m ,m island defense - stripes
TRANSCRIPT
Volume 80 Edition 21 ©SS 2021 MONDAY, MAY 17, 2021 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas
stripes.com
MILITARY
Popular Edelweissmilitary resort toreopen this weekPage 3
MILITARY
Commute to schoolalways an adventurefor Navy officer’s sonPage 5
FACES
Role as fashionicon a memorableone for McGregorPage 18
Oliveira TKOs Chandler in 2nd round for lightweight title ›› MMA, Page 21
KIRISHIMA TRAINING AR-
EA, Japan — Dozens of Japanese,
American and French troops
landed amid pouring rain from a
CH-47 transport helicopter onto a
grassy field at a training area in
southern Japan, part of Saturday’s
joint scenario of defending a re-
mote island from an enemy inva-
sion.
The three nations’ first joint
drills on Japanese soil — dubbed
“ARC21” and which began Tues-
day — come as they seek to step up
military ties amid growing Chi-
nese assertiveness in the region.
Japanese soldiers and their
counterparts from the French ar-
my and the U.S. Marine Corps also
conducted an urban warfare drill
using a concrete building else-
where at the Japanese Self-De-
fense Force’s Kirishima Training CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AP
Japan’s Self-Defense Force soldiers and U.S. Marines, left, take part in a joint military drill Saturday with members of the French army at theKirishima exercise area in Ebino, Miyazaki prefecture, southern Japan.
Island
defenseJapan, US, France holdmilitary drill with eyetoward China presence
BY RICHARD COLOMBO AND
MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press
SEE DEFENSE ON PAGE 6
Some U.S. military health clin-
ics in Europe are preparing to give
the coronavirus vaccine to chil-
dren as young as 12, Army and Air
Force officials said.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is
expected to arrive in Europe early
this week, medical officials said
Friday.
“We will receive enough doses
for all eligible 12-17 year olds to re-
ceive first and second doses,” Air
Force Lt. Col. Elizabeth Erickson,
acting command surgeon for U.S.
European Command, said in a
statement.
The U.S. Food and Drug Admin-
istration on May 10 expanded the
emergency use authorization for
the Pfizer vaccine to include those
aged 12 to 15. The vaccine was al-
ready approved for ages 16 and up.
A Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention advisory commit-
tee also signed off on the two-dose
jab, citing the low risk the vaccine
has posed so far among the age
group in clinical trials.
This will be the first time the
Pfizer vaccine will be available at
U.S. bases in Europe.
Moderna has been the primary
vaccine shipped overseas because
of the ultra-cold storage require-
ments for Pfizer. Some bases have
Military clinics in Europe preparing to givePfizer vaccine to children as young as 12
BY JENNIFER H. SVAN
Stars and Stripes
LAURA BAUER/U.S. Army
Sgt. Gilberto Armento, left, assists with immunizations at a COVID-19vaccination site Thursday in Mesa, Ariz.SEE CLINICS ON PAGE 4
PAGE 2 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, May 17, 2021
BUSINESS/WEATHER
NEW YORK — Retail sales in
the United Stateswere flat in April
after soaring in March, when
many Americans received $1,400
stimulus checks that boosted
spending.
The report Friday from the U.S.
Commerce Department was
worse than the 0.8% rise Wall
Street analysts had expected. But
it wasn’t all bad: March’s number
was revised upward to 10.7%.
Americans started receiving a
third round of stimulus checks
that month, helping retail sales
soar.
The question is whether con-
sumers will continue to spend
without stimulus checks.
“The April retail sales tip the
odds toward slower sales in the
coming months,” said analysts at
Contingent Macro Advisors.
Friday’s report comes amid oth-
er signs the economy is improving
as vaccinations accelerate and
business restrictions are relaxed.
The number of Americans seek-
ing unemployment benefits fell
last week to 473,000, a new pan-
demic low. And consumer confi-
dence hit its highest level last
month since the pandemic began.
Friday’s report covers a third of
all consumer spending, but
doesn’t include services, like hotel
stays or haircuts.
The report on Friday suggests
Americans were heading out last
month to eat instead of shop. Sales
at restaurants and bars rose 3%,
but sales fell at stores that sell
clothing, sporting goods and furni-
ture.
April retail sales flat; stimulus spending wanedAssociated Press
Bahrain87/82
Baghdad103/72
Doha104/82
Kuwait City103/81
Riyadh106/78
Kandahar91/53
Kabul71/57
Djibouti100/82
MONDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Mildenhall/Lakenheath
55/46
Ramstein54/44
Stuttgart54/48
Lajes,Azores62/59
Rota77/62
Morón89/60 Sigonella
88/62
Naples69/60
Aviano/Vicenza61/53
Pápa59/53
Souda Bay72/62
Brussels55/49
Zagan56/44
DrawskoPomorskie
59/46
MONDAY IN EUROPE
Misawa62/56
Guam83/80
Tokyo72/65
Okinawa78/75
Sasebo65/62
Iwakuni65/62
Seoul73/49
Osan72/52
Busan63/58
The weather is provided by the American Forces Network Weather Center,
2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
TUESDAY IN THE PACIFIC
WEATHER OUTLOOK
TODAYIN STRIPES
American Roundup ...... 11Classified .................... 13Comics .........................16Crossword ................... 16Faces .......................... 18Opinion ........................ 14Sports .................... 19-24
Military rates
Euro costs (May 17) $1.18Dollar buys (May 17) 0.8034British pound (May 17) $1.37Japanese yen (May 17) 106.00South Korean won (May 17) 1,101.00
Commercial rates
Bahrain (Dinar) .3769Britain (Pound) 1.4101Canada (Dollar) 1.2112China (Yuan) 6.4371Denmark (Krone) 6.1241Egypt (Pound) 15.6593Euro .8235Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7675Hungary (Forint) 292.44Israel (Shekel) 3.2750Japan (Yen) 109.36Kuwait (Dinar) .3009
Norway (Krone) 8.2335
Philippines (Peso) 47.75Poland (Zloty) 3.73Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7500Singapore (Dollar) 1.3317
South Korea (Won) 1,126.76Switzerland (Franc) .9023Thailand (Baht) 31.36Turkey (New Lira) �8.4549
(Military exchange rates are those availableto customers at military banking facilities in thecountry of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., purchasing British pounds in Germany), check withyour local military banking facility. Commercialrates are interbank rates provided for referencewhen buying currency. All figures are foreigncurrencies to one dollar, except for the Britishpound, which is represented in dollarstopound, and the euro, which is dollarstoeuro.)
INTEREST RATES
Prime rate 3.25Interest Rates Discount �rate 0.75Federal funds market rate �0.093month bill 0.0130year bond 2.37
EXCHANGE RATES
Monday, May 17, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3
MILITARY
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan —
A group of Japanese peace activ-
ists is up in arms about Air Force
CV-22 Osprey aircraft flying over
parts of Tokyo with the barrels of
their unloaded machine guns visi-
ble.
The Hamura Peace Committee
shared its collected observations
of flights from Yokota with the
Mainchi newspaper, which pub-
lished the group’s data May 10.
Members of the group told the
newspaper they’ve seen the hy-
brid aircraft with its weaponry vis-
ible dozens of times since June
2018.
The tilt-rotor CV-22 Ospreys
may be armed with one .50-caliber
machine gun mounted on the rear
ramp, according to an Air Force
fact sheet. The ramp must be low-
ered for the weapon to be seen or
fired.
Yokota’s Ospreys belong to the
353rd Special Operations Group,
headquartered at Kadena Air
Base, Okinawa. In an email Thurs-
day to Stars and Stripes, group
spokesman 1st Lt. Josh Thompson
said an Osprey’s machine gun is
kept stowed and unloaded during
flight and is only loaded for use
over approved training areas.
“This is the standard configura-
tion for flight,” he said. “We at-
tempt to minimize impacts on our
local community while ensuring
we maintain expert proficiency of
flying operations.”
Flight with the machine gun vis-
ible is a standard configuration,
Thompson said, adding that air-
crew and community safety are
top priorities.
“We attempt to minimize im-
pacts on our local community
while ensuring we maintain ex-
pert proficiency of flying oper-
ations,” he said.
Kazutada Furuta, secretary
general of Nishitama Group,
which campaigns for closing the
air base, said the sight of openly
armed aircraft flying low and reg-
ularly over parts of the city is ap-
palling to his group’s members.
He also said, however, that they
don’t believe the crews would ac-
tually fire the weapons.
The Hamura Peace Committee,
which is in a city adjacent to the air
base, has complained about armed
Ospreys before. And in March, an
unrelated but similar incident
prompted the 1st Marine Air Wing
to delete a tweet with a photograph
of a CH-53 Super Stallion helicop-
ter in flight over Okinawa.
Complaints from peace activists
on the island followed local media
reports about the photograph,
which included the sun setting
over a .50-caliber machine gun
barrel.
Marine Maj. Ken Kunze, a wing
spokesman, at the time said the
photograph drew many positive
comments on Twitter but also
many negative ones. He said he
took the tweet down, not because
he believed it was inappropriate,
but because he could not respond
to all the remarks.
“The weapon in the lower left of
the photo that is pointing away
from any populated area below
was locked in the up position for
travel, and no Marine was man-
ning it when the photo was taken,”
he wrote by email to Stars and
Stripes at the time.
Tokyo-based Ospreys draw more complaints from anti-base groupBY SETH ROBSON
AND HANA KUSUMOTO
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @[email protected]: @HanaKusumoto
forces in Europe.
The U.S. activity in Greece
comes at a time of strained rela-
tions with ally Turkey, which has
also been at odds with Athens in
connection with an energy rights
dispute in the eastern Mediterra-
nean.
