Volume 80 Edition 30 ©SS 2021 CONTINGENCY EDITION FRIDAY, MAY 28, 2021 Free to Deployed Areas

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MILITARY

Navy deploys onboardcounseling teams to helpsailors cope with stressPage 3

FACES

The long road to the ‘Friends’reunion showPage 14

OLYMPICS

Big debut on deckfor skateboardingat Tokyo gamesPage 24

Air Force announces new scoring breakdown for fitness test ›› Page 3

WASHINGTON — Amy Logan first

experienced physical abuse three

years into her marriage to a sergeant

major in the Army.

Logan was away from friends and

family once she moved to a new base,

similar to many military spouses who

are isolated and unaware of resources

available to them.

Several months after the move, her

marriage turned violent, Logan told

House lawmakers Tuesday.

One night, Logan’s husband at the

time charged at her, grabbed her

shoulders and his knee struck her in

the leg after Logan attempted to dis-

cuss how her husband spoke down to

their child for crying. A few days after

the assault, Logan went with her child

to a women’s safe shelter and eventu-

ally filed for a divorce, she said.

“He told me, ‘I would rather go to

prison than let you leave with our

child.’ I took this as a verbal threat to

my life,” Logan testified during a hear-

ing on domestic violence in the military

held by the personnel subpanel of the

House Armed Services Committee.

Incidents of spouse abuse in the mil-

itary are at about 1.1%, according to De-

fense Department data from 2019. That

rate is more than twice that of the na-

Ex-spouse reveals cracks in military’s response to domestic abuse incidentsBY SARAH CAMMARATA

Stars and Stripes

Logan SEE SPOUSE ON PAGE 7

KABUL, Afghanistan — Abdullah Mo-

hammadi lost his two legs and an arm below

the elbow in a ferocious battle with the Tali-

ban. As a young Afghan soldier, he had been

eager to fight for his country, but now he’s

furious at a government he says ignores him

and hasn’t paid his veteran’s pension for

nearly a year.

Afghanistan’s National Defense and Se-

curity Forces, meant to be the bulwark

against advancing Taliban insurgents, are

rife with corruption, demoralized and

struggling to keep territory. The govern-

ment says the army can hold its own, but

Toughbattleahead

RAHMAT GUL/AP

Afghan army veteran Abdullah Mohammadi gives an interview to The Associated Press at his home on the outskirts of Kabul,Afghanistan, on May 5. Once eager to fight for his country, Mohammadi is now furious at his government.

Afghan forces hurt bylow morale, corruption

BY KATHY GANNON

Associated Press

RELATED

Taliban warn US againstsetting up bases in regionPage 5

SEE BATTLE ON PAGE 4

PAGE 2 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, May 28, 2021

BUSINESS/WEATHER

WASHINGTON — U.S. orders

for big-ticket manufactured goods

dropped unexpectedly in April for

the first time in 11 months as a

shortage of computer chips dis-

rupted auto production.

The Commerce Department re-

ported Thursday that orders for

factory goods meant to last at least

three years fell 1.3% in April after

rising 1.3% in March. Transporta-

tion orders skidded 6.7%. Exclud-

ing transportation, which can

swing sharply from month to

month, durable goods orders were

up 1% in April.

Factories have been hamstrung

by a shortage of supplies as the

U.S. economy reopens from the

pandemic and demand for goods

and services rebounds rapidly.

Orders for auto parts, disrupted

by a shortage of computer chips,

dropped 6.2% in April. Orders for

military capital goods dropped

25.8% after falling 11.7% in March.

Economists had expected dura-

ble goods orders to rise about 0.7%

last month. Despite the unexpect-

ed decline, the April report also

contained hopeful signs: A catego-

ry that tracks business investment

— orders for nondefense capital

goods excluding aircraft — in-

creased 2.3% last month on top of a

1.6% gain in March.

“The signal for the manufactur-

ing sector is still positive, although

supply chain constraints continue

to be a headwind, preventing a

complete recovery to pre-pan-

demic levels,” said Rubeela Fa-

rooqi, chief U.S. economist at

High Frequency Economics.

US durable goods orders drop 1.3% in AprilAssociated Press

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Kandahar100/64

Kabul84/59

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FRIDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

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64/48

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71/57

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Aviano/Vicenza67/48

Pápa62/50

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Brussels63/42

Zagan53/49

DrawskoPomorskie

56/47

FRIDAY IN EUROPE

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Guam87/81

Tokyo78/59

Okinawa80/78

Sasebo67/62

Iwakuni67/62

Seoul70/55

Osan66/55

Busan68/59

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

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

SATURDAY IN THE PACIFIC

WEATHER OUTLOOK

TODAYIN STRIPES

American Roundup ...... 13Comics .........................16Crossword ................... 16Faces .......................... 14Opinion ........................ 15Sports .................... 18-24

Military rates

Euro costs (May 28) $1.19Dollar buys (May 28) 0.7985British pound (May 28) $1.38Japanese yen (May 28) 106.00South Korean won (May 28) 1090.00

Commercial rates

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

INTEREST RATES

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EXCHANGE RATES

Friday, May 28, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3

WASHINGTON — The Air

Force will require only pushups,

situps and a 1.5-mile run when

physical fitness testing resumes

July 1 using a new scoring break-

down, the service announced

Wednesday.

Pushups and situps will now

be worth 20 points each, up 10

points, and the 1.5-mile run will

remain worth 60 points. The

boost in points is to make up for

those points that were lost when

the service did away with waist

circumference measurements in

December.

An overall score of at least 75

is required to pass and anyone

taking the test must also achieve

the minimum score in each com-

ponent. Minimum scores for

each component vary based on

age and gender.

The service announced in

early March that it would further

delay testing until July due to

concerns about the coronavirus

pandemic. Testing had been pre-

viously pushed back until April.

The age brackets used for as-

sessment and grading from 10-

year age categories are now

changed to five-year age groups.

For example, the grading cate-

gory for ages 30-39 has been re-

placed with age groups of 30-34

and 35-39, according to an Air

Force news release.

In the coming weeks, the ser-

vice also plans to announce alter-

native strength and cardiovascu-

lar testing exercise options. At

that point, members will have

about six months to practice the

exercises, and they will be avail-

able options by the start of next

year, according to the service.

“We are moving away from a

one-size-fits-all model,” Gen.

Charles “CQ” Brown, the Air

Force chief of staff, said in a pre-

pared statement. “More testing

options will put flexibility in the

hands of our airmen — where it

belongs.”

While the waist measurement

is no longer required as part of

the test, a separate assessment of

body composition will continue

starting in October, according to

the service. Body composition

assessments will not be a part of

the physical fitness test. More

details could be announced later,

but the service did not say when.

The Space Force will follow

the Air Force policies until its

leadership develops a service-

specific plan.

Air Force adopts new fitness test scoringBY SARAH CAMMARATA

Stars and Stripes

cammarata.sarah@stripes.com Twitter: @sarahjcamm

CHRISTOPHER PARR/U.S. Air Force

The Air Force will require only pushups, situps and a 1.5­mile runwhen physical fitness testing resumes July 1. 

during their initial two to six

weeks of restricted movement and

then at sea. Restriction of move-

ment is the term the Navy gives to

a two-week quarantine required

of a crew before they ship out.

The teams hosted “non-medical

counseling, group workshops,

walk-around engagement, one-

on-one consultations, [and] psy-

cho-education,” the Navy said in

an April news release. The teams

also arranged long-term assist-

ance for anyone requesting it.

Aside from offering formal pre-

sentations, the teams spent much

of their time just mixing with the

crews during walkabouts.

The program’s rollout had been

The Navy is assessing how best

to employ specially trained teams

placed aboard large ships as they

head to sea to help sailors with

shore-to-sea transition, a program

tested earlier this year.

The “proof of concept” for the

Departure and Separation Pro-

gram kicked off in December on

six cruisers and destroyers from

Norfolk, Va., and ended in mid-

February. Their crews were deal-

ing with the usual stressors of

heading to sea for many months

but also with family issues and re-

strictions related to COVID-19,

the coronavirus respiratory dis-

ease.

“I would say some of [the pro-

gram’s launch] was directly attri-

buted to COVID,” Edward Can-

non, director of Fleet and Family

Readiness Programs for Navy In-

stallations Command, told Stars

and Stripes during a recent phone

interview.

“So, I don't see it as something

that we would be rolling out enter-

prise-wide on every ship, every

time that they deploy,” he said.

“But we absolutely know there are

going to be times when there are

additional stressors or changes to

pace or schedule that would lend

itself well to this model, and we

are prepared to support that as it

comes up.

“Basically, we’ve done the proof

of concept, and we know that other

ship commanders need this type

of support. Our team will be ready

to do that no matter what type of

ships they are.”

Beginning Dec. 28, the program

sent two-person teams — a licens-

ed counselor and specially trained

educator, in most cases — to ships

planned for January but was

stepped up after Fleet and Family

Support “received an urgent re-

quest for emotional aid” from

leaders aboard the guided-missile

cruisers USS Monterey and USS

Vella Gulf and the destroyers USS

Mitscher, USS Mahan, USS Jason

Dunham and USS Laboon, the Na-

vy said.

The command triads — com-

manders, executive officers and

command chiefs — aboard the

ships had observed sailors grap-

pling with “elevated stress due to

the pandemic, loss of shipmates,

pressures of pre-deployment

work-ups, operational tempo and

restriction of movement” require-

ments, the Navy said.

Cannon oversees quality-of-life

programs for sailors and their

families, and it is routine for per-

sonnel to gather pier side when

ships return from long deploy-

ments — both to welcome sailors

back and help families transition.

The Departure and Separation

Program essentially took that re-

union effort and “turned it on its

head,” Cannon said. “What about

before they return? How can we

take care of them?

“So, when we got this call to sup-

port Naval Surface Force Atlantic,

it was really a matter of asking our

teams throughout the Mid-Atlan-

tic if they were interested in tak-

ing that skill set and quickly form-

ing part of a team that would then

go out and embark with the ships,”

he said.

It meant cutting short holiday

time normally spent with friends

and family because team mem-

bers had to join the required two-

week restriction of movement that

began only a few days after Christ-

mas.

Laboon Cmdr. Charles Spivey

described the program as “invalu-

able” in the Navy news release,

saying “the curriculum gave our

crew new skills and appropriate

resources to be successful while

we are gone.”

Cannon said the data is not yet

available to see how effective the

teams were in easing problems

due to separation. But he said he

was convinced that the roughly

1,800 sailors on the six ships bene-

fited from the teams’ presence.

Direct feedback from the com-

mand triads and sailors on each

ship was encouraging, Cannon

said.

“What we heard was that there

were demonstrated positive out-

comes to operational readiness,”

he said.

Navy leaders cited decreases in

the numbers of command-direct-

ed mental health evaluations and

fewer requests for fitness-for-du-

ty assessments, Cannon said.

“So, a healthier ship overall and

one that was — by definition of the

commanding officers — better

able to do their jobs,” he said.

“From the triads we heard a defi-

nite interest in repeating this.

We’ll be looking at providing it

again.”

Onboard Navy counselors help sailors cope with stress

CHELSEA PALMER/U.S. Navy

A sailor aboard the guided­missile cruiser USS Monterey looks out at the Mediterranean Sea in March. 

BY WYATT OLSON

Stars and Stripes

olson.wyatt@stripes.com Twitter: @WyattWOlson

MILITARY

PAGE 4 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, May 28, 2021

military experts warn of a tough

fight ahead for poorly trained, ill-

equipped troops whose loyalties

waver between their country and

local warlords.

By Sept. 11 at the latest, the re-

maining 2,300-3,500 U.S. troops

and roughly 7,000 allied NATO

forces will have left Afghanistan,

ending nearly 20 years of military

engagement. Also leaving is the

American air support that the Af-

ghan military has relied on to

stave off potentially game-chang-

ing Taliban assaults, ever since it

took command of the war from the

U.S. and NATO in 2014.

“Without U.S. military support,

it is a matter of time before the Ta-

liban consolidates its gains, par-

ticularly in the south, east and

west,” said Bill Roggio, senior fel-

low at the American Foundation

for the Defense of Democracies

and editor of its Long War Journal,

which tracks militant movements.

At least half the country is be-

lieved to be contested ground, of-

ten with the government holding

only the main towns and cities in

local districts and the Taliban

dominating the countryside.

In the last two weeks, the Tali-

ban seized control of four district

centers, including a strategic town

southwest of Kabul, on the main

highway linking Afghanistan’s

north and south.

This week, the Taliban briefly

entered Mehtar Lam, the capital

of Laghman province, after the po-

lice and army abandoned several

outposts protecting the city, gov-

ernment officials said. The Tali-

ban were driven out but later

showed off weapons and equip-

ment allegedly left behind at the

outposts. More than 100 military

personnel were brought to Kabul

to be reprimanded for abandoning

their positions.

“Once U.S. military support is

gone, the Taliban should be able to

take and hold several provincial

capitals and hold them indefinite-

ly,” said Roggio.

Within the Afghan army, sol-

diers complain of substandard

equipment, even shoddy basic

items like army boots that fall

apart within weeks because cor-

rupt contractors used inferior ma-

terial. The Associated Press wit-

nessed boots with gaping holes be-

ing worn, insufficient helmets

available and weapons that often

jammed.

At a police outpost seen by the

AP earlier this month, eight men

lived in a partially built bunker

that looked big enough for only

half that number. They had only a

few rifles as they watched sentry

from two turret-style posts on the

outpost’s high brick walls. They

overlook a busy road where the

Taliban frequently attack security

convoys.

The commander, who wore san-

dals, said the outpost is occasion-

ally hit by rocket or gunfire and

would have a hard time fending off

a full-fledged attack.

“There’s no other option but

peace,” he said, asking not to be

identified because he did not have

permission to allow media into his

compound.

The Afghan government long

ago stopped releasing casualty fig-

ures among its forces. But a for-

mer senior security official deeply

familiar with the cost of war over

the past two years told the AP that

about 100-110 security personnel

are killed or wounded every day.

He spoke on condition of anonym-

ity because he was not authorized

to talk about casualties.

Mohammadi, the wounded vet-

eran, said he was injured six years

ago in Zhari district in southern

Kandahar province, once the spir-

itual heartland of the Taliban until

their ouster in 2001 by U.S.-led

coalition forces.

He led a company of 18 men air-

lifted into battle in a grape field,

about 3 miles from their nearest

base. The fight went on all day and

night until eventually the Taliban

surrounded them.

“I was the commander. I had to

do something. I stood up and

aimed my RPG (rocket propelled

grenade launcher).” That was the

last Mohammadi remembered.

He stepped on a land mine. The

Taliban had littered the fields with

mines, and higher-ups had not

warned him or his men.

For a year he recovered in a hos-

pital. He received two wooden

legs and an artificial plastic hand.

The legs are painful to wear and

he can manage them only for 15

minutes at a time. It takes two peo-

ple to help him get them on, and he

sometimes pays a neighbor to

help.

“I am proud of what I have sac-

rificed for this country. What I

gave for my country I gave with

pride,” he said.

But Mohammadi is fuming at

the government. For years, his

veteran’s pension, around 16,000

Afghanis ($200) a month, has been

erratic, and for the past 11 months

he hasn’t received it at all. “They

tell me to wait,” he said.

Mohammadi says has had to

borrow from family and friends. It

wounds his pride, but it’s better

than begging, he said.

“I am angry. I feel like my digni-

ty has been insulted. My life is a

struggle,” he said, wrapping his

lower body in a wool blanket. The

cold and damp cause him pain in

his missing limbs.

The Defense Ministry’s deputy

spokesman, Fawad Aman, prom-

ised to look into the complaint. He

said that corruption, while it ex-

ists, is not widespread and efforts

are being made to tackle it and

that the spirit of the fighting force

was high.

“With the withdrawal of United

States forces there will be no secu-

rity vacuum or gap in Afghanistan

because our forces can defend Af-

ghanistan independently,” he

said.

The U.S is committed to pay $4

billion annually until 2024 to fi-

nance Afghanistan’s security

forces. As of Dec. 31, 2020, Wash-

ington’s chief watchdog oversee-

ing U.S. spending in Afghanistan,

John Sopko, said the U.S. has

spent $88.3 billion to help the Af-

ghan government provide securi-

ty in Afghanistan — roughly 62%

of all U.S. reconstruction funding.

Battle: Afghan forces endure corruption, faulty equipmentFROM PAGE 1

RAHMAT GUL/AP

Afghan soldiers patrol outside their military base on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, on May 9.

WAR ON TERRORISM

The Navy is expected to send its

only Indo-Pacific-based aircraft

carrier to the Middle East this

summer to support the planned

withdrawal of U.S. troops from Af-

ghanistan, multiple media outlets

reported Wednesday.

President Joe Biden earlier this

year set a deadline of Sept. 11 —

the 20th anniversary of the terror-

ist attacks on the World Trade

Center and Pentagon that set in

motion U.S. military action in Af-

ghanistan — for bringing home

the remaining troops from the

war-torn country.

The Japan-based USS Ronald

Reagan will relieve the USS

Dwight D. Eisenhower and its

strike group in the North Arabian

Sea, according to The Wall Street

Journal, which first reported the

planned deployment and cited un-

named defense officials. The Ei-

senhower is slated to return to its

Norfolk, Va., homeport in July.

The carrier has deployed twice in

the past 36 months and can’t safely

extend beyond summer, the offi-

cials told the newspaper.

The Ronald Reagan is expected

to operate in the Middle East for

up to four months, according to

the report. The Navy will go with-

out an aircraft carrier in the Indo-

Pacific for at least part of that

time, the officials said.

Pacific Fleet referred a Stars

and Stripes query on the move to

the Pentagon.

“We don’t talk about potential

ship movements in advance,”

Pentagon press secretary John

Kirby told reporters during a

news conference Wednesday

when asked about the Ronald Re-

agan.

The carrier is permanently de-

ployed at Yokosuka Naval Base

and normally spends about half

the year at sea patrolling the Indo-

Pacific. The ship left Yokosuka on

patrol May 19.

USNI News reported Wednes-

day that it had confirmed the Ro-

nald Reagan’s upcoming deploy-

ment with two unnamed defense

officials.

The last time a Yokosuka-based

carrier deployed to the Middle

East was in 2003 when the USS

Kitty Hawk supported the U.S. in-

vasion of Iraq, according to the re-

port.

Meanwhile, the carrier USS

Theodore Roosevelt returned to

its homeport in San Diego on

Tuesday after completing a five-

month deployment that included

the Gulf of Alaska and the contest-

ed South China Sea.

While the 7th Fleet has roughly

50 to 70 ships and submarines, the

Ronald Reagan and its strike force

are the Navy’s most visible projec-

tion of maritime power in the In-

do-Pacific.

