‘always to fight’
TRANSCRIPT
Volume 80 Edition 124 ©SS 2021 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2021 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas
stripes.com
FACES
‘Ghosts’ make forstrange bedfellowsin new CBS sitcomPage 14
MILITARY
Marine officer whocriticized leadersfaces 6 chargesPage 3
MLB PLAYOFFS
Red Sox dent Cole,beat Yankees 6-2in AL wild cardPage 24
All DOD security clearance holders now continuously vetted ›› Page 5
Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered
his military to pump up pressure on the south-
western region of Taiwan, according to sourc-
es quoted by a Japanese news agency this
week.
The order was issued at a recent meeting of
China’s top military body, the Central Military
Commission, after three aircraft carriers from
the United States and United Kingdom partici-
pated in weekend drills near Taiwan, Kyodo
News reported Tuesday.
Nearly 150 Chinese warplanes buzzed
through Taiwan’s air defense zone between
Friday and Monday, the island’s Ministry of
National Defense said in a series of press state-
ments this week.
Taiwan said it is preparing to defend itself
after the record-breaking number of incur-
sions. The comments were made Monday by
Foreign Minister Joseph Wu on the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation Television program
“China Tonight.”
China and Taiwan have been governed sep-
arately since splitting, in 1949 after a civil war.
The U.S. military had troops on the island until
1979, when President Jimmy Carter withdrew
from the Sino-American Mutual Defense
Treaty. Congress responded by passing the
Taiwan Relations Act, which requires the U.S.
to sell arms to the island.
Xi is thought to believe that the recent carri-
er drills, which also involved more than a doz-
NG HAN GUAN/AP
Chinese air force personnel march past the Chinese military’s J10C fighter and JH-7A2 fighter bomber during the 13th China InternationalAviation and Aerospace Exhibition, also known as Airshow China 2021, on Sept. 29 in Zhuhai in southern China’s Guangdong province.
‘Alwaysready to fight’
Chinese president orders military to turn up the heat on Taiwan, report saysBY SETH ROBSON
Stars and Stripes
DOMINIQUE PINEIRO/U.S., Navy
Chinese President Xi Jinping walks through theGreat Hall of the People in Beijing in 2017. SEE TAIWAN ON PAGE 4
Military firefighting crews bat-
tling blazes in California wrapped
up their second-busiest fire sea-
son in nearly half a century, U.S.
Northern Command said.
The crews were part of a pro-
gram that converts military C-130
aircraft into air tankers able to dis-
perse fire retardant. The military
planes are the last line of defense,
used when all commercial tankers
that combat wildfires are unavail-
able.
This year, aircraft assigned to
the Modular Airborne Fire Fight-
ing Systems program, or MAFFS,
flew 945 sorties and dropped over
2.5 million gallons of fire retar-
dant, U.S. Northern Command
said in a statement.
That’s the second-highest total
since the MAFFS program was es-
tablished in the early 1970s, and it
was surpassed only during the
1994 fire season.
Much of this year’s efforts fo-
cused on containing the Dixie Fire
in Northern California, the sec-
Fire season2nd-busiest in decades formilitary crews
BY PHILLIP WALTER
WELLMAN
Stars and Stripes
PAULA MACOMBER/U.S. Air National Guard
An Air National Guard C-130 outof Reno, Nev., flies over theBeckwourth Complex Fire on July9 in Northern California.
SEE FIRE ON PAGE 6
PAGE 2 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, October 7, 2021
OMAHA, Neb. — Work at all of
the Kellogg Company’s U.S. cereal
plants came to a halt Tuesday as
roughly 1,400 workers went on
strike, but it wasn’t immediately
clear how much the supply of Frost-
ed Flakes or any of the company’s
other iconic brands would be dis-
rupted.
The strike includes plants in
Omaha, Neb., Battle Creek, Mich.,
Lancaster, Pa., and Memphis,
Tenn.
The union and the Battle Creek-
based company have been at an im-
passe at the bargaining table for
more than a year, said Daniel Os-
born, president of the local union in
Omaha. The dispute involves an as-
sortment of pay and benefit issues
such as the loss of premium health
care, holiday and vacation pay, as
well as reduced retirement benefits
“The company continues to
threaten to send additional jobs to
Mexico if workers do not accept out-
rageous proposals that take away
protections that workers have had
for decades,” said Anthony Shelton,
president of the Bakery, Confec-
tionary, Tobacco Workers and
Grain Millers International Union.
The company has insisted that its
offer is fair and would increase
wages and benefits for its employ-
ees that it said made an average of
$120,000 a year last year.
“We are disappointed by the
union’s decision to strike. Kellogg
provides compensation and bene-
fits for our U.S. ready to eat cereal
employees that are among the in-
dustry’s best,” Kellogg spokesper-
son Kris Bahner said in a statement.
Bahrain89/85
Baghdad89/66
Doha94/80
Kuwait City97/77
Riyadh99/73
Kandahar91/55
Kabul81/49
Djibouti93/84
THURSDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Mildenhall/Lakenheath
64/44
Ramstein57/48
Stuttgart54/48
Lajes,Azores71/68
Rota79/60
Morón87/58 Sigonella
69/62
Naples66/61
Aviano/Vicenza62/50
Pápa55/51
Souda Bay70/62
Brussels59/48
Zagan59/47
DrawskoPomorskie
58/47
THURSDAY IN EUROPE
Misawa64/60
Guam84/81
Tokyo78/62
Okinawa82/79
Sasebo79/69
Iwakuni76/71
Seoul71/63
Osan71/63
Busan75/71
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 .................... 18-24
BUSINESS/WEATHER
Military rates
Euro costs (Oct. 7) $1.13Dollar buys (Oct. 7) 0.8437British pound (Oct. 7) $1.32Japanese yen (Oct. 7) 108.00South Korean won (Oct. 7) 1,159.00
Commercial rates
Bahrain (Dinar) .3770Britain (Pound) 1.3566Canada (Dollar) 1.2634China (Yuan) 6.4467Denmark (Krone) 6.4460Egypt (Pound) 15.7202Euro .8664Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7863Hungary (Forint) 311.14Israel (Shekel) 3.2408Japan (Yen) 111.35Kuwait (Dinar) .3015
Norway (Krone) 8.6028
Philippines (Peso) 50.91Poland (Zloty) 3.95Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7503Singapore (Dollar) 1.3608
South Korea (Won) 1,196.17Switzerland (Franc) .9284Thailand (Baht) 33.85Turkey (New Lira) 8.8945
(Military exchange rates are those availableto customers at military banking facilities in thecountry of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Ger-many, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., pur-chasing 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 dollars-to-pound, and the euro, which is dollars-to-euro.)
INTEREST RATES
Prime rate 3.25Interest Rates Discount rate 0.75Federal funds market rate 0.093-month bill 0.0430-year bond 2.10
EXCHANGE RATESKellogg’s US cereal plant workers go on strikeAssociated Press
Thursday, October 7, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3
according to the Marine Corps. Of
the 13 troops killed in the attack, 11
were Marines, one was a soldier
and another was a sailor.
While no longer receiving in-pa-
tient treatment, the other 16 Ma-
rines “are now on the West Coast
in the vicinity of their parent
units” receiving follow-on care,
Henderson said.
“Their recoveries are being
monitored and assisted by the Ma-
rine Corps’ wounded warrior re-
giment,” he said.
The service members were
screening hopeful evacuees at the
airport’s entrance when the attack
happened after nearly two weeks
of an evacuation mission to re-
move Americans and allies, in-
cluding Afghans, from the country
after it fell to the Taliban on Aug.
15.
More than 124,000 people were
evacuated from Afghanistan be-
fore the last U.S. troops left Kabul
on Aug. 30.
All but one Marine injured in
the attack by an Islamic State sui-
cide bomber at Kabul’s airport in
August that killed 13 U.S. service
members have been released
from Walter Reed National Mili-
tary Medical Center, a Marine
Corps spokesman said Tuesday.
The remaining Marine is in “se-
rious but stable condition,” Capt.
Johnny Henderson said. The up-
date shows steady improvement.
On Sept. 22, the service reported
four Marines were still at Walter
Reed — one in “very serious con-
dition” and three in “serious con-
dition.” On Sept. 7, 15 wounded
Marines were being treated at
Walter Reed, one of whom was in
critical condition, three were in
serious condition and 11 were in
stable condition, Henderson said
at the time. The service did not
provide further details on their in-
juries or the names of those in-
jured, which is Marine Corps pol-
icy to protect their privacy.
The injured Marines were
among the survivors of an ISIS-K
attack at Hamid Karzai Interna-
tional Airport during the final
days of the U.S. military’s with-
drawal from Afghanistan. Along
with the 13 troops killed, more
than 20 others were injured when
an ISIS-K terrorist detonated an
explosive vest and gunmen fired
into the crowds near the airport’s
Abbey gate.
ISIS-K, an abbreviation for
ISIS-Khorasan, is the Afghanistan
branch of the Islamic State terror-
ist group.
Seventeen Marines were
wounded in the attack, and all the
troops killed were awarded Pur-
ple Hearts and approved this
month for combat action ribbons,
All but one Marine hurt in Kabul attackout of Walter Reed
BY CAITLIN DOORNBOS
Stars and Stripes
/
The injured Marines at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center were among the survivors of anISISK attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport during the final days of the U.S. military’s withdrawalfrom Afghanistan.
[email protected] Twitter: @CaitlinDoornbos
MILITARY
or administration’s policy.
Kristensen said disclosing the
stockpile number will assist U.S.
diplomats in arms control negotia-
tions and at next year’s Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty confer-
ence, which will review the disar-
mament commitment made by nu-
clear powers who are treaty signa-
tories, including the United States.
The Biden administration is
conducting a nuclear weapons
WASHINGTON — In a reversal
of Trump administration policy,
the State Department on Tuesday
disclosed the number of nuclear
weapons in the U.S. stockpile. It
said this will aid global efforts to
control the spread of such weap-
ons.
The number of U.S. weapons, in-
cluding those in active status as
well as those in long-term storage,
stood at 3,750 as of September
2020, the department said. That is
down from 3,805 a year earlier and
3,785 in 2018.
As recently as 2003, the U.S. nu-
clear weapon total was slightly
above 10,000. It peaked at 31,255 in
1967.
The last time the U.S. govern-
ment released its stockpile num-
ber was in March 2018, when it said
the total was 3,822 as of September
2017. That was early in the Trump
administration, which subse-
quently kept updated numbers se-
cret and denied a request by the
Federation of American Scientists
to declassified them.
“Back to transparency,” said
Hans Kristensen, director of the
Nuclear Information Project at the
Federation of American Scien-
tists. He said the Biden adminis-
tration was wise to reverse the pri-
posture and policy review that is
expected to be completed early
next year.
At the Conference on Disarma-
ment last February, Secretary of
State Antony Blinken said, “Presi-
dent Biden has made it clear: the
U.S. has a national security imper-
ative and a moral responsibility to
reduce and eventually eliminate
the threat posed by weapons of
mass destruction.”
State Department discloses number of nuclear weapons in US stockpileAssociated Press
Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller
Jr. will face a court-martial on six
charges related to his public ad-
monishing of U.S. officials hand-
ling of the withdrawal from Af-
ghanistan, service officials an-
nounced Wednesday.
Scheller — whose social media
posts blasting top civilian and mil-
itary officials garnered hundreds
of thousands of views in the days
after 13 U.S. troops were killed in
a bombing at the Kabul airport —
was formally charged Monday,
one day before he was released
from the brig at Camp Lejeune,
N.C., a Marine spokesman said.
He is accused of displaying
contempt toward officials, disre-
specting superior commissioned
officers, willfully disobeying a su-
perior commissioned officer, der-
eliction in the performance of his
duties and failure to obey an or-
der or regulation, and by display-
ing conduct unbecoming an offi-
cer and a gentleman.
Those charges
were referred on
Wednesday
morning to a
special court-
martial by Maj.
Gen. Julian D.
Alford, who
leads Marine
Training Com-
mand, according
to Capt. Sam Stephenson, a
spokesman for the command. A
special court-martial limits the
maximum punishment for ser-
vice members found guilty to one
year in prison, a bad-conduct dis-
charge, a reduction in rank to E-1,
and a forfeiture of two-thirds pay
per month, according to the
UCMJ.
Stephenson said Wednesday
that no hearings had been sched-
uled in Scheller’s case.
The lieutenant colonel was re-
leased from the brig Tuesday af-
ter about one week in pre-trial
confinement on suspicions of vio-
lating the UCMJ as the result of
an agreement between Scheller’s
defense attorneys and Alford, Ste-
phenson said. He declined to pro-
vide any additional details.
Scheller was held in an individ-
ual cell in the Camp Lejeune brig,
but he was not held in solitary
confinement at any time, Ste-
phenson said. He was in regular
contact with other prisoners and
staff during and allowed at least
two hours of recreation time per
day.
Scheller is a 17-year infantry of-
ficer who has served in Iraq and
Afghanistan. He was fired from
his job commanding one of Camp
Lejeune’s infantry training battal-
ions on Aug. 27, after he posted a
video on Facebook and LinkedIn
demanding accountability for top
military and civilian officials in
the hours after the deadly bomb-
ing at Hamid Karzai Internation-
al Airport, where U.S. troops
worked to evacuate more than
100,000 people from Kabul after
the Taliban takeover of Afghanis-
tan.
Scheller expressed his “grow-
ing discontent and contempt for
… perceived ineptitude at the for-
eign policy level” in the viral vid-
eo in which he appeared in his
combat uniform. In follow-up vid-
eos, he accused Marine Gen. Ken-
neth “Frank” McKenzie, the com-
mander of U.S. Central Com-
mand, of dereliction of duty and
he promised to resign his com-
mission and help “bring the whole
(expletive) system down.”
Corps officials have said Ma-
rines have proper channels via
their chains of command to raise
concerns about issues, but criti-
cizing leadership via social media
is not acceptable.
Scheller plans to face the
charges in a court-martial, ac-
cording to a statement issued
Tuesday by the Pipe Hitter Foun-
dation, which has raised money
for Scheller’s defense.
The foundation is run by for-
mer Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher
and his wife. Gallagher was court-
martialed in 2019 on allegations of
war crimes, but he was acquitted
of most of the charges.
The Pipe Hitter Foundation
said Scheller remains subjected
to a gag order, which it labeled
“unlawful.” It also said he had
formally requested to resign his
commission instead of facing a
court-martial.
Fired officer charged with 6 crimesBY COREY DICKSTEIN
Stars and Stripes
Scheller
PAGE 4 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, October 7, 2021
en warships from Japan, New
Zealand, Canada and the Nether-
lands, were aimed at stopping
Beijing from unifying democratic
Taiwan with the mainland and
from capturing the Japanese-ad-
ministered Senkaku Islands,
which are also claimed by China,
Kyodo reported.
At the Central Military Com-
mission, Xi said China should
demonstrate that it is “always
ready to fight,” though he wants to
avoid a head-on confrontation
with the U.S., according to un-
named sources quoted by Kyodo.
Meanwhile, President Joe Bi-
den has sent White House national
security adviser Jake Sullivan to
Switzerland for meetings with se-
nior Chinese foreign policy advis-
er Yang Jiechi, the White House
said in a statement Tuesday.
The talks, slated for Wednesday
in Zurich, are to be a follow-up to
Biden’s call with Xi last month as
the administration continues “to
seek to responsibly manage the
competition” between the two
countries, National Security
Council spokeswoman Emily
Horne said in the statement.
Chinese aircraft have been fly-
ing into Taiwan’s airspace since
last year, but the large number of
warplanes in the latest incursions
have attracted attention, said No-
rah Huang, director for interna-
tional relations at the Prospect
Foundation, a security and foreign
affairs think tank in Taipei.
The incursions send a stronger
message, which security experts
have correctly characterized as
psychological warfare and intimi-
dation, she said in a telephone in-
terview Wednesday.
“This kind of action won’t win
the hearts and minds of Taiwa-
nese people,” she said, noting that
even the island’s opposition poli-
ticians have blamed Beijing rath-
er than trying to score points
against the ruling party.
The Chinese military activity
may also be an effort to pressure
the Biden administration not to
push forward with a plan to re-
name Taiwan’s mission in Wash-
ington, D.C., Huang said.
Last month, Taiwan asked to
change the name of the office from
“Taipei Economic and Cultural
Representative Office” to “Tai-
wan Representative Office,” ac-
cording to the Financial Times.
“China does not want to give
Taiwan an international identity
that is distinctive from China,”
Huang said. “They don’t want peo-
ple to easily differentiate Taiwan
from China.”
The U.S. and Taiwan should
protect their interests, she said in
a follow-up email.
“The decision to allow the name
changing or not should not [be
based] on Beijing’s reaction,” she
said.
Taiwan: National security adviser sent to Switzerland for talks with ChinaFROM PAGE 1
PACIFIC
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South
Korea – The former head of a CIA
center tasked with countering se-
rious threats from North Korea
expects that country’s leader to
meet again with South Korean
President Moon Jae-in before he
leaves office next year.
However, such a summit will
likely happen online and not face
to face, said Andrew Kim, a veter-
an CIA officer and founding direc-
tor of the Korean Mission Center
established in 2017.
Kim, who served as the point
man for summits between the
North Korean leader and then-
President Donald Trump, made
his comments during a panel dis-
cussion with The Washington
Brief on Tuesday.
The Moon administration has
been cautiously optimistic about
improving relations with North
Korea. The president, whose term
ends in March, frequently calls for
the Korean War signatories to de-
clare an official end to the conflict
and has volunteered to meet with
Kim Jong Un and other North Ko-
rean leaders without precondi-
tions.
Moon and Kim held three sum-
mits in 2018, where they discussed
the goals of formally ending the
1950-53 Korean War and restart-
ing inter-Korean programs. The
results of those meetings were
widely panned by critics for lack-
ing specific details and require-
ments.
Andrew Kim did not elaborate
on why he believed the next sum-
mit would be held virtually; how-
ever, orchestrating the highly cho-
reographed meetings can be time-
intensive and financially costly.
The cost of hosting the Singa-
pore summit was roughly $15 mil-
lion, that nation’s leader, Lee
Hsien Loong, told reporters in
2018.
An in-person summit would al-
so require delegates from both na-
tions to account for the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic, of which lit-
tle is known about within North
Korea’s borders. Pyongyang has
rejected millions of coronavirus
vaccines and said it has zero con-
firmed infections, a claim that is
widely disputed by international
health experts.
Trump and Kim met first in Sin-
gapore in 2018, then again in Ha-
noi the following year. The leaders
also met briefly at the Joint Secu-
rity Area inside the Demilitarized
Zone in 2019, during which Trump
stepped across the border and be-
came the first sitting U.S. presi-
dent to visit North Korea.
Kim described his negotiations
with North Korean officials lead-
ing up to those meetings as “very
challenging.”
“We weren’t going anywhere
with any kind of a meaningful, de-
tailed agreement," he said of his
discussions with North Korean of-
ficials prior to the Singapore sum-
mit. “They wanted to pursue a
kind of a bigger, overall agree-
ment. We wanted more detail — it
went through several meetings
and it led up to almost a day before
the summit.”
Kim retired from the CIA in No-
vember 2018 after 28 years. He is
now a non-resident fellow with the
Korea Project at the Harvard
Kennedy School’s Belfer Center
for Science and International Af-
fairs.
Ex-CIA head in S. Koreaexpects Moon, Kim talks
INTER-KOREAN SUMMIT PRESS CORPS
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, walks with South KoreanPresident Moon Jaein during an InterKorean Summit in 2018.
BY DAVID CHOI
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @choibboy
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — An Okina-
wa-based soldier found guilty of attempting
to smuggle drugs into Japan through the
mail received a three-year suspended sen-
tence from a Japanese court on Monday.
Spc. Kenyatta Lane, 22, pleaded guilty to
violating the country’s Narcotics and Psy-
chotropics Control and Customs Law in his
first appearance in Naha District Court, a
spokeswoman from the Naha District Pub-
lic Prosecutors Office told Stars and Stripes
by phone Tuesday. The soldier works at a
communications facility on the Army base
Torii Station in Yomitan, she said.
Lane was accused of having 0.92 grams of
powder containing MDMA, an ingredient in
the drug ecstasy, sent through the mail from
the United States to the Marine Corps’
Camp Kinser, the spokeswoman said.
With the help of “unidentified individu-
als,” Lane sent the powder through the post
on March 29, the spokeswoman said. The
parcel arrived at Narita International Air-
port on April 5 and then at Kinser’s post of-
fice, where it was detected by a customs of-
ficer four days later.
It is unclear who sent the drugs, the spo-
keswoman said, but Lane was the intended
recipient.
An Army spokeswoman at Torii Station
said Tuesday she was working to get infor-
mation on Lane’s case but had not respon-
ded to questions by Wednesday afternoon.
The soldier was held under house arrest
on base until he was charged Aug. 12, the
prosecutors’ spokeswoman said. He was
never taken into custody by Japanese po-
lice.
Lane pleaded guilty Monday and was
sentenced by Judge Koji Oohashi to one
year and six months in prison, which was
then suspended for three years, the spokes-
woman said. He likely won’t serve actual
jail time unless he commits another crime
in Japan.
It is not clear if Lane will appeal the judg-
e’s decision, the spokeswoman said. He had
14 days from Monday to do so.
It’s customary in Japan for some govern-
ment officials to speak to the media on con-
dition of anonymity.
MDMA, or 3,4-methylenedioxy-meth-
amphetamine, is a synthetic drug that alters
mood and perception and is chemically
similar to both stimulants and hallucino-
gens, according to a National Institute on
Drug Abuse factsheet. Often referred to as
molly, the drug is known for producing feel-
ings of “increased energy, pleasure, emo-
tional warmth, and distorted sensory and
time perception.”
MDMA use can lead to a slew of health
problems from depression and anxiety to
liver, kidney, or heart failure and some-
times even death, the factsheet said.
Soldier who mailed drugs won’t serve actual prison timeBY MATTHEW M. BURKE
AND MARI HIGA
Stars and Stripes
FRANK ANDREWS/Stars and Stripes
A soldier attempted to smuggle the drugMDMA at the post office at Camp Kinser,Okinawa.
[email protected] Twitter: @MatthewMBurke1
Thursday, October 7, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 5
WASHINGTON — All Defense
Department clearance holders are
now under “continuous vetting” as
part of a reform to the personnel se-
curity process that determines who
should have access to classified in-
formation and secure facilities, the
director of the Defense Counterin-
telligence and Security Agency
said Tuesday.
