2B
L awrence J ournal -W orld - USA TODAY WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016
VOICES
This soggy Alaska runway is speaking to us Trevor Hughes @trevorhughes USA TODAY
WALES , ALASKA Standing on the suddenly melted runway that was our link to the outside world, I’m getting a first-hand look at how climate change is affecting life on the edge of America. The gravel runway at Wales has been frozen hard all winter long — solid ground to land small planes on. But an almostovernight thaw has turned the hard-packed gravel into a sticky, muddy mess. Until it dries out, the runway is officially off limits. That may take 10 days. Overnight, our link to the outside world had been severed. Now, while thaws like this happen every year, they usually occur a month later. And although the warmer days are a welcome change from months of frigid temperatures, there’s cause for greater concern. “The weather has changed a lot,” says Clyde Oxereok, 57. Oxereok isn’t a climate scientist. He’s a ninth-generation resident of the village that looks
TREVOR HUGHES, USA TODAY
World Wildlife Fund worker Elisabeth Kruger places a GoPro camera into the Bering Sea to record whale noises while Wales, Alaska, native Clyde Oxereok holds her feet. across the Bering Strait to Russia. A lifelong hunter accustomed to eating walrus, whale and seal, he’s finely attuned to the natural world. The things he’s telling me are a little scary, when combined with the reporting I’ve already done across Alaska. Last summer, the state had its second-worst wildfire season in history, and this year’s summer is shaping up to be one
Last year, some of his friends said they’d found grasshoppers on the tundra. Grasshoppers. Near the Arctic Circle. of the hottest on record. This spring, I’ve come to
Wales to see how the Inupiat residents of the mainland’s westernmost village are adapting to climate change. Experts say places like Wales are among the most susceptible to long-term changes in weather because they’re most connected with natural cycles. In Wales, the rise in global temperatures means the sea ice that normally fronts the village for half the year is melting earlier and earlier. That bears many consequences. It means residents of Little Diomede Island, in the Bering Strait, can no longer consistently land small planes on frozen ocean in front of their village. Now, they largely depend on a helicopter that can land only in good weather. Last year, the helicopter couldn’t land for six weeks, and the 110-person island ran out of toilet paper. The weaker ice is also affecting polar bears, which normally prowl the edges hunting seals. Forced to swim longer distances between ice floes, cubs often drown, and federal scientists are alarmed by the drop in the polar bear populations. Experts say there could be as few as 25,000 of these iconic animals living worldwide. To help protect the polar bears, the villagers in Wales are
Heidi M. Przybyla USA TODAY
CHARLESTON, W.VA .
Bernie Sanders was declared the winner of the Indiana primary Tuesday, but Hillary Clinton was already looking ahead to the general election, and Sanders’ victory was not enough to change her trajectory toward the Democratic nomination. Sanders, a Vermont senator, insists his goal remains to win the party’s presidential nomination, even if it appears to be mathematically out of reach. Democrats distribute delegates proportionately in all states, so the only way for Sanders to close Clinton’s delegate lead is to win all future contests by huge margins and persuade many superdelegates — party leaders and elected officials free to support either candidate — to switch
their votes to him, even in states Clinton won. Speaking in Louisville on Tuesday night, Sanders said, “In primary after primary, caucus after caucus, we end up winning the vote of people 45 years of age and younger,” proving that “the ideas that we are fighting for are the ideas of the future of America and the future of the Democratic Party.” He later issued a statement saying: “The Clinton campaign thinks this campaign is over. They’re wrong. Maybe it’s over for the insiders and the party establishment, but the voters in Indiana had a different idea. ... It isn’t over for voters in California and all the other states with contests still to come.” Sanders also said he would like to debate Clinton in California ahead of the June 7 primary there. But Clinton was looking past
Kasich says he’ll continue push for open convention v CONTINUED FROM 1B
Cruz had indicated earlier in the day that he would stay in the Republican race even if he lost Indiana, and his campaign announced appearances this week in Nebraska and Washington. But he told backers in Indiana he would continue only “as long as there was a viable path” to the nomination. “Tonight, I’m sorry to say it appears that path has been foreclosed,” Cruz said. Trump is trying to unite Republicans behind his candidacy, even as he faces criticism from current and past rivals as well as a variety of “Never Trump” organizations. Katie Packer, who chairs an anti-Trump group called the Our Principles PAC, indicated it would not give up despite the Indiana results, noting that Trump is still short of the delegate majority he needs. “A substantial number of delegates remain up for grabs in this highly unpredictable year,” she said. There is “more time for Trump to continue to disqualify himself in the eyes of voters — as he did yet again today, spreading absurd tabloid lies about Ted Cruz’s father and the JFK assassination.” Indiana marks Trump’s seventh win in a row, a streak that
Cruz had indicated earlier in the day that he would stay in the Republican race even if he lost Indiana, and his campaign announced appearances this week in Nebraska and Washington. began in his home state of New York on April 19. After winning five more Northeastern states last week, Trump declared himself the “presumptive nominee.” Cruz, who last defeated Trump in Wisconsin nearly a month ago, had high hopes for Indiana, a state with many conservative voters, but his campaign struggled. Former House speaker John Boehner, one of many GOP lawmakers who dislike Cruz, described the Texas senator as “Lucifer in the flesh,” and critics in the basketball-crazy Hoosier State mocked Cruz for describing a hoop as a “ring.” Cruz had hoped to energize his campaign by naming businesswoman Carly Fiorina as his potential running mate. The move did not generate many votes in the Indiana primary.
Hughes is USA TODAY’s Denver-based correspondent.