Some security analysts have
suggested that if relations further
deteriorate between Ankara and
Washington, bases in Greece
STUTTGART, Germany — The
United States and Greece will
likely update a bilateral security
pact this summer in a move that
could pave the way for more
American military missions in the
region, Greece’s defense chief has
said.
Greek Defense Minister Nikos
Panagiotopoulos, describing mili-
tary ties with the U.S. as being at
an “all-time high,” said that the
Mutual Defense Cooperation
Agreement between the countries
is being amended.
The deal could “bring in more
locations” where U.S. troops can
operate in Greece, Panagiotopou-
los said Tuesday during an online
discussion at the Center for Stra-
tegic and International Studies.
The plan could also “enhance
what is happening at the selected
locations in operation right now,”
he said.
The agreement could be final-
ized within two months.
Panagiotopoulos’ comments
are the latest signal that Washing-
ton is looking to bolster its position
in the eastern Mediterranean,
where Russia has stepped up mil-
itary activities and where China is
gaining influence as a financial
stakeholder at various European
ports.
Beijing is “very methodically,
very patiently, very systematical-
ly — like everything China does —
expanding its strategic posture in
the region,” Panagiotopoulos said.
During the past three years, the
U.S. has gradually boosted oper-
ations in Greece at multiple bases.
Most recently, the U.S. Navy in
October muscled up in the eastern
Mediterranean when it decided to
homeport the USS Hershel “Woo-
dy” Williams at its Souda Bay
base in Crete, a first for a U.S. ship
in at least 40 years.
Since 1969, Souda Bay has
mainly served as a logistics hub,
serving ships transiting the re-
gion, including aircraft carriers.
Beyond Souda Bay, the U.S. op-
erates MQ-9 Reaper drones in La-
rissa as well as at facilities in
Alexandroupoli, where a port
plays a key role for rotating U.S.
could eventually be an operation-
al alternative to Turkey’s Incirlik
Air Base.
Washington, however, has giv-
en no indication that it intends to
move forces out of Turkey, where
the U.S. Army also operates a mis-
sile defense radar at a remote
base in Kuerecik.
US, Greece look to grow Mediterranean allianceBY JOHN VANDIVER
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @john_vandiver
KELLY M. AGEE/U.S. Navy
The Expeditionary Sea Base USS Hershel “Woody” Williams arrives at Souda Bay, Greece, for a port call in November.
dents.
All Edelweiss visitors must ei-
ther show proof of being fully vac-
cinated or provide a negative CO-
VID-19 test for those ages 7 and
up. The resort will accept either a
negative PCR test dated within 48
hours of arrival or a negative anti-
gen test dated within 24 hours of
arrival.
Masks and social distancing will
be required in the common areas
WIESBADEN, Germany — The
popular Edelweiss military resort
in the Bavarian Alps plans to reo-
pen this week after a six-month hi-
atus.
The resort will reopen Friday,
said Brad Hays, a spokesman for
the lodge.
Reservations at the Edelweiss,
which was forced to close in No-
vember as infection rates spiked
across Germany, have been com-
ing in fast, Hays said.
“I think people are definitely
ready to get out and travel,” he
said.
Located in the picturesque town
of Garmisch in southern Bavaria,
the Edelweiss, an Armed Forces
Recreation Center, offers vaca-
tioning service members, eligible
family members and Defense De-
partment civilians lodging, res-
taurants and recreation options.
Edelweiss’ reopening comes as
the rest of Bavaria begins to loos-
en some of its coronavirus restric-
tions. Earlier this month, state of-
ficials announced that beer gar-
dens and the outdoor areas of res-
taurants could reopen in parts of
Bavaria where the coronavirus in-
cidence is below a weekly average
of 100 new cases per 100,000 resi-
of the resort. The management
recommends that all transactions
be made using a card or be
charged to the room to reduce
cash transactions.
Because of travel restrictions in
place for certain areas of Germa-
ny, the resort said it would main-
tain a two-day cancellation policy.
Edelweiss US resort in Bavaria to reopen after long coronavirus closure BY DAVID EDGE
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @DavidEdge96798393
PAGE 4 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, May 17, 2021
also received the one-dose John-
son & Johnson vaccine. Both vac-
cines are authorized for ages 18
and up.
Once it arrives, the Pfizer vac-
cine will be available at all Army
military treatment facilities in Eu-
rope, said Gino Mattorano, a
spokesman for Regional Health
Command Europe. Each clinic
will announce when the vaccine
will be available at their location,
he said.
Air Force bases in Europe are
expected to begin distributing the
Pfizer vaccine this week, said 2nd
Lt. Charis Bryan, a spokeswoman
for U.S. Forces in Europe — Air
Forces Africa.
“DOD affiliated personnel ages
12-17 will be the primary recip-
ients, but additional categories
may also receive this vaccination
if they choose,” Bryan said in a
statement Friday.
Distribution may vary by loca-
tion, she said.
Several Army bases have an-
nounced tentative plans for Pfizer
immunization clinics for ages 12 to
17, with appointments available
at:
https://informatics-
stage.health.mil/COVAX/
The Wiesbaden Army Health
Clinic has set aside May 27 from 2
p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Hainerberg
Bookmart in the base strip mall in
Wiesbaden. Appointments will
open once the vaccine arrives, the
clinic’s Facebook page said.
In Belgium, SHAPE Healthcare
Facility has penciled in May 24,
pending vaccine arrival, a Face-
book announcement said. One Sat-
urday vaccination clinic is also
planned.
At Landstuhl Regional Medical
Center, first-dose immunizations
are tentatively planned for May
24-27 and June 2.
Ramstein Air Base said due to
freezer storage limitations, the
base will continue to offer only the
Moderna vaccine to eligible bene-
ficiaries 18 and older. Ramstein
beneficiaries are eligible to re-
ceive the Pfizer immunization at
LRMC.
U.S. Naval Hospital Naples, the
largest Navy hospital in Europe,
did not immediately say Friday
whether it would be offering the
Pfizer vaccine.
Mattorano said the Pfizer vac-
cine will be shipped to facilities
that have ultra-cold storage capa-
bility. From there, it will be redis-
tributed to clinics to support vac-
cination events for those ages 12 to
17.
The vaccine can be stored for up
to 14 days at facilities that do not
have ultra-cold storage, he said.
Clinics: US bases in Europe to provide shots for those 12-17FROM PAGE 1
[email protected]: @stripesktown
WAR/MILITARY
KABUL, Afghanistan — A
three-day cease-fire marked by
violent attacks — most claimed by
Islamic State — ended Sunday in
Afghanistan amid calls for renew-
ed peace talks between the gov-
ernment and Taliban.
Taliban political spokesman Su-
hail Shaheen said the negotiating
teams of the government and the
Islamic Emirate, as the Taliban
refer to their ousted regime, met
briefly Saturday in the Middle
Eastern State of Qatar. They re-
newed their commitment to find-
ing a peaceful end to the war and
called for an early start to talks
that have been stalled, he said.
The U.S. has been pressing for
accelerated talks as it withdraws
the last of its 2,500-3,500 soldiers
and NATO its remaining 7,000 al-
lied forces.
Even as the Taliban and govern-
ment signed on to the cease-fire,
which was declared to mark the
Islamic holiday of Eid-al-Fitr, vio-
lence continued unabated in Af-
ghanistan. A bombing Friday in a
mosque north of the capital killed
12 worshippers, including the
prayer leader. Another 15 people
were wounded. The Taliban de-
nied involvement and blamed the
government intelligence agency.
In a statement Sunday, an ISIS
affiliate took responsibility for the
mosque attack, saying its fighters
planted an explosive device in “a
worship place for disbelievers Su-
fis,” killing the “apostate Imam,”
or prayer leader. The statement
claimed 40 worshippers were
wounded.
ISIS also claimed it blew up sev-
eral electrical grid stations over
the weekend. That left the capital
Kabul in the dark for much of the
three-day holiday that followed
the Muslim fasting month of Ra-
madan.
In posts on its affiliated web-
sites, ISIS claimed additional at-
tacks over the last two weeks that
destroyed 13 electrical grid sta-
tions in several provinces. The sta-
tions bring imported power from
the Central Asian countries of Uz-
bekistan and Tajikistan.
The attacks have left nine prov-
inces including Kabul with dis-
rupted power supplies, said San-
ger Niazai, a government spokes-
man. There was also concern that
local warlords, demanding pro-
tection money from the govern-
ment to safeguard stations in ar-
eas they control, may have been
behind some of the destruction.
At least one local warlord was
arrested last year after demand-
ing protection money.
Calls mount for peace talks in AfghanistanAssociated Press
RAHMAT GUL/AP
Schoolgirls sit inside a classroom with bouquets of flowers on empty desks as a tribute to those killed inthe brutal May 8 bombing of the Syed AlShahda girls school, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sunday.
Vandenberg renamed to Space Force Base
VANDENBERG SPACE
FORCE BASE, Calif. — Califor-
nia’s Vandenberg Air Force Base
was renamed Friday as a U.S.
Space Force Base.
The name was changed to Van-
denberg Space Force Base during
a ceremony on the parade field at
the sprawling base on the state’s
Central Coast, which tests ballistic
missiles and conducts orbital
launches for defense, science and
commercial purposes.
Vandenberg’s host unit, the
30th Space Wing, is being re-
named Space Launch Delta 30,
under Space Operations Com-
mand.
From The Associated Press
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Navy
MQ-4C Tritons will join Air Force RQ-4
Global Hawk surveillance drones on a tem-
porary deployment to Japan for the first
time this summer, according to Japan’s De-
fense Ministry.
The Guam-based drones will arrive in Ja-
pan after mid-May in “the midst of an in-
creasingly severe security environment
surrounding the country,” the ministry said
in an undated message on its website.
The deployment is “critical to enhance
[intelligence surveillance and reconnais-
sance] activities by both countries,” the
message said.