The automated system constant-
ly checks criminal records, credit
ratings and other pertinent infor-
mation for those with security
clearances to “ensure the trustwor-
thiness of the national security
workforce” and “identify and ad-
dress factors that may lead to in-
sider threat incidents,” DCSA di-
rector William Lietzau told report-
ers at the Pentagon.
Continuous vetting replaces the
prior process of periodic reinvesti-
gations for clearance holders every
five to 10 years. The idea is that the
new program will identify poten-
tial security threats as they occur in
real time, allowing risks to surface
sooner to enable earlier interven-
tion.
“If you get [charged with driving
under the influence], that’ll come
in the next day,” Lietzau said, ex-
plaining how fast the new system
works.
Once the automated system
alerts of a risk factor, staff at the
agency then initiate an investiga-
tion to analyze whether the issue
should be further analyzed or con-
sidered an active threat, he said.
In addition to criminal conduct,
the system also analyzes suspi-
cious financial transactions, do-
mestic and foreign travel records,
terrorism and counterterrorism
databases and other public records
for indicators of insider threats,
Lietzau said.
The initiative is part of the direc-
tor of National Intelligence’s Trust-
ed Workforce 2.0, an interagency
effort launched in 2018 to modern-
ize the security clearance system to
“deliver stronger security, faster
processing and better information
sharing,” the agency said in a state-
ment issued Tuesday.
“It replaces a suite of outdated
legacy IT systems that no longer
meet the needs of the U.S. govern-
ment,” DCSA said in the statement.
While all troops, Defense De-
partment civilians and defense
contractors with clearances are
now in the system, Lietzau said 29
other federal agencies, including
the Federal Aviation Administra-
tion and Department of Health and
Human Services, are also vetting
their clearance holders this way.
The system is already working,
Lietzau said. In January, it detect-
ed a federal employee was under
“an active investigation by another
agency for potential terrorism ac-
tivities, including a plan targeting
United States facilities and ties to
know or suspected terrorists,” he
said.
In another case, the system alert-
ed the DCSA that an arrest warrant
was issued for a federal employee
accused of attempted murder and
felonious assault, Lietzau said. The
agency then contacted law en-
forcement to validate the employee
was the wanted person and provid-
ed information that helped police
apprehend the suspect.
“The key is that the alert infor-
mation developed through the
DCSA continuous vetting system
was received and validated five-
and-a-half years before the sub-
ject’s next periodic reinvestiga-
tion,” Lietzau said.
The DCSA is continuing to enroll
other federal agencies in the pro-
gram and working to expand data
sources from which the vetting sys-
tem can pull information, Lietzau
said.
The agency is now running pilot
programs to test how social media
information could be included,
Lietzau said. One day, biometrics
beyond standard fingerprint analy-
sis could be used, as well.
Security clearanceholders now undercontinuous vetting
BY CAITLIN DOORNBOS
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @CaitlinDoornbos
the National Park Service to clean
up the area, it said.
The Super Hornet was assigned
to Air Test and Evaluation Squad-
ron 9 at Naval Air Weapons Station
China Lake in Ridgecrest, Calif.,
the Navy said.
The jet is the latest to go down in
Death Valley in recent years. In
ANavy pilot suffered minor inju-
ries when his F/A-18F Super Horn-
et crashed Monday in Death Valley
National Park, according to Navy
officials.
The jet went down in a remote ar-
ea of the park, the service said in a
news release that evening. The uni-
dentified pilot, who ejected from
the aircraft, was treated at Las Ve-
gas’ Sunrise Hospital and Medical
Center and released that night.
No civilians were hurt, and Navy
and local authorities are investigat-
ing the crash, according to the re-
lease. The military is working with
2019, a Super Hornet assigned to
Strike Fighter Squadron 151 at Na-
val Air Station Lemoore crashed
into a ravine wall during routine
training. The pilot was declared
dead the day after the incident, af-
ter Navy officials called off recov-
ery efforts.
That crash took place about 40
miles from Navy Air Station China
Lake. The Navy has utilized the
China Lake installation, about 125
miles from Los Angeles in the Mo-
jave Desert, since the 1940s for
missile and rocket development.
Navy pilot safely ejects as Super Hornet crashes in Death ValleyBY ALEX WILSON
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @AlexMNWilson
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany —
The apse of a former church on a
U.S. Army base in Bavaria has
been transformed into a bat sanc-
tuary — in every sense of the
word.
Restoration of the St. Agid
Bergheim Church in Hohenfels
into a haven for a handful of bat
species began in 2012, and with
funding from the Defense Depart-
ment, the Army began building a
new apse onto the remnants of a
15th century Gothic chapel.
The holy bat habitat received a
few finishing touches just before a
Sept. 27 dedication ceremony at-
tended by Army and German offi-
cials.
“The apse has been in the works
since before 2019,” said Gary
Hart, the U.S. Army Europe-Afri-
ca, Hohenfels Integrated Training
Area management coordinator.
“The bats were in the church
structure during the apse renova-
tion process.”
The 7th Army Training Com-
mand celebrated the rehabilita-
tion of the Bergheim Church apse
serving as a bat sanctuary with
Germany’s forest service, U.S. Ar-
my Garrison Bavaria, the Joint
Multinational Readiness Center
and Training Support Activity Eu-
rope.
The project was geared toward
protecting the population of grea-
ter horseshoe bats after a colony
was discovered at the northern
border of the Hohenfels Training
Area in 1992, an Army statement
said.
That colony has grown from just
a few bats in 1992 to a few
hundred, according to 7th Army
Training Command data.
The greater horseshoe bat is the
rarest bat species in Germany.
Hohenburg, which is adjacent to
Hohenfels, has the last reproduc-
ing greater horseshoe bat popula-
tion in the country, said Juli-anne
Jensen, a 7th ATC spokeswoman.
The Bergheim church is their sec-
ondary home, she said.
Other species are finding the
refuge to their liking. The apse al-
so houses brown and gray long-
eared bats, pygmy bats and pug
bats.
The Hohenfels Training Area is
home to 19 species of bats, five of
which are federally protected.
In terms of home security, this
bat sanctuary leaves little to be de-
sired. Besides being situated on a
U.S. military installation, it’s con-
structed with walls that proved in-
destructible even when subjected
to modern explosives.
The original Gothic chapel on
the site was expanded into a Ba-
roque church in the 18th century,
said Markus Perpeet, the Hohen-
fels director of the German forest-
ry service, or Bundesforst.
Safety concerns prompted the
Bundeswehr to raze the church in
1972, but the Romanesque walls
defied all attempts to blow them
up. Further efforts to destroy the
stubborn structure were called
off, Perpeet said.
The bats enter and exit the apse
via louver access points in the
boarded-up windows of the
church, Hart said. He added that
the sighting of three greater
horseshoe bats during the Sept. 27
ceremony showed that the deni-
zens had not been disturbed by the
years of renovation work.
Officials said neither German
nor American soldiers had ever
used the building as a church. But
thanks to some Army repurpos-
ing, it has an all-new congregation.
NATHANIEL GAYLE/U.S. Army
St. Agid Bergheim Church in Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, was restored and converted into a batsanctuary.
Derelict Army church in Germanysoars again as sanctuary for bats
BY IMMANUEL JOHNSON
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: Manny_Stripes
MACARIO MORA/7th Army Training Command
The apse provides additionalroosting habitat for several batspecies.
MILITARY
PAGE 6 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, October 7, 2021
ond-largest wildfire in the state’s
history. It destroyed about 1 mil-
lion acres, according to state data.
Military C-130s were also used
to help the U.S. Forest Service and
other federal agencies contain
other blazes in the state, including
the Caldor, Antelope, River Com-
plex, Monument and French fires,
the Air Force said last month.
At one point in August, all eight
aircraft assigned to the MAFFS
program were being used simulta-
neously to support the joint effort,
the U.S. Northern Command
statement said. That hasn’t hap-
pened in nearly a decade despite
eight of the 10 biggest wildfires in
California’s history occurring in
the past five years.
“This was an exceptional year
that saw each unit contribute to a
highly successful interagency
firefighting effort,” Lt. Gen. Kirk
Pierce, the commander of Air
Forces Northern, was quoted in
the statement Monday as saying.
Still, the Dixie Fire alone devas-
tated an area larger than the state
of Rhode Island and claimed over
1,300 buildings, California state
data show.
Hundreds of other soldiers and
airmen have also assisted fire-
fighting efforts, both on the
ground and in different aircraft,
NORTHCOM said.
C-130s assigned to the MAFFS
program were first requested in
late June, a month earlier than in
2020, marking the earliest request
in about a decade.
However, all eight of the pro-
gram’s aircraft were used simul-
taneously only for a few weeks at
most during the 96 consecutive
days MAFFS was activated.
No plans are in the pipeline to
increase the number of C-130s in
the MAFFS fleet, NORTHCOM
spokesman Capt. Nathanael Cal-
lon told Stars and Stripes. Climate
scientists have stated that increas-
ingly large fires will likely contin-
ue to batter the Western U.S. be-
cause of climate change.
The U.S. Forest Service con-
tracts with private companies to
provide tankers to drop fire retar-
dant as part of wildfire suppres-
sion efforts. But during periods of
high activity there often aren’t
enough of these contracted air-
tankers to meet demand, accord-
ing to the Forest Service.
When needed, the Modular Air-
borne Fire Fighting System is in-
serted into the military C-130s
without any major structural
modifications to the planes.
The system consists of a series
of five pressurized fire-retardant
tanks and associated equipment
that can be carried in the aircraft’s
cargo bay and drop up to 3,000 gal-
lons in less than 10 seconds.
The systems belong to the For-
est Service, but the C-130s and
their crews must be pulled from
their regular military duties with
the Air National Guard or Air
Force Reserve.
Fire: MAFFS insertedinto C-130s with nomajor modificationsFROM PAGE 1
[email protected]: @pwwellman
MILITARY
WASHINGTON — For more
than 100 years, young men have
registered for the draft. Now,
Congress is poised to make a his-
toric change for gender equality
by requiring women, for the first
time in American history, to do
the same.
But while support for the
change is bipartisan, Congress
is leaving the details for later.
That’s the easy thing to do,
considering the military hasn’t
drafted anyone since the Viet-
nam War and it’s possible it nev-
er will need to again. But if a cri-
sis of monumental proportions
were to emerge, the logistics of
incorporating women into a
much larger military could
prove complicated.
Would drafted women be ex-
pected to serve in combat roles?
And if not, what would their
roles be? Would they be housed
with men? It appears that nei-
ther Congress nor the Pentagon
has thought that through.
Still, included in the House
version of the fiscal 2022 Nation-
al Defense Authorization Act,
which that chamber passed last
month, was an amendment by
Pennsylvania Democrat Chrissy
Houlahan and Florida Republi-
can Michael Waltz that would
require women to sign up with
the Selective Service, a govern-
ment agency that keeps records
of Americans eligible for a po-
tential draft.
And the Senate Armed Servic-
es Committee also included lan-
guage that would require wom-
en to register when it marked up
its version of the NDAA in July,
although the full Senate has not
yet taken it up.
Proponents of the change see
the move as a victory for wom-
en’s rights.
“Equity is important,” Houla-
han told CQ Roll Call in an inter-
view, “and women have con-
stantly had to fight for a level
playing field — and this change
is a step in the right direction.”
Waltz argues that were a crisis
requiring a draft to emerge, the
United States would need every
available person.
The country would “need ev-
erybody … man, woman, gay,
straight, any religion, Black,
white, brown,” he said recently
on the House floor.
According to Houlahan, she
and Waltz paired up on the
amendment out of a shared be-
lief that Congress should change
the current “outdated way of
thinking about things.”
Waltz is a former Army Green
Beret who served in Afghanis-
tan. Houlahan spent 17 years in
the Air Force and Air Force re-
serves, leaving as a captain.
Democrats seem united on
making the change. Republicans
are split, but a critical mass
seems to now favor it. Reps. Liz
Cheney, of Wyoming; Jack Berg-
man, of Michigan; and Pat Fal-
lon, of Texas, all voted in favor of
the amendment when it came up
at the Armed Services markup
last month.
Logistical challenges are not
the only sticking point for some
opponents of the change. For
some Republicans, the inclusion
of women in the Selective Ser-
vice is a moral issue — one that
may come up when the House
and Senate conference the de-
fense policy bill later this year.
At the Senate Armed Services
markup over the summer, five
Republicans voted against the
amendment by the panel’s
chairman, Democrat Jack Reed,
of Rhode Island, requiring wom-
en to register.
Ranking member James In-
hofe, of Oklahoma, was among
the five, along with Tom Cotton,
of Arkansas; Josh Hawley, of
Missouri; Roger Wicker, of Mis-
sissippi; and Mike Rounds, of
South Dakota. Cotton tweeted at
the time that he would “work to
remove it before the defense bill
passes.”
Women soon may have to register for draftBY MARK SATTER
CQ Roll Call
Four B-1B Lancers arrived
Wednesday at RAF Fairford in
England as part of a long-planned
bomber mission to Europe, the Air
Force said.
The bombers deployed with 200
personnel from the 9th Expedition-
ary Bomb Squadron at Dyess Air
Force Base, Texas, according to a
U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air
Forces Africa statement Wednes-
day.
The B-1 heavy bomber carries
the largest conventional payload
of both guided and unguided
weapons in the Air Force invento-
ry, according to the service.
The aircraft deployed as part of
a regularly scheduled bomber
task force mission for U.S. Eu-
ropean and U.S. Strategic com-
mands.
Bomber task force missions
“amplify our coalition reach and
project our collective airpower
across theaters,” Gen. Jeff Harri-
gian, USAFE-AFAFRICA’s com-
mander, said in a statement.
Since 2018, EUCOM has been
conducting bomber task force
missions, which consist of rota-
tions of Lancers as well as B-52
Stratofortresses and B-2 Spirit
stealth bombers.
B-1Bs deployed most recently to
Europe in March along with B-2s,
training with Norwegian and
Swedish aircraft and marking the
first time a B-1B had landed in the
Arctic Circle.
Air Force bombers deploy to UKfor European training mission
Stars and Stripes
COLIN HOLLOWELL/U.S. Air Force
A B1B Lancer assigned to the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadronlands at RAF Fairford, England, on Wednesday. Four B1Bs arrived aspart of a longplanned bomber mission to Europe, the Air Force said.
The military police officer
killed in a vehicle wreck Monday
at Fort Bragg, N.C., was a recent
enlistee from Texas, Army offi-
cials said Wednesday.
Pfc. Patrick J. Hernandez was
killed in the crash midday Mon-
day on the installation, Fort Bragg
officials said in a statement. Her-
nandez, 30, was assigned to the
108th Military Police Company,
503rd MP Battalion, 16th MP Bri-
gade at Fort Bragg.
Lt. Col. Andrew Till, Hernan-
dez’s battalion commander, said
the incident,
which also in-
jured four other
soldiers, had
been difficult for
the unit.
Army officials
have provided
few details about
the incident, including the kind of
military vehicle in which Hernan-
dez and the other soldiers were
traveling or whether the crash oc-
curred during a training event.
Army investigators from the U.S.
Army Combat Readiness Train-
ing Center traveled this week
from Fort Rucker, Ala., to lead the
examination into the incident, the
Army said.
Hernandez enlisted in the Army
in August 2020 as a military po-
liceman and had recently gradu-
ated from airborne school at Fort
Benning, Ga., according to the Ar-
my. He was a native of Harlington,
Texas, and is survived by his wife,
two daughters, two stepchildren,
his parents and his brothers.
Fort Bragg plans to hold a me-
morial for Hernandez in the com-
ing weeks, said Capt. Perianne
Duffy, a spokeswoman for the in-
stallation.
Soldier killed in Fort Bragg wreck identifiedBY COREY DICKSTEIN
Stars and Stripes
Hernandez
Thursday, October 7, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 7
International School Westpfalz—Job Offer
We are looking for a native English speaker who is
passionate about teaching music and able to promote
a creative and fun-filled learning environment.
Along with our small class sizes (maximum of 18),
IS Westpfalz offers teachers a large amount of creativity
in their lesson planning along with a wide range of
opportunities for professional development.
The ideal candidate should be able to:
Please contact the School Principal, Christopher Moore
at [email protected], to apply for this position.
Work with the Cambridge Primary Music Curriculum
(all resources and plans provided)
Show enthusiasm in their teaching and promote a
positive learning environment
Hundreds of Afghans gathered
outside a passport office in Kabul
on Wednesday, a day after Taliban
officials said that the country
would resume issuing travel docu-
ments, ending a monthslong sus-
pension that had further dimin-
ished the already limited ability of
Afghans to leave their war-torn
country.
Alam Gul Haqqani, acting head
of the passport office, told report-
ers Tuesday that up to 6,000 pass-
ports would be issued daily. The
Taliban government would also
release 25,000-plus new passports
that had previously been paid for,
he said at a news conference.
In Wednesday’s chaotic scenes,
Taliban guards beat back people
trying to apply for passports in an
attempt to maintain order, Reu-
ters reported. The Taliban plans
to start issuing passports on Satur-
day and isn’t yet taking new appli-
cations, according to the news
agency.
The passports will continue to
be issued under the name of the
former government, the Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan. No coun-
try has officially recognized the
Taliban, which has renamed the
country an Islamic Emirate, as Af-
ghanistan’s legitimate govern-
ment.
The reopening comes as the Ta-
liban struggles to govern a coun-
try that is facing a major brain
drain. Many educated Afghans
fled following the Taliban take-
over of the country in August,
fearing that the regime would im-
plement its severe interpretation
of Islamic law. While the Islamist
militants have pledged to govern
more moderately than during
their brutal 1996 to 2001 reign,
many remain deeply skeptical of
such promises.
In the past two months, the
passport office received at least
170,000 applications, local media
reported.
A Taliban spokesman had pre-
viously said educated Afghans
should stay because it was “time
for people to work for their coun-
try,” though the militants have
agreed to let citizens with valid vi-
sas freely leave, according to
Western officials.
There are no restrictions on
who can apply for a passport, Inte-
rior Ministry spokesman Qari
Saeed Khosti said at the news con-
ference. But he urged former gov-
ernment officials and profession-
als “to come forward as the nation
has invested in” them and “to play
their part in rebuilding” Afghan-
istan.
Afghans with valid passports
still face difficulties leaving the
country. Afghanistan sits at the
bottom of the 2021 Henley Pass-
port Index, which ranks travel
documents based on the number
of places holders can visit without
having to obtain a visa. Afghanis-
tan has been in last place for most
of the past 16 years, and many em-
bassies that issued visas have relo-
cated out of the country since the
Taliban seized power.
However, even the prospect of
being able to leave Afghanistan
has led to some relief. Kabul resi-
dent Najia Aman told Reuters that
she was “very happy” to hear
about the resumption of passport
issuance, because it meant a fam-
ily member could go to Pakistan
for medical treatment.
Pakistan’s ambassador to Af-
ghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan
said in an interview that his coun-
try could only process visas on val-
id passports and that “passport re-
newal is an Afghanistan issue.”
But it wasn’t immediately clear
if Afghans outside Kabul, the cap-
ital, would be able to easily apply
for passports. Many regional pass-
port offices were damaged in
fighting during the Taliban take-
over, according to a resident of
Helmand province, who spoke on
the condition of anonymity due to
fear of retribution.
“Maybe now, it is only in the
capital Kabul that people could
get their passports,” the person
said.
The Taliban is also allowing
some female employees at the In-
terior Ministry to return to work
so that they can process paper-
work submitted by women apply-
ing for a passport, Khosti said. He
noted, however, that the female
staff “will come to the office
through a separate entrance.”
The vast majority of female Af-
ghan government employees have
been told to stay home from work,
though the Taliban has said such a
move would be temporary.
Taliban resumes issuing travel documents
FELIPE DANA/AP
Afghans gather outside a government passport office after the Taliban announced they would be issuing abacklog of applications approved by the previous administration Wednesday in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Hundreds of Afghansgather outside of Kabul passport office
BY AMY CHENG
AND HAQ NAWAZ KHAN
The Washington Post
Aug. 26 that killed more than 169
Afghans and 13 U.S. military per-
sonnel outside the Kabul airport.
The Taliban have since
launched many raids to root out
ISIS cells.
Separately, two witnesses and a
hospital official said two Taliban
members were shot and killed and
three civilians were wounded
when unknown gunmen opened
fire at a Taliban patrol in a vegeta-
ble market Wednesday morning
in the northeastern city of Jalala-
bad. The hospital official said the
hospital received two dead bodies
and two wounded men.
They spoke on condition of ano-
nymity due to the sensitive nature
of the subject.
Jalalabad has emerged as a
flashpoint in the rivalry between
the Taliban and ISIS, with numer-
ous attacks taking place there
since the takeover.
KABUL, Afghanistan — The
Taliban arrested four Islamic
State members and seized their
documents and weapons north of
the Afghan capital, the group’s
chief spokesman said Wednesday.
Zabihullah Mujahid said the op-
eration was carried out Tuesday
night by special unit forces in the
Pashai area of Pagham district in
Kabul province. He provided no
additional details.
The arrests came as the Taliban
leadership, which assumed con-
trol of the country after seizing the
capital on Aug. 15, grapples with a
growing security threat from the
group known as Islamic State
Khorasan, an ISIS affiliate. The
extremist group has ramped up
attacks since the Taliban consoli-
dated power following the U.S. ex-
it. It has claimed responsibility for
attacks including two deadly
bombings in the capital in the last
month.
ISIS claimed it targeted Tues-
day night a vehicle carrying Tali-
ban members with an explosive
device in District 1 in Kunar prov-
ince, northeast of the capital, kill-
ing and wounding those onboard.
It said a Taliban reinforcement
patrol rushed to the area to help
but ISIS fighters clashed with
them, killing and wounding
“many.”
ISIS re-emerged in Afghanistan
in 2020 after being weakened by a
heavy U.S. bombing campaign di-
rected against them in the eastern
part of the country in 2019. The
group claimed responsibility for
Sunday’s bombing at Kabul’s Eid
Gah Mosque which killed five ci-
vilians. It has also claimed respon-
sibility for the horrific bombing on
Taliban arrest 4 ISIS membersas threat from extremists grows
BY RAHIM FAEIZ
AND SAMYA KULLAB
Associated Press
AFGHANISTAN
PAGE 8 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, October 7, 2021
VIRUS OUTBREAK
Guam recorded its 200th CO-
VID-19 fatality Monday — a 27-
year-old unvaccinated man —
and the U.S. territory has an-
nounced 10 more deaths from the
coronavirus respiratory disease
since then.
