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NATION

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US aircraft carrier, destroyer steam through South China Sea ›› Page 3

STUTTGART, Germany — Be-

fore 2001, German citizen Michael

Weissenborn could take his U.S.

Army-issued library card onto

Patch Barracks in Stuttgart to

check out books, mingle with

American troops and feel a con-

nection to a military community

that was part of local life for gener-

ations.

The 9/11 attacks changed much

of that, he said.

“In the old days, it was just so

much easier to interact with U.S.

soldiers. Now, it feels like they al-

most want to be invisible behind

their bases,” said Weissenborn,

who works as a reporter for the

Stuttgart Nachrichten newspaper.

“It feels like alienation.”

Twenty years after al-Qaida ter-

rorists flew airplanes into the

World Trade Center and the Pen-

tagon, American troops are out of

Afghanistan.

But over two decades, the at-

tacks changed everything for the

U.S. military, which deployed

hundreds of thousands of troops

for the so-called Global War on

Terror.

Not only did 9/11 change how the

military fights, but it also changed

how troops live and interact in the

overseas communities where they

reside.

A legacy that remains in place

today and will continue to be a fact

of military life for years to come in

Europe: heavily fortified bases

that resemble nothing like the rel-

atively easy-access installations of

the pre-attack era.

‘Invisible behind their bases’Security after attackchanged the wayAmerican troops andGermans interact

BY JOHN VANDIVER

Stars and Stripes

An airman from the 469thSecurity Forces Flight directscars approaching Rhein-Main AirBase, Germany, to stop for asearch on Sept. 12, 2001.

Stars and Stripes

SEE SECURITY ON PAGE 5

20 YEARS AFTER 9/11

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Ger-

many — U.S. Secretary of State

Antony Blinken conferred with

his German counterpart and oth-

ers Wednesday about how to han-

dle Afghanistan as the Taliban’s

announcement of an interim gov-

ernment line-up received a skepti-

cal Western response.

Blinken met with German For-

eign Minister Heiko Maas at Ram-

stein Air Base, a

major U.S. facil-

ity in Germany

that has become

a key gateway

for people evac-

uated from Af-

ghanistan. As of

Wednesday,

about 23,000

people had been flown from Ram-

stein to the United States or other

locations. There were about 11,200

people at the base and the nearby

Rhine Ordnance Barracks await-

ing onward travel.

The German Foreign Ministry

said the two officials would host a

virtual meeting with other foreign

ministers and that more than 20

countries were expected.

It didn’t identify them, but Maas

said in a statement that they want

to discuss a common approach to

the Taliban “which also serves our

interests: adherence to funda-

mental human rights, maintaining

possibilities to leave (Afghanis-

tan) and humanitarian access, and

the fight against terror groups”

such as al-Qaida and the Islamic

State.

The get-together comes the day

after the Taliban announced an

Blinken meetswith Germanminister to talkTaliban future

BY CHRISTOPH NOELTING

Associated Press

Blinken

SEE BLINKEN ON PAGE 6

AFGHANISTAN

PAGE 2 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021

NEW YORK — There will be

something missing at two Whole

Foods stores opening next year: the

rows of cashiers.

Amazon, which owns the grocery

chain, said Wednesday that it will

bring its cashier-less technology to

two Whole Foods stores for the first

time, letting shoppers grab what

they need and leave without having

to open their wallets. Cameras and

sensors track what’s taken off

shelves. Items are charged to an

Amazon account after customers

leave the store with them.

But there will be an option for

those who want to shop the old-fash-

ioned way: Self-checkout lanes will

be available that take cash, gift cards

and other types of payment.

Amazon first unveiled the cash-

ier-less technology in 2018 at an

Amazon Go convenience store and

has expanded it to larger Amazon

supermarkets. But it will be the first

time it has appeared at Whole Foods,

a chain of over 500 grocery stores

Amazon bought four years ago.

One of the new stores will be in

Washington, D.C.; the other in Sher-

man Oaks, Calif. They will be

stocked with the typical Whole

Foods fare, including seafood,

fresh-squeezed orange juice and or-

ganic vegetables.

Even with the technology, Ama-

zon said it will still hire about the

same number of workers for the

stores that it normally would, except

they will have different roles, help-

ing shoppers in the aisles or at coun-

ters instead of standing behind a

register. The company declined to

say how many people it will hire.

Bahrain97/93

Baghdad100/79

Doha104/84

Kuwait City106/85

Riyadh105/79

Kandahar102/66

Kabul86/55

Djibouti102/85

THURSDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Mildenhall/Lakenheath

77/64

Ramstein77/61

Stuttgart75/59

Lajes,Azores73/70

Rota75/64

Morón85/64 Sigonella

80/64

Naples81/65

Aviano/Vicenza76/55

Pápa77/56

Souda Bay73/70

Brussels76/62

Zagan74/55

DrawskoPomorskie

72/54

THURSDAY IN EUROPE

Misawa71/66

Guam84/81

Tokyo81/67

Okinawa84/81

Sasebo80/73

Iwakuni78/75

Seoul78/66

Osan77/68

Busan75/72

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

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

FRIDAY IN THE PACIFIC

WEATHER OUTLOOK

TODAYIN STRIPES

American Roundup ...... 11Classified .................... 13Comics .........................16Crossword ................... 16Faces .......................... 14Opinion ........................ 15Sports .................... 17-24

BUSINESS/WEATHER

Military rates

Euro costs (Sept. 9) $1.15Dollar buys (Sept. 9) 0.8247British pound (Sept. 9) $1.35Japanese yen (Sept. 9) 107.00South Korean won (Sept. 9) 1,133.00

Commercial rates

Bahrain (Dinar) .3769Britain (Pound) 1.3761Canada (Dollar) 1.2671China (Yuan) 6.4613Denmark (Krone) 6.2923Egypt (Pound) 15.7105Euro .8462Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7760Hungary (Forint) 295.64Israel (Shekel) 3.2056Japan (Yen) 110.32Kuwait (Dinar) .3008

Norway (Krone) 8.6930

Philippines (Peso) 50.21Poland (Zloty) 3.82Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7507Singapore (Dollar) 1.3460

South Korea (Won) 1,167.54Switzerland (Franc) .9215Thailand (Baht) 32.77Turkey (New Lira)  �8.4599

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

INTEREST RATES

Prime rate 3.25Interest Rates Discount �rate 0.75Federal funds market rate  �0.093­month bill 0.0530­year bond 1.98

EXCHANGE RATESAmazon to open 2 cashier-less Whole FoodsAssociated Press

Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3

A Navy aircraft carrier strike

group and a destroyer steamed sep-

arately through the South China

Sea on Wednesday, just days after

China imposed a law requiring for-

eign vessels to give notice before

entering waters claimed by Beij-

ing.

The guided-missile destroyer

USS Benfold “asserted navigation

rights and freedoms” within 12

nautical miles of Mischief Reef in

the Spratly Islands, according to a

7th Fleet news release Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the USS Carl Vinson

and its strike group were training

elsewhere in the region, according

to the Navy.

The entire Spratly chain is

claimed by China, Vietnam and

Taiwan; the Philippines, Malaysia

and Brunei also claim portions of

them.

Neither warship provided notice

to any country with claims in the

South China Sea, 7th Fleet spokes-

man Lt. Mark Langford told Stars

and Stripes in an email Wednesday.

Also Wednesday, the Chinese

military issued a statement saying

the Benfold entered the area with-

out permission and that it had

tracked, monitored and warned off

the destroyer.

The statement, attributed to Col.

Tian Junli of the Southern Theater

Command, said Beijing has “indis-

putable sovereignty” over the is-

lands. It also called the U.S. a “secu-

rity risk maker in the South China

Sea” and the “biggest destroyer” of

peace and regional stability.

The 7th Fleet responded with its

own statement Wednesday after-

noon, saying the operation abided

by international law. It called Beij-

ing’s statement “the latest in a long

string” of actions intended to mis-

represent the Navy’s operations

and “assert excessive and illegiti-

mate maritime claims.”

China has reclaimed land and

built military infrastructure in the

Spratlys since 2014, according to

the Center for Strategic and Inter-

national Studies Asia Maritime

Transparency Initiative. Mischief

Reef is one island China has im-

proved and occupies.

The Benfold made the Navy’s

seventh freedom-of-navigation op-

eration in the area this year, ac-

cording to a Defense Department

statement Langford provided to

Stars and Stripes. The U.S. last con-

ducted a freedom-of-navigation op-

eration in the Spratly Islands in

February.

“The United States challenges

excessive maritime claims without

regard to the nation asserting

them,” the statement said.

In late July the Benfold passed

through the Taiwan Strait, another

practice that China routinely con-

demns.

The Carl Vinson held flight oper-

ations and maritime strike exercis-

es and coordinated training be-

tween surface and air units on

Monday, Carl Vinson spokeswo-

man Lt. Cmdr. Miranda Williams

said in an email to Stars and Stripes

Tuesday.

“Carrier operations in the South

China Sea are not new or unusual,”

she wrote. “Our Navy has flown,

sailed, and operated throughout the

Indo-Pacific region in accordance

with international law for more

than 75 years and will continue to

do so.”

The Carl Vinson carries the Na-

vy’s “air wing of the future,” air-

craft that include the F-35C Light-

ing II stealth fighters and

CMV-22B Osprey tilt-rotor air-

craft.

On Sept. 1, a Chinese law took ef-

fect that requires certain foreign

vessels, including nuclear-power-

ed ships, submarines and ships car-

rying dangerous substances, to no-

tify Chinese authorities before en-

tering areas claimed by China,

such as the South China Sea.

China’s law will not hinder U.S.

military activities in the region, ac-

cording to Pentagon spokespeople,

who said Sept 1. that the Navy

would sail “wherever international

law allows.”

Beijing’s claims in the South Chi-

na Sea are outlined by the “nine-

dash line,” a demarcation adopted

from a 1947 Chinese map. In 2016, a

United Nations tribunal declared

some of those claims unlawful un-

der the Convention on the Law of

the Sea.

US carrier, destroyer in South China SeaBY ALEX WILSON

Stars and Stripes

wilson.alex@stripes.com Twitter: @AlexMNWilson

ISAIAH WILLIAMS/U.S. Navy

An F/A­18E Super Hornet prepares to take off Monday from the USS Carl Vinson in the South China Sea. 

The sitting INDOPACOM com-

mander, Adm. John Aquilino, has

also warned that “this problem is

much closer to us than most think,”

without giving a timeline for China

achieving the capability to invade

the island.

Harris told Kyodo the U.S.

should be “clearer in what our re-

sponsibilities are” under the Tai-

wan Relations Act that governs

U.S. ties with Taiwan. Washington

has “not been consistent,” he said,

especially over its arms sales to the

island.

“If you’re not consistent in what

you sell Taiwan or any other coun-

try, then how can they be — how

can they adequately plan for their

military readiness, in the long

run?” said Harris, who recently

served as U.S. ambassador to

South Korea.

U.S. Navy warships have made

eight transits of the Taiwan Strait

this year, the latest on Aug. 27 by

the guided-missile destroyer USS

Kidd and Coast Guard cutter Mun-

Washington should review its

ambiguous position on defending

Taiwan during a Chinese attack,

according to a former Indo-Pacific

Command leader who warned that

Beijing seeks to “dominate” the is-

land democracy.

The Communist Party of China

regards Taiwan as a renegade

province that must be reunified

with the mainland, even by force.

Since 1979’s Taiwan Relations Act,

Washington has left some doubt as

to what conditions would dictate

U.S. involvement to prevent that

from happening.

“We should reconsider … our

long-standing policy of strategic

ambiguity,” retired Navy Adm.

Harry Harris told Japan’s Kyodo

News during a recent interview

from Colorado. “If, at the end of

that … reassessment, we keep the

same policy, that’s fine. But we

shouldn’t keep it simply because

we’ve done it that way since the

late 1970s.”

The policy is intended to deter

both Beijing and Taiwan from es-

calating their feud by leaving

doubt as to when or if the U.S.

might intervene in conflict. How-

ever, China’s military buildup and

aggression toward its neighbors

have led to calls for a reassessment

of the stance.

In March, then-INDOPACOM

commander Adm. Philip David-

son told the Senate Armed Servic-

es Committee he believed China

could overtake Taiwan and force

reunification “in the next six

years.”

He also suggested the U.S. re-

view its policy regarding relations

with Taiwan.

“I would submit that we’ve got

more than 40 years of the strategic

ambiguity that has helped keep

Taiwan in its current status,” he

said. “But, you know, these things

should be reconsidered routinely.

I’d look forward to the conversa-

tion.”

ro.

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Defense

Ministry, in an annual report,

warned that China could “para-

lyze” its defenses in a conflict,

Bloomberg News reported Sept. 1.

A debate over strategic ambi-

guity has merit, according to Ian

Chong, an associate professor of

political science at the National

University of Singapore.

The policy was adopted to re-

strain Taiwan, as much as China.

Today it seems less likely that the

island’s leaders would be provoca-

tive, Chong said by telephone

Wednesday.

“Taiwan seems far more willing

to be the restrained party,” he said.

Beijing, at the same time, is in-

creasingly forward leaning and

aggressive with flights of military

aircraft and patrols of naval ves-

sels, Chong added.

“There’s an argument to be

made that the U.S. has to be clear

about its commitment to deter ag-

gression across the Taiwan Strait,”

he said.

Former leader of INDOPACOMcalls for Taiwan policy review

BY SETH ROBSON

Stars and Stripes

robson.seth@stripes.com Twitter: @Seth Robson1

Stars and Stripes

Then­U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris poses at hisresidence in Seoul, South Korea, in January 2020. 

MILITARY

PAGE 4 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021

TOKYO — New coronavirus

cases discovered daily in Japan’s

capital city continued to trend low-

er Wednesday and fell below 2,000

for a third consecutive day.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Gov-

ernment reported that another

1,834 people tested positive

Wednesday, 1,334 fewer than a

week prior, according to public

broadcaster NHK and metro gov-

ernment data. New infections

have fallen below the previous

week’s numbers for 17 days in a

row.

Meanwhile, U.S. military bases

in Japan reported 37 new cases of

COVID-19 since Sept. 1.

Yokosuka Naval Base, home-

port of the 7th Fleet south of Tokyo,

had 30 people test positive since

Friday, according to a base news

release Wednesday.

Eight base employees and nine

people affiliated with the Navy, all

unimmunized, came down with

COVID-19 symptoms; another

nine immunized people also fell ill,

according to the base.

Medical screenings discovered

two unimmunized and one immu-

nized patient, and one unimmu-

nized person turned up during

contact tracing, the release said.

The base has 65 people under

medical observation.

Naval Air Facility Atsugi, 26

miles southwest of central Tokyo,

had one person identified as a

close contact turn up positive

Tuesday, according to a base news

release.

U.S. Army Japan, headquar-

tered at Camp Zama 28 miles

southwest of Tokyo, discovered

six people with COVID-19 be-

tween Sept. 1 and Wednesday, ac-

cording to a news release.

One individual was tested by Ja-

panese officials upon arrival in Ja-

pan. Another reported COVID-19

symptoms and four were already

quarantined after contact with a

previously infected person, ac-

cording to the Army.

Another person at Zama Middle

School tested positive on Monday,

according to a message to parents,

students and staff from Principal

Henry LeFebre on Tuesday.

All Zama classrooms will re-

main open while public health au-

thorities trace that person’s con-

tacts, he wrote. The school re-

mained open after reporting a cor-

onavirus case Sept. 1.

Japan reported another 10,634

new cases Tuesday and 62 deaths

related to COVID-19, according to

the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus

Resource Center. Nearly half,

48.1%, of Japan’s population, or 61

million people, are fully vaccinat-

ed.

S. Korea updateU.S. Forces Korea had 11 people

test positive for COVID-19 after

arriving on the peninsula between

Aug. 17 and Sunday, according to a

news release.

All 11 — six service members,

four Defense Department civilian

employees and a family member

—arrived on commercial flights at

Incheon International Airport be-

tween those dates, according to

USFK.

Five tested positive on their first

mandatory COVID-19 test prior to

entering quarantine, four tested

positive during quarantine, and

two were positive on the test re-

quired to exit quarantine. All were

isolated at either Camp Hum-

phreys or Osan Air Base.

South Korea reported another

2,050 COVID-19 cases Tuesday,

according to the Korean Center for

Disease Control and Prevention’s

daily update Wednesday. Of those,

665 were discovered in Seoul and

691 in Gyeonggi province, where

Humphreys and Osan are located.

As of Tuesday, 36.6% of South

Korea’s population, or 19 million

people, are fully vaccinated, ac-

cording to KDCA. Another 61%, or

31.3 million, have received the first

of a two-dose vaccine.

Tokyo’s virus count below 2K; US records 48 cases in Japan, S. KoreaBY JOSEPH DITZLER

Stars and Stripes

ditzler.joseph@stripes.comTwitter: @JosephDitzler

WASHINGTON — A Chinese

Foreign Ministry spokesman de-

nied reports Tuesday that Beijing

is discussing a deal with the Tali-

ban to hand over a former U.S. air

base in Afghanistan.

“I can tell you this is purely fake

news,” Chinese Foreign Ministry

spokesman Wang Wenbin said, re-

ferring to media reports that the

Taliban could hand over Bagram

Airfield to Beijing following the

American departure from Af-

ghanistan last week.

Bagram, about 35 miles north of

Kabul, was the largest American

base in Afghanistan for nearly two

decades before the United States

turned it over to Afghan Security

Forces on July 2 as part of its with-

drawal from the country that start-

ed May 1.

Six weeks later, on Aug. 15, the

Afghan government forces sur-

rendered the air base to the Tali-

ban, which took control of the na-

tion’s capital the same day.

The reports of a possible deal

followed former U.S. Ambassador

to the United Nations Nikki Ha-

ley’s comments that “we need to

watch China” during an appear-

ance on Fox News last week.

“I think you are going to see Chi-

na make a move for Bagram Air

Force Base,” she said. “I think

they are also making a move in Af-

ghanistan and trying to use Pakis-

tan to get stronger to go against In-

dia.”

President Joe Biden ended the

U.S. war in Afghanistan on Aug. 31

after nearly 20 years of American

troops being deployed to the coun-

try. This was done, in part, to

switch Defense Department focus

and efforts toward what his ad-

ministration calls the nation’s pac-

ing threats: China and Russia.

“There’s nothing China or Rus-

sia would rather have, would want

more in this competition, than the

United States to be bogged down

another decade in Afghanistan,”

Biden said Aug. 31 in his speech

about the end of the war.

China, which shares a border

with Afghanistan, has been build-

ing ties with the Taliban.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang

Yi welcomed a group from the Ta-

liban, including its co-founder

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar,

during a trip to China on July 28,

and Beijing “maintained contact

and communication” with the Ta-

liban as it took over the country

last month, Foreign Ministry spo-

keswoman Hua Chunying said at

an Aug. 16 news conference.

“The Afghan Taliban said on

multiple occasions that it hopes to

grow sound relations with China,

looks forward to China’s participa-

tion in Afghanistan’s reconstruct-

ion and development and will nev-

er allow any force to use the Af-

ghan territory to engage in acts

detrimental to China,” she said.

China: Report ofBagram airfielddeal ‘fake news’

BY CAITLIN DOORNBOS

Stars and Stripes

doornbos.caitlin@stripes.com Twitter: @CaitlinDoornbos

gets more than 340 miles away, ac-

cording to Northrop Grumman.

The exact range of the aircraft’s

cameras and sensors is classified,

but a Global Hawk flying near the

Korean Demilitarized Zone, for

example, could see well beyond

the Yalu River that marks North

Korea’s border with China.

A single RQ-4 costs about $130

million, according to the Reuters

news agency, quoting industry

sources in 2019.

The Air Force has positioned its

own Global Hawks at Misawa for

several summers since 2014. The

drones come to Japan to avoid ty-

phoons at Andersen Air Force

Base, Guam. In recent years, in-

cluding 2020, they have operated

out of Yokota Air Base in western

Tokyo during summer.

The maker of the U.S. military’s

longest-range unmanned surveil-

lance aircraft will get nearly $40

million to develop software for

RQ-4 Global Hawks operated by

Japan and South Korea.

The contract, awarded to San

Diego-based Northrop Grumman

Aerospace Systems, is worth up to

$39.9 million for work on both

countries’ drones under the For-

eign Military Sales program the

Defense Department announced

Sept. 1.

Northrop Grumman manufac-

tures the aircraft, which have

been in service with the Air Force

since 2001.

The Foreign Military Sales pro-

gram authorizes sales of weapons

and services to other countries

when the deals strengthen U.S. se-

curity and promote world peace.

South Korea has four Global

Hawks that are believed to be

flown out of Sacheon Air Base,

near the port of Busan, according

to an October report by Jane’s De-

fence Weekly.

The first of three Global Hawks

the Japan Air Self-Defense Force

will operate from Misawa Air

Base in the country’s northeast

made its maiden flight in Califor-

nia in April.

Northrop Grumman’s deal pro-

vides for the co-development, test-

ing and integration of software for

the U.S. allies’ Global Hawk fleets,

according to the DOD announce-

ment.

The work, due to be completed

by July 31, 2023, will be done in

San Diego with integration efforts

at Misawa and Sacheon, the an-

nouncement states.

The Global Hawk flies at 60,000

feet and has a line of sight to tar-

Northrop Grumman

An RQ­4B Global Hawk lifts off for the first time from Palmdale, Calif., on April 15.

Global Hawk maker gets $40M softwarecontract for Japan and S. Korea fleets

BY SETH ROBSON

Stars and Stripes

robson.seth@stripes.comTwitter: @SethRobson1

MILITARY

Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 5

William Butler, U.S. European

Command’s historian, said securi-

ty was always on the mind of com-

manders in Europe, who dealt

with various terrorist threats dat-

ing back to the 1970s.

But the scale of the attacks on 9/

11 meant the military was forced

to take stronger measures, he said.

As a result, that meant fewer base

open houses and special events

that put Germans in closer contact

with American personnel.

“The perception, from the host

nation side, is that their access

was greatly restricted, and I think

that was true,” Butler said. “9/11

did change that.”

Immediately after Sept. 11,

2001, military bases made unprec-

edented boosts to security.

Before then, parts of many

bases in Germany were open to

the public. Garrison housing facil-

ities were generally wide open,

without fencing or restrictions.

Even Landstuhl Regional Medical

Center could be accessed by the

public, since no ID checks were

enforced.

