Returning to the United States seven years ago, I was puzzled how the Bureau of Land Management had seemingly become involved with race politics. Then I deciphered that the hashtag #BLM had taken on a new meaning during my quarter century abroad: Black Lives Matter.

I was likewise confused when newscasters recently began speaking about the IRA — the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The abbreviation had spent decades in the headlines representing the Irish Republican Army.

Then, there is the personal IRA, an acronym — sometimes pronounced eye-ruh — for a tax-advantaged Individual Retirement Account.

Such recycling or duplications of initials is nothing new. The NRA — National Rifle Association — is frequently in the news amid the gun control debate. The abbreviation was just as pervasive in 1930s America during the Great Depression. The NRA blue eagle logo was displayed by companies adhering to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s labor codes of the National Recovery Administration.

At VOA, we stake our claim to the initials from the time of our first broadcast (in German) in 1942. We were latecomers, having been preceded by the Volunteers of America, a philanthropic organization originating in New York City in 1896.

Abbreviations or initialisms are convenient shorthand, usually formed from the initial letters of two or more words. Acronyms technically are shortcuts pronounceable as words. Radar, for example, comes from the 1940s technology of radio direction and ranging. That rang nicely, leading to the related acronym for sound navigation and ranging: sonar. Also below the waterline: scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus).

‘Bad acronyms’

Joe Essid, Ph.D. (that suffix from the Latin, meaning philosophiae doctor), director of the Writing Center at the University of Richmond, notes “the military is full of bad acronyms.”

The acronym for the commander in chief of the U.S. Navy fleet (CINCUS – “sink us”) was retired after the Japanese did just that at Pearl Harbor in 1941. The Air Force proposed a space plane in the 1960s, the X-20 Dyna-Soar. That did not fly.

“I think one reason it got canceled was because it was called the dinosaur,” says Essid, whose own surname has become an acronym for extended service set identifier.

In World War II, American soldiers hoping to avoid being MIA (missing in action) or KIA (killed in action) sometimes complained their equipment or plans were fubar — fouled up beyond all recognition. Except the first word was not fouled, but an expletive. “FUBAR” in 2023 is the title of a Netflix action-comedy starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

Fubar’s twin from the same era is snafu, which in polite company means situation normal all fouled up. During the war, the U.S. Army officially took it in good humor and produced a series of instructional cartoon shorts titled “Private Snafu.”

 

Educator and podcaster Mignon Fogarty (AKA Grammar Girl on social media) has mixed feelings about all the abbreviations.

“Acronyms are a great example of jargon — language that is wonderful shorthand for insiders, but that excludes everyone else. Acronyms aren’t bad in all situations, but when you’re an outsider, they’re quite off-putting,” she says.

Shortened names are not consistent across languages. In English, OAS is used for the Organization of American States. But in most of those three dozen member nations, it is known as the OEA, (La Organización de los Estados Americanos).

The international organization providing humanitarian medical assistance in war and disaster zones was initially known as MSF: Médecins Sans Frontières. It now refers to itself in English as Doctors Without Borders, but DWB does not seem to have caught on.

Similarly for the dual identities of Reporters Without Borders, which uses its French acronym RSF (Reporters sans frontières) even in English.

Speaking of the French, they do try to impose some method to language madness, resisting their phrases and acronyms from inundation by anglicisms. In English, there is no equivalent of the Académie Française, and hence no registry of acronyms.

“There’s no American academy of linguistic purity. That’s the strength of the English language,” according to Essid. “It’s a malleable and imperfect tool.”

Any group, individual or agency can create their own acronyms in English, hoping they gain flight ASAP by RTITW (releasing them in the wild), which I just made up.

Let us see if someone will add it to the Acronym Finder. 

The White House

As a White House correspondent, my lexicon overflowed with acronyms: POTUS (President of the United States), FLOTUS (First Lady of the United States) and VPOTUS (Vice President of the United States), whose ceremonial office is not inside the White House but next door in the EEOB (Eisenhower Executive Office Building).