Fatality No. 200 was pro-
nounced dead upon arrival at
Guam Memorial Hospital on Sept.
30, according to a news release
from the island’s Joint Informa-
tion Center. He had underlying
health conditions and tested posi-
tive that day.
Of the 10 deaths that followed,
six had not been vaccinated, the
information center said. The
208th fatality, however, a 68-year-
old woman, was announced near-
ly a year after it occurred on Oct.
31, 2020, when COVID-19 vac-
cines were unavailable.
“Too many families and loved
ones have experienced the great-
est loss and sadness over the
course of this pandemic,” Gov.
Lou Leon Guerrero said in a state-
ment Wednesday. “May their
passing not be in vain — that we
each take the extra precautions to
protect ourselves and those
around us with all the tools avail-
able to us.”
Since the pandemic began,
Guam has recorded 15,789 coro-
navirus cases, 2,452 of which
were active as of Wednesday eve-
ning. There were 159 new patients
identified that day.
Guam has vaccinated more
than 80% of its eligible population,
but the island’s hospitals are at
capacity and have been strug-
gling amid a shortage of health
care workers, The Associated
Press reported Sept. 30.
The state surgeon for the Guam
Army National Guard, Dr. Mike
Cruz, said nurses are being of-
fered more than $100 per hour in
some states, according to the re-
port. Because of this, Guam is los-
ing out to places offering higher
wages and can’t afford to bring in
more nurses, he said.
SHAINA O'NEAL/U.S. Navy, Joint Region Marianas
Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero speaks during a meeting earlier this year at the Ricardo J. Bordallo Governor's Complex in Adelup, Guam.
Guam announces spate ofdeaths; most unvaccinated
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @starsandstripes
African American and Hispanic
veterans were more likely than
their white counterparts to get the
COVID-19 vaccine at a veterans’
health facility in the first few
months that mRNA vaccines were
available in the United States, a
study published Wednesday
found.
Non-Hispanic Black veterans
who received care through the Vet-
erans Health Administration made
up 21% of those who had at least
one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or
Moderna vaccine in the three
months following the two vaccines’
rollout in December, according to
the study published on the Journal
of the American Medical Associ-
ation’s Network Open website.
Among Hispanic veterans, 18%
had at least a first dose of one of the
two mRNA shots after they were
authorized for emergency use by
the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis-
tration.
Black people made up just 17% of
the more than 6.6 million veterans
whose electronic health records
were looked at for the study, and
Hispanics represented just 7% of
the study population.
White veterans, on the other
hand, made up two-thirds of the
study population but only 22% of
those who were inoculated during
the study period.
None of the fully vaccinated vet-
erans died during the study period,
and the vaccine was 95% effective
at preventing infection in veterans
regardless of race, sex, age or resi-
dence in an urban or rural area.
That contrasts with how CO-
VID-19 has affected the general
population, disproportionately hit-
ting racial and ethnic minorities
and low-income communities, the
study found.
Getting the vaccine gave veter-
ans, who are older and often have
underlying health conditions, ro-
bust protection against infection
from the coronavirus, which as of
this month has claimed about
700,000 U.S. lives.
Most infections detected during
the study period were in younger
veterans, who were more likely to
be white, the study found.
The VHA rapidly rolled out a
program to inoculate veterans as
soon as the two mRNA vaccines
were authorized by the FDA.
The pandemic already had a
devastating effect on veterans by
then, with some 207,000 infections
reported among VHA-enrolled
veterans prior to authorization and
around 10,000 deaths of veterans in
VHA care.
More than a third of pre-vacci-
nation infections were among
Black veterans, and the figure was
13% among Hispanics. Both groups
make up a small proportion of the
overall VHA care population,
which is predominantly composed
of white men.
The differences in health out-
comes could not be attributed to
underlying health conditions, the
study said.
“Over a period of only 3 months
after the first COVID-19 vaccine
was authorized, the VHA success-
fully vaccinated and tested mil-
lions of veterans of all socioec-
onomic groups,” it said.
The success of the VHA vaccina-
tion program prompted Congress
to pass a law authorizing the VA to
expand its vaccination effort be-
yond veterans who receive care
through the VHA.
Black, Hispanicvets more likely toget shots early on
BY KARIN ZEITVOGEL
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @StripesZeit
MOSCOW — Russia’s daily cor-
onavirus death toll surpassed 900
on Wednesday for the first time in
the pandemic, a record that comes
amid the country’s low vaccination
rate and the government’s reluc-
tance to impose tough restrictions
to control new cases.
Russia’s state coronavirus task
force reported 929 new deaths on
Wednesday, the fourth time this
month that daily COVID-19 deaths
have reached record highs. The
previous record, 895 deaths, was
registered Tuesday. Russia al-
ready has Europe’s highest death
toll in the pandemic at over 212,000
people, but some official data sug-
gests that is an undercount.
The task force also reported
25,133 new confirmed cases
Wednesday.
Despite the surge, government
officials rejected the idea of impos-
ing a lockdown and said regional
authorities would take steps to
stem the spread of the virus.
Russia’s daily virus deathssurpass 900 for first time
Associated Press
The Biden administration on
Tuesday ordered Arizona Gov.
Doug Ducey to stop using the
state’s federal pandemic funding
on a pair of new education grants
that can only be directed to schools
without mask mandates.
In a letter to Ducey, the Treasu-
ry Department said the grant pro-
grams are “not a permissible use”
of the federal funding. It’s the lat-
est attempt by the Biden adminis-
tration to push back against Re-
publican governors who have op-
posed mask mandates and other-
wise sought to use federal
pandemic funding to advance
their own agendas.
Ducey, a Republican, created
the grant programs in August to
put pressure on school districts
that have defied the state’s ban on
mask mandates.
He launched a $163 million
grant program using federal fund-
ing he controls, but he made it
available only to schools without
mask mandates. He also establish-
ed a $10 million program that of-
fers vouchers to families at public
schools that require masks or that
tell students to isolate or quaran-
tine due to COVID-19 exposure.
In the letter, Deputy Treasury
Secretary Wally Adeyemo said the
conditions “undermine evidence-
based efforts to stop the spread of
COVID-19.” He asked the state to
explain how it will “remediate” the
problem within 30 days.
C.J. Karamargin, a spokesper-
son for Ducey, said it’s “baffling”
why anyone would oppose the
grant programs.
“Following the challenges dur-
ing the 2020 school year, every-
one’s primary focus should be
equipping families with the re-
sources to get their kids caught up.
That’s exactly what this program
does — giving families in need the
opportunity to access educational
resources like tutoring, child care,
transportation and more,” Kara-
margin said in a statement.
He said the governor’s office is
reviewing the letter and plans to
respond.
Arizona is one of at least eight
states that have laws or executive
orders banning mask require-
ments in public schools.
Ariz. can’t use pandemic fundsfor anti-mask grants, feds say
Associated Press
Thursday, October 7, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 9
NATION
WASHINGTON — President
Joe Biden and congressional
Democrats’ push for a 10-year,
$3.5 trillion package of social and
environmental initiatives has re-
ached a turning point, with the
president repeatedly conceding
that the measure will be consider-
ably smaller and pivotal lawmak-
ers flashing potential signs of flex-
ibility.
In virtual meetings Monday and
Tuesday with small groups of
House Democrats, Biden said he
reluctantly expected the legisla-
tion’s final version to weigh in be-
tween $1.9 trillion and $2.3 trillion,
a Democrat familiar with the ses-
sions said Tuesday. He told them
he didn’t think he could do better
than that, the person said, reflect-
ing demands from some of the
party’s more conservative law-
makers.
Biden used those same figures
during a Friday meeting in the
Capitol with nearly all House
Democrats, according to that per-
son and a second Democrat famil-
iar with the gathering. Both Dem-
ocrats would describe the meet-
ings only on condition of anonym-
ity.
There has been no agreement
on a final figure, and plenty of oth-
er unanswered questions — plus
the possibility of failure — remain.
Crucial unresolved matters in-
clude how to get virtually every
Democrat in Congress to vote for a
measure they’ve spent months
fighting over and that Republi-
cans will solidly oppose, and
whether the shrunken price tag
would be reached by dropping
some proposals or by keeping
most but at lower cost or shorter
duration.
But by repeatedly conceding
that the crown jewel of his own do-
mestic agenda will have to shrink
and providing a range for its cost,
Biden is trying to push his party
beyond months of stalemate and
refocus bargainers on nailing
down needed policy and fiscal de-
cisions.
“I want to make sure that we
have a package that everyone can
agree on,” Biden told reporters
Tuesday in Howell, Mich., where
he went to try building public sup-
port for his plan. “It’s not going to
be $3.5 trillion. It’s going to be less
than that.”
Asked how he would trim $1 tril-
lion from his initial plan, Biden
said, “My objective is to get every-
thing that I campaigned on
passed.” He added, “It won’t all
happen at once.” That seemed to
suggest that some initiatives in the
bill might not begin right away or
might last only temporarily to
save money.
Asked if there would be “means
testing,” or limits on the incomes
of people who would qualify for
initiatives, the president said,
“Sure.” Some moderates have
wanted to impose such limits on
some programs.
The social and environment bill
is the heart of Biden’s push to beef
up federal efforts to help families
and slow global warming.
It would require paid family and
medical leave; extend tax breaks
for families with children, low ear-
ners and people buying health in-
surance; expand Medicare cover-
age; prod energy companies to
move toward cleaner fuels and
provide free pre-kindergarten
and community college. In a nod
to his party’s progressive in-
stincts, it would be largely paid for
by increasing taxes on the wealthy
and corporate America.
Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.,
and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.,
have insisted on curbing the bill’s
cost and have been their party’s
highest-profile holdouts.
Biden concedeslower price tagfor massive bill
BY ALAN FRAM
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President
Joe Biden is escalating his cam-
paign to get Congress to lift the fed-
eral debt limit, hosting business
leaders at the White House on
Wednesday and warning in a new
report that failure to extend the
government’s borrowing authority
could set off a global financial cri-
sis.
The moves come amid indica-
tions Democrats may change Sen-
ate filibuster rules to get around
Republican opposition.
Biden will host a number of CE-
Os — including the heads of banks
like Citi, JP Morgan Chase and
Bank of America — to underscore
the severe ramifications if the gov-
ernment runs out of money to cover
its bills.
Ahead of the meeting, the White
House warned that if the borrow-
ing limit isn’t extended, it could set
off a global financial crisis that the
United States may not be able to
manage.
“A default would send shock
waves through global financial
markets and would likely cause
credit markets worldwide to freeze
up and stock markets to plunge,”
the White House Council of Eco-
nomic Advisers said in a new re-
port. “Employers around the world
would likely have to begin laying
off workers.”
The recession that could be trig-
gered could be worse than the 2008
financial crisis because it would
come as so many nations are still
struggling with the COVID-19 pan-
demic, the report said. It was first
obtained by The New York Times.
Congress has just days to act be-
fore the Oct. 18 deadline when the
Treasury Department has warned
it will run short of funds to handle
the nation’s already accrued debt
load.
The Senate, meanwhile, is
scheduled to vote Wednesday on
whether to take up a bill to suspend
the debt limit, but Republicans are
again expected to block it.
To get around the GOP standoff,
Biden indicated in off-the-cuff
comments Tuesday that Demo-
crats are weighing a procedural
change.
“It’s a real possibility,” Biden
told reporters outside the White
House.
Getting rid of the filibuster rule
would lower the typical 60-vote
threshold for passage to 50. In the
split 50-50 Senate, Vice President
Kamala Harris can break a tie, al-
lowing Democrats to push past Re-
publicans.
The topic was broached during a
private Democratic Senate lunch
session Tuesday as senators were
growing exasperated with Repub-
lican Leader Mitch McConnell’s
refusal to allow a simple vote on the
debt limit. Instead, McConnell is
forcing Democrats to undertake
what they view as a cumbersome
process taking days, if not weeks,
that will eat into their agenda.
With Republicans putting up
hurdles to the vote, Democratic
senators have been discussing a
range of options — including a
carve-out to the chamber’s filibus-
ter rules. But invoking a filibuster
rules change seems unlikely, in
part because all Democratic sen-
ators would need to be on board.
At his weekly press conference,
Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer, D-N.Y., did not embrace
— or reject — the idea of changing
the filibuster for this one specific
issue. Instead, Schumer simply re-
peated what he, Biden and others
have said — that Republicans
should “ get out of the way” and al-
low Democrats to pass the measure
that’s already been approved and
sent over from the House.
As Republicans obstruct, Bidenescalates warnings of default
Associated Press
SUSAN WALSH/AP
President Joe Biden talks with reporters at the White House onTuesday, after a trip to Michigan to promote his infrastructure plan.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Optimism
for transformational funding for
the nation’s historically Black col-
leges was running high after the Bi-
den administration included $45
billion for the schools in its massive
multitrillion-dollar spending plan.
That outlook quickly soured as
the funding became ensnared in
Democratic infighting over the size
of the economic package and what
it should cover. The latest iteration
of the bill includes just $2 billion
that can go toward educational pro-
grams and infrastructure for Black
colleges, and even that amount
would be reduced to competitive
grant funding rather than direct al-
locations.
That’s especially disappointing
for many smaller, private histori-
cally Black colleges that don’t have
the endowments as their larger and
more well-known peers. They often
struggle to upgrade their campuses
and programs, hurting their ability
to attract students.
The Biden administration’s orig-
inal $3.5 trillion proposal called for
sending at least $45 billion to Black
colleges and other minority-serv-
ing institutions to update their re-
search programs, create incuba-
tors to help students innovate and
help traditionally underserved
populations.
Getting a slice of that would have
been a boon to Philander Smith
College in Little Rock, Ark., a pri-
vate historically Black college.
President Roderick L. Smothers
said federal coronavirus relief
money was instrumental in helping
the university survive the pandem-
ic with technology upgrades and
student support, but he said Bi-
den’s original proposal provided
the kind of money that would have
had a long-term impact.
“We used the funds that we re-
ceived to serve the students that we
have, and now we’re asking for ad-
ditional funds to make sure that
when we are on the other side of
this global pandemic our institu-
tions will be bigger and better and
more resilient,” Smothers said.
Beyond building upgrades,
Smothers said Philander Smith
College would have used the long-
term federal funding to expand
programs for its students, 81% of
which are low income. That might
include launching a public health
school that would train students to
tackle health disparities affecting
racial minorities and help address
the state’s nursing shortage.
Black colleges’ funding hopes dimAssociated Press
Police: Student opens fire at Texas high school
ARLINGTON, Texas — A stu-
dent opened fire inside a Dallas-
area high school during a fight, in-
juring four people before he fled,
authorities said Wednesday.
The shooting happened at Tim-
berview High School in Arlington,
which is part of the Dallas-Fort
Worth metropolitan area. Two
people were shot and two others
had unspecified injuries, Arling-
ton Assistant Police Chief Kevin
Kolbye said at a news conference.
Three of the four were taken to
hospitals, he said. Police were
searching for the suspected shoo-
ter, whom they identified as Tim-
othy George Simpkins, 18.
“This is not a random act of vio-
lence,” Kolbye said. “This is not
somebody attacking our school.”
From The Associated Press
PAGE 10 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, October 7, 2021
NATION
LEESBURG, Va. — When Demo-
crat Terry McAuliffe said during
the Virginia governor’s debate last
week that he doesn’t believe “par-
ents should be telling schools what
they should teach,” his opponent
pounced.
Republican Glenn Youngkin
quickly turned the footage into a
digital ad, then announced spending
$1 million on a commercial airing
statewide proclaiming that “Terry
went on the attack against parents.”
Youngkin’s campaign has since
founded a parent-led group to circu-
late petitions and distribute flyers
rejecting “McAuliffe’s disqualify-
ing position,” while scheduling a
“Parents Matter” rally Wednesday
in northern Virginia.
Youngkin is trying to capitalize on
a surge of relatively small but vocal
groups of parents organizing
against school curriculums they
view as “anti-American,” CO-
VID-19 safety measures and school
board members whom they consid-
er too liberal and closely aligned to
teachers unions.
It’s an effort to excite the GOP-
leaning suburban voters Youngkin
needs to win the Nov. 2 race. If the
approach proves successful in Vir-
ginia, a one-time swing state that
has become more reliably blue, Re-
publicans across the country are
likely to replicate his efforts during
next year’s midterms.
“Glenn Youngkin is harnessing
the energy of parents that are frus-
trated and fed up,” said Youngkin
spokesperson Macaulay Porter.
Virginia’s most active parental
activist groups maintain they are
nonpartisan and not seeking to in-
fluence the governor’s race, instead
focusing on school board elections
and efforts to recall board mem-
bers, especially in growing areas
outside Washington. But many such
organizations have ties to Republi-
can donors, and are led by people
who worked for the GOP and its can-
didates, which may make it easier to
replicate the message nationally.
“The other side wants to say this is
all geared toward helping candi-
dates. I think it’s the opposite,” said
Ian Prior, 44, a former Trump ad-
ministration official who founded
Fight for Schools, which aims to re-
call five school board members in
Loudoun County, where his chil-
dren attend school. “This exists, and
smart candidates are picking up on
it. Politically, I would say it’s a bipro-
duct.”
McAuliffe supporters dismiss the
blitz as Youngkin firing up the base.
“Youngkin is working to divide
Virginians instead of keeping our
children safe from COVID-19,” said
McAuliffe spokesperson Christina
Freundlich.
Virginia GOPcandidatetests schoolsfight as issue
Associated PressLONG BEACH, Calif. — A
ship’s anchor may have hooked,
dragged and torn an underwater
pipeline that spilled tens of thou-
sands of gallons of crude oil into
the ocean off Southern California,
according to federal investigators
who also found the pipeline owner
didn’t quickly shut down oper-
ations after a safety system alert-
ed to a possible spill.
Questions remained about the
timeline of the weekend spill,
which fouled beaches and a pro-
tected marshland, potentially
closing them for weeks along with
commercial and recreational fish-
ing in a major hit to the local econ-
omy.
Some reports of a possible spill,
a petroleum smell and an oily
sheen on the waters off Hunting-
ton Beach came in Friday night
but weren’t corroborated and the
pipeline’s operator, Amplify En-
ergy Corp., didn’t report a spill un-
til the next morning, authorities
said.
An alarm went off in a company
control room at 2:30 a.m. Saturday
that pressure had dropped in the
pipeline, indicating a possible leak
but Amplify waited until 6:01 a.m.
to shut down the pipeline, accord-
ing to preliminary findings of an
investigation into the spill.
The Houston-based company
took another three hours to notify
the U.S. Coast Guard’s National
Response Center for oil spills, in-
vestigators said, further slowing
the response to an accident for
which Amplify workers spent
years preparing.
However, Amplify CEO Martyn
Willsher insisted that the compa-
ny wasn’t aware of the spill until it
saw a sheen on the water at 8:09
a.m.
The company’s spill-response
plan calls for the immediate noti-
fication of a spill. Criminal charg-
es have been brought in the past
when a company took too long to
notify federal and state officials of
a spill.
On Tuesday, federal transporta-
tion investigators said the pipe
was split open at a depth of about
98 feet and a nearly milelong sec-
tion was pulled along the sea floor,
possibly by an anchor that hooked
it and caused a partial tear, federal
transportation investigators said.
“The pipeline has essentially
been pulled like a bow string,”
Willsher said. “At its widest point,
it is 105 feet away from where it
was.”
Huge cargo ships regularly
cross above the pipeline as they
head into the gigantic Los An-
geles-Long Beach port complex.
They are given coordinates where
they are to anchor until unloading.
The spill sent up to 126,000 gal-
lons of heavy crude into the ocean
but animal rescuers ashore have
been pleasantly surprised to find
few birds covered in oil.
During a two-hour boat tour off
Huntington Beach coastline, an
AP video journalist saw no visible
oil. Pelicans and other sea birds
floated on calm waters, and four
dolphins swam by the boat.
Meanwhile, Coast Guard offi-
cials defended their decision to
wait until Saturday morning to in-
vestigate a possible spill first re-
ported Friday night — some 10
hours earlier — near a cluster of
boats that were anchored off Hun-
tington Beach.
At 2:06 a.m. Saturday, the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration said satellite im-
ages showed the strong likelihood
of an oil slick. The report was
made to the National Response
Center, a hazardous spill hotline
staffed by the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard was alerted to
a sheen on the water by a “good
Samaritan” but did not have
enough corroborating evidence
and was hindered by darkness and
a lack of technology to seek out the
spill, Coast Guard Rear Adm.
Brian Penoyer told The Associat-
ed Press.
Penoyer said it was fairly com-
mon to get reports of oil sheens in
a major seaport.
“In hindsight, it seems obvious,
but they didn’t know that at that
time,” Penoyer said.
Ship anchor may have caused spillInvestigators find pipelineowner didn’t act quickly
Associated Press
RINGO H.W. CHIU/AP
Workers in protective suits clean the contaminated beach after an oil spill in Huntington Beach, Calif., onTuesday. A major oil spill off the coast of Southern California fouled popular beaches and killed wildlifewhile crews scrambled Sunday, to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Cali-
fornia has been a leader in restrict-
ing offshore oil drilling since the in-
famous 1969 Santa Barbara spill
that sparked the modern environ-
mental movement, and the latest
spill off Huntington Beach is
prompting fresh calls for an end to
such drilling.
That’s easier said than done, even
in California. While the state hasn’t
issued a new lease in state water in
five decades, drilling from existing
platforms continues. Similarly, an
effort in Congress that aims to halt
new drilling in federal waters —
more than 3 miles off the coast —
wouldn’t stop drilling that’s already
happening.
Speaking from Huntington
Beach on Tuesday, California Gov.
Gavin Newsom acknowledged it’s
easier to resist new drilling than to
wind down what already exists.
“Banning new drilling is not com-
plicated,” he said. “The deeper
question is how do you transition
and still protect the workforce?”
Today, there are 19 oil and gas
agreements in California’s coastal
waters and 1,200 active wells. In fed-
eral waters, there are 23 oil and gas
production facilities off the state’s
coast. A pipeline connected to one of
those platforms in federal waters,
run by Houston-based Amplify En-
ergy, has spilled up to 126,000 gal-
lons of heavy crude in one of the
worst oil spills in recent California
history.