Now, elaborate fencing, con-

crete walls and single-entry ac-

cess with mandatory ID checks

are how business is conducted at

U.S. military sites.

The looming threat of possible

attacks on bases demanded the

implementation of such changes,

which had started to take effect

even before Sept. 11, 2001.

The 1998 attacks on two U.S.

embassies in Africa were a pre-

cursor of more enhanced security

at bases in Europe. For example,

that’s when fencing first went up

around Army housing at Vogel-

weh Military Complex in Kaiser-

slautern.

“The two embassy bombings in

’98, I think that changed life,” re-

called Mike Goff, who was in the

Air Force at Ramstein Air Base

and is now a retiree in the area.

At the time, Vogelweh and Pu-

laski Barracks were open to Ger-

mans, who often used those mili-

tary neighborhoods as traffic

shortcuts, Goff said.

“When they started coming up

with the fencing, the Germans,

they got a little upset, but they had

to understand it was U.S. govern-

ment property,” he said.

There were other shifts, too. Se-

curity concerns meant less Ger-

man access to private clubs on

base.

“That seemed to change the re-

lations,” Goff said. “We wouldn’t

see our German friends come to

the Ramstein rodeo, for example.

The Germans loved that stuff.”

Over the years, the military has

always adjusted security depend-

ing on world events. But after 9/11,

the big gates and armed guards at

base entry points never went

away.

In the years after the attacks,

the military also invested heavily

in improving on-post amenities in

Europe, which resulted in more

mini-America accoutrements.

With more fast-food restaurants

and base shopping malls, troops

increasingly had the option of

hunkering down during Europe

assignments.

Weissenborn said that during

the Cold War and up until the ter-

rorist attacks, friendly encounters

between Germans and Americans

were more common.

German-American friendship

festivals were major events in

Stuttgart, but with fewer troops

and more security, such gather-

ings now seem perfunctory, Weis-

senborn said.

“Now, there is no concerted ef-

fort of reaching out,” he said. “And

that goes for both sides.”

Security: US bases in Germany were partly open to public before 9/11

vandiver.john@stripes.comTwitter: @john_vandiver

JENNIFER H. SVAN/Stars and Stripes

The food court at the Kaiserslautern Military Community Center on Ramstein Air Base, Germany, in 2017.

FROM PAGE 1

MILITARY

Retired Lt. Col. Richard “Dick”

Cole was celebrated during the fi-

nal years of his life as the last sur-

viving member

of the legendary

Doolittle Raid of

World War II in

which 80 crew

members man-

ning 16 aircraft

bombed Japa-

nese cities, in-

cluding Tokyo.

Tuesday would have been the

106th birthday of the former Air

Force pilot, who died April 9,

2019. To honor him and his ser-

vice, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, the

Air Force chief of staff, posthu-

mously promoted Cole to the rank

of colonel in a ceremony held at

Joint Base San Antonio in Texas.

“We often get caught up in the

daily static of life. Let us never

forget that we truly stand on the

shoulders of giants,” Brown said.

“I’m forever grateful for the early

aviators that paved the way for

our nation and for Air Force.”

The ceremony included a me-

morial service followed by a buri-

al service for Cole and his wife,

Lucia Martha “Marty” Cole, who

died in 2003.

The Doolittle Raid, named for

Lt. Col. James Doolittle, who

planned and executed it, began

April 18, 1942, when 16 Army Air

Force B-25B Mitchell medium

bombers lumbered off the air-

craft carrier USS Hornet with

crew members instructed to land

or bail out over neighboring Chi-

na after unleashing their payloads

over Tokyo and other Japanese ci-

ties.

There would be no triumphant

return to the aircraft carrier for

the crews. The best-case scenario

for the 80 men involved was to

survive hard landings in hostile

territory as Japanese units dom-

inated the ocean and land for hun-

dreds of miles in each direction.

Of them, 72 survived that mission.

Cole was Doolittle’s co-pilot for

the raid. Piloting the lead aircraft,

Doolittle and Cole dropped incen-

diary bombs to mark targets for

other bombers.

“Although the mission was ini-

tially thought to be a tactical fail-

ure, it ended up being such a huge

strategic success. Their raid

proved to Japan and the world

that airpower could be delivered

on Japanese soil,” Brown said.

“This man embodied service be-

fore self.”

Knowing the danger, all the

men involved volunteered to par-

ticipate. Brown likened their

courage to that of the airmen and

pilots who stepped up in recent

weeks to fly Americans and refu-

gees out of Afghanistan as Amer-

ica’s longest war came to a close.

Those service members also vol-

unteered for the mission, Brown

said.

Following Brown’s remarks,

two of Cole’s five children, Dr.

Rich Cole, a retired Air Force

lieutenant colonel, and Cindy

Cole Chal, placed the rank of colo-

nel on the box holding their par-

ents’ cremated remains. Maj.

Nathan Chal and Capt. Elliott

Chal, two of Dick Cole’s grand-

sons who are Air Force officers,

also participated in the ceremony.

Congress authorized Dick

Cole’s promotion to colonel in De-

cember 2019.

“They worked hard to give us

all the best that they could. Mom

loved being a military wife, and

she knew exactly what it meant.

She knew and understood that her

husband’s job was to defend the

Constitution of the United States,

from all enemies, foreign and do-

mestic. Even if it meant giving his

life for our nation,” Rich Cole said

of his parents.

After the military, the Cole fam-

ily settled in Texas. Dick and

Marty Cole’s remains were in-

terred Tuesday at Fort Sam Hous-

ton National Cemetery.

USAF posthumously promotes Dick Cole, last of WWII Doolittle RaidersBY ROSE L. THAYER

Stars and Stripes

thayer.rose@stripes.comTwitter: @Rose_Lori

Cole 

PAGE 6 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021

spokeswoman Agnes von der

Muhll said in an online briefing.

“The actions are not in line with

the words.”

Pakistan’s foreign minister,

meanwhile, urged the internation-

al community to help prevent a

humanitarian and economic crisis

in Afghanistan.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi was

all-male interim government

stacked with veterans of their

hard-line rule from the 1990s and

the 20-year battle against the U.S.-

led coalition. Germany was a ma-

jor troop provider for that alli-

ance.

Initial responses suggested the

new administration may struggle

to win the international support

the new leaders desperately need

to avoid an economic meltdown. It

includes Sirajuddin Haqqani, who

is wanted for questioning by the

FBI, as interior minister.

The announcement came hours

after the Taliban fired their guns

into the air to disperse protesters

in the capital of Kabul and arrest-

ed several journalists, the second

time in less than a week that

heavy-handed tactics were used to

break up a demonstration.

The U.S. State Department ex-

pressed concern that the Cabinet

included only Taliban, no women

and personalities with a troubling

track record, but said the new ad-

ministration would be judged by

its actions.

Maas said Germany is ready to

provide humanitarian aid via the

United Nations and will continue

to speak to the Taliban to secure

the departure from Afghanistan of

former employees and others. He

added that any commitment be-

yond that will depend on the Tali-

ban’s behavior.

“The announcement of an inter-

im government without the partic-

ipation of other groups and yester-

day’s violence against female

demonstrators and journalists in

Kabul are not signals that make us

optimistic about that,” he said.

France’s Foreign Ministry said

the international community’s de-

mands are clear — among them

breaking all links with terror

groups and respect for human

rights, particularly women’s

rights.

“We can only note that these de-

mands are not fulfilled,” ministry

addressing a virtual meeting of

foreign ministers from countries

neighboring Afghanistan. It was

attended by his counterparts from

China, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkme-

nistan and Uzbekistan.

Qureshi said that since Kabul’s

takeover by the Taliban, “much

dreaded bloodshed has not oc-

curred,” and the prospect of a pro-

tracted conflict and civil war

seems to have been averted. He

said that so far, a feared exodus of

refugees has also not taken place.

The situation remains complex

and fluid in Afghanistan, however,

and it “requires discarding old

lenses, developing new insights,

and proceeding with a realistic

and pragmatic approach,” he said.

Blinken: Globalgovernments stilldoubtful of Taliban

OLIVIER DOULIERY/AP

Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with an Afghan refugee family outside Hangar 5 for evacuationoperations at Ramstein Air Base Germany on Wednesday.

FROM PAGE 1

AFGHANISTAN

WASHINGTON — The Ameri-

cans trying to evacuate hundreds

of Afghans and American citizens

— including one Afghan who

worked as a U.S. military transla-

tor and says he is anticipating his

beheading by the Taliban — plead-

ed for action from the Biden ad-

ministration to get the would-be

evacuees aboard charter flights

that are standing by to fly them

from Afghanistan.

“Unfortunately we are left be-

hind now,” the former translator

said quietly in the pre-dawn dark-

ness Wednesday in Afghanistan.

“No one heard our voice.”

The man, whose identity The As-

sociated Press withheld for his se-

curity, said he was running out of

money to keep his family housed in

a hotel in the northern Afghan city

of Mazar-e-Sharif, after waiting a

week for Taliban permission for

the chartered evacuation flights to

leave the airport there.

U.S. Army veterans working to

help the man, an interpreter for

U.S. forces for 15 years, called the

effort more grinding than their

months of deployment in Afghan-

istan. They tried and failed to get

their old interpreter on the earlier

airlifts that ended with the U.S.

military withdrawal from Afghan-

istan Aug. 30.

“I hope we can help them out,

and get them out of this mess,” said

a retired Army colonel, Thomas

McGrath, one of the veterans try-

ing to help his former interpreter.

Hundreds of vulnerable Af-

ghans are waiting for permission

from Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers

to board prearranged charter

flights standing by at the airport in

Mazar-e-Sharif.

The group includes dozens of

American citizens and green card

holders and their families, the Af-

ghans and their American advo-

cates say.

“We think we are in some kind of

jail,” said one Afghan woman

among the would-be evacuees

gathered at one large hotel in Ma-

zar-e-Sharif.

She described the Americans

and green-card holders in their

group as elderly parents of Af-

ghan-American citizens in the

United States.

Taliban leaders, who named a

new Cabinet Tuesday in the wake

of their lightning takeover of most

of the country last month, say they

will allow people with proper doc-

uments to leave the country. Tali-

ban officials insist they are cur-

rently going through the manifes-

ts, and passenger documents, for

the charter flights at Mazar-e-Sha-

rif.

Secretary of State Antony Blin-

ken said Tuesday that the U.S. was

working with the Taliban to re-

solve the standoff over the charter

flights.

He rejected an assertion from a

Republican lawmaker, Rep. Mi-

chael McCaul of Texas, over the

weekend that the standoff at Ma-

zar-e-Sharif was turning into a

“hostage situation” for American

citizens in the group.

“We’ve been assured all Ameri-

can citizens and Afghan citizens

with valid travel documents will be

allowed to leave,” Blinken said in

Doha, Qatar, a major transit point

for last month’s frantic U.S. mili-

tary-led evacuations from Afghan-

istan.

Later Tuesday, 12 Democratic

lawmakers added to the pressure

for evacuees, in a letter urging the

administration to disclose its plans

for getting out all of the hundreds

of at-risk people remaining in Af-

ghanistan, and not just American

citizens.

“Our staff have been working

around the clock responding to ur-

gent pleas from constituents

whose families and colleagues are

seeking to flee Afghanistan, and

they urgently require timely, post-

withdrawal guidance to best assist

those in need,” Reps. Jerrold Na-

dler, Zoe Lofgren, Gerald Connolly

and nine other lawmakers from

President Joe Biden’s party wrote.

Blinken, in Doha, said the Tali-

ban had told U.S. officials that the

problem in Mazar-e-Sharif was

that passengers with valid travel

documents were mixed in with

those without the right travel pa-

pers.

The Afghan woman contacted at

the hotel — an employee of a U.S.-

based nonprofit, Ascend, that

works with Afghan women and

girls — also spoke Tuesday on con-

dition of anonymity for her securi-

ty. She said those in her group have

proper passports and visas, but the

Taliban are blocking them from

entering the airport.

Like the interpreter, she said she

has been waiting for eight days.

At one point last week, alarm

spread through the women’s side

of her hotel in the city when warn-

ings came that the Taliban were

searching the would-be evacuees

on the men’s side, and had taken

some away.

“I am scared if they split us and

not let us leave,” she said. “If we

can’t get out of here, something

wrong will happen. And I am

afraid of that.”

The former U.S. military inter-

preter, at the hotel with his family

of eight children and wife, said he

would expect beheading by the Ta-

liban given his work with the U.S.

military, and based on what rights

groups say are past Taliban at-

tacks on Afghan civilians who have

worked with U.S. forces.

“They’ll probably kill him,”

McGrath agreed, expressing fear

for the man’s children as well.

The interpreter had always told

his American comrades that he be-

lieved his work with them was in

service of his own country, the re-

tired colonel said.

“He put a lot on the line by lining

up with us,” McGrath said.

An array of Americans — many

of them with some past experience

in Afghanistan, or other ties —

have been working for weeks to try

to help evacuate at-risk Afghans.

Much of that effort is focused now

on the planes in Mazar-e-Sharif.

Some of those Americans push-

ing for U.S. action said Tuesday

that they fear the Biden adminis-

tration will help out American citi-

zens and leave behind green card

holders, Afghans who used to work

with Americans and others whose

work has left them vulnerable, in-

cluding journalists, women’s ad-

vocates and rights workers.

“The game changed partway

through,” said Marina LeGree, the

American head of Ascend.

Private organizers of the flights

complained that the State Depart-

ment and other U.S. agencies have

been slow or outright unrespon-

sive to pleas for help, despite as-

surances that Washington would

work with the Taliban and others

to get people out.

On Monday, the State Depart-

ment said it had helped a family of

four U.S. citizens escape Afghanis-

tan via a land route.

Evacuees plead for action: ‘We are in some kind of jail’Associated Press

Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 7

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germa-

ny — The German state that is

home to Ramstein and Spangdah-

lem air bases and several U.S. Ar-

my installations is doing away with

coronavirus lockdowns, but tight-

ening restrictions on unvaccinat-

ed people.

Under new rules that take effect

Sunday, people who are fully vac-

cinated or have recovered from

COVID-19 can attend indoor and

outdoor gatherings, go to a movie,

shop and eat out, much as they did

before the pandemic, Rheinland-

Pfalz Chief Minister Malu Dreyer

said Tuesday after meeting with

state leaders.

Hotels, cinemas, stores and res-

taurants will no longer have to

close when infections climb above

acertain level, and indoor and out-

door events can go ahead, she said

in a statement posted on the state

government’s website.

“We no longer see lockdowns as

a protective mechanism,” Dreyer

said.

Instead, the state will seek to

avoid overloading the health sys-

tem by reducing the number of un-

vaccinated people allowed into

cultural venues, dining establish-

ments and other businesses when

infections increase, she added.

While the number of infections

around Germany has stagnated in

recent days, hospitalizations are

up and the number of patients in

intensive care with COVID-19 al-

most doubled, to more than 1,300,

in the past two weeks, Lothar Wiel-

er, the head of Germany’s disease

prevention agency, told reporters

in Berlin on Wednesday.

The overwhelming majority of

those seriously ill patients are not

vaccinated, German Health Min-

ister Jens Spahn said at the same

news conference, urging more

Germans to get the shot or face a

fourth wave of COVID-19 in the

fall.

About 61% of Germany’s pop-

ulation has been vaccinated, ac-

cording to The Associated Press.

That’s a lower percentage than in

some other European countries.

At Ramstein Air Base, nearly

90% of active duty airmen have re-

ceived at least one dose, giving the

base one of the highest vaccination

rates in the Air Force, Lt. Col. Will

Powell, a spokesman for the 86th

Airlift Wing, told Stars and Stripes.

It was not immediately clear

how people’s vaccination or recov-

ery status would be checked in

Rheinland-Pfalz, but Germany be-

gan issuing digital and printed

vaccination certificates earlier

this year. They are available for

free to fully vaccinated Americans

living in Germany.

People who have recovered

from COVID-19 need either a posi-

tive PCR test result or a letter from

their doctor, saying a PCR test has

confirmed they had the illness

caused by the coronavirus. The

test must have been carried out at

least four weeks earlier and be no

more than six months old.

The state also changed its coro-

navirus alert system, which cur-

rently allows restrictions to be

tightened or loosened based only

on the weekly number of new in-

fections per 100,000 residents of a

district or city.

Starting Sunday, the seven-day

incidence of people hospitalized

with COVID-19 and the percent-

age of intensive care beds that are

taken up with COVID-19 patients

will also be taken into account.

Children under 12 and people

who can’t have the shot for health

reasons are counted as vaccinated

under the new rules.

Rheinland-Pfalz does away with virus lockdownsBY KARIN ZEITVOGEL

Stars and Stripes

Stars and Stripes reporter Marcus Kloecknercontributed to this report.zeitvogel.karin@stripes.comTwitter: @StripesZeit

KARIN ZEITVOGEL/Stars and Stripes

People walk past shops in the pedestrian zone in Kaiserslautern,Germany, in June.

Community Theater, which was

recently renamed the Aviano

Community and Schools Theater.

His first production was “Little

Shop of Horrors.”

Lewandowski majored in

dance at San Jose College. He

performed in plays alongside

such drama luminaries as “Little

Mary Sunshine” star Jane Po-

well, Ken Berry in “No, No Na-

nette,” Jo Anne Worley in “Gyp-

sy” and Heather MacRae in “Je-

sus Christ Superstar.”

Lewandowski was born in

Stanford, Calif., in 1958. He at-

tended Buchser High school,

AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy —

Aviano Middle High School is

mourning the loss of a revered

teacher and coach whose career

as an educator at Defense De-

partment schools spanned more

than 30 years.

Frank Lewandowski died un-

expectedly in late August at his

home in Aviano at age 63. His

wife, Kathleen, said he died of

natural causes.

Lewandowski had been a

teacher with the Department of

Defense’s Education Activity

since 1989 and

at Aviano Mid-

dle High School

since 2004. He

taught litera-

ture, drama and

science at the

Aviano school,

where he trans-

ferred after a stint in Germany.

Over the years, he also coached

tennis, baseball and softball. In

football, he coached the Saints to

two division championships.

“He was a bubbly, kindhearted

person who always turned my

dull day into a better one,” said

Desiree Lester, a sophomore at

Aviano MHS. “I loved how loud

and energetic he was. That right

there is what made him the

world’s best drama teacher.”

His nearly lifelong fascination

with the theater began when he

was 8 years old and his mother

took him to New York City to see

“Oliver.”

Lewandowski was engaged in

entertainment almost every-

where he went. During his time

in Germany, he directed count-

less plays and performed in mur-

der mystery dinner theater.

In Italy, he formed the Aviano

graduating in 1976.

His first job with DODEA was

at Subic Bay in the Philippines

from 1989 to 1990, where he

taught in a Quonset hut.

In the early 1990s, he trans-

ferred to Berlin, then taught at

various DODEA schools in Ger-

many, including Wiesbaden and

Vilseck, before moving to Avia-

no.

He is survived by his wife and

two daughters, Alana and Maggie

Lewandowski.

Beloved Aviano Middle High School teacher, coach dies at 63BY NORMAN LLAMAS

Stars and Stripes

llamas.norman@stripes.comTwitter: @normanllamas

Lewandowski 

EUROPE

PAGE 8 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021

NATION

LaPLACE, La. — Hundreds of

thousands of homes and businesses

in Louisiana, most of them outside

New Orleans, still didn’t have power

Tuesday and more than half the gas

stations in two major cities were

without fuel nine days after Hurri-

cane Ida slammed into the state,

splintering homes and toppling

electric lines.

There were also continuing signs

of recovery, however, as the total

number of people without electrici-

ty has fallen from more than a mil-

lion at its peak, while hundreds of

thousands of people have had their

water restored.

State health officials, meanwhile,

announced that they are revoking

the licenses of seven nursing homes

that evacuated to a warehouse

where seven residents died amid

deteriorating conditions after the

hurricane.

The disparity in power restora-

tion between New Orleans, where

nearly 3/4 of the city had electricity

again, and other communities

where almost all residents were still

in the dark prompted frustration

and finger-pointing. State Rep. Tan-

ner Magee, the House’s second-

ranking Republican who lives in the

devastated city of Houma in Terre-

bonne Parish, said he’s convinced

his region is being shortchanged in

favor of New Orleans.

“It’s very infuriating to me,” Ma-

gee said.

Though water was running again

in his area, most hospitals in the re-

gion remained shuttered and the

parish was in desperate need of

temporary shelter for first respon-

ders and others vital to the rebuild-

ing effort, he said.

Warner Thomas, president and

CEO of the state’s largest hospital

system, Ochsner Health, warned

that it would be “some time” before

two Ochsner hospitals — one in Ter-

rebonne Parish and the other in La-

fourche Parish — fully reopen.

Emergency rooms at the two hospi-

tals, however, were operating.

Carnival Cruise Line announced

Tuesdayit will keep one of its ships,

Carnival Glory, docked in New Or-

leans through Sept. 18 to serve as

housing for first responders.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Ed-

wards said while there had been

much progress in restoring water

and power, “there’s an awful lot of

work to be done.”

In many neighborhoods, homes

were uninhabitable. State and fed-

eral officials said about 3,200 people

are in mass shelters around Louisia-

na while another 25,000 people

whose houses have been damaged

are staying in hotel rooms through

the Federal Emergency Manage-

ment Agency’s transitional shelter-

ing program. FEMA already has ap-

proved more than 159,000 house-

hold applications for disaster assist-

ance, according to Louisiana’s

emergency preparedness office.

Shontrece and Michael Lathers

looked on despondently as workers

wrestled a billowing blue tarp into

place over what was left of the roof

of their home in the St. John the Bap-

tist Parish town of LaPlace. Ida’s

floodwaters had risen to about 3 feet

inside their home and rain that had

poured in through the wind-dam-

aged roof obliterated most of the

drywall ceilings.

The house will have to be gutted

floor to ceiling, Michael Lathers

said, adding that he had no idea how

much the repairs will cost.

Fuel shortages also persisted

across hard-hit areas of the state.

More than 50% of gas stations in

New Orleans and Baton Rouge re-

mained without gasoline Tuesday

afternoon, according to GasBuddy-

.com.

The power situation has im-

proved greatly since Ida first hit. In

the first hours after the storm, near-

ly 1.1 million customers were in the

dark, but that number was down to

about 430,000 on Tuesday. With the

help of tens of thousands of workers

from power companies in numer-

ous states, the state’s biggest energy

provider, Entergy, has been able to

slowly bring electricity back, leav-

ing only 19% of its customers in the

region without power as of Tuesday.

