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US aircraft carrier, destroyer steam through South China Sea ›› Page 3
STUTTGART, Germany — Be-
fore 2001, German citizen Michael
Weissenborn could take his U.S.
Army-issued library card onto
Patch Barracks in Stuttgart to
check out books, mingle with
American troops and feel a con-
nection to a military community
that was part of local life for gener-
ations.
The 9/11 attacks changed much
of that, he said.
“In the old days, it was just so
much easier to interact with U.S.
soldiers. Now, it feels like they al-
most want to be invisible behind
their bases,” said Weissenborn,
who works as a reporter for the
Stuttgart Nachrichten newspaper.
“It feels like alienation.”
Twenty years after al-Qaida ter-
rorists flew airplanes into the
World Trade Center and the Pen-
tagon, American troops are out of
Afghanistan.
But over two decades, the at-
tacks changed everything for the
U.S. military, which deployed
hundreds of thousands of troops
for the so-called Global War on
Terror.
Not only did 9/11 change how the
military fights, but it also changed
how troops live and interact in the
overseas communities where they
reside.
A legacy that remains in place
today and will continue to be a fact
of military life for years to come in
Europe: heavily fortified bases
that resemble nothing like the rel-
atively easy-access installations of
the pre-attack era.
‘Invisible behind their bases’Security after attackchanged the wayAmerican troops andGermans interact
BY JOHN VANDIVER
Stars and Stripes
An airman from the 469thSecurity Forces Flight directscars approaching Rhein-Main AirBase, Germany, to stop for asearch on Sept. 12, 2001.
Stars and Stripes
SEE SECURITY ON PAGE 5
20 YEARS AFTER 9/11
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Ger-
many — U.S. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken conferred with
his German counterpart and oth-
ers Wednesday about how to han-
dle Afghanistan as the Taliban’s
announcement of an interim gov-
ernment line-up received a skepti-
cal Western response.
Blinken met with German For-
eign Minister Heiko Maas at Ram-
stein Air Base, a
major U.S. facil-
ity in Germany
that has become
a key gateway
for people evac-
uated from Af-
ghanistan. As of
Wednesday,
about 23,000
people had been flown from Ram-
stein to the United States or other
locations. There were about 11,200
people at the base and the nearby
Rhine Ordnance Barracks await-
ing onward travel.
The German Foreign Ministry
said the two officials would host a
virtual meeting with other foreign
ministers and that more than 20
countries were expected.
It didn’t identify them, but Maas
said in a statement that they want
to discuss a common approach to
the Taliban “which also serves our
interests: adherence to funda-
mental human rights, maintaining
possibilities to leave (Afghanis-
tan) and humanitarian access, and
the fight against terror groups”
such as al-Qaida and the Islamic
State.
The get-together comes the day
after the Taliban announced an
Blinken meetswith Germanminister to talkTaliban future
BY CHRISTOPH NOELTING
Associated Press
Blinken
SEE BLINKEN ON PAGE 6
AFGHANISTAN
PAGE 2 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021
NEW YORK — There will be
something missing at two Whole
Foods stores opening next year: the
rows of cashiers.
Amazon, which owns the grocery
chain, said Wednesday that it will
bring its cashier-less technology to
two Whole Foods stores for the first
time, letting shoppers grab what
they need and leave without having
to open their wallets. Cameras and
sensors track what’s taken off
shelves. Items are charged to an
Amazon account after customers
leave the store with them.
But there will be an option for
those who want to shop the old-fash-
ioned way: Self-checkout lanes will
be available that take cash, gift cards
and other types of payment.
Amazon first unveiled the cash-
ier-less technology in 2018 at an
Amazon Go convenience store and
has expanded it to larger Amazon
supermarkets. But it will be the first
time it has appeared at Whole Foods,
a chain of over 500 grocery stores
Amazon bought four years ago.
One of the new stores will be in
Washington, D.C.; the other in Sher-
man Oaks, Calif. They will be
stocked with the typical Whole
Foods fare, including seafood,
fresh-squeezed orange juice and or-
ganic vegetables.
Even with the technology, Ama-
zon said it will still hire about the
same number of workers for the
stores that it normally would, except
they will have different roles, help-
ing shoppers in the aisles or at coun-
ters instead of standing behind a
register. The company declined to
say how many people it will hire.
Bahrain97/93
Baghdad100/79
Doha104/84
Kuwait City106/85
Riyadh105/79
Kandahar102/66
Kabul86/55
Djibouti102/85
THURSDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Mildenhall/Lakenheath
77/64
Ramstein77/61
Stuttgart75/59
Lajes,Azores73/70
Rota75/64
Morón85/64 Sigonella
80/64
Naples81/65
Aviano/Vicenza76/55
Pápa77/56
Souda Bay73/70
Brussels76/62
Zagan74/55
DrawskoPomorskie
72/54
THURSDAY IN EUROPE
Misawa71/66
Guam84/81
Tokyo81/67
Okinawa84/81
Sasebo80/73
Iwakuni78/75
Seoul78/66
Osan77/68
Busan75/72
The weather is provided by the American Forces Network Weather Center,
2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
FRIDAY IN THE PACIFIC
WEATHER OUTLOOK
TODAYIN STRIPES
American Roundup ...... 11Classified .................... 13Comics .........................16Crossword ................... 16Faces .......................... 14Opinion ........................ 15Sports .................... 17-24
BUSINESS/WEATHER
Military rates
Euro costs (Sept. 9) $1.15Dollar buys (Sept. 9) 0.8247British pound (Sept. 9) $1.35Japanese yen (Sept. 9) 107.00South Korean won (Sept. 9) 1,133.00
Commercial rates
Bahrain (Dinar) .3769Britain (Pound) 1.3761Canada (Dollar) 1.2671China (Yuan) 6.4613Denmark (Krone) 6.2923Egypt (Pound) 15.7105Euro .8462Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7760Hungary (Forint) 295.64Israel (Shekel) 3.2056Japan (Yen) 110.32Kuwait (Dinar) .3008
Norway (Krone) 8.6930
Philippines (Peso) 50.21Poland (Zloty) 3.82Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7507Singapore (Dollar) 1.3460
South Korea (Won) 1,167.54Switzerland (Franc) .9215Thailand (Baht) 32.77Turkey (New Lira) �8.4599
(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 0.0530year bond 1.98
EXCHANGE RATESAmazon to open 2 cashier-less Whole FoodsAssociated Press
Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3
A Navy aircraft carrier strike
group and a destroyer steamed sep-
arately through the South China
Sea on Wednesday, just days after
China imposed a law requiring for-
eign vessels to give notice before
entering waters claimed by Beij-
ing.
The guided-missile destroyer
USS Benfold “asserted navigation
rights and freedoms” within 12
nautical miles of Mischief Reef in
the Spratly Islands, according to a
7th Fleet news release Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the USS Carl Vinson
and its strike group were training
elsewhere in the region, according
to the Navy.
The entire Spratly chain is
claimed by China, Vietnam and
Taiwan; the Philippines, Malaysia
and Brunei also claim portions of
them.
Neither warship provided notice
to any country with claims in the
South China Sea, 7th Fleet spokes-
man Lt. Mark Langford told Stars
and Stripes in an email Wednesday.
Also Wednesday, the Chinese
military issued a statement saying
the Benfold entered the area with-
out permission and that it had
tracked, monitored and warned off
the destroyer.
The statement, attributed to Col.
Tian Junli of the Southern Theater
Command, said Beijing has “indis-
putable sovereignty” over the is-
lands. It also called the U.S. a “secu-
rity risk maker in the South China
Sea” and the “biggest destroyer” of
peace and regional stability.
The 7th Fleet responded with its
own statement Wednesday after-
noon, saying the operation abided
by international law. It called Beij-
ing’s statement “the latest in a long
string” of actions intended to mis-
represent the Navy’s operations
and “assert excessive and illegiti-
mate maritime claims.”
China has reclaimed land and
built military infrastructure in the
Spratlys since 2014, according to
the Center for Strategic and Inter-
national Studies Asia Maritime
Transparency Initiative. Mischief
Reef is one island China has im-
proved and occupies.
The Benfold made the Navy’s
seventh freedom-of-navigation op-
eration in the area this year, ac-
cording to a Defense Department
statement Langford provided to
Stars and Stripes. The U.S. last con-
ducted a freedom-of-navigation op-
eration in the Spratly Islands in
February.
“The United States challenges
excessive maritime claims without
regard to the nation asserting
them,” the statement said.
In late July the Benfold passed
through the Taiwan Strait, another
practice that China routinely con-
demns.
The Carl Vinson held flight oper-
ations and maritime strike exercis-
es and coordinated training be-
tween surface and air units on
Monday, Carl Vinson spokeswo-
man Lt. Cmdr. Miranda Williams
said in an email to Stars and Stripes
Tuesday.
“Carrier operations in the South
China Sea are not new or unusual,”
she wrote. “Our Navy has flown,
sailed, and operated throughout the
Indo-Pacific region in accordance
with international law for more
than 75 years and will continue to
do so.”
The Carl Vinson carries the Na-
vy’s “air wing of the future,” air-
craft that include the F-35C Light-
ing II stealth fighters and
CMV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor air-
craft.
On Sept. 1, a Chinese law took ef-
fect that requires certain foreign
vessels, including nuclear-power-
ed ships, submarines and ships car-
rying dangerous substances, to no-
tify Chinese authorities before en-
tering areas claimed by China,
such as the South China Sea.
China’s law will not hinder U.S.
military activities in the region, ac-
cording to Pentagon spokespeople,
who said Sept 1. that the Navy
would sail “wherever international
law allows.”
Beijing’s claims in the South Chi-
na Sea are outlined by the “nine-
dash line,” a demarcation adopted
from a 1947 Chinese map. In 2016, a
United Nations tribunal declared
some of those claims unlawful un-
der the Convention on the Law of
the Sea.
US carrier, destroyer in South China SeaBY ALEX WILSON
Stars and Stripes
[email protected] Twitter: @AlexMNWilson
ISAIAH WILLIAMS/U.S. Navy
An F/A18E Super Hornet prepares to take off Monday from the USS Carl Vinson in the South China Sea.
The sitting INDOPACOM com-
mander, Adm. John Aquilino, has
also warned that “this problem is
much closer to us than most think,”
without giving a timeline for China
achieving the capability to invade
the island.
Harris told Kyodo the U.S.
should be “clearer in what our re-
sponsibilities are” under the Tai-
wan Relations Act that governs
U.S. ties with Taiwan. Washington
has “not been consistent,” he said,
especially over its arms sales to the
island.
“If you’re not consistent in what
you sell Taiwan or any other coun-
try, then how can they be — how
can they adequately plan for their
military readiness, in the long
run?” said Harris, who recently
served as U.S. ambassador to
South Korea.
U.S. Navy warships have made
eight transits of the Taiwan Strait
this year, the latest on Aug. 27 by
the guided-missile destroyer USS
Kidd and Coast Guard cutter Mun-
Washington should review its
ambiguous position on defending
Taiwan during a Chinese attack,
according to a former Indo-Pacific
Command leader who warned that
Beijing seeks to “dominate” the is-
land democracy.
The Communist Party of China
regards Taiwan as a renegade
province that must be reunified
with the mainland, even by force.
Since 1979’s Taiwan Relations Act,
Washington has left some doubt as
to what conditions would dictate
U.S. involvement to prevent that
from happening.
“We should reconsider … our
long-standing policy of strategic
ambiguity,” retired Navy Adm.
Harry Harris told Japan’s Kyodo
News during a recent interview
from Colorado. “If, at the end of
that … reassessment, we keep the
same policy, that’s fine. But we
shouldn’t keep it simply because
we’ve done it that way since the
late 1970s.”
The policy is intended to deter
both Beijing and Taiwan from es-
calating their feud by leaving
doubt as to when or if the U.S.
might intervene in conflict. How-
ever, China’s military buildup and
aggression toward its neighbors
have led to calls for a reassessment
of the stance.
In March, then-INDOPACOM
commander Adm. Philip David-
son told the Senate Armed Servic-
es Committee he believed China
could overtake Taiwan and force
reunification “in the next six
years.”
He also suggested the U.S. re-
view its policy regarding relations
with Taiwan.
“I would submit that we’ve got
more than 40 years of the strategic
ambiguity that has helped keep
Taiwan in its current status,” he
said. “But, you know, these things
should be reconsidered routinely.
I’d look forward to the conversa-
tion.”
ro.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Defense
Ministry, in an annual report,
warned that China could “para-
lyze” its defenses in a conflict,
Bloomberg News reported Sept. 1.
A debate over strategic ambi-
guity has merit, according to Ian
Chong, an associate professor of
political science at the National
University of Singapore.
The policy was adopted to re-
strain Taiwan, as much as China.
Today it seems less likely that the
island’s leaders would be provoca-
tive, Chong said by telephone
Wednesday.
“Taiwan seems far more willing
to be the restrained party,” he said.
Beijing, at the same time, is in-
creasingly forward leaning and
aggressive with flights of military
aircraft and patrols of naval ves-
sels, Chong added.
“There’s an argument to be
made that the U.S. has to be clear
about its commitment to deter ag-
gression across the Taiwan Strait,”
he said.
Former leader of INDOPACOMcalls for Taiwan policy review
BY SETH ROBSON
Stars and Stripes
[email protected] Twitter: @Seth Robson1
Stars and Stripes
ThenU.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris poses at hisresidence in Seoul, South Korea, in January 2020.
MILITARY
PAGE 4 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021
TOKYO — New coronavirus
cases discovered daily in Japan’s
capital city continued to trend low-
er Wednesday and fell below 2,000
for a third consecutive day.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Gov-
ernment reported that another
1,834 people tested positive
Wednesday, 1,334 fewer than a
week prior, according to public
broadcaster NHK and metro gov-
ernment data. New infections
have fallen below the previous
week’s numbers for 17 days in a
row.
Meanwhile, U.S. military bases
in Japan reported 37 new cases of
COVID-19 since Sept. 1.
Yokosuka Naval Base, home-
port of the 7th Fleet south of Tokyo,
had 30 people test positive since
Friday, according to a base news
release Wednesday.
Eight base employees and nine
people affiliated with the Navy, all
unimmunized, came down with
COVID-19 symptoms; another
nine immunized people also fell ill,
according to the base.
Medical screenings discovered
two unimmunized and one immu-
nized patient, and one unimmu-
nized person turned up during
contact tracing, the release said.
The base has 65 people under
medical observation.
Naval Air Facility Atsugi, 26
miles southwest of central Tokyo,
had one person identified as a
close contact turn up positive
Tuesday, according to a base news
release.
U.S. Army Japan, headquar-
tered at Camp Zama 28 miles
southwest of Tokyo, discovered
six people with COVID-19 be-
tween Sept. 1 and Wednesday, ac-
cording to a news release.
One individual was tested by Ja-
panese officials upon arrival in Ja-
pan. Another reported COVID-19
symptoms and four were already
quarantined after contact with a
previously infected person, ac-
cording to the Army.
Another person at Zama Middle
School tested positive on Monday,
according to a message to parents,
students and staff from Principal
Henry LeFebre on Tuesday.
All Zama classrooms will re-
main open while public health au-
thorities trace that person’s con-
tacts, he wrote. The school re-
mained open after reporting a cor-
onavirus case Sept. 1.
Japan reported another 10,634
new cases Tuesday and 62 deaths
related to COVID-19, according to
the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus
Resource Center. Nearly half,
48.1%, of Japan’s population, or 61
million people, are fully vaccinat-
ed.
S. Korea updateU.S. Forces Korea had 11 people
test positive for COVID-19 after
arriving on the peninsula between
Aug. 17 and Sunday, according to a
news release.
All 11 — six service members,
four Defense Department civilian
employees and a family member
—arrived on commercial flights at
Incheon International Airport be-
tween those dates, according to
USFK.
Five tested positive on their first
mandatory COVID-19 test prior to
entering quarantine, four tested
positive during quarantine, and
two were positive on the test re-
quired to exit quarantine. All were
isolated at either Camp Hum-
phreys or Osan Air Base.
South Korea reported another
2,050 COVID-19 cases Tuesday,
according to the Korean Center for
Disease Control and Prevention’s
daily update Wednesday. Of those,
665 were discovered in Seoul and
691 in Gyeonggi province, where
Humphreys and Osan are located.
As of Tuesday, 36.6% of South
Korea’s population, or 19 million
people, are fully vaccinated, ac-
cording to KDCA. Another 61%, or
31.3 million, have received the first
of a two-dose vaccine.
Tokyo’s virus count below 2K; US records 48 cases in Japan, S. KoreaBY JOSEPH DITZLER
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @JosephDitzler
WASHINGTON — A Chinese
Foreign Ministry spokesman de-
nied reports Tuesday that Beijing
is discussing a deal with the Tali-
ban to hand over a former U.S. air
base in Afghanistan.
“I can tell you this is purely fake
news,” Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesman Wang Wenbin said, re-
ferring to media reports that the
Taliban could hand over Bagram
Airfield to Beijing following the
American departure from Af-
ghanistan last week.
Bagram, about 35 miles north of
Kabul, was the largest American
base in Afghanistan for nearly two
decades before the United States
turned it over to Afghan Security
Forces on July 2 as part of its with-
drawal from the country that start-
ed May 1.
Six weeks later, on Aug. 15, the
Afghan government forces sur-
rendered the air base to the Tali-
ban, which took control of the na-
tion’s capital the same day.
The reports of a possible deal
followed former U.S. Ambassador
to the United Nations Nikki Ha-
ley’s comments that “we need to
watch China” during an appear-
ance on Fox News last week.
“I think you are going to see Chi-
na make a move for Bagram Air
Force Base,” she said. “I think
they are also making a move in Af-
ghanistan and trying to use Pakis-
tan to get stronger to go against In-
dia.”
President Joe Biden ended the
U.S. war in Afghanistan on Aug. 31
after nearly 20 years of American
troops being deployed to the coun-
try. This was done, in part, to
switch Defense Department focus
and efforts toward what his ad-
ministration calls the nation’s pac-
ing threats: China and Russia.
“There’s nothing China or Rus-
sia would rather have, would want
more in this competition, than the
United States to be bogged down
another decade in Afghanistan,”
Biden said Aug. 31 in his speech
about the end of the war.
China, which shares a border
with Afghanistan, has been build-
ing ties with the Taliban.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang
Yi welcomed a group from the Ta-
liban, including its co-founder
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar,
during a trip to China on July 28,
and Beijing “maintained contact
and communication” with the Ta-
liban as it took over the country
last month, Foreign Ministry spo-
keswoman Hua Chunying said at
an Aug. 16 news conference.
“The Afghan Taliban said on
multiple occasions that it hopes to
grow sound relations with China,
looks forward to China’s participa-
tion in Afghanistan’s reconstruct-
ion and development and will nev-
er allow any force to use the Af-
ghan territory to engage in acts
detrimental to China,” she said.
China: Report ofBagram airfielddeal ‘fake news’
BY CAITLIN DOORNBOS
Stars and Stripes
[email protected] Twitter: @CaitlinDoornbos
gets more than 340 miles away, ac-
cording to Northrop Grumman.
The exact range of the aircraft’s
cameras and sensors is classified,
but a Global Hawk flying near the
Korean Demilitarized Zone, for
example, could see well beyond
the Yalu River that marks North
Korea’s border with China.
A single RQ-4 costs about $130
million, according to the Reuters
news agency, quoting industry
sources in 2019.
The Air Force has positioned its
own Global Hawks at Misawa for
several summers since 2014. The
drones come to Japan to avoid ty-
phoons at Andersen Air Force
Base, Guam. In recent years, in-
cluding 2020, they have operated
out of Yokota Air Base in western
Tokyo during summer.
The maker of the U.S. military’s
longest-range unmanned surveil-
lance aircraft will get nearly $40
million to develop software for
RQ-4 Global Hawks operated by
Japan and South Korea.
The contract, awarded to San
Diego-based Northrop Grumman
Aerospace Systems, is worth up to
$39.9 million for work on both
countries’ drones under the For-
eign Military Sales program the
Defense Department announced
Sept. 1.
Northrop Grumman manufac-
tures the aircraft, which have
been in service with the Air Force
since 2001.
The Foreign Military Sales pro-
gram authorizes sales of weapons
and services to other countries
when the deals strengthen U.S. se-
curity and promote world peace.
South Korea has four Global
Hawks that are believed to be
flown out of Sacheon Air Base,
near the port of Busan, according
to an October report by Jane’s De-
fence Weekly.
The first of three Global Hawks
the Japan Air Self-Defense Force
will operate from Misawa Air
Base in the country’s northeast
made its maiden flight in Califor-
nia in April.
Northrop Grumman’s deal pro-
vides for the co-development, test-
ing and integration of software for
the U.S. allies’ Global Hawk fleets,
according to the DOD announce-
ment.
The work, due to be completed
by July 31, 2023, will be done in
San Diego with integration efforts
at Misawa and Sacheon, the an-
nouncement states.
The Global Hawk flies at 60,000
feet and has a line of sight to tar-
Northrop Grumman
An RQ4B Global Hawk lifts off for the first time from Palmdale, Calif., on April 15.
Global Hawk maker gets $40M softwarecontract for Japan and S. Korea fleets
BY SETH ROBSON
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @SethRobson1
MILITARY
Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 5
William Butler, U.S. European
Command’s historian, said securi-
ty was always on the mind of com-
manders in Europe, who dealt
with various terrorist threats dat-
ing back to the 1970s.
But the scale of the attacks on 9/
11 meant the military was forced
to take stronger measures, he said.
As a result, that meant fewer base
open houses and special events
that put Germans in closer contact
with American personnel.
“The perception, from the host
nation side, is that their access
was greatly restricted, and I think
that was true,” Butler said. “9/11
did change that.”
Immediately after Sept. 11,
2001, military bases made unprec-
edented boosts to security.
Before then, parts of many
bases in Germany were open to
the public. Garrison housing facil-
ities were generally wide open,
without fencing or restrictions.
Even Landstuhl Regional Medical
Center could be accessed by the
public, since no ID checks were
enforced.
Now, elaborate fencing, con-
crete walls and single-entry ac-
cess with mandatory ID checks
are how business is conducted at
U.S. military sites.
The looming threat of possible
attacks on bases demanded the
implementation of such changes,
which had started to take effect
even before Sept. 11, 2001.