The Navy has used the carrier

and other warships to push back

on China’s aggressive claims of

sovereignty over most of the South

China Sea.

In February, the carriers USS

Nimitz and USS Theodore Roose-

velt moved to the Indo-Pacific to

exercise together in the South Chi-

na Sea while the Ronald Reagan

was in port for regular mainte-

nance.

On Saturday, the Royal Navy

carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth,

with 10 U.S. Marine Corps F-35B

Lightning II stealth fighters

aboard and its strike group along-

side, left the United Kingdom,

bound for an Indo-Pacific patrol

with stops in Japan, India, South

Korea and Singapore, according

to The Associated Press.

Ships of the 7th Fleet routinely

transit the Taiwan Strait, another

hot spot where Chinese military

aircraft have been flying into Tai-

wan’s air defense zone.

Reports: USS Reagan to support troops’ Afghanistan exitBY WYATT OLSON

Stars and Stripes

olson.wyatt@stripes.com Twitter: @WyattWOlson

Friday, May 28, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 5

MILITARY

ISLAMABAD — The Taliban on

Wednesday warned the departing

U.S. military against setting up

bases in the region, and Pakistan

vowed that no American bases will

be allowed on its territory.

Pakistan also said drone strikes

from Pakistani territory were a non-

starter.

The statements come amid spec-

ulation that the United States, as it

withdraws the last of its 2,500-3,500

soldiers from Afghanistan, will

want a nearby locale from which to

launch strikes against militant tar-

gets.

The warning also comes during

stepped-up efforts to jump-start

stalled peace talks between the gov-

ernment and the Taliban, possibly

in Turkey.

Both Pakistan and the Middle

Eastern state of Qatar have been

pressing the Taliban to attend talks

in Turkey. U.N.-sponsored talks

were to have been held last month in

Turkey, but the Taliban refused to

take part.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Foreign

Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi

on Tuesday told Pakistan’s Senate

the country would not allow Amer-

ican bases on its territory.

“Forget the past, but I want to tell

the Pakistanis that no U.S. base will

be allowed by Prime Minister Im-

ran Khan so long as he is in power,”

he said.

After the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist

attacks, Pakistan opened four air

bases to the U.S.-led coalition to aid

in its efforts in Afghanistan to hunt

down the al-Qaida perpetrators of

the attacks and unseat the Taliban

rulers who had given them safe

haven.

In his April speech announcing

an end to America’s “forever war,”

President Joe Biden said Washing-

ton would hold the Taliban and the

government to its commitments to

ensure Afghanistan could not again

be used as a staging arena to attack

the American homeland or its allies.

“We will not take our eye off the

terrorist threat,” said Biden. “We

will reorganize our counterterror-

ism capabilities and the substantial

assets in the region to prevent re-

emergence of terrorist threat to our

homeland over the horizon.”

The U.S., along with about 7,000

NATO forces, will leave Afghanis-

tan by Sept. 11 at the latest. In a state-

ment earlier this week, U.S. Central

Command said it had completed

about 25% of its withdrawal. The lo-

gistics of withdrawing are tremen-

dous, and according to the CENT-

COM statement, departing troops

have already packed military

equipment onto 160 C-17 cargo air-

craft and shipped them back to

America.

Besides airlifting its supplies, the

U.S.is also moving equipment out of

Afghanistan through Central Asia

and Pakistan.

In its statement, the Taliban

warned against neighboring coun-

tries allowing its territory to be used

as a staging area for America.

“God forbid such a step is taken, it

will be a great historic mistake and

disgrace, its shame will go in histo-

ry,” said the statement. “As we have

repeatedly assured others, our soil

will not be used against anyone’s se-

curity, we urge others not to use its

soil and airspace against our coun-

try.”

Taliban warn departing USagainst new bases in region

BY KATHY GANNON

Associated Press

CHANCEY BUSH/AP

Adeola Daniel Adeboye, right, Squadron 30, celebrates during theUnited States Air Force Academy’s Class of 2021 graduationceremony at the academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Wednesday.More than 1,000 cadets celebrated becoming officers. 

Pomp and circumstance

PAGE 6 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, May 28, 2021

TAMA HILLS RECREATION

AREA, Japan — Two dozen Japa-

nese visitors hiked across the U.S.

military’s sprawling recreation

area in western Tokyo on Wednes-

day while learning about its histo-

ry and the plants and animals that

live there.

The “eco tour” was the first or-

ganized in more than a year by the

374th Airlift Wing at nearby Yoko-

ta Air Base. Access to U.S. facili-

ties in Japan was limited last

spring as coronavirus cases

spiked among service members;

however, restrictions have eased

in recent months with more peo-

ple in the military community get-

ting vaccinated.

Tour leader Yoshitaka Yamagu-

chi, 69, a former environmental

engineer at Yokota, led visitors on

the trek through some of the rec-

reation area’s 483 acres.

The tours, which began in 2006

and happen periodically, are a

way for locals to see what’s behind

the barbed wire fence surround-

ing Tama Hills, Yamaguchi said.

“Usually, they’re not allowed to

come in, but over the fence they

expect there are nice natural re-

sources,” he said, during a break

in the hike. “They’re also interest-

ed in the history.”

Many locals already know about

the base’s past as a Japanese mu-

nition facility and Cold War-era

bomb storage site.

Today, Tama Hills operates as a

recreation area for U.S. troops and

their families stationed in and

around the Japanese capital. It in-

cludes an 18-hole golf course,

lodging, horseback riding, sports

fields, mountain bike trails and

camping areas.

The Japanese visitors observed

small fish living in a pond near the

base’s front gate and some ancient

stone steps. Yamaguchi held up a

World War II-era photograph of a

Japanese soldier standing at the

top of the steps, which, at the time,

were topped with a traditional Ja-

panese torii gate and led to a Shin-

to shrine.

The visitors saw an old Japa-

nese bathhouse and dining facility

and went inside wartime bunkers.

“People can feel the history,”

Yamaguchi said.

World War II relics are often ne-

glected by local cities in Japan be-

cause they feel uncomfortable

about them, according to 374th

Civil Engineer Squadron environ-

mental engineer Mutsuki Kitaji-

ma, 29, who also spoke to the vis-

itors during the tour.

“We can still maintain these his-

torical resources in good shape,”

he said.

One visitor, Hisao Yokota, 74, of

Inagi City, said he’d played golf at

Tama Hills but that the tour was

his first time to see the recreation

area, which he knew as a muni-

tions site in his youth. He was par-

ticularly interested in the con-

struction of old drains in the area.

The tours are a chance for the

Air Force to show that it is proper-

ly maintaining the ecology and

history of its facilities, Kitajima

said.

“We can make a good under-

standing between the local com-

munity and Yokota Air Base,” he

said.

Yamaguchi pointed out rare

moss growing on a wall and a

place where foxes prowl. He told

the visitors about the tanuki, or

raccoon dogs, that inhabit the for-

est and the rare goshawks that

nest there.

Officially, there are 38 gosh-

awks in the recreation area, in-

cluding two fledglings.

The goshawks didn’t make an

appearance during Wednesday’s

tour, but Yamaguchi showed the

visitors photos of the birds and

pointed out the difference in

plumage between juveniles and

adults.

The preservation of the endan-

gered birds is part of an environ-

mental protection program that

was recently judged the best on

U.S. military bases overseas, Hey-

ward Singleton, 47, Yokota’s In-

stallation Management Flight

chief, said in a May 17 interview.

AKIFUMI ISHIKAWA/Stars and Stripes

Japanese visitors tour a World War II­era munitions storage site at Tama Hills Recreation Area in westernTokyo, on Wednesday. 

USAF restarts Tokyo ‘eco tours’BY SETH ROBSON

Stars and Stripes

robson.seth@stripes.comTwitter: @SethRobson1

A coronavirus-induced alco-

hol drought is ending for fully

vaccinated U.S. personnel on

the Korean Peninsula.

Starting Friday, local bars

and nightclubs will no longer be

off-limits to those associated

with U.S. Forces Korea — ser-

vice members, Defense Depart-

ment civilian workers, contrac-

tors and their families — USFK

announced Thursday on Face-

book.

However, “all bars and clubs

remain off-limits to partially

vaccinated and non-vaccinated

individuals,” the post said.

Seoul is another exception.

The pandemic prohibition still

applies to Area II, which in-

cludes the capital city and the

surrounding area.

Many other activities remain

off-limits, including karaoke

rooms, saunas and bathhouses.

Off-post gyms are allowed with

approval from a colonel in com-

mand or the civilian equivalent.

South Korean rules on social

distancing, masks and business

hours still apply, according to

USFK, which removed a mask

mandate for the fully vaccinat-

ed on its installations May 15.

Lifting the ban on bars and

clubs was possible because

USFK had made the COVID-19

vaccine available to all of its eli-

gible population and had

achieved a “greater than 75%

vaccination rate,” spokesman

Col. Lee Peters said in a video

posted to Facebook on Thurs-

day.

By comparison, host-nation

vaccination rates are about 4%

in South Korea and 2.5% in Ja-

pan.

Another 12 people with the

U.S. military in South Korea

and Japan have contracted CO-

VID-19, the coronavirus respi-

ratory disease, according to re-

ports made by 6 p.m. Thursday.

Eight people tested positive

after arriving in South Korea

between May 10 and Tuesday,

USFK announced in a news re-

lease Wednesday.

Four of those patients landed

at Osan Air Base from the U.S.

via a government-chartered

passenger service on May 10,

12, 19 and Monday. The other

four arrived at Incheon Interna-

tional Airport in Seoul on May

11, 12, 21 and Tuesday, the re-

lease said.

Five came up positive on their

first mandatory COVID-19 test,

and three were positive on the

test required to exit quarantine.

All were subsequently quaran-

tined at either Osan or Camp

Humphreys.

In Japan, the Marine Corps

had four new cases on Okinawa,

two each at camps Hansen and

Kinser, according to a Facebook

post Thursday by Marine Corps

Installations Pacific.

Tokyo reported another 684

people tested positive Thurs-

day, according to public broad-

caster NHK. The prefecture al-

so reported 11 deaths.

In South Korea, 629 people

had contracted the virus

Wednesday, including 216 in Se-

oul and 168 in Gyeonggi prov-

ince, where Humphreys and

Osan are located, according to

the Central Disease Control

Headquarters.

Starting in July, anyone in

South Korea who has received

the first dose of a vaccine may

go without masks, a government

incentive to spur more inocula-

tions, according to Japan’s Kyo-

do News on Wednesday.

For fully vaccinated individu-

als, the ban on gatherings of five

or more people will be lifted,

too, according to the report.

USFK lifts ban onbars, clubs forfully vaccinated

BY JOSEPH DITZLER

Stars and Stripes

ditzler.joseph@stripes.comTwitter: @JosephDitzler

VIRUS OUTBREAK

WASHINGTON — The number of Amer-

icans seeking unemployment benefits

dropped last week to 406,000, a new pan-

demic low and more evidence that the job

market is strengthening as the virus wanes

and economy further reopens.

Thursday’s report from the Labor De-

partment showed that applications de-

clined 38,000 from 444,000 a week earlier.

The number of weekly applications for job-

less aid — a rough measure of the pace of

layoffs — has fallen by more than half since

January.

The decline in applications reflects a

swift rebound in economic growth. More

Americans are venturing out to shop, travel,

dine out and congregate at entertainment

venues. All that renewed spending has led

companies to seek new workers, which

helps explain why a record number of jobs

is now being advertised.

Yet many businesses complain that they

can’t find enough applicants for all those

open jobs, even though the unemployment

rate remains 6.1%, well above the 3.5% rate

that prevailed before the pandemic struck

in March of last year. Job growth slowed

sharply last month compared with March, a

surprise pullback that was largely ascribed

to a labor shortage in some industries.

Economists blame a range of factors for

the shortfall of workers, including an extra

$300-a-week payment that people receiving

jobless aid have been able to get, on top of

their state unemployment check, since

March. The federal benefit was included in

President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion rescue

package. With many people able to earn

more from their combined federal and state

jobless aid than from their former jobs, the

extra income has likely discouraged some

of the unemployed from seeking work,

some analysts say.

US jobless claims fall to 406,000, a new pandemic lowAssociated Press

Friday, May 28, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 7

tional population, which is 0.42%,

said Jessica Strong, co-director of

applied research at Blue Star

Families, a nonprofit organization

that advocates for military fam-

ilies.

“Many factors that are endemic

to the military lifestyle placed mil-

itary spouses at greater risk of ex-

periencing [intimate-partner vio-

lence], including economic vul-

nerability, social isolation, men-

tal-health concerns and military

culture itself,” Strong said.

Logan said she called the local

police three times in response to

different incidents related to her

then-husband’s behavior, but the

Army base was never notified. Af-

ter the first incident, Logan’s leg

began to swell from the force of

the impact, and she was not able to

bend her knee.

A military and family life coun-

selor from her husband’s brigade

attended every court hearing dur-

ing their eventual divorce and tes-

tified on behalf of Logan’s ex-hus-

band despite Logan’s testimony

on the physical abuse that she en-

dured, she told lawmakers.

Logan took matters into her

own hands by reporting her for-

mer husband to the military, yet a

case review committee did not

grant her a military protection or-

der. The colonel who led the com-

mittee was her husband’s brigade

commander, who determined the

sergeant major should remain in

his command.

Later, Logan filed a report to

the inspector general’s office on

base over how the colonel handled

her case. The IG took the com-

plaint directly to the colonel, Lo-

gan said, the person who her com-

plaint was filed against.

She was told the colonel would

send her a letter stating that he re-

ceived the report and took action,

but Logan never received that let-

ter.

A congressional inquiry filed by

Logan also resulted in a com-

manding major general opening

an internal Army investigation,

known as a 15-6. But Logan said

she still has not been told what ac-

tion was taken as a result of the in-

vestigation, despite the risk she

took in coming forward.

“Throughout all of these mili-

tary investigations, I felt they

questioned the validity of my com-

plaint, based on what I did not do

instead of what was done to me.

Individuals in the military respon-

sible for decisions regarding do-

mestic abuse need to learn more

about abuse,” Logan said.

The installation, Logan’s ex-

husband and the colonel were not

named in Logan’s written testimo-

ny to House lawmakers.

Logan’s testimony reflects gaps

in the military’s response to survi-

vors of domestic violence, said

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif.,

chairwoman of the House sub-

committee.

Logan’s testimony “exposes all

the flaws in the military’s hand-

ling of domestic violence … we

can no longer ignore this,” Speier

said.

Those shortfalls were highlight-

ed in a recent report from the non-

partisan watchdog the Govern-

ment Accountability Office that

concluded the Defense Depart-

ment must enhance its preven-

tion, response and oversight to do-

mestic abuse.

The hearing also comes at a

time when the military’s handling

of sexual assault and sexual ha-

rassment cases has become a

flashpoint in Congress this year,

while the issue of domestic vio-

lence and abuse in the military

and how those cases are handled

has not gotten as much attention.

More than 40,000 incidents met

the Defense Department criteria

for domestic abuse between 2015

and 2019 and 74% of those inci-

dents were physical abuse, Speier

said.

Brenda Farrell, director of de-

fense capabilities and manage-

ment for the GAO, wrote the

watchdog report and testified at

the hearing. She said the top con-

cern is the department is not col-

lecting comprehensive data on the

number of allegations of domestic

violence and related actions taken

by commanders, despite a statuto-

ry requirement since 1999 to do

so.

“As a result, DOD is unable to

assess the scope of alleged abuse,

and the rate of substantiation. To

address these challenges, we rec-

ommended that DOD clarify its

guidance to the services for sub-

mitting data and develop a quality

control process to ensure com-

plete and accurate data on allega-

tions of abuse,” she told House

lawmakers.

Additionally, the report found

gaps exist in creating awareness

of domestic abuse, reporting op-

tions and resources and victim

risk assessment. The military ser-

vices also performed limited over-

sight of commanders’ disposition

of domestic violence incidents, or

oversight of a commander’s deci-

sion whether to pursue a court-

martial and other forms of puni-

shment or to take no action at all.

Speier asked department offi-

cials who appeared at the hearing

about why the picture on the num-

ber of domestic abuse incidents is

incomplete.

Patricia Barron, deputy assist-

ant secretary of defense for mili-

tary community and family poli-

cy, said she is “committed to mak-

ing sure that this solution gets to

fruition.”

“We have started on some of the

procedures that we need in order

to get this done,” she said.

Speier said the subcommittee is

going to require another meeting

with Barron in the next couple of

months “because this is just really

unacceptable.”

Defense Department officials

would also not confirm Tuesday

whether the rate of intimate-part-

ner violence is higher in the mil-

itary than in the civilian popula-

tion in response to a question on

the rates from Rep. Chrissy Hou-

lahan, D-Pa. They said they would

respond to the congresswoman in

writing at a later date.

“I believe that there is data and

I would welcome it when it comes

back… this is something that’s re-

ally concerning when your busi-

ness — and I’m an Air Force vet —

your business is national security

and readiness,” she said.

Houlahan asked what steps the

department has taken to address a

culture of “toxic gender tropes”

that create an unsafe environment

for service members and military

families.

The Defense Department has

directed the RAND Corp. to ex-

amine the factors of military life

that might lend themselves to do-

mestic abuse and intimate-part-

ner violence, Barron said.

Army Col. Steve Lewis, family

advocacy program manager, said

the testimony from Logan, as well

as the recent independent report

on the toxic command climate at

Fort Hood, Texas, “gives us an op-

portunity to really take a deep

look at the climate and culture of

the Army.”

Climate and culture are also

part of the Army’s “People’s First

Task Force,” established in re-

sponse to the Fort Hood report re-

leased in December, Lewis said.

Spouse: Domestic abuse rate is higher in military FROM PAGE 1

cammarata.sarah@stripes.comTwittter: @sarahjcamm

“Many factors that are endemic to themilitary lifestyle placed military spousesat greater risk of experiencing[intimate-partner violence], includingeconomic vulnerability, social isolation,mental-health concerns and militaryculture itself.”

Jessica Strong

co-director of applied research at Blue Star Families

MILITARY

A Reconnaissance Marine ac-

cused of stealing ammunition

from an armory on Camp Pendle-

ton, Calif., will go to court-mar-

tial, military officials said on

Tuesday.

Sgt. Gunnar Naughton, 28, has

been referred to a general court-

martial with a trial date set for Ju-

ly 1 at Camp Pendleton, said 2nd

Lt. Kyle McGuire, spokesman for

the 1st Marine Division.

Naughton, with the 1st Recon-

naissance Battalion, was charged

with six counts of larceny and

military property-related offens-

es involving missing ammunition

in early April. In a list of articles

under the Uniformed Code of

Military Justice released by the

1st Marine Division, Naughton is

accused of being found in posses-

sion of thousands of rounds of

military ammunition, two mili-

tary grenades and a smoke gre-

nade, which Naval Criminal In-

vestigative Service investigators

said were found at his home off-

base in Fallbrook. He is also ac-

cused of deleting evidence on Sig-

nal, a secure messaging app, and

WhatsApp and attempting to dis-

card the ammunition in a ravine.

