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MILITARY

Navy nominatesfamiliar face tolead 7th FleetPage 4

NATION

NASA’s Ingenuityfirst aircraft to flyon another planetPage 10

Last-place Yanks looking for answers after sweep by Rays ›› MLB, Page 24

FORT BENNING, Ga. — For three nearly

nonstop days, some of the Army’s most-skilled

soldiers overcame a lack of sleep to tough out

brutal obstacle courses, miles-long runs and

marches, and weapons and tactics challenges

as they moved some 75 miles across Fort Ben-

ning for a chance at the title of Best Ranger.

The grueling contest, which tests 52 teams of

Ranger School graduates on a wide-range of

skills, returned to the Army post in Georgia last

week after a rare cancelation in 2020 as the

coronavirus pandemic stopped nearly all mil-

itary movement last spring. In the end, a team

of first lieutenants from Fort Benning’s own

3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment walked

away the winners of the 37th annual Best

Ranger Competition.

“It’s really a testament to what these individ-

uals do in Ranger School — limited sleep, limit-

ed food, moving long distances with different

amounts of poundage on your back,” said Col.

Antwan Dunmyer, the commander of Fort

Benning’s Airborne and Ranger Training Bri-

gade, which hosts the competition. “Just stren-

uous activity that is mentally and physically

draining — to include having to execute vari-

ous technical and tactical skills along the way. I

mean, this is the Super Bowl for the Army right

here. This is the Super Bowl for Rangers.”

The competition began Friday with a pre-

dawn nine-mile run and ended Sunday after-

noon with a final buddy run that saw Rangers

1st Lt. Vince Paikowski and 1st Lt. Alastair

Keys cross the finish line first. In between

PHOTOS BY COREY DICKSTEIN/Stars and Stripes

National Guard soldiers 1st Lt. Christian Briggs, left, and Spc. Jerry Marksbury navigate the Malvesti obstacle course, the second event in theArmy’s grueling three-day Best Ranger Competition, on Friday, at Fort Benning, Ga.

‘Best’ back at Fort BenningLieutenants from Georgia Army post win Army’s ‘Super Bowl’

BY COREY DICKSTEIN

Stars and Stripes

SEE BACK ON PAGE 3

Competitors complete the Urban AssaultCourse portion of the Army’s 2021 BestRanger Contest at Fort Benning.

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germa-

ny — U.S. military bases in Eu-

rope adhered to a White House

pledge to open coronavirus vacci-

nations to every American eligible

for them by Monday, but appoint-

ments for a first dose remained

unavailable in some areas.

Some bases listed open time

slots for vaccinations Monday

morning on the Defense Health

Agency’s appointment portal, in-

cluding Spangdahlem and Geilen-

kirchen air bases in Germany, and

in Italy, Aviano Air Base and Na-

val Support Activity Naples.

Landstuhl Regional Medical

Center in Germany, the military’s

largest overseas medical facility,

began offering appointments to all

eligible adults Monday afternoon.

But in Bavaria, home to about

40,000 garrison personnel, there

were no appointments available

through the DHA portal at seven

vaccination sites , including two at

Hohenfels, two at Grafenwoehr,

and one location each at Ansbach,

Katterbach and Vilseck.

More appointments should

open for all eligible beneficiaries,

Vaccinationappointmentsscarce at basesaround Europe

BY JENNIFER H. SVAN

Stars and Stripes

EUGENE OLIVER/U.S. Air Force

A service member is vaccinatedThursday at RAF Alconbury.

SEE SCARCE ON PAGE 6

PAGE 2 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Tuesday, April 20, 2021

BUSINESS/WEATHER

SHANGHAI — Volkswagen,

Ford and Chinese brands un-

veiled new SUVs for China on

Monday at the Shanghai auto

show, the industry’s biggest mar-

keting event in a year overshad-

owed by the coronavirus pandem-

ic.

Automakers are looking to Chi-

na, the biggest auto market by

sales volume and the first major

economy to rebound from the pan-

demic, to propel a revival in de-

mand and reverse multibillion-

dollar losses.

Auto Shanghai 2021 takes place

under anti-virus controls that in-

cluded holding some news confer-

ences by video link. Few execu-

tives from abroad are attending.

Reporters were required to un-

dergo virus tests.

The latest models reflect accel-

erating momentum toward elec-

trification and designing models

for Chinese tastes. Automakers

rely increasingly on research and

design centers in China to create

models for global sale.

Volkswagen AG said its all-elec-

tric ID.6, available in six- and sev-

en-seat models, aims to create a

“lounge on wheels” with semi-au-

tomated driving and other tech-

nology. The German auto giant’s

Audi unit displayed a concept ver-

sion of its A6 e-tron sedan, the first

of a family of electric cars due out

next year.

Toyota Motor Co. introduced its

bZ4X Concept battery-electric

SUV, one of 70 electrified vehicles

the automaker says it will release

globally by 2025.

VW, Ford unveil new SUVs for China at auto showAssociated Press

Bahrain90/75

Baghdad106/75

Doha97/74

Kuwait City97/74

Riyadh98/72

Kandahar87/57

Kabul70/47

Djibouti90/78

TUESDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Mildenhall/Lakenheath

62/41

Ramstein61/37

Stuttgart60/40

Lajes,Azores68/59

Rota67/56

Morón98/69 Sigonella

68/47

Naples62/46

Aviano/Vicenza63/43

Pápa59/38

Souda Bay65/50

Brussels61/40

Zagan61/43

DrawskoPomorskie

60/39

TUESDAY IN EUROPE

Misawa59/45

Guam87/78

Tokyo74/50

Okinawa72/68

Sasebo79/50

Iwakuni72/48

Seoul79/56

Osan79/54

Busan71/57

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

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

WEDNESDAY IN THE PACIFIC

WEATHER OUTLOOK

TODAYIN STRIPES

American Roundup ...... 11Classified .................... 13Comics .........................16Crossword ................... 16Faces .......................... 14Opinion ........................ 15Sports .................... 18-24

Military rates

Euro costs (April 20) $1.17Dollar buys (April 20) 0.8098British pound (April 20) $1.36Japanese yen (April 20) 106.00South Korean won (April 20) 1090.00

Commercial rates

Bahrain(Dinar) 0.3769Britain (Pound) 1.3964Canada (Dollar) 1.2491China(Yuan) 6.5125Denmark (Krone) 6.1841Egypt (Pound) 15.6896Euro 0.8316Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7662Hungary (Forint) 300.03Israel (Shekel) 3.2640Japan (Yen) 108.26Kuwait(Dinar) 0.3012

Norway (Krone) 8.3017

Philippines (Peso) 48.40Poland (Zloty) 3.78Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7504Singapore (Dollar) 1.3309

South Korea (Won) 1,115.45Switzerland (Franc) 0.9151Thailand (Baht) 31.23Turkey (NewLira)  �8.0745

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

INTEREST RATES

Prime rate 3.25Interest Rates Discount �rate 0.75Federal funds market rate  �0.073­month bill 0.0230­year bond 2.26

EXCHANGE RATES

Tuesday, April 20, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3

those runs, competitors navigated

a series of obstacle courses, an ur-

ban-assault course, eight marks-

manship events with various fire-

arms, a combat-fitness test, swims

across Victory Pond, a nighttime

land navigation course, and fast-

rope jumps out of helicopters.

“That’s what we ask our young

Rangers to be able to do, [and] to

be able to train young soldiers to

be able to do this successfully in

combat,” Dunmyer said. “I mean,

everything we see within the Best

Ranger competition is what we

would do at some point in com-

bat.”

Before last year, Best Ranger

had only been canceled twice be-

fore — in 1991 during Operation

Desert Storm and again in 2003

during the opening weeks of Oper-

ation Iraqi Freedom.

That, in part, is why Fort Ben-

ning officials worked so hard to

hold the signature event of its an-

nual Infantry Week contests this

year, said Maj. Gen. David Hodne,

the Army’s chief of infantry, who

oversees Infantry Week. Hodne

and others began planning in the

fall to bring a scaled-back Infantry

Week to Fort Benning, and top Ar-

my officials in January approved

the Best Ranger contest and the

Best Sniper event held last week.

Hodne, a veteran of the elite

75th Ranger Regiment, cheered

competitors on from the sideline

Friday in the opening events of the

Best Ranger competition. He said

he was awed by the physical and

mental displays the — mostly

young — soldiers put on in the

competition.

“They’re all obviously excep-

tionally fit,” Hodne said watching

as Rangers navigated their first

obstacle course of the contest —

completing chinups, climbing a

rope, and finishing with a swim

below razor-wire. “They’re going

to show through these days that

they have incredible physical

skill, marksmanship, and there’s a

whole lot of strategy that goes into

it.”

The winners, Hodne said, likely

found the best pace to navigate the

three-day course.

He also said he hopes to see Fort

Benning return to a full slate of In-

fantry Week events next year,

bringing back the Army’s Com-

batives Tournament and its Best

Mortar competition.

“Each of the competitions are

unique and representative of each

of these community’s expertise,”

Hodne said.

“And that’s what I love about

them. The sniper and mortar com-

petitions — those really allow for

sharing of best practices, tech-

niques, tactics and procedures.

And then combatives is really im-

portant — that’s close combat,

that’s close with and destroy [the

enemy]. It’s the spirit of the infan-

try … and we want to bring that all

back.”

Back: Soldiers compete for title of Best RangerFROM PAGE 1

COREY DICKSTEIN/Stars and Stripes

Best Ranger competitors climb out of a window on the Urban Assault Course at Fort Benning, Ga., on thefirst day of 2021 competition, which is considered among the Army’s most grueling challenges. 

Sgt. Maj. Andrea Copes, as­signed to Airborne Ranger Train­ing Brigade, competes in the2021 Best Ranger Competition.

PHOTOS BY CHRISTIAN SIMMONS/U.S Army

Sgt. 1st Class Ryan Peterson, assigned to Airborne Ranger TrainingBrigade, competes in the 2021 Best Ranger Competition on Sunday.

dickstein.corey@stripes.com Twitter: @CDicksteinDC

Maj. William Fuller and Maj. Matthew Snyder, assigned to UnitedStates Military Academy, compete in the 2021 Best Ranger Competi­tion on Fort Benning, Ga.

MILITARY

CANBERRA, Australia —

Australia’s government on Mon-

day reversed a decision to strip

soldiers of unit citations due to

war crime allegations in Af-

ghanistan and announced an in-

quiry into suicides among veter-

ans and serving members of the

military.

Australian Defense Chief An-

gus Campbell had decided to

take citations from more than

3,000 special forces troops after

a military report released in No-

vember found evidence that

Australian soldiers unlawfully

killed 39 Afghan prisoners,

farmers and civilians. The re-

port recommended 19 current

and former soldiers face crimi-

nal investigation.

But Defense Minister Peter

Dutton, who took over the port-

folio last month, said only sol-

diers found guilty of misconduct

would lose their medals.

“We shouldn’t be punishing

the 99% for the sins of 1%,” Dut-

ton told Sydney Radio 2GB.

More than 39,000 Australian

military personnel have served

in Afghanistan since 2001 and 41

have been killed there. The final

80 are to be withdrawn in Sep-

tember, in line with the pro-

posed U.S. withdrawal.

Prime Minister Scott Morri-

son said later on Monday that the

most powerful form of govern-

ment-commissioned inquiry,

known as a royal commission,

would be established into suicid-

es among serving and former

military personnel.

Morrison said struggling vet-

erans were making greater de-

mands on available services.

“What we’re dealing with

right now is we see the number

of presentations increasing, the

demand for veteran support in-

creasing — of course it’s a func-

tion of the deployments over the

last 20 years and that is the chal-

lenge that the government is

dealing with now and I think

we’re dealing with it very posi-

tively,” Morrison told reporters.

Julie-Ann Finney, who lost

her 38-year-old veteran son Da-

vid Finney to suicide in 2019 af-

ter a battle with post traumatic

stress disorder, welcomed the

announcement of the Royal

Commission into Defense and

Veterans Suicide.

“Today is a long time coming

for veterans and their families,”

Finney said.

“Finally, the voices of veter-

ans will be heard. Finally, fam-

ilies can stand up and share their

stories,” she said.

Research into veteran suicide

in Australia is limited and im-

precise.

The Australian Institute of

Health and Welfare found last

year that ex-servicemen who

were discharged on medical

grounds died by suicide at a

higher rate than other Austra-

lian men from 2016 to 2018.

Australia reverses decision to withhold medals from vetsBY ROD MCGUIRK

Associated Press

PAGE 4 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Tuesday, April 20, 2021

MILITARY

A task force of four B-52H

Stratofortress bombers has ar-

rived at Andersen Air Force

Base, Guam, part of an ongoing

demonstration by the Air Force

of its ability to move strategic

assets around the globe.

The planes, from the 2nd

Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air

Force Base, La., will operate in

the Indo-Pacific and support

Pacific Air Forces’ training ef-

forts with joint forces and part-

ners, the Air Force said in a

statement Saturday.

The 2nd Bomb Wing last de-

ployed B-52s to Guam in Febru-

ary. It’s unclear how long the

current deployment will last.

The Air Force last year ended

its 15-year practice of keeping a

continuous bomber presence

on Guam in favor of a less-pre-

dictable deployment system us-

ing bomber task forces. The

change aligned with the 2018

National Defense Strategy’s

call for strategic unpredictabil-

ity.

Bomber task force missions

help “maintain global stability

and security while enabling

units to become familiar with

operations in different re-

gions,” according to the Air

Force.

Bombers flying from Guam

project U.S. airpower in a re-

gion where China is flexing its

increased military strength. In

the South China Sea, for exam-

ple, the United States has con-

ducted regular operations chal-

lenging Chinese territorial

claims over international wa-

ters.

The State Department in July

formally rejected China’s

claims to islands and reefs in

the South China Sea.

“The Air Force is currently

working in a complex, dynamic

and sometimes volatile global

security environment,” 2nd

Bomb Wing commander Col.

Mark Dmytryszyn said in the

statement. “It is our charge to

regularly conduct these joint

and combined security cooper-

ation engagements across dif-

ferent Geographic Combatant

Commands and their areas of

operation.”

Bomber task forces based in

the U.S. deploy cyclically to

Guam. Adversaries “watch us

come and go,” Pacific Air

Forces commander Gen. Ken-

neth Wilsbach said in a Sept. 9

call with reporters.

Last year, the Air Force ro-

tated B-52s, B-1 Lancers and

B-2 Spirit bombers through

Guam, putting them to work on

exercises with the Navy and the

Japan Air Self-Defense Force.

4 Barksdale-based B-52s arrive on Guam for bomber task force mission

robson.seth@stripes.comTwitter: @SethRobson1

JACOB WRIGHTSMAN/U.S. Air Force

A B­52H Stratofortress assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing takes offfrom Barksdale Air Force Base, La., in September.

BY SETH ROBSON

Stars and Stripes

TOKYO — The White House has

nominated a naval officer with

command experience in the West-

ern Pacific to lead the 7th Fleet as it

aims to keep pace with its Chinese

competition.

Rear Adm. Karl O. Thomas, the

assistant deputy chief for naval op-

erations, plans and strategy at the

Pentagon, would return to Yokosu-

ka Naval Base, Japan, to command

the largest of America’s overseas

naval fleets, the Defense Depart-

ment announced Wednesday. Tho-

mas previously served as com-

mander of Task Force 70 and Car-

rier Strike Group 5, centered on

the aircraft carrier USS Ronald

Reagan, homeported in Yokosuka.

A naval aviator, Thomas began

his career in the E-2C Hawkeye, a

tactical early-warning aircraft,

and rose up the command ranks

with service as executive officer

aboard the carriers USS Dwight D.

Eisenhower and George Washing-

ton, and commander of a third, the

USS Carl Vinson, according to his

Navy biography.

ANorthern Virginia native, Tho-

mas earned his commission in 1985

through the Naval ROTC at Rens-

selaer Polytechnic Institute. He al-

so holds a master’s degree from the

Naval Postgraduate School.

If confirmed by the Senate, Tho-

mas would succeed Vice Adm. Bill

Merz, who took his post Sept. 12,

2019. The job also comes with a

promotion. Thomas would take a

leading role in an international

arena where a rising China con-

fronts its neighbors, and some-

times the United States. The 7th

Fleet is the tool the U.S. employs to

demonstrate its reach and resolve

to its allies and friends, and to Beij-

ing.

The 7th Fleet, which includes up

to 70 vessels and 20,000 sailors,

may keep the peace or shoulder the

U.S. response if hotspots like the

contested Senkaku Islands or Tai-

wan kindle into conflict.

President Joe Biden’s adminis-

tration has affirmed its commit-

ment to assist Japan should the

Senkakus, a group of islets set stra-

tegically northeast of Taiwan,

come under assault. Japan com-

plains of increasing instances of

China’s coast guard interfering

with Japanese fishing vessels in

the area. Both nations this year

have empowered their coast

guards to open fire there if threat-

ened.

The head of Indo-Pacific Com-

mand, Adm. Philip Davidson, in

March told the Senate Armed Ser-

vices Committee that China may

be contemplating a move to re-

claim Taiwan sooner rather than

later. China considers Taiwan a

breakaway province.

“We have indications that the

risks are actually going up,” Da-

vidson said.

Unlike its treaty with Japan, the

U.S. has no obligation to come to

Taiwan’s military support, but it

aids the island democracy through

outward signs, such as the visit last

week of by former U.S. Sen. Chris

Dodd and two former deputy sec-

retaries of state, and by direct

arms sales.

The U.S. recognizes China’s

claim but considers Taiwan’s sta-

tus unresolved. The 7th Fleet peri-

odically sends warships to the Tai-

wan Strait in defiance of Chinese

demands that third nations seek its

permission before steaming

through the 110-mile-wide pas-

sage.

The 7th Fleet also carries the

flag on an increasing number of

freedom-of-navigation patrols

through the South China Sea, a 1.3-

million square-mile area beset by

knotty quarrels.

An estimated $3.4 trillion in

trade passed through the South

China Sea in 2016 out of a global to-

tal of $15.9 trillion, according to

ChinaPower, an online project of

the Center for Strategic and Inter-

national Studies.

China has built up and occupied

seven small islands and reefs in the

Spratly Islands and constructed

airfields, barracks and missile

sites there, along with other out-

posts manned by the Philippines,

Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam,

according to the CIA World Fact-

book.

China ignores a 2016 U.N. tribu-

nal decision in favor of the Philip-

pines in a dispute over sovereignty

in the area.

Beginning in late March, the

Philippines, a U.S. ally, and China

engaged in a simmering standoff

when dozens of Chinese maritime

militia vessels, posing as fishing

boats, anchored at Whitsun Reef

inside the Philippine economic ex-

clusion zone, according to Foreign

Policy magazine.

Navy announcesofficer tapped to lead 7th Fleet

BY JOSEPH DITZLER

Stars and Stripes

ditzler.joseph@stripes.comTwitter: @JosephDitzler

SARAH MYERS/U.S. Navy

Rear Adm. Karl O. Thomas, left, visits the guided­missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville in 2018 in the Phi­lippine Sea. The Pentagon announced last week that Thomas has been nominated to lead the 7th Fleet. 

Tuesday, April 20, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 5

MILITARY/MIDEAST

BAGHDAD — Multiple rockets

hit an Iraqi air base just north of

the capital Baghdad on Sunday,

wounding two Iraqi security

forces, an Iraqi military com-

mander said.

In comments to Iraq’s official

news agency, Maj. Gen. Diaa

Mohsen, commander of the Balad

air base, said at least two rockets

exploded inside the base, which

houses U.S. trainers. The attack

comes days after an explosives-

laden drone targeted U.S.-led coa-

lition forces near a northern Iraq

airport, causing a large fire and

damage to a building.

Mohsen said the attack resulted

in the injury of two security

forces, one of them in serious con-

dition and the other only slightly.

There was no material damage in-

side the base from the attack, he

added.

The incident was the latest in a

string of attacks that have target-

ed mostly American installations

in Iraq in recent weeks. There

was no immediate responsibility

claim, but U.S. officials have pre-

viously blamed Iran-backed Iraqi

militia factions for such attacks.

American forces withdrew

from Iraq in 2011 but returned in

2014 at the invitation of Iraq to

help battle Islamic State after it

seized vast areas in the north and

west of the country. In late 2020,

U.S. troop levels in Iraq were re-

duced to 2,500 after withdrawals

based on orders from the Trump

administration.

