the spike
AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine was 76% effective
protein to human cells rather than the protein Johnson & Johnson $10
itself. at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 two weeks
AstraZeneca-Oxford $4 after the second dose and was 100% effective in
Novavax's vaccine works by delivering stopping severe disease and hospitalization in a
lab-grown spike proteins along with a Novavax $10 U.S.-based clinical trial, according to the
compound that attracts immune cells to the site company.
5 10 15 $20
of the injection. Figures are based on what the U.S. government paid for In a trial in the U.K., two doses of the Novavax
the initial doses, and may vary by country and over time. vaccine were shown to be nearly 90% effective
vaccine while the pandemic lasts. against symptomatic COVID-19, though just
Where is each 50% effective in a smaller South African trial.

vaccine developed?
How much has the U.S. spent on each?
Johnson & Johnson
Overall, the U.S. government has made vaccine deals totaling more than $9 billion with multiple
AstraZeneca-Oxford private companies, but the deals vary in size.

BioNTech Manufacturing
Moderna
First 100
Johnson & Johnson $1.95 million doses
Novavax Development Manufacturing
Moderna First 100
$.955 $1.5 million doses

Novavax are all U.S.-based companies. The J&J Development Manufacturing

vaccine was developed by researchers at Johnson & Johnson $.456 $1
Harvard University and in Leiden, Netherlands.
Moderna developed its vaccine in collaboration Development Manufacturing
with U.S. government scientists. The AstraZeneca-Oxford $.95 $1
AstraZeneca vaccine was developed by the
University of Oxford and its spinoff company, Development
Late-stage clinical trial
Vaccitech. BioNTech, a biotechnology company Novavax $1.6 and manufacturing

to test and produce its vaccine. .5 1 1.5 $2 $2.5 billion