He is charged with dereliction

in performing his duties, ob-

structing justice and violations of

the UCMJ.

Recon Marinecharged intheft of ammo The Orange County (Calif.) Register

PAGE 8 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, May 28, 2021

Defense Department students

in Bahrain will begin remote

learning starting Monday amid a

sharp rise in new coronavirus

cases in the small island kingdom,

school officials said.

The decision to close the class-

rooms came after the Navy base in

Bahrain announced it would shift

to the second-highest health pro-

tection condition risk level, school

officials said in a letter to parents

and staff members Thursday.

HPCON Charlie indicates “sus-

tained community transmission,”

according to the Pentagon.

Bahrain, home to U.S. Naval

Forces Central Command and 5th

Fleet headquarters, had a seven-

day average incidence rate of 170

new cases per 100,000 people as of

Wednesday, according to figures

from The New York Times. On

Wednesday, 2,791 new cases were

reported, along with an ongoing

average of 15.6 deaths per day.

About 45% of the island’s 1.75

million people are fully vaccinat-

ed, The New York Times data

shows.

Bahrain announced new mea-

sures Wednesday to tackle the re-

cent spike in cases. They include

closures of malls and commercial

shops, restaurants and cafes — ex-

cept for delivery and takeout ser-

vices — as well as barbershops

and hair salons, gyms, pools and

beaches.

The country also barred social

gatherings in homes and suspend-

ed in-person learning at schools.

The measures will remain in ef-

fect until at least June 10.

No decision has been made on

how long Defense Department

classes in Bahrain will remain in

remote learning, said Stephen

Smith, a Department of Defense

Education Activity-Europe

spokesman.

“We will continue to work with

military and public health officials

to monitor the situation and will

provide updates as necessary,”

the letter said.

The last day of school for DO-

DEA students in Bahrain is June

10.

Bahrain schoolshifts to remotelearning Monday

BY JENNIFER H. SVAN

Stars and Stripes

svan.jennifer@stripes.comTwitter: @stripesktown

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany

— The city of Kaiserslautern an-

nounced it will end its curfew Sun-

day, and the surrounding district

will likely allow indoor dining soon

as coronavirus restrictions ease in

an area where tens of thousands of

U.S. military personnel reside.

The city also will allow retail

shops to open to customers without

appointments or proof of a nega-

tive coronavirus test, officials said

in a statement Thursday.

The 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. city curfew

ends Saturday at midnight, the

statement said.

Contact restrictions will also be

eased, with five people from two

households allowed to gather in

public spaces, the city said. Chil-

dren 14 and under and people who

are fully vaccinated or recently re-

covered from the coronavirus do

not count toward the allowable to-

tal for gatherings.

The city on Thursday registered

a seven-day average incidence

rate of 56 new cases per 100,000

people and dropped below 100 for

five consecutive days, which al-

lowed them to lift the federal

“emergency brake” restrictions.

Outdoor dining is authorized un-

til 10 p.m. but guests must either

show proof of vaccination or pre-

sent evidence of a negative corona-

virus test taken within 24 hours.

Reservations must be made in ad-

vance and contact details must be

provided.

The district of Kaiserslautern,

which includes Ramstein Air

Base, had an average incidence

rate of 35.5 new cases per 100,000

people, including U.S. forces, fig-

ures posted by district councillor

Ralf Lessmeister showed Wednes-

day. Without U.S. forces, the num-

ber was still under 50, at 41.5 cases

per 100,000 residents.

Lessmeister said that Rhein-

land-Pfalz Health Minister Clem-

ens Hoch informed him this week

that U.S. forces would be fully in-

cluded in the district’s figures. It

was unclear Thursday how the

federal government would re-

spond to the more complete fig-

ures.

If the district incidence rate re-

mains under 50 per 100,000 people

on Thursday and Friday, Less-

meister said indoor dining and cul-

tural events will be allowed, with

evidence of a negative coronavirus

test, starting Sunday.

From June 2, indoor group

sports with five people maintain-

ing social distancing and outdoor

group sports with a maximum of

20 adults would be allowed again,

Lessmeister said in a Facebook

post.

Kaiserslautern officials had

been seeking a court order that

would allow them to include U.S.

personnel. Since the pandemic be-

gan, only positive tests from U.S.

forces have been included in the

federal government’s calculations

for local incidence rates.

Including U.S. personnel and

NATO members who live in the re-

gion would increase the population

by about 50,000, Lessmeister has

said.

U.S. personnel have very low

positive rates, with all adults and

most dependents aged 12-17 hav-

ing access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Most Germans are still waiting for

vaccine eligibility.

Elsewhere in Germany, Stutt-

gart on Thursday also lifted some

of its coronavirus restrictions after

its incidence rate dropped below

100 new cases per 100,000 people

for five days in a row. About 28,000

people are affiliated with the U.S.

Army garrison in the city and sur-

rounding areas.

KARIN ZEITVOGEL/Stars and Stripes

The exterior of Cafe Susann in Kaiserslautern as shown in April.

Kaiserslautern indoor dining likelyamid other eased restrictions soon

BY MARCUS KLOECKNER

AND JENNIFER H. SVAN

Stars and Stripes

kloeckner.marcus@stripes.comsvan.jennifer@stripes.comTwitter: @stripesktown

VIRUS OUTBREAK

COLUMBUS — The first winner

of Ohio’s first $1 million Vax-a-Mil-

lion vaccination incentive prize was

driving to her family’s home in sub-

urban Cleveland when she received

a call about the good news — from

Gov. Mike DeWine.

A few minutes later Abbigail Bu-

genske was in her parents’ house

screaming so loudly they thought

she was crying.

“A whirlwind,” Bugenske, 22,

said Thursday during a news con-

ference. “It absolutely has not proc-

essed yet. I’m still digesting it — it

feels like it’s happening to a differ-

ent person. I cannot believe it.”

Bugenske is a mechanical engi-

neer working for GE Aviation in

suburban Cincinnati. She’s a 2020

graduate of Michigan State Univer-

sity. She said she plans to donate to

charities and buy a car, but then in-

vest most of it.

The winner of a full college schol-

arship was eighth grader Joseph

Costello of Englewood near Dayton.

“Very excited,” Costello said as he

sat between his parents, Colleen and

Rich, during the virtual news con-

ference.

Colleen Costello said she got the

call from the governor as she left

work Wednesday.

“I was really thankful at that mo-

ment that there was a bench nearby,

so I could sit down,” she said.

DeWine visited with the Costello

family in person along with his wife,

Fran DeWine, on Wednesday after

the announcement. He said he

didn’t know the names of the win-

ners until shortly before he made

the calls.

“Calling someone and telling

them they’ve won a million dollars is

agreat thing, and calling a family to

tell them they’ve won a full scholar-

ship is also fun,” the governor said.

More than 2.7 million adults

signed up for the $1 million prize and

more than 104,000 children ages 12

to 17 entered the drawing for the col-

lege scholarship, which includes

tuition, room and board, and books.

Four more $1 million and college

scholarship winners will be an-

nounced each Wednesday for the

next four weeks.

‘A whirlwind’: Ohio vaccinelottery winners speak out

Associated Press

Friday, May 28, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 9

NATION

WASHINGTON — Republican

senators outlined a $928 billion in-

frastructure proposal Thursday

that would tap unused coronavirus

aid, a counteroffer to President Joe

Biden’s more sweeping plan as the

two sides struggle to negotiate a bi-

partisan compromise and remain

far apart on how to pay for the mas-

sive spending.

The Republican offer would in-

crease spending by $91 billion on

roads and bridges, $48 billion on

water resources and $25 billion on

airports, according to a one-page

summary released by the GOP ne-

gotiators. It also would provide for

one-time increases in broadband

investments, at $65 billion, and $22

billion on rail.

Republicans have rejected Bi-

den’s proposed corporate tax in-

crease to pay for new investments,

and instead want to shift unspent

COVID-19 relief dollars to help

cover the costs.

“It’s a serious effort to try to re-

ach a bipartisan agreement,” said

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, of West

Virginia, the lead GOP negotiator.

The Republican senators said

their offer delivers on “core infras-

tructure investments” that Biden

has focused on as areas of potential

bipartisan agreement. But their

overall approach received a cool

response by Democrats and the

White House.

With about $250 billion in new

spending, their plan falls short of

the more ambitious proposal out-

lined in the president’s American

Jobs Plan. In earlier negotiations.

Biden reduced his $2.3 trillion

opening bid to $1.7 trillion.

Biden, in an economic address

later Thursday in Cleveland,

planned to present “head-on” the

choice before Congress and the

country, according to a White

House official, and will frame the

argument as whether Americans

want to keep giving breaks to cor-

porations or invest in modernizing

infrastructure. The official was not

authorized to publicly discuss Bi-

den’s remarks before the presi-

dent’s speech and spoke on condi-

tion of anonymity.

Investing in infrastructure is a

top legislative priority for Biden.

Talks are at a crossroads before a

Memorial Day deadline to make

progress toward a bipartisan deal.

The White House is assessing

whether the president can strike

the contours of an agreement with

Republicans or whether he will try

to go it alone with Democrats if no

progress is made in the coming

days.

Core differences remain over

the definition of infrastructure:

Republicans stick to traditional in-

vestments in roads, bridges, ports

and water drinking systems, while

Biden takes a more expansive

view.

Under Biden’s initial proposal,

there is more than $300 billion for

substantial upgrades to public

schools, Department of Veterans

Affairs hospitals and affordable

housing.

Biden’s proposal would spend

heavily on efforts to confront cli-

mate change, with $174 billion to

develop electric vehicle charging

stations and $50 billion so commu-

nities can better deal with floods,

hurricanes, wildfires and other

natural disasters.

One area of agreement is on

boosting broadband, but the sides

are apart on details. Republicans

raised their initial offer to $65 bil-

lion in an earlier exchange; Biden

is seeking $100 billion.

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo.,

said the Republicans’ proposal re-

flects “what people at home in

Wyoming think of is infrastruc-

ture, roads with potholes.”

The White House, still express-

ing public hopes for bipartisan-

ship, welcomed the GOP offer. But

it was greeted with some initial

coolness inside the West Wing.

Aides have for days signaled

that using COVID-19 relief money

was a nonstarter, noting that much

of that money has been allocated

and suggesting that the rest should

be held in reserve for future virus-

related costs.

There was also skepticism about

how the Republicans claimed Bi-

den has signaled agreement to a

$1.2 trillion deal in a recent meet-

ing — a claim the White House dis-

puted.

At $928 billion, the new GOP of-

fer features $257 billion in new

money, more than the $225 billion

the White House had said was in

the initial Republican proposal.

But still far less than the White

House had hoped.

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said

there is $700 billion in unspent CO-

VID-19 aid from the American

Rescue Plan, which was the ad-

ministration’s $1.9 trillion re-

sponse to the coronavirus crisis

earlier this year.

Toomey said some of that money

could fill the gap between the

amount of revenue normally col-

lected from transportation taxes

and fees, and the new spending the

GOP senators are proposing.

But he said the Republican ne-

gotiators have made it “very, very

clear on every single time we’ve

had a discussion is that we’re not

raising taxes.”

J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/AP

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R­W.Va., the GOP’s lead negotiator on a counteroffer to President Joe Biden’sinfrastructure plan, confers with Sen. Roger Wicker, R­Miss., at a Senate Environment and Public WorksCommittee markup at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday.

GOP offers $928B on infrastructurecounter, funded with COVID-19 aid

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Senate Re-

publicans are ready to deploy the

filibuster to block a commission

on the Jan. 6 insurrection, shatter-

ing hopes for a bipartisan probe of

the deadly assault on the U.S. Cap-

itol and reviving pressure on

Democrats to do away with the

procedural tactic that critics say

has lost its purpose.

The vote Thursday would be the

first successful use of a filibuster

this year to halt Senate legislative

action. Most Republicans oppose

the bill, which would establish a

commission to investigate the at-

tack by Donald Trump supporters

over the election.

“We have a mob overtake the

Capitol, and we can’t get the Re-

publicans to join us in making his-

toric record of that event? That is

sad,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, of Il-

linois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat.

“That tells you what’s wrong with

the Senate and what’s wrong with

the filibuster.”

The filibuster is a time-honored

Senate tradition that requires a

vote by 60 of the 100 senators to

cut off debate and advance a bill.

With the Senate evenly split 50-50,

Democrats would need support of

10 Republicans to move to the

commission bill.

The House already approved

the measure with some Republi-

can support, but the Senate fil-

ibuster is sparking fresh debate

over whether the time has come

for Democrats to change the rules

and lower the threshold to 51 votes

to take up legislation.

Trump has made it clear he op-

poses the formation of any panel

to investigate the Jan. 6 mob

siege, when his supporters

mounted an assault in a failed ef-

fort to overturn Joe Biden’s elec-

tion.

Democrats are warning that if

Republicans are willing to use the

filibuster to stop an arguably pop-

ular measure, it shows the limits

of trying to broker compromises,

particularly on bills related to

election reforms or other aspects

of the Democrats’ agenda.

Ahead of Thursday’s vote, the

mother of the late Capitol Police

Officer Brian Sicknick was meet-

ing with at least six Republican

senators to try to persuade them

to act. Sicknick was among many

officers protecting the building,

some seen in videos in hand-to-

hand combat with the mob. He

collapsed immediately after en-

gaging with the rioters and died

the next day.

Video shows two men spraying

Sicknick and another officer with

a chemical, but the Washington

medical examiner said he suf-

fered a stroke and died from nat-

ural causes.

Outside of a meeting with Utah

Sen. Mitt Romney, one of two sen-

ators who has signaled support for

the House bill, Sicknick’s mother

said that he was “doing his job and

he got caught up in it, and it’s very

sad.”

In a statement Wednesday, she

was more blunt: “I suggest that all

Congressmen and Senators who

are against this bill visit my son’s

grave in Arlington National Cem-

etery and, while there, think about

what their hurtful decisions will

do to those officers who will be

there for them going forward.”

So far, only Romney and Alaska

Sen. Lisa Murkowski have said

they expect to back the House-

passed bill. Others, including

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, have

proposed tweaks to the legislation

to try to attract more votes. But

the effort had so far failed to yield

additional support.

“What we want is closure,”

Murkowski said Wednesday.

Collins has said she is working

with other senators to try to find a

compromise.

“I want to see a commission,”

Collins said Wednesday. “I am

working very hard to secure Re-

publican votes.”

Collins’ amendment seeks to

remedy some of the chief Repub-

lican complaints about the pro-

posed commission. It would re-

quire the Democratic-appointed

chair and the Republican vice

chair of the panel to “jointly ap-

point” staff, changing House lan-

guage that only required the chair

to consult with the vice chair. It

would also terminate the commis-

sion 30 days after a final report is

issued, instead of 60 days, an ef-

fort to avoid their work spilling in-

to the election year.

Both the House version and

Collins’ amendment would re-

quire the final report to be issued

by Dec. 31, 2021.

Still, most Republicans have

held fast to their opposition. North

Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said he

was still “unlikely” to support the

the bill. He said he believes the

year-end deadline is unrealistic.

Republicans have also pointed

to a bipartisan Senate report that

is expected to be released next

month, saying it will be sufficient

to fix security problems in the

Capitol.

GOP set to blockJan. 6 commissionin filibuster fight

Associated Press

PAGE 10 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, May 28, 2021

NATION

SAN JOSE, Calif. — An employee

who gunned down nine people at a

California rail yard and then killed

himself as law enforcement rushed

in had talked about killing people at

work more than a decade ago, his

ex-wife said.

“I never believed him, and it nev-

er happened. Until now,” a tearful

Cecilia Nelms told The Associated

Press on Wednesday following the

6:30 a.m. attack at a light rail facility

for the Valley Transportation Au-

thority.

“When our deputies went

through the door, initially he was

still firing rounds. When our deputy

saw him, he took his life,” Santa Cla-

ra County Sheriff Laurie Smith told

reporters.

The number of people fatally shot

by the gunman rose from eight after

the Santa Clara County’s medical

examiner-coroner Wednesday

night confirmed the death of Alex

Ward Fritch, 49, to multiple Bay Ar-

ea media outlets. He had been

wounded and hospitalized in critical

condition after the attack.

The sheriff’s office is next door to

the rail yard, which serves the coun-

ty of more than 1 million people in

the heart of the Silicon Valley.

The attacker was identified as Sa-

muel Cassidy, 57, according to two

law enforcement officials. Investi-

gators offered no immediate word

on a possible motive but his ex-wife

said he used to come home from

work resentful and angry over what

he perceived as unfair assignments.

“He could dwell on things,” she

said. The two were married for

about 10 years until a 2005 divorce

filing and she hadn’t been in touch

with Cassidy for about 13 years,

Nelms said.

It was the 15th mass killing in the

nation this year, all of them shoot-

ings that have claimed at least four

lives each for a total of 86 deaths, ac-

cording to a database compiled by

The Associated Press, USA Today

and Northeastern University.

At the White House, President

Joe Biden ordered flags to be flown

at half-staff and urged Congress to

act on legislation to curb gun vio-

lence.

“Every life that is taken by a bul-

let pierces the soul of our nation. We

can, and we must, do more,” Biden

said in a statement.

Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the

site and spoke emotionally about the

country’s latest mass killing.

“There’s a numbness some of us

are feeling about this. There’s a

sameness to this,” he said. “It begs

the damn question of what the hell is

going on in the United States of

America?”

The shooting took place in two

buildings and killed employees who

had been bus and light rail oper-

ators, mechanics, linemen and an

assistant superintendent over the

course of their careers. One had

worked for the agency since 1999.

Eight victims identified earlier

were Paul Delacruz Megia, 42; Tap-

tejdeep Singh, 36; Adrian Balleza,

29; Jose Dejesus Hernandez, 35;

Timothy Michael Romo, 49; Mi-

chael Joseph Rudometkin, 40; Ab-

dolvahab Alaghmandan, 63; and

Lars Kepler Lane, 63.

The shooter had more than one

gun, county District Attorney Jeff

Rosen said.

Killer of 9 in Calif. had talked of attacksAssociated Press

RANDY VAZQUEZ/AP

Two people hug to comfort one another outside the scene of a shooting in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — The federal

government will issue cybersecur-

ity regulations in the coming days

for U.S. pipeline operators follow-

ing a ransomware attack that led to

fuel shortages across much of the

Eastern Seaboard.

The Transportation Security Ad-

ministration, which oversees the

nation’s network of pipelines, is ex-

pected to issue a security directive

this week that will address some of

the issues raised by the Colonial

Pipeline shutdown, a U.S. official

said Tuesday.

