Revel starts shutdown Monday after just 2 years

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- The most spectacular and costly failure in Atlantic City's 36-year history of casino gambling begins to play out Monday when the $2.4 billion Revel Casino Hotel empties its hotel.

Its casino will close early Tuesday morning.

Revel is shutting down a little over two years after opening with high hopes of revitalizing Atlantic City's struggling gambling market. But mired in its second bankruptcy in two years, Revel has been unable to find anyone willing to buy the property and keep it open as a casino. It has never turned a profit.

So what killed Revel?

Analysts and competitors say it was hampered by bad business decisions and a fundamental misunderstanding of the Atlantic City casino customer.

"The timing of it could not have been worse," said Mark Juliano, president of Sands Bethlehem in Pennsylvania and the former CEO of Trump Entertainment Resorts in Atlantic City. "The financial climate while Revel was developing and when it opened were completely different."

Revel officials declined to comment.

The casino broke ground just before the Great Recession. It ran out of money halfway through construction and had to drop its plans for a second hotel tower while scrambling for the remaining $1 billion or so it needed to finish the project. When it opened in April 2012, it was so laden with debt that it couldn't bring in enough revenue to cover it.

The idea behind Revel was to open a totally different resort, a seaside pleasure palace that just happened to have a casino as one of its features. That included Atlantic City's only total smoking ban, which alienated many gamblers; the lack of a buffet and daily bus trips to and from the casino; and the absence of a players' club. By the time those decisions were reversed, it was already too late. High room and restaurant prices hurt, too.

"If there had been a range of new attractions and potential customers with enough discretionary income, I think that Atlantic City could have absorbed the new capacity," said David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. "That's certainly what happened with Borgata more than 10 years ago. But the market that Revel foresaw for its property just didn't materialize, partially because of the growing perception that the city wasn't ready for that kind of customer. At the same time, Revel didn't have a plan to successfully market to the traditional Atlantic City customer."

It also started at a huge disadvantage by not having a pre-existing database of gamblers to solicit, in the way that casinos owned by nationwide companies like Caesars Entertainment or Tropicana Entertainment can.

Customers found Revel's design off-putting as well, said Joe Lupo, senior vice president of the Borgata, whose upscale market Revel appeared to target. Entering from the Boardwalk, they had to take a vertiginous escalator up four flights to reach the casino floor. Once there, the property wound around a circular pattern instead of the linear layout of most other casinos.

"Revel struggled with the execution of plans to develop their market, as well as with their design and just a basic understanding of the Atlantic City visitor," he said.

A huge power plant proved enormously costly. Some potential buyers in bankruptcy court reportedly were scared off by the ongoing expense of the heating, cooling and electrical plant, and they sought unsuccessfully to exclude it from their purchase offers. Juliano said Revel apparently hoped there would be additional development in the immediate area that it could sell utility service to, but that never materialized.

Revel still hopes to find a buyer for the property after it has ceased to operate as a casino.

A timeline of Atlantic City's Revel Casino Hotel

A look at key moments in the history of Atlantic City's Revel Casino Hotel:

September 2007: Revel Entertainment and partner Morgan Stanley file plans for a new casino and 3,800 hotel rooms. It would be the first new casino in Atlantic City since the Borgata opened in 2003.

July 31, 2008: A plane crash in Minnesota kills three executives of Revel Entertainment and its builder, Tishman Construction.

Jan. 28, 2009: Running out of money halfway through the project, Revel Entertainment lays off 400 workers and slows construction of the casino, saying it will finish the exterior while looking for money to build the rest.

April 22, 2010: Morgan Stanley decides it's better to take a $932 million loss on Revel than to spend an additional $1 billion to finish the project. Its decision to pull out sets off a scramble for new financing that spans the globe, including inquiries in China.

Feb. 1, 2011: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announces Revel has secured its remaining financing, and he signs a package of bills designed to revive Atlantic City, including the creation of a state-supervised Tourism District. The state authorizes $261 million in tax-increment financing through its Economic Development Authority. But the aid is to flow only after Revel reaches certain profitability thresholds, which it never does.

Feb. 2011: Revel scales down its plans, eliminating a proposed second hotel tower that reduces the number of rooms to about 1,100.

Sept. 15, 2011: A construction worker is struck by lightning and killed while working outside at Revel.

Feb. 16, 2012: Revel says it will have many more part-time jobs than the other Atlantic City casinos; workers will be required to reapply for them every four or five years.

March 7, 2012: Revel reveals that Mitch Gorshin, whose father, Frank, played the Riddler from the "Batman" TV series, designed the casino's distinctive white ball atop its triangular roof.

March 26, 2012: Revel gets its casino license from New Jersey.

March 28, 2012: Revel starts a two-day trial gambling period for invited guests before its official opening.

April 2, 2012: Revel opens to the public.

May 9, 2012: Revel's $13 million in casino winnings ranks it near the bottom of Atlantic City's 12 casinos —a spot it would occupy for its two-year existence.

Aug. 22, 2012: Wall Street ratings agencies downgrade Revel debt after the casino's slow start.

Nov. 30, 2012: State Senate president Steve Sweeney calls Revel's finances "dire" and warns of a possible collapse.

Dec. 28, 2012: Revel lines up new financing for the second time in less than a year.

Feb. 19, 2013: Revel announces it will file for bankruptcy in March to eliminate $1 billion in debt by converting it into equity for lenders.

May 21, 2013: Revel exits bankruptcy court by giving lenders an 82 percent stake in the property.

June 19, 2014: Revel files for bankruptcy again and warns that it will close if a buyer cannot be found in a court-approved auction. A Revel lawyer tells a bankruptcy judge that the casino is "a melting ice cube."

Aug. 7, 2014: A scheduled bankruptcy auction for Revel is postponed for a week to let management evaluate bids.

Aug. 12, 2014: Revel announces it has failed to find a buyer and will close.

Sept. 1, 2014: Revel closes its hotel.

Sept. 2, 2014: Revel closes its casino.

Modi visit draws pledges of support from Japan

TOKYO -- Japanese government and business leaders are pledging support for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's effort to modernize his country's economy.

Modi and a delegation of more than a dozen Indian tycoons are visiting Japan, seeking to take ties between the countries to a "new level."

The Indian leader was to meet later Monday with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The two leaders, who appear to have very cordial relations, dined together in Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto during the weekend.

India is keen to gain more support for ambitious construction and energy projects. In a speech to Japanese business leaders Modi promised to set up a team to facilitate such efforts.

The two sides are also beefing up cooperation on security, with an eye toward China's growing assertiveness in the region.

Man pleads guilty to embezzling $700K from UT firm

CEDAR CITY, Utah -- A 39-year-old man has pleaded guilty to second-degree felony theft charges for embezzling nearly $700,000 from his employer.

Under a plea deal with the Iron County Attorney's Office, 39-year-old Nathan Esplin will receive a one-year jail sentence and 36 months of probation.

His attorney, Jack Burns, told The Spectrum of St. George (http://bit.ly/1qSX7zc ) Esplin also has already lived up to an agreement to repay $500,000 to Leavitt Group Enterprises.

Esplin signed a promissory note to pay another $150,000 to Traveler's Insurance, which paid that amount in a claim to the company.

According to court records, Esplin took $682,342 over a nine-year period by 2014 while employed as treasurer and chief accounting officer of the company.