Newsom said there is now a new
sense of urgency to curb oil produc-
tion, including by issuing more per-
mits for well abandonment.
“It’s time, once and for all, to dis-
abuse ourselves that this has to be
part of our future. This is part of our
past,” he said alongside other elect-
ed officials.
California remains the nation’s
seventh-largest oil producing state,
and winding down oil production
has proved politically difficult. The
industry employs more than 150,000
people and the state makes money
from oil and gas leases.
Newsom highlighted the steps
he’s taken to curb reliance on oil
since he took office in 2019, includ-
ing a plan to end oil production in the
state by 2045 and stop selling new
gas-powered cars by 2035. Still, his
administration continues to issue
new oil drilling permits offshore and
on land, though in 2020 it issued
more permits to close wells than to
open new ones, said Jacob Roper, a
spokesman for the state Depart-
ment of Conservation.
Offshore, there are nearly 1,200
active wells in California waters, ac-
cording to state data compiled by
FracTracker Alliance. About 370
wells are idle, while nearly 1,300
have been plugged. Five permits
have been granted to drill new off-
shore wells during Newsom’s ten-
ure, according to the group.
Efforts to plug and decommission
several state oil platforms are un-
derway, but the process is costly and
time consuming. It’s expected to
cost more than $800 million to de-
commission wells in the Wilming-
ton Oil Fields off the coast of Long
Beach. The state has just $300 mil-
lion set aside.
Calif. oil spill renews calls to ban offshore drillingAssociated Press
Thursday, October 7, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 11
AMERICAN ROUNDUP
Woman killed while tryingto help dog on highway
AL ALBERTVILLE — A
woman who was trying
to save a stray dog on a highway in
north Alabama died after she was
struck by a vehicle during the res-
cue attempt, police said.
Christina Nicole Green, 31, of
Decatur was a passenger in a vehi-
cle traveling on U.S. 431 Saturday
night when she saw a dog trying to
cross traffic and wanted to help it
get out of the road, WAFF-TV re-
ported.
The driver of the vehicle stop-
ped at Green’s request, and she
walked across the northbound
lane and median before being
struck by a pickup truck in the
southbound lane, Albertville po-
lice said.
Green died at the scene, and the
driver of the pickup was not hurt.
No charges were filed, and it
wasn’t immediately clear what
happened to the dog.
2 cops hurt, 5 teensarrested in school brawl
FL FORT LAUDERDALE
— Two officers were in-
jured and five teens were arrested
after a large fight broke out at a
South Florida high school just af-
ter the dismissal bell.
Fort Lauderdale Police said the
school resource officer at Dillard
High School was notified there
was a big brawl on campus and
was injured when he intervened.
He was taken to the hospital with
serious but not life threatening in-
juries, Detective Ali Adamson
said.
Police didn’t say what prompt-
ed the fight or how many were in-
volved, but said five were arrested
and face charges including disor-
derly conduct, resisting arrest,
and battery on a law enforcement
officer. A 17-year-old girl was
charged with battery on a law en-
forcement officer and resisting
with violence, police said.
State fair attendancehealthy after year’s layoff
IL SPRINGFIELD — State
officials are celebrating
attendance at this year’s Illinois
State Fair after it was canceled in
2020 because of the COVID-19
pandemic.
The state Department of Agri-
culture reported that the Spring-
field-based festival in August at-
tracted 472,390. Since 2014, when
the agency started formally track-
ing attendance, that’s second only
to the 508,900 who attended in
2019.
Given the the turnstile count in
2019, State Fair Manager Kevin
Gordon said “the bar was set pret-
ty high” for attendance after a
year’s layoff.
2 polar bears leaving zooafter recommendations
MD BALTIMORE — The
two polar bears living
at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
are moving to new locations after
recommendations from a non-
profit organization which focuses
on animal care and welfare, offi-
cials said.
A news release says Neva and
Amelia Gray came to the Mary-
land Zoo as 2-year-olds in 2018
from the Columbus Zoo & Aquar-
ium and are half-sisters.
Based on the recommendations
from the Association of Zoos &
Aquariums, Amelia Gray will go
to the Oregon Zoo in Portland to
join her half-sister Nora.
Neva will move to an accredited
zoo on a breeding recommenda-
tion and will eventually be paired
with an older male polar bear, ac-
cording to the news release.
With the move, both habitat sec-
tions at Polar Bear Watch at the
zoo will now be solely for the use of
the grizzly bears, Nova and Nita.
Cops: Woman stole SUVwith 5 kids inside
NC CURRITUCK — A
Virginia woman is ac-
cused of stealing an SUV with five
children inside after the driver
had stopped to help her following
a multicar crash, a North Carolina
sheriff’s office said.
The Currituck County Sheriff’s
Office said in a news release that
the SUV driver stopped and got
out to assist after witnessing the
crash on U.S. Highway 158 in
Grandy. One of the drivers in-
volved in the crash got out of their
car, jumped into the SUV and
drove off with the children, the
news release said.
Deputies chased the SUV down
Caratoke Highway to a conve-
nience store, where deputies ap-
prehended the suspect after she
got out of the vehicle and ran, the
sheriff’s office said.
The children were described as
“extremely shaken but not
harmed,” according to the news
release.
Multiple charges were filed
against Markell Hancox of Chesa-
peake, Va., including five counts
of second-degree kidnapping.
She is jailed on a $210,000 bond.
Record number of gunsfound at Memphis airport
TN MEMPHIS — Trans-
portation Security Ad-
ministration officers at Memphis
International Airport in Tennes-
see discovered a record number of
guns at security checkpoints this
year, officials said.
TSA security officers have
found 48 firearms in carry-on bag-
gage in 2021, surpassing the re-
cord of 47 guns set in 2018 and
again last year, the agency said in
a statement.
Travelers face criminal and civ-
il penalties for bringing firearms
to a security checkpoint.
Guns can be transported on a
commercial aircraft only if they
are unloaded, packed in a locked,
hard-sided case and placed in
checked baggage.
City apologizes for 1887Chinatown destruction
CA SAN FRANCISCO —
The city of San Jose
was once home to one of the large-
st Chinatowns in California. In the
heart of downtown, it was the cen-
ter of life for Chinese immigrants
who worked on nearby farms and
orchards.
More than a century after arso-
nists burned it to the ground in
1887, the San Jose City Council
last week unanimously approved
a resolution to apologize to Chi-
nese immigrants and their de-
scendants for the role the city
played in “systemic and institu-
tional racism, xenophobia, and
discrimination.”
San Jose, with a population over
1 million, is the largest city in the
country to formally apologize to
the Chinese community for its
treatment of their ancestors.
In May, the city of Antioch apol-
ogized for its mistreatment of Chi-
nese immigrants, who had to built
tunnels so they could return home
after work because they were
banned from walking the streets
after sundown.
“It’s important for members of
the Chinese American community
to know that they are seen and that
the difficult conversations around
race and historic inequities in-
clude the oppression that their an-
cestors suffered,” San Jose Mayor
Sam Liccardo said.
Male tiger kills female inbreeding intro in Tacoma
WA TACOMA — A female
Sumatran tiger from
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in
Tacoma has died after another ti-
ger attacked her during a breed-
ing introduction, officials said.
Six-year-old tiger Kirana, who
was born at the zoo, died Monday,
The News Tribune reported.
Zoo staff had slowly introduced
Kirana and Raja, the zoo’s 2-year-
old male Sumatran tiger as part of
a plan to help save the endangered
species.
The two were closely monitored
and separated by a mesh door,
staff said.
When zoo keepers removed the
barrier to allow the tigers to meet
physically Friday, Kirana was at-
tacked and staff moved quickly to
separate them, officials said.
KRISTOPHER RADDER/AP
Tom Gilbert, crossing guard for Windham Southeast Supervisory Union, helps students cross Western Avenue in Brattleboro, Vt., on Monday.
Wet walk
THE CENSUS
$1M The street value of methamphetamines seized in Oregon’slargest bust ever. Federal and local police say they arrested
the leader of a drug trafficking cell, Martin Manzo-Negrete, 47, on Sept. 15 inEugene. Manzo-Negrete was charged with possession with intent to distributemethamphetamine.
From The Associated Press
PAGE 12 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, October 7, 2021
NATION
BENICIA, Calif. — The machine
Ted Bowman helped design can
make water out of the air, and in
parched California, some home-
owners are already buying the pri-
cey devices.
The air-to-water systems work
like air conditioners by using coils to
chill air, then collect water drops in
a basin.
“Our motto is, water from air isn’t
magic, it’s science, and that’s really
what we’re doing with these ma-
chines,” said Ted Bowman, design
engineer at Washington state-based
Tsunami Products.
The system is one of several that
have been developed in recent
years to extract water from humid-
ity in the air. Other inventions in-
clude mesh nets, solar panels and
shipping containers that harvest
moisture from the air.
Bowman said his company’s ma-
chines — made for use at homes, of-
fices, ranches and elsewhere — de-
humidify the air, and in doing so
create water that’s filtered to make
it drinkable.
The technology works especially
well in foggy areas and depending
on the size can produce between 200
gallons and 1,900 gallons of water a
day. The machines also operate effi-
ciently in any area with high humid-
ity, including California’s coastline,
he said.
The machines are not cheap,
however, with prices ranging from
$30,000 to $200,000, and require a
significant amount of energy to run.
Still, in California, where residents
have been asked to conserve water
because one of the worst droughts in
recent history has depleted reser-
voirs, some homeowners are buy-
ing them to meet their water needs.
Don Johnson, of Benica, Calif.,
said he bought the smallest ma-
chine, which looks like a towering
AC unit, hoping it would generate
sufficient water to sustain his gar-
den. But he found it puts out more
than enough for his garden and his
household.
“This machine will produce wa-
ter for a lot less than you can buy
bottled water at Costco for, and I be-
lieve, as time goes on and the price
of freshwater through our utilities
goes up, I think it’s going to more
than pay for itself,” he said.
HAVEN DAILY/AP
Ted Bowman, design engineer with Tsunami Products, installs a unit last month in homeowner Don Johnson’s backyard in Benicia, Calif.
In Calif., some buy machineswhich make water out of air
Associated Press
NASA will launch a spacecraft
next month to hit an asteroid — on
purpose — to change its path, test-
ing for the first time a method of
“planetary defense,” the agency
announced Tuesday.
The launch of the Double Aste-
roid Redirection Test mission will
occur at 1:20 a.m. Eastern time on
Nov. 24, NASA said. A SpaceX Fal-
con 9 rocket will be launched from
the Vandenberg Space Force
Base, about 50 miles northwest of
Santa Barbara, Calif.
NASA is targeting a pair of aste-
roids that orbit the sun and occa-
sionally come close to Earth. The
asteroids don’t come close enough
to pose a threat, NASA said, but
their proximity makes them a
prime candidate for the test of a
technique that could someday
prevent a “hazardous asteroid
from striking Earth.”
“We’re going to make sure that a
rock from space doesn’t send us
back to the Stone Age,” Thomas
Statler, a NASA scientist, said on
the agency’s podcast.
The larger of the two asteroids,
Didymos, is about a half-mile
across in size, with a smaller
“moonlet,” called Dimorphos, or-
biting it. Dimorphos, about 500
feet in size, is “more typical of the
size of asteroids that could pose
the most likely significant threat
to Earth,” according to NASA.
Dimorphos is “not necessarily
the asteroid that’s going to cause
[a] devastating effect on Earth,”
Statler said. Rather, the launch is a
“test to make sure that we have the
capabilities for that asteroid in the
future, if there is one.”
The DART mission is aiming to
hit Dimorphos at a speed of nearly
15,000 miles per hour with the goal
of changing its orbit “by a fraction
of 1%” — a small but significant
enough change that scientists will
be able to observe it from tele-
scopes on Earth.
If NASA were to detect an aste-
roid that poses a risk to Earth —
Statler said the agency is not
aware of such a risk over the next
hundred years — it would attempt
to hit it and change its course,
rather than destroy it altogether.
The DART spacecraft will de-
tach from the SpaceX rocket and
cruise in space for more than a
year before it hits Dimorphos
sometime late September next
year, a time when the pair of aste-
roids will be close enough to Earth
— just over 6.8 million miles —
that scientists will be able to see
them.
The interaction will be recorded
by a 31-pound Italian satellite
launching from the spacecraft.
Although the collision isn’t im-
mediately stopping an Earth-shat-
tering asteroid, it is a mission of
“historical proportions,” Statler
said.
It will be “the first time that hu-
manity has actually changed
something in space,” he said.
“We’ve left footprints and tire
tracks and things like that,” Stat-
ler added, “but this will be the first
time humanity has changed a ce-
lestial motion.”
NASA will shoot a
rocket at asteroid
in test of defenseBY BRYAN PIETSCH
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — Some poli-
ticians think they’ve found a silver
bullet for the impasse over the
debt limit, except the bullet is
made of platinum: Mint a $1 tril-
lion coin, token of all tokens, and
use it to flood the treasury with
cash and drive Republicans crazy.
Even its serious proponents —
who are not that many — call it a
gimmick. They have said it is an
oddball way out of an oddball ac-
counting problem that will have
severe consequences to average
people’s pocketbooks and the
economy if it is not worked out in
coming days.
But despite all the jokes about
who should go on the face of the
coin — Chuck E. Cheese? Donald
Trump, to tempt or taunt the GOP?
— there’s scholarship behind it,
too. However improbable, it is
conceivable the government
could turn $1 trillion into a coin of
the realm without lawmakers hav-
ing a say.
How is this possible when the
treasury secretary can’t simply
print money to pay public debts?
It’s because a quirky law from
more than 20 years ago seems to
allow the administration to mint
coins of any denomination without
congressional approval as long as
they’re platinum.
The intent was to help with the
production of commemorative
coins for collectors, not to create a
nuclear option in a fiscal crisis.
Specifically, the law says the
treasury secretary “may mint and
issue platinum bullion coins and
proof platinum coins in accord-
ance with such specifications, de-
signs, varieties, quantities, de-
nominations and inscriptions as
the Secretary, in the Secretary’s
discretion, may prescribe from
time to time.”
This is that time, in the view of
coin advocates. But Treasury Sec-
retary Janet Yellen, the White
House and some Democrats
slapped down the idea Tuesday,
just as past leaders have done
when the going got tough and rad-
ical quick-fixes emerged.
“The only thing kookier would
be a politically inflicted default,”
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said of
the coin.
Said Yellen, “What’s necessary
is for Congress to show that the
world can count on America pay-
ing its debt.” A platinum coin, she
told CNBC, “is really a gimmick.”
Sure it is, said Rohan Grey, a
Willamette University law profes-
sor and expert on fiscal policy.
“The fact that (the coin) repre-
sents an accounting gimmick is a
source of its strength, rather than
a weakness,” Grey wrote in a
2020-21 study in the Kentucky
Law Journal. “The idea of ‘fight-
ing an accounting problem with an
accounting solution’ is entirely co-
herent ... the debt ceiling itself can
be viewed as one big, poorly de-
signed accounting gimmick.”
The United States will hit the
ceiling Oct. 18 unless Congress
acts in time to suspend it. The two
parties are in a stalemate in the
Senate — Republicans unwilling
to join Democrats in what used to
be a routine exercise; Democrats
holding back on using only their
own votes to fix the problem.
That’s what makes a shiny coin
with a 1 and 12 zeroes tempting to
some, if that untested and auda-
cious path would actually work.
But fraught questions arise for
lots of Democrats as well as Re-
publicans: Would they have want-
ed President Donald Trump to be
ordering up mega-coins like Diet
Cokes to his desk? Do they want
the next president to have that
power? Or even this one?
The White House has looked at
all such options “and none of those
options were viable,” press secre-
tary Jen Psaki said. “So, we know
that the only path forward here is
through Congress acting.”
Some politicians advocating for minting a $1T coin to fix debt limit issueBY CALVIN WOODWARD
Associated Press
Thursday, October 7, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 13
WORLD
STOCKHOLM — Two scien-tists won the Nobel Prize forchemistry Wednesday for findingan “ingenious” new way to buildmolecules that can be used tomake everything from medicinesto food flavorings.
The work of Benjamin List ofGermany and Scotland-born Da-vid W.C. MacMillan has allowedscientists to produce those mole-cules more cheaply, efficiently,safely and with significantly lessenvironmental impact.
“It’s already benefiting human-
kind greatly,” said Pernilla Wit-tung-Stafshede, a member of theNobel panel.
Making molecules — which re-quires linking individual atoms to-gether in specific arrangement —is a difficult and slow task. Untilthe beginning of the millennium,chemists had only two methods —or catalysts — to speed up theprocess.
That all changed in 2000, whenList, of the Max Planck Institute,and MacMillan, of Princeton Uni-versity, independently reportedthat small organic molecules can
be used to do the same job as bigenzymes and metal catalysts.
The new method, known asasymmetric organocatalysis, “isused widely today, for example, indrug discovery and in fine chem-icals production,” said Wittung-Stafshede.
Johan Åqvist, chair of the Nobelpanel, called the new method as“simple as it is ingenious.”
“The fact is that many peoplehave wondered why we didn’tthink of it earlier,” he added.
H.N. Cheng, president of theAmerican Chemical Society, said
the laureates developed “newmagic wands.”
Before the laureates’ work, “thestandard catalysts frequentlyused were metals, which fre-quently have environmentaldownsides,” said Cheng. “Theyaccumulate, they leach, they maybe hazardous.”
Peter Somfai, another memberof the committee, stressed the im-portance of the discovery for theworld economy.
“It has been estimated that ca-talysis is responsible for about35% of the world’s GDP, which is a
pretty impressive figure,” he said.“If we have a more environmen-tally friendly alternative, it’s ex-pected that that will make a differ-ence.”
Speaking after the announce-ment, List said the award was a“huge surprise.”
“You really made my day to-day,” the 53-year-old said by tele-phone to the journalists gatheredfor the announcement from his va-cation in Amsterdam.
“When I saw it worked, I did feelthat this could be something big,”he said of his eureka moment.
Chemistry Nobel honors ‘greener’ way to build moleculesAssociated Press
BERLIN — The two parties thatemerged as the likely kingmakersfrom Germany’s election lastmonth said Wednesday that theywill hold talks on a possible newgovernment under the leadershipof outgoing center-left SocialDemocrats.
If ultimately successful, whichis far from certain, the negotia-
tions would send outgoing Chan-cellor Angela Merkel’s center-right Union bloc into oppositionafter 16 years at the helm of Eu-rope’s biggest economy.
But such exploratory talks arethe first of several steps toward anew coalition government, andboth parties said a coalition withthe Union isn’t off the table.
Germany’s Sept. 26 election left
two parties as likely kingmakers:the Greens, who finished third,and the business-friendly FreeDemocrats, who finished fourth.Those two parties could team upwith either the Social Democrats,who narrowly won the electionwith outgoing Vice ChancellorOlaf Scholz as their candidate forthe top job, or the Union for a par-liamentary majority.
The Greens traditionally lean tothe left, while the Free Democratshave mostly allied with the Unionin recent decades.
All four parties have held bilat-eral meetings with each other inrecent days.
On Wednesday, the Greens saidthey had proposed to the FreeDemocrats holding three-way ex-ploratory talks with the Social
Democrats. That combination ap-pears to offer the “biggest over-laps in terms of content,” thoughthere are “significant open ques-tions and differences,” Green co-leader Robert Habeck said.
A little later, the Free Demo-crats said they had accepted —though leader Christian Lindnersounded more cautious about theprospect.
German parties to discuss new government under center-leftAssociated Press
PAGE 14 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, October 7, 2021
FACES
Rose McIver describes
her new sitcom as a lit-
tle like moving into a
college dorm room — if
your roommates happen to be
ghosts.
“Ghosts,” based on the BBC sit-
com of the same name and pre-
miering Thursday stateside on
CBS, is about just that: a group of
spirits trapped in a rundown coun-
try estate in upstate New York
who suddenly find themselves
with new neighbors when Saman-
tha (McIver) and husband Jay
(Utkarsh Ambudkar) inherit
Woodstone Manor and move in.
At first, the ghosts — including a
Prohibition-era lounge singer
(Danielle Pinnock), a hippie
(Sheila Carrasco), an ’80s scout
troop leader (Richie Moriarty), a
Viking explorer (Devon Chandler
Long), a ’90s finance bro (Asher
Grodman) and the wife of an
1800’s robber baron — try to drive
Samantha and Jay out of the
house.
Then, after Sam falls down a
flight of stairs, briefly dies and can
suddenly see her otherworldly
housemates, the dynamics
change.
The premise, McIver said, “re-
minded me of ‘What We Do in the
Shadows’ — that unlikely room-
mate dynamic, with a bit of ‘The
Good Place’ thrown in and that
heightened, stylized goodness,”
she said referring to the FX vam-
pire comedy and the NBC sitcom.
Just like the FX vampire come-
dy and the NBC sitcom, there’s al-
most immediate buy-in on
“Ghosts.” Sure, you’re in the Bad
Place. Sure, there are ghosts living
in your house that only you can
see.
“That’s the difference between
doing a CBS show and an HBO
show. It’s CBS, baby,” Ambudkar
said, laughing. “We gotta get right
to the point. We’re not answering
questions. It’s all action. We’re not
thinking about our moves, we’re
just making them. What’s that?
We’re moving to a haunted house?
We’ve got 22 minutes; we’d better
go. What’s that? We’re already
moved into a haunted house be-
fore the cold open? Let’s do this.”
Ambudkar said he wants
“Ghosts” to be a hangout comedy
like “Friends” or “Seinfeld.”
“A show the whole family can sit
down and watch and really enjoy
and engage in. It’s been a very dif-
ficult 18 months for a lot of people,
and our goal is to create an envi-
ronment of joy and fun and heart,”
the 37-year-old actor said.
The beauty of the show, McIver
said, are the endless plot possibil-
ities. Each ghost brings something
new to the table for her to bounce
off of. The overly optimistic troop
leader reminds her of herself. The
Wall Street golden child repulses
her. There are endless new ghosts
the writers could bring into the
world as they see fit.
“Finding the nuances between
Sam and each of the ghosts is
something I’m looking forward to
playing with,” the “iZombie”
alum, 32, told The News.
