Volume 79 Edition 198A ©SS 2021 CONTINGENCY EDITION SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2021 Free to Deployed Areas

stripes.com

BASEBALL

Iconic sluggerHank Aaron dead at 86Page 24

MILITARY

Air Force approveslonger braids andponytails for womenPage 3

VIDEO GAMES

Call of the Sea isa challengingpuzzle adventurePage 12

Biden ordering stopgap help as talks start on big virus aid plan ›› Page 7

KABUL, Afghanistan — Presi-

dent Joe Biden faces a choice in

the opening days of his adminis-

tration that will one day help

shape his legacy: whether to soon

withdraw all U.S. troops from Af-

ghanistan or pursue a longer mis-

sion.

The former risks undercutting

the Kabul government’s leverage

as it contin-

ues to fight

both the Ta-

liban and the

local Islamic State affiliate, analy-

sts and Afghan officials say; the

latter may stabilize the govern-

ment and protect U.S. interests,

but recharge hostilities between

the Taliban and coalition troops.

Peace negotiations between the

Afghan government and Taliban

insurgents have made little pro-

gress recently because both sides

are gauging how the new adminis-

tration will approach the war,

analysts say.

Biden’s Defense and State De-

partment nominees have both said

they want to review the deal

signed by the Trump administra-

tion and the Taliban in February

in Doha, Qatar.

The U.S. officially had 8,400

troops in Afghanistan when for-

mer President Donald Trump

JUSTIN UPDEGRAFF/AP

An AH-64 Apache attack helicopter provides security from above while CH-47 Chinooks drop off supplies to U.S. soldiers with Task Force Ironat Bost Airfield, Afghanistan, in 2017.

Drawdown dilemmaBiden inherits stalled Afghan peace process and looming troop withdrawal date

BY J.P. LAWRENCE

Stars and Stripes

ANALYSIS

SEE DILEMMA ON PAGE 5

WASHINGTON — Retired Ar-

my Gen. Lloyd Austin was con-

firmed Friday by the Senate to be

the 28th defense secretary and the

first Black man to hold the posi-

tion.

The Senate voted 93 to 2 to ap-

prove Austin’s nomination to the

job. Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and

Josh Hawley, R-

Mo., voted

against him.

Austin’s con-

firmation proc-

ess started Tues-

day with his Sen-

ate nomination

hearing. On

Thursday, the

House and Sen-

ate voted to approve a waiver that

Austin needed to override a law

that mandates ex-military officers

spend seven years out of uniform

before leading the Pentagon. Aus-

tin retired as a four-star general in

2016.

Austin is the third person to be

granted the waiver of the 1947 law,

which was intended to ensure ci-

vilian control of the military. Ge-

orge Marshall, a former five-star

Army general, was the first. He re-

ceived it in 1950 to serve as de-

fense secretary for former Presi-

dent Harry Truman during the

Korean War. The second was for

former President Donald Trump’s

first defense secretary, retired

Marine Gen. Jim Mattis, in 2017.

Some lawmakers, including

Senate

confirms

Austin to

lead DODBY CAITLIN M. KENNEY

Stars and Stripes

Austin

SEE AUSTIN ON PAGE 5

BUSINESS/WEATHER

WELLINGTON, New Zealand

— Google on Friday threatened to

make its search engine unavaila-

ble in Australia if the government

went ahead with plans to make

tech giants pay for news content.

Australian Prime Minister Scott

Morrison quickly hit back, saying

“we don't respond to threats.”

“Australia makes our rules for

things you can do in Australia,”

Morrison told reporters in Bris-

bane. “That’s done in our Parlia-

ment. It’s done by our govern-

ment. And that’s how things work

here in Australia.”

Morrison's comments came af-

ter Mel Silva, the managing direc-

tor of Google Australia and New

Zealand, told a Senate inquiry into

the bill that the new rules would be

unworkable.

“If this version of the code were

to become law, it would give us no

real choice but to stop making

Google search available in Austra-

lia,” Silva told senators. “And that

would be a bad outcome not only

for us, but also for the Australian

people, media diversity, and the

small businesses who use our

products every day.”

The mandatory code of conduct

proposed by the government aims

to make Google and Facebook pay

Australian media companies fair-

ly for using news content they si-

phon from news sites.

Silva said it was willing to pay a

wide and diverse group of news

publishers for the value they add-

ed, but not under the rules as pro-

posed, which included payments

for links and snippets.

Google threat: No web search in AustraliaAssociated Press

Bahrain67/58

Baghdad59/31

Doha73/59

Kuwait City63/40

Riyadh65/42

Kandahar53/23

Kabul45/25

Djibouti83/74

SATURDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Mildenhall/Lakenheath

37/26

Ramstein41/32

Stuttgart41/33

Lajes,Azores63/60

Rota61/58

Morón58/53 Sigonella

62/47

Naples5652

Aviano/Vicenza46/36

Pápa54/35

Souda Bay60/51

Brussels40/30

Zagan40/30

DrawskoPomorskie 35/29

SATURDAY IN EUROPE

Misawa32/23

Guam84/76

Tokyo46/42

Okinawa75/60

Sasebo59/49

Iwakuni54/46

Seoul51/34

Osan52/35

Busan55/46

The weather is provided by the American Forces Network Weather Center,

2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.

SUNDAY IN THE PACIFIC

WEATHER OUTLOOK

TODAYIN STRIPES

American Roundup ...... 11Comics/Crossword .......18Lifestyle .................... 13Movies .................... 14-15Opinion ........................ 17Sports .................... 19-24Video Games ............. 12

Military rates

Euro costs (Jan. 25) $1.19Dollar buys (Jan. 25) 0.8013British pound (Jan. 25) $1.33Japanese yen (Jan. 25) 101.00South Korean won (Jan. 25) 1074.00

Commercial rates

Bahrain(Dinar) 0.3770Britain (Pound) 1.3661Canada (Dollar) 1.2692 China(Yuan) 6.4829Denmark (Krone) 6.1110Egypt (Pound) 15.7297 Euro 0.8214Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7522 Hungary (Forint) 293.77 Israel (Shekel) 3.2748Japan (Yen) 103.79Kuwait(Dinar) 0.3029

Norway (Krone) 8.4650

Philippines (Peso) 48.06Poland (Zloty) 3.73Saudi Arab (Riyal) 3.7511Singapore (Dollar) 1.3270

So. Korea (Won) 1106.19Switzerlnd (Franc) 0.8850Thailand (Baht) 30.00Turkey (NewLira) 7.3924 

(Military exchange rates are those availableto customers at military banking facilities in thecountry of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., purchasing British pounds in Germany), check withyour local military banking facility. Commercialrates are interbank rates provided for referencewhen buying currency. All  figures are foreigncurrencies to one dollar, except for the Britishpound,  which  is  represented  in  dollarstopound, and the euro, which is dollarstoeuro.)

INTEREST RATES

Prime rate 3.25Interest Rates Discount rate 0.75Federal funds market rate  0.093month bill 0.0930year bond 1.87

EXCHANGE RATES

PAGE 2 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, January 23, 2021

Saturday, January 23, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3

MILITARY

Women in the Air Force can

wear a ponytail or up to two braids

with their uniform under an up-

date to grooming regulations

spurred by feedback that showed

women experienced hair loss and

migraines from the current stan-

dards.

The changes take effect next

month and are part of the Air

Force’s efforts to address diversi-

ty and inclusion in the ranks, ac-

cording to an Air Force news re-

lease sent Thursday.

“As I outlined in ‘Action Order

A: Airmen,’ this decision is a com-

mitment to supporting the airmen

we need and sustaining the cul-

ture and environment of excel-

lence that will continue to make

the Air Force an attractive career

choice for airmen and families,”

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen.

Charles Brown, said in a state-

ment. “I’m thankful for the feed-

back and research conducted

from a number of women leaders,

the Women’s Initiative Team, the

Air Force uniform board, and our

joint teammates.”

He approved the policy after

considering feedback from the

force, a uniform board recom-

mendation, and the professional

image and standards of the Air

Force and military, according to

the release.

The change allows women to

wear up to two braids or a single

ponytail so long as the width does

not exceed beyond their head and

the length does not extend below

the top of each sleeve inseam, ac-

cording to the release. In addition,

women’s bangs may now touch

their eyebrows, but not cover

their eyes.

These new changes will be ef-

fective upon publication of the

new standards in Air Force In-

struction 36-2903 in February and

will also apply to women in Space

Force.

Under previous guidance, if a

woman’s hair or ponytail was

longer than her collar, it had to be

secured with no loose ends.

The Air Force uniform board

convened in November to discuss

ideas gathered from airmen

across the service who participa-

ted in a dress and appearance

crowdsourcing campaign. Partic-

ipants on the board included 19 di-

verse airmen of various ranks

from across the major commands

and headquarters directorates.

