Wayne Brady and his Black experience

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May 27, 2021

NEW YORK — For years Wayne Brady had been working on a one-man show about being a young Black man growing up in Orlando, but he could never finish the project.

That’s until acclaimed actor Glenn Close asked him to participate in her spoken word jazz album.

“To be honest with you, the reason it took me a couple of years was because it was so painful. Every time I’d go to it, I would start a draft and it got a little too real. I felt myself wanting to do the thing that you can do — whether you’re talking to a group of friends or whether you’re onstage — I’m going to now make this funny and I’m going to deflect. Or I’ll sidetrack or I’ll do something that takes away the weight because I don’t want to remember this,” Brady recalled.

“Glenn coming to me, that was the impetus of me saying, ‘You’re going to finish this and you’re going to finish this now. You’ve got to talk about this. You’ve got to share this.’”

That’s when the actor-comedian-singer crafted “A Piece by the Angriest Black Man in America (or, How I Learned to Forgive Myself for Being a Black Man in America).” It appears on “Transformation: Personal Stories of Change, Acceptance, and Evolution,” Close’s new album released this month.

“My heart was going a mile a minute … It’s really the first time that people will be hearing this piece of Wayne, this struggle of Wayne, that some people know and some people don’t,” said Brady, who recorded the track in front of a live audience at New York City’s Jazz at Lincoln Center.

“What I’m trying to do is move the needle a little bit because there is someone who may sit down and know Wayne Brady from ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ or looked at ‘Let’s Make a Deal’ or ‘I loved him on that sitcom or I loved him on this’ — they don’t know this story of pain is lurking there because I don’t share that. Well, I have come to share that to let you know maybe you’re skewed to what Black is or what Black isn’t.”

On “Angriest Black Man in America,” Brady tells his Black experience, beginning with a lighter-skinned Black person, Tessa Grady, saying to him during his young years: “You’s a Black, ugly mother(expletive).”

“It was just a fact. There was Black and then there was Blaaaaaaaaack,” Brady reads on the spoken word track. “I fit into the latter, dark as Black matter and hearing you pair Black and ugly together in that manner, made me feel like my type of Black life didn’t matter.”

On the poignant, eight-minute song, the performer continues to break down his life’s experiences, touching on topics like his hair and not wanting to play outside in the sun because he didn’t want to get darker to being called “one of the good ones” by white people.

Close told the AP she “was really moved by what Wayne Brady wrote. Very unexpected.” She invited Brady to perform on two more songs on her album, a collaborative project with Grammy-winning jazz musician and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra player Ted Nash.

“I had tears in my eyes,” Nash said after reading Brady’s original piece. “I had tears in my eyes for several reasons — first of all, that he was willing to share this with us and allow us to have him participate.” Nash added that one of his band players, who is Black, “came up to Wayne after we did one of the performances and he says, ‘Look, I have to just tell you that you just said the same thing that I have felt for so long about how I feel about myself.'”

“You don’t sometimes realize how people interpret what’s put to them,” Nash said. “And that was deep.”

Brady said he forgives Tessa Grady for the ill-words she spoke as a child and he plans to reach out to her since his song is out and widely available. He adds that he didn’t write the poem to “vilify her, I just use Tessa as the example of one of those self-codifying moments that form who you are as a person.”

“I had to deal with that person all my life up until I realized I needed to forgive myself for whatever — for how Black that I felt I was, or how not Black that I felt I was,” he continued. “Those things were holding me back. Especially at a point in our country’s development where race has always been on the table and it’s always been a fight, but now voices are demanding to be heard. I realized I needed to add my voice to that.”

Brady, 48, has won five Emmys for his roles across various TV shows, appeared on Broadway stages and even earned a Grammy nomination for his cover of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.” He said he’s been working on new music and he wants to continue to be a voice for people who look like him, especially with the platform he has.