Jay, on the other hand, doesn’t
get to see the ghosts. That’s where
years of D-minuses at Tisch pay
off, Ambudkar joked.
“It’s pretty much just me saying
lines. He likes toys. He likes Dun-
geons and Dragons. He likes com-
ic books. He likes food. And he’s
generally just flabbergasted by
what’s going on around him at all
times. There’s a general state of
sarcastic confusion, which is me,
not going to lie,” he said. “Some of
us get hired to act. Some of us get
hired to say the words we were go-
ing to say anyway.”
“Ghosts” isn’t reinventing the
wheel, Ambudkar added. It’s a sil-
ly CBS sitcom with no stakes and
no cliffhangers.
“It’s not rocket science,” he
said. “It’s just some innocent,
good, clean fun.”
Living with the dead‘Ghosts’ make forstrange bedfellowsin new CBS sitcom
BY KATE FELDMAN
New York Daily News
CBS/TNS
Rose McIver and Utkarsh Ambudkar share space with spirited roommates in the CBS sitcom “Ghosts.”
Hoping to reverse a pandemic-
worsened ratings slide for its all-
important awards telecast, the A-
cademy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences announced Tuesday
that film and television producer
Will Packer will produce the 94th
Oscars ceremony.
The prolific Packer’s film cred-
its include
“Girls Trip,”
“Ride Along”
and “Straight
Outta Comp-
ton,” and he
earned an Em-
my nomination
for the 2016 re-
make of
“Roots.” This
will be his first involvement with
the Oscars. Shayla Cowan, chief
of staff of Will Packer Produc-
tions and Will Packer Media, will
serve as co-producer.
“Will is a powerhouse producer
who has enjoyed success across
all movie genres. He’s already
bringing a boundless energy and
a focus on innovation to this
year’s Oscars, to entertain the
widest spectrum of fans. Many
wonderful surprises ahead!” a-
cademy president David Rubin
and chief executive Dawn Hud-
son said in a joint statement.
“The power, the beauty, the ro-
mance of the imagery in movies
has always attracted me,” Packer
said in his own statement. “I’m
fully embracing the challenge of
bringing an ode to one of the most
iconic mediums in the world to
life. What an honor!”
The film academy has strug-
gled for years with an inexorably
declining audience for the Os-
cars. Forced to adjust to the pan-
demic, the producers of the 2021
telecast, Steven Soderbergh, Sta-
cey Sher and Jesse Collins, at-
tempted a number of innovations,
investing the show with a more
cinematic look and reshuffling
the sequence of awards, includ-
ing the best picture category.
In the end, the show drew
largely unenthusiastic reviews
and record-low ratings, with few-
er than 10 million viewers tuning
in, a far cry from the all-time-
high 57.2 million people who
watched the show in 1998 when
the box-office behemoth “Titan-
ic” won best picture.
With the movie business strug-
gling to regain its footing amid
the ongoing pandemic and a num-
ber of high-profile awards hope-
fuls coming down the pike, in-
cluding the sci-fi epic “Dune” and
Steven Spielberg’s remake of
“West Side Story,” the academy
is hoping that brighter days lie
ahead.
Will Packerto producenext Oscars
Will Packer
BY JOSH ROTTENBERG
Los Angeles Times
Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte will be back
for the holidays.
“And Just Like That,” the modern-day reviv-
al of “Sex and the City,” will premiere in De-
cember, HBO Max announced Tuesday.
The series, which was originally announced
in January, reunites original stars Sarah Jessi-
ca Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis as
Carrie Bradshaw, Miranda Hobbs and Char-
lotte York “as they navigate the journey from
the complicated reality of life and friendship in
their 30s to the even more complicated reality
of life and friendship in their 50s.”
Chris Noth, Mario Cantone, David Eigen-
berg and Evan Handler will all reprise their
roles, as will Willie Garson, who died last
month.
“Grey’s Anatomy” alum Sara Ramirez will
join the cast as Che Diaz, “a non-binary, queer,
stand-up comedian that hosts a podcast on
which Carrie Bradshaw is regularly featured.”
LeVar Burton named Rose Parade
grand marshalAfter getting snubbed on the messy search
for the next host of “Jeopardy!,” LeVar Burton
is finally getting his flowers.
On Tuesday, the Tournament of Roses
named the beloved actor and TV host grand
marshal of the 2022 Rose Parade, which will
take place in Pasadena on Jan. 1, per New
Year’s Day tradition.
While making the announcement this week,
Tournament of Roses President Bob Miller
showered Burton with praise.
“LeVar Burton perfectly epitomizes this
year’s theme,” Miller said. “The 2022 theme is
‘Dream. Believe. Achieve.’ and celebrates edu-
cation and the determination of those who trav-
el the path from dream to reality.”
“I am thrilled to named Grand Marshall of
the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasede-
na,” Burton tweeted Tuesday afternoon.
“Thank you Tournament of Roses for this high
honor!”
In addition to taking up the historic mantle of
Rose Parade grand marshal, Burton will also
participate in pregame events for the 108th
Rose Bowl college football game.
Billie Eilish becomes youngest star
to headline GlastonburyNineteen-year-old pop singer Billie Eilish
has broken numerous records in her short ca-
reer. Now she will become the Glastonbury
Festival’s youngest-ever solo headliner when
she takes the stage at the 2022 event.
Eilish teased the news on Sunday on Insta-
gram, posing herself wearing a Glastonbury
hoodie in a photo captioned “2022." The festiv-
al's organizers confirmed Monday that the
American singer will perform on June 24.
“This feels like the perfect way for us to re-
turn, and I cannot wait!” organizer Emily Ea-
vis said.
‘Sex and the City’ revival to premiere in December on HBO Max From wire reports
Thursday, October 7, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 15
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stripes.com
OPINION
WASHINGTON
With the United States’ with-
drawal from Afghanistan,
some subtle shifts are under-
way in a Middle East where
countries are exploring new regional partner-
ships — and reckoning with a world where the
leading superpower appears to have lost
some of its sparkle.
These regional realignments are helping
“depressurize” an area that has been danger-
ously stressed in recent years. Countries in-
creasingly are trying to solve their own prob-
lems, through regional economic links, rather
than depending on U.S. military might. The
danger is that some countries may turn to Chi-
na as a new security partner, to replace what
they see as an unreliable United States.
The most notable diplomatic initiatives in-
clude Iranian talks with Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates, and a UAE rapproche-
ment with Turkey and Qatar. In each case, the
shared agenda is trade and economic pros-
perity. U.S. diplomacy has encouraged this
“deconfliction,” but its momentum is outside
Washington’s control.
The new tone was evident during a tour of
the region last week by Jake Sullivan, Presi-
dent Joe Biden’s national security adviser.
Sullivan stopped in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and
Cairo. In each capital, officials expressed
their desire for U.S. diplomatic and military
support, but voiced frustration with erratic
U.S. policy, according to officials from all
sides.
The region’s thorniest conflict is in Yemen.
The United States is working with U.N. Spe-
cial Envoy Hans Grundberg on a new peace
plan in which the Saudis would allow the Unit-
ed Nations to monitor the port in Hodeida and
the airport in Sanaa. In exchange, the Saudis
want the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels to ac-
cept a cease-fire, a demand the Houthis
haven’t yet met.
Yemen has partly been a Saudi-Iranian
proxy war, so the diplomatic Riyadh-Tehran
opening may aid the fledgling peace effort. Al-
ready, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have
ceased missile attacks against the Saudis,
though the Houthis continue to launch mis-
siles and drones from the south. U.S. officials
hope that this month’s Group of 20 meeting,
which Saudi Arabia will attend, may offer a fo-
rum for ending the catastrophic conflict.
Saudi contacts with Iran have been led by
Khalid al-Humaidan, the head of Saudi intelli-
gence, working through Iraqi mediators. The
Iranians are said to have expanded these con-
tacts under the new hard-line President Ebra-
him Raisi. For both sides, it appears to be a
pragmatic maneuver: The Saudis have con-
cluded that the United States isn’t going to top-
ple the mullahs, and that future stability will
be enhanced by mutual investment — and
eventually, a resumption of diplomatic rela-
tions. The Iranians are said to be ready to reo-
pen an embassy in Riyadh immediately.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Sal-
man remains the stress point in the U.S.-Saudi
relationship. Sullivan repeated warnings
from previous U.S. visitors that MBS, as the
crown prince is known, must accept respon-
sibility for the murder of Washington Post
contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi,
which the CIA believes he authorized. MBS
repeated his past denials of personal involve-
ment but said he has taken steps to make sure
that such an incident won’t happen again.
MBS complained to Sullivan that he gets no
credit for modernizing the kingdom and ex-
panding women’s rights. U.S. officials respon-
ded that there’s a bipartisan demand in Con-
gress that Riyadh do more on human rights. In
this stalemate, Saudi Arabia is likely to hedge
its options, expanding ties with China and
Russia without breaking links with Washing-
ton.
The new Middle East catechism of “no ene-
mies, no problems” was formulated in the
UAE. Sullivan heard an explanation from
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the country’s
de facto ruler, who’s known as MBZ. The
United States withdrawal from Afghanistan
has hit the UAE hard, in part because several
sons of MBZ fought in the U.S.-led coalition
there.
The UAE leader, troubled by what he sees
as the unpredictable zigs and zags in U.S. pol-
icy, floated a provocative remedy. He sug-
gested that the UAE’s future relationship with
the United States might be more stable if it
were anchored by a formal security pact —
not a treaty alliance like NATO, necessarily,
but a pact that had a congressional stamp of
approval. U.S. officials are mulling this idea.
The UAE has a budding relationship with
China, too. The Chinese have even talked of a
port in the UAE as a key node in their Belt and
Road Initiative for Chinese-led global eco-
nomic development, according to media re-
ports. Anwar Gargash, a top UAE diplomat,
said last weekend his country was worried by
“a looming Cold War” between the United
States and China. “The idea of choosing is
problematic,” he said.
For the Middle East, which has been buffet-
ed by the United States’ 20 years of war in the
region, the withdrawal from Afghanistan
marked an inflection point. The United States’
traditional partners are still in the game with
us, but the deck has been reshuffled.
Realignments are helping depressurize the MideastBY DAVID IGNATIUS
Washington Post Writers Group
Sixty years ago, Oct. 6, 1961, the condi-
tion of the world had reached such a
point that President John F. Kenne-
dy advised Americans nationwide to
prepare fortified shelters, ideally under-
ground, and stock them with everything
needed to live for weeks.
The existential menace embodied by fal-
lout shelters has been defanged by time.
Now, the little cells are part of a gauzy mid-
century nostalgia, much like tail fins on cars
and dancing the twist. With a little effort,
though, one might imagine the dread that
must have permeated a society upon learn-
ing that its preeminent leader felt nuclear
war could be near.
Kennedy said, in effect: Make it a priority
to have a blast-protected hole in the ground,
close enough to reach in a matter of minutes,
where you can wait out a lethal dose of radi-
ation before surfacing into a hellscape where
hundreds of millions of people are dead.
It is fashionable to say that the United
States is at its low point, and that the rest of
the world is going to blazes, too. We are more
divided, more demoralized, more deceived
than ever before. Our problems are too large
for our leaders, who are too small for their
jobs.
There is a lot of truth in that diagnosis. We
have allowed ourselves to become deeply di-
vided, living in politically homogeneous en-
claves, feeding on information that rein-
forces our biases, waging culture wars for
fun and profit. We magnify small differences
even as we deny common purposes. The re-
sulting erosion of trust cripples the nation’s
ability to meet both internal and external
challenges.
What the diagnosis gets wrong is the his-
torical dimension. Little is happening now
that has not happened before, in some shape
or form. Today’s climate crisis, for example,
only appears more menacing than the poten-
tial nuclear holocaust of the Kennedy years
because one is in the foreground while the
other has receded. Today’s immigration cri-
sis feels more urgent than the immigration
crisis of a century ago only because this one is
ours. Today’s racial reckoning feels unusual-
ly raw because it is happening to us — not be-
cause it is somehow more painful than lynch-
ings or chattel slavery.
Charles Dickens was onto something
when he wrote of the French Revolution: “It
was the best of times, it was the worst of
times.” Every era and generation contains
elements of both: concurrent seasons of light
and darkness. To deny this is to reveal a
shortage of historical understanding.
What distinguishes the present age is the
widespread and lucrative focus on the apoc-
alyptic: the magnification of threats and min-
imizing of opportunities; the exaggeration of
differences; the desire to see things as worse
than they are. We invent ever-more-outland-
ish conspiracies, impute ever-baser motives,
foretell ever-bleaker futures.
Fear sells.
This is why courage has been revered
throughout history as a cardinal human vir-
tue. Courage has many facets, but each re-
flects an individual’s choice to be the best
person possible in even the worst of times.
Courage is not the antithesis of fear, for it
would not have any meaning in the absence
of fear. Rather, courage acknowledges fear
but refuses to be mastered by it.
Like all virtues, courage is an individual
choice — though tremendous damage can be
done by leaders who operate on fear rather
than courage. Those with open eyes can see
such leaders everywhere they look: leaders
in government and industry stoking fear of
enemies, fear of conspiracies, fear of calami-
ties, fear of the future.
The moral weakness of these fearmongers
demands courage from the rest of us. We
must recognize appeals to fear and reject
them — even if the fear being invoked feels
real and true and justified to us. Indeed, se-
ductive fears are the ones we are especially
called to rise above.
If you feel, as so many do today, that these
are some of America’s worst days, if you fear
for the future of this democratic republic,
then your duty is to master the fear and re-
fuse to be governed by it. If the voice on TV is
trying to scare you, turn it off. If your social
media leave you anxious, shut them down.
Let the worst of times bring out the best of
you, for a light shines brightest in the dark.
Fear sells. We can be courageous and not give in to it.BY DAVID VON DREHLE
The Washington Post
Washington Post columnist David Von Drehle is the author offour books, including “Rise to Greatness: Abraham Lincoln andAmerica’s Most Perilous Year.”
PAGE 16 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, October 7, 2021
ACROSS
1 Tennis great
Steffi
5 Big mouth
8 Queue after Q
12 Bellow
13 Hollywood’s
Lupino
14 Get wind of
15 Texter’s “As
I see it”
16 Fish-fowl insert
17 Knitting fiber
18 Outlaw-chasing
groups
20 Viral video, e.g.
22 “Relax!”
26 Insertion mark
29 Chef Garten
30 Dean’s list stat
31 Pencil filler
32 Identify
33 Bridge coup
34 Gallery display
35 Luau dish
36 Well-versed
folks?
37 “Relax!”
40 Mine find
41 Saudi neighbor
45 Russian refusal
47 “Awesome!”
49 Mid-month date
50 Roll call reply
51 Guitar’s kin
52 Bart’s sister
53 Colleen
54 Standard
55 Trendy low-
carb diet
DOWN
1 Clench
2 QB Tony
3 Contented
sounds
4 Iced, as a
cupcake
5 Capital of
Belarus
6 Commotion
7 Heating (up)
8 Limerick feature
9 Erne
10 Sailor
11 Coffee vessel
19 Nosh
21 LAX info
23 “Old MacDonald”
refrain
24 Quarrel
25 Orange veggies
26 Family
27 Sleek, in
car lingo
28 Noisy snakes
32 Start, as an
engine
33 Vegan beverage
35 Group of seals
36 Opposite of
“post-”
38 Carries
39 Actress Winona
42 Actress Falco
43 Tree house
44 Golfer Aoki
45 Stanley Cup org.
46 Verily
48 Alias letters
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
PAGE 18 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, October 7, 2021
SCOREBOARD
(2-3)Yale (2-1) at Dartmouth (3-0)Old Dominion (1-4) at Marshall (2-3)Merrimack (3-2) at Sacred Heart (2-3)Va. Lynchburg (0-1) at Delaware St. (2-3)Charleston Southern (1-2) at Robert
Morris (1-2)Wake Forest (5-0) at Syracuse (3-2)Uconn (0-6) at Umass (0-5)SMU (5-0) at Navy (1-3)Stony Brook (1-4) at Towson (1-3)
SOUTHSouth Carolina (3-2) at Tennessee (3-2)Vanderbilt (2-3) at Florida (3-2)Arkansas (4-1) at Mississippi (3-1)Georgia Tech (2-3) at Duke (3-2)North Alabama (0-5) at NC A&T (2-2)SE Louisiana (3-1) at Nicholls (2-2)Morehead St. (2-2) at Presbyterian (2-2)Chattanooga (2-2) at VMI (3-2)Furman (2-2) at Wofford (1-3)Tennessee Tech (1-4) at NC Central (2-3)Kennesaw St. (3-1) at Hampton (2-2)Villanova (3-1) at James Madison (4-0)Virginia (3-2) at Louisville (3-2)Jackson St. (3-1) at Alabama A&M (3-1)Murray St. (2-2) at UT Martin (3-1)Grambling St. (2-3) at Alcorn St. (2-2)Ark.-Pine Bluff (1-3) at Alabama St. (2-2)Georgia (5-0) at Auburn (4-1)Middle Tennessee (2-3) at Liberty (4-1)FAU (3-2) at UAB (3-2)Florida St. (1-4) at North Carolina (3-2)
ScheduleThursday’s games
SOUTHHouston (4-1) at Tulane (1-4)
SOUTHWESTCoastal Carolina (5-0) at Arkansas St.
(1-4).Friday’s games
EASTMorgan St. (0-4) at Howard (1-4)
SOUTHCharlotte (3-2) at FIU (1-4)
MIDWESTTemple (3-2) at Cincinnati (4-0)
FAR WESTStanford (3-2) at Arizona St. (4-1)
Saturday’s gamesEAST
Elon (2-3) at Maine (1-3)Bryant (3-2) at Duquesne (3-1)Michigan St. (5-0) at Rutgers (3-2)Stetson (2-2) at Marist (1-2)Bucknell (1-3) at Lafayette (1-4)Colgate (2-3) at Brown (0-3)Cornell (0-3) at Harvard (3-0)Wagner (0-5) at Fordham (2-3)Princeton (3-0) at Monmouth (NJ) (3-2)Columbia (2-1) at CCSU (1-3)Lehigh (0-5) at Penn (1-2)Delaware (3-1) at Rhode Island (4-0)LIU Brooklyn (0-3) at St. Francis (Pa.)
Albany (NY) (0-4) at William & Mary (3-1)Mercer (3-1) at W. Carolina (0-5)Stephen F. Austin (3-2) at Jacksonville
St. (2-3)SE Missouri (1-4) at Austin Peay (2-3)The Citadel (2-2) at ETSU (5-0)MVSU (1-3) at Bethune-Cookman (0-5)Texas Southern (1-3) vs. Southern U.
(2-2) at Arlington, TexasCampbell (2-2) at Gardner-Webb (2-3)Abilene Christian (3-2) at E. Kentucky
(3-2)SC State (1-3) at Florida A&M (2-2)East Carolina (3-2) at UCF (2-2)Georgia Southern (2-3) at Troy (2-3)UTEP (4-1) at Southern Miss. (1-4)UTSA (5-0) at W. Kentucky (1-3)LSU (3-2) at Kentucky (5-0)Notre Dame (4-1) at Virginia Tech (3-1)Georgia St. (1-4) at Louisiana-Monroe
(2-2)MIDWEST
Akron (1-4) at Bowling Green (2-3)San Diego (1-4) at Butler (2-3)N. Illinois (3-2) at Toledo (3-2)Maryland (4-1) at Ohio St. (4-1)W. Illinois (1-4) at Indiana St. (2-3)Dayton (2-2) at Drake (2-3)N. Iowa (3-1) at N. Dakota St. (4-0)Valparaiso (1-4) at St. Thomas (Minn.)
(2-2)Missouri St. (3-1) at Youngstown St. (1-3)North Dakota (2-2) at South Dakota (3-2)S. Illinois (4-1) at S. Dakota St. (4-0)
Wisconsin (1-3) at Illinois (2-4)Cent. Michigan (2-3) at Ohio (1-4)Ball St. (2-3) at W. Michigan (4-1)Miami (Ohio) (2-3) at E. Michigan (3-2)Penn St. (5-0) at Iowa (5-0)North Texas (1-3) at Missouri (2-3)Buffalo (2-3) at Kent St. (2-3)Michigan (5-0) at Nebraska (3-3)
SOUTHWESTOklahoma (5-0) vs. Texas (4-1) at DallasWest Virginia (2-3) at Baylor (4-1)Lamar (2-2) at Sam Houston St. (4-0)Northwestern St. (0-4) at Houston Bap-
tist (0-4)TCU (2-2) at Texas Tech (4-1)South Alabama (3-1) at Texas State (1-3)Alabama (5-0) at Texas A&M (3-2)Memphis (3-2) at Tulsa (1-4)
FAR WESTE. Washington (5-0) at N. Colorado (2-3)Dixie St. (0-4) at Montana (3-1)UC Davis (5-0) at Idaho St. (0-4)Boise St. (2-3) at BYU (5-0)San Jose St. (3-2) at Colorado St. (1-3)Oregon St. (4-1) at Washington St. (2-3)Cal Poly (1-4) at Montana St. (4-1)Portland St. (2-3) at Idaho (1-3)Wyoming (4-0) at Air Force (4-1)Utah (2-2) at Southern Cal (3-2)New Mexico (2-3) at San Diego St. (4-0)S. Utah (1-4) at Sacramento St. (2-2)UCLA (3-2) at Arizona (0-4)New Mexico St. (1-5) at Nevada (3-1)
COLLEGE FOOTBALLPRO FOOTBALL
NFL
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
East
W L T Pct PF PA
Buffalo 3 1 0 .750 134 44
Miami 1 3 0 .250 62 109
N.Y. Jets 1 3 0 .250 47 94
New England 1 3 0 .250 71 70
South
W L T Pct PF PA
Tennessee 2 2 0 .500 95 111
Houston 1 3 0 .250 67 116
Indianapolis 1 3 0 .250 83 97
Jacksonville 0 4 0 .000 74 115
North
W L T Pct PF PA
Baltimore 3 1 0 .750 105 92
Cincinnati 3 1 0 .750 92 75
Cleveland 3 1 0 .750 100 67
Pittsburgh 1 3 0 .250 67 93
West
W L T Pct PF PA
Denver 3 1 0 .750 83 49
L.A. Chargers 3 1 0 .750 95 74
Las Vegas 3 1 0 .750 104 100
Kansas City 2 2 0 .500 134 125
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
East
W L T Pct PF PA
Dallas 3 1 0 .750 126 97
Washington 2 2 0 .500 101 122
N.Y. Giants 1 3 0 .250 83 95
Philadelphia 1 3 0 .250 94 106
South
W L T Pct PF PA
Carolina 3 1 0 .750 97 66
Tampa Bay 3 1 0 .750 122 105
New Orleans 2 2 0 .500 94 69
Atlanta 1 3 0 .250 78 128
North
W L T Pct PF PA
Green Bay 3 1 0 .750 95 100
Chicago 2 2 0 .500 64 91
Minnesota 1 3 0 .250 94 92
Detroit 0 4 0 .000 81 119
West
W L T Pct PF PA
Arizona 4 0 0 1.000 140 85
L.A. Rams 3 1 0 .750 115 99
San Francisco 2 2 0 .500 107 102
Seattle 2 2 0 .500 103 100
Thursday’s game
L.A. Rams at Seattle
Sunday’s games
N.Y. Jets vs Atlanta at London, UKDenver at PittsburghDetroit at MinnesotaGreen Bay at CincinnatiMiami at Tampa BayNew England at HoustonNew Orleans at WashingtonPhiladelphia at CarolinaTennessee at JacksonvilleChicago at Las VegasCleveland at L.A. ChargersN.Y. Giants at DallasSan Francisco at ArizonaBuffalo at Kansas City
Monday’s game
Indianapolis at Baltimore
PRO SOCCER
MLS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W L T Pts GF GA
New England 20 4 5 65 57 34
Nashville 11 3 14 47 46 26
Philadelphia 11 7 9 42 36 26
Orlando City 11 8 9 42 41 41
D.C. United 12 12 4 40 49 41
NYCFC 11 10 7 40 44 32
CF Montréal 11 10 7 40 40 37
Atlanta 10 9 9 39 37 33
New York 9 11 7 34 33 30
Columbus 9 12 7 34 32 39
Inter Miami CF 9 13 5 32 25 42
Chicago 7 16 6 27 29 46
Toronto FC 6 15 7 25 34 54
Cincinnati 4 15 8 20 28 52
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W L T Pts GF GA
Seattle 16 5 6 54 44 22
Sporting KC 15 6 7 52 51 31
Colorado 13 5 9 48 38 27
Portland 14 10 4 46 45 44
Real Salt Lake 11 11 6 39 45 44
LA Galaxy 11 11 6 39 39 45
Minnesota 10 9 8 38 30 32
Vancouver 9 8 10 37 34 34
LAFC 9 12 7 34 40 41
San Jose 8 11 9 33 35 44
FC Dallas 6 13 10 28 39 47
Houston 5 12 12 27 33 45
Austin FC 7 17 4 25 29 44
Note: Three points for victory, one pointfor tie.
