Volume 79 Edition 163 ©SS 2020 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2020 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas

stripes.com

FACES

Bad Bunny has big year on SpotifyPage 18

MILITARY

Flu vaccine trickles into USbases in EuropePage 3

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Army uniforms for meetingwith Navy are inspired byWolfhounds of Korean War Page 21

After incidents, Camp Lejeune begins random testing for LSD ›› Page 5

WASHINGTON — A govern-

ment watchdog has found that the

Labor Department’s widely

watched weekly unemployment

benefits data are providing an in-

accurate reading on the number

of newly laid off workers because

of flaws in the government’s data

collection.

The Government Accountabil-

ity Office said in a report Monday

that the Labor Department’s

weekly report of the number of

people filing new applications for

unemployment benefits and

those receiving continuing claims

contained a number of inaccura-

cies.

The GAO said the problems in

data collection and reporting

were making it hard for policy-

makers to get a reliable picture of

what unemployment was doing

during the pandemic. The report

said the weekly data included

overestimates and at other times

underestimates of the number of

people filing for unemployment

benefits.

GAO: Weeklyunemploymentreport flawed

BY MARTIN CRUTSINGER

Associated Press

PATRICK SEMANSKY/AP

The Labor Department’s weeklyunemployment benefits data areproviding an inaccurate readingon the number of newly laid offworkers because of flaws in thegovernment’s data collection,according to the GovernmentAccountability Office.

SEE GAO ON PAGE 9

WASHINGTON — The USS

Bonhomme Richard will not re-

turn to sea after the Navy deter-

mined that the damage it sus-

tained from a fire in July was too

extensive and restoration deemed

too expensive, the service an-

nounced Monday.

“We did not come to this deci-

sion lightly,” Navy Secretary Ken-

neth Braithwaite said in a pre-

pared statement. “Following an

extensive material assessment in

which various courses of action

were considered and evaluated,

we came to the conclusion that it is

not fiscally responsible to restore

her.”

The 22-year-old Bonhomme Ri-

chard, a Wasp-class amphibious

assault ship, was undergoing

maintenance at Naval Base San

Diego when the fire started July

12. The fire burned through 11 of

its 14 decks, destroying the ship’s

forward mast, and damaging its

superstructure before it was ex-

tinguished July 16. About 40 sail-

ors and 23 civilians were treated

for minor injuries, such as heat ex-

haustion and smoke inhalation.

How the fire started is still un-

known, however Navy officials at

the time believed it began in the

cargo hold where supplies for the

maintenance work being conduct-

ed on the ship were stored.

“This fire probably couldn’t

have been in a worse point on the

ship in terms of its source that al-

lowed it to spread up elevator

shafts as an example, up exhaust

stacks as an example, to take that

fire up into the superstructure and

then forward,” Adm. Mike Gilday,

the chief of naval oper-

JASON WAITE/U.S. Navy

The amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard sits pier side at Naval Base San Diego on July 16. It is still unkown what caused a fire onJuly 12 that burned through 11 of the ship’s 14 decks before it was extinguished.

Ship to be scrappedNavy says rebuilding Bonhomme Richard after fire would be too expensive

BY CAITLIN M. KENNEY

Stars and Stripes “We did notcome to thisdecision lightly.”

Navy Secretary

Kenneth Braithwaite

SEE SCRAPPED ON PAGE 4

PAGE 2 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, December 2, 2020

BUSINESS/WEATHER

NEW YORK — The viral pan-

demic is accelerating a transfor-

mation of America’s holiday shop-

ping season.

Few people showed up at the

mall this weekend, with millions

of pandemic-wary shoppers stay-

ing home to shop online.

The result? Overall holiday

sales are projected to rise a slight

0.9% in November and December

— and even that modest gain will

be due to an explosion in online

shopping, according to the re-

search firm eMarketer. It expects

online sales to jump nearly 36%,

while sales at physical stores fall

4.7%.

The online rush was on full dis-

play Monday, known as Cyber

Monday, a day of sales promoted

by retailers back in 2005. Once the

final numbers are tallied up, this

year’s Cyber Monday is projected

to become the biggest online shop-

ping day in American history.

Meanwhile, Black Friday, typi-

cally the frenzied kick-off of the

holiday shopping season, was ee-

rily quiet this year. Health offi-

cials had warned shoppers to stay

home, and stores followed suit by

putting their best deals online to

discourage crowds.

Half as many people shopped

inside stores this Black Friday

than last year, according to retail

data company Sensormatic Solu-

tions.

Online, sales hit a record $9 bil-

lion on Black Friday — up a sharp

22% from last year, according to

Adobe Analytics, which tracks on-

line shopping.

This holiday, everyone is shopping from homeAssociated Press

Bahrain77/73

Baghdad68/50

Doha79/68

Kuwait City70/62

Riyadh77/60

Kandahar73/33

Kabul55/33

Djibouti84/75

WEDNESDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Mildenhall/Lakenheath

42/33

Ramstein35/31

Stuttgart36/32

Lajes,Azores64/60

Rota59/53

Morón60/47 Sigonella

59/44

Naples58/52

Aviano/Vicenza36/31

Pápa33/28

Souda Bay62/58

Brussels42/39

Zagan33/26

DrawskoPomorskie 32/28

WEDNESDAY IN EUROPE

Misawa38/33

Guam84/80

Tokyo52/54

Okinawa74/70

Sasebo55/51

Iwakuni55/50

Seoul35/29

Osan36/29

Busan45/35

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

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

THURSDAY IN THE PACIFIC

WEATHER OUTLOOK

TODAYIN STRIPES

American Roundup ...... 11Classified .................... 13Comics .........................16Crossword ................... 16Faces .......................... 18Opinion ........................ 14Sports ................... 20-24

Military rates

Euro costs (Dec. 2) $1.17Dollar buys (Dec. 2) 0.813British pound (Dec. 2) $1.30Japanese yen (Dec. 2) 101.00South Korean won (Dec. 2) 1,080.00

Commercial ratesBahrain (Dinar) 0.3771Britain (Pound) 1.3349Canada (Dollar) 1.2969China (Yuan) 6.5712Denmark (Krone) 6.2061Egypt (Pound) 15.6743Euro 0.8337Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7524Hungary (Forint) 296.74Israel (Shekel) 3.2981Japan (Yen) 104.48Kuwait (Dinar) 0.3050Norway (Krone) 8.8503

Philppines (Peso) 48.11Poland (Zloty) 3.72Saudi Arab (Riyal) 3.7505Singapore (Dollar) 1.3400So. Korea (Won) 1,108.65Switzerland (Franc) 0.9035Thailand (Baht) 30.26Turkey (Lira) 7.8524 �(Military exchange rates are those availa­ble to customers at military banking facil­ities in the country of issuance for Japan,South  Korea,  Germany,  the  Netherlandsand the United Kingdom. For nonlocal cur­rency exchange rates (i.e., purchasing Brit­ish pounds in Germany), check with your lo­cal  military  banking  facility.  Commercialrates are interbank rates provided for refer­ence when buying currency. All figures areforeign currencies to one dollar, except forthe British pound, which is represented indollars­to­pound,  and  the  euro,  which  isdollars­to­euro.)

EXCHANGE RATES

Wednesday, December 2, 2020 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3

MILITARY

Many Americans affiliated with

the U.S. military in Europe

haven’t been able to get flu shots

this year, due to delays in deliver-

ing the vaccine that officials are

struggling to explain.

Military and health officials

have said the inoculations are par-

ticularly important this year, as

they would help reduce the impact

of contagious respiratory illnesses

on the broader population and

ease the burden on the health care

system during the overlapping flu

season and coronavirus pandemic.

But even as some U.S. bases in

Japan wrapped up their flu vacci-

nation drives in October and oth-

ers are in the process of complet-

ing them, many Americans in Eu-

rope are waiting to be inoculated.

U.S. Naval Hospital Naples in

Italy is a rare exception in Europe.

It has “enough influenza vaccine

on hand to inoculate all eligible

beneficiaries,” a spokeswoman

said last week.

But many European bases ran

out of doses after immunizing

health care workers and military

members this fall.

More vaccine arrived Monday

and was expected to be distributed

to Army medical clinics this week,

said Gino Mattorano, a spokesman

for Regional Health Command

Europe. Bases were expected to

announce further vaccination

dates soon, he said.

But the command is still waiting

for about 40% of its total allotment,

which would allow it to vaccinate

“the rest of our beneficiaries,”

Mattorano said Tuesday.

He was unable to give a precise

date for when the remaining vac-

cine doses would arrive, saying on-

ly that officials “hope to get more ...

in the next week or two.”

The Ramstein Air Base clinic,

which inoculated 4,000 airmen in

October, received an additional

3,500 doses this week, and the 86th

Medical Group is preparing for an-

other two-day vaccination cam-

paign, one of which will be open to

all beneficiaries, said Lt. Col. Will

Powell, 86th Airlift Wing spokes-

man, on Tuesday.

But “this week’s shipments will

not be enough to vaccinate our

nearly 18,000 beneficiaries and we

expect to run out relatively quick-

ly,” he said. “Ramstein will need

more doses, but we have no further

information regarding timing of

subsequent shipments.”

There haven't been any docu-

mented cases of the flu on Ram-

stein Air Base so far this season,

Powell said. The European Center

for Disease Prevention and Con-

trol has documented only 12 posi-

tive cases among more than 14,000

tests so far.

“For the Region as a whole, in-

fluenza activity has been at base-

line level since the start of the sea-

son," the health agency said in its

most recent report.

The U.S. Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention says flu

activity usually peaks between De-

cember and February and dimin-

ishes by May. Though the effec-

tiveness of the flu vaccine varies

from year to year, the vaccination

is still recommended as it may

make the illness milder and pre-

vent hospitalization if the flu is

contracted, Regional Health Com-

mand Europe said in a statement.

In years past, flu shot drives in

Europe have typically begun in

early October and finished by late

November.

Several bases had to cancel

planned community inoculation

clinics last month because they

didn't have any vaccine.

Some of the delay in getting the

vaccine could be due to the fact

many Army medical facilities in

Europe ordered pre-filled syring-

es for at least part of their vaccine

allotment, Mattorano said, al-

though they have done that every

year and it has never been an is-

sue. Vaccine doses in vials, which

medical personnel then have to

add to syringes, have already ar-

rived and been used to inoculate

members of the community, he

said.

The Navy in Naples did not im-

mediately respond to a question

about whether it had ordered pre-

filled syringes or vials.

Another possible explanation

for the delayed delivery is that the

coronavirus has “impacted global

industry,” including commercial

transportation, said Col. Ryan Mi-

hata, 86th Medical Group com-

mander at Ramstein.

More flu drives in the Kaiser-

slautern area were announced

Tuesday, at Landstuhl Regional

Medical Center, Kleber and

Baumholder, although some came

with caveats.

Baumholder said it would hold

seven vaccination campaigns be-

tween Dec. 7 and Jan. 6, open to all

DOD ID cardholders aged 6

months and older, but warned,

“Dates may change pending vac-

cine availability.”

KARINA LOPEZMATA/U.S. Marine Corps

A U.S. Navy corpsman at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C.,gives a Marine a flu shot. Many U.S. military bases in Europe are stillwaiting to receive their full allotment of the influenza vaccine.

Flu vaccine trickles in to US bases in EuropeBY JENNIFER H. SVAN

Stars and Stripes

svan.jennifer@stripes.comTwitter: @stripesktown �

STUTTGART, Germany — NA-

TO needs an updated strategy to

meet challenges posed by a rising

China, which until now hasn’t

been a major focus for the 30-na-

tion Atlantic security pact, a new

report commissioned by the alli-

ance’s top official said.

NATO foreign ministers Tues-

day discussed how the alliance

should transform in the decade

ahead. The 2030 plan, which was

crafted by experts appointed by

NATO Secretary-General Jens

Stoltenberg, lays out 138 recom-

mendations.

“NATO must devote much more

time, political resources, and ac-

tion to the security challenges

posed by China — based on an as-

sessment of its national capabili-

ties, economic heft, and the stated

ideological goals of its leaders,”

the report said.

Allies should set up a new “con-

sultative body” to discuss all as-

pects of security related to China,

including Beijing’s technological

development, and monitor and de-

fend against any Chinese activ-

ities, it said.

Getting NATO focused on China

has been a priority of the Trump

administration, which has pres-

sured allies to make it a larger alli-

ance focus. NATO also could form

closer partnerships with Pacific

countries, including Australia, Ja-

pan and South Korea, as a counter-

balance to Beijing, the report said.

The report comes one year after

French President Emmanuel Ma-

cron rattled allies when he said

NATO was suffering from “brain

death” because of a lack of coordi-

nation on key security issues.

Stoltenberg responded by as-

sembling a panel of experts to

delve into how NATO should adapt

to the changing security environ-

ment.

Early next year, NATO is ex-

pected to take action on at least

some of the recommendations de-

tailed in the report, when allied

heads of state meet for a leader

summit in Brussels. Stoltenberg

has already invited President-

elect Joe Biden to the talks.

The report credits NATO with

responding effectively to Russia’s

2014 intervention in Ukraine. NA-

TO expanded its mission along its

eastern flank, added multinational

battlegroups to the Baltics and

granted NATO’s supreme allied

commander with broader com-

mand and control capabilities.

But NATO’s official strategic

concept — last updated in 2010 —

doesn’t account for Russia’s ag-

gressive moves in Ukraine or the

challenges posed by China.

The panel of experts, chaired by

U.S. diplomat Wes Mitchell, says

steps are needed to speed up deci-

sion-making inside NATO to en-

sure that disputes within the con-

sensus-driven organization are re-

solved faster.

“Political divergences within

NATO are dangerous because

they enable external actors, and in

particular Russia and China, to ex-

ploit intra-Alliance differences

and take advantage of individual

Allies in ways that endanger their

collective interests and security,”

the report said.

On Monday, Stoltenberg said he

doesn’t view China as an adver-

sary. But the NATO chief noted

that China is “investing massively

in new weapons. It is coming clos-

er to us, from the Arctic to Africa.”

“China does not share our val-

ues,” Stoltenberg said.

NATO high-level panel urges‘much more’ focus on China

BY JOHN VANDIVER

Stars and Stripes

vandiver.john@stripes.comTwitter: @john_vandiver

The White House is expected to

name Adm. John Aquilino, com-

mander of the Navy’s Pacific

Fleet, to lead Indo-Pacific Com-

mand, The Wall Street Journal re-

ported Tuesday.

Aquilino would replace Adm.

Philip Davidson,

who since May

2018 has over-

seen the geo-

graphic combat-

ant command

that spans an ar-

ea from the Unit-

ed States to In-

dia. Davidson is

expected to retire, according to

the Journal report, which cited

unnamed U.S. officials.

President Donald Trump,

whose term ends Jan. 20, is ex-

pected to nominate Aquilino to the

post, the report said, and the Sen-

ate could consider the nomination

“in the early winter,” according to

the report.

INDOPACOM did not immedi-

ately respond to an emailed re-

quest for commentTuesday.

The command covers 36 nations

in a region the Defense Depart-

ment deemed its “priority thea-

ter” and “the single-most conse-

quential region for America’s fu-

ture” in a June 2019 Indo-Pacific

strategy report issued amid sim-

mering tensions with China.

The region is “a vital driver of

the global economy and includes

the world's busiest international

sea lanes and nine of the 10 largest

ports,” according to the INDOPA-

COM website. It also is home to

seven of the world’s 10 largest

standing militaries and five nucle-

ar-armed nations.

Aquilino is a Naval Academy

graduate and naval aviator who

spent his early career flying the

F-14 Tomcat and the F-18 Hornet,

according to his Navy biography.

His résumé also includes time as

the Pacific Fleet’s director of mar-

itime operations, deputy chief of

naval operations for operations,

plans and strategy, and 5th Fleet

commander.

Davidson, also a Naval Acade-

my graduate, is a surface warfare

officer who previously served as

commander of the 6th Fleet and

Fleet Forces Command, accord-

ing to his biography. He spent his

early career in policy, strategy

and operations billets with the Pa-

cific Fleet, Navy and Joint staffs.

Aquilino expected to leadIndo-Pacific Command

BY CAITLIN DOORNBOS

Stars and Stripes

doornbos.caitlin@stripes.comTwitter: @CaitlinDoornbos 

Aquilino

PAGE 4 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, December 2, 2020

ations, said about the fire a day af-

ter it was put out.

In an email to senior naval lead-

ers soon after Gilday’s visit to the

ship, he wrote that sections of the

flight deck were warped and bulg-

ing and firefighters told him that

they had faced 1,200-degree heat,

zero visibility and multiple explo-

sions on the ship.