U.S. forces have temporarily deployed
Guam-based Global Hawks to Japan since
2014. The Tritons, which arrived on Guam
in January 2020, are similar to Global
Hawks but specialized for maritime sur-
veillance.
“This deployment is intended to demon-
strate U.S. commitment to Japan’s Defense
and will be beneficial to security of Japan
by strengthening the ability of maritime
surveillance around Japan, given the in-
creasingly active maritime activities by
surrounding countries,” the ministry’s
message said.
U.S. Forces Japan and the 7th Fleet did
not provide answers to questions sent by
email Monday about the Tritons coming to
Japan.
The Global Hawks’ deployment was con-
firmed by 5th Air Force spokeswoman
Capt. Andrea Valencia in an email Tuesday.
“Pacific Air Forces will rotate RQ-4 Glob-
al Hawks to Yokota AB, Japan, from Ander-
sen AFB, Guam, due to the more favorable
weather in the Kanto Region during ty-
phoon season and to maximize their ability
to support theater-wide operations,” she
said. “This move ensures persistent recon-
naissance in a region where challenges to a
free and open Indo-Pacific continue to in-
crease.”
Valencia declined, citing operational se-
curity, to answer questions about the num-
ber of aircraft or personnel who would de-
ploy with the drones.
Last summer, members of the Guam-
based 4th Reconnaissance Squadron oper-
ated five Global Hawks from the home of
USFJ in western Tokyo.
According to the aircraft’s manufacturer,
Northrop Grumman, the Global Hawk flies
at 60,000 feet and has a line of sight to tar-
gets more than 340 miles away.
The exact range of the aircraft’s cameras
and sensors is classified, but a Global Hawk
flying near the Korean Demilitarized Zone
could see well beyond the Yalu River that
marks North Korea’s border with China.
Northrop Grumman says the Triton,
which it also makes, can detect, track, clas-
sify and identify ships at sea, and can stay
airborne for more than 24 hours.
Guam Tritons to join Global Hawks in Japan in summerBY SETH ROBSON
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @SethRobson1
MICHAEL MURPHY/U.S. Air Force
A U.S. Navy MQ4C Triton surveillancedrone taxis at Andersen Air Force Base,Guam, last year.
Monday, May 17, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 5
MILITARY
JOINT BASE PEARL HAR-
BOR-HICKAM, Hawaii — As the
son of a career Navy officer, 18-
year-old Jonah Lee has traveled
extensively, having lived in Italy,
California, Washington, Florida,
Maryland and Japan.
But one of the most intriguing
journeys in his young life is the
daily commute to high school via
kayak that he makes across a
quarter-mile-wide channel in
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
“I always joke with my friends
that when I have grandkids I’ll be
like, ‘Back in my day we had to
kayak to school — upstream both
ways,’” Lee told Stars and Stripes
during a recent interview at the
pier at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-
Hickam. He stores his kayak there
during the school day.
“It’s always awesome,” said
Lee, who is also a voracious surfer.
“If you’re sleepy, your feet get wet
and you’re like, ‘Whoa!’”
Lee’s physician father, Capt.
Benjamin Lee, was transferred to
the base in 2018, and the family
settled into military housing on
nearby Ford Island.
Lee, meanwhile, settled into
10th grade at Radford High
School, a public school just outside
the base. In a life already filled
with frequent transitions, this one
was particularly difficult — a “tri-
ple whammy,” as Lee describes it.
It was his first time in Hawaii,
his first foray away from home-
schooling and his first experience
with advanced placement courses
and classmates.
“It was a really crazy thing,” he
recalled.
But he thrived, joining the
school’s swim, cross-country and
track teams for each season and
reveling in new perspectives from
an array of teachers.
Andrea Fitzgerald, his teacher
for advanced placement classes in
world history and macro- and mi-
cro-economics, described Lee as
“enthusiastic, driven, an outside-
the-box kind of guy.”
“As a teacher, you can see in a
student when the wheels are truly
turning,” she said. “And whatever
kind of topics we were on, you
could see that he was taking the in-
formation, understanding the con-
nections … and asking the ques-
tion that went beyond the surface
of what we’re looking at.”
Just before Lee’s junior year
was to begin, his parents bought a
home in Ewa, a suburban commu-
nity on the far side of Pearl Harbor
from the base. It was in a different
school district and meant he
would attend Campbell High
School, a few minutes away from
his new home.
But with a new cadre of friends
and prized teachers, Lee said he
decided to finish high school at
Radford, a choice his parents sup-
ported. But it would mean a long
round-trip commute on a congest-
ed freeway each day.
His father broached the idea of
kayaking to school.
“You can sit in H-1 traffic for an
hour, or you can get your feet
wet,” Lee recalls his father saying.
His father had in fact already
been considering a kayak com-
mute for himself to the base.
“When I was in Japan, a friend
of ours transferred to Hawaii, and
he commuted by kayak,” said the
elder Lee, who uses the same
mode of transportation to his job.
“I was very intrigued by the idea.”
He believed his son, the young-
est of four children, had the stick-
to-itiveness to continue making
the trek in the months to come.
The high-schooler often bikes
the 4 miles from his home to the
Ewa Beach boat dock, kayaks for
20 to 30 minutes and then a school
chum picks him up in a car for the
roughly 4-mile trip to the school.
“There’s always cool things to
see, whether it’s turtles or fish,”
the high school senior said.
“Every morning you get to see
the pre-sunrise and then when you
go back you see the sunset.”
And the occasional Navy ship or
submarine bobs past.
He recalled crossing through
heavy fog one morning.
“I look to my left, and I see this
black thing in the fog,” he said.
“I’m thinking, ‘I hope that’s not
what I think it is.’ I keep on pad-
dling, and then I see the sub com-
ing through.”
Keeping dry is no simple mat-
ter.
“If it rains, you get wet. I go rain
or shine,” he said. “I carry most of
my stuff in a waterproof bag. Kay-
aking definitely teaches you logis-
tics. You have to organize.”
The coronavirus pandemic led
to more virtual class time, but
even on those days Lee usually
makes the trip over for sports
practice.
He is set to graduate later this
month, but his adventures on wa-
ter are only beginning.
He is headed to the Coast Guard
Academy in New London, Conn.,
and begins orientation in late
June. He was accepted into the
Naval Academy at Annapolis, but
ultimately decided the Coast
Guard’s mission and lifestyle suit
him better.
“I’m definitely going to miss
this commute, that’s for sure,” Lee
said of his impending move.
“I’ll miss my friends, but I guess
as a military kid you get used to
that,” he said. “You move on. It
teaches you to be thankful for
what you have and make the most
of what you have.”
Getting hisfeet wet
[email protected]: @WyattWOlson
WYATT OLSON/Stars and Stripes
Jonah Lee, an 18yearold high school senior in Hawaii, kayaks past Navy ships at Joint Base PearlHarborHickam, Hawaii, on April 23.
Journey to school is an adventurefor Navy officer’s son in Hawaii
BY WYATT OLSON
Stars and Stripes
Jonah Lee
Jonah Lee, a senior at RadfordHigh School, Hawaii, with hisfather, Navy Capt. Benjamin Lee,while kayaking at Pearl Harbor.
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWA-
KUNI, Japan — Abandoned bicycles, for-
lorn and rusted, sagging on flattened tires,
add up over time to a multitude of eye-
sores on this air station south of Hiroshi-
ma.
A volunteer effort this spring collected
hundreds of those bicycles that ultimately
may be sold for scrap. The proceeds will
go toward programs that benefit service
members, such as free gear rental at the
base outdoor recreation office, according
to MCAS Iwakuni spokesman Maj. Joshua
Diddams.
Marine Corps spouse Tracy Lupient
took part in the roundup on Earth Day,
April 22. The project started in a conver-
sation with Shannon Wiltshire, a Navy
spouse, about doing something to get rid
of all the bikes stacked around the base.
From there, Wiltshire organized the event
with help from the Single Marine Pro-
gram, Lupient said.
“I think the event turned out well, peo-
ple were really willing to help out,” she
said in a phone interview Wednesday.
The daylong roundup took in scores of
bikes, but there’s work left to be done.
“We have tagged about 524 bikes and
collected about 136 bikes so far,” Marine
Sgt. Timothy Pendley of the Provost Mar-
shal’s Office told Stars and Stripes on
Tuesday. “We are looking at doing anoth-
er upcoming volunteer opportunity to col-
lect the remaining bikes.”
Bicycles are a common mode of trans-
portation for junior enlisted Marines and
sailors who cannot qualify for a car while
they serve at MCAS Iwakuni. But too
many bikes are left behind when their
owners take to sea or move on to their next
duty station.
“What about the Marines and sailors
that are deployed,” Marine Cpl. John
Boyle wrote in a Facebook comment about
the bike roundup. “How can we make sure
that their bikes aren’t recycled?”
Cyclists who register their bikes with
the Provost Marshal’s Office can prevent
the bike from being impounded, Diddams
said. The provost marshal will tag unreg-
istered bikes and collect them after 72
hours if they remain unclaimed. The bikes
are kept 45 days in an impound lot and will
be recycled if still unclaimed.
The bikes collected in April may be do-
nated and reused, Diddams said. Howev-
er, they must be requested by a nonprofit
organization.
Another idea, brought forth by Frank
Geisler on the Facebook post, is to create a
bike-share program with some of the
abandoned bikes, similar to one instituted
a decade ago at Joint Base Lewis-
McChord, Wash. The base started the pro-
gram with 50 blue beach cruisers, accord-
ing to the 62nd Wing Public Affairs.
“That’s another great suggestion!” Did-
dams said in response to Geisler. “We’re
looking into what options we have both le-
gally and logistically.”
Abandoned bikes at Iwakuni air base could be sold for scrapBY JONATHAN SNYDER
Stars and Stripes
[email protected] Twitter: @Jon_E_Snyder
PAGE 6 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, May 17, 2021
Area in the southern Miyazakiprefecture. Around 200 troopstook part in Saturday’s exercises.