Calls grew for further U.S.

troop withdrawals after a U.S.-di-

rected drone strike killed Iranian

Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and

an Iraqi militia leader in Baghdad

in January 2020.

Last month, a base in western

Iraq housing U.S.-led coalition

troops and contractors was hit by

10 rockets. One contractor was

killed.

Rockets hit Iraqiair base, 2 securityforces wounded

Associated Press

STUTTGART, Germany — Mil-

itary housing in Europe again

fared poorly in a new Army cus-

tomer satisfaction survey, which

showed that garrisons on the Con-

tinent are improving but still lag

behind their peers in the U.S. and

the Asia-Pacific region.

The Army’s “Tenant Satisfac-

tion Survey” examined 27 housing

communities in the U.S. and over-

seas. Overall, 19 installations rated

between outstanding and average,

five rated below average and three

scored at either poor or crisis level.

Military families, including

those in Europe, have voiced con-

cerns in recent years about nu-

merous housing problems, includ-

ing mold, spotty hot water service

and excessive wait times for basic

repairs.

“The survey has provided us in-

sight into residents’ feelings about

various areas of housing oper-

ations and physical structure, and

we will use these results to identify

areas where we can improve and

strive to meet their prioritized

needs,” said Mark Heeter, spokes-

man for Installation Management

Command-Europe.

In Europe, only U.S. Army Gar-

rison Benelux achieved a “good”

overall score. Army-owned hous-

ing at garrisons in Rheinland-

Pfalz, Stuttgart, Bavaria and Italy

all were designated as below aver-

age, which denotes that “perform-

ance is just not adequate,” the re-

port said.

Army-owned housing in Ans-

bach, Germany, and Vicenza, Ita-

ly, received a score of “poor.”

“Scores in this range signify

substandard performance and

strong displeasure with the prop-

erty and/or the level of service,”

the survey report said. “Improve-

ments are needed immediately.”

The only installation that scored

worse than Ansbach and Vicenza

was Hawthorne Army Depot in

Nevada, which was at the “crisis”

level. The report did not discuss

specific problems at the installa-

tions.

Meanwhile, the Army’s Fort

McCoy in Wisconsin had the top

overall score. The best overseas

post was Camp Zama in Japan.

Europe installations improved

over the last year despite their

comparative shortcomings, the

survey showed.

“While satisfaction did in-

crease, the scores for the Europe

Directorate still fall in the range of

Below Average indicating addi-

tional work is needed,” the report

said.

Heeter said the survey results

and increased participation

among the Army community in

Europe mean IMCOM-E is getting

a “better picture of where we can

improve across the board.”

In December, Army officials in

Europe said the service plans to

spend more than $1 billion over the

next six years to improve family

housing at its garrisons.

The Army housing satisfaction

survey was conducted between

December 2020 and January 2021

and asked participants a range of

questions related to quality of ser-

vice, safety and overall condition

and satisfaction with their homes.

Army housing in Europegets low marks in survey

BY JOHN VANDIVER

Stars and Stripes

MARTIN EGNASH/Stars and Stripes

Pictured is housing at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany. Army hous­ing in Europe broadly ranks low in customer satisfaction, a new surveyfound, although some installations have improved since last year.

vandiver.john@stripes.com �Twitter: @john_vandiver 

TEHRAN, Iran — A high-rank-

ing general key to Iran's security

apparatus has died, the Islamic

Revolutionary Guard Corps an-

nounced on Sunday.

Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hos-

seinzadeh Hejazi, who died at 65,

served as deputy commander of

the Quds, or Jerusalem, force of

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary

Guard. The unit is an elite and in-

fluential group that oversees for-

eign operations, and Hejazi

helped lead its expeditionary

forces and frequently shuttled be-

tween Iraq, Lebanon and Syria.

Born in 1956 in the city of Isfa-

han, Hejazi joined the Guard after

the 1979 Islamic Revolution and

came to lead the paramilitary Ba-

sij volunteer corps for a decade —

a tenure that saw the force trans-

form into a pillar of the country's

security and political apparatus.

Hejazi took up the position of

deputy commander of the Quds

Force in April of last year after

leading the Guard’s paramilitary

forces in Lebanon. Iranian media

reported that he joined forces

fighting against Islamic State in

Iraq and Syria.

The Guard statement said he

died of heart disease, without pro-

viding any further details.

High-ranking Iranian general dies at 65Associated Press

AP

Iranian Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hosseinzadeh Hejazi, right — shown in2006 with then­Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — has diedat 65, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced Sunday.

FORT WORTH, Texas — A

subcontractor working on the

new Air Force One aircraft for

Boeing countersued the Chica-

go-based aircraft giant Friday

over Boeing’s allegations of mis-

sed deadlines for work on the

presidential aircraft.

In a seven-page lawsuit filed

in state district court in Fort

Worth, GDC Technics LLC

seeks more than $20 million in

damages from Boeing.

The lawsuit alleges that Boe-

ing’s mismanagement caused

the delays, not GDC’s actions.

The Fort Worth-based subcon-

tractor contends that Boeing

failed in its contractual obliga-

tions to the subcontractors, in-

cluding failing to pay what GDC

was due for its work. It also al-

leges that Boeing has damaged

GDC’s reputation with the Pen-

tagon.

There was no immediate com-

ment from Boeing.

Air Force One subcontractorcountersues Boeing for delay

Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio — A restored

plane that led the invasion of

Normandy during World War

II will visit the National Mu-

seum of the United States Air

Force in Dayton this week.

The C-47 called “That’s All,

Brother” will visit the museum

Tuesday to Thursday, the Day-

ton Daily News reported.

The plane led some 800 C-47s

in the airborne invasion on

June 6, 1944, that dropped

thousands of paratroopers into

northern France, the newspa-

per reported. It was sold in

1945.

“Over the next several dec-

ades, this C-47 changed hands

many times and its historical

significance was lost,” the mu-

seum said. “Ultimately, two

historians from the U.S. Air

Force discovered that this his-

toric aircraft was lying in a

boneyard in Wisconsin.”

An organization called the

Commemorative Air Force ac-

quired the plane and restored

it, including its paint and inte-

rior, to match its condition in

1944, the newspaper reported.

Lt. Col. John Donalson will

pilot the plane to Dayton. Vis-

itors will be able to watch its

landing and takeoff from the

museum’s Memorial Park, and

can tour the plane two at a time

during certain hours while it is

on the runway, the newspaper

reported.

Restored plane that led D-Daybombing will visit USAF museum

Associated Press

PAGE 6 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Tuesday, April 20, 2021

TOKYO — U.S. commands in

Japan reported 39 new cases of

the coronavirus between 6 p.m.

Friday and the same time Mon-

day, all of them on Okinawa,

where the virus resurged in

March.

One new coronavirus patient

turned up at a Defense Depart-

ment school on Kadena Air Base,

according to a message Monday

from the principal to students’

families and school staff. Contact

tracing is underway, wrote Prin-

cipal Lorri Vallone of Bob Hope

Primary School, and as a result

“Ms. Russell and Ms. Kaczynski’s

classrooms will be closed tomor-

row, Tuesday.”

The spring surge also contin-

ued in Osaka prefecture, which

reported more than 1,000 new CO-

VID-19 patients for six days

straight through Sunday and an-

other 719 on Monday, according

to public broadcaster NHK and

prefectural data.

Osaka, home of Japan’s second-

largest city, is experiencing its

worst phase of the pandemic. It

reported another four dead Mon-

day for 1,273 over the past year.

Nearly all U.S. commands pro-

hibit their people from traveling

to Osaka except on official busi-

ness. Yokota Air Base in western

Tokyo, which permits off-duty

travel anywhere in Japan, on Fri-

day began requiring approval by

squadron commanders or their

equivalents for trips to Osaka city

or prefecture, according to base

commander Col. Andrew Camp-

bell’s order.

Tokyo confirmed another 405

people had tested positive for the

virus Monday, according to NHK.

On Okinawa, the Marine Corps

announced via Facebook on Mon-

day that 30 people tested positive

between Saturday and Monday at

Camp Hansen — two each at

Camp Foster and Marine Corps

Air Station Futenma and one each

at Camps Schwab and Kinser.

The Marines have reported 103

case of COVID-19 on Okinawa so

far this month.

Kadena Air Base reported that

two people contracted COVID-19,

according to a Facebook post Fri-

day evening. One was a close con-

tact of a previous coronavirus pa-

tient and the other fell ill and self-

isolated before testing positive.

An unspecified number of close

contacts were quarantined, ac-

cording to Kadena. The base has

reported new 62 COVID-19 pa-

tients so far in April.

AKIFUMI ISHIKAWA/Stars and Stripes

Jizo statues seen near Kamakura, Japan, on Sunday are clothed in masks as a petition to the deity thatguards women and children to end the coronavirus pandemic soon.

US military on Okinawareports 39 new cases

BY JOSEPH DITZLER

Stars and Stripes

ditzler.joseph@stripes.comTwitter: @JosephDitzler

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany

— A curfew went into effect Mon-

day in the district that includes

Ramstein Air Base and several Ar-

my installations after new coronavi-

rus infections surged above the

weekly average mark of 100 per

100,000 residents for three days.

The 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew is the

first in the Kaiserslautern district

since the pandemic began, although

the city of Kaiserslautern has been

under curfew since Friday, district

commissioner Ralf Lessmeister

said in a statement.

“I had hoped for a falling number

of infections, but the incidence

shows that we have to have stricter

rules,” he said as the new infection

rate for the district hit a weekly av-

erage of 145 per 100,000 residents

Sunday. Two days earlier, there

were around 130 new infections per

100,000 residents in the district, he

said in a video interview with a local

media outlet. The incidence rate of

new infections in the city of Kaiser-

slautern was at 138 per 100,000 resi-

dents as of Sunday.

German federal guidelines re-

quire the curfew and other restric-

tions to be imposed in areas where

new cases surpass the weekly aver-

age of 100 per 100,000 residents for

three days.

The curfew and other restrictions

will remain in place for at least sev-

en days, officials said.

Starting at midnight Monday, dis-

trict residents, including tens of

thousands of Americans, can only

go outdoors at night for a job-related

reason, to visit a sick relative or part-

ner, a medical emergency or to walk

adog, according to the statement

Daytime outdoor activities are al-

so limited. Residents are only al-

lowed to be outside alone or with

members of their own household

and one person from another house-

hold, not counting children aged 6

and under.

Restaurants, which had cautious-

ly started reopening outdoor areas

last month, stopped offering al fres-

co dining on Sunday, but takeout

and delivery meals remain availa-

ble.

Many retail outlets went back to

appointment shopping Monday, but

grocery stores, pharmacies and

drug stores, and shops selling books,

hardware, flowers and gardening

tools can keep operating as usual.

Services that involve physical

contact can continue only if they

serve a medical or hygienic purpose

such as physiotherapy, foot care or

hair salons and barbershops. Face

coverings must be worn in all busi-

nesses that are allowed to open.

Visits to the outdoor areas of zoos,

botanical gardens and similar facil-

ities are possible with an advance

booking, but the number of people

allowed is limited.

Museums, exhibitions, galleries,

memorials and other cultural insti-

tutions “have to close completely,”

and theater rehearsals and per-

formances are banned, along with

group music and art lessons, the

statement said.

Curfew extended toKaiserslautern areaas new cases surge

BY MARCUS KLOECKNER

AND KARIN ZEITVOGEL

Stars and Stripes

kloeckner.marcus@stripes.comzeitvogel.karin@stripes.comTwitter: @StripesZeit

VIRUS OUTBREAK

mostly lagged behind those in the

United States.

President Joe Biden announced

April 6 that he had moved the

deadline for states to open up cor-

onavirus vaccinations to all U.S.

residents 18 and older to Monday.

U.S. military medical clinics in

Europe are working to ensure that

vaccine appointments are availa-

ble for all eligible adults this week,

Erickson said. Some are using the

Defense Health Agency appoint-

ment portal at informatics-

stage.health.mil/COVAX, while

others are setting up their own

scheduling system or are holding

mass vaccination events, she said.

The DHA portal listed most in-

stallations in Europe and several

in Asia on Monday.

In Italy, Aviano said it had first-

including the general adult pop-

ulation, as an expected 20,000 to

30,000 doses per week begin arriv-

ing over the next few weeks, U.S.

European Command officials said

Monday.

“We’re really turning a corner

here in the next week or two

broadly across (the region) to

make vaccines available to the en-

tire population,” said Air Force Lt.

Col. Elizabeth Erickson, EUCOM

command surgeon. “Our pace is

really picking up, so it’s very excit-

ing.”

The Pentagon announced Fri-

day that overseas bases would re-

ceive additional doses of the Mod-

erna vaccine to make up for the

temporary pause in administering

the one-dose Johnson & Johnson

vaccine. The Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention and the

Food and Drug Administration

are investigating reports of rare

but potentially dangerous blood

clots in the J&J vaccine.

EUCOM expects to receive

30,000 additional doses of Moder-

na in the next few weeks, on top of

the 83,000 forecast to arrive by

May 7, EUCOM officials said.

The Moderna vaccine is admin-

istered in two doses about a month

apart.

The uptick should help EUCOM

reach its goal of administering a

first dose to all eligible adults by

mid-May and fully vaccinating all

who want the shots by the end of

July, Erickson said. Vaccination

rates at bases in Europe have

and second-dose appointments

open to all U.S. beneficiaries 18

years and older Friday. U.S. Army

Garrison Italy said it was doing

the same in a Facebook post Mon-

day evening.

The Supreme Headquarters Al-

lied Powers Europe health care

facility in Belgium opened up

first-dose appointments to the

general population Monday after-

noon, with slots available on two

days later this week.

Each base is managing its own

site on the DHA portal, Erickson

said. Some are ensuring they have

vaccines inbound or on the shelf

“before they load up those ap-

pointments,” she said.

Ramstein Air Base was not list-

ed on the DHA portal. The base

said it was finalizing its appoint-

ment process and planned to host

a virtual town hall meeting Tues-

day at 4 p.m. to discuss vaccine

distribution.

Geilenkirchen said on its portal

page that it was providing the vac-

cine to all those eligible in its area

of responsibility, which does not

include patients from Spangdah-

lem, SHAPE, Brussels or the Kai-

serslautern area.

People are encouraged to get

vaccinated in their base commu-

nity, Erickson said. If they do go

elsewhere, however, they should

“get their second dose at that loca-

tion because” second-dose ship-

ments are aligned to first doses,

she said.

Scarce: Europe bases to get more Moderna doses after J&J pausedFROM PAGE 1

svan.jennifer@stripes.comTwitter: @stripesktown

Tuesday, April 20, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 7

VIRUS OUTBREAK

NEW DELHI — New Delhi im-

posed a weeklong lockdown Mon-

day night to prevent the collapse of

the Indian capital’s health system,

which authorities said had been

pushed to its limit amid an explo-

sive surge in coronavirus cases.

In scenes familiar from surges

elsewhere, ambulances catapult-

ed from one hospital to another,

trying to find an empty bed over

the weekend, while patients lined

up outside of medical facilities

waiting to be let in. Ambulances al-

so idled outside of crematoriums,

carrying half a dozen dead bodies

each.

“People keep arriving, in an al-

most collapsing situation,” said

Dr. Suresh Kumar, who heads Lok

Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hos-

pital, one of New Delhi’s largest

hospitals for treating COVID-19

patients.

Most desperately need oxygen,

Kumar said. But the city is facing

shortages of oxygen and some

medicine, according to Chief Min-

ister Arvind Kejriwal, who told re-

porters that the new stringent

measures being imposed were re-

quired to “prevent a collapse of the

health system,” which had “reac-

hed its limit.”

Just months after India thought

it had seen the worst of the pan-

demic, the virus is now spreading

at a rate faster than at any other

time, said Bhramar Mukherjee, a

biostatistician at the University of

Michigan who has been tracking

infections in India.

The surge is devastating for In-

dia and has weighed heavily on the

global efforts to end the pandemic

since the country is a major vac-

cine producer but has been forced

to delay exports of shots abroad,

hampering campaigns in develop-

ing countries, in particular. In a

sign of the high stakes, the chief ex-

ecutive of Serum Institute of India,

the world’s largest maker of vac-

cines, asked U.S. President Joe Bi-

den on Twitter last week to lift the

U.S. embargo on exporting raw

materials needed to make the

shots.

The rise in cases comes amid

setbacks in the worldwide vacci-

nation campaign and deepening

crises in many places beyond In-

dia, including Brazil and France.

Over the weekend, the global

death toll from the coronavirus

passed a staggering 3 million peo-

ple Saturday.

India reported over 270,000 in-

fections on Monday, its highest

daily rise since the pandemic start-

ed. It has now recorded more than

15 million infections and more

than 178,000 deaths. Experts agree

that even these figures are likely

undercounts. Amid the rise in

cases, British Prime Minister Bo-

ris Johnson called off a trip to New

Delhi.

The city of 29 million people has

fewer than 100 beds with ventila-

tors, and fewer than 150 beds avail-

able for patients needing critical

care. Similar strains can be seen in

other parts of the vast country,

where the fragile health system

has been underfunded for decades

and a failure to prepare for the cur-

rent surge has left hospitals buck-

ling under the pressure of mount-

ing infections.

In the Himalayan Jammu state

in India’s north, the weekly aver-

age of COVID-19 cases has in-

creased 14-fold in the past month.

In Telengana state in southern In-

dia, home to Hyderabad city

where most of India’s vaccine

makers are based, the weekly av-

erage of infections has increased

16-fold in the past month.

MANISH SWARUP/AP

Health workers prepare to take out from an ambulance the bodies ofsix people who died of COVID­19 for cremation, in New Delhi, India,on Monday. New Delhi imposed a weeklong lockdown Monday nightto prevent the collapse of the Indian capital's health system. 

Lockdownimposedin India’scapital

BY AIJAZ HUSSAIN

AND ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Half of all

adults in the U.S. have received at

least one COVID-19 shot, the gov-

ernment announced Sunday, mark-

ing another milestone in the nation’s

largest vaccination campaign but

leaving more work to do to convince

skeptical Americans to roll up their

sleeves.

Almost 130 million people 18 or ol-

der have received at least one dose

of a vaccine, or 50.4% of the total

adult population, the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention re-

ported. Almost 84 million adults, or

about 32.5% of the population, have

been fully vaccinated.

The U.S. cleared the 50% mark

just a day after the reported global

death toll from the coronavirus

topped a staggering 3 million, ac-

cording to totals compiled by Johns

Hopkins University, though the ac-

tual number is believed to be signif-

icantly higher.

The country’s vaccination rate, at

61.6 doses administered per 100

people, currently falls behind Is-

rael, which leads among countries

with at least 5 million people with a

rate of 119.2. The U.S. also trails the

United Arab Emirates, Chile and

the United Kingdom, which is vacci-

nating at a rate of 62 doses per 100

people, according to Our World in

Data, an online research site.

The vaccine campaign offered

hope in places like Nashville, Tenn.,

where the Music City Center bus-

tled Sunday with vaccine seekers.

Amanda Grimsley, who received

her second shot, said she’s ready to

see her 96-year-old grandmother,

who lives in Alabama and has been

nervous about getting the vaccine

after having areaction to a flu shot.

“It’s a little emotional. I haven’t

been able to see my grandmother in

ayear and a half almost,” said Grim-

sley, 35. “And that’s the longest my

entire family has ever gone without

seeing her. And we’ll be seeing her

in mid-May now.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s

top infectious disease expert, indi-

cated Sunday that the government

will likely move to resume use of

Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose

COVID-19 vaccine this week, possi-

bly with restrictions or broader

warnings after reports of some very

rare blood clot cases. Fauci said he

expects a decision when advisers to

the CDC meet Friday.

Half of US adults

have received

at least one shotAssociated Press

JONATHAN MATTISE /AP

Amanda Grimsley, 35, leaves theMusic City Center in Nashville,Tenn., after receiving her secondCOVID­19 vaccine dose Sunday.Half of all adults in the U.S. havereceived at least one COVID­19shot, the government says.

PAGE 8 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Tuesday, April 20, 2021

NATION

MINNEAPOLIS — Officer De-

rek Chauvin “had to know” he was

squeezing the life out of George

Floyd as the Black man cried out

over and over that he couldn’t

breathe and finally fell silent, a

prosecutor told jurors Monday as

closing arguments began at Chau-

vin’s murder trial.