Wind from the bay and the ex-

plosions allowed the fire to spread

and become more intense, he

said.

Gilday praised the work of sail-

ors in his letter, some of whom

went aboard the ship eight times

to fight the fire.

“They had experienced the in-

tense, inferno-like heat, the dark

smoke that obscured view of

teammates by their side, and the

explosions — the latter had to be

like a mine field … unknown

when and where, and how severe,

those blasts might be. Some had

been knocked down by these

blasts — some, more than once —

but they got up, refocused and

reattacked.”

All investigations into the fire

are still ongoing, according to the

Navy’s statement Monday.

The Navy’s assessment of the

damage concluded it would cost

more than $3 billion to restore the

ship and five to seven years for

construction to be completed. The

service also considered rebuild-

ing the ship for other purposes but

again determined the $1 billion

cost, which could build a new hos-

pital ship or command and control

ship, was too much.

“Although it saddens me that it

is not cost effective to bring her

back, I know this ship’s legacy

will continue to live on through

the brave men and women who

fought so hard to save her, as well

as the sailors and Marines who

served aboard her during her 22-

year history,” Braithwaite said.

When the ship will be disman-

tled has not been decided, accord-

ing to the Navy. However before

that, the service plans to remove

systems and components from the

Bonhomme Richard to be used by

other ships.

The cost of decommissioning

the ship will be about $30 million

and will take up to a year, accord-

ing to Rear Adm. Eric Ver Hage in

a report by The San Diego Union-

Tribune.

Ver Hage is the commander of

Navy Regional Maintenance Cen-

ter.

Scrapped: Navy says restoration would cost more than $3BFROM PAGE 1

U.S. Navy

Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department boats combat a fire on board USS Bonhomme Richard at Naval Base San Diego on July 12. 

kenney.caitlin@stripes.comTwitter: @caitlinmkenney

MILITARY

WASHINGTON — The Air

Force will need some of its active-

duty troops to transfer early to Re-

serve or National Guard duty or

change specialties amid the high-

est retention rate that the service

has seen nearly two decades, a top

general said Tuesday.

The Air Force now boasts some

334,600 airmen on active-duty,

about 900 more than the service’s

congressionally determined tar-

get end strength for fiscal year

2021, said Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly, the

Air Force personnel chief. The

service has been overloaded as

airmen have sought to remain on

active-duty by recommitting or

delaying retirement plans amid

the coronavirus pandemic, which

has cut deeply into the U.S. civil-

ian job market.

In 2020, the Air Force has seen

its greatest retention of troops

since 2002, just after the 9/11 ter-

rorist attacks, Kelly said, calling

the unexpected boost “wel-

comed.” He said he believed it re-

flected the poor jobs market but

also an Air Force committed to im-

proving its airmen’s lives.

Nonetheless, the service is fac-

ing overmanning in certain jobs

and ranks that it must take steps to

address, he said.

“And so, as we go on in [fiscal

year 2021], you’ll be seeing us be-

gin to look at the various levers for

us to give people some opportuni-

ties to make some transitions in

different ways,” Kelly said. “Par-

ticularly if they wanted, for in-

stance, to transition to the Guard

or Reserve on an earlier timeline

then they normally would — we

have abilities and opportunities

for them to do that. Or if they want-

ed to move from an overmanned to

an undermanned career field …

we’ll have some opportunity for

them to do that as we go forward.”

The service is in the process of

examining its career fields to de-

termine precisely which ones are

overmanned and at what ranks

within those fields airmen might

need to be moved, Kelly said.

The service will provide further

information to the force soon, he

added.

The high retention rates could

also mean the end of some popular

incentive bonuses, including re-

enlistment bonuses in some spe-

cialties, Kelly said. He did not pro-

vide specifics Tuesday about

which retention bonuses could

end.

The service, however, will not

revert to involuntary measures to

address its force size, Kelly said.

The Air Force — like other mili-

tary services — were forced to in-

voluntarily separate thousands of

troops amid sequestration-man-

dated budget cuts from 2012 to

2018.

“[There is] no anticipation and

no outlook that we would use any

involuntary measures … like we

had had to do in the past when we

had sequestration,” Kelly said.

The Navy last month an-

nounced it would take similar

measures to reduce some over-

manned specialties, including of-

fering some enlisted sailors the

opportunity to switch careers,

transfer early to the reserves or

even separate from active-duty

before completing their enlist-

ment obligations. Like the Air

Force, the Navy vowed not to in-

voluntarily separate troops.

Since sequestration, the Air

Force has rebuilt its force, adding

some 23,000 airmen and making

up for a 4,000-troop shortfall in

critical aircraft maintenance spe-

cialties.

However, not all jobs have been

completely filled.

The service still faces a short-

age of some 1,900 to 2,000 pilots,

Kelly said. But the pilot issue has

recently improved. As airliners,

which compete heavily with the

service to attract experienced

flyers, have cut back positions

during the pandemic, the service

has seen some increase in reten-

tion of pilots, and he said he ex-

pected to see further increases in

the near term.

Pilot positions are well-manned

at higher ranks, major through

colonel. But the Air Force is un-

dermanned for pilots at the ranks

of captain and below, Kelly said.

The issue right now, he said, is the

ability to attract and produce new

pilots.

The Air Force, for now, does not

plan to make deep cuts to its

recruiting efforts to address its

overmanning, Kelly said. The ser-

vice in the past cut the number of

new officers and enlisted airmen

entering the service to help re-

duce its size, but it left the Air

Force with too few troops at some

ranks later, the general said.

The service will cut its recruit-

ing goal slightly for fiscal year

2021, he said, but it still will need

some airmen to agree to make

shifts in their careers.

By bringing fewer new troops

into the service, the Air Force

could accomplish its end-strength

reduction quickly, but it does not

want to repeat mistakes caused by

past recruiting reductions, Kelly

said.

“You’re going to find suddenly

that you’re short on staff sergeants

or you’re short … captains in dif-

ferent places because you re-

duced accessions,” he said. “We

want to have an overall compre-

hensive strategy that allows us to

manage the size and shape of the

force … not just using reduction

and accessions. We’re trying to

balance it.”

Air Force looking to transition some airmenBY COREY DICKSTEIN

Stars and Stripes

dickstein.corey@stripes.com Twitter: @CDicksteinDC

Wednesday, December 2, 2020 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 5

LSD has been added to the list of

drugs that are randomly tested for

at Camp Lejeune in North Caroli-

na amid suspicions that more and

more Marines and sailors at the

base are tripping, base officials

said.

“We have a drug problem in the

2d Marine Division,” said the

unit’s commanding general, Maj.

Gen. Francis L. Donovan, in a

statement Monday. “We are

changing the way in which we test

for illegal substances.”

A series of drug-related inci-

dents involving Marines and sail-

ors was behind the decision to test

for LSD in random screenings, the

Corps said.

In the past, Marines would typ-

ically only be screened for the hal-

lucinogenic drug if there was

probable cause.

But “all that changed following

recent incidents,” 2nd Marine Di-

vision said, without providing de-

tails.

Since LSD hasn’t traditionally

been tested by the Marine Corps,

the division is working with the

Armed Forces Medical Examiner

lab in Dover, Del., to conduct

“large-quantity random LSD test-

ing.”

Some 4,000 tests have been con-

ducted since the summer, when

random testing for the hallucino-

gen was launched, the Corps said.

“This testing led to numerous

positive results,” the division said,

without specifying an exact num-

ber. “Consequently, going for-

ward, 2d MARDIV plans to con-

duct random testing, locally and

on a more consistent basis.”

Marines who test positive for

LSD, or any other illegal drug,

could face nonjudicial puni-

shment, a dishonorable discharge

or time in confinement, the Corps

said.

“Zero tolerance is the Marine

Corps’ stance, and Marines need

to understand that there is no drug

that they can take without the

means for government detection,”

said Lt. Col. Christian Ruwe, the

staff judge advocate for the 2nd

Marine Division.

Several incidents involving

LSD, also known as acid, in the

past 15 months indicated that the

drug was becoming a problem at

the base and beyond.

In September 2019, a 23-year-

old Camp Lejeune Marine was

charged by the Onslow County

Sheriff’s Office with trafficking

LSD. And in June, the Naval Crim-

inal Investigative Service warned

that there had been numerous

cases involving Department of

Navy personnel who purchased

LSD over the internet’s so-called

“dark web” since the beginning of

2020.

A psychedelic drug that was

popular among hippies and musi-

cians in the 1960s, LSD has made a

comeback in recent years. The

drug modifies neural pathways,

causing the user to have hallucina-

tions and altering the perception

of things such as sound and time,

according to the American Addic-

tion Centers.

But some proponents say it

boosts creative problem solving. A

Marine major caused a minor stir

in 2019 when he wrote that mili-

tary intelligence and surveillance

analysts could benefit from micro-

doses of psychedelics like LSD

and psilocybin, or magic mush-

rooms.

In small amounts, the hallucino-

gens can help people “connect

seemingly unconnected pieces of

information and create revolu-

tionary new solutions,” Marine

Maj. Emre Albayrak wrote in the

Marine Corps Gazette in Febru-

ary last year.

Some medical studies have also

suggested that drugs like LSD and

magic mushrooms have potential

benefits for those who suffer from

post-traumatic stress disorder.

Camp Lejeune starts random LSD testingBY JOHN VANDIVER

Stars and Stripes

vandiver.john@stripes.comTwitter: @john_vandiver

Drug Enforcement Administration

A blotter of lysergic acid diethylamide, better known asLSD or acid. 

MILITARY

The first snowfall of the season

in Rheinland-Pfalz, Hesse and

other German states gave some

Americans an extra two hours in

the morning to get to school and

work on U.S. military bases in the

region.

With snow and freezing temper-

atures forecast overnight, U.S.

military installations and Defense

Department schools in Kaiser-

slautern, Wiesbaden, Baumhold-

er and Stuttgart announced on

Monday night a two-hour report-

ing delay Tuesday morning for

personnel, staff and students.

Shoveling duties fell on some

airmen at Ramstein Air Base.

They were out early clearing side-

walks and common areas at their

dormitories, including David Ca-

margo, an airman first class who

grew up near Phoenix, Ariz.

“It’s only about two inches,” he

said. “This is probably like my

third time seeing snow in my life.”

While the base had only a couple

of inches, more snow tends to ac-

cumulate in villages to the south of

Ramstein at higher elevations.

Some bus routes for DOD schools

on Ramstein, Baumholder and

Vogelweh were canceled due to

unsafe driving conditions. Stu-

dents affected were to be given an

excused absence, Ramstein offi-

cials said on Facebook.

Army bases in Grafenwoehr,

Vilseck and Hohenfels also saw

snow accumulate by Tuesday

morning; the Ansbach and Katter-

bach area received more than 4

inches, said Andreas Friedrich, a

German Meteorological Service

spokesman.

JENNIFER H. SVAN/Stars and Stripes

Airmen 1st Class David Camargo, 24, left, and Raylan Sherwood, 21, shovel snow outside their dormitoryat Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Tuesday. 

First snowfall of the seasonblankets US bases in Germany

Stars and Stripes

news@stripes.com

BRIAN FERGUSON/Stars and Stripes

Airman 1st Class Jonathan Pereboom finishes his snowman by theroundabout at Harmon Avenue and Lawn Avenue on Ramstein AirBase on Tuesday. Personnel and the schools had a two­hour report­ing delay due to the area's first snowfall of the winter season.

BRIAN FERGUSON/Stars and Stripes

Sadie Webb scrapes the snow and ice off the windshield of her Chrysler Pacifica before heading to the post office at Ramsteim AirBase on Tuesday.

PAGE 6 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, December 2, 2020

VIRUS OUTBREAK

LONDON — British Prime Min-

ister Boris Johnson urged law-

makers to vote Tuesday for a new

set of coronavirus restrictions in

England, saying the country must

“hold our nerve” until vaccines

are approved and distributed.

England’s current four-week

national lockdown ends at mid-

night, and the government plans

to replace it starting Wednesday

with a three-tier regional system

based on the severity of the out-

break in different parts of the

country.

The change requires Parlia-

ment’s approval, and it faces op-

position from lawmakers — many

from Johnson’s own Conservative

Party — who say the measures

will devastate businesses, espe-

cially pubs, which face some of the

tightest restrictions. Most of the

country is being put into the upper

two tiers, where shops, hairdress-

ers, beauty salons and places of

worship can reopen. But pubs and

restaurants face strict limits in

Tier 2 and closure in Tier 3.

Johnson told the House of Com-

mons that a lockdown imposed on

Nov. 5 had succeeded in levelling

off the coronavirus infection rate

in England, but that there was “a

compelling necessity” for further

restrictions.

“What we cannot do is lift all of

the restrictions at once, or move

too quickly, in such a way that the

virus would begin to spread rapid-

ly again,” triggering a new lock-

down in January, he said.

The new measures are to be re-

viewed every two weeks and re-

strictions will be eased for five

days over Christmas so that fam-

ilies can get together. Other parts

of the United Kingdom — Scot-

land, Wales and Northern Ireland

— are all following their own local

restrictions to curb the spread of

the virus.

Britain has had Europe’s dead-

liest COVID-19 outbreak, with

more than 58,500 confirmed vi-

rus-related deaths.

PAUL ELLIS/AP

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson holds a vial of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine COVID­19 candidatevaccine, known as AZD1222, at Wockhardt's pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Wales, on Monday.

UK leader touts local rules,but pubs are still in distress

Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS — The

head of the world’s largest human-

itarian network is urging govern-

ments and institutions to combat

“fake news” about COVID-19 vac-

cines which has become “a second

pandemic,” and start building

trust in communities around the

world about the critical impor-

tance of vaccinating people.

Francesco Rocca, president of

the International Federation of

Red Cross and Red Crescent So-

cieties, said in a virtual briefing to

the U.N. Correspondents Associ-

ation on Monday that “to beat this

pandemic, we also have to defeat

the parallel pandemic of distrust.”

He said there is “a growing hes-

itancy about vaccines in general,

and about a COVID vaccine in

particular” around the world,

pointing to a recent Johns Hop-

kins University study in 67 coun-

tries that found vaccine accept-

ance declined significantly in

most countries from July to Octo-

ber this year.

In a quarter of countries, Rocca

said, the study found the accept-

ance rate for a vaccine against the

virus was near or below 50%, with

Japan dropping from 70% to 50%

acceptance, and France dropping

from 51% to 38% acceptance.

Rocca stressed that the lack of

trust “is by no means a Western

phenomenon,” citing the federa-

tion’s research in recent months in

eight African countries — Congo,

Cameroon, Gabon, Zimbabwe,

Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Lesotho

and Kenya — which showed a

steady decline in the perceptions

of the risk of COVID-19 infection.

A growing number of people in-

dicated the virus doesn’t affect

young people or Africans, that the

disease doesn’t exist now but did

exist and the pandemic has ended,

Rocca said.

“In several African countries,

we have seen a common skepti-

cism toward vaccines in general,

with a common belief being that

foreigners use Africa as a medical

‘testing ground,’” Rocca said.

Surprisingly, Rocca said, some

typically vulnerable and margin-

alized groups aren’t even aware of

the pandemic, pointing to a feder-

ation survey in Pakistan which

found 10% of respondents didn’t

know about COVID-19.

“We believe the massive, coor-

dinated efforts that will be needed

to roll out the COVID vaccine in an

equitable manner need to be par-

alleled by equally massive efforts

to proactively build and maintain

trust,” Rocca said.

This will require the same kind

of sustained community engage-

ment that recently defeated Ebola

in Congo, he said.

The federation operates in 192

countries with almost 14 million

volunteers, and painstaking com-

munity outreach and engagement

at the heart of its COVID-19 re-

sponse, Rocca said.

So far, Red Cross and Red Cres-

cent Societies, with federation

support, have reached 243 million

people with COVID-19 activities

including responding to questions

and suggestions, tracking commu-

nity perceptions “and providing

accurate and timely information

in local languages through diverse

channels,” he said.

Rocca said he has watched with

concern in recent weeks “as the

imminent arrival of a possible

vaccine has, at least in some coun-

tries, washed away the commit-

ments that were made over the

summer to ensure an equitable

distribution of vaccines between

and within countries.”

He said “politicizing the vac-

cines is a huge mistake” and

strongly backed the international

initiative to distribute COVID-19

vaccines to countries worldwide

known as COVAX as “the correct

approach both for rich countries

and the rest of the world.”