Saturday’s games
Miami at New York Philadelphia at Cincinnati Vancouver at Seattle
Sunday’s game
Colorado at Minnesota
Saturday, Oct. 16
Philadelphia at CF Montréal San Jose at Los Angeles FC Miami at Columbus Chicago at New England Atlanta at Toronto FC Nashville at D.C. United Orlando City at Cincinnati Seattle at Houston Minnesota at Austin FC Colorado at Real Salt Lake Portland at LA Galaxy
NWSL
W L T Pts GF GA
Portland 12 5 2 38 29 13
Reign FC 11 7 2 35 30 19
North Carolina 8 6 5 29 23 13
Chicago 8 7 5 29 22 24
Orlando 7 6 7 28 24 24
Washington 7 7 5 26 21 25
Houston 7 7 5 26 24 23
Gotham FC 6 5 7 25 20 16
Louisville 4 10 5 17 15 31
Kansas City 2 12 5 11 10 30
Note: Three points for victory, one pointfor tie.
Wednesday’s games
Washington at Gotham FCLouisville at North Carolina Houston at Portland
Saturday’s games
Gotham FC at OrlandoLouisville at WashingtonNorth Carolina at Houston
Sunday’s games
Chicago at Reign FCPortland at Kansas City
PRO BASKETBALL
WNBA playoffs(x-if necessary)
First RoundThursday, Sept. 23
No. 6 Chicago 81, No. 7 Dallas 64No. 5 Phoenix 83, No. 8 New York 82
Second RoundSunday, Sept 26
No. 5 Phoenix 85, No. 4 Seattle 80, OTNo. 6 Chicago 89, No. 3 Minnesota 76
Semifinals(Best-of-five)
No. 6 Chicago 2, No. 1 Connecticut 1Chicago 101, Connecticut 95, 2OTConnecticut 79, Chicago 68Chicago 86, Connecticut 83Wednesday: Connecticut at Chicagox-Friday: Chicago at Connecticut
No. 5 Phoenix 2, No. 2 Las Vegas 1Las Vegas 96, Phoenix 90Phoenix 117, Las Vegas 91Phoenix 87, Las Vegas 60Wednesday: Las Vegas at Phoenixx-Friday: Phoenix at Las Vegas
Finals(Best-of-five)
Game 1: SundayGame 2: Wednesday, Oct. 13Game 3: Friday, Oct. 15x-Game 4: Sunday, Oct 17x-Game 5: Tuesday, Oct. 19
Webster. Released LB Rashad Smith fromthe practice squad. Signed RB ArtavisPierce to the practice squad.
CINCINNATI BENGALS — Signed P DrueChrisman and S Michael Thomas to thepractice squad. Released S Sean Davis andCB Tony Brown from the practice squad.
CLEVELAND BROWNS — Signed G HjalteFroholdt. Placed C Nick Harris on injuredreserve. Released LB Elijah Lee.
DALLAS COWBOYS — Released CB Hol-ton Hill from the practice squad. Signed CBIsaiah Johnson to the practice squad.
DENVER BRONCOS — Signed WR JoshMalone to the practice squad. Released CHarry Crider and DB Rojesterman Farrisfrom the practice squad.
DETROIT LIONS — Placed DE Romeo Ok-wara on injured reserve.
HOUSTON TEXANS — Signed WR DavionDavis. Signed OL Jake Eldrenkamp and OTJordan Steckler to the practice squad.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — Signed TE Mi-chael Jacobson to the practice squad. Re-leased TE David Wells from the practicesquad.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS — Activated LB Wil-lie Gay from injured reserve to return topractice. Signed WR Josh Gordon to theactive roster. Placed DE Joshua Kaindohon injured reserve.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS — Signed DTAndrew Brown and LB Josh Watson to thepractice squad.
LOS ANGELES RAMS — Re-signed DB J.R.Reed to the practice squad. Released OLJared Hocker from the practice squad.
MIAMI DOLPHINS — Traded WR JakeenGrant to Chicago in exchange for an undis-closed draft pick. Signed C Austin Reiter.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS — Placed DB Harri-son Hand on the reserve/COVID-19 list.Signed DT T.J. Smith to the practice squad.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS — Placed LTIsaiah Wynn and LG Michael Onwenu onthe reserve/COVID-19 list.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS — Released K Al-drick Rosas. Promoted DE Jalyn Holmesfrom the practice squad to the active ros-ter. Signed DB Bryce Thompson to thepractice squad.
NEW YORK GIANTS — Released OL SamJones and DB Steven Parker from the prac-tice squad. Signed DB Ka’dar Hollman tothe practice squad.
NEW YORK JETS — Placed LB HamsahNasirildeen on injured reserve. PromotedOL Isaiah Williams from the practicesquad to the active roster. Signed RB Aus-tin Waller to the practice squad. ReleasedOL Elijah Nkansah from the practicesquad. Signed OT Isaiah Williams to theactive roster.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES — Placed G SuaOpeta on the reserve/COVID-19 list.Waived WR Michael Walker from injuredreserve.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS — Signed DT EliAnkou to the practice squad.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS — Signed WR Jor-dan Matthews to the practice squad. Re-leased LB Curtis Bolton, RB Kerryon John-son and RB Chris Thompson from the prac-tice squad.
TENNESSEE TITANS — Signed OLB JohnSimon and DL Caraun Reid to the practicesquad. Waived K Tucker McCann from in-jured reserve.
WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM — Pro-moted and signed LB Jordan Kunaszykand CB Danny Johnson from the practicesquad to the active roster. Placed LB JonBostic and CB Torry McTyler on injured re-serve. Signed WR Damion Willis,CB DannyJohnson and K Chris Blewitt to the practicesquad.
HOCKEYNational Hockey League
BUFFALO SABRES — Assigned Fs MatejPekar, Ryan Macinnis, Sean Malone and Li-nus Weissbach, Ds Oksari Laaksonen andG Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to Rochester(AHL).
DALLAS STARS — Signed D Artem Grush-nikov to a three-year contract. AssignedRW Nicholas Caamano to Texas (AHL).
NASHVILLE PREDATORS — Assigned FsMatt Luff, Cole Smith, Ds Frederic Allardand Matt Tennyson to Milwuakee (AHL).Claimed F Rem Pitlick off waivers fromMinnesota.
Heyward, Cs Robinson Chirinos and Wil-son Contreras, RHPs Manuel Rodriguezand Keegan Thompson and 2B Nico Hoer-ner from the 10-day IL. Recalled C MiguelAmaya and LHP Brailym Marquez fromTennessee (Double-A South). RecalledRHP Alexander Vizcaino from South Bend(High-A Central).
CINCINNATI REDS — Reinstated 3B MikeMoustakas, LHP Wade Miley and OFs Sho-go Akiyama and Tyler Naquin from the 10-day IL. Recalled 1B Alex Blandino, 2B AlejoLopez, RHPs Ryan Hendrix and RileyO’Brien, LHP Andrew Heaney and C MarkKolozsvary from Louisville (Triple-A East).
COLORADO ROCKIES — Agreed to termswith RHP Anthony Senzatela on a five-yearcontract and 1B C.J. Crohn on a two-yearcontract. Recalled RHP Tommy Doyle andLHP Yoan Aybar from Hartford (Double-ANortheast). Recalled LHP Helcris Olivaresfrom Spokane (High-A West). Recalled 2BsRio Ruiz, Alan Trejo, LHP Ben Bowden, RHPRyan Feltner, LF Ryan Vilade, 3B JoshuaFuentes and 1B Elehuris Montero from Al-buquerque (Triple-A West).
MIAMI MARLINS — Sent RHP Luis Mad-ero outright to Jacksonville (Triple-AEast). Reinstated LHP Sean Guenther andRHP Edward Cabreara from the 10-day IL.Recalled RHPs Jordan Holloway, SixtoSanchez and Nick Neidert, LHPs BraxtonGarrett and Daniel Castano, 2B Isan Diazand CF Monte Harrison from Jacksonville.Recalled RF Jerar Encarnacion from Pen-sacola (Triple-A East). RHPs Jairo Diaz andAustin Pruitt elected free agency.
NEW YORK METS — Recalled 2B TravisBlankenhorn, RFs Mark Payton, Khalil Lee,RHPs Jake Reid, Jordan Yamamoto, Ste-phen Nogosek, Sean Reid-Foley YennsyDiaz, and Tylor Megill from Syracuse (Tri-ple-A East). Sent C Chance Sisco outrightto Syracuse. Reinstated RHP Drew Smithfrom the 10-day injured list.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES — ActivatedRHPS Archie Bradley and RHP ConnorBrogdon from the 10-day injured list. Re-called RHPs Francisco Morales, JD Ham-mer and Ramon Rosso, LHP Damon Jones,CFs Adam Haseley and Mickey Moniak,2Bs Nick Maton and Luke Williams and CRafael Marcha from Lehigh Valley (Tri-ple-A East).
PITTSBURGH PIRATES — Recalled C Tay-lor Davis, 2B Tucupita Marcano, RHP Mi-guel Yajure, Rodolfo Castro, LF PhillipEvans, CF Jared Oliva and RHP RoansyContreras from Indianapolis Triple-AEast). Reinstated RHPs Tanner Anderson,JT Brubaker, Connor Overton and LuisOviedo abd 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes from th 10-day IL.
SAN DIEGO PADRES — Reinstated RHPsYu Darvish and Chris Paddack and LHPBlake Snell from the 10-day IL. Recalled 2BIvan Castillo, RHPs Shaun Anderson, Pe-dro Avila, Miguel Diaz C Luis Campusano,LHPs Daniel Camerena and Ryan Weath-ers and RF Brian O’Grady from El Paso (Tri-ple-A West). Recalled RHP Reggie Lawsonfrom San Antonio (Double-A Central).
WASHINGTON NATIONALS — Agreed toterms with INF Alcides Escobar on a one-year contract. Recalled RHPs Wander Sue-ro, Gabe Klobosits and Steven Fuentes,LHPs Seth Romero and Sam Clay, C TresBarrera, 1B Mike Ford and CF Victor Roblesfrom Rochester (Triple-A East). RecalledRHP Gerardo Carrillo from Harrisburg(Double-A Northeast). Recalled SS YaselAntuna from Wilmington (High-A East).Reinstate SS Luis Garcia and LHP JoshRogers from the 10-day IL.
FOOTBALLNational Football League
ARIZONA CARDINALS — Re-signed CBLuq Barcoo to the practice squad. Activa-ted WR Josh Doctson to the practice squadfrom the reserve/COVID-19 list. ReleasedCB Quinton Dunbar and OL Michal Menetfrom the practice squad.
ATLANTA FALCONS — Placed CB IsaiahOliver and P Cam Nizialek on injured re-serve. Signed K Elliott Fry and S Shawn Wil-liams to the practice squad. Promoted PDustin Colquitt from the practice squad tothe active roster. Signed DT Mike Pennel.
CAROLINA PANTHERS — Re-signed OLMichael Jordan to the practice squad.
CHICAGO BEARS — Waived WR Nsimba
Tuesday’s transactionsBASEBALL
Major League BaseballAmerican League
BALTIMORE ORIOLES — Reinstated LHPTanner Scott, 2B Ramon Urias, RHPs TylerWells, Chris Ellis and RF Anthony Santan-der from the 10-day IL. Recalled RF YusnielDiaz, LHPs Alexander Wells, Paul Fry, RHPsDean Kramer, Mike Baumann, Zack Burdiand 3B Rylan Bannon from Norfolk (Tri-ple-A East).
BOSTON RED SOX — Recalled 2B Jonath-an Araux, CF Jarren Duran and C ConnorWong from Worcester (Triple-A East).Reassigned LHPs Darwinzon Hernandez,Martin Perez, Chris Sale and Josh Taylor,RHP Hirokazu Sawamura and LF J.D. Marti-nez to the minor leagues. Reinstated LHPJosh Taylor from the 10-day IL.
CLEVELAND INDIANS — Reinstated 2BOwen Miller from the bereavement list.Recalled RHP Carlos Vargas from Akron(Double-A Northeast). Recalled 2B ErnieClement, LHPs Francisco Perez, ScottMoss, Alex Young, Kyle Nelson, RF DanielJohnson, SS Gabriel Arias, RHPs Cam Hill,J.C. Mejia, 3B Nolan Jones from Columbus(Triple-A East).
DETROIT TIGERS — Named Gabe Ribasdirector of pitching. Recalled LHP JoeyWentz and RHP Alex Faedo from Erie (Dou-ble-A Northeast). Recalled RHPs NivaldoRodriguez, Drew Carlton, C Grayson Grein-er and RF Jacob Robson from Toledo (Tri-ple-A East). Reinstated LHPs MatthewBoyd and Gregory Soto from the 10-day IL.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS — ReinstatedRHPs Jakob Junis and Brady Singer, LHPsDnaiel Lynch and Mike Minor from the 10-day IL. Recalled RHPs Ronald Bolanos,Scott Blewett and Tyler Zuber and CF Ed-ward Olivares from Omaha (Triple-A East).
LOS ANGELES ANGELS — Recalled LHPHector Yan from Tri-City (High-A West).Recalled RHPs Janson Junk, Jose Marte,Cooper Criswell, Chris Rodriguez and Grif-fin Canning, LHPs Packy Naughton andJhonathan Diaz and C Chad Wallach fromSalt Lake (Triple-A West). Reinstated RHPsKyle Tyler and Jaime Barria and RF TaylorWard from the 10-day IL.
MINNESOTA TWINS — Reinstated CF RobRefsnyder and RHPs Bailey Ober and JohnGrant from the 10-day IL. Recalled RHPJhoan Duran, CF Gilberto Celestino, LHPAndrew Albers and 3B Drew Maggi fromSt. Paul (Triple-A East).
NEW YORK YANKEES — Designated LHPAndrew Heaney and RHP Brody Koernerfor assignment. Selected the contract ofCF Greg Allen and C Rob Brantley fromScranton/Wilkes-Barre (Triple-A East).Reassigned RHPs Luis Gil, Corey Kluberand Jameson Taillon and LHP JordanMontgomery to the minor leagues.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS — Recalled RHPsGrant Holmes and Wandisson Charles,LHP A.J. Puk and C Austin Allen from LasVegas (Triple-A West). Reinstated SS ElvisAndrus, RF Stephen Piscotty, 2B VimaelMachin, 1B Mitch Moreland and RHP Daul-ton Jefferies from the 10-day IL.
SEATTLE MARINERS — Recalled CF Tay-lor Trammell, C Jose Godoy, LHPs JustusSheffield and Aaron Fletcher, RHPs JoeyGerber, Wyatt Mills and Darren McCaugh-an and 3B Kevin Padlo from Tacoma (Tri-ple-A West).
TEXAS RANGERS — Recalled SS Ander-son Tejeda from Frisco (Double-A Cen-tral). Recalled LF Jason Martin, Cs SamHuff and Yohel Pozo, 2B Sherten Apostel,1B Curtis Terry, RHPs Demarcus Evans,Glenn Ottos and Yerry Rodriguez and LHPsJoe Palumbo and Brock Burke from RoundRock (Triple-A West).
TORONTO BLUE JAYS — Recalled LHPsAnthony Kay, Tayler Saucedo, Kirby Sneadand Ryan Borucki and RHPs Trent Thorn-ton and Bryan Baker from Buffalo (Triple-AEast).
National LeagueARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — Recalled
RHPs Matt Peacock, Brandyn Sittinger,Corbin Martin, Taylor Clarke and J.B. Bu-kauskas, LHP Miguel Aguilar, LF StuartFairchild, 3B Drew Ellis and 2B AndrewYoung from Reno (Triple-A West).
CHICAGO CUBS — Reinstated RF Jason
DEALS
Thursday, October 7, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 19
NBA/NHL
NEW YORK — Kyrie Irving didn’t prac-
tice with the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday,
again remaining away from the team amid
questions about his availability to play in
New York because of the city’s vaccine man-
date.
Coach Steve Nash said he had no further
update about the status of his All-Star guard.
“We support him, we’re here for him.
When things change and there’s a resolu-
tion, we’re here for him,” Nash said.
Irving hasn’t said if he has been vaccinat-
ed against COVID-19, asking for privacy
when pressed about his status during the
team’s media day on Sept. 27. He wasn’t with
his teammates that day at Barclays Center,
instead appearing via Zoom.
New York has a mandate requiring CO-
VID-19 vaccinations for athletes who play in
or practice in the city.
The Nets held training camp last week in
San Diego, with Irving present and practic-
ing, and they ran their first practice at their
training facility in Brooklyn on Tuesday
with everyone except Irving.
Nash said he wasn’t concerned about not
being able to have his full team together, two
weeks before the Nets play the NBA’s sea-
son-opening game at the reigning champion
Milwaukee Bucks.
“We’re just trying to work every day,”
Nash said. “So we came in today and had a
great practice and we’ll do the same tomor-
row and that’s kind of where I’ll leave it.”
The NBA doesn’t require players to be
vaccinated, but those who aren’t face fre-
quent coronavirus testing and severe re-
strictions on their activities. Players in New
York and San Francisco, which has a similar
mandate soon going into effect, won’t be
paid for the games they miss.
The New York Knicks have said their en-
tire team is vaccinated and Andrew Wiggins
recently became the last of the Golden State
Warriors to get a shot, leaving Irving as the
lone player potentially facing a pay cut for
virus reasons.
Nash frequently pointed to a lack of prac-
tice time last season as a problem for the
Nets, with the condensed schedule and coro-
navirus testing forcing them instead to often
opt for rest when they could get it.
He said the team won’t consider holding
practice outside the city, even if it would en-
sure the entire roster would be available.
“No, this is our home and this is where
we’re going to practice and we have almost
the whole group,” Nash said. “So that’s a pos-
itive and we’re just working at getting better
every day and focusing on the things we can
control.”
With Nets back in NY, Irving misses practiceBY BRIAN MAHONEY
Associated Press
ADAM HUNGER/AP
Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving, left,who hasn’t said if he has had a COVIDvaccination, didn’t practice Tuesday.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Owen
Power stood in a sea of maize-clad
fans pumping pompoms and cheer-
ing on Michigan’s football team in a
win over Washington this fall.
Power is 6-foot-5 and has some
notoriety as the No. 1 overall pick in
the NHL Draft, but he blended right
in with his fellow students among
the 108,345 fans under the lights on
an electric night at the Big House.
That’s just the way the 18-year-
old Canadian wanted it.
Power passed on a chance to
make millions this season with the
Buffalo Sabres, who selected the
defenseman No. 1 overall in July.
He decided to stay in school and re-
turn for his sophomore season with
the Wolverines, ranked No. 3 in the
preseason.
“I just thought there’s no need to
rush into it,” he said.
The Mississauga, Ontario, native
is the first player drafted No. 1 over-
all not to go straight to the NHL
since St. Louis selected Erik John-
son in 2006 and he went to play at
Minnesota for a season. He is only
the fourth NCAA player to be draft-
ed No. 1 overall, joining Michigan
State’s Joe Murphy (1986), Boston
University’s Rick DiPietro (2000)
and Johnson.
Power spent last year walking
around a largely empty and eerie
campus in Ann Arbor and played
his freshman season without fans in
the stands because of COVID-19 re-
strictions. Without a doubt, the pan-
demic played a part in Power’s de-
cision to stay.
“He wants a normal year,” Mi-
chigan coach Mel Pearson said.
“He came to college for a reason,
came to the University of Michigan
for a reason: To go to class, to be a
college student, to hang out with
kids, to go to a football game on a
Saturday and enjoy that experi-
ence.”