The 1998 attacks on two U.S.
embassies in Africa were a pre-
cursor of more enhanced security
at bases in Europe. For example,
that’s when fencing first went up
around Army housing at Vogel-
weh Military Complex in Kaiser-
slautern.
“The two embassy bombings in
’98, I think that changed life,” re-
called Mike Goff, who was in the
Air Force at Ramstein Air Base
and is now a retiree in the area.
At the time, Vogelweh and Pu-
laski Barracks were open to Ger-
mans, who often used those mili-
tary neighborhoods as traffic
shortcuts, Goff said.
“When they started coming up
with the fencing, the Germans,
they got a little upset, but they had
to understand it was U.S. govern-
ment property,” he said.
There were other shifts, too. Se-
curity concerns meant less Ger-
man access to private clubs on
base.
“That seemed to change the re-
lations,” Goff said. “We wouldn’t
see our German friends come to
the Ramstein rodeo, for example.
The Germans loved that stuff.”
Over the years, the military has
always adjusted security depend-
ing on world events. But after 9/11,
the big gates and armed guards at
base entry points never went
away.
In the years after the attacks,
the military also invested heavily
in improving on-post amenities in
Europe, which resulted in more
mini-America accoutrements.
With more fast-food restaurants
and base shopping malls, troops
increasingly had the option of
hunkering down during Europe
assignments.
Weissenborn said that during
the Cold War and up until the ter-
rorist attacks, friendly encounters
between Germans and Americans
were more common.
German-American friendship
festivals were major events in
Stuttgart, but with fewer troops
and more security, such gather-
ings now seem perfunctory, Weis-
senborn said.
“Now, there is no concerted ef-
fort of reaching out,” he said. “And
that goes for both sides.”
Security: US bases in Germany were partly open to public before 9/11
[email protected]: @john_vandiver
JENNIFER H. SVAN/Stars and Stripes
The food court at the Kaiserslautern Military Community Center on Ramstein Air Base, Germany, in 2017.
FROM PAGE 1
MILITARY
Retired Lt. Col. Richard “Dick”
Cole was celebrated during the fi-
nal years of his life as the last sur-
viving member
of the legendary
Doolittle Raid of
World War II in
which 80 crew
members man-
ning 16 aircraft
bombed Japa-
nese cities, in-
cluding Tokyo.
Tuesday would have been the
106th birthday of the former Air
Force pilot, who died April 9,
2019. To honor him and his ser-
vice, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, the
Air Force chief of staff, posthu-
mously promoted Cole to the rank
of colonel in a ceremony held at
Joint Base San Antonio in Texas.
“We often get caught up in the
daily static of life. Let us never
forget that we truly stand on the
shoulders of giants,” Brown said.
“I’m forever grateful for the early
aviators that paved the way for
our nation and for Air Force.”
The ceremony included a me-
morial service followed by a buri-
al service for Cole and his wife,
Lucia Martha “Marty” Cole, who
died in 2003.
The Doolittle Raid, named for
Lt. Col. James Doolittle, who
planned and executed it, began
April 18, 1942, when 16 Army Air
Force B-25B Mitchell medium
bombers lumbered off the air-
craft carrier USS Hornet with
crew members instructed to land
or bail out over neighboring Chi-
na after unleashing their payloads
over Tokyo and other Japanese ci-
ties.
There would be no triumphant
return to the aircraft carrier for
the crews. The best-case scenario
for the 80 men involved was to
survive hard landings in hostile
territory as Japanese units dom-
inated the ocean and land for hun-
dreds of miles in each direction.
Of them, 72 survived that mission.
Cole was Doolittle’s co-pilot for
the raid. Piloting the lead aircraft,
Doolittle and Cole dropped incen-
diary bombs to mark targets for
other bombers.
“Although the mission was ini-
tially thought to be a tactical fail-
ure, it ended up being such a huge
strategic success. Their raid
proved to Japan and the world
that airpower could be delivered
on Japanese soil,” Brown said.
“This man embodied service be-
fore self.”
Knowing the danger, all the
men involved volunteered to par-
ticipate. Brown likened their
courage to that of the airmen and
pilots who stepped up in recent
weeks to fly Americans and refu-
gees out of Afghanistan as Amer-
ica’s longest war came to a close.
Those service members also vol-
unteered for the mission, Brown
said.
Following Brown’s remarks,
two of Cole’s five children, Dr.
Rich Cole, a retired Air Force
lieutenant colonel, and Cindy
Cole Chal, placed the rank of colo-
nel on the box holding their par-
ents’ cremated remains. Maj.
Nathan Chal and Capt. Elliott
Chal, two of Dick Cole’s grand-
sons who are Air Force officers,
also participated in the ceremony.
Congress authorized Dick
Cole’s promotion to colonel in De-
cember 2019.
“They worked hard to give us
all the best that they could. Mom
loved being a military wife, and
she knew exactly what it meant.
She knew and understood that her
husband’s job was to defend the
Constitution of the United States,
from all enemies, foreign and do-
mestic. Even if it meant giving his
life for our nation,” Rich Cole said
of his parents.
After the military, the Cole fam-
ily settled in Texas. Dick and
Marty Cole’s remains were in-
terred Tuesday at Fort Sam Hous-
ton National Cemetery.
USAF posthumously promotes Dick Cole, last of WWII Doolittle RaidersBY ROSE L. THAYER
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @Rose_Lori
Cole
PAGE 6 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021
spokeswoman Agnes von der
Muhll said in an online briefing.
“The actions are not in line with
the words.”
Pakistan’s foreign minister,
meanwhile, urged the internation-
al community to help prevent a
humanitarian and economic crisis
in Afghanistan.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi was
all-male interim government
stacked with veterans of their
hard-line rule from the 1990s and
the 20-year battle against the U.S.-
led coalition. Germany was a ma-
jor troop provider for that alli-
ance.
Initial responses suggested the
new administration may struggle
to win the international support
the new leaders desperately need
to avoid an economic meltdown. It
includes Sirajuddin Haqqani, who
is wanted for questioning by the
FBI, as interior minister.
The announcement came hours
after the Taliban fired their guns
into the air to disperse protesters
in the capital of Kabul and arrest-
ed several journalists, the second
time in less than a week that
heavy-handed tactics were used to
break up a demonstration.
The U.S. State Department ex-
pressed concern that the Cabinet
included only Taliban, no women
and personalities with a troubling
track record, but said the new ad-
ministration would be judged by
its actions.
Maas said Germany is ready to
provide humanitarian aid via the
United Nations and will continue
to speak to the Taliban to secure
the departure from Afghanistan of
former employees and others. He
added that any commitment be-
yond that will depend on the Tali-
ban’s behavior.
“The announcement of an inter-
im government without the partic-
ipation of other groups and yester-
day’s violence against female
demonstrators and journalists in
Kabul are not signals that make us
optimistic about that,” he said.
France’s Foreign Ministry said
the international community’s de-
mands are clear — among them
breaking all links with terror
groups and respect for human
rights, particularly women’s
rights.
“We can only note that these de-
mands are not fulfilled,” ministry
addressing a virtual meeting of
foreign ministers from countries
neighboring Afghanistan. It was
attended by his counterparts from
China, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkme-
nistan and Uzbekistan.
Qureshi said that since Kabul’s
takeover by the Taliban, “much
dreaded bloodshed has not oc-
curred,” and the prospect of a pro-
tracted conflict and civil war
seems to have been averted. He
said that so far, a feared exodus of
refugees has also not taken place.
The situation remains complex
and fluid in Afghanistan, however,
and it “requires discarding old
lenses, developing new insights,
and proceeding with a realistic
and pragmatic approach,” he said.
Blinken: Globalgovernments stilldoubtful of Taliban
OLIVIER DOULIERY/AP
Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with an Afghan refugee family outside Hangar 5 for evacuationoperations at Ramstein Air Base Germany on Wednesday.
FROM PAGE 1
AFGHANISTAN
WASHINGTON — The Ameri-
cans trying to evacuate hundreds
of Afghans and American citizens
— including one Afghan who
worked as a U.S. military transla-
tor and says he is anticipating his
beheading by the Taliban — plead-
ed for action from the Biden ad-
ministration to get the would-be
evacuees aboard charter flights
that are standing by to fly them
from Afghanistan.
“Unfortunately we are left be-
hind now,” the former translator
said quietly in the pre-dawn dark-
ness Wednesday in Afghanistan.
“No one heard our voice.”
The man, whose identity The As-
sociated Press withheld for his se-
curity, said he was running out of
money to keep his family housed in
a hotel in the northern Afghan city
of Mazar-e-Sharif, after waiting a
week for Taliban permission for
the chartered evacuation flights to
leave the airport there.
U.S. Army veterans working to
help the man, an interpreter for
U.S. forces for 15 years, called the
effort more grinding than their
months of deployment in Afghan-
istan. They tried and failed to get
their old interpreter on the earlier
airlifts that ended with the U.S.
military withdrawal from Afghan-
istan Aug. 30.
“I hope we can help them out,
and get them out of this mess,” said
a retired Army colonel, Thomas
McGrath, one of the veterans try-
ing to help his former interpreter.
Hundreds of vulnerable Af-
ghans are waiting for permission
from Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers
to board prearranged charter
flights standing by at the airport in
Mazar-e-Sharif.
The group includes dozens of
American citizens and green card
holders and their families, the Af-
ghans and their American advo-
cates say.
“We think we are in some kind of
jail,” said one Afghan woman
among the would-be evacuees
gathered at one large hotel in Ma-
zar-e-Sharif.
She described the Americans
and green-card holders in their
group as elderly parents of Af-
ghan-American citizens in the
United States.
Taliban leaders, who named a
new Cabinet Tuesday in the wake
of their lightning takeover of most
of the country last month, say they
will allow people with proper doc-
uments to leave the country. Tali-
ban officials insist they are cur-
rently going through the manifes-
ts, and passenger documents, for
the charter flights at Mazar-e-Sha-
rif.
Secretary of State Antony Blin-
ken said Tuesday that the U.S. was
working with the Taliban to re-
solve the standoff over the charter
flights.
He rejected an assertion from a
Republican lawmaker, Rep. Mi-
chael McCaul of Texas, over the
weekend that the standoff at Ma-
zar-e-Sharif was turning into a
“hostage situation” for American
citizens in the group.
“We’ve been assured all Ameri-
can citizens and Afghan citizens
with valid travel documents will be
allowed to leave,” Blinken said in
Doha, Qatar, a major transit point
for last month’s frantic U.S. mili-
tary-led evacuations from Afghan-
istan.
Later Tuesday, 12 Democratic
lawmakers added to the pressure
for evacuees, in a letter urging the
administration to disclose its plans
for getting out all of the hundreds
of at-risk people remaining in Af-
ghanistan, and not just American
citizens.
“Our staff have been working
around the clock responding to ur-
gent pleas from constituents
whose families and colleagues are
seeking to flee Afghanistan, and
they urgently require timely, post-
withdrawal guidance to best assist
those in need,” Reps. Jerrold Na-
dler, Zoe Lofgren, Gerald Connolly
and nine other lawmakers from
President Joe Biden’s party wrote.
Blinken, in Doha, said the Tali-
ban had told U.S. officials that the
problem in Mazar-e-Sharif was
that passengers with valid travel
documents were mixed in with
those without the right travel pa-
pers.
The Afghan woman contacted at
the hotel — an employee of a U.S.-
based nonprofit, Ascend, that
works with Afghan women and
girls — also spoke Tuesday on con-
dition of anonymity for her securi-
ty. She said those in her group have
proper passports and visas, but the
Taliban are blocking them from
entering the airport.
Like the interpreter, she said she
has been waiting for eight days.
At one point last week, alarm
spread through the women’s side
of her hotel in the city when warn-
ings came that the Taliban were
searching the would-be evacuees
on the men’s side, and had taken
some away.
“I am scared if they split us and
not let us leave,” she said. “If we
can’t get out of here, something
wrong will happen. And I am
afraid of that.”
The former U.S. military inter-
preter, at the hotel with his family
of eight children and wife, said he
would expect beheading by the Ta-
liban given his work with the U.S.
military, and based on what rights
groups say are past Taliban at-
tacks on Afghan civilians who have
worked with U.S. forces.
“They’ll probably kill him,”
McGrath agreed, expressing fear
for the man’s children as well.
The interpreter had always told
his American comrades that he be-
lieved his work with them was in
service of his own country, the re-
tired colonel said.
“He put a lot on the line by lining
up with us,” McGrath said.
An array of Americans — many
of them with some past experience
in Afghanistan, or other ties —
have been working for weeks to try
to help evacuate at-risk Afghans.
Much of that effort is focused now
on the planes in Mazar-e-Sharif.
Some of those Americans push-
ing for U.S. action said Tuesday
that they fear the Biden adminis-
tration will help out American citi-
zens and leave behind green card
holders, Afghans who used to work
with Americans and others whose
work has left them vulnerable, in-
cluding journalists, women’s ad-
vocates and rights workers.
“The game changed partway
through,” said Marina LeGree, the
American head of Ascend.
Private organizers of the flights
complained that the State Depart-
ment and other U.S. agencies have
been slow or outright unrespon-
sive to pleas for help, despite as-
surances that Washington would
work with the Taliban and others
to get people out.
On Monday, the State Depart-
ment said it had helped a family of
four U.S. citizens escape Afghanis-
tan via a land route.
Evacuees plead for action: ‘We are in some kind of jail’Associated Press
Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 7
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germa-
ny — The German state that is
home to Ramstein and Spangdah-
lem air bases and several U.S. Ar-
my installations is doing away with
coronavirus lockdowns, but tight-
ening restrictions on unvaccinat-
ed people.
Under new rules that take effect
Sunday, people who are fully vac-
cinated or have recovered from
COVID-19 can attend indoor and
outdoor gatherings, go to a movie,
shop and eat out, much as they did
before the pandemic, Rheinland-
Pfalz Chief Minister Malu Dreyer
said Tuesday after meeting with
state leaders.
Hotels, cinemas, stores and res-
taurants will no longer have to
close when infections climb above
acertain level, and indoor and out-
door events can go ahead, she said
in a statement posted on the state
government’s website.
“We no longer see lockdowns as
a protective mechanism,” Dreyer
said.
Instead, the state will seek to
avoid overloading the health sys-
tem by reducing the number of un-
vaccinated people allowed into
cultural venues, dining establish-
ments and other businesses when
infections increase, she added.
While the number of infections
around Germany has stagnated in
recent days, hospitalizations are
up and the number of patients in
intensive care with COVID-19 al-
most doubled, to more than 1,300,
in the past two weeks, Lothar Wiel-
er, the head of Germany’s disease
prevention agency, told reporters
in Berlin on Wednesday.
The overwhelming majority of
those seriously ill patients are not
vaccinated, German Health Min-
ister Jens Spahn said at the same
news conference, urging more
Germans to get the shot or face a
fourth wave of COVID-19 in the
fall.
About 61% of Germany’s pop-
ulation has been vaccinated, ac-
cording to The Associated Press.
That’s a lower percentage than in
some other European countries.
At Ramstein Air Base, nearly
90% of active duty airmen have re-
ceived at least one dose, giving the
base one of the highest vaccination
rates in the Air Force, Lt. Col. Will
Powell, a spokesman for the 86th
Airlift Wing, told Stars and Stripes.
It was not immediately clear
how people’s vaccination or recov-
ery status would be checked in
Rheinland-Pfalz, but Germany be-
gan issuing digital and printed
vaccination certificates earlier
this year. They are available for
free to fully vaccinated Americans
living in Germany.
People who have recovered
from COVID-19 need either a posi-
tive PCR test result or a letter from
their doctor, saying a PCR test has
confirmed they had the illness
caused by the coronavirus. The
test must have been carried out at
least four weeks earlier and be no
more than six months old.
The state also changed its coro-
navirus alert system, which cur-
rently allows restrictions to be
tightened or loosened based only
on the weekly number of new in-
fections per 100,000 residents of a
district or city.
Starting Sunday, the seven-day
incidence of people hospitalized
with COVID-19 and the percent-
age of intensive care beds that are
taken up with COVID-19 patients
will also be taken into account.
Children under 12 and people
who can’t have the shot for health
reasons are counted as vaccinated
under the new rules.
Rheinland-Pfalz does away with virus lockdownsBY KARIN ZEITVOGEL
Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes reporter Marcus Kloecknercontributed to this [email protected]: @StripesZeit
KARIN ZEITVOGEL/Stars and Stripes
People walk past shops in the pedestrian zone in Kaiserslautern,Germany, in June.
Community Theater, which was
recently renamed the Aviano
Community and Schools Theater.
His first production was “Little
Shop of Horrors.”
Lewandowski majored in
dance at San Jose College. He
performed in plays alongside
such drama luminaries as “Little
Mary Sunshine” star Jane Po-
well, Ken Berry in “No, No Na-
nette,” Jo Anne Worley in “Gyp-
sy” and Heather MacRae in “Je-
sus Christ Superstar.”
Lewandowski was born in
Stanford, Calif., in 1958. He at-
tended Buchser High school,
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy —
Aviano Middle High School is
mourning the loss of a revered
teacher and coach whose career
as an educator at Defense De-
partment schools spanned more
than 30 years.
Frank Lewandowski died un-
expectedly in late August at his
home in Aviano at age 63. His
wife, Kathleen, said he died of
natural causes.
Lewandowski had been a
teacher with the Department of
Defense’s Education Activity
since 1989 and
at Aviano Mid-
dle High School
since 2004. He
taught litera-
ture, drama and
science at the
Aviano school,
where he trans-
ferred after a stint in Germany.
Over the years, he also coached
tennis, baseball and softball. In
football, he coached the Saints to
two division championships.
“He was a bubbly, kindhearted
person who always turned my
dull day into a better one,” said
Desiree Lester, a sophomore at
Aviano MHS. “I loved how loud
and energetic he was. That right
there is what made him the
world’s best drama teacher.”
His nearly lifelong fascination
with the theater began when he
was 8 years old and his mother
took him to New York City to see
“Oliver.”
Lewandowski was engaged in
entertainment almost every-
where he went. During his time
in Germany, he directed count-
less plays and performed in mur-
der mystery dinner theater.
In Italy, he formed the Aviano
graduating in 1976.
His first job with DODEA was
at Subic Bay in the Philippines
from 1989 to 1990, where he
taught in a Quonset hut.
In the early 1990s, he trans-
ferred to Berlin, then taught at
various DODEA schools in Ger-
many, including Wiesbaden and
Vilseck, before moving to Avia-
no.
He is survived by his wife and
two daughters, Alana and Maggie
Lewandowski.
Beloved Aviano Middle High School teacher, coach dies at 63BY NORMAN LLAMAS
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @normanllamas
Lewandowski
EUROPE
PAGE 8 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021
NATION
LaPLACE, La. — Hundreds of
thousands of homes and businesses
in Louisiana, most of them outside
New Orleans, still didn’t have power
Tuesday and more than half the gas
stations in two major cities were
without fuel nine days after Hurri-
cane Ida slammed into the state,
splintering homes and toppling
electric lines.
There were also continuing signs
of recovery, however, as the total
number of people without electrici-
ty has fallen from more than a mil-
lion at its peak, while hundreds of
thousands of people have had their
water restored.
State health officials, meanwhile,
announced that they are revoking
the licenses of seven nursing homes
that evacuated to a warehouse
where seven residents died amid
deteriorating conditions after the
hurricane.
The disparity in power restora-
tion between New Orleans, where
nearly 3/4 of the city had electricity
again, and other communities
where almost all residents were still
in the dark prompted frustration
and finger-pointing. State Rep. Tan-
ner Magee, the House’s second-
ranking Republican who lives in the
devastated city of Houma in Terre-
bonne Parish, said he’s convinced
his region is being shortchanged in
favor of New Orleans.
“It’s very infuriating to me,” Ma-
gee said.
Though water was running again
in his area, most hospitals in the re-
gion remained shuttered and the
parish was in desperate need of
temporary shelter for first respon-
ders and others vital to the rebuild-
ing effort, he said.
Warner Thomas, president and
CEO of the state’s largest hospital
system, Ochsner Health, warned
that it would be “some time” before
two Ochsner hospitals — one in Ter-
rebonne Parish and the other in La-
fourche Parish — fully reopen.
Emergency rooms at the two hospi-
tals, however, were operating.
Carnival Cruise Line announced
Tuesdayit will keep one of its ships,
Carnival Glory, docked in New Or-
leans through Sept. 18 to serve as
housing for first responders.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Ed-
wards said while there had been
much progress in restoring water
and power, “there’s an awful lot of
work to be done.”
In many neighborhoods, homes
were uninhabitable. State and fed-
eral officials said about 3,200 people
are in mass shelters around Louisia-
na while another 25,000 people
whose houses have been damaged
are staying in hotel rooms through
the Federal Emergency Manage-
ment Agency’s transitional shelter-
ing program. FEMA already has ap-
proved more than 159,000 house-
hold applications for disaster assist-
ance, according to Louisiana’s
emergency preparedness office.
Shontrece and Michael Lathers
looked on despondently as workers
wrestled a billowing blue tarp into
place over what was left of the roof
of their home in the St. John the Bap-
tist Parish town of LaPlace. Ida’s
floodwaters had risen to about 3 feet
inside their home and rain that had
poured in through the wind-dam-
aged roof obliterated most of the
drywall ceilings.
The house will have to be gutted
floor to ceiling, Michael Lathers
said, adding that he had no idea how
much the repairs will cost.
Fuel shortages also persisted
across hard-hit areas of the state.
More than 50% of gas stations in
New Orleans and Baton Rouge re-
mained without gasoline Tuesday
afternoon, according to GasBuddy-
.com.
The power situation has im-
proved greatly since Ida first hit. In
the first hours after the storm, near-
ly 1.1 million customers were in the
dark, but that number was down to
about 430,000 on Tuesday. With the
help of tens of thousands of workers
from power companies in numer-
ous states, the state’s biggest energy
provider, Entergy, has been able to
slowly bring electricity back, leav-
ing only 19% of its customers in the
region without power as of Tuesday.
For residents in the state’s five
hardest-hit parishes in southeast-
ern Louisiana, however, that num-
ber is little comfort. Fully 98% of
those residents are still without
power more than a week after Ida
slammed onshore with 150 mph
winds on Aug. 29.