The directive will include a re-

quirement that pipeline companies

report cyber incidents to the federal

government, said the official,

speaking on condition of anonymity

because the proposal has not yet

been publicly released.

It addresses, to an extent, the ran-

somware attack that led to the shut-

down of the pipeline this month, but

it also reflects a broader Biden ad-

ministration focus on cybersecurity

after a series of damaging intru-

sions by overseas hackers.

The Department of Homeland

Security declined to confirm any

specifics of the pending directive,

issuing a statement that said TSA

and another component of the agen-

cy, the Cybersecurity and Infras-

tructure Agency, are working with

private companies to address cyber

threats. “The Biden Administration

is taking further action to better se-

cure our nation’s critical infrastruc-

ture,” it said.

The directive, first reported by

The Washington Post, is expected to

prompt concern, if not outright op-

position, from private operators wa-

ry of increased government regula-

tion.

The American Petroleum Insti-

tute, which represents the oil and

gas industry, said in a statement

that its members are working with

the administration to develop re-

porting policies and that any new

regulations should include “reci-

procal information sharing and lia-

bility protections.”

Mark Montgomery, a senior fel-

low at the Foundation for the De-

fense of Democracies and former

executive director of the congres-

sionally mandated Cyberspace So-

larium Commission, said federal of-

ficials have told him the pipeline or-

der will have two stages.

The first will immediately man-

date that any cybersecurity inci-

dents are reported to the federal

government, while the second,

coming later, would require that

pipeline companies complete a self-

assessment of their cybersecurity

systems for known vulnerabilities.

“It’s a good step,” Montgomery

said. “But we need this applied

more broadly so that all our national

critical infrastructure is at a higher

level.”

DHS Secretary Alejandro May-

orkas, speaking earlier at a news

conference about the recovery in

domestic air travel as the pandemic

eases in the U.S., did not mention

the security directive but said his

agency was working with the pri-

vate sector to improve “cyber hy-

giene” to prevent attacks and en-

sure that businesses can more eas-

ily withstand them if their defenses

fail.

Hack prompts new security regulations for US pipelines Associated Press

The U.S. Conference of Catholic

Bishops plans to devote part of its

national meeting next month to the

sensitive issue of which Catholics

are worthy of receiving Communi-

on, despite calls for a delay.

Dozens of bishops had requested

the USCCB president, Los Angeles

Archbishop José Gomez, postpone

the debate until a later meeting,

when they could meet in person

rather than virtually. But prompt

action is being sought by some con-

servative bishops who want to sig-

nal that President Joe Biden and

other Catholic politicians who sup-

port abortion rights should not re-

ceive Communion.

The conservatives are now heart-

ened, as Gomez confirmed in a me-

mo Saturday that the topic is on the

agenda of the June meeting. A vote

is scheduled on whether the confer-

ence’s Committee on Doctrine

should draft a document address-

ing the Communion issue and pre-

sent it at a later date.

An explanation of the agenda

item makes clear that one of the

subtopics will be the receiving of

Communion by cultural and politi-

cal leaders.

Denver Archbishop Samuel

Aquila, one of the conservatives en-

gaged in the discussions, issued a

statement Tuesday praising Gomez

and saying he “followed the correct

procedures to facilitate this critical

discussion as a body of bishops.”

Aquila referred to a May 7 letter

to Gomez from the head of the Vat-

ican’s doctrine office, Cardinal Luis

Ladaria, urging the U.S. bishops to

deliberate carefully and minimize

divisions before proceeding with

any action on the Communion issue.

“It was clear from it that the

USCCB’s plan to discuss and debate

this important issue is warranted

and encouraged,” Aquila said. “In

contrast, the publication of the let-

ter calling for a halt to discussion at

our June meeting on this vital issue

risks creating an atmosphere of fac-

tionalism, rather than unity

amongst the bishops.”

The bishops who requested a de-

lay did not release their letter publi-

cly or issue statements about it. Ac-

cording to The Pillar, an online

news outlet covering the Catholic

Church, the signatories included

Cardinals Blase Cupich, of Chicago,

and Wilton Gregory, of Washing-

ton, the latter of whom has made

clear that Biden is welcome to re-

ceive Communion at his archdio-

cese’s churches.

But in a recent essay, Bishop

Robert McElroy, of San Diego,

made a case against the campaign

to deny Biden and others Commu-

nion.

“It will bring tremendously de-

structive consequences,” McElroy

wrote. “The Eucharist is being

weaponized and deployed as a tool

in political warfare. This must not

happen.”

Divided US Catholic bishops planning to debate Communion policyAssociated Press

Friday, May 28, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 11

WASHINGTON — The White

House is set to propose on Friday a

$6 trillion budget plan as Presi-

dent Joe Biden seeks major

changes to the U.S. economy and

welfare system, according to two

people briefed on the proposal.

The people spoke on the condition

of anonymity to discuss a matter

not yet made public.

The budget is expected to con-

tain no new major policies from

the White House and instead re-

flects the plans it has already in-

troduced, including a $2.3 trillion

infrastructure proposal, $1.8 tril-

lion education and families plan,

and $1.5 trillion in proposed dis-

cretionary spending. It projects

budget deficits above $1 trillion

for the rest of the decade, the two

people said, as Washington’s

spending imbalance remains at

elevated levels. Even without new

additional spending proposals, the

annual federal budget is projected

to include $5.8 trillion in spending

in fiscal year 2021.

The budget comes amid nego-

tiations between congressional

Republicans and the White House

over an infrastructure bill, as Sen-

ate Republicans on Thursday

morning introduced their latest

counteroffer to the administra-

tion. That effort could come close

to $1 trillion, but the budget under-

scores the scale of the administra-

tion’s spending ambitions relative

to congressional Republicans.

The overall spending and deficit

figures were first reported by The

New York Times. The Washington

Post reported last week that the

budget would mirror what has al-

ready been reported, jettisoning

key campaign promises on health

care such as the public option and

prescription drug reform.

White House is set to propose $6T budget planThe Washington Post

NATION/WORLD

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates

— A Saudi-led coalition fighting

in Yemen on Thursday acknowl-

edged having equipment on an

island in the Bab el-Mandeb

Strait where a mysterious air

base is now under construction.

However, the coalition’s state-

ment on the state-run Saudi

Press Agency did not name who

was building the facility across

the volcanic island of Mayun, the

subject of recent reporting by

The Associated Press.

The statement said the equip-

ment, which it did not identify,

helps the coalition back Yemen’s

internationally recognized gov-

ernment against the Iranian-

backed Houthi rebels who now

hold the country’s capital, Sanaa.

The statement said the United

Arab Emirates, which remains a

coalition member after largely

withdrawing from the war in

2019, was “providing air support

in defense” of the Yemeni city of

Marib, the target of an ongoing

Houthi offensive. The statement

called any claim of Emirati

troops on Mayun “baseless and

unfounded.”

The AP reporting, based in

part on satellite photos of the is-

land, showed the construction of

a 6,070-foot runway on the is-

land. Shipping data links the

Emirates to an earlier, aban-

doned effort to build a runway

there.

Military officials with Ye-

men’s internationally recognized

government told the AP that

Emirati ships transported mili-

tary weapons, equipment and

troops to Mayun Island in recent

weeks for this latest construc-

tion. The AP reports did not men-

tion any Emirati troop presence

on the island.

The Saudi statement comes af-

ter rising anger from Yemeni of-

ficials over the air base being

built on Mayun. The UAE has not

responded to repeated requests

for comment.

Saudis say coalition kit is on Yemeni islandAssociated Press

PLANET LABS INC./AP

This satellite image released Tuesday shows a mysterious air basebeing built on Yemen’s volcanic Mayun Island. 

PAGE 12 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, May 28, 2021

Friday, May 28, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 13

AMERICAN ROUNDUP

Man dies after crashinvolving leaf blower

MO AVALON — A north-

west Missouri man

died after a collision occurred while

a woman was blowing grass off a

highway with a leaf blower, the Mis-

souri State Highway Patrol said.

The patrol said Charles Plum-

mer, 75, of Hale, was on a stopped

utility vehicle Sunday night on

Route JJ about 1.5 miles north of

Avalon. Susan Bachman, 63, of

Chillicothe, was standing in front of

Plummer’s UTV blowing grass off

the highway. A pickup truck driven

by Steven Wilson, 33, of Chillicothe,

hit Plummer from behind, forcing

the UTV into Bachman, the patrol

said.

Plummer was flown to a hospital

in Liberty, where he died of his in-

juries. Bachman was hospitalized

with serious injuries. Wilson was

not injured.

School yearbook invitedstudents to mock peers

MS KILN — Parents in a

Mississippi Gulf Coast

community are outraged after they

say a middle school yearbook was

turned into a “burn book” where

students were invited to mock and

criticize their classmates.

The Sun Herald reportedthat the

yearbook for Hancock Middle

School’s 1,100 students contained

prompts like, “Which friend would

you not invite on spring break?” and

“I would like to spike a volleyball

at...” Middle schoolers answered

with statements like, “(Name) be-

cause he walks weird” and “(Name)

would not be welcome to come with

me on a trip because she isn’t fun to

be around.”

Parents and alumni criticized the

school on Facebook for turning the

yearbook into a “burn book.”

In response, district officials said

in a statement that they’ve taken

measures to ensure “this never hap-

pens again,” but did not provide de-

tails.

Cargo handlers chargedwith stealing gold bars

CA LOS ANGELES — Two

cargo handlers were

charged with stealing gold bars

from a shipment at Los Angeles In-

ternational Airport.

Marlon Moody, 38, and Brian

Benson, 35, both of Los Angeles,

were arrested by FBI agents and

have been charged with conspiracy

and theft of interstate and foreign

shipment, according to a statement

from the U.S. attorney’s office.

A federal grand jury indictment

alleges the men worked for a con-

tractor providing ground handling

services at the airport in April 2020

when they stole four gold bars from

a shipment of 2,000 bars that was

being sent from Australia to New

York by a Canadian bank. Each bar

weighed 2.2 pounds and was worth

about $56,000, prosecutors said.

The bars were offloaded during a

stopover at the airport but an eve-

ning inventory found that one box

containing 25 bars was missing, au-

thorities said. Moody found the mis-

sing box near a cargo warehouse the

next day, drove it to a nearby loca-

tion and removed four bars, prose-

cutors said.

Moody gave Benson one bar, an-

other to a relative and buried the

other two in his backyard, but the

FBI recovered all of them about two

weeks later, prosecutors said.

Man dies making IEDthat he planned to sell

OH JEFFERSON — An

Ohio man died when an

improvised explosive device he was

making in his garage blew up, au-

thorities said

According to the Ashtabula

County Sheriff’s Office, deputies ar-

rived on the scene in Jefferson to

find the detached garage burned to

the ground and debris scattered in a

neighbor’s yard. A neighbor told

deputies the man “was making the

explosives in his garage to sell so he

could pay off a lawnmower he re-

cently purchased,” the sheriff’s of-

fice said.

The 55-year-old was taken to a

hospital, where he later died. His

name has not been released.

College student wins $65K literary prize

MD CHESTERTOWN —

A student from Dela-

ware has won the nation’s largest

undergraduate literary prize.

Washington College announced

that Justin Nash, 22, of Smyrna, won

the Sophie Kerr Prize, which is

worth $65,580 this year. The prize

named for an Eastern Shore writer

is awarded each year to the graduat-

ing senior demonstrating the best

potential for future achievement in

a literary endeavor, school officials

said.

Nash, an English major with

three minors, has served as editor-

in-chief of campus literary maga-

zines and journals. He hopes to be-

come an editor with a nonprofit

publishing press one day.

The Wilmington News Journal

reportedthat Nash, who grew up on

a farm in Smyrna, focuses on sub-

jects like rural life, death and desire.

“I do owe that to how I was raised

and where I was raised,” Nash said.

Wreckage of sunkenfishing vessel found

ME PORTLAND — The

wreckage of a Maine

fishing vessel that sank last year has

been located off Massachusetts.

The sinking of the Emmy Rose

killed four fishermen last Novem-

ber about 22 miles northeast of

Provincetown. Klein Marine Sys-

tems, a New Hampshire company,

announced the discovery of the ves-

sel on Monday, the Portland Press

Herald reported. Klein Marine had

been working with the Coast Guard

and federal authorities to locate the

wreck. An investigation into the

sinking is ongoing.

The sinking led to the deaths of

captain Robert Blethen Jr. of Geor-

getown, Maine, and crew members

Jeffrey Matthews of Portland,

Maine; Ethan Ward of Pownal,

Maine; and Michael Porper of

Gloucester, Mass.

Lawsuit: Pizza chainunderpaid delivery drivers

WA SEATTLE — A pro-

posed class-action law-

suit claims popular Western Wash-

ington chain restaurant Zeeks Pizza

withheld wages, tips and other mon-

ey owed to delivery drivers.

Seattle attorney Toby Marshall

filed the suit on behalf of Zeeks driv-

er Chance White in King County Su-

perior Court, The Seattle Times

reported.

According to the suit, Zeeks and

two franchisees “engaged in a sys-

tematic scheme of wage and hour

abuses against its pizza drivers.”

Among the claims is that Zeeks

failed to pay drivers for all hours

worked; failed to pay drivers an au-

tomatic delivery charge assessed on

customers; and failed to pay drivers

all their tips and gratuities and re-

imburse them for mileage.

Man tries to smuggleammunition, gets prison

AZ TUCSON — A man has

been sentenced to nearly

four years in federal prison for at-

tempting to smuggle ammunition

from the United States into Mexico,

according to federal prosecutors in

Tucson.

They said Jorge Armando Lopez-

Espinoza, 42, a Mexican national,

received a 46-month prison term.

Prosecutors said that in May

2020, Lopez-Espinoza conspired

with others to smuggle 8,000 rounds

of ammunition in his tractor trailer

from Nogales, Ariz., to Mexico. Law

enforcement agents intercepted the

shipments of ammunition before

Lopez-Espinoza acquired them. Lo-

pez-Espinoza picked up the boxes

he believed contained the 8,000

rounds, hid them in his tractor trail-

er and attempted to enter Mexico

through the Nogales Port of Entry.

CHARLIE RIEDEL/AP

A man is silhouetted by the setting sun as he walks in a park on Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo. 

Sundown, you better take care

THE CENSUS

82 The number of vehicles vandalized with orange paint thismonth at Maryland’s Kent Island High School. The Queen

Anne’s County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media postthat the school’s re-source officer was called to the student parking lot on May 20 and saw multiplevandalized vehicles. Officials determined that 82 vehicles were vandalized.The officer found the juvenile suspect, who admitted to the vandalism, and thesuspect’s father came to the school and took custody, the sheriff’s office said.The suspect was charged with malicious destruction of property scheme anddisruption of school activity, the sheriff’s office said. School administrators alsoissued disciplinary measures against the suspect.

From wire reports

PAGE 14 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, May 28, 2021

FACES

The figure is far from official, but according to Marta

Kauffman, the co-creator of TV’s enduring global blockbus-

ter “Friends,” she’s been approached 147,000 times — give

or take — about a reboot or revival of the NBC sitcom.

“It started before we went off the air!” Kauffman says

with a laugh. She’s heard all the ideas, old and new. Hey,

what about a show centering on Ben Geller — who would

now be roughly the age his father, Ross, was when the show

started — and his circle of friends?

“Oh, 100 people have mentioned that idea,” she says.

“And I shut that down. My question is: Why? We can’t do bet-

ter than what we did in this arena. So if we’re trying to do

some version of it, it’s already watered down.”

With a little bit of patience and a push by WarnerMedia

executives seeking star power to help with the 2020 launch

of HBO Max — the platform where the long-running sitcom

is available to stream after years of being on Netflix — a

breakthrough came when the show’s producers and six cast

members, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow,

Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer,

agreed to participate in a reunion special.

Even after overcoming the participants’ years of tactfully

dodging questions about a return, it’s been a long road to get

the “Friends” reunion to the screen. The pandemic caused a

year of delays between the original planned shoot and when

production ultimately happened. But over two days in April

on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Calif., the cast of

“Friends” was there for us once more.

In a weird way, “Friends: The Reunion” is a jolting re-

minder of the passage of time. With the show still playing on

aloop thanks to its streaming afterlife, it can feel like no time

has passed at all since the series finale, “The Last One,”

aired in 2004. But it’s been 17 years since Rachel got off the

plane bound for Paris to be with Ross — thanks, in large

part, to Phoebe — and Chandler and Monica welcomed

twins and bid adieu to city life, making sure Joey had a room

in their suburban home.

The two-hour special features new footage with the cast,

including a sit-down interview; segments showing them

marveling at the carefully reconstructed sets on Stage 24,

the same studio where the series originated; and vignettes

of them doing table reads of classic moments from the se-

ries. Mixed in are stories about the making of the series

from the cast and producers, as well as testimonials from

fans — both celebrity and everyday admirers — about their

adoration.

The delay in production proved valuable, according to

Ben Winston, the director and producer of the special: With

the extra time to research, he watched all of the show’s 236

episodes, read two books about “Friends,” and spent time

getting to know the cast better over Zoom.

Winston, who also serves as showrunner of “The Late

Late Show with James Corden,” said the concept for the spe-

cial didn’t change much from what was originally planned,

with the exception of the location for the interview portion

moderated by Corden. It was originally going to take place

indoors, with the plan to build out Stage 24 into something

resembling the setup for the “Saturday Night Live 40th An-

niversary Special,” and lean into the glam with audience

members in formal wear. It was Schwimmer who suggested

moving the segment outdoors because of the pandemic.

“I was most worried that somebody would get COVID in

the lead-up to it,” Winston says. “There was no margin for

error; if somehow, at the last minute, somebody tested posi-

tive or whatever, then it’s over. So I was always nervous

about that. And I think just the weight of expectation of this

show. I’d be lying if I didn’t have a bit of butterflies in my

stomach.”

It was crucial, Winston says, that the sets and the stage,

from the dressing room to the audience bleachers, be as

identical to what existed when “Friends” originally filmed

there as possible — a task made somewhat easier with John

Schaffner, the production designer on “Friends,” also work-

ing on the reunion special.

Most of the artifacts were in the archive, with a few excep-

tions. One was the neon light that hung over the audience:

“We found it on all archive photos, but no one could find that

neon light,” Winston says, “so we had to get it remade.” An-

other was the rug in Monica’s apartment, which they also

had to have remade.

“I really was obsessive that when [the cast] walked in on

that set, I wanted them to feel like they’ve literally just got

back in time and have a very weird, emotional out-of-body

experience,” he explains. “And I think that as soon as you

see something in the wrong place, or something’s in the

wrong order, or that was never the right color, that immedi-

ately takes you out.”