Burns says Esplin admitted to the embezzlement when confronted by his employer.

Michigan candy marker credits success to nostalgia

DETROIT -- The company best known perhaps for its bumpy cake has had a recent journey to success that's been anything but.

Sanders bounced back from near-oblivion to become a growing national player in desserts and candy. The 139-year-old iconic Michigan candy company seems to be everywhere — Delta Air Lines flights, Costco, on an episode of "Glee," Mackinac Island, U.S. Navy base stores and on the pillows at the MGM Grand Detroit.

The confectioner, also known for its ice cream and hot fudge topping, has seen double-digit sales growth over the last three years, fueled in part by native Michiganders buying the products they remember from their childhoods, said company President Ron Rapson, who said annual sales are about $25 million.

"We've been branching out over the last five years from a more regional basis to more national basis. What prompted it was our desire to get great products into more customers' hands. Over the last decade, a lot of Michiganders have exited the state. As we've gone and done shows nationally, we get recognized by those old Michiganders. It's an amazing phenomenon," he said. "We have wonderful products we think can compete."

Sanders competes against Godiva on Macy's shelves and with Russell Stover at chain stores like Kroger, the Detroit Free Press (http://on.freep.com/VKjH0x ) reported.

More than a million of its dark sea salt and caramel chocolate candies are served tens of thousands of feet in the air on Delta fights and a contract with MGM Grand Detroit puts as many as 300,000 pieces of chocolate on hotel pillows each year. The new contracts will only add to Sanders brand exposure and audience.

To handle its recent surge in sales, Sanders expanded. Its new distribution center in Clinton Township is 50,000 square feet — 30,000 square feet larger than the old one — and the workforce has grown by 10 percent over the last 18 months.

The chocolates and dessert sauces continue to be made at Sanders' 70,000-square-foot factory in the township; the cakes and deep-dish brownies are produced at Minnie Marie Bakers in Livonia.

Sanders is growing its product line, too, as a nod to healthy eating. Earlier this year, the company introduced gluten-free fruit and snack dips as part of its new Orchard Collection products that have no additives or sweeteners. Formulated slightly differently than the dessert toppings that are Sanders' biggest seller, Rapson likened them to Marzetti Dessert dips.

"We wanted great products available for other parts of people's diets. Fruit with a bit of our chocolate sauce or caramel sauce. It goes well with salty snacks, too," he said. "They're wholesome ingredients, fresh cream, fresh butter."

Despite Americans' growing awareness of what they eat — raw foods, no-carbs, gluten-free, locally-grown, etcetera — chocolate and candy makers continue to have sweet success. According to the National Confectioners Association, total U.S. confectionery sales were $33.6 billion, $20.6 billion of which was chocolate.

In the trade group's most recent data, chocolate candy sales were up 4.1 percent and non-chocolate candy sales, 2.4 percent. And 75 percent of the group members are smaller companies that have been around for 75 or 100 years, and in some instances are being run by the second, third, fourth or fifth generations.

"Candy is a part of people's happy lives," said Sanders spokeswoman Susan Whiteside. "Consumers are more interested in their food now than ever before. They want to know where it comes from, who made it, how it was sourced. Some of the regional companies have benefited from that interest in food, as the country has (become) more foodie."

Perhaps that's what helped revive Sanders. The brand began struggling in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Morley Candy Makers started manufacturing some Sanders products in the 1990s, when Sanders was in the final stages of closing down its Highland Park factory and all of its retail stores. Morley bought the brand in 2002.

Rapson wants to position his sweets as what you enjoy when you decide to let loose a bit: "The fine line is most people like to indulge a little bit. If you're indulging, why not indulge in the best products? If you're going have a glass of wine, have a nice glass of wine. If you're going to have sweets, have Sanders hot fudge. People like to reward themselves. Personally, I'm health conscious. I exercise, but every day, I have hot fudge, and it's a wonderful addition to my diet."

Though he pointed out that chocolate is made from cacao beans and therefore natural, he stopped short of calling chocolate a health food.

"Of course, anything in excess isn't good for you, but chocolate is here to stay for sure," he said. "Chocolate makes people feel good. It's made people feel good for a long time. Chocolate historically has been given as a gift ... It brings joy to someone."

Holiday Market in Royal Oak has been selling Sanders boxed chocolates and sauces for years, alongside about 40 types of chocolate from a variety of makers, like Ghirardelli, Lindt and Berkley-based Sydney Bogg's Sweet Essentials.

Owner Tom Violante, a self-confessed Pecan Titan addict, said he likes that they make a quality product, are a local company and have a competitive price point ("right under Godiva").

"When I was a kid, the biggest thrill I had was my mom would take me into a Sanders store and I'd get a Boston cooler and I was absolutely the best boy in the world," Violante said. "Nostalgia plays a big role."

---

Information from: Detroit Free Press, http://www.freep.com

This is an AP Member Exchange shared by the Detroit Free Press

Rapid City's new designated driving service a hit

RAPID CITY, S.D. -- Paddy O'Neill's Irish Pub was starting to empty out late one rainy night as Dion Deutscher and his two friends were wondering how they were going to make it home.

A taxi would cost way too much and none of them wanted to drive, let alone walk, through the rain. They could probably call and wake up a friend — an inconvenience at 1 a.m. — and they all would have to leave their cars downtown, risking a ticket the next morning.

Then John Mitchell handed Deutscher a little pink business card for The Designators, a designated-driving service that will take revelers home in their own vehicles.

"It was perfect," Deutscher, 23, of Rapid City, said. "He came up to us and handed us business cards right as we were talking about how we were getting home."

Every night Mitchell and his team of four drivers hit the bars of Rapid City, handing out hundreds of business cards to prospective clients, the Rapid City Journal (http://bit.ly/1p7rTik ) reported.

"We take you, in your own vehicle, home," Mitchell tells people.

They've handed out nearly 2,000 since he started the business July 31.

Some of The Designators' pub scouting pays off, with Mitchell getting as many as eight calls in one night. Other nights, however, Mitchell doesn't get a single customer, he said.

Mitchell, 26, parks his vehicle downtown around 11 p.m. every night. He then makes the rounds, hitting Murphy's Pub and Grill, Dublin Square, Paddy O'Neills, The Brass Rail and the Oasis Lounge.

Almost all of the bars have been very accommodating, Mitchell said, letting him come in and hand out cards. He even leaves a stack of cards with bartenders as he shuffles through every bar and talks with customers.

Mitchell charges flat rates to take people and their vehicles home. Costs vary: anywhere in Rapid City, $15; Box Elder, $18; and Sturgis, $30.

"I don't like people driving home drunk," Mitchell said. "But we're here to give them the option, not force them."

The Designators planned to be out in full force as the Rapid City Police Department ramped up its DUI enforcement for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign from Aug. 13 through Sept. 1.

Mitchell said business has been much better than he ever imagined.

He sees The Designators as a chance to improve the world by doing something he enjoys, while being a part of something he can't do.

When Mitchell was 8, he was hit by a car and lost a kidney. With only one kidney, Mitchell can't drink a lot, and he grew up volunteering to be the designated driver for his friends.

It occurred to him he could turn that task into a profit.

He relishes the camaraderie generated by driving people around and the satisfaction of getting them home safely, he said.