Red Cross chief urges fight against ‘fake news’ regarding vaccinesBY EDITH M. LEDERER

Associated Press

Americans returning from

Thanksgiving break faced strict

new coronavirus measures

around the country Monday as

health officials brace for a disas-

trous worsening of the nation-

wide surge because of holiday

gatherings over the long week-

end.

Los Angeles County imposed a

stay-at-home order for its 10 mil-

lion residents, and Santa Clara

County, in the heart of Silicon

Valley, banned high school, col-

lege and professional sports and

decreed a quarantine for those

who have traveled more than 150

miles outside the county.

In Hawaii, the mayor of Ha-

waii County said trans-Pacific

travelers arriving without a nega-

tive COVID-19 test must quaran-

tine for 14 days, and even those

who have tested virus-free may

be randomly selected for another

test upon arrival. New Jersey is

suspending all youth sports.

“The red flags are flying in

terms of the trajectory in our pro-

jections of growth,” said Califor-

nia Gov. Gavin Newsom. “If these

trends continue, we’re going to

have to take much more dramat-

ic, arguably drastic, action.”

Health experts had pleaded

with Americans to stay home

over Thanksgiving and not gather

with anyone who didn’t live with

them. Nevertheless, almost 1.2

million people passed through

U.S. airports Sunday, the most

since the pandemic gripped the

country in March, and others

took to the highways to be with

family and friends.

Now they’re being urged to

watch for any signs of illness and

get tested right away if they ex-

perience symptoms.

A record 90,000 people were in

the hospital with the virus in the

United States as of Sunday, push-

ing many medical institutions to

the limit.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice

said hospitals across the state

will reduce elective surgeries to

ensure there is room for corona-

virus patients. The number of

people hospitalized with CO-

VID-19 jumped 29% in the past

week. In Kansas City, Kan., hos-

pital and nursing officials said

they fear there will not be enough

nurses to staff new hospital beds

in the metro area if COVID-19

cases continue unchecked.

Health officials on Monday add-

ed 4,425 confirmed infections

and 87 hospitalizations to the

state’s pandemic tally since Fri-

day.

Rhode Island’s hospitals reac-

hed their COVID-19 capacity on

Monday, the same day the state’s

two-week pause took effect. Un-

der restrictions announced by

Gov. Gina Raimondo, some busi-

nesses will be required to shut

down, while others are restricted.

Residents are also asked to limit

their social circles to people in

their household.

“This will not be easy, but I am

pleading with you to take it seri-

ously,” Raimondo said in a state-

ment.

Americans facingnew restrictionsafter Thanksgiving

Associated Press

Wednesday, December 2, 2020 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 7

VIRUS OUTBREAK

TOKYO — The U.S. military in

Japan reported 32 new coronavi-

rus cases as of 6 p.m. Tuesday,

mostly infections that popped up

at bases near the capital city over

the past week.

Yokota Air Base, the headquar-

ters in western Tokyo of U.S.

Forces Japan, announced that 21

people had tested positive be-

tween Nov. 25 and Monday. Fif-

teen were already in quarantine

due to contact with an infected

person.

Three others are new arrivals

who were tested by Japanese au-

thorities at Haneda International

Airport in Tokyo and went direct-

ly into the mandatory 14-day quar-

antine, according to a base Face-

book post.

The contacts of the remaining

three are being traced, according

to the post. The base has 30 virus

patients.

A cluster began at Yokota on

Nov. 13 with three infected indi-

viduals and peaked 10 days later at

43 cases, according to reports on

the base Facebook page.

Yokosuka Naval Base, south of

Tokyo, announced that 10 individ-

uals have tested positive for the vi-

rus since Friday.

Seven were already in the two-

week quarantine as recent arriv-

als to Japan, according to a base

Facebook post.

Of the remaining patients, two

tested positive during contact

tracing and one was discovered af-

ter developing symptoms of CO-

VID-19, the respiratory disease

caused by the coronavirus, ac-

cording to the base.

Public health officials are trac-

ing that person’s contacts, the

base said.

Yokosuka has 30 people under

care with the virus, according to

the post. The base reported 36 in-

fections during November, for a

pandemic total of at least 155.

Sasebo Naval Base, on the tip of

the southern island of Kyushu, re-

ported one new case, a person who

tested positive Monday while in a

14-day quarantine. That person is

the only active infection at the

base, according to an official Face-

book post.

The naval base reported four

cases in November and a total of at

least 15 during the pandemic, so

far.

US military reports 32 new virus cases in JapanBY JOSEPH DITZLER

Stars and Stripes

ditzler.joseph@stripes.comTwitter: @JosephDitzler

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietname-

se authorities are conducting in-

tensive contact tracing after dis-

covering the country's first con-

firmed local transmission of the

coronavirus in 89 days.

State media said Tuesday that a

32-year-old man in Ho Chi Minh

City tested positive for the corona-

virus on Monday after visiting a

flight attendant who was undergo-

ing self-quarantine at his home

following his return from Japan

two weeks ago. The flight attend-

ant tested positive on Saturday,

the Tuoi Tre newspaper said.

Health authorities ordered 137

people who had been in close con-

tact with the man to stay in a cen-

tral quarantine facility and shut

down an English center where he

works as a teacher, the newspaper

said.

The new case ended Vietnam’s

streak of 89 days without any

known local transmission of the

virus. Earlier, it went 99 days

without local transmissions until a

cluster of cases broke out at a hos-

pital in Da Nang in central Viet-

nam in July.

Vietnam’s borders remain

closed in an attempt to keep out

the virus.

Only limited international

flights are operating to repatriate

Vietnamese nationals and trans-

port foreign diplomats and ex-

perts.

The country has reported 1,347

coronavirus cases, including 35

deaths. Nearly half of the con-

firmed cases were imported, ac-

cording to the Health Ministry.

In other developments in the

Asia-Pacific region, Hong Kong

leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday

urged residents to stay home as

the city grapples with a resur-

gence of the coronavirus, which

has infected over 500 people in the

past week. Lam asked citizens to

“refrain from social gatherings”

and said that people, in particular

the elderly, should remain at

home.

Vietnam reports 1st infection in 89 daysAssociated Press

KIN CHEUNG/AP

People wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronaviruswait outside a bakery in Hong Kong on Monday.

PAGE 8 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, December 2, 2020

VIRUS OUTBREAK ROUNDUP

A disproportionately large

number of poor and minority stu-

dents were not in schools for as-

sessments this fall, complicating

efforts to measure the pandemic’s

effects on some of the most vulner-

able students, a not-for-profit

company that administers stan-

dardized testing said Tuesday.

Overall, NWEA’s fall assess-

ments showed elementary and

middle school students have fallen

measurably behind in math, while

most appear to be progressing at a

normal pace in reading since

schools were forced to abruptly

close in March and pickup online.

The analysis of data from nearly

4.4 million U.S. students in grades

3-8 represents one of the first sig-

nificant measures of the pandem-

ic’s impacts on learning.

But researchers at NWEA,

whose MAP Growth assessments

are meant to measure student pro-

ficiency, caution they may be un-

derestimating the effects on mi-

nority and economically disad-

vantaged groups. Those students

made up a significant portion of

the roughly 1 in 4 students who

tested in 2019 but were missing

from 2020 testing.

NWEA said they may have opt-

ed out of the assessments, which

were given in-person and remote-

ly, because they lacked reliable

technology or stopped going to

school.

The NWEA findings show that,

compared to last year, students

scored an average of 5 to 10 per-

centile points lower in math, with

students in grades three, four and

five experiencing the largest

drops.

English language arts scores

were largely the same as last year.

CaliforniaSACRAMENTO — A stagger-

ing rise in coronavirus cases could

overwhelm California’s health

system within weeks and “dras-

tic” action such as a widespread

stay-at-home order may be need-

ed to combat the threat, Gov. Ga-

vin Newsom warned.

Hospitalizations from CO-

VID-19 have increased nearly 90%

and could triple by Christmas, of-

ficials said Monday.

“The red flags are flying in

terms of the trajectory in our pro-

jections of growth,” Newsom said.

The number of COVID-19 cases

reported each day in California

has been setting records, with the

average daily case rate over the

last week topping 14,000.

The levels are far above those

recorded during a summer peak

or even in March, when a state

public health order restricted peo-

ple from going outside except for

the most essential reasons. That

order was later eased.

Currently, 51 of 58 counties are

in the “purple” tier of the state’s

COVID-19 system, meaning they

are under the strictest business

restrictions. Those counties ac-

count for most of the state’s pop-

ulation.

DelawareDOVER — A school district in

Delaware has returned its stu-

dents to remote learning after the

state’s COVID-19 figures showed

that the county has met two of

three indicators to determine sig-

nificant community spread of the

coronavirus.

Remote instructions for Capital

School District students in Kent

County will be effective until Jan.

4, Interim Superintendent Dr. Syl-

via Henderson said in a statement

on the district’s website.

The county’s rates of new case

and positive COVID tests are now

in the “red phase” used to deter-

mine how schools operate during

the pandemic, but closures are not

mandated by the state.

The change comes after the

school board voted last week to

continue hybrid learning to ele-

mentary students and delay in-

person instructions to other stu-

dents, Delaware State News re-

ported.

MainePORTLAND — Maine has

launched a grant program de-

signed to help health care organi-

zations continue serving patients

during the coronavirus pandemic.

The program is backed by $30

million in federal coronavirus re-

lief dollars and is called the Maine

Health Care Financial Relief Pro-

gram, Democratic Gov. Janet

Mills said. The grant program is

open to hospitals as well as nurs-

ing, congregate care and behav-

ioral health facilities and commu-

nity service providers, state offi-

cials said.

The grants can go as high as

$100,000, Mills said Monday.

“Our health care providers, and

the heroic workers they employ,

have shouldered an enormous

burden this year,” Mills said.

“These funds, although not nearly

enough to make up for their losses,

will help bolster our providers at

this critical time and allow them to

continue providing care to Maine

people.

Mills also announced a $40 mil-

lion economic recovery grant pro-

gram for Maine’s tourism, hospi-

tality and retail small business

sector earlier on Monday. That

program is backed by CARES Act

money as well.

MarylandANNAPOLIS — Maryland Gov.

Larry Hogan and state Attorney

General Brian E. Frosh are press-

ing leaders in Washington for

more stimulus relief related to the

coronavirus pandemic.

The Frederick News-Post re-

ported Monday that the governor

urged President-elect Joe Biden

to prioritize a new stimulus pack-

age to help states and small busi-

nesses that are struggling. The

state is approaching 200,000 con-

firmed cases of COVID-19.

“States are already fighting an

uphill battle to rebuild our econo-

mies and maintain essential ser-

vices in education, health care,

emergency operations and public

safety,” the Republican wrote.

Frosh, the state’s Democratic

AG, joined a coalition of attorneys

general who are asking Congress

to extend CARES Act funding

through the end of next year. The

CARES Act has provided more

than $2 trillion in economic relief

to state and local governments.

MichiganLANSING — State Rep. John

Chirkun said Monday he had test-

ed positive for the coronavirus,

becoming at least the 10th mem-

ber of the Legislature to be infect-

ed since the pandemic hit Michi-

gan more than eight months ago.

Also, two people in the Senate

notified the business office of their

positive tests. It was not specified

if they are senators, employees or

interns. Neither was on site during

the transmission period nor had

close contact with anyone in the

Senate.

Chirkun is the sixth known law-

maker to be infected in less than a

month, amid surging COVID-19

cases, hospitalizations and deaths

among the public. The Legislature

has 148 members and is due to re-

turn this week after a two-week

break.

House Democratic Leader

Christine Greig said Chirkun, a

third-term Democrat from Rose-

ville, thinks he contracted the vi-

rus during a recent hunting trip.

Rhode IslandPROVIDENCE — Rhode Island

has opened two field hospitals that

combined have more than 900

beds to deal with an expected

flood of COVID-19 patients that

has already swamped the state’s

hospitals.

Care New England opened a

field hospital with more than 300

beds in Cranston on Monday, the

same day the state sent an emer-

gency alert saying conventional

hospitals had reached their coro-

navirus capacity.

A facility with nearly 600 beds

opened Tuesday at the Rhode Is-

land Convention Center in Provi-

dence. It is run by Lifespan, the

state’s largest hospital group.

There were 365 patients in the

state’s hospitals with the disease

as of Saturday, the most recent

date for which the information

was available, according to the

state Department of Health, down

from a single-day high of 381 on

Nov. 23.

VermontMore people took to Vermont’s

hiking trails during the coronavi-

rus pandemic, according to recent

reports.

The average daily use count on

the Long Trail rose 35% this year,

according to the Green Mountain

Club. And in September alone,

overnight shelter use jumped 80%

from last year, Vermont Public

Radio reported.

“I think this was definitely a

year where the value of having

these outdoor resources in Ver-

mont, and having them open, real-

ly came through,” said Green

Mountain Club Field supervisor

Isaac Alexandre-Leach.

There also was more than twice

as much pedestrian traffic on the

West River Trail in Brattleboro

this fall, according to findings

from a recent use survey.

WisconsinMADISON — Auto fatalities are

up in Wisconsin despite there be-

ing fewer people on the road due

to the coronavirus pandemic, a re-

port released Tuesday by the Wis-

consin Policy Forum found.

The report examined state

crash data from March 14 through

July 31.

While all crashes and injuries

were down compared with the

same period in 2019, crashes

where someone was killed and the

number of crash-related fatalities

were up.

Fatal crashes increased by

more than 17% and total crash fa-

talities grew by 20%, the report

found.

At the same time, alcohol-in-

volved crashes were up 50%,

drug-involved crashes grew by

46% and speeding-involved crash-

es were up by 52%, the report said.

Other Midwestern states have

also seen increases in auto fatali-

ties this year, but Wisconsin was

out of step with nationwide trends,

the report said.

Study: Somestudents fallingbehind in math

Associated Press

MARK LENNIHAN/AP

Nurses walk out of Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital to go on strike over safe staffing issues during thecoronavirus pandemic Tuesday in New Rochelle, N.Y.

Wednesday, December 2, 2020 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 9

NATION

WILMINGTON, Del. — With

unemployment still high and the

pandemic threatening yet another

economic slump, President-elect

Joe Biden is assembling a team of

liberal advisers who have long fo-

cused on the nation’s workers and

government efforts to address ec-

onomic inequality.

Janet Yellen, announced Mon-

day as Biden’s nominee for treasu-

ry secretary, served as chair of the

Federal Reserve from 2014 to

2018, when she placed a greater

emphasis than previous Fed

chairs on maximizing employ-

ment and less focus on price infla-

tion. Biden also named Cecilia

Rouse as chair of his Council of

Economic Advisers, and Heather

Boushey and Jared Bernstein as

members of the council.

All are outspoken supporters of

more government stimulus

spending to boost growth, a major

issue with the coronavirus pan-

demic cramping the U.S. econo-

my.

Those choices “signal the desire

of the Biden administration to take

the CEA in a direction that really

centers on working people and

raising wages,” said Heidi Shier-

holz, senior economist at the Eco-

nomic Policy Institute and former

Labor Department chief econo-

mist during the Obama adminis-

tration.

Biden’s nominees are also a

more personally diverse group

than those of previous presidents.

Yellen, if confirmed by the Sen-

ate, would be the first woman to

serve as treasury secretary, after

breaking ground as the first wom-

an to chair the Fed. Rouse would

be the first Black woman to lead

the CEA in its 74 years of exist-

ence. And Neera Tanden, Biden’s

pick for director of the Office of

Management and Budget, would

be the first South Asian American

in that job.

Biden also selected Wally

Adeyemo to be Yellen’s deputy,

which would make him the first

Black deputy treasury secretary.

Rouse, Tanden and Adeyemo will

all require Senate confirmation,

and Tanden in particular is al-

ready drawing heavy Republican

criticism.

Along with its progressive cast,

Biden’s team also has years of ex-

perience in government and poli-

cymaking. And that’s earning

plaudits from some conservatives,

who note that the nominees are

not a far-left group bent on stran-

gling the economy, as President

Donald Trump repeatedly

warned during the 2020 cam-

paign.

“They are intellectual liberals,

but not burn-it-all-down social-

ists,” said Brian Riedl, a senior fel-

low at the Manhattan Institute and

an adviser to Sen. Mitt Romney’s

presidential campaign. “They’re

fairly conventional liberal econo-

mists and experts.”

Still, the Biden administration’s

ambitious goals will face solid op-

position from Republicans in Con-

gress. The GOP needs to win one

of two Georgia Senate seats in a

Jan. 5 special election to retain

control of the Senate, and the Re-

publicans made major inroads on

Nov. 3 in the Democrats’ House

majority.