Ultimately, what matters most to fans is that this is the one

where the group gets back together. And as a semblance of

normalcy creeps back into our daily lives, there’s something

to the special arriving when it does, according to Kauffman.

“As the world is opening up again, I think it’s a really posi-

tive, celebratory [thing]. People have been waiting for this

for a long time, like they have been waiting for other things

during this year. I’m hoping that what it does is provide

some real joy and laughter, and maybe a tear or two.”

HBO MAX/AP

The cast of “Friends” — Jennifer Aniston, from left, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmerand Matt LeBlanc — return to where it started in a reunion special streaming now on HBO Max. 

There for usonce againTeam behind ‘Friends’ sharesreason for long-awaited reunion

BY YVONNE VILLARREAL

Los Angeles Times

Online shopping giant Amazon

is buying MGM, the movie and TV

studio behind James Bond, “Le-

gally Blonde” and “Shark Tank,”

with the hopes of filling its video

streaming service with more stuff

to watch.

Amazon is paying $8.45 billion

for MGM, making it the compa-

ny’s second-largest acquisition af-

ter it bought grocer Whole Foods

for nearly $14 billion in 2017.

The deal is the latest in the

media industry that’s aimed at

boosting streaming services to

compete against Netflix and Dis-

ney+. AT&T and Discovery an-

nounced last week they would

combine media companies, creat-

ing a powerhouse that includes

HGTV, CNN, Food Network and

HBO.

Amazon doesn’t say how many

people watch its Prime Video

streaming service, but more than

200 million people have access to

it because they pay for Prime

membership, which gives them

faster shipping and other perks.

Amazon said it would use

MGM’s vast library, which in-

cludes famous characters such as

Rocky, RoboCop and Pink Pan-

ther, to create new movies and

shows.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun

work,” said Amazon founder Jeff

Bezos, during the company’s sha-

reholder meeting on Wednesday.

Amazon to buy MGMAssociated Press

Isbell, Kiah lead

Americana music awardsSinger-songwriters Jason Isbell

and Amythyst Kiah are both up for

three nominations at this year’s

Americana Honors and Awards

show, which will resume in-per-

son after the pandemic forced the

cancellation of last year’s awards

ceremony.

Nominees were announced on

Wednesday for the Sept. 22 show

in Nashville. Isbell is nominated

for artist of the year, and he and

his band are nominated for album

of the year for his record “Re-

unions” and song of the year for

“Dreamsicle.”

Kiah is nominated for song of

the year for “Black Myself,”

emerging act of the year and for

duo/group of the year for her work

in the group Our Native Daugh-

ters.

Clarkson to take over

DeGeneres’ daytime slot Two weeks after Ellen DeGe-

neres said her talk show would be

ending with its upcoming season,

NBCUniversal announced that

the daytime slot would eventually

be taken over by “The Kelly Clar-

kson Show.”

Clarkson launched her talk

show in September 2019 to suc-

cessful ratings. The show earned

three Daytime Emmys in its first

season, including a hosting award

for Clarkson. Her celebrity inter-

views and heartwarming seg-

ments featuring everyday Ameri-

cans undoubtedly appeal to an au-

dience overlapping with DeGene-

res’s, and will replace “Ellen”

beginning fall 2022.

Other news■ Kevin Clark, who played

drummer Freddy “Spazzy

McGee” Jones in the 2003 movie

“School of Rock” with Jack Black,

was killed when he was struck by a

car while riding his bicycle along a

Chicago street early Wednesday.

Police said Clark, 32, was struck

after running a red light in the

city’s Avondale neighborhood.

Clark was riding east on Logan

Boulevard when he was struck by

a vehicle heading south on West-

ern Avenue, a witness and the

driver both told responding offi-

cers, according to a Chicago Po-

lice Department crash report.

From wire reports

Friday, May 28, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 15

Max D. Lederer Jr., Publisher

Lt. Col. Marci Hoffman, Europe commander

Lt. Col. Richard McClintic, Pacific commander

EDITORIAL

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stripes.com

OPINION

For what seems like forever, Ameri-

ca’s presidents have been ordering

up new U.S. policies designed to fi-

nally fix, or at least make the best of,

the old and perpetual crises in Afghanistan.

And sooner or later, each optimistic U.S.

president has discovered that even the best-

intentioned Afghan fixer-upper ended up

looking like it had been cobbled together by

his departments of Unforeseen Develop-

ments & Unintended Consequences.

Today we’ll start by trying to finally learn

from the entire history of flailed and failed

U.S. initiatives in Afghanistan. In the process,

you will read about one U.S. initiative that may

surprise not just you, but also those who con-

sider themselves experts because they know

about every miscalculation that has been on

the whole sad list, ever since 9/11.

This week, President Joe Biden, who prob-

ably spent more eras grappling with Afghan-

istan than all other modern presidents com-

bined, has been seeing military and diplomat-

ic info that seems to be warning him that, de-

spite all his experience and optimism, he may

be joining that exclusive club of commanders

in chief who produced woebegone Afghanis-

tan outcomes.

On Wednesday, Washington’s policymak-

ers awoke to a warning-siren blaring from the

upper-right corner of The New York Times’

front page. A news article reported that Bi-

den’s administration and NATO intend to

have their troops withdrawn from Afghanis-

tan by early to mid-July; that’s later than for-

mer President Donald Trump’s pledge to

withdraw totally by May 1, but well ahead of

Biden’s pledge to be gone by Sept. 11.

“The Pentagon still has not determined how

it will combat terrorist threats like Al Qaeda

from afar after American troops leave,” The

Times reported. “Nor have top Defense De-

partment officials secured agreement from

allies about repositioning American troops in

other nearby countries. … The rapid with-

drawal has exposed a variety of complex prob-

lems that have yet to be resolved and are pro-

voking intense concern.”

No wonder, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of

Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently issued this chill-

ing non-assurance: “It’s not a foregone conclu-

sion, in my professional military estimate, that

the Taliban automatically win and Kabul

falls.”

We know well what to expect (see also: what

to fear) if the Taliban re-conquer Afghanistan.

When The Washington Post’s Lally Wey-

mouth asked Afghanistan President Ashraf

Ghani about the Taliban’s subjugation of

women, including assassination attempts on

female journalists in Kabul, the Afghan presi-

dent explained how and why the Taliban’s fol-

lowers accept such horrific acts against wom-

en:

“They’ve grown up outside normal families

in madrassas in the absence of women, so

women have been construed as a threat to

them.”

Ghani may not realize it — and indeed Bi-

den and his best and brightest may not either

— but there’s an unbelievably wacky, yet en-

tirely true, backstory behind just how the

United States played a once-secret role in the

molding of the young men in Afghanistan’s

madrassas, those rigidly Islamic schools. It

happened two decades before America pow-

erfully invaded the Taliban-run Afghanistan

from which al-Qaida planned its terror attacks

of Sept. 11, 2001.

President Ronald Reagan’s administration

developed a plan to stealthily promote free-

dom-fighter militarism among Afghanistan’s

Islamic youths, hoping they would someday

rise up and run the godless Soviet communist

troops out of their country. So the Reagan ad-

ministration planned to flood rural Afghanis-

tan’s madrassas with millions of schoolbooks

preaching and teaching Islamic militancy.

The U.S. Agency for International Develop-

ment gave $51 million in grants to the Univer-

sity of Nebraska Omaha’s Center for Afghan

Studies. Soon young Islamic boys were learn-

ing math by counting pictures of soldiers,

tanks, guns and land mines.

And lo, the Soviets wound up wasting a vast

fortune in a failed war to control Afghanistan.

President Bill Clinton’s administration can-

celed the program in 1994. And we didn’t even

find out about it until The Washington Post

wrote about it in 2002. (Even then, the free-

dom-fighter image molding master plan

wasn’t really made clear until it was detailed

in a book on terrorism and weapons of mass

destruction — “Avoiding Armageddon: Our

Future. Our Choice” — that I wrote in 2003.)

Those militant young Afghan boys in the

mid-1980s were men in their 20s and 30s when

the Taliban were ruling Afghanistan and giv-

ing Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida the sanctuary

from which they attacked America’s home-

land, half a world away.

Time out! Biden would be wise to slow his

rushed withdrawal, which is now just a slight-

ly recalibrated version of Trump’s withdraw-

al from this 20-year war, America’s longest-

ever conflict. Biden will regret it forever if the

Taliban take control and subjugate women

once again — and if the Taliban give terrorists

sanctuary once again. If both of those foreseen

but unintended outcomes happen, history will

judge him harshly. And accurately.

The odd evolution of US policy on AfghanistanBY MARTIN SCHRAM

Tribune News Service

Martin Schram, an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service, isa veteran journalist, author and TV documentary executive.

With a government report due in

June on unidentified aerial

phenomena (UAP) and a re-

cent “60 Minutes” story on U.S.

Navy pilots’ sightings and videos of myste-

rious images, prominent people in politics, the

military and national intelligence are finally

asking: What are we looking at?

It’s the wrong question — or, at least, it’s pre-

mature.

Before we get to what these mysterious phe-

nomena are, we need to be asking how we can

figure out what they are. This is where scien-

tists, notably absent from the current UAP

conversation, come in.

For too long, the scientific study of unidenti-

fied flying objects and aerial phenomena —

UFOs and UAPs, in the shorthand — has been

taboo. A big driver of that taboo is the vacuum

of knowledge that is being filled by unscientif-

ic claims thanks to a lack of scientific investi-

gation.

In recent decades, science has focused on

aspects of extraterrestrial inquiry, including

the search for signs of life on other planets —

think the Mars rover — and techno-signatures

— radio signals that appear to emanate from

outside Earth. The research has been com-

plex, evidence-based and demanding, pulling

in scientists from across disciplines and all

around the globe. The same should be true for

the exploration of UAP sightings. If we want to

understand what UAP are, then we need to en-

gage the mainstream scientific community in

aconcerted effort to study them.

Decades ago, the notion of serious research

on UFOs wasn’t out of the question.

In the late 1960s, a U.S. Air Force-led effort

called Project Blue Book examined thousands

of UFO reports from the 1950s and 1960s. In

1968, however, another report, commissioned

by the Air Force and conducted at the Univer-

sity of Colorado to examine UFO research to

that point, stated that “nothing has come from

the study of UFOs … that has added to scien-

tific knowledge.” Soon after, the Air Force

shuttered Project Blue Book. About 700 of the

more than 12,000 cases remained “unidenti-

fied” at the close of the project.

Despite this, distinguished scientists in-

cluding astronomer Carl Sagan, physicist

James E. McDonald and astronomer J. Allen

Hynek thought UAP should be investigated

scientifically. McDonald, a professor of mete-

orology and member of the National Academy

of Sciences, conducted a rigorous analysis of a

few UAP cases that Project Blue Book high-

lighted as unexplainable.

McDonald documented his methods — ex-

tensive interviews with witnesses, detailed ac-

counting of their observations, examination of

radar and other technology possibly implicat-

ed in the sightings — in “Science in Default,”

which he presented in a 1969 American Asso-

ciation for the Advancement of Science sym-

posium. He relied on evidence-based investi-

gation and consideration of all the available

data (rather than cherry-picking one instance

of an event). He argued that much of the 1968

report was biased and shallow.

“Doesn’t a UFO case … warrant more than a

mere shrug of the shoulders from science?” he

wrote.

We need to frame the current UAP/UFO

question with the same level of active inquiry,

one involving experts from academia in disci-

plines including astronomy, meteorology and

physics, as well as industry and government

professionals with knowledge of military air-

craft, remote sensing from the ground and sat-

ellite observations. Participants would need to

be agnostic toward any specific explanations

with a primary goal of collecting enough data

— including visual, infrared, radar and other

possible observations — to eventually allow us

to deduce the identity of such UAP. Following

this agnostic approach, and relying upon

sound scientific and peer-reviewed methods,

would go a long way toward lifting the taboo in

mainstream science.

Without robust, credible data mined by

mainstream scientists, UAP studies will al-

ways be viewed as fringe science. With a sys-

tematic collection of new data, and access to all

existing data, we can apply scientific rigor to

what has been observed and documented.

Ultimately, understanding UAP is a science

problem. We should treat it that way.

Must put science at the center of the UFO questionBY RAVI KOPPARAPU

AND JACOB HAQQ-MISRA

Special to The Washington Post

Ravi Kopparapu is a planetary scientist at NASA Goddard SpaceFlight Center. Jacob Haqq-Misra is a research scientist at theBlue Marble Space Institute of Science.

PAGE 16 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, May 28, 2021

ACROSS 1 Protrude

4 Pop

7 Wizardry

12 Granada gold

13 Sch. URL ender

14 “If — Would

Leave You”

15 White wine

cocktail

16 Beverage with

tapioca pearls

18 Consume

19 Closes noisily

20 Molt

22 Uncle (Sp.)

23 Envelope part

27 Drs. that deliver

29 Percentage

posted by

a bank

31 College study

34 Octet count

35 Parka

37 “— who?”

38 Feedbag fill

39 Hooting bird

41 Gusto

45 Lieu

47 Tic-tac-toe loser

48 Ephemeral

jacuzzi sight

52 7, on old phones

53 Senior member

54 A billion years

55 Summer in Paris

56 Sly one

57 Apt. divisions

58 Vegas lead-in

DOWN 1 Comic’s

repertoire

2 Dickens’ Heep

3 Rich cake

4 Society newbies

5 Chaperones,

usually

6 Persian Gulf

emirate

7 “Alice” diner

8 “Hail, Caesar!”

9 Retrieve

10 Hot temper

11 Espionage org.

17 College VIP

21 Entrances

23 Hair conditioner

target

24 Trail the pack

25 Sports fig.

26 Favorite

28 Bikini top

30 Scottish river

31 Chairman

of China

32 Political

strategist

Navarro

33 Scribble (down)

36 “Today” anchor

Hoda

37 Zigzag in snow

40 “NCIS: New

Orleans” actor

Steven

42 Kick out

43 Heart line

44 Comes in last

45 Gone to the

bottom

46 Cozy rooms

48 Billboards

49 Bit of physics

50 Reuben

bread

51 “Don’t —

stranger!”

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

Friday, May 28, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 17

PAGE 18 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, May 28, 2021

SCOREBOARD/SPORTS BRIEFS

PGA Tour statistics

Through May 23

FedExCup Season Points

1, Bryson DeChambeau, 1,677. 2, JustinThomas, 1,634. 3, Viktor Hovland, 1,619. 4,Xander Schauffele, 1,423. 5, Sam Burns,1,397. 6, Stewart Cink, 1,390. 7, CameronSmith, 1,386. 8, Patrick Cantlay, 1,352. 9,Jordan Spieth, 1,349. 10, Hideki Matsuya-ma, 1,296.

Scoring Average

1, Viktor Hovland, 69.783. 2, Joaquin Nie-mann, 69.822. 3, Justin Thomas, 69.824. 4,Xander Schauffele, 69.861. 5, Webb Simp-son, 69.897. 6, Bryson DeChambeau, 69.957.7 (tie), Tony Finau and Louis Oosthuizen,69.971. 9, Dustin Johnson, 69.983. 10, CoreyConners, 70.005.

Driving Distance

1, Bryson DeChambeau, 322.5. 2, RoryMcIlroy, 319.0. 3, Cameron Champ, 317.9. 4,Wyndham Clark, 315.8. 5, Will Gordon,314.4. 6, Matthew Wolff, 314.2. 7 (tie), LukeList and Joaquin Niemann, 312.9. 9, DustinJohnson, 312.3. 10, Gary Woodland, 311.0.

Driving Accuracy Percentage

1, Brendon Todd, 73.69%. 2, Abraham An-cer, 72.89%. 3, Brian Stuard, 72.65%. 4,Ryan Moore, 71.19%. 5, Ryan Armour,70.90%. 6, Collin Morikawa, 70.83%. 7, BriceGarnett, 70.63%. 8, Webb Simpson, 70.29%.9, Chez Reavie, 69.97%. 10, Corey Conners,69.92%.

Greens in Regulation Percentage

1, Collin Morikawa, 72.45%. 2, MatthewNeSmith, 72.31%. 3, Emiliano Grillo,71.92%. 4, Cameron Percy, 71.89%. 5, Stew-art Cink, 71.65%. 6, Jon Rahm, 71.40%. 7,Russell Knox, 71.04%. 8, Corey Conners,70.80%. 9, Martin Laird, 70.50%. 10, AaronWise, 70.14%.

Total Driving

1, Scottie Scheffler, 64. 2, Jon Rahm, 85. 3,Keegan Bradley, 94. 4, Sungjae Im, 103. 5,Paul Casey, 105. 6, Jason Kokrak, 113. 7,James Hahn, 114. 8, Collin Morikawa, 122. 9,2 tied with 123.

SG­Putting

1, Louis Oosthuizen, .996. 2, Patrick Reed,.993. 3, Brendon Todd, .921. 4, ChristiaanBezuidenhout, .866. 5, J.T. Poston, .842. 6,Zach Johnson, .793. 7, Jason Kokrak, .792. 8,Xander Schauffele, .737. 9, Ian Poulter,.722. 10, Kris Ventura, .663.

Birdie Average

1, Justin Thomas, 4.71. 2, Viktor Hovland,4.59. 3, Sam Burns, 4.57. 4, Collin Morikawa,4.56. 5, Xander Schauffele, 4.52. 6, DanielBerger, 4.50. 7 (tie), Bryson DeChambeauand Rory McIlroy, 4.39. 9, 3 tied with 4.38.

Eagles (Holes per)

1, Sergio Garcia, 72.0. 2, Matthew Wolff,74.3. 3, Bryson DeChambeau, 75.3. 4, CarlosOrtiz, 82.3. 5, Justin Thomas, 85.1. 6, XanderSchauffele, 86.4. 7, Will Zalatoris, 87.4. 8(tie), Tony Finau and Kris Ventura, 88.4. 10,Dustin Johnson, 90.0.

Sand Save Percentage

1, Xander Schauffele, 69.35%. 2, BrooksKoepka, 66.67%. 3, K.J. Choi, 66.20%. 4,Cameron Smith, 64.95%. 5, Ben Taylor,64.71%. 6, Webb Simpson, 64.38%. 7, Chris-tiaan Bezuidenhout, 63.64%. 8, PatrickReed, 62.50%. 9, Byeong Hun An, 62.22%.10, Tyrrell Hatton, 61.70%.

All­Around Ranking

1, Xander Schauffele, 218. 2, Daniel Berg-er, 268. 3, Justin Thomas, 291. 4, BrooksKoepka, 304. 5, Dustin Johnson, 337. 6,Webb Simpson, 339. 7, Joaquin Niemann,356. 8, Viktor Hovland, 367. 9, CameronSmith, 377. 10, Jon Rahm, 380.