“Use your common sense. Be-

lieve your eyes. What you saw, you

saw,” Steve Schleicher said, refer-

ring to the excruciating video of

Floyd pinned to the pavement

with Chauvin’s knee on or close to

Floyd’s neck last May for up to 9

minutes, 29 seconds, as bystan-

ders yelled at the white officer to

get off.

Closing arguments began with

Minneapolis on edge against a re-

peat of the violence that erupted in

the city and around the U.S. last

spring over Floyd’s death.

The defense contends the 46-

year-old Floyd died of his under-

lying heart disease and his illegal

use of fentanyl and methampheta-

mine.

Schleicher dismissed some of

the defense theories as “non-

sense,” saying Chauvin’s pressure

on Floyd killed him by preventing

him from breathing.

He rejected the drug overdose

argument, the contention that po-

lice were distracted by what they

saw as hostile onlookers, and the

suggestion that Floyd suffered

carbon monoxide poisoning from

auto exhaust, and he sarcastically

referred to the notion that it was

heart disease that killed him as an

“amazing coincidence.”

“Is that common sense or is that

nonsense?” the prosecutor asked

the racially diverse jury.

Schleicher described how

Chauvin ignored Floyd’s cries that

he couldn’t breathe, and contin-

ued to kneel on Floyd after he

stopped breathing and had no

pulse — even after the ambulance

arrived.

Floyd was “just a man, lying on

the pavement, being pressed up-

on, desperately crying out. A

grown man crying out for his

mother. A human being,”

Schleicher said. He said Chauvin

“heard him, but he just didn’t lis-

ten.”

Chauvin was “on top of him for 9

minutes and 29 seconds and he

had to know,” Schleicher said.

“He had to know.”

The prosecutor said Floyd “was

not a threat to anyone.”

“He wasn’t trying to hurt any-

one. He wasn’t trying to do any-

thing to anyone. Facing George

Floyd that day that did not require

one ounce of courage. And none

was shown on that day. No cour-

age was required,” Schleicher

said. “All that was required was a

little compassion and none was

shown on that day.”

Schleicher quickly got to the

heart of the case — whether Chau-

vin’s actions were those of a rea-

sonable officer in similar circum-

stances — saying a reasonable of-

ficer with Chauvin’s training and

experience should have known a

handcuffed Floyd did not pose a

risk to officers.

Jury hears closingarguments in trialof ex-Minn. officer

Associated Press

JIM MONE/AP

New signs are on a fence at the Hennepin County Government Center, on Monday, in Minneapolis.

AUSTIN, Texas — A manhunt

for a former Texas sheriff’s depu-

ty suspected in the fatal shooting

of three people in Austin ended

Monday when authorities said he

was arrested without incident

about 20 miles from the scene of

the weekend attack.

Officers found Stephen Broder-

ick, 41, along a rural road around

7:30 a.m. in Manor, an Austin sub-

urb, after receiving reports of a

suspicious person matching the

description of the suspect in Sun-

day’s shooting, Manor Police

Chief Ryan Phipps said.

Broderick had a pistol in his

waistband, Phipps said. He said

Broderick was taken to Travis

County jail, where authorities did

not immediately release more in-

formation.

“I’m truly heartbroken that a

former Travis

County Sheriff’s

Office Deputy is

the suspect in

such a horrific

incident,” Travis

County Sheriff

Sally Hernandez

said in a state-

ment.

Authorities hadn’t released the

identities of those killed, but Jodi

Duron, superintendent of the El-

gin Independent School District

near Austin, said the victims in-

cluded a current and former stu-

dent at their schools.

She identified them as Alyssa

Broderick, who Duron said with-

drew from the district last fall, and

Willie Simmons III, a senior at El-

gin High School. Duron said Bro-

derick was an “excellent student

and athlete” who was on the bas-

ketball team. Simmons was the

football team captain and had

been recently recruited to play at

the University of North Texas

next year.

“The Elgin ISD community

grieves the loss of these two

young, promising souls,” Duron

said, adding that the district had

made counseling available.

Police: Ex-Texasdeputy suspectedin fatal shootings

Associated Press

BRONTË WITTPENN, AUSTIN (TEXAS) AMERICAN­STATESMAN/AP

Austin police, SWAT and medical personnel respond to an activeshooter situation located Great Hills Trail in Northwest Austin, Texas,on Sunday.

Broderick

‘Person of interest’ incustody in Wis. shooting

Police picked up a “person of in-

terest” in a shooting that left at

least three people dead overnight

Sunday in Kenosha, Wis., at a bar

popular with local college stu-

dents.

Police responded to Somers

House Tavern just before 1 a.m.

and found multiple gunshot vic-

tims, according to the Kenosha

Police Department.

Three people were declared

dead and two others hospitalized

with “serious injuries.”

On Sunday evening, the Ke-

nosha County Sheriff’s Office said

they had apprehended a suspect

and that he would be charged with

first-degree intentional homicide,

with additional criminal charges

likely after further investigation,

The Associated Press reported.

Police declined to release any

other information about the sus-

pect on Sunday.

From The Associated Press

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The

second in command of the Norfolk

Police Department’s internal af-

fairs unit donated to the white man

accused of shooting and killing

protesters last year and whose

case has become a rallying cry for

right-wing activists.

An anonymous donor in Sep-

tember gave $25 to the legal de-

fense of Kyle Rittenhouse, but the

donation came from the official

email address of Lt. William K.

Kelly III, according to The Guard-

ian newspaper.

Kelly’s apparent donation car-

ried the comment: “God bless.

Thank you for your courage. Keep

your head up. You’ve done noth-

ing wrong.”

After the story broke, Police

Chief Larry Boone said Kelly had

been reassigned, although the

chief did not identify Kelly by

name. Boone also said he’d

launched “an administrative in-

vestigation” into the allegations

against Kelly. It’s unclear if it will

be conducted by the internal af-

fairs investigators Kelly oversaw.

Rittenhouse stands accused of

killing two protesters in Kenosha,

Wis., in August. Rittenhouse trav-

eled with weapons from neighbor-

ing Illinois to, by his own account,

offer armed protection to busi-

nesses during protests over the

police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Report: No. 2 Va. officer donated to man in protesters’ deathBY JONATHAN EDWARDS

The Virginian-Pilot (TNS)

Tuesday, April 20, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 9

NATION

WASHINGTON — As President

Joe Biden convenes a virtual cli-

mate summit on Thursday with 40

world leaders, he faces a vexing

task: how to put forward a non-

binding but symbolic goal to re-

duce greenhouse gas emissions

that will have a tangible impact on

climate change efforts not only in

the United States, but throughout

the world.

The emissions target, eagerly

awaited by all sides of the climate

debate, will signal how aggres-

sively Biden wants to move on cli-

mate change, a divisive and ex-

pensive issue that has riled Re-

publicans to complain about job-

killing government overreach

even as some on the left worry Bi-

den has not gone far enough to ad-

dress a profound threat to the

planet.

The climate crisis poses a com-

plex political challenge for Biden,

since the problem is harder to see

and far more difficult to produce

measurable results on than either

the coronavirus pandemic relief

package or the infrastructure bill.

The target Biden chooses “is

setting the tone for the level of am-

bition and the pace of emission re-

ductions over the next decade,

said Kate Larsen, a former White

House adviser who helped devel-

op President Barack Obama’s cli-

mate action plan.

The number has to be achieva-

ble by 2030, but also aggressive

enough to satisfy scientists and ad-

vocates who call the coming dec-

ade a crucial, make-or-break mo-

ment for slowing climate change,

Larsen and other experts said.

Scientists, environmental

groups and even business leaders

are calling on Biden to set a target

that would cut U.S. greenhouse

gas emissions by at least 50% be-

low 2005 levels by 2030.

The 50% target, which most ex-

perts consider a likely outcome of

intense deliberations underway at

the White House, would nearly

double the nation’s previous com-

mitment and require dramatic

changes in the power and trans-

portation sectors, including signif-

icant increases in renewable ener-

gy such as wind and solar power

and steep cuts in emissions from

fossil fuels such as coal and oil.

Anything short of that goal could

undermine Biden’s promise to

prevent temperatures from rising

more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, ex-

perts have said, while likely stir-

ring up sharp criticism from both

international allies and Biden’s

own supporters

The target is significant, not just

as a visible goal for the U.S. to

achieve after four years of climate

inaction under President Donald

Trump, but also for “leveraging

other countries,” Larsen said.

“That helps domestically in the

battle that comes after, which is

implementing policies to achieve

that target,” she said. “We can

make a better case politically at

home if other countries are acting

at the same level of ambition as the

U.S.”

The 2030 goal, known as a Na-

tionally Determined Contribution,

or NDC, is a key part of the Paris

climate agreement, which Biden

rejoined on his first day in office.

It’s also an important marker as

Biden moves toward his ultimate

goal of net-zero carbon emissions

by 2050.

“Clearly the science demands at

least 50%” in reduced greenhouse

gas emissions by 2030, said Jake

Schmidt, a climate expert at the

Natural Resources Defense Coun-

cil, a leading environmental

group.

The 50% target “is ambitious,

but it is achievable,” he said in an

interview. It’s also a good climate

message, he said: “People know

what 50% means — it’s half.”

CHARLIE RIEDEL/AP

Emissions from a coal­fired power plant are silhouetted against the setting sun in Independence, Mo.

Biden feels heat on emissionsgoal as climate summit nears

BY MATTHEW DALY

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President

Joe Biden this past week found

himself in search of a foreign policy

sweet spot: somewhere between

pulling a screeching U-turn on four

years of Trumpism and cautiously

approaching the world as it is.

In recent days, Biden has piled

new sanctions on Russia, an-

nounced he would withdraw all

U.S. troops from Afghanistan in

less than five months and backed

away from a campaign promise to

sharply raise refugee admission

caps.

Yet, as this past week has shown,

Biden is finding that when it comes

to the painstaking process of state-

craft, the drag of pragmatism can

slow the sprint toward big-picture

aspirations.

First there was Biden’s announ-

cement that he would end the “for-

ever war” in Afghanistan by the

20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 at-

tacks on the United States that trig-

gered America’s longest conflict.

Biden campaigned on the prom-

ise to end the war — and former

President Donald Trump set a May

1deadline to do just that. In the end,

though, Biden said he’ll get Amer-

icans out, but he won’t beat a

“hasty” retreat under his prede-

cessor’s timeline. Instead, he

called for a monthslong exit ramp

even as Republicans — and a few

Democrats — criticized the with-

drawal as ill-advised.

Biden’s push-pull calibrations

were also evident this past week in

his approach to Russia.

The president levied new sanc-

tions on Moscow for cyberattacks

and interference in the 2020 elec-

tion, expelling 10 Russian diplo-

mats and targeting Moscow’s abil-

ity to borrow money by prohibiting

U.S. financial institutions from

buying Russian bonds.

But Biden, who in February had

declared an end to the days of the

U.S. “rolling over” to Vladimir Pu-

tin, simultaneously suggested that

he was getting tough on the Russian

president and asserted that he

wants a “stable, predictable” rela-

tionship with him. The president

also suggested a summer summit

with Putin.

The past week also brought new

steps from Biden on refugee ad-

missions that showed the adminis-

tration’s efforts to navigate the

fraught politics of the issue. The

president issued an emergency

declaration stating that the limit of

15,000 refugee admissions set by

Trump for this year “remains justi-

fied by humanitarian concerns and

is otherwise in the national inter-

est.”

The move marked a dramatic de-

parture from Biden’s campaign

promise to raise the refugee limit to

125,000 and then to at least 95,000

annually after that. It came as the

Biden administration is struggling

to deal with a sharp increase in un-

accompanied young migrants from

El Salvador, Guatemala and Hon-

duras arriving at the border.

After an avalanche of criticism

from Democratic lawmakers, the

White House within hours made a

quick course correction Friday. It

said that next month, Biden would

increase the historically low cap on

refugees set by Trump — but prob-

ably not even to the 62,500 level

that was in a plan submitted to Con-

gress in February. The number ac-

tually admitted is expected to be

closer to 15,000.

On foreign policy,Biden faces dragfrom pragmatism

BY AAMER MADHANI

Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas — The Arizona

Legislature was debating one of

several Republican proposals to

overhaul voting when GOP Sen.

Michelle Ugenti-Rita said she’d

had enough.

“I don’t like to be characterized

as supporting discriminatory

laws!” she told Democrats, who say

the legislation will hurt Latino and

Native American voters.

But Democratic Sen. Martin

Quezada, a Latino from Phoenix,

didn’t back down. “This will hurt

my community. This will hurt my

neighborhood.”

“And,” he continued, “we’re go-

ing to continue bringing this up.”

Indeed, Democrats are escalat-

ing their charges that the Republi-

can push for tighter state voting

laws is designed to make it hard for

people of color to vote. As the fight

moves from the Deep South to the

Southwest, that’s put increased fo-

cus on the impact the proposals

would have on Latino and Native

American voters — groups with

distinct histories of fighting for vot-

ing rights.

“Arizona, Texas and several

states in the Southwest have a long,

sordid history of voter suppression,

not only against African Ameri-

cans but Latinos,” said Domingo

Garcia, president of the League of

United Latin American Citizens.

Fighting the new voting bills, he

added, “is our No. 1 priority.”

But Republican lawmakers, af-

ter seeing how Democrats success-

fully labeled GOP-backed legisla-

tion in Georgia as racist, are fight-

ing back. They blasted Democrats

for what they say are lies about the

plans. Texas Republican Lt. Gov.

Dan Patrick last week accused op-

ponents of “borderline race bait-

ing.”

The debate comes amid a broad-

er battle for the allegiance of Latino

voters. While most Latinos overall

lean Democratic, then-President

Donald Trump, a Republican,

made gains among Latinos last

year. Some Democrats see the vot-

ing debate as a chance to win over

those voters.

Republicans across the country

have made hundreds of new pro-

posals to tighten voting and elec-

tion laws — reacting to Trump’s

false insistence that he was denied

reelection because of voter fraud.

Trump and his supporters lost

more than 50 court cases challeng-

ing the election, and repeated audi-

ts turned up no significant fraud.

But Trump has continued to claim

widespread wrongdoing.

The first major legislative fight

came in the swing state of Georgia,

where Republican lawmakers pro-

posed, among other measures,

ending early voting on Sundays,

when many Black voters cast bal-

lots. That provision was dropped

from the final law, but President

Joe Biden, a Democrat, still con-

demned the measure as “Jim Crow

in the 21st century,” a reference to

the laws that Southern states once

used to keep Black citizens from

voting.

As voting fight moves westward, accusations of racism followAssociated Press

PAGE 10 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Tuesday, April 20, 2021

NATION

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. —

NASA’s experimental helicopter

Ingenuity rose into the thin air

above the dusty red surface of

Mars on Monday, achieving the

first powered flight by an aircraft

on another planet.

The triumph was hailed as a

Wright Brothers moment. The

mini 4-pound helicopter even car-

ried a bit of wing fabric from the

1903 Wright Flyer, which made

similar history at Kitty Hawk, N.C.

“Altimeter data confirms that

Ingenuity has performed its first

flight, the first flight of a powered

aircraft on another planet,” said

the helicopter’s chief pilot back on

Earth, Havard Grip, his voice

breaking as his teammates erupt-

ed in applause.

It was a brief hop — just 39 sec-

onds — but accomplished all the

major milestones.

Project manager MiMi Aung

was jubilant as she ripped up the

papers holding the plan in case the

flight had failed. “We’ve been talk-

ing so long about our Wright

Brothers moment, and here it is,”

she said.

Flight controllers at NASA’s Jet

Propulsion Laboratory in Califor-

nia declared success after receiv-

ing the data and images via the

Perseverance rover, which stood

watch more than 200 feet away. In-

genuity hitched a ride to Mars on

Perseverance, clinging to the rov-

er’s belly upon their arrival in an

ancient river delta in February.

The $85 million helicopter demo

was considered high risk, yet high

reward. “Each world gets only one

first flight,” Aung observed earlier

this month.

Ground controllers had to wait

more than three excruciating

hours before learning whether the

pre-programmed flight had suc-

ceeded more than 170 million

miles away. Adding to their anxie-

ty: A software error prevented the

helicopter from lifting off a week

earlier and had engineers scram-

bling to come up with a fix.

When the news finally came, the

operations center filled with ap-

plause, cheers and laughter. More

followed when the first black and

white photo from Ingenuity ap-

peared on the Mission Control

screens, showing the helicopter’s

shadow as it hovered above the

surface of Mars. Next came the

stunning color images of the cop-

ter descending back to the surface,

taken by Perseverance, “the best

host little Ingenuity could ever

hope for,” Aung said in thanking

everyone.

The helicopter achieved its

planned altitude of 10 feet, accord-

ing to the altimeter data, and ho-

vered for a full 30 seconds, appear-

ing stable. The touchdown looked

just as clean. More details were

expected in the coming hours and

days.

Following Monday’s success,

NASA named the Martian airfield

“Wright Brothers Field.”

NASA’s Marshelo completeshistoric flight

NASA/AP

NASA’s experimental Mars helicopter Ingenuity hovers above the surface of Mars on Monday.

Ingenuity is first to fly on another planetBY MARCIA DUNN

Associated Press

Search continues for 9missing on capsized boat

PORT FOURCHON, La. — For

asixth day, rescue crews returned

Sunday to a capsized lift boat in

the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana,

looking for nine crew members

who have not been found, the

Coast Guard said.

Officials have released little in-

formation about their continuous

search in the murky seas sur-

rounding the capsized Seacor

Power lift boat some 8 miles off

the coast since announcing divers

found two bodies inside the ship

Friday night.

Six people were rescued alive

after the boat capsized Tuesday in

a storm. Four bodies have been

found — one Wednesday, one

Thursday and two Friday.

Families of the missing crew

members haven’t given up that

maybe they found an air pocket or

are still alive.

“We have hope,” Marion Cuyler

wrote in a text to a reporter.

Cuyler texted her fiancée, crane

operator Chaz Morales, that the

weather appeared too bad to head

out Tuesday. She said Morales

texted her back that he wished he

could stay ashore.

“We aren’t defeated. We will

keep fighting,” Cuyler texted a re-

porter late Saturday.

Calm seas met rescuers for the

first time since the bulky vessel

flipped over Tuesday south of Port

Fourchon, a major base for the

U.S. oil and gas industry.

From The Associated Press

HOUSTON — Two people were

killed in Texas in the fiery crash

of a Tesla and authorities say

there was no one in the driver’s

seat at the time of the crash, al-

though it’s not clear whether the

car’s driver-assist system was be-

ing used.

A Harris County constable told

television stations in Houston

that there was a person in the

front passenger seat and another

in a rear passenger seat after the

wreck Saturday night in the

Houston suburb of Spring.

Harris County Precinct 4 Con-

stable Mark Herman said author-

ities are certain that no one was

driving the car at the time of the

crash.

“They feel very confident just

with the positioning of the bodies

after the impact that there was no

one driving that vehicle,” Her-

man told KHOU-TV.

Deputies said the car was trav-

eling fast and failed to navigate a

turn before running off the road,

hitting a tree, and bursting into

flames. The identity of the vic-

tims had not been released by

Sunday afternoon. KHOU report-

ed that one was 69 and the other

was 59.

Tesla did not immediately re-

spond to an email requesting

comment.

Federal traffic-safety officials

are investigating several Tesla

crashes in which the vehicle’s Au-

topilot function may have been

used, including crashes in which

cars drove under tractor-trailers.

The company warns customers

that its driver-assist system,

called Autopilot, is not an autono-

mous-driving program, and that

they must pay attention and be

ready to take control of the vehi-

cle. However, the National Trans-

portation Safety Board said last

year that the design of the system

allows drivers to avoid paying at-

tention and fails to limit where

Autopilot can be used.

Authorities: No one driving Tesla before crashAssociated Press

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The man-made

lakes that store water supplying millions of

people in the U.S. West and Mexico are pro-

jected to shrink to historic lows in the coming

months, dropping to levels that could trigger

the federal government’s first official shortage

declaration and prompt cuts in Arizona and

Nevada.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released

24-month projections forecasting that less Col-

orado River water will cascade down from the

Rocky Mountains through Lake Powell and

Lake Mead and into the arid deserts of the U.S.

