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When Rear Admiral William G. Kelly learned of a dark episode from his cherished institutions past, the superintendent of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy was deeply astonished and profoundly bothered.

That it happened in 1934 didnt dissuade Kelly from seeing if some healing could be done, and a positive result could finally be culled from such a miserable moment. But he wasnt sure the family of the man whod been wronged would be so amenable.

I didnt know about the 1934 episode until we saw a story on Feb. 14, 2021 in the Hartford Courant, said Kelly. It motivated him to reach out to Harrison Brooks Fitch Jr., an 80-year-old lifelong Springfield resident and the son of Harrison Honey Fitch, a victim of racial prejudice during the college basketball season nine decades ago.

When decent people with the best of intentions communicate, though, good things can happen – even from the ashes of bad memories. For Kelly, Fitch and the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, that is what is happening now.

Immediately after the newspaper story came out, Kelly wrote a letter to the editor, apologizing for the incident. In January 2022, the academy learned that the elder Fitch was being inducted into the Huskies Hall of Honor, the hall of fame for the University of Connecticut, where Fitch had been a star athlete in the 1930s.

In February, Kelly sent a letter of congratulations to Fitch, Jr., who likes to go by the first name of Brooks. The admiral wanted an opportunity to do more, but he wasnt sure how the Springfield man would react.

When I reached out, (Fitch) didnt call back immediately. He saw us, watched us, and did research on us to see if the academys actions matched its words.

He did his homework. When he did accept our outreach, I was thrilled, Kelly said.

In 1934, the elder Fitch was a star guard on the basketball team at Connecticut State College, as UConn was then known, and also an extremely popular student on campus. His comportment, decency and friendship did as much to deliver the often unspoken message of racial harmony as was his basketball skill, according to his son.

But when Connecticut State College went to play at Coast Guard, the team was informed Fitch would not be allowed to play.

In another incident that night, an African-American boxer from the University of New Hampshire boxer had not been allowed to compete.

That was not a great night for the Coast Guard, or for the nation, Kelly said.

For me, that was a low point for an institution I love, said Kelly, who played Coast Guard sports before his own graduation in 1987 and considers athletics a critical co-curricular element of the academy. What happened in 1934 was not an indication of what I experienced in the 1980s, or what the institution is today. Reaching out to his son was just the right thing to do.

The son wasnt convinced. At least at first.

I was very skeptical, said Fitch Jr. People can be nice in a letter for (public relations) or a photo opportunity. You can pose and shake hands. I didnt want that.

Neither did Kelly. Still, Fitch needed proof that the academy was practicing what Kelly was preaching.

He studied our retention and graduation rates, and specifically if African-Americans were having success at the academy, Kelly said.

We know the timing is really right. This is an opportunity for us to do more.

Thats what Fitch wants, too. On Oct. 19, eight months after Kelly had contacted him, Fitch visited the Coast Guard campus.

I wanted a face-to-face interaction. Ive development a bit of discernment (ability) face-to-face, Fitch said.

I spent time with the cadets, had a chance to share questions, and I got an idea of (Kellys) philosophy. The letter to me had been sincere.

He added, Id refuse to do a public relations moment, but this is a chance to do something positive. The lessons of the past can help us deal with the reality of the future if we deal with it together.

That the incident occurred in 1934 is coincidental to another seminal moment in Western Massachusetts sports and race relations. That was the year members of an American Legion baseball team from Springfield refused to compete at a tournament in Gastonia, North Carolina, because their Black teammate, Ernest Bunny Taliaferro, would not have been allowed to play.

It wasnt until the 21st century that those two communities found healing and friendship in the early 2000s with a series of friendship baseball games. Until Fitch and Kelly met, the Coast Guard story had not enjoyed such a positive epilogue.

The 1934 game at the Coast Guard Academy was delayed as coaches and officials debated whether Fitch, whose graceful playing style had earned him the nickname Honey could play. The basketball game then went on.

According to accounts of the day, it was a rough affair with high emotions that Connecticut State won. Even Coast Guards northern location did not protect the player from mistreatment, perhaps in part because a high percentage of the academys students were from the South, which serves as a point of context but not an excuse.

The elder Fitch, who lived in Springfield. finished his education at American International College and worked at Monsanto Corp. before his death at age 72 in 1984, carried his scars internally for the most part, according to his son.

My father didnt talk much about it. He was very humble, and in addition, African-American parents didnt want to traumatize or darken the hopes and vision of their children, Fitch said. You cant let people destroy your dreams. Im trying to carry on what he believed.

Fitch said hes working with Kelly and the academy to plan activities for the spring to address diversity and inclusion. Were looking at an academy-wide discussion, he said.