“By the time I started getting on, around the time of ‘Who’s Line,’ I kind of fell into this narrative that was being written for me by some network people who didn’t want to see Black either. They wanted an amiable, shiny, Black face that could connect with their viewers, but we don’t necessarily have to talk about the Black experience. You’re Black but we don’t necessarily need all that ‘rah rah’ about it. Sure, and I was complicit because in my mind, I’m not going to talk about Blackness either, I’m going to kick ass and show everybody how amazing I am. And if I do that because of the talent that I have, then that will change the conversation of race,” he said. “It was very idealistic of me but super naïve and the world doesn’t work like that. If I would have used my platform even from the get-go, to be able to say, ‘I sit in my Blackness, that’s who I am and let’s go,’ that would have been a different thing.”

He added: “I think that I was part of a system where as long as you didn’t cause waves and as long as you smiled and you’re Black and you’re happy, great — versus, I’m Black, I’m going to smile and I’m going to be happy because I have a blessed life but I am also going to be very proud of my culture and my background, and I will not let you step on me about it.”

GOP senators propose $928B infrastructure plan to Biden

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The Associated Press

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May 27, 2021

WASHINGTON — Republican senators outlined a $928 billion infrastructure proposal Thursday, a counteroffer to President Joe Biden’s more sweeping plan as the two sides struggle to negotiate a bipartisan compromise and remain far apart on how to pay for the massive spending.

The Republican offer would increase spending by $91 billion on roads and bridges, $48 billion on water resources and $25 billion on airports, according to a one-page summary released by the GOP negotiators. It also would provide for one-time increases in broadband investments, at $65 billion, and $22 billion on rail.

Republicans have rejected Biden’s proposed corporate tax increase to pay for new investments, and instead want to shift unspent COVID-19 relief dollars to help cover the costs.

“It’s a serious effort to try to reach a bipartisan agreement,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, the lead GOP negotiator.

The Republican senators said their offer delivers on “core infrastructure investments” that Biden has focused on as areas of potential bipartisan agreement. But their overall approach is likely to be met with skepticism by Democrats and the White House.

With about $250 billion in new spending, their plan falls short of the more ambitious proposal outlined in the president’s American Jobs Plan. In earlier negotiations. Biden reduced his $2.3 trillion opening bid to $1.7 trillion.

Investing in infrastructure is a top legislative priority for Biden. Talks are at a crossroads before a Memorial Day deadline to make progress toward a bipartisan deal. The White House is assessing whether the president can strike the contours of an agreement with Republicans or whether he will try to go it alone with Democrats if no progress is made in the coming days.

Fun, foul-mouthed reunion for Turner, Douglas on ‘Kominsky’

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The Associated Press

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May 27, 2021

LOS ANGELES — Nearly four decades ago, “Romancing the Stone” introduced audiences to the crackling chemistry between Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.

Now at 76 and 66 years old, Douglas and Turner are back on screen together in the third and final season of Netflix’s “The Kominsky Method.” Despite the many years that have passed since their third and last film together, their reunion was seamless.

“Like riding a bicycle,” Douglas said over a video call earlier this week. “We’d look at each other, and there’s a lot of memories coming back.”

The Los Angeles-set “Kominsky Method” doesn’t place the pair in the same exotic locations as 1984’s “Romancing the Stone” or its sequel “Jewel of the Nile.” But it does include the type of caustic barbs from their last film together, 1989’s “The War of the Roses.”

It was with that in mind that Douglas thought to invite Turner to join “The Kominsky Method” in its second season to play his character’s sharp-tongued ex-wife, who’s introduced during a phone call. The idea came to Douglas immediately when creator/writer Chuck Lorre mentioned introducing an ex-wife to the show.

“I just smiled and I said, ‘This is ‘The War of the Roses’ revisited 30 years later,’” Douglas said. “We’ve already got our back stories and we’re all set.”

As in the film, Turner often uses R-rated terms when speaking to Douglas’ character, which never fails to delight her in real life.

“(There are) two times at least when she gets to go, ‘No, I’m f——- with you, a——!” Turner recalled, laughing. “It was just such fun. And he takes it very well, I have to say.”