Southwest and the Gulf of California. Water

levels in the two lakes are expected to plummet

low enough for the agency to declare an official

shortage for the first time, threatening the sup-

ply of Colorado River water that growing cities

and farms rely on.

It comes as climate change means less snow-

pack flows into the river and its tributaries, and

hotter temperatures parch soil and cause more

river water to evaporate as it streams through

the drought-plagued American West.

The agency’s models project Lake Mead will

fall below 1,075 feet for the first time in June

2021. That’s the level that prompts a shortage

declaration under agreements negotiated by

seven states that rely on Colorado River water:

Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New

Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

The April projections, however, will not

have binding impact. Federal officials regular-

ly issue long-term projections but use those re-

leased each August to make decisions about

how to allocate river water. If projections don’t

improve by then, the Bureau of Reclamation

will declare a Level 1 shortage condition. The

cuts would be implemented in January.

Arizona, Nevada and Mexico have voluntari-

ly given up water under a drought contingency

plan for the river signed in 2019. A shortage

declaration would subject the two U.S. states to

their first mandatory reductions. Both rely on

the Colorado River more than any other water

source, and Arizona stands to lose roughly one-

third of its supply.

Water agency officials say they’re confident

their preparation measures, including conser-

vation and seeking out alternative sources,

would allow them to withstand cuts if the

drought lingers as expected.

West Coast states prepare for likelyfirst water shortage declaration

BY SAM METZ

Associated Press/Report for America

JOHN LOCHER/AP

A bathtub ring of light minerals delineates thehigh water mark on Lake Mead at the LakeMead National Recreation Area, near BoulderCity, Nev., on Aug. 13, 2020.

Tuesday, April 20, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 11

AMERICAN ROUNDUP

Family wants their $500Ktennis donation returned

WI MADISON — A family

that donated $500,000 to

the University of Wisconsin-Ma-

dison tennis program five years

ago wants the money back.

The Capital Times newspaper

reported that Richard Coyle’s

family wanted the money to go to

scholarships, but it was used to

renovate the athletic depart-

ment’s outdoor tennis facilities.

The family donated the money

as per a statement in Richard

Coyle’s mother’s will that the

money fund the UW tennis pro-

gram. The family contends she

meant for the money to fund schol-

arships as a way to honor her late

husband, Douglas Coyle, who at-

tended UW-Madison on a tennis

scholarship in the 1930s.

Richard Coyle maintains the

money was meant to enrich lives,

not pour concrete. UW-Madison

officials say Coyle is mistaken and

the money was available for the

university to use as needed.

Raid at day care centerturns up drugs, guns

NY BAY SHORE — The

owner of a Long Island

child care center, her two sons and

the girlfriend of one of the sons

were arrested after police raids

turned up drugs, guns and

$239,000 in cash, authorities said.

Information “received from the

community” prompted an investi-

gation into drug sales at Channel

Daycare, an in-home child care

center in Bay Shore, Suffolk Coun-

ty police said.

Detectives seized two loaded

9mm handguns, 600 grams of co-

caine, 60 grams of fentanyl and

more than $173,000, police said.

The owner of the child care cen-

ter, Magodeiry Landron, 50, and

her son Rafael Landron, 34, were

arrested on charges including

criminal possession of a con-

trolled substance, criminal pos-

session of a firearm and endanger-

ing the welfare of a child. A child

was removed from the home and

released into the custody of a fam-

ily member, police said.

Historic, maybe haunted,1928 jail goes up for sale

FL GAINESVILLE — A

historic jail from the

1920s is for sale in Florida. Buyer

bonus: It might even be haunted.

Although the property sur-

rounding the Old Gilchrist County

Jail, which opened in 1928 and op-

erated for 40 years, is somewhat

dilapidated, the interior is well

preserved, with original cell

doors, bunks and bath fixtures in

place. There’s also running water,

though the jail portion has no elec-

tricity.

The eight-cell, eight-bath prop-

erty comprises a little more than

2,000 square feet and also in-

cludes an attached jailer’s house,

added in 1965. The asking price is

$140,000.

Arlene Hale’s husband bought

the jail for her as a birthday pre-

sent 12 years ago, paying about

$30,000 for it. Hale told The Gai-

nesville Sun she and other para-

normal enthusiasts have used the

space to talk with the spirits asso-

ciated with the jail they believe re-

main there.

Pro eater looks to takeon restaurant challenge

SD SIOUX FALLS — A

professional eater is

headed to Sioux Falls to take on a

challenge of excess no one has ev-

er completed.

Randy Santel, a competition

eater with millions of social media

followers, accepted the “Gorilla

Dumpster Challenge” at Urban

Chislic, the Sioux Falls Argus

Leader reported.

Santel will have to consume 6¼

pounds of beef, lamb, chicken and

pork chislic over kettle chips, dou-

ble orders of cheese curds and

fries and eight sauces. Urban

Chislic co-owner Hong Phromma-

ny said no one has ever completed

the challenge.

Santel has won more than 974

food challenges in all 50 states and

37 countries. He’s also married to

a professional eater.

Attack leaves 2 cops withconcussions, broken jaw

OH COLUMBUS — A sus-

pect’s attack against

two Columbus police officers left

one officer with a broken jaw and

the other with a concussion, au-

thorities said.

Officers Andrew Mott and Sa-

muel Clanin were recovering

from their injuries, according to a

tweet by the Columbus Division of

Police.

Body camera footage posted by

police shows an assault taking

place moments after the two offi-

cers responded to a call about a

man threatening people with a

knife outside Faith Mission, a

downtown homeless shelter.

The video shows the suspect,

Noah Andrews, punch Mott within

seconds of him exiting a police

van. Andrews then slammed Cla-

nin against a police car, officials

said. The video then shows Mott

responding by tasering Andrews

after he falls on the ground, ac-

cording to the video.

Five turtles returned toGulf after rehabilitation

MS PASS CHRISTIAN —

Five endangered

Kemp’s ridley sea turtles were re-

turned to the sea near Pass Chris-

tian Harbor after months of reha-

bilitation.

The turtles were among 18 sent

to the Institute for Marine Mam-

mal Studies in December after be-

ing stranded in Massachusetts,

WLOX-TV reported. The other 13

are still being rehabilitated.

More than 1,100 turtles were

cold-stunned starting in the fall in

New England, where experts say

climate change is contributing to

such events.

Many thousands were cold-

stunned off Texas in February by

a winter storm that killed at least

20 people from Texas to the East

Coast.

The turtles were sent to many

different facilities for rehabilita-

tion.

Father, son in wild chaseand scuffle with police

ME PITTSFIELD — A fa-

ther and son led police

on a wild pursuit in which the fa-

ther tried to ram a state police

cruiser and the son fought with ar-

resting officers, police said.

The episode unfolded with re-

ports of a vehicle being operated

erratically and the discovery of a

vehicle in a ditch alongside Inter-

state 95.

When troopers arrived, Joseph

Chambers, 46, of Palmyra, sped

away, police said.

At one point, Chambers re-

versed direction on the interstate

and tried to ram a cruiser. At an-

other point, his son, Devin Cham-

bers, 25, of Augusta, bailed out of

the truck and then broke a window

while trying get back inside, po-

lice said.

Joseph Chambers faces charges

including reckless conduct with a

dangerous weapon, eluding an of-

ficer and drunken driving, while

Devin Chambers is charged with

assaulting two officers, officials

said.

Bethany Beach bans bigbeach holes for safety

DE BETHANY BEACH —

A Delaware beach

town is banning beachgoers from

digging large holes in the sand.

The new ordinance, which al-

lows for fines of $50 to $100,

passed unanimously at the Betha-

ny Beach town council meeting

and bans holes larger than 1 foot

deep and 2 feet wide.

Town officials said the ordi-

nance is a safety measure. They

cited reports of rescues in nearby

towns when large holes unexpect-

edly collapsed on children.

JACQUELINE DORMER, REPUBLICAN­HERALD (POTTSVILLE, PA.)/AP

Robert Hughes, kneeling, executive director of the Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation; Steve Cornia, right, GISwatershed outreach specialist with EPCAMR, and project manager Laura Rinehimer demonstrate the proper way to plant apple trees duringthe Appalachian Tree Planting Project led by the EPCAMR in Centralia, Pa. The project aims to plant 250 apple trees around the town. 

Tree planting 101

THE CENSUS

25 The approximate number of people who were hurt when afloor collapsed during a massive party at a two-story house

near the University of Georgia. Athens Clarke-County police estimated 500people were at the party when the first floor of the home collapsed into a crawlspace, news outlets reported. Injuries ranged from cuts and scratches to a pos-sible broken arm, though investigators said the incident could have been muchworse. Code enforcement was contacted to see if the property could be con-demned.

From the Associated Press

PAGE 12 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Tuesday, April 20, 2021

WORLD

PARIS — The French govern-

ment bears “significant” respon-

sibility for “enabling a foreseeable

genocide,” a report commissioned

by the Rwandan government con-

cludes about France’s role before

and during the horror in which an

estimated 800,000 people were

slaughtered in 1994.

The report, which The Associat-

ed Press has read, comes amid ef-

forts by Rwanda to document the

role of French authorities before,

during, and after the genocide,

part of the steps taken by France’s

President Emmanuel Macron to

improve relations with the central

African country.

The 600-page report says that

France “did nothing to stop” the

massacres, in April and May 1994,

and in the years after the genocide

tried to cover up its role and even

offered protection to some perpe-

trators.

It concludes that in years lead-

ing up to the genocide, former

French President Francois Mit-

terrand and his administration

had knowledge of preparations for

the massacres — yet kept support-

ing the government of then-Rwan-

dan President Juvénal Habyari-

mana despite the “warning signs.”

“The French government was

neither blind nor unconscious

about the foreseeable genocide,”

the authors stress.

The Rwandan report comes less

than a month after a French re-

port, commissioned by Macron,

concluded that French authorities

had been “blind” to the prepara-

tions for genocide and then reac-

ted too slowly to appreciate the ex-

tent of the killings and to respond

to them. It concluded that France

had “heavy and overwhelming re-

sponsibilities” by not responding

to the drift that led to the slaughter

that killed mainly ethnic Tutsis

and the moderate Hutus who tried

to protect them.

Rwanda, a small but strategic

country of 13 million people, is

“ready” for a “new relationship”

with France, Rwanda’s Foreign

Affairs Minister Vincent Biruta

told AP.

Rwanda report blames Francefor ‘enabling’ 1994 genocide

BY SYLVIE CORBET

Associated Press

KARSTEN THIELKER/AP

Refugees who fled the ethnic bloodbath in neighboring Rwanda carrywater containers back to their huts at the Benaco refugee camp inTanzania, near the border with Rwanda, in 1994.

BRUSSELS — European Union

foreign ministers on Monday were

assessing the bloc’s strategy to-

ward Russia in the wake of the

military buildup on Ukraine’s bor-

ders and amid the weakening

health of imprisoned opposition

leader Alexei Navalny.

On top of that, the diplomatic

standoff between EU member

state the Czech Republic and Rus-

sia over tit-for-tat diplomatic ex-

pulsions following Prague’s accu-

sation that Moscow was involved

in a 2014 ammunition depot explo-

sion, is adding further tension be-

tween both sides.

Diplomats said there was little

to no chance of immediate new

sanctions on Moscow, but they

will seek to apply pressure never-

theless. In Germany, some politic-

ians have called for an end to the

Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline pro-

ject with Russia.

EU foreign policy chief Josep

Borrell already criticized the

Kremlin for its arrest and treat-

ment of Navalny on Sunday and

insisted he should have access to

medical professionals he trusts.

At the same time the 27 foreign

ministers will have a video confer-

ence with their Ukrainian coun-

terpart Dmytro Kuleba to under-

score Western support for the gov-

ernment, amid escalating tensions

in the country’s east and a Russian

troop buildup across the border.

EU foreign ministers talk amid uproar over Ukraine, NavalnyAssociated Press

Tuesday, April 20, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 13

WORLD

BERLIN — High-level talks in Vienna aimed

at bringing the United States back into the 2015

nuclear deal with Iran are moving ahead with ex-

perts working on drafting proposals this week,

but a solution remains “far away,” Russia’s dele-

gate said Monday.

The U.S. unilaterally left the agreement, which

promises Iran economic incentives in return for

curbs on its nuclear program, in 2018 under for-

mer President Donald Trump, who said it need-

ed to be renegotiated and imposed crippling

sanctions.

In response, Iran has steadily been violating

the restrictions set by the deal, by enriching ura-

nium far past the purity allowed and stockpiling

vastly larger quantities, in a thus-far unsuccess-

ful effort to force the other countries involved to

provide economic relief that would offset the

American sanctions.

President Joe Biden wants to return Washing-

ton to the deal, and Iran has been negotiating with

the five remaining powers — Germany, France,

Britain, China and Russia — for the past two

weeks on how that might take place.

Two expert groups have been brainstorming

solutions to the two major issues: The rollback of

American sanctions on one hand, and Iran’s re-

turn to compliance on the other.

Now, said Russian representative Mikhail

Ulyanov, “we can note with satisfaction that the

negotiations (are) entering the drafting stage.”

“Practical solutions are still far away, but we

have moved from general words to agreeing on

specific steps towards the goal,” he wrote on

Twitter.

Iran nuke talks progress; end ‘far away’Associated Press

CAIRO — A passenger train

derailed Sunday north of Cairo,

killing at least 11 people, Egyp-

tian authorities said. It was the

latest of several rail accidents to

hit the country in recent years.

Four train wagons ran off the

railway at the city of Banha in

Qalyubia province, just outside

Cairo, the railway authority said

in a statement. Videos on social

media showed wagons overturn-

ed and passengers escaping to

safety along the railway.

The train was traveling to the

Nile Delta city of Mansoura

from the Egyptian capital, the

statement said.

The Health Ministry said in a

statement that besides the dead,

at least 98 people were injured,

with most of them suffering

from broken bones, cuts and

bruises.

At least 60 ambulances were

sent to the scene and the injured

were taken to nearby hospitals,

the ministry added.

Salvage teams could be seen

searching for survivors and re-

moving the derailed wagons. It

was not immediately clear what

caused the train to derail. Prose-

cutors said they were investigat-

ing the causes of the crash.

The state-run Ahram daily re-

ported that authorities have de-

tained at least 10 railway offi-

cials, including the train driver

and his assistant, pending an in-

vestigation into the crash.

At least 11 killed after train derails in EgyptAssociated Press

FADEL DAWOOD/AP

People gather at the site where apassenger train derailed, injuringat least 98 people, near Banha,Qalyubia province, Egypt, onSunday.

MANILA — An approaching ty-

phoon left at least one person

dead, another missing and

prompted the evacuation of more

than 100,000 people as a precau-

tion in the eastern and central Phi-

lippines, although the unusual

summer storm is not expected to

blow into land, officials said Mon-

day.

Typhoon Surigae was about 310

miles east of Infanta town in Que-

zon province on Monday after-

noon with sustained winds of 121

miles per hour and gusts of up to

149 mph. It is forecast to slowly

move northwestward and then

veer eastward away from the

northern Philippines around

Thursday.

Vicente Malano, administrator

of the government weather agen-

cy, said a high pressure area ex-

tending from China to Japan was

blocking the typhoon from blow-

ing inland.

1 dead, 100Kdisplaced bytyphoon nearPhilippines

Associated Press

PAGE 14 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Tuesday, April 20, 2021

FACES

Carrie Underwood brought the

Academy of Country Music

Awards to church. Maren Morris

won the most awards of the night,

including song of the year. Miran-

da Lambert performed three

times and held on to her record as

the most decorated winner in

ACM history. And Mickey Guy-

ton, the first Black woman to host

the awards show, gave a powerful,

top-notch vocal performance.

Though female country stars

didn’t compete for the night’s top

prize — Luke Bryan was named

entertainer of the year — they

owned Sunday’s ACM Awards.

Underwood’s performance

stood out the most. She was joined

by gospel legend CeCe Winans

and the dynamic duo blended

their voices like angels onstage.

Underwood performed songs

from her recent gospel hymns al-

bum “My Savior,” kicking off the

set with “Amazing Grace” and

“Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” Then

Winans joined in, matching her

strong vocal performance.

Lambert performed three

times, first alongside rock-pop

singer Elle King for a fun, energet-

ic performance of their new duet

“Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go

Home).” Lambert, who founded

pet shelter nonprofit MuttNation,

also performed alongside album

of the year winner Chris Stapleton

for “Maggie’s Song,” a tribute to

Stapleton’s dog, who died in 2019.

Her final performance was with

Jack Ingram and Jon Randall.

The performances that aired

Sunday were pre-taped at various

locations in Nashville, including

the Grand Ole Opry House, the

Ryman Auditorium and The Blue-

bird Cafe. Winners, wearing

masks, accepted awards in real

time in front of a small audience

made up of medical and health

care workers.

Bryan was set to perform Sun-

day but backed out of the show be-

cause he recently tested positive

for the coronavirus.

“I’m so sorry I could not be

there,” he said from Los Angeles.

“And to all my fans out there and

country radio, we miss touring.

We’ve missed being on the road

with everybody that makes me an

entertainer. My bus drivers, my

band, my crew, what a challeng-

ing year. But to all the fans and ev-

erybody, we’ll be back out on the

road doing what we love.”

Morris spoke about the taxing

year without live music when she

won female artist of the year —

one of her three wins.

“Really just happy to be in a cat-

egory with women that were not

able to tour this year, but brought

so much heat to the game of coun-

try music this year. You’ve in-

spired me so much to no end, and

even in a year where no one’s got-

ten to play shows, I have heard

some of the best music out of all of

you this past year. So thank you so

much for inspiring me,” she said.

Collaborating onstage was the

theme of the awards show, and

Morris and hubby Ryan Hurd

sang together, ending with a kiss.

A teary-eyed Morris won song of

the year for her Grammy-nomi-

nated hit “The Bones,” which

topped the country music charts

for months last year. She won two

ACMs for song of the year — one

for performing the hit and another

for co-writing it, sharing the win

with songwriters Laura Veltz and

Jimmy Robbins.

Morris lost single of the year,

where all of the nominated songs

were performed by female artists.

Carly Pearce and Lee Brice’s plat-

inum duet, “I Hope You’re Happy

Now,” won the prize.

The entire three-hour show

didn’t go smoothly. The Grammy-

winning duo Dan + Shay perform-

ed their latest hit, “Glad You Ex-

ist,” but the pre-taped moment

aired out of sync.

“Apparently there was an au-

dio/video sync issue on the televi-

sion broadcast,” the duo tweeted.

“We’re bummed about it, but it

happens, especially when per-

formances are happening in mul-

tiple locations.

Bryan entertainer of year,but female acts own ACMs

PHOTOS BY MARK HUMPHREY/AP

Carrie Underwood’s April 17 pre­recorded performance of songsfrom her recent gospel hymns album “My Savior” stood out at theAcademy of Country Music Awards at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

Morris’ 3 wins the most of awards show full of pre-taped segmentsBY MESFIN FEKADU

Associated Press

Luke Bryan appears on screenSunday to accept the award forentertainer of the year.

Amid mounting anger over allegations of

bullying, Broadway and Hollywood pro-

ducer Scott Rudin broke his silence April

17, saying he is “profoundly sorry” and will

step back from his theater work.

“After a period of reflection, I’ve made

the decision to step back from active partic-

ipation on our Broadway productions, ef-

fective immediately. My roles will be filled

by others from the Broadway community

and in a number of cases, from the roster of

participants already in place on those

shows,” Rudin said in a statement.

The move comes more than a week after

The Hollywood Reporter’s cover story on

Rudin contained accounts of the producing

heavyweight throwing glass bowls, staples

and baked potatoes at former employees.

He did not deny the allegations in his state-

ment.

“Much has been written about my history

of troubling interactions with colleagues,

and I am profoundly sorry for the pain my

behavior caused to individuals, directly and

indirectly. I am now taking steps that I

should have taken years ago to address this

behavior,” he said.

The revelations prompted Tony Award-

winner Karen Olivo to pull out of returning

to “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” once it re-

opens.

Rudin’s current slate of Broadway shows

includes “The Music Man,” “The Book of

Mormon,” “To Kill a Mockingbird” and a

revival of “West Side Story.”