It will include how the lessons of 1934 can be used to address society in 2023. There will also be activities with the basketball programs, which Kelly says are the most diversified units on campus.

Abused by the Coast Guard Academy of 1934, Honey Fitch has not been forgotten at UConn. A basketball, baseball and football star at the college, his inclusion into the Huskies of Honor prompted Kelly to contact his son with a letter of congratulations, an apology for the 1934 incident and an invitation him to visit the academy to hopefully move forward together.

Some things have already changed. The gymnasium named after Johnny Merriman, the Coast Guard basketball coach from 1930 to 1945 and its leader at the time of the incident, is now called Alumni Gymnasium, Kelly said.

The academy and Fitch are looking at possible high school curriculum programs and an ongoing relationship with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Fitch wants the impact to spread beyond the New London campus.

Im a Springfield person and Ive been here since I was 2, he said. Relations with the Springfield Public Schools and local colleges are on the table.

Fitchs son, who is also an alumni of UConn, has started the Harrison Fitch Leadership Fund. It focuses on leadership and creates opportunities for underrepresented students to better pave their future.

The Coast Guard Academy partnership with the fund will connect with the institutions Loy Institute for Leadership, the Office of Inclusion and Diversity and athletics program.

Kelly supports these initiatives, even though – or perhaps especially because – they speak to a dismal past.

It has been the honor of my time as superintendent to meet Mr. and Mrs. Fitch. The Fitch family didnt owe us anything, yet they had the fortitude to provide us an opportunity to demonstrate our growth as an institution and a service, Kelly said. Weve evolved as nation (since 1934), but we are struggling with how to deal with our past. But working with Mr. Fitch was an easy decision, Im grateful for his strength of character and his part of our efforts every day to make things right.

Fitch is convinced progress cannot be made without an understanding of even an unpleasant past. A student of history, he believes telling the story of what went wrong is essential tocreating a better society and a better day.

When I looked at my position, as disappointed as Id been about what had happened, I wanted to make something positive for future generations to come, he said. Thats what Im doing now.

This plaque honors Harrison "Honey" Fitch who was the victim of racism by the Coast Guard Academy while playing basketball for Connecticut State College in 1934. He was inducted into the Huskies Hall of Honor at the University of Connecticut as the college is now known.

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Israel announces military operation expanding in Gaza to seize ‘large areas’

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Israel announces military operation expanding in Gaza to seize 'large areas'

Israel is beginning a major expansion of its military operation in Gaza and will seize large areas of the territory, the country’s defence minister said.

Israel Katz said in a statement that there would be a large scale evacuation of the Palestinian population from fighting areas.

In a post on X, he wrote: “I call on the residents of Gaza to act now to remove Hamas and return all the hostages. This is the only way to end the war.”

He said the offensive was “expanding to crush and clean the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure and capture large areas that will be added to the security zones of the State of Israel”.

The expansion of Israel’s military operation in Gaza deepens its renewed offensive.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that had begun in January ended in March as Israel launched various air strikes on targets across Gaza.

The deal had seen the release of dozens of hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, but collapsed before it could move to phase two, which would have involved the release of all hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

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26 March: Anti-Hamas chants heard at protest in Gaza

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had already issued evacuation warnings to Gazans living around the southern city of Rafah and towards the city of Khan Yunis, telling them to move to the al Mawasi area on the shore, which was previously designated a humanitarian zone.

Israeli forces have already set up a significant buffer zone within Gaza, having expanded an area around the edge of the territory that had existed before the war, as well as a large security area in the so-called Netzarim corridor through the middle of Gaza.

This latest conflict began when Hamas launched an attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages.

The ensuing Israeli offensive has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Read more:
Father demands protection after Gaza aid workers’ deaths
Anti-Hamas chants heard at rare protest in Gaza

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Bodies of aid workers found in Gaza

Aid group Doctors Without Borders warned on Wednesday that Israel’s month-long siege of Gaza means some critical medications are now short in supply and are running out, leaving Palestinians at risk of losing vital healthcare.

“The Israeli authorities’ have condemned the people of Gaza to unbearable suffering with their deadly siege,” said Myriam Laaroussi, the group’s emergency coordinator in Gaza.

“This deliberate infliction of harm on people is like a slow death; it must end immediately.”

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UK

Heathrow bosses ‘warned about substation’ days before major power outage, MP committee hears

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Heathrow bosses 'warned about substation' days before major power outage, MP committee hears

Heathrow Airport bosses had been warned of a potential substation failures less than a week before a major power outage closed the airport for a day, a committee of MPs has heard.

