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U.S. NEWS A3
Toronto mourns Rob Ford; ‘He’s the mayor of heaven now’
ROB GILLIES
Associated Pres
TORONTO (AP) — Toronto
on Wednesday mourned
its infamous former leader
Rob Ford, whom his young
daughter in a speech
called the “mayor of heav-
en now.”
Ford died last week at age
46 after fighting cancer. His to the best places but said
four-year tenure as mayor
of Canada’s largest city
was marred by revelations
about his drinking problems
and illegal drug use. As he
sought a second term in
2014, his cancer diagno-
sis forced him to do what
months of scandals could
not — drop his bid for re-
election. He died less than
two years later.
“I remember at the hos-
pital he smiled at me and
he said, ‘Stephanie, I may
not be here for too much
longer, but I want you to
remember that I will always
love you. I need you and
your brother to be strong
for your mom,’” his 10-year-
old daughter said Wednes-
US planning to beef up military
presence thru Eastern Europe
LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The
Pentagon plans to deploy
an armored brigade com-
bat team to Eastern Eu-
rope next February as part
of the ongoing effort to
rotate troops in and out of
the region to reassure allies ment and forces to Europe.
worried about threats from
an increasingly aggressive
Russia.
The decision will put three
fully equipped Army bri-
gades in Europe on a con-
tinuous basis, and under-
score promises made by
defense leaders to protect
Europe and send a mes-
sage to Moscow that any
actions against allies would
be unacceptable.
According to an an-
nouncement released
Wednesday, the Army will
send a full set of equipment
with the brigade to Europe.
Earlier plans had called
for the Pentagon to rotate
troops into Europe, where
they would have used a
set of training equipment
already there.
The new proposal would
Thursday 31 March 2016

day. “I know my dad is in a Supporters of former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford wait for the doors to open at the Toronto Congress
better place now and that Centre on Wednesday, March 30, 2016, for an event celebrating Ford’s life. Ford died of cancer
he’s the mayor of heaven the previous week at the age of 46.
now.” She thanked the
mourners for coming and (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
said it meant so much to
her and her 8-year-old
brother, Doug. She said
her dad bought them the
best toys and took them
that what mattered most
was that they were happy
together. Ford had been
lying in repose at City Hall
the last two days, an honor
only granted a few times
in the past. Ford’s brother
Doug invited hundreds of
members of the public to
walk with the procession to
the church from City Hall.
Rob Ford was loved by
some and loathed by oth-
ers as mayor.
The international spotlight
fell on him in May 2013,
when Toronto Star and
the U.S. website Gawker
reported the existence of
a video that appeared to
show the mayor inhaling
from a crack pipe.
remove the pre-positioned
equipment, send it to be
refurbished, and allow
the U.S. forces to bring more
robust, modern equipment
in with them when they de-
ploy. There are about 4,200
soldiers in an armored bri-
gade, along with hundreds
of heavy vehicles, tanks,
self-propelled howitzers
and other equipment.
Sending the brigade with
its own equipment, Penta-
gon spokeswoman Laura
Seal said, will also allow the
military to practice its abil-
ity to rapidly deploy equip-
“This will be the most mod-
ernized equipment the
Army has to offer, and
will, over the next year,
replace the less modern
training equipment we put
in Europe over the last few
years,” she said.
About 62,000 U.S. military
forces are permanent-
ly based in Europe, and
about 25,000 of those are
Army soldiers. Under the
new plan, there would be
about 29,200 U.S. soldiers in
Europe at any given time.