Thousands of women across the

Air Force provided feedback to

the Women’s Initiative Team,

which sent recommendations to

the board. Women said con-

straints of current hair-grooming

standards resulted in damage to

their hair, migraines and hair loss.

“In addition to the health con-

cerns we have for our airmen, not

all women have the same hair

type, and our hair standards

should reflect our diverse force,”

said Chief Master Sgt. of the Air

Force JoAnne S. Bass. “I am

pleased we could make this im-

portant change for our women

service members.”

The changes also support ongo-

ing efforts to address diversity

and inclusion in the ranks, accord-

ing to the release.

“We remain committed to re-

moving barriers to service,” said

Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly, Air Force

deputy chief of staff for manpow-

er, personnel and services. “In an

all-volunteer force, we want fully

qualified volunteers who are rep-

resentative of the nation to see us

as a great opportunity to maxi-

mize their talent and serve.”

The board also considered

beard regulations for men, ac-

cording to the release. However,

the board found no known health

or hair loss issues associated with

current male grooming standard

compliance and did not make

changes. Beards are permitted in

conjunction with medical excep-

tions such as shaving waivers or

for approved religious accommo-

dations.

Several other ideas from the

board remain under considera-

tion.

The Army is conducting a simi-

lar review of its grooming stan-

dards and is expected to an-

nounce changes by the end of Ja-

nuary.

USAF approveslonger braidsand ponytails

BY ROSE L. THAYER

Stars and Stripes

Thayer.rose@stripes.com Twitter: @Rose_Lori

“I am pleasedwe could makethis importantchange for ourwomen servicemembers.”

Chief Master Sgt. JoAnne S. Bass

U.S. Air Force

WASHINGTON — The com-

mander of a Tennessee-based na-

val center was fired Wednesday

after a command investigation in-

to a complaint, the Navy said.

Capt. Scott Moss, the command-

ing officer of Navy Operational

Support Center in Knoxville, was

relieved “due to a loss of confi-

dence” in his ability to command,

according to a Navy statement

Wednesday. He was fired by Capt.

Dale Maxey, commander of Navy

Region Southeast Reserve Com-

ponent Command Jacksonville in

Florida.

The firing came after a com-

mand investigation was conduct-

ed following an inspector general

complaint, Cmdr. Ben Tisdale, a

spokesman for Navy Reserve

Force, wrote Thursday in an

email. While the investigation is

complete, Tisdale stated he could

not provide more details about it

due to privacy concerns.

Moss had been in command

since September, according to

Tisdale. The support centers are

responsible for the readiness of

Reserve sailors and Marines.

He has been temporarily reas-

signed to the reserve component

command in Jacksonville, and

Cmdr. Timothy Trimble is assum-

ing his duties until a permanent

replacement is found.

Moss graduated from Maryville

College with a degree in Biology

and then in 1998 joined the Navy to

be a pilot, earning his wings in

2000, according to a Sept. 20 story

in The Daily Times newspaper in

Maryville, Tenn. Moss told The

Daily Times newspaper that he

plans to retire in the fall of 2023.

Commander of Tennessee-basednaval center fired after inquiry

BY CAITLIN M. KENNEY

Stars and Stripes

Kenney.Caitlin@stripes.com @caitlinmkenney

KABUL, Afghanistan — Engine

failure combined with pilot error

caused the crash of an Air Force jet

in Afghanistan that killed two pi-

lots last year, a report on the acci-

dent said.

Lt. Col. Paul K. Voss, 46, and

Capt. Ryan S. Phaneuf, 30, were

the only ones onboard the twin-

turbofan Bombardier E-11A air-

craft when it went down in central

Ghazni province on Jan. 27.

Nearly two hours into their

flight, a fan blade broke in the

plane’s left engine, causing it to au-

tomatically shut down, an Air

Force accident investigation re-

port released Thursday said. The

pilots then misjudged where the

problem was and mistakenly shut

down their right engine, it added.

The crew’s failure to restart the

right engine and their decision to

try to return to Kandahar Airfield

without power — which was 265

miles away at the time of the inci-

dent — “substantially contributed

to the mishap,” the report conclud-

ed.

The plane’s cockpit voice re-

corder included a loud bang when

the fan blade broke. But the voice

and digital flight recorders stop-

ped working soon afterward,

meaning the circumstances of the

crash couldn’t be fully deter-

mined, the report said.

To compensate for the missing

data, investigators referred to a

nearly identical incident in 2006,

in which that crew reported vibra-

tions of such magnitude after their

fan engine blade separated that

they thought they had collided

with something.

The pilot later said he couldn’t

determine which engine had failed

based on the vibrations.

The overall vibrations in Ja-

nuary’s incident would have been

25% greater than those felt in 2006,

“making it more likely the [crew]

perceived the event as severe,” the

report said.

Their decision to return to Kan-

dahar — which they would have

known was well outside their glid-

ing capabilities — suggests they

were confident they’d be able to

restart one or both engines, the re-

port added. The pilots were close

enough to glide and land at either

Bagram or Kabul airports, the re-

port stated.

It’s unknown whether the crew

attempted to restart the right en-

gine, but investigators speculated

that if they thought it was dam-

aged, they may have only attempt-

ed to restart the left one.

The crew made two mayday

calls to Kabul air traffic control, in-

forming them that they had lost

both engines. One of the calls was

made just before they attempted

an emergency landing in a field,

which destroyed the aircraft and

resulted in their deaths, the report

said.

Voss and Phaneuf were both as-

signed to the 430th Expeditionary

Electronic Combat Squadron at

Kandahar Airfield and were con-

ducting a combat sortie in support

of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel,

the military said.

The 430th is the only unit in the

Air Force that operates the E-11A

with the Battlefield Airborne

Communications Node, which al-

lows different communications

systems to share and relay video,

imagery and data to ground troops.

The E-11A is a U.S. military ver-

sion of the Bombardier’s Global

Express business jet.

SAIFULLAH MAFTOON/AP

Wreckage of a U.S. military aircraft that crashed in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, on Jan. 27, 2020.

Engine failure, pilot error causedAfghan crash that killed 2 airmen

BY PHILLIP WALTER

WELLMAN

Stars and Stripes

wellman.phillip@stripes.comTwitter: @pwwellman

PAGE 4 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, January 23, 2021

WASHINGTON — Several

thousand National Guard troops

deployed to Washington to help

secure the presidential inaugura-

tion will end their mission within

the next 10 days, Guard officials

said Thursday.

Almost 26,000 Guard troops

were assigned to Washington in

the last two weeks to support local

and federal law enforcement

agencies for President Joe Biden’s

inauguration Wednesday. The

heightened security was a re-

sponse to the deadly riot Jan. 6 at

the Capitol where a mob of former

President Donald Trump's sup-

porters stormed the building.

But there were no protests or vi-

olence during the inauguration.

“The planning and process may

take several days, but arrange-

ments are being made to return

close to 15,000 troops as soon as

possible and should conclude

within a five to 10-day period,” ac-

cording to a National Guard Bu-

reau statement Thursday.

Also Thursday, The Washing-

ton Post and Politico reported that

hundreds of Guard troops were

forced out of areas of the Capitol

they had been using for rest

breaks and were relocated to a

nearby garage. Photos of the

troops in the garage drew outrage

from lawmakers.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an

Iraq War veteran, tweeted: “Just

made a number of calls and have

been informed Capitol Police have

apologized to the Guardsmen and

they will be allowed back into the

complex tonight.”

After midnight, Duckworth

tweeted an update: “Troops are

now all out of the garage. Now I

can go to bed.” Politico reported

that they had been allowed back

into the Capitol.

All week, Guard members have

been seen manning checkpoints

and standing post around the Cap-

itol grounds and streets that lead

to the building as well as the Na-

tional Mall and White House.

Sending troops home involves

“equipment turn-in and account-

ability, travel arrangements, [cor-

onavirus] screening and mitiga-

tion,” according to the Guard Bu-

reau. Some of the service mem-

bers were authorized to carry

firearms for self-defense during

the security mission.

Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson,

the chief of the National Guard

Bureau, said Tuesday during a

news conference at the Pentagon

that the reduction of troops in

Washington is “conditions based.”

“After the inauguration, we’ll

look at the conditions, and the en-

vironment and the mission set that

we’re asked to perform. And if that

is below the number of personnel

that we have, then we’ll start iden-

tifying those folks to get them

home as quickly as possible,” he

said.

Once those 15,000 troops leave

Washington, more than 10,600

Guard members will still be in the

city, according to the National

Guard Bureau.