On Saturday, the three coun-tries were also joined by Australiain an expanded naval exercise in-volving 11 warships in the EastChina Sea, where tensions withChina are rising around the islandof Taiwan.
The drills come as Japan looksto bolster its military capabilitiesamid a deepening territorial rowwith China in regional seas. Japanis increasingly concerned aboutChinese activity in and around Ja-panese-claimed waters surround-ing the Japanese-controlled Sen-kaku islands, which Beijing alsoclaims and calls Diaoyu.
Since the end of World War II,Japan’s constitution has limitedthe use of force to self-defense. Ja-pan in recent years has continuedto expand its military role, capa-bility and budget.
Japan’s Vice Defense MinisterYasuhide Nakayama, who observ-ed the exercise, stressed the sig-nificance of French participationin the joint exercises regularlyheld between Japan and the Unit-ed States, often with Australia.
“It was a valuable opportunityfor the Japanese Self-DefenseForce to maintain and strengthenits strategic capability necessaryto defend our remote islands,” Na-kayama said. “Together we wereable to show to the rest of theworld our commitment in defend-ing Japanese land, territorial seasand airspace.”
France, which has territories inthe Indian Ocean and the SouthPacific, has strategic interests inthe region.
“It is obviously very importantfor us because we need to be sideby side with people who are shar-ing this part of the world,” Lt. Col.Henri Marcaillou from the Frencharmy told reporters after Satur-
day’s exercise. U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Jere-
my Nelson said the three coun-tries showed they can work to-gether “for a common goal or com-mon cause.”
Britain, which recently adopteda policy of deeper engagement inthe region, is sending the aircraftcarrier Queen Elizabeth and itsstrike group, due to arrive in theregion later this year. Germany isalso set to deploy a frigate to theregion.
Japan and the U.S. have beenpromoting a free and open Indo-Pacific vision of defense and eco-nomic framework based on demo-cratic principles in the area in agroup known as the Quad, whichalso includes Australia and India,seen as a move to counter China’sescalating influence in the region.
China has criticized the U.S.-Ja-panese framework as an exclu-sionist bloc based on a Cold War-era mindset.
CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AP
French army soldiers take part in a joint military drill between Japan SelfDefense Force, French army andU.S. Marines at the Kirishima exercise area in Ebino, Miyazaki prefecture, southern Japan on Saturday.
Defense: Australia joins US, Japanand France in East China Sea drillFROM PAGE 1
MILITARY
LEXINGTON, Va. — The Vir-ginia Military Institute is get-ting its first female commanderof the Corps of Cadets.
Cadet Kasey Meredith took onthe role at a change of commandparade on Friday. She is the firstfemale regimental commanderin VMI’s 182-year history.
The rising senior will be themilitary commander of thecorps, responsible to the com-
mandant of cadets for the train-ing, appearance, discipline,health, welfare and morale ofabout 1,700 cadets.
Meredith told The RoanokeTimes that being the first wom-an in the role is “amazing,” butshe didn’t apply because shewould be the first. Instead, shethought she could contribute alot to the role and that she wouldfind it fulfilling.
Meredith is from Johnstown,
Pa., and plans to join the MarineCorps. But her mother, who wasin the Navy, encouraged her togo to college first. She is major-ing in international studies witha minor in Spanish and has heldnumerous leadership positionsat VMI, mostly recently 1st Bat-talion sergeant major.
“I shot for every opportunitythat I had,” Meredith said. “It’samazing to see the way I’vegrown here.”
VMI gets 1st female Corps of Cadets leaderAssociated Press
One week after the Armychanged its policy to permitfemale service members towear their hair in somethingother than a bun, the verdictfrom social media is anythingbut unanimous.
The change allows women towear ponytails and braids inall duty uniforms, but a com-mon complaint on socialmedia forums like Facebook,Twitter and TikTok, particu-larly from men, is that thechange makes unfair conces-sions to women.
Out of more than 200 com-ments on the Stars and StripesFacebook page, several com-menters, mostly men, pointedout the change as a softeningof Army standards.
The hairstyle change fol-lows another the Army madein January to provide relief tosoldiers suffering migrainesand traction alopecia, a hairloss condition caused by re-peated pulling and tension onthe hair and scalp. The chang-es come from a uniform policyboard helmed by Sgt. Maj.Brian Sanders that met withfemale soldiers in December.
The Army in January saidthe change was also meant tobe more accommodating forBlack women and permits“multiple hairstyles at once,”including twists, braids, locsand cornrows.
Men aren’t the only onestaking to social media to at-tack the Army’s new groomingstandards for women. A re-tired Army master sergeantposted a video on TikTok re-cently that shows her in uni-form with her hair in a pony-tail.
“Yeah right, this is a terri-ble idea. They should have letthe guys have beards instead,”she says while securing herhair in a bun. “C’mon ladies, itisn’t that hard.”
The video had over 25,000views as of Thursday. A bar-rage of comments attached toit accused the creator of beingan unsympathetic leader, in-considerate of Black womenand a “pick me” — a termused online for women whoalign their views with men toreceive their attention or ap-proval.
The video’s creator, whogoes by jelly.bags_ on the vid-eo-sharing app, declined an
interview with Stars andStripes.
An active-duty soldier whogoes by Princess Nadia onTwitter said videos like theseare discouraging for women inthe military whom the newpolicy helps.
“I think the main reasonwhy people disagree with thepony is simply due to lack ofinformation,” she said in aTwitter direct message toStars and Stripes on Wednes-day. “If they sat down and sawthe effects of the buns oncurly and coily hair, I feel asthough they would thinktwice.”
Nadia, 22, said she needs bi-annual shots to help with hertraction alopecia.
“It’s from brushing it backand slicking it into a bun,” shesaid. If critics like the retiredmaster sergeant could see thethin patch of hair on Nadia’shead, “she wouldn’t havemade the video and she wouldunderstand why the regula-tion is necessary.”
The Army policy followssimilar moves by the Navyand the Air Force. The AirForce in March started allow-ing women to wear braids andponytails; the Navy has per-mitted these hairstyles since2018.
In April, the Navy removedsubjective words like “fad-dish” and “eccentric” from itsgrooming regulations.
The Marine Corps Head-quarters Public Affairs Officedid not respond to phone andemail queries from Stars andStripes Wednesday andThursday about their femalegrooming regulations.
Army veteran Celeste Fla-herty told Stars and Stripesvia Facebook Messenger onFriday that she would like tosee male soldiers stop count-ing a win for women as a lossfor men.
“Let’s be supportive of ourprofessional counterparts andcolleagues,” she said. “Chang-es to come may address theoutdated standards of malegrooming. But this changeisn’t about male grooming, it’sabout female hair standards.Not everything revolvesaround males. Be happy foryour female counterparts, thisis a productive change.”
Online critics chideloosened hair rulesfor women in Army
BY ERICA EARL
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @ThisEarlGirl
Monday, May 17, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 7
VIRUS OUTBREAK
Like more than 120 million other
Americans, Jan Massie is fully
vaccinated against COVID-19 and
can pretty much give up wearing a
mask under the latest guidance
from the Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention. But she’s still
covering her face, even as the tem-
perature rises in her native Alaba-
ma, because of benefits she says
are too great to give up.
The retired educator didn’t
catch the illness caused by the new
coronavirus, and she also didn’t
get the flu or her twice-yearly colds
while masked during the pandem-
ic. Unlike some, she’s not gotten
any hostile blowback in public for
wearing a mask. So why quit now?
“I’ve worn a mask where it real-
ly wasn’t required,” Massie, who
lives in suburban Birmingham,
said Saturday. “Many people,
more than I expected, still are,
too.”
With COVID-19 cases on the de-
cline after more than 580,000
deaths and with more than a third
of the U.S. population fully vacci-
nated, millions are deciding
whether to continue wearing face
masks, which were both a shield
against infection and a point of
heated political debate over the
last year. People have myriad rea-
sons for deciding to stop, or contin-
uing to wear, a mask.
Many are ready to put aside the
sadness, isolation and wariness of
the pandemic. Ditching face
masks — even ones bedazzled with
sequins or sports team logos — is a
visible, liberating way to move
ahead. Yet others are still worried
about new virus variants and the
off-chance they might contract the
virus and pass it along to others,
though the risks of both are greatly
reduced for those who are fully
vaccinated.
The CDC last week said fully
vaccinated people — those who are
two weeks past their final dose of a
COVID-19 vaccine — can quit
wearing masks outdoors in crowds
and in most indoor settings and
give up social distancing. Partially
vaccinated or unvaccinated peo-
ple should continue wearing
masks, the agency said.
The guidance still calls for
masks in crowded indoor settings
including buses, airplanes, hospi-
tals, prisons and homeless shel-
ters. But it clears a path toward re-
opening workplaces, schools and
other venues that went dark dur-
ing the pandemic.
Some will keep masks despite new guidelinesBY JAY REEVES
Associated Press
BEN GRAY/AP
People go maskless on the Atlanta Beltline on Friday after the CDC updated their mask guidelines forCOVID19 vaccinated people. Despite the update, some say they will continue wearing masks.
LONDON — Travelers in En-
gland were packing their bags,
bartenders were polishing their
glasses and performers were
warming up as Britain prepared
Sunday for a major step out of lock-
down — but with clouds of worry
on the horizon.
Excitement at the reopening of
travel and hospitality vied with
anxiety that a more contagious vi-
rus variant first found in India is
spreading fast and could delay fur-
ther plans to reopen.