Seeing the two of them act together again was “thrilling,” said Sarah Baker, who plays Douglas’ daughter in the show.

“I like to think of myself as the ‘Romancing the Stone’ baby,” she joked. “The chemistry is just there, that timing, the rapport between them. It’s the kind of thing, it’s very difficult to fake, so when you have that just inherently between you, we just got to sit back and watch and had a front-row seat, which was amazing.”

Paul Reiser, who plays Baker’s fiance, said he was struck by the uniqueness of Douglas’ and Turner’s relationship.

“There aren’t that many pairings of actors … There aren’t that many that you’ve seen repeatedly,” he said. “You’ve got De Niro and Pesci. Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. … You subconsciously have this history that the minute you see them. It almost breaks the frame in a good way. It makes what you’re watching seem a piece of what you’ve been watching for years. It’s a real treat to have that.”

Turner’s presence — along with an expanded role for Reiser and smaller parts for Oscar winners Morgan Freeman and Allison Janney — helps make up for the third season’s absence of Alan Arkin, who left the show after its second season. His banter with and needling of Douglas was pitch perfect and earned both men Emmy nominations.

“He was such an instrumental part of our success,” Douglas said. “It was a little bit of a risk … but I felt strong enough for the other characters.”

Douglas said he’s sad the show is ending but that he appreciates what it has taught him.

“One of the main reasons why I did it was just to kind of learn a little more about comedy and how you do it and your timing,” he said. “At this point in your career you kind of say, ‘What have you done? What haven’t you done?’”

The experience has been “a joy,” he said, pointing in particular to Reiser’s comedic timing and Lorre’s writing.

Douglas is ready for his next acting challenge. He is about to start filming on the third “Ant-Man,” which will be his first time performing in a movie using a green screen.

“I wanted to see what it was like,” he said.

His reunion with Turner gave both of them a chance to reflect on their early careers.

Turner recalled first meeting Douglas over Mexican food before filming “Romancing the Stone.”

“‘Oh, he’s very sexy,’” she recalls thinking of him. But she didn’t let that intimidate her. “He’s quite sure of what he wants. He’s quite focused and specific. So you just kind of go, ‘Uh huh, uh huh, OK.’ But then when you saw the work: ‘I need to be a full partner.’ And he understood and respected that.”

After that, the two of them “went through a lot.”

From mountainous muddy roads in Mexico to oppressive desert heat in Africa, filming their first two films was a true adventure. “The War of the Roses” also had its challenges, despite 90% of the film taking place in a house.

Turner said she and Douglas recently had a laugh about the film’s famous last scene, in which their warring characters become precariously stuck on a giant chandelier. The actors had to sit in the chandelier for hours and hours over the course of two weeks to get all the shots.

“It was very painful,” Turner said. “Continuity loved it because all you had to do was lie down on the line of the bruises, you know? The arms, you just lined up the bruises, and then you were in the right position … That was a real test of many things.”

Turner also continues to challenge herself with new experiences, developing a one-woman cabaret show, “Finding My Voice,” which got rave reviews and repeatedly sold out in New York, London and other cities between 2017 and 2020.

“I now sing, baby!” said Turner in her trademark smoky voice. “It’s one more thing I haven’t done yet, so why not?”

Turner is currently filming an independent musical romance called “The Swearing Jar” in Canada.

As for her time on “The Kominsky Method,” Turner said it was a no-brainer.

“All I had to do was really sort of fit into the whole thing,” she said. “It was already working … And Michael is my friend. You know, we’re just, ‘Whoa, it’s you.’”

Czechs name Sadílek for Euro 2020 after Kúdela loses appeal

By

The Associated Press

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May 27, 2021

PRAGUE — Defensive midfielder Michal Sadílek was named to the Czech Republic squad for the European Championship on Thursday after UEFA upheld a 10-game ban for defender Ondřej Kúdela for racially abusing an opponent.

Czech Republic coach Jaroslav Šilhavý announced a list of 25 players on Tuesday, one less than the number allowed by UEFA. The final place was meant for Kúdela, who was appealing his ban.