Some local and federal agencies

are asking for some troops to stay

to help with additional support

and “recuperation time for their

forces to regroup,” according to

the National Guard. About 7,000

troops will stay to help through the

end of January.

Following the Capitol riot, for-

mer acting Defense Secretary

Christopher Miller approved

6,200 National Guard members to

be activated for up to 31 days in

Washington to support local au-

thorities. Hokanson said Tuesday

that they expect that activation to

last into February.

Those troops leaving will take

ground transportation such as

buses or aircraft flown by the Air

National Guard. Some troops will

travel on commercial flights as

necessary.

Nearly 15K Guard troops in DC to return homeBY CAITLIN M. KENNEY

Stars and Stripes

ZACHARY HOLDEN/115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Soldiers with the District of Columbia National Guard, patrol around the Capitol during the presidentialinauguration in Washington, D.C., Wednesday

The Associated Press contributed to this report.Kenney.Caitlin@stripes.com @caitlinmkenney

MILITARY

Three warrant officers and

combat veterans from the New

York Army National Guard were

killed Wednesday when the

UH-60 medical evacuation heli-

copter that they were flying

crashed, the service said Friday.

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Steven

Skoda, Chief Warrant Officer 4

Christian Koch and Chief Warrant

Officer 2 Daniel Prial were all pi-

lots assigned to C Company of the

1st Battalion, 171st General Sup-

port Aviation Battalion based at

the Army Aviation Support Facil-

ity at Rochester International Air-

port, according to the New York

Army National Guard. The unit

trains to perform aeromedical

evacuation, and the crew had been

conducting night vision goggle

proficiency training in the local

training area.

An Army safety investigation

team arrived Thursday from the

Army Safety Center at Fort Ruck-

er, Ala., to begin its analysis of the

accident, according to the Guard.

The helicopter crashed in a

farmer’s field in rural Mendon,

south of Rochester, at about 6:30

p.m. Wednesday, The Associated

Press reported. Witnesses who

called 911 reported hearing the

sounds of an engine sputtering and

said the helicopter was flying very

low.

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Steven

Skoda, 54, spent 35 years serving

in the Army and the New York Ar-

my National Guard, according to

the Guard. He served in the Army

from 1985 to 1987 and then transi-

tioned to the

Guard.

In 1992, he be-

came a pilot and

began flying

UH-1 “Huey”

helicopters from

the Army Avia-

tion Support Fa-

cility in Roches-

ter. During his career, he also

learned to fly the UH-60 Black

Hawk A and L models, the OH-58

Kiowa, the AH-1 Cobra and the

AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.

Skoda deployed to Afghanistan

in 2013 and 2019, according to

Guard. He was an experienced

helicopter pilot who served as a

UH-60 senior instructor pilot and

an instrument flight instructor and

a UH-60 maintenance test pilot.

He had almost 5,000 flying hours.

Outside of his job as a pilot for

the 171st Battalion, he worked as a

full-time National Guard techni-

cian at the Army’s support facility

at the Rochester airport since

1999. A National Guard technician

is a federal employee who must al-

so serve in the National Guard as a

condition of employment.

Soldiers at the facility described

Skoda as “a friend and mentor to

all the soldiers in his unit, support-

ing the training and career pro-

gressions of hun-

dreds of air-

crews through-

out his career,”

the Guard said.

He lived in

Rochester and

was single.

Chief Warrant

Officer 4 Chris-

tian Koch, 39, served 20 years in

the New York Army National

Guard, first as an infantryman in A

Company of the 2nd Battalion,

108th Infantry, according to the

Guard. He became a helicopter pi-

lot in 2006, flying from the Army

facility at the Rochester airport.

Koch was rated to fly the UH-60

Black Hawk A and L models, as

well as the CH-47 Chinook, ac-

cording to the Guard. He had 2,350

flying hours. He held a bachelor’s

degree in mathematics from the

College at Brockport, State Uni-

versity of New York.

Koch deployed to Iraq in 2008

and Afghanistan in 2012. He

served in 2004 as part of Operation

Noble Eagle, the National Guard

security mission in the United

States after the terrorist attacks of

9/11.

Koch also served as the instru-

ment flight instructor for the unit.

In civilian life, he worked as a civil-

ian pilot for the

New York State

Police since

2016.

With the state

police, he served

on many search

and rescue mis-

sions and con-

ducted annual

training for other pilots, according

to a news release about Koch’s

death. The Red Cross of Western

New York honored Koch recently

for his role in the June 2020 rescue

of an injured 11-year-old boy.

Along with first responders on the

ground, and a state police crew in

the air, the boy was hoisted more

than 100 feet from a gorge and tak-

en for medical care.

Koch lived in Honeoye Falls

with his wife Teressa DaGama and

their four children. A Go Fund Me

page to support his family has

raised more than $43,000 from

nearly 500 donors.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Daniel

Prial, 30, graduated from the U.S.

Military Academy at West Point in

2012 and commissioned as an Ar-

my officer, according to the

Guard. He served as a medical

evacuation platoon leader with the

82nd Airborne Division’s 82nd

Combat Aviation Brigade.

He deployed to Afghanistan in

2014 and 2015 and served as an in-

structor pilot for students at Fort

Rucker, where the Army trains

helicopter pilots.

He attained the rank of captain

before accepting an appointment

as a warrant officer in the New

York Army National Guard so he

could continue to fly, according to

the Guard. He also worked as a

federal technician at the Army fa-

cility at the Rochester airport.

He was single and lived in Roch-

ester.

He was rated to fly the UH-60

Black Hawk helicopter and had

670 flying hours.

Soldiers in the unit described

Prial as “extremely humble and

family centric. He had an ability to

fit in quickly and make an immedi-

ate impact on new groups,” the

Guard said.

Three NY Guard pilots killed in helicopter crashBY ROSE L. THAYER

Stars and Stripes

Thayer.rose@stripes.comTwitter: @Rose_Lori

Skoda Prial Koch

Saturday, January 23, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 5

took office. His administration

raised that number to 14,000 in its

first year, before reducing it to

2,500 since the Doha agreement.

Under the accord, Washington

agreed to withdraw its troops in

return for Taliban concessions.

But peace talks and prisoner ex-

changes between Kabul and the

insurgents required by the deal

were met with months of delays.

“We have to look carefully at

what has actually been negotiat-

ed,” Antony Blinken, nominee for

secretary of state, said Tuesday at

his Senate confirmation hearing.

Lloyd Austin, Biden’s pick to

head the Pentagon, echoed con-

cerns by senior military leaders

about a surge of violence across

the country and whether the Tali-

ban have kept their promises.

“If confirmed, I intend to con-

sult with interagency stakehold-

ers to review the Taliban’s actions

relative to all its commitments,”

Austin said in a written statement

during his confirmation hearing

Tuesday.

The Biden administration is ex-

pected to reemphasize the need

for a “responsible” withdrawal,

but it’s hard to imagine all Amer-

ican troops withdrawing by May, a

report released last week by Inter-

national Crisis Group said.

A full withdrawal in May could

fracture an already splintered Af-

ghan government and lead to re-

newed violence, said Andrew

Watkins, senior Afghanistan ana-

lyst for the Brussels-based think

tank and an author of the report.

“How much appetite will the Bi-

den team have for adhering to the

May withdrawal deadline?” Wat-

kins said in a Twitter direct mess-

age. “With so much concern in

both Kabul and Washington that

doing so might encourage the Tali-

ban to intensify its offensives

against the government and usher

in political instability?”

While it's too soon to ascertain

the Biden administration’s wil-

lingness to change the Doha deal,

it could point to these missed

deadlines as reasons for extend-

ing the May troop withdrawal

date, said Elizabeth Threlkeld,

deputy director for South Asia at

the Stimson Center, a Washington

think tank.

“They would have a clear case if

they chose to try for a limited ex-

tension,” Threlkeld said. “A few

months extension would give ne-

gotiators more time to build mo-

mentum in Doha while maintain-

ing limited U.S. leverage over the

Taliban during a potential spring

offensive.”

A negotiator for the Afghan gov-

ernment said the Taliban feel em-

boldened because they signed a

“winning agreement,” and that

delaying the U.S. troop withdraw-

al could force the militant group to

engage in the peace talks instead

of planning for a military victory.

“The troop withdrawal, if there

is a postponement, that will pave

the way for a more mature politi-

cal settlement,” said Fawzia Koo-

fi, one of the few women taking

part in the negotiations. “The

United States should not rush

this.”

Advocates of a total withdrawal

argue delaying it would only leng-

then a war that began nearly 20

years ago.

“The only course of action that

has any chance of preserving

American security — as well as

the lives and limbs of our troops —

is to end our part of this war no

matter what by May 2021,” said

Daniel L. Davis, a retired Army

lieutenant colonel and senior fel-

low for Defense Priorities, a right-

leaning Washington think tank, in

an email.

