Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Names and faces
• Former American professional cyclist Lance Armstrong led a bike tour around Beirut on Sunday to raise awareness and funds for organizations helping residents affected by a massive explosion that struck the Lebanese capital in August. Dozens of cyclists took part in the “Bike for Beirut” tour as Lebanon marked two months since the blast at Beirut’s port on Aug. 4. It was one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded. “Today we’re starting here, I guess not very far from the actual explosion site,” Armstrong said outside the port. He added that the bike tour aimed to “try to bring some awareness to this community, to the people affected.” The blast killed 193, wounded about 6,500 and caused billions of dollars in damage. It destroyed the port facility and thousands of apartments in the city. It also came as Lebanon is grappling with its worst economic and financial crisis in decades, made worse by the spread of the coronavirus. The group of cyclists later entered the port and passed close to the huge crater left by the blast, then continued the tour around Beirut. Among the four organizations the tour is collecting money for are the Lebanese Red Cross and the charity group Offrjoie. Armstrong built a worldwide reputation during his professional career winning races, including the the Tour de France seven times, and fighting cancer. However, his reputation crumbled abruptly several years ago after revelations he used performance-enhancing drugs.
• Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine who was forced out of her job last year by the Trump administration, is being honored by PEN America. The literary and human-rights organization announced last week that Yovanovitch has won the PEN/Benenson Courage Award. During the impeachment hearings of President Donald Trump, Yovanovitch told House investigators that Ukrainian officials had warned her in advance that Rudy Giuliani and other Trump insiders were planning to “do things, including to me” and were “looking to hurt” her. Yovanovitch was recalled from Kyiv as Giuliani pressed Ukrainian officials to investigate baseless corruption allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. The alleged attempt to make a foreign government investigate a political opponent led to Trump’s impeachment in December on two counts by the Democratic-run House. The Republican-run Senate acquitted him on both counts. “At a time when, for government officials, standing on principle can spell an end to a professional career, Ambassador Yovanovitch did not flinch or falter,” said Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, said in a statement. “She is a powerful exemplar of the kind of courage this award is meant to honor.”