Amajority of the 2021 NHL Draft
class elected to spend one more sea-
son developing before making the
jump to the world’s top hockey
league, and many of them are Pow-
er’s teammates. Including Tyler
Boucher (Ottawa, No. 10 pick),
who’s committed to play at Boston
University, five of the top 10 draft
choices playing college hockey the
season after they were chosen
matches the total for the previous
four drafts combined.
Dallas Stars general manager
Jim Nill, who came up as a scout
and director of player develop-
ment, believes the pandemic-short-
ened season last year played a role
in this anomaly of so many top picks
going back to school.
“I think the disruption of the sea-
son last year probably comes into
play,” Nill said. “If they played a full
season, would’ve got 50 games in
and gone to a national champion-
ship, played more hockey, devel-
oped more, maybe a different sto-
ry.”
Michigan had to withdraw from
the NCAA Tournament because of
a virus outbreak, but the Wolve-
rines are loaded this season: Four of
the top five NHL Draft picks and
five of the top 24 are wearing maize
and blue this season to take a shot at
winning it all.
The expansion Seattle Kraken
took Matt Beniers No. 2 overall;
New Jersey drafted Luke Hughes
two picks later to eventually pair
him with his brother, Jack, drafted
first overall in 2019; Columbus took
Kent Johnson No. 5 overall; and
Florida selected Mackie Samoskev-
ich No. 24.
“It’s safe to say that they’ve turn-
ed down a considerable amount of
money and investment,” said Mi-
chigan associate head coach Bill
Muckalt, who played in the NHL for
five seasons after winning two na-
tional titles with the Wolverines.
“They still feel that they can get bet-
ter and improve here, and we feel
the same way.”
Michigan has seven first-round
picks — the most in NCAA history
— and 13 players on the roster have
had their names called in the NHL
Draft.
“Everyone expects Michigan to
probably win the national cham-
pionship,” said Jack Hughes, enter-
ing his third season with the Devils.
“It’s like almost like a Duke basket-
ball or Kansas basketball-type
thing, having four of the top five
kids drafted. That’s unheard of, and
Idon’t know if that will ever happen
again.”
PHOTOS BY PAUL SANCYA/AP
Above: University of Michigan defenseman Owen Power, an 18yearold Canadian, was the No. 1 draftchoice by the Buffalo Sabres, but he decided to stay in school and return for his sophomore season withthe Wolverines, ranked No. 3 in the preseason. Below: Michigan center Matty Beniers will also stay inschool though he was drafted No. 2 by the expansion Seattle Kraken.
Top NHL picksstay in school,including No. 1
BY LARRY LAGE
AND JOHN WAWROW
Associated Press
AP hockey writer Stephen Whyno contributed tothis report. Wawrow reported from Buffalo, N.Y.
PAGE 20 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, October 7, 2021
NFL
AFC team statistics
AVERAGE PER GAME
OFFENSE
Yards Rush Pass
Kansas City 427.5 130.2 297.2
Baltimore 420.0 164.5 255.5
Las Vegas 406.5 80.5 326.0
Buffalo 404.0 145.2 258.8
Tennessee 394.5 163.8 230.8
L.A. Chargers 391.0 107.5 283.5
Cleveland 389.2 177.0 212.2
Denver 353.8 121.8 232.0
Indianapolis 326.0 112.0 214.0
Cincinnati 325.5 98.0 227.5
Jacksonville 321.5 112.2 209.2
New England 311.8 68.5 243.2
Pittsburgh 301.8 55.2 246.5
N.Y. Jets 276.2 76.5 199.8
Houston 263.2 83.0 180.2
Miami 252.0 78.2 173.8
DEFENSE
Yards Rush Pass
Buffalo 216.8 68.0 148.8
Cleveland 250.2 66.5 183.8
Denver 267.8 70.0 197.8
New England 306.8 121.8 185.0
Cincinnati 323.0 93.5 229.5
Indianapolis 330.8 114.0 216.8
L.A. Chargers 332.0 139.5 192.5
N.Y. Jets 353.5 127.2 226.2
Pittsburgh 357.8 99.0 258.8
Tennessee 358.2 91.5 266.8
Baltimore 358.8 85.8 273.0
Las Vegas 361.8 132.2 229.5
Miami 388.2 136.8 251.5
Houston 401.8 137.0 264.8
Jacksonville 418.5 106.2 312.2
Kansas City 437.8 146.0 291.8
NFC team statistics
AVERAGE PER GAMEOFFENSE
Yards Rush Pass
Arizona 440.5 136.5 304.0
Dallas 420.8 165.8 255.0
Tampa Bay 399.5 72.0 327.5
Philadelphia 397.5 122.8 274.8
L.A. Rams 391.2 93.0 298.2
Carolina 387.5 107.5 280.0
N.Y. Giants 384.0 101.5 282.5
Minnesota 382.5 112.2 270.2
San Francisco 375.8 114.5 261.2
Detroit 351.8 101.8 250.0
Seattle 350.2 107.0 243.2
Washington 342.0 103.2 238.8
Atlanta 319.5 86.8 232.8
Green Bay 318.0 92.5 225.5
New Orleans 276.8 132.8 144.0
Chicago 237.0 122.8 114.2
DEFENSE
Yards Rush Pass
Carolina 251.5 95.0 156.5
Green Bay 311.5 102.0 209.5
San Francisco 336.2 118.0 218.2
New Orleans 349.2 66.0 283.2
Chicago 350.0 112.0 238.0
Philadelphia 354.2 150.2 204.0
Arizona 357.2 135.8 221.5
Tampa Bay 375.0 47.5 327.5
Detroit 381.2 132.8 248.5
N.Y. Giants 382.0 122.8 259.2
Atlanta 383.2 119.2 264.0
Minnesota 389.0 135.5 253.5
Dallas 396.2 81.0 315.2
L.A. Rams 396.8 123.5 273.2
Washington 417.5 118.5 299.0
Seattle 444.5 152.0 292.5
AFC individual statistics
Quarterbacks
Att Com Yds TD Int
Carr, Las 170 109 1399 8 3
Mahomes, KC 141 102 1218 14 4
Herbert, LAC 164 113 1178 9 3
Jackson, Bal 124 75 1077 4 3
Allen, Buf 156 99 1055 9 2
Tannehill, Ten 151 96 1054 5 3
Roethlisberger, Pit 170 109 1033 4 4
M.Jones, NE 160 112 1012 4 4
Burrow, Cin 107 78 988 9 4
Mayfield, Cle 113 74 935 2 2
Rushers
Att Yds Avg LG TD
Henry, Ten 113 510 4.5 60t 4
Chubb, Cle 69 362 5.2 26t 3
Mixon, Cin 83 353 4.3 27 2
Edwards-Helaire, KC 58 291 5.0 17 0
Ekeler, LAC 50 283 5.7 20 2
Jackson, Bal 42 279 6.6 31 2
Taylor, Ind 58 274 4.7 38 1
Singletary, Buf 49 259 5.3 46t 1
Gordon, Den 51 248 4.9 70t 2
J.Robinson, Jac 49 238 4.9 21 3
Receivers
No Yds Avg LG TD
Hill, KC 30 453 15.1 75t 4
Cooks, Hou 28 369 13.2 52 1
Brown, Bal 19 326 17.2 49t 3
Kelce, KC 24 312 13.0 46t 3
Williams, LAC 23 306 13.3 43 4
Diggs, Buf 26 305 11.7 41 1
Chase, Cin 17 297 17.5 50t 4
Ruggs, Las 14 297 21.2 61t 1
Allen, LAC 28 294 10.5 42 1
Pittman, Ind 23 279 12.1 42 0
Punters
No Yds Lg Avg
Cole, Las 19 978 67 51.5
Cooke, Jac 20 996 64 49.8
Scoring
Touchdowns
TD Rush Rec Ret Pts
Chase, Cin 4 0 4 0 24
Ekeler, LAC 4 2 2 0 24
Kicking
PAT FG LG Pts
Bass, Buf 14/14 10/11 48 44
Tucker, Bal 9/9 10/11 66 39
Weekly statistics
NFC individcual statistics
Quarterbacks
Att Com Yds TD Int
Brady, TB 184 119 1356 10 2
K.Murray, Ari 134 102 1273 9 4
Stafford, LAR 135 92 1222 11 2
Darnold, Car 146 99 1189 5 3
Jones, NYG 144 96 1184 4 1
Hurts, Phi 145 96 1167 7 2
Cousins, Min 157 108 1121 9 1
Goff, Det 161 110 1100 7 2
Prescott, Dal 133 100 1066 10 2
Wilson, Sea 109 79 1044 9 0
Rushers
Att Yds Avg LG TD
Elliott, Dal 64 342 5.3 47 4
Montgomery, Chi 69 309 4.5 41 3
Kamara, NO 78 297 3.8 14 0
Edmonds, Ari 43 255 5.9 54 0
Gibson, Was 59 253 4.3 27 1
Pollard, Dal 37 250 6.8 28 1
Carson, Sea 54 232 4.3 33 3
Cook, Min 51 226 4.4 17 1
Hurts, Phi 34 226 6.6 27 1
Henderson, LAR 43 212 4.9 15 2
Receivers
No Yds Avg LG TD
Samuel, SF 28 490 17.5 79t 3
Kupp, LAR 30 431 14.4 56t 5
Moore, Car 30 398 13.3 39 3
Adams, GB 31 373 12.0 50 1
McLaurin, Was 25 354 14.2 37 3
Jefferson, Min 26 338 13.0 34 3
Lockett, Sea 20 333 16.7 69t 3
Godwin, TB 22 296 13.5 28 2
Metcalf, Sea 20 285 14.3 30 3
Golladay, NYG 17 282 16.6 28 0
Punters
No Yds Lg Avg
O'Donnell, Chi 15 761 63 50.7
Lee, Ari 14 706 60 50.4
Scoring
Touchdowns
TDRush Rec Ret Pts
Darnold, Car 5 5 0 0 30
Jones, GB 5 2 3 0 30
Kicking
PAT FG LG Pts
Prater, Ari 17/17 7/9 62 38
Gay, LAR 13/13 8/9 53 37
RENTON, Wash. — When Pete
Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks
went shopping for an offensive co-
ordinator in the offseason, they
landed on Shane Waldron, hoping
he could recreate the success he
had with the division rival Rams.
So, four weeks into the regular
season, how does Waldron’s for-
mer boss in Los Angeles think it’s
going?
“They’ve got a lot of playmak-
ers, but I think Shane’s putting his
own spin on it,” Rams coach Sean
McVay said. “There are some ele-
ments of some things that would
look familiar to you guys. But it’s
certainly it’s the Seahawks offense
for sure. And he’s done a nice job
for the first four weeks without a
doubt.”
Seattle was hoping when it
hired Waldron that he could
merge what worked so well for
Los Angeles with the talents of
Russell Wilson. The biggest test of
that partnership so far will be
Thursday night, when the Sea-
hawks host the Rams in an early
NFC West showdown.
Seattle watched for the previous
four seasons as Los Angeles’ of-
fense became one of the best in the
game. Waldron wasn’t the archi-
tect, but he was heavily involved
in the development of McVay’s
schemes.
Seattle coach Pete Carroll saw
that development firsthand, twice
a year and three times last year.
And when the Seahawks fired
Brian Schottenheimer after last
season, Waldron immediately be-
came a top candidate to replace
him.
“I thought Shane and a couple
other guys from that same back-
ground were guys that I was really
excited about as well,” Carroll
said. “Shane was the best, right
guy for our situation for every-
thing that we were trying to get
done.”
So far, it’s been a mixed bag for
Seattle. Wilson leads the league in
passer rating and hasn’t thrown an
interception. But the Seahawks
were putrid offensively in the sec-
ond half of losses to Tennessee
and Minnesota, and last week
went five straight drives to start
the game against San Francisco
without a first down.
Waldron said Tuesday he’s try-
ing to separate his worlds — his
personal relationships with
friends still with the Rams and the
crush of preparing quickly for an
important game.
“The Thursday night kind of
puts it in such a fast-forward tem-
po as far as the preparation goes,
so you don’t really have a lot of
time to stop and think about how
would this be different than going
against another opponent,” Wal-
dron said.
In a normal week, Wilson might
take some extra time with Wal-
dron to break down all aspects of
the Los Angeles defense. With the
shortened week, that’s not going to
happen.
But Wilson is plenty familiar
with the Rams, and Waldron sees
only incremental changes from
LA’s defense under former coor-
dinator Brandon Staley to this
year’s unit led by Raheem Morris.
“I think having Shane around is
great because you really have to
know, kind of, their players,” Wil-
son said. “Obviously, we’ve played
them so much over the years, but I
think he just has a great under-
standing of who they are and just
kind of the players they are and
everything else.”
Seattle’s defense also hopes to
benefit from having Waldron, and
to a lesser extend tight end Gerald
Everett, around this year. The
Seahawks have been going against
schemes similar to the Rams’
since the offseason.
The flip side? Los Angeles also
has an understanding of how Seat-
tle wants to operate.
“We have been talking about it
the whole time in all aspects,” Car-
roll said. “We really couldn’t have
more help in that regard. It doesn’t
mean it shows, but we do have a lot
of insight. They do, too. They have
theirs because he’s been with
those guys a lot longer than with
us. It’s a factor in some regard but
I don’t know where it fits.”
TED S. WARREN/AP
Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, left, talks with quarterback Russell Wilson atpractice. The Seahawks host the Rams this week, where Waldron coached the past four seasons.
Seahawks’ OC Waldronscheming to attack RamsAfter four seasons on Los Angeles’ staff, he’s ready to turn tables on former team
BY TIM BOOTH
Associated Press Los Angeles Rams (3-1)
at Seattle Seahawks (2-2)AFN-Sports2
2 a.m. Friday CET9 a.m. Friday JKT
Thursday, October 7, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 21
NFL/COLLEGE FOOTBALL
FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys
are releasing linebacker Jaylon Smith in
what could be considered a cost-cutting
move because of a guaranteed salary next
season in the case of an injury.
Smith’s role had been reduced after Mi-
cah Parsons was drafted 12th overall this
year and the Cowboys moved free-agent
pickup Keanu Neal to linebacker from
safety. The move could’t become official
before Wednesday.
The decision won’t save the Cowboys any
money on Smith’s $9.8 million salary cap
figure this year, but protects them from his
$9.2 million salary for 2022 becoming guar-
anteed if he gets injured.
The team said on its website that at-
tempts to trade Smith were unsuccessful.
Dallas drafted Smith in the second round
in 2016 knowing he wouldn’t play as a roo-
kie because of a significant left knee injury
sustained in his final game with Notre
Dame at the Fiesta Bowl.
After an up-and-down debut in 2017,
Smith had his best season in 2018 with 150
tackles and career bests of four sacks and
13 quarterback pressures. It was the only
one of his four full seasons when the Cow-
boys made the playoffs.
Smith signed a $64 million, five-year ex-
tension before the 2019 season. About $34
million of that contract was guaranteed.
Even with Neal out for a second consec-
utive game because of COVID-19 protocols
Sunday against Carolina, Smith played just
28 snaps. Neal is expected to return from
the COVID-19 reserve list this week against
the New York Giants.
Panthers acquire Pats’ GilmoreCHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina
Panthers have acquired veteran corner-
back and 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the
Year Stephon Gilmore from the New En-
gland Patriots for a 2023 sixth-round draft
pick.
The moves comes after Gilmore and the
Patriots couldn’t come to terms on a new
contract.
Carolina has been looking to upgrade its
cornerback position after losing first-round
pick Jaycee Horn to a broken foot, which
could keep him out for the remainder of the
season. Last week Carolina traded for cor-
nerback C.J. Henderson, the No. 9 pick in
last year’s NFL Draft, from the Jackson-
ville Jaguars.
Gilmore was raised in Rock Hill, S.C.,
about 26 miles from Carolina’s current
headquarters. The Panthers will be moving
their headquarters to Rock Hill within the
next two years.
The four-time Pro Bowl cornerback con-
firmed his departure from New England
earlier Wednesday in an Instagram post,
saying the moments he shared with his
teammates on and off the field over the past
four seasons — including winning the Su-
per Bowl following the 2018 season — “will
never be forgotten.”
“It is with mixed emotions that I an-
nounce my goodbye to this great fan base,”
Gilmore wrote. “We enjoyed so much suc-
cess together and you have been an incred-
ible inspiration for my individual achieve-
ments.”
Gilmore began the season on the phys-
ically unable to perform list as he worked
his way back from a quadriceps injury late
last season that required offseason surgery.
He is eligible to begin practicing again af-
ter Week 6.
The Patriots and Gilmore had been try-
ing to work out a restructured deal since
this summer. The 31-year-old sat out both
the voluntary and mandatory portions of
New England’s offseason program in May
and June as he looked to get additional
compensation entering the final season of
the five-year, $65 million deal he signed in
2017.
He was scheduled to make a $7 million
base salary this season. He also received a
$500,000 roster bonus, but even with that,
his 2021 compensation would have ranked
him 25th among NFL cornerbacks.
That didn’t sit well with Gilmore, who
has been a standout in New England’s sec-
ondary since arriving as a free agent from
Buffalo in 2017. He has 11 interceptions in
his four seasons with the Patriots.
Gilmore tied a career low with one in-
terception last season. He appeared in just
11 games after missing time due to a CO-
VID-19 diagnosis and the quad injury.
With Gilmore now gone, the Patriots will
turn their full attention to fortifying a de-
fense that ranks fourth in the NFL, allowing
185 passing yards per game.
Dolphins send Grant to BearsMIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Miami
Dolphins traded wide receiver and return-
er Jakeem Grant to the Chicago Bears on
Tuesday.
Grant is going to the Bears in exchange
for a sixth-round pick in the 2023 draft.
Grant had primarily been a returner for
the Dolphins this season, with only two
catches for minus-7 yards in the season’s
first four games.
He returned eight punts for 59 yards and
two kickoffs for 46 yards so far this season.
The trade gives Miami the chance to
make rookie Jaylen Waddle the primary
returner.
MATT PATTERSON/AP
Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smithcelebrates during a game on Sept. 27.Dallas is releasing Smith, whose 2022salary is guaranteed if he is injured thisseason.
CowboysreleasingLB Smith
Associated Press
NFL BRIEFS
NORMAN, Okla. — Former Oklahoma
quarterback Charles Thompson never imag-
ined he’d even consider putting up the “Hook
’em Horns” hand gesture.
He’s done it now, and for good reason. His
son, Casey, will start at quarterback for No. 21
Texas (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) against No. 6 Oklahoma
(5-0, 2-0) in the annual rivalry game.
It’s a strange situation for the elder Thomp-
son, who lives in Moore, Okla. — a short drive
from Oklahoma’s campus. Charles ran the
wishbone offense for coach Barry Switzer,
playing a significant role in Sooners victories
over Texas in 1987 and 1988.
“I’ve been an OU fan since I was 6,” Char-
les, a native of Lawton, Okla., said. “Every
year, this time of year, I’ve always rooted
against Texas. Even the last few years with
Casey on the team, I still kind of quietly want-
ed Oklahoma to win — kind of a win/win sit-
uation for me. This will be the first year that
honestly, I’m really rooting for Texas.”
Charles said he catches some grief from his
old teammates with his son playing for Okla-
homa’s biggest rival.
“I mean, there’s surely some joking, kind of
messing around a little bit, but I think all of
them are kind of in support of him,” he said.
“They certainly want Casey to have a great
game, but want Oklahoma to win.
“I get a mulligan. I want Casey to win.”
Charles won’t go so far as to wear Texas’
burnt orange, and he said if you gut him open,
he’ll bleed Oklahoma crimson. He’ll wear a
custom-made black Texas shirt when he sits
with the other parents.
“Well, I’ve never put on burnt orange,” he
said defiantly.
The situation has provided an opportunity
for Charles to learn a few things about the ri-
valry from the Texas side.
“All my life, I’ve always called it the OU-
Texas game,” he said. “Ask anybody from Ok-
lahoma, they’ll say OU-Texas. I got sort of ha-
rassed a little bit in Austin because they say
Texas-OU. They want Texas first.”
Casey is in an odd situation, too. He wore
Oklahoma’s crimson and cream until his high
school days. Another of Charles’ sons, Kendal,
played for the Sooners, further strengthening
the bond between the family and the school.
Casey played high school football at South-
moore High School in Moore before playing
his senior season at Newcastle High School in
Newcastle, Okla.
As he became a major prospect, his loyalty
to Oklahoma waned. Former Texas coach
Tom Herman recruited Thompson back
when Herman was the head coach at Hous-
ton, and Tim Beck had recruited him when he
was an assistant at Ohio State. When Herman
took over at Texas and Beck became the of-
fensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach
at Texas, it made sense for Casey to take a
look. He attended the 2017 rivalry game as a
Longhorns prospect.
Naturally, the locals objected when Texas
entered the picture.
“I remember even in high school when I
was getting recruited, some of my teachers
and best friends were like, ‘If you go to that
school, I’ll never root for you, never cheer for
you,’ ” Casey said. “But I’m really not worried
about people who are hating. I’m trying to fo-
cus on this team and the people who care
about me and love and support me.”
Though he was highly recruited, his jour-
ney hasn’t been easy. Even after he stepped in
for the injured Sam Ehlinger and threw four
touchdown passes in the 55-23 Alamo Bowl
win over Colorado, he didn’t secure the start-
ing job. Freshman Hudson Card won the spot
in the summer and started the first two
games.
Casey has taken over and completed 71% of
his passes. He has thrown nine touchdown
passes and just three interceptions. Now, he
has the Cotton Bowl stage.
“It’s a dream come true for me to start in
this game,” he said. “But I don’t really think
that I’ll be nervous or anxious or uptight. I’m
excited to play.”
Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley has fol-
lowed Casey throughout the years and has a
good relationship with the family. He’s glad to
see Casey succeed.
“Here from game three on he has played at
ahigh level, has done some really good things
— moving around, throwing the ball well like
he does,” Riley said. “I don’t wish him success
on Saturday. We’re going to get out there and
compete against each other. But I’m happy for
him. I’m glad he’s having success. And I’m not
surprised.”
Ex-Sooners QB’s sonleads Texas in rivalry
BY CLIFF BRUNT
Associated Press
CHUCK BURTON/AP
Texas quarterback Casey Thompson, center, flashes the “Hook ’em Horns” gesturewith his teammates after a game against Rice last month in Austin, Texas.