But the governing body of European soccer dismissed that appeal on Wednesday, having previously found the Slavia Prague defender guilty of shouting a racial slur at Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara during a Europa League game in Glasgow in March.

The ruling means Kúdela will be suspended for 10 games in UEFA competitions, including for club and country.

The 21-year-old Sadílek has yet to play a game for the national team. He spent last season on loan from PSV Eindhoven at Czech provincial club Liberec. He played for his country at the under-21 European Championship earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Kúdela announced on Thursday he will challenge the ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The appeal, however, won’t be completed in time for him to play in next month’s tournament.

The Czechs will take on Scotland in Glasgow in their Group D opener on June 14.

“I’m sorry to miss the Euro but I want to clear my name,” Kúdela said. “So, the fight goes on.”

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Tomáš Vaclík (Sevilla), Jiří Pavlenka (Werder Bremen), Aleš Mandous (Olomouc)

Defenders: Jan Bořil (Slavia Prague), Jakub Brabec (Viktoria Plzeň), Vladimír Coufal (West Ham), Ondřej Čelůstka (Sparta Prague), Pavel Kadeřábek (Hoffenheim), Tomáš Kalas (Bristol City), Aleš Matějů (Brescia), David Zima (Slavia Prague)

Midfielders: Antonín Barák (Hellas Verona), Vladimír Darida (Hertha Berlin), Adam Hložek (Sparta Prague), Tomáš Holeš (Slavia Prague), Jakub Jankto (Sampdoria), Alex Král (Spartak Moscow), Lukáš Masopust (Slavia Prague), Jakub Pešek (Slovan Liberec), Tomáš Souček (West Ham), Petr Ševčík (Slavia Prague), Michal Sadílek (PSV Eindhoven)

Forwards: Michael Krmenčík (Club Brugge), Tomáš Pekhart (Legia Warsaw), Patrik Schick (Bayer Leverkusen), Matěj Vydra (Burnley)

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

EURO 2020: Winners and losers from the 1-year delay

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The Associated Press

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May 27, 2021

Pushing the European Championship back a year because of the coronavirus pandemic has given some teams a chance to rebuild or integrate new players. Others have had their squads hit by injuries and retirements.

Here’s a look at the winners and losers from the Euro 2020 delay:

WINNERS

ENGLAND

Gareth Southgate has used the last 12 months to integrate up-and-coming players into the national team. Midfielder Phil Foden looks at home since making his debut in September and had an excellent season with Manchester City. Chelsea defender Reece James and Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham have also settled in. England relied heavily on striker Harry Kane at the 2018 World Cup even after it became clear he was fatigued, but this season has given Southgate time to experiment with other options. Strikers Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Ollie Watkins and Mason Greenwood were all untried a year ago, as was winger Jack Grealish.

PORTUGAL

The extra year has given Portugal a chance to plan for a future without Cristiano Ronaldo, even as he aims to break the record of 109 international goals in men’s soccer. Before the pandemic hit, Diogo Jota was a Wolverhampton player who had played only 26 minutes for his country. Now he’s a regular for Liverpool and his national team with six goals in 12 international games. João Félix is settling in, too. At the back, Rúben Dias is more assured after his first season at Manchester City. That helps to reduce the reliance on 38-year-old defender Pepe. Portugal will be defending a title in won in 2016 after riding its luck with only one victory in 90 minutes all tournament, and will need to be in top form against France and Germany in the group stage.

TURKEY

Lots of potential, but without the results to match. That’s been the story of Turkish soccer since a golden decade in the 2000s when the national team reached the semifinals at the 2002 World Cup and the 2008 European Championship. Things are looking up again. A 4-2 win over the Netherlands in World Cup qualifying in March showed a team which can keep up with Europe’s elite. Turkey followed up by keeping Erling Haaland quiet in a 3-0 win over Norway. The last 12 months have seen defender Ozan Kabak make the step up from Schalke to Liverpool, while Çağlar Söyüncü won the FA Cup with Leicester. Two Turkish players were key to Lille winning the French title, with 35-year-old striker Burak Yilmaz scoring 16 goals and Zeki Çelik a regular at right back.