Power probably won’t be widely
restored to St. John the Baptist and
St. James parishes until Sept. 17 and
until Sept. 29 to Lafourche, St. Char-
les and Terrebonne parishes, En-
tergy said Tuesday. The parishes
are home to about 325,000 people.
In contrast, nearly all power has
been restored in the capital of Baton
Rouge, and only 25% of homes and
businesses are still suffering outag-
es in New Orleans. Entergy said it
expected to have the vast majority
of New Orleans brought online by
Wednesday. Once areas such as
New Orleans have their power re-
stored, Entergy is moving its crews
into communities south and west of
the city that saw more widespread
damage, said Entergy Louisiana
President and CEO Phillip May.
Post-Ida power disparity decried in La.Associated Press
CHRIS GRANGER, THE TIMESPICAYUNE/THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE/AP
Opal Watkins punctures a hole underneath the mobile home of her friend Sandy Gilbert, left, so that theycould relieve the water that accumulated from Hurricane Ida, Tuesday, in Plaquemines Parish, La.
NEW YORK — President Joe Bi-
den declared climate change has
become “everybody’s crisis” on
Tuesday as he toured neighbor-
hoods flooded by the remnants of
Hurricane Ida, warning it’s time for
America to get serious about the
“code red” danger or face ever
worse loss of life and property.
Biden spoke after walking streets
in New Jersey and then Queens in
New York City, meeting people
whose homes were destroyed or se-
verely damaged by flooding when
Ida barreled through. The storm
dumped record amounts of rain on-
to already saturated ground and
was blamed for more than a dozen
deaths in the city.
The president said he thinks the
damage everyone is seeing, from
wildfires in the West to hurricane
havoc in the South and Northeast, is
turning climate-change skeptics in-
to believers, but years of unheeded
warnings from scientists, econo-
mists and others mean time for ac-
tion is short.
“The threat is here. It is not get-
ting any better,” Biden said in New
York. “The question is can it get
worse. We can stop it from getting
worse.”
Biden sounded a similar theme
before he toured Manville, N.J., also
ravaged by severe flooding caused
by Ida.
“Every part of the country, every
part of the country is getting hit by
extreme weather,” Biden said dur-
ing a briefing with officials in Som-
erset County, including Gov. Phil
Murphy.
He said the threat from wildfires,
hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding and
other extreme weather must be
dealt with in ways that will lessen
devastating effects of climate
change.
“We can’t turn it back very much,
but we can prevent it from getting
worse,” he said. “We don’t have any
more time.”
The natural disasters have given
Biden an opening to push Congress
to approve his plan to spend $1 tril-
lion to fortify infrastructure nation-
wide, including electrical grids, wa-
ter and sewer systems, to better de-
fend against extreme weather. The
legislation has cleared the Senate
and awaits a House vote.
Biden also talked up a side benefit
of the plan, the “good-paying jobs”
he said it will create.
On Tuesday, the White House
asked Congress for an additional
$24 billion in disaster aid to cover
the costs of Ida and other destruc-
tive weather events.
In New Jersey, Biden walked
along a street in the Lost Valley
neighborhood of Manville, where
flooding is common and the cleanup
continues after the Raritan River
overflowed its banks. Many front
lawns were covered with water-
logged couches, broken pianos,
crumbled plaster and other debris.
One home displayed a hand-
painted sign that said, “Manville
will be back better.”
Biden, wearing a mask, spoke to
adults and children, including Mea-
gan Dommar, a new mother whose
home was destroyed by fire as the
flood occurred. She told him that
she and her husband, Caesar, had
left with the baby before the flood-
ing, then returned to find destruc-
tion.
“Thank God you’re safe,” Biden
replied. She said afterward she
hoped the visit would speed help
“along a little bit” and said she was
grateful for the visit.
Not everyone was so welcoming.
As he walked the route, the Demo-
cratic president was taunted by sup-
porters of Republican former Presi-
dent Donald Trump, who yelled that
Biden was a “tyrant” and worse. Bi-
den did not look in their direction.
At the briefing, Biden focused on
the personal calamities, saying:
“The losses that we witnessed today
are profound. My thoughts are with
all those families affected by the
storm and all those families who lost
someone they love.”
In all, at least 50 people were
killed in six Eastern states as record
rainfall last week overwhelmed riv-
ers and sewer systems. The storm
also spawned several tornadoes.
More than half of the deaths, 27,
were recorded in New Jersey. In
New York City, 13 people were
killed, including 11 in Queens.
Biden’s visit followed his Friday
trip to Louisiana, where Hurricane
Ida first made landfall on Aug. 29,
killing at least 15 people in the state.
In NYC after Ida, Biden calls climate ‘everybody’s crisis’Associated Press
EVAN VUCCI/AP
President Joe Biden speaksTuesday as he tours aneighborhood impacted byflooding from the remnants ofHurricane Ida in New York City.
Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 9
NATION
RICHMOND, Va. — A crowd
erupted in cheers and song
Wednesday as work crews hoisted
an enormous statue of Confeder-
ate Gen. Robert E. Lee off the gi-
ant pedestal where it has towered
over Virginia’s capital city for
more than a century.
The piece, one of America’s
largest monuments to the Confed-
eracy, was lifted away just before
9 a.m. as one of the construction
workers who helped strap har-
nesses to Lee and his horse lifted
his arms in the air and counted
down, “Three, two, one!” to jubi-
lant shouts from a crowd of hun-
dreds.
“This was a long time coming,
part of the healing process so Vir-
ginia can move forward and be a
welcoming state with inclusive-
ness and diversity,” Gov. Ralph
Northam said once the statue was
lowered to the ground. The Demo-
crat said it represents “more than
400 years of history that we should
not be proud of,” and he congrat-
ulated Virginians for supporting
its removal.
Black Lives Matter signs were
seen in the crowd. Some chanted
“Whose streets? Our streets!” and
sang, “Hey hey hey, goodbye.”
The statue was lowered to the
ground where it was expected to
be cut into pieces so that it can be
brought to a secure location,
where it will be stored until its fi-
nal disposition is determined.
One of America’s largest monu-
ments to the Confederacy, it was
taken down from its prominent
perch after years of resistance and
a long court battle. Among the
crowd watching the removal,
there did not appear to be any vis-
ible counterprotesters.
Northam ordered the statue tak-
en down last summer, citing the
pain felt across the country over
the death of George Floyd in Min-
neapolis after a white police offi-
cer pressed a knee into his neck.
But until a recent court ruling
cleared the way, Northam’s plans
had been tied up in litigation.
The statue, a 21-foot bronze
equestrian sculpture that sits atop
a pedestal nearly twice that tall,
has towered above a prominent
residential boulevard named
Monument Avenue since 1890 in
the former capital of the Confed-
eracy.
STEVE HELBER/AP
Crews work Wednesday to remove one of the country’s largest remaining monuments to the Confederacy,a towering statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va.
Gen. Robert E. Lee statuetaken down from Va. pedestal
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President
Joe Biden has been beset by pub-
lic health, military and climate
crises in the past month. Not
much time has been left for a po-
tential political disaster brewing
for his party in California.
With a week to spare, the
White House is diving into the
California gubernatorial recall
election, coming to Democratic
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s aid with
visits from Vice President Ka-
mala Harris and then Biden him-
self to try to alleviate lingering
concerns about Democratic
turnout in the unusual Septem-
ber vote.
Harris will campaign in the
state with Newsom on Wednes-
day after a previously planned
visit was nixed due to the chaos
surrounding the Afghanistan
withdrawal. And Biden himself
is expected to visit the state early
next week, ahead of Tuesday’s
election.
For Biden, it’s a chance to flex
his political muscle in a state
where both he and Harris re-
main popular. The outcome also
will provide a test of Biden’s
clout after a difficult August and
in advance of the 2022 midterms,
when control of Congress and
more than half of the nation’s
governorships are up for grabs.
Harris and Biden are hoping
to help bolster Newsom’s chance
to survive an unpredictable re-
call effort in a state that remains
key to advancing Biden’s agenda
at the state and national level.
“It’s simply too big a state to
lose an election in,” said Joel
Benenson, a former pollster for
President Barack Obama’s cam-
paigns. “You’ve got more to risk
by not showing up than by show-
ing up.”
Benenson noted that beyond
the political implications for the
Democratic Party of losing a gu-
bernatorial seat, the outcome of
the recall could have an effect on
the makeup of the Senate, if
Democratic Sen. Dianne Fein-
stein’s seat opens up — leaving
her replacement to be appointed
by the governor.
While reliable polling has
been scarce in the race, a recent
survey from the Public Policy
Institute of California, conduct-
ed in late August, showed more
likely voters would vote no than
yes on removing Newsom, 58%
to 39%.
Among all likely voters,
whether they would keep News-
om or not, about half say they do
not have a preference on a re-
placement candidate or do not
know their preference.
Barring the polls, the main
concern for Newsom remains
getting Democratic base voters
engaged and aware that they
need to turn out for an unusually
timed election, according to
Kyle Kondick, a nonpartisan po-
litical analyst at the University
of Virginia.
“The main problem for News-
om is making sure that Demo-
cratic turnout is robust enough
to save him,” Kondick said.
“One way to do that is to bring
in high-profile surrogates who
will get a lot of news coverage,
and will help spread the word
about the fact that the recall is
happening. And from a Demo-
cratic perspective, it’s hard to
find two people better than Vice
President Kamala Harris, who’s
from California herself, and, of
course, the president.”
Calif. recall votea test of Biden’spolitical influence
BY ALEXANDRA JAFFE
Associated Press
DALLAS — Texas Gov. Greg
Abbott on Tuesday defended a
new state law banning most abor-
tions that also does not provide ex-
ceptions for cases of rape or in-
cest, saying it does not force vic-
tims to give birth even though it
prohibits abortions before some
women know they’re pregnant.
Abbott, a Republican, added
that Texas would strive to “elim-
inate all rapists from the streets”
while taking questions during his
first press conference since the
law took effect last week.
The comments drew new criti-
cism from opponents of the Texas
law that is the biggest curb on
abortion in the United States since
they were legalized a half-century
ago, prohibiting abortions once
medical professionals can detect
cardiac activity, which is usually
around six weeks. Though abor-
tion providers in Texas say the law
is unconstitutional, they say they
are abiding by it.
“His comments are confusing to
me because they certainly do not
seem to reflect the realities of this
law,” said Amy Jones, the chief
executive officer of the Dallas Ar-
ea Rape Crisis Center.
Recent surveys by the U.S. De-
partment of Justice found that
most rapes go unreported to po-
lice, including a 2019 survey that
found about 1 in 3 victims report-
ing they were raped or sexually
assaulted.
Abbott signed the measure into
law in May. Although other GOP-
led states have passed similar
measures, they have been blocked
by courts. Texas’ version differs
significantly because it solely
leaves enforcement to private citi-
zens who can sue abortion provid-
ers who violate the law.
Abbott was asked about the new
abortion restrictions while sign-
ing into law an overhaul of Texas’
election rules.
“Texas will work tirelessly to
make sure that we eliminate all ra-
pists from the streets of Texas by
aggressively going out and arrest-
ing them and prosecuting them,”
Abbott said.
Jones said Abbott’s statements
were both confusing and disheart-
ening. She said she’d “like to hear
more” from Abbott on his state-
ment on eliminating rape.
“Certainly it is in our mission
statement to work to end sexual vi-
olence, that is why we exist, but we
are also very aware that that is an
aspirational goal that yes, we do
believe that this is a preventable
crime, but it if it were that easy,
rape would no longer exist,” Jones
said.
The Justice Department has
said it will not tolerate violence
against anyone who is trying to ob-
tain an abortion in Texas as feder-
al officials explore options to chal-
lenge the law.
Texas governor Abbott defends abortion law with no rape exceptionsAssociated Press
PAGE 10 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021
VIRUS OUTBREAK
BOISE, Idaho — Idaho public
health leaders announced Tues-
day that they activated “crisis
standards of care” allowing health
care rationing for the state’s
northern hospitals because there
are more coronavirus patients
than the institutions can handle.
The Idaho Department of
Health and Welfare quietly enact-
ed the move Monday and publicly
announced it in a statement Tues-
day morning — warning residents
that they may not get the care they
would normally expect if they
need to be hospitalized.
The move came as the state’s
confirmed coronavirus cases sky-
rocketed in recent weeks. Idaho
has one of the lowest vaccination
rates in the U.S.
The state health agency cited “a
severe shortage of staffing and
available beds in the northern ar-
ea of the state caused by a massive
increase in patients with CO-
VID-19 who require hospitaliza-
tion.”
The designation includes 10
hospitals and health care systems
in the Idaho panhandle and in
north-central Idaho. The agency
said its goal is to extend care to as
many patients as possible and to
save as many lives as possible.
The move allows hospitals to al-
lot scarce resources like intensive
care unit rooms to patients most
likely to survive and make other
dramatic changes to the way they
treat patients. Other patients will
still receive care, but they may be
placed in hospital classrooms or
conference rooms rather than tra-
ditional hospital rooms or go with-
out some life-saving medical
equipment.
At Kootenai Health — the large-
st hospital in northern Idaho —
some patients are waiting for long
periods for beds to open up in the
full intensive care unit, said Dr.
Robert Scoggins, the chief of staff.
Inside the ICU, one critical care
nurse might be supervising up to
six patients with the help of two
other non-critical care nurses.
That’s a big departure from the
usual one ICU nurse for one ICU
patient ratio, he said.
On Monday, the Coeur d’Alene
hospital started moving some cor-
onavirus patients into its nearby
conference center. A large class-
room in the center was converted
into a COVID-19 ward, with tem-
porary dividers separating the
beds. Some emergency room pa-
tients are being treated in a con-
verted portion of the emergency
room lobby, and the hospital’s en-
tire third floor has also been desig-
nated for coronavirus patients.
Urgent and elective surgeries
are on hold, Scoggins said, and
Kootenai Health is struggling to
accept any of the high-level trau-
ma patients that would normally
be transferred from the smaller
hospitals in the region.
Other states are preparing to
take similar measures if needed.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige quietly
signed an order last week releas-
ing hospitals and health care
workers from liability if they have
to ration health care.
The unfolding crush of patients
to Idaho hospitals has been antici-
pated with dread by the state’s
heath care providers. Medical ex-
perts have said that Idaho could
have as many as 30,000 new coro-
navirus cases a week by mid-Sep-
tember if the current rate of infec-
tions lasts.
Idaho hospitalsrationing healthcare amid surge
Associated Press
KYLE GREEN/AP
Jack Kingsley R.N. attends to a COVID19 patient in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at St. Luke’s BoiseMedical Center in Boise, Idaho, on Aug. 31.
SAN FRANCISCO — Technolo-
gy companies that led the charge
into remote work as the pandemic
unfurled are confronting a new
challenge: how, when and even
whether they should bring long-
isolated employees back to offices
that have been designed for team-
work.
“I thought this period of remote
work would be the most challeng-
ing year-and-half of my career, but
it’s not,” said Brent Hyder, the
chief people officer for business
software maker Salesforce and its
roughly 65,000 employees world-
wide. “Getting everything started
back up the way it needs to be is
proving to be even more difficult.”
That transition has been compli-
cated by the rapid spread of the del-
ta variant, which has scrambled
the plans many tech companies
had for bringing back most of their
workers near or after Labor Day
weekend. Microsoft has pushed
those dates back to October while
Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon
and a growing list of others have al-
ready decided to wait until next
year.
Given how they set the tone for
remote work, tech companies’ re-
turn-to-office policies will likely
have ripple effects across other in-
dustries. Employers’ next steps
could redefine how and where peo-
ple work, predicts Laura Bou-
dreau, a Columbia University as-
sistant economics professor who
studies workplace issues.
“We have moved beyond the
theme of remote work being a tem-
porary thing,” Boudreau says. The
longer the pandemic has stretched
on, she says, the harder it’s become
to tell employees to come back to
the office, particularly full time.
Because they typically revolve
around digital and online products,
most tech jobs are tailor made for
remote work. Yet most major tech
companies insist that their employ-
ees should be ready to work in the
office two or three days each week
after the pandemic is over.
The main reason: Tech compa-
nies have long believed that em-
ployees clustered together in a
physical space will swap ideas and
spawn innovations that probably
wouldn’t have happened in isola-
tion. That’s one reason tech titans
have poured billions of dollars into
corporate campuses interspersed
with alluring common areas meant
to lure employees out of their cubi-
cles and into “casual collisions”
that turn into brainstorming ses-
sions.
But the concept of “water cooler
innovation” may be overblown,
says Christy Lake, chief people of-
ficer for business software maker
Twilio.
“There is no data that supports
that really happens in real life, and
yet we all subscribe to it,” Lake
says. “You can’t put the genie back
in the bottle and tell people, ‘Oh you
have to be back in the office or in-
novation won’t happen.’ ”
Twilio isn’t bringing back most
of its roughly 6,300 employees back
to its offices until early next year at
the earliest, and plans to allow most
of them to figure how frequently
they should come in.
This hybrid approach permitting
employees to toggle between re-
mote and in-office work has been
widely embraced in the technology
industry, particularly among the
largest companies with the biggest
payrolls.
Nearly two-thirds of the more
than 200 companies responding to
a mid-July survey in the tech-cen-
tric Bay said they are expecting
their workers to come into the of-
fice two or three days each week.
Before the pandemic, 70% of these
employers required their workers
to be in the office, according to the
Bay Area Council, a business poli-
cy group that commissioned the
poll.
Switching to hybrid work is ideal
for people like Kelly Soderlund, a
mother of two young children who
works in offices in San Francisco
and Palo Alto, Calif., for travel
management company TripAc-
tions, which has about 1,200 em-
ployees worldwide. She couldn’t
wait to return when the company
partially reopened its offices in
June, partly because she missed
the built-in buffer that her roughly
one-hour commute provided be-
tween her personal and profession-
al life.
“When I don’t have that, I wake
up in the morning, I start doing
work and I take my kids to their
camp or their day care,” Soderlund
says. “And then I come back and I
work and then we pick them up,
make dinner and then I go back to
work. So, it feels like it’s just work
all the time.”
Soderlund believes being togeth-
er in an office leads to more collab-
oration, although she also learned
from the pandemic that workers
don’t need to be there every day for
teamwork to happen.
Silicon Valley finds remote work is easier to begin than endAssociated Press
ERIC RISBERG/AP
Kelly Soderlund, right, works with a colleague at the TripActionsoffice in San Francisco on Aug. 27.
Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 11
AMERICAN ROUNDUP
Police: Man found dead incemetery was hit by car
IN SOUTH BEND — Police
discovered a man’s body
in a cemetery, apparently the vic-
tim of a car-pedestrian crash in
northern Indiana.
Investigators believe Joshua
Rahm, 27, of South Bend, was walk-
ing along State Route 2 early Mon-
day when he was struck and thrown
over a guardrail. He landed in St.
Joseph Cemetery in St. Joseph
County.
A driver called 911 and said he
had struck a guardrail on his way to
work in New Carlisle, the prosecu-
tor’s office said Tuesday.
“The crash remains under inves-
tigation and toxicology results are
pending,” the prosecutor’s office
said.
Meatpacker fined afterworker loses arm on job
CO GREELEY — Meat-
packing giant JBS USA
has been issued five citations and
fines totaling nearly $175,000 after a
worker’s arm was amputated when
it got stuck in a conveyer belt at the
company’s beef plant in northern
Colorado.
The 37-year-old worker was
cleaning a conveyor belt at the
Greeley plant Feb. 17 and reached
for something that fell off the end of
the machinery, according to the Oc-
cupational Safety and Health Ad-
ministration. His smock sleeve then
became tangled in the conveyor
belt’s sprockets.
OSHA determined that JBS
hadn’t properly guarded the con-
veyor belt, and employees didn’t
know to wear a plastic device that
ensures smock sleeves don’t dan-
gle, The Greeley Tribune reported.
JBS spokesman Cameron Bruett
said the company conducted a full-
plant safety audit and enlisted a
third-party expert to review health
and safety training and protocols.
Reduced pot penalty OK’dfor beach community
GA TYBEE ISLAND —
Possessing a small
amount of marijuana is no longer a
crime in the coastal city that’s home
to Georgia’s largest public beach.
The city council on Tybee Island
recently approved an ordinance
that imposes a civil fine of $150 for
possession of an ounce or less of
marijuana. Before the change, it
was a misdemeanor offense, puni-
shable by a $1,000 fine and up to a
year in jail.
Tybee Island joins at least a doz-
en other Georgia cities and counties
— including Atlanta and Savannah
— that have similarly rolled back
pot penalties when dealing with mi-
nor amounts, the Savannah Morn-
ing News reported.
The ordinance only decriminaliz-
es minor marijuana possession if
there are no related charges. Any-
one found with the drug while being
charged with driving under the in-
fluence, for example, would still
face a misdemeanor marijuana
charge.
Wrong-way driver hitspolice cruisers at station
MA LOWELL — A car
traveling the wrong
way down the street slammed into
two police cruisers that were
parked in front of a Lowell Police
Department station, authorities
said.
The SUV flipped onto its side and
landed in the middle of the street af-
ter striking the two cruisers on
Monday, police said. No one was in
the cruisers at the time and the driv-
er of the SUV suffered injuries that
were believed to be minor. No other
injuries were reported.
Authorities say the crash remains
under investigation and no other de-
tails were immediately available.
Blues exhibit designed forthe eyes, hands and ears
MS HATTIESBURG —
An exhibit about blues
legends and juke joints is opening
soon in Mississippi, and it’s de-
signed to appeal to the eyes, hands
and ears.
A Cast of Blues will be on display
Sept. 11-Oct. 9 at the Historic Eure-
ka School in Hattiesburg. It features
15 resin-cast masks of blues legends
and photographs of blues perform-
ers and juke joints made by Missis-
sippi artists.
Sharon McConnell-Dickerson
created the resin-cast masks, and
the photographs were taken by Ken
Murphy, the Hattiesburg American
reported.
McConnell-Dickerson, who is vi-
sually impaired, said the casts are
like 3-D photographs for people
who are blind.
“It captures the flesh, muscle,
bone, hair and subtle expressions of
emotion,” she said. “I wanted to dis-
cover the faces behind the music I
love, so I went to Mississippi to map
out the visages of the real Delta
blues men and women.”
Visitors are encouraged to touch
the masks, McConnell-Dickerson
said. Among the artists spotlighted
are Bo Diddley and Bobby Rush.