Bank of Hope Match PlayLPGA Tour

At Shadow Creek Golf CourseLas Vegas

Prize Money: $1.5 millionYardage: 6,804; Par: 72

Group Stage(Seedings in parentheses)

GROUP 1Wednesday

Jin Young Ko (1), South Korea def. Nata-lie Gulbis (64), United States, 4 and 2

Caroline Masson (32), Germany def. An-na Nordqvist (32), Sweden, 3 and 2

ThursdayJin Young Ko (1), South Korea vs. Car-

oline Masson (32), Germany Anna Nordqvist (32), Sweden vs. Natalie

Gulbis (64), United States GROUP 2

WednesdayInbee Park (2), South Korea vs. Jennifer

Chang (63), United States, tied Celine Boutier (34), France def. Gaby Lo-

pez (31), Mexico, 4 and 2 Thursday

Inbee Park (2), South Korea vs. CelineBoutier (34), France

Gaby Lopez (31), Mexico vs. JenniferChang (63), United States

GROUP 3Wednesday

Sei Young Kim (3), South Korea, vs. Aya-ko Uehara (62), Japan, tied

Brittany Altomare (30), United States,def. Yu Liu (35), China, 1-up

ThursdaySei Young Kim (3), South Korea, vs. Yu

Liu (35), China Brittany Altomare (30), United States,

vs. Ayako Uehara (62), Japan GROUP 4

WednesdayJenny Coleman (61), United States def.

Brooke M. Henderson (4), Canada, 1-up

Angela Stanford (29), United States, def.Ashleigh Buhai (36), Russia, 1-up

ThursdayBrooke M. Henderson (4), Canada, vs.

Ashleigh Buhai (36), Russia Angela Stanford (29), United States, vs.

Jenny Coleman (61), United StatesGROUP 5

WednesdayDanielle Kang (5), United States, def. Al-

bane Valenzuela (60), Switzerland, 7 and 6 Lizette Salas (28), United States, def.

Madelene Sagstrom (37), Sweden, 5 and 4 Thursday

Danielle Kang (5), United States, vs. Ma-delene Sagstrom (37), Sweden

Lizette Salas (28), United States, vs. Al-bane Valenzuela (60), Switzerland

GROUP 6Wednesday

Alison Lee (59), United States def. HyoJoo Kim (6), South Korea, 5 and 4

Megan Khang (27), United States, def.Jenny Shin (38), South Korea, 5 and 4

ThursdayHyo Joo Kim (6), South Korea, vs. Jenny

Shin (38), South Korea Megan Khang (27), United States, vs. Ali-

son Lee (59), United States GROUP 7

WednesdayPatty Tavatanakit (7), Thailand, vs. Sa-

rah Kemp (58), Australia, tied Stacy Lewis (26), United States, def. Mi

Hyang Lee (39), South Korea, 5 and 4Thursday

Patty Tavatanakit (7), Thailand, vs. MiHyang Lee (39), South Korea

Stacy Lewis (26), United States, vs. Sa-rah Kemp (58), Australia

GROUP 8Wednesday

Minjee Lee (8), Australia, vs. Jaye MarieGreen (57), United States, tied

Moriya Jutanugarn (25), Thailand, def.Cheyenne Knight (40), United States, 5 and3

ThursdayMinjee Lee (8), Australia, vs. Cheyenne

Knight (40), United States Moriya Jutanugarn (25), Thailand, vs.

Jaye Marie Green (57), United StatesGROUP 9

WednesdayGerina Piller (56), def. Hannah Green (9),

Australia, 3 and 2 Azahara Munoz (41), Spain def. Mel Reid

(24), England, 2-up Thursday

Hannah Green (9), Australia, vs. AzaharaMunoz (41), Spain

Mel Reid (24), England, vs. Gerina Piller(56), United States

GROUP 10Wednesday

Nasa Hataoka (10), Japan, def. Jing Yan(55), China, 3 and 1

Jasmine Suwannapura (42), Thailanddef. Mi Jung Hur (23), South Korea, 2-up

ThursdayNasa Hataoka (10), Japan, vs. Jasmine

Suwannapura (42), Thailand Mi Jung Hur (23), South Korea, vs. Jing

Yan (55), China GROUP 11

WednesdaySo Yeon Ryu (11), South Korea, def.

Ryann O'Toole (54), United States, 3 and 1 Eun-Hee Ji (43), South Korea def. Mirim

Lee (22), South Korea, 4 and 3 Thursday

So Yeon Ryu (11), South Korea, vs. Eun-Hee Ji (43), South Korea

Mirim Lee (22), South Korea, vs. RyannO'Toole (54), United States

GROUP 12Wednesday

Annie Park (53) Russia, def. Austin Ernst(12), United States, 1-up

Amy Olson (5), United States, vs. BronteLaw (44), England, tied

ThursdayAustin Ernst (12), United States, vs.

Bronte Law (44), England Amy Olson (5), United States, vs. Annie

Park (53), Russia GROUP 13

WednesdayJennifer Kupcho (13), United States, def.

Christina Kim (52), United States, 6 and 4 Leona Maguire (45), Ireland def. Ally Ew-

ing (20), United States, 2 and 1 Thursday

Jennifer Kupcho (13), United States, vs.Leona Maguire (45), Ireland

Ally Ewing (20), United States, vs. Chris-tina Kim (52), United States

GROUP 14Wednesday

Jeongeun Lee6 (14), South Korea, vs. Pa-jaree Anannarukarn (51), Thailand, tied

Brittany Lincicome (46), United StatesdefShanshan Feng (19), China, 2 and 1

ThursdayJeongeun Lee6 (14), South Korea, vs.

Brittany Lincicome (46) United StatesShanshan Feng (19), China, vs. Pajaree

Anannarukarn (51), Thailand GROUP 15

WednesdaySophia Popov (15), Germany, vs. Hee

Young Park (50), South Korea, tied Sung Hyun Park (18), South Korea, def.

Su Oh (47), Australia, 3 and 1 Thursday

Sophia Popov (15), Germany, vs. Su Oh(47), Australia

Sung Hyun Park (18), South Korea, vs.Hee Young Park (50), South Korea

GROUP 16Wednesday

Ariya Jutanugarn (16), Thailand, vs. Lau-ren Stephenson (49), United States, tied

Sarah Schmelzel (48), United States, def.Carlota Ciganda (17), Spain, 1-up

ThursdayAriya Jutanugarn (16), Thailand, vs. Sa-

rah Schmelzel (48), United States Carlota Ciganda (17), Spain, vs. Lauren

Stephenson (49), United States

GOLF TENNIS

Strasbourg Open

ThursdayAt Strasbourg Tennis Club

Strasbourg, FrancePurse: Euro189,708Surface: Red clayWomen’s Singles

Round of 16Sorana Cirstea, Romania, def. Zhang

Shuai (6), China, 6-2, 6-1.

PRO BASKETBALL

WNBA

Eastern Conference

W L Pct GB

New York 5 1 .833 —

Connecticut 5 1 .833 —

Chicago 2 2 .500 2

Atlanta 2 2 .500 2

Washington 2 3 .400 2½

Indiana 1 5 .167 4

Western Conference

W L Pct GB

Seattle 4 1 .800 —

Las Vegas 3 2 .600 1

Phoenix 2 3 .400 2

Dallas 1 2 .333 2

Minnesota 0 3 .000 3

Los Angeles 0 2 .000 2½

Tuesday’s games

Washington 85, Indiana 69Atlanta 90, Chicago 83Seattle 90, Connecticut 87, OT

Wednesday’s games

Las Vegas 85, Phoenix 79

Thursday’s games

Dallas at Atlanta

Friday’s games

Washington at ConnecticutLos Angeles at ChicagoMinnesota at SeattleIndiana at Las Vegas

Saturday’s games

Atlanta at New YorkPhoenix at Dallas

SOCCER

MLS

Eastern Conference

W L T Pts GF GA

New England 4 1 2 14 10 7

Orlando City 3 0 3 12 7 2

Philadelphia 3 2 2 11 6 5

Nashville 2 0 4 10 7 4

Atlanta 2 1 3 9 7 5

NYC FC 2 2 2 8 11 6

CF Montréal 2 3 2 8 9 9

Columbus 2 2 2 8 5 5

Inter Miami CF 2 3 2 8 8 10

New York 2 4 0 6 8 9

D.C. United 2 5 0 6 5 11

Toronto FC 1 3 2 5 7 10

Chicago 1 4 1 4 4 10

Cincinnati 1 3 1 4 6 14

Western Conference

W L T Pts GF GA

Seattle 5 0 2 17 14 3

Sporting KC 4 2 1 13 12 8

LA Galaxy 4 2 0 12 10 11

Houston 3 2 2 11 9 9

Colorado 3 2 1 10 9 8

Portland 3 3 0 9 9 8

San Jose 3 4 0 9 11 11

Real Salt Lake 2 1 2 8 8 6

Los Angeles 2 2 2 8 7 7

Vancouver 2 4 1 7 6 9

Austin FC 2 4 0 6 5 8

Minnesota 2 4 0 6 5 10

FC Dallas 1 2 3 6 8 8

Note: Three points for victory, one pointfor tie.

Saturday, May 22

Cincinnati 2, CF Montréal 1Portland 3, LA Galaxy 0Chicago 1, Miami 0Orlando City 1, Toronto FC 0Columbus 2, New York City FC 1New England 3, New York 1Real Salt Lake 2, FC Dallas 2, tieHouston 2, Vancouver 1Sporting Kansas City 3, San Jose 1Los Angeles FC 2, Colorado 1

Sunday, May 23

Atlanta 1, Seattle 1, tiePhiladelphia 1, D.C. United 0Nashville 1, Austin FC 0

Saturday’s games

CF Montréal at ChicagoOrlando City at New YorkNew England at CincinnatiToronto FC at ColumbusNashville at AtlantaNew York City FC at Los Angeles FCSan Jose at LA GalaxyD.C. United at MiamiHouston at Sporting Kansas CityFC Dallas at ColoradoMinnesota at Real Salt Lake

Sunday’s games

Portland at PhiladelphiaAustin FC at Seattle

DEALS

Wednesday’s Transactions

BASEBALL �Major League Baseball

MLB — Placed Los Angeles Angels pitch-ing coach Mickey Callaway on the ineligi-ble list through the 2022 season, followingMLB’s investigation.

American LeagueBALTIMORE ORIOLES — Placed OF Aus-

tin Hays on the 10-day IL, retroactive toMay 24. Recalled OF Ryan McKenna fromNorfolk (Triple-A East). Optioned RHPDean Kremer to Norfolk.

HOUSTON ASTROS — Sent RHP Jose Ur-quidy to Corpus Christi (Double-A Central)for a rehab assignment. Selected the con-tract of RHO Ralph Garza Jr. and added toactive roster. Placed RHP Lance McCullerson the 10-day IL, retroactive to May 23.Transferred RHP Josh James from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL.

LOS  ANGELES  ANGELS  — Sent C MaxStassi and RHP Chris Rodriguez on rehabassignments to Salt Lake (Triple-A West).

MINNESOTA TWINS — Activated RHP Mi-chael Pineda from the 10-day IL. PlacedINF/OF Luis Arraez on the 10-day IL, retro-active to May 24.

NEW YORK YANKEES — Activated 2B D.J.Le Mahieu from the paternity list.

TEXAS RANGERS — Placed OF David Dahlon the 10-day IL. Selected the contract ofOF Jason Martin from Round Rock (Tri-ple-A West). Transferred RHP Kohei Arih-ara from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL.

National LeagueCHICAGO CUBS — Sent RHP Trevor Me-

gill to Iowa (Triple-A East) for a rehab as-signment. Placed INF Nico Hoerner on 10-day IL. Selected the contract of OF RafaelOrtega from Iowa (Triple-A East). Activa-ted RHP Shelby Miller from the 10-day ILand designated for assignment. ReleasedRHP Jason Adam.

MIAMI  MARLINS  — Recalled RHP NickNeidert from Jacksonville (Triple-A East).Optioned LHP Shawn Morimando for as-signment.

NEW YORK METS — Traded LHP PedroQuintana to Milwaukee in exchange for LFBilly McKinney. Transferred RHP JordanYamamoto from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL. Placed OF Johneshwy Fargas on the10-day IL, retroactive to May 25.

PHILADELPHIA  PHILLIES  — Placed OFScott Kingery on the 10-day IL.

PITTSBURGH  PIRATES  — Recalled RHPNick Mears from Indianapolis (Triple-AEast). Optioned RHP Cody Ponce to Indi-anapolis.

SAN  FRANCISCO  GIANTS  — OutrightedOF Braden Bishop and RHP Trevor Hilden-berger to Sacramento (Triple-A West) af-ter clearing waivers. Recalled 3B JasonVosler from Sacramento. Placed 1B Bran-don Belt on the 10-day IL.

BASKETBALL �Womens National Basketball Association

ATLANTA  DREAM  — Waive C KalaniBrown.

PHOENIX  MERCURY  — Activated C KiaVaughn.

FOOTBALLNational Football League

BUFFALO BILLS — Signed WR Lance Le-noir and released WR Tre Walker.

CAROLINA  PANTHERS  — Re-signed DEFrank Herron. Placed DE Kendall Donner-son on waivers.

CINCINNATI BENGALS — Claimed LB JoeBachie off waivers from Philadelphia.

CLEVELAND  BROWNS  — Re-signed WRKhadarel Hodge to a one-year contract.

GREEN  BAY  PACKERS  — Signed WRDeAndre Thompkins.

HOUSTON  TEXANS  — Signed QB DavidMills to a four-year contract.

JACKSONVILLE  JAGUARS  — PromotedKelly Flanagan and Megha Parekh to exec-utive vice presidents.

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS — Reverted OT Ka-maal Seymour to non-football injury list.

LOS  ANGELES  RAMS  — Signed DB Ka-reem Orr.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS — Waived DE Mar-cus Webb. Signed TE Cam Sutton.

TENNESSEE TITANS — Signed QB DavisMills to a rookie contract.Agreed to termswith T Christian DiLauro.

SOCCERMajor League Soccer

D.C. UNITED — Named Sean Howe direc-tor of scouting.

USL ChampionshipUSL — Suspended Atlanta United 2’s D

Jack Gurr one game for his violent conductduring a May 23 game against Memphis901 FC. Suspended San Diego Loyal headcoach Landon Donovan one game for leav-ing the technical area and dissent to an of-ficial during a May 22 game against Louis-ville City FC. Suspended FC Tulsa’s D JorgeCorrales one game for his two cautionablered card offenses during a May 19 gameagainst Sporting Kansas City II. Suspend-ed New Mexico United’s F Andrew Tinarione game for his two cautionable red cardoffenses during a May 21 game againstColorado Springs. Suspended CharlotteIndependence’s D Christian Dean onegame for his two cautionable red card of-fenses during a May 22 game againstPittsburgh SC.

Mets’ Snydergaardsidelined for 6 weeks

Mets manager Luis Rojas said

Thursday that right-hander Noah

Syndergaard will not throw for six

weeks after an MRI revealed right

elbow inflammation.

Syndergaard, who underwent

Tommy John surgery last year,

appeared to be a few weeks away

from rejoining the Mets before he

left his second rehab start with

Class A St. Lucie on Tuesday after

just one inning.

His velocity, normally in the

mid-to-high 90s, was clocked in

the mid-80s by the end of his stint

Tuesday.

Bill would allow collegeathletes to organize

College athletes would have the

right to organize and collectively

bargain with schools and confer-

ences under a bill introduced

Thursday by Democrats in the

House and Senate.

Sen. Chris Murphy (Conn.) and

Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) an-

nounced the College Athletes

Right to Organize Act.

“Big-time college sports haven’t

been ‘amateur’ for a long time, and

the NCAA has long denied its play-

ers economic and bargaining

rights while treating them like

commodities,” Murphy said in a

statement.

This NCAA said the bill would

“directly undercut the purpose of

college: earning a degree.” It add-

ed that “turning student-athletes

into union employees is not the an-

swer.”

EU expresses support for Tokyo Olympics

The European Union’s two top

officials expressed support

Thursday for holding the Tokyo

Olympics despite growing opposi-

tion to the event in Japan because

of the coronavirus pandemic.

European Commission Presi-

dent Ursula von der Leyen and

European Council President

Charles Michel discussed the

games with Prime Minister Yoshi-

hide Suga during a virtual EU-Ja-

pan summit.

Swiss bank must pay $80million for role in scandal

The Swiss bank Julius Baer

agreed to pay nearly $80 million in

fines and penalties for its role in il-

legal payments involving FIFA

and the South American govern-

ing body CONMEBOL.

The bank will pay a $43.32 mil-

lion fine plus $36,368,400 in resti-

tution — matching the total of the

illegal payments — for a total of

$79,688,400, according to a plea

agreement read into the record

Thursday by U.S. District Judge

Pamela K. Chen.

BRIEFLY

Associated Press

Friday, May 28, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 19

TENNIS/OLYMPICS

Roger Federer himself put it

quite simply recently: “How can I

think of winning the French Open?”

After all, the 20-time major

champion will be entered in his first

Grand Slam tournament in more

than 15 months when play begins on

the red clay of Roland Garros in the

leafy southwestern outskirts of Pa-

ris on Sunday.

Consider this summary of his cir-

cumstances: Federer has accumu-

lated more operations on his right

knee (two) than victories (one, in

three matches) since February

2020.

“The moment you know you’re

not going to win the French Open, it

can’t be your goal. At least at my

level. So I’m just realistic and I

know I will not win the French —

and whoever thought I would, or

could, win it is wrong,” Federer

said.

“Of course, crazier things might

have happened. But I’m not so sure

in the last 50 years at the French

Open, somebody just walked up at

40 years old, being out for a year

and a half, and just (went) on to win

everything. ... I know my limitations

at the moment.”

For the record, he hasn’t quite hit

the “Big 4-0” just yet. Still, this will

be the last French Open of his 30s —

and the last one for Serena Williams

in her 30s, too.

He turns 40 in August; she reac-

hes that milestone in September.

The chances for fans to watch

them compete, and for other play-

ers to try to measure up, are getting

rarer (Williams has appeared in

just three matches, going 1-2, since

a semifinal loss to Naomi Osaka at

the Australian Open).

While Federer made clear he

sees this trip to France mainly as a

way to help him get ready for Wim-

bledon, Williams acknowledged

her lack of play on clay makes

things less comfortable as she re-

sumes her bid for a 24th major

championship.

“This year has been a little more

difficult than normal,” said Wil-

liams, who pulled out of last year’s

French Open before the second

round because of an injured left

Achilles.

Asked how much she considered

skipping the red stuff entirely this

season, Williams quickly replied:

“Not one second.”

Both Williams and Federer carry

expectations of excellence every

time they step on a court.