For residents in the state’s five

hardest-hit parishes in southeast-

ern Louisiana, however, that num-

ber is little comfort. Fully 98% of

those residents are still without

power more than a week after Ida

slammed onshore with 150 mph

winds on Aug. 29.

Power probably won’t be widely

restored to St. John the Baptist and

St. James parishes until Sept. 17 and

until Sept. 29 to Lafourche, St. Char-

les and Terrebonne parishes, En-

tergy said Tuesday. The parishes

are home to about 325,000 people.

In contrast, nearly all power has

been restored in the capital of Baton

Rouge, and only 25% of homes and

businesses are still suffering outag-

es in New Orleans. Entergy said it

expected to have the vast majority

of New Orleans brought online by

Wednesday. Once areas such as

New Orleans have their power re-

stored, Entergy is moving its crews

into communities south and west of

the city that saw more widespread

damage, said Entergy Louisiana

President and CEO Phillip May.

Post-Ida power disparity decried in La.Associated Press

CHRIS GRANGER, THE TIMES­PICAYUNE/THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE/AP

Opal Watkins punctures a hole underneath the mobile home of her friend Sandy Gilbert, left, so that theycould relieve the water that accumulated from Hurricane Ida, Tuesday, in Plaquemines Parish, La. 

NEW YORK — President Joe Bi-

den declared climate change has

become “everybody’s crisis” on

Tuesday as he toured neighbor-

hoods flooded by the remnants of

Hurricane Ida, warning it’s time for

America to get serious about the

“code red” danger or face ever

worse loss of life and property.

Biden spoke after walking streets

in New Jersey and then Queens in

New York City, meeting people

whose homes were destroyed or se-

verely damaged by flooding when

Ida barreled through. The storm

dumped record amounts of rain on-

to already saturated ground and

was blamed for more than a dozen

deaths in the city.

The president said he thinks the

damage everyone is seeing, from

wildfires in the West to hurricane

havoc in the South and Northeast, is

turning climate-change skeptics in-

to believers, but years of unheeded

warnings from scientists, econo-

mists and others mean time for ac-

tion is short.

“The threat is here. It is not get-

ting any better,” Biden said in New

York. “The question is can it get

worse. We can stop it from getting

worse.”

Biden sounded a similar theme

before he toured Manville, N.J., also

ravaged by severe flooding caused

by Ida.

“Every part of the country, every

part of the country is getting hit by

extreme weather,” Biden said dur-

ing a briefing with officials in Som-

erset County, including Gov. Phil

Murphy.

He said the threat from wildfires,

hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding and

other extreme weather must be

dealt with in ways that will lessen

devastating effects of climate

change.

“We can’t turn it back very much,

but we can prevent it from getting

worse,” he said. “We don’t have any

more time.”

The natural disasters have given

Biden an opening to push Congress

to approve his plan to spend $1 tril-

lion to fortify infrastructure nation-

wide, including electrical grids, wa-

ter and sewer systems, to better de-

fend against extreme weather. The

legislation has cleared the Senate

and awaits a House vote.

Biden also talked up a side benefit

of the plan, the “good-paying jobs”

he said it will create.

On Tuesday, the White House

asked Congress for an additional

$24 billion in disaster aid to cover

the costs of Ida and other destruc-

tive weather events.

In New Jersey, Biden walked

along a street in the Lost Valley

neighborhood of Manville, where

flooding is common and the cleanup

continues after the Raritan River

overflowed its banks. Many front

lawns were covered with water-

logged couches, broken pianos,

crumbled plaster and other debris.

One home displayed a hand-

painted sign that said, “Manville

will be back better.”

Biden, wearing a mask, spoke to

adults and children, including Mea-

gan Dommar, a new mother whose

home was destroyed by fire as the

flood occurred. She told him that

she and her husband, Caesar, had

left with the baby before the flood-

ing, then returned to find destruc-

tion.

“Thank God you’re safe,” Biden

replied. She said afterward she

hoped the visit would speed help

“along a little bit” and said she was

grateful for the visit.

Not everyone was so welcoming.

As he walked the route, the Demo-

cratic president was taunted by sup-

porters of Republican former Presi-

dent Donald Trump, who yelled that

Biden was a “tyrant” and worse. Bi-

den did not look in their direction.

At the briefing, Biden focused on

the personal calamities, saying:

“The losses that we witnessed today

are profound. My thoughts are with

all those families affected by the

storm and all those families who lost

someone they love.”

In all, at least 50 people were

killed in six Eastern states as record

rainfall last week overwhelmed riv-

ers and sewer systems. The storm

also spawned several tornadoes.

More than half of the deaths, 27,

were recorded in New Jersey. In

New York City, 13 people were

killed, including 11 in Queens.

Biden’s visit followed his Friday

trip to Louisiana, where Hurricane

Ida first made landfall on Aug. 29,

killing at least 15 people in the state.

In NYC after Ida, Biden calls climate ‘everybody’s crisis’Associated Press

EVAN VUCCI/AP

President Joe Biden speaksTuesday as he tours aneighborhood impacted byflooding from the remnants ofHurricane Ida in New York City.

Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 9

NATION

RICHMOND, Va. — A crowd

erupted in cheers and song

Wednesday as work crews hoisted

an enormous statue of Confeder-

ate Gen. Robert E. Lee off the gi-

ant pedestal where it has towered

over Virginia’s capital city for

more than a century.

The piece, one of America’s

largest monuments to the Confed-

eracy, was lifted away just before

9 a.m. as one of the construction

workers who helped strap har-

nesses to Lee and his horse lifted

his arms in the air and counted

down, “Three, two, one!” to jubi-

lant shouts from a crowd of hun-

dreds.

“This was a long time coming,

part of the healing process so Vir-

ginia can move forward and be a

welcoming state with inclusive-

ness and diversity,” Gov. Ralph

Northam said once the statue was

lowered to the ground. The Demo-

crat said it represents “more than

400 years of history that we should

not be proud of,” and he congrat-

ulated Virginians for supporting

its removal.

Black Lives Matter signs were

seen in the crowd. Some chanted

“Whose streets? Our streets!” and

sang, “Hey hey hey, goodbye.”

The statue was lowered to the

ground where it was expected to

be cut into pieces so that it can be

brought to a secure location,

where it will be stored until its fi-

nal disposition is determined.

One of America’s largest monu-

ments to the Confederacy, it was

taken down from its prominent

perch after years of resistance and

a long court battle. Among the

crowd watching the removal,

there did not appear to be any vis-

ible counterprotesters.

Northam ordered the statue tak-

en down last summer, citing the

pain felt across the country over

the death of George Floyd in Min-

neapolis after a white police offi-

cer pressed a knee into his neck.

But until a recent court ruling

cleared the way, Northam’s plans

had been tied up in litigation.

The statue, a 21-foot bronze

equestrian sculpture that sits atop

a pedestal nearly twice that tall,

has towered above a prominent

residential boulevard named

Monument Avenue since 1890 in

the former capital of the Confed-

eracy.

STEVE HELBER/AP

Crews work Wednesday to remove one of the country’s largest remaining monuments to the Confederacy,a towering statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va.

Gen. Robert E. Lee statuetaken down from Va. pedestal

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President

Joe Biden has been beset by pub-

lic health, military and climate

crises in the past month. Not

much time has been left for a po-

tential political disaster brewing

for his party in California.

With a week to spare, the

White House is diving into the

California gubernatorial recall

election, coming to Democratic

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s aid with

visits from Vice President Ka-

mala Harris and then Biden him-

self to try to alleviate lingering

concerns about Democratic

turnout in the unusual Septem-

ber vote.

Harris will campaign in the

state with Newsom on Wednes-

day after a previously planned

visit was nixed due to the chaos

surrounding the Afghanistan

withdrawal. And Biden himself

is expected to visit the state early

next week, ahead of Tuesday’s

election.

For Biden, it’s a chance to flex

his political muscle in a state

where both he and Harris re-

main popular. The outcome also

will provide a test of Biden’s

clout after a difficult August and

in advance of the 2022 midterms,

when control of Congress and

more than half of the nation’s

governorships are up for grabs.

Harris and Biden are hoping

to help bolster Newsom’s chance

to survive an unpredictable re-

call effort in a state that remains

key to advancing Biden’s agenda

at the state and national level.

“It’s simply too big a state to

lose an election in,” said Joel

Benenson, a former pollster for

President Barack Obama’s cam-

paigns. “You’ve got more to risk

by not showing up than by show-

ing up.”

Benenson noted that beyond

the political implications for the

Democratic Party of losing a gu-

bernatorial seat, the outcome of

the recall could have an effect on

the makeup of the Senate, if

Democratic Sen. Dianne Fein-

stein’s seat opens up — leaving

her replacement to be appointed

by the governor.

While reliable polling has

been scarce in the race, a recent

survey from the Public Policy

Institute of California, conduct-

ed in late August, showed more

likely voters would vote no than

yes on removing Newsom, 58%

to 39%.

Among all likely voters,

whether they would keep News-

om or not, about half say they do

not have a preference on a re-

placement candidate or do not

know their preference.

Barring the polls, the main

concern for Newsom remains

getting Democratic base voters

engaged and aware that they

need to turn out for an unusually

timed election, according to

Kyle Kondick, a nonpartisan po-

litical analyst at the University

of Virginia.

“The main problem for News-

om is making sure that Demo-

cratic turnout is robust enough

to save him,” Kondick said.

“One way to do that is to bring

in high-profile surrogates who

will get a lot of news coverage,

and will help spread the word

about the fact that the recall is

happening. And from a Demo-

cratic perspective, it’s hard to

find two people better than Vice

President Kamala Harris, who’s

from California herself, and, of

course, the president.”

Calif. recall votea test of Biden’spolitical influence

BY ALEXANDRA JAFFE

Associated Press

DALLAS — Texas Gov. Greg

Abbott on Tuesday defended a

new state law banning most abor-

tions that also does not provide ex-

ceptions for cases of rape or in-

cest, saying it does not force vic-

tims to give birth even though it

prohibits abortions before some

women know they’re pregnant.

Abbott, a Republican, added

that Texas would strive to “elim-

inate all rapists from the streets”

while taking questions during his

first press conference since the

law took effect last week.

The comments drew new criti-

cism from opponents of the Texas

law that is the biggest curb on

abortion in the United States since

they were legalized a half-century

ago, prohibiting abortions once

medical professionals can detect

cardiac activity, which is usually

around six weeks. Though abor-

tion providers in Texas say the law

is unconstitutional, they say they

are abiding by it.

“His comments are confusing to

me because they certainly do not

seem to reflect the realities of this

law,” said Amy Jones, the chief

executive officer of the Dallas Ar-

ea Rape Crisis Center.

Recent surveys by the U.S. De-

partment of Justice found that

most rapes go unreported to po-

lice, including a 2019 survey that

found about 1 in 3 victims report-

ing they were raped or sexually

assaulted.

Abbott signed the measure into

law in May. Although other GOP-

led states have passed similar

measures, they have been blocked

by courts. Texas’ version differs

significantly because it solely

leaves enforcement to private citi-

zens who can sue abortion provid-

ers who violate the law.

Abbott was asked about the new

abortion restrictions while sign-

ing into law an overhaul of Texas’

election rules.

“Texas will work tirelessly to

make sure that we eliminate all ra-

pists from the streets of Texas by

aggressively going out and arrest-

ing them and prosecuting them,”

Abbott said.

Jones said Abbott’s statements

were both confusing and disheart-

ening. She said she’d “like to hear

more” from Abbott on his state-

ment on eliminating rape.

“Certainly it is in our mission

statement to work to end sexual vi-

olence, that is why we exist, but we

are also very aware that that is an

aspirational goal that yes, we do

believe that this is a preventable

crime, but it if it were that easy,

rape would no longer exist,” Jones

said.

The Justice Department has

said it will not tolerate violence

against anyone who is trying to ob-

tain an abortion in Texas as feder-

al officials explore options to chal-

lenge the law.

Texas governor Abbott defends abortion law with no rape exceptionsAssociated Press

PAGE 10 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021

VIRUS OUTBREAK

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho public

health leaders announced Tues-

day that they activated “crisis

standards of care” allowing health

care rationing for the state’s

northern hospitals because there

are more coronavirus patients

than the institutions can handle.

The Idaho Department of

Health and Welfare quietly enact-

ed the move Monday and publicly

announced it in a statement Tues-

day morning — warning residents

that they may not get the care they

would normally expect if they

need to be hospitalized.

The move came as the state’s

confirmed coronavirus cases sky-

rocketed in recent weeks. Idaho

has one of the lowest vaccination

rates in the U.S.

The state health agency cited “a

severe shortage of staffing and

available beds in the northern ar-

ea of the state caused by a massive

increase in patients with CO-

VID-19 who require hospitaliza-

tion.”

The designation includes 10

hospitals and health care systems

in the Idaho panhandle and in

north-central Idaho. The agency

said its goal is to extend care to as

many patients as possible and to

save as many lives as possible.

The move allows hospitals to al-

lot scarce resources like intensive

care unit rooms to patients most

likely to survive and make other

dramatic changes to the way they

treat patients. Other patients will

still receive care, but they may be

placed in hospital classrooms or

conference rooms rather than tra-

ditional hospital rooms or go with-

out some life-saving medical

equipment.

At Kootenai Health — the large-

st hospital in northern Idaho —

some patients are waiting for long

periods for beds to open up in the

full intensive care unit, said Dr.

Robert Scoggins, the chief of staff.

Inside the ICU, one critical care

nurse might be supervising up to

six patients with the help of two

other non-critical care nurses.

That’s a big departure from the

usual one ICU nurse for one ICU

patient ratio, he said.

On Monday, the Coeur d’Alene

hospital started moving some cor-

onavirus patients into its nearby

conference center. A large class-

room in the center was converted

into a COVID-19 ward, with tem-

porary dividers separating the

beds. Some emergency room pa-

tients are being treated in a con-

verted portion of the emergency

room lobby, and the hospital’s en-

tire third floor has also been desig-

nated for coronavirus patients.

Urgent and elective surgeries

are on hold, Scoggins said, and

Kootenai Health is struggling to

accept any of the high-level trau-

ma patients that would normally

be transferred from the smaller

hospitals in the region.

Other states are preparing to

take similar measures if needed.

Hawaii Gov. David Ige quietly

signed an order last week releas-

ing hospitals and health care

workers from liability if they have

to ration health care.

The unfolding crush of patients

to Idaho hospitals has been antici-

pated with dread by the state’s

heath care providers. Medical ex-

perts have said that Idaho could

have as many as 30,000 new coro-

navirus cases a week by mid-Sep-

tember if the current rate of infec-

tions lasts.

Idaho hospitalsrationing healthcare amid surge

Associated Press

KYLE GREEN/AP

Jack Kingsley R.N. attends to a COVID­19 patient in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at St. Luke’s BoiseMedical Center in Boise, Idaho, on Aug. 31.

SAN FRANCISCO — Technolo-

gy companies that led the charge

into remote work as the pandemic

unfurled are confronting a new

challenge: how, when and even

whether they should bring long-

isolated employees back to offices

that have been designed for team-

work.

“I thought this period of remote

work would be the most challeng-

ing year-and-half of my career, but

it’s not,” said Brent Hyder, the

chief people officer for business

software maker Salesforce and its

roughly 65,000 employees world-

wide. “Getting everything started

back up the way it needs to be is

proving to be even more difficult.”

That transition has been compli-

cated by the rapid spread of the del-

ta variant, which has scrambled

the plans many tech companies

had for bringing back most of their

workers near or after Labor Day

weekend. Microsoft has pushed

those dates back to October while

Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon

and a growing list of others have al-

ready decided to wait until next

year.

Given how they set the tone for

remote work, tech companies’ re-

turn-to-office policies will likely

have ripple effects across other in-

dustries. Employers’ next steps

could redefine how and where peo-

ple work, predicts Laura Bou-

dreau, a Columbia University as-

sistant economics professor who

studies workplace issues.

“We have moved beyond the

theme of remote work being a tem-

porary thing,” Boudreau says. The

longer the pandemic has stretched

on, she says, the harder it’s become

to tell employees to come back to

the office, particularly full time.

Because they typically revolve

around digital and online products,

most tech jobs are tailor made for

remote work. Yet most major tech

companies insist that their employ-

ees should be ready to work in the

office two or three days each week

after the pandemic is over.

The main reason: Tech compa-

nies have long believed that em-

ployees clustered together in a

physical space will swap ideas and

spawn innovations that probably

wouldn’t have happened in isola-

tion. That’s one reason tech titans

have poured billions of dollars into

corporate campuses interspersed

with alluring common areas meant

to lure employees out of their cubi-

cles and into “casual collisions”

that turn into brainstorming ses-

sions.

But the concept of “water cooler

innovation” may be overblown,

says Christy Lake, chief people of-

ficer for business software maker

Twilio.

“There is no data that supports

that really happens in real life, and

yet we all subscribe to it,” Lake

says. “You can’t put the genie back

in the bottle and tell people, ‘Oh you

have to be back in the office or in-

novation won’t happen.’ ”

Twilio isn’t bringing back most

of its roughly 6,300 employees back

to its offices until early next year at

the earliest, and plans to allow most

of them to figure how frequently

they should come in.

This hybrid approach permitting

employees to toggle between re-

mote and in-office work has been

widely embraced in the technology

industry, particularly among the

largest companies with the biggest

payrolls.

Nearly two-thirds of the more

than 200 companies responding to

a mid-July survey in the tech-cen-

tric Bay said they are expecting

their workers to come into the of-

fice two or three days each week.

Before the pandemic, 70% of these

employers required their workers

to be in the office, according to the

Bay Area Council, a business poli-

cy group that commissioned the

poll.

Switching to hybrid work is ideal

for people like Kelly Soderlund, a

mother of two young children who

works in offices in San Francisco

and Palo Alto, Calif., for travel

management company TripAc-

tions, which has about 1,200 em-

ployees worldwide. She couldn’t

wait to return when the company

partially reopened its offices in

June, partly because she missed

the built-in buffer that her roughly

one-hour commute provided be-

tween her personal and profession-

al life.

“When I don’t have that, I wake

up in the morning, I start doing

work and I take my kids to their

camp or their day care,” Soderlund

says. “And then I come back and I

work and then we pick them up,

make dinner and then I go back to

work. So, it feels like it’s just work

all the time.”

Soderlund believes being togeth-

er in an office leads to more collab-

oration, although she also learned

from the pandemic that workers

don’t need to be there every day for

teamwork to happen.

Silicon Valley finds remote work is easier to begin than endAssociated Press

ERIC RISBERG/AP

Kelly Soderlund, right, works with a colleague at the TripActionsoffice in San Francisco on Aug. 27.

Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 11

AMERICAN ROUNDUP

Police: Man found dead incemetery was hit by car

IN SOUTH BEND — Police

discovered a man’s body

in a cemetery, apparently the vic-

tim of a car-pedestrian crash in

northern Indiana.

Investigators believe Joshua

Rahm, 27, of South Bend, was walk-

ing along State Route 2 early Mon-

day when he was struck and thrown

over a guardrail. He landed in St.

Joseph Cemetery in St. Joseph

County.

A driver called 911 and said he

had struck a guardrail on his way to

work in New Carlisle, the prosecu-

tor’s office said Tuesday.

“The crash remains under inves-

tigation and toxicology results are

pending,” the prosecutor’s office

said.

Meatpacker fined afterworker loses arm on job

CO GREELEY — Meat-

packing giant JBS USA

has been issued five citations and

fines totaling nearly $175,000 after a

worker’s arm was amputated when

it got stuck in a conveyer belt at the

company’s beef plant in northern

Colorado.

The 37-year-old worker was

cleaning a conveyor belt at the

Greeley plant Feb. 17 and reached

for something that fell off the end of

the machinery, according to the Oc-

cupational Safety and Health Ad-

ministration. His smock sleeve then

became tangled in the conveyor

belt’s sprockets.

OSHA determined that JBS

hadn’t properly guarded the con-

veyor belt, and employees didn’t

know to wear a plastic device that

ensures smock sleeves don’t dan-

gle, The Greeley Tribune reported.

JBS spokesman Cameron Bruett

said the company conducted a full-

plant safety audit and enlisted a

third-party expert to review health

and safety training and protocols.

Reduced pot penalty OK’dfor beach community

GA TYBEE ISLAND —

Possessing a small

amount of marijuana is no longer a

crime in the coastal city that’s home

to Georgia’s largest public beach.

The city council on Tybee Island

recently approved an ordinance

that imposes a civil fine of $150 for

possession of an ounce or less of

marijuana. Before the change, it

was a misdemeanor offense, puni-

shable by a $1,000 fine and up to a

year in jail.

Tybee Island joins at least a doz-

en other Georgia cities and counties

— including Atlanta and Savannah

— that have similarly rolled back

pot penalties when dealing with mi-

nor amounts, the Savannah Morn-

ing News reported.

The ordinance only decriminaliz-

es minor marijuana possession if

there are no related charges. Any-

one found with the drug while being

charged with driving under the in-

fluence, for example, would still

face a misdemeanor marijuana

charge.

Wrong-way driver hitspolice cruisers at station

MA LOWELL — A car

traveling the wrong

way down the street slammed into

two police cruisers that were

parked in front of a Lowell Police

Department station, authorities

said.

The SUV flipped onto its side and

landed in the middle of the street af-

ter striking the two cruisers on

Monday, police said. No one was in

the cruisers at the time and the driv-

er of the SUV suffered injuries that

were believed to be minor. No other

injuries were reported.

Authorities say the crash remains

under investigation and no other de-

tails were immediately available.

Blues exhibit designed forthe eyes, hands and ears

MS HATTIESBURG —

An exhibit about blues

legends and juke joints is opening

soon in Mississippi, and it’s de-

signed to appeal to the eyes, hands

and ears.

A Cast of Blues will be on display

Sept. 11-Oct. 9 at the Historic Eure-

ka School in Hattiesburg. It features

15 resin-cast masks of blues legends

and photographs of blues perform-

ers and juke joints made by Missis-

sippi artists.

Sharon McConnell-Dickerson

created the resin-cast masks, and

the photographs were taken by Ken

Murphy, the Hattiesburg American

reported.

McConnell-Dickerson, who is vi-

sually impaired, said the casts are

like 3-D photographs for people

who are blind.

“It captures the flesh, muscle,

bone, hair and subtle expressions of

emotion,” she said. “I wanted to dis-

cover the faces behind the music I

love, so I went to Mississippi to map

out the visages of the real Delta

blues men and women.”