The Taliban, however, would

consider any deviation from the

May troop withdrawal deadline a

breach of the agreement, said

analysts who have spoken to the

group’s leaders.

A spokesman for the group said

in a phone interview that they ex-

pect the Biden administration to

fulfill the deal.

“The Doha agreement is a very

good document to end this war and

all sides must try to implement it,”

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah

Mujahid said.

It is also unlikely that the Tali-

ban will accept the U.S. leaving

behind a small counterterrorism

force without further negotiation

and possible concessions from

Washington. Biden has said he

would prefer to leave some forces

in the county to safeguard against

the emergence of terrorist threats

against the United States.

But in an indication of the stakes

facing the new administration,

such a decision could lead to the

Taliban withdrawing from peace

talks and returning to overt war

against U.S. troops left in the coun-

try, Watkins said.

“As president, Biden can con-

tinue to pursue a political settle-

ment to end the war in Afghanis-

tan, or he can opt for an enduring

counterterrorism mission,” Wat-

kins said. “But absent what would

be a highly unlikely about-face by

the Taliban, he cannot have both.”

Dilemma: Biden administration toassess deal before making decisionFROM PAGE 1

ZUBAIR BABAKARKHAIL CONTRIBUTED TO THISREPORT.LAWRENCE.JP@STRIPES.COM TWITTER: @JPLAWRENCE3

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

In a 2011 visit to Afghanistan, thenVice President Joe Biden listens to Afghan Brig. Gen. AmlaqullahPatyani, commander of Kabul Military Training Center. In the center is Gen. David Petraeus, then thecommander of the International Security Force. As president, Biden must determine whether to soonwithdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

MILITARY

A soldier who died in Kuwait

this week was a member of the

Texas Army National Guard’s

36th Infantry Division, the mili-

tary said Friday.

Staff Sgt. Timothy Luke Man-

chester, 34, died Wednesday in a

noncombat incident at Camp Arif-

jan, the Defense Department said

in a statement.

The Army said it was investigat-

ing the incident. Manchester had

been found unresponsive, U.S. Ar-

my Central said in an earlier state-

ment.

Manchester, of Austin, was a

member of Headquarters and

Headquarters Battalion, 36th In-

fantry Division, out of Camp Ma-

bry, Texas.

The division took over com-

mand of the Army’s Task Force

Spartan in Kuwait late last year on

a 10-month rotation.

Some 600 members of the Na-

tional Guard unit are deployed as

part of Operation Spartan Shield,

which supports military coopera-

tion, logistics and humanitarian

assistance efforts in the region.

There are also about 2,200 ac-

tive-duty personnel from all ser-

vices in Kuwait, Defense Depart-

ment quarterly data in a Septem-

ber report showed.

U.S. Central Command de-

clined to provide more up-to-date

troop numbers on Thursday, cit-

ing operational security concerns.

The U.S. bases in Kuwait serve

as hubs for troops and equipment

entering and leaving the region,

including those going to or coming

from combat operations in Iraq,

Syria and Afghanistan.

Manchester is the second sol-

dier from Texas to die in a non-

combat incident in the country

this year. Staff Sgt. Anthony Ber-

mudez, a native of a Dallas sub-

urb, was killed in a vehicle acci-

dent near Camp Buehring on Jan.

11.

Bermudez had been assigned to

Area Support Group – Kuwait and

was on his first deployment.

Two other soldiers injured in

the vehicle accident were taken to

a military hospital in Kuwait, in-

cluding the driver, who was treat-

ed and released the same day.

The Texas Military Department

did not immediately respond to an

inquiry seeking further informa-

tion about Manchester.

Soldier who died in Kuwaitwas Texas guardsman

BY CHAD GARLAND

Stars and Stripes

garland.chad@stripes.comTwitter: @chadgarland

Democrats, were concerned

about approving another waiver,

which is seen as a rare exemption,

so quickly after granting one to

Mattis. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-

Md., said Thursday that while he

believes Austin is qualified to be

the defense secretary and sup-

ports his confirmation, he had to

vote against the waiver.

“In order to maintain civilian

control of our military, U.S. law re-

quires a cooling-off period prior to

allowing a recently retired officer

to serve as the secretary of de-

fense. I have long supported this

cooling-off period, and have voted

previously to uphold it,” he said in

a statement.

A 1975 graduate of the U.S. Mil-

itary Academy at West Point,

N.Y., Austin commanded infantry

units from platoons up and led sol-

diers in combat in Iraq and Af-

ghanistan. He was the first Black

commander of an Army division

and corps in combat. He retired

after leading U.S. Central Com-

mand in war efforts in Afghanis-

tan, Iraq and Syria.

Austin takes over the Pentagon

while it faces numerous challeng-

es. In recent weeks, the military

completed withdrawals in combat

zones that left Biden’s administra-

tion with 2,500 troops in Afghan-

istan, 2,500 in Iraq and few, if any,

in Somalia. He told senators Tues-

day that his primary concerns in-

cluded ensuring the military pro-

vided a robust deterrent to China,

as the United States works to

check its growing power in east

Asia and ambitions worldwide.

He also vowed to increase mil-

itary support to the fight against

the coronavirus pandemic, telling

senators that he believed there

was more that the Pentagon could

do to support efforts to stop the

spread and distribute vaccines.

Austin on Tuesday committed

to ensuring civilian experts were

thoroughly involved in crafting

Pentagon policy. He told lawmak-

ers that he did not believe two ad-

ditional years outside of uniform

would change the way he thought

about military and national secu-

rity issues.

“I will uphold the principle of ci-

vilian control of the military, as in-

tended,” Austin said. “I would not

be here, asking for your support, if

I felt I was unable or unwilling to

question people with whom I once

served and operations I once led,

or too afraid to speak my mind to

you or to the president.”

Austin: Retired generalis first Black DOD chiefFROM PAGE 1

STARS AND STRIPES STAFF WRITER COREYDICKSTEIN CONTRIBUTED TO THIS STORY.KENNEY.CAITLIN@STRIPES.COMTWITTER: @CAITLINMKENNEY

PAGE 6 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, January 23, 2021

WASHINGTON — Two more

service members have died from

the coronavirus, bringing the

number of deaths to 17 as military

cases surpass 130,000, according

to the Pentagon.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Abdiga-

far Salad Warsame, 52, was a Na-

vy Reserve logistics specialist as-

signed to Navy Operational Sup-

port Center in Columbus, Ohio,

when he died Jan. 8 at a local hos-

pital due to complications associ-

ated with the coronavirus, Cmdr.

Ben Tisdale, a Navy Reserve

Force spokesman, said in a state-

ment Thursday.

The other service member who

died from the virus was a member

of the New York Air National

Guard, according to the Pentagon.

Due to the wishes of the airman’s

family, the Guard will not release

any information about the service

member, said Eric Durr, a spokes-

man with the New York National

Guard.

As of Wednesday, six National

Guard members have died from

the virus, two Navy reservists and

six Army reservists. Three active-

duty service members have also

died of the virus since the pan-

demic began in March, according

to the Pentagon.

Warsame was born in Somalia

and then lived in Georgia until he

enlisted in the Navy in March of

2002, according to his service re-

cord and his Facebook page. He

was assigned to the Naval Reserve

Defense Innovation Unit in Atlan-

ta, Ga., from 2005 to 2010. He then

worked at the Naval Reserve Fleet

Logistics Center Bahrain Head-

quarters in Kearny, N.J., from

2010 to 2019. He was most recently

assigned to the Naval Reserve De-

fense Logistics Agency logistics

assistance team in Columbus,

Ohio.

As of Wednesday, the Navy has

had 27,187 cases of the coronavi-

rus and the National Guard has

had 16,759. The military overall

has had 130,484 cases, 1,277 per-

sonnel hospitalized, and 83,196

who have recovered, according to

the Pentagon.

The Army has had 46,174 cases

of the virus, the Air Force has had

23,425 cases, and the Marine

Corps has had 16,046, according to

the Pentagon.

2 moredeaths inmilitary;total at 17

BY CAITLIN M. KENNEY

Stars and Stripes

Kenney.Caitlin@stripes.com @caitlinmkenney

TOKYO — Marine Corps bases

on Okinawa curtailed most off-

base activities indefinitely be-

cuase of a record-breaking num-

ber of new infections on the island

Friday.

“All off-base activity will be lim-

ited to physical fitness and essen-

tial services only,” Marine Corps

Installations Pacific announced

on Facebook. The Marines report-

ed no new cases Friday.