Some comes internally, of course,

which is why Williams holds the

professional era record of 23 Slam

singles titles and Federer shares the

men’s mark of 20 with Rafael Na-

dal.

And some comes externally.

That all can be daunting when

there is more than the usual amount

of uncertainty about the status of

one’s game.

“You need to, sometimes, just put

yourself out there. Sometimes it’s

not fun when you know where your

limitations are and, obviously for

me, it’s always difficult, because

people expect a lot from me and I

have high expectations for myself,”

Federer said.

“So when ... I feel like, ‘My God, I

can play so much better,’ it feels

strange and it’s disappointing. But

at the same time, this is the process

Ineed to go through and that’s why I

can’t get too down on myself.”

Not quite on time: The start of

last year’s tournament moved from

May to September because of the

coronavirus pandemic. This year’s

shift, for the same reason, is far less

dramatic: Play was delayed one

week.

“What does it change if we do it a

week later? We’re talking about CO-

VID here. I’m not sure it will change

anything,” said Daniil Medvedev, a

two-time Grand Slam finalist.

One effect, though, is there will

be only two weeks, instead of three,

between the end of the French

Open and start of Wimbledon.

JEAN­FRANCOIS BADIAS/AP

Roger Federer, 39, will play in his first Grand Slam tournament in more than 15 months when the FrenchOpen opens on the red clay of Roland Garros stadium in Paris on Sunday.

Federer, Serena approach yetanother mark — turning 40All-time greats at last French Open of their 30s

ALESSANDRA TARANTINO/AP

Serena Williams, who turns 40 inSeptember, has appeared in justthree matches, going 1­2, since asemifinal loss to Naomi Osaka atthe Australian Open.

BY HOWARD FENDRICH

Associated Press

boarding, reluctantly took to the

biggest stage in sports, skate-

boarding is grinding its way into

the much more crowded summer

program. It’s one of a number of

attempts by the International

Olympic Committee — surfing,

rock climbing and 3-on-3 basket-

ball are also debuting in Tokyo —

to appeal to a younger, trendier,

more easily distracted audience.

Whether any of this is truly

“saving” the Olympics for the next

generation is a matter of opinion.

Viewership numbers — many

proprietary, most skewed by the

online fragmentation of the audi-

ence and all of them open to ma-

nipulation to tell whatever story

might fit the narrative — indicate

the games still have issues with

the in-demand 18-to-34 market.

(That puts them in good company:

The NFL and MLB and pretty

much anything aired on TV are al-

so doing worse in that demograph-

ic over the past decade.)

Regardless of whether either

side enjoys a boost from this new

partnership, suffice it to say that

none of it would’ve happened

without the 1998 introduction of

snowboarding to the Olympics.

Despite its now-veteran status in

the games, the so-called shred-

ders still get treated like the shiny

new thing on the shelf every four

years. And while the entire sport

has prospered over the two dec-

ades, snowboarding has delivered

only two athletes the average per-

son might recognize on the street:

Shaun White and Chloe Kim.

But lots of folks just beneath

that level — Jamie Anderson, Red

Gerard, Danny Davis and others

— have made very good livings, as

well. All of which has been enough

to woo a big chunk of skateboard-

ing’s elite into the Olympics with-

out much hand-wringing.

“You look at snowboarding and

the way it is now, and I know they

love to compete,” said 20-year-old

Jagger Eaton, who is trying to

qualify in both the park and street

events being showcased at the

games. “But they’ve also always

loved being out on the (backcoun-

try), and going out and filming

projects. And they’ve shown they

can do both.”

Said Dashawn Jordan, a football

player-turned-skateboarder who

is also aiming for Tokyo: “I was in-

troduced to skateboarding

through the competitive side. And

then I found out a lot about what

the other side of the sport looks

like. I look at all the amazing peo-

ple who try really hard to keep

both factors in play.”

The most successful athlete in

the current-day group is Ameri-

can Nyjah Huston, a 12-time X

Games and five-time world cham-

pion who, in a sign of where the

soul of this sport has already

moved, includes a shoe deal with

Nike among his cache of endorse-

ments.

“I never put much thought into

it being in the Olympics,” Huston

said. “I was always confused

about why it wasn’t in there, but at

least it’s in there now, and I’m

hyped for it.”

There’s also, Sky Brown, the 12-

year-old competing for her fa-

ther’s home country of Britain

who spent about half her time

growing up in Japan, her mother’s

native country and the place

where all the action is happening

this summer. She also surfs and

recently took time off to star in,

and win, “Dancing With The

Stars: Juniors.”

As mass marketable as it might

be, skateboarding still has some

hurdles to climb. In Japan, skate-

boarding in broad daylight on a

busy street is still frowned upon.

It’s not all that much different in

some places in America.

If the Olympics might be

viewed as offering some sort of

mainstream seal of approval to a

once-rebellious sport, what’s left

to be seen is how their show plays

in Tokyo.

Debut: Skateboarding leapsto 2020 Olympic competitionFROM PAGE 24

CHARLIE NEIBERGALL/AP

The United States’ Dashawn Jordan skates during an Olympic qualify­ing event at Lauridsen Skatepark last week in Des Moines, Iowa. 

PAGE 20 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, May 28, 2021

NFL

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says

the league expects full stadiums this season

and players and staff are being encouraged

to receive the COVID-19

vaccine.

“One of the things we’ve

obviously learned over the

last year is not to make

projections too far out,”

Goodell said Wednesday

following virtual meetings

with team owners.

“Thirty-two teams are

going to have to be in compliance with

health officials on a local basis, do whatever

is necessary to keep all personnel safe. But

we do think it will be a much more normal

experience. We do expect full stadiums. It is

very possible that some nonvaccinated per-

sonnel may have masks on.

“But those are things that I think we’ll

continue to follow closely, make sure that

we’re doing in accordance with all laws and

regulations and make sure that we provide

our fans the best possible experience.”

So far, 30 of 32 teams have approval to

safely open at 100% capacity before the pre-

season schedule begins. The Colts and

Broncos do not but are on a path to get ap-

proval before August.

Goodell said social justice was a topic ad-

dressed during meetings with owners.

“We reflected on the murder of George

Floyd a year ago yesterday,” he said. “Our

focus at the league and the clubs remains

squarely, as it did in the years prior, on

working with our players and our partners

to help build a more just society. And, we

talked about our continuing commitment in

that area. We are also focused on our contin-

ued expansion of our diversity, equity and

inclusion efforts, which will continue to be

four pillars of our continued growth and

success. We had a lengthy discussion on

that.”

NFL executive vice president of football

operations Troy Vincent said he spoke with

former player and assistant coach Eugene

Chung, who recently revealed that a team

official told him he was “not the right mi-

nority” during a job interview. Chung, who

is Korean American, didn’t identify the

team. Dasha Smith, the NFL’s executive

vice president and chief administrative offi-

cer, said the league is investigating.

Also:

■ The league expanded the prohibition

for blocks below the waist.

■ Rosters for training camp were set for

amaximum of 90 players. A cutdown to 85 is

due by Aug. 17 and a cut to 80 a week later.

Teams have to set their 53-man rosters by

Aug. 31 after the third preseason game.

■ The league and NFLPA agreed to set a

salary cap ceiling of $208.2 million for 2022.

OWNERS’ MEETINGS

Stadiumsexpectedto be full

BY ROB MAADDI

Associated Press

Goodell 

Adam Vinatieri used his strong leg to be-

come the NFL’s career scoring leader.

A surgically repaired left knee apparent-

ly will force him out.

The former Indianapolis Colts and New

England Patriots star told former team-

mate and SiriusXM radio host Pat McAfee

that he plans to retire.

“By Friday, if (the) paperwork goes in,

you heard it here first,” Vinatieri said.

Vinatieri, 48, hasn’t played since missing

three of four field goals in a 31-17 loss to the

Tennessee Titans on Dec. 1, 2019.

Vinatieri’s final kick was blocked and re-

turned 63 yards to break a 17-17 tie. He went

on injured reserve the next week and had

surgery on the knee, and his rehabilitation

process was complicated by the COVID-19

pandemic. Vinatieri didn’t play last season.

This is not how anyone expected Auto-

matic Adam to go out.

After he missed six extra points and eight

field goals in the worst season of his 24-year

career, the Colts opted not re-sign Vinatieri,

who still wanted to play.

His decision this week ends one of the

longest and most distinguished careers in

NFL history.

Vinatieri scored 2,673 points and made

599 field goals, breaking both records pre-

viously held by Morten Andersen.

Vinatieri played in 365 regular-season

games, second behind Andersen (382), and

is the only player in league history to top the

1,000-point mark with two franchises.

He entered the league as undrafted free

agent and became known as the best clutch

kicker in NFL history. Vinatieri made 29

game-winning kicks during his career.

Vinatieri started the 1996 season by mis-

sing four of his first six field-goal attempts,

and then-coach Bill Parcells considered

cutting him. But the rookie saved his job

with a 31-yarder into the into the wind and

rain with 36 seconds left in a 31-0 victory

over Arizona.

Vinatieri spent 10 seasons with the Patri-

ots, delivering one memorable moment af-

ter another.

He forced overtime in a 2001 divisional

round playoff game with a 45-yard field

goal in blizzard conditions.

“I would say it was by far the greatest

kick I have ever seen,” New England coach

Bill Belichick said more than a decade later.

“There were probably 3 to 4 inches of snow

on the ground. It was a soft snow that kind of

didn’t go away. I mean, there was no way to

get around it. The magnitude of the kick was

significant. It’s got to be the greatest kick of

all time, certainly that I’ve seen.”

Vinatieri later won that game with a 23-

yarder.

Two weeks later, his 48-yard kick as time

expired gave the Patriots their first Super

Bowl.

A fluke? Hardly.

Two years later, Vinatieri’s tiebreaking

46-yard field goal proved the difference in

another playoff win and his 41-yard kick

with 4 seconds left broke a 29-29 tie with

Carolina, giving New England its second

Super Bowl title.

After he scored 1,158 points withthe Pa-

triots, the team let Vinatieri become a free

agent and he landed in Indianapolis, where

he spent the next 14 seasons writing the sec-

ond chapter of his career. He scored a fran-

chise-record 1,515 points with Indy.

The scoring numbers are only part of Vi-

natieri’s remarkable résumé.

The four-time Super Bowl winner and

three-time All-Pro was part of 242 regular-

season wins, and broke career records for

field-goal attempts (715) while becoming

the third-oldest player to appear in an NFL

game. He scored points in 47 stadiums, too.

Vinatieri played in six AFC champion-

ships, five Super Bowls and a record 397

games including the playoffs. He was se-

lected to the NFL’s 100th anniversary team.

Former teammate Reggie Wayne posted

on Twitter that Vinatieri was the greatest

kicker of all time. “Congrats on your retire-

ment bro. It was a pleasure to sit back and

watch #greatness for many years,” Wayne

tweeted.

AP

New England Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri celebrates after kicking the 48­yard, game­winning field goalin the final seconds of Super Bowl XXXVI against the St. Louis Rams in New Orleans on Feb. 3, 2002. 

Record-breaking kicker Vinatieri to retireBY MICHAEL MAROT

Associated Press

2Number of Super-Bowlwinning kicks made byVinatieri for the New England Patriots

10Game-winning kicks inovertime, an NFL record.

211,000-point seasons. Theprevious record was 16.

44Consecutive field goalsmade, an NFL record.

238Points in the playoffs, another NFL best.

599Vinatieri's league-recordnumber of field goals.

2,673Career points, also a leaguerecord (with FGs) previouslyheld by Morten Andersen.

From The Associated Press

Friday, May 28, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 21

MLB

American League

East Division

W L Pct GB

Tampa Bay 31 20 .608 _

Boston 30 20 .600 ½

New York 28 20 .583 1½

Toronto 24 23 .511 5

Baltimore 17 32 .347 13

Central Division

W L Pct GB

Chicago 28 20 .583 _

Cleveland 26 21 .553 1½

Kansas City 23 24 .489 4½

Minnesota 20 29 .408 8½

Detroit 19 30 .388 9½

West Division

W L Pct GB

Oakland 29 22 .569 _

Houston 27 22 .551 1

Seattle 23 27 .460 5½

Los Angeles 22 27 .449 6

Texas 22 29 .431 7

National LeagueEast Division

W L Pct GB

New York 22 20 .524 _

Atlanta 24 25 .490 1½

Miami 24 25 .490 1½

Philadelphia 24 26 .480 2

Washington 20 24 .455 3

Central Division

W L Pct GB

St. Louis 27 22 .551 _

Chicago 26 22 .542 ½

Milwaukee 24 25 .490 3

Cincinnati 21 25 .457 4½

Pittsburgh 18 30 .375 8½

West Division

W L Pct GB

San Diego 32 18 .640 _

Los Angeles 30 19 .612 1½

San Francisco 30 19 .612 1½

Colorado 19 30 .388 12½

Arizona 18 32 .360 14

Wednesday’s games

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

Thursday’s games

Cleveland at DetroitKansas City at Tampa BayToronto at N.Y. Yankees, 2Baltimore at Chicago White SoxL.A. Angels at OaklandTexas at SeattleColorado at N.Y. Mets, 2Philadelphia at MiamiChicago Cubs at PittsburghSan Diego at MilwaukeeCincinnati at Washington, 2St. Louis at ArizonaSan Francisco at L.A. Dodgers

Friday’s games

Miami (Poteet 2-0) at Boston (Pérez 2-2)N.Y. Yankees (Cole 6-2) at Detroit (Mize 3-3)Toronto (Ryu 4-2) at Cleveland (TBD)Baltimore (Harvey 3-5) at Chicago White

Sox (Keuchel 3-1)Kansas City (Bubic 0-0) at Minnesota

(Dobnak 1-3)San Diego (Lamet 1-0) at Houston (Val-

dez 0-0)L.A. Angels (Cobb 2-2) at Oakland (Ma-

naea 3-2)Texas (Lyles 2-3) at Seattle (Sheffield 3-4)Cincinnati (Gutierrez 0-0) at Chicago

Cubs (Alzolay 2-4)Colorado (Gray 4-4) at Pittsburgh (Keller 2-6)Milwaukee (Anderson 2-3) at Washing-

ton (Lester 0-2)Atlanta (Anderson 4-1) at N.Y. Mets (TBD)San Francisco (DeSclafani 4-2) at L.A.

Dodgers (Buehler 3-0)Saturday’s games

Philadelphia at Tampa BayBaltimore at Chicago White SoxKansas City at MinnesotaL.A. Angels at OaklandMiami at BostonN.Y. Yankees at DetroitSan Diego at HoustonToronto at ClevelandTexas at SeattleCincinnati at Chicago CubsColorado at PittsburghAtlanta at N.Y. MetsMilwaukee at WashingtonSan Francisco at L.A. DodgersSt. Louis at Arizona

Scoreboard

CHICAGO — Giovanny Gallegos came in to a

sticky situation, with  the St. Louis Cardinals

clinging to a one­run lead and two on in the sev­

enth inning. It quickly became a heated one.

Umpire Joe West ordered him to switch caps

because there apparently was sunscreen on the

bill. Manager Mike Shildt, thinking his player

was unfairly singled out, got ejected during an

animated argument. 

That  overshadowed everything else  in  the

Cardinals’ 4­0 victory over the Chicago White

Sox on Wednesday. 

“This is baseball’s dirty little secret, and it’s

the wrong time and the wrong arena to expose

it,” Shildt said. “Here’s the deal. First of all, Gio

wears the same hat all year. Hats accrue dirt.

Hats accrue substances. ... Did Gio have some

sunscreen at some point in his career to make

sure he doesn’t get some kind of melanoma?

Possibly. Does he use rosin to help out? Possi­

bly. Are these things that baseball really wants

to crack down on? No.” 

Tommy Edman homered twice, and the Car­

dinals avoided a three­game sweep. 

Shildt was ejected with one out in the sev­

enth, after Génesis Cabrera hit Yoán Moncada,

putting runners on first and second. 

The Cardinals brought in Giovanny Gallegos.

West, who on Tuesday set Major League Base­

ball’s record for most games umpired, said sec­

ond­base ump Dan Bellino noticed a substance

on the brim of the pitcher’s cap. 

West said Gallegos told him it was sunscreen.

Even so, he made the pitcher switch caps be­

fore throwing a pitch because “we don’t want

anybody to be accused of cheating or any of that

stuff.” The cap was sent to the commissioner’s

office. 

“The whole point of this is we’re trying to pro­

tect his pitcher, and he got ejected,” West said. 

Twins 3, Orioles 2: Miguel Sanó hit a three­

run homer off Jorge López (1­6), and host Min­

nesota completed a three­game sweep of Balti­

more, which have lost nine straight. 

Michael Pineda (3­2) allowed one run and

three hits over six innings in his first start since

May 13 following a trip to the injured list caused

by a thigh abscess. He fell behind in the first on

Trey Mancini’s 11th home run. 

The Twins have won six of seven overall and

15  in a row over  the Orioles. Hansel Robles

earned his third save. 

Athletics 6, Mariners 3: James Kaprielian

(2­0) allowed  two hits  in seven scoreless  in­

nings, and host Oakland avoided a three­game

sweep.

Matt Olson hit his 13th homer, Seth Brown

had two hits and two RBIs, and Jake Diekman

got four outs for his sixth save. 

Robert Dugger (0­1) gave up five runs, five

hits and three walks in 31⁄�3 innings. 

Angels 9, Rangers 8: Taylor  Ward  hit  a

three­run homer off Dane Dunning (2­4) in the

first and had a career­high five RBIs. 

Los Angeles led 9­1 but Nate Lowe had a two­

run homer in sixth, and visiting Texas scored

five times in the eighth on Joey Gallo’s two­run

homer, Brock Holt’s RBI double and Willie Cal­

houn’s two­run double. 

With a runner on, Raisel Iglesias struck out

Adolis García, Joey Gallo and Khris Davis for

his eighth save. 

Cubs 4, Pirates 1: Trevor Williams pitched

six innings and singled twice against his former

team, helping streaking Chicago win at stum­

bling Pittsburgh.

The Cubs won for the fifth time in six games.

David Bote hit a two­run homer for Chicago,

and Kris Bryant had three hits and two RBIs. 

Tigers 1, Indians 0: Niko Goodrum doubled,

advanced on Jake Rogers’ bunt and scored on

Robbie Grossman’s sacrifice fly in the eighth

inning, and host Detroit snapped a four­game

losing  streak  overall  and  a  six­game  skid

against Cleveland.

The Tigers’ Jose Urena gave up three hits

and three walks over 52⁄�3 innings before exiting

with a forearm injury in the middle of an at­bat

after a trainer made a brief visit to the mound.

Jose Cisnero, Michael Fulmer (4­3) and Grego­

ry  Soto  completed  the  four­hitter,  with  Soto

earning his fifth save. 