“Most of the policies that Biden

ran on will not survive a Republi-

can Senate,” Riedl said. Those in-

clude proposals to raise the mini-

mum wage to $15 an hour and sig-

nificantly increase taxes on

wealthy Americans.

Biden could secure another

round of stimulus spending early

next year, particularly if the re-

cent spikes in confirmed virus

cases push the economy into re-

cession again. But such a package

will likely have to come in under

$1 trillion to get Senate Republi-

can support, Riedl said, rather

than the higher figure House

Speaker Nancy Pelosi is seeking.

Aspokesman for GOP Sen. John

Cornyn of Texas tweeted that Tan-

den “stands zero chance of being

confirmed” as budget director,

citing “an an endless stream of

disparaging comments about” Re-

publican senators. And Josh

Holmes, a political adviser to Sen-

ate Majority Leader Mitch

McConnell, tweeted that her con-

firmation was likely doomed.

Brian Deese, a former senior

economic adviser in the Obama

administration and now the ma-

naging director and global head of

sustainable investing at Black-

Rock, is expected to be named di-

rector of the White House Nation-

al Economic Council, according to

a person familiar with transition

plans who was not authorized to

speak publicly on the matter.

Deese worked on the auto bai-

lout and environmental issues in

the Obama White House, where

he held the title of deputy director

of both the NEC and the OMB.

Deese and Adeyemo are both

under fire from progressives for

their connections to BlackRock, a

giant Wall Street asset manage-

ment firm. BlackRock has sought

to avoid greater regulatory scruti-

ny by Treasury, and many activ-

ists assail the firm for owning

huge stakes in oil and gas compa-

nies.

Biden names liberal economics team

MEL EVANS /AP

Neera Tanden is President­electJoe Biden's pick for director ofthe Office of Management andBudget.

Associated Press

GAO said the problem arose

because the Labor Department

was using the number of people

filing for claims in each state as a

proxy for the number of people

claiming benefits nationwide.

This has resulted in inaccurate

counts, however, because of large

backlogs in processing historic

levels of claims and other data

collection problems.

“Without an accurate account-

ing of the number of individuals

who are relying on these benefits

in as close to real time as possi-

ble, policymakers may be chal-

lenged to respond to the crisis at

hand,” the GAO said in its report.

GAO recommended that the

Labor Department revise its

weekly news releases to clarify

that the numbers in the reports

are not an accurate estimate of

the number of individuals claim-

ing benefits.

The GAO also recommended

that the department pursue other

means to get more accurate read-

ings on benefit applications, such

as using data collected by the

states.

The GAO report said that the

Labor Department had agreed to

make revisions to its weekly news

releases and agreed to pursue op-

tions for obtaining more accurate

data from the states. But the La-

bor Department balked at a rec-

ommendation that it seek state

data going back to January 2020,

contending that collecting back

data would put too much of a bur-

den on already strained state un-

employment offices.

In response to the pandemic

that triggered shutdowns and the

loss of millions of jobs, Congress

provided support through three

programs. It boosted relief

through the regular jobless pro-

gram by $600 weekly to provide

more support. It also extended

this relief from the usual 26

weeks to 39 weeks and created a

Pandemic Unemployment Assist-

ance program that provided ben-

efits to gig-economy workers and

the self-employed.

The program providing an ex-

tra $600 in weekly benefits ex-

pired in August. The program to

help gig-workers and the self-em-

ployed as well as the extended

benefits program are both due to

expire at the end of December.

Congressional negotiators have

so far been unable to reach agree-

ment on reviving these benefit

programs, with Democrats and

Republicans remaining far apart

on the size of another relief bill.

The GAO report also found

that, under the program to help

gig workers and the self-employ-

ed, the majority of states had

been paying the unemployed in

these programs the minimum al-

lowable benefit instead of the

amount they would be eligible to

receive based on their prior earn-

ings.

The GAO findings were part of

the congressional watchdog

agency’s routine reviews of the

operation of the programs Con-

gress passed last spring to pro-

vide support for the country after

the economy went into deep re-

cession.

Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.

and the chairman of the House

Select Subcommittee on the Cor-

onavirus Crisis, said the new re-

port highlighted continued fail-

ures of the Trump administration

in dealing with the crisis.

“With the coronavirus killing

more than one thousand Ameri-

cans each day, I strongly agree

with GAO that we need urgent ac-

tions to prevent the further loss of

Americans’ lives and liveli-

hoods,” Clyburn said in a state-

ment.

GAO: Labor Department advised tomake changes to jobless reportsFROM PAGE 1

WILMINGTON, Del. — Joe Bi-

den has had his first look as presi-

dent-elect at the President’s Daily

Brief, a top-secret summary of

U.S. intelligence and world events

— a document former first lady

Michelle Obama has called “The

Death, Destruction and Horrible

Things Book.”

Biden has already had eyes on

different iterations of the so-

called PDB, which is tailored to

the way each president likes to ab-

sorb information.

“The briefers almost certainly

will be asking Biden what he pre-

fers in terms of format and style,”

said David Priess, author of “The

President’s Book of Secrets,” a

history of the PDB. “At a mini-

mum, they’re seeing what seems

to resonate most with him so that

when they make the book his book,

they can tailor it to him.”

Obama’s PDB was a 10- to 15-

page document tucked in a leather

binder, which he found waiting for

him on the breakfast table. Later

in his presidency, he liked reading

the ultra-secret intelligence brief

on a secured iPad.

“Michelle called it “The Death,

Destruction and Horrible Things

Book,” Obama wrote in his recent-

ly released book, “A Promised

Land.”

“On a given day, I might read

about terrorist cells in Somalia or

unrest in Iraq or the fact that the

Chinese or Russians were devel-

oping new weapons systems,”

Obama wrote. “Nearly always,

there was mention of potential ter-

rorist plots, no matter how vague,

thinly sourced or unactionable —

a form of due diligence on the part

of the intelligence community,

meant to avoid the kind of second-

guessing that had transpired after

9/11.”

From now until Inauguration

Day, Biden and Vice President-

elect Kamala Harris will be read-

ing the PDB crafted for President

Donald Trump, who had delayed

giving them access to it as he con-

tests the outcome of the election.

Trump, who prefers absorbing

information in visual ways, likes

short texts and graphics.

“Trump himself said during his

campaign and during the transi-

tion in 2016 that he did not like

reading long documents — that he

preferred bullet points,” said

Priess, who has not seen any of

Trump’s PDBs. “It probably has

charts, tables, graphs — things

like that. Not the parody that peo-

ple make that it’s like a cartoon

book ... but something that is more

visual. But we don’t know for

sure.”

Biden gets access toPresident’s Daily Brief

Associated Press

PAGE 10 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, December 2, 2020

NATION

HONOLULU — A U.S. judge

sentenced a former high-ranking

Honolulu prosecutor to 13 years

in prison Monday and her retired

police chief husband to seven

years, saying she stole money

from her own grandmother and

then used his law enforcement

power to frame her uncle for a

crime he didn’t commit — all to

maintain the couple’s lavish life-

style.

Katherine and Louis Kealoha,

now estranged, were once a re-

spected power couple. Louis Kea-

loha agreed to retire amid a wide-

ranging federal investigation. She

later gave up her law license.

“This case has staggered the

community in many ways,” U.S.

District Judge J. Michael Sea-

bright said.

He described how Katherine

Kealoha orchestrated a reverse

mortgage scheme that forced her

grandmother to sell her home,

framed her uncle for stealing the

Kealohas’ home mailbox, stole

money from children whose

trusts she controlled as a lawyer,

cheated her uncle out of his life

savings, convinced her firefighter

lover to lie about their affair and

used her position as a prosecutor

to turn a drug investigation away

from her doctor brother.

“Truth can be stranger than

fiction,” the judge said at Kathe-

rine Kealoha’s sentencing.

Later, he told Louis Kealoha

that while his wife was the mas-

termind, “you did master the

frame job that followed,” and the

scheme couldn’t have succeeded

without the Honolulu Police De-

partment.

A jury convicted the Kealohas

last year of conspiracy, along

with two former officers who are

scheduled to be sentenced Tues-

day.

The case is especially shocking,

Seabright said, because of the

role a police chief of a “major

American city,” played.

“Think about that, the chief of

police of one of the largest police

departments in the country ...

swears to tell the truth, the whole

truth and nothing but the truth,”

and lies, the judge said of Louis

Kealoha’s false testimony at the

trial of his wife’s uncle for steal-

ing the couple’s mailbox. The

trial ended in a mistrial that pros-

ecutors say the then-chief caused

on purpose to thwart the investi-

gation.

The Kealohas later pleaded

guilty to bank fraud, saying they

provided false information to ob-

tain loans.

They went to great lengths to

maintain a lifestyle they couldn’t

afford on public servant salaries,

the judge said.

Katherine Kealoha, 51, also

pleaded guilty to an identity theft

charge, saying she got an officer

to forge a police report she used

to explain negative information

on a credit report. She also plead-

ed guilty to a charge that involved

protecting her brother from the

drug investigation.

In a letter to the judge, she

blamed a prescription drug ad-

diction for clouding her judg-

ment.

“My client was on drugs, her

mind was not clear and she did a

lot of bad things,” her lawyer, Ga-

ry Singh, said in court.

Kealoha apologized to her fam-

ily in court and asked for forgive-

ness. “To my uncle, especially,”

she said. “I know that he has been

through so much pain and so

much hurt.”

Ex-Hawaii prosecutor, police chief get prisonAssociated Press

Igor Fruman and Andrey Kukush-

kin — are set to stand trial togeth-

er. All are free on bail, though law-

yers for each argued Monday that

their ability to prepare a defense

has been inhibited by the pandem-

ic.

Parnas’s lawyer Joseph Bondy

told the judge that his investigator,

for instance, cannot be sent to

places where case counts are par-

ticularly high, such as Florida and

Texas. Kukushkin’s lawyer Ger-

ald Lefcourt is based in New York

while his client is in California.

Lefcourt said they have “never

been in the same room” to discuss

evidence.

“It is too dangerous to go to trial

now, Lefcourt said, citing New

York’s rise in infections. “I don’t

NEW YORK — A Ukrainian-

born associate of Rudy Giuliani

pleaded not guilty Monday to

charges he defrauded investors in

a start-up insurance company that

claimed to offer fraud-protection

services to corporate clients —

what prosecutors have called a

sham business that was never op-

erational.

Lev Parnas, whose ties to Giu-

liani became a focal point in Presi-

dent Donald Trump’s impeach-

ment, appeared by video in Man-

hattan federal court to formally

face charges related to the compa-

ny, Fraud Guarantee. The Flor-

ida-based entity was defunct,

prosecutors say, when Parnas and

his business partner David Cor-

reia collected investments rang-

ing between $200,000 and

$500,000.

Giuliani was paid $500,000 by

Fraud Guarantee for consulting

work before teaming with Parnas

in what would prove an unsuc-

cessful quest to dredge up infor-

mation in Ukraine that would

damage Joe Biden ahead of the

election. The former New York

mayor, who as Trump’s personal

lawyer is leading the president’s

long shot bid to overturn the elec-

tion’s outcome, has maintained

there was nothing improper about

his consulting work nor his efforts

to undermine Biden’s candidacy

— though Giuliani’s activities

abroad have drawn the scrutiny of

federal prosecutors.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge

Paul Oetken said the March 1 trial

date that had been scheduled for

Parnas and his co-defendants was

no longer realistic due to rising

coronavirus numbers in New

York. Courts there have essential-

ly halted such proceedings as a re-

sult, and Oetken said that other

cases will likely take priority

when trials resume because they

involve defendants who have been

detained.

Anew trial date has not yet been

set. Oetken gave the lawyers two

weeks to agree on a new schedule.

Widespread availability of a coro-

navirus vaccine may be a deter-

mining factor.

Parnas and two other men —

want to be in a courtroom with a

mask and taking the subway in

this situation.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas

Roos said that several trials have

been conducted in the courthouse

recently “without incident.”

Authorities have accused Par-

nas of lying about how much of his

money was at stake in Fraud

Guarantee and how much had

been collected from others. They

allege that he used tens of thou-

sands of dollars to cover personal

expenses while telling his backers

that their funds were to be used

only for operating costs.

Correia, his former partner in

the venture, pleaded guilty in Oc-

tober and admitted he duped in-

vestors.

Giuliani associate Parnas pleads not guilty in fraud caseBY SHAYNA JACOBS

The Washington Post

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota

regulators approved the final per-

mit Monday for Enbridge Ener-

gy’s Line 3 crude oil pipeline re-

placement across northern Min-

nesota, giving the company the

green light to begin construction

on the $2.6 billion project.

The Minnesota Pollution Con-

trol Agency granted a construc-

tion storm water permit for the

project, which was the last hurdle

that Calgary, Alberta-based En-

bridge needed to clear after years

of reviews and court battles. The

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

and the independent Minnesota

Public Utilities Commission gave

their final approvals last week.

“This project has had the most

extensive review in Minnesota

history,” Gov. Tim Walz told re-

porters. He said his position all

along has been that the state

needed to follow the regulatory

process, the law and the science.

The company and its support-

ers welcomed the decision, but

opponents have vowed to keep up

their fight.

“Construction can now begin,”

Enbridge spokeswoman Juli

Kellner said in a statement that

didn’t specify when that would

happen.

But Enbridge has signaled that

the start could be imminent. The

company notified landowners

along the route via letters earlier

in the month that it expected con-

struction to “start on approxi-

mately November 30.” The com-

pany has previously said it ex-

pected the work to take about

nine months.

“This is the culmination of six

years of evidence and science-

based review of the project,”

Kellner said. “Line 3 is poised to

provide significant economic

benefits for counties, small busi-

nesses, Native American commu-

nities and union members —

bringing 4,200 family-sustaining,

mostly local construction jobs,

millions of dollars in local spend-

ing and additional tax revenues at

a time when Northern Minnesota

needs it most.”

But two tribes — the Red Lake

and White Earth Bands of Chip-

pewa — asked the PUC last week

to stay its approval of the project,

saying the influx of construction

workers would put residents

along the route at higher risk of

COVID-19. A consolidated appeal

by environmental and tribal

groups is also pending before the

Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Opponents say the project

threatens spills in pristine waters

where Native Americans harvest

wild rice and that the Canadian

tar sands oil it plans to carry

would aggravate climate change.

Minn. gives final approval of disputed oil pipelineAssociated Press

JIM MONE/AP

Pipeline used to carry crude oil is shown at the Superior, Wis., terminal of Enbridge Energy.

Wednesday, December 2, 2020 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 11

AMERICAN ROUNDUP

Inmates start jail fire byburning mattresses

GA ATLANTA — Three

people were transport-

ed to a hospital after inmates start-

ed a fire at a Georgia jail by burn-

ing two mattresses, authorities

said.

Fulton County Sheriff’s Office

spokeswoman Tracy Flanagan

said two Fulton County Jail em-

ployees and an inmate were taken

to a hospital as a precaution after

the blaze.

The fire was already out by the

time crews got to the building, but

there was heavy smoke and minor

damage, Atlanta Fire Rescue

spokesman Sgt. Cortez Stafford

told The Atlanta Journal-Consti-

tution. He said a guard had also

suffered from smoke inhalation.

It is not clear how many inmates

are responsible for setting the

mattresses on fire.

Nuns to decide fate ofclosing monastery

NH CONCORD — A Ca-

tholic monastery in

Concord is closing, leaving its five

remaining nuns with a decision to

make.

The Concord Monitor reported

the Diocese of Manchester an-

nounced that it will close the Car-

melite Monastery, 74 years after it

was founded as a branch of the

Carmelites of Boston.

It will be up to the nuns to decide

whether they want to join another

Carmelite monastery. The Moni-

tor reported they will also decide

what to do with the monastery's

property and the remains of sev-

eral sisters buried onsite.

Light extravaganza goesdrive-thru due to virus

LA NEW ORLEANS — The

light extravaganza tra-

dition called Celebration in the

Oaks that is held yearly in City

Park has turned into a drive-thru

experience as a result of the coro-

navirus pandemic.

Thousands of visitors usually go

to the park every holiday season to

see the elaborate light show. It fea-

tures various scenes and charac-

ters made out of lights inter-

spersed throughout the park's

trees and landscapes.

In recent years, visitors would

buy a ticket and walk through a

section of the park where the

lights are arranged. But this year

the pandemic has meant some

changes. Instead of walking, vis-

itors will buy tickets and drive

through the park to see the lights.

Mayor-elect loses armafter hunting accident

WV DUNBAR — The

mayor-elect of a West

Virginia city has lost an arm in a

hunting accident.

Dunbar Mayor-elect Scott El-

liott was injured in a hunting acci-

dent, City Council member Greg

Hudson said in a Facebook post.