Sensors provide real-timeglimpse at river quality
IL CHICAGO — Rowers, kay-
akers and other users of the
Chicago River are getting a real-
time look at one measure of water
quality in the system that weaves
through downtown and several
neighborhoods.
Chicago nonprofit Current in
2019 installed three sensors in the
river’s three main branches to con-
tinuously estimate the amount of
bacteria from human and other
warm-blooded animals’ waste.
The organization initially
planned to begin making the real-
time results public in 2020. But the
coronavirus pandemic delayed
their plans until last week, when a
website updating with data taken
every 15 minutes went online.
The city’s development in the
19th century was thanks to the river
that provided a path between the
Great Lakes and the Mississippi
River system. While the meatpack-
ing and lumber industries could use
it for shipping, the waterway also
became a dumping ground for
those and other industries and for
sewage.
Quality of the 156-mile river sys-
tem has improved in recent years,
helped by multibillion-dollar con-
struction of new reservoirs and un-
derground tunnels. But when rain
overwhelms Chicago’s sewer sys-
tems, sewage and stormwater is di-
verted to the river, prompting
warnings to stay off the water for
several days.
Judge refuses to block newsports betting law
AZ PHOENIX — A judge on
Monday evening refused
to block a new Arizona law allowing
sports gambling to be run by profes-
sional sports teams in a decision
that will allow the major gambling
expansion start as planned this
week.
Maricopa County Superior Court
Judge James Smith refused to issue
an injunction barring sports betting
from starting Thursday. The ruling
came just hours after he held an un-
usual Labor Day hearing on the re-
quest filed by one Native American
tribe.
The Yavapai-Prescott Indian
Tribe wanted the law, which allows
professional sports teams to get li-
censes to run sports gambling, de-
clared unconstitutional. They ar-
gued it violates the state’s Voter
Protection Act by illegally amend-
ing the 2002 voter initiative that au-
thorized tribal gambling in Arizona
by allowing nontribal groups to
have gambling operations without
asking voters to weigh in. Proposi-
tion 202 restricted gambling outside
tribal reservations.
But Smith wrote that Proposition
202 regulated the types of gambling
allowed at tribal casinos, not other
kinds of betting.
Police recover stolen carduring traffic stop
DE DOVER — Police in De-
laware say that they re-
covered a car stolen from New Jer-
sey during a traffic stop.
The Delaware State Police said in
anews release that officers arrested
a22-year-old and 25-year-old wom-
an from Delaware after they were
stopped in a stolen 2018 Hyundai
Sonata late Friday night.
The release said an officer stop-
ped them for a seatbelt and equip-
ment violation south of Dover. A
computer search revealed that the
car had been reported stolen out of
Lakewood Township, N.J., in Au-
gust.
The women face charges includ-
ing receiving stolen property.
CHRIS GRANGER, THE (NEW ORLEANS, LA.) TIMESPICAYUNE/THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE/AP
Actor John Schneider, who starred in the television show “The Dukes of Hazzard,” places an American flag on his “General Lee” car on Mondaythat was destroyed by Hurricane Ida. The car was made famous during the show, which aired in the early 1980s.
General Lee 0, Ida 1
From wire reports
PAGE 12 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021
NATION
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif.
— California could be on track for
one of its worst fire seasons ever
as hotter, drier conditions across
the north raise the threat of new
fires or existing ones flaring into
dangerous life, officials said.
Crews on Tuesday cut miles of
new containment line around the
Caldor Fire, which was 50% con-
tained after burning up and over
the crest of the mountain range
and threatening South Lake Ta-
hoe.
Evacuation orders for 22,000
residents were lifted Sunday and
more orders were reduced to
warnings on Tuesday. But else-
where, some existing large fires
continued to grow.
New evacuations were ordered
for some areas of Trinity and Sis-
kiyou counties as the River Com-
plex of three wildfires spread. One
blaze driven by strong winds
jumped a creek, according to the
California Department of Forest-
ry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
Since Monday, the fires had
grown by more than 20 square
miles. It was 19% contained.
More than 15,500 personnel
were working on 14 active large
wildfires in the state and new or
existing fires could flare up this
week as the weather turns more
dangerous, said Tony Scardina,
the U.S. Forest Service’s deputy
regional forester for California.
California’s energy grid oper-
ator issued a statewide call for vol-
untary electricity conservation
from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday
because of expected higher de-
mand for air conditioning because
of high temperatures.
Temperatures could top 100 de-
grees in the Sierra foothills, ac-
cording to the National Weather
Service.
Meanwhile, the entire state is
showing the potential for extreme
fire danger in the next three
months, Cal Fire Chief Thom Por-
ter said.
“We’re right smack in the mid-
dle of wildfire peak season,” he
said. “And so everybody needs to
remain vigilant.”
About 3,125 square miles of land
have burned so far this year, simi-
lar to the record 2020 fire season,
Porter said.
“We are on par with where we
were last year. That’s sobering,
and that is the new reality,” he
said.
California has experienced in-
creasingly larger and deadlier
wildfires in recent years as cli-
mate change has made the U.S.
West much warmer and drier over
the past 30 years. Scientists have
said weather will continue to be
more extreme and wildfires more
frequent, destructive and unpre-
dictable.
The good news was near the Ne-
vada state line, where the Caldor
Fire was practically stopped in its
tracks a few miles outside of South
Lake Tahoe. While the fire that be-
gan Aug. 14 burned nearly 800
homes and gutted the mountain
hamlet of Grizzly Flats, it hadn’t
burned any homes on its eastern
edges.
Crews had largely been able to
keep the flames away from pop-
ulated areas. Some sections of the
perimeter were a concern but on
much of the blaze, the work turned
to mopping up, pulling miles of
fire hose out of the forest and
knocking down dangerously
weakened trees.
However, trees and other vege-
tation in the area remain tinder-
dry and southwest winds are ex-
pected to pick up that could make
for larger fire growth, authorities
said.
North of the Caldor Fire was the
Dixie Fire, the second-largest in
the state’s recorded history, which
also has burned through rural, for-
ested communities.
The fire’s western side showed
increased activity on Tuesday but
crews “continue to aggressively
hold the fires edge with aircraft, a
10-blade dozer line” and fire retar-
dant sprayers that protected
buildings, Cal Fire reported.
However, for the first time in
days, there was little fire growth in
the eastern zone, where firefight-
ers in the past two weeks had built
about 25 miles of containment
line, Cal Fire said.
The blaze, which started in mid-
July, was 59% surrounded after
burning more than 1,400 square
miles in five counties and burning
nearly 700 homes. It could be-
come the largest wildfire in state
history, fire officials said.
JANE TYSKA, BAY AREA NEWS GROUP/AP
Clearly Tahoe employee Ludovic Fekete checks on transparent kayaks aboard the company’s new boat,the “Clearly Tahoe,” at the Tahoe Keys Marina in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., on Monday. Fekete was one ofmany residents who evacuated due to the Caldor Fire and just returned the day before.
Calif. fire threat high despiteprogress near Lake Tahoe
Associated Press “We are on parwith where wewere last year.That’s sobering,and that is thenew reality.”
Thom Porter
Cal Fire chief
WASHINGTON — Solar energy
has the potential to supply up to 40%
of the nation’s electricity within 15
years — a 10-fold increase over cur-
rent solar output, but one that would
require massive changes in U.S. pol-
icy and billions of dollars in invest-
ment to modernize the nation’s elec-
tric grid, a new federal report says.
The report by the Energy Depart-
ment’s Office of Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy says the
U.S. would need to quadruple its an-
nual solar capacity — and continue
to increase it year by year — as it
shifts to a renewable-dominant grid
in order to address the existential
threat posed by climate change.
The report released Wednesday
is not intended as a policy statement
or administration goal, officials said.
Instead, it is “designed to guide and
inspire the next decade of solar in-
novation by helping us answer ques-
tions like: How fast does solar need
to increase capacity and to what lev-
el?’’ said Becca Jones-Albertus, di-
rector of the Energy Department’s
solar energy technologies office.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Gran-
holm said in a statement that the
study “illuminates the fact that so-
lar, our cheapest and fastest-grow-
ing source of clean energy, could
produce enough electricity to power
all of the homes in the U.S. by 2035
and employ as many as 1.5 million
people in the process.”
The U.S. installed a record 15 gi-
gawatts of solar generating capacity
in 2020, and solar now represents
about just over 3% of the current
electricity supply, the Energy De-
partment said.
The “Solar Futures Study,” pre-
pared by DOE’s National Renew-
able Energy Laboratory, shows that,
by 2035, the U.S. would need to qua-
druple its yearly solar capacity addi-
tions and provide 1,000 GW of power
to a renewable-dominant grid. By
2050, solar energy could provide
1,600 GW on a zero-carbon grid —
producing more electricity than
consumed in all residential and
commercial buildings in the coun-
try today, the report said. Decarbo-
nizing the entire energy system
could result in as much as 3,000 GW
of solar by 2050 due to increased
electrification in the transportation,
buildings and industrial sectors, the
report said.
To achieve such an increase, the
U.S. must install an average of 30
GW of solar capacity per year be-
tween now and 2025 and 60 GW per
year from 2025 to 2030, the report
said.
Report: By 2035,solar could supply40% of electricity
Associated Press
BOSTON — The wife of the late
Robert F. Kennedy says assassin
Sirhan Sirhan should not be re-
leased from prison, further roiling
a family divide over whether the
man convicted of killing her hus-
band in California in 1968 should
be freed on parole.
In a brief statement released on
Twitter by her daughter, lawyer
and activist Kerry Kennedy, Ethel
Kennedy said bluntly Tuesday:
“He should not be paroled.”
“Bobby believed we should
work to ‘tame the savageness of
man and make gentle the life of
the world,’ ” Kennedy, 93, wrote.
“He wanted to end the war in
Vietnam and bring people togeth-
er to build a better, stronger coun-
try. More than anything, he want-
ed to be a good father and loving
husband,” she wrote, adding:
“Our family and our country suf-
fered an unspeakable loss due to
the inhumanity of one man. We
believe in the gentleness that
spared his life,
but in taming his
act of violence,
he should not
have the oppor-
tunity to terror-
ize again.”
Her statement
came a week af-
ter former Rep. Joseph P. Kenne-
dy II, RFK’s oldest son, also de-
nounced the possible parole of Sir-
han, 77.
Two other RFK offspring, Rob-
ert F. Kennedy Jr. and Douglas
Kennedy, have said they support
the release.
The California Parole Board
found last month that Sirhan no
longer poses a threat to society.
Sirhan has served 53 years of a life
sentence.
The ruling will be reviewed
over the next four months by the
board’s staff. Then it will be sent to
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will
have 30 days to decide whether to
grant it, reverse it or modify it.
RFK’s widow: Assassinshouldn’t be released
Associated Press
Kennedy
Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 13
WORLD
PARIS — In a custom-built secure com-
plex embedded within a 13th-century cour-
thouse, France on Wednesday opened the
trial of 20 men accused in the Islamic State
group’s 2015 attacks in Paris that left 130
people dead and hundreds injured.
Nine gunmen and suicide bombers
struck within minutes of each other at
France’s national soccer stadium, the Bata-
clan concert hall and Paris restaurants and
cafes on Nov. 13, 2015. Survivors of the at-
tacks as well as those who mourn their dead
packed the rooms, which were designed to
hold 1,800 plaintiffs and over 300 lawyers.
The lone survivor of the extremist cell
from that night, Salah Abdeslam, is the key
defendant.He was the first asked to identify
himself and, after intoning a prayer, re-
quested to state his profession, declared he
was “a fighter for Islamic State.” Abdeslam
is the only one charged with murder.
The presiding judge, Jean-Louis Peries,
acknowledged the extraordinary circum-
stances of the events of that night and the
nine-month trial to come.
“The events that we are about to decide
are inscribed in their historic intensity as
among the international and national
events of this century,” he said.
Twenty men are charged, but six of them
will be tried in absentia. Abdeslam, who
abandoned his rental car in northern Paris
and discarded a malfunctioning suicide
vest before fleeing home to Brussels, has re-
fused to speak with investigators.
Trial of 20 men accused in 2015 Paris attacks finally gets underwayAssociated Press
JAKARTA — A massive fire
raged through an overcrowded
prison near Indonesia’s capital
early Wednesday, killing at least
41 inmates, two of them foreigners
serving drug sentences, and injur-
ing 80 others.
Firefighters battled through the
early morning hours to extinguish
the flames as black smoke bil-
lowed from the compound of the
Tangerang prison on the outskirts
of Jakarta.
After the blaze was extin-
guished, ambulance after ambu-
lance filled with body bags con-
taining the victims were driven by
Red Cross workers to the morgue
of a local hospital, where they were
stacked wall-to-wall on the floor of
a room awaiting transport to a
larger facility for identification.
Most of the 41 killed were drug
convicts, including a man from
South Africa and a man from Por-
tugal, while other victims included
a terrorism convict and a murder-
er, Indonesia’s Law and Human
Rights minister Yasona Laoly told
reporters.
He expressed his deep condo-
lences for the families of the vic-
tims and pledged to provide the
best treatment for those injured.
“This is a tragedy that concerns
all of us,” Laoly said. “We are
working closely with all relevant
parties to investigate the causes of
the fire.”
The fire broke out at 1:45 a.m. in
Block C2 of the prison, where the
19 cells that were built to hold 40 in-
mates were stuffed full with more
than triple that number. The cause
of the blaze appears to have been
an electrical short circuit, accord-
ing to initial findings, Jakarta Po-
lice Chief Fadil Imran said.
Fire kills dozens of inmatesin crowded Indonesian prison
Associated Press
INDONESIAN MINISTRY OF JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS/AP
Police officers inspect damaged cells after a fire at Tangerang prisonin Tangerang, Indonesia, on Wednesday.
PAGE 14 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021
FACES
If anyone questions being too old to try
something new, look no further than
iconic music producers Jimmy Jam and
Terry Lewis.
“As you get older in life, we realized that
there’s less first times you get to actually expe-
rience things,” said Jam. “For us, all the first
times are very exciting.”
Despite nearly four decades in the business,
five Grammys and widespread reverence
across the recording industry, the producing-
songwriting duo known as Jam & Lewis recent-
ly accomplished one major goal: they released
their debut album.
“Music has always still been a part of our
lives, but we did take some time off to do some
important things, which was basically raise
our kids,” said Jam, a two-time chair of the Re-
cording Academy. “Now, we’re selfish again.”
“Jam & Lewis, Volume One,” which landed
at No. 49 on Billboard’s Independent albums
chart, is a 10-song project featuring a who’s
who of R&B singers. Some are previous collab-
orators, like Mariah Carey, Usher, Mary J.
Blige and Boyz II Men. Others are new part-
nerships such as Toni Braxton, Babyface and
The Roots.
“There’s a thing that we call ‘hang factor,’
and I don’t like working with people if I can’t
hang with them,” explained Lewis. “We hang,
we try to find out what the vision is, and then we
start trying to create that vision.”
The hang factor helped birth records like
“Somewhat Loved” with Carey, which peaked
at No. 10 on Billboard’s Adult R&B chart, a
mid-tempo track featuring her emotionally la-
menting about lost love. “He Don’t Know Noth-
in’ Bout It,” which peaked at No. 4 on the same
chart, mirrors past Babyface slow jams as he
attempts to persuade a woman that she de-
serves better. There’s also a quintessential To-
ni Braxton sound on “Happily Unhappy,” a
beautiful song about heartbreak that’s so time-
less, it could’ve been released two decades ago,
yet still feels perfect today.
Dubbing their sound “new nostalgia,” the al-
bum doesn’t push boundaries or dabble into
the trap beats, heavy Auto-Tune and sing-song
vibe of much of today’s R&B. They chose to
stay within the traditional soul sounds that
made these 2017 Songwriters Hall of Fame in-
ductees uber-successful.
“It wasn’t like we had a bunch of songs and it
was like, ‘Let’s do these songs.’ It was like …
let’s make the perfect song for each artist,”
Jam said. “We want the fans to fall back in love
— or remember why they fell in love — with
those artists. But we also want the artists to fall
back in love with themselves.”
Jam, 64, born James Harris III, and Lewis,
62, grew up in Minneapolis with its bustling
1970s local music scene. Jam attended middle
school with Prince, and a post-high school re-
union led them to start playing with Morris
Day and the Time, with Prince doing most of
the writing and producing. (Day is also fea-
tured on the album.)
After disagreeing on projects outside of The
Time, Prince fired them, sparking Jam and Le-
wis’ producing career. “There’s not a day we
don’t think about him and we don’t think about
as we’re making music. ‘I think Prince would
like this. I think he’d approve of this. He’d like
what we’re doing here,’” said Jam, smiling.
The duo helped craft hits for the S.O.S Band,
Chaka Khan, George Michael, New Edition
and more, including classics like the uplifting
“Optimistic” by Sounds of Blackness; “No
More Drama” by Mary J. Blige; “Rhythm Na-
tion” by Janet Jackson; “Scream,” a collabora-
tion with her legendary brother Michael; and
“Open My Heart” by gospel icon Yolanda
Adams.
They’re responsible for more than 50 Bill-
board No. 1 songs on the pop, R&B and dance
charts — all while donning their signature all-
black suits. (“All the decisions you have to
make throughout a day, if you can take one de-
cision out, that just leaves a hole for other
thinking,” explained Lewis.)
The music brothers say they weren’t con-
cerned whether critics might think the mo-
ment had passed to drop an album. One of their
remaining bucket list items includes playing
instruments live as they perform for fans.
It’s been 35 years since Janet Jackson’s
“Control” album jumpstarted their producing
careers but unintentionally delayed some of
their personal ambitions. So, are there any re-
grets?
“To me, it is God’s timing,” said Jam. “It all
happens the way it’s supposed to happen.”
MATT LICARI, INVISION/AP
Jimmy Jam, left, and Terry Lewis pose for a portrait in New York on July 26. The duo, who’ve worked with Prince, Michael Jackson, MariahCarey, Boyz II Men and more, enlisted some old friends for their debut album, “Jam & Lewis: Volume One.”
Production duo pads its résuméGrammy winners Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis return with debut album, ‘Volume One’
BY GARY GERARD HAMILTON
Associated Press
“Music has always stillbeen a part of our lives,but we did take sometime off to do someimportant things, whichwas basically raise ourkids. Now, we’re selfishagain.”
Jimmy Jam
two-time chair of the Recording Academy
Britney Spears’ father filed
Tuesday to end the court conser-
vatorship that has controlled the
singer’s life and money for 13
years.
James Spears filed his petition
to terminate the conservatorship
in Los Angeles Superior Court.
“As Mr. Spears has said again
and again, all he wants is what is
best for his daughter,” the docu-
ment says. “If Ms. Spears wants to
terminate the conservatorship
and believes that she can handle
her own life, Mr. Spears believes
that she should get that chance.”
Judge Brenda Penny will need
to approve the move.
Britney Spears’ attorney, Mat-
thew Rosengart, said in an email
the filing “represents another le-
gal victory for Britney Spears — a
massive one — as well as vindica-
tion for Ms. Spears.”
James Spears had been the tar-
get of much of the anger surround-
ing the conservatorship from both
his daughter and the public.
A petition from Britney Spears’
attorney to remove him was to be
heard at the next hearing in the
case on Sept. 29.
James Spears said in a filing on
Aug. 12 that he was planning to
step down as the conservator of
her finances, but offered no time-
table. He gave up his control over
her life decisions in 2019, keeping
only his role overseeing her mon-
ey.
He has repeatedly said there is
no justification for his removal,
and he has acted only in his daugh-
ter’s best interest.
The conservatorship was estab-
lished in 2008 when Britney
Spears began to have very public
mental struggles as media outlets
obsessed over each moment,
hordes of paparazzi aggressively
followed her everywhere, and she
lost custody of her children.
Tuesday’s filing cites how Brit-
ney Spears’ “impassioned plea” to
end the legal arrangement in a
June 23 speech in court gave a jolt
to those who wanted to see her
freed from it, quoting from the
transcript of that afternoon.
“I just want my life back,” Brit-
ney Spears said. “And it’s been 13
years and it’s enough. It’s been a
long time since I’ve owned my
money. And it’s my wish and my
dream for all of this to end without
being tested.”
Tuesday’s filing notes that
Spears said she did not know she
could file a petition to end the con-
servatorship, which she has yet to
do. Rosengart said when he was
hired in July that he intended to
help end the conservatorship, and
questioned whether it needed to
be established in the first place,
though he had not yet filed to ter-
minate it.
Spears’ fatherfiles to end courtconservatorship
BY ANDREW DALTON
Associated Press
Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 15
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OPINION
This must be what it felt like to be a
Loyalist in 1770 or so. He knows
that he is a citizen of the Greatest
Nation, and is grateful, but he lives
among many who feel increasingly mistreat-
ed, disrespected, even held in contempt by
the Crown and by the courtiers who surround
the throne of power in a distant capital.
Many direct their ire at the king’s minis-
ters, or at a Parliament in which they feel they
have no voice, but the sense of estrangement
grows steadily. The Loyalist remains devoted
to his nation and its institutions, but wishes
that his rulers were more attuned to the ex-
tent of the restiveness in what they seem to re-
gard as their empire, and more sensitive to
the legitimacy of many of those concerns.
Out here in what I’ll call the colonies — the
lands beyond the centers of power — rules
that must seem wise and just to the national
lawmakers often come across as clueless,
contemptuous edicts. Our voting laws, land
use policies, labor laws, fiscal freedom to low-
er taxation, all are to be overridden.
Atiny parliamentary majority seeks to pad
its paper-thin margin, enhancing its ability to
continue such trespasses, by creating what is
known as a “rotten borough” — with few vot-
ers but a seat at the legislative table nonethe-
less.
People here, where government lives with-
in its means, watch in wonderment as those in
authority run up unimaginable mountains of
debt, accumulated not for investment in the
long-term future but for current consump-
tion. Doomed to face the inescapable burden
of servicing and repaying those debts, our
children will experience true taxation with-
out representation.
Escalating migration to the provinces dem-
onstrates that dissatisfaction with current
government is shared even in the power cen-
ters, but when the new arrivals reach their
refuges, they may find that the impositions
they were fleeing have followed them. There
are even rumors that the taxing authorities
they thought they were escaping will try to tax
their income in their new homes.