"Really — I just like conversing with people, which makes them feel a lot better about me driving their vehicle," Mitchell said.

"This is something I'm hoping to do full-time eventually," said Mitchell, who works at Dollar General during the day.

After three weeks of using his own vehicle, Mitchell bought a 2005 Honda Accord to use as a trail car for the business.

During a particularly slow night a couple of weeks ago, Mitchell drove a white 1995 Chevy Corsica, a trail car, with his cousin Cody Kidd, 19, from Belle Fourche, who would act as his trail-car driver.

For each ride, Mitchell pays a trail-car driver $3 and a portion of the tip.

He got only four calls that whole night, turning down two of them because they were for a taxi service.

"We don't like to tell people that we're a taxi service, because we're not," Mitchell said.

Because The Designators do not use their cars to transport customers, the business is not a taxi under Rapid City's taxi cab ordinance, said Wade Nyberg, an assistant city attorney.

He also said the business is a fairly safe venture insurance-wise for drivers who give over their keys.

Automobile insurance policies allow someone, besides those covered on the policy, to operate a vehicle, Nyberg said.

Ashley Reub, 24, from Denver, makes regular trips to Rapid City for her job as a graphic designer. She likes having The Designators' option when she goes out drinking, she said.

Reub doesn't know many people in Rapid City, so calling a friend is mostly out of the question, she said, and a taxi can be comparatively costly.

"It seems pretty cheap," Reub said. "I'm used to paying like $50 for a ride home in a taxi."

Deutscher added another disadvantage to taxi rides: Drivers run the risk of paying for a parking ticket on a car left overnight.

"You go home, and you have no car," Deutscher said. "You set your alarm to get it the next morning and don't wake up. Then you wake up with $20 in parking tickets."

As Deutscher drained the last of his draft beer at Paddy O'Neills, he slid off the bar stool.

Walking outside, he spotted Mitchell about a block north.

"My car's this way," he said to Mitchell waving at him, and then handing over his keys.

Climbing into the passenger seat of his 1998 Chrysler Sebring LXI in front of Tally's Silver Spoon, he asked Mitchell, "Do you know where Sally O'Malley's is? Yeah, head out that way."

Sliding into the driver's seat, Mitchell adjusted the seats and the mirrors and pulled onto St. Joseph Street headed for Rapid Valley.

About 15 minutes and a half-dozen turns later, Deutscher said, "Oh, crap, we missed my house."

Flipping a U-turn, Mitchell headed back down the road, this time pulling into Deutscher's driveway.

"Dude, you could really do some work with this business," Deutscher said as Mitchell's tail car pulled up. "I'll be sure to call you again."

On the way back to Rapid City, Mitchell's phone rang. Another call, for another ride. It was almost 2 a.m., and Chris Montgomery, 35, needed to get himself and his 2008 Chevy Suburban back to West Rapid.

"No problem man," Mitchell said. "We have you covered."

---

Information from: Rapid City Journal, http://bit.ly/Y4PbAs

This is an AP Member Exchange shared by the Rapid City Journal

Lebanon's Arabic press digest – Sept. 1 2014

The following are a selection of stories from Lebanese newspapers that may be of interest to Daily Star readers. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.

Al-Akhbar

Machnouk to Moscow to discuss arms deal

Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk will travel to Moscow Sept. 18-22 for talks with his Russian counterpart as well as security officials to discuss the purchase of weapons as part of the $1 billion Saudi grant for Lebanon’s security forces.

Sources said Lebanese Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi has, in turn, held a meeting with the Russian ambassador to prepare for a similar visit.

They said Kahwagi will primarily discuss the Russian fund that has been suspended since November 2010, which includes six combat helicopters, a tank battalion, 130 mm caliber guns as well as a large quantity of ammunition.

An-Nahar

Security agencies noticed Lebanese going to Syria to join ISIS

Sources told An-Nahar that Lebanese security agencies have noticed the entry of a large number of Lebanese as well as Syrian refugees to Iraq and Syria to join ISIS.

Some of them have returned to Lebanese territories after receiving training to join sleeper cells.

The sources said orders also were given to other recruits, who had the desire to move to Iraq and Syria’s Reqqa, to remain in Lebanon.

The sources estimated the cell members present in Lebanon at 3,000 Lebanese and Syrian, adding that many Syrians take cover in Lebanese towns and construction sites on the pretext of work to remove suspicion.

More to follow ...

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Bad weather shuts down concerts, delays flights

PHILADELPHIA -- Severe thunderstorms across the Northeast on Sunday slowed operations at airports, wreaked havoc at outdoor sporting and musical events in New York and Philadelphia and sent people scurrying from a beach after three men were struck by lightning.

The men were injured at Orchard Beach on Pelham Bay in the Bronx on Sunday evening as bad storms rolled through the area, the Fire Department of New York said. The men were being treated at a hospital, and the extent of their injuries was unknown.

Torrential rain, thunder and lightning interrupted Labor Day weekend celebrations in Philadelphia, where a parkway hosting a music concert was evacuated for safety reasons. Organizers of the Made in America festival warned people to move quickly and calmly to the exits and to protected areas outside the downtown festival site until the bad weather passed.

Anne Beyens, of Scottsdale, Arizona, was among a group of five waterlogged friends who were told to leave the concert after watching deejay 3LAU and ended up at a bar a mile away. They said most of the headliners they wanted to see, including Pharrell Williams and Kings of Leon, were scheduled for later in the night so they were hoping to return.

"We knew it was going to rain," Beyens said. "We didn't know they were going to kick us out."

Besides temporarily stopping the Made in America concert, the bad weather also forced the early end to the Electric Zoo musical festival on an island in New York's East River and halted play for the first time at this year's U.S. Open tennis tournament in Queens.

Former champion Maria Sharapova took notice of the screeching weather warnings on reporters' cellphones as she answered questions about her loss to 10th-seeded Caroline Wozniacki just before the storm hit.

"Is that the flood warning? Darn it. If I was only there a little longer," she said to laughter.

Electric Zoo spokesman Stefan Friedman said "the safety and security of all attendees, artists and staff" was the primary concern as people were told to leave. The decision was made about six hours before the festival was scheduled to end on Randall's Island, where fans have to take ferries and shuttle buses.

The National Weather Service said it had reports of wind damage and flash flooding in East Orange, New Jersey, and reports of large tree branches down on Long Island. It said most of the damage was reported between 4:20 p.m. and 5:15 p.m., when the storms were intense.

More than 30 flights in and out of the New York metro area were delayed and at least one was cancelled because of the severe weather, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Storms also disrupted air travel in Philadelphia and the Baltimore-Washington region.

Flights leaving Newark Liberty in New Jersey and Washington Dulles in Virginia were held up nearly three hours, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Flights in and out of New York's Kennedy Airport and Philadelphia International Airport were delayed up to two hours.

Iowa firm selling new pure vodka in the state

CLEAR LAKE, Iowa -- An Iowa company hopes its corn-based vodka will succeed because of a new process that eliminates impurities in the finished liquor.

The Mason City Globe Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/1qsyMiu ) IngeniOz vodka started selling for about $24 a bottle in Iowa stores a month ago.

The OZ Spirits company was started in 2012 by Johannes Van Leeuwen after he developed the process for creating vodka with zero impurities at Iowa State University. The company said its new IngeniOz vodka doesn't have any impurities.