Elliott was elected mayor in No-

vember. He is the city's current

public works director and retired

in 2017 after more than 20 years

with the Dunbar police depart-

ment.

Mysterious silver monolithdisappears from desert

UT SALT LAKE CITY — A

mysterious silver

monolith that was placed in the

Utah desert has disappeared less

than 10 days after it was spotted by

wildlife biologists performing a

helicopter survey of bighorn

sheep, federal officials and wit-

nesses said.

“We have received credible re-

ports that the illegally installed

structure, referred to as the

‘monolith’ has been removed from

Bureau of Land Management

public lands by an unknown par-

ty,” BLM spokesperson Kimberly

Finch said in a statement. The

agency did not remove the struc-

ture, she said.

The Utah Department of Public

Safety said biologists spotted the

monolith. It was about 11 feet tall

with sides that appeared to be

made of stainless steel.

Police: Man charged inmachete attack

NC MACCLESFIELD —

Police in North Caroli-

na said they've charged a man

with attempted murder after he

attacked a person with a machete.

The Edgecombe County Sher-

iff's Office said the attacked oc-

curred in Macclesfield.

Police said Carlos Antonio

Washington attacked a person

with a machete outside the vic-

tim's home. Police said Washing-

ton fled after being shot at by

members of the victim's family.

Washington was apprehended

later by police and is being held at

a local detention center. Police

said the victim suffered minor in-

juries.

Man stopped with loadedhandgun at airport

IA DES MOINES — An Ok-

lahoma man was caught

with a loaded handgun in his car-

ry-on bag at an Iowa airport dur-

ing Thanksgiving week, federal

transportation officials said.

Des Moines police were called

to the airport, and officers confis-

cated the gun and cited the man on

suspicion of a weapons charge. It

was the sixth gun confiscated at

the Des Moines International Air-

port in 2020, the TSA said. There

were 12 guns found at the airport

in 2019.

A typical first offense for carry-

ing a loaded handgun into a check-

point is $4,100 and can go as high

as nearly $13,670, depending on

any mitigating circumstances, the

TSA said.

Customer kills gunmanduring robbery attempt

PA PHILADELPHIA — A

customer shot and

killed an armed man during an at-

tempted robbery at a restaurant,

police said.

The 53-year-old suspect en-

tered the Wingstop eatery on Cott-

man Avenue, brandished a gun

and demanded money from the

employees, police said.

The suspect pointed the weapon

at a 27-year-old customer who had

walked into the restaurant, ac-

cording to police. The customer,

who had a valid permit to carry a

gun, shot the suspect in the neck,

police said.

The suspect was pronounced

dead at the scene.

The customer was taken in for

questioning and police recovered

both weapons.

Fort Wayne's replica fortfaces costly repairs

IN FORT WAYNE — The

replica of Fort Wayne’s

early 1800s namesake military

post is facing costly repairs after a

car crashed into its outer timber

wall.

The crash knocked down the tall

timbers making up a corner of the

Old Fort’s wall and damaged the

baker’s oven.

“This is the fourth time the fort

has been hit by a vehicle,” said

Tom Grant, the treasurer of His-

toric Fort Wayne. “This is abso-

lutely the worst situation we’ve

had.”

Grant estimates that it could

costs tens of thousands of dollars

to make repairs at the replica fort

that was first built in the 1970s at

the downtown site along the St.

Marys River. He said the nonprof-

it group was seeking donations.

The car drove over a grassy

berm between a street and the fort

before hitting the timber wall. The

car was abandoned when police

officers arrived and the crash was

under investigation, police said.

HEATHER ROUSSEAU, THE ROANOKE (VA.) TIMES/AP

A hiker checks out the view after waking up before dawn to catch the sunrise at the top of McAfee Knob on Sunday in Catawba, Va.

On top of the world

THE CENSUS

14K The approximate amount in dollars in rewards for leads in thedeaths of two Louisiana black bears. Louisiana authorities are

offering $14,500 in rewards for leads in the deaths of two black bears shot afew miles and nearly six months apart. Investigators don’t know whether a bearfound Nov. 9 near Centerville and one found May 17 south of nearby Franklinwere shot by the same person, the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheriessaid in a news release. Ballistics results so far indicate only that each bear wasshot by a rifle, but not the caliber or other details, Adam Einck, enforcementspokesman for the department, said in an email.

From The Associated Press

PAGE 12 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, December 2, 2020

WORLD

BAKU, Azerbaijan — Azerbai-

jan on Tuesday completed re-

claiming territory ceded by Arme-

nia under a Russia-brokered

peace deal that ended six weeks of

fierce fighting over Nagorno-Ka-

rabakh.

Azerbaijani President Ilham

Aliyev hailed the restoration of

control over the areas as a historic

achievement.

“We all lived with one dream

and now we fulfilled it," Aliyev

said in an address to the nation.

“We won a victory on the battle-

field and on the political arena,

and that victory opens a new era

for our country. It will be an era of

development, security and pro-

gress."

Nagorno-Karabakh is in Azer-

baijan but has been under the con-

trol of ethnic Armenian forces

backed by Armenia since a sepa-

ratist war there ended in 1994.

That war left Nagorno-Karabakh

and large chunks of surrounding

lands in Armenian hands.

In 44 days of heavy fighting that

began Sept. 27, the Azerbaijani

military routed Armenian forces

and wedged deep into Nagorno-

Karabakh, forcing Armenia to ac-

cept the Russia-brokered peace

deal that took effect Nov. 10.

The agreement saw the return

of a significant part of Nagorno-

Karabakh under Azerbaijan's con-

trol and also requested Armenia to

hand over all of the regions it held

outside the separatist region.

The Lachin region, which lies

between Nagorno-Karabakh and

Armenia, was the last of the three

areas on the rim of Nagorno-Kara-

bakh to be surrendered by Arme-

nian forces on Tuesday.

Russia deployed nearly 2,000

peacekeepers for at least five

years to monitor the peace deal

and help the return of refugees.

The Russian troops will also en-

sure safe transit between Nagor-

no-Karabakh and Armenia across

the Lachin region.

Turkey, which has strongly

backed its ally Azerbaijan, has ex-

tended its clout in the region. On

Tuesday, Russian and Turkish

military officials signed docu-

ments to set up a joint monitoring

center to ensure the fulfillment of

the peace deal, which was cele-

brated in Azerbaijan, but sparked

mass protests in Armenia.

Azerbaijan fullyreclaims landsceded by Armenia

Associated Press

The farmers had tried to fight

back.

They were tired of Boko Haram

extremists stealing their money

and crops, a local official said, so

when they saw a chance to capture

one of their tormentors, they tied

him up to face justice.

In response, gunmen on motor-

bikes stormed the village of Kosh-

obe on Saturday, killing at least

110 people in one of the region's

deadliest attacks in years.

"The entire country is hurt by

these senseless killings," tweeted

Nigerian President Muhammadu

Buhari, whose office described

the loss as "insane."

No one has claimed responsib-

ility for the bloodshed.

Nigeria's Borno state has grap-

pled with a relentless insurgency

for more than a decade. Residents

have long blasted leaders in the

capital, Abuja, for failing to pro-

tect them.

Boko Haram has killed more

than 30,000 people since 2009 and

continues to stage regular attacks

across Borno. Millions have been

forced from their homes. The vio-

lence didn't stop after Buhari de-

clared the group "technically de-

feated." An offshoot, the Islamic

State in West Africa, has since

spread, assaulting military out-

posts and collecting taxes from

villagers it intends to rule.

Both groups want to govern Ni-

gerians with an extreme version

of Islam. They have driven scores

of aid workers and federal helpers

out of the country's remotest cor-

ners, leaving residents with little

recourse.

The assailants who struck

Koshobe over the weekend —

about an hour's drive from Borno's

capital, Maiduguri — targeted

people who worked on rice fields.

They tied up the victims and slit

their throats, the local govern-

ment said. Most were migrant

workers who had come from the

nation's northeast. Then the sus-

pected militants set fire to the land

in an agricultural community that

depends on it.

In addition to the 110 people who

died in the ambush, many others

were wounded, said Edward Kal-

lon, the U.N. humanitarian coordi-

nator in Nigeria. Several women

were kidnapped, he added.

Militants massacre at least110 on Nigerian rice farms

BY DANIELLE PAQUETTE

The Washington Post

Wednesday, December 2, 2020 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 13

LONDON — The British government told

businesses Tuesday to make sure they are

ready for big changes when the U.K. makes

its final Brexit break from the European

Union in exactly a month. But with negotia-

tions on a free-trade deal with the bloc

stuck, firms say they still don't know key de-

tails of what those changes will be.

Michael Gove, the minister in charge of

Brexit preparations, said trade talks were

“getting close to the wire.”

“It’s certainly the case that there is a

chance that we may not get a negotiation

outcome, that’s why it’s important that busi-

nesses prepare for all eventualities,” he told

ITV.

The U.K. left the EU early this year, but

remained part of the 27-

nation bloc’s economic

embrace during an 11-

month transition as the

two sides tried to nego-

tiate a new free-trade deal

to take effect Jan. 1.

Talks have already

slipped past the mid-No-

vember date long set as a

deadline for agreement to be reached if it is

to be approved by lawmakers in Britain and

the EU before the end of the year.

Teams led by EU chief negotiator Michel

Barnier and British counterpart David

Frost met through the weekend in London

with no breakthrough. Talks are contin-

uing, and U.K. officials have said this is the

last week to strike a deal.

The two sides remain stuck over key is-

sues including the resolution of future dis-

putes and “level playing field” provisions —

the standards the U.K. must meet to export

into the EU.

The biggest hurdle appears to be fish, a

small part of the economy with an outsized

symbolic importance for Europe’s mari-

time nations.

EU countries want their boats to be able

to keep fishing in British waters, while the

U.K. insists it must control access and quo-

tas.

If there is no deal, New Year’s Day will

bring huge disruption, with the overnight

imposition of tariffs and other barriers to

U.K.-EU trade. That will hurt both sides,

but the burden will fall most heavily on Bri-

tain, which does almost half its trade with

the EU.

The British government has launched a

major information campaign, with bill-

boards and advertisements warning that

“time is running out” and telling businesses

to get ready for change on Jan. 1.

Gove said “more than 80% of what busi-

ness needs to do” would be the same wheth-

er or not there is an agreement.

“But I very much want a deal and I be-

lieve that we can secure one,” he said.

Month ahead of split, Brexit trade deal uncertainBY JILL LAWLESS

Associated Press

Barnier

WORLD

PAGE 14 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Max D. Lederer Jr., Publisher

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Lt. Col. Richard McClintic, Pacific commander

Caroline E. Miller, Europe Business Operations

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stripes.com

OPINION

“America is back,” said Presi-

dent-elect Joe Biden as he

announced key members of

his foreign policy team.

Those three seemingly simple words in fact

require a lot of unpacking: back to what?

Trump-era foreign policy has certainly

been a departure from seven decades of bi-

partisan consensus among leaders in gov-

ernment, business and philanthropy. The

generation that felt itself dragged into two

catastrophic world wars concluded that only

the United States had the economic and mil-

itary muscle to establish and maintain a

more stable order. They understood that the

long-term interests of Americans were best

served by the gradual expansion of peace

and prosperity worldwide.

This stance toward the world has always

bred suspicion and resentment among those

who, like President Donald Trump, tend to

believe that every transaction necessarily

involves either “winning” or “losing.” By

their logic, the wealth of other nations must

reflect, at some level, a “loss” for the United

States, because the money is in their pock-

ets, not ours. Taken to an appalling extreme,

Trump anathematized NATO as some sort

of bad deal for our country. “The one that

benefits, really, the least is the United

States,” he said last year, adding, “we’re

helping Europe.” In fact, the unpreceden-

tedly stable Western alliance has been indis-

pensable to U.S. power and wealth for

Trump’s entire lifetime.

As former chair of the Senate Foreign Re-

lations Committee, Biden is deeply steeped

in the traditional win-win view of America’s

role in the world, and his team reflects that

conviction. The United States, in his view,

can never have too many friends, and the

success of our friends is good for us, too. He

is like the homeowner who understands that

asafe neighborhood raises everyone’s home

values.

To the extent that Biden takes the country

“back” to the expansive, internationalist ap-

proach, he will benefit the national interest.

But it would be a mistake to turn the clock

“back” to 2016. Post-Cold War foreign policy

was off track in some important ways.

Trump’s radical reboot has positioned Bi-

den to start from a new place and build some-

thing better.

Start with China. In hindsight, it’s clear

that the U.S. gave too much and demanded

too little in facilitating Beijing’s economic

rise. The bipartisan consensus took as an ar-

ticle of faith the idea that prosperity and

freedom would go hand in hand. Instead, the

ruling Communist Party has grown richer —

and more repressive, too. From Uighur con-

centration campsto the crackdown on Hong

Kong, Beijing is proposing an alternative to

the human-rights oriented American order.

And China’s escalating conflict with Austra-

lia, a stalwart U.S. ally, is a head-on chal-

lenge to our influence across the Pacific rim.

The Biden administration should main-

tain Trump’s insistence that China fulfill its

responsibilities and play by the rules — but

do it smarter. That means restarting the

Trans-Pacific Partnership of enhanced

trade with our many friends in China’s

neighborhood. We won’t be pushed by a re-

pressive communist regime into abandon-

ing longtime partners or surrendering zones

of influence.

In the Middle East, Trump recognized the

opportunities presented by the United

States’ rise to energy independence. No

longer hamstrung by our addiction to Arab

oil, the U.S. has begun to rethink the possibil-

ities in this seemingly impossible region.

The recognition of Israel by the United Arab

Emirates and Qatar reflects a sober under-

standing that endless conflict stands in the

way of urgently needed economic diversifi-

cation across North Africa.

Team Biden should press ahead with this

breakthrough rather than go back. In doing

so, however, the new administration should

end the mollycoddling of Saudi Arabia’s

reckless Crown Prince Mohammed bin Sal-

man. Modernization, yes; wars and assassi-

nations, no. As to Iran, Biden should take a

long, reflective pause before undoing

Trump’s policy — not because Trump was

careful about withdrawing from the Iran nu-

clear deal (he was rash), but because U.S. in-

terests are damaged by a ping-ponging par-

tisan approach.

Finally, Biden should not go “back” on

Trump’s engagement with our nearest

neighbors. Having renegotiated the North

American Free Trade Agreement, the cur-

rent administration leaves the country

pointed toward shared prosperity. The goal

should be to extend this development all the

way to Tierra del Fuego, knitting the Amer-

icas into a hemisphere of happiness. No wall

can stem mass migrations to the U.S., but

give people good jobs in peaceful communi-

ties and most will prefer to stay home.

Resolute regarding China, flexible in the

Middle East, bullish on development of the

Americas: These three themes constitute

the best of Trump’s unconventional, some-

times dangerous, foreign policy. As Biden

restores the United States to its rightful

place in the world order — the friend of free-

dom and the scourge of tyrants — on these

fronts, he should push ahead.

Biden says US is back. Back to what?BY DAVID VON DREHLE

The Washington Post

Washington Post columnist David Von Drehle is the author of“Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln and America’s MostPerilous Year.”

Having spent the past four years

with the political equivalent of

heavy metal music blasting

outside their psychic windows

late into the night, millions of Americans

are hoping that the Biden administration

will usher in a new era of calm. They are

likely to be disappointed.

To a limited extent, such wishes will be

granted. Under President Joe Biden, the

White House will no longer generate a ca-

cophony of incompetence. Tweet tantrums

will yield to process and predictability. Out-

right falsehood will be supplanted by more

traditional spin, tethered to truth. Cabinet

officers and appointees will conspicuously

fail to match their predecessors' reckless

driving, or the ethical and policy car crash-

es that resulted. No one will be kidnapping

migrant children and blithely deporting

their parents to destinations unknown.

But while Biden may proceed with busi-

ness as usual, the nation and the world will

not. U.S. domestic politics is an ugly mess,

and whatever muddling consensus might

have been forged among U.S. allies regard-

ing Chinese ambitions, global migration or

climate peril is further from realization

than it was four years ago. No matter how

dull Biden aspires to be, the forces of entro-

py — including a soon-to-be-removed in-

cumbent desperate to polarize for profit —

will push toward chaos and conflict.