Cases of the variant have more
than doubled in a week in the U.K.,
defying a sharp nationwide down-
ward trend in infections and
deaths won by hard-earned
months of restrictions and a rapid
vaccination campaign. A surge of
testing and stepped-up vaccina-
tion effort was being conducted in
the northern England areas har-
dest hit by that variant.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock
said the variant, formally known
as B.1.617.2, is more transmissible
than the U.K.’s main strain and “it
is likely it will become the dom-
inant variant.”
“This isn’t over yet,” Hancock
told the BBC on Sunday. “The vi-
rus has just gained a bit of pace and
we’ve therefore all got to be that bit
much more careful and cautious.”
On Monday, people in England
will be able to eat a restaurant
meal indoors, drink inside a pub,
go to a museum, hug friends and
visit one another’s homes for the
first time in months. A ban on over-
seas holidays is also being lifted,
with travel now possible to a short
list of countries with low infection
rates. Scotland, Wales and North-
ern Ireland are following similar
but slightly different reopening
paths.
Patrick Dardis, chief executive
of brewery and pub chain Young’s,
said the indoor opening — which
follows the reopening of outdoor
patios and beer gardens last
month — is “a big step back on to
the path to normality.”
“The weather has been pretty
dire, and people are hardy, but we
really needed this next step to
come,” he said.
But hospitality and entertain-
ment venues say they won’t be
able to make money until they can
open at full capacity. That’s due to
happen June 21, the date set by the
government for lifting its remain-
ing COVID-19 restrictions, includ-
ing social distancing and mask-
wearing rules.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson
has said if the new variant causes a
big surge in cases, it could scupper
that plan.
Britain has recorded almost
128,000 coronavirus deaths, the
highest reported toll in Europe.
But new infections have plummet-
ed to an average of around 2,000 a
day, compared with nearly 70,000
a day during the winter peak, and
deaths have fallen to single figures
a day.
Almost 70% of British adults
have received a first dose of a coro-
navirus vaccine, and more than
37% have had both doses.
Health officials, backed by the
army, are carrying out surge test-
ing in Bolton and Blackburn in
northwest England, where cases
of the new variant are clustered,
and pop-up vaccination sites have
been set up to speed the inocula-
tion drive. Across the country, the
government is shortening the gap
between doses for people over 50
from 12 to eight weeks in a bid to
give them more protection.
Hancock said scientists had a
“high degree of confidence” that
current vaccines work against the
Indian-identified variant.
Critics of Britain’s Conservative
government say lax border rules
allowed the new variant to enter
the country. They accuse the gov-
ernment of delaying a ban on vis-
itors from India, which is experi-
encing a devastating coronavirus
outbreak, because it is seeking a
trade deal with the vast country.
The government denies that its
health policies were influenced by
political or trade considerations.
Mark Walport, a member of the
government’s Scientific Advisory
Group for Emergencies, said Bri-
tain was at a “perilous moment,”
and people should be cautious with
their new freedoms.
“My advice is that just because
you can do something doesn’t nec-
essarily mean you should,” he told
Sky News. “As far as possible, so-
cialize outside, maintain social
distancing. If you’re going to hug,
hug cautiously.”
UK set to reopen but new variant sparks worryAssociated Press
Turkey eases restrictionsbut keeps many curfews
ISTANBUL — Turkey’s interior
ministry on Sunday lifted a full
lockdown that had ordered people
to stay home to fight COVID-19 in-
fections, shifting to a less-restric-
tive program that still involved
curfews on weeknights and week-
ends.
In a new directive, the ministry
called the steps that apply from
Monday to June 1 a “gradual nor-
malization.”
Shopping malls will be able to
reopen. Some businesses will re-
main closed, including gyms and
cafes, but restaurants will be able
to offer take away in addition to
delivery. Preschools will resume
in-person education but upper
grades will continue remote learn-
ing.
Turks can return to their work-
places but will have to stay home
from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays
and all day Saturday and Sunday,
with the exception of walking to a
market to buy food. Civil servants
will continue working remotely or
in shifts in offices. Foreign tourists
and workers with special permits
are exempt.
From The Associated Press
PAGE 8 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, May 17, 2021
VIRUS OUTBREAK
ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida’s
major theme parks are adjusting
their face mask policies after the
federal government loosened its
recommendations as more people
get vaccinated for the coronavi-
rus.
Visitors to Walt Disney World
and Universal Studios-Orlando
were allowed Saturday to remove
their masks when they are out-
doors except when they are on at-
tractions, in line or riding a tram
or other transportation.
Masks remain mandatory in-
doors except in restaurants when
seated. Disney requires they be
worn except when actively eating
and drinking.
SeaWorld Orlando and its sister
park, Tampa’s Busch Gardens,
are going even further, allowing
guests who say they are fully vac-
cinated to remove their masks
throughout the parks. The two
parks will not require proof of vac-
cination, but are asking guests to
“respectfully comply.”
The federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention on Thurs-
day said people could stop wear-
ing masks outdoors in crowds and
most indoor settings. The CDC
guidance still calls for wearing
masks in crowded indoor settings
such as buses, planes, hospitals,
prisons and homeless shelters.
WashingtonVANCOUVER — Public health
authorities say a broadband call
center in Vancouver, Wash., has
been temporarily closed because
of a COVID-19 outbreak that has
resulted in 29 confirmed and two
possible cases.
Public Health spokeswoman
Marissa Armstrong said in an
email late Friday that the first
case at the Spectrum Communica-
tions office was reported in mid-
April, with the most recent case
reported Friday, The Columbian
reported.
Armstrong said the business
closed Wednesday, will undergo a
deep cleaning, and will also con-
sult with Labor & Industries be-
fore reopening.
She said those who tested posi-
tive cannot return to work until
they’ve completed their isolation
period and are no longer consid-
ered infectious. Employees identi-
fied as close contacts must quar-
antine for 10 days, according to
Armstrong.
Public Health is recommending
COVID-19 testing for all employ-
ees who have not already been
tested.
MichiganLANSING — A records review
has added 91 previous deaths to
Michigan’s COVID-19 pandemic
total, state health officials said
Saturday.
The state Department of Health
and Human Services also report-
ed 16 new coronavirus deaths,
pushing the statewide toll to
18,607.
The updated totals came the
same day that a new Michigan or-
der took effect under which those
who are fully vaccinated against
COVID-19 don’t need to wear a
mask any longer and people who
aren’t vaccinated don’t have to
wear one outdoors. That change
was announced Friday by Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer after the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Pre-
vention eased mask-wearing
guidance for fully vaccinated peo-
ple.
More than 55% of Michigan res-
idents ages 16 and older have re-
ceived at least one vaccine dose.
The state still has the country’s
highest two-week infection rate,
but it has dropped significantly re-
cently.
ConnecticutYale University is requiring its
faculty and staff to get coronavi-
rus vaccinations before the fall
term, extending a requirement al-
ready imposed for students.
The private university an-
nounced the new requirement
Friday. It said faculty members,
staffers and academic trainees
must be fully inoculated by Aug. 1,
though there are provisions for ex-
emptions for reasons based on
medical conditions or religious or
“strongly held” personal beliefs.
Many Yale staffers are in
unions. The university said it was
discussing the implementation of
the policy with them.
“As a leading global research
university, we have a responsibil-
ity to demonstrate to others the
importance of taking actions
based on evidence,” and there’s
plenty of it showing the vaccines
are safe and effective at prevent-
ing the virus’s spread, Yale Presi-
dent Peter Salovey and Provost
Scott Strobel wrote in a letter to
the Yale community.
MaineA state senator in Maine wants
to create a grant program to help
theaters in the state stay in oper-
ation after struggling through the
coronavirus pandemic.
Sen. Mattie Daughtry of Brun-
swick has introduced a bill that
would provide the grants to per-
forming and cinematic arts ven-
ues.
The program would be part of
the Maine Department of Eco-
nomic and Community Develop-
ment and it would provide money
to the venues “to bridge the gap
between now and when they can
operate in a normal fashion.” The
grants would help businesses “in
the arts that have suffered due to
closure from the COVID-19 crisis
and help keep businesses afloat,”
Daughtry said in a statement.
Daughtry said the proposal
would help make sure venues for
theater, film and music can stay
viable in Maine. The proposal has
been subject to a public hearing
and would face more considera-
tion in legislative committee.
MassachusettsSix Flags New England has reo-
pened, with safety precautions in
place because of the coronavirus
pandemic.
The state on Monday allowed
amusement parks, outdoor water
parks and theme parks to reopen
at half capacity. Six Flags, in Aga-
wam, opened Friday night.
“Rides are now open! See you at
the park!” Six Flags said Saturday
on Facebook.
Reservations are required, and
visitors must wear masks, have
their temperatures checked and
attest to having been healthy for
the prior two weeks.
New HampshireFans of the New Hampshire
Fisher Cats no longer have to wear
masks at the Manchester stadium
if they have been vaccinated
against the coronavirus.
Fisher Cats President Mike
Ramshaw says fans who are not
fully vaccinated will be asked to
wear masks, and some sections at
Delta Dental Stadium will be re-
served for socially-distanced seat-
ing.
Seating is currently at half-ca-
pacity, but officials plan to expand
to full capacity next month.
VermontThe state of Vermont has moved
to phase three of its reopening
plan two weeks earlier than had
been planned.
The state moved to phase three
Friday rather than June 1 because
it has already exceeded the goal of
having more than 60% of the pop-
ulation with at least one dose of a
vaccine against COVID-19.
The new guidance removes the
testing requirement for travel and
decreases event and gathering re-
strictions.
The new gathering sizes will al-
low for one unvaccinated person
per 50-square feet, up to 300 peo-
ple, plus any number of vaccinat-
ed people for indoor events; and
900 people, plus any number of
vaccinated people, outdoors.
On Friday the state also lifted its
mask mandate in line with guid-
ance issued by federal officials.
Masks are still required in
schools, on public transportation,
in health care settings, long term
care facilities and prisons. The
mandate remains in place for
those who are unvaccinated or
partially vaccinated, including
children who are not yet eligible
for a vaccine.