A pure vodka is supposed to be better quality and less likely to cause a hangover. By comparison, tests conducted on national vodka brands at Iowa State showed Smirnoff has eight impurities, Absolute has 16 and Grey Goose has 14.

One of the Iowa company's co-founders, Bill Astor, said the response has been great so far, and he hopes to expand sales beyond Iowa in the future. Minnesota and Illinois are likely to be the first expansion targets.

"We feel we've got something," said Astor, who has worked in alcoholic beverage sales for nearly three decades.

The vodka is packaged in a clear glass bottle with a blue label.

IngeniOz vodka is produced in Cuming, Iowa, with corn grown in the state. OZ Spirits contracted with the Iowa Distilling Co. to produce the vodka.

School's $100M donor is Columbia Sportswear chair

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The anonymous donor that gave $100 million to Oregon Health & Science University last month has been revealed as Columbia Sportswear chairwoman Gert Boyle, and the donation was made to honor her late sister.

Boyle's gift means the university has to raise $70 million more to trigger Phil and Penny Knight's matching $500 million donation, which the Nike co-founder pledged a year ago. The effort aims to make the university's Knight Cancer Institute one of the leading cancer research facilities in the nation, The Oregonian reported Friday (http://bit.ly/1u3PZAc ).

Boyle was not available to discuss the gift Friday, but Brian Druker, head of the Knight Cancer Institute, told the backstory.

In 2007, Druker met Boyle's son, Tim, the CEO of Columbia, and discovered Tim Boyle's aunt, Hildegard Lamfrom, had been Druker's mentor while he was a grad student at University of California, San Diego.

"Gert wanted to hear about her sister, how she helped me through my truly formative years in the laboratory," Druker said.

Lamfrom had been a research scientist, who worked with trailblazers like Francis Crick, the biologist who helped discovered the DNA molecule's structure, the newspaper reported. Lamfrom died in 1984 at the age of 62 from a brain tumor.

"She was an extremely skilled scientist," Druker said, noting that Lamfrom worked at a time, in the 1960s and '70s, when female researchers faced barriers.

In a July meeting, Boyle revealed her donation to Druker, who wants to put the funding drive toward hiring 20 to 30 cancer researchers and associates with a focus on early cancer detection and survival.

The money frees the researchers from seeking grants, a challenge Boyle's sister knew well. Lamfrom lost her funding while working in Oregon, so the Boyles "understand the perils of being grant-funded," Druker said.

Ski resort to offer Utah's longest zip line tour

PROVO, Utah -- Utah's Sundance Mountain Resort has announced plans to add one of the longest zip line tours in the country.

Resort officials say construction is scheduled to begin in September on the 2-mile zip line tour, which will offer a vertical drop of over 2,100 feet, the nation's largest such drop.

They say when opened to the public in 2015, it will be the longest zip line tour in Utah and the third longest zip line tour in the U.S.

Sundance ZipTour will offer four individual zip line spans. Each span of the zip line will highlight details about the native wildlife, vegetation and landscape around the Wasatch Range resort, located 13 miles northeast of Provo.

The zip line will be designed and constructed by Terra-Nova LLC of Park City.

Thune could play pivotal role in internet access

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- U.S. Sen. John Thune could play a pivotal role in shaping the future of internet access in America should he become the head of the powerful U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

Thune could take on the lead role at a time when residents in even the most isolated parts of country demand faster Internet connection, the Argus Leader (http://argusne.ws/1qSzNOg ) reported Sunday. But whether he takes charge of the committee or remains the second in command depends on Republicans winning control of the U.S. Senate this November.

Thune says telecommunications reforms are "long overdue" and would be a "high priority" if he were chairman of the Senate committee, which has jurisdiction over issues including highways, space, product safety and insurance. Thune could oversee changes to the country's communication law that has been criticized for failing to keep up with innovation in cable, telephone and Internet.

How the Telecommunications Act that was signed into law in 1934 is changed and which companies are affected could spur or deter investments in new technologies and affect millions of customers.

"Don't look at this as a national issue that doesn't affect South Dakota, for crying out loud," said David Owen, president of the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "We can't go thinking it doesn't matter here. It matters very much to South Dakota, and people need to pay attention to it."

The last drastic revision of the law occurred in 1996, when the majority of Internet customers in the U.S. used a clunky dial-up connection and very few had a mobile device. U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson, who's retiring at the end of the year, was the chairman of the committee in 1995 and 1996.

Owen said to regulations must carefully balance South Dakota's growing demand for faster connections, but must also avoid placing onerous rules on service providers.

Thune said the outdated law has led to a number of legal challenges and uncertainty for the Federal Communications Commission, which is responsible for interpreting today's technologies, but has to do so with the antiquated framework. Thune said Congress must "do a better job" modernizing the law given the new digital age.

"There is a marketplace out there that is kind of clamoring for clarity and for getting away from the ambiguity that is leading to all these legal challenges and for Congress to at least set some general parameters," Thune said.

The GOP needs a net gain of six seats in the Senate to win the majority. One of the seats they hope to take in that of South Dakota's retiring Democratic Sen. Johnson. Former Republican Gov. Mike Rounds is the front-runner to win Johnson's seat in November.

Prince William Co. ends year with $5.9M shortfall

WOODBRIDGE, Va. -- Prince William County is facing a budget shortfall of nearly $6 million for the fiscal year that ended in June, due in part to tax exemptions, the federal government shutdown, sequestration and other factors.

The Washington Post (http://wapo.st/Y3KbMw ) reports the county ended the 2014 fiscal year with a shortfall of $5.9 million.

According to a presentation to the Board of County Supervisors, nearly half the shortfall was attributed to tax relief programs for disabled veterans and other elderly or disabled people. Virginia's Tax Relief for Disabled Veterans program provides 100 percent tax relief for some disabled veterans.

Sales tax revenue and property tax revenue also was down, due in part to federal budget cuts.

A county spokesman says the shortfall will be covered by a reserve fund.

In the NFL, imitation is often a form of flattery

NEW YORK -- Troy Vincent pounds his fists on a conference room table and smiles.

"We are a copycat league, you bet," he says. "If Peyton and Philip and Brees and Brady are doing something that's good, then go out and try to do the same thing."

Easier said than done if you don't have such star quarterbacks, but Vincent's point is well taken. The NFL's head of football operations, a star player for 15 pro seasons and former president of the players' union, recognizes that trends always will be a part of the sport.

Some burst on the scene and then fade quickly: the wildcat or alternating QBs, for example. Others — the zone blitz, the nickel back — have staying power.

In 2014, there will be plenty of plagiarism between the lines, on the sidelines, in the coaching boxes and even in the marketing departments.

NO HUDDLES: The no-huddle offense has been a part of pro football since John Unitas pretty much invented the two-minute drill. It normally was reserved for late portions of halves and games.

It's running rampant through the league now, its popularity buoyed by the record-smashing seasons Peyton Manning and Tom Brady recently put together.

Super Bowl-winning quarterback Phil Simms, now an analyst for CBS, says it's here to stay.

"Faster offense will be a part of the NFL," Simms says. "What was a talented offense from 10 years ago is so much less so now because it is harder to run the ball."