The Marines also ordered their

people on Okinawa to wear masks

“at all times when indoors on and

off base” while in the presence of

someone who is not a family mem-

ber or a roommate.

The order applies to service

members, civilian employees and

family members, according to the

post.

Kadena Air Base, also on Okina-

wa, had 13 people test positive

over the previous week, according

to a Facebook post Friday.

Okinawa reported 103 new

cases and one death due to coro-

navirus complications Friday, a

prefectural health official told

Stars and Stripes by phone.

Gov. Denny Tamaki on Wednes-

day declared a local emergency on

the island prefecture until Feb. 7.

He asked Okinawans to stay home

as much as possible and business-

es to close by 8 p.m.

Overall, U.S. military bases in

Japan reported 64 new infections

Friday.

Yokosuka Naval Base, 35 miles

south of central Tokyo, said 33

new coronavirus cases have ap-

peared since Tuesday, according

to a Facebook post Friday.

The base has 166 patients under

observation. So far this month, 238

people have contracted the virus

at Yokosuka.

Yokota Air Base, the headquar-

ters of U.S. Forces in Japan in

western Tokyo, had 13 people test-

ed positive for the virus between

Jan. 15 and Friday, according to a

Facebook post.

Yokota has 15 patients under ob-

servation and has reported 56

cases so far this month.

Naval Air Facility Atsugi, 24

miles southwest of central Tokyo,

reported two new patients Friday,

base spokesman Sam Samuelson

told Stars and Stripes by phone.

Misawa Air Base, 400 miles

north of Tokyo, had three people

test positive, according to a news

release Friday.

Okinawa Marines ban most off-base activitiesBY JOSEPH DITZLER

Stars and Stripes

AKIFUMI ISHIKAWA/Stars and Stripes

Two girls wear masks while enjoying a sunny day near Sagami Bay inChigasaki, Japan, on Tuesday.

Stars and Stripes reporter Aya Ichihashi contrib-uted to this report.

Public health experts Thursday

blamed COVID-19 vaccine short-

ages around the U.S. in part on the

Trump administration’s push to

get states to vastly expand their

vaccination drives to reach the

nation’s estimated 54 million peo-

ple age 65 and over.

The push that began over a

week ago has not been accompa-

nied by enough doses to meet de-

mand, according to state and local

officials, leading to frustration

and confusion and limiting states’

ability to attack the outbreak that

has killed over 400,000 Ameri-

cans.

Over the past few days, author-

ities in California, Ohio, West Vir-

ginia, Florida and Hawaii warned

that their supplies were running

out. New York City began cancel-

ing or postponing shots or stopped

making new appointments be-

cause of the shortages, which

President Joe Biden has vowed to

turn around. Florida’s top health

official said the state would deal

with the scarcity by restricting

vaccines to state residents.

The vaccine rollout so far has

been “a major disappointment,”

said Dr. Eric Topol, head of the

Scripps Research Translational

Institute.

Problems started with the

Trump administration’s “fatal

mistake” of not ordering enough

vaccine, which was then snapped

up by other countries, Topol said.

Then, opening the line to senior

citizens set people up for disap-

pointment because there wasn’t

enough vaccine, he said. The

Trump administration also left

crucial planning to the states and

didn’t provide the necessary

funding.

“It doesn’t happen by fairy

dust,” Topol said. “You need to

put funds into that.”

Last week, before Biden took

over as president, the U.S. Health

and Human Services Department

suggested that the frustration was

the result of unrealistic expecta-

tions among the states as to how

much vaccine was on the way.

But some public health experts

said that the states have not been

getting reliable information on

vaccine deliveries and that the

amounts they have been sent have

been unpredictable. That, in turn,

has made it difficult for them to

plan how to inoculate people.

“It’s a bit of having to build it as

we go,” said Dr. George Ruther-

ford, an epidemiologist at the Uni-

versity of California, San Francis-

co. “It’s a front-end supply issue,

and unless we know how much

vaccine is flowing down the pipe,

it’s hard to get these things sized

right, staffed, get people there, get

them vaccinated and get them

gone.”

State health secretaries have

asked the Biden administration

for earlier and more reliable pre-

dictions on vaccine deliveries,

said Washington state Health Sec-

retary Dr. Umair Shah.

Dr. Marcus Plescia of the Asso-

ciation of State and Territorial

Health Officials was also among

those who said opening vaccina-

tions to senior citizens was done

too soon, before supply could

catch up.

“We needed steady federal

leadership on this early in the

launch,” Plescia said. “That did

not happen, and now that we are

not prioritizing groups, there is

going to be some lag for supply to

catch up with demand.”

Supply will pick up over the

next few weeks, he said. Deliver-

ies go out to the states every week,

and the government and drug-

makers have given assurances

large quantities are in the pipe-

line.

The rollout has proceeded at a

disappointing pace. The U.S. gov-

ernment has delivered nearly 38

million doses of vaccine to the

states, and about 17.5 million of

those have been administered, ac-

cording to the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention.

About 2.4 million people have

received the necessary two doses,

by the CDC’s count.

Experts blamevaccine scarcityon rapid growth

Associated Press

SHOLTEN SINGER, THE HERALDDISPATCH/AP

Joanna Rolfe of Ona, right, receives a COVID19 vaccine fromMarshall University student nurse Angie Bush, left, during a drivethruclinic Thursday, outside of the St. Mary's School of Nursing inHuntington, WVa.

VIRUS OUTBREAK

Saturday, January 23, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 7

About 450 miles of border wall

were completed under the Trump

administration, though much of

that involved renovation of al-

ready established border bar-

riers. About 338 miles were under

AUSTIN, Texas — The Army

Corps of Engineers has directed

contractors building the U.S.-

Mexico border wall to stop work

following an executive order by

President Joe Biden to end con-

struction and review how money

allocated for the project could be

diverted.

The order was one of 17 signed

by Biden on Wednesday during

his first day as president and halts

a key piece of former President

Donald Trump’s immigration pol-

icy. Estimated to cost about $15

billion, the border wall’s construc-

tion was under management of

contracts awarded through the

Army Corps of Engineers and

used funds pulled from Defense

Department accounts associated

with countering drugs and mili-

tary construction, as well as from

other government agencies.

“Only construction activity that

is necessary to safely prepare

each site for a suspension of work

will occur over the next few days,”

Lt. Col. Chris Mitchell, a Pentagon

spokesman, said Thursday. “As

we pause this program, we will

work closely with the Department

of Defense and Department of the

Army to ensure public safety and

a responsible use of taxpayer dol-

lars.”

Biden’s order states while

America has the right to secure its

borders, “building a massive wall

that spans the entire southern bor-

der is not a serious policy solution.

It is a waste of money that diverts

attention from genuine threats to

our homeland security.”

Biden also rescinded the nation-

al emergency that Trump de-

clared at the border in February

2019 and recertified in his final

five days as president.

But Biden’s executive order

does not impact the deployment of

about 3,600 troops serving at the

border to assist the Department of

Homeland Security, Mitchell said.

Up to 4,000 troops are authorized

to stay at the border through the

end of September under an order

signed in June by former Defense

Secretary Mark Esper.

It is unclear Thursday what will

happen to the money redirected

from the Pentagon to build the

border wall. Biden’s action calls

for “a careful review of all re-

sources appropriated or redirect-

ed to construct a southern border

wall.”

construction as of October, ac-

cording to the Department of

Homeland Security.

Army contractors stop work onborder wall; troops stay for now

BY ROSE L. THAYER

Stars and Stripes

MATT YORK/AP

Crews construct a section of border wall in San Bernardino NationalWildlife Refuge, on Dec. 8 in Douglas, Ariz.

Thayer.rose@stripes.com Twitter: @Rose_Lori

BALTIMORE — President Joe

Biden planned to take executive

action Friday to provide a stopgap

measure of financial relief to mil-

lions of Americans while Con-

gress begins to consider his much

larger $1.9 trillion package to help

those affected by the coronavirus

pandemic.

The two executive orders that

Biden was to sign would increase

food aid, protect job seekers on un-

employment and clear a path for

federal workers and contractors

to get a $15 hourly minimum

wage.

“The American people cannot

afford to wait,” said Brian Deese,

director of the White House Na-

tional Economic Council. “So

many are hanging by a thread.

They need help, and we’re com-

mitted to doing everything we can

to provide that help as quickly as

possible.”

Deese emphasized that the or-

ders are not substitutes for the ad-

ditional stimulus that Biden says

is needed beyond the $4 trillion in

aid that has already been ap-

proved, including $900 billion this

past December. Several Republi-

can lawmakers have voiced oppo-

sition to provisions in Biden’s plan

for direct payments to individuals,

state and local government aid

and a $15 hourly minimum wage

nationwide.