Former ‘Jeopardy!’ winner Cohen

to host show’s tournamentBuzzy Cohen, a former “Jeopardy!” win-

ner, will host the Tournament of Champions

event next month, producers announced

April 14. The tournament will feature 15 for-

mer winners competing for $250,000, and is

set to take place May 17-28.

Cohen won $164,603 in nine games as a

“Jeopardy!” contestant in 2016. He also won

the Tournament of Champions the follow-

ing year.

He’ll be the second former “Jeopardy!”

winner to guest host the show after Alex

Trebek’s death last November. Ken Jen-

nings hosted for six weeks, with his run end-

ing in February.

“Jeopardy!” is currently using different

rotating guest hosts to tape new episodes.

Teigen returns to Twitter

three weeks after quittingChrissy Teigen returned to Twitter on

April 16, just 23 days after announcing she

was quitting the platform for good.

On March 24, the 35-year-old model and

best-selling author told her nearly 14 mil-

lion followers that she was done with the so-

cial networking service.

On April 16, just over three weeks after

her emotional farewell, the self-described

“de-motivational speaker” said that she

simply could not stay away, and that she’s

chosen “to take the bad with the good.”

“[It] turns out it feels TERRIBLE to si-

lence yourself and also no longer enjoy bel-

ly chuckles randomly throughout the day

and also lose like 2000 friends at once lol,”

she wrote.

Teigen’s return to Twitter earned her

more that 15,000 likes in the first hour.

Viola Davis named Hasty

Pudding Woman of the Year Viola Davis has another prestigious hon-

or to add to her growing list of accolades.

The Emmy, Golden Globe, Oscar and To-

ny Award-winning actress has been named

Woman of the Year by Harvard Universi-

ty’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

On April 16, the group, which has been

doling out the honor since 1951, recognizing

people in entertainment, announced Davis

will be feted at the April 22 online ceremo-

ny, where she will be presented her cere-

monial pudding pot.

Other news■ The original principal cast of “Down-

ton Abbey” is returning for a second film

that will arrive in theaters this Dec. 22, Fo-

cus Features announced Monday. Produc-

tion began last week on “Downton Abbey

2.”

■ “Saturday Night Live” and “King of

Staten Island” star Pete Davidson will star

and produce a Joey Ramone biopic for Net-

flix, the streaming service announced April

15. The film, “I Slept With Joey Ramone,” is

based on a memoir of the same name by

Mickey Leigh and will cover the life of the

punk rocker from Queens, N.Y. Ramone

died in 2001 at the age of 49.

■ A prequel to the “Mad Max” movie

franchise starring Anya Taylor-Joy and

Chris Hemsworth will be filmed in Austra-

lia, officials said on Monday. “Furiosa” is

slated for release in mid-2023.

■ A stalker who claims pop star Taylor

Swift is communicating with him on social

media was arrested on a trespassing charge

after trying to break into the singer’s Man-

hattan apartment, police said Monday.

Hanks Johnson, 52, was arrested at 8:30

p.m. April 17 after a 911 caller reported he

was inside Swift’s Tribeca building without

permission, a police spokesperson said.

Johnson was charged with criminal tres-

pass and released on his own recognizance.

■ Felix Silla, who starred as the hairy

Cousin Itt on “The Addams Family” and a

robot on “Buck Rogers in the 25th Centu-

ry,” died April 16 after a battle with cancer.

He was 84.

Producer Rudin will ‘step back’ after allegations of bullyingFrom wire reports

Tuesday, April 20, 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

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stripes.com

OPINION

Barack Obama was 47 when he be-

came president. Joe Biden joined

the Senate 48 years before he be-

came president. As a candidate, Bi-

den emphasized his experiences as vice presi-

dent and as chairman of the Senate Foreign

Relations Committee to insist that he would be

fully prepared “on Day 1.”

“The White House is no place for on-the-job

training,” he said — often — last year.

But Biden’s first three months show that no

new president is totally ready — even after

serving for eight years as understudy. At age

78, Biden has spent as much time close to pow-

er as anyone in Washington, but he has no

meaningful prior experience as a chief exec-

utive. Being No. 2 meant he was often the last

person in the room with Obama when big deci-

sions needed to be made, but the weighty con-

sequences didn’t fall on his shoulders. Vice

presidents ride in the passenger seat.

Biden’s recent pirouetting on how many

refugees to allow into the U.S. illustrates how

much easier campaigning is than governing.

After retreating from his own plan to lift his di-

rect predecessor’s cap on refugees for the rest

of this fiscal year, from 15,000 to 62,500, the

new president faced more blowback from

congressional Democrats on Friday than he

has at any moment since taking office.

In a Feb. 4 speech, Biden announced an ex-

ecutive order to rebuild the resettlement pro-

gram to help address the worldwide crisis of

about 80 million displaced people, evoking the

country’s history as an example pushing other

nations to open their own doors wider. “The

United States’ moral leadership on refugee is-

sues was a point of bipartisan consensus for so

many decades when I first got here,” Biden

said at State Department headquarters.

But the president never signed the neces-

sary documents to make good on his own an-

nouncement, and keep his campaign promise,

because a surge in asylum seekers at the U.S.-

Mexico border sowed fears in the West Wing

about the optics of resettling refugees from

abroad, even though they go through a sepa-

rate vetting process.

By late Friday, the White House was back-

pedaling. Press secretary Jen Psaki said Bi-

den plans to announce a higher cap by mid-

May and sought to reframe what Biden had

announced in February as “an initial goal”

that was found to be impossible to achieve af-

ter “consulting with his advisers” because the

Trump administration “decimated” the pro-

gram.

The Oval Office magnifies every presi-

dent’s weaknesses, and Biden has long suf-

fered from indecisiveness. He dragged out his

deliberations on whether to run for president a

third time — in 2015 and again in 2019.

Indecisiveness is preferable to impulsive-

ness, but it still carries a cost. About 35,000 ref-

ugees have already been approved and are

prepared to travel to the U.S. as soon as they’re

allowed. Biden’s foot-dragging has resulted in

hundreds of canceled flights for refugees.

Faced with diplomatic complexities, all

presidents also struggle to varying degrees

with following through on foreign policy

promises from their stump speeches. As a

presidential candidate in 1992, Bill Clinton

vowed to take a hard line against China in the

wake of the 1989 butchery at Tiananmen

Square. Then, during his presidency, he de-

coupled trade considerations from human

rights concerns and extended Beijing’s most-

favored-nation status. But Clinton hadn’t

made diplomatic chops the centerpiece of his

campaign.

In fact, immigration is one of several exam-

ples of this tension in Biden’s nascent presi-

dency. He also hesitated over Saudi Arabia.

During a Democratic primary debate in No-

vember 2019, Biden promised — with passion

— to treat the kingdom as a “pariah” for hu-

manitarian atrocities in Yemen and the mur-

der of Washington Post contributing colum-

nist Jamal Khashoggi.

Biden complied with a congressional man-

date, which President Donald Trump had ig-

nored, to release the intelligence assessment

that Mohammed bin Salman approved the

2018 assassination of Khashoggi, a permanent

U.S. resident. But rather than directly puni-

shing the Saudi crown prince, the administra-

tion sanctioned lower-level officials.

Psaki defended Biden’s reversal by saying a

president’s job is “to act in the national interest

of the United States — and that’s exactly what

he’s doing.” The relationship, she explained, is

“complicated.”

Psaki is right that diplomacy is complicat-

ed. But it was no less so on the days Biden

promised to treat the regime like a “pariah,”

attacked Trump for not doing so and boasted

that he would take office with more experi-

ence than anyone who had ever served as

president.

Biden wasn’t really ready ‘on Day 1’BY JAMES HOHMANN

The Washington Post

James Hohmann is a columnist for The Washington Post.

Last Wednesday, President Joe Bi-

den announced a complete with-

drawal of U.S. military forces from

Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021. He

pledged to continue diplomacy, funding and

humanitarian assistance to the people of Af-

ghanistan. What he did not say is that by most

indications, the Taliban continue to seek a mil-

itary victory and that the loss of U.S. military

support could hasten the demise of the Afghan

government.

The specter of a collapsed Afghan govern-

ment raises important questions about what

the U.S. will do to save its partners there. As

the Biden administration carries out its with-

drawal, it must keep its commitments by sav-

ing the many thousands of Afghan partners

who have risked their lives not just for a free

Afghanistan, but for Americans’ own security.

The war in Afghanistan is, of course, first

and foremost a war between Afghans. But

though the United States may no longer be

able to shoulder the burden of internecine

conflict, our government must not forget the

sacrifices made by Afghans during its own

war there. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans

have risked their lives directly supporting

U.S. forces in positions ranging from security

guards to cooks to interpreters. Approximate-

ly 17,000 Afghan former interpreters alone

await adjudication of their Special Immigrant

Visa (SIV) applications. Congress has autho-

rized 4,000 visas for 2021 and 10,993 previous-

ly authorized visas remain available, but with

asurge of new applications likely to come after

last Wednesday’s announcement, the backlog

cannot be cleared by the Sept. 11 withdrawal

without additional resources.

America’s Afghan allies face severe conse-

quences at the hands of the Taliban. The Tali-

ban have long insisted that those Afghans who

have worked for the United States should be

punished by death. They have delivered on

this promise time and again. And the Taliban

are hardly discerning in their vengeance.

Since 2018, No One Left Behind — the only

American nonprofit focused on advocacy for

the SIV program — has documented more

than 300 incidents in which former interpret-

ers, civilians living in Afghan society, were

targeted and killed by the Taliban for their col-

laboration with U.S. forces.

The world has seen this story before, and the

U.S. government must remember the lessons

of the past. Between the U.S. withdrawal from

Vietnam in 1973 and the South Vietnamese

government’s collapse in April 1975, the Unit-

ed States failed to develop and execute a plan

to rescue its allies despite significant intelli-

gence and advance warning. Congress out-

right refused to live up to any moral obligation.

While the U.S. was ultimately able to evacuate

140,000 South Vietnamese allies when the

U.S.-backed government fell, hundreds of

thousands were left behind. The communist

North Vietnamese army imprisoned 300,000

of them for as long as 18 years, subjecting them

to forced labor, starvation and torture.

More recently, the United States and its al-

lies struggled to help its Iraqi partners escape

retribution when it withdrew from Iraq in

2011. Between 2008 and 2011, unaddressed de-

lays in the program led to the U.S. government

issuing only 7,000 of the 25,000 authorized vi-

sas to eligible Iraqi interpreters. With the im-

pending withdrawal — like the one pending

now in Afghanistan — Congress required the

Defense, State and Homeland Security de-

partments to draft a plan to expedite visa proc-

essing by May 2011. But those agencies failed

to meet that deadline. Ultimately, though we

may never know the true scale of revenge

against our former interpreters, experts esti-

mated that at least 1,000 were killed in Iraq.

Should the fateful day of Taliban victory ev-

er come, the Biden administration can avoid a

similarly grim fate for our Afghan allies by de-

veloping and deliberately executing a plan to

evacuate them. Learning from the mistakes of

Vietnam in 1975 and Iraq in 2011, the White

House can work with Congress to authorize

thousands of additional SIV and refugee visas.

It can surge resources to those programs, in-

cluding increased staffing at the U.S. Embas-

sy in Kabul, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration

Services, and the National Visa Center, to

clear backlogs and increase the number of Af-

ghans who can escape before a potential Tali-

ban victory. It can negotiate with regional

partners to establish safe zones for Afghan ref-

ugees to evade the reach of the Taliban. And it

can ensure that air and ground transportation

resources are available to conduct a large-

scale evacuation should the Taliban overrun

the country. Above all, in ending America’s

longest war, it must show to the world that

when Americans make commitments abroad,

we keep them.

US must protect Afghan allies as troops leaveBY PHIL CARUSO

Special to The Washington Post

Phil Caruso serves on the board of directors for No One LeftBehind, which leads advocacy efforts for the special visaprogram for Afghans. He is a former military officer who servedin two deployments to Afghanistan.

PAGE 16 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Tuesday, April 20, 2021

ACROSS 1 Lacked

originality

5 “Stay with Me”

singer Smith

8 Too

12 Misplace

13 Docs’ org.

14 Pinot —

15 Otherwise

16 President after

Harding

18 Barrel makers

20 Portents

21 Montreal summer

22 NYC airport

23 Adolescents

26 Most laid-back

30 H.S. math

31 Office machine

32 Help

33 Stove workspace

36 Praises

38 Not ’neath

39 Understanding

40 Killer whales

43 Biscotti and

gingersnaps

47 “— Luke”

(1967 Paul

Newman film)

49 Hammett pooch

50 Circle dance

51 CEO’s deg.

52 “Casablanca”

role

53 Probability

54 “Nasty!”

55 Queens

stadium name

DOWN 1 Mr. Guinness

2 Casual shirt

3 Canadian

gas brand

4 Intensify

5 “— bleu!”

6 Hebrew

prophet

7 Chinese

chairman

8 Critter

9 Mine find

10 Autograph

11 Raw minerals

17 Corporate

symbol

19 UFO fliers

22 Bagel topper

23 Tic- — -toe

24 “Evil Woman” gp.

25 Swelled head

26 Upper limit

27 Perfume

label word

28 Comic Caesar

29 Pro Bowl

stats

31 Supporting

34 Eucalyptus

eaters

35 TV/radio

host John

36 Zodiac cat

37 Turkey’s capital

39 Big camera

brand

40 Twice cuatro

41 Crucifix

42 String

43 “Mad Money”

network

44 Egyptian deity

45 Engrave

46 Rice wine

48 Parisian pal

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

Tuesday, April 20, 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 • Tuesday, April 20, 2021

SCOREBOARD/SPORTS BRIEFS

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

FCS Playoffs

First RoundSaturday, April 24

Holy Cross at South Dakota St.S. Illinois at Weber St.Sacred Heart at DelawareDavidson at Jacksonville St.VMI at James MadisonMissouri St. at North DakotaE. Washington at North Dakota St.Monmouth at Sam Houston, Noon

QuarterfinalsMay 1 and 2

South Dakota St.­Holy Cross winner vs.Weber St.­S. Illinois winner, TBA

Delaware­Sacred Heart winner vs. Jack­sonville St.­Davidson winner, TBA

James  Madison­VMI  winner  vs.  NorthDakota­Missouri St. winner, TBA

North Dakota St.­E. Washington winnervs. Sam Houston­Monmouth winner, TBA

SemifinalsSaturday, May 8

TBDChampionshipSunday, May 16

At Toyota StadiumFrisco, Texas

Semifinal winners

TENNIS

Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters

SundayAt Monte Carlo Country Club

Monte Carlo, MonacoPurse: Euro 2,082,960

Surface: Red clayMen’s SinglesChampionship

Stefanos Tsitsipas (4), Greece, def. An­drey Rublev (6), Russia, 6­3, 6­3.

Men’s DoublesChampionship

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic (2), Croa­tia,  def.  Daniel  Evans  and  Neal  Skupski,Britain, 6­3, 4­6, 10­7. 

MUSC Health Women’s OpenSunday

At Family Circle Tennis CenterCharleston, S.C.Purse: $235,238

Surface: Red clayWomen’s Singles

ChampionshipAstra  Sharma,  Australia,  def.  Ons  Ja­

beur, Tunisia, 2­6, 7­5, 6­1. Women’s Doubles

ChampionshipCaty McNally and Hailey Baptiste, Unit­

ed States, def. Storm Sanders and Ellen Pe­rez (1), Australia, 6­7 (4), 6­4, 10­6. 

SOCCER

MLS

Eastern Conference

W L T Pts GF GA

D.C. United 1 0 0 3 2 1

Montreal 1 0 0 3 4 2

Chicago 0 0 1 1 2 2

New England 0 0 1 1 2 2

Cincinnati 0 0 1 1 2 2

Nashville 0 0 1 1 2 2

Columbus 0 0 1 1 0 0

Philadelphia 0 0 1 1 0 0

Orlando City 0 0 1 1 0 0

Atlanta 0 0 1 1 0 0

New York 0 1 0 0 1 2

Toronto FC 0 1 0 0 2 4

New York City FC 0 1 0 0 1 2

Inter Miami CF 0 1 0 0 2 3

Western Conference

W L T Pts GF GA

LA Galaxy 1 0 0 3 3 2

Kansas City 1 0 0 3 2 1

Houston 1 0 0 3 2 1

Seattle 1 0 0 3 4 0

Vancouver 1 0 0 3 1 0

Los Angeles FC 1 0 0 3 2 0

FC Dallas 0 0 1 1 0 0

Colorado 0 0 1 1 0 0

Real Salt Lake 0 0 0 0 0 0

San Jose 0 1 0 0 1 2

Portland 0 1 0 0 0 1

Minnesota United 0 1 0 0 0 4

Austin �FC 0 1 0 0 0 2

NOTE: Three points for victory, one pointfor tie.

Friday’s games

Houston 2, San Jose 1Seattle 4, Minnesota 0

Saturday’s games

Montreal 4, Toronto FC 2Atlanta 0, Orlando City 0, tieLos Angeles FC 2, Austin FC 0Sporting Kansas City 2, New York 1D.C. United 2, New York City FC 1Colorado 0, FC Dallas 0, tieCincinnati 2, Nashville 2, tieNew England 2, Chicago 2, tie

Sunday’s games

LA Galaxy 3, Miami 2Philadelphia 0, Columbus 0, tieVancouver 1, Portland 0

Friday, April 23

Orlando City at Sporting Kansas City

Saturday, April 24

Cincinnati at New York City FCMontreal at NashvilleVancouver at Toronto FCFC Dallas at San JoseSeattle at Los Angeles FCReal Salt Lake at MinnesotaMiami at PhiladelphiaD.C. United at New EnglandChicago at AtlantaAustin FC at ColoradoHouston at Portland

Sunday, April 25

New York at LA Galaxy

Toyota Owners 400NASCAR Cup Series

Sunday At Richmond Raceway

Richmond, Va.Lap length: 0.75 miles

(Start position in parentheses)1. (24) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 400 laps,

51 points. 2. (2) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 400, 55. 3. (5) Joey Logano, Ford, 400, 50. 4. (8) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 400, 40. 5. (1) Martin Truex Jr, Toyota, 400, 50. 6. (22) Aric Almirola, Ford, 400, 32. 7. (4) William Byron, Chevrolet, 400, 40. 8. (10) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 400, 33. 9. (16) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 400, 33. 10. (11) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 400, 30. 11. (7) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 400, 32. 12. (3) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 400, 25. 13. (17) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 400, 24. 14. (20) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 400, 25. 15. (18) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 399, 22. 16. (27) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 399, 21. 17.  (14)  Ricky  Stenhouse  Jr,  Chevrolet,

399, 20. 18. (6) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 398, 19. 19. (30) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 398, 18. 20. (13) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 398, 17. 21. (36) Corey Lajoie, Chevrolet, 398, 16. 22. (26) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 398, 15. 23. (21) Cole Custer, Ford, 398, 14. 24. (9) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 397, 20. 25. (12) Chris Buescher, Ford, 397, 12. 26. (15) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 397, 11. 27. (23) Michael McDowell, Ford, 396, 10. 28. (38) Austin Cindric, Ford, 396, 0. 29. (25) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, 396, 8. 30. (19) Ryan Newman, Ford, 395, 7. 31. (29) Anthony Alfredo, Ford, 395, 6. 32. (35) BJ McLeod, Ford, 393, 0. 33. (28) James Davison, Chevrolet, 390, 4. 34. (32) Quin Houff, Chevrolet, 390, 3. 35. (37) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 389,

0. 36. (33) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 385, 0. 37. (31) Josh Bilicki, Ford, 384, 1. 38. (34) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, engine,

1, 0. Race Statistics

Average Speed of Race Winner: 96.542mph. 

Time of Race: 3 hours, 6 minutes, 57 sec­onds. 

Margin of Victory: 0.381 seconds. Caution Flags: 5 for 39 laps. Lead Changes: 20 among 7 drivers. Lap Leaders: M.Truex 0­32; D.Hamlin 33­

103; M.Truex 104­136; D.Hamlin 137; J.Lo­gano  138;  B.Keselowski  139­142;  A.Dillon143;  M.Truex  144­183;  J.Logano  184­185;B.Keselowski  186­206;  D.Hamlin  207­292;J.Logano 293; M.Truex 294; D.Hamlin 295­334;  J.Logano  335­341;  D.Hamlin  342;  Ky­.Busch 343; M.Truex 344; J.Logano 345­382;D.Hamlin 383­390; A.Bowman 391­400 

Leaders  Summary  (Driver,  Times  Led,Laps Led): D.Hamlin, 6 times for 207 laps;M.Truex, 5 times for 107 laps; J.Logano, 5times for 49 laps; B.Keselowski, 2 times for25 laps; A.Bowman, 1 time for 10 laps; Ky­.Busch, 1 time for 1 lap; A.Dillon, 1 time for 1lap. 