Simms believes teams will pass more than ever, combining that with the no-huddle.

"We'll be seeing out of these offenses all these screens, trying to tire out key defensive players," he explains. "That's a matchup the offenses can win, and it is almost a must by an NFL offense to have."

Simms says offenses need to do something different because, "you won't win 17-13 anymore in the playoffs.

"And what's unique? Well, go as fast as you can."

PLAY CALLING: Rich Gannon, the NFL's 2002 MVP while leading the Raiders to the Super Bowl, thinks the faster pace will affect the ones calling plays.

The traditional system of relaying a play or formations from the coordinators to the quarterbacks or defensive leaders is endangered, Gannon predicts. So is a quarterback calling just one play.

"Years ago, offensive coordinators were trying to guess right," says Gannon, now an analyst for SiriusXM NFL Radio and for CBS. "They would find a set of plays based on preparation during the week and on their knowledge of the percentage defenses did certain things."

That's changed, he says, and modern offenses need a quarterback who can adjust on the line.

Denver, New England, New Orleans, Green Bay, a few others — they don't have to worry.

Other teams will continue searching for a quarterback who has a great arm and the intelligence to make the right call while the play clock is ticking.

"We'll be seeing quarterbacks calling multiple plays in the huddle. When they get to the line, they use the play that fits," Gannon says. "It's not an audible, but it's the quarterbacks being given the freedom they need to get into the right play."

TECHNOLOGY: "There is only so much you can do differently on the field," Vincent reasons. "So who gets the edge might depend on who is willing to let technology become a positive."

While the league is allowing teams to use tablets on the sideline for everything from play calling to reviewing what just happened, not everyone is readily embracing it. He senses that some coaches entrenched in the past might not make a smooth switch.

Until, that is, they recognize that an opponent is getting a competitive advantage from the technology.

"We've seen things copied through the years, from traditional lineups to the run-and-shoot to the zone blitz to the wildcat," Vincent says. "Now it will be in technology, sorting through information quicker, using it for practices, schedules, scouting."

ELSEWHERE: Teams are learning from each other when it comes to such areas as in-game entertainment — player introductions, cheerleaders, game day hosts, even the music — merchandising, ticketing and stadium development. A club planning a new home or renovating the existing one typically uses comparisons of other stadiums.

"Teams share their best practices, and the league encourages such information sharing," says Marc Ganis, president of Chicago-based consulting firm SportsCorp and a close observer of league business. "Because in most nonfield operations the teams do not compete, they are generally happy to share information and copy each other openly.

"Of course, there are a few teams that are trailblazers and innovate more than others. But often the safest approach to job security for team executives and managers is to mimic what other teams are doing. And so they do."

Cool spring hurts La. sugar crop

THIBODAUX, La. -- The cold spring is coming back to haunt local sugarcane farmers who are expecting a stunted crop and later harvest season.

American Sugar Cane League executive director Jim Simon said he expects the harvest to begin later this year because of spring's cold temperatures.

Usually, harvesting starts in mid- to late-September. It often ends in late December.

The Courier reported (http://bit.ly/1svfGHX) Louisiana farmers harvest about 13.5 tons of sugarcane on average. Last year, the crop topped 14.5 million tons. The largest Louisiana crop came in 1999 when farmers brought in almost 16 million tons.

Spring's cooler temperatures have produced about 4- to 5-foot sugarcane stalks, about a foot shorter than normal, farmers say. The shorter stalk can affect how much farmers earn because they are paid by weight.

"It's like the sixth inning of a baseball game. It's too early to tell," said Bourg sugarcane farmer Wallace Ellender III, who estimates mill processing is down 10- to 15 percent from last year.

Lafourche Parish farmer Bobby Gravois said it's not a great year.

"We're going to pay bills and go through plenty of ups and downs. We're kind of on the low side right now," he said.

Weather, pests and the economy play roles in crop size.

A cold spring and summer can delay the crop, while farmers are inclined to plant on fewer fields if the economy is poor. Then there is the influence of world market prices.

From 2009 to 2012, prices hovered near 30 cents per pound.

However, last year prices dropped considerably — to around 21 cents — tainting a bumper crop. Over the last two years an oversupply on the domestic market has depressed prices.

The North American Free Trade Agreement allows other countries to ship almost unlimited crops into the U.S. market. In 2012, Mexico had a large sugar crop and exported much of it to the United States.

The market will eventually favor the states again, Simon said, but farmers need to hold on while it corrects itself.

"It's hard competing on that world market when you're not competing on a level playing field," Ellender said.

Prices have rebounded to 24 or 25 cents per pound, said LSU AgCenter sugar specialist Kenneth Gravois.

Ellender said prices must stay between 25 and 28 cents per pound for the industry to remain viable.

"The futures market shows about 25, 26 cents per pound. That's more of a break-even point for me. We can't make it with today's costs," he said.

The low prices have forced some farmers to seek alternative revenue. Gravois said he's begun planting soybeans as a supplement.

The Sugar Cane League said sugarcane is produced on more than 400,000 acres in 22 Louisiana parishes, and the industry employs about 17,000 people.

Olympic National Park bans drones amid US order

SEATTLE -- Following a nationwide directive, Washington state's largest national park has joined the list of those banning drones.

Olympic National Park Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum last week approved rules barring unmanned aircraft within park boundaries. Earlier this summer, National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis directed superintendents to write rules prohibiting drones from launching, landing or operating in the service's 401 parks.

Each park must change its unique set of regulations for a ban to be enforceable.

In their rule change, Olympic National Park officials said drones present "unacceptable risks to visitors," including possible injuries from collisions or contact with spinning propellers or rotors. They also cited the potential impact on wildlife.

There have been no reports of drones annoying or imperiling visitors, Olympic National Park spokeswoman Barb Maynes said. But it's been a different story at other national parks.

In Yellowstone, which covers parts of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, drones have crashed into lakes and springs and flown too close to bison. At least three visitors have been cited this summer.

At Yosemite in California, enthusiasts flew drones near the park's famous waterfalls to capture close-up shots of climbers on its granite cliffs. In Utah's Zion, officials were prompted to take action after a drone was seen harassing bighorn sheep and separating the young from their herds.

At Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, park rangers last September confiscated an unmanned aircraft after it flew above 1,500 visitors seated in an amphitheater and then over the heads of the four presidents carved into the mountain.

Some of the parks that have banned drones are Grand Canyon in Arizona; Zion, the Arches and Canyonlands in Utah; and Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico.

Tesla Motors dealing as states play factory poker

LOS ANGELES -- From the start, little has been typical about Tesla Motors' plan for a $5 billion factory to make batteries for a new generation of electric cars.

It's not just the project's massive scale, the cutting-edge technology, or even the bonanza of 6,500 good-paying jobs.

It's how Tesla is deciding where to build.

Through a series of unusual plays, Tesla has five states bidding up subsidy packages to land the coveted plant. The winner is expected to offer the luxury car-maker publicly financed incentives exceeding a half-billion dollars.

Tesla signaled this would be no ordinary competition last fall, when it gathered economic development officials from seven Western states and unveiled its vision for a "gigafactory." ("Giga" refers to the large amount of power that batteries produced at the plant will store.)