PAGE 22 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, October 7, 2021
MLB PLAYOFFS
Playoffsx-if necessary
WILD CARDAmerican League
Tuesday: Boston 6, New York 2National League
Wednesday: St. Louis at Los AngelesDIVISION SERIES
(Best-of-five)American League
Tampa Bay vs. BostonThursday: Boston (TBD) at Tampa Bay
(McClanahan 10-6) AFN-Sports, 2 a.m. Fri-day CET; 9 a.m. Friday JKT
Friday: at Tampa Bay AFN-Sports, 1 a.m.Saturday CET; 8 a.m. Saturday JKT
Sunday: at Boston AFN-Sports, 10 p.m.Sunday CET; 5 a.m. Monday JKT
x-Monday: at Bostonx-Wednesday, Oct. 13: at Tampa Bay
Houston vs. ChicagoThursday: Chicago (TBD) at Houston
(McCullers 13-5) AFN-Sports, 10 p.m.Thursday CET; 5 a.m. Friday JKT
Friday: Chicago (TBD) at Houston (Val-dez 11-6) AFN-Sports, 8 p.m. Friday CET; 3a.m. Saturday JKT
Sunday: at Chicago AFN-Sports, 2 a.m.Monday CET; 9 a.m. Monday JKT
x-Monday: at Chicagox-Wednesday, Oct. 13: at Houston
National LeagueSan Francisco
vs. Los Angeles-St. Louis winnerFriday: at San Francisco AFN-Sports2,
3:30 a.m. Saturday CET; 10:30 a.m. Satur-day JKT
Saturday: at San Francisco AFN-Sports,3 a.m. Sunday CET; 10 a.m. Sunday JKT
Monday: at Los Angeles-St. Louis winnerx-Tuesday, Oct. 12: at Los Angeles-St.
Louis winnerx-Thursday, Oct. 14: at San Francisco
Milwaukee vs. AtlantaFriday: Atlanta (Morton 14-6) at Milwau-
kee (Burnes 11-5) AFN-Sports2, 10:30 p.m.Friday CET; 5:30 a.m. Saturday JKT
Saturday: Atlanta (Fried 14-7) at Mil-waukee (Woodruff 9-10) AFN-Sports, 11p.m. Saturday CET; 6 a.m. Sunday JKT
Monday: at Atlantax-Tuesday, Oct. 12: at Atlantax-Thursday, Oct. 14: at Milwaukee
Scoreboard
the longtime foes, with Boston tak-
ing a 3-2 edge. That doesn’t count
the 1978 AL East tiebreaker —
technically regular season Game
No. 163 — that the Yankees won
thanks to Bucky Dent’s homer into
the net above the Green Monster.
Boone was a New York third
baseman when he added to the
heartbreak with his 11th-inning
walk-off homer in Game 7 of the
2003 AL Championship Series.
The Red Sox haven’t lost to
them since.
They got their revenge the next
year when they rallied after losing
the first three games of the ALCS
to eliminate the Yankees, then
went on to win their first World Se-
ries title in 86 years. They won
three more championships, in ’07,
’13 and in ’18 when they knocked
out New York in the divisional
round.
Any lingering pain disappeared
into the center-field bleachers in
the first inning on Tuesday night.
Unlike Dent, who barely clear-
ed the left-field wall that sits just
310 feet from home plate, Bo-
gaerts drilled a line drive 427 feet
to straightaway center. And un-
like Carlton Fisk, who contorted
his body to will the ball fair in
Game 6 of the 1975 World Series,
Bogaerts interrupted his home
run trot only to flex for the Boston
dugout.
With Dent in the crowd and Aa-
ron Boone in the Yankees dugout,
the Red Sox chased Cole in the
third after he allowed Schwar-
ber’s solo shot and put two more
men on with nobody out. In all, he
was charged with three runs on
four hits and two walks, striking
out three in two-plus innings.
Cole said he felt “sick to my
stomach.”
“This is the worst feeling in the
world,” said the star who signed a
$324 million, nine-year deal to join
New York for the 2019 season.
With Boston leading 3-1, Judge
followed with an infield single that
finished Eovaldi, and reliever
Ryan Brasier gave up a wall single
to Giancarlo Stanton. Mistakenly
waved home by third base coach
Phil Nevin, Judge was easily
thrown out at the plate — 8-6-2 —
by the team that led the majors
with 43 outfield assists.
“That was better than a homer
for me, personally,” Bogaerts
said. “I mean, if that run scores,
it’s 3-2. Stanton is at second base,
the whole momentum is on their
side. The dugout is getting
pumped up.”
“As Judge was out at home, I
saw Stanton was pretty mad. He
probably wanted a homer there,
but also an RBI, and he didn’t get
that, and he probably felt like he
didn’t do much because that run
didn’t score. But that changed the
game,” he said.
AL: Bogaerts got Boston started with early home runFROM PAGE 24
CHARLES KRUPA/AP
The Red Sox’s Xander Bogaerts, middle, celebrates his tworunhomer with Rafael Devers, left, and Alex Verdugo during the firstinning of Tuesday’s American League wildcard playoff against theNew York Yankees at Fenway Park in Boston.
SAN FRANCISCO — Fresh off
an NL West crown that took 107
wins for the Giants to 106 by the
Dodgers, Brandon Crawford and
Buster Posey couldn’t help but en-
vision a poten-
tially epic play-
off matchup
against rival Los
Angeles.
Now, the team
gets to wait until
after Wednes-
day’s NL wild-
card game be-
tween the Cardinals and Dodgers
to see if that matchup will materi-
alize.
“It’ll be fun no matter what,”
said Posey, who caught five of the
final six games and 10 of 13 down
the stretch. “When it comes down
to the postseason, the intensity’s
there no matter what, but there’s
no doubt that it would be height-
ened if we play them.”
San Francisco is holding option-
al workouts Tuesday through
Thursday in preparation for host-
ing Game 1 of the NL Division Se-
ries on Friday night at Oracle
Park, though manager Gabe Ka-
pler expects the sessions to be well
attended.
it, too, and he is proud of the trio of
Belt, Crawford and Posey— Posey
a cornerstone in title runs in 2010,
’12 and ’14, while Belt and Craw-
ford contributed in the last two
championships — for all they did
to lead the Giants this far.
“When you’ve been through bat-
tles and you’ve been through as
much as we’ve been together, you
pull for them as if they were your
own kids,” Wotus said. “I’m so
happy. Coming into the year there
were a lot of people who maybe
doubted them, didn’t think this
would happen. We would not be
here if it wasn’t for our veteran
leadership.”
tance.
“What stands out to me was after
the game looking up in the stands
and seeing everybody together,”
Posey said. “That’s what I noticed
more than anything, and it made
me really happy. It made me hap-
py to see people sharing moments
together like this. I think that’s
what’s obviously so great about
sports. It allows people, families,
communities to come together.
What the whole world’s endured
the last two years having to really
just isolate, it was a great feeling
seeing everybody enjoying the
moment.”
Retiring coach Ron Wotus loved
positive sign.
The break this week especially
mattered for Posey and the taxed
bullpen, which took on a greater
load last month as starters Johnny
Cueto and Alex Wood were out.
“It was a grind. You think about
winning 107 games, you think that
you’re going to get to relax a little
bit the last 10 days or so at least of
the season,” Posey said. “It makes
it all the more special coming
down to the last day and to play as
well as we did.”
Posey took a moment during the
on-field celebration after Sun-
day’s 11-4 win over San Diego to
appreciate the scene and impor-
The Giants finally got to catch
their breath after the division went
down to the final day and they
edged out the reigning World Se-
ries winner and eight-time de-
fending West champion.
“Well, that’s what it’s like to be in
the division against the Dodgers,”
Crawford said. “They always have
a great team. To be able to hold
them off for most of the second half
is pretty great for us.”
Kapler hadn’t decided on a
Game 1 starter, equally confident
in his two options: right-handers
Kevin Gausman and Logan Webb .
Crawford, Posey and the club’s
injured home run leader Brandon
Belt are a major reason San Fran-
cisco is back on the October post-
season stage.
It delivered time and again
when many counted it out months
ago. For Posey to return after sit-
ting out the coronavirus-short-
ened 60-game season last year
meant so much to the Giants both
on the field and in the clubhouse.
Belt and Crawford produced ca-
reer numbers.
Belt’s recovery timeline re-
mained unclear, though Kapler
noted Tuesday, he “talked about
the NLCS as kind of the dream sce-
nario.” And Belt was on the field to
take grounders at first, certainly a
JEFF CHIU/AP
The Giants’ Brandon Belt fields ground balls during an optional workout Tuesday in San Francisco.
Giants have time
to take a breathNL West champs await NLDS opponent
BY JANIE MCCAULEY
Associated Press
Kapler
Thursday, October 7, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 23
MLB
ALDS capsule
Season series: Astros won 52.
Chicago White Sox
Record: 9369.Playoff entry: AL Central champion.Manager: Tony La Russa (first season
of second stint with team).Projected rotation: RHP Lance Lynn
(116, 2.69 ERA, 176 Ks in 157 IP), RHP Lucas Giolito (119, 3.53, 201 Ks in 1782⁄�3 IP),RHP Dylan Cease (137, 3.91, 226 Ks in1652⁄�3 IP), LHP Carlos Rodón (135, 2.37,185 Ks in 1322⁄�3 IP).
Top hitters: SS Tim Anderson (.309, 17HRs, 61 RBIs, 94 runs, 18 SBs), 1B JoséAbreu (.261, 30, 117, .831 OPS), CF LuisRobert (.338, 13, 43, .946 OPS), C YasmaniGrandal (.240, 23, 62, .939 OPS).
Top relievers: RHP Liam Hendriks (83,2.54 ERA, 38/44 saves), RHP Craig Kimbrel (22, 5.09, 1 save with White Sox; 23,0.49, 23/25 saves with Cubs), RHP Michael Kopech (43, 3.50, 103 Ks in 691⁄�3 IP).
October glance: The White Sox aremaking consecutive postseason appearances for the first time in franchisehistory. They were a wild card last yearand lost to Oakland in the first round ofthe playoffs. ... They won the AL Centralfor the first time since 2008, finishing 13games ahead of secondplace Cleveland. It was the club’s first season withat least 90 wins since it went 9072 in2006. ... Chicago was swept in a fourgame series at Houston in June but tooktwo of three from the Astros at home inJuly. ... The White Sox swept the Astros inthe 2005 World Series, when Houstonwas in the National League, in the onlyprevious postseason matchup betweenthe teams. ... Rodón set career bests forwins, strikeouts and ERA in a breakoutperformance for the No. 3 overall pick inthe 2014 amateur draft. He went 10 witha sparkling 0.64 ERA in two starts againstHouston this year, striking out 18 in 14 innings. But the AllStar lefthander washampered by arm trouble down thestretch, and it’s unclear what he’ll beable to provide in the playoffs. ... Kopechpitched multiple innings in five of hislast eight relief appearances in the regular season, including three innings ineach of his last two outings. He could bethe first man out of the bullpen if Rodónor another starter falters. ... Robert wasa force after he returned from a right hipinjury. He batted .350 with 12 homersand 35 RBIs in his last 43 games. He alsohit .308 (4for13) with a homer and twoRBIs in last year’s playoff series againstthe A’s. ... Grandal is in the playoffs forthe seventh straight year. The switchhitting catcher has a .125 (11for88) batting average with five homers and 12RBIs in 36 career postseason games withthe White Sox, Brewers and Dodgers.
Houston Astros
Record: 9567.Playoff entry: AL West champion.Manager: Dusty Baker (second sea
son).Projected rotation: RHP Lance McCull
ers Jr. (135, 3.16 ERA, 185 Ks, MLBhigh 76walks), LHP Framber Valdez (116, 3.14,125 Ks), RHP Luis Garcia (118, 3.30, 167Ks as rookie), RHP Jake Odorizzi (67,4.21, 91 Ks).
Top hitters: 1B Yuli Gurriel (ALleading.319, 15 HRs, 81 RBIs), 2B Jose Altuve(.278, 31, 83), LF Michael Brantley (.311, 8,47), SS Carlos Correa (.279, careerhigh26, 92), DH Yordan Alvarez (.277, 33, 104),RF Kyle Tucker (.294, 30, 92, 37 doubles).
Top relievers: RHP Ryan Pressly (53,2.25 ERA, 26/28 saves), RHP Kendall Graveman (11, 3.13 in 23 games with Houston; 40, 0.82, 10 saves in 30 games withSeattle), RHP Ryne Stanek (35, 3.42, 2saves), RHP Zack Greinke (116, 4.16 in 30games, 29 starts).
October glance: The Astros are in theplayoffs for the fifth straight year andlook to return to the World Series for thesecond time in three seasons. They wonthe AL West for the fourth time in fiveyears after finishing second to Oaklandduring the pandemicshortened 2020season. ... Houston had a tough stretchlate in the season, losing five of six before bouncing back to win three of its final four games. ... Baker is the first manager to win division titles with fiveteams after also leading the Nationals,Reds, Cubs and Giants to crowns. This ishis eighth division championship and11th trip to the playoffs. ... Houston’slongest winning streak this season was11 games from June 1324. ... Led the majors with a .276 batting average, .339OBP, 863 runs and 1,496 hits. ... Rankedsecond in the majors by striking out just1,222 times. ... Pitching staff was fourthin the AL with a 3.76 ERA. ... 3B Alex Bregman returned Aug. 25 after missingmore than two months with a quadriceps injury. He hit .270 with 12 homersand 55 RBIs in 91 games. ... Greinke, whoreturned from the injured list on the lastday of the regular season, is expected topitch out of the bullpen. The 37yearoldrighthander, who won the 2009 AL CyYoung Award, threw 21⁄�3 innings of reliefSunday in his first appearance out of thebullpen since 2007. ... Correa, a freeagent this fall, had one of his best seasons and led all position players with 7.2overall WAR. His 2.9 defensive WAR alsoranked first.
Associated Press
HOUSTON — Carlos Correa seems resigned
to what now appears inevitable.
A Houston Astro since he was 17, his time
with the team is probably approaching its expi-
ration date — likely to end when the club’s
playoff run does.
“This is my home,” he said. “But it’s not up to
me.”
Correa becomes a free agent after the season
and the Astros seem unwilling to pay him what
another team surely will. The sides negotiated
in the offseason to no avail, and the star short-
stop cut off talks when the season began.
He certainly hasn’t looked preoccupied on
the field this year, hitting a career-high 26
homers and leading all position players with a
7.2 overall WAR and 2.9 defensive WAR. But
as AL West champion Houston prepares to
play the Chicago White Sox in their best-of-five
Division Series beginning Thursday, the possi-
bility that these are Correa’s final games with
the team looms large.
“I’m just hoping that there’s a way that we
can retain and sign Carlos, because he’s a big
part of this team, not only on the field, but he’s
one of the real leaders,” manager Dusty Baker
said.
General manager James Click deflected talk
about Correa’s future Tuesday.
“Right now, we’re focused on the postsea-
son,” he said. “We’ll address the rest of it when
we can.”
With his future in limbo, Correa reflected on
what this team has meant to him as he grew
from a boy to a man. He thought back to the day
in 2012 when the Astros drafted him first over-
all. And the overwhelming feelings that enve-
loped him the moment he set foot in Minute
Maid Park not long after that.
“I just felt like it was still a dream and I
couldn’t wait to be here, playing full-time,” he
said.
Correa knew what was expected of him from
Day 1 and embraced the challenge of helping
turn around a franchise that lost 107 games the
year he was drafted.
“When they take you with the first pick over-
all, I feel like all the pressure should be on you
to make this organization better,” he said.
“Through my time here I have delivered, and
I’ve done good things for this organization.
Winning a championship was up there with
that, but also representing this team the right
way off the field, that makes me proud.”
Perhaps the only person close to Correa who
is optimistic he’ll be around next year is good
friend Jose Altuve. The second baseman con-
stantly tells his buddy that they’ll figure out a
way to keep him clad in orange and navy.
“But he doesn’t write the checks, he doesn’t
negotiate contracts,” Correa said.
Then his face brightens as another thought
enters his mind.
“But he does have power in this organiza-
tion, so we’ll see what happens,” Correa said.
The team doesn’t have a history of spending
big on free agents. The most owner Jim Crane
has ever paid a free agent was a four-year, $52
million deal with outfielder Josh Reddick in
2017.
That number wouldn’t even scratch the sur-
face of what Correa expects to be paid. He says
his friend and fellow shortstop Francisco Lin-
dor set the market for the position when he
fetched a $341 million, 10-year contract with
the New York Mets before this season.
Correa prepares for what could be final run with Astros
KEVIN M. COX/AP
Carlos Correa has been with the HoustonAstros’ organization since he was 17, butafter hitting a careerhigh 26 homers may beheaded elsewhere next season.
BY KRISTIE RIEKEN
Associated Press
CHICAGO — Kenny Heuer and
his fiancée, Carrie Campbell,
showed up dressed for the occa-
sion.
He made his loyalties clear by
wearing an Eloy Jiménez jersey for
agame between his beloved Chica-
go White Sox and the crosstown
Cubs at Guaranteed Rate Field in
late August. She showed hers with
an Ian Happ shirt.
For a couple with opposing alle-
giances, the hourlong drive from
their home in La Porte, Ind., was
not an easy one.
“It’s been a rough ride up here so
far,” Campbell said, laughing. “In
good fun.”
While the Cubs set their sights on
the future after breaking up their
championship core, the fun could
just be starting on the South Side.
The White Sox are in the playoffs
for the second year in a row, a first
for the charter American League
franchise, with their sights set on
the biggest prize after running
away with the Central division. It
won’t be easy, starting with a divi-
sion series against the AL West
champion Houston Astros.
But in a city where they’re often
overshadowed by their neighbors a
few miles north, they have a rare
opportunity. With young and vi-
brant stars such as Tim Anderson
and Luis Robert and Jimenez, not
to mention reigning AL MVP José
Abreu, the spotlight is on them.
“They need to get known by
more than just their core fans,”
sports marketing executive Marc
Ganis said. “And there’s a barn
door that is wide open to them right
now because of the Cubs, because
of the rebuilding that the Cubs are
in and the trades they made of al-
most all of their known stars.
“This is a window of opportunity
that won’t last all that long,” he said.
“They need to get their players
known. They need to get them have
their names out there in the com-
munity. They need to get more at-
tention to the White Sox.”
Ganis, cofounder of Chicago-
based consulting group Sports-
corp, said the White Sox have a
chance to increase local sponsor-
ship, ticket sales, suite sales and
other stadium revenues by 25% to
40% without having to cut into the
Cubs’ fan base because of the size
of the population. That hinges on
their marketing and how far the
team advances.
“You look at our team and we’re
probably the closest thing to an
NBA-like team of making the game
fun,” White Sox chief revenue and
marketing officer Brooks Boyer
said. “We continue that from a mar-
keting perspective because change
the game is ultimately what these
guys are trying to do and change
the perception of how much fun
baseball can be, change the way
our fans look at the White Sox.”
Second no more in the second city?Playoffs give White Sox achance to build fan base
BY ANDREW SELIGMAN
Associated Press
MATT MARTON/AP
Fans greet the Chicago White Sox’s Brian Goodwin after he hit a walkoff homer on Aug. 1 against Clevelandin Chicago. The team has an opportunity to capture the spotlight and expand its fan base in Chicago.
SPORTS
PAGE 24 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, October 7, 2021
Adding to the rivalrySon of former OU QB under centerfor Texas ›› College football, Page 21
Seahawks OC goes up against former team ›› NFL, Page 20
BOSTON — As the ball sailed over the
center-field fence, landing 427 feet from the
plate in a horde of happy Red Sox fans, Xan-
der Bogaerts turned to the Boston dugout to
flex his muscles before resuming his home
run trot.
This is the matchup the Yankees wanted.
And the Red Sox were ready.
Bogaerts and Kyle Schwarber homered
off Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, and Nathan Eo-
valdi took a shutout into the sixth inning in
the AL wild-card game to help the Red Sox
beat New York 6-2 on Tuesday night.
Bogaerts also cut down Aaron Judge at
the plate in the sixth as Boston advanced to
the best-of-five AL Division Series against
Tampa Bay.
Game 1 is Thursday night in St. Peters-
burg, Fla.
“Now we go to the next one, and we’ve
just got to be ready to face a great baseball
team,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.
“Coming into the season, everybody talked
about them being the best team in the big
leagues, and we have a huge challenge. But
we’re ready for it.”
The Yankees, who lead the majors with
27 World Series championships, have not
won it all since 2009. After angling for a
matchup with the Red Sox in a potential tie-
breaker, the Yankees wound up in Boston
for the wild-card game instead.
And the Red Sox beat them in the postsea-
son for the third straight try.
“Guys are crushed,” New York manager
Aaron Boone said. “The ending is really
cruel. But there’s nothing better than com-
peting for something meaningful.”
A year after baseball took its postseason
into neutral-site bubbles to protect against
the pandemic, a sellout crowd of 38,324 —
the biggest at Fenway Park since the 2018
World Series — filled the old yard to rekin-
dle one of the sport’s most passionate rival-
ries. Enough Yankees fans were among
them to fuel a raucous back-and-forth of in-
sulting chants.
“The Bogaerts homer in the first inning
— I mean, talk about a pop. And, you know,
the crowd went nuts, and you feed off that
energy,” Schwarber said. “You thrive for
that, and Red Sox nation brought it tonight.
We needed it, and you can’t say enough
about the crowd.”
It was the fifth playoff matchup between
Red Sox win AL wild card
PHOTOS BY CHARLES KRUPA/AP
Above: The Red Sox’s Kyle Schwarber watches his solo home run against the New YorkYankees during the third inning of Tuesday’s American League wildcard playoff game atFenway Park in Boston. Right: The Yankees’ Aaron Judge is tagged out at the plate byRed Sox catcher Kevin Plawecki during the the sixth inning.
Bogaerts, Schwarber hit homersto dent Cole, end Yanks’ season
BY JIMMY GOLEN
Associated Press DID YOU KNOW?
This was the fifth playoff matchup between the
Yankees and Red Sox, with Boston taking a 3-2
edge. After losing Game 7 of the 2003 AL
Championship Series, the Red Sox have won
the last three matchups, rallying to win the
2004 ALCS after losing the first three games.
They went on to win their first World Series title
in 86 years. They won three more champion-
ships, in ’07, ’13 and in ’18, when they ousted
the Yankees in the divisional round.
SOURCE: Associated Press
SEE AL ON PAGE 22
MLB PLAYOFFS