The chief executive of Heathrow Airline Operators’ Committee Nigel Wicking told MPs of the Transport Committee he raised issues about resilience on 15 March after cable and wiring took out lights on a runway.

A fire at an electricity substation in west London meant the power supply was disrupted to Europe’s largest airport for a day – causing travel chaos for around 200,000 passengers.

“I’d actually warned Heathrow of concerns that we had with regard to the substations and my concern was resilience”, Mr Wicking said.

“So the first occasion was to team Heathrow director on the 15th of the month of March. And then I also spoke to the chief operating officer and chief customer officer two days before regarding this concern.

“And it was following a number of, a couple of incidents of, unfortunately, theft, of wire and cable around some of the power supply that on one of those occasions, took out the lights on the runway for a period of time. That obviously made me concerned.”

Mr Wicking also said he believed Heathrow’s Terminal 5 could have been ready to receive repatriation flights by “late morning” on the day of the closure, and that “there was opportunity also to get flights out”.

However, Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye said keeping the airport open during last month’s power outage would have been “disastrous”.

There was a risk of having “literally tens of thousands of people stranded in the airport, where we have nowhere to put them”, Mr Woldbye said.

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Business

What are Donald Trump’s tariffs, what is ‘liberation day’ and how does it all affect the UK?

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What are Donald Trump's tariffs, what is 'liberation day' and how does it all affect the UK?

If there is a word that has dominated Donald Trump’s second term, it’s tariffs. 

Aluminium, steel, cars and champagne have all been in his firing line, while China, Canada and Mexico are the countries targeted with the heaviest costs.

Along the way, there have been threats, pauses and postponements.

So what are tariffs, what is in the pipeline – and what could all this mean for the UK?

What are tariffs and why is Trump threatening to use them?

Tariffs are taxes on goods imported into the US.

It is the importers buying the goods who pay the tariffs – therefore, American companies.

Ultimately, the intent is to protect US manufacturing and bolster jobs by making foreign-made products less attractive.

However, there is a knock-on effect: to compensate for tariffs, companies put up their prices, so customers end up paying more for goods.

Tariffs can also damage foreign countries as they make their products pricier and harder to sell.

In his second term, Mr Trump has frequently used them – or the threat of them – as a trade weapon.

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Trump’s tariffs: What can we expect?

They are a key part of Mr Trump’s efforts to reshape global trade relations, and he plans to impose a swathe of what he calls “reciprocal” taxes that would match tariffs levied by other nations.

Tariffs were also part of his playbook in his first term, when he imposed taxes on most goods coming from China and used them as a bargaining chip to force Canada and Mexico to renegotiate a North American trade pact.

On his first day back in office, the US president promised 25% tariffs on all products coming into the US from its nearest neighbours Mexico and Canada – ostensibly to force the countries to tackle illegal migration and fentanyl crossing the border.

What is liberation day?

Mr Trump has branded 2 April “liberation day”, when he could unveil the reciprocal tariffs on countries deemed to be giving the US a bad deal on trade.

The extent of potential tariffs and countries affected remains unclear, with Mr Trump at times sending mixed messages.

On 30 March, he said “all countries” could expect to be hit by tariffs.

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What is Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’?

Speaking from Air Force One, the US president rubbished a question from a reporter who asked whether it was true he was planning on targeting between 10 and 15 countries.

“Who told you 10-15 countries? You didn’t hear it from me,” he said.

When pressed on how many he was planning to hit, he said: “You’d start with all countries, let’s see what happens.”

Two days prior, he said he was open to carving out deals with countries seeking to avoid US tariffs, but that those agreements would be negotiated after 2 April.

He had previously said he “may give a lot of countries breaks, but it’s reciprocal”, adding: “We might be even nicer than that.”

How could the UK be affected?

The UK hopes an economic deal with the US will spare the country from some of the tariffs.

Sir Keir Starmer and Mr Trump have had “productive negotiations” towards a UK-US “economic prosperity deal”, Downing Street has said.

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‘Everything on table over US tariffs’

The two leaders discussed a possible deal in a phone call on Sunday and agreed negotiations will “continue at pace”, according to a statement released on Sunday 30 March.

The day before the so-called “liberation day”, Sir Keir told Sky News political editor Beth Rigby the UK was “working hard on an economic deal” with the US and said “rapid progress” has been made.

But, he admitted: “Look, the likelihood is there will be tariffs. Nobody welcomes that, nobody wants a trade war.

“But I have to act in the national interest and that means all options have to remain on the table.”

Sir Keir added: “We are discussing economic deals. We’re well advanced.