Most economists believe the

United States can rebound with

strength once people are vaccinat-

ed from the coronavirus, but the

situation is still dire as the disease

has closed businesses and schools.

Nearly 10 million jobs have been

lost since last February, and near-

ly 30 million households lack se-

cure access to food.

One of Biden’s orders asks the

Agriculture Department to con-

sider adjusting the rules for food

assistance, so that the government

could be obligated to provide

more money to the hungry.

Children who are unable to get

school meals because of remote

learning could receive a 15% in-

crease in food aid, according to a

fact sheet provided by the White

House. The lowest-income house-

holds could qualify for the emer-

gency benefits from the Supple-

mental Nutrition Assistance Pro-

gram. And the formula for calcu-

lating meal costs could become

more generous.

The order also tries to make it

easier for people to claim direct

payments from prior aid packages

and other benefits. In addition, it

would create a guarantee that

workers could still collect unem-

ployment benefits if they refuse to

take a job that could jeopardize

their health.

Biden’s second executive order

would restore union bargaining

rights revoked by the Trump ad-

ministration, protect the civil ser-

vice system and promote a $15

hourly minimum wage for all fed-

eral workers.

The Democratic president also

plans to start a 100-day process for

the federal government to require

its contractors to pay at least $15

an hour and provide emergency

paid leave to workers, which could

put pressure on other private em-

ployers to boost their wages and

benefits.

These orders arrive as the Bi-

den White House has declined to

provide a timeline for getting its

proposed relief package through,

saying that officials are beginning

to schedule meetings with law-

makers to discuss the proposal.

White House press secretary

Jen Psaki said at a Thursday brief-

ing that the proposal has support

ranging from democratic socialist

Sen. Bernie Sanders to the U.S.

Chamber of Commerce.

But not all components of the

package are popular among Re-

publicans, and that could delay

passage in ways that could injure

the economy. Psaki stressed that

Biden wants any deal to be biparti-

san and that the process of meet-

ing with lawmakers to talk

through the plan is just beginning.

Biden must balance the need for

immediate aid against the risk of

prolonged negotiations. Psaki told

ABC’s “Good Morning America”

on Friday that Biden is “not going

to take tools off the table” as he

looks to bring Republicans to the

table, and she argued that the

back-and-forth is “exactly how it

should work.”

“We’ll figure out what the sau-

sage looks like when it comes out

of the machine,” she said.

Neil Bradley, chief policy offi-

cer at the Chamber, told reporters

Thursday that Congress should

act fast to approve the roughly

$400 billion for national vaccina-

tion and reopening schools and

other elements of the plan with bi-

partisan support, rather than drag

out negotiations.

“We’re not going to let areas of

disagreement prevent progress

on areas where we can find com-

mon ground,” Bradley said. “We

cannot afford six months to get the

vaccination process working

right. ... We can’t even wait six

weeks to get vaccinations distrib-

uted and schools reopened.”

Biden orders stopgap relief; talks beginBY JOSH BOAK

Associated Press

JOHN RAOUX/AP

A sale sign is displayed near the entrance of a Hallmark store Jan. 12, in Orlando, Fla.

NATION

PAGE 8 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, January 23, 2021

NATION

WASHINGTON — Senate Re-

publican leader Mitch McConnell

is proposing to push back the start

of Donald Trump’s impeachment

trial to February to give the for-

mer president time to prepare and

review his case.

House Democrats who voted to

impeach Trump last week for in-

citing the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot

have signaled they want to move

quickly to trial as President Joe

Biden begins his term, saying a

full reckoning is necessary before

the country — and the Congress —

can move on.

But McConnell in a statement

Thursday evening suggested a

more expansive timeline that

would see the House transmit the

article of impeachment next

week, on Jan. 28, launching the

trial’s first phase. After that, the

Senate would give the president’s

defense team and House prosecu-

tors two weeks to file briefs. Argu-

ments in the trial would likely be-

gin in mid-February.

“Senate Republicans are

strongly united behind the princi-

ple that the institution of the Sen-

ate, the office of the presidency,

and former President Trump him-

self all deserve a full and fair proc-

ess that respects his rights and the

serious factual, legal, and consti-

tutional questions at stake,” espe-

cially given the unprecedented

speed of the House process,

McConnell said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck

Schumer, D-N.Y., is reviewing the

plan and will discuss it with

McConnell, a spokesperson said.

The two leaders are also negotiat-

ing how the new 50-50 Senate will

work and how they will balance

other priorities.

A trial delay could appeal to

some Democrats, as it would give

the Senate more time to confirm

Biden’s Cabinet nominees and de-

bate a new round of coronavirus

relief. Democratic Sen. Chris

Coons of Delaware, a key ally of

the president’s, told CNN that

Democrats would consider a de-

lay “if we are making progress on

confirming the very talented, sea-

soned and diverse team that Presi-

dent Joe Biden has nominated.”

The ultimate power over timing

rests with House Speaker Nancy

Pelosi, who can trigger the start of

the trial at any point by sending to

the Senate the charge of incite-

ment of an insurrection. The Cali-

fornia Democrat has not yet said

when she will do that.

“It will be soon. I don’t think it

will be long, but we must do it,”

Pelosi said Thursday. She said

Trump doesn’t deserve a “get-out-

of-jail card” just because he has

left office and Biden and others

are calling for national unity.

Facing his second impeach-

ment trial, Trump began to assem-

ble his defense team by hiring at-

torney Butch Bowers to represent

him, according to an adviser. Bow-

ers previously served as counsel

to former South Carolina Govs.

Nikki Haley and Mark Sanford.

McConnell seeks to push impeachment trialAssociated Press

WASHINGTON — Seven Dem-

ocratic senators on Thursday

asked the Senate Ethics Commit-

tee to investigate the actions of Re-

publican Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh

Hawley “to fully understand their

role” in the Jan. 6 insurrection at

the Capitol by supporters of for-

mer President Donald Trump.

Thousands had gathered that

day as Congress voted to formally

certify President Joe Biden’s vic-

tory over Trump

in November.

Hawley and

Cruz led objec-

tions in the Sen-

ate to Biden’s

victory, despite

the widespread

recognition that

the effort would

fail.

In the end, Congress certified

Biden’s Electoral College victory,

but not before thousands marched

to the Capitol at Trump’s urging,

overwhelmed security and inter-

rupted the proceedings. In the

end, the violence led to five

deaths, injured dozens of police of-

ficers and caused extensive dam-

age to the Capitol.

The Democratic senators said

the question for the Senate to de-

termine is not whether Cruz and

Hawley had the right to object, but

whether the senators failed to put

loyalty “to the highest moral prin-

ciples and to country above loyalty

to persons, party, or Government

department.” They also said the

investigation should determine

whether Cruz, of Texas, and Haw-

ley, of Missouri, engaged in “im-

proper conduct reflecting on the

Senate.”

“Until then, a cloud of uncer-

tainty will hang over them and

over this body,” the Democratic

senators wrote in a letter to the

leaders of the Senate Ethics Com-

mittee.

The Democratic senators said

Cruz and Hawley announced their

intentions to object even though

they knew that claims of election

fraud were baseless and had led to

threats of violence.

“Their actions lend credence to

the insurrectionists’ cause and set

the stage for future violence. And

both senators used their objec-

tions for political fundraising,” the

Democratic senators said in their

letter.

Cruz and Hawley have con-

demned the violence on Jan. 6.

Cruz called it a “despicable act of

terrorism.” Hawley said those

who attacked police and broke the

law must be prosecuted.

Cruz helped force a vote on Bi-

den’s victory in Arizona, while

Hawley helped force one on Bi-

den’s victory in Pennsylvania.

“Joe Biden and the Democrats

talk about unity but are brazenly

trying to silence dissent,” Hawley

said in a prepared statement.

“This latest effort is a flagrant

abuse of the Senate ethics process

and a flagrant attempt to exact

partisan revenge.”

“It is unfortunate that some con-

gressional Democrats are disre-

garding President Biden’s call for

unity and are instead playing po-

litical games by filing frivolous

ethics complaints against their

colleagues,” said a Cruz spokes-

person, Maria Jeffrey Reynolds.

Those Democrats requesting

the investigation are Sens. Shel-

don Whitehouse of Rhode Island,

Ron Wyden of Oregon, Tina Smith

of Minnesota, Richard Blumen-

thal of Connecticut, Mazie Hirono

of Hawaii, Tim Kaine of Virginia

and Sherrod Brown of Ohio.

Democrats ask ethicspanel to investigateSens. Cruz, Hawley

Associated Press

Cruz

WASHINGTON — Testing

wristbands are in. Mask-wearing

is mandatory. Desks are socially

distanced.