One can try to rationalize that these actions,
as the imperialists of old told themselves, are
motivated by a sincere missionary spirit, a de-
sire to evangelize and convert the heathens,
by force if necessary, “for their own good.”
But my neighbors who still cherish tradi-
tional ways of life must be forgiven if they do
not surrender meekly and instantly to what
they interpret as an unprovoked and unwar-
ranted assault on sincere and legitimate cus-
toms and beliefs. Blanket denunciations of
entire regions or categories of people only
serve to strengthen the credibility of the most
strident and radical anti-establishment voic-
es.
Observing the growing discord, a Loyalist
hopes for ways to defuse this ill will, and ac-
commodate understandable resentments be-
fore they become even more virulent.
Perhaps the best idea for a better way for-
ward is to devolve or, better said, restore
more decisions to lower levels of government.
The idea has been suggested by numerous
commentators, but it is especially well de-
fined and defended by Brian Riedl in his re-
cent paper for the Manhattan Institute. Riedl
argues that returning more authority to states
and localities would foster more competent,
flexible, creative government, arrived at by
less hostile, more bipartisan means.
He names health care, education, welfare
and infrastructure as logical realms in which
states would be likely to deliver services more
competently, flexibly, imaginatively and with
far greater accountability than the federal
government ever does. He notes that Europe
is full of countries smaller than most Ameri-
can states, who manage to operate effectively
in these areas. To the challenge that some
states might not handle these tasks well, he re-
plies, dispositively, “Compared with what?”
The most important benefit of a Riedl-like
plan might not be its superior competence but
an alleviation of alienation. To those ideo-
logues among us who are “so convinced of the
superiority of their policies that nothing less
than their implementation from sea to shin-
ing sea is acceptable,” who believe that “the
other party’s approach is so destructive that
no American should live with its consequenc-
es, even if local voters unwisely choose to vote
for it,” Riedl recommends a dose of “humility,
modesty, gradualism, and acceptance.”
That’s an appealing list, although he mis-
sed a chance by not also playing today’s ace
and king of trump, “diversity” and “inclu-
sion.”
My disaffected colonial neighbors aren’t
seeking to universalize their ways and values,
only to be afforded the tolerance to live by
them without harassment or disdain. Humili-
ty and modesty seem quaintly out of fashion,
and central authorities almost never turn
loose of power once they have seized it, but
even small gestures of “acceptance” and un-
derstanding would go a long way.
A Loyalist in 1770 could relate to today’s USBY MITCH DANIELS
Special to The Washington Post
Mitch Daniels, �a Washington Post contributing columnist, ispresident of Purdue University and a former governor ofIndiana.
The surreal nature of international
travel in the COVID-19 era was
beamed live around the world last
weekend. In the opening minutes of
a soccer match in Sao Paolo between Brazil
and Argentina, play stopped when public
health officials walked onto the field to remove
several Argentine athletes over an apparent
breach of a 14-day quarantine (mandatory for
travel via the U.K.). The game never resumed.
Eighteen months into the pandemic, travel
restrictions are still tripping up regular fam-
ilies and firms, not just footballers. A U.S. ban
on most travelers from two dozen European
countries, instituted by President Donald
Trump in March of last year, remains in place
despite a change of president and the fact that
ahigher proportion of people in the European
Union and U.K. are fully vaccinated. Mean-
while, Hong Kong residents returning home
from places including the U.S. and France
must spend 21 days in hotel quarantine even if
they’re vaccinated, and the city bars entry to
most other people. Australia’s borders are
closed, with most international travel banned.
Obviously, caution is warranted around the
delta variant. But the lack of pragmatism
around international travel is striking. Al-
though many governments have eased re-
strictions on movement at home, since recog-
nizing the evidence that vaccines protect
against severe forms of COVID-19, travel
curbs appear to be preserved in cement.
A July report by the World Tourism Orga-
nization found that there had been no “signif-
icant” changes in curbs since November 2020.
For every bit of good news — Hong Kong and
the United Arab Emirates recently eased
travel restrictions — there’s a snapback, such
as the EU’s reimposition of curbs on American
travelers after a summer reprieve.
This merits urgent attention. There are
emotional and economic costs to restricting
travel. Most visible is the tourism industry,
which suffered its worst year on record in
2020 — losses may hit $2.4 trillion this year, ac-
cording to the United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development. Less visible are all
the lives and careers that have been put on
hold until travel resumes, from full-time
workers and seasonal staff to international
students with big future potential. One chief
executive officer recently quit his post after
tiring of trans-Atlantic travel restrictions.
The benefits, meanwhile, are hard to spot.
Consider the treatment of travelers from
France, who are not allowed into the U.S. and
who had to be quarantined upon arrival in the
U.K. until recently, even if they were vaccinat-
ed. Today they still have to book a COVID-19
test two days after arrival.
All this to what end? The U.S. and U.K. are
currently reporting around 500 new daily
cases per million people, about twice that of
France. Paris is deemed the most open city out
of 40 destinations tracked by Bloomberg.
Even New Zealand, with its high border con-
trol and location thousands of miles from any-
where, concedes that, even with vaccines, in-
fections will rise when its borders reopen due
to variants like delta.
One alternative to travel bans and ineffectu-
al rules would be to better differentiate be-
tween the vaccinated and unvaccinated. As of
June, only 17% of all travel destinations world-
wide specifically mentioned vaccinated pas-
sengers in their travel policy, according to the
World Tourism Organization. Research from
airline lobby group IATA also finds that two-
fifths of EU states aren’t allowing in vaccinat-
ed travelers from countries deemed safe out-
side the bloc.
For all the caveats on transmission and
waning vaccine effectiveness, there should be
more openness to the vaccinated. Of course,
this would mean that rich countries need to
push harder to expand supply and production
of vaccines in the developing world. Other-
wise those without access will be unfairly pun-
ished. The World Health Organization should
also harmonize competing definitions of “full
vaccination” to reduce confusion as countries
roll out booster shots and third doses. More
broadly, politicians need to start talking about
travel as an opportunity, not just a risk. Want-
ing to avoid giving privileged holidaymakers
license to spread disease is perhaps justified;
denying vaccinated families, students and
workers a chance at normality isn’t.
No relaxation of curbs is risk-free. But this
has to be balanced against the progress we’ve
made — and the reward of improving mobil-
ity. At this stage of the pandemic, with the tools
at our disposal, a shift looks worth it.
COVID travel is still a disaster. It doesn’t need to be.BY LIONEL LAURENT
AND SAM FAZELI
Bloomberg Opinion
Lionel Laurent is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering theEuropean Union and France. Sam Fazeli is senior pharmaceuticals analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence and director ofresearch for EMEA.
PAGE 16 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021
ACROSS
1 Dross
5 Sashimi fish
8 Denny’s rival
12 Select from
a group
13 Part of UCLA
14 Quick swims
15 Tiny battery
16 Retrieve
17 Utah ski resort
18 Arctic plain
20 “Funny!”
22 Escapist’s
paradise
26 Wishes (for)
29 Expected
30 Suffix with cash
31 “So be it”
32 Hwys.
33 “— girl!”
34 Sea, to Henri
35 Architect I.M. —
36 Secret
rendezvous
37 Bodybuilder’s
title
40 Bad habit
41 Giraffe cousins
45 Grand tale
47 Comic Romano
49 Grate
50 Humdrum
51 Env. insert
52 — Major
53 Dog’s treasure
54 Use a henna
rinse
55 Paraphernalia
DOWN
1 Ella’s style
2 Hawaiian feast
3 Actor Rickman
4 Elate
5 Aquarium
buildup
6 Weed whacker
7 Narrow strip
of land
8 The Gem State
9 Intense mirth
10 Choose
11 Unpaid TV spot
19 B&O and
others (Abbr.)
21 Shock partner
23 Pitcher Joss
24 Reply to
“Shall we?”
25 “Phooey!”
26 Soccer star Mia
27 Biblical grain
measure
28 Lima native
32 Adored
33 Floor covering
35 Photo, for short
36 Chiding sound
38 Recess
39 Partner of Rolls
42 Whittle (down)
43 “Insecure”
actress Rae
44 Mast
45 Recede
46 Mideast org.
48 Whatever
Answer to Previous Puzzle
Eugene Sheffer CrosswordFra
zz
Dilbert
Pearls B
efo
re S
win
eN
on S
equitur
Candorv
ille
Beetle B
ailey
Biz
arr
oCarp
e D
iem
Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 17
SCOREBOARD
PRO SOCCER
MLS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W L T Pts GF GA
New England 16 4 4 52 45 28
Orlando City 10 4 8 38 33 26
Nashville 9 2 11 38 37 21
NYCFC 10 7 4 34 37 22
Philadelphia 8 7 8 32 28 24
CF Montréal 8 7 7 31 30 27
D.C. United 9 10 3 30 35 32
Columbus 7 10 6 27 27 32
Atlanta 6 7 9 27 25 28
Inter Miami CF 7 9 5 26 22 31
Chicago 6 11 5 23 24 33
New York 6 10 4 22 23 25
Cincinnati 3 10 8 17 21 38
Toronto FC 3 13 6 15 26 47
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W L T Pts GF GA
Seattle 12 4 6 42 35 19
Colorado 12 4 5 41 31 20
Sporting KC 11 5 7 40 37 26
LA Galaxy 11 8 3 36 35 35
Minnesota 8 6 7 31 24 24
Portland 9 10 3 30 31 39
Real Salt Lake 8 8 6 30 34 29
Vancouver 7 7 8 29 29 32
LAFC 7 9 6 27 32 31
San Jose 6 8 8 26 24 30
FC Dallas 6 10 7 25 32 36
Austin FC 5 13 4 19 21 31
Houston 3 10 10 19 24 36
Note: Three points for victory, one pointfor tie.
Friday’s games
Orlando City at Atlanta Portland at Vancouver
Saturday’s games
LA Galaxy at Colorado Minnesota at Seattle D.C. United at New York New York City FC at New England Toronto FC at Cincinnati Columbus at Miami Nashville at CF Montréal Austin FC at Houston Chicago at Sporting Kansas City San Jose at FC Dallas
Sunday’s game
Real Salt Lake at Los Angeles FC
NWSL
W L T Pts GF GA
Portland 10 4 2 32 24 11
North Carolina 8 4 5 29 22 9
Reign FC 9 7 2 29 24 19
Orlando 6 5 7 25 21 20
Chicago 7 7 4 25 19 22
Washington 6 5 5 23 19 18
Gotham FC 5 5 7 22 17 15
Houston 6 7 4 22 19 22
Louisville 4 8 5 17 14 24
Kansas City 2 11 5 11 9 28
Note: Three points for victory, one pointfor tie.
Friday’s games
Gotham FC at Kansas City Chicago at Houston
Saturday’s game
Louisville at OrlandoSunday’s games
Reign FC at WashingtonPortland at North Carolina
U.S. OpenTuesday
At USTA Billie Jean King National TennisCenter
New YorkSurface: Hardcourt outdoor
Men’s SinglesQuarterfinals
Daniil Medvedev (2), Russia, def. Boticvan de Zandschulp, Netherlands, 6-3, 6-0,4-6, 7-5.
Felix Auger-Aliassime (12), Canada, def.Carlos Alcaraz, Spain, 6-3, 3-1, ret.
Women’s SinglesQuarterfinals
Leylah Annie Fernandez, Canada, def.Elina Svitolina (5), Ukraine, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5).
Aryna Sabalenka (2), Belarus, def. Bar-bora Krejcikova (8), Czech Republic, 6-1,6-4.
Men’s DoublesQuarterfinals
Filip Polasek, Slovakia, and John Peers(8), Australia, def. Nicolas Mahut andPierre-Hugues Herbert (3), France, 6-2, 6-3.
Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson, UnitedStates, def. Horia Tecau, Romania, and Ke-
vin Krawietz (6), Germany, 6-2, 7-6 (5). Rajeev Ram, United States, and Joe Sa-
lisbury (4), Britain, def. Matthew Ebdenand Max Purcell, Australia, 7-6 (7), 6-7 (6),7-6 (10).
Bruno Soares, Brazil, and Jamie Murray(7), Britain, def. Marcel Granollers, Spain,and Horacio Zeballos (2), Argentina, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4.
Women’s DoublesQuarterfinals
Sam Stosur, Australia, and Zhang Shuai(14), China, def. Storm Sanders, Australia,and Caroline Dolehide (10), United States,6-2, 6-3.
Mixed DoublesQuarterfinals
Marcelo Arevalo-Gonzalez, El Salvador,and Giuliana Olmos, Mexico, def. MarceloDemoliner, Brazil, and Ellen Perez, Austra-lia, 3-6, 6-3, 10-4.
Austin Krajicek and Jessica Pegula, Unit-ed States, def. Alexa Guarachi Mathison,Chile, and Neal Skupski (3), Britain, 6-1, 6-3.
Desirae Krawczyk, United States, andJoe Salisbury (2), Britain, def. Demi Schu-urs, Netherlands, and Sander Gille (8), Bel-gium, 6-1, 1-6, 10-7.
TENNIS
AP Top 25The Top 25 teams in The Associated Presscollege football poll, with first-place votesin parentheses, records through Sep. 6, to-tal points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:
Record Pts Prv
1. Alabama (59) 1-0 1571 1
2. Georgia (4) 1-0 1507 5
3. Ohio St. 1-0 1437 4
4. Oklahoma 1-0 1374 2
5. Texas A&M 1-0 1288 6
6. Clemson 0-1 1231 3
7. Cincinnati 1-0 1136 8
8. Notre Dame 1-0 1070 9
9. Iowa St. 1-0 1045 7
10. Iowa 1-0 942 18
11. Penn St. 1-0 908 19
12. Oregon 1-0 883 11
13. Florida 1-0 842 13
14. Southern Cal 1-0 789 15
15. Texas 1-0 683 21
16. UCLA 2-0 668 —
17. Coastal Carolina 1-0 384 22
18. Wisconsin 0-1 376 12
19. Virginia Tech 1-0 359 —
20. Mississippi 1-0 335 —
21. Utah 1-0 334 24
22. Miami 0-1 229 14
23. Arizona St. 1-0 222 25
24. North Carolina 0-1 198 10
25. Auburn 1-0 83 -
Others receiving votes: TCU 80, NC State69, UCF 61, LSU 57, Liberty 57, Michigan 52,Oklahoma St. 39, Indiana 37, Michigan St.28, Nevada 23, Kansas St. 13, Louisiana-La-fayette 12, BYU 10, Boston College 8, BallSt. 7, Maryland 6, UAB 5, Arizona 5, FloridaSt. 4, Kentucky 3, Army 2, Texas Tech 2, Ap-palachian St. 1.
USA Today Coaches PollThe USA Today Sports AFCA Coaches Pollwith team’s records through Saturday inparentheses, total points based on 25 forfirst place through one point for 25th, pre-vious week ranking and first-place votesreceived.
1. Alabama (11) 1-0 1624 1
2. Georgia (4) 1-0 1537 5
3. Ohio State 1-0 1491 4
4. OKlahoma 1-0 1397 3
5. Texas A&M 1-0 1334 6
6. Clemson 0-1 1239 2
7. Notre Dame 1-0 1197 7
8. Cincinnati 1-0 1113 10
9. Florida 1-0 1058 11
10. Iowa State 1-0 1057 8
11. Oregon 1-0 920 12
12. Iowa 1-0 914 18
13. Penn State 1-0 872 20
14. Southern California 1-0 828 14
15. Texas 1-0 653 19
16. UCLA 2-0 538 42
17. Wisconsin 0-1 359 15
18. Utah 1-0 294 26
19. Coastal Carolina 1-0 289 24
20. Mississippi 1-0 285 25
21. Virginia Tech 1-0 274 40
22. North Carolina 0-1 252 9
23. Oklahoma State 1-0 243 22
24. Miami (Fla) 0-1 186 16
25. Arizona State 1-0 181 28
Dropped out: No. 13 LSU (0-1); No. 17 Indi-ana (0-1); No. 21 Washington (0-1); No. 23Louisiana-Lafayette (0-1);
Others receiving votes: Auburn (1-0)123; Michigan (1-0) 99; LSU (0-1) 95; NorthCarolina State (1-0) 81; Liberty (1-0) 78;Brigham Young (1-0) 65; Indiana (0-1) 58;TCU (1-0) 49; Central Florida (1-0) 48; Flor-ida State (0-1) 34; Michigan State (1-0) 33;Kentucky (1-0) 28; Pittsburgh (1-0) 20;Louisiana-Lafayette (0-1) 19; Kansas State(1-0) 19; Boston College (1-0) 19; Appala-chian State (1-0) 15; SMU (1-0) 14; Rutgers(1-0) 11; Arkansas (1-0) 11; Maryland (1-0)9; Tennessee (1-0) 7; Nevada (1-0) 7; Fres-no State (1-1) 7; Army (1-0) 7; Tulane (0-1)6; Virginia (1-0) 5; San Jose State (1-1) 5;Missouri (1-0) 5; Ball State (1-0) 5; Marshall(1-0) 3; Alabama-Birmingham (1-0) 2; AirForce (1-0) 2; Charlotte (1-0) 1.
ScheduleFriday’s games
SOUTHKansas (1-0) at Coastal Carolina (1-0)NC A&T (0-1) at Duke (0-1)
FAR WESTNorth Dakota (1-0) at Utah St. (1-0) UTEP (2-0) at Boise St. (0-1)
Saturday’s gamesEAST
W. Kentucky (1-0) at Army (1-0)Stony Brook (0-1) at Colgate (0-1)Georgetown (0-0) at Delaware St. (1-0)Merrimack (1-0) at Holy Cross (1-0)Rutgers (1-0) at Syracuse (1-0)CCSU (0-1) at Wagner (0-1)Purdue (1-0) at Uconn (0-2)Ball St. (1-0) at Penn St. (1-0)Air Force (1-0) at Navy (0-1)Boston College (1-0) at Umass (0-1)
LIU Brooklyn (0-1) at West Virginia (0-1)Towson (1-0) at New Hampshire (1-0)Monmouth (NJ) (0-1) at Fordham (0-1)St. Francis (Pa.) (0-1) at Delaware (1-0)Bucknell (0-1) at Villanova (1-0)NC Central (1-0) at Marshall (1-0)Rhode Island (1-0) at Albany (NY) (0-1)Sacred Heart (1-0) at Bryant (0-1)Howard (0-1) at Maryland (1-0)
SOUTHIllinois (1-1) at Virginia (1-0)South Carolina (1-0) at East Carolina
(0-1) Kennesaw St. (1-0) at Georgia Tech (0-1)Pittsburgh (1-0) at Tennessee (1-0) Norfolk St. (0-1) at Wake Forest (1-0)Alabama St. (1-0) at Auburn (1-0) Florida (1-0) at South Florida (0-1)Morgan St. (0-1) vs. Tulane (0-1) at Bir-
mingham, Ala.Middle Tennessee (1-0) at Virginia Tech
(1-0)Lehigh (0-1) at Richmond (1-0)Charleston Southern (0-0) at The Citadel
(0-1)Union (Ky.) (0-0) at Morehead St. (0-1)Furman (1-0) at Tennessee Tech (0-1)UAB (1-0) at Georgia (1-0)Georgia Southern (1-0) at FAU (0-1)Mercer (1-0) at Alabama (1-0)Maine (0-1) at James Madison (1-0)Fort Lauderdale (0-0) at Presbyterian
(1-0)SC State (0-1) at Clemson (0-1)Lafayette (0-1) at William & Mary (0-1)Fort Valley St. (0-0) at Florida A&M (0-1)Ave Maria (0-0) at Stetson (1-0)Gardner-Webb (0-1) at Charlotte (1-0)Elon (0-1) at Campbell (0-1)Bethune-Cookman (0-1) at UCF (1-0)Nicholls (0-1) at Louisiana-Lafayette
(0-1)Hampton (1-0) at Old Dominion (0-1)Appalachian St. (1-0) at Miami (0-1)Miles (0-1) at Southern U. (0-1)Tennessee St. (0-1) vs. Jackson St. (1-0)
at Memphis, Tenn.Chattanooga (0-1) at North Alabama
(0-1)Grambling St. (1-0) at Southern Miss.
(0-1)SE Louisiana (1-0) at Louisiana Tech
(0-1)Samford (1-0) at UT Martin (0-1)Texas State (0-1) at FIU (1-0)NC State (1-0) at Mississippi St. (1-0)Northwestern St. (0-1) at Alcorn St. (0-1)Liberty (1-0) at Troy (1-0)E. Kentucky (1-0) at Louisville (0-1)Shaw (0-0) at Davidson (0-1)Georgia St. (0-1) at North Carolina (0-1)Virginia-Wise (0-0) at ETSU (1-0)Austin Peay (1-0) at Mississippi (1-0)Missouri (1-0) at Kentucky (1-0)McNeese St. (0-1) at LSU (0-1)Jacksonville St. (0-1) at Florida St. (0-1)
MIDWESTVMI (1-0) at Kent St. (0-1)Indiana St. (1-0) at Northwestern (0-1)Oregon (1-0) at Ohio St. (1-0) Miami (Ohio) (0-1) at Minnesota (0-1) Youngstown St. (1-0) at Michigan St.
(1-0) E. Illinois (0-2) at Dayton (0-0)St. Thomas (Minn.) (0-0) at Michigan
Tech (0-0)Wyoming (1-0) at N. Illinois (1-0)N. Arizona (0-1) at South Dakota (0-1)Duquesne (0-1) at Ohio (0-1)Toledo (1-0) at Notre Dame (1-0)Robert Morris (0-0) at Cent. Michigan
(0-1)Temple (0-1) at Akron (0-1)Buffalo (1-0) at Nebraska (1-1)Murray St. (1-0) at Cincinnati (1-0)Valparaiso (0-1) at N. Dakota St. (1-0)South Alabama (1-0) at Bowling Green
(0-1)Iowa (1-0) at Iowa St. (1-0)Illinois St. (1-0) at W. Michigan (0-1)DePauw (0-0) at Butler (0-1)Lindenwood (Mo.) (0-0) at S. Dakota St.