Defense chief blasts Russia’s aggression, ‘saber rattling’
Clinton keeps her focus on November Sanders wins Indiana, but victory means little in march toward the Democratic nomination
working with the World Wildlife Fund to patrol their community with air horns and noisemakers. They hope to scare the bears away from kids walking to and from school in the long dark winter, instead of simply just killing them from a safe distance. It seems like a small thing, but with so few polar bears left alive, literally every bear matters. For residents of Wales, the polar bears are an integral part of the natural world — and that natural world is changing around them. Oxereok, a Cold War-era veteran, has left Alaska only twice in his 57 years, once for a high school trip and then again for basic training in Georgia. He’s seen plenty of polar bears, but many of the animals and insects native to the Lower 48 never make it this far north. Well, they never used to. But last year, some of his friends in a nearby village said they’d found grasshoppers on the tundra. Grasshoppers. Near the Arctic Circle. “Sure enough, they showed me a hopper crossing the road,” Oxereok told me. “I’d never seen a grasshopper in Alaska.”
JOE RAEDLE, GETTY IMAGES
Hillary Clinton’s aim in Appalachia was to reach out to underserved communities.
him. “I’m really focused on moving into the general election ... We’re going to have a tough campaign,” Clinton said during an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday. After Sen. Ted Cruz dropped out of the GOP race Tuesday night, Clinton’s campaign released a statement from chairman John Podesta focused only on Donald Trump, now the presumptive Republican nominee. “Throughout this campaign, Donald Trump has demonstrated that he’s too divisive and lacks the temperament to lead our nation and the free world,” he wrote. “While Donald Trump seeks to bully and divide Americans, Hillary Clinton will unite us to create an economy that works for everyone.” Contributing: Paul Singer
DELEGATE TOTALS Delegate totals below include available results from Tuesday and previous voting.
Delegates Total delegates
2,472
Needed to nominate Delegates remaining
1,237 571
Individual totals through Tuesday Donald Trump 1,047 Ted Cruz John Kasich
565 153
Indiana primary 57 delegates 4,600 of 5,374 precincts - 86% Candidate x-Donald Trump Ted Cruz
Votes
Pct. Del.
542,874 53% 375,057 37%
John Kasich 77,068 Source: The Associated Press
8%
51 0 0
DELEGATE TOTALS Delegate totals below include available results from Tuesday, previous voting and "superdelegates" that include party officials.
Delegates Total delegates
4,765
Needed to nominate Delegates remaining
2,383 1243
Individual totals through Tuesday Hillary Clinton 2,201 Bernie Sanders
1,399
Indiana primary 92 delegates 4,600 of 5,374 precincts - 86% Candidate x-Bernie Sanders Hillary Clinton
Votes
Pct. Del.
295,379 53% 261,169 47%
Source: The Associated Press
42 36
We will defend allies and rules-based global order, he says Jim Michaels @jimmichaels USA TODAY
STUTTGART, GERMANY Defense Secretary Ashton Carter delivered a stern message Tuesday to Russia: The country has violated international norms with its aggressive actions and “saber rattling.” “Russia has in recent years appeared intent to erode the principled international order that has served us, our friends and allies, the international community, and Russia itself so well for so long,” Carter said. The Defense secretary made the remarks at a change of command ceremony at the headquarters of U.S. European Command, where Air Force Gen. Phillip Breedlove is completing his tour as head of the command. He was replaced by Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, who will also become NATO’s supreme allied commander Europe. Russia’s aggressive actions have drawn concerns from the region, particularly Eastern European countries that were once behind the Iron Curtain and remain fearful of Russia’s ambitions. Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine and annexed it, continues to support separatists in eastern Ukraine, and has allowed its aircraft to fly dangerously close to U.S. naval vessels and planes operating in international waters in the Baltic Sea. Russian President Vladimir Putin also has extended his military’s reach in the Middle East, where Russian aircraft and military advisers are supporting the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad in a civil war against rebel forces that include some U.S.-backed groups. Russia’s behavior and bellicose talk also raises worries about its huge nuclear arsenal and commitment to a policy of deterrence, which has kept the peace for decades, Carter said. “Moscow’s nuclear saber-rattling” poses questions about “their respect for norms against the use of nuclear weapons, and whether they respect the profound caution that nuclear-age leaders showed with regard to brandishing nuclear weapons,” he said. The United States has taken a number of steps to boost support for European allies and deter further Russian aggression. The Pentagon has budgeted $3.4 billion for next year, an increase from $789 million requested last year, to add a fourth
AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter
combat brigade in Europe, increase training with allies and position equipment in Europe. “We do not seek to make Russia an enemy,” Carter said. “But make no mistake, we will defend our allies, the rules-based international order and the positive future it affords us.” For senior officers who served in the military during the Cold War, the U.S. shift toward blunting Russian aggression brings a sense of déjà vu. “My career started here in a Cold War trying to keep the peace,” said Breedlove, who was commissioned in 1977. “I think my career is ending here trying to prevent a Cold War and continue to keep the peace.” Corrections & Clarifications USA TODAY is committed to accuracy. To reach us, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones at 800-8727073 or e-mail accuracy@usatoday.com. Please indicate whether you’re responding to content online or in the newspaper.
PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER
John Zidich
EDITOR IN CHIEF
David Callaway CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER
Kevin Gentzel
7950 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, Va. 22108, 703-854-3400 Published by Gannett The local edition of USA TODAY is published daily in partnership with Gannett Newspapers Advertising: All advertising published in USA TODAY is subject to the current rate card; copies available from the advertising department. USA TODAY may in its sole discretion edit, classify, reject or cancel at any time any advertising submitted. National, Regional: 703-854-3400 Reprint permission, copies of articles, glossy reprints: www.GannettReprints.com or call 212-221-9595 USA TODAY is a member of The Associated Press and subscribes to other news services. USA TODAY, its logo and associated graphics are registered trademarks. All rights reserved.