Visitors are encouraged to touch

the masks, McConnell-Dickerson

said. Among the artists spotlighted

are Bo Diddley and Bobby Rush.

Sensors provide real-timeglimpse at river quality

IL CHICAGO — Rowers, kay-

akers and other users of the

Chicago River are getting a real-

time look at one measure of water

quality in the system that weaves

through downtown and several

neighborhoods.

Chicago nonprofit Current in

2019 installed three sensors in the

river’s three main branches to con-

tinuously estimate the amount of

bacteria from human and other

warm-blooded animals’ waste.

The organization initially

planned to begin making the real-

time results public in 2020. But the

coronavirus pandemic delayed

their plans until last week, when a

website updating with data taken

every 15 minutes went online.

The city’s development in the

19th century was thanks to the river

that provided a path between the

Great Lakes and the Mississippi

River system. While the meatpack-

ing and lumber industries could use

it for shipping, the waterway also

became a dumping ground for

those and other industries and for

sewage.

Quality of the 156-mile river sys-

tem has improved in recent years,

helped by multibillion-dollar con-

struction of new reservoirs and un-

derground tunnels. But when rain

overwhelms Chicago’s sewer sys-

tems, sewage and stormwater is di-

verted to the river, prompting

warnings to stay off the water for

several days.

Judge refuses to block newsports betting law

AZ PHOENIX — A judge on

Monday evening refused

to block a new Arizona law allowing

sports gambling to be run by profes-

sional sports teams in a decision

that will allow the major gambling

expansion start as planned this

week.

Maricopa County Superior Court

Judge James Smith refused to issue

an injunction barring sports betting

from starting Thursday. The ruling

came just hours after he held an un-

usual Labor Day hearing on the re-

quest filed by one Native American

tribe.

The Yavapai-Prescott Indian

Tribe wanted the law, which allows

professional sports teams to get li-

censes to run sports gambling, de-

clared unconstitutional. They ar-

gued it violates the state’s Voter

Protection Act by illegally amend-

ing the 2002 voter initiative that au-

thorized tribal gambling in Arizona

by allowing nontribal groups to

have gambling operations without

asking voters to weigh in. Proposi-

tion 202 restricted gambling outside

tribal reservations.

But Smith wrote that Proposition

202 regulated the types of gambling

allowed at tribal casinos, not other

kinds of betting.

Police recover stolen carduring traffic stop

DE DOVER — Police in De-

laware say that they re-

covered a car stolen from New Jer-

sey during a traffic stop.

The Delaware State Police said in

anews release that officers arrested

a22-year-old and 25-year-old wom-

an from Delaware after they were

stopped in a stolen 2018 Hyundai

Sonata late Friday night.

The release said an officer stop-

ped them for a seatbelt and equip-

ment violation south of Dover. A

computer search revealed that the

car had been reported stolen out of

Lakewood Township, N.J., in Au-

gust.

The women face charges includ-

ing receiving stolen property.

CHRIS GRANGER, THE (NEW ORLEANS, LA.) TIMES­PICAYUNE/THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE/AP

Actor John Schneider, who starred in the television show “The Dukes of Hazzard,” places an American flag on his “General Lee” car on Mondaythat was destroyed by Hurricane Ida. The car was made famous during the show, which aired in the early 1980s.

General Lee 0, Ida 1

From wire reports

PAGE 12 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021

NATION

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif.

— California could be on track for

one of its worst fire seasons ever

as hotter, drier conditions across

the north raise the threat of new

fires or existing ones flaring into

dangerous life, officials said.

Crews on Tuesday cut miles of

new containment line around the

Caldor Fire, which was 50% con-

tained after burning up and over

the crest of the mountain range

and threatening South Lake Ta-

hoe.

Evacuation orders for 22,000

residents were lifted Sunday and

more orders were reduced to

warnings on Tuesday. But else-

where, some existing large fires

continued to grow.

New evacuations were ordered

for some areas of Trinity and Sis-

kiyou counties as the River Com-

plex of three wildfires spread. One

blaze driven by strong winds

jumped a creek, according to the

California Department of Forest-

ry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).

Since Monday, the fires had

grown by more than 20 square

miles. It was 19% contained.

More than 15,500 personnel

were working on 14 active large

wildfires in the state and new or

existing fires could flare up this

week as the weather turns more

dangerous, said Tony Scardina,

the U.S. Forest Service’s deputy

regional forester for California.

California’s energy grid oper-

ator issued a statewide call for vol-

untary electricity conservation

from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday

because of expected higher de-

mand for air conditioning because

of high temperatures.

Temperatures could top 100 de-

grees in the Sierra foothills, ac-

cording to the National Weather

Service.

Meanwhile, the entire state is

showing the potential for extreme

fire danger in the next three

months, Cal Fire Chief Thom Por-

ter said.

“We’re right smack in the mid-

dle of wildfire peak season,” he

said. “And so everybody needs to

remain vigilant.”

About 3,125 square miles of land

have burned so far this year, simi-

lar to the record 2020 fire season,

Porter said.

“We are on par with where we

were last year. That’s sobering,

and that is the new reality,” he

said.

California has experienced in-

creasingly larger and deadlier

wildfires in recent years as cli-

mate change has made the U.S.

West much warmer and drier over

the past 30 years. Scientists have

said weather will continue to be

more extreme and wildfires more

frequent, destructive and unpre-

dictable.

The good news was near the Ne-

vada state line, where the Caldor

Fire was practically stopped in its

tracks a few miles outside of South

Lake Tahoe. While the fire that be-

gan Aug. 14 burned nearly 800

homes and gutted the mountain

hamlet of Grizzly Flats, it hadn’t

burned any homes on its eastern

edges.

Crews had largely been able to

keep the flames away from pop-

ulated areas. Some sections of the

perimeter were a concern but on

much of the blaze, the work turned

to mopping up, pulling miles of

fire hose out of the forest and

knocking down dangerously

weakened trees.

However, trees and other vege-

tation in the area remain tinder-

dry and southwest winds are ex-

pected to pick up that could make

for larger fire growth, authorities

said.

North of the Caldor Fire was the

Dixie Fire, the second-largest in

the state’s recorded history, which

also has burned through rural, for-

ested communities.

The fire’s western side showed

increased activity on Tuesday but

crews “continue to aggressively

hold the fires edge with aircraft, a

10-blade dozer line” and fire retar-

dant sprayers that protected

buildings, Cal Fire reported.

However, for the first time in

days, there was little fire growth in

the eastern zone, where firefight-

ers in the past two weeks had built

about 25 miles of containment

line, Cal Fire said.

The blaze, which started in mid-

July, was 59% surrounded after

burning more than 1,400 square

miles in five counties and burning

nearly 700 homes. It could be-

come the largest wildfire in state

history, fire officials said.

JANE TYSKA, BAY AREA NEWS GROUP/AP

Clearly Tahoe employee Ludovic Fekete checks on transparent kayaks aboard the company’s new boat,the “Clearly Tahoe,” at the Tahoe Keys Marina in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., on Monday. Fekete was one ofmany residents who evacuated due to the Caldor Fire and just returned the day before.

Calif. fire threat high despiteprogress near Lake Tahoe

Associated Press “We are on parwith where wewere last year.That’s sobering,and that is thenew reality.”

Thom Porter

Cal Fire chief

WASHINGTON — Solar energy

has the potential to supply up to 40%

of the nation’s electricity within 15

years — a 10-fold increase over cur-

rent solar output, but one that would

require massive changes in U.S. pol-

icy and billions of dollars in invest-

ment to modernize the nation’s elec-

tric grid, a new federal report says.

The report by the Energy Depart-

ment’s Office of Energy Efficiency

and Renewable Energy says the

U.S. would need to quadruple its an-

nual solar capacity — and continue

to increase it year by year — as it

shifts to a renewable-dominant grid

in order to address the existential

threat posed by climate change.

The report released Wednesday

is not intended as a policy statement

or administration goal, officials said.

Instead, it is “designed to guide and

inspire the next decade of solar in-

novation by helping us answer ques-

tions like: How fast does solar need

to increase capacity and to what lev-

el?’’ said Becca Jones-Albertus, di-

rector of the Energy Department’s

solar energy technologies office.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Gran-

holm said in a statement that the

study “illuminates the fact that so-

lar, our cheapest and fastest-grow-

ing source of clean energy, could

produce enough electricity to power

all of the homes in the U.S. by 2035

and employ as many as 1.5 million

people in the process.”

The U.S. installed a record 15 gi-

gawatts of solar generating capacity

in 2020, and solar now represents

about just over 3% of the current

electricity supply, the Energy De-

partment said.

The “Solar Futures Study,” pre-

pared by DOE’s National Renew-

able Energy Laboratory, shows that,

by 2035, the U.S. would need to qua-

druple its yearly solar capacity addi-

tions and provide 1,000 GW of power

to a renewable-dominant grid. By

2050, solar energy could provide

1,600 GW on a zero-carbon grid —

producing more electricity than

consumed in all residential and

commercial buildings in the coun-

try today, the report said. Decarbo-

nizing the entire energy system

could result in as much as 3,000 GW

of solar by 2050 due to increased

electrification in the transportation,

buildings and industrial sectors, the

report said.

To achieve such an increase, the

U.S. must install an average of 30

GW of solar capacity per year be-

tween now and 2025 and 60 GW per

year from 2025 to 2030, the report

said.

Report: By 2035,solar could supply40% of electricity

Associated Press

BOSTON — The wife of the late

Robert F. Kennedy says assassin

Sirhan Sirhan should not be re-

leased from prison, further roiling

a family divide over whether the

man convicted of killing her hus-

band in California in 1968 should

be freed on parole.

In a brief statement released on

Twitter by her daughter, lawyer

and activist Kerry Kennedy, Ethel

Kennedy said bluntly Tuesday:

“He should not be paroled.”

“Bobby believed we should

work to ‘tame the savageness of

man and make gentle the life of

the world,’ ” Kennedy, 93, wrote.

“He wanted to end the war in

Vietnam and bring people togeth-

er to build a better, stronger coun-

try. More than anything, he want-

ed to be a good father and loving

husband,” she wrote, adding:

“Our family and our country suf-

fered an unspeakable loss due to

the inhumanity of one man. We

believe in the gentleness that

spared his life,

but in taming his

act of violence,

he should not

have the oppor-

tunity to terror-

ize again.”

Her statement

came a week af-

ter former Rep. Joseph P. Kenne-

dy II, RFK’s oldest son, also de-

nounced the possible parole of Sir-

han, 77.

Two other RFK offspring, Rob-

ert F. Kennedy Jr. and Douglas

Kennedy, have said they support

the release.

The California Parole Board

found last month that Sirhan no

longer poses a threat to society.

Sirhan has served 53 years of a life

sentence.

The ruling will be reviewed

over the next four months by the

board’s staff. Then it will be sent to

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will

have 30 days to decide whether to

grant it, reverse it or modify it.

RFK’s widow: Assassinshouldn’t be released

Associated Press

Kennedy

Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 13

WORLD

PARIS — In a custom-built secure com-

plex embedded within a 13th-century cour-

thouse, France on Wednesday opened the

trial of 20 men accused in the Islamic State

group’s 2015 attacks in Paris that left 130

people dead and hundreds injured.

Nine gunmen and suicide bombers

struck within minutes of each other at

France’s national soccer stadium, the Bata-

clan concert hall and Paris restaurants and

cafes on Nov. 13, 2015. Survivors of the at-

tacks as well as those who mourn their dead

packed the rooms, which were designed to

hold 1,800 plaintiffs and over 300 lawyers.

The lone survivor of the extremist cell

from that night, Salah Abdeslam, is the key

defendant.He was the first asked to identify

himself and, after intoning a prayer, re-

quested to state his profession, declared he

was “a fighter for Islamic State.” Abdeslam

is the only one charged with murder.

The presiding judge, Jean-Louis Peries,

acknowledged the extraordinary circum-

stances of the events of that night and the

nine-month trial to come.

“The events that we are about to decide

are inscribed in their historic intensity as

among the international and national

events of this century,” he said.

Twenty men are charged, but six of them

will be tried in absentia. Abdeslam, who

abandoned his rental car in northern Paris

and discarded a malfunctioning suicide

vest before fleeing home to Brussels, has re-

fused to speak with investigators.

Trial of 20 men accused in 2015 Paris attacks finally gets underwayAssociated Press

JAKARTA — A massive fire

raged through an overcrowded

prison near Indonesia’s capital

early Wednesday, killing at least

41 inmates, two of them foreigners

serving drug sentences, and injur-

ing 80 others.

Firefighters battled through the

early morning hours to extinguish

the flames as black smoke bil-

lowed from the compound of the

Tangerang prison on the outskirts

of Jakarta.

After the blaze was extin-

guished, ambulance after ambu-

lance filled with body bags con-

taining the victims were driven by

Red Cross workers to the morgue

of a local hospital, where they were

stacked wall-to-wall on the floor of

a room awaiting transport to a

larger facility for identification.

Most of the 41 killed were drug

convicts, including a man from

South Africa and a man from Por-

tugal, while other victims included

a terrorism convict and a murder-

er, Indonesia’s Law and Human

Rights minister Yasona Laoly told

reporters.

He expressed his deep condo-

lences for the families of the vic-

tims and pledged to provide the

best treatment for those injured.

“This is a tragedy that concerns

all of us,” Laoly said. “We are

working closely with all relevant

parties to investigate the causes of

the fire.”

The fire broke out at 1:45 a.m. in

Block C2 of the prison, where the

19 cells that were built to hold 40 in-

mates were stuffed full with more

than triple that number. The cause

of the blaze appears to have been

an electrical short circuit, accord-

ing to initial findings, Jakarta Po-

lice Chief Fadil Imran said.

Fire kills dozens of inmatesin crowded Indonesian prison

Associated Press

INDONESIAN MINISTRY OF JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS/AP

Police officers inspect damaged cells after a fire at Tangerang prisonin Tangerang, Indonesia, on Wednesday.

PAGE 14 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021

FACES

If anyone questions being too old to try

something new, look no further than

iconic music producers Jimmy Jam and

Terry Lewis.

“As you get older in life, we realized that

there’s less first times you get to actually expe-

rience things,” said Jam. “For us, all the first

times are very exciting.”

Despite nearly four decades in the business,

five Grammys and widespread reverence

across the recording industry, the producing-

songwriting duo known as Jam & Lewis recent-

ly accomplished one major goal: they released

their debut album.

“Music has always still been a part of our

lives, but we did take some time off to do some

important things, which was basically raise

our kids,” said Jam, a two-time chair of the Re-

cording Academy. “Now, we’re selfish again.”

“Jam & Lewis, Volume One,” which landed

at No. 49 on Billboard’s Independent albums

chart, is a 10-song project featuring a who’s

who of R&B singers. Some are previous collab-

orators, like Mariah Carey, Usher, Mary J.

Blige and Boyz II Men. Others are new part-

nerships such as Toni Braxton, Babyface and

The Roots.

“There’s a thing that we call ‘hang factor,’

and I don’t like working with people if I can’t

hang with them,” explained Lewis. “We hang,

we try to find out what the vision is, and then we

start trying to create that vision.”

The hang factor helped birth records like

“Somewhat Loved” with Carey, which peaked

at No. 10 on Billboard’s Adult R&B chart, a

mid-tempo track featuring her emotionally la-

menting about lost love. “He Don’t Know Noth-

in’ Bout It,” which peaked at No. 4 on the same

chart, mirrors past Babyface slow jams as he

attempts to persuade a woman that she de-

serves better. There’s also a quintessential To-

ni Braxton sound on “Happily Unhappy,” a

beautiful song about heartbreak that’s so time-

less, it could’ve been released two decades ago,

yet still feels perfect today.

Dubbing their sound “new nostalgia,” the al-

bum doesn’t push boundaries or dabble into

the trap beats, heavy Auto-Tune and sing-song

vibe of much of today’s R&B. They chose to

stay within the traditional soul sounds that

made these 2017 Songwriters Hall of Fame in-

ductees uber-successful.

“It wasn’t like we had a bunch of songs and it

was like, ‘Let’s do these songs.’ It was like …

let’s make the perfect song for each artist,”

Jam said. “We want the fans to fall back in love

— or remember why they fell in love — with

those artists. But we also want the artists to fall

back in love with themselves.”

Jam, 64, born James Harris III, and Lewis,

62, grew up in Minneapolis with its bustling

1970s local music scene. Jam attended middle

school with Prince, and a post-high school re-

union led them to start playing with Morris

Day and the Time, with Prince doing most of

the writing and producing. (Day is also fea-

tured on the album.)

After disagreeing on projects outside of The

Time, Prince fired them, sparking Jam and Le-

wis’ producing career. “There’s not a day we

don’t think about him and we don’t think about

as we’re making music. ‘I think Prince would

like this. I think he’d approve of this. He’d like

what we’re doing here,’” said Jam, smiling.

The duo helped craft hits for the S.O.S Band,

Chaka Khan, George Michael, New Edition

and more, including classics like the uplifting

“Optimistic” by Sounds of Blackness; “No

More Drama” by Mary J. Blige; “Rhythm Na-

tion” by Janet Jackson; “Scream,” a collabora-

tion with her legendary brother Michael; and

“Open My Heart” by gospel icon Yolanda

Adams.

They’re responsible for more than 50 Bill-

board No. 1 songs on the pop, R&B and dance

charts — all while donning their signature all-

black suits. (“All the decisions you have to

make throughout a day, if you can take one de-

cision out, that just leaves a hole for other

thinking,” explained Lewis.)

The music brothers say they weren’t con-

cerned whether critics might think the mo-

ment had passed to drop an album. One of their

remaining bucket list items includes playing

instruments live as they perform for fans.

It’s been 35 years since Janet Jackson’s

“Control” album jumpstarted their producing

careers but unintentionally delayed some of

their personal ambitions. So, are there any re-

grets?

“To me, it is God’s timing,” said Jam. “It all

happens the way it’s supposed to happen.”

MATT LICARI, INVISION/AP

Jimmy Jam, left, and Terry Lewis pose for a portrait in New York on July 26. The duo, who’ve worked with Prince, Michael Jackson, MariahCarey, Boyz II Men and more, enlisted some old friends for their debut album, “Jam & Lewis: Volume One.” 

Production duo pads its résuméGrammy winners Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis return with debut album, ‘Volume One’

BY GARY GERARD HAMILTON

Associated Press

“Music has always stillbeen a part of our lives,but we did take sometime off to do someimportant things, whichwas basically raise ourkids. Now, we’re selfishagain.”

Jimmy Jam

two-time chair of the Recording Academy

Britney Spears’ father filed

Tuesday to end the court conser-

vatorship that has controlled the

singer’s life and money for 13

years.

James Spears filed his petition

to terminate the conservatorship

in Los Angeles Superior Court.

“As Mr. Spears has said again

and again, all he wants is what is

best for his daughter,” the docu-

ment says. “If Ms. Spears wants to

terminate the conservatorship

and believes that she can handle

her own life, Mr. Spears believes

that she should get that chance.”

Judge Brenda Penny will need

to approve the move.

Britney Spears’ attorney, Mat-

thew Rosengart, said in an email

the filing “represents another le-

gal victory for Britney Spears — a

massive one — as well as vindica-

tion for Ms. Spears.”

James Spears had been the tar-

get of much of the anger surround-

ing the conservatorship from both

his daughter and the public.

A petition from Britney Spears’

attorney to remove him was to be

heard at the next hearing in the

case on Sept. 29.

James Spears said in a filing on

Aug. 12 that he was planning to

step down as the conservator of

her finances, but offered no time-

table. He gave up his control over

her life decisions in 2019, keeping

only his role overseeing her mon-

ey.

He has repeatedly said there is

no justification for his removal,

and he has acted only in his daugh-

ter’s best interest.

The conservatorship was estab-

lished in 2008 when Britney

Spears began to have very public

mental struggles as media outlets

obsessed over each moment,

hordes of paparazzi aggressively

followed her everywhere, and she

lost custody of her children.

Tuesday’s filing cites how Brit-

ney Spears’ “impassioned plea” to

end the legal arrangement in a

June 23 speech in court gave a jolt

to those who wanted to see her

freed from it, quoting from the

transcript of that afternoon.

“I just want my life back,” Brit-

ney Spears said. “And it’s been 13

years and it’s enough. It’s been a

long time since I’ve owned my

money. And it’s my wish and my

dream for all of this to end without

being tested.”

Tuesday’s filing notes that

Spears said she did not know she

could file a petition to end the con-

servatorship, which she has yet to

do. Rosengart said when he was

hired in July that he intended to

help end the conservatorship, and

questioned whether it needed to

be established in the first place,

though he had not yet filed to ter-

minate it.

Spears’ fatherfiles to end courtconservatorship

BY ANDREW DALTON

Associated Press

Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 15

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OPINION

This must be what it felt like to be a

Loyalist in 1770 or so. He knows

that he is a citizen of the Greatest

Nation, and is grateful, but he lives

among many who feel increasingly mistreat-

ed, disrespected, even held in contempt by

the Crown and by the courtiers who surround

the throne of power in a distant capital.

Many direct their ire at the king’s minis-

ters, or at a Parliament in which they feel they

have no voice, but the sense of estrangement

grows steadily. The Loyalist remains devoted

to his nation and its institutions, but wishes

that his rulers were more attuned to the ex-

tent of the restiveness in what they seem to re-

gard as their empire, and more sensitive to

the legitimacy of many of those concerns.

Out here in what I’ll call the colonies — the

lands beyond the centers of power — rules

that must seem wise and just to the national

lawmakers often come across as clueless,

contemptuous edicts. Our voting laws, land

use policies, labor laws, fiscal freedom to low-

er taxation, all are to be overridden.

Atiny parliamentary majority seeks to pad

its paper-thin margin, enhancing its ability to

continue such trespasses, by creating what is

known as a “rotten borough” — with few vot-

ers but a seat at the legislative table nonethe-

less.

People here, where government lives with-

in its means, watch in wonderment as those in

authority run up unimaginable mountains of

debt, accumulated not for investment in the

long-term future but for current consump-

tion. Doomed to face the inescapable burden

of servicing and repaying those debts, our

children will experience true taxation with-

out representation.

Escalating migration to the provinces dem-

onstrates that dissatisfaction with current

government is shared even in the power cen-

ters, but when the new arrivals reach their

refuges, they may find that the impositions

they were fleeing have followed them. There

are even rumors that the taxing authorities

they thought they were escaping will try to tax

their income in their new homes.

