The Washington Post - USA (2022-01-19)

A forgotten past More enslaved Africans

landed at Rio’s Valongo Wharf than anywhere

else. Now, neglect imperils that history. A

In the News

THE NATION Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suggested the creation of a special police force to oversee elections and arrest suspected violators. A AT&T and Verizon agreed to limit the roll- out of new 5G networks near airports amid federal and aviation indus- try concerns. A

THE WORLD Airstrikes in Yemen killed more than a dozen people in

r etaliation for a deadly attack on the United Arab Emirates. A As the world responds to Tonga’s volcanic dis- aster, the archipelago nation hopes to avert a “tsunami of covid.” A

THE ECONOMY BlackRock’s Larry Fink defended his investment firm’s push to hold com- panies accountable for environmental and so- cial progress but said businesses are not “ climate police.” A

THE REGION A showdown over masking in Virginia schools is brewing be- tween G ov. Glenn Youngkin and districts rejecting his executive order declaring face c overings optional. B Paul J. Wiedefeld, Metro’s general manager since 2015, has announced that he will retire this summer. B Ten attorneys general asked a federal court to reverse a judge’s dismissal of the man- slaughter case against two Park Police officers

who fatally shot an un- armed motorist i n Fair- fax County in 2017. B Librarians said they are overwhelmed as l ibraries now are a community focal point amid the pandemic. B Antiabortion activists said they are optimistic that Friday’s March for Life will be the last one to take place while Roe v. Wade stands. B

OBITUARIES Charles McGee, 102, a barrier-breaking Tuskegee Airman, flew combat missions i n three wars. B

Inside

BRUNA PRADO/ASSOCIATED PRESS BUSINESS NEWS.......................A COMICS.......................................C OPINION PAGES.........................A LOTTERIES...................................B OBITUARIES................................B TELEVISION.................................C WORLD NEWS............................A

FOOD No less spirit D.C.’s leading mixologist is making cocktails that don’t rely on booze. E

STYLE New series’s ABCs For “Abbott Elementary,” Quinta Brunson turned to mom for inspiration. C

฀

In rural Michigan, a shared covid experience

50 Plus Club has kept people connected, but it hasn’t been insulated from worst of the pandemic

ABCDE

Prices may vary in areas outside metropolitan Washington. SU V1 V2 V3 V

Mostly cloudy 49/38 • Tomorrow: Rain, snow 38/19 B8 Democracy Dies in Darkness WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19 , 2022. $

BY DEVLIN BARRETT, MATT ZAPOTOSKY, JACK DOUGLAS AND WILLIAM BOOTH

The British gunman who took
four hostages inside a Te xas syna-
gogue was in contact with an-
other individual in the United
States before launching the kid-
napping, according to officials
who spoke on the condition of
anonymity because the investiga-
tion is in its early stages. But so
far investigators do not believe
that second person was involved
in the plot, which ended when
the hostage-taker was shot by
FBI agents.
Malik Faisal Akram, 44, had
been known to security officials
in Britain, two other officials told
The Washington Post. The BBC
reported Tuesday that MI5, Brit-
ain’s counterintelligence and
s ecurity agency, investigated
Akram in 2020 and had him on a
watch list as a “subject of inter-
est” but concluded that he no
longer posed a threat. Britain’s
Home Office declined to com-
ment.
FBI agents, who are investigat-
SEE SYNAGOGUE ON A

G unman’s

activity,

contacts

examined

He made several calls to a person in the U.S. before synagogue attack

BY JOHN HUDSON AND LOVEDAY MORRIS

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet Russian For- eign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva on Friday in an effort to resolve the standoff over Ukraine, with U.S. officials warn- ing that a Russian invasion could be imminent. The meeting will follow a week of intense diplomacy as the top U.S. diplomat heads to Ukraine and Germany for discussions on the crisis, the State Department said. Adding urgency to Blinken’s talks is Russia’s fresh deployment of troops to Belarus to conduct major military exercises that will further strengthen the number of Russian forces along Ukraine’s border. The troop movements, cou- pled with statements from Mos- cow that it was unsatisfied with meetings held with U.S., Euro- pean and NATO officials last week to address its security concerns, have had some officials in Washington fearing the worst. “We’re now at a stage where SEE UKRAINE ON A

Ukraine

invasion

seen as

looming

U.S., RUSSIA TO M EET TO END STANDOFF

Blinken, allies will confer on potential response

BY DAN DIAMOND

President Biden entered office
a year ago this week, staking his
presidency on defeating the cor-
onavirus pandemic with a battle
plan hailed for its scope and
specificity.
“Our nation continues to ex-
perience the darkest days of the
pandemic,” the White House de-
clared in its national pandemic
strategy, released Jan. 21, 2021,
Biden’s first full day as president.
“Businesses are closing, hospi-
tals are full, and families are
saying goodbye to their loved
ones remotely.”
Yet after a period when Biden’s
vaccination focus appeared to be
paying off, many of those prob-
lems have roared back as the delta
variant, and then omicron, tore
across the country. Once again,
doctors and nurses are pleading
for relief, as hospitalizations set
SEE BIDEN ON A

BIDEN’S FIRST YEAR

A struggle

to deliver on

key promises

in covid plan

Insiders say more action is needed on testing, risk guidance, real-time data

HELYNN OSPINA FOR THE WASHINGTON POST After the Taliban took power, some women tried to push back. Aliya, 2 7, felt her past life slipping away.

Four women’s eyes are

a window on Taliban rule

Nothing is truly the same in Afghanistan for many women whose lives were turned inside out last summer. The spaces that were once theirs in Kabul and other cities — classrooms, jobs, even the streets themselves — are no longer in their hands. The Ta liban is now in charge. Story, A12-

NICK KING FOR THE WASHINGTON POST Janice Burtch, left, talks with Lanny and Bill Hathaway in Lewiston, Mich., about how she is doing since the death of her husband, Danny. He died of covid-19 late last year.

BY KAYLA RUBLE

lewiston, mich. — The conver- sation at the card table inside the Lewiston 50 Plus Club turned one recent afternoon to the coronavi- rus pandemic, as it had so many times the past two years. Just days earlier, the club’s president — and one of its most devoted euchre players, Danny Burtch — died of c ovid-19 after a w eeks-long bout with the virus. Burtch was the 40th person claimed by covid-19 in sparsely populated Montmorency County, in the backwoods of northern Michigan. The grief has hit partic- ularly hard at the 50 Plus Club, knocked down in so many ways during the pandemic. Members falling ill. Shutdowns causing the club to shutter. Staff run ragged keeping the center safe for the vulnerable people who congre- gate there. SEE VIRUS ON A

BY MIKHAIL KLIMENTOV, SHANNON LIAO, RACHEL LERMAN AND CAT ZAKRZEWSKI

Microsoft on Tuesday announced it is buying embattled video game publisher Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, a his- toric d eal that consolidates under the tech giant’s roof an increas- ingly wide range of businesses delivering everyday technol- ogies. Microsoft announced in a blog post Tuesday it would a cquire the video game publisher behind hit franchises Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Overwatch and Candy Crush. Activision Blizzard has come under fire in recent months from public allegations of gender discrimination and sexual ha- rassment, as well as worker strikes — all of which increase the risks for Microsoft’s biggest ac- quisition ever. Buying Activision would add power to Microsoft’s already SEE MICROSOFT ON A

Microsoft

to acquire

Call of Duty

publisher

Its $ 68.7 billion play f or Activision Blizzard will draw antitrust scrutiny

Synagogue security: Training
helped Texas hostages escape. A

Covid centers: D.C. will open eight
as the regional death rate rises. B