LOSERS

NETHERLANDS

Last year, the future looked bright for a Dutch team formed around the young Ajax squad which reached the Champions League semifinals in 2019. The likes of Matthijs de Ligt and Donny van de Beek had moved to top European clubs and the Netherlands was unbeaten in six games, including a 4-2 win over Germany. It’s been downhill since. Defender Virgil van Dijk seriously injured his right knee and won’t return in time for Euro 2020. Coach Ronald Koeman didn’t wait for the postponed tournament and moved to Barcelona in August, replaced by Frank de Boer. And the Netherlands has won only five of 11 games since the pandemic began.

CROATIA

The postponement of Euro 2020 means Croatia will have to do without Ivan Rakitić. The 33-year-old midfielder retired from international soccer last year, shortly after he had left Barcelona and signed for Sevilla. Age is catching up with some key players who took Croatia to the World Cup final in 2018, with Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modrić now 35. Since international soccer resumed amid the pandemic in September, Croatia has lost twice each to France and Portugal, once to Sweden and in March posted a shocking 1-0 loss to neighbor Slovenia.

RUSSIA

The 2018 World Cup hosts had the highest average age of any European team at that tournament, but that didn’t stop them from reaching the quarterfinals on home soil. The core of coach Stanislav Cherchesov’s team remains much the same in 2021. At the age of 37, Yuri Zhirkov has played 10 of Russia’s last 11 games on the left flank, even though he played only half of Zenit St. Petersburg’s league games. Russia cruised through Euro 2020 qualifying before the pandemic hit but found things tougher when play resumed. A 5-0 loss to Serbia in November came as a particular shock.

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

EURO 2020: A look at some of the tournament’s top coaches

By

The Associated Press

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May 27, 2021

ROME — The last two World Cup winners, the defending European champion, and a World Cup finalist. Not to mention a Champions League winner and a Premier League champion. There is no shortage of accomplished coaches at the European Championship.

A brief look at six of the top coaches in the tournament:

JOACHIM LÖW (Germany)

Löw has coached more games at the European Championship (17 spread over three editions) and won more matches (11) than any coach in tournament history. While he can add to those numbers this year, Löw has already announced that he will step down after the tournament. Löw has been in charge for nearly 200 games — the most memorable being a 7-1 thrashing of Brazil in the 2014 World Cup semifinals. Germany then beat Argentina to win the World Cup. But Germany finished last in its group at the 2018 World Cup and Löw has since gone back on a decision to drop experienced players Thomas Müller and Mats Hummels. Expectations are low for this Germany time.

DIDIER DESCHAMPS (France)

Deschamps captained France to titles at the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship and is now looking to complete a similar double as coach of Les Bleus after guiding the team to the 2018 World Cup title. Deschamps could have been chasing a third consecutive title if his team had not lost the 2016 European Championship final to Portugal. Deschamps, who took over France in 2012, previously coached Monaco, Juventus (in Serie B) and Marseille. France is a favorite for another title.

FERNANDO SANTOS (Portugal)

Santos coached Portugal to the European title in 2016 then also won the inaugural UEFA Nations League with a squad led by Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s one of five coaches to have led two different teams at the European Championship after being in charge of Greece in 2012. His career as a club coach has also gone back and forth between Portugal and Greece with stints at Porto, AEK Athens, Panathinaikos, Sporting Lisbon, Benfica and PAOK. Portugal is not expected to repeat its 2016 success.

ZLATKO DALIĆ (Croatia)

Dalić is the rare European coach who made a name for himself in the Middle East. A former midfielder who never represented his country, Dalić coached Al-Hilal to the Saudi Crown Prince Cup then reached the Asian Champions League final with Al-Ain. Croatian soccer federation president Davor Šuker has acknowledged that it was a gamble hiring Dalić in 2017. But the gamble paid off immediately when Dalić guided Croatia to the 2018 World Cup final. Duplicating the success of 2018 would be a surprise.