One can try to rationalize that these actions,

as the imperialists of old told themselves, are

motivated by a sincere missionary spirit, a de-

sire to evangelize and convert the heathens,

by force if necessary, “for their own good.”

But my neighbors who still cherish tradi-

tional ways of life must be forgiven if they do

not surrender meekly and instantly to what

they interpret as an unprovoked and unwar-

ranted assault on sincere and legitimate cus-

toms and beliefs. Blanket denunciations of

entire regions or categories of people only

serve to strengthen the credibility of the most

strident and radical anti-establishment voic-

es.

Observing the growing discord, a Loyalist

hopes for ways to defuse this ill will, and ac-

commodate understandable resentments be-

fore they become even more virulent.

Perhaps the best idea for a better way for-

ward is to devolve or, better said, restore

more decisions to lower levels of government.

The idea has been suggested by numerous

commentators, but it is especially well de-

fined and defended by Brian Riedl in his re-

cent paper for the Manhattan Institute. Riedl

argues that returning more authority to states

and localities would foster more competent,

flexible, creative government, arrived at by

less hostile, more bipartisan means.

He names health care, education, welfare

and infrastructure as logical realms in which

states would be likely to deliver services more

competently, flexibly, imaginatively and with

far greater accountability than the federal

government ever does. He notes that Europe

is full of countries smaller than most Ameri-

can states, who manage to operate effectively

in these areas. To the challenge that some

states might not handle these tasks well, he re-

plies, dispositively, “Compared with what?”

The most important benefit of a Riedl-like

plan might not be its superior competence but

an alleviation of alienation. To those ideo-

logues among us who are “so convinced of the

superiority of their policies that nothing less

than their implementation from sea to shin-

ing sea is acceptable,” who believe that “the

other party’s approach is so destructive that

no American should live with its consequenc-

es, even if local voters unwisely choose to vote

for it,” Riedl recommends a dose of “humility,

modesty, gradualism, and acceptance.”

That’s an appealing list, although he mis-

sed a chance by not also playing today’s ace

and king of trump, “diversity” and “inclu-

sion.”

My disaffected colonial neighbors aren’t

seeking to universalize their ways and values,

only to be afforded the tolerance to live by

them without harassment or disdain. Humili-

ty and modesty seem quaintly out of fashion,

and central authorities almost never turn

loose of power once they have seized it, but

even small gestures of “acceptance” and un-

derstanding would go a long way.

A Loyalist in 1770 could relate to today’s USBY MITCH DANIELS

Special to The Washington Post

Mitch Daniels, �a Washington Post contributing columnist, ispresident of Purdue University and a former governor ofIndiana.

The surreal nature of international

travel in the COVID-19 era was

beamed live around the world last

weekend. In the opening minutes of

a soccer match in Sao Paolo between Brazil

and Argentina, play stopped when public

health officials walked onto the field to remove

several Argentine athletes over an apparent

breach of a 14-day quarantine (mandatory for

travel via the U.K.). The game never resumed.

Eighteen months into the pandemic, travel

restrictions are still tripping up regular fam-

ilies and firms, not just footballers. A U.S. ban

on most travelers from two dozen European

countries, instituted by President Donald

Trump in March of last year, remains in place

despite a change of president and the fact that

ahigher proportion of people in the European

Union and U.K. are fully vaccinated. Mean-

while, Hong Kong residents returning home

from places including the U.S. and France

must spend 21 days in hotel quarantine even if

they’re vaccinated, and the city bars entry to

most other people. Australia’s borders are

closed, with most international travel banned.

Obviously, caution is warranted around the

delta variant. But the lack of pragmatism

around international travel is striking. Al-

though many governments have eased re-

strictions on movement at home, since recog-

nizing the evidence that vaccines protect

against severe forms of COVID-19, travel

curbs appear to be preserved in cement.

A July report by the World Tourism Orga-

nization found that there had been no “signif-

icant” changes in curbs since November 2020.

For every bit of good news — Hong Kong and

the United Arab Emirates recently eased

travel restrictions — there’s a snapback, such

as the EU’s reimposition of curbs on American

travelers after a summer reprieve.

This merits urgent attention. There are

emotional and economic costs to restricting

travel. Most visible is the tourism industry,

which suffered its worst year on record in

2020 — losses may hit $2.4 trillion this year, ac-

cording to the United Nations Conference on

Trade and Development. Less visible are all

the lives and careers that have been put on

hold until travel resumes, from full-time

workers and seasonal staff to international

students with big future potential. One chief

executive officer recently quit his post after

tiring of trans-Atlantic travel restrictions.

The benefits, meanwhile, are hard to spot.

Consider the treatment of travelers from

France, who are not allowed into the U.S. and

who had to be quarantined upon arrival in the

U.K. until recently, even if they were vaccinat-

ed. Today they still have to book a COVID-19

test two days after arrival.

All this to what end? The U.S. and U.K. are

currently reporting around 500 new daily

cases per million people, about twice that of

France. Paris is deemed the most open city out

of 40 destinations tracked by Bloomberg.

Even New Zealand, with its high border con-

trol and location thousands of miles from any-

where, concedes that, even with vaccines, in-

fections will rise when its borders reopen due

to variants like delta.

One alternative to travel bans and ineffectu-

al rules would be to better differentiate be-

tween the vaccinated and unvaccinated. As of

June, only 17% of all travel destinations world-

wide specifically mentioned vaccinated pas-

sengers in their travel policy, according to the

World Tourism Organization. Research from

airline lobby group IATA also finds that two-

fifths of EU states aren’t allowing in vaccinat-

ed travelers from countries deemed safe out-

side the bloc.

For all the caveats on transmission and

waning vaccine effectiveness, there should be

more openness to the vaccinated. Of course,

this would mean that rich countries need to

push harder to expand supply and production

of vaccines in the developing world. Other-

wise those without access will be unfairly pun-

ished. The World Health Organization should

also harmonize competing definitions of “full

vaccination” to reduce confusion as countries

roll out booster shots and third doses. More

broadly, politicians need to start talking about

travel as an opportunity, not just a risk. Want-

ing to avoid giving privileged holidaymakers

license to spread disease is perhaps justified;

denying vaccinated families, students and

workers a chance at normality isn’t.

No relaxation of curbs is risk-free. But this

has to be balanced against the progress we’ve

made — and the reward of improving mobil-

ity. At this stage of the pandemic, with the tools

at our disposal, a shift looks worth it.

COVID travel is still a disaster. It doesn’t need to be.BY LIONEL LAURENT

AND SAM FAZELI

Bloomberg Opinion

Lionel Laurent is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering theEuropean Union and France. Sam Fazeli is senior pharmaceu­ticals analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence and director ofresearch for EMEA.

PAGE 16 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021

ACROSS

1 Dross

5 Sashimi fish

8 Denny’s rival

12 Select from

a group

13 Part of UCLA

14 Quick swims

15 Tiny battery

16 Retrieve

17 Utah ski resort

18 Arctic plain

20 “Funny!”

22 Escapist’s

paradise

26 Wishes (for)

29 Expected

30 Suffix with cash

31 “So be it”

32 Hwys.

33 “— girl!”

34 Sea, to Henri

35 Architect I.M. —

36 Secret

rendezvous

37 Bodybuilder’s

title

40 Bad habit

41 Giraffe cousins

45 Grand tale

47 Comic Romano

49 Grate

50 Humdrum

51 Env. insert

52 — Major

53 Dog’s treasure

54 Use a henna

rinse

55 Paraphernalia

DOWN

1 Ella’s style

2 Hawaiian feast

3 Actor Rickman

4 Elate

5 Aquarium

buildup

6 Weed whacker

7 Narrow strip

of land

8 The Gem State

9 Intense mirth

10 Choose

11 Unpaid TV spot

19 B&O and

others (Abbr.)

21 Shock partner

23 Pitcher Joss

24 Reply to

“Shall we?”

25 “Phooey!”

26 Soccer star Mia

27 Biblical grain

measure

28 Lima native

32 Adored

33 Floor covering

35 Photo, for short

36 Chiding sound

38 Recess

39 Partner of Rolls

42 Whittle (down)

43 “Insecure”

actress Rae

44 Mast

45 Recede

46 Mideast org.

48 Whatever

Answer to Previous Puzzle

Eugene Sheffer CrosswordFra

zz

Dilbert

Pearls B

efo

re S

win

eN

on S

equitur

Candorv

ille

Beetle B

ailey

Biz

arr

oCarp

e D

iem

Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 17

SCOREBOARD

PRO SOCCER

MLS

EASTERN CONFERENCE

W L T Pts GF GA

New England 16 4 4 52 45 28

Orlando City 10 4 8 38 33 26

Nashville 9 2 11 38 37 21

NYCFC 10 7 4 34 37 22

Philadelphia 8 7 8 32 28 24

CF Montréal 8 7 7 31 30 27

D.C. United 9 10 3 30 35 32

Columbus 7 10 6 27 27 32

Atlanta 6 7 9 27 25 28

Inter Miami CF 7 9 5 26 22 31

Chicago 6 11 5 23 24 33

New York 6 10 4 22 23 25

Cincinnati 3 10 8 17 21 38

Toronto FC 3 13 6 15 26 47

WESTERN CONFERENCE

W L T Pts GF GA

Seattle 12 4 6 42 35 19

Colorado 12 4 5 41 31 20

Sporting KC 11 5 7 40 37 26

LA Galaxy 11 8 3 36 35 35

Minnesota 8 6 7 31 24 24

Portland 9 10 3 30 31 39

Real Salt Lake 8 8 6 30 34 29

Vancouver 7 7 8 29 29 32

LAFC 7 9 6 27 32 31

San Jose 6 8 8 26 24 30

FC Dallas 6 10 7 25 32 36

Austin FC 5 13 4 19 21 31

Houston 3 10 10 19 24 36

Note: Three points for victory, one pointfor tie.

Friday’s games

Orlando City at Atlanta Portland at Vancouver

Saturday’s games

LA Galaxy at Colorado Minnesota at Seattle D.C. United at New York New York City FC at New England Toronto FC at Cincinnati Columbus at Miami Nashville at CF Montréal Austin FC at Houston Chicago at Sporting Kansas City San Jose at FC Dallas

Sunday’s game

Real Salt Lake at Los Angeles FC

NWSL

W L T Pts GF GA

Portland 10 4 2 32 24 11

North Carolina 8 4 5 29 22 9

Reign FC 9 7 2 29 24 19

Orlando 6 5 7 25 21 20

Chicago 7 7 4 25 19 22

Washington 6 5 5 23 19 18

Gotham FC 5 5 7 22 17 15

Houston 6 7 4 22 19 22

Louisville 4 8 5 17 14 24

Kansas City 2 11 5 11 9 28

Note: Three points for victory, one pointfor tie.

Friday’s games

Gotham FC at Kansas City Chicago at Houston

Saturday’s game

Louisville at OrlandoSunday’s games

Reign FC at WashingtonPortland at North Carolina

U.S. OpenTuesday

At USTA Billie Jean King National TennisCenter

New YorkSurface: Hardcourt outdoor

Men’s SinglesQuarterfinals

Daniil Medvedev (2), Russia, def. Boticvan de Zandschulp, Netherlands, 6-3, 6-0,4-6, 7-5.

Felix Auger-Aliassime (12), Canada, def.Carlos Alcaraz, Spain, 6-3, 3-1, ret.

Women’s SinglesQuarterfinals

Leylah Annie Fernandez, Canada, def.Elina Svitolina (5), Ukraine, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5).

Aryna Sabalenka (2), Belarus, def. Bar-bora Krejcikova (8), Czech Republic, 6-1,6-4.

Men’s DoublesQuarterfinals

Filip Polasek, Slovakia, and John Peers(8), Australia, def. Nicolas Mahut andPierre-Hugues Herbert (3), France, 6-2, 6-3.

Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson, UnitedStates, def. Horia Tecau, Romania, and Ke-

vin Krawietz (6), Germany, 6-2, 7-6 (5). Rajeev Ram, United States, and Joe Sa-

lisbury (4), Britain, def. Matthew Ebdenand Max Purcell, Australia, 7-6 (7), 6-7 (6),7-6 (10).

Bruno Soares, Brazil, and Jamie Murray(7), Britain, def. Marcel Granollers, Spain,and Horacio Zeballos (2), Argentina, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4.

Women’s DoublesQuarterfinals

Sam Stosur, Australia, and Zhang Shuai(14), China, def. Storm Sanders, Australia,and Caroline Dolehide (10), United States,6-2, 6-3.

Mixed DoublesQuarterfinals

Marcelo Arevalo-Gonzalez, El Salvador,and Giuliana Olmos, Mexico, def. MarceloDemoliner, Brazil, and Ellen Perez, Austra-lia, 3-6, 6-3, 10-4.

Austin Krajicek and Jessica Pegula, Unit-ed States, def. Alexa Guarachi Mathison,Chile, and Neal Skupski (3), Britain, 6-1, 6-3.

Desirae Krawczyk, United States, andJoe Salisbury (2), Britain, def. Demi Schu-urs, Netherlands, and Sander Gille (8), Bel-gium, 6-1, 1-6, 10-7.

TENNIS

AP Top 25The Top 25 teams in The Associated Presscollege football poll, with first-place votesin parentheses, records through Sep. 6, to-tal points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:

Record Pts Prv

1. Alabama (59) 1-0 1571 1

2. Georgia (4) 1-0 1507 5

3. Ohio St. 1-0 1437 4

4. Oklahoma 1-0 1374 2

5. Texas A&M 1-0 1288 6

6. Clemson 0-1 1231 3

7. Cincinnati 1-0 1136 8

8. Notre Dame 1-0 1070 9

9. Iowa St. 1-0 1045 7

10. Iowa 1-0 942 18

11. Penn St. 1-0 908 19

12. Oregon 1-0 883 11

13. Florida 1-0 842 13

14. Southern Cal 1-0 789 15

15. Texas 1-0 683 21

16. UCLA 2-0 668 —

17. Coastal Carolina 1-0 384 22

18. Wisconsin 0-1 376 12

19. Virginia Tech 1-0 359 —

20. Mississippi 1-0 335 —

21. Utah 1-0 334 24

22. Miami 0-1 229 14

23. Arizona St. 1-0 222 25

24. North Carolina 0-1 198 10

25. Auburn 1-0 83 -

Others receiving votes: TCU 80, NC State69, UCF 61, LSU 57, Liberty 57, Michigan 52,Oklahoma St. 39, Indiana 37, Michigan St.28, Nevada 23, Kansas St. 13, Louisiana-La-fayette 12, BYU 10, Boston College 8, BallSt. 7, Maryland 6, UAB 5, Arizona 5, FloridaSt. 4, Kentucky 3, Army 2, Texas Tech 2, Ap-palachian St. 1.

USA Today Coaches PollThe USA Today Sports AFCA Coaches Pollwith team’s records through Saturday inparentheses, total points based on 25 forfirst place through one point for 25th, pre-vious week ranking and first-place votesreceived.

1. Alabama (11) 1-0 1624 1

2. Georgia (4) 1-0 1537 5

3. Ohio State 1-0 1491 4

4. OKlahoma 1-0 1397 3

5. Texas A&M 1-0 1334 6

6. Clemson 0-1 1239 2

7. Notre Dame 1-0 1197 7

8. Cincinnati 1-0 1113 10

9. Florida 1-0 1058 11

10. Iowa State 1-0 1057 8

11. Oregon 1-0 920 12

12. Iowa 1-0 914 18

13. Penn State 1-0 872 20

14. Southern California 1-0 828 14

15. Texas 1-0 653 19

16. UCLA 2-0 538 42

17. Wisconsin 0-1 359 15

18. Utah 1-0 294 26

19. Coastal Carolina 1-0 289 24

20. Mississippi 1-0 285 25

21. Virginia Tech 1-0 274 40

22. North Carolina 0-1 252 9

23. Oklahoma State 1-0 243 22

24. Miami (Fla) 0-1 186 16

25. Arizona State 1-0 181 28

Dropped out: No. 13 LSU (0-1); No. 17 Indi-ana (0-1); No. 21 Washington (0-1); No. 23Louisiana-Lafayette (0-1);

Others receiving votes: Auburn (1-0)123; Michigan (1-0) 99; LSU (0-1) 95; NorthCarolina State (1-0) 81; Liberty (1-0) 78;Brigham Young (1-0) 65; Indiana (0-1) 58;TCU (1-0) 49; Central Florida (1-0) 48; Flor-ida State (0-1) 34; Michigan State (1-0) 33;Kentucky (1-0) 28; Pittsburgh (1-0) 20;Louisiana-Lafayette (0-1) 19; Kansas State(1-0) 19; Boston College (1-0) 19; Appala-chian State (1-0) 15; SMU (1-0) 14; Rutgers(1-0) 11; Arkansas (1-0) 11; Maryland (1-0)9; Tennessee (1-0) 7; Nevada (1-0) 7; Fres-no State (1-1) 7; Army (1-0) 7; Tulane (0-1)6; Virginia (1-0) 5; San Jose State (1-1) 5;Missouri (1-0) 5; Ball State (1-0) 5; Marshall(1-0) 3; Alabama-Birmingham (1-0) 2; AirForce (1-0) 2; Charlotte (1-0) 1.

ScheduleFriday’s games

SOUTHKansas (1-0) at Coastal Carolina (1-0)NC A&T (0-1) at Duke (0-1)

FAR WESTNorth Dakota (1-0) at Utah St. (1-0) UTEP (2-0) at Boise St. (0-1)

Saturday’s gamesEAST

W. Kentucky (1-0) at Army (1-0)Stony Brook (0-1) at Colgate (0-1)Georgetown (0-0) at Delaware St. (1-0)Merrimack (1-0) at Holy Cross (1-0)Rutgers (1-0) at Syracuse (1-0)CCSU (0-1) at Wagner (0-1)Purdue (1-0) at Uconn (0-2)Ball St. (1-0) at Penn St. (1-0)Air Force (1-0) at Navy (0-1)Boston College (1-0) at Umass (0-1)

LIU Brooklyn (0-1) at West Virginia (0-1)Towson (1-0) at New Hampshire (1-0)Monmouth (NJ) (0-1) at Fordham (0-1)St. Francis (Pa.) (0-1) at Delaware (1-0)Bucknell (0-1) at Villanova (1-0)NC Central (1-0) at Marshall (1-0)Rhode Island (1-0) at Albany (NY) (0-1)Sacred Heart (1-0) at Bryant (0-1)Howard (0-1) at Maryland (1-0)

SOUTHIllinois (1-1) at Virginia (1-0)South Carolina (1-0) at East Carolina

(0-1) Kennesaw St. (1-0) at Georgia Tech (0-1)Pittsburgh (1-0) at Tennessee (1-0) Norfolk St. (0-1) at Wake Forest (1-0)Alabama St. (1-0) at Auburn (1-0) Florida (1-0) at South Florida (0-1)Morgan St. (0-1) vs. Tulane (0-1) at Bir-

mingham, Ala.Middle Tennessee (1-0) at Virginia Tech

(1-0)Lehigh (0-1) at Richmond (1-0)Charleston Southern (0-0) at The Citadel

(0-1)Union (Ky.) (0-0) at Morehead St. (0-1)Furman (1-0) at Tennessee Tech (0-1)UAB (1-0) at Georgia (1-0)Georgia Southern (1-0) at FAU (0-1)Mercer (1-0) at Alabama (1-0)Maine (0-1) at James Madison (1-0)Fort Lauderdale (0-0) at Presbyterian

(1-0)SC State (0-1) at Clemson (0-1)Lafayette (0-1) at William & Mary (0-1)Fort Valley St. (0-0) at Florida A&M (0-1)Ave Maria (0-0) at Stetson (1-0)Gardner-Webb (0-1) at Charlotte (1-0)Elon (0-1) at Campbell (0-1)Bethune-Cookman (0-1) at UCF (1-0)Nicholls (0-1) at Louisiana-Lafayette

(0-1)Hampton (1-0) at Old Dominion (0-1)Appalachian St. (1-0) at Miami (0-1)Miles (0-1) at Southern U. (0-1)Tennessee St. (0-1) vs. Jackson St. (1-0)

at Memphis, Tenn.Chattanooga (0-1) at North Alabama

(0-1)Grambling St. (1-0) at Southern Miss.

(0-1)SE Louisiana (1-0) at Louisiana Tech

(0-1)Samford (1-0) at UT Martin (0-1)Texas State (0-1) at FIU (1-0)NC State (1-0) at Mississippi St. (1-0)Northwestern St. (0-1) at Alcorn St. (0-1)Liberty (1-0) at Troy (1-0)E. Kentucky (1-0) at Louisville (0-1)Shaw (0-0) at Davidson (0-1)Georgia St. (0-1) at North Carolina (0-1)Virginia-Wise (0-0) at ETSU (1-0)Austin Peay (1-0) at Mississippi (1-0)Missouri (1-0) at Kentucky (1-0)McNeese St. (0-1) at LSU (0-1)Jacksonville St. (0-1) at Florida St. (0-1)

MIDWESTVMI (1-0) at Kent St. (0-1)Indiana St. (1-0) at Northwestern (0-1)Oregon (1-0) at Ohio St. (1-0) Miami (Ohio) (0-1) at Minnesota (0-1) Youngstown St. (1-0) at Michigan St.

(1-0) E. Illinois (0-2) at Dayton (0-0)St. Thomas (Minn.) (0-0) at Michigan

Tech (0-0)Wyoming (1-0) at N. Illinois (1-0)N. Arizona (0-1) at South Dakota (0-1)Duquesne (0-1) at Ohio (0-1)Toledo (1-0) at Notre Dame (1-0)Robert Morris (0-0) at Cent. Michigan

(0-1)Temple (0-1) at Akron (0-1)Buffalo (1-0) at Nebraska (1-1)Murray St. (1-0) at Cincinnati (1-0)Valparaiso (0-1) at N. Dakota St. (1-0)South Alabama (1-0) at Bowling Green

(0-1)Iowa (1-0) at Iowa St. (1-0)Illinois St. (1-0) at W. Michigan (0-1)DePauw (0-0) at Butler (0-1)Lindenwood (Mo.) (0-0) at S. Dakota St.

(1-0)E. Michigan (1-0) at Wisconsin (0-1)S. Illinois (1-0) at Kansas St. (1-0)Idaho (1-0) at Indiana (0-1)Washington (0-1) at Michigan (1-0)Cent. Arkansas (0-1) at Missouri St. (0-1)

SOUTHWESTTulsa (0-1) at Oklahoma St. (1-0) California (0-1) at TCU (1-0)Lamar (1-0) at UTSA (1-0)Houston (0-1) at Rice (0-1)Texas (1-0) at Arkansas (1-0)Louisiana College (0-0) at Abilene Chris-

tian (0-1)North Texas (1-0) at SMU (1-0)SE Missouri (0-1) at Sam Houston St.