(1-0)E. Michigan (1-0) at Wisconsin (0-1)S. Illinois (1-0) at Kansas St. (1-0)Idaho (1-0) at Indiana (0-1)Washington (0-1) at Michigan (1-0)Cent. Arkansas (0-1) at Missouri St. (0-1)
SOUTHWESTTulsa (0-1) at Oklahoma St. (1-0) California (0-1) at TCU (1-0)Lamar (1-0) at UTSA (1-0)Houston (0-1) at Rice (0-1)Texas (1-0) at Arkansas (1-0)Louisiana College (0-0) at Abilene Chris-
tian (0-1)North Texas (1-0) at SMU (1-0)SE Missouri (0-1) at Sam Houston St.
(1-0)Memphis (1-0) at Arkansas St. (1-0)W. Carolina (0-1) at Oklahoma (1-0)Stephen F. Austin (1-0) at Texas Tech
(1-0)N. Colorado (0-1) at Houston Baptist
(0-1)Texas Southern (0-1) at Baylor (1-0)Fort Lewis (0-0) at Tarleton St. (0-1)Prairie View (1-0) at Incarnate Word
(0-1)FAR WEST
Texas A&M (1-0) vs. Colorado (1-0) atDenver
Cent. Washington (0-0) at E. Washington(1-0)
UC Davis (1-0) at San Diego (0-1)Portland St. (0-1) at Washington St. (0-1)New Mexico St. (0-2) at New Mexico (1-0)Drake (1-0) at Montana St. (0-1)W. Illinois (0-1) at Montana (1-0)N. Iowa (0-1) at Sacramento St. (1-0)Vanderbilt (0-1) at Colorado St. (0-1)San Diego St. (1-0) at Arizona (0-1)Weber St. (0-1) at Dixie St. (0-1)Cal Poly (1-0) at Fresno St. (1-1)Utah (1-0) at BYU (1-0)UNLV (0-1) at Arizona St. (1-0)Stanford (0-1) at Southern Cal (1-0)Idaho St. (0-1) at Nevada (1-0)Hawaii (1-1) at Oregon St. (0-1)
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
BASKETBALLNational Basketball Association
DETROIT PISTONS — Waived C DeAndreJordan.
PHOENIX SUNS — Signed F ChandlerHutchinson.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS — Re-signed F Kei-ta Bates-Diop. Signed G Joe Wieskam to atwo-way contract.
FOOTBALLNational Football League
ARIZONA CARDINALS — Signed OT EricSmith to the practice squad. Released CMichael Menet from the practice squad.
ATLANTA FALCONS — Re-signed RB Qa-dree Ollison to the practice squad. Re-leased OL Sam Jones from the practicesquad.
CAROLINA PANTHERS — Activated CSam Tecklenburg from the reserve/CO-VID-19 list. Signed DB John Brannon to thepractice squad.
CHICAGO BEARS — Waived DT LacaleLondon with an injury settlement.
CINCINNATI BENGALS — Signed QB JakeBrowning to the practice squad. ReleasedP Drue Chrisman from the practice squad.
HOUSTON TEXANS — Signed K Joey Slyeand CB Cre’Von LeBlanc to the practicesquad. Waived DB Cornell Armstrong.Claimed CB Jimmy Moreland off waiversfrom Washington.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — Signed DT Ant-waun Woods to the practice squad. Re-leased DT Andrew Brown.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS — Signed RBDuke Johnson to the practice squad. Re-leased RB Nathan Cottrell from the prac-tice squad.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS — Signed DBKemon Hall. Placed DB Ryan Smith on in-jured reserve.
MIAMI DOLPHINS — Released LB VinceBiegel and DB Jaytlin Askew from injuredreserve with a settlement. Signed OT Bob-by Hart. Placed G Adam Pankey on thepractcie squad injured reserve.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS — Signed CB Des-mond Trufant. Released RB Latavius Mur-ray.
NEW YORK GIANTS — Terminated con-tract of WR C.J. Board and moved him tothe practice squad. Terminated the con-tract of LB Todd Davis. Waived WR AustinMack with an injury settlement. ReleasedDB Jordyn Peters and G Kenny Wigginsfrom the practice squad. Signed OT KoreyCunningham to the practice squad.Signed S Nate Ebner.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES — Signed CB MacMcCain off the Broncos practice squad totheri active roster.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS — Signed DEHenry Mondeaux, WR Tyler Vaughns andLB Delontae Scott to the practice squad.Placed WR Rico Bussey on the practicesquad injured reserve.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS — Signed CB Don-tae Johnson to the practice squad. Re-leased LB Elijah Sullivan from the practicesquad.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS — Promoted WRPenny Hart and CB John Reid to the activeroster. Signed CB Blessuan Austin. PlacedTE Colby Parkinson, CBs Tre Brown and Ni-gel Warrior on injured reserve. Signed CBGavin Heslop to the practice squad. Re-leased TE Mark Vital from the practicesquad.
TENNESSEE TITANS — Released S Bra-dley McDougald. Placed DB Brady Breezeon the reserve/COVID-19 list. Released OTDerwin Gray from the practice squad.Signed S Bradley McDougald, OL Corey Le-vin and DB Chirs jones to the practicesquad. Waived G Chandon Herring with anijury settlement.
WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM —Signed OT Evin Ksiezarczyk to the practicesquad.
HOCKEYNational Hockey League
SEATTLE KRAKEN — Signed D DennisCholowski to a one-year, two-way con-tract.
Tuesday’s transactionsBASEBALL
Major League BaseballAmerican League
BALTIMORE ORIOLES — Recalled RHPMike Baumann from Norfolk (Triple-AEast). Selected the contract of RHP MannyBarreda from Norfolk and agreed to termson a major league contract. Optioned RHPZack Burdi to Norfolk. Placed RHP JorgeLopez on the 10-day IL. Transferred RHPHunter Harvery from the 10-day IL to the60-day IL.
BOSTON RED SOX — Reinstated INF/OFsKike Hernandez and Danny Santana fromthe COVID-19 IL. Optioned OF Franchy Cor-dero to Worcester (Triple-A East). Desig-nated INF Taylor Mott for assignment.Sent LHP Darwinzon Hernandez to Wor-cester on a rehab assignment.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX — Sent CF AdamEngel to Charlotte (Triple-A East) on a re-hab assignment. Agreed to terms withRHP Kevin McCarthy on a minor leaguecontract.
CLEVELAND INDIANS — Optioned 2B Er-nie Clement and RHP J.C. Mejia to Colum-bus (Triple-A East). Reinstated RHP AaronCivale from the 60-day IL. Designated CGianpaul Gonzalez for assignment. Sent CRoberto Perez to Columbus (Triple-A East)on a rehab assignment.
DETROIT TIGERS — Optioned RHP DrewCarlton to Toledo (Triple-A East). PlacedRHP Joe Jimenez on the 10-day IL. RecalledRHP Bryan Garcia from Toledo. Selectedthe contract of RHP Drew Hutchinson fromToledo and agreed to terms on a majorleague contract.
NEW YORK YANKEES — Optioned RHPBrooks Kriske to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre(Triple-A East).
OAKLAND ATHLETICS — Reinstated RHPFrankie Montas from the restricted list.Optioned LHP Sam Moll to Las Vegas (Tri-ple-A West).
TAMPA BAY RAYS — Recalled RHP LouisHead from Durham (Triple-A East). Op-tioned SS Taylor Walls to Durham.
TEXAS RANGERS — Reinstated RHPSpencer Howard from the 10-day IL.
National LeagueARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — Selected
the contract of RHP Brandyn Sittingerfrom Reno (Triple-A West) and agreed toterms on a major league contract. PlacedRHP Tyler Clippard on the 10-day IL.
ATLANTA BRAVES — Sent LHP GrantDayton to FCL Braves (Florida ComplexLeague) on a rehab assignment.
CHICAGO CUBS — Sent RHP JonathanHolder to Iowa (Triple-A East) on a rehabassignment.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS — Selected thecontract of OF Steven Souza Jr. from Okla-homa City (Triple-A West) and agreed toterms on a major league contract. Op-tioned INF/OF Zach McKinstry to Oklaho-ma City. Transferred LHP Garrett Cleavin-ger from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL. SentLHP Clayton Kershaw to Oklahoma City(Triple-A West) on a rehab assignment.Optioned RF Zach McKinstry to OklahomaCity.
MIAMI MARLINS — Reinstated RHP Tay-lor Williams. Designated LHP Ross Detwil-er for assignment. Selected the contractof 2B Eddy Alvarez from Jacksonville (Tri-ple-A East).
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES — Sent C An-drew Knapp, 3B Luke Williams and OF MattJoyce to Lehigh Valley (Triple-A East) onrehab assignments.
PITTSBURGH PIRATES — Reinstated LHPDillon Peters from the 10-day IL. OptionedRHP Shea Spitzbarth to Indianapolis (Tri-ple-A East).
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS — Sent RHP JustinMiller to Memphis (Triple-A East) on a re-hab assignment.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS — Claimed RHPJake Jewell off waivers from Los AngelesDodgers and optioned him to Sacramento(Triple-A West).
DEALS
PRO BASKETBALL
WNBA
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W L Pct GB
x-Connecticut 22 6 .786 —
x-Chicago 15 14 .517 7½
New York 11 18 .379 11½
Washington 10 18 .357 12
Atlanta 7 20 .259 14½
Indiana 6 21 .222 15½
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W L Pct GB
x-Las Vegas 20 8 .714 —
x-Seattle 20 10 .667 1
x-Minnesota 18 9 .667 1½
x-Phoenix 18 10 .643 2
Dallas 12 17 .414 8½
Los Angeles 10 18 .357 10
Tuesday’s games
Connecticut 83, Dallas 56Seattle 105, Washington 71
Wednesday’s games
Phoenix at AtlantaMinnesota at Las Vegas
Thursday’s game
Connecticut at Los Angeles
Friday’s games
Atlanta at WashingtonIndiana at Minnesota
NFL scheduleThursday’s game
Dallas at Tampa BaySunday’s games
Arizona at TennesseeJacksonville at HoustonL.A. Chargers at WashingtonMinnesota at Cincinnati
N.Y. Jets at CarolinaPhiladelphia at AtlantaPittsburgh at BuffaloSan Francisco at DetroitSeattle at IndianapolisCleveland at Kansas CityDenver at N.Y. GiantsGreen Bay at New OrleansMiami at New EnglandChicago at L.A. Rams
PRO FOOTBALL
PAGE 18 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
TONY DING/AP
Michigan fans in the student section cheer during the second quarter of their game withWestern Michigan on Sept. 4 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. Communicatingon the field isn’t quite as easy as it was a year ago, when games were in empty stadiums.
MADISON, Wis. — College football
teams spent the first big weekend of the sea-
son getting reacquainted with an unfamiliar
sound.
Authentic crowd noise.
After playing in empty stadiums through-
out the pandemic-delayed 2020 season,
teams across the country welcomed specta-
tors back and many stadiums were packed,
including more than 109,000 at the Big
House in Michigan. That meant the re-
sumption of some traditions, too, from mid-
night yell practice at Texas A&M to Wiscon-
sin students bouncing to “Jump Around” to
Iowa fans waving to kids at the children’s
hospital adjacent to Kinnick Stadium.
The return of fans on game day also re-
quires teams to adjust. Competing without
spectators made it easy for players and
coaches to communicate with one another
last year. Now it’s a little trickier.
“You could definitely see, especially with
some of the younger guys, it’s hard to sim-
ulate that in a practice,” Wisconsin defen-
sive coordinator Jim Leonhard said. “You
really go over a year (since) that was an is-
sue, when you couldn’t yell from the side-
line and catch somebody’s attention.”
Maryland was at home for its season-
opening 30-24 victory over West Virginia
and figured to benefit from the atmosphere
generated by a partisan crowd. The Terra-
pins piped in crowd noise for last Thurs-
day’s practice anyway just so they could get
accustomed to it.
“It drives us crazy as a coach to have to
deal with it, because you can’t necessarily
coach your guys, but (we were) anticipating
that we would have a good crowd,” Mary-
land coach Michael Locksley said.
Upperclassmen at least had experience
playing in packed stadiums before 2020, but
freshmen and sophomores hadn’t dealt with
this before.
Wisconsin offensive guard Jack Nelson
acknowledged the prospect concerned him
as he prepared to make his first career start.
He discovered he had no reason for con-
cern.
“I’d say I kind of overestimated it,” Nel-
son said. “I didn’t have any problems with it.
I could feel the crowd’s energy.”
It would have been tempting to assume
that the return of spectators would put road
teams at more of a disadvantage this year,
particularly after a season without fans.
While the sample size is small, early results
suggest that isn’t necessarily the case.
Last week’s results involving Big Ten
teams featured three victories by road un-
derdogs (Penn State over Wisconsin, Michi-
gan State over Northwestern and UTSA
over Illinois). Maryland was a slight home
underdog in its triumph over West Virginia.
Illinois beat Nebraska as a home underdog
on Aug. 28.
Those road upsets were particularly
sweet with fans back in the stands.
“It just motivated you to do your best,”
Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford said.
“Last year with the piped-in noise, there
was no real enthusiasm. It was fun to go into
someone else’s house again and be able to
silence them with big plays.”
Whatever the early results suggest,
teams believe they do need to adapt to this
major difference from last season.
“Just to be able to deal with the noise on
third downs, especially for an opposing
team’s offense and communication and all
of that, it affects guys jumping offsides and
being slower on the snap count and getting a
jump on things,” said Indiana coach Tom
Allen, who emphasized that he wasn’t blam-
ing any of those factors for his team’s 34-6
loss at Iowa.
Ohio State coach Ryan Day cited the diffi-
culty the offense occasionally had during
the season-opening victory at Minnesota.
“It was loud on third down, and we had to
handle that, and we did have a couple of
false starts where we could have done a bet-
ter job of in that case being louder and more
deliberate and all of that,” Day said.
But the defenses also face a challenge,
even if they use visual signals.
Teams say goodbyeto sounds of silenceReturn of crowds forces visiting, home teams to adapt
BY STEVE MEGARGEE
Associated Press
AP college football writer Eric Olson, AP sports writers LarryLage, Mike Marot, Mitch Stacy and Noah Trister and APfreelance writer Matt Sugam contributed to this report.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky
men’s basketball coach John Cali-
pari said he contracted COVID-19
after being vaccinated, but pointed
out he is relieved the shot did its job
in leaving him with mild symp-
toms.
Other notable breakthrough
cases have occurred in college foot-
ball, with vaccinated players and
coaches testing positive. That in-
cludes second-ranked Georgia and
Mississippi; the Bulldogs could be
without several players in their
next game and Rebels coach Lane
Kiffin missed his team’s opener af-
ter testing positive.
Calipari revealed Tuesday that
he tested positive before July’s
NBA Draft, which kept the Hall of
Famer from his annual ritual of at-
tending the festivities to see his
highly touted players realize
dreams of becoming first-round se-
lections. His announcement fol-
lows Monday’s revelation by Geor-
gia football Kirby Smart that “three
or four” players on the second-
ranked Bulldogs were sidelined
with COVID-19.
Kiffin did not travel with the Re-
bels to Atlanta for Monday night’s
43-24 victory over Louisville after
announcing his own breakthrough
case on Saturday.
“I am grateful to be vaccinated
and experiencing only mild symp-
toms,” Kiffin said in a statement re-
leased on Twitter.
Calipari felt just as fortunate.
The coach joked during the vir-
tual news conference that he “bust-
ed the line” to get vaccinated and
added that he didn’t reveal his posi-
tive test back then to avoid discou-
raging the public from being vacci-
nated.
In going public now with his mild
symptoms, he hopes more people
get vaccinated.
“I just encourage people to think
about this,” said Calipari, who iso-
lated himself from family mem-
bers. “It is kids going back to
schools that are not vaccinated that
can bring it back to you or your fam-
ily. It could happen. And if you are
vaccinated, the chances of some-
thing serious happening are very,
very, very slim.
“It’s your best chance of protect-
ing yourself, maybe your family,
your parents, whatever. ... There
were breakthroughs, but they’re
not that sick.”
The positive tests for Georgia
and Ole Miss come despite both
programs having met the South-
eastern Conference’s 85% vaccina-
tion threshold to avoid further CO-
VID testing and masking require-
ments. At Ole Miss in particular,
Kiffin, his players and staff are ful-
ly vaccinated.
The Atlantic Coast Conference
has a similar vaccination 85%
threshold, in which schools meet-
ing it only have to test once weekly
as opposed to three times for pro-
grams that fall below it. Other
schools, state and local protocols
still must be followed.
Even with a vaccine in place
compared to last fall and other safe-
guards in place, risks and concerns
remain.
“That concerns you not only for
the players on your team that are
unvaccinated, that are playing and
not playing because we want every-
body to be safe,” Smart said.
“But it concerns me for the play-
ers that are vaccinated. That we
could lose them. It’s at the highest
it’s been since fall camp right now. I
think there is this relief that every-
one feels like everything is back to
normal. Just not for us right now.”
Coaches deal with breakthrough COVID cases
CURTIS COMPTON/AP
Georgia coach Kirby Smart and tailback Zamir White celebrate theteam’s win Saturday over Clemson. This week, Smart said “three orfour” players are sidelined with COVID19.
BY GARY B. GRAVES
Associated Press
ROGELIO V. SOLIS/AP
Mississippi coach Lane Kiffinmissed his team’s win overLouisville on Monday because hewas dealing with COVID19.
Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 19
a third straight season. Steve Van
Buren did it 1947-49.
Only four other men have led
the NFL in rushing at least three
straight seasons. Before Smith,
Earl Campbell did it between
1978-1980, Jim Brown between
1958 and 1961, and Van Buren.
The 2015 Heisman Trophy win-
ner out of Alabama also is the
NFL’s first running back with at
least two seasons of at least 300
rushing attempts, 15 TD runs and
a 5-yard rushing average.
Ryan Tannehill has had an up-
close view since becoming the Ti-
tans’ starting quarterback in Octo-
ber 2019, and he says it’s impres-
sive to see the running back’s sus-
tained success and dependability
at the 6-foot-3 and 247 pounds
Henry is listed by the Titans.
How Henry physically with-
stands all the hits and carries yet
keeps plugging away? Tannehill
calls it “wild.”
“You talk to him on Monday
and Tuesday, and he is, ‘Oh, I am
not sore. I am good,’” Tannehill
said. “Think some of that is God’s
gift to him, of just being a physical
freak and being 6-3 and 250 or
whatever he is. He has the atti-
tude, the mindset, and he loves
playing football. You put all that
together, and it is a good package.”
Running backs coach Tony
Dew has had similar conversa-
tions, only to hear Henry say he’s
good.
“Now whether he is or he isn’t,
just his mentality he’s not going to
tell you he isn’t,” Dew said. “He’s
going to come out and do whatever
everyone else does. That’s the one
thing I do really admire about him
and so many others is that he just
comes to work and he does what-
ever coach ask him to do.”
The Titans have tried, and keep
trying, to find a backup to ease
some of Henry’s workload know-
ing that such a workload can
shorten a running back’s career.
Yet Henry is the man that is avail-
able each Sunday — and coming
through with big moments.
He became the first in NFL his-
tory to score two touchdowns in
overtime in 2020. He outrushed 23
of the NFL’s 31 other teams. He
had three games with 200 yards
and two touchdowns, setting a
franchise record with 250 yards in
the regular-season finale.
Titans coach Mike Vrabel,
whose NFL career lasted 14 years,
has always admired Henry’s work
ethic and how the running back
sticks to his workout routine
throughout the season for both
conditioning and lifting.
“As soon as practice is over, he
is in there on Friday doing whatev-
er he needs to do to get himself
mentally and physically prepared
for the game,” Vrabel said.
Henry also works hard
throughout the offseason, starting
preparations for the next season
sometimes only days after the last
ended. He works with his trainer,
who usually does some of the
seemingly impossible workouts
first.
Others watch those videos in
amazement. Henry? He’s just
working. Of course.
“It can get crazy at times, but
I’m really just working out, man,”
Henry said. “And people always
asking me to send them workouts.
So I post them so you ain’t got no
excuse not to work out. It’s right
there on Instagram. So whatever
you see me do you can implement
into your workout and get better.”
Balancing using a band and ex-
ercise ball doing pushups with a
heavy chain around the neck isn’t
for everyone.
Tannehill did his own version
for social media in homage to
Henry, using his wife’s purse in-
stead of a chain.
Henry says he isn’t able to do all
the workouts his trainer comes up
with.
“Standing on his head and do-
ing a flip? I’m not doing all that,”
Henry said. “I’m not getting ready
for karate or Avenger movies. I’m
just trying to get ready for foot-
ball.”
What Henry’s done has worked
pretty well so far.
Piling: Henry won Heisman at AlabamaFROM PAGE 24
WADE PAYNE/AP
Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry has led the league inrushing the past two seasons. Only four other men have led theleague in rushing for three straight seasons: Emmitt Smith, EarlCampbell, Jim Brown and Steve Van Buren.
NFL
The NFL Players Association wants daily
COVID-19 testing for fully vaccinated play-
ers.
The league and the union agreed last
week to update protocols so vaccinated
players would be tested weekly instead of
every 14 days as they were during training
camp.
That’s not enough, according to NFLPA
president and Cleveland Browns center JC
Tretter.
“Since the beginning of training camp,
we have been testing our vaccinated play-
ers once every 14 days. It has been ineffec-
tive as we’ve had significantly more inci-
dents of transmission inside the building
this year than last year,” Tretter wrote in a
column on the union’s website. “The
NFLPA saw this coming months ago and
has been advocating for a return to daily
testing because it is more effective way to
stop and prevent the spread of the coronavi-
rus in our locker rooms. However, the NFL
decided to move to weekly testing; and
while that is a step in the right direction, it
leaves us open to many of the same prob-
lems we’ve been facing.”
The league most recently announced 93%
of players are vaccinated. Unvaccinated
players are tested daily and face strict pro-
tocol requirements. The league didn’t im-
mediately respond to a request for a re-
sponse to Tretter’s comments.
Ex-NFL players plead guiltyWASHINGTON — Former NFL players
Clinton Portis, Tamarick Vanover and Rob-
ert McCune pleaded guilty for their roles in
a nationwide health care fraud scheme and
could face years in prison, the U.S. Depart-
ment of Justice announced Tuesday.
Portis, Vanover and McCune admitted to
defrauding an NFL program set up to reim-
burse medical expenses not covered by in-
surance for retired players and their fam-
ilies, the Justice Department said.
McCune could be facing life in prison af-
ter pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit
wire fraud and health care fraud, 13 counts
of health care fraud, 11 counts of wire fraud
and three counts of aggravated identity
theft. He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov.