Notably, all suppositions of calm in U.S.

politics are based, explicitly or implicitly,

on Democratic political dominance. Yet the

demographic destiny of the party continues

to be over the next hill. Trump did his best to

drive the GOP deeper into an all-white cul-

de-sac. Yet as a Bloomberg News analysis

concluded, in counties as varied as Miami-

Dade in Florida, Maricopa in Arizona and

Harris in Texas, Trump did better among

Hispanic voters in 2020 than in 2016. He al-

so succeeded in bringing more white non-

college-educated voters to the polls. All in

all, Republicans fared spectacularly well

for a party that had ostentatiously failed to

address a crisis responsible for killing more

than a quarter million Americans so far this

year.

Meanwhile, the GOP is ever more invest-

ed in a set of interlocking resentments — of

liberal elites, of Black Americans, of femi-

nism and nontraditional sexual identities, of

immigrants, of rich cities, of poor cities, of

all the emerging and dynamic quarters of

the economy. Other than its bedrock com-

mitment to upward redistribution of nation-

al wealth, the party's compact with its vot-

ers entails little more than punishing weak-

er enemies or owning empowered libs.

Without shared truths, shared govern-

ment is tenuous. A Biden administration

can navigate the resentments stoked by

Trumpism, but there is no obvious way to

neutralize the lies that animate it.

While the GOP has abandoned truth, it

holds fast to partisan logic. The mixture of

silence and complicity that enveloped

Trump's efforts to steal the election con-

firmed that much of the party has climbed

the final mountain in its evolution: post-pol-

icy, post-truth, post-democratic.

Biden will be working to strengthen dem-

ocratic values in a world still reeling from

U.S. abandonment of democratic norms,

practices and goals, and in a nation where

the opposition party increasingly views de-

mocracy as an impediment to its quest for

power. He will face a domestic opposition

committed to undermining not only his pol-

icies, but also their empirical foundation.

U.S. allies have had four years to adjust

their mental maps of the world, gradually

acknowledging the moral and political void

where the outline of America used to be.

"America is back," Biden said last week. In

the White House, and across the cabinets of

the federal government, that may prove

correct. But across the world, doubts will

linger.

The next four years will be quieter, less

obnoxious, less dangerous, than the past

four. But they will not be boring, and they

will not be normal.

The Biden era will be neither normal nor boringBY FRANCIS WILKINSON

Bloomberg Opinion

Francis Wilkinson writes about U.S. politics and domestic policyfor Bloomberg Opinion.

Wednesday, December 2, 2020 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 15

PAGE 16 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, December 2, 2020

ACROSS

1 Halloween

greeting

4 Roman 52

7 Honker

8 — blanche

10 Beetle Bailey’s

boss

11 Black Sea port

13 “Unacceptable!”

16 German article

17 Lauder of

cosmetics

18 Sweetie

19 Geese

formations

20 Antitoxins

21 Plumber’s tool

23 “— bleu!”

25 Bell sound

26 Leslie Caron role

27 Cash dispenser

28 Humiliate

30 Motorist’s org.

33 “Oh, and also ...”

36 Fall guy

37 Blood giver

38 Hot and sticky

39 Villain in “Wonder

Woman”

40 Light brown

41 Witnessed

DOWN

1 Tennis star

Becker

2 PTA and

NEA, e.g.

3 Seven days

4 Soup server

5 Cara or

Castle

6 “You never

had — good!”

7 “Funny!”

8 Young horses

9 Old Testament

book

10 Norm (Abbr.)

12 Worship

14 “Got it”

15 Stop — dime

19 Batman portrayer

Kilmer

20 Biol. or chem.

21 Rogen and

Green

22 “Broadway Joe”

23 Spanish ayes

24 Programs

25 Bit of butter

26 Played at

a casino

28 Bakery lure

29 Commence

30 Good — (fixed)

31 Singer Tori

32 — Lingus

34 Track tipster

35 Nickelodeon’s

“Explorer”

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

Wednesday, December 2, 2020 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 17

PAGE 18 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, December 2, 2020

FACES

Here’s a collection curated by The Asso-

ciated Press’ entertainment journalists of

what’s arriving on TV, streaming services

and music platforms this week.

MoviesFilm history fans will get a meal out of

David Fincher’s “Mank,” about “Citizen

Kane” screenwriter Herman J. Mankiew-

icz who is masterfully played by Gary Old-

man. Shot in gorgeous black and white,

“Mank” transports you into the depression-

era studio system and to the bungalow

where the first draft of the classic Orson

Welles film was composed. Available on

Netflix on Friday, “Mank” is one of the

year’s best films and both a tribute to and

searing critique of Hollywood’s golden age.

“Sound of Metal” stars Riz Ahmed as a

punk metal drummer who experiences sud-

den severe hearing loss. The film, which is

captioned in English, dives into the world of

the deaf community with Ruben (Ahmed)

in a way you’ve never seen or heard before.

It’s the directorial debut of Darius Marder-

who assembled an crack team of sound mix-

ers and editors to create a unique auditory

experience to simulate what Ruben is going

through as he loses his hearing entirely.

The new live-action “Mulan” will finally

be free for Disney+ subscribers Friday.

From director Niki Caro, this adaptation of

the Chinese folk tale about a young woman

who disguises herself as a man and takes

her father’s place in the army is breathtak-

ingly beautiful, from the stunning land-

scapes to the colorful costumes. Although it

may fall short of the kind of intoxicating sto-

ry magic that the Disney label signifies, it is

worth a watch and may just inspire some

curious young viewers to delve into more

Asian cinema classics. Also, if you find

yourself missing the songs and Eddie Mur-

phy, the animated 1998 version is also avail-

able on the service.

— AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

MusicA house is not a home during the holiday

season without Mariah Carey’s “All I Want

for Christmas Is You” blasting. During a

normal year, Carey and her Christmas cra-

ziness would be on a holiday tour. Because

live shows aren’t really a thing in 2020, she’s

launching a holiday TV special on Apple

TV+ on Friday. “Mariah Carey’s Magical

Christmas Special” will includes a mix of

musical performances and dancing with

animation. Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hud-

son, Snoop Dogg, Tiffany Haddish, Misty

Copeland and Carey’s 9-year-old twins will

make special appearances.

Shawn Mendes released his debut album

in 2015 and he’s dropping his fourth effort

Friday. “Wonder” continues to showcase

Mendes’ growth as a

singer, songwriter

and performer. The

album features the

singles “Wonder”

and “Monster” with

Justin Bieber, which

debuted in the Top

10 of the Billboard

Hot chart this week.

Additionally, a Netflix documentary called

“Shawn Mendes: In Wonder” is available

for streaming and follows Mendes’ rise and

journey over the past few years.

Christmas came early when Carrie Un-

derwood released her first holiday album in

September, and on Thursday she’ll debut a

musical TV special to accompany it. On

HBO Max’s “My Gift: A Christmas Special

from Carrie Underwood” — conducted by

award-winning musical director Rickey

Minor — the country superstar is backed by

a live orchestra, choir and her band. John

Legend makes an appearance, and viewers

will get a behind-the-scenes look at Under-

wood’s 5-year-old son, Isaiah, recording his

vocals for “Little Drummer Boy.”

— AP Music Editor Mesfin Fekadu

Television“Selena: The Series” is described by Net-

flix as a coming-of-age drama that follows

Selena Quintanilla from talented youngster

to musical phenom, aided by her family. A

breakthrough star in male-dominated Teja-

no music, the singer was just shy of her 24th

birthday in 1995 when she was fatally shot

by a former business associate. The two-

part series debuts Friday with Christian

Serratos (“The Walking Dead”) as Selena

and Gabriel Chavarria (“East Los Angeles’)

and Ricardo Chavira (“Desperate House-

wives”) among the cast members.

The 11th and final season of the Showtime

dramady “Shameless” debuts Sunday,

weaving the pandemic, urban gentrifica-

tion and personal pressures into the lives of

the Gallaghers of Chicago’s South Side.

Aging patriarch Frank (William H. Ma-

cy) is facing the toll of longtime alcohol and

drug abuse, while and Ian and Mickey

(Cameron Monaghan, Noel Fisher) strug-

gle as newlyweds. Deb (Emma Kenney)

stands ready to give her all to single mother-

hood and Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) feels the

same about his nascent law enforcement

career.

— AP Television Writer Lynn Elber

Streaming soon

NETFLIX

Christian Serratos is Selena Quintanilla in “Selena The Series,” coming Friday to Netflix. 

Amazon Studios

Riz Ahmed stars in “Sound of Metal” as apunk metal drummer who experiencessudden severe hearing loss. 

SHOWTIME

William H. Macy is Frank Gallagher in“Shameless.” The 11th and final season ofthe series premieres Sunday.

Selena series, ‘Shameless’ and Shawn MendesAssociated Press

The year’s most played artist on

Spotify? Globally speaking: Bad

Bunny.

The Puerto Rican superstar is

the music platform’s most-

streamed artist of the year with 8.3

billion streams globally. The Latin

Grammy winner and hitmaker,

who released a new album last

week, leads a top five list that in-

cludes Drake, J Balvin, Juice

WRLD and The Weeknd.

With more than 3.3 billion

streams, Bad Bunny’s sophomore

solo album “YHLQMDLG” tops

Spotify’s list of most-streamed al-

bums globally. The Weeknd’s “Af-

ter Hours,” Post Malone’s “Holly-

wood’s Bleeding,” Harry Styles’

“Fine Line” and Dua Lipa’s “Fu-

ture Nostalgia” round of the top

five.

The Weeknd’s album is the only

one in the top five to earn no

Grammy nominations. The al-

bum’s single, “Blinding Lights,” is

Spotify’s most-streamed song of

the year with 1.6 million streams

globally.

“Dance Monkey” by Australian

singer Tones and I is the second

most-streamed song of the year,

while Roddy Ricch’s “The Box,”

SAINt JHN’s “Roses — Imanbek

Remix” and Lipa’s “Don’t Start

Now” came in third, fourth and

fifth respectively.

In the U.S., late rapper Juice

WRLD was the most-streamed

artist on Spotify. His album “Leg-

ends Never Die” was the plat-

form’s most-streamed album in

the U.S., while Ricch’s “The Box”

was the country’s most-streamed

song.

Felicity Huffman’s next

act: TV baseball comedy

Felicity Huffman, the “Desper-

ate Housewives” star who was

convicted last year in the college

admissions scandal, just got a new

lease on her acting life. The Em-

my-winning actress has inked a

deal for a comedy pilot for ABC. In

the half-hour how, as yet untitled,

Huffman will play the unlikely

owner of a minor-league baseball

team that she inherited after her

husband’s death. “Peanut Butter

Falcon” actor Zack Gottsagen will

co-star as Huffman’s eldest son, a

baseball fanatic who has Down

syndrome. The story is based on

the life of Susan Savage, owner of

the Triple A World Champion Sac-

ramento River Cats. .

Other news

The co-author of the million-

selling “Game Change” has a book

coming about the 2020 election.

Simon & Schuster announced

Monday that John Heilemann is

working on a “dramatic, first-

hand account” of Joe Biden’s vic-

torious presidential campaign.

The book is currently untitled.

Dave Prowse, the British

weightlifter-turned-actor who

was the body, though not the voice,

of arch-villain Darth Vader in the

original Star Wars trilogy, died

Nov. 28 after a short illness. He

was 85. Director George Lucas

saw Prowse in a small part in “A

Clockwork Orange” and asked the

6-foot-6-inch actor to audition for

the villainous Vader or the Wookie

Chewbacca in “Star Wars.”

Bad Bunny is Spotify’s most-streamed artist of 2020Associated Press

AP

Bad Bunny, shown at the Bill­board Latin Music Awards in2019, was the most­streamedartist on Spotify in 2020. 

Wednesday, December 2, 2020 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 19

PAGE 20 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, December 2, 2020

SCOREBOARD/HIGH SCHOOLS

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

AP Top 25 scheduleNo. 1 Alabama at LSU, SaturdayNo. 2 Notre Dame vs. Syracuse, SaturdayNo. 3 Ohio State at Michigan State, Sat-

urdayNo. 4 Clemson at Virginia Tech, SaturdayNo. 5 Texas A&M at Auburn, SaturdayNo. 6 Florida at Tennessee, SaturdayNo. 9 Miami at Duke, SaturdayNo. 10 Indiana at No. 18 Wisconsin, Sat-

urdayNo. 11 Georgia vs. Vanderbilt, SaturdayNo. 12 Iowa State vs. West Virginia, Sat-

urdayNo. 13 Oklahoma vs. Baylor, SaturdayNo. 14 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 25 Liberty,

SaturdayNo. 15 Marshall vs. Rice, SaturdayNo. 17 Southern Cal vs. Washington

State, SundayNo. 19 Oklahoma State at TCU, SaturdayNo. 20 Louisiana-Lafayette at Appala-

chian State, FridayNo. 21 Oregon at California, SaturdayNo. 22 Tulsa at Navy, SaturdayNo. 23 Washington vs. Stanford, Satur-

dayNo. 24 Iowa at Illinois, Saturday

AP men's Top 25The top 25 teams in The Associated

Press' college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, recordsthrough Nov. 30, total points based on 25points for a first-place vote through onepoint for a 25th-place vote and previousranking

Record Pts Prv

1. Gonzaga (57) 2-0 1569 1

2. Baylor (6) 2-0 1513 2

3. Iowa 2-0 1410 5

4. Wisconsin 2-0 1287 7

5. Illinois 3-0 1281 8

6. Duke 1-0 1185 9

7. Kansas 1-1 1169 6

8. Michigan St. 2-0 1028 13

9. Creighton 1-0 981 11

10. Houston 3-0 949 17

11. West Virginia 3-0 943 15

12. Villanova 2-1 939 3

13. Tennessee 0-0 878 12

14. North Carolina 1-0 591 16

15. Virginia 1-1 581 4

16. Virginia Tech 3-0 570 —

17. Texas 2-0 478 19

17. Texas Tech 2-1 478 14

19. Richmond 2-0 382 —

20. Kentucky 1-1 363 10

21. Oregon 0-0 338 20

22. Florida St. 0-0 304 21

23. Ohio St. 2-0 282 23

24. Rutgers 3-0 252 24

25. Arizona St 2-1 233 18

Others receiving votes: Michigan 90, SanDiego St. 86, Saint Louis 69, Louisville 55,Alabama 52, Florida 45, Indiana 38, UCLA14, Maryland 9, Providence 7, Stanford 7,UConn 6, Clemson 4, LSU 3, Arkansas 2,Loyola of Chicago 1, TCU 1, Colorado 1, BYU1.

Monday's men's scores

EAST

Hofstra 73, Fairleigh Dickinson 58Seton Hall 86, Iona 64St. John's 97, Boston College 93UALR 76, Duquesne 66

SOUTH

Bowling Green 78, Appalachian St. 76Campbell 85, St. Andrews 51Chattanooga 62, Tennessee Tech 54Emmanuel 64, Stetson 61Jacksonville St. 85, Mobile 66LSU 96, SE Louisiana 43Mercer 86, Georgia St. 69Mississippi St. 68, Texas St. 51North Carolina 78, UNLV 51UCF 63, Auburn 55W. Carolina 96, Piedmont 58

MIDWEST

Indiana 79, Providence 58Kansas St. 62, UMKC 58Minnesota 67, Loyola Marymount 64Xavier 99, E. Kentucky 96, OT

SOUTHWEST

SMU 91, Texas A&M-CC 54Texas 78, Davidson 76

FAR WEST

CS Northridge 76, Seattle 65California 60, Nicholls 49Nevada 70, Pacific 58Stanford 82, Alabama 64Texas Southern 76, Wyoming 74

AP women's Top 25The top 25 teams in The Associated

Press' women's college basketball poll,with first-place votes in parentheses, re-cords through Nov. 30, total points basedon 25 points for a first-place vote throughone point for a 25th-place vote and previ-ous ranking

Record Pts Prv

1. South Carolina (29) 3-0 749 1

2. Stanford (1) 1-0 704 2

3. UConn 0-0 689 3

4. Baylor 1-0 665 4

5. Louisville 2-0 607 5

6. Mississippi St. 1-0 586 6

7. Arizona 1-0 566 7

8. NC State 2-0 564 8

9. UCLA 1-0 494 9

10. Oregon 1-0 477 10

11. Kentucky 2-0 466 11

12. Texas A&M 2-0 412 13

13. Indiana 1-0 342 16

14. Maryland 2-1 327 12

15. Northwestern 0-0 289 17

16. Arkansas 3-1 265 14

17. Oregon St. 1-0 256 18

18. Gonzaga 1-1 193 21

19. Ohio St. 1-0 189 20

20. DePaul 1-1 187 19

21. Missouri St. 2-1 153 24

22. Syracuse 1-0 142 23

23. Iowa St. 1-1 128 15

24. Michigan 2-0 110 25

25. Texas 2-0 65 —

Others receiving votes: South Dakota St.31, North Carolina 24, South Dakota 20,Notre Dame 20, Arizona St. 10, Wake Forest9, Ohio 6, South Florida 1, Boston College 1,Tennessee 1, Rutgers 1, Duke 1.