ArkansasNORTH LITTLE ROCK — The
Arkansas National Guard has end-
ed its work at a warehouse in
North Little Rock where it helped
distribute personal protective
equipment during the coronavirus
pandemic.
The Arkansas Division of Emer-
gency Management requested
closure of the warehouse oper-
ations mission as PPE has become
more commercially available and
the workload more manageable
for warehouse staff, according to a
Friday news release from the
Guard.
The Arkansas Democrat-Ga-
zette reported that state officials
said emergency management
staff will send PPE to health care
providers as needed.
Four to six National Guard
members have assisted in PPE
distribution at the warehouse
since April 2020 the four that were
on site returned to their unit on
Friday.
More than 30 other members of
the guard continue to assist the
state with coronavirus vaccine
distribution, management and ad-
ministrative support.
ArizonaPHOENIX — Arizona health of-
ficials on Saturday reported near-
ly 500 new confirmed COVID-19
cases and a dozen new deaths
amid growing vaccination rates.
The state Department of Health
Services reported 474 new cases,
bringing the total since the pan-
demic began to 872,496. The 12
new deaths brought the total num-
ber tallied in Arizona to 17,459.
Daily case numbers in Arizona
have ping-ponged within the 400
to 600-plus range for the past
week. The number of patients hos-
pitalized due to COVID-19 rose
slightly to 595 on Friday. The
number of those in an ICU dipped
to 188.
Pima County officials on Friday
dropped their mandatory mask
mandate for fully vaccinated peo-
ple in line with new guidance from
the U.S. Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention. Tucson’s
mayor will ask the City Council to
do the same in the coming days.
Mask ordinances in Phoenix and
other cities remain in place but
are likely to be eased as well.
Florida amusementparks loosen theirmask requirements
Associated Press
ALEXANDRA WIMLEY, PITTSBURGH POSTGAZETTE/AP
Joseph Amodei, of Wilkinsburg, Pa., an activist with Free the Vaccine, takes a photo of Mani Rai, ofWhitehall, Pa., as he celebrates Saturday after receiving a second dose of the COVID19 vaccine at a clinicorganized by AgeFriendly Greater Pittsburgh, Free the Vaccine and Lively Pittsburgh to serve theBhutanese community at Whitehall Presbyterian Church in Whitehall, Pa.
Monday, May 17, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 9
NATION
PORTLAND, Maine — Nearly
60 years ago, dozens of soldiers as-
sembled for a top secret mission to
Vietnam, three years before Pres-
ident Lyndon Johnson officially
sent U.S. combat troops to the
country.
They never made it. Their air-
plane disappeared between Guam
and the Philippines, leaving be-
hind no trace.
Ever since, their families have
been fighting to get answers about
the mission from the Pentagon.
They also want their loved ones to
be recognized on the Vietnam Vet-
erans Memorial in Washington,
D.C.
For the families, it’s been heart-
wrenching that the soldiers were
not properly memorialized like
others who died in the war.
“I do feel frustrated. It’s almost
as if they never existed as soldiers.
It’s almost like they don’t matter,
that their deaths don’t matter,”
said Dianna Taylor Crumpler, of
Olive Branch, Miss., whose broth-
er, James Henry Taylor, an Army
chaplain, died on the flight.
On Saturday, families of more
than 20 of the fallen soldiers were
on hand for the unveiling of a me-
morial in Columbia Falls to honor
those who perished when the
plane disappeared over the Pacif-
ic Ocean. Columbia Falls is about
190 miles east of Portland.
“It’s incredible,” said Donna El-
lis, of Haslett, Mich., who was 5
when her father, Melvin Lewis
Hatt, died in the crash.
The mission, early in the Viet-
nam war, is shrouded in mystery.
Soldiers from across the coun-
try assembled at Travis Air Force
Base in California before board-
ing a propeller-powered Lock-
heed Super Constellation operat-
ed by the Flying Tiger Line, which
chartered flights for the U.S. mil-
itary.
The 93 U.S. soldiers, three
South Vietnamese and 11 crew
members aboard Flight 739 never
made it to Saigon. It departed
from California and made refuel-
ing stops in Hawaii, Wake Island
and Guam before vanishing on the
next leg of the flight to the Philip-
pines on March 16, 1962.
There was a report of a midair
explosion witnessed by sailors on
a tanker in the area, but no debris
from the aircraft was recovered.
The families have spent years
seeking answers to no avail. Free-
dom of Information Act requests
by Ellis and others yielded redact-
ed documents with little useful in-
formation about the clandestine
mission.
“It turns into a rat maze,” Ellis
said.
Because their deaths were not
in the combat zone, their names
were not allowed on the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial in Washing-
ton.
Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat
from Michigan, took up the cause
and introduced legislation in 2019
to allow the names to be etched on
the memorial, but it never made it
to the Senate floor.
“It is past time that we properly
honor those lost. That’s why I will
continue to work with my col-
leagues and the families of those
lives lost on ways we can honor the
servicemembers,” Peters said.
In Maine, the founder of
Wreaths Across America, which
places wreaths at Arlington Na-
tional Cemetery and at veteran
gravesites around the world, was
moved by the story and decided to
create a monument. The granite
stone has a marble marker with
the names on it.
Soldiers who perished on secret mission memorializedAssociated Press
PHOTOS BY ROBERT F. BUKATY/AP
John Williams, of Peru, Ind., left, and his sisters, Maria McCauley, ofBranson, Mo., center, and Susie Linale, of Omaha, Neb., pose at amonument to honor the military passengers of Flying Tiger Line Flight739 Saturday in Columbia Falls, Maine.
A relative of SP4 Donald Sargentwears his dog tags at theunveiling of the monumentSaturday.
PAGE 10 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, May 17, 2021
NATION
WASHINGTON — President
Joe Biden initially ordered flags
on Saturday to be flown at half-
staff. Then he ordered them back
up at full staff.
It’s because of a quirk that
comes up every half dozen years
or so, when a day that honors two
groups collides — with two differ-
ent protocols for the American
flag. For Peace Officers Memorial
Day, which falls on May 15, flags
are supposed to be at half-staff.
But the third Saturday in May is
marked to honor Armed Forces
Day — and on that day, flags are
supposed to be full staff.
On Saturday, those two days
were one and the same.
Biden’s initial proclamation last
week said that flags should be
flown at half-staff. But he reissued
a proclamation on Friday making
clear that flags were to remain at
full-staff.
The White House declined to
comment on the record about the
change, but suggested that it was
done to remain in compliance with
U.S. codes honoring Armed
Forces Day.
“The flag shall be flown at half-
staff on Peace Officers Memorial
Day, unless that day is also Armed
Forces Day,” reads the U.S. code
pertaining to the flag.
“This weekend is a once-in-a-
decade scenario based on the flag
code,” said a White House official,
who was not authorized to speak
publicly. “As a result, flag code
dictates that the flags should not
be lowered today. The president
stands by the message of his proc-
lamation and his longtime com-
mitment to working with law en-
forcement to build safer commu-
nities.”
Still, a number of Republicans
have criticized Biden, saying that
his decision was done to offend po-
lice officers.
“In his opinion they aren’t wor-
thy of lowering the flags,” Rep.
Brian Mast, R-Fla., wrote on Twit-
ter. “Unacceptable!”
Several other members of Con-
gress and prominent Republicans
amplified his message.
“In case you had any question as
to where President Biden stands
on police, now you know,” said
Kayleigh McEnany, who was
White House press secretary dur-
ing the Trump administration.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Su-
nunu, a Republican, called Bi-
den’s decision “outrageous” and
said his state would continue fly-
ing flags at half-staff.
But to make it more confusing,
some states already have their
flags at half-staff for other reasons
— including Delaware, where Bi-
den is traveling on Saturday after-
noon. Gov. John Carney, a Demo-
crat, has ordered flags at half-staff
in his state in honor of former
Pierre Samuel “Pete” du Pont IV,
who recently died.
Events withdiffering flagrules coincide
BY MATT VISER
The Washington Post
LOS ANGELES — The driver of
a Tesla involved in a fatal crash
that California highway author-
ities said may have been on oper-
ating on Autopilot posted social
media videos of himself riding in
the vehicle without his hands on
the wheel or foot on the pedal.
The May 5 crash in Fontana, a
city 50 miles east of Los Angeles, is
also under investigation by the
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. The probe is the
29th case involving a Tesla that
the federal agency has probed.
In the Fontana crash, a 35-year-
old man identified as Steven Mi-
chael Hendrickson was killed
when his Tesla Model 3 struck an
overturned semi on a freeway
about 2:30 a.m.
Hendrickson was a member of
the Southern California chapter of
aTesla club who posted numerous
photos and video on social media
of his white Model 3. One video on
his Instagram account showed
him riding in the driver’s seat
without his hands on the wheel or
foot on the pedal as the Tesla navi-
gated freeway traffic. The video
included the comment: “Best car-
pool buddy possible even takes the
boring traffic for me.”
Another man was seriously in-
jured when the electric vehicle hit
him as he was helping the semi’s
driver out of the wreck.
Crash victim posted videosriding in Tesla on Autopilot
BY DAISY NGUYEN
Associated Press
HOUSTON — A tiger that frightened residents
after it was last seen briefly wandering around a
Houston neighborhood has been found after a
nearly weeklong search and appears to be un-
harmed, police announced Saturday evening.
In a short video tweeted by Houston police,
Cmdr. Ron Borza can be seen sitting next to the
tiger, petting the animal and saying it has been a
long week searching for it.
“But we got him, and he’s healthy,” Borza said
as the wife of the man police allege is the animal’s
owner sat next to him and fed the tiger with a baby
bottle. The tiger was being held at BARC, the city
of Houston’s animal shelter, but was expected to
be taken Sunday morning to the Cleveland Amory
Black Beauty Ranch, an animal sanctuary in Mur-
chison, Texas, located southeast of Dallas.