(1-0)Memphis (1-0) at Arkansas St. (1-0)W. Carolina (0-1) at Oklahoma (1-0)Stephen F. Austin (1-0) at Texas Tech

(1-0)N. Colorado (0-1) at Houston Baptist

(0-1)Texas Southern (0-1) at Baylor (1-0)Fort Lewis (0-0) at Tarleton St. (0-1)Prairie View (1-0) at Incarnate Word

(0-1)FAR WEST

Texas A&M (1-0) vs. Colorado (1-0) atDenver

Cent. Washington (0-0) at E. Washington(1-0)

UC Davis (1-0) at San Diego (0-1)Portland St. (0-1) at Washington St. (0-1)New Mexico St. (0-2) at New Mexico (1-0)Drake (1-0) at Montana St. (0-1)W. Illinois (0-1) at Montana (1-0)N. Iowa (0-1) at Sacramento St. (1-0)Vanderbilt (0-1) at Colorado St. (0-1)San Diego St. (1-0) at Arizona (0-1)Weber St. (0-1) at Dixie St. (0-1)Cal Poly (1-0) at Fresno St. (1-1)Utah (1-0) at BYU (1-0)UNLV (0-1) at Arizona St. (1-0)Stanford (0-1) at Southern Cal (1-0)Idaho St. (0-1) at Nevada (1-0)Hawaii (1-1) at Oregon St. (0-1)

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

BASKETBALLNational Basketball Association

DETROIT PISTONS — Waived C DeAndreJordan.

PHOENIX SUNS — Signed F ChandlerHutchinson.

SAN ANTONIO SPURS — Re-signed F Kei-ta Bates-Diop. Signed G Joe Wieskam to atwo-way contract.

FOOTBALLNational Football League

ARIZONA CARDINALS — Signed OT EricSmith to the practice squad. Released CMichael Menet from the practice squad.

ATLANTA FALCONS — Re-signed RB Qa-dree Ollison to the practice squad. Re-leased OL Sam Jones from the practicesquad.

CAROLINA PANTHERS — Activated CSam Tecklenburg from the reserve/CO-VID-19 list. Signed DB John Brannon to thepractice squad.

CHICAGO BEARS — Waived DT LacaleLondon with an injury settlement.

CINCINNATI BENGALS — Signed QB JakeBrowning to the practice squad. ReleasedP Drue Chrisman from the practice squad.

HOUSTON TEXANS — Signed K Joey Slyeand CB Cre’Von LeBlanc to the practicesquad. Waived DB Cornell Armstrong.Claimed CB Jimmy Moreland off waiversfrom Washington.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — Signed DT Ant-waun Woods to the practice squad. Re-leased DT Andrew Brown.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS — Signed RBDuke Johnson to the practice squad. Re-leased RB Nathan Cottrell from the prac-tice squad.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS — Signed DBKemon Hall. Placed DB Ryan Smith on in-jured reserve.

MIAMI DOLPHINS — Released LB VinceBiegel and DB Jaytlin Askew from injuredreserve with a settlement. Signed OT Bob-by Hart. Placed G Adam Pankey on thepractcie squad injured reserve.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS — Signed CB Des-mond Trufant. Released RB Latavius Mur-ray.

NEW YORK GIANTS — Terminated con-tract of WR C.J. Board and moved him tothe practice squad. Terminated the con-tract of LB Todd Davis. Waived WR AustinMack with an injury settlement. ReleasedDB Jordyn Peters and G Kenny Wigginsfrom the practice squad. Signed OT KoreyCunningham to the practice squad.Signed S Nate Ebner.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES — Signed CB MacMcCain off the Broncos practice squad totheri active roster.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS — Signed DEHenry Mondeaux, WR Tyler Vaughns andLB Delontae Scott to the practice squad.Placed WR Rico Bussey on the practicesquad injured reserve.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS — Signed CB Don-tae Johnson to the practice squad. Re-leased LB Elijah Sullivan from the practicesquad.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS — Promoted WRPenny Hart and CB John Reid to the activeroster. Signed CB Blessuan Austin. PlacedTE Colby Parkinson, CBs Tre Brown and Ni-gel Warrior on injured reserve. Signed CBGavin Heslop to the practice squad. Re-leased TE Mark Vital from the practicesquad.

TENNESSEE TITANS — Released S Bra-dley McDougald. Placed DB Brady Breezeon the reserve/COVID-19 list. Released OTDerwin Gray from the practice squad.Signed S Bradley McDougald, OL Corey Le-vin and DB Chirs jones to the practicesquad. Waived G Chandon Herring with anijury settlement.

WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM —Signed OT Evin Ksiezarczyk to the practicesquad.

HOCKEYNational Hockey League

SEATTLE KRAKEN — Signed D DennisCholowski to a one-year, two-way con-tract.

Tuesday’s transactionsBASEBALL

Major League BaseballAmerican League

BALTIMORE ORIOLES — Recalled RHPMike Baumann from Norfolk (Triple-AEast). Selected the contract of RHP MannyBarreda from Norfolk and agreed to termson a major league contract. Optioned RHPZack Burdi to Norfolk. Placed RHP JorgeLopez on the 10-day IL. Transferred RHPHunter Harvery from the 10-day IL to the60-day IL.

BOSTON RED SOX — Reinstated INF/OFsKike Hernandez and Danny Santana fromthe COVID-19 IL. Optioned OF Franchy Cor-dero to Worcester (Triple-A East). Desig-nated INF Taylor Mott for assignment.Sent LHP Darwinzon Hernandez to Wor-cester on a rehab assignment.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX — Sent CF AdamEngel to Charlotte (Triple-A East) on a re-hab assignment. Agreed to terms withRHP Kevin McCarthy on a minor leaguecontract.

CLEVELAND INDIANS — Optioned 2B Er-nie Clement and RHP J.C. Mejia to Colum-bus (Triple-A East). Reinstated RHP AaronCivale from the 60-day IL. Designated CGianpaul Gonzalez for assignment. Sent CRoberto Perez to Columbus (Triple-A East)on a rehab assignment.

DETROIT TIGERS — Optioned RHP DrewCarlton to Toledo (Triple-A East). PlacedRHP Joe Jimenez on the 10-day IL. RecalledRHP Bryan Garcia from Toledo. Selectedthe contract of RHP Drew Hutchinson fromToledo and agreed to terms on a majorleague contract.

NEW YORK YANKEES — Optioned RHPBrooks Kriske to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre(Triple-A East).

OAKLAND ATHLETICS — Reinstated RHPFrankie Montas from the restricted list.Optioned LHP Sam Moll to Las Vegas (Tri-ple-A West).

TAMPA BAY RAYS — Recalled RHP LouisHead from Durham (Triple-A East). Op-tioned SS Taylor Walls to Durham.

TEXAS RANGERS — Reinstated RHPSpencer Howard from the 10-day IL.

National LeagueARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — Selected

the contract of RHP Brandyn Sittingerfrom Reno (Triple-A West) and agreed toterms on a major league contract. PlacedRHP Tyler Clippard on the 10-day IL.

ATLANTA BRAVES — Sent LHP GrantDayton to FCL Braves (Florida ComplexLeague) on a rehab assignment.

CHICAGO CUBS — Sent RHP JonathanHolder to Iowa (Triple-A East) on a rehabassignment.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS — Selected thecontract of OF Steven Souza Jr. from Okla-homa City (Triple-A West) and agreed toterms on a major league contract. Op-tioned INF/OF Zach McKinstry to Oklaho-ma City. Transferred LHP Garrett Cleavin-ger from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL. SentLHP Clayton Kershaw to Oklahoma City(Triple-A West) on a rehab assignment.Optioned RF Zach McKinstry to OklahomaCity.

MIAMI MARLINS — Reinstated RHP Tay-lor Williams. Designated LHP Ross Detwil-er for assignment. Selected the contractof 2B Eddy Alvarez from Jacksonville (Tri-ple-A East).

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES — Sent C An-drew Knapp, 3B Luke Williams and OF MattJoyce to Lehigh Valley (Triple-A East) onrehab assignments.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES — Reinstated LHPDillon Peters from the 10-day IL. OptionedRHP Shea Spitzbarth to Indianapolis (Tri-ple-A East).

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS — Sent RHP JustinMiller to Memphis (Triple-A East) on a re-hab assignment.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS — Claimed RHPJake Jewell off waivers from Los AngelesDodgers and optioned him to Sacramento(Triple-A West).

DEALS

PRO BASKETBALL

WNBA

EASTERN CONFERENCE

W L Pct GB

x-Connecticut 22 6 .786 —

x-Chicago 15 14 .517 7½

New York 11 18 .379 11½

Washington 10 18 .357 12

Atlanta 7 20 .259 14½

Indiana 6 21 .222 15½

WESTERN CONFERENCE

W L Pct GB

x-Las Vegas 20 8 .714 —

x-Seattle 20 10 .667 1

x-Minnesota 18 9 .667 1½

x-Phoenix 18 10 .643 2

Dallas 12 17 .414 8½

Los Angeles 10 18 .357 10

Tuesday’s games

Connecticut 83, Dallas 56Seattle 105, Washington 71

Wednesday’s games

Phoenix at AtlantaMinnesota at Las Vegas

Thursday’s game

Connecticut at Los Angeles

Friday’s games

Atlanta at WashingtonIndiana at Minnesota

NFL scheduleThursday’s game

Dallas at Tampa BaySunday’s games

Arizona at TennesseeJacksonville at HoustonL.A. Chargers at WashingtonMinnesota at Cincinnati

N.Y. Jets at CarolinaPhiladelphia at AtlantaPittsburgh at BuffaloSan Francisco at DetroitSeattle at IndianapolisCleveland at Kansas CityDenver at N.Y. GiantsGreen Bay at New OrleansMiami at New EnglandChicago at L.A. Rams

PRO FOOTBALL

PAGE 18 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

TONY DING/AP

Michigan fans in the student section cheer during the second quarter of their game withWestern Michigan on Sept. 4 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. Communicatingon the field isn’t quite as easy as it was a year ago, when games were in empty stadiums.

MADISON, Wis. — College football

teams spent the first big weekend of the sea-

son getting reacquainted with an unfamiliar

sound.

Authentic crowd noise.

After playing in empty stadiums through-

out the pandemic-delayed 2020 season,

teams across the country welcomed specta-

tors back and many stadiums were packed,

including more than 109,000 at the Big

House in Michigan. That meant the re-

sumption of some traditions, too, from mid-

night yell practice at Texas A&M to Wiscon-

sin students bouncing to “Jump Around” to

Iowa fans waving to kids at the children’s

hospital adjacent to Kinnick Stadium.

The return of fans on game day also re-

quires teams to adjust. Competing without

spectators made it easy for players and

coaches to communicate with one another

last year. Now it’s a little trickier.

“You could definitely see, especially with

some of the younger guys, it’s hard to sim-

ulate that in a practice,” Wisconsin defen-

sive coordinator Jim Leonhard said. “You

really go over a year (since) that was an is-

sue, when you couldn’t yell from the side-

line and catch somebody’s attention.”

Maryland was at home for its season-

opening 30-24 victory over West Virginia

and figured to benefit from the atmosphere

generated by a partisan crowd. The Terra-

pins piped in crowd noise for last Thurs-

day’s practice anyway just so they could get

accustomed to it.

“It drives us crazy as a coach to have to

deal with it, because you can’t necessarily

coach your guys, but (we were) anticipating

that we would have a good crowd,” Mary-

land coach Michael Locksley said.

Upperclassmen at least had experience

playing in packed stadiums before 2020, but

freshmen and sophomores hadn’t dealt with

this before.

Wisconsin offensive guard Jack Nelson

acknowledged the prospect concerned him

as he prepared to make his first career start.

He discovered he had no reason for con-

cern.

“I’d say I kind of overestimated it,” Nel-

son said. “I didn’t have any problems with it.

I could feel the crowd’s energy.”

It would have been tempting to assume

that the return of spectators would put road

teams at more of a disadvantage this year,

particularly after a season without fans.

While the sample size is small, early results

suggest that isn’t necessarily the case.

Last week’s results involving Big Ten

teams featured three victories by road un-

derdogs (Penn State over Wisconsin, Michi-

gan State over Northwestern and UTSA

over Illinois). Maryland was a slight home

underdog in its triumph over West Virginia.

Illinois beat Nebraska as a home underdog

on Aug. 28.

Those road upsets were particularly

sweet with fans back in the stands.

“It just motivated you to do your best,”

Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford said.

“Last year with the piped-in noise, there

was no real enthusiasm. It was fun to go into

someone else’s house again and be able to

silence them with big plays.”

Whatever the early results suggest,

teams believe they do need to adapt to this

major difference from last season.

“Just to be able to deal with the noise on

third downs, especially for an opposing

team’s offense and communication and all

of that, it affects guys jumping offsides and

being slower on the snap count and getting a

jump on things,” said Indiana coach Tom

Allen, who emphasized that he wasn’t blam-

ing any of those factors for his team’s 34-6

loss at Iowa.

Ohio State coach Ryan Day cited the diffi-

culty the offense occasionally had during

the season-opening victory at Minnesota.

“It was loud on third down, and we had to

handle that, and we did have a couple of

false starts where we could have done a bet-

ter job of in that case being louder and more

deliberate and all of that,” Day said.

But the defenses also face a challenge,

even if they use visual signals.

Teams say goodbyeto sounds of silenceReturn of crowds forces visiting, home teams to adapt

BY STEVE MEGARGEE

Associated Press

AP college football writer Eric Olson, AP sports writers LarryLage, Mike Marot, Mitch Stacy and Noah Trister and APfreelance writer Matt Sugam contributed to this report.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky

men’s basketball coach John Cali-

pari said he contracted COVID-19

after being vaccinated, but pointed

out he is relieved the shot did its job

in leaving him with mild symp-

toms.

Other notable breakthrough

cases have occurred in college foot-

ball, with vaccinated players and

coaches testing positive. That in-

cludes second-ranked Georgia and

Mississippi; the Bulldogs could be

without several players in their

next game and Rebels coach Lane

Kiffin missed his team’s opener af-

ter testing positive.

Calipari revealed Tuesday that

he tested positive before July’s

NBA Draft, which kept the Hall of

Famer from his annual ritual of at-

tending the festivities to see his

highly touted players realize

dreams of becoming first-round se-

lections. His announcement fol-

lows Monday’s revelation by Geor-

gia football Kirby Smart that “three

or four” players on the second-

ranked Bulldogs were sidelined

with COVID-19.

Kiffin did not travel with the Re-

bels to Atlanta for Monday night’s

43-24 victory over Louisville after

announcing his own breakthrough

case on Saturday.

“I am grateful to be vaccinated

and experiencing only mild symp-

toms,” Kiffin said in a statement re-

leased on Twitter.

Calipari felt just as fortunate.

The coach joked during the vir-

tual news conference that he “bust-

ed the line” to get vaccinated and

added that he didn’t reveal his posi-

tive test back then to avoid discou-

raging the public from being vacci-

nated.

In going public now with his mild

symptoms, he hopes more people

get vaccinated.

“I just encourage people to think

about this,” said Calipari, who iso-

lated himself from family mem-

bers. “It is kids going back to

schools that are not vaccinated that

can bring it back to you or your fam-

ily. It could happen. And if you are

vaccinated, the chances of some-

thing serious happening are very,

very, very slim.

“It’s your best chance of protect-

ing yourself, maybe your family,

your parents, whatever. ... There

were breakthroughs, but they’re

not that sick.”

The positive tests for Georgia

and Ole Miss come despite both

programs having met the South-

eastern Conference’s 85% vaccina-

tion threshold to avoid further CO-

VID testing and masking require-

ments. At Ole Miss in particular,

Kiffin, his players and staff are ful-

ly vaccinated.

The Atlantic Coast Conference

has a similar vaccination 85%

threshold, in which schools meet-

ing it only have to test once weekly

as opposed to three times for pro-

grams that fall below it. Other

schools, state and local protocols

still must be followed.

Even with a vaccine in place

compared to last fall and other safe-

guards in place, risks and concerns

remain.

“That concerns you not only for

the players on your team that are

unvaccinated, that are playing and

not playing because we want every-

body to be safe,” Smart said.

“But it concerns me for the play-

ers that are vaccinated. That we

could lose them. It’s at the highest

it’s been since fall camp right now. I

think there is this relief that every-

one feels like everything is back to

normal. Just not for us right now.”

Coaches deal with breakthrough COVID cases

CURTIS COMPTON/AP

Georgia coach Kirby Smart and tailback Zamir White celebrate theteam’s win Saturday over Clemson. This week, Smart said “three orfour” players are sidelined with COVID­19.

BY GARY B. GRAVES

Associated Press

ROGELIO V. SOLIS/AP

Mississippi coach Lane Kiffinmissed his team’s win overLouisville on Monday because hewas dealing with COVID­19.

Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 19

a third straight season. Steve Van

Buren did it 1947-49.

Only four other men have led

the NFL in rushing at least three

straight seasons. Before Smith,

Earl Campbell did it between

1978-1980, Jim Brown between

1958 and 1961, and Van Buren.

The 2015 Heisman Trophy win-

ner out of Alabama also is the

NFL’s first running back with at

least two seasons of at least 300

rushing attempts, 15 TD runs and

a 5-yard rushing average.

Ryan Tannehill has had an up-

close view since becoming the Ti-

tans’ starting quarterback in Octo-

ber 2019, and he says it’s impres-

sive to see the running back’s sus-

tained success and dependability

at the 6-foot-3 and 247 pounds

Henry is listed by the Titans.

How Henry physically with-

stands all the hits and carries yet

keeps plugging away? Tannehill

calls it “wild.”

“You talk to him on Monday

and Tuesday, and he is, ‘Oh, I am

not sore. I am good,’” Tannehill

said. “Think some of that is God’s

gift to him, of just being a physical

freak and being 6-3 and 250 or

whatever he is. He has the atti-

tude, the mindset, and he loves

playing football. You put all that

together, and it is a good package.”

Running backs coach Tony

Dew has had similar conversa-

tions, only to hear Henry say he’s

good.

“Now whether he is or he isn’t,

just his mentality he’s not going to

tell you he isn’t,” Dew said. “He’s

going to come out and do whatever

everyone else does. That’s the one

thing I do really admire about him

and so many others is that he just

comes to work and he does what-

ever coach ask him to do.”

The Titans have tried, and keep

trying, to find a backup to ease

some of Henry’s workload know-

ing that such a workload can

shorten a running back’s career.

Yet Henry is the man that is avail-

able each Sunday — and coming

through with big moments.

He became the first in NFL his-

tory to score two touchdowns in

overtime in 2020. He outrushed 23

of the NFL’s 31 other teams. He

had three games with 200 yards

and two touchdowns, setting a

franchise record with 250 yards in

the regular-season finale.

Titans coach Mike Vrabel,

whose NFL career lasted 14 years,

has always admired Henry’s work

ethic and how the running back

sticks to his workout routine

throughout the season for both

conditioning and lifting.

“As soon as practice is over, he

is in there on Friday doing whatev-

er he needs to do to get himself

mentally and physically prepared

for the game,” Vrabel said.

Henry also works hard

throughout the offseason, starting

preparations for the next season

sometimes only days after the last

ended. He works with his trainer,

who usually does some of the

seemingly impossible workouts

first.

Others watch those videos in

amazement. Henry? He’s just

working. Of course.

“It can get crazy at times, but

I’m really just working out, man,”

Henry said. “And people always

asking me to send them workouts.

So I post them so you ain’t got no

excuse not to work out. It’s right

there on Instagram. So whatever

you see me do you can implement

into your workout and get better.”

Balancing using a band and ex-

ercise ball doing pushups with a

heavy chain around the neck isn’t

for everyone.

Tannehill did his own version

for social media in homage to

Henry, using his wife’s purse in-

stead of a chain.

Henry says he isn’t able to do all

the workouts his trainer comes up

with.

“Standing on his head and do-

ing a flip? I’m not doing all that,”

Henry said. “I’m not getting ready

for karate or Avenger movies. I’m

just trying to get ready for foot-

ball.”

What Henry’s done has worked

pretty well so far.

Piling: Henry won Heisman at AlabamaFROM PAGE 24

WADE PAYNE/AP

Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry has led the league inrushing the past two seasons. Only four other men have led theleague in rushing for three straight seasons: Emmitt Smith, EarlCampbell, Jim Brown and Steve Van Buren.

NFL

The NFL Players Association wants daily

COVID-19 testing for fully vaccinated play-

ers.

The league and the union agreed last

week to update protocols so vaccinated

players would be tested weekly instead of

every 14 days as they were during training

camp.

That’s not enough, according to NFLPA

president and Cleveland Browns center JC

Tretter.

“Since the beginning of training camp,

we have been testing our vaccinated play-

ers once every 14 days. It has been ineffec-

tive as we’ve had significantly more inci-

dents of transmission inside the building

this year than last year,” Tretter wrote in a

column on the union’s website. “The

NFLPA saw this coming months ago and

has been advocating for a return to daily

testing because it is more effective way to

stop and prevent the spread of the coronavi-

rus in our locker rooms. However, the NFL

decided to move to weekly testing; and

while that is a step in the right direction, it

leaves us open to many of the same prob-

lems we’ve been facing.”

The league most recently announced 93%

of players are vaccinated. Unvaccinated

players are tested daily and face strict pro-

tocol requirements. The league didn’t im-

mediately respond to a request for a re-

sponse to Tretter’s comments.

Ex-NFL players plead guiltyWASHINGTON — Former NFL players

Clinton Portis, Tamarick Vanover and Rob-

ert McCune pleaded guilty for their roles in

a nationwide health care fraud scheme and

could face years in prison, the U.S. Depart-

ment of Justice announced Tuesday.

Portis, Vanover and McCune admitted to

defrauding an NFL program set up to reim-

burse medical expenses not covered by in-

surance for retired players and their fam-

ilies, the Justice Department said.

McCune could be facing life in prison af-

ter pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit

wire fraud and health care fraud, 13 counts

of health care fraud, 11 counts of wire fraud

and three counts of aggravated identity

theft. He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov.

19.