The clearest sign that there’s a

new boss at the White House is the

deference being paid to coronavi-

rus public health guidlines.

It’s a striking contrast to Donald

Trump’s White House, which was

the epicenter of no less than three

separate outbreaks of COVID-19,

their true scale not fully known

because aides refused to discuss

cases publicly.

While the Trump administra-

tion was known for flouting safety

recommendations, the Biden

team has made a point of abiding

by the same strict guidelines

they’re urging Americans to fol-

low to stem the spread of the virus.

It’s part of an overall effort from

President Joe Biden to lead by ex-

ample on the coronavirus pan-

demic, an ethos carried over from

his campaign and transition.

“One of the great tragedies of

the Trump administration was a

refusal to recognize that many

Americans model the behavior of

our leadership,” said Ben LaBolt,

a former press secretary to Presi-

dent Barack Obama who worked

on the Biden transition.

“The Biden administration un-

derstands the powerful message

that adhering to their own guide-

lines and modeling the best public

health behavior sends, and knows

that that’s the best path to climb-

ing out of this until we can get a

shot in the arm of every Ameri-

can.”

To that end, most of Biden’s

White House staff is working from

home, coordinating with col-

leagues by email or phone. While

the White House aims to have

more people working onsite next

week, officials intend to operate

with substantially reduced staff-

ing for the duration of the pan-

demic.

When hundreds of administra-

tion staffers were sworn in by Bi-

den on Wednesday, the ceremony

was virtual, with the president

looking out at team members dis-

played in boxes on video screens.

The emphasis on adhering to

public safety guidelines touches

matters both big and small in the

White House.

Jeffrey Wexler is the White

House director of COVID-19 oper-

ations, overseeing the implemen-

tation of safety guidelines

throughout the administration, a

role he also served during the

transition and campaign. During

her first press briefing, White

House press secretary Jen Psaki

suggested those working in the of-

fice would receive daily testing

and N95 masks would be manda-

tory.

EVAN VUCCI / AP

President Joe Biden adjusts his face mask as he signs his first executive orders in the Oval Office of theWhite House on Wednesday in Washington.

Coronavirus guidelines nowthe rule at the White House

Associated Press

Saturday, January 23, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 9

NATION

YOSEMITE NATIONAL

PARK, Calif. — Yosemite Nation-

al Park will remain closed through

the weekend after high winds that

battered much of California

knocked down two giant sequoias

and caused millions of dollars in

damage.

The park hoped to reopen Tues-

day except for areas south of Yo-

semite Valley, including one en-

trance, that will remain shut to vis-

itors, the park said Thursday.

High winds that began Monday

swept through the state, toppling

trees and power lines and knock-

ing out electricity to about 300,000

homes and businesses. Utilities al-

so intentionally blacked out tens of

thousands of customers to prevent

fires erupting from damaged or

downed electrical equipment.

The winds eased Tuesday in the

northern and central areas and

Wednesday in the south.

Yosemite was struck Monday

night. Two giant sequoias in the

lower grove of Yosemite’s Mari-

posa Grove of Giant Sequoias

were among trees that fell, park

spokesman Scott Gediman told

the Sacramento Bee.

Trees also crushed trucks and

damaged buildings, including em-

ployee homes. Also crushed were

a boardwalk and bathroom in-

stalled during a $40 million resto-

ration that was finished in 2018,

Gediman said.

Crews were working to repair

downed electrical lines, especially

in the Wawona community, a

south park area that remained

without power on Thursday, Gedi-

man said.

Among the areas closed until

deemed safe was the Tunnel View,

a scenic viewpoint on State Route

41 in the Wawona area that offers

sweeping views of such icons as

Half Dome and Bridalveil Fall.

The park is only open to day vis-

itors. Campgrounds and lodges

have been closed for several

weeks because the park is trying

to reduce the chances of visitors

spreading the coronavirus.

Yosemite remainsclosed followingdamaging winds

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK/AP

An incensecedar lies in a house in Wawona, Calif., after the Mono wind event on Tuesday. YosemiteNational Park will remain closed through the weekend after high winds that battered much of Californiaknocked down two giant sequoias and caused millions of dollars in damage. 

Associated Press

KEY WEST, Fla — Feral chick-

ens run free in Key West, just one

of those things that keep the

Southernmost City charmingly

weird.

But what’s delightful here and

there becomes a nuisance when

they’re everywhere. With the pop-

ulation getting out of hand, city

commissioners are taking action

— not by hunting down the fixings

for a massive tailgate party, but by

going after their human enablers.

They’re making it illegal to feed

the free-roaming birds.

An ordinance unanimously ap-

proved on a first reading Wednes-

day said the Florida city’s feral

chickens can “carry and spread

diseases, destroy property, and

cause copious amounts of fecal de-

posits on public property.”

People who feed them would be

punished with fines of $250 per

day for a first violation and $500

per day for repeat offenders under

the ordinance, which now awaits a

second vote, the Miami Herald re-

ported.

These chickens are fat, with lit-

tle trouble finding meals. Tourists

feed them popcorn or french fries,

and some locals buy huge bags of

bird feed for them.

“The fowl have a feast,” said

City Commissioner Clayton Lo-

pez, who sponsored the measure.

“They can pick and choose better

than we can what they eat off their

plate.”

Patricia Eables, an assistant

Monroe County attorney, said her

neighbor feeds them several times

a day, resulting in droppings on

the stairs, handrails, cars and oth-

er surfaces, the Herald reported.

“We have done everything we

can as neighbors to try to get her to

stop doing it,” Eables said. “We

started reaching out to code and

learned there was no ordinance.”

Charles Malta said his street

has been invaded by chickens.

“The population has literally ex-

ploded,” Malta said. “They’re be-

ing fed and when you ask anybody

to stop it’s like you’re asking them

for their first-born. It’s a heated

thing on both sides.”

The city’s wild chickens don’t

need help finding food, Tom

Sweets, executive director of the

Key West Wildlife Center, told the

newspaper. The island is a bug-

rich environment for them.

“Nothing is worse for the chick-

ens than feeding them,” Sweets

said. “I’ve never seen a skinny

chicken in Key West unless it’s

sick or injured. There’s really not

a need. They’re quite capable of

taking care of themselves.”

The roaming chickens are fear-

less when it comes to approaching

people, said City Commissioner

Mary Lou Hoover.

“They’re becoming more ag-

gressive by the day,” Hoover said.

In her district, people have report-

ed that when they go to put dog fe-

ces in the trash, chickens come up

and attack them, thinking it might

be food.

Key West wants to bar peoplefrom feeding roaming chickens

Associated Press

WILFREDO LEE/AP

Key West, Fla., is considering alaw that would make it illegal tofeed the chickens, like this one,that freely roam the nation'sSouthernmost City. 

OAKLAND, Calif. — The mas-

ter tenant of a cluttered, dilapidat-

ed San Francisco Bay Area ware-

house where 36 people perished in

a late-night fire in 2016 is sched-

uled to plead guilty Friday to the

deaths, avoiding a second trial af-

ter the first ended in a hung jury.

Families of several victims told

the East Bay Times last week that

prosecutors told them Derick Al-

mena, 50, will plead guilty to 36

counts of involuntary manslaugh-

ter in exchange for a nine-year

sentence. Almena may serve little

or none of that term because of

time already spent behind bars

and credit for good behavior.

Alameda County prosecutors

say Almena was criminally negli-

gent when he illegally converted

the industrial Oakland warehouse

into a residence and event space

for artists dubbed the “Ghost

Ship,” stuffing the two-story

building with flammable materi-

als and extension cords. It had no

smoke detectors or sprinklers.

The Dec. 2, 2016, fire broke out

at the warehouse during an elec-

tronic music and dance party,

moving so quickly that victims

were trapped on the illegally con-

structed second floor. Prosecutors

said the victims received no warn-

ing and had little chance to escape

down a narrow, ramshackle stair-

case.

The case has been emotionally

wrenching for family and friends

of the victims, many who packed a

courtroom for months in 2019, on-

ly to see a jury split on whether to

convict Almena, who leased the

building. The jury also found co-

defendant Max Harris, who was

the Ghost Ship’s “creative direc-

tor” and would collect rent, not

guilty at the same trial.

Colleen Dolan, mother of victim

Chelsea Faith Dolan, told the East

Bay Times that families were not

informed of the plea deal possibil-

ity before last Wednesday.

“My heart dropped, especially

when I heard it was going to be a

slap on the wrist. I want my

daughter back; we want to be with

our family members who died. He

gets to be with his family,” she

said.

Almena had been jailed since

2017 until he was released in May

because of coronavirus concerns

and after posting a $150,000 bail

bond. He is on house arrest with

an ankle monitor in the city of Up-

per Lake, where he lives with his

wife and children.