Monday's women's scores

EAST

Penn St. 87, St. Francis (Pa.) 54Towson 95, La Salle 66

SOUTH

Buffalo 80, James Madison 64Clemson 80, Charlotte 73FAU 93, North Florida 81Howard 87, Mount St. Mary's 83

MIDWEST

DePaul 128, Chicago St. 66Gonzaga 54, South Dakota 50

FAR WEST

Arizona St. 62, Saint Mary's (Cal) 53

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

PRO SOCCER

MLS playoffsPlay-in

Eastern ConferenceFriday, Nov. 20

New England 2, Montreal 1Nashville 3, Inter Miami 0

First RoundEastern Conference

Saturday, Nov. 21Orlando City 1, New York City FC 1, (Or-

lando advances 6-5 on penalties)Columbus 3, New York 2

Tuesday, Nov. 24Nashville 1, Toronto 0, OTNew England 2, Philadelphia 0

Western ConferenceSunday, Nov. 22

Sporting Kansas City 3, San Jose 3,(Sporting KC advances 3-0 on penalties)

Minnesota United 3, Colorado 0Portland 3, Dallas 3, (Dallas advances 8-7

on penalties)

Tuesday, Nov. 24Seattle 3, Los Angeles FC 1

Conference SemifinalsEastern Conference

Sunday, Nov. 29New England 3, Orlando City 1Columbus 2, Nashville 0

Western ConferenceTuesday's game

Dallas at Seattle

Thursday's gameMinnesota United at Sporting Kansas

City

Conference ChampionshipsSunday's game

Eastern ConferenceNew England at Columbus

Monday's gameWestern Conference

Seattle-Dallas winner vs. Sporting KC-Minnesota winner

MLS CupSaturday, Dec. 12

Teams TBD

DEALS

Monday's transactionsBASEBALL

Major League BaseballAmerican League

CLEVELAND INDIANS — Traded RHPAdam Cimber to Miami for cash consider-ations.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS — Signed OF Mi-chael Taylor. Designated LHP Foster Grif-fin for assignment.

National LeagueCHICAGO CUBS — Named Jeff Greenberg

assistant general manager. Named CraigBreslow assistant general manager andvice president of pitching.

MIAMI MARLINS — Designated RHP JoseUrena for assignment.

BASKETBALLNational Basketball Association

DETROIT PISTONS — Signed guards Kil-lian Hayes and Saben Lee and forwardsIsaiah Stewart and Saben Lee.

FOOTBALLNational Football League

ARIZONA CARDINALS — Placed TE EvanBaylis on waivers.

BALTIMORE RAVENS — Activated OLBJaylon Ferguson, G D.J. Fluker, CB ImanMarshall and DT Broderick Washingtonfrom the reserve/COVID-19 list.

CAROLINA PANTHERS — Placed DE YeturGross-Matos on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

CLEVELAND BROWNS — Claimed S Te-dric Thompson off waivers from KansasCity. Activated FB Andy Janovich from thereserve/COVID-19 list.

HOUSTON TEXANS — Activated G HjalteFroholdt from the exempt/commissionerpermission list.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS — Activated KChase McLaughlin from the reserve/CO-VID-19 list.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES — Activated DEGendard Avery from injured reserve. Pro-moted TE Caleb Wilson and DT T.Y. McGillto the active roster.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS — Activated DEIsaiah Buggs and G Kevin Dotson from thereserve/COVID-19 list.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS — ActivatedWR Jaydon Mickens and RB T.J. Loganfrom the reserve/COVID-19 list. Placed DLBenning Potoa on the reserve/COVID-19list.

SOCCERMLS

LOS ANGELES GALAXY — Exercised con-tract options of G Justin Vom Steeg, D Die-die Traore, M Kai Koreniuk and F Ethan Zu-bak. Agreed to terms with M Sacha Kijes-tan on a new contract. Declined the op-tions of M Joe Corona, D's Emiliano Insuaand Emil Cuello, F's Yony Gonzalez andGordon Wild and G Jonathan Klinsmann.

National Women's Soccer LeagueWASHINGTON SPIRIT — Re-signed M ToriHuster to a two-year contract.

AP SPORTLIGHT

Dec. 2

1907 — Tommy Burns defends his worldheavyweight title by knocking out GunnerMoir in the 10th round at London.

1944 — Ohio State quarterback LeslieHorvath wins the Heisman Trophy.

1947 — Notre Dame quarterback JohnnyLujack wins the Heisman Trophy.

1952 — Oklahoma halfback Billy Vesselsis named the Heisman Trophy winner.

1958 — Army back Pete Dawkins isnamed the Heisman Trophy winner.

1993 — The Houston Rockets tie the NBArecord for the best start to a season, im-proving to 15-0 with a 94-85 victory overthe New York Knicks. The Rocketsmatched the start of the 1948-49 Washing-ton Capitols.

1995 — Notre Dame advances to theNCAA women’s soccer championship bybecoming the first team to beat 13-timechampion North Carolina in the nationalsemifinals. The lone score comes whenTar Heels forward Cindy Parlow acciden-tally heads a ball into her own net.

2002 — Oakland’s Tim Brown and JerryRice take turns rewriting the NFL recordbook in a 26-20 win over the New York Jets.Brown becomes the third player with 1,000receptions and the third with 14,000 yardsreceiving. Rich Gannon ties an NFL recordwith his ninth 300-yard passing game ofthe season. On the very next play afterBrown’s 1,000th catch, Rice scores on a 26-yard catch, giving Oakland a 13-10 lead.It’s Rice’s record 192nd TD catch and putshim over 1,000 yards receiving for a record14th season.

2009 — The New Jersey Nets are pound-ed into NBA infamy, falling 117-101 to theDallas Mavericks for their 18th straightloss to start the season. The Nets pass the1988-89 Miami Heat and 1999 Los AngelesClippers, who both dropped their first 17games.

2017 — McKenzie Milton of UCF passesfor 494 yards and five TDs to help the 12th-ranked Knights win the American AthleticConference title with a 62-55 victory overNo. 16 Memphis in double overtime. The117 points between UCF and Memphis setsa record for an FBS conference champion-ship game.

PRO BASEBALL

MLB calendarDec. 2 — Last day for teams to offer 2021

contracts to unsigned players on their 40-man rosters.

2021

Jan. 15 — International amateur signingperiod opens.

Jan, 26 — Hall of Fame voting an-nounced.

Feb. 1-19 — Salary arbitration hearings,Scottsdale, Ariz.

Feb. 17 — Voluntary reporting date forpitchers, catchers and injured players.

Feb. 22 — Voluntary reporting date forother players.

Feb. 27 — Mandatory reporting date. March 15 — Last day to place a player on

waivers for 30 days termination pay. March 27 — Last day to offer a retention

bonus to an eligible player attendingspring training with a minor league con-tract.

March 30 — Last day to place a player onwaivers for 45 days termination pay.

April 1 — Opening day, active rosters re-duced to 26 players.

July 13 — All-Star Game, Atlanta. July 25 — Hall of Fame induction, Coo-

perstown, N.Y. Dec. 1 — Collective bargaining agree-

ment expires, 11:59 p.m. EST. Dec. 15 — International amateur signing

period closes.

The American high school win-

ter sports season in Europe will

get off to a later start than antici-

pated.

If it happens at all.

“There won’t be any competi-

tion at least until we come back in

January,” Kathy Clemmons, the

DODEA Europe athletic director,

said Monday, shortly after shar-

ing an update with school admin-

istrators and athletic directors.

In Europe, the winter season

has traditionally featured two

weeks of competition — and

about a month’s worth of practic-

es — before the Christmas break.

But Clemmons said host nation

regulations and U.S. military re-

strictions to try to curb the spread

of the coronavirus will make the

winter season far from ordinary,

just as it did in the fall and spring

— where entire sports or seasons

were reduced or eliminated.

There might be practices at

some schools, though.

“Nothing has been finalized,”

said Dennis Ullery, athletic direc-

tor at Lakenheath in England. But

if the 48th Fighter Wing grants ap-

proval, practices for both girls

and boys teams in volleyball and

weightlifting could start as early

as Dec. 8.

That’s also the situation at Rota

in Spain. AD Ben Anderson said

students — who have been back

in school in Rota since Oct. 5 —

would like to start practice next

week. But the decision will be up

to the Naval Station Rota com-

mand.

Elsewhere, the situation is a bit

more complicated. Germany’s

national decree that expires Dec.

20 prohibits any training or com-

petition for amateur sports, Clem-

mons said. It’s entirely possible

that could be extended into the

new year. Christmas break starts

Dec. 19. and school resumes Jan.

4.

Italy has both national and re-

gional decrees in play. Vicenza

has the only DODEA high school

in Italy currently with students in

classrooms. AD Theresa Urquilla

said they’re waiting on a national

decree that expires Thursday to

see how they’ll proceed.

“There are so many layers, it’s

just impossible to say, ‘This is

what we’re going to do,’ ” as an

organization, Clemmons said. In a

mass email, she encouraged

schools who could practice to

start. But she said traveling to

play seemed unlikely under cur-

rent conditions.

“We’ll come back in January,

after Christmas break, and we’ll

see where we stand,” she said.

Anderson said practice is bet-

ter than nothing for the Admirals,

who have never fielded boys vol-

leyball or any weightlifting

teams.

“I know the kids would really

like to be doing something after

school,” he said.

MICHAEL ABRAMS / Stars and Stripes

Stuttgart’s Karen Kosinski, center, spikes the ball past the Ramsteindefense of Lauren Szczygeil, left, and Sequoia Juhaz duringthe Divi­sion I final at the DODEA Europe volleyball championships in Kai­serslautern on Nov. 2, 2019. The next season, if it happens, won’tbegin until at least January. 

DODEA Europewinter sportsseason delayed

BY KENT HARRIS

Stars and Stripes

Harris.kent@stripes.comTwitter: kharris4stripes

Wednesday, December 2, 2020 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 21

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The

Southeastern Conference has

named Vanderbilt kicker Sarah

Fuller as the league’s co-special

teams player of the week after she

made history becoming the first

woman to play in a Power 5 con-

ference football game.

Fuller shared the award Mon-

day with Florida punt returner

Kadarius Toney after the senior

soccer player served as Vander-

bilt’s primary kicker in a loss to

Missouri. She sent a squib kick 30

yards that was covered at the Mis-

souri 35 to open the second half in

her only chance to kick.

The Vanderbilt kicker became

the third woman to play at the

Football Bowl Subdivision level,

joining Katie Hnida, who was the

first and scored two extra points

for New Mexico on Aug. 30, 2003,

and April Goss, who had an extra

point for Kent State in 2015.

Fuller is continuing to practice

with Vanderbilt, which visits No.

11 Georgia on Saturday. Fuller

helped Vanderbilt win the South-

eastern Conference women’s

tournament title on Nov. 22.

Fuller said she wants to remain

a member of the team.

“I'll stay around as long as they

want me, till they like, kick me

off,” Fuller said Sunday. “So I'm

here for the long run.”

Fuller said her longest field goal

in practice last week was 38 yards.

“I asked for some film on some

NFL kickers that are comparable

to how I kick so I can refine that,"

Fuller said.

Fuller lands SEC football honor

L.G. PATTERSON / AP

Vanderbilt's Sarah Fuller kicksoff at Missouri Saturday.

Associated Press

Minnesota announced Monday

it has called off this weekend’s

game against No. 16 Northwest-

ern, the second straight cancella-

tion for the Gophers due to a spike

in COVID-19 cases within the pro-

gram.

University officials made the

decision in consultation with the

Big Ten after seven additional

positive cases were confirmed.

The Wildcats, who lead the West

Division by one game at 5-1, were

scheduled to play Saturday at TCF

Bank Stadium. Those Gophers

who have contracted the virus

have experienced “very, very

mild symptoms,” according to

coach P.J. Fleck.

College football is limping to-

ward the postseason in late De-

cember as multiple programs deal

with COVID-19 outbreaks and

contact tracing protocols. Four

games on this week’s schedule

have been postponed or canceled.

Over the last three weeks, 52

games have been called off be-

cause of COVID-19 issues out of

179 that were scheduled. Since

late August, the total number of

canceled or postponed games is

103.

Minnesota’s football team has

turned up 47 positive cases since

Nov. 19 — 21 players and 26 staff

members. The Gophers paused all

team activities six days ago, when

they canceled the annual rivalry

game at Wisconsin. Minnesota al-

so said it will hold all meetings vir-

tually for the rest of the season.

Left on the schedule is a game at

Nebraska on Dec. 12 and a to-be-

determined cross-division oppo-

nent on Dec. 19.

“There’s not a lot we can do

about it. Nobody’s doing anything

wrong. The virus remains unde-

feated,” Fleck said on his weekly

radio appearance on KFAN-FM.

“We are in a major city, surround-

ed by a lot of people.”

The university is working with

the state health department to iso-

late and treat the individuals

who’ve tested positive. Last week,

Minnesota added testing beyond

the conference’s established pro-

tocols.

“The health and safety of our

student-athletes, coaches and

staff continues to be our main pri-

ority,” athletic director Mark

Coyle said. “The last couple of

days have shown a decrease in

positive cases, but not to the point

where we are able to return to

competition.”

Coyle said the Gophers are aim-

ing to play Nebraska as scheduled,

and Fleck said the team is game-

planning for the Huskers.

The virus has done a number on

the Big Ten race, with six cancel-

lations so far. The 18th-ranked

Badgers have likely become ineli-

gible for the conference cham-

pionship because they haven’t

played enough games. East Divi-

sion leader and third-ranked Ohio

State, which had to cancel its last

game against Illinois, would be in

danger of that fate with one more

cancellation.

College basketballThe pandemic is also disrupting

the early days of the college bas-

ketball season, with coaches

scrambling to fill holes in the

schedule. The 21st-ranked Oregon

men’s basketball program an-

nounced it would play two games

in Omaha, Neb. — against Missou-

ri on Wednesday and Seton Hall

on Friday.

Oregon is yet to open its basket-

ball season because of the CO-

VID-19-related cancellations of

multiteam events the Ducks

hoped to play in as well as a game

against Eastern Washington.

Ducks coach Dana Altman was

the longtime coach at Creighton,

in Omaha, before leaving for Ore-

gon and he has remained close

friends with athletic director

Bruce Rasmussen.

Seton Hall (0-1), like Creighton,

plays in the Big East. Rasmussen

served as the middleman to get the

Ducks and Pirates together on

Creighton’s home court.

Virus spike forcesGophers to cancelgame vs. Wildcats

STACY BENGS / AP

Linebacker Josh Aune, front, andMinnesota have had to canceltwo consecutive games becauseof a coronavirus outbreak.

Minnesota footballhas had 47 positivecases since Nov. 19

FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii —

The U.S. Army’s Hawaii-based

“Tropic Lightning” 25th Infantry

Division is serving as the inspira-

tion for the uniforms to be worn

next week during the Army-Navy

football game.

The annual matchup will take

place Dec. 12 at Army’s Michie

Stadium.

Black Knights players’ uni-

forms will honor the division’s Ko-

rean War-era 27th Infantry Re-

giment, the Wolfhounds, which

played a decisive role in repelling

the initial massive assault by the

North Korean People’s Army in

1950, according to promotional

materials released by the Army.

Army’s helmets will sport the

division’s distinctive insignia: a

golden lightning bolt emblazoned

upon a red taro leaf.

The division was activated on

Oahu shortly before Japan’s sur-

prise attack on the island on Dec.

7, 1941. Its soldiers participated in

the invasion of Luzon, Philippines,

in January 1945 and were among

the occupying forces in Japan af-

ter its surrender later that year.

On one shoulder of the uniform

is a wolf head, symbol of the divi-

sion’s Wolfhounds, whose soldiers

were deployed from the tranquil

Japan occupation to Korea when

war broke out in June 1950.

The Wolfhounds were among

the units defending the Pusan Pe-

rimeter and then pushed the ene-

my back toward the north, earning

three Presidential Unit Citations

during the conflict, which ended

in 1953.

“The Wolfhounds have more

Medal of Honor recipients than

any other regiment going back to

the Spanish-American War,” the

Army said.

The uniforms carry a shoulder

patch of an American flag from

the early 1950s, which had only 48

stars before Hawaii and Alaska

became states in 1959.

The game venue of West Point,

N.Y., chosen in the wake of the

coronavirus pandemic, is a signif-

icant departure from the longtime

tradition of holding the game at

neutral locations.