The DOJ said McCune orchestrated the

scheme that resulted in approximately $2.9

million worth of false and fraudulent claims

being filed and $2.5 million paid out be-

tween June 2017 and April 2018.

Portis and Vanover each pleaded guilty to

conspiracy to commit health care fraud and

could face up to 10 years in prison. Accord-

ing to court documents, Portis was respon-

sible for just under $100,000 and Vanover

just under $160,000 in benefits for expen-

sive medical equipment that were not pro-

vided.

They agreed to pay back that money. Por-

tis is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 6 and

Vanover on Jan. 22.

Broncos’ Chubb detainedENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Broncos Pro

Bowl linebacker Bradley Chubb was de-

tained Tuesday on a warrant for failing to

appear in court last month to face traffic-re-

lated charges.

Douglas County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jeff Miller

said Chubb was pulled over for speeding

Tuesday morning and it was discovered he

had an outstanding arrest warrant for fail-

ing to appear in court on traffic offenses. He

was taken to the Douglas County Detention

Center.

Court records show Centennial Police cit-

ed Chubb for having expired license plates

and for misdemeanor driving under re-

straint on May 6. A warrant was issued for

his arrest Aug. 6 when Chubb failed to ap-

pear in court on those charges.

Ravens close to signing BellBALTIMORE — The Ravens have found

another running back: Le’Veon Bell.

The team is signing the former Pitts-

burgh Steelers running back to its practice

squad, a source with knowledge of the sit-

uation confirmed, and will likely add him to

its 53-man roster when ready. ESPN first

reported the deal Tuesday.

The move comes a day after multiple re-

ports said Ravens running back Justice Hill

would miss the 2021 season with a torn

Achilles tendon, an injury he suffered late

last week. The Ravens also lost starter J.K.

Dobbins to a season-ending ACL injury

against the Washington Football Team in

their preseason finale.

BRIEFS

NFLPA wants daily testing for all playersFrom wire reports

DAVID RICHARD / AP

Cleveland Browns center J.C. Tretter, the NFL Players Association president, wants allplayers to undergo daily COVID­19 testing instead of just unvaccinated players.

PAGE 20 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021

NFL

Cleveland Browns (12-6)New faces: DE Jadeveon Clowney, LB Anthony Walk-

er Jr., S John Johnson III, DE Takk McKinley, CB Troy Hill,DT Malik Jackson, DT Andrew Billings, rookie CB GregNewsome II, rookie LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, KChase McLaughlin.

Key losses: DT Sheldon Richardson, DT Larry Ogunjo-bi, K Cody Parkey, S Terrance Mitchell, DB Kevin John-son, S Karl Joseph, DE Olivier Vernon, DE Adrian Clay-born, LB B.J. Goodson, T Kendall Lamm.

Strengths: Kevin Stefanski has brought neededsteadiness and stability. QB Baker Mayfield triggersCleveland’s high-powered offense, which returns all 11starters and is loaded with playmakers. Cleveland hasarguably the league’s best offensive line, openingholes for Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, a lethal 1-2combination. Clowney’s arrival — as long as he stayshealthy — will make it tougher for opponents to dou-ble-team All-Pro end Myles Garrett.

Weaknesses: The linebacking corps and secondaryremain major concerns despite the additions of veter-ans Walker, Johnson and Hill, who also bring postsea-son experience. Safety Grant Delpit and CB Greedy Wil-liams have both been slowed by injuries this summer,further weakening a group with questionable depth.

Camp Development: Parkey’s season-ending qua-driceps injury means Chase McLaughlin will handlethe kicking duties — for now.

Baltimore Ravens (12-6)New faces: WR Sammy Watkins, T Alejandro Villa-

nueva, G Kevin Zeitler, WE Rashod Bateman, G Ben Cle-veland, LB Justin Houston, LB Odafe Oweh, T Ja’WuanJames, TE Josh Oliver, S Geno Stone, LB Daelin Hayes,DB Brandon Stephens, WR Tylan Wallace, S Ar’DariusWashington, CB Chris Westry, DT Xavier Kelly.

Key losses: T Orlando Brown Jr., LB Matthew Judon, CMatt Skura, WR Willie Snead, G/T D.J. Fluker, RB MarkIngram II, WR Dez Bryant, QB Robert Griffin III, DE Yan-nick Ngakoue.

Strengths: The Ravens led the NFL in rushing the pasttwo seasons and finished second in 2018 — a direct re-sult of having one of the game’s greatest running quar-terbacks. Lamar Jackson, the MVP in 2019, has run forover 1,000 yards each of the past two seasons, and Bal-timore may lean on him even more this year after run-ning back J.K. Dobbins was lost for the season to a kneeinjury. Baltimore finished seventh in total defense aseason ago.

Weaknesses: The Ravens ranked last in passing in2020 and took steps to change that, acquiring Watkinsand drafting Bateman in the first round. But Batemanhas been out with a groin injury, and receiver MarquiseBrown has also missed time during the preseason.

Camp Development: The Ravens were also withoutJackson at the start of training camp following a posi-tive COVID-19 test. Tyler Huntley emerged as the topbackup to Jackson.

Pittsburgh Steelers (12-5)New faces: RB Najee Harris, LB Joe Schobert, LB Mel-

vin Ingram, OL Trai Turner, C Kendrick Green, TE PatFreiermuth.

Key losses: C Maurkice Pouncey, RG David DeCastro,LT Alejandro Villanueva, RB James Conner, TE VanceMcDonald, LB Bud Dupree, DB Steven Nelson, LB VinceWilliams.

Strengths: The wide receiver group may be amongthe deepest in the NFL after JuJu Smith-Schuster pulledoff a bit of a stunner by signing a one-year deal ratherthan bolt in free agency. Smith-Schuster is part of agroup that includes Chase Claypool — who scored 11touchdowns as a rookie — and Diontae Johnson, whohas shown flashes of being a younger (and quieter)version of former All-Pro Antonio Brown. The defensefeatures one of the league’s best players in outside li-nebacker T.J. Watt and the team believes Alex High-smith can fill in capably opposite Watt after Bud Du-pree left for Tennessee.

Weaknesses: The team basically blew up the offen-sive line after finishing last in the NFL in yards rushingand yards per carry. The overhaul included firing offen-sive line coach Shaun Sarrett and releasing perennialPro Bowl guard David DeCastro. The team drafted Ken-drick Green in the third round to replace retired ProBowl center Maurkice Pouncey. The rest of the line is amishmash of youth and veterans like Trai Turner, whosigned in June.

Camp Development: The Steelers aggressively ad-dressed depth issues at linebacker, signing Melvin In-gram to a one-year deal on the eve of camp and acquir-ing Joe Schobert from Jacksonville in mid-August.Their arrivals give defensive coordinator Keith Butlersome flexibility as he tries to put together a rotationthat works without burning out Watt. Longtime defen-sive end Stephon Tuitt did not practice during the pre-season following the death of his younger brother inJuly and was placed on injured reserve/return list withan unspecified knee injury. His absence means ChrisWormley, Isaiah Buggs and Carlos Davis could seemore playing time, potentially giving a group thatlooked gassed at times late last year more depth in thelong run.

Cincinnati Bengals (4-11-1)New faces: WR Ja’Marr Chase, OL Riley Reiff, DL Trey

Hendrickson, DT Larry Ogunjobi, CB Chidobe Awuzie,CB Mike Hilton, OT Jackson Carman, DE Joseph Ossai.

Key losses: WR A.J. Green, RB Giovani Bernard, DL Ge-no Atkins, K Randy Bullock, OL B.J. Finney, DL Carl Law-son, CB William Jackson, LB Josh Bynes, CB LeShaunSims.

Strengths: Quarterback Joe Burrow is healthy againafter a season-ending knee injury in 2020. Now he’s gotChase, his former LSU teammate and the fifth overallpick in the draft, as another target. No. 1 running backJoe Mixon is also healthy again and could help open upthe offense for Burrow. Vonn Bell and Jessie Bates IIIemerged as a formidable tandem at safety.

Weaknesses: The offensive line, one of the worst inthe NFL last season, was upgraded with the addition ofReiff and the return of O-line coach Frank Pollack, butcould still be an issue. Linebackers and depth at run-ning back also are questions.

Camp Development: Burrow, center Trey Hopkins,Mixon and DT D.J. Reader are moving well after return-ing from injuries. Chase, who sat out the 2020 collegeseason, has struggled with dropped passes throughtraining camp. CB Trae Waynes, who missed all of lastseason with a torn pectoral, suffered a hamstring in-jury and is day to day. Rookie DE Joseph Ossai, an edge-rushing specialist, will miss the season with a knee in-jury.

— Associated Press

Capsules

CLEVELAND — During a 2020 season

strewn with unknowns and unprecedented

obstacles, the Browns ended two lengthy

droughts.

They’re focused on quenching another —

a first division title since 1989.

Not since the AFC Central underwent a

name change in 2002 and became the AFC

North has Cleveland finished ahead of divi-

sion rivals Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cin-

cinnati in the same season.

It’s taken time, but the Browns have

climbed the ladder.

Coming off its first playoff appearance

since 2003, first postseason victory in 26

years and featuring one of the NFL’s most

potent offenses along with a remodeled de-

fense led by All-Pro end Myles Garrett, Cle-

veland is primed to do big things this season.

Just four years since going 0-16, the team

is more than legitimate.

“Our goal is to win a Super Bowl,” said

quarterback Baker Mayfield. “If we don’t

set out to do that every year, then I think

you’re doing it for the wrong reasons.”

Last year, three of the AFC’s seven play-

off teams came from the North and there’s a

good chance that could happen again with

the Browns, Ravens and Steelers all capable

of double-digit win totals.

The Bengals have some work to do.

In Baltimore, sensational quarterback

Lamar Jackson has a stronger group of

play-making receivers that should stretch

defenses and give him even more room to

run and embarrass would-be tacklers.

Pittsburgh’s taking one last ride with 39-

year-old Ben Roethlisberger before he

hangs up his cleats. The Steelers will again

rely on their defense to keep them in games.

Cincinnati’s hopes rest with second-year

QB Joe Burrow, who suffered a season-end-

ing knee injury in Week 11 last season. He’s

made a swift recovery, but will have to hope

the Bengals’ line does a better job protecting

him.

With Cleveland’s ascension, the AFC

North is maybe tougher and deeper than ev-

er.

It didn’t take safety John Johnson III, who

signed as a free agent with the team after

four seasons in the NFC West as a key mem-

ber of the Los Angeles Rams, to appreciate

the North’s nastiness.

“This division, big-boy pads,” he said. “I

don’t think I’ve seen a fullback in my life un-

til now. I’m not used to tight ends. I’m not

used to fullbacks. It was all wide receivers

(in the West) and passing so it’s a little dif-

ferent.

“This is like real pro football.”

Birds of a feather The Ravens ranked first in the NFL in

rushing last season, last in passing.

That’s partly because Jackson is such a

dynamic threat on the ground, but Balti-

more did try to revamp its passing game,

signing receiver Sammy Watkins and draft-

ing Rashod Bateman.

It hasn’t been the smoothest training

camp for the Ravens. Jackson missed the

beginning after a positive COVID-19 test.

Then running back J.K. Dobbins went down

with a season-ending knee injury in the pre-

season finale.

“You just have to approach it and over-

come it,” coach John Harbaugh said. “It’s

adversity and we’ll have to deal with it, and

we will. We have the players to do it.”

Bateman has dealt with groin problems,

and receiver Marquise Brown has been lim-

ited by hamstring issues. It remains to be

seen how these injuries have affected Balti-

more’s preparation.

This is still a team that’s gone 25-7 over

the past two regular seasons.

Ben’s final bow Roethlisberger is back for an 18th season,

surrounded by a sea of new faces in the hud-

dle as the defending division champions try

to make another — and perhaps final — Su-

per Bowl push with their longtime QB.

Offensive line fixtures Maurkice Poun-

cey, David DeCastro and Alejandro Villa-

nueva are gone. So are tight end Vance

McDonald and running back James Con-

ner.

The Steelers have filled the gaps through

the draft — including using their first-round

pick on former Alabama star back Najee

Harris — and taking fliers on veterans such

as guard Trai Turner.

Throw in Matt Canada’s promotion from

quarterbacks coach to offensive coordina-

tor and a schedule that on paper ranks as the

NFL’s toughest and Pittsburgh will have its

work cut out trying to provide a storybook

finish for Big Ben.

Bottom Bengals Despite the flashes of excitement Burrow

generated in 2020, the Bengals’ season

quickly slid off a cliff.

Running back Joe Mixon injured his foot,

and Burrow — who was making a case for

AP Offensive Rookie of the Year — went

down with a torn ACL and MCL. Other key

players were in and out with injuries, and

players had to be signed off the street.

With both Joes healthy in 2021, the addi-

tion of elite receiver and Burrow’s former

LSU teammate Ja’Marr Chase, and upgrad-

ed offensive and defensive lines, there is

reason for optimism.

Coach Zac Taylor is 6-25-1 in his first two

years. Cincinnati ownership has expressed

support, but Taylor certainly is feeling the

heat to produce.

“We feel like on paper we’ve got a good

group, but we’ve done nothing on the field to

earn anyone’s respect,” Taylor said. “That

just starts with what we can get done in

practice and get ready for these games and

be ready for Week 1.”

Predicted order of finish Browns, Ravens, Steelers, Bengals.

Browns looking to finish longclimb to top in the AFC North

BRYNN ANDERSON/AP

Quarterback Baker Mayfield led the Cleveland Browns to their first playoff appearancesince 2003 last season and first postseason win in 26 years.

BY TOM WITHERS

Associated Press

NICK WASS/AP

Quarterback Lamar Jackson helped theRavens lead the league in rushing lastseason, but the team was last in passing.The team is looking for more balance andsigned Chiefs receiver Sammy Watkins anddrafted receiver Rashod Bateman. AP Sports Writers Will Graves, Mitch Stacy and Noah Trister

contributed.

Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 21

NFL

Green Bay Packers (14-4)New faces: Defensive coordinator Joe Barry, LB De-

’Vondre Campbell, WR Randall Cobb, C Josh Myers OGRoyce Newman, WR Amari Rodgers, CB Eric Stokes.

Key losses: LB Christian Kirksey, C Corey Linsley,special teams coordinator Shawn Mennenga, defen-sive coordinator Mike Pettine, OT Rick Wagner, RB Ja-maal Williams.

Strengths: Reigning MVP quarterback Aaron Rodg-ers leads an offense that features All-Pro WR DavanteAdams and Pro Bowl RB Aaron Jones. The Packersscored a league-high 31.8 points per game during theregular season. All-Pro LT David Bakhtiari tore his an-terior cruciate ligament on Dec. 31 but will be back atsome point to protect Rodgers’ blind side. Jaire Alexan-der is one of the league’s elite cornerbacks. OLB Za’Da-rius Smith has 26 sacks over the last two seasons.Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage form a quality safetytandem.

Weaknesses: The Packers lost an All-Pro centerwhen Linsley left for the Chargers. Green Bay could bestarting two rookie offensive linemen in Myers andNewman. Although K Mason Crosby made all his field-goal attempts last season, the Packers struggled somuch in other aspects of special teams that headcoach Matt LaFleur fired Shawn Mennenga as coordi-nator and replaced him with Maurice Drayton. Specialteams remained an issue during the preseason. ThePackers also lost two of their better special teams per-formers in camp when they placed Randy Ramsey andWill Redmond on injured reserve.

Camp Development: The Packers acquired Cobb atthe start of camp after Rodgers suggested making thatmove. One camp surprise was the emergence of New-man, a fourth-round pick from Mississippi whoseemed on the verge of locking down a starting guardspot.

Minnesota Vikings (7-9)New faces: DT Dalvin Tomlinson, DT Michael Pierce,

CB Patrick Peterson, CB Bashaud Breeland, TE ChrisHerndon, K Greg Joseph, S Xavier Woods, CB Macken-sie Alexander, DT Sheldon Richardson, LB Nick Vigil, DEStephen Weatherly, WR/KR Ihmir Smith-Marsette, WRDede Westbrook, T Christian Darrisaw, G Wyatt Davis,QB Kellen Mond.

Key departures: T Riley Reiff, S Anthony Harris, LB Er-ic Wilson, TE Kyle Rudolph, K Dan Bailey, DE Ifeadi Ode-nigbo, CB Mike Hughes, QB Sean Mannion.

Strengths: Dalvin Cook is one of the best all-aroundRBs in the NFL, and Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielenare an ace WR duo for QB Kirk Cousins. The addition ofTomlinson and Richardson plus the delayed debut ofPierce, the team’s top free-agent signing in 2020 whoskipped the season for COVID-19 precaution, ought torestore the ferocity badly missing in the middle lastyear. The return of two-time Pro Bowl DE Danielle Hun-ter from the neck injury that sidelined him in 2020 is amajor boost. Longtime friends Eric Kendricks and An-thony Barr, who suffered a season-ending pectoraltear in the second game, remain a proven and reliableLB tandem.

Weaknesses: The OL is again a question mark. Darri-saw was drafted 23rd overall to succeed Reiff at the vi-tal LT spot, but his recovery from a groin injury andcore muscle surgery has been slow. He does not ap-pear ready for the regular season, giving Rashod Hillthe job for now. Uli Odoh, who has appeared in sevencareer games, is the latest in line at the frequently fluc-tuating RG spot.

Camp Development: Cousins missed five days ofpractice early in training camp because he’s unvacci-nated and was deemed a close contact of the rookieMond, who tested positive for COVID-19.

Chicago Bears (8-9)New faces: QB Justin Fields, QB Andy Dalton, OT Te-

ven Jenkins, WR Marquise Goodwin, RB Damien Wil-liams, OL Elijah Wilkinson, LB Alec Ogletree.

Key losses: QB Mitchell Trubisky, CB Kyle Fuller, LTCharles Leno Jr., RT Bobby Massie, KR Cordarrelle Pat-terson, defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano.

Strengths: A defense led by three-time All-Pro KhalilMack remains a strength despite a decline the pasttwo seasons. The Monsters of the Midway have gonefrom ranking third overall in 2018 to 11th, and fromleading the NFL with 36 takeaways to finishing tied for25th with 18 in 2020. Mack had nine sacks in his secondstraight season in single digits. Getting NT Eddie Gold-man back after he opted out of last season due to CO-VID-19 concerns should help clog the interior andboost a run defense that dropped from ninth in 2019 to15th.

Weaknesses: The offensive line is a concern. Chica-go signed 39-year-old Jason Peters, hoping the two-time All-Pro can solidify the left tackle spot. RG JamesDaniels (quad) and RT Germain Ifedi (hip flexor) havebeen working their way back from injuries. On the posi-tive side, the blocking improved after the Bears shookup their line late last season. They moved Cody White-hair from center to left guard and inserted Sam Musti-pher at center.

Camp Development: The Bears signed Peters in mid-August and gave him a chance to become the startingleft tackle because of Jenkins’ back injury that re-quired surgery. The rookie will miss the start of theseason.

Detroit Lions (5-11)New faces: GM Brad Holmes, coach Dan Campbell,

QB Jared Goff, RB Jamaal Williams, WR Tyrell Williams,OT Penei Sewell (No. 7 overall draft pick), DT MichaelBrockers.

Key losses: QB Matthew Stafford, RBs Kerryon John-son, WRs Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones and DannyAmendola, DT Danny Shelton, CB Desmond Trufant, KMatt Prater, returner Jamal Agnew.

Strengths: Run game and TE T.J. Hockenson. RBD’Andre Swift, coming off a solid rookie season, and Ja-maal Williams, a former Green Bay Packer, will run be-hind a relatively strong line led by LT Taylor Decker andPro Bowl C Frank Ragnow. Hockenson, drafted No. 8overall in 2019, earned Pro Bowl recognition last sea-son and is perhaps the team’s best player.

Weaknesses: Defense and receivers. The Lions al-lowed 519 points and 6,716 yards last season, breakingteam records set by their 2008 winless team, and thedefense does not seem better. The Lions let Golladay,Jones and Amendola leave in free agency and simplydidn’t invest much to replace them.

Camp Development: The team’s new leadership senta message when veterans Breshad Perriman and Gero-nimo Allison were let go for a lack of production in thepreseason. The Lions also didn’t seem to like their re-placements for K Matt Prater, releasing Randy Bullockand Zane Gonzalez.

—Associated Press

Capsules

The goal of a division title for Green Bay’s

competitors felt in closer reach during the

offseason, the rift between Packers leaders

and Aaron Rodgers creating legitimate curi-

osity about whether the three-time league

MVP would return to the only franchise he’s

ever played for.

Well, he’s back in green and gold — never

left, really — with a last-chance vibe sur-

rounding his chase for a second Super Bowl

ring after losing in each of the past two NFC

championship games.

“I don’t want a farewell tour,” the 37-year-

old Rodgers said. “I don’t know what’s going

to happen after the season, but I’m going to

enjoy it with the right perspective, for sure.”

NFL teams are normally absorbed in de-

veloping their own players, hesitant to publi-

cly comment on another club’s issues for

fear of what could be coming around their

own corner.

There’s no doubt, though, that Chicago,

Detroit and Minnesota were paying atten-

tion while Rodgers skipped spring practices

and spoke openly about his frustration with

the approach of the front office.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer?

“I might’ve kept track,” he said wryly.

The drama surrounding Rodgers and his

future likely hasn’t disappeared, but the ex-

pected transition at quarterback to Jordan

Love can wait for now.

The Packers are loaded for another run at

a title after 13-3 records in their first two

years with coach Matt LaFleur, still riding

the enviable wave of having a Hall of Fame-

caliber quarterback in place since Brett

Favre took over in 1992. Rodgers replaced

him as the starter in 2008, and the Packers

have won the NFC North seven of 13 times —

plus the Super Bowl after the 2010 season.

Here’s a glance at the condition of the divi-

sion that’s currently controlled by Green

Bay:

Protection plan One potential concern for the Packers is

the offensive line, where draft picks Josh

Myers (second round) and Royce Newman

(fourth round) are in line for starting spots.

That’s because All-Pro left tackle David

Bakhtiari is on the physically unable to per-

form list, still recovering from a torn ACL

and sidelined for a minimum of six games.

All-Pro center Corey Linsley left as a free

agent.

The Packers have a more-than-capable

fill-in for Bakhtiari with Pro Bowl left guard

Elgton Jenkins, but given the exigency sur-

rounding Rodgers and his situation, he clear-

ly won’t have much patience for rookie mis-

takes.

“It’s Titletown,” Rodgers said. “It’s cham-

pionship or disappointment just about every

year.”