Man to plead guilty afterdeaths of 36 partiers in fire

Associated Press

PAGE 10 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, January 23, 2021

WORLD

BAGHDAD — The Islamic

State claimed responsibility for a

rare suicide attack that rocked

central Baghdad, killing 32 peo-

ple and wounding dozens.

The bombing targeted "apos-

tate Shiites," the group said in a

statement on an ISIS-affiliated

website late Thursday.

At least 32 people were killed

and over 100 people wounded in

the blasts on Thursday. Some

were in severe condition. Accord-

ing to officials, the first suicide

bomber cried out loudly that he

was ill in the middle of the bus-

tling market, prompting a crowd

to gather around him — and

that’s when he detonated his ex-

plosive belt. The second detonat-

ed shortly after.

The U.S.-led coalition recently

ceased combat activities and is

gradually drawing down its troop

presence in Iraq, sparking fears

of an ISIS resurgence. The group

has rarely been able to penetrate

the capital since being dislodged

by Iraqi forces and the U.S.-led

coalition in 2017.

The attack was the first in

nearly three years to hit the cap-

ital.

Elsewhere, in northern Iraq

and the western desert, attacks

continue and almost exclusively

target Iraqi security forces.

An increase in attacks was

seen last summer as militants

took advantage of the govern-

ment’s focus on tackling the coro-

navirus pandemic and exploited

security gaps across disputed ter-

ritory in northern Iraq.

Islamic State claims responsibility for deadly twin blasts in Baghdad Associated Press

MOSCOW — The Kremlin on

Friday welcomed U.S. President

Joe Biden’s proposal to extend the

last remaining nuclear arms con-

trol treaty between the two coun-

tries, which is set to expire in less

than two weeks.

Russian President Vladimir Pu-

tin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov,

said that Russia stands for extend-

ing the pact and is waiting to see

the details of the U.S. proposal.

The White House said Thurs-

day that Biden has proposed to

Russia a five-year extension of the

New START treaty.

“We can only welcome political

will to extend the document,” Pes-

kov said in a conference call with

reporters. “But all will depend on

the details of the proposal.”

The treaty, signed in 2010 by

President Barack Obama and

Russian President Dmitry Med-

vedev, limits each country to no

more than 1,550 deployed nuclear

warheads and 700 deployed mis-

siles and bombers, and envisages

sweeping on-site inspections to

verify compliance. It expires on

Feb. 5.

Russia has long proposed to

prolong the pact without any con-

ditions or changes, but President

Donald Trump’s administration

waited until last year to start talks

and made the extension contin-

gent on a set of demands. The talks

stalled, and months of bargaining

have failed to narrow differences.

“Certain conditions for the ex-

tension have been put forward,

and some of them have been abso-

lutely unacceptable for us, so let’s

see first what the U.S. is offering,”

Peskov said.

Mikhail Ulyanov, the Russian

ambassador at the international

organizations in Vienna, also

hailed Biden’s proposal as an “en-

couraging step.”

“The extension will give the two

sides more time to consider possi-

ble additional measures aimed at

strengthening strategic stability

and global security,” he tweeted.

Biden indicated during the

campaign that he favored the

preservation of the New START

treaty, which was negotiated dur-

ing his tenure as U.S. vice presi-

dent.

The talks on the treaty’s exten-

sion also were clouded by tensions

between Russia and the United

States, which have been fueled by

the Ukrainian crisis, Moscow’s

meddling in the 2016 U.S. presi-

dential election and other irrita-

nts.

Despite the extension proposal,

White House press secretary Jen

Psaki said Biden remains commit-

ted to holding Russia “to account

for its reckless and adversarial ac-

tions,” such as its alleged involve-

ment in the Solar Winds hacking

event, 2020 election interference,

the chemical poisoning of opposi-

tion figure Alexei Navalny and the

widely reported allegations that

Russia may have offered bounties

to the Taliban to kill American sol-

diers in Afghanistan.

Asked to comment on Psaki’s

statement, Peskov has reaffirmed

Russia’s denial of involvement in

any such activities.

After both Moscow and Wash-

ington withdrew from the 1987 In-

termediate-Range Nuclear

Forces Treaty in 2019, New

START is the only remaining nu-

clear arms control deal between

the two countries.

Arms control advocates have

strongly called for New START’s

preservation, warning that its

lapse would remove any checks on

U.S. and Russian nuclear forces.

Last week, Russia also declared

that it would follow the U.S. to pull

out of the Open Skies Treaty al-

lowing surveillance flights over

military facilities to help build

trust and transparency between

Russia and the West.

Russia welcomesproposed nuketreaty extension

Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s capital

and major cities plunged into

darkness in recent weeks as roll-

ing outages left millions without

electricity for hours. Traffic lights

died. Offices went dark. Online

classes stopped.

With toxic smog blanketing

Tehran skies and the country

buckling under the pandemic and

other mounting crises, social

media has been rife with specula-

tion. Soon, fingers pointed at an

unlikely culprit: Bitcoin.

Within days, as frustration

spread among residents, the gov-

ernment launched a wide-ranging

crackdown on Bitcoin processing

centers, which require immense

amounts of electricity to power

their specialized computers and to

keep them cool — a burden on

Iran’s power grid.

Authorities shuttered 1,600 cen-

ters across the country, including,

for the first time, those legally au-

thorized to operate. As the latest in

a series of conflicting government

moves, the clampdown stirred

confusion in the crypto industry —

and suspicion that Bitcoin had be-

come a useful scapegoat for the

nation’s deeper-rooted problems.

Since former President Donald

Trump unilaterally withdrew in

2018 from Tehran’s nuclear ac-

cord with world powers and re-

imposed sanctions on Iran, cryp-

tocurrency has surged in popular-

ity in the Islamic Republic.

For Iran, anonymous online

transactions made in cryptocur-

rencies allow individuals and

companies to bypass banking

sanctions that have crippled the

economy. Bitcoin offers an alter-

native to cash printed by sover-

eign governments and central

banks — and in the case of Iran

and other countries under sanc-

tions like Venezuela, a more stable

place to park money than the local

currency.

“Iranians understand the value

of such a borderless network

much more than others because

we can’t access any kind of global

payment networks,” said Ziya

Sadr, a Tehran-based Bitcoin ex-

pert. “Bitcoin shines here.”

Iran’s generously subsidized

electricity has put the country on

the crypto-mining map, given the

operation’s enormous electricity

consumption. Electricity goes for

around 4 cents per kilowatt-hour

in Iran, compared to an average of

13 cents in the United States.

Iran is among the top 10 coun-

tries with the most Bitcoin mining

capacity in the world — 450 mega-

watts a day. The U.S. network has

a daily capacity of more than 1,100

megawatts.

On Tehran’s outskirts and

across Iran’s south and northwest,

windowless warehouses hum with

heavy industrial machinery and

rows of computers that crunch

highly complex algorithms to ver-

ify transactions. The transactions,

called blocks, are then added to a

public record, known as the block-

chain.

“Miners” adding a new block to

the blockchain collect fees in bit-

coins, a key advantage amid the

country’s currency collapse.

Iran’s rial, which had been trading

at 32,000 to the dollar at the time of

the 2015 nuclear deal, has tumbled

to around 240,000 to the dollar

these days.

Iran’s government has sent

mixed messages about Bitcoin. On

one hand, it wants to capitalize on

the soaring popularity of digital

currency and sees value in legiti-

mizing transactions that fly under

Washington’s radar. It authorized

24 Bitcoin processing centers that

consume an estimated 300 mega-

watts of energy a day, attracted

tech-savvy Chinese entrepre-

neurs to tax-free zones in the

country’s south and permitted im-

ports of computers for mining.

EBRAHIM NOROOZI/AP

Air pollution blankets a mountain range in Tehran, Iran, in December.

Iran, pressured by blackoutsand pollution, targets Bitcoin

Associated Press

Saturday, January 23, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 11

AMERICAN ROUNDUP

FBI locates stolenarmored military vehicle

CA LOS ANGELES — Amilitary Humvee sto-len from a National Guard facility

in a Los Angeles suburb was found

Wednesday morning, the FBI

said.

A search continues for the per-

son or persons who stole the ar-

mored vehicle Jan. 15 from the Na-

tional Guard Armory in the city of

Bell, the bureau said.

The four-door vehicle painted a

green camouflage is worth about

$120,000. Officials did not say

where or how it was located.

A theft from a military facility

carries a statutory maximum sen-

tence of 10 years in federal prison,

the FBI said.

Officials say javelina was unlawfully killed

AZ TUCSON — The Arizo-na Game and Fish De-partment is offering a $1,500 re-

ward for information leading to an

arrest in the unlawful killing of a