When I got too close to POTUS or VPOTUS with my boom microphone, I got a stern look from a plainclothes agent of the PPD (Presidential Protective Division) of the USSS (United States Secret Service).

Confusingly, PPD at the White House can also refer to a presidential policy directive.

Really famous 20th century presidents became historical initials starting with FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt), who was eventually followed by JFK (John F. Kennedy) and LBJ (Lyndon Baines Johnson). Johnson’s successor, Richard Milhous Nixon, the only U.S. president to resign, is not immortalized as RMN.

With the election of the first female vice president, Kamala Harris, her husband, Douglas Emhoff, became the first SGOTUS (Second Gentleman of the United States).

And when a man eventually assumes the traditional FLOTUS role, he’ll be FGOTUS, although the media used that term during the Obama administration to denote White House resident Marian Robinson, mother of FLOTUS Michelle Obama, as the unofficial ‘first grandmother of the United States.’

‘Make the meaning clear’

Grammarian Fogarty offers pro tips for those employing linguistic shorthand.

“When writing for a more general audience, context will also often make the meaning clear. MVP in a baseball story will obviously mean ‘most valuable player.’ But in a general business story, you may need to define MVP (minimum viable product) the first time you use it.”

She prefers to err on the side of caution and spell it out if there is any doubt the audience won’t know the meaning.

OK, (said to originate from oll korrect, an alteration of all correct).

Forgarty’s suggestion is likely good advice for a resume or cv (curriculum vitae).

Fred DeFilippo, for example, went from the CIA to the CIA. The former executive chef at the Central Intelligence Agency is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. 

Cellphone text messaging unleashed a torrent of abbreviations to reduce character count: AFAIK (as far as I know); BRB (be right back); IDK (I don’t know); MIRL (meet in real life); NSFW (not safe for work); ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing), and TMI (too much information).

“I try not to use them,” says Essid. “I don’t text a lot, I hate smartphones. I tend to communicate with email and in person. And so, I don’t tend to use these abbreviations and acronyms.”

Except in his hobby of beekeeping where they seem to be buzzing all around.

“A lot of them have to do with sex,” such as JH for juvenile hormones, Essid explains.

Human teenagers with surging hormones are prolific users of social messaging codes.

Before the advent of fruit and vegetable emojis, initialisms were created to KPC (keep parents clueless), such as FWB (friends with benefits); OC (open crib, meaning no parent will be home) and TDTM (talk dirty to me). Many more examples are NSFW (not safe for work).

Early Christians under threat of persecution had the Latin initialism INRI (Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum — Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews). Perhaps it was not meant to obscure meaning, rather, to save time carving wooden crosses.

Are acronyms 2,000 years on so pervasive that editors should let them stand on their own without elaboration?

IDK, TBD. TTYL. LOL.
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Dany Bill is a Cameroon native and seven-time Muay Thai world champion. He was recently in Los Angeles, raising money for his foundation in Africa, which trains young people in the sport. Genia Dulot caught up with him there.
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The comedy-fantasy ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ dominated the Academy Awards Sunday night. The film earned seven Oscar statuettes, including for best picture. Mike O’Sullivan reports the movie’s directors and three of its stars also received Oscars.

Produced by Jason Godman
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Nobel literature laureate Kenzaburo Oe, whose darkly poetic novels were built from his childhood memories during Japan’s postwar occupation and from being the parent of a disabled son, has died. He was 88. 

Oe, who was also an outspoken anti-nuclear and peace activist, died on March 3, his publisher, Kodansha Ltd., said in a statement Monday. The publisher did not give further details about his death and said his funeral was held by his family. 

Oe in 1994 became the second Japanese author awarded the Nobel Prize in literature. 

The Swedish Academy cited the author for his works of fiction, in which “poetic force creates an imagined world where life and myth condense to form a disconcerting picture of the human predicament today.” 

His most searing works were influenced by the birth of Oe’s mentally disabled son in 1963. 

“A Personal Matter,” published a year later, is the story of a father coming to terms through darkness and pain with the birth of a brain-damaged son. Several of his later works have a damaged or deformed child with symbolic significance, with the stories and characters evolving and maturing as Oe’s son aged. 