Revamped defense There’s even more pressure on the Vik-

ings, with Zimmer starting his eighth season

and only two wins in the playoffs during his

tenure. They showed their urgency — or per-

haps desperation — by adding 10 veterans to

a defense that deteriorated badly last year.

Five-time Pro Bowl safety Harrison Smith

will be the only starter in the opener that was

in the lineup at the end of last season, when

key injuries depleted an already young

group.

“We added a lot of talent, a lot of smart

guys,” Smith said. “We’ve all mixed in pretty

well. I’m excited about the group we have

and what we can do.”

Fields report The Bears traded up in the first round to

take Justin Fields with the 11th overall pick,

eager to make the former Ohio State star the

kind of fixture at quarterback that Rodgers

has been for their biggest rival. Not so eager

to give the rookie the job right away, though.

Impatient Bears fans have been grum-

bling about the decision to start veteran An-

dy Dalton for at least the first few games.

Dalton is a three-time Pro Bowl pick enter-

ing his 11th year in the NFL.

“We’re very confident in him and where

he’s at,” general manager Ryan Pace said,

“so there’s no need for us to rush Justin.”

Talk soup The one other team in the division that

could always match the stability at quarter-

back of the Packers with Rodgers — if not

quite in stature — was the Lions.

Not now, with Matthew Stafford in Los An-

geles and Jared Goff making his Detroit de-

but following a headliner of an offseason

trade. Goff was a No. 1 overall draft pick him-

self, with a 42-20 record as a starter over the

past four years, but his consistency and pro-

duction have dropped off.

What would help Goff immensely is the

continued development of running back

D’Andre Swift after a promising rookie sea-

son in 2020. The Lions added former Packers

backup Jamaal Williams, too.

The annual external doubts about one of

the league’s longtime losers are also, natu-

rally, part of fiery new coach Dan Camp-

bell’s motivation plan. The Lions are 14-33-1

over the past three years.

“If you are a true competitor, it gives you a

kick in the rear,” Campbell said. “I like that,

and I know guys that we brought in here,

they love it.”

Predicted order of finishPackers, Vikings, Bears, Lion.

Rodgers’ return has Packersaiming higher than NFC North

BY DAVE CAMPBELL

Associated Press

ADRIAN KRAUS/AP

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a three­time league MVP, is back withthe team despite missing spring practices and talking about his frustration with theteam’s front office.

CHARLIE RIEDEL/AP

Minnesota Vikings head coach MikeZimmer is feeling pressure after winningtwo playoff games in seven seasons.

PAGE 22 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021

MLB

American League

East Division

W L Pct GB

Tampa Bay 88 51 .633 _

New York 78 60 .565 9½

Boston 79 62 .560 10

Toronto 75 62 .547 12

Baltimore 44 93 .321 43

Central Division

W L Pct GB

Chicago 80 58 .580 _

Cleveland 68 68 .500 11

Detroit 65 75 .464 16

Kansas City 62 76 .449 18

Minnesota 61 77 .442 19

West Division

W L Pct GB

Houston 81 57 .587 _

Seattle 75 64 .540 6½

Oakland 74 64 .536 7

Los Angeles 69 70 .496 12½

Texas 50 88 .362 31

National LeagueEast Division

W L Pct GB

Atlanta 73 64 .533 _

Philadelphia 71 67 .514 2½

New York 70 69 .504 4

Miami 57 81 .413 16½

Washington 57 81 .413 16½

Central Division

W L Pct GB

Milwaukee 85 55 .607 _

Cincinnati 74 66 .529 11

St. Louis 69 68 .504 14½

Chicago 64 76 .457 21

Pittsburgh 50 89 .360 34½

West Division

W L Pct GB

San Francisco 89 50 .640 _

Los Angeles 88 51 .633 1

San Diego 73 65 .529 15½

Colorado 63 76 .453 26

Arizona 45 94 .324 44

Tuesday’s games

Minnesota 3, Cleveland 0Pittsburgh 3, Detroit 2Baltimore 7, Kansas City 3Toronto 5, N.Y. Yankees 1Tampa Bay 12, Boston 7Houston 5, Seattle 4, 10 inningsTexas 3, Arizona 1Chicago White Sox 6, Oakland 3L.A. Angels 4, San Diego 0Cincinnati 4, Chicago Cubs 3Atlanta 8, Washington 5N.Y. Mets 9, Miami 4Milwaukee 10, Philadelphia 0L.A. Dodgers 7, St. Louis 2San Francisco 12, Colorado 3

Wednesday’s games

Seattle at HoustonTexas at ArizonaMinnesota at ClevelandDetroit at PittsburghKansas City at BaltimoreToronto at N.Y. YankeesTampa Bay at BostonL.A. Angels at San DiegoChicago White Sox at OaklandSan Francisco at ColoradoN.Y. Mets at MiamiWashington at AtlantaCincinnati at Chicago CubsPhiladelphia at MilwaukeeL.A. Dodgers at St. Louis

Thursday’s games

Chicago White Sox (López 3-1) at Oak-land (Manaea 8-9)

Minnesota (Dobnak 1-7) at Cleveland(Quantrill 4-3)

Kansas City (Hernández 5-1) at Balti-more (Means 5-6)

Toronto (Berríos 10-7) at N.Y. Yankees(Montgomery 5-5)

L.A. Dodgers (Urías 16-3) at St. Louis(Kim 6-7)

N.Y. Mets (Stroman 9-12) at Miami (Lu-zardo 5-7)

Colorado (Senzatela 4-9) at Philadelphia(Suárez 6-4)

Washington (Fedde 6-9) at Atlanta(Ynoa 4-5)

Friday’s games

Toronto at BaltimoreMilwaukee at ClevelandN.Y. Yankees at N.Y. MetsTampa Bay at DetroitBoston at Chicago White SoxKansas City at MinnesotaL.A. Angels at HoustonTexas at OaklandArizona at SeattleSan Francisco at Chicago CubsWashington at PittsburghColorado at PhiladelphiaMiami at AtlantaCincinnati at St. LouisSan Diego at L.A. Dodgers

Scoreboard

ST. LOUIS — Albert Pujols rewarded an ador­

ing crowd by hitting a home run in his return to

Busch Stadium, sending the Los Angeles Dodg­

ers toward a 7­2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals

on Tuesday night. 

Justin Turner homered twice and Will Smith

also  homered  for  playoff­contending  Los  An­

geles,  which  won  for  the  sixth  time  in  eight

games. St. Louis has lost four in a row. 

Astar slugger who led the Cardinals to a pair of

World Series championships, the 41­year­old Pu­

jols made his second appearance at Busch Stadi­

um after playing for St. Louis from 2001­2011. 

Pujols  drew  a  40­second  standing  ovation

when his name was announced prior to a first­in­

ning at­bat, with catcher and longtime teammate

Yadier Molina stepping in front of the plate to

prolong the cheer. They had a short embrace be­

fore Pujols stepped in. 

Pujols promptly drilled the fourth pitch from

J.A. Happ on a line over the wall in left. It was his

679th career home run and 17th of the season. 

“It’s one of those things that you hope could

happen,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

“But the likelihood is very improbable. Getting a

standing ovation and then homering in that first

at­bat. Storybook. I’m a firm believer that the

game honors you. The way Albert’s played the

game for so long, the right way, that’s the way it

was supposed to go.” 

Pujols tried to downplay the moment. 

“When it happens, you just let it happen,” he

said. “It’s part of the game. Embrace the mo­

ment. But try not to get caught up too much.” 

His teammates had no problem enjoying the

special moment. 

“It was pretty surreal,” Turner said. “Pretty

cool for everyone in the stadium — not just Al­

bert. Every time he hits a homer, you’re watching

history.”

The 10­time All­Star drew a similar fan reac­

tion when he returned to St. Louis with the Los

Angels Angels for the first time in 2019. He was

given a standing ovation in all 12 plate appearanc­

es that series. 

Pujols homers, Dodgers rout CardsIt was the slugger’s second gameat Busch Stadium after playing forSt. Louis from 2001-2011

BY STEVE OVERBEY

Associated Press

JEFF ROBERSON/AP

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Albert Pujols acknowledges cheering fans as he steps up to bat inthe first inning. He homered on the fourth pitch in his team’s 7­2 win at St. Louis on Tuesday.

BOSTON — Nelson Cruz home­

red twice and, at 41 years old, be­

came  the  oldest  player  in  major

league history to hit 30 home runs in

a season, powering the Tampa Bay

Rays past the Boston Red Sox 12­7

Wednesday night. 

Mike Zunino also homered twice

and Jordan Luplow connected for

the team with the best record in the

American League and the highest­

scoring club in the majors. 

Rays rookie Wander Franco went

0­for­4 with a walk, extending his

on­base  streak  to  37  games  and

passing  Mickey  Mantle  (1951­52)

for the longest by an AL player un­

der 21 years old. The 20­year­old

Franco now trails only Frank Rob­

inson, who reached in 43 straight in

1956. 

Cruz hit a two­run homer in the

third inning and a solo drive in the

fifth, giving him 447 in his career

and his eighth 30­homer season. He

passed David Ortiz (38 in 2016) and

Darrell  Evans  (34  in  1987),  who

were  both  40  when  they  hit  the

mark. 

Blue Jays 5, Yankees 1: Marcus

Semien homered again, Alejandro

Kirk went deep twice and visiting

Toronto beat skidding New York af­

ter Gerrit Cole exited early with a

hamstring injury. 

Cole  (14­7)  was  pulled  in  the

fourth with left hamstring tightness.

He allowed three runs, two earned,

and five hits in 32⁄�3 innings. 

Reds 4, Cubs 3: Wade  Miley

pitched  seven  effective  innings,

Nick Castellanos homered and visit­

ing Cincinnati got a sorely needed

victory, topping Chicago.

The Reds had dropped seven of

nine to lose ground in the NL playoff

race. They began the day one game

back of San Diego for the second

wild card. 

Braves 8, Nationals 5: Ozzie Al­

bies  hit  a  tiebreaking,  two­run

homer off Ryne Harper in the sev­

enth inning, Adam Duvall took Pao­

lo Espino deep with an early three­

run  shot,  and  host  Atlanta  beat

Washington. 

Albies, who had four RBIs and

went deep for  the  fourth straight

game, put the Braves up 5­1 in the

fourth with a sacrifice fly. 

Angels 4, Padres 0: San Diego

left­hander Blake Snell made an­

other bid at a gem and this one didn’t

end so well when Los Angeles broke

up his no­hit try with two outs in the

seventh inning and went on to win

on the road. 

Snell, who struck out 11 in seven

innings, took a perfect game into the

seventh before walking two batters

and then allowing Jo Adell’s two­

run single on his 96th pitch. Adell

finished with three RBIs. 

Mets 9, Marlins 4: Pete Alonso

hit  two home runs,  including  the

100th of his career, and New York

won at Miami to give Carlos Carras­

co his first win with the team. 

Brewers  10,  Phillies  0: Eric

Lauer allowed four hits in seven in­

nings to lead host Milwaukee over

Philadelphia. 

White Sox 6, Athletics 3: Gavin

Sheets hit a go­ahead RBI single in

the fifth, Cesar Hernandez added a

two­run single in the same inning,

and  AL  Central­leading  Chicago

won at stumbling Oakland.

Twins 3, Indians 0: John Gant

pitched  five  solid  innings  on  the

road to get his first win since joining

Minnesota,  spoiling  Cleveland

starter Aaron Civale’s return from

injury.

Pirates 3, Tigers 2: Ben Gamel

had a go­ahead two­run single in the

sixth inning among his three hits

and host Pittsburgh dealt Detroit its

ninth loss in 13 games. 

Orioles 7, Royals 3:Cedric Mul­

lins homered for the third consecu­

tive  game  and  host  Baltimore

topped Kansas City. 

Astros  5,  Mariners  4: Carlos

Correa drove in the winning run in

the 10th inning after Alex Bregman

tied  the  game  in  the  ninth,  and

Houston rallied past visiting Seattle.

Giants 12,  Rockies  3:  Logan

Webb pitched effectively for seven

innings, Mike Yastrzemski home­

red and Steve Duggar had two tri­

ples  among  his  three  hits  as  NL

West­leading San Francisco rolled

to a win at Colorado.

Rangers  3,  Diamondbacks  1:

Jordan Lyles pitched seven smooth

innings in relief, Jason Martin hit a

two­run single and Texas handed

host  Arizona  its  ninth  loss  in  10

games.

Cruz is oldest to hit 30 HRs, Rays rip Red Sox

WINSLOW TOWNSON/AP

Tampa Bay’s Nelson Cruz hits atwo­run home run Tuesday atBoston. He also had a solohomer in a 12­7 win.

Associated Press

ROUNDUP

Thursday, September 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 23

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras

— Weston McKennie could be

welcomed back to the U.S. national

team in the future, coach Gregg

Berhalter said after banishing him

from a pair of World Cup qualifiers

for violating team COVID-19 pro-

tocols.

“The team absolutely comes

first, knowing we made a decision

not only for the short term, but to

the long-term health of the pro-

gram, and it’s not an easy deci-

sion,” Berhalter said Tuesday, a

day before the Americans play

Honduras. “Trust me, countless

coaches are faced with decisions

where they have to take talented

players out of the lineup for some

reason or other. But we did it for

what we think is the good of the

group and good of the team.”

ESPN reported McKennie

spent a night outside the team’s

COVID-19 hotel bubble in Nash-

ville, Tenn., and also brought an

unauthorized person to the hotel

on a different evening, the latter al-

so reported by TUDN. Berhalter

declined to detail the violations.

“It doesn’t rule him out for the

future,” Berhalter said.

McKennie, among the top

American players, started last

week’s 0-0 draw at El Salvador. He

did not dress for Sunday’s 1-1 tie

against Canada in Nashville, then

was told Monday to return home.

“People make mistakes. Weston

apologized to the group. He apol-

ogized to me, and things happen,”

Berhalter said. “I guess the most

important message that we’re get-

ting through, that we’re trying to

get through, is that we’re here in

camp for seven days and know the

intensity is incredible. It’s three fi-

nals in seven days, and we need ev-

eryone’s single-minded focus on

what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Berhalter has what he referred

to an “open-door” policy, although

in the past that has referred to

players falling in and out of form

and returning from injury.

“Me and Weston had long con-

versations and he’s a guy that I

care for deeply,” Berhalter said.

“He’s a big part of the team. And

I’m sure when he’s performing

well, he’ll be back in the team.”

Goalkeeper Matt Turner said

McKennie addressed the team as a

group.

“He was able to say what he

needed to say to us,” Turner said.

“There needs to be a precedent set

at some point when it comes to this

virus. It’s about the bigger picture.

There’s rules in place and I think

it’s definitely a wakeup call in gen-

eral, just not only for us as a soccer

team, but for the population, that

this this virus is still out there, it’s

rampant and you need to take it se-

riously.”

McKennie apologized in a state-

ment Sunday. The U.S. Soccer

Federation did not make him

available to media.

A 23-year-old from Fort Lewis,

Wash., McKennie missed Juven-

tus’ derby against Torino in April

after violating COVID-19 proto-

cols in Italy. He has seven goals in

25 international appearances.

Midfielder Brenden Aaronson

said the team’s attention was on

the match against Honduras.

“I think we’ve moved on,” he

said. “Yeah, he made a mistake,

but everybody makes mistakes,

and he’s going to learn from it, and

he’ll come back from it.”

Banished McKennie could be welcomed back

MARK HUMPHREY/AP

Weston McKennie played in theAmericans’ first qualifying matchbut then was sent home by coachGregg Berhalter for violatingteam COVID­19 protocols.

BY RONALD BLUM

Associated Press

NEW YORK — When Leylah Fernandez

wins a pivotal point at the U.S. Open — and

she’s won enough of them to become the

tournament’s youngest semifinalist since

Maria Sharapova in 2005 — the teenager

with the exciting game and enthusiasm to

match raises her right fist or windmills her

arms, firing up herself and the crowd.

What often happens next, after good

points or bad, is just as important to the suc-

cess of the unseeded Canadian left-hander

with the quick reflexes: She’ll turn her back

to the court and her opponent, face the wall

behind the baseline for a few moments,

gather herself and repeat whatever that

day’s mantra of choice is.

During Tuesday’s 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) victory

against No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina in Arthur

Ashe Stadium, which followed wins over

past U.S. Open champions and former No. 1s

Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber, Fer-

nandez focused on self-belief.

“I was only thinking of trusting myself,

trusting my game. After every point, win or

lose, I would always tell myself, ‘Trust my

game. Go for my shots. Just see where the

ball goes,’” said Fernandez, who turned 19

on Monday and had never been past the

third round in her previous half-dozen ma-

jor appearances. “I see what I’m feeling. I

see if there’s one phrase that really catches

me or that makes me more motivated than

the others. I just keep it throughout the

match.”

Another young Canadian moved into the

semifinals when 21-year-old Felix Auger-

Aliassime’s opponent Tuesday night, 18-

year-old Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, stopped

playing in the second set while trailing 6-3,

3-1 because of an issue with a muscle in his

right leg. Alcaraz was coming off two five-

set wins in a row — including against No. 3

seed Stefanos Tsitsipas — that made him the

youngest male quarterfinalist in New York

since 1963.

“It’s really tough to end a great tourna-

ment like this,” Alcaraz said, “but I had no

choice.”

The 12th-seeded Auger-Aliassime is the

first man from Canada to reach the U.S.

Open semifinals and plays No. 2 Daniil Med-

vedev next. Medvedev, a 25-year-old from

Russia, earned a spot in the final four at

Flushing Meadows for the third consecutive

year by stopping the surprising run of Dutch

qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-0,

4-6, 7-5.

With no players from the United States

left to pull for, U.S. Open fans are adopting

their neighbors from the North — although

the 73rd-ranked Fernandez actually is

based in Florida after being born in Mon-

treal to a Filipino Canadian mother and an

Ecuadorian father.

Fernandez’s father is also her coach but

isn’t in New York; he stayed home for what

Fernandez called “personal reasons” and is

offering tips in daily phone conversations.

“I called him right after the match, when I

went to the locker room,” she said. “He hon-

estly told me that I put him through hell and

back with this match.”

And the spectators loved every minute of

it.

“Thanks to you, I was able to push through

today,” she told the crowd after edging Svi-

tolina, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist

who’s been to two Grand Slam semifinals,

including at the 2019 U.S. Open.

Truth is, Fernandez likes the spotlight.

Asked whether she’s more nervous

against a top player in a big arena or a lower-

ranked player at a smaller site, her reply was

simple: “There’s no difference.”

Hard to argue that right now.

It was touch-and-go down the stretch —

even after Fernandez grabbed the opening

set, even after she led 5-2 in the third. One

way in which she held a clear advantage: Of

points that lasted more than eight shots, Fer-

nandez won 26, Svitolina 16.

Five times, Fernandez was two points

from winning but failed to collect the next

point. Finally, at 5-all in the tiebreaker, she

moved to match point when she smacked a

down-the-line passing shot that got past Svi-

tolina with the help of a bounce off the net

tape.

Fernandez gestured as if to say, “Sorry

about that,” while Svitolina put a hand to her

mouth in dismay.

“A little bit lucky,” Fernandez said later.

“But I’ll take all the luck I can get.”

Svitolina’s backhand contributed to her

undoing late, and when a return from that

side landed long, it was over. Fernandez

dropped to her knees at the baseline and cov-

ered her face; Svitolina walked around the

net to come over for a hug.

Next on this magical ride for Fernandez

will come yet another test against a player

who is ranked higher and has more experi-

ence on the sport’s biggest stages. On Thurs-

day, she will play No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, a

Wimbledon semifinalist in July, who defeat-

ed French Open champion Barbora Krejci-

kova 6-1, 6-4 at night.

Waiting for her night match, Sabalenka

said she practiced during Fernandez vs. Svi-

tolina, “and we didn’t really need to watch

the score because we heard the crowd really

yelling.”

‘Trusting myself’: Teen reaches semis

ELISE AMENDOLA/AP

Leylah Fernandez, of Canada, reacts after scoring a point against Elina Svitolina, ofUkraine, during a 6­3, 3­6, 7­6 (5) quarterfinal win in the U.S. Open on Tuesday.

BY HOWARD FENDRICH

Associated Press

Fernandez, who turned 19 on Monday, is youngestU.S. Open semifinalist since Sharapova in 2005

U.S. OPEN/SOCCER

PAGE 24 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, September 9, 2021

SPORTSCrashing the party

Canada’s Fernandez, 19, surgesinto semifinals ›› US Open, Page 23

Coaches face breakthrough virus cases ›› College football, Page 18

Tennessee Titans running backDerrick Henry last year becamethe eighth man in NFL history to

rush for 2,000 yards in a season.

BRETT CARLSEN/AP

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

Derrick Henry is a man of fewwords, preferring to work hardwith a tunnel-vision focus and let hisplay do all the talking.

Henry has been almost shouting the way hekeeps running into the NFL record books.

Now the NFL’s back-to-back rushing leader hasthe opportunity in 2021 to add even more historyto what’s been an amazing couple of years. Freshoff becoming just the eighth man to run for atleast 2,000 yards, Henry now has a 17th gamegiving him a chance at Eric Dickerson’s leaguerecord of 2,105 yards set in 1984.

Henry also could become the first man — fifthall time — to lead the NFL in rushing in threeconsecutive seasons in nearly three decades.Emmitt Smith was the last with his three-peatcoming between 1991 and 1993.

“I don’t get caught up in that,” Henry said. “Ijust focus on me getting better. I say it a lot.That’s all I focus on. Just getting better everyday. Working hard, putting in the work andcompeting. That’s all you can do. Let everythingelse take care of itself.”

The 2020 NFL Offensive Player of the Year andAll-Pro certainly has done that better than anyone inthe NFL the past two seasons. No one has more carriesthan Henry’s 782 combined rushes in the regular sea-son and playoffs. When he ran for 2,027 yards last sea-son, it was the fifth-best single-season total.

Henry, who averaged 126 yards per game, could be-come only the second in NFL history to lead the leaguein rushing yards, attempts and rushing touchdowns for

NFL

Piling upthe yardsTitans’ Henry poisedto add even morerushing records

2,105Record for yards in a season, set by Eric Dickerson in1984. Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henryalready has a 2,000-yard season in the books, and nowhas a 17th game on the regular-season schedule to tryto break Dickerson’s mark.

SOURCE: Associated Press

BY TERESA M. WALKER

Associated Press

SEE PILING ON PAGE 19