This spring, CEO Elon Musk announced Tesla would take the extremely unusual step of spending millions to prepare sites in two states — or perhaps even three — before the finalist was chosen. Then, over the summer, Musk said the winning state would pitch in about 10 percent of the cost, effectively signaling a minimum bid of $500 million.

"We don't usually see companies setting a floor at which states will be considered," said Leigh McIlvaine of the research group Good Jobs First, which tracks large subsidy packages by states.

For all the public anticipation Musk has created, much about the process remains secret.

While an industrial park in the desert outside Reno, Nevada, is one known site, the other — or others — remains a mystery. Tesla has asked states not to discuss their offers, and states aren't talking.

The effect is a game of high-stakes poker, with the states as players and Tesla dealing.

"You can't see any cards at all. Do you stay in or not, push more chips onto the table or fold?" said Kim Hill, who studies incentives at the nonprofit Center for Automotive Research in Michigan.

The factory promises something that every state wants but rarely gets these days: thousands of good-paying factory jobs and all the residual economic benefits they bring.

So far, Nevada, California, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico remain contenders. They have passed tax breaks, promised worker-training funds or proposed shelving environmental regulations that could slow the factory's construction. There is talk of special legislative sessions to sweeten the bids.

When The Associated Press filed public records act requests for documents about the competition with each of the five finalist states, none released much useful information and most refused to release anything at all, citing the competitive need to keep their offers secret.

In one glimpse behind the curtain of confidentiality, California provided an email from a Tesla official to the governor's senior adviser for jobs and economic development. It contained a newspaper story speculating on a possible site and said, simply: "This is unhelpful." What might be unhelpful was unclear, and the governor's office of business and economic development refused repeated requests to discuss its pursuit of the factory.

Tesla needs the factory to make cheaper batteries for its Model 3, a mass-market electric car the company hopes to sell by 2017 for around $35,000. Currently Tesla only offers the Model S sedan, which starts at $70,000.

The tight production timeframe compels Tesla to prepare at least two sites, said spokesman Simon Sproule, who likened the approach to "an insurance policy."

Tesla will pay about half of the factory's cost; the other major investor is Panasonic, which will manufacture the lithium-ion battery cells and invest in equipment.

Musk has said to expect groundbreaking on at least one other site in coming months and a final decision by year's end.

The last comparable bidding frenzy for a factory, according to John Boyd of the New Jersey-based site selection firm The Boyd Company, involved competition to attract automaker Saturn in the 1980s, at the leading edge of the South's car manufacturing boom.

The competition for the gigafactory began at an October meeting at Tesla's auto assembly plant in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Fremont — a rare approach to opening a site selection process. Tesla executives laid out what a winning bid must have: "Green" energy such as solar or wind at a low cost, an affordable and well-trained labor force, good transportation links to Tesla's Fremont assembly plant. And a robust package of incentives.

Tesla required states to submit their proposals within three weeks, an early indication of influence the company would wield. "Given the scale, it was a very short turnaround time," said Susan St. Germain, the lead business recruiter for Washington, who attended the meeting but whose state did not make the short list.

Along the way, there has been plenty of political theater. Texas Gov. Rick Perry drove to California's state Capitol in a Tesla and California state Sen. Ted Gaines delivered a gold-painted shovel to Tesla headquarters. Cities in both states pitched Tesla directly. Tucson, Arizona, sent the company a preapproved building permit.

The director of the industrial park outside Reno where Tesla prepared land said he's seen plenty of secrecy before, but never anything like this.

"It has been a very, very unusual transaction," said Lance Gilman of the Reno Tahoe Industrial Center, which at 167 square miles is the nation's largest industrial park. "They have played their cards so close to the vest."

Texas has done business with Musk before. The state is providing his commercial space company, SpaceX, $15.3 million in incentives to develop a rocket-launching site. The money comes from what is regarded as the nation's most generous "deal-closing fund" of incentives, which has doled out $487 million since 2003.

New Mexico's governor has said that, if needed, she will ask the Legislature to consider changes in law to help land the plant. California Gov. Jerry Brown got lawmakers to pass language helping battery manufacturers, and Musk said Brown is working to address his concerns that California's arduous environmental reviews would make the project's three-year timeframe impossible to meet.

Nevada may hold a special session of its part-time legislature to discuss incentives.

"There's kind of a bidding war out there with the state of California and the state of Texas," said U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "We'll have to wait and see. I'm not going to start counting the jobs until it happens."

---

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada; Barry Massey in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Juliet Williams in Sacramento, California; Emily Schmall in Dallas; and Bob Christie in Phoenix.

Berri: National unity a must to fight takfiri terrorism

BEIRUT: National unity is a must to fight takfiri terrorism threatening Lebanon, said Speaker Nabih Berri, who also called Sunday for bolstering the Lebanese Army’s capabilities in term of men and equipment to help it in the anti-terror battle.

In a televised speech broadcast simultaneously on all local TV stations Sunday night, marking the 36th anniversary of the disappearance of Shiite spiritual leader Imam Musa Sadr in Libya, Berri said priority should be given to the election of a new president, stressing that the country could not be run without a head of state.

“National unity now constitutes a national necessity to fight terrorism as it was our weapon in confronting the Israeli aggression in 2006. Confronting terrorism is not merely a security and military issue,” Berri said.

“Confronting takfiri terrorism is not the responsibility of the Sunnis in Lebanon, as confronting the Israeli aggression is not the responsibility of the Shiites. Also, confronting the displacement of minorities is not the responsibility of the Christians,” he said. “Confronting terrorism and [Israeli] aggression is a joint national responsibility.”

Berri’s remarks come after militants from ISIS and Syria’s Al-Qadea-linked Nusra Front overran the northeastern town of Arsal on Aug. 2 and fought pitched gunbattles with the Lebanese Army, in the most serious spillover of the war in Syria into Lebanese territory.

At least 19 soldiers were killed in five days of fighting between the Lebanese Army and ISIS and Nusra Front gunmen. At least 29 soldiers and policemen were taken captive and 23 remain in captivity, after Nusra Front released four soldiers and a policeman Saturday.

Berri criticized what he called “suspicious international silence” on the proliferation of terrorist and takfiri movements in the region and the delay in adopting a U.N. resolution against these movements.

Declaring that Lebanon, Syria and Jordan faced the threat of terrorism, he called for U.N. resolutions to defend the countries’ sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of their peoples.

Berri underlined the need to shore up the Lebanese Army’s capabilities by increasing the number of soldiers and the amount of equipment, making use of last year’s $3 billion grant from Saudi Arabia, and another $1 billion from Riyadh last month.

Referring to the political deadlock that has left Lebanon without a president for more than three months, Berri said: “Holding the presidential election will remain at the top of priorities because the state cannot be run without a head. A new chapter for the country and citizens will begin with the election of a president. Holding the presidential election will reflect the strength of our unity.”

He said the presidential election would clear the way for parliamentary elections, scheduled for Nov. 20. “This will unleash a political process, which we need to face across the border terrorism that has knocked on our doors in the form of [Syrian] refugees, bombings or small wars,” Berri said.

Referring to several rounds of failed National Dialogue among rival political leaders to adopt a national defense strategy, he said the threats posed to Lebanon by Israel and takfiri terrorism had made an agreement on defense strategy imperative.

Berri sounded upbeat about Lebanon’s future. “There is no fear about this country and Lebanon will remain a garden of freedom,” he said. “ Lebanon is a mirror of the Levant and it should be the protector of coexistence.”