“These would normally take months or years, and in a matter of weeks, we’ve got well advanced in those discussions, so I think that a calm approach, a collected approach, not a knee-jerk approach, is what’s needed in the best interests of our country.”

Mr Trump has not explicitly said the UK is in his sights for further tariffs, though he has described VAT – a tax added on all goods and services in the UK – as unfair.

In deciding what is a reciprocal tariff for the UK, it’s possible Mr Trump could use the tax, typically 20%, to decide.

Data shows no great trade imbalances – the gap between what you import and export from a certain country – and UK figures show no trade deficit with the United States.

UK ministers have previously suggested this could be good news for avoiding new levies.

But the tariffs Mr Trump has already announced would have a big impact on the UK – particularly the car tariff.

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Business secretary hopes Trump tariffs will be ‘reversed in weeks or months’

Jonathan Reynolds, the business and trade secretary, told Sky News he is “hopeful” the tariffs can be reversed soon.

He warned: “The longer we don’t have a potential resolution, the more we will have to consider our own position in relation to [tariffs], precluding retaliatory tariffs.”

He added the government was taking a “calm-headed” approach in the hope a deal can be agreed, but said it is only “reasonable” that retaliatory tariffs are an option, echoing Sir Keir’s sentiments over the weekend.

What tariffs have already been announced?

Some tariffs have already come into effect, while Mr Trump has confirmed some that will come in on 2 April.

He has said a 25% tariff on all cars imported to the US will come into effect, with a similar tariff on car parts expected to follow in May.

This could prove even more complicated for American car makers, who source components from around the world even if the vehicle is made in the US.

Trump tariffs teaser for SEO liberation day explainer

But Mr Trump has insisted the move will “continue to spur growth”, pointing to plans from Hyundai – the South Korean car maker – to build a $5.8bn (£4.5bn) steel plant in Louisiana.

The tariff could have a huge impact on the UK’s car industry, including on manufacturers such as Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce.

Official data shows the US is the UK car sector’s largest single market by country, accounting for £6.4bn worth of car exports in 2023 – 18.4% of the total.

Trump has also said he will place a 25% tariff on all imports from any country that buys oil or gas from Venezuela, which includes the US itself – in addition to imposing new tariffs on the South American country.

On 12 March, a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports to the US came into effect, affecting UK products worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

The move came after he placed a 10% tax on all imports from China, which he later doubled to 20%.

He placed 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, but paused them for a month two days after they came into effect, meaning they are set to resume on 2 April.

The pause did not fully cover a tariff of 10% on Canadian energy products.

What has been the global response to tariffs?

There has widely been condemnation of the tariffs, especially from countries worst affected like Mexico and Canada.

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Canadian PM: ‘Tariffs are an attack’

Some have imposed, or threatened to impose, retaliatory tariffs.

China has already hit back with retaliatory tariffs covering a range of US goods, including a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas products, a 10% tariff on US crude oil and tariffs of up to 15% on key US farm exports.

Canada imposed tariffs of its own on US products, including a 25% reciprocal tariff on US steel and aluminium products and tariffs worth an estimated C$29.8bn (£16bn) on a wide range of US products including orange juice, peanut butter, alcohol, coffee and clothing.

Read more on tariffs:
It may be harder for the UK to trump metals tariffs
Stock markets tumble as Trump tariffs loom

The European Union has said it will impose retaliatory tariffs on the US, but when they will come into force is unknown.

The European Commission initially threatened to impose “countermeasures” affecting €26bn (£21.9bn) of US goods from 1 April, but later delayed this until the middle of April.

The bloc said the delay was because it wanted “additional time for discussions” with the US after Mr Trump threatened a 200% tariff on EU alcohol – including wine and champagne – if the bloc imposed duties on US whiskey.

Any tariffs imposed by the bloc would not only impact US steel and aluminium products, but also textiles, home appliances, agricultural goods and whiskey.

Why tariffs could cost you – even if Trump spares UK

Even if no tariffs are put on all UK exports to the US, consumers globally will still be impacted by the wider trade war, particularly in the US.

Economists believe that tariffs will raise costs in the US, sparking a wave of inflation that will keep interest rates higher for longer. The US central bank, the Federal Reserve, is mandated to act to bring inflation down.

More expensive borrowing and costlier goods and services could bring about an economic downturn in the US and have knock-on effects in the UK.

Forecasts from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) predict lower UK economic growth due to higher global interest rates.

It estimated that UK GDP (a measure of everything produced in the economy) could be between 2.5% and 3% lower over five years and 0.7% lower this year.

The Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy thinktank said a 20% across-the-board tariff, impacting the UK, could lead to a £22bn reduction in the UK’s US exports, with the hardest-hit sectors including fishing and mining.

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