19.
The DOJ said McCune orchestrated the
scheme that resulted in approximately $2.9
million worth of false and fraudulent claims
being filed and $2.5 million paid out be-
tween June 2017 and April 2018.
Portis and Vanover each pleaded guilty to
conspiracy to commit health care fraud and
could face up to 10 years in prison. Accord-
ing to court documents, Portis was respon-
sible for just under $100,000 and Vanover
just under $160,000 in benefits for expen-
sive medical equipment that were not pro-
vided.
They agreed to pay back that money. Por-
tis is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 6 and
Vanover on Jan. 22.
Broncos’ Chubb detainedENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Broncos Pro
Bowl linebacker Bradley Chubb was de-
tained Tuesday on a warrant for failing to
appear in court last month to face traffic-re-
lated charges.
Douglas County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jeff Miller
said Chubb was pulled over for speeding
Tuesday morning and it was discovered he
had an outstanding arrest warrant for fail-
ing to appear in court on traffic offenses. He
was taken to the Douglas County Detention
Center.
Court records show Centennial Police cit-
ed Chubb for having expired license plates
and for misdemeanor driving under re-
straint on May 6. A warrant was issued for
his arrest Aug. 6 when Chubb failed to ap-
pear in court on those charges.
Ravens close to signing BellBALTIMORE — The Ravens have found
another running back: Le’Veon Bell.
The team is signing the former Pitts-
burgh Steelers running back to its practice
squad, a source with knowledge of the sit-
uation confirmed, and will likely add him to
its 53-man roster when ready. ESPN first
reported the deal Tuesday.
The move comes a day after multiple re-
ports said Ravens running back Justice Hill
would miss the 2021 season with a torn
Achilles tendon, an injury he suffered late
last week. The Ravens also lost starter J.K.
Dobbins to a season-ending ACL injury
against the Washington Football Team in
their preseason finale.
BRIEFS
NFLPA wants daily testing for all playersFrom wire reports
DAVID RICHARD / AP
Cleveland Browns center J.C. Tretter, the NFL Players Association president, wants allplayers to undergo daily COVID19 testing instead of just unvaccinated players.
PAGE 20 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021
NFL
Cleveland Browns (12-6)New faces: DE Jadeveon Clowney, LB Anthony Walk-
er Jr., S John Johnson III, DE Takk McKinley, CB Troy Hill,DT Malik Jackson, DT Andrew Billings, rookie CB GregNewsome II, rookie LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, KChase McLaughlin.
Key losses: DT Sheldon Richardson, DT Larry Ogunjo-bi, K Cody Parkey, S Terrance Mitchell, DB Kevin John-son, S Karl Joseph, DE Olivier Vernon, DE Adrian Clay-born, LB B.J. Goodson, T Kendall Lamm.
Strengths: Kevin Stefanski has brought neededsteadiness and stability. QB Baker Mayfield triggersCleveland’s high-powered offense, which returns all 11starters and is loaded with playmakers. Cleveland hasarguably the league’s best offensive line, openingholes for Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, a lethal 1-2combination. Clowney’s arrival — as long as he stayshealthy — will make it tougher for opponents to dou-ble-team All-Pro end Myles Garrett.
Weaknesses: The linebacking corps and secondaryremain major concerns despite the additions of veter-ans Walker, Johnson and Hill, who also bring postsea-son experience. Safety Grant Delpit and CB Greedy Wil-liams have both been slowed by injuries this summer,further weakening a group with questionable depth.
Camp Development: Parkey’s season-ending qua-driceps injury means Chase McLaughlin will handlethe kicking duties — for now.
Baltimore Ravens (12-6)New faces: WR Sammy Watkins, T Alejandro Villa-
nueva, G Kevin Zeitler, WE Rashod Bateman, G Ben Cle-veland, LB Justin Houston, LB Odafe Oweh, T Ja’WuanJames, TE Josh Oliver, S Geno Stone, LB Daelin Hayes,DB Brandon Stephens, WR Tylan Wallace, S Ar’DariusWashington, CB Chris Westry, DT Xavier Kelly.
Key losses: T Orlando Brown Jr., LB Matthew Judon, CMatt Skura, WR Willie Snead, G/T D.J. Fluker, RB MarkIngram II, WR Dez Bryant, QB Robert Griffin III, DE Yan-nick Ngakoue.
Strengths: The Ravens led the NFL in rushing the pasttwo seasons and finished second in 2018 — a direct re-sult of having one of the game’s greatest running quar-terbacks. Lamar Jackson, the MVP in 2019, has run forover 1,000 yards each of the past two seasons, and Bal-timore may lean on him even more this year after run-ning back J.K. Dobbins was lost for the season to a kneeinjury. Baltimore finished seventh in total defense aseason ago.
Weaknesses: The Ravens ranked last in passing in2020 and took steps to change that, acquiring Watkinsand drafting Bateman in the first round. But Batemanhas been out with a groin injury, and receiver MarquiseBrown has also missed time during the preseason.
Camp Development: The Ravens were also withoutJackson at the start of training camp following a posi-tive COVID-19 test. Tyler Huntley emerged as the topbackup to Jackson.
Pittsburgh Steelers (12-5)New faces: RB Najee Harris, LB Joe Schobert, LB Mel-
vin Ingram, OL Trai Turner, C Kendrick Green, TE PatFreiermuth.
Key losses: C Maurkice Pouncey, RG David DeCastro,LT Alejandro Villanueva, RB James Conner, TE VanceMcDonald, LB Bud Dupree, DB Steven Nelson, LB VinceWilliams.
Strengths: The wide receiver group may be amongthe deepest in the NFL after JuJu Smith-Schuster pulledoff a bit of a stunner by signing a one-year deal ratherthan bolt in free agency. Smith-Schuster is part of agroup that includes Chase Claypool — who scored 11touchdowns as a rookie — and Diontae Johnson, whohas shown flashes of being a younger (and quieter)version of former All-Pro Antonio Brown. The defensefeatures one of the league’s best players in outside li-nebacker T.J. Watt and the team believes Alex High-smith can fill in capably opposite Watt after Bud Du-pree left for Tennessee.
Weaknesses: The team basically blew up the offen-sive line after finishing last in the NFL in yards rushingand yards per carry. The overhaul included firing offen-sive line coach Shaun Sarrett and releasing perennialPro Bowl guard David DeCastro. The team drafted Ken-drick Green in the third round to replace retired ProBowl center Maurkice Pouncey. The rest of the line is amishmash of youth and veterans like Trai Turner, whosigned in June.
Camp Development: The Steelers aggressively ad-dressed depth issues at linebacker, signing Melvin In-gram to a one-year deal on the eve of camp and acquir-ing Joe Schobert from Jacksonville in mid-August.Their arrivals give defensive coordinator Keith Butlersome flexibility as he tries to put together a rotationthat works without burning out Watt. Longtime defen-sive end Stephon Tuitt did not practice during the pre-season following the death of his younger brother inJuly and was placed on injured reserve/return list withan unspecified knee injury. His absence means ChrisWormley, Isaiah Buggs and Carlos Davis could seemore playing time, potentially giving a group thatlooked gassed at times late last year more depth in thelong run.
Cincinnati Bengals (4-11-1)New faces: WR Ja’Marr Chase, OL Riley Reiff, DL Trey
Hendrickson, DT Larry Ogunjobi, CB Chidobe Awuzie,CB Mike Hilton, OT Jackson Carman, DE Joseph Ossai.
Key losses: WR A.J. Green, RB Giovani Bernard, DL Ge-no Atkins, K Randy Bullock, OL B.J. Finney, DL Carl Law-son, CB William Jackson, LB Josh Bynes, CB LeShaunSims.
Strengths: Quarterback Joe Burrow is healthy againafter a season-ending knee injury in 2020. Now he’s gotChase, his former LSU teammate and the fifth overallpick in the draft, as another target. No. 1 running backJoe Mixon is also healthy again and could help open upthe offense for Burrow. Vonn Bell and Jessie Bates IIIemerged as a formidable tandem at safety.
Weaknesses: The offensive line, one of the worst inthe NFL last season, was upgraded with the addition ofReiff and the return of O-line coach Frank Pollack, butcould still be an issue. Linebackers and depth at run-ning back also are questions.
Camp Development: Burrow, center Trey Hopkins,Mixon and DT D.J. Reader are moving well after return-ing from injuries. Chase, who sat out the 2020 collegeseason, has struggled with dropped passes throughtraining camp. CB Trae Waynes, who missed all of lastseason with a torn pectoral, suffered a hamstring in-jury and is day to day. Rookie DE Joseph Ossai, an edge-rushing specialist, will miss the season with a knee in-jury.
— Associated Press
Capsules
CLEVELAND — During a 2020 season
strewn with unknowns and unprecedented
obstacles, the Browns ended two lengthy
droughts.
They’re focused on quenching another —
a first division title since 1989.
Not since the AFC Central underwent a
name change in 2002 and became the AFC
North has Cleveland finished ahead of divi-
sion rivals Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cin-
cinnati in the same season.
It’s taken time, but the Browns have
climbed the ladder.
Coming off its first playoff appearance
since 2003, first postseason victory in 26
years and featuring one of the NFL’s most
potent offenses along with a remodeled de-
fense led by All-Pro end Myles Garrett, Cle-
veland is primed to do big things this season.
Just four years since going 0-16, the team
is more than legitimate.
“Our goal is to win a Super Bowl,” said
quarterback Baker Mayfield. “If we don’t
set out to do that every year, then I think
you’re doing it for the wrong reasons.”
Last year, three of the AFC’s seven play-
off teams came from the North and there’s a
good chance that could happen again with
the Browns, Ravens and Steelers all capable
of double-digit win totals.
The Bengals have some work to do.
In Baltimore, sensational quarterback
Lamar Jackson has a stronger group of
play-making receivers that should stretch
defenses and give him even more room to
run and embarrass would-be tacklers.
Pittsburgh’s taking one last ride with 39-
year-old Ben Roethlisberger before he
hangs up his cleats. The Steelers will again
rely on their defense to keep them in games.
Cincinnati’s hopes rest with second-year
QB Joe Burrow, who suffered a season-end-
ing knee injury in Week 11 last season. He’s
made a swift recovery, but will have to hope
the Bengals’ line does a better job protecting
him.
With Cleveland’s ascension, the AFC
North is maybe tougher and deeper than ev-
er.
It didn’t take safety John Johnson III, who
signed as a free agent with the team after
four seasons in the NFC West as a key mem-
ber of the Los Angeles Rams, to appreciate
the North’s nastiness.
“This division, big-boy pads,” he said. “I
don’t think I’ve seen a fullback in my life un-
til now. I’m not used to tight ends. I’m not
used to fullbacks. It was all wide receivers
(in the West) and passing so it’s a little dif-
ferent.
“This is like real pro football.”
Birds of a feather The Ravens ranked first in the NFL in
rushing last season, last in passing.
That’s partly because Jackson is such a
dynamic threat on the ground, but Balti-
more did try to revamp its passing game,
signing receiver Sammy Watkins and draft-
ing Rashod Bateman.
It hasn’t been the smoothest training
camp for the Ravens. Jackson missed the
beginning after a positive COVID-19 test.
Then running back J.K. Dobbins went down
with a season-ending knee injury in the pre-
season finale.
“You just have to approach it and over-
come it,” coach John Harbaugh said. “It’s
adversity and we’ll have to deal with it, and
we will. We have the players to do it.”
Bateman has dealt with groin problems,
and receiver Marquise Brown has been lim-
ited by hamstring issues. It remains to be
seen how these injuries have affected Balti-
more’s preparation.
This is still a team that’s gone 25-7 over
the past two regular seasons.
Ben’s final bow Roethlisberger is back for an 18th season,
surrounded by a sea of new faces in the hud-
dle as the defending division champions try
to make another — and perhaps final — Su-
per Bowl push with their longtime QB.
Offensive line fixtures Maurkice Poun-
cey, David DeCastro and Alejandro Villa-
nueva are gone. So are tight end Vance
McDonald and running back James Con-
ner.
The Steelers have filled the gaps through
the draft — including using their first-round
pick on former Alabama star back Najee
Harris — and taking fliers on veterans such
as guard Trai Turner.
Throw in Matt Canada’s promotion from
quarterbacks coach to offensive coordina-
tor and a schedule that on paper ranks as the
NFL’s toughest and Pittsburgh will have its
work cut out trying to provide a storybook
finish for Big Ben.
Bottom Bengals Despite the flashes of excitement Burrow
generated in 2020, the Bengals’ season
quickly slid off a cliff.
Running back Joe Mixon injured his foot,
and Burrow — who was making a case for
AP Offensive Rookie of the Year — went
down with a torn ACL and MCL. Other key
players were in and out with injuries, and
players had to be signed off the street.
With both Joes healthy in 2021, the addi-
tion of elite receiver and Burrow’s former
LSU teammate Ja’Marr Chase, and upgrad-
ed offensive and defensive lines, there is
reason for optimism.
Coach Zac Taylor is 6-25-1 in his first two
years. Cincinnati ownership has expressed
support, but Taylor certainly is feeling the
heat to produce.
“We feel like on paper we’ve got a good
group, but we’ve done nothing on the field to
earn anyone’s respect,” Taylor said. “That
just starts with what we can get done in
practice and get ready for these games and
be ready for Week 1.”
Predicted order of finish Browns, Ravens, Steelers, Bengals.
Browns looking to finish longclimb to top in the AFC North
BRYNN ANDERSON/AP
Quarterback Baker Mayfield led the Cleveland Browns to their first playoff appearancesince 2003 last season and first postseason win in 26 years.
BY TOM WITHERS
Associated Press
NICK WASS/AP
Quarterback Lamar Jackson helped theRavens lead the league in rushing lastseason, but the team was last in passing.The team is looking for more balance andsigned Chiefs receiver Sammy Watkins anddrafted receiver Rashod Bateman. AP Sports Writers Will Graves, Mitch Stacy and Noah Trister
contributed.
Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 21
NFL
Green Bay Packers (14-4)New faces: Defensive coordinator Joe Barry, LB De-
’Vondre Campbell, WR Randall Cobb, C Josh Myers OGRoyce Newman, WR Amari Rodgers, CB Eric Stokes.
Key losses: LB Christian Kirksey, C Corey Linsley,special teams coordinator Shawn Mennenga, defen-sive coordinator Mike Pettine, OT Rick Wagner, RB Ja-maal Williams.
Strengths: Reigning MVP quarterback Aaron Rodg-ers leads an offense that features All-Pro WR DavanteAdams and Pro Bowl RB Aaron Jones. The Packersscored a league-high 31.8 points per game during theregular season. All-Pro LT David Bakhtiari tore his an-terior cruciate ligament on Dec. 31 but will be back atsome point to protect Rodgers’ blind side. Jaire Alexan-der is one of the league’s elite cornerbacks. OLB Za’Da-rius Smith has 26 sacks over the last two seasons.Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage form a quality safetytandem.
Weaknesses: The Packers lost an All-Pro centerwhen Linsley left for the Chargers. Green Bay could bestarting two rookie offensive linemen in Myers andNewman. Although K Mason Crosby made all his field-goal attempts last season, the Packers struggled somuch in other aspects of special teams that headcoach Matt LaFleur fired Shawn Mennenga as coordi-nator and replaced him with Maurice Drayton. Specialteams remained an issue during the preseason. ThePackers also lost two of their better special teams per-formers in camp when they placed Randy Ramsey andWill Redmond on injured reserve.
Camp Development: The Packers acquired Cobb atthe start of camp after Rodgers suggested making thatmove. One camp surprise was the emergence of New-man, a fourth-round pick from Mississippi whoseemed on the verge of locking down a starting guardspot.
Minnesota Vikings (7-9)New faces: DT Dalvin Tomlinson, DT Michael Pierce,
CB Patrick Peterson, CB Bashaud Breeland, TE ChrisHerndon, K Greg Joseph, S Xavier Woods, CB Macken-sie Alexander, DT Sheldon Richardson, LB Nick Vigil, DEStephen Weatherly, WR/KR Ihmir Smith-Marsette, WRDede Westbrook, T Christian Darrisaw, G Wyatt Davis,QB Kellen Mond.
Key departures: T Riley Reiff, S Anthony Harris, LB Er-ic Wilson, TE Kyle Rudolph, K Dan Bailey, DE Ifeadi Ode-nigbo, CB Mike Hughes, QB Sean Mannion.
Strengths: Dalvin Cook is one of the best all-aroundRBs in the NFL, and Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielenare an ace WR duo for QB Kirk Cousins. The addition ofTomlinson and Richardson plus the delayed debut ofPierce, the team’s top free-agent signing in 2020 whoskipped the season for COVID-19 precaution, ought torestore the ferocity badly missing in the middle lastyear. The return of two-time Pro Bowl DE Danielle Hun-ter from the neck injury that sidelined him in 2020 is amajor boost. Longtime friends Eric Kendricks and An-thony Barr, who suffered a season-ending pectoraltear in the second game, remain a proven and reliableLB tandem.
Weaknesses: The OL is again a question mark. Darri-saw was drafted 23rd overall to succeed Reiff at the vi-tal LT spot, but his recovery from a groin injury andcore muscle surgery has been slow. He does not ap-pear ready for the regular season, giving Rashod Hillthe job for now. Uli Odoh, who has appeared in sevencareer games, is the latest in line at the frequently fluc-tuating RG spot.
Camp Development: Cousins missed five days ofpractice early in training camp because he’s unvacci-nated and was deemed a close contact of the rookieMond, who tested positive for COVID-19.
Chicago Bears (8-9)New faces: QB Justin Fields, QB Andy Dalton, OT Te-
ven Jenkins, WR Marquise Goodwin, RB Damien Wil-liams, OL Elijah Wilkinson, LB Alec Ogletree.
Key losses: QB Mitchell Trubisky, CB Kyle Fuller, LTCharles Leno Jr., RT Bobby Massie, KR Cordarrelle Pat-terson, defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano.
Strengths: A defense led by three-time All-Pro KhalilMack remains a strength despite a decline the pasttwo seasons. The Monsters of the Midway have gonefrom ranking third overall in 2018 to 11th, and fromleading the NFL with 36 takeaways to finishing tied for25th with 18 in 2020. Mack had nine sacks in his secondstraight season in single digits. Getting NT Eddie Gold-man back after he opted out of last season due to CO-VID-19 concerns should help clog the interior andboost a run defense that dropped from ninth in 2019 to15th.
Weaknesses: The offensive line is a concern. Chica-go signed 39-year-old Jason Peters, hoping the two-time All-Pro can solidify the left tackle spot. RG JamesDaniels (quad) and RT Germain Ifedi (hip flexor) havebeen working their way back from injuries. On the posi-tive side, the blocking improved after the Bears shookup their line late last season. They moved Cody White-hair from center to left guard and inserted Sam Musti-pher at center.
Camp Development: The Bears signed Peters in mid-August and gave him a chance to become the startingleft tackle because of Jenkins’ back injury that re-quired surgery. The rookie will miss the start of theseason.
Detroit Lions (5-11)New faces: GM Brad Holmes, coach Dan Campbell,
QB Jared Goff, RB Jamaal Williams, WR Tyrell Williams,OT Penei Sewell (No. 7 overall draft pick), DT MichaelBrockers.
Key losses: QB Matthew Stafford, RBs Kerryon John-son, WRs Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones and DannyAmendola, DT Danny Shelton, CB Desmond Trufant, KMatt Prater, returner Jamal Agnew.
Strengths: Run game and TE T.J. Hockenson. RBD’Andre Swift, coming off a solid rookie season, and Ja-maal Williams, a former Green Bay Packer, will run be-hind a relatively strong line led by LT Taylor Decker andPro Bowl C Frank Ragnow. Hockenson, drafted No. 8overall in 2019, earned Pro Bowl recognition last sea-son and is perhaps the team’s best player.
Weaknesses: Defense and receivers. The Lions al-lowed 519 points and 6,716 yards last season, breakingteam records set by their 2008 winless team, and thedefense does not seem better. The Lions let Golladay,Jones and Amendola leave in free agency and simplydidn’t invest much to replace them.
Camp Development: The team’s new leadership senta message when veterans Breshad Perriman and Gero-nimo Allison were let go for a lack of production in thepreseason. The Lions also didn’t seem to like their re-placements for K Matt Prater, releasing Randy Bullockand Zane Gonzalez.
—Associated Press
Capsules
The goal of a division title for Green Bay’s
competitors felt in closer reach during the
offseason, the rift between Packers leaders
and Aaron Rodgers creating legitimate curi-
osity about whether the three-time league
MVP would return to the only franchise he’s
ever played for.
Well, he’s back in green and gold — never
left, really — with a last-chance vibe sur-
rounding his chase for a second Super Bowl
ring after losing in each of the past two NFC
championship games.
“I don’t want a farewell tour,” the 37-year-
old Rodgers said. “I don’t know what’s going
to happen after the season, but I’m going to
enjoy it with the right perspective, for sure.”
NFL teams are normally absorbed in de-
veloping their own players, hesitant to publi-
cly comment on another club’s issues for
fear of what could be coming around their
own corner.
There’s no doubt, though, that Chicago,
Detroit and Minnesota were paying atten-
tion while Rodgers skipped spring practices
and spoke openly about his frustration with
the approach of the front office.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer?
“I might’ve kept track,” he said wryly.
The drama surrounding Rodgers and his
future likely hasn’t disappeared, but the ex-
pected transition at quarterback to Jordan
Love can wait for now.
The Packers are loaded for another run at
a title after 13-3 records in their first two
years with coach Matt LaFleur, still riding
the enviable wave of having a Hall of Fame-
caliber quarterback in place since Brett
Favre took over in 1992. Rodgers replaced
him as the starter in 2008, and the Packers
have won the NFC North seven of 13 times —
plus the Super Bowl after the 2010 season.
Here’s a glance at the condition of the divi-
sion that’s currently controlled by Green
Bay:
Protection plan One potential concern for the Packers is
the offensive line, where draft picks Josh
Myers (second round) and Royce Newman
(fourth round) are in line for starting spots.
That’s because All-Pro left tackle David
Bakhtiari is on the physically unable to per-
form list, still recovering from a torn ACL
and sidelined for a minimum of six games.
All-Pro center Corey Linsley left as a free
agent.