Sadr, founder of the Amal Movement now led by Berri, went missing along with two companions during a visit to Libya on Aug. 31, 1978. His disappearance caused a rift between Lebanon and the regime of the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, which denied any involvement, maintaining that Sadr had left Libya for Italy.

Lebanon mulls prisoner exchange deal

BEIRUT: Lebanese political and security figures are mulling the possibility of releasing certain Islamist detainees in a bid to secure the release of captured Army troops and security personnel, after five hostages were released Sunday by the Nusra Front.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam announced the formation of an emergency cell to tackle the issue of the abducted men. The cell was made up of senior security and political officials and held its first meeting Sunday.

The presence at the meeting of Magistrate Jean Fahed, the head of the Higher Judicial Council who oversees the trials of Islamist prisoners in Roumieh, was “very significant,” political sources told The Daily Star. They explained that Fahed’s attendance indicated the government’s willingness to seek out his opinion, as the release of the prisoners tops the militants’ demands.

During the meeting, Fahed told attendees that the trials were underway, and 22,000 out of the 36,000 total charges pressed against Islamist detainees had been processed, with some acquittals. The sources said discussions focused on finding a “legal exit” strategy, in which Lebanon could release some Roumieh prisoners inconspicuously, in a manner that would not suggest a connection with the case of the captured soldiers.

The officials were expressly looking into releasing detainees who had not been charged, the source said.

“The negotiations need thorough examination before anything can be decided,” Defense Minister Samir Moqbel told reporters after the meeting. “All files are being examined from a political, judicial and social perspective and the right decision will be made at the right moment.”

Earlier, in a meeting with the families of the abducted troops at his Moseitbeh residence, Salam had said the cell would work away from the media spotlight and “make contacts with internal and foreign actors who can assist with the case.” He warned that “results won’t come quickly.”

At least 29 Army troops and Internal Security Forces personnel were captured by militants belonging to factions allied with the Nusra Front and ISIS during the five-day clashes in Arsal earlier this month. Through the mediation efforts of the Muslim Scholars Committee, several men were released and at least 24 remain in captivity.

The militants have submitted a list of demands to the government, including the release of prisoners. However, sources said the government had conditioned the acquittal of detainees on the release of the captured troops and policemen first.

Soldiers Ibrahim Shaaban, Ahmad Ghieh and Wael Darwish were reunited with their families in Arsal Sunday morning, according to the state-run National News agency. The night before, the three, along with ISF member Saleh al-Baradei and soldier Mohammad al-Qaderi, had been turned over by the Nusra Front to Sheikh Mustaphan Hujeiri, who had worked to secure their release.

The five appeared on LBC TV Sunday morning, thanking Hujeiri for his efforts to secure their release and expressing gratitude over their safe arrival to Arsal.

“The release of the five hostages came without concessions or conditions,” Hujeiri said. The Arsal local stressed the release of the captives “was not part of the negotiations.”

Hujeiri said Shiite hostages captured by Nusra were in “a more difficult position” than the rest of the hostages, hinting that the militant group had set high conditions for their release, as the group had issued a warning to Hezbollah over the lives of its Shiite hostages earlier Sunday.

“Any participation of Hezbollah in battles against us [Nusra] during our liberation of Qalamoun will prompt us to kill our Shiite hostages,” the group said in a statement.

The statement said a military operation in Syria’s Qalamoun region would begin in a “few days,” warning that hostages would be killed as a result of Hezbollah’s intervention. The release of two Christian hostages, set for Monday, was also delayed. The militant group warned Lebanon’s Christians that Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun was leading Christians into a war with Sunnis.

“After the burning of Islamic slogans in Ashrafieh, that offer [to free Christians] is no longer on the table,” Hujeiri said, referring to an incident in Sassine Square, pictures of which were circulated on social media Saturday.

Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk told Al-Jadeed television station he was working to secure the release the Christian hostages.

Of the two militant groups holding security personnel captive, ISIS has adopted a more hard-line approach, threatening to kill its captives unless the government releases Islamist detainees. A man claiming to be a member recently posted a picture allegedly showing the beheading of soldier Ali Sayyed.

Mario Abou Zeid, of the Carnegie Middle East Center, said that Nusra’s more cooperative approach was due to the fact that it enjoyed more sympathizers and connections among Lebanon’s hard-line Sunni community, “whereas the Sunni community in Lebanon is not enabling for ISIS.”

“This is why Nusra is very careful about how it treats its hostages,” he said.

A Free Syria Army source acquainted with the militants said Nusra’s demands had taken the plight of refugees into consideration, while ISIS was adamant on the Roumieh prisoners.

Guantanamo Defense Lawyer Resigns, Says U.S. Case Is 'Stacked'

i i

Jason Wright, seen here during his 15-month deployment to Iraq, served in the military for nine years before resigning last week. Courtesy of Jason Wright hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of Jason Wright

Jason Wright, seen here during his 15-month deployment to Iraq, served in the military for nine years before resigning last week.

Courtesy of Jason Wright

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks, is facing a military commission at Guantanamo Bay and potentially the death penalty. He was captured in 2003 but his case still hasn't gone to trial.

Last week, Army Maj. Jason Wright — one of the lawyers defending Mohammed — resigned from the Army. He has accused the U.S. government of "abhorrent leadership" on human rights and due process guarantees and says it is crafting a "show trial."

Wright joined the military in 2005. He served 15 months in Iraq during the surge and has worked as a Judge Advocate. For nearly three years, he served on Mohammed's defense team.

i i

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has claimed to be the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks and multiple attempted attacks against the U.S. AFP/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption AFP/Getty Images

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has claimed to be the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks and multiple attempted attacks against the U.S.

AFP/Getty Images

Wright formally resigned on Aug. 26. Earlier this year, the Army had instructed him to leave the team in order to complete a graduate course that was required with his promotion from Captain to Major. He refused the order; he says it would have been unethical for him to have followed it.

Asking For Trust, Wearing The Captors' Uniform

Wright tells NPR's Arun Rath that it's hard to gain any client's trust, but it was especially hard with Mohammed. His former client is one of six "high-value detainees" being prosecuted at Guantanamo for offenses that could carry the death penalty.

"All six of these men have been tortured by the U.S. government," he says.

Wright says Mohammed in particular has faced a level of torture "beyond comprehension." He says his client was waterboarded by the CIA 183 times and subjected to over a week of sleep deprivation; there were threats that his family would be killed. "And those are just the declassified facts that I'm able to actually speak about," Wright says.

Given that treatment, Wright knew it would be hard for Mohammed to trust him.

"You show up several years later and you say, 'I'm from the U.S. government and I'm here to help you' ... and you add on the complexity that I wear the same uniform as the guards," he says. "It's very challenging in any situation to develop trust and confidence with a client. But when you add on that torture paradigm, it's all the more difficult."

Wright wasn't allowed to discuss too many details of the detainee abuse in court. He references a recent Foreign Policy article by Laura Pitter, of Human Rights Watch, about the notion of "original sin" and how it's complicated terrorism cases.

"The 'original sin' being the fact that the CIA tortured these men and that they've gone to extraordinary lengths to try to keep that completely hidden from public view," Wright says. "So the statute that Congress passed has a number of protections to ensure that no information about the U.S. torture program will ever come out."