Hikari Oe had a cranial deformity at birth that caused mental disability. He has a limited ability to speak and read but has become a musical composer whose works have been performed and recorded on albums. 

The only other Japanese to win a Nobel in literature was Yasunari Kawabata in 1968. 

Despite the outpouring of national pride over Oe’s win, his principal literary themes evoke deep unease here. A boy of 10 when World War II ended, Oe came of age during the American occupation. 

“The humiliation took a firm grip on him and has colored much of his work. He himself describes his writing as a way of exorcising demons,” the Swedish Academy said. 

Childhood wartime memories strongly colored the story that marked Oe’s literary debut, “The Catch,” about a rural boy’s experiences with an American pilot shot down over his village. Published in 1958, when Oe was still a university student, the story won Japan’s prestigious Akutagawa prize for new writers. 

He also wrote nonfiction books about Hiroshima’s devastation and rise from the August 6, 1945, U.S. atomic bombing, as well as about Okinawa and its postwar U.S. occupation. 

Oe has campaigned for peace and anti-nuclear causes, particularly since the 2011 Fukushima crisis, and has often appeared in rallies. 

In 2015, Oe criticized Japan’s decision to restart nuclear reactors in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami-triggered meltdown at the Fukushima plant, calling it a risk that could lead to another disaster. He urged then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to follow Germany’s example and phase out atomic energy. 

“Japanese politicians are not trying to change the situation but only keeping the status quo even after this massive nuclear accident, and even if we all know that yet another accident would simply wipe out Japan’s future,” Oe said. 

Oe, who was 80 then, said his life’s final work is to strive for a nuclear-free world: “We must not leave the problem of nuclear plants for the younger generation.” 

The third of seven children, Oe was born on January 31, 1935, in a village on Japan’s southern island of Shikoku. At the University of Tokyo, he studied French literature and began writing plays. 

The academy noted that Oe’s work has been strongly influenced by Western writers, including Dante, Poe, Rabelais, Balzac, Eliot and Sartre. 

But even with those influences, Oe brought an Asian sensibility to bear. 

In 2021, thousands of pages of his handwritten manuscripts and other works were sent to be archived at the University of Tokyo. 
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The 95th Academy Awards took place at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday and were broadcast live on ABC television. The following is the full list of 2023 Oscar winners: 

Best Picture: “Everything Everywhere All at Once” 

Best Actress: Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” 

Best Actor: Brendan Fraser, “The Whale” 

Best Director: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” 

Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” 

Best Supporting Actress: Jamie Lee Curtis, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Best International Feature Film: “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Germany 

Best Animated Feature Film: “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” 

Best Documentary Feature Film: “Navalny” 

Best Original Screenplay: “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” written by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert 

Best Adapted Screenplay: “Women Talking,” screenplay by Sarah Polley 

Best Original Score: “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Volker Bertelmann 

Best Original Song: “Naatu Naatu,” from “RRR,” music by M.M. Keeravaani; lyrics by Chandrabose 

Cinematography: “All Quiet On The Western Front,” James Friend 

Visual Effects: “Avatar: The Way of Water” 

Sound: “Top Gun: Maverick” 

Film Editing: “Everything Everywhere All at Once” 

Production Design: “All Quiet On The Western Front” 

Costume Design: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Ruth Carter 

Makeup and Hairstyling: “The Whale” 

Documentary Short Film: “The Elephant Whisperers” 

Short Film, Live Action: “An Irish Goodbye” 

Short Film, Animated: “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” 
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“Everything Everywhere All at Once” won the prestigious best picture trophy at the Academy Awards on Sunday as Hollywood embraced an offbeat story about a Chinese-American family working out their problems across multiple dimensions. 

The movie claimed three of the four acting Oscars for star Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis. Yeoh played the lead role of a stressed-out laundromat owner who finds she has superpowers in alternate universes. 

“For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities,” the 60-year-old Malaysian actress said on stage. “And ladies, don’t let anybody ever tell you you are ever past your prime.” 