Wins: M.Truex, 2; J.Logano, 1; W.Byron,1; R.Blaney, 1; K.Larson, 1; C.Bell, 1; A.Bow­man, 1; M.McDowell, 1. 

Top  16  in  Points: 1.  D.Hamlin,  434;  2.M.Truex, 353; 3. J.Logano, 352; 4. W.Byron,310;  5.  R.Blaney,  304;  6.  K.Larson,  299;  7.C.Elliott, 285; 8. K.Harvick, 273; 9. B.Kese­lowski,  269;  10.  C.Bell,  257;  11.  Ky.Busch,245; 12. A.Dillon, 239; 13. A.Bowman, 236;14. R.Stenhouse, 222; 15. Ku.Busch, 214; 16.C.Buescher, 204. 

Indy Grand Prix of AlabamaSunday 

At Barber Motorsports ParkLeeds, Ala.

Lap length: 2.38 miles(Start position in parentheses)

1. (3) Alex Palou, Dallara­Honda, 90 laps,Running. 

2. (4) Will Power, Dallara­Chevrolet, 90,Running. 

3.  (5)  Scott  Dixon,  Dallara­Honda,  90,Running. 

4. (1) Pato O'Ward, Dallara­Chevrolet, 90,Running. 

5.  (16)  Sebastien  Bourdais,  Dallara­Chevrolet, 90, Running. 

6. (14) Rinus Veekay, Dallara­Chevrolet,90, Running. 

7. (18) Graham Rahal, Dallara­Honda, 90,Running. 

8.  (6)  Marcus  Ericsson,  Dallara­Honda,90, Running. 

9.  (2)  Alexander  Rossi,  Dallara­Honda,90, Running. 

10. (7) Romain Grosjean, Dallara­Honda,90, Running. 

11. (11) Jack Harvey, Dallara­Honda, 90,Running. 

12. (15) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara­Chev­rolet, 90, Running. 

13. (19) Takuma Sato, Dallara­Honda, 90,Running. 

14. (12) Scott McLaughlin, Dallara­Chev­rolet, 90, Running. 

15. (13) Ed Jones, Dallara­Honda, 90, Run­ning. 

16.  (10)  Conor  Daly,  Dallara­Chevrolet,90, Running. 

17. (24) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara­Hon­da, 89, Running. 

18.  (23)  Dalton  Kellett,  Dallara­Chevro­let, 89, Running. 

19. (21) Jimmie Johnson, Dallara­Honda,87, Running. 

20. (20) Max Chilton, Dallara­Chevrolet,86, Running. 

21. (22) Felix Rosenqvist, Dallara­Chev­rolet, 62, Did not finish. 

22. (9) Colton Herta, Dallara­Honda, 25,Did not finish. 

23. (8) Josef Newgarden, Dallara­Chev­rolet, Did not finish. 

24. (17) Ryan Hunter­Reay, Dallara­Hon­da, Did not finish. 

Race StatisticsAverage Speed of Race Winner: 110.025

mph. Time of Race: 01:52:53.0361. Margin of Victory: 0.4016 seconds. Cautions: 2 for 8 laps. Lead Changes: 10 among 5 drivers. Lap Leaders: O'Ward 1­17, Palou 18­30,

Power 31­33, Bourdais 34­36, O'Ward 37­41,Palou 42­60, Power 61, Bourdais 62, Veekay63, O'Ward 64, Palou 65. 

Points: Palou  53,  Power  41,  Dixon  35,O'Ward 34, Bourdais 31, Veekay 29, Rahal26, Ericsson 24, Rossi 22, Grosjean 20. 

AUTO RACING

Sunday’s TransactionsBASEBALL

Major League BaseballAmerican League

BALTIMORE  ORIOLES  — Recalled  RHPCole Sulser from alternate training site.

BOSTON RED SOX — Recalled RHP Tan­ner Houck from alternate training site.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX — Recalled RHPsJonathan Stiever and Zack Burdi from al­ternate  training  site.  Placed  RHP  LanceLynn on the 10­day IL, retroactive to April17. Optioned RHP Jonathan Stiever to al­ternate training site.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS — Optioned LHPRichard  Lovelady  to  alternate  trainingsite.

TAMPA BAY RAYS — Placed RHP CollinMcHugh  on  the  10­day  IL.  Recalled  RHPChris Mazza from the taxi squad.

TORONTO  BLUE  JAYS  — Optioned  2BSantiago Espinal to the alternate trainingsite.

National LeagueARIZONA  DIAMONDBACKS  — Recalled

RHP J.B. Bukauskas from the taxi squad.Placed OF Tim Locastro on the 10­day IL.Designated RHP Anthony Swarzak for as­signment. Activated OF Nick Heath.

COLORADO  ROCKIES  — Optioned  LHPLucas Gilbreath to alternate training site.

LOS  ANGELES  DODGERS  — ActivatedRHP Brusdar Graterol from the 10­day IL.Recalled  INF  Sheldon  Neuse  from  alter­nate training site. Optioned LHP Alex Ve­sia to alternate training site. Placed 2B Ga­vin  Lux  on  the  10­day  IL,  retroactive  to

April 16. Designated RHP Ashton Goudeaufor assignment.

NEW YORK METS — Optioned LHP Ste­phen Tarpley to alternate training site.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES — Activated RHPCody Ponce from the IL and optioned to al­ternate training site.

SAN  FRANCISCO  GIANTS  — ActivatedLHP  Alex  Wood  from  the  10­day  IL.  Re­called C Chadwick Tromp and RF StevenDuggar  from  alternate  training  site.Placed  LHP  Jake  McGee  and  RHP  LoganWebb on the 10­day IL.

WASHINGTON  NATIONALS  — Selectedthe contract of RHP Paolo Espino from al­ternate  training  site.  Recalled  RHP  RyneHarper from alternate training site. PlacedRHP Stephen Strasburg on the 10­day IL,retroactive to April 15. Placed RHP WanderSuero on the 10­day IL.

BASKETBALLNational Basketball Association

NBA — Fined San Antonio $25,000 for vio­lating  the  league’s  player  resting  policyduring an April 17 game against Phoenix.

FOOTBALLNational Football League

INDIANAPOLIS  COLTS  — Re­signed  CBT.J. Carrie.

HOCKEYNational Hockey League

BUFFALO SABRES — Recalled D MattiasSamuelsson from Rochester (AHL).

NEW JERSERY DEVILS — Recalled LW No­lan Foote from the taxi squad.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS — Recalled RWAnthony Angello from the taxi squad.

DEALS

April 201912  —  Fenway  Park  opens  in  Boston

with  the  Red  Sox  beating  the  New  YorkYankees 7­6 in 11 innings. Tiger Stadium inDetroit also opens its doors as the Tigersdefeat the Cleveland Indians 6­5. 

1958 — The Montreal Canadiens win theNHL Stanley Cup for the third straight yearwith a 5­3 victory over the Boston Bruins inthe sixth game. 

1986 — Chicago’s Michael Jordan sets anNBA  single­game  playoff  scoring  record

with 63 points in a 135­131 double overtimeloss to the Boston Celtics, in Game 2 of thefirst round in the Eastern Conference. 

1991  — Mark  Lenzi  becomes  the  firstperson to score 100 points on a single dive.On his last dive, Lenzi scores 101.85 pointson a reverse 3½ somersault from the tuckposition to win the 3­meter springboard ti­tle  at  the  U.S.  Indoor  Diving  Champion­ships. 

1997 — Chicago’s Michael  Jordan winsan unprecedented ninth scoring title withan average of 29.6 points, the first time in

those nine seasons that he fails to averageat least 30 points. 

2007 — Roger Federer wins his 500th ca­reer match, defeating David Ferrer 6­4, 6­0in  the  quarterfinals  of  the  Monte  CarloMasters. 

2008 — Danica Patrick becomes the firstfemale winner in IndyCar history, captur­ing the Indy Japan 300 in her 50th careerstart. Patrick takes the lead from pole­sit­ter Helio Castroneves on the 198th lap inthe 200­lap race and finishes 5.8594 sec­onds ahead of Castroneves. 

AP SPORTLIGHT

GOLF

RBC Heritage

PGA TourSunday

At Harbour Town Golf LinksHilton Head, S.C.

Purse: $7.1 millionYardage: 7,121; Par: 71

Final Round �Stewart Cink, $1,278,000 63-63-69-70—265-19Emiliano Grillo, $631,900 68-64-69-68—269-15H. Varner III, $631,900 66-68-69-66—269-15Corey Conners, $298,792 67-64-72-68—271-13Maverick McNealy, $298,792 71-67-66-67—271-13Matt Fitzpatrick, $298,792 71-64-68-68—271-13Chris Kirk, $230,750 70-67-68-67—272-12Collin Morikawa, $230,750 65-68-67-72—272-12Russell Henley, $186,375 69-70-67-67—273-11Shane Lowry, $186,375 70-65-72-66—273-11Webb Simpson, $186,375 71-68-64-70—273-11Cameron Smith, $186,375 62-71-74-66—273-11Daniel Berger, $130,995 67-71-66-70—274-10Brian Harman, $130,995 67-70-67-70—274-10Sungjae Im, $130,995 68-65-69-72—274-10Dustin Johnson, $130,995 70-67-71-66—274-10Denny McCarthy, $130,995 73-67-67-67—274-10Charles Howell III, $87,584 66-70-74-65—275 -9Abraham Ancer, $87,584 69-66-70-70—275 -9Charley Hoffman, $87,584 68-69-67-71—275 -9Matt Kuchar, $87,584 70-68-67-70—275 -9Brian Stuard, $87,584 70-68-68-69—275 -9Matt Wallace, $87,584 65-72-65-73—275 -9Danny Willett, $87,584 68-71-67-69—275 -9Wesley Bryan, $52,274 68-66-75-67—276 -8Cameron Davis, $52,274 69-69-70-68—276 -8Tom Hoge, $52,274 67-67-73-69—276 -8Billy Horschel, $52,274 66-67-71-72—276 -8Tom Lewis, $52,274 72-67-67-70—276 -8Alex Noren, $52,274 71-68-68-69—276 -8Adam Schenk, $52,274 68-69-70-69—276 -8Camilo Villegas, $52,274 69-68-68-71—276 -8Doug Ghim, $37,867 70-69-72-66—277 -7Lucas Glover, $37,867 67-69-72-69—277 -7Si Woo Kim, $37,867 71-67-71-68—277 -7Andrew Landry, $37,867 70-70-70-67—277 -7C. Bezuidenhout, $37,867 70-69-65-73—277 -7Kevin Streelman, $37,867 67-71-66-73—277 -7Sung Kang, $15,265 68-68-76-77—289 +5

Chubb Classic

PGA Tour ChampionsSunday

At Tiburon Golf ClubNaples, Fla.

Purse: $1.6 millionYardage:6,881; Par: 72

Final RoundSteve Stricker, $240,000 66-67-67—200 -16Alex Cejka, $128,000 68-65-68—201 -15Robert Karlsson, $128,000 66-66-69—201 -15Tim Petrovic, $85,600 67-70-65—202 -14Kevin Sutherland, $85,600 70-66-66—202 -14Fred Couples, $60,800 63-69-71—203 -13Bernhard Langer, $60,800 65-68-70—203 -13Gene Sauers, $51,200 66-69-70—205 -11Glen Day, $40,000 68-69-69—206 -10M. Angel Jiménez, $40,000 69-67-70—206 -10Billy Mayfair, $40,000 69-69-68—206 -10David Toms, $40,000 68-70-68—206 -10Scott Parel, $32,000 70-68-69—207 -9Shane Bertsch, $29,600 68-71-69—208 -8Craig Bowden, $29,600 72-68-68—208 -8Marco Dawson, $27,200 69-69-71—209 -7Doug Barron, $24,800 69-73-68—210 -6Lee Janzen, $24,800 71-69-70—210 -6Kent Jones, $22,400 69-70-72—211 -5Scott Dunlap, $20,960 69-72-71—212 -4Mike Weir, $18,613 72-70-71—213 -3John Huston, $18,613 70-69-74—213 -3Rocco Mediate, $18,613 72-68-73—213 -3Tom Byrum, $14,300 70-73-71—214 -2Retief Goosen, $14,300 72-67-75—214 -2Paul Goydos, $14,300 77-68-69—214 -2Jerry Kelly, $14,300 70-75-69—214 -2Steve Pate, $14,300 72-71-71—214 -2Vijay Singh, $14,300 70-68-76—214 -2

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C.

— The golf was exceptional for

Stewart Cink. What made his third

RBC Heritage title truly special

was that his family was there to

experience his age-defying suc-

cess.

Cink hugged son Reagan, his

caddie, after he closed out his

four-shot victory at Harbour

Town with a stress-free par on the

lighthouse-framed 18th hole. Wife

Lisa, their other son, Connor, and

his fiancee, Jess Baker, were in

the gallery cheering Cink’s second

win this season.

“To have a posse like that wait-

ing at the end to celebrate with,”

Cink said, “it’s just an experience

you don’t get to have in your life

that often.”

In other golf news:

■ Steve Stricker closed with a

5-under 67 at the Chubb Classic,

taking control with a wedge into 3

feet for birdie on the 16th hole.

That carried him to a one-shot vic-

tory in Naples, Fla., where the 54-

year-old from Wisconsin makes

his winter home.

■ The PGA Tour is telling its

players they will not have to be

tested for the coronavirus if they

are vaccinated, and those who

aren't will have to pay for their

own tests starting this summer.

Washington football team

QB Smith retiresAlex Smith retired Monday af-

ter making an improbable come-

back from a gruesome broken leg,

saying he's ready to leave the NFL

but believing he's still able to play

quarterback. Smith made the an-

nouncement on Instagram a few

weeks shy of his 37th birthday.

“I want to say thank you for be-

lieving in me, and thank you for

helping me believe in myself —

and in the impossible,” Smith said.

STEPHEN B. MORTON / AP

Stewart Cink, 47, won the RBCHeritage golf tournament inHilton Head Island, S.C., Sunday.

47-year-oldCink winsHeritage

Associated Press

BRIEFLY

Tuesday, April 20, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 19

AUTO RACING

RICHMOND, Va. — Another

week, another agonizing loss for

Denny Hamlin.

And this time it was to Alex

Bowman, who came from no-

where with 10 laps to go at Rich-

mond Raceway to put the No. 48

Chevrolet in victory lane for the

first time in nearly four years.

Bowman won for the third time

in his career Sunday and denied

Hamlin a win in a race he had

dominated to become the eighth

winner in nine Cup races this sea-

son. He dedicated the victory to

crew member William “Rowdy”

Harrell and his wife, Blakley Har-

rell, who were killed in a Novem-

ber car crash in Florida while on

their honeymoon.

“This one is for Rowdy and his

family. Miss him and Blakley ev-

ery day,” Bowman said.

Bowman’s victory in the No. 48

Chevrolet for Hendrick Motor-

sports came on the same day the

former driver of the car, seven-

time champion Jimmie Johnson,

made his debut in the IndyCar Se-

ries in Alabama. It was the first

victory for the No. 48 since June 4,

2017.

Johnson was the only driver of

the No. 48 when it was formed in

2001 and Bowman was hand-

picked by sponsor Ally to replace

him.

Bowman overcame a penalty

on lap 247 for a loose tire on pit

road to rally for the win.

For Hamlin, it was the third de-

feat in three races.

At the dirt race at Bristol Motor

Speedway, he didn’t do enough to

move Joey Logano out of his way

to earn the win, and last week at

Martinsville Speedway he was

caught late by Joe Gibbs Racing

teammate Martin Truex Jr.

In Richmond, Hamlin raced

with the hashtag #fedexstrong on

the back of his car and on his pit

wall to honor the eight people who

were fatally shot at a FedEx facil-

ity in Indianapolis on Thursday.

He again had the dominant car

and led 207 of the 400 laps. He’s

led 483 laps the last two weeks.

“First and foremost, we want to

think of all of the families in Indy

right now,” Hamlin said. “Awful

tragedy to happen there. Our

thoughts and prayers are with

these names. We will get (wins).

We will keep digging. We are

dominating — just have to finish

it.”

Hamlin won the first two stages

and notched his eighth top-five

finish in nine starts this season.

“We just didn’t take off quite as

good there at the end. I tried to

warm it up and do everything that

I could — just the 48 had a little

more on those last few laps and I

couldn’t hold the bottom,” Ham-

lin said.

Last week, he led 276 laps at

Martinsville Speedway, but lost

the lead to Truex with 15 laps to

go.

Hamlin did hang on Sunday to

finish second, followed by Loga-

no, Christopher Bell and Truex,

who led 107 laps and overcame a

penalty for speeding on pit road.

Kyle Busch finished eighth, the

second week in a row that all four

JGR drivers finished in the top 10.

“Denny and I had a hell of a

race,” Logano said. “It was pretty

fun there for a minute, but here

we are third. It stings. We were up

there all day.

“The 48 kind of snookered ev-

erybody.”

Bowman denies

Hamlin with late

move at RichmondBY HANK KURZ JR.

Associated Press

STEVE HELBER/AP

Alex Bowman came from behind to win the NASCAR Cup Series raceSunday at Richmond International Raceway.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Fer-

nando Alonso is winless so far this

season in Formula One. Same with

Carlos Sainz.

Over in IndyCar, though, Alex

Palou scored a victory for Spain.

Palou picked up his first career

win — in his first race with Chip

Ganassi Racing — by holding off a

pair of series champions in Sun-

day’s season-opening race at Bar-

ber Motorsports Park. The affable

24-year-old raised his fists in the

air when he realized he’d reached

victory lane before his fellow

countrymen, who both raced 5,000

miles away in Italy earlier Sun-

day.

Palou is only the second Spa-

niard to win in the IndyCar Series,

joining Oriol Servia, who won in

2005 at Montreal.

“It’s just amazing but I think it

was part of the job,” he said.

“When you are part of a big team

and a successful team like Chip

Ganassi, they give you all the tools.

You have everything you need to

win, and that’s why you see so

many successful drivers.”

Palou then vowed to find the

best fried chicken in Alabama to

celebrate his achievement.

“I think that 80% of the drivers

will tell you that after a race we

need something that is not good

for our body and that’s what I’m

going to take tonight if I can, fried

chicken. And fries. Lots of fries,”

he said.

Palou used a two-stop strategy

on the picturesque permanent

road course to take control of the

race but still had to hold off hard-

charging Will Power and Ganassi

teammate Scott Dixon over the

closing laps. He beat Power by

.4016 seconds to claim his first win

in his first race driving for the sto-

ried Ganassi organization.

Dixon, the six-time and reign-

ing IndyCar champion, finished

third and was followed by pole-sit-

ter Pato O’Ward, who was on a

three-stop strategy.

Palou was the quieter offseason

signing of the Ganassi organiza-

tion, which also added seven-time

NASCAR champion Jimmie John-

son to the four-car lineup. But Ga-

nassi also took a gamble on Palou,

who had spent one season driving

for Dale Coyne Racing with one

podium finish and one lap led all

year.

He’d raced in Japan and Europe

previously but introduced himself

to Ganassi last August at the Indi-

anapolis 500 in hopes of landing a

job with an elite team.

“One of the dreams was to come

here to the U.S. and once you are in

the U.S. you want to be more and

you want to be competitive, and to

be competitive I wanted to be part

of Chip,” Palou said. “I actually in-

troduced myself to Chip at the In-

dy 500 because I wanted to be part

of that team. I saw the spirit of the

team. To be part of Chip Ganassi is

50 percent of another dream,

which is to become a champion.”

Ganassi had been impressed

through preseason testing and

warned Palou would be a force

this season.

“We did some testing over the

winter and he was quick all day

long at the tests, at one test he was

quicker than Dixon,” Ganassi

said.

Still most of the attention lead-

ing into the race was on the

stacked rookie class of Johnson,

former Formula One driver Ro-

main Grosjean and three-time and

defending Australian Supercars

champion Scott McLaughlin.

Johnson, who at 45 is older than

Palou’s father, is learning every

session and taking small gains. He

celebrated not qualifying last on

Saturday and was satisfied with

his 19th-place finish Sunday.

Johnson had a developing blis-

ter on his hand after the race,

avoided a first-lap crash and reco-

vered from an early spin.

“Just a ton of learning experi-

ences throughout the day,” John-

son said. “I just can’t say too many

times how different this is and how

specialized this craft is.”

VASHA HUNT/AP

Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou (10) celebrates on Victory Lane after winning the Honda Indy GrandPrix of Alabama Sunday at Barber Motorsports Parkway in Birmingham, Ala.

Palou drives to first careerIndyCar win in Ganassi debut

BY JENNA FRYER

Associated Press

VASHA HUNT/AP

Spain's Alex Palou won his debutrace for Chip Ganassi racing.

PAGE 20 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Tuesday, April 20, 2021

NHL

East Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Washington 46 29 13 4 62 163 141

N.Y. Islanders 45 28 13 4 60 127 105

Pittsburgh 45 28 14 3 59 152 126

Boston 43 25 12 6 56 125 110

N.Y. Rangers 45 23 16 6 52 151 118

Philadelphia 45 20 18 7 47 128 162

New Jersey 44 14 24 6 34 109 150

Buffalo 45 12 26 7 31 111 154

Central Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Carolina 43 29 10 4 62 140 104

Florida 45 28 12 5 61 143 123

Tampa Bay 44 29 13 2 60 149 115

Nashville 46 24 21 1 49 121 130

Chicago 45 21 19 5 47 127 139

Dallas 43 17 14 12 46 122 109

Columbus 46 15 22 9 39 114 154

Detroit 46 16 24 6 38 103 145

West Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Colorado 43 30 9 4 64 154 101

Vegas 44 31 11 2 64 147 98

Minnesota 43 27 13 3 57 132 115

Arizona 45 20 20 5 45 121 141

St. Louis 43 19 18 6 44 124 135

San Jose 44 18 22 4 40 118 149

Los Angeles 42 16 20 6 38 114 127

Anaheim 46 14 25 7 35 103 147

North Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Toronto 45 28 12 5 61 147 120

Winnipeg 45 27 15 3 57 144 120

Edmonton 43 26 15 2 54 137 120

Montreal 42 19 14 9 47 125 119

Calgary 44 19 22 3 41 116 129

Vancouver 38 17 18 3 37 103 122

Ottawa 45 15 26 4 34 122 164

Sunday’s games

Boston 6, Washington 3Buffalo 4, Pittsburgh 2N.Y. Rangers 5, New Jersey 3Vegas 5, Anaheim 2N.Y. Islanders 1, Philadelphia 0, OTVancouver 3, Toronto 2, OTLos Angeles at Colorado, ppd

Monday’s games

Carolina at Tampa BayColumbus at FloridaDetroit at DallasChicago at NashvilleMinnesota at ArizonaMontreal at EdmontonOttawa at CalgarySan Jose at Vegas

Tuesday’s games

Boston at BuffaloCarolina at Tampa BayColumbus at FloridaN.Y. Rangers at N.Y. IslandersNew Jersey at PittsburghDetroit at DallasColorado at St. Louis, ppdToronto at VancouverAnaheim at Los Angeles

Wednesday’s games

Nashville at ChicagoMinnesota at ArizonaSan Jose at VegasMontreal at Edmonton

Scoreboard

VANCOUVER, British Colum-

bia — The Vancouver Canucks re-

turned to the ice after a COVID-19

outbreak prompted nearly four

weeks of worrying, wondering and

waiting.

They were finally able to play for

the first time since March 24 — and

celebrated their first game back

with an overtime victory.

Bo Harvat scored his second goal

of the game 1:19 into the extra peri-

od, giving the Canucks a 3-2 win

over the Toronto Maple Leafs on

Sunday night.

“This isn’t just your regular win

during the regular season," coach

Travis Green said. "It’s a special

win. We’ve gone through a lot here

with our group over the last few

weeks."

Horvat also had an assist, Nils

Hoglander had a goal and an assist,

and Braden Holtby made 37 saves

for the Canucks, who had at least 21

players and four members of the

coaching staff test positive for the

coronavirus.

“I couldn’t be prouder of our

guys in that room," Horvat said,

“the way they manned up tonight

and stuck with the process and

willed their way to that win.”

Green thought it was fitting that

Horvat, Vancouver's captain, sent

the team to victory in its return.

“He was phenomenal,” Green

said. “What are you going to say?

Two goals and an assist. You want

guys to step to the plate and when

your captain’s right at the front of

the line leading the way, there’s a

reason why he’s wearing a ‘C’ on his

jersey.”

No Canucks players remained on

the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list

Sunday, but some of Vancouver’s

regular starters remained out of the

lineup, including goalie Thatcher

Demko, defenseman Nate Schmidt

and forwards Tyler Motte and Jake

Virtanen.

“It was a hard game,” Green

said. "You’re playing a really good

hockey team on the other side. I’m

proud of our group and how we

stuck with it and won tonight.”

William Nylander had a goal —

the 100th of his NHL career — and

an assist for Toronto in his first

game after missing five due to CO-

VID-19 protocols.

“I think I had a little stretch be-

fore I went into quarantine where I

could have scored that 100th goal,"

Nylander said. “So it’s nice to get

that one early.”

Bruins  6,  Capitals  3: David

Krejci, Patrice Bergeron and Brad

Marchand each scored two goals

and host Boston held off Washing-

ton.

Marchand also had two assists

for the Bruins, who won their

fourth straight. Tuukka Rask stop-

ped 30 of 33 shots in earning his

10th win this season and just his

second victory since February.

Washington has lost two of its

past three. T.J. Oshie had two goals

and Anthony Mantha added anoth-

er for the first-place Capitals. Man-

tha has scored a goal in five consec-

utive games, including all four

since being acquired in a deal with

Detroit at the trade deadline earlier

this month.

Capitals star Alex Ovechkin was

held scoreless and remains one

goal back of tying Marcel Dionne

for fifth on the NHL’s career goals

list.

Golden  Knights  5,  Ducks  2:

Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty and

Nicolas Roy each had a goal and an

assist to help visiting Vegas move

into a tie for first place in the West

Division with Colorado.

Alex Pietrangelo and Alex Tuch

also scored goals, while Marc-

Andre Fleury made 33 saves as the

Golden Knights extended their

winning streak to six games,

matching a season best. Stone had

his fourth consecutive multi-point

game.

Currently on a three-game CO-

VID-19-related pause, the Ava-

lanche are not scheduled to return

to action until Thursday at St.

Louis. The Golden Knights and

Avalanche are scheduled to meet

two more times.

Max Comtois and Danton Hei-

nen scored goals for Anaheim,

while Adam Henrique reached 200

assists in his career.

Sabres 4, Penguins 2: Sam Re-

inhart scored twice, and host Buffa-

lo played spoiler in the East Divi-

sion playoff race.

Rookie Arttu Ruotsalainen and

Rasmus Asplund, with an empty-

netter, also scored for Buffalo. The

Sabres bounced back a day after

becoming the NHL’s first team

eliminated from playoff contention

following a 3-2 loss to Pittsburgh.

The Penguins had a 4-0-1 run

snapped and squandered an oppor-

tunity to move within a point of

East-leading Washington.

Dustin Tokarski stopped 34 shots

and had his shutout bid end on Ja-

son Zucker’s goal scored off a face-

off with 9:42 remaining, and cut

Buffalo’s lead to 3-1. Teddy Blueger

also scored in the final minute.

Rangers 5, Devils 3: Mika Ziba-

nejad celebrated his 28th birthday

by scoring a power-play goal with

three minutes to play and visiting

New York swept a four-game series

over the six days.

Chris Kreider, Vitali Kravtsov,

Alexis Lafreniere and Ryan

Strome also scored as the Rangers

extended their season-high point

streak to six games (5-0-1). Alexan-

dar Georgiev, who had to leave the

ice late in the first period with a

lower-body injury only to return,

finished with 25 saves as New York

improved to 13-4-3 in its past 20

games.

ROUNDUP

Canucks return to action, top Leafs in OT

DARRYL DYCK/AP

The Canucks’ Bo Horvat celebrates after scoring the winning goalduring overtime against the Maple Leafs on Sunday.

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — Nick Led-

dy scored 2:23 into overtime and

Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves to lift

the New York Islanders to a 1-0

win over the Philadelphia Flyers

on Sunday night.

After both goalies were stellar

throughout the contest, Leddy

scored a fluke goal when his back-

hand pass went off the stick of

Flyers defenseman Travis San-

heim and through the legs of goa-

lie Brian Elliott.

“I think it was more of a fortui-

tous bounce than anything,” Led-

dy said.

The victory sent the Islanders

past the Pittsburgh Penguins into

second place in the East Division.

New York is two points behind

first-place Washington.

“We weren’t as sharp as we

needed to be,” Islanders coach

Barry Trotz said. “But at the end

of the day, a huge two points.

Huge.”

Elliott made 27 saves, including

several stellar stops late in the

third period.

Philadelphia is nine points back

of Boston for the final playoff spot

in the East Division.

It was the sixth time in eight

games in the season series that the

game went past regulation.

Jordan Eberle and Jean-Ga-

briel Pageau assisted on the game-

winner that ended a long scoreless

drought. The Islanders hadn’t

scored since early in the second

period two games ago, a span of

159 minutes, 27 seconds.

Sorokin improved to 5-0-1 in six

games, five of which were starts,

against the Flyers.

“I felt good,” Sorokin said. “I

think about what I should do in the

moment and don’t think about re-

sults and not what (happened) a

few games ago.”

He kept the Islanders in the

game with 23 saves through the

first two periods, including sever-

al quality chances. His sprawling

glove save on Travis Konecny’s

great chance was a highlight of the

second, following several strong

stops late in the first that also in-

cluded a denial of Konecny.

“We don’t win that hockey game

if he doesn’t have that first peri-

od,” Trotz said.

OT goal gives Islanders ‘huge two points’

MATT SLOCUM/AP

The Islanders’ Nick Leddy, right, and Jordan Eberle celebrate Leddy’sgame­winning OT goal Sunday against the Flyers in Philadelphia.

Associated Press

Tuesday, April 20, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 21

NBA

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

W L Pct GB

Philadelphia 39 17 .696 —

Brooklyn 38 19 .667 1½

Boston 31 26 .544 8½

New York 31 27 .534 9

Toronto 24 34 .414 16

Southeast Division

W L Pct GB

Atlanta 31 26 .544 —

Miami 29 28 .509 2

Charlotte 28 28 .500 2½

Washington 23 33 .411 7½

Orlando 18 39 .316 13

Central Division

W L Pct GB

Milwaukee 35 21 .625 —

Indiana 26 30 .464 9

Chicago 23 33 .411 12

Cleveland 20 36 .357 15

Detroit 17 40 .298 18½

Western Conference

Southwest Division

W L Pct GB

Dallas 30 26 .536 —

Memphis 29 26 .527 ½

San Antonio 27 28 .491 2½

New Orleans 25 32 .439 5½

Houston 15 42 .263 15½

Northwest Division

W L Pct GB

Utah 42 15 .737 —

Denver 36 20 .643 5½

Portland 32 24 .571 9½

Oklahoma City 20 37 .351 22

Minnesota 15 43 .259 27½

Pacific Division

W L Pct GB

Phoenix 40 16 .714 —

L.A. Clippers 40 19 .678 1½

L.A. Lakers 35 22 .614 5½

Golden State 28 29 .491 12½

Sacramento 23 34 .404 17½

Sunday’s games

Atlanta 129, Indiana 117 New York 122, New Orleans 112, OT Miami 109, Brooklyn 107 Charlotte 109, Portland 101 Houston 114, Orlando 110 Toronto 112, Oklahoma City 106 Sacramento 121, Dallas 107 L.A. Clippers 124, Minnesota 105

Monday’s games

Cleveland at Detroit Chicago at Boston Golden State at Philadelphia Houston at Miami Oklahoma City at Washington Phoenix at Milwaukee San Antonio at Indiana Memphis at Denver Utah at L.A. Lakers

Tuesday’s games

Brooklyn at New Orleans Charlotte at New York Orlando at Atlanta L.A. Clippers at Portland Minnesota at Sacramento

Wednesday’s games

Brooklyn at Toronto Chicago at Cleveland Golden State at Washington Oklahoma City at Indiana Phoenix at Philadelphia Atlanta at New York Utah at Houston Detroit at Dallas Miami at San Antonio Denver at Portland Memphis at L.A. Clippers Minnesota at Sacramento

Leaders

Through Sunday

Scoring

G FG FT PTS AVG

Beal, WAS 47 514 331 1462 31.1

Curry, GS 49 500 271 1521 31.0

Rebounds

G OFF DEF TOT AVG

Capela, ATL 50 238 485 723 14.5

Gobert, UTA 56 191 568 759 13.6

Assists

G AST AVG

Harden, BKN 42 457 10.9

Westbrook, WAS 49 530 10.8

Scoreboard

MIAMI — Bam Adebayo was

supposed to call timeout. He had

another idea. This was the scenario

that he had envisioned in his mind

so many times, game tied, crowd on

its feet, ball in his hands, final sec-

onds ticking away.

“Your moment,” Adebayo told

himself.

He delivered — when the Miami

Heat needed him most.

Adebayo drove left, stopped and

watched his 13-foot jumper rattle in

as time expired, a shot that allowed

the Heat to beat the Brooklyn Nets

109-107 on Sunday to snap a three-

game slide.

“He handled it the right way,”

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said.

“He looked over to the bench, and

at that point we just made eye con-

tact. My hands were up, and it was

like, ‘OK, it just better be the last

shot.’ ”

It was. Adebayo had 21 points

and 15 rebounds for the Heat, who

trailed by six points in the final

minutes before finishing the game

on a 10-2 run.

Goran Dragic scored 18 points,

Kendrick Nunn scored 17 and Tre-

vor Ariza had 15 for Miami.

Landry Shamet had 30 points for

Brooklyn, and Kyrie Irving scored

20 for the Nets. Brooklyn played

again without James Harden, side-

lined with a hamstring issue, and

lost Kevin Durant early in the first

quarter with a left thigh contusion.

“He’s sore, but we don’t know

how severe it is,” Nets coach Steve

Nash said.

Bam! Adebayo’s shot lifts HeatMiami ends slump at 3with defeat of Brooklyn

BY TIM REYNOLDS

Associated Press

WILFREDO LEE / AP

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, second from right, is mobbed by teammates after he made the winningshot against the Brooklyn Nets in a 109­107 win Sunday in Miami.

LOS ANGELES — Paul George led five start-

ers in double figures with 23 points and the Los

Angeles Clippers routed the Minnesota Tim-

berwolves 124-105 for their eighth win in nine

games.

Kawhi Leonard had 15 points, 11 rebounds

and eight assists in his return from a four-game

absence because of a sore right foot. Fans at-

tending a Clippers game at Staples Center for

the first time in more than a year saw their team

hit a season-high 21 three-pointers.

Anthony Edwards scored 23 points to lead

the Wolves, who dropped their sixth in a row on

the road. Karl-Anthony Towns added 16 points

on 5-of-15 shooting. He missed five of six threes.

“When everybody is touching it and everybo-

dy is getting shots and we’re attacking the bas-

ket, we’re a tough team to beat,” Los Angeles

coach Tyronn Lue said. “Since the All-Star

break, I really like where we’re at.”

Hawks 129, Pacers 117: Trae Young scored

34 points, Clint Capela had 25 points and 24 re-

bounds and host Atlanta beat Indiana.

Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter each

chipped in 23 points and Young had 11 assists

for the Hawks, who have won eight of 10 and are

17-6 under interim coach Nate McMillan. At-

lanta has won nine of 11 at home.

Knicks 122, Pelicans 112 (OT): Julius Ran-

dle had 33 points and 10 assists, Derrick Rose

made huge plays all over the court to spark New

York’s streak-saving finish and the host Knicks

beat New Orleans for their sixth consecutive

victory.

Rose scored 23 points. He had the assist on

Reggie Bullock’s three-pointer with 2.3 sec-

onds left in regulation, blocked a last shot by the

Pelicans that would’ve won it and then opened

overtime with a steal and layup to give New

York the lead for good.

Rockets 114, Magic 110: Christian Wood

scored 25 points, Kelly Olynyk added 24 and

Houston used a strong offensive showing in the

third quarter to rally to a win at Orlando.

Kevin Porter Jr. scored 22 and made four

three-pointers points before fouling out mid-

way through the fourth quarter as the Rockets

snapped a five-game losing streak and a five-

game road skid. Armoni Brooks chipped in 16

points and another five three-pointers for a

Rockets squad that shot 51.2% from the floor

and hit 16 three-pointers.

Raptors 112, Thunder 106: Chris Boucher

had 31 points and 11 rebounds, and host Toronto

extended Oklahoma City’s season-worst losing

streak to 10 games.

Gary Trent Jr. added 23 points for the Rap-

tors, who have won three straight. Malachi

Flynn had 15 points and eight rebounds.

Hornets 109, Trail Blazers 101: Terry Ro-

zier had 34 points, 10 assists and eight re-

bounds, and host Charlotte rode a strong first

quarter to a win over Portland, snapping a four-

game losing streak.

P.J. Washington had 23 points and eight re-

bounds after missing three games with an ankle

injury, and Miles Bridges added 19 points, in-

cluding two highlight-reel dunks, for the Horn-

ets (28-28). Charlotte snapped a seven-game

losing streak against the Trail Blazers.

Kings 121, Mavericks 107: De’Aaron Fox

scored 30 points, Harrison Barnes added 24

and Terence Davis II 23 as Sacramento

snapped a nine-game losing streak with a win at

Dallas.

Barnes scored 11 in the third quarter as the

Kings built a 21-point lead midway through the

period. Sacramento, which never trailed, held

off a late Mavs run that cut the lead to six with

3½ minutes left.

Luka Doncic scored 37 points, 22 in the

fourth quarter for Dallas.

Red-hot Clippers rout Timberwolves

MARK J. TERRILL / AP

Clippers center Ivica Zubac, left, grabs arebound away from Timberwolves centerKarl­Anthony Towns during the Clippers’124­105 win Sunday in Los Angeles.

Associated Press

ROUNDUP

PAGE 22 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Tuesday, April 20, 2021

SOCCER/MLB

New York has lost five straight

for the first time since Sept. 4­8,

getting outscored 30­14. 

“You have to strap your boots on

and wade through the mud a little

bit,” Cole said. “If we stay in that

mindset and we leave the field ev­

ery  day  exhausted,  good  things

are on the horizon, but I don’t have

the  magic  wand.  I  don’t  know

when it’s going to turn.” 

Aaron  Judge  struck  out  three

times and is 4 for his last 28, Hicks

has  1  hit  in  his  last  15  at­bats,

Gleyber Torres 3 in his last 24, and

Giancarlo Stanton, despite a sec­

ond­inning home run, is 3 for his

last 26. Frazier is 1 for his last 24

and does not have an RBI in 40

plate appearances this season. 

New York’s batting average is

down to .210, one point above AL­

worst Cleveland. 

Boone said his hitters have  to

guard  against  “being  obsessed

with  chasing  a  result,  which  is

hard to do when you get off to a

slow start individually. You want

to get a hit so bad that  that can

sometimes work against you.” 

Yarbrough allowed one run and

two hits  in  five  innings, and  the

Rays beat the Yankees for the 18th

time in 23 meetings, including in

last year’s Division Series. Tampa

Bay swept a series for the second

time in its last three visits to Yan­

kee Stadium after sweeping  just

two of their previous 51 series of

three games or more in the Bronx. 

“It’s just not an easy thing to do.

It  doesn’t  happen  very  often,”

Rays  manager  Kevin  Cash  said.

“So you’ve got to enjoy it when it

does.” 

Cole retired 13 in a row before

Wendle singled with one out in the

seventh.  Tsutsugo,  his  average

down to .146, followed by driving a

changeup  to  right­center  for  an

RBI double and a 3­2 lead. 

Tampa Bay had gone ahead 2­1

in  the  third  after  Mike  Zunino’s

leadoff  single.  Hicks  got  a  late

break on Kevin Kiermaier’s bloop

to short center, then bobbled the

ball and lost a chance for a force­

out  at  second.  Yandy  Díaz  fol­

lowed with an RBI single as Hicks

allowed  the  ball  to  kick  off  his

glove  for an error  that  let Kier­

maier take third. 