The Packers have a more-than-capable
fill-in for Bakhtiari with Pro Bowl left guard
Elgton Jenkins, but given the exigency sur-
rounding Rodgers and his situation, he clear-
ly won’t have much patience for rookie mis-
takes.
“It’s Titletown,” Rodgers said. “It’s cham-
pionship or disappointment just about every
year.”
Revamped defense There’s even more pressure on the Vik-
ings, with Zimmer starting his eighth season
and only two wins in the playoffs during his
tenure. They showed their urgency — or per-
haps desperation — by adding 10 veterans to
a defense that deteriorated badly last year.
Five-time Pro Bowl safety Harrison Smith
will be the only starter in the opener that was
in the lineup at the end of last season, when
key injuries depleted an already young
group.
“We added a lot of talent, a lot of smart
guys,” Smith said. “We’ve all mixed in pretty
well. I’m excited about the group we have
and what we can do.”
Fields report The Bears traded up in the first round to
take Justin Fields with the 11th overall pick,
eager to make the former Ohio State star the
kind of fixture at quarterback that Rodgers
has been for their biggest rival. Not so eager
to give the rookie the job right away, though.
Impatient Bears fans have been grum-
bling about the decision to start veteran An-
dy Dalton for at least the first few games.
Dalton is a three-time Pro Bowl pick enter-
ing his 11th year in the NFL.
“We’re very confident in him and where
he’s at,” general manager Ryan Pace said,
“so there’s no need for us to rush Justin.”
Talk soup The one other team in the division that
could always match the stability at quarter-
back of the Packers with Rodgers — if not
quite in stature — was the Lions.
Not now, with Matthew Stafford in Los An-
geles and Jared Goff making his Detroit de-
but following a headliner of an offseason
trade. Goff was a No. 1 overall draft pick him-
self, with a 42-20 record as a starter over the
past four years, but his consistency and pro-
duction have dropped off.
What would help Goff immensely is the
continued development of running back
D’Andre Swift after a promising rookie sea-
son in 2020. The Lions added former Packers
backup Jamaal Williams, too.
The annual external doubts about one of
the league’s longtime losers are also, natu-
rally, part of fiery new coach Dan Camp-
bell’s motivation plan. The Lions are 14-33-1
over the past three years.
“If you are a true competitor, it gives you a
kick in the rear,” Campbell said. “I like that,
and I know guys that we brought in here,
they love it.”
Predicted order of finishPackers, Vikings, Bears, Lion.
Rodgers’ return has Packersaiming higher than NFC North
BY DAVE CAMPBELL
Associated Press
ADRIAN KRAUS/AP
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a threetime league MVP, is back withthe team despite missing spring practices and talking about his frustration with theteam’s front office.
CHARLIE RIEDEL/AP
Minnesota Vikings head coach MikeZimmer is feeling pressure after winningtwo playoff games in seven seasons.
PAGE 22 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021
MLB
American League
East Division
W L Pct GB
Tampa Bay 88 51 .633 _
New York 78 60 .565 9½
Boston 79 62 .560 10
Toronto 75 62 .547 12
Baltimore 44 93 .321 43
Central Division
W L Pct GB
Chicago 80 58 .580 _
Cleveland 68 68 .500 11
Detroit 65 75 .464 16
Kansas City 62 76 .449 18
Minnesota 61 77 .442 19
West Division
W L Pct GB
Houston 81 57 .587 _
Seattle 75 64 .540 6½
Oakland 74 64 .536 7
Los Angeles 69 70 .496 12½
Texas 50 88 .362 31
National LeagueEast Division
W L Pct GB
Atlanta 73 64 .533 _
Philadelphia 71 67 .514 2½
New York 70 69 .504 4
Miami 57 81 .413 16½
Washington 57 81 .413 16½
Central Division
W L Pct GB
Milwaukee 85 55 .607 _
Cincinnati 74 66 .529 11
St. Louis 69 68 .504 14½
Chicago 64 76 .457 21
Pittsburgh 50 89 .360 34½
West Division
W L Pct GB
San Francisco 89 50 .640 _
Los Angeles 88 51 .633 1
San Diego 73 65 .529 15½
Colorado 63 76 .453 26
Arizona 45 94 .324 44
Tuesday’s games
Minnesota 3, Cleveland 0Pittsburgh 3, Detroit 2Baltimore 7, Kansas City 3Toronto 5, N.Y. Yankees 1Tampa Bay 12, Boston 7Houston 5, Seattle 4, 10 inningsTexas 3, Arizona 1Chicago White Sox 6, Oakland 3L.A. Angels 4, San Diego 0Cincinnati 4, Chicago Cubs 3Atlanta 8, Washington 5N.Y. Mets 9, Miami 4Milwaukee 10, Philadelphia 0L.A. Dodgers 7, St. Louis 2San Francisco 12, Colorado 3
Wednesday’s games
Seattle at HoustonTexas at ArizonaMinnesota at ClevelandDetroit at PittsburghKansas City at BaltimoreToronto at N.Y. YankeesTampa Bay at BostonL.A. Angels at San DiegoChicago White Sox at OaklandSan Francisco at ColoradoN.Y. Mets at MiamiWashington at AtlantaCincinnati at Chicago CubsPhiladelphia at MilwaukeeL.A. Dodgers at St. Louis
Thursday’s games
Chicago White Sox (López 3-1) at Oak-land (Manaea 8-9)
Minnesota (Dobnak 1-7) at Cleveland(Quantrill 4-3)
Kansas City (Hernández 5-1) at Balti-more (Means 5-6)
Toronto (Berríos 10-7) at N.Y. Yankees(Montgomery 5-5)
L.A. Dodgers (Urías 16-3) at St. Louis(Kim 6-7)
N.Y. Mets (Stroman 9-12) at Miami (Lu-zardo 5-7)
Colorado (Senzatela 4-9) at Philadelphia(Suárez 6-4)
Washington (Fedde 6-9) at Atlanta(Ynoa 4-5)
Friday’s games
Toronto at BaltimoreMilwaukee at ClevelandN.Y. Yankees at N.Y. MetsTampa Bay at DetroitBoston at Chicago White SoxKansas City at MinnesotaL.A. Angels at HoustonTexas at OaklandArizona at SeattleSan Francisco at Chicago CubsWashington at PittsburghColorado at PhiladelphiaMiami at AtlantaCincinnati at St. LouisSan Diego at L.A. Dodgers
Scoreboard
ST. LOUIS — Albert Pujols rewarded an ador
ing crowd by hitting a home run in his return to
Busch Stadium, sending the Los Angeles Dodg
ers toward a 72 win over the St. Louis Cardinals
on Tuesday night.
Justin Turner homered twice and Will Smith
also homered for playoffcontending Los An
geles, which won for the sixth time in eight
games. St. Louis has lost four in a row.
Astar slugger who led the Cardinals to a pair of
World Series championships, the 41yearold Pu
jols made his second appearance at Busch Stadi
um after playing for St. Louis from 20012011.
Pujols drew a 40second standing ovation
when his name was announced prior to a firstin
ning atbat, with catcher and longtime teammate
Yadier Molina stepping in front of the plate to
prolong the cheer. They had a short embrace be
fore Pujols stepped in.
Pujols promptly drilled the fourth pitch from
J.A. Happ on a line over the wall in left. It was his
679th career home run and 17th of the season.
“It’s one of those things that you hope could
happen,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
“But the likelihood is very improbable. Getting a
standing ovation and then homering in that first
atbat. Storybook. I’m a firm believer that the
game honors you. The way Albert’s played the
game for so long, the right way, that’s the way it
was supposed to go.”
Pujols tried to downplay the moment.
“When it happens, you just let it happen,” he
said. “It’s part of the game. Embrace the mo
ment. But try not to get caught up too much.”
His teammates had no problem enjoying the
special moment.
“It was pretty surreal,” Turner said. “Pretty
cool for everyone in the stadium — not just Al
bert. Every time he hits a homer, you’re watching
history.”
The 10time AllStar drew a similar fan reac
tion when he returned to St. Louis with the Los
Angels Angels for the first time in 2019. He was
given a standing ovation in all 12 plate appearanc
es that series.
Pujols homers, Dodgers rout CardsIt was the slugger’s second gameat Busch Stadium after playing forSt. Louis from 2001-2011
BY STEVE OVERBEY
Associated Press
JEFF ROBERSON/AP
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Albert Pujols acknowledges cheering fans as he steps up to bat inthe first inning. He homered on the fourth pitch in his team’s 72 win at St. Louis on Tuesday.
BOSTON — Nelson Cruz home
red twice and, at 41 years old, be
came the oldest player in major
league history to hit 30 home runs in
a season, powering the Tampa Bay
Rays past the Boston Red Sox 127
Wednesday night.
Mike Zunino also homered twice
and Jordan Luplow connected for
the team with the best record in the
American League and the highest
scoring club in the majors.
Rays rookie Wander Franco went
0for4 with a walk, extending his
onbase streak to 37 games and
passing Mickey Mantle (195152)
for the longest by an AL player un
der 21 years old. The 20yearold
Franco now trails only Frank Rob
inson, who reached in 43 straight in
1956.
Cruz hit a tworun homer in the
third inning and a solo drive in the
fifth, giving him 447 in his career
and his eighth 30homer season. He
passed David Ortiz (38 in 2016) and
Darrell Evans (34 in 1987), who
were both 40 when they hit the
mark.
Blue Jays 5, Yankees 1: Marcus
Semien homered again, Alejandro
Kirk went deep twice and visiting
Toronto beat skidding New York af
ter Gerrit Cole exited early with a
hamstring injury.
Cole (147) was pulled in the
fourth with left hamstring tightness.
He allowed three runs, two earned,
and five hits in 32⁄�3 innings.
Reds 4, Cubs 3: Wade Miley
pitched seven effective innings,
Nick Castellanos homered and visit
ing Cincinnati got a sorely needed
victory, topping Chicago.
The Reds had dropped seven of
nine to lose ground in the NL playoff
race. They began the day one game
back of San Diego for the second
wild card.
Braves 8, Nationals 5: Ozzie Al
bies hit a tiebreaking, tworun
homer off Ryne Harper in the sev
enth inning, Adam Duvall took Pao
lo Espino deep with an early three
run shot, and host Atlanta beat
Washington.
Albies, who had four RBIs and
went deep for the fourth straight
game, put the Braves up 51 in the
fourth with a sacrifice fly.
Angels 4, Padres 0: San Diego
lefthander Blake Snell made an
other bid at a gem and this one didn’t
end so well when Los Angeles broke
up his nohit try with two outs in the
seventh inning and went on to win
on the road.
Snell, who struck out 11 in seven
innings, took a perfect game into the
seventh before walking two batters
and then allowing Jo Adell’s two
run single on his 96th pitch. Adell
finished with three RBIs.
Mets 9, Marlins 4: Pete Alonso
hit two home runs, including the
100th of his career, and New York
won at Miami to give Carlos Carras
co his first win with the team.
Brewers 10, Phillies 0: Eric
Lauer allowed four hits in seven in
nings to lead host Milwaukee over
Philadelphia.
White Sox 6, Athletics 3: Gavin
Sheets hit a goahead RBI single in
the fifth, Cesar Hernandez added a
tworun single in the same inning,
and AL Centralleading Chicago
won at stumbling Oakland.
Twins 3, Indians 0: John Gant
pitched five solid innings on the
road to get his first win since joining
Minnesota, spoiling Cleveland
starter Aaron Civale’s return from
injury.
Pirates 3, Tigers 2: Ben Gamel
had a goahead tworun single in the
sixth inning among his three hits
and host Pittsburgh dealt Detroit its
ninth loss in 13 games.
Orioles 7, Royals 3:Cedric Mul
lins homered for the third consecu
tive game and host Baltimore
topped Kansas City.
Astros 5, Mariners 4: Carlos
Correa drove in the winning run in
the 10th inning after Alex Bregman
tied the game in the ninth, and
Houston rallied past visiting Seattle.
Giants 12, Rockies 3: Logan
Webb pitched effectively for seven
innings, Mike Yastrzemski home
red and Steve Duggar had two tri
ples among his three hits as NL
Westleading San Francisco rolled
to a win at Colorado.
Rangers 3, Diamondbacks 1:
Jordan Lyles pitched seven smooth
innings in relief, Jason Martin hit a
tworun single and Texas handed
host Arizona its ninth loss in 10
games.
Cruz is oldest to hit 30 HRs, Rays rip Red Sox
WINSLOW TOWNSON/AP
Tampa Bay’s Nelson Cruz hits atworun home run Tuesday atBoston. He also had a solohomer in a 127 win.
Associated Press
ROUNDUP
Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 23
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras
— Weston McKennie could be
welcomed back to the U.S. national
team in the future, coach Gregg
Berhalter said after banishing him
from a pair of World Cup qualifiers
for violating team COVID-19 pro-
tocols.
“The team absolutely comes
first, knowing we made a decision
not only for the short term, but to
the long-term health of the pro-
gram, and it’s not an easy deci-
sion,” Berhalter said Tuesday, a
day before the Americans play
Honduras. “Trust me, countless
coaches are faced with decisions
where they have to take talented
players out of the lineup for some
reason or other. But we did it for
what we think is the good of the
group and good of the team.”
ESPN reported McKennie
spent a night outside the team’s
COVID-19 hotel bubble in Nash-
ville, Tenn., and also brought an
unauthorized person to the hotel
on a different evening, the latter al-
so reported by TUDN. Berhalter
declined to detail the violations.
“It doesn’t rule him out for the
future,” Berhalter said.
McKennie, among the top
American players, started last
week’s 0-0 draw at El Salvador. He
did not dress for Sunday’s 1-1 tie
against Canada in Nashville, then
was told Monday to return home.
“People make mistakes. Weston
apologized to the group. He apol-
ogized to me, and things happen,”
Berhalter said. “I guess the most
important message that we’re get-
ting through, that we’re trying to
get through, is that we’re here in
camp for seven days and know the
intensity is incredible. It’s three fi-
nals in seven days, and we need ev-
eryone’s single-minded focus on
what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Berhalter has what he referred
to an “open-door” policy, although
in the past that has referred to
players falling in and out of form
and returning from injury.
“Me and Weston had long con-
versations and he’s a guy that I
care for deeply,” Berhalter said.
“He’s a big part of the team. And
I’m sure when he’s performing
well, he’ll be back in the team.”
Goalkeeper Matt Turner said
McKennie addressed the team as a
group.
“He was able to say what he
needed to say to us,” Turner said.
“There needs to be a precedent set
at some point when it comes to this
virus. It’s about the bigger picture.
There’s rules in place and I think
it’s definitely a wakeup call in gen-
eral, just not only for us as a soccer
team, but for the population, that
this this virus is still out there, it’s
rampant and you need to take it se-
riously.”
McKennie apologized in a state-
ment Sunday. The U.S. Soccer
Federation did not make him
available to media.
A 23-year-old from Fort Lewis,
Wash., McKennie missed Juven-
tus’ derby against Torino in April
after violating COVID-19 proto-
cols in Italy. He has seven goals in
25 international appearances.
Midfielder Brenden Aaronson
said the team’s attention was on
the match against Honduras.
“I think we’ve moved on,” he
said. “Yeah, he made a mistake,
but everybody makes mistakes,
and he’s going to learn from it, and
he’ll come back from it.”
Banished McKennie could be welcomed back
MARK HUMPHREY/AP
Weston McKennie played in theAmericans’ first qualifying matchbut then was sent home by coachGregg Berhalter for violatingteam COVID19 protocols.
BY RONALD BLUM
Associated Press
NEW YORK — When Leylah Fernandez
wins a pivotal point at the U.S. Open — and
she’s won enough of them to become the
tournament’s youngest semifinalist since
Maria Sharapova in 2005 — the teenager
with the exciting game and enthusiasm to
match raises her right fist or windmills her
arms, firing up herself and the crowd.
What often happens next, after good
points or bad, is just as important to the suc-
cess of the unseeded Canadian left-hander
with the quick reflexes: She’ll turn her back
to the court and her opponent, face the wall
behind the baseline for a few moments,
gather herself and repeat whatever that
day’s mantra of choice is.
During Tuesday’s 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) victory
against No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina in Arthur
Ashe Stadium, which followed wins over
past U.S. Open champions and former No. 1s
Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber, Fer-
nandez focused on self-belief.
“I was only thinking of trusting myself,
trusting my game. After every point, win or
lose, I would always tell myself, ‘Trust my
game. Go for my shots. Just see where the
ball goes,’” said Fernandez, who turned 19
on Monday and had never been past the
third round in her previous half-dozen ma-
jor appearances. “I see what I’m feeling. I
see if there’s one phrase that really catches
me or that makes me more motivated than
the others. I just keep it throughout the
match.”
Another young Canadian moved into the
semifinals when 21-year-old Felix Auger-
Aliassime’s opponent Tuesday night, 18-
year-old Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, stopped
playing in the second set while trailing 6-3,
3-1 because of an issue with a muscle in his
right leg. Alcaraz was coming off two five-
set wins in a row — including against No. 3
seed Stefanos Tsitsipas — that made him the
youngest male quarterfinalist in New York
since 1963.
“It’s really tough to end a great tourna-
ment like this,” Alcaraz said, “but I had no
choice.”
The 12th-seeded Auger-Aliassime is the
first man from Canada to reach the U.S.
Open semifinals and plays No. 2 Daniil Med-
vedev next. Medvedev, a 25-year-old from
Russia, earned a spot in the final four at
Flushing Meadows for the third consecutive
year by stopping the surprising run of Dutch
qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-0,
4-6, 7-5.
With no players from the United States
left to pull for, U.S. Open fans are adopting
their neighbors from the North — although
the 73rd-ranked Fernandez actually is
based in Florida after being born in Mon-
treal to a Filipino Canadian mother and an
Ecuadorian father.
Fernandez’s father is also her coach but
isn’t in New York; he stayed home for what
Fernandez called “personal reasons” and is
offering tips in daily phone conversations.
“I called him right after the match, when I
went to the locker room,” she said. “He hon-
estly told me that I put him through hell and
back with this match.”
And the spectators loved every minute of
it.
“Thanks to you, I was able to push through
today,” she told the crowd after edging Svi-
tolina, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist
who’s been to two Grand Slam semifinals,
including at the 2019 U.S. Open.
Truth is, Fernandez likes the spotlight.
Asked whether she’s more nervous
against a top player in a big arena or a lower-
ranked player at a smaller site, her reply was
simple: “There’s no difference.”
Hard to argue that right now.
It was touch-and-go down the stretch —
even after Fernandez grabbed the opening
set, even after she led 5-2 in the third. One
way in which she held a clear advantage: Of
points that lasted more than eight shots, Fer-
nandez won 26, Svitolina 16.
Five times, Fernandez was two points
from winning but failed to collect the next
point. Finally, at 5-all in the tiebreaker, she
moved to match point when she smacked a
down-the-line passing shot that got past Svi-
tolina with the help of a bounce off the net
tape.
Fernandez gestured as if to say, “Sorry
about that,” while Svitolina put a hand to her
mouth in dismay.
“A little bit lucky,” Fernandez said later.
“But I’ll take all the luck I can get.”
Svitolina’s backhand contributed to her
undoing late, and when a return from that
side landed long, it was over. Fernandez
dropped to her knees at the baseline and cov-
ered her face; Svitolina walked around the
net to come over for a hug.
Next on this magical ride for Fernandez
will come yet another test against a player
who is ranked higher and has more experi-
ence on the sport’s biggest stages. On Thurs-
day, she will play No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, a
Wimbledon semifinalist in July, who defeat-
ed French Open champion Barbora Krejci-
kova 6-1, 6-4 at night.
Waiting for her night match, Sabalenka
said she practiced during Fernandez vs. Svi-
tolina, “and we didn’t really need to watch
the score because we heard the crowd really
yelling.”
‘Trusting myself’: Teen reaches semis
ELISE AMENDOLA/AP
Leylah Fernandez, of Canada, reacts after scoring a point against Elina Svitolina, ofUkraine, during a 63, 36, 76 (5) quarterfinal win in the U.S. Open on Tuesday.
BY HOWARD FENDRICH
Associated Press
Fernandez, who turned 19 on Monday, is youngestU.S. Open semifinalist since Sharapova in 2005
U.S. OPEN/SOCCER
PAGE 24 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021
SPORTSCrashing the party
Canada’s Fernandez, 19, surgesinto semifinals ›› US Open, Page 23
Coaches face breakthrough virus cases ›› College football, Page 18
Tennessee Titans running backDerrick Henry last year becamethe eighth man in NFL history to
rush for 2,000 yards in a season.
BRETT CARLSEN/AP
NASHVILLE, Tenn.
Derrick Henry is a man of fewwords, preferring to work hardwith a tunnel-vision focus and let hisplay do all the talking.
Henry has been almost shouting the way hekeeps running into the NFL record books.
Now the NFL’s back-to-back rushing leader hasthe opportunity in 2021 to add even more historyto what’s been an amazing couple of years. Freshoff becoming just the eighth man to run for atleast 2,000 yards, Henry now has a 17th gamegiving him a chance at Eric Dickerson’s leaguerecord of 2,105 yards set in 1984.
Henry also could become the first man — fifthall time — to lead the NFL in rushing in threeconsecutive seasons in nearly three decades.Emmitt Smith was the last with his three-peatcoming between 1991 and 1993.
“I don’t get caught up in that,” Henry said. “Ijust focus on me getting better. I say it a lot.That’s all I focus on. Just getting better everyday. Working hard, putting in the work andcompeting. That’s all you can do. Let everythingelse take care of itself.”
The 2020 NFL Offensive Player of the Year andAll-Pro certainly has done that better than anyone inthe NFL the past two seasons. No one has more carriesthan Henry’s 782 combined rushes in the regular sea-son and playoffs. When he ran for 2,027 yards last sea-son, it was the fifth-best single-season total.
Henry, who averaged 126 yards per game, could be-come only the second in NFL history to lead the leaguein rushing yards, attempts and rushing touchdowns for
NFL
Piling upthe yardsTitans’ Henry poisedto add even morerushing records
2,105Record for yards in a season, set by Eric Dickerson in1984. Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henryalready has a 2,000-yard season in the books, and nowhas a 17th game on the regular-season schedule to tryto break Dickerson’s mark.
SOURCE: Associated Press
BY TERESA M. WALKER
Associated Press
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