Rays 1, Royals 0 (10): Manuel Margot hit a

run­scoring single in the 10th inning and host

Tampa Bay beat Kansas City. 

Kevin Kiermaier advanced from second to

third when Taylor Walls flied out to deep center

field against Tyler Zuber  (0­2). After Austin

Meadows  was  intentionally  walked,  Margot

won it on just the Rays’ third hit of the game.

Marlins 4, Phillies 2: Jon  Berti  hit  a  go­

ahead. two­run single in a three­run eighth in­

ning, and host Miami beat Philadelphia. 

The Phillies built a 2­1 lead on Brad Miller’s

bases­loaded walk in the third off Nick Neidert

and  Rhy  Hoskins’  fifth­inning  sacrifice  fly

against Anthony Bender. 

Padres 2, Brewers 1 (10): Victor Caratini

singled home the go­ahead run in the top of the

10th inning, and San Diego won at Milwaukee

for its 11th victory in 12 games. 

Caratini’s leadoff single to right off Brent Su­

ter (3­3) scored automatic runner Wil Myers

from second base. 

Astros 5, Dodgers 2: Jose Altuve, Carlos

Correa and Aledmys Díaz homered, and host

Houston stopped a four­game slide by topping

Trevor Bauer and Los Angeles.

Altuve hit a leadoff drive in the first inning,

and Correa put the Astros ahead to stay with a

tiebreaking solo shot off Bauer with two outs in

the sixth. Díaz tacked on a two­run shot during

Houston’s three­run seventh. 

Red Sox 9, Braves 5: Rafael Devers home­

red and drove in three runs, helping host Bos­

ton beat Atlanta in a game that was delayed

nearly three hours by rain after the sixth in­

ning.

Hunter Renfroe also connected for the Red

Sox, and Christian Vázquez had  three RBIs.

Xander  Bogaerts  walked  twice  and  scored

three times. 

Giants 5, Diamondbacks 4: Jason  Vosler

snapped an eighth­inning tie with his first ma­

jor league home run and visiting San Francisco

rallied to hand Arizona its 10th straight defeat.

Pinch­hitter  Austin  Slater  connected  for  a

two­run  shot  that  tied  it  4­all  earlier  in  the

eighth. Tyler Rogers pitched out of a huge jam

in the ninth, sending the Diamondbacks to an­

other agonizing loss and their longest skid since

2010. 

Nationals 3, Reds 0 (4 innings, suspended):

The game at Washington suspended in the mid­

dle of the fourth inning following a rain delay

that lasted for more than three hours.

Play will resume Thursday afternoon with

the Nationals holding a 3­0 lead. The resump­

tion will be a standard­length game, while the

regularly scheduled series finale will be seven

innings.. 

Edman’s 2 HRs help Cards nix sweepSt. Louis manager Shildt is ejectedafter Cardinals pitcher Gallegos isforced by umpires to switch caps

Associated Press

CHARLES REX ARBOGAST/AP

The St. Louis Cardinals’ Tommy Edman celebrates his home run off Chicago White Sox start­ing pitcher Carlos Rodon during the third inning. Edman homered a second time in a 4­0 win.

ROUNDUP

PAGE 22 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, May 28, 2021

NHL PLAYOFFS

First round

(Best-of-seven; x-if necessary)

Carolina 3, Nashville 2

Carolina 5, Nashville 2Carolina 3, Nashville 0Nashville 5, Carolina 4, 2OTNashville 4, Carolina 3, 2OTCarolina 3, Nashville 2, OTThursday: Carolina at Nashvillex-Saturday: Nashville at Carolina

Tampa Bay 4, Florida 2

Tampa Bay 5, Florida 4Tampa Bay 3, Florida 1Florida 6, Tampa Bay 5, OTTampa Bay 6, Florida 2Florida 4, Tampa Bay 1Wednesday: Tampa Bay 4, Florida 0

Boston 4, Washington 1

Washington 3, Boston 2, OTBoston 4, Washington 3, OTBoston 3, Washington 2, 2OTBoston 4, Washington 1Boston 3, Washington 1

N.Y. Islanders 4, Pittsburgh 2

Islanders 4, Pittsburgh 3, OTPittsburgh 2, islanders 1Pittsburgh 5, islanders 4

Islanders 4, Pittsburgh 1Islanders 3, Pittsburgh 2, 2OTWednesday: Islanders 5, Pittsburgh 3

Toronto 3, Montreal 1

Montreal 2, Toronto 1Toronto 5, Montreal 1Toronto 2, Montreal 1Toronto 4, Montreal 0Thursday: Montreal at Torontox-Saturday: Toronto at Montrealx-Monday: Montreal at Toronto

Winnipeg 4, Edmonton 0

Winnipeg 4, Edmonton 1Winnipeg 1, Edmonton 0, OTWinnipeg 5, Edmonton 4, OTWinnipeg 4, Edmonton 3, 3OT

Vegas 3, Minnesota 3

Minnesota 1, Vegas 0, OTVegas 3, Minnesota 1Vegas 5, Minnesota 2Vegas 4, Minnesota 0Minnesota 4, Vegas 2Wednesday: Minnesota 3, Vegas 0Friday: Minnesota at Vegas

Colorado 4, St. Louis 0

Colorado 4, St. Louis 1Colorado 6, St. Louis 3Colorado 5, St. Louis 1Colorado 5, St. Louis 2

Scoreboard

TAMPA, Fla. — Andrei Vasilev-

skiy wrapped up a series with a

Game 6 shutout for the second

straight time, stopping 29 shots in

the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 4-0

victory over the Florida Panthers

on Wednesday night.

Vasilevskiy also shut out the

Dallas Stars last year to win the

Stanley Cup.

The Lightning advanced to face

the Carolina-Nashville winner in

the second round. Tampa Bay ad-

vanced to the second round for the

fifth time in the past seven years.

The Panthers have not won a

playoff series since the 1996 East-

ern Conference Finals.

Steven Stamkos scored his third

goal of the series and Pat Maroon

added his first. Brayden Point

added his fourth of the series in

the third period and Alex Killorn

had an empty-net goal with 1:42

left.

Rookie Spencer Knight, back in

net for Florida after his strong

playoff debut in Game 5, finished

with 20 saves.

Islanders 5, Penguins 3: Brock

Nelson scored twice in New York’s

three-goal second period and the

Islanders beat visiting Pittsburgh

in Game 6 to advance to the sec-

ond round.

The Islanders will face Boston

in the next round, and fans chant-

ed “We want Bos-ton! We want

Bos-ton!” in the closing minutes.

Anthony Beauvillier had a goal

and two assists, and Kyle Palmieri

and Ryan Pulock also scored to

help New York beat the top-seed-

ed Penguins in the first round for

the second time in three years.

Josh Bailey and Jean-Gabriel Pa-

geau each had two assists.

Ilya Sorokin stopped 34 shots to

move to 4-0 with a 1.95 goals-

against average in the series. He

had seven saves in the first period,

15 in the second and 12 in the third

to finish with 150 in his four starts.

Wild 3, Vegas 0: Kevin Fiala

had a goal and an assist in the third

period to break open a scoreless

game, Cam Talbot had his second

shutout of the series and host Min-

nesota beat Vegas to again stave

off elimination.

Ryan Hartman scored first and

Nick Bjugstad tacked on the last

goal in support of Talbot, who

made 23 stops.

CHRIS O'MEARA/AP

Florida Panthers wing Jonathan Huberdeau shoots Wednesday in frontof Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. 

Lightning, Islanders advanceAssociated Press

ROUNDUP

Friday, May 28, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 23

NBA PLAYOFFS

Playoffs

Play­inPlay­in First RoundEastern Conference

Tuesday, May 18Indiana 144, Charlotte 117Boston 118, Washington 100

Western ConferenceWednesday, May 19

Memphis 100, San Antonio 96L.A. Lakers 103, Golden State 100

Play­in Second RoundEastern Conference

Thursday, May 20Washington 142, Indiana 115

Western ConferenceFriday, May 21

Memphis 117, Golden State 112 (OT)First Round

(Best­of­seven)x­if necessary

Eastern ConferencePhiladelphia 2,Washington 0

Philadelphia 125, Washington 118Wednesday: �Philadelphia 120, Washing­

ton 95Saturday: at Washington Monday: at Washington x­Wednesday, June 2: at Philadelphia x­Friday, June 4: at Washington x­Sunday, June 6: at Philadelphia 

Brooklyn 2, Boston 0Brooklyn 104, Boston 93Brooklyn 130, Boston 108Friday: �at BostonSunday: �at Bostonx­Tuesday, June 1: at Brooklynx­Thursday, June 3: at Bostonx­Saturday, June 5: �at Brooklyn

Milwaukee 2, Miami 0Milwaukee 109, Miami 107 (OT)Milwaukee 132, Miami 98Thursday: �at MiamiSaturday: �at Miamix­Tuesday, June 1: �at Milwaukee x­Thursday, June 3: �at Miami x­Saturday, June 5: �at Milwaukee 

Atlanta 1, New York 1Atlanta 107, �New York 105Wednesday: �New York 101, Atlanta 92Friday: at AtlantaSunday: at AtlantaWednesday, June 2: at New York x­Friday, June 4: at Atlantax­Sunday, June 6: at New York

Western ConferenceMemphis 1, Utah 1

Memphis 112, �Utah 109Wednesday: �Utah 141, Memphis 129Saturday: at MemphisMonday: at Memphisx­Wednesday, June 2: at Utahx­Friday, June 4: at Memphisx­Sunday, June 6: at Utah

Phoenix 1, �L.A. Lakers 1Phoenix 99, L.A. Lakers 90L.A. Lakers 109, Phoenix 102Thursday: at L.A. LakersSunday: at L.A. LakersTuesday, June 1: at Phoenix x­Thursday, June 3: at L.A. Lakers x­Saturday, June 5: �at Phoenix 

Portland 1, Denver 1Portland 123, Denver 109Denver 128, Portland 109Thursday: at PortlandSaturday: at PortlandTuesday, June 1: at Denver x­Thursday, June 3: at Portland x­Saturday, June 5: at Denver 

Dallas 2, L.A. Clippers �0Dallas 113, �L.A. Clippers 103Dallas 127, L.A. Clippers 121Friday: �at DallasSunday: �at Dallasx­Wednesday, June 2: �at L.A. Clippers x­Friday, June 4: �at Dallas x­Sunday, June 6: �at L.A. Clippers

Scoreboard

PHILADELPHIA — Ben Sim-

mons put a spin move on Russell

Westbrook that sent him spraw-

ling to the floor several minutes

before an ankle injury sent the

NBA’s triple-double king to the

locker room and

nearly into the

stands to con-

front a misbe-

having fan.

With Sim-

mons soaring

and Westbrook

ailing, the Phila-

delphia 76ers

beat the Wash-

ington Wizards 120-95 on

Wednesday night to take a 2-0

lead in the first-round playoff se-

ries.

Game 3 is Saturday night at

Washington.

Westbrook went down after

colliding with Furkan Korkmaz

early in the fourth quarter. He

limped off the floor and then was

restrained by security after a fan

threw popcorn at him as he was

headed under the tunnel.

“We’ll see,” Westbrook said

about his availability for the next

game. “Hurt it twice in a short

amount of time. We’ll see what

happens.”

As for the incident with the fan,

Westbrook said: “I wouldn’t

come up to me on the street and

throw popcorn on my head, be-

cause you know what happens. ...

In these arenas, you gotta start

protecting the players. We’ll see

what the NBA does.”

Simmons and Joel Embiid each

scored 22 points and Tobias Har-

ris added 19 for the top-seeded

Sixers. Simmons added nine re-

bounds and eight assists.

Bradley Beal had 33 points and

Westbrook finished with 10

points and 11 assists for the sub-

.500 Wizards.

Simmonsleads 76erspast Wizards

Associated Press

Simmons 

NEW YORK — Down 13 points,

the New York Knicks needed a

change in the second half beyond

starting Derrick Rose.

They needed the Julius Randle

they saw in the regular season.

Rose scored 26 points, Randle

shook off a miserable first half to

lead a third-quarter turnaround

and the Knicks beat the Atlanta

Hawks 101-92 on Wednesday

night in Game 2 to tie the series.

Randle was 0-for-6 with just two

points at halftime. But with Rose

moving into the starting lineup to

open the third quarter, Randle

made a three-pointer to start the

period and scored 11 points on 4-

for-5 shooting as New York surged

into the lead.

“Obviously we were disappoint-

ed with the way we played in the

first half, but I knew in the second

half there’d be great fight and

there was,” Knicks coach Tom

Thibodeau said.

“And I think Julius hitting that

shot, Julius is not going to go away.

He’s going to keep coming. He’s

got a great will, great determina-

tion and he’s a fighter.”

The winner of the NBA's Most

Improved Player award finished

with 15 points and 12 rebounds de-

spite another poor shooting night.

He was 5-for-16 after going 6-

for-23 in the opener.

But he came through with it

counted along with Reggie Bull-

ock, who made four three-pointers

in the second half and also had 15

points as New York guaranteed

there will be at least one more

home game in this surprising sea-

son.

“Obviously, throughout the

game there's going to be frustra-

tions, but we know who we are as a

team,” Randle said. “We’re never

going to doubt whether we can win

a game or not.”

Trae Young scored 30 points for

the Hawks after having 32 and hit-

ting the tiebreaking shot with 0.9

seconds left in Game 1. Bogdan

Bogdanovic and De'Andre Hunter

added 18 apiece.

Game 3 is Friday night in Atlan-

ta, where the Hawks will be al-

lowed to welcome a full capacity

crowd for the first time this sea-

son.

“I hope Atlanta’s ready to bring

that energy and I hope it’s loud

and I hope everybody’s excited to

have playoffs back in the A,”

Young said, “and I’m ready to play

back inside that arena in front of

those fans. So it’s going to be fun.”

Rose made the basket the gave

the Knicks the lead for good at 93-

91 with 4:45 to play and kick off a

decisive 9-0 run. He played 39

minutes as Thibodeau stuck with

one of his most trusted players to

keep the series — and maybe sea-

son — from slipping away.

AP photo

Atlanta Hawks forward Danilo Gallinari, left, tries to keep the ball from Knicks forward Julius Randle duringthe third quarter in Game 2 of their first­round playoff series Wednesday, in New York.

Knicks rally past HawksAssociated Press

SALT LAKE CITY — Donovan

Mitchell wanted to make up for lost

time.

Mitchell scored 25 points in his

much-anticipated return from a

sprained ankle and the Utah Jazz

overcame Ja Morant’s franchise-

record 47 points in a 141-129 victo-

ry over the Memphis Grizzlies on

Wednesday night, tying the first-

round playoff series at a game

apiece.

“I have never been in this posi-

tion before, so this is uncharted

territory. I had to find a way to just

relax myself. It’s easy to go out

there and try and hit a home run to

start the game, but the game’s not

won in the first five minutes,”

Mitchell said.

Mitchell, who was limited to 26

minutes, made five three-pointers.

Rudy Gobert had 21 points, 13 re-

bounds and four blocks for the

Jazz.

Mike Conley had 20 points and a

career-best 15 assists, and Bojan

Bogdanovic added 18 points to help

Utah knot the series.

Buoyed by Mitchell, the Jazz led

by as many as 22 points in the first

half, but Morant and the Grizzlies

roared back in the third quarter.

Utah didn’t ask Mitchell to win the

game himself, but the Jazz needed

his presence to withstand the

Memphis runs.

“Mike had 20 and 15 Rudy at 21

and 13 -- we did a lot of really good

things so it made my job easier. I

didn’t have to come in and just do

everything. I was able to just find

my spots and attack and just kind

of just do what I do,” Mitchell said.

Morant broke Conley’s Grizzlies

playoff scoring record, and be-

came the first player to score as

many as 71 points in his first two

career playoff games since the

NBL merged with the BAA to cre-

ate the NBA before the 1949-50

season.

“I just got to be aggressive at all

times. I put that pressure on myself

to get us back in the game. I was

able to get to my spots on the floor

and make shots,” Morant said.

Two Gobert dunks off pick-and-

rolls powered a 10-0 run that

bridged the third and fourth quar-

ters and gave the Jazz a 110-97 lead

following a three-point play by

Mitchell.

Dillon Brooks, who scored 23

points, had a dunk that got Mem-

phis within 121-112 with 7:06 to

play, but it couldn’t stop Utah’s

multifaceted attack, which scored

at least 36 points in three of the four

periods.

Mitchell was ready to play on

Sunday, but the Jazz medical staff

scratched him from the lineup

hours before the game, frustrating

the Utah star who missed 17 games

with a sprained ankle.

On Monday, Mitchell pro-

claimed he was playing in Game 2

no matter what, and the team

agreed. He tried to make up for lost

time, scoring 12 points — including

three from long range — in his first

eight minutes.

Mitchell, Jazz overcome Morant, GrizzliesAssociated Press

RICK BOWMER/AP

Jazz guard Donovan Mitchellscored 25 points in hismuch­anticipated return from asprained ankle.

PAGE 24 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, May 28, 2021

SPORTS

Federer, Serena playing final French Open of their 30s ›› Tennis, Page 19

DES MOINES, Iowa

The hotel door opens and, fast as that, the sound of

polyurethane clicking across concrete begins.

The rhythmic grrrr-chk-chk-grrrr-chk-chk-

grrrr-chk-chk sound of wheels scooting over

cracks in the sidewalk is a telltale sign that something is

different in Des Moines.

Skateboarders took over Middle America last week in a

final dress rehearsal for this summer, when they’ll bring

their show to the rest of the world at the Olympics.

The questions under the magnifying glass at this

week’s Dew Tour — one of the last major qualifying

events for the Tokyo Games in July — are whether the

Olympics is ready for skateboarding and, more tellingly,

whether skateboarding is ready for the Olympics.

“That’s the beautiful thing about skateboarding,” said

Mariah Duran, a 24-year-old from Albuquerque, N.M.,

who is one of a handful of U.S. medal hopefuls. “It takes

you places you’ve never been.”

More than 20 years after its wintertime cousin, snow-

Takingflight

As qualifying events wrap up, skateboardingprepares to make Olympic debut in Tokyo

BY EDDIE PELLS

Associated Press

SEE DEBUT ON PAGE 19

OLYMPICS

Top: Hampus Winberg of Sweden practices during an Olympic qualifying skateboarding event at Lauridsen Skate­park, May 19, in Des Moines, Iowa. Right: The United States’ Nyjah Huston practices at Lauridsen Skatepark,Saturday, May 22. With last week’s Dew Tour representing one of the last major qualifying events for the games inTokyo in July, the world is about to find out whether the Olympics is ready for skateboarding.

PHOTOS BY CHARLIE NEIBERGALL/AP

On to round 2

Lightning, Islanders advance withGame 6 wins ›› NHL playoffs, Page 22