Quan, a onetime child star who gave up acting for two decades, and Hollywood veteran Curtis won supporting actor and actress for their roles. 

A weeping Quan, who was born in Vietnam, kissed his gold Oscar statuette as he held it on stage in front of the biggest names in show business. 

“My journey started on a boat,” Quan said. “I spent a year in a refugee camp. Somehow I ended up here on Hollywood’s biggest stage.” 

As a boy, Quan starred in a 1984 “Indiana Jones” movie and “The Goonies” in 1985. The 51-year-old said he had quit acting for years because he saw little opportunity for Asian actors on the big screen. 

“They say stories like this only happen in the movies,” he added. “I cannot believe it’s happening to me. This is the American dream.” 

Quan’s co-star Jamie Lee Curtis, who built a career in horror films such as “Halloween,” won best supporting actress for playing a frumpy tax auditor named Deirdre Beaubeirdre. 

Curtis, 64, looked upward and addressed her late parents, Academy award nominees Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. “I just won an Oscar,” she said through tears. 

“The Whale” star Brendan Fraser won best actor for playing a severely obese man trying to reconnect with his daughter. 

A German remake of World War One epic “All Quiet” won best international feature. 
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Oscar weekend belonged to “Scream VI” in theaters, as the horror sequel notched a franchise-best $44.5 million in domestic ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. 

The Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group co-production sailed past expectations, easily surpassing the previous series high of $32 million that “Scream 2” opened with in 1997. The film’s robust debut, coming as Hollywood prepared to gather for the 95th Academy Awards, was yet another reminder of how horror has come to be one of the industry’s few sure things at the box office. 

After lying dormant for more than a decade, the “Scream” franchise, previously directed by Wes Craven and released by Dimension Films, has found a ripe revival with a young cast led by “Wednesday” star Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera. 

Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have brought back the 27-year-old series’ meta slasher storylines and serial killer Ghostface, and it’s paying off. Last year’s “Scream V” grossed $137 million worldwide on a production budget of $24 million. In the latest chapter, Courtney Cox returns as reporter Gale Weathers, as does Hayden Panettiere, a veteran of “Scream IV.” But it’s the first “Scream” movie without Neve Campbell. 

“Scream VI,” quickly greenlit after the success of “V,” has also fared fairly well with both critics and audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 75% fresh rating. Moviegoers gave it a “B+” CinemaScore, a decent grade for a horror film. The sixth “Scream,” which cost $33 million to make, added $22.6 million overseas. 

Last week’s top film, “Creed III,” slid to second after its above-expectations launch. Michael B. Jordan’s MGM “Rocky” spinoff, starring him and Jonathan Majors, earned $27.1 million in its second weekend. It has rapidly passed $100 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters. 

Columbia Pictures’ “65,” a science-fiction thriller starring Adam Driver as a space explorer stranded on prehistoric Earth, opened in third place with an estimated $12.3 million from 3,405 locations, and an additional $7.2 million internationally. That might be better than expected, too, for a film that got terrible reviews from critics. (It scored just 35% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.) But “65” reportedly carried a hefty production budget of about $90 million, though tax rebates roughly halved that cost to financiers including Sony, Bron Studios and TSG. 

Bobby Farrelly’s “Champions,” starring Woody Harrelson as a disgraced coach trying to lead a basketball team to the Special Olympics, opened with $5.2 million in 3,030 locations. Audiences (an “A” CinemaScore) have liked it more than reviewers (53% on Rotten Tomatoes). 

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday. 

1. “Scream VI,” $44.5 million. 

2. “Creed III,” $27.1 million. 

3. “65,” $12.3 million. 

4. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” $7 million. 

5. “Cocaine Bear,” $6.2 million. 

6. “Jesus Revolution,” $5.2 million. 

7. “Champions,” $5.2 million. 

8. “Avatar: The Way of Water,” $2.7 million. 

9. “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: To the Swords,” $1.9 million. 