Authorities had been searching for the tiger, a
9-month-old male named India, since it was spot-
ted May 9 in a west Houston neighborhood. At the
time, it was nearly shot by an off-duty deputy be-
fore being whisked away in a car by Victor Hugo
Cuevas, who police allege is the owner.
At a news conference later Saturday evening,
Borza said that Cuevas’ wife, Giorgiana, turned
over the tiger to police on Saturday after a friend
of hers reached out to officials at BARC.
“It is Victor’s tiger. That’s what I was told by
(Giorgiana Cuevas) ... She says they’ve had that
animal for nine months,” Borza said. He alleged
that the tiger was passed around to different peo-
ple but that Cuevas’ wife knew where the tiger
was at all times this week as authorities searched
for it.
Police are still trying to determine where exact-
ly the tiger was held this week and if any charges
related to having the tiger will be filed. Tigers are
not allowed within Houston city limits under a city
ordinance unless the handler, such as a zoo, is li-
censed to have exotic animals.
But Cuevas’ attorney, Michael W. Elliott, on Sat-
urday night continued to insist his client doesn’t
own the tiger, saying, “I am not sure it makes any
difference who technically owns India as he does
not have a birth certificate or title.”
“Victor was not the primary owner of India nor
did India stay with him the majority of the time,”
Elliott told The Associated Press. “Victor was
however involved in the caretaking of India often.
Victor loves India as anyone else would love a fa-
vorite pet ... He treated India with love and fantas-
tic treatment in all respects.”
Police: Missing tiger in Texas foundBY JUAN A. LOZANO
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Organizers of
New York City’s Pride events
said Saturday they are banning
police and other law enforcement
from marching in their huge an-
nual parade until at least 2025
and will also seek to keep on-duty
officers a block away from the
celebration of LGBTQ people and
history.
In their statement, NYC Pride
urged members of law enforce-
ment to “acknowledge their harm
and to correct course moving for-
ward.”
“The sense of safety that law
enforcement is meant to provide
can instead be threatening, and at
times dangerous, to those in our
community who are most often
targeted with excessive force
and/or without reason,” the
group said.
It will also increase the event’s
security budget to boost the pres-
ence of community-based securi-
ty and first responders while re-
ducing the police department’s
presence.
Police will provide first re-
sponse and security “only when
absolutely necessary as mandat-
ed by city officials,” the group
said, adding it hoped to keep po-
lice officers at least one city block
away from event perimeter areas
where possible.
Word of the ban came out Fri-
day when the Gay Officers Action
League said in a release it was
disheartened by the decision.
The group called the ban an
“abrupt about-face” and said the
decision “to placate some of the
activists in our community is
shameful.”
The parade is scheduled for
June after the coronavirus pre-
vented many Pride events world-
wide last year, including in New
York which instead hosted vir-
tual performances in front of
masked participants and honored
front-line workers in the pan-
demic crisis.
JULIA WEEKS/AP
NYPD police march along Fifth Avenue during the gay pride parade in New York on June 29, 2014.
NYC Pride parade bans police;Gay officers group ‘disheartened’
BY LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press
Monday, May 17, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 11
AMERICAN ROUNDUP
Teen steals car with2-year-old inside
NJ ROSELLE — A teenage
boy who stole a car with
a toddler inside was charged with
kidnapping and numerous other
counts, authorities said.
The 16-year-old took the car at a
Roselle home, shortly after the ve-
hicle’s owner had arrived there.
according to the Union County
Prosecutor’s Office. The owner
was bringing items from the vehi-
cle into the home when the theft
occurred, and it’s not clear if the
teen knew the 2-year-old boy was
in the car.
Roselle police soon located the
vehicle and began a pursuit that
went into neighboring Elizabeth.
The teen was soon captured there
following a brief foot pursuit, and
the child was found unharmed on
a sidewalk in Roselle and was re-
united with his family a short time
later.
Veterans’ monumentsdefaced in park
GA GAINESVILLE — Po-
lice in northeast Geor-
gia are investigating after some-
one spray-painted graffiti on two
veterans’ monuments.
The Times of Gainesville re-
ported that Gainesville parks em-
ployees discovered the orange
paint on concrete at the base of
one monument honoring veterans
from 20th century wars.
Vandals also painted over the
“All gave some, some gave all” in-
scription on a separate Vietnam
veterans monument.
Gainesville Parks and Recre-
ation spokesperson Julie Butler
Colombini said all the graffiti was
cleaned up.
TV crew attacked whilefilming fight on beach
FL MIAMI BEACH — A
television news crew
was attacked while filming a fight
that broke out in Miami Beach, po-
lice said.
CBS4 reporter Bobeth Yates
and photojournalist Ebenezer
Mends were reporting a story
about recent unruly behavior in
South Beach when a group of peo-
ple turned on them, Yates said
during an 11 p.m. news broadcast.
“Just really shaken up. Been re-
porting for a very long time, don’t
want to date myself, but about 20
years, and I’ve never been at-
tacked like this on a story,” Yates
said. “The ironic part was, we
were actually covering crime on
South Beach.”
The Miami Beach City Commis-
sion recently voted to restrict
early-morning alcohol sales as a
way to combat unruly behavior.
Plane makes emergencylanding on interstate
IL NEW LENOX — A stalled
engine forced the pilot of a
small aircraft to make an emer-
gency landing on Interstate 355
near Interstate 80 south of Chica-
go, according to authorities.
Illinois State Police Master Sgt.
Brian McKinney said the pilot and
three passengers were aboard the
single-engine Beechcraft B24R
when it landed on the southbound
lanes of I-355 near New Lenox.
The 39-year-old pilot, a 15-year-
old girl and two women, 20 and 21,
were taken to Silver Cross Hospi-
tal in New Lenox for evaluation of
minor neck pain, state police said.
The names of the four weren’t im-
mediately released.
“Investigators will be gathering
that information,” said Federal
Aviation Administration spokes-
woman Elizabeth Isham Cory.
Streetcars are back,but no cable cars yet
CA SAN FRANCISCO —
San Francisco’s iconic
cable cars remain sidelined by the
coronavirus pandemic but offi-
cials said the city’s historic street-
cars will start rolling again.
As tourists start trickling back
into San Francisco and the city re-
opens more of its economy, it
plans to restore service of the vin-
tage streetcars that run along
Market Street and the Embarcad-
ero, the mayor’s office said in a
statement.
Mayor London Breed and other
city officials planned to mark the
return of the streetcars and other
public transportation with a cele-
bratory ride to Fisherman’s
Wharf. The San Francisco Munic-
ipal Transportation Authority will
also resume service at subway sta-
tions that have been closed during
the pandemic, the statement said.
Governor signs limitedwine delivery bill
AL MONTGOMERY —
Alabamians will soon be
able to have a bottle of pinot noir
or chardonnay delivered in the
mail after Gov. Kay Ivey signed
wine shipment legislation into
law.
State lawmakers approved the
bill this session after years of de-
bate. The new law sponsored by
Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur,
will allow wineries to obtain a di-
rect wine shipper license from the
Alcoholic Beverage Control Board
to ship limited quantities of wine
directly to Alabama residents 21
and older.
The bill will take effect in three
months which Collins said will
give the state ABC Board time to
work out rules.
Several headstonesvandalized at cemetery
KS MCPHERSON —
McPherson officials
are investigating after seven
headstones, some dating back to
the 1800s, were damaged at a cem-
etery.
The headstones were knocked
over and broken. One was moved
onto nearby railroad tracks,
KAKE-TV reported.
The damages range from $200
to $500. The McPherson Public
Lands Department paid to fix the
headstones. Four have been re-
placed but it could be weeks be-
fore the other three are repaired.
96-year-old woodenschooner returns home
ME PORTLAND — A 96-
year-old wooden
schooner built in Freeport is back
in its home state after being pur-
chased from owners in Massachu-
setts.
The 53-foot Heart’s Desire is
joining a small number of historic
vessels at the Portland Schooner
Co., the Bangor Daily news report-
ed. The other Maine-built schoon-
ers are the Wendameen, Baghee-
ra and Timberwind.
“Our brand is: Maine-built,
wooden, historic and authentic,”
Scott Reischmann said. “We’ll
never buy a boat not built in
Maine.”
Heart’s Desire was designed by
famed marine architect John Al-
den and was built at the T.H. Soule
shipyard in Freeport for A.S. Niel-
son of Marblehead, Mass.
Company to pay $15K forunsolicited telemarketing
KS WICHITA — Genesis
Health Clubs in Wich-
ita has agreed to pay $15,000 in
civil penalties and fees for making
unsolicited telemarking calls to
consumers on the Kansas do-not-
call registry.
The consent agreement with
Genesis Health Clubs Manage-
ment, Inc. also enjoins the compa-
ny from further violations of state
and federal consumer protection
laws, the Kansas Attorney Gener-
al’s Office said in a news release.
The judgment was approved by
Judge Mary Christopher in Shaw-
nee County District Court.
ROBERT F. BUKATY/AP
Darrell Young cleans the mesh on a fyke net set up to capture baby eels migrating upstream on the Penobscot River in Brewer, Maine. The finemesh net funnels the tiny eels into the cylindrical trap.
Making a clean sweep
THE CENSUS
4 The number of artificial reef buoys gone missing in LakeBorgne and the Mississippi Sound. The markers are used for
shrimpers to know where the reefs are to avoid snagging their nets on them, theLouisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said. A combination of weath-er, moving water and time probably pulled buoys away from the 10-acre reefsmade in April 2020 from limestone, reefballs and oyster shells, departmentspokesman Rene LeBreton said in an email. The department expects to replacethe buoys marking the reefs within the next three to four weeks, he said.