LUIS ENRIQUE (Spain)

Having won just about everything as coach of Barcelona, including the Champions League, Luis Enrique is still looking to leave his mark with Spain. He left the Spain job for five months in 2019 to be with his 9-year-old daughter, Xana, who died of a type of bone cancer. Now he’s attempting to make Spain the first four-time European champion and he’s going to do it without any Real Madrid players — marking a first for Spain at a major tournament. “Lucho,” as the coach is known, decided to drop Sergio Ramos following a season in which the veteran defender was plagued by injuries. Spain is considered an outside contender.

ROBERTO MANCINI (Italy)

A former star forward for Italy, a Serie A champion as both player and coach, and a Premier League winner as manager of Manchester City, Mancini guided Italy to a perfect 10 wins in 10 qualifying matches. He was tasked with reviving an Azzurri squad that failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and has already been given a contract extension through the 2026 World Cup. A four-time World Cup champion, Italy’s lone European Championship title came in 1968. A title isn’t expected of Italy this time.

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Governor wants Indiana state employees in offices in July

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The Associated Press

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May 27, 2021

INDIANAPOLIS — Gov. Eric Holcomb wants all state employees to return to the office by early July.

The transition from a March 2020 stay-at-home order starts with senior staff who must return by June 7. Other employees should spend at least 50% of their time at the office by June 21 and return full-time by July 6, the Indianapolis Star reported.

“We work better together, and build more solid and collaborative teams, when we can have regular face-to-face conversations,” Holcomb said in an email Wednesday “Returning to the office means the impromptu discussions that so often lead to innovation will be happening again with more frequency and energy.”

The state will offer a vaccination clinic at the Indiana Government Center in Indianapolis on June 21-22. More than 2.4 million Indiana residents were considered to be fully vaccinated by Wednesday.

EURO 2020: Record-seeking Ronaldo highlights list of stars

By

The Associated Press

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May 27, 2021

MADRID — Cristiano Ronaldo has a chance to become the all-time top scorer with a national team. Kylian Mbappé will attempt to lead France to a second consecutive major title. Robert Lewandowski hopes to keep thriving after winning the player of the year award.

Ronaldo, Mbappé and Lewandowski will be among some of the players to watch at this year’s European Championship, along with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Harry Kane, Bruno Fernandes, Eden Hazard and Antoine Griezmann.

RONALDO’S QUEST

At 36, Ronaldo is getting closer to bidding farewell to Portugal’s national team. Before ending his run, though, he will try to add yet another record to his name.

Ronaldo is six goals away from tying the all-time scoring record for a men’s national team. The record of 109 goals is held by former Iran striker Ali Daei, the only other male soccer player to surpass the 100-goal milestone.

Ronaldo will have a chance to add to his tally before Euro 2020 in warm-up matches against Spain and Israel. The defending European champions will start their title defense against Hungary before playing Germany and France in a tough Group F.

The Juventus forward has scored for Portugal in every calendar year since his first international goal in 2004.

Another Portugal player to watch at Euro 2020 will be Fernandes, the talented playmaker who has thrived since joining Manchester United last year.

LEADER MBAPPÉ

As a teenager, Mbappé was one of the sensations of the 2018 World Cup while helping France win the title. Three years later, he could take up a more prominent leading role while trying to help “Les Blues” succeed at Euro 2020.

Mbappé shared the team’s leading role in Russia along with Griezmann, but he could take center stage this time having a few more years of experience with Paris Saint-Germain and with Griezmann coming off a lackluster season with Barcelona.

Mbappé had a strong finish to his season, scoring nine goals in the last eight PSG games. He finished with 11 more goals than last season.

LEWANDOWSKI’S RUN

Robert Lewandowski’s goals and outstanding performances with Bayern Munich last season helped him take the player of the year award. Now he will try to repeat his success with Poland on the international stage.