Over the 120 years the rivals

have competed, about three-quar-

ters of those games were played in

Philadelphia.

U.S. ARMY / U.S. Army

The 25th Infantry Division’s Wolfhounds, whose soldiers defended a foothold on the Korean peninsula in1950, are the inspiration for Army’s football uniforms for this year’s Army­Navy game at West Point. 

Army’s game uniform inspiredby Wolfhounds of Korean War

BY WYATT OLSON

Stars and Stripes

PAGE 22 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, December 2, 2020

COLLEGE BASKETBALL/NBA

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — North Carolina

started its first game of the relocated Maui

Invitational so badly that it faced an imme-

diate double-digit hole as its Hall of Fame

coach benched multiple starters.

The 14th-ranked Tar Heels offered up a

confidence-building response to those early

troubles.

Freshman RJ Davis scored 16 points to

help UNC beat UNLV 78-51 in Monday

night’s first round. After falling behind 13-0,

the Tar Heels used a big run spanning half-

time and a dominating effort on the glass to

advance.

“I told them at the first timeout I wasn’t

worried about the score,” coach Roy Wil-

liams said. “I was just worried about how

we were playing.”

Garrison Brooks added 14 points and sur-

passed the 1,000-point mark for his career

in the first half for North Carolina (2-0),

which didn’t score for the first 6 ½ minutes.

But UNC closed the gap, then went on a 28-4

run for its own big lead.

The Tar Heels got a big contribution from

senior reserve Andrew Platek, who had 11

points and hit a pair of first-half three-point-

ers after UNC sputtered out of the tipoff.

“I think we were worried for a second,”

Platek said of the players’ reaction to the

early deficit. “But then we just knew if we

played our principles and played our game

plan, we were going to be fine.”

Bryce Hamilton scored 15 points for the

Runnin’ Rebels (0-2), who hit their first five

shots. But UNLV made just 13 of 57 shots

(22.8%) while the Tar Heels snagged seem-

ingly every miss to finish with a 54-35 re-

bounding advantage.

No. 17 Texas 78, Davidson 76: At Ashe-

ville, N.C., Courtney Ramey had the go-

ahead driving score with 20 seconds left for

the Longhorns in the opening game of the

Maui Invitational.

Ramey’s score broke a 76-all tie, then

Texas (2-0) came up with a pair of stops on

the final possession, when the Wildcats (1-1)

had a chance to tie or win.

Davidson's Sam Mennenga missed a con-

tested three-pointer from the wing, but the

Wildcats got another shot when the ball

went out of bounds with 3.8 seconds left.

Davidson inbounded again to Mennenga,

who missed a final three for the win with the

Longhorns’ Andrew Jones closely defend-

ing him. Mennenga turned toward the offi-

cial at the horn, while Wildcats coach Bob

McKillop also protested slightly before

leaving the court.

Ramey scored 14 points to lead the Texas

in the win.

Mennenga scored 17 points to lead David-

son.

Long Beach St.­No. 22 UCLA, ppd.: The

Bruins’ home opener against the Beach was

postponed. UCLA spokesman Alex Tim-

iraos said the game is off “out of an abun-

dance of caution” based on COVID-19 pro-

tocols in the Long Beach State program.

TOP 25 ROUNDUP

Davis, 14th-rankedTar Heels top UNLV

Associated Press

KATHY KMONICEK / AP

North Carolina guard RJ Davis, back, leaps to shoot over UNLV guard Bryce Hamiltonduring the first half of Monday's game at the Maui Invitational in Asheville, N.C. 

the start of Phase 4 in the league’s five-

phase plan for health and safety.

“We’re all going to have to be very nim-

ble, first of all keeping guys safe and

healthy,” Utah general manager Justin Za-

nik said Monday. “We’ll get an idea of the

schedule, how travel is, how the pandemic

affects us. ... No one in the NBA, other than a

three-month bubble, has ever gone through

what we’re about to go through.”

Preseason is less than two weeks away,

starting Dec. 11. The regular season starts

on Dec. 22, three weeks from Tuesday. A

schedule for the first half of the shortened

72-game regular season could be known in

the coming days, and many teams are still

deciding if they can begin the season with

fans in their arenas or not. The NBA cham-

pion Lakers have already said they aren’t

having fans in their building to start the sea-

son; Charlotte and Oklahoma City an-

nounced Monday that they will begin their

home schedules the same way.

“This is going to be a challenging season

for us,” Phoenix general manager James

Jones said. “We’re going to do everything in

our power to make sure that we try to stay

COVID-free and try to stay healthy. With 72

games in a condensed season and more or

increased back-to-backs means that we’ll

have to manage our time appropriately.”

For nine coaches — Tom Thibodeau in

New York, Steve Nash in Brooklyn, Billy

Donovan in Chicago, Doc Rivers in Phila-

delphia, Nate Bjorkgren in Indiana, Stan

Van Gundy in New Orleans, Stephen Silas

in Houston, Mark Daigneault in Oklahoma

City and Tyronn Lue with the Los Angeles

Clippers — this week marks the formal start

of their on-court tenures with their clubs.

It’ll also be the first training camp as head

coach for J.B. Bickerstaff in Cleveland; he

took over as coach in February.

Some teams haven’t played since March

11. Others saw their seasons resume in July,

then end in August or September. And for

the Lakers and the Heat, the NBA finalists,

the season went until mid-October.

Not even two months later, it’s time to

play again.

“I think it’s fair to say that coming into the

season, given everything that’s going on in

the country relative to COVID and the ef-

fects that it’s having on everybody both lo-

cally and nationally, this is going to be a

pretty unique season,” Oklahoma City gen-

eral manager Sam Presti said.

“We’ve never been through a season like

this before. No team has.”

Back: Teams still deciding if they can begin season with fansFROM PAGE 24

MARK J. TERRILL / AP

The Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James, left, and Anthony Davis celebrate winning theNBA Finals on Oct. 11. Now the Lakers will begin defense of that title.

Wednesday, December 2, 2020 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 23

NFL

American Conference

East

W L T Pct PF PA

Buffalo 8 3 0 .727 299 282

Miami 7 4 0 .636 284 205

New England 5 6 0 .455 229 255

N.Y. Jets 0 11 0 .000 152 322

South

W L T Pct PF PA

Tennessee 8 3 0 .727 324 285

Indianapolis 7 4 0 .636 302 253

Houston 4 7 0 .364 268 297

Jacksonville 1 10 0 .091 227 325

North

W L T Pct PF PA

Pittsburgh 10 0 0 1.000 298 174

Cleveland 8 3 0 .727 265 286

Baltimore 6 4 0 .600 268 195

Cincinnati 2 8 1 .227 230 289

West

W L T Pct PF PA

Kansas City 10 1 0 .909 348 238

Las Vegas 6 5 0 .545 292 319

Denver 4 7 0 .364 209 298

L.A. Chargers 3 8 0 .273 277 300

National Conference

East

W L T Pct PF PA

N.Y. Giants 4 7 0 .364 214 253

Washington 4 7 0 .364 241 243

Philadelphia 3 7 1 .318 237 277

Dallas 3 8 0 .273 251 359

South

W L T Pct PF PA

New Orleans 9 2 0 .818 326 225

Tampa Bay 7 5 0 .583 344 280

Atlanta 4 7 0 .364 295 281

Carolina 4 8 0 .333 280 300

North

W L T Pct PF PA

Green Bay 8 3 0 .727 349 283

Chicago 5 6 0 .455 216 250

Minnesota 5 6 0 .455 292 305

Detroit 4 7 0 .364 252 328

West

W L T Pct PF PA

Seattle 8 3 0 .727 341 304

L.A. Rams 7 4 0 .636 263 215

Arizona 6 5 0 .545 304 258

San Francisco 5 6 0 .455 261 254

Thursday, Nov. 26

Houston 41, Detroit 25Washington 41, Dallas 16

Sunday, Nov. 29

Atlanta 43, Las Vegas 6Buffalo 27, L.A. Chargers 17Cleveland 27, Jacksonville 25Miami 20, N.Y. Jets 3Minnesota 28, Carolina 27N.Y. Giants 19, Cincinnati 17New England 20, Arizona 17Tennessee 45, Indianapolis 26New Orleans 31, Denver 3San Francisco 23, L.A. Rams 20Kansas City 27, Tampa Bay 24Green Bay 41, Chicago 25

Monday's game

Seattle 23, Philadelphia 17

Wednesday's game

Baltimore at Pittsburgh

Sunday's games

Cincinnati at MiamiCleveland at TennesseeDetroit at ChicagoIndianapolis at HoustonJacksonville at MinnesotaLas Vegas at N.Y. JetsNew Orleans at AtlantaL.A. Rams at ArizonaN.Y. Giants at SeattleNew England at L.A. ChargersPhiladelphia at Green BayDenver at Kansas CityOpen: Carolina, Tampa Bay

Monday, Dec. 7

Washington at PittsburghBuffalo at San Francisco

Tuesday, Dec. 8

Dallas at Baltimore

The Baltimore Ravens’ struggle

to contain an extended outbreak of

the coronavirus forced their res-

cheduled game Tuesday night

against the unbeaten Pittsburgh

Steelers to be moved back to

Wednesday afternoon.

It’s the third fix to a matchup

originally slated to be played

Thanksgiving night. The game

will remain on NBC.

Also, the Steelers’ home game in

Week 13 against Washington has

been moved from Sunday to Dec.

7. The Ravens’ home game against

Dallas will be on Tuesday, Dec. 8

on Fox and NFL Network. It was

originally set for Thursday night,

then moved to Dec. 7.

Ravens-Steelers was moved

back one more day for medical

reasons, but now Baltimore gets

some time for workouts. The NFL

permitted the Ravens to return to

their facility on Monday night un-

der doctors’ supervision, which is

similar to what happened when

the Tennessee Titans had a coro-

navirus outbreak earlier this sea-

son. The Titans got three days of

workouts in that scenario.

“Players arrived already pre-

pared to work out on the field, and

they did not enter the locker room

or training room,” the Ravens said

in a statement. “We intend to hold

another walk-through session on

Tuesday, in preparation for trav-

eling to Pittsburgh Tuesday eve-

ning.”

The NFL announced the most

recent switches Monday after the

Ravens placed starters Matthew

Judon, Willie Snead and Mark An-

drews on the reserve/COVID-19

list.

Although Baltimore also had

four players return from that list,

the team will still be severely

short-handed.

Steelers’game withRavens nowWednesday

BY DAVID GINSBURG

Associated Press

NICK WASS / AP

Quarterback Lamar Jackson andthe rest of the Baltimore Ravenswill now play the Steelers onWednesday, nearly a week afterthe game was scheduled.

PHILADELPHIA — DK Met-

calf got extra motivation he didn’t

even need.

Metcalf caught 10 passes for 177

yards, Russell Wilson threw for

230 yards and a touchdown and

the Seattle Seahawks beat the Phi-

ladelphia Eagles 23-17 on Monday

night.

Before the game, Metcalf said

Eagles defensive coordinator Jim

Schwartz, who coached Calvin

Johnson in Detroit, compared him

to the former Lions star.

“I’m getting a little respect, but

you know I still got work to do. One

of the defensive coaches came up

to me and it kind of made me mad

that he was like, ‘You know, I was

in Detroit with Megatron but

you’re not there yet,’ ” Metcalf

said. “In my mind, I’m not trying

to be Megatron. I’m trying to be

me. So I had a little chip on my

shoulder the whole game.”

The Seahawks (8-3) moved one

game ahead of the Rams in the

NFC West. Philadelphia (3-7-1)

fell a half-game behind the Giants

and Washington in the woeful

NFC East.

Carson Wentz didn’t cede many

snaps to backup Jalen Hurts but

had another rough game. He was

25-for-45 for 215 yards, two TDs —

and one interception.

Seattle’s defense entered the

game allowing the most yards in

the NFL and most yards passing

but held the Eagles’ inept offense

to 250 yards.

Metcalf was on the board when

Philadelphia took J.J. Arcega-

Whiteside in the second round

with the 57th pick in 2019. Arcega-

Whiteside has 12 career catches

and was a healthy inactive before

landing on the COVID-19 list. Met-

calf, who was the final pick of the

second round, had the best game

of his rookie year in Seattle’s play-

off win at the Eagles last season

and again showed why he’s one of

the best receivers in the NFL.

Metcalf’s 52-yard catch on

third-and-13 set up Wilson’s 1-

yard TD pass to David Moore that

gave the Seahawks a 7-0 lead.

“It’s kind of like coming home, a

place that had a chance to draft me

but they didn’t so I’ve got to make

them pay,” Metcalf said.

Cornerback Darius Slay, who

followed Metcalf in coverage,

called it his worst game.

“I lost every 50-50 ball. I let the

team down. I gotta play better,”

Slay said.

CHRIS SZAGOLA / AP

The Seattle Seahawks’ DK Metcalf, top, tries to hurdle Philadelphia Eagles’ Darius Slay. Metcalf had 10catches for 177 yards in his team’s 23­17 win Monday at Philadelphia.

Metcalf, Wilson propelSeahawks past Eagles

BY ROB MAADDI

Associated Press

Seahawks 23, Eagles 17

Seattle 0 14 3 6 — 23

Philadelphia 0 6 3 8 — 17

Second Quarter

Sea—Moore 1 pass from R.Wilson(Myers kick), 10:56.

Sea—Carson 16 run (Myers kick), 5:27.Phi—Goedert 3 pass from Wentz (kick

failed), :12.

Third Quarter

Phi—FG Elliott 42, 7:33.Sea—FG Myers 44, 2:06.

Fourth Quarter

Sea—FG Myers 33, 11:08.Sea—FG Myers 39, 1:13.Phi—Rodgers 33 pass from Wentz

(Sanders run), :12.A—0.

Sea Phi

First downs 20 18

Total Net Yards 301 250

Rushes-yards 30-76 14-70

Passing 225 180

Punt Returns 4-27 2-19

Kickoff Returns 1-21 4-95

Interceptions Ret. 1-0 0-0

Comp-Att-Int 22-31-0 26-46-1

Sacked-Yards Lost 2-5 6-41

Punts 3-52.0 5-49.0

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0

Penalties-Yards 8-83 9-79

Time of Possession 32:57 27:03

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Seattle, Carson 8-41, Hyde15-22, Wilson 6-12, Moore 1-1. Philadel-phia, Wentz 5-42, Sanders 6-15, Scott 2-7,Clement 1-6.

PASSING—Seattle, Wilson 22-31-0-230.Philadelphia, Wentz 25-45-1-215, Hurts 1-1-0-6.

RECEIVING—Seattle, Metcalf 10-177,Lockett 3-23, Moore 3-(minus 6), Carson 2-18, Hollister 2-11, Hyde 2-7. Philadelphia,Goedert 7-75, Scott 5-40, Rodgers 3-53, Re-agor 3-11, Fulgham 2-16, Jeffery 2-15, Sand-ers 2-7, Ward 1-3, Hightower 1-1.

MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.

Scoreboard

PAGE 24 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Wednesday, December 2, 2020

SPORTSBattle of the birds

Seahawks rough up Wentz,hold off Eagles ›› NFL, Page 23

Army unveils uniforms for Navy game ›› College football, Page 21

For the Los Angeles Lakers and

Miami Heat, it was the shortest

offseason ever. For the eight

teams that haven’t played since

March, the offseason dragged

for longer than most seasons last. And for all

30 clubs, questions are far more prevalent

than answers these days.

Ready or not, the NBA is back.

Training camps opened around the

league Tuesday, though on-court sessions

were limited to individual workouts and on-

ly for those players who have gotten three

negative coronavirus test results back in the

last few days. Mandatory “group training

activities,” another way to describe what

would otherwise be called practice, will be-

gin in some cities Friday and for most clubs

Sunday, the league said.

“I feel like a kid getting excited for the

first day of school again,” Atlanta guard

Trae Young tweeted.

As is the case with school, there will be

tests in NBA camps. Lots of them.

Players and coaches will be tested for

coronavirus daily around the league, and a

positive test at this point would likely derail

someone for most of camp and probably in-

to the preseason. The rules are so strict that

clubs cannot even hold a team dinner on the

eve of training camp; the NBA isn’t allowing

those to take place until at least Dec. 11, or

MARK J. TERRILL / AP

The Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo dunks during the second half of Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 11 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. 

TAMI CHAPPELL / AP

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young tweetedthat he feels “like a kid getting excited forthe first day of school again.” 

NBA

Getting back to itReady or not, training camps opening

BY TIM REYNOLDS

Associated Press

SEE BACK ON PAGE 22