10. “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” $1.7 million. 
    …

The South African rapper Costa Titch died on stage while performing, police said Sunday, as they opened an investigation into the circumstances of the 28-year-old’s sudden death.

 

The artist “collapsed while he was performing” Saturday evening at the Ultra South Africa concert in the Johannesburg suburb of Nasrec, police told AFP.  

 

They said a post-mortem would establish the cause of death.

 

Costa Titch scored a major hit with “Big Flexa,” which has more than 45 million YouTube views, showcasing the Amapiano or ‘the pianos’ local subgenre of house music blending house, jazz and lounge music.

 

Videos on social media of his concert Saturday show him performing with his microphone in hand when he appears to fall. He continues singing but collapses again, prompting other artists to come to his aid.

 

Costa Titch, whose real name is Costa Tsobanoglou, died a month on from the assassination of another popular South African rapper Kiernan Forbes, known as AKA.

 

Forbes was shot dead outside a Durban restaurant and an investigation is ongoing into what has been seen as a likely contract killing.

 

Tributes swiftly appeared Sunday for Titch with Julius Malema, leader of radical leftist party EFF, posting an image of a broken heart alongside Costa Titch’s name on social media.

 

The Southern African Music Rights Organization wrote on Twitter: “SAMRO is saddened by the passing of popular rapper Costa Tsobanoglou, better known as Costa Titch. Heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and broader music industry.”

 

“RIP, Costa Titch. Great talent gone too soon,” tweeted rapper Da L.E.S.
…

Hollywood is gearing up for the 95th Academy Awards, where “Everything Everywhere All at Once” comes in the lead nominee and the film industry will hope to move past “the slap” of last year’s ceremony. Here’s everything you need to know about the 2023 Oscars, including when they are, where to watch the live show and this year’s controversies.

When are the Oscars?

The Oscars will be held Sunday, March 12, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The ceremony is set to begin at 8 p.m. EDT and be broadcast live on ABC.

Can you stream the Oscars?

The broadcast can be streamed with a subscription to Hulu Live TV, YouTubeTV, AT&T TV and Fubo TV. Some of these services offer brief free trials. Here’s what you need to know about how to watch or stream the show live. 

Who is hosting?

Jimmy Kimmel will host for the third time and his first time since 2018. That was also the last Oscars to feature a solo host. The show went hostless for several years after Kimmel’s last outing. Last year, Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes hosted as a trio. In an ad for this year’s show styled after “Top Gun: Maverick,” Kimmel made his humble case for being the right person for the job while noting that he can’t get slapped because “I cry a lot.” 

What’s nominated for best picture at the 2023 Oscars?

The 10 movies competing for best picture are: “All Quiet on the Western Front,” “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “The Banshees of Inisherin,” “Elvis,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “The Fabelmans,” “Tár,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Triangle of Sadness,” “Women Talking.” Here’s a guide to how you can watch them. 

Who is presenting?

Presenters include: Halle Bailey, Antonio Banderas, Elizabeth Banks, Jessica Chastain, John Cho, Andrew Garfield, Hugh Grant, Danai Gurira, Salma Hayek Pinault, Nicole Kidman, Florence Pugh and Sigourney Weaver. They join a previously announced group including: Riz Ahmed, Emily Blunt, Glenn Close, Jennifer Connelly, Ariana DeBose, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Michael B. Jordan, Troy Kotsur, Jonathan Majors, Melissa McCarthy, Janelle Monáe, Deepika Padukone, Questlove, Zoe Saldaña and Donnie Yen. A third wave was announced Thursday: Halle Berry, Paul Dano, Cara Delevingne, Harrison Ford, Kate Hudson, Mindy Kaling, Eva Longoria, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Andie MacDowell, Elizabeth Olsen, Pedro Pascal and John Travolta. 

What else is in store for the shoe?

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has said that winners to all categories will be announced live on the show. (Last year, some categories were taped in a pre-show, something that caused an uproar among academy members.) All signs point to a full slate of musical performances, with Rihanna performing “Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava singing Chandrabose and M.M. Keeravaani’s “Naatu Naatu” from “RRR.” Nominee Lady Gaga, on the other hand, will not sing “Hold My Hand,” from “Top Gun: Maverick,” during the show. On Monday, show producers announced that Lenny Kravitz will deliver the “In Memoriam” performance. 