Lewandowski’s season has been just as impressive as it was in 2019-20, and he is on an incredible scoring run of 22 goals in his last 14 matches for club and country. He scored at least a goal in every match during that streak.

CAPTAIN KANE

No one scored more goals than Kane in qualifying for Euro 2020. The England captain had 12 goals in qualifying matches, along with five assists. He had one goal more than both Ronaldo and Israel forward Eran Zahavi.

The Tottenham forward also was the top scorer at the last World Cup, and the top scorer in this season’s Premier League with 23 goals.

Kane has scored 34 goals since his England debut in 2015 and is on course to break Wayne Rooney’s national team record of 53 goals.

PLAYMAKER DE BRUYNE

De Bruyne was crucial again in helping Manchester City win another Premier League title, and Belgium will also need him to be at his best to contend for the European title.

De Bruyne succeeded in carrying the playmaking role with Man City, setting up 11 goals to see him reach double figures for assists for the fourth time in six seasons.

He may potentially get some help from Hazard, who was doubtful to play had the tournament happened last year. The Real Madrid forward continued to be marred by injuries but was healthy toward the end of this season and could be a surprise at the postponed Euro 2020.

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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Belarus stripped of European track cycling championships

By

The Associated Press

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May 27, 2021

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Belarus was stripped of hosting next month’s European track cycling championships on Thursday amid an international furor after a passenger jet was diverted to Minsk so a dissident journalist could be arrested.

The European Cycling Union cited the “current international situation” for canceling the event in Minsk scheduled from June 23-27. Organizers are looking for a replacement venue.

European Union leaders called the airplane incident a state-sponsored hijacking. Belarus has been in turmoil since authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory last August in a disputed presidential election.

The EU advised member countries’ airlines this week to avoid Belarus airspace and barred the former Soviet republic’s planes from their airports and airspace.

A Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania was told by flight controllers, citing a bomb threat, to land in Minsk on Sunday. A passenger, 26-year-old activist Raman Pratasevich, was taken from the plane.

Cycling officials said they are “working on finding an alternative solution” to stage the track championships.

More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Rokita weighs in against IU’s vaccination mandate

By

The Associated Press

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May 27, 2021

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The state attorney general is attacking Indiana University’s decision to require proof of COVID-19 vaccinations from all students and employees as illegal under a new state law banning the state or local governments from issuing or requiring vaccine passports.

That advisory opinion issued late Wednesday afternoon, however, contradicts a top Republican legislative leader who said he didn’t believe the law adopted last month applied to public universities or K-12 schools.

The opinion from Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office, which is not binding, maintains that Indiana’s public universities are created by state law and that court rulings have determined them to be “arms of the state.” The opinion said the new law applies to universities since the legislature didn’t exempt them.

The attorney general’s opinion comes a day after 19 Republican legislators sent a protest letter to Gov. Eric Holcomb asking him to prohibit any state university from mandating vaccines that don’t have full U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.

IU officials announced Friday that COVID-19 vaccinations will be required for the fall semester on all of its campuses.

The university said its order is aimed at prioritizing the safety of employees and the some 90,000 students on its seven campuses while providing a more typical college experience, with full attendance at in-person classes, athletic and other events.

“The policy mandating the vaccine reiterates that we are not requiring a vaccine ‘passport’; with everyone vaccinated, that would be unnecessary,” an IU statement said.

Republican legislators last month pushed through the ban on COVID-19 vaccine passports, a move that came as conservatives across the country portray them as a heavy-handed intrusion into personal freedom and private health choices.

Rokita emphasized that objection in a statement about the opinion.

“Indiana University’s policy clearly runs afoul of state law — and the fundamental liberties and freedoms this legislation was designed to protect,” Rokita said.

The new law states that “the state or a local unit may not issue or require an immunization passport.”

It makes no mentions of educational institutions and Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray said on the day it was approved that he didn’t believe it applied to public universities or K-12 schools.

“I looked at it as state, county, local governments,” Bray said.

For more on this story, see Friday’s Republic.