Fighting Government's Influence

He says there are additional constraints on the defense teams that have made it hard to operate — including allegations of listening devices disguised as smoke detectors in attorney-client meeting rooms.

"So not only do you have statutory design, but you actually have, in practice, a very large effort to try to ensure that no ensure that no information about torture is ever made known in public," he says.

The hardest thing to deal with as a defense layer, he says, is fighting the government's influence.

"The U.S. government is trying to call this a fair trial, while stacking the deck so much against the defense and the accused that it can hardly be called a fair trial in any system in the world," he says.

National Security

For Alleged 9/11 Plotter, Attacks Were Family Affair

The larger strategic implication for the government, he says, is that it gives a license for the rest of the world to torture and "set up secret military courts outside of public review and outside of due process.

"Leave aside our constitutional principles — which we should try to uphold irrespective of who the defendant may be — the Constitution has been completely stepped on throughout this entire process," he says. "That's a separate and distinct issue of how the U.S. now has shown just abhorrent leadership when it comes to actually following essential, fundamental human rights and due-process guarantees."

Wright says it doesn't matter what happens at trial; the government likely won't release the defendants even if they are acquitted. He contrasts it with the Nuremberg trials after World War II, where the chief prosecutor promised Nazi war criminals would be set free if they weren't found guilty.

"We have a system where if someone's acquitted, they will not be set free," he says. "That is actually the very definition of a show trial."

Refusing Orders

Earlier this year, the Army instructed Wright to leave the team in order to complete a required graduate course with his promotion from Captain to Major. The course can be deferred for a variety of reasons; Wright had already deferred once. But his latest request for a deferral was denied without explanation.

"So really I only had two choices," he says. "I could either accept and voluntarily leave my own self from the case and my obligations to my client. Or I could refuse the orders."

He decided would be an ethical violation to abandon his client voluntarily, so he refused the orders. "And when you refuse the orders, you have to resign from the Army," he says.

Wright served his last day on Mohammed's defense team; he formally resigned from the Army on Aug. 26.

He believes his departure will be very disruptive to the Mohammed case and potentially the other defense teams.

"Here you have government attorneys who tell a defendant, 'I'm your attorney, I'm here to help you, and I'm going to be here 'til the end.' And half-way through this process, the U.S. government — the same government that tortures you, the same government that's trying to kill you, the same government that provides the public defender — now gets to control when defense attorneys come and go," he says.

Mohammed's legal saga has stretched out for years — he was captured in 2003 but the government didn't bring charges until 2012. Wright says he can't speculate how long it will take for a trial to start.

Full Response Statement On The Denial Of Army Maj. Jason Wright's Course Deferral

Response Statement On Allegations Regarding The Defense Of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Pentagon Responds

NPR asked the Pentagon to comment on Wright's interview. A spokesman from the Army wrote:

"The Judge Advocate General denied the second deferral request because a suitable and competent military defense attorney replacement was available, Major Wright was not the lead or sole counsel, and it ensured Major Wright remained professionally competent and competitive for promotion."

And a spokesman for the military commissions also disputes Wright's characterization of the commission, including his allegations of planted listening devices. He wrote:

"The prosecution has never listened to a single attorney-client communication, and no entity of the U.S. government is listening to, monitoring, or recording attorney-client communications at the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay."

However, there are ongoing investigations into allegations that the FBI attempted to make a member of a detainee's legal team into a confidential informant.

The government also disputes Wright's claim that the proceedings amount to a show trial, saying, "The on-going detention of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is fully consistent with the law of armed conflict, and that detention is reviewable by petition for habeas corpus in United States federal civilian court."

They also point to the convicted detainees who have served out their sentences and returned to their home countries.

Tears of joy as villages welcome freed soldiers

AKKAR/IQLIM AL-KHAROUB, Lebanon: “It’s a joy we can’t express,” said Ahmad Ghieh’s father, one of five Lebanese men released over the weekend after spending weeks in captivity at the hands of a radical Syrian group, the Nusra Front.

“Today, I was born again. Ahmad was born again,” he added.

The Nusra Front handed over soldiers Ibrahim Shaaban, Ahmad Ghieh, Wael Darwish and Mohammad al-Qaderi along with ISF member Saleh al-Baradei Saturday evening to Sheikh Mustapha al-Hujeiri in Arsal.

The freed men were among 29 security personnel captured during five days of deadly clashes in the border town of Arsal between Nusra Front and ISIS and the Lebanese Army early last month.

In the Akkar district villages of Mashaha and Tikrit, where Shaaban and Ghieh hail from respectively, there was utter relief at the news. It wasn’t until the captured soldiers safely arrived home Sunday afternoon that the real celebrations began.

With tears of joy streaming down their faces, residents rushed to welcome the returning soldiers, whom they hoisted on their shoulders.

“I am overwhelmed and extremely happy. This is thanks to God and the prayers of our parents,” said Ghieh, whose mother fainted when she first saw him.

In both villages, thousands of gunshots echoed in the main squares and around the soldiers’ houses, while the mosque minarets blared out religious verses.

“I thank everyone, the elderly and the youngsters,” an emotional Ghieh said. “I thank all of those who welcomed and supported me.”

Not quite believing his son was home, Ghieh’s father would hug him tightly every now and then.

“Out of joy, there’s nothing to say,” Shaaban’s brother said with a huge smile on his face.

When asked whether he knew anything about the remaining captives, Ghieh dismissed it.

“I don’t know anything about my friends,” he answered.

Shaaban also refused to give any comment based on Army command instructions, and denied having said that Ali Sayyed – who is also among the captured personnel and was last week reported to have been beheaded by ISIS – was still alive.

He said that it was his father who told media outlets that news.

His father confirmed this, saying that he had made the comments after speaking to Hujeiri about the issue: “The sheikh [Hujeiri] told me that Nusra Front and ISIS hadn’t beheaded anyone and they didn’t have any intention to do so.”

He also said the town’s residents would continue to fight for the release of the remaining soldiers, whose fate continues to hang in the balance.

“We hope that this joy will be completed by the release of the remaining soldiers ... The mission has not ended even though our son has been released,” he said.

The return of the released soldiers was also an occasion for the towns’ residents to reunite around the Army.

Celebrations also filled the Iqlim al-Kharoub town of Chehim, hometown of soldier Darwish.

“I can’t believe it,” said Maha Najem al-Deen, Darwish’s mother. “I thank God for your safe return.”

She said she hoped the parents of other captured soldiers would get to experience the joy she was living.

As tears pricked her eyes, Deen welcomed her released son with a bouquet of flowers.

The rest of the village indulged in fireworks, dancing, gunfire and traditional dabke dancing.

Darwish, who struggled to walk properly as a result of a battle injury to one of his legs, looked overwhelmed by the welcome.

His only comment was one of concern for his comrades still in captivity: “There were hard days, and I hope my friends will be released.”

Just as in Akkar, Darwish’s relative could barely believe their soldier had returned.

“I can’t believe he is back,” said the crying Dawrish’s aunt.

“It’s true he is a soldier in the Lebanese Army and that he’s subjected to martyrdom and capture, but Nusra [Front] and ISIS are criminals,” she added. “I will continue praying for his colleagues.”