Who are the favorites?

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s indie sci-fi hit “Everything Everywhere All at Once” comes in with a leading 11 nominations. Close on its heels, though, is the Irish friends-falling-out dark comedy “The Banshees of Inisherin,” with nine nods, a total matched by Netflix’s WWI film “All Quiet on the Western Front.” Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) may have a slight edge on Cate Blanchett (“Tár”) for best actress. Best actor is harder to call, with Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”) and Austin Butler (“Elvis”) in the mix. In the supporting categories, Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”) and Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) are the frontrunners, though Jamie Lee Curtis’ Screen Actors Guild Awards win may have thrown a wrench into the supporting actress category. Steven Spielberg (“The Fabelmans”) may win his third best director Oscar, though the Daniels may have emerged as the frontrunners. AP Film Writers Lindsey Bahr and Jake Coyle are predicting a big haul for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” 

What’s been controversial this year?

Aside from the usual snubs and surprises, this year’s biggest to-do has been the debate surrounding Andrea Riseborough’s unexpected nomination for best actress. Riseborough was nominated for the little-seen, Texas-set drama “To Leslie” after many A-list stars rallied around her performance. When two other best-actress contenders — Danielle Deadwyler (“Till”) and Viola Davis (“Woman King”) — were snubbed, some saw that as a reflection of racial bias in the film industry. The academy launched an inquiry into the star-studded, grassroots campaign for Riseborough but found no reason to rescind her nomination. 

What else should you look for?

Just the reading of the title to one of this year’s short film nominees should prompt a wave of giggles. John Williams (“The Fabelmans”), up for best score, is the oldest nominee ever, at 90 years old. After historic back-to-back best-director wins by Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”) and Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”), no women were nominated this year for best director. Also don’t expect to see Will Smith at the Oscars anytime soon. After striking Chris Rock at last year’s ceremony, Smith was banned by the film academy from attending for 10 years. In a live Netflix special on Saturday, Rock finally punched back at Smith with a blistering stand-up set about the incident. 
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Brent Sass, the defending Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race champion, withdrew from this year’s race on Saturday, citing concerns for his health.

Sass scratched at the Eagle Island checkpoint, a statement from the Iditarod said. Eagle Island is about 966 kilometers into the nearly 1,609-kilometer race.

“He didn’t feel he could care for his team due to current concerns with his periodontal health,” the statement said. The condition typically relates to gum disease.

A plane was being sent to Eagle Island to fly Sass off the trail, according to a video posted on the Iditarod Insider webpage.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sad, but it is what it is,” Sass’ father, Mark Sass, told Alaska Public Media. “I just want him to be OK.”

The Iditarod said all 11 dogs on Sass’ team were in good health.

Sass was in the lead when he arrived at the Eagle Island checkpoint late Friday night with an almost four-hour advantage over his nearest competitor, Jessie Holmes of Brushkana.

Holmes was the first musher to leave the Eagle Island checkpoint early Saturday morning. The 40-year-old Alabama native in 2004 moved to Alaska, where he is a carpenter and appears on the National Geographic reality TV show Life Below Zero, about people who live in rural Alaska.

The race started for 33 mushers on March 5 in Willow. It takes the sled dog teams over two mountain ranges, the frozen Yukon River and the treacherous Bering Sea ice en route to the finish line in Nome. Mushers had to contend with another issue during the first week of competition: Altering their race strategy because of high heat in interior Alaska.

The winner is expected to mush down Nome’s Front Street, a block off the Bering Sea, to the finish line either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Before the competitive start to the race, mushers greeted fans March 4 during a ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage and drove auction winners riding in their sleds for a 17.7-kilometer jaunt through the streets of the state’s largest city.

The 33 mushers represented the smallest field ever to start a race, one short of the first race run in 1973.

Since then, three mushers including Sass have withdrawn.
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