Frazier heaved the ball past sec­

ond as Díaz advanced on Manuel

Margot’s go­ahead sacrifice fly.

LeMahieu hit a tying single in

the fifth, when Yarbrough struck

out Judge with two on and two out. 

Kcorner:Cole struck out 10 bat­

ters  in  61⁄�3 innings  and  with  39

strikeouts set a Yankees mark for

most in his first four starts, with

three more than Masahiro Tanaka

in 2014.

Bronx: Yankees lose fifthstraight, hitting just .210FROM PAGE 24

CINCINNATI — If Shane Bieb­

er felt a bit off at the start, it sure

didn’t show.

Bieber kept up his record strike­

out run,  fanning 13 and pitching

the  Cleveland  Indians  past  the

Cincinnati Reds 6­3 on Sunday.

Bieber  (2­1)  became  the  first

pitcher in big league history to be­

gin the season with four straight

starts with at least 10 strikeouts.

The AL Cy Young Award win­

ner  has  48  strikeouts  this  year,

matching  Hall  of  Famer  Nolan

Ryan for the most through the first

four starts of a season. Bieber has

fanned at least eight in 16 straight

starts, one short of Randy John­

son’s major league mark.

“I felt a little slow, a little slug­

gish at the beginning of the game

but was able to get through it and

kind of get on a roll there at the

end,” Bieber said.

Bieber struck out the side in the

seventh. He wrapped up his outing

by  fanning  three  more  in  the

eighth around a solo home run by

former teammate Tyler Naquin.

After  being  routed  on  Friday

night and then losing in the 10th in­

ning Saturday when an error with

two outs in the ninth allowed the

Reds to extend the game, Cleve­

land  manager  Terry  Francona

was happy to be able to give the

ball to Bieber on Sunday.

“That’s why you call guys aces.

And he certainly has lived up to

that,” Francona said. “He’s really

accountable for what he needs to

do. It’s nice, you got a tough night

like you had last night, and you see

him  running  out  to  the  bullpen.

That makes you feel a  little bet­

ter.”

Bieber allowed three runs and

six hits with two walks.

“He’s the complete package as a

pitcher,”  Reds  manager  David

Bell  said.  “He has  it  all. He de­

serves all the credit today. We got

afew runs off him but not enough.”

The  Indians  hit  three  home

runs, all with two outs, to salvage a

win in the all­Ohio series.

Roberto  Pérez  hit  a  three­run

homer off Wade Miley (2­1) over

the center field wall with two on in

the fourth inning for a 4­0 lead.

José  Ramírez  launched  a  solo

drive  into  the upper deck  in  the

first. Jordan Luplow had a two­run

homer in the seventh.

Bieber sets record,strikes out 13 Reds

BY MITCH STACY

Associated Press

MONTREUX,  Switzerland  —

Players at the 12 clubs setting up

their own Super League could be

banned from this year’s European

Championship  and  next  year’s

World  Cup,  UEFA  President

Aleksander Ceferin said Monday.

Ceferin showed his sense of an­

ger and betrayal by the leaders of

some wealthy European clubs as

he spoke of “snakes,” and wished

UEFA  could  ban  Super  League

clubs and players “as soon as pos­

sible” from all of its competitions.

Whether  UEFA’s  lawyers  will

advise that — with the Champions

League and Europa League semi­

finals starting next week, and Eu­

ro 2020 kicking off in June — is un­

clear.

Ceferin spoke following a UE­

FA executive committee meeting

and  said  some  “legal  assess­

ments” will begin Tuesday morn­

ing.  The  meeting  was  held  only

hours  after  the  English,  Italian

and Spanish clubs announced the

Super League project that threat­

ens to split the historic structure of

European soccer.

“They will not be able to repre­

sent  their  national  teams  at  any

matches,” Ceferin earlier warned.

“UEFA and the footballing world

stand united against the disgrace­

ful self­serving proposal we have

seen in last 24 hours from a select

few  clubs  in  Europe  that  are

fueled purely by greed above all

else.”

UEFA’s 55 member federations

are gathering for an annual meet­

ing on Tuesday.

Three of the 12 rebels — Chel­

sea,  Manchester  City  and  Real

Madrid — are scheduled to play in

the Champions League semifinals

next week. Two more, Manches­

ter United and Arsenal, are in the

Europa League semifinals.

Earlier, the 12 planning to start

the breakaway Super League told

the  leaders  of  FIFA  and  UEFA

that they have begun legal action

aimed  at  fending  off  threats  to

block the competition.

The letter was sent by the group

to  Ceferin  and  FIFA  President

Gianni Infantino saying the Super

League has already been under­

written  by  funding  from  Ameri­

can bank JPMorgan Chase.

Currently, teams have to qualify

each  year  for  the  Champions

League  through  their  domestic

leagues,  but  the  Super  League

would lock in 15 places every sea­

son  for  the  founding  members.

The seismic move to shake up the

sport is partly engineered by the

American owners of Arsenal, Liv­

erpool  and  Manchester  United,

who also run franchises in closed

U.S. leagues — a model they are

trying to replicate in Europe.

UEFA  warned  the  Super

League clubs, including Barcelo­

na and Juventus, that legal action

would be taken against them and

said  they  also  would  be  barred

from existing domestic competi­

tions like the Spanish league and

the Premier League.

“We are concerned  that FIFA

and UEFA may respond to this in­

vitation letter by seeking to take

punitive measures to exclude any

participating club or player from

their  respective  competitions,”

the Super League clubs wrote to

Infantino and Ceferin in a  letter

obtained by The Associated Press.

“Your  formal  statement  does,

however, compel us to take pro­

tective steps to secure ourselves

against such an adverse reaction,

which would not only jeopardize

the  funding  commitment  under

the Grant but, significantly, would

be unlawful. For this reason, SLCo

(Super League Company) has fil­

ed  a  motion  before  the  relevant

courts  in  order  to  ensure  the

seamless establishment and oper­

ation of the Competition in accord­

ance with applicable laws.”

Some big names missing

from Super LeagueThe  plan  for  the  new  Super

League soccer competition is, sur­

prisingly,  missing  the  names  of

Bayern Munich and Paris Saint­

Germain.

Last year’s Champions League

finalists  were  noted  absentees

from  the  dozen  elite  European

clubs who announced the plan.

Bayern  would  face  difficulties

convincing its fans and members,

who have a majority say in club

business, of the merits of joining

the  rebels.  PSG’s  Qatari  owners

could be wary of disrupting next

year’s World Cup — which will be

played in Qatar — and a lucrative

UEFA broadcast deal if there’s a

civil war in European soccer.

The  Super  League  has  signed

up 12 clubs from England, Spain

and Italy and left open three more

spots for founding members, who

will get permanent places in the

competition. Bayern, PSG and Bo­

russia Dortmund have been link­

ed with those places.

In a statement from Germany,

Dortmund said that it and Bayern

both reject the Super League and

are in favor of reforming the exist­

ing Champions League.

FRANCOIS MORI / AP

PSG’s Kylian Mbappe, right, greets Bayern’s Lucas Hernandez at the end of the Champions League matchon April 13. Last year’s Champions League finalists appear unlikely to bolt for the Super League.

Super League players faceban from Euro, World Cup

BY ROB HARRIS AND

GRAHAM DUNBAR

Associated Press

Tuesday, April 20, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 23

MLB

American League

East Division

W L Pct GB

Boston 10 6 .625 _

Tampa Bay 8 8 .500 2

Baltimore 7 9 .438 3

Toronto 7 9 .438 3

New York 5 10 .333 4½

Central Division

W L Pct GB

Kansas City 9 5 .643 _

Cleveland 8 7 .533 1½

Chicago 8 8 .500 2

Minnesota 6 8 .429 3

Detroit 6 10 .375 4

West Division

W L Pct GB

Seattle 10 6 .625 _

Los Angeles 8 5 .615 ½

Oakland 9 7 .563 1

Houston 7 8 .467 2½

Texas 7 9 .438 3

National LeagueEast Division

W L Pct GB

New York 7 4 .636 _

Philadelphia 8 7 .533 1

Miami 7 8 .467 2

Atlanta 7 9 .438 2½

Washington 5 8 .385 3

Central Division

W L Pct GB

Cincinnati 9 6 .600 _

Milwaukee 8 7 .533 1

St. Louis 7 8 .467 2

Pittsburgh 7 9 .438 2½

Chicago 6 9 .400 3

West Division

W L Pct GB

Los Angeles 13 3 .813 _

San Francisco 9 6 .600 3½

San Diego 10 7 .588 3½

Arizona 6 10 .375 7

Colorado 4 12 .250 9

Sunday’s games

Chicago White Sox 3, Boston 2, 7 innings,1st game

Chicago White Sox 5, Boston 1, 7 innings,2nd game

Cleveland 6, Cincinnati 3Tampa Bay 4, N.Y. Yankees 2Kansas City 2, Toronto 0Texas 1, Baltimore 0, 10 inningsOakland 3, Detroit 2Seattle 7, Houston 2Minnesota at L.A. Angels, ppd.Philadelphia 2, St. Louis 0San Francisco 1, Miami 0Arizona 5, Washington 2N.Y. Mets 2, Colorado 1Pittsburgh 6, Milwaukee 5, 10 inningsSan Diego 5, L.A. Dodgers 2Atlanta 13, Chicago Cubs 4

Monday’s games

Chicago White Sox at BostonTampa Bay at Kansas CityTexas at L.A. AngelsL.A. Dodgers at SeattleMinnesota at Oakland, ppd.San Francisco at PhiladelphiaSt. Louis at WashingtonMilwaukee at San Diego

Tuesday’s games

L.A. Dodgers (Urías 2-0) at Seattle (Gon-zales 1-1)

Chicago White Sox (Rodón 2-0) at Cleve-land (Plesac 1-2)

Minnesota (Shoemaker 1-0) at Oakland(TBD), 6:30 p.m.

Atlanta (Morton 1-1) at N.Y. Yankees(Taillon 0-1)

Baltimore (Harvey 0-1) at Miami (Neid-ert 0-0)

Pittsburgh (Anderson 1-2) at Detroit(Fulmer 1-0)

Toronto (Ryu 1-1) at Boston (Rodríguez2-0)

Tampa Bay (Hill 1-0) at Kansas City (Kell-er 1-1)

Houston (McCullers Jr. 1-1) at Colorado(Gray 1-1)

Texas (Lyles 1-0) at L.A. Angels (Ohtani0-0)

Minnesota (TBD) at Oakland (TBD)Arizona (Gallen 0-0) at Cincinnati (Cas-

tillo 1-1)San Francisco (TBD) at Philadelphia

(Wheeler 1-2)St. Louis (Wainwright 0-2) at Washing-

ton (Corbin 0-2)N.Y. Mets (Walker 0-0) at Chicago Cubs

(Arrieta 2-1)Milwaukee (Burnes 1-1) at San Diego

(Paddack 1-1)

Scoreboard

SAN DIEGO — Round 1 is in the

books, and the heavyweight Pa-

dres and Dodgers didn’t disap-

point.

“I think it was no secret that the

whole baseball world was locked

into this series,” San Diego slug-

ger Eric Hosmer said. “Everybo-

dy enjoyed the matchup.”

Hosmer delivered the tying and

go-ahead RBIs in the seventh and

eighth innings, helping the San

Diego beat Los Angeles 5-2 Sun-

day to avoid a sweep in the first se-

ries of the year between the NL

West rivals. The Dodgers won the

opener Friday in 12 innings and

took Saturday’s matchup 2-0

thanks to a game-ending, diving

grab by center fielder Mookie

Betts.

“It is a good preview for many

more games to come. Both teams

are playing with a ton of energy,”

Padres manager Jayce Tingler

said. “We were hoping to win the

series, ultimately.”

In Sunday’s finale, Los Angeles

starter Trevor Bauer handed off a

2-1 lead to the Dodgers’ bullpen af-

ter six innings in a tight duel with

another Cy Young Award winner,

Blake Snell.

Hosmer doubled in the tying

run in the seventh off Brusdar

Graterol, then delivered the deci-

sive blow in the eighth. San Diego

scored three unearned runs in the

inning stemming from shortstop

Corey Seager’s throwing error.

Hosmer’s sharp single made it 3-2,

and Tommy Pham followed with a

two-run double into the left-field

corner.

The Padres had lost seven

straight in the rivalry, including a

three-game sweep in last year’s

NL Division Series. The teams will

meet 16 more times this season,

starting with a set next weekend in

Los Angeles.

“We have always felt that we

have been in all of these games

and we are right there so it was

nice today to get over that hump

and be on the right side of this

one,” Hosmer said.

In four previous career starts

versus the Padres, Bauer was 0-4

with a 5.06 ERA. Bauer, the 2020

NL Cy Young winner with Cincin-

nati, was effective his entire out-

ing, pounding his chest twice after

striking out Fernando Tatis Jr. on

a 3-2 fastball to end the sixth and

finish his day. Bauer gave up one

earned run and three hits while

striking out seven.

Snell, the 2018 AL Cy Young

winner with Tampa Bay, faced the

Dodgers for the first time since he

was fatefully taken out of Game 6

of the World Series last year after

dominating LA for over five in-

nings. He lasted five innings and

was lifted for a pinch-hitter after

95 pitches, giving up two earned

runs and two hits while striking

out seven on 98 pitches.

“I’m happy to get this start out of

the way so I don’t have to watch

Game 6 37,000 times a day — I am

kind of over that,” Snell said. “I’m

happy that the boys were able to

come back and get a win.”

Phillies 2, Cardinals 0: Aaron

Nola struck out 10 and threw a

two-hitter for his first nine-inning

shutout in the majors, leading host

Philadelphia past St. Louis.

Bryce Harper homered and had

three hits for the Phillies. His 111.8

mph shot off righty John Gant

(0-1) went 425 feet.

Braves 13,  Cubs  4:  Freddie

Freeman crushed one of four

homers in the first inning against

Kyle Hendricks, leading Atlanta

to a win at Chicago.

The Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr.

departed in the fourth due to pain

in his lower abdominal muscles.

Diamondbacks 5, Nationals 2:

Madison Bumgarner had his best

outing of the season, allowing a

run over five innings as Arizona

won at Washington.

Bumgarner (1-2) gave up just

two hits and dropped his ERA

from 11.20 to 8.68 through four

starts. He struck out five and

walked one, helping the Diamond-

backs split the four-game series.

Giants 1, Marlins 0: Alex Wood

pitched five innings in his season

debut and four relievers complet-

ed a three-hitter as San Francisco

scored an unearned run to win at

Miami and avert a series sweep.

Wood (1-0), returning from a

back problem that sidelined him

midway through spring training,

allowed three hits and walked

none.

Mets  2,  Rockies  1: Marcus

Stroman pitched eight innings of

one-run ball and made a dazzling

defensive play, catcher James

McCann threw out Trevor Story

attempting to steal second for the

final out and New York won at Col-

orado.

J.D. Davis delivered an RBI sin-

gle and Jeff McNeil had an RBI

groundout for the Mets, who have

won five of six, including two of

three at Coors Field this weekend.

White Sox 3­5, Red Sox 2­1:

Yermín Mercedes opened a three-

run fourth inning with a long

homer, and Chicago swept a dou-

bleheader at Boston.

Nick Madrigal had two hits and

drove in two runs for the White

Sox, who climbed back to .500 at

8-8.

In the opener, Tim Anderson

homered on the game’s first pitch

and Dallas Keuchel pitched five

solid innings for Chicago.

J.D. Martinez had an RBI single

for the Red Sox’s lone run in the

second game.

Royals 2, Blue Jays 0: Salvador

Perez tapped his bat twice on the

plate to make sure it wasn’t

cracked, then sent the next pitch

he saw from reliever T.J. Zeuch

into the left-field fountains, break-

ing open a scoreless game and

sending host Kansas City past To-

ronto.

Brady Singer kept the Blue Jays

off the board through six innings.

Kyle Zimmer (1-0) and Josh Stau-

mont each worked a perfect in-

ning, and Greg Holland finished

off the two-hitter for his second

save of the season.

Pirates 6, Brewers 5 (10): Co-

lin Moran hit an early three-run

homer, then had an RBI double in

the 10th inning that sent Pitts-

burgh to a win at Milwaukee.

The Pirates withstood a two-

homer performance from the

Brewers’ Daniel Vogelbach to win

the deciding game of this series.

Rangers 1, Orioles 0 (10): Nate

Lowe singled with two outs and

the bases loaded in the 10th inning,

giving host Texas the win over

Baltimore after a pitcher’s duel

between a pair of opening day

starters.

The hit ended a five-game home

losing streak for the Rangers. In

the top of the 10th, Texas right fiel-

der Adolis García threw out Mai-

kel Franco at the plate.

Athletics 3, Tigers 2: Matt Ol-

son scored from second base on a

fielding error by Detroit third

baseman Jeimer Candelario with

two outs in the ninth inning, rally-

ing host Oakland past Detroit for

its eighth straight win.

Sean Murphy hit a tying home

run in the eighth as the A’s swept

the four-game series. Lou Trivino

(1-0) retired three batters for the

win.

Mariners  7,  Astros  2:  Ty

France hit a two-run home run

and six Seattle pitchers combined

on a one-hitter against visiting

Houston. France followed Mitch

Haniger’s two-run triple with a

blast to left field in the decisive

four-run fifth inning to give the

Mariners the series.

Padres’ Hosmer delivers lateDrives in tying, go-aheadruns as San Diego avoidsa sweep by Los Angeles

Associated Press

GREGORY BULL/AP

San Diego Padres’ Eric Hosmer, right, reacts with teammate Fernando Tatis Jr after they scored off a two­RBI double by Tommy Pham during the eighth inning of the Padres’ 5­2 defeat of the Dodgers on Sunday. 

ROUNDUP

PAGE 24 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Tuesday, April 20, 2021

SPORTSOut of nowhere

Bowman’s late move denies Hamlin

win at Richmond ›› Auto racing, Page 19

Hosmer helps Padres to win over Dodgers ›› MLB, Page 23

NEW YORK

Gerrit Cole shook his head,

disgusted. Aaron Hicks put

hands on hips and bowed

his head. By the end of the

afternoon, pretty much all of the New

York Yankees were appalled, along

with their loudly booing fans.

Yoshi Tsutsugo hit a tiebreaking

double off Cole in the seventh inning

that lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-2

win Sunday and a three-game sweep

that extended the Yankees’ losing

streak to five games. New York fell to

an AL-worst 5-10, its poorest start

since 1997.

“I’m frustrated, personally frustrat-

ed,” said AL batting champion DJ Le-

Mahieu, who concluded the Yankees

were “tight and pressing.”

“No one’s going to feel sorry for us,”

he said. “No one’s going to throw softer

or throw easier for us. We’ve got to find

it within ourselves to to continue to get

better and play the way we’re capable

of.”

Opener Andrew Kittredge, Ryan

Yarbrough (1-2), Diego Castillo and

Jeffrey Springs (first big league save)

combined on the Rays’ second three-

hitter of a series in which New York

managed 11 hits in all. Tampa Bay out-

scored the Yankees 17-7, and New

York pushed across just three runs

other than on homers.

“We got great players in that room,”

Yankees manager Aaron Boone insist-

ed. “They do know that at their core,

obviously, we’re getting punched in

the mouth right now.”

Cole (2-1) was hurt by slipshod de-

fense that made three mistakes in the

Rays’ two-run third inning alone, two

by Hicks in center and one by Clint

Frazier in left. One of the three runs off

Cole was unearned, giving the Yan-

kees a major league-high.

Joey Wendle added a ninth-inning

homer off Darren O’Day, prompting

boos from the crowd of 10,606, who

saved their loudest jeers for the final

out.

Bronx cheersLast-place Yankees swept by Rays at home

BY RONALD BLUM

Associated Press

SEE BRONX ON PAGE 22

MLB

PHOTOS BY KATHY WILLENS/AP

Right: Yankees slugger Aaron Judge tosses his batting helmet after strikingout, stranding two runners on base during the fifth inning Sunday against theTampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium in New York. Above: Yankees players leanon the dugout railing during the seventh inning of Sunday’s 4­2 loss, their fifthstraight. The 5­10 Yankees are off to their poorest start since 1997.