From The Associated Press
PAGE 12 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, May 17, 2021
WORLD
FAGRADALSFJALL VOLCA-
NO — Pandemic or no pandemic,
the world will never stand still.
That’s perhaps no clearer than in
Iceland, where a volcano has awo-
ken from a slumber that has lasted
6,000 years, give or take a year or
two.
The glow from the bubbling hot
lava spewing out of the Fagradalsf-
jall volcano can be seen from the
outskirts of Iceland’s capital,
Reykjavík, 20 milesaway. For oth-
ers around the world, there’s al-
ways the live feed.
But this is the Reykjanes Penin-
sula’s first eruption of any volcano
in around 800 years, and nothing
quite matches the exhilaration of
bearing witness to Planet Earth’s
raw power up close and personal.
Fagradalsfjall itself is made up of
the Icelandic words for “beautiful
valley mountain.”
Miguel Angel Morenatti, a Se-
ville-based freelance photogra-
pher for The Associated Press,
loves Iceland and brought forward
his trip to the North Atlantic island
nation when he heard of the erup-
tion on March 19.
“As a landscape photographer,
Iceland is a paradise,” he said.
Getting to the peak is not for ev-
eryone. It’s an arduous climb, tak-
ing two to three hours. But for Mor-
enatti, it’s been an experience that
his five senses have never known.
Morenatti hopes the photos he took
capture some of this “wonder of
nature.”
“When you finish the climb, you
contemplate in amazement what
happens there,” he said. “An im-
pressive image, a Dante-esque
sound, and a smell of gases that re-
aches your throat.”
With international travel slowly
opening up, more and more people
will be able to make the same jour-
ney to marvel at the volcanic show.
And with summer looming, day-
light will stretch into the small
hours, so there won’t be such a hur-
ry to make that arduous trek up.
Still, with the coronavirus pan-
demic still raging in many parts of
the world, Iceland has strict rules
on who can enter the country,
which has a population of around
400,000. Getting fully vaccinated
is key.
Icelandic volcanic eruption is a‘wonder of nature’ after slumber
MIGUEL MORENATTI/AP
People watch as lava flows from an eruption of the Fagradalsfjall volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwest Iceland on Wednesday.
Associated Press
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Is-
raeli airstrikes on Gaza City flat-
tened three buildings and killed at
least 42 people Sunday, Palesti-
nian medics said. Despite the
heavy death toll and international
efforts to broker a cease-fire, Is-
raeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu signaled the fourth
war with Gaza’s Hamas rulers
would rage on.
In a televised address, Netanya-
hu said Sunday evening the at-
tacks were continuing at “full-
force” and will “take time.“ Israel
“wants to levy a heavy price” from
the Hamas militant group, he said,
flanked by his defense minister
and political rival, Benny Gantz, in
a show of unity.
The Israeli air assault early
Sunday was the deadliest single
attack since heavy fighting broke
out between Israel and Hamas
nearly a week ago, marking the
worst fighting here since their
devastating 2014 war in Gaza.
The airstrikes hit a major down-
town street of residential build-
ings and storefronts over the
course of five minutes after mid-
night, destroying two adjacent
buildings and one about 50 yards
down the road.
At one point, a rescuer shouted,
“Can you hear me?” into a hole in
the rubble. “Are you OK?” Min-
utes later, first responders pulled
a survivor out and carried him off
on an orange stretcher. The Gaza
Health Ministry said 16 women
and 10 children were among those
killed, with more than 50 people
wounded, and rescue efforts are
still underway.
Earlier, the Israeli military said
it destroyed the home of Gaza’s
top Hamas leader, Yahiyeh Sin-
war, in a separate strike in the
southern town of Khan Younis. It
was the third such attack in the
last two days on the homes of se-
nior Hamas leaders, who have
gone underground.
Israel appears to have stepped
up strikes in recent days to inflict
as much damage as possible on
Hamas as international mediators
work to end the fighting and stave
off an Israeli ground invasion in
Gaza. In its airstrikes, Israel has
leveled a number of Gaza City’s
tallest office and residential build-
ings, alleging they contain Hamas
military infrastructure. Among
them was the building housing
The Associated Press office and
those of other media outlets.
The latest outbreak of violence
began in east Jerusalem last
month, when Palestinian protests
and clashes with police broke out
in response to Israeli police tactics
during Ramadan and the threat-
ened eviction of dozens of Palesti-
nian families by Jewish settlers. A
focal point of clashes was the Al-
Aqsa Mosque, a frequent flash-
point that is located on a hilltop
compound that is revered by both
Muslims and Jews.
Israeli strikes onGaza kill dozens,topple buildings
Associated Press
KHALIL HAMRA/AP
Palestinians rescue a survivor from under the rubble of a destroyed residential building following deadlyIsraeli airstrikes in Gaza City on Sunday.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The 57-nation
Organization of Islamic Cooperation opened an
emergency meeting Sunday over the heavy fight-
ing between Israel and the Gaza Strip’s militant
Hamas rulers, the first major move among Mid-
east nations still grappling with how to address the
conflict.
While the Arab League and organizations like
the Saudi-based OIC have maintained their view
that the Palestinians should have their own inde-
pendent state, Israel recently has reached recog-
nition deals with several of its members. That, as
well as the concerns of some nations over Hamas,
has seen a somewhat-muted response to the at-
tacks.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki of the
Palestinian Authority, which administers autono-
mous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank,
decried what he called Israel’s “cowardly attacks”
at the start of the meeting.
“We need to tell Allah that we will resist to the
last day,” he said. “We are facing a long-term oc-
cupation. that’s the base of the problem. Crimes
are committed against the Palestinians without
consequences.”
Hussein Ibish, a senior scholar at the Washing-
ton-based Arab Gulf States Institute, said most
Gulf Arab leaders fear Hamas’ rocket fire as “cyn-
ical, dangerous, unnecessarily provocative and
endangering Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza
alike.”
“There won’t be much sympathy for what is
widely viewed in the Gulf as Israel’s heavy-hand-
ed and disproportionate retaliation,” Ibish wrote,
“but it will be much easier for Gulf leaders and
many citizens to regard the exchange as a tragic
conflagration at the expense of ordinary people
brought about by two leaderships over which they
have neither control nor responsibility.”
Islamic nations hold emergency meeting on attacksAssociated Press
Monday, May 17, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 13
WORLD
BANGKOK — The U.S. and
British embassies in Myanmar ex-
pressed concern about reports of
fierce government attacks on a
town in western Chin state, where
the ruling junta declared martial
law because of armed resistance
to military rule.
The fighting began around 6
a.m. Saturday when government
troops reinforced by helicopters
began shelling the western part of
the town of Mindat, destroying
several homes, said a spokesman
of the Chinland Defence Force. It
is a locally formed militia group
opposed to the February coup that
ousted the elected government of
Aung San Suu Kyi.
Helicopters also took part in the
attack, according to the spokes-
man, who spoke on condition of
anonymity for security reasons.
“Mindat town is now under
siege and is bracing for an all-out
assault by the junta troops from
air and by land,” said a statement
by the Chin Human Rights Orga-
nization.
The shadow National Unity
Government, set up by lawmakers
who were blocked by the army
from taking their seats in Parlia-
ment, warned that “within the
next 48 hours, Mindat can poten-
tially become a battleground and
thousands of people are facing the
danger of being displaced.” Many
have already left the town of about
50,000 people, said a resident con-
tacted by phone who was also flee-
ing.
The Mindat Township People’s
Administration, another opposi-
tion grouping, claimed that 15
young men had been seized by
government troops and used as
human shields. It said at least five
defenders of the town had been
killed in clashes and at least 10 oth-
ers wounded.
AP
Anticoup protesters display a party flag of the National League forDemocracy during a demonstration Friday in Yangon, Myanmar.
Reports: Myanmar junta attackstown that resisted military rule
Associated Press
PRAYAGRAJ, India — Police
are reaching out to villagers in
northern India to investigate the
recovery of bodies buried in shal-
low sand graves or washing up on
the Ganges River banks, prompt-
ing speculation on social media
that they were the remains of CO-
VID-19 victims.
In jeeps and boats, the police
used portable loudspeakers with
microphones asking people not to
dispose of the bodies in rivers.
“We are here to help you perform
the last rites,” police said.
On Friday, rains exposed the
cloth coverings of bodies buried in
shallow sand graves on the river-
bank in Prayagraj, a city in Uttar
Pradesh state.
Navneet Sehgal, a state govern-
ment spokesman, on Sunday de-
nied local media reports that more
than 1,000 corpses of COVID-19
victims had been recovered from
rivers in the past two weeks. “I bet
these bodies have nothing to do
with COVID-19,” he said.
He said some villagers did not
cremate their dead, as is custom-
ary, due to a Hindu tradition dur-
ing some periods of religious sig-
nificance and disposed of them in
rivers or graves on riverbanks.
Hundreds of bodies found buried along the Ganges River in IndiaAssociated Press
PAGE 14 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, May 17, 2021
Max D. Lederer Jr., Publisher
Lt. Col. Marci Hoffman, Europe commander
Lt. Col. Richard McClintic, Pacific commander
EDITORIAL
Terry Leonard, [email protected]
Robert H. Reid, Senior Managing [email protected]
Tina Croley, Managing Editor for [email protected]
Sean Moores, Managing Editor for [email protected]
Joe Gromelski, Managing Editor for [email protected]
BUREAU STAFF
Europe/MideastErik Slavin, Europe & Mideast Bureau [email protected] +49(0)631.3615.9350; DSN (314)583.9350
PacificAaron Kidd, Pacific Bureau [email protected]+81.42.552.2511 ext. 88380; DSN (315)227.7380
WashingtonJoseph Cacchioli, Washington Bureau [email protected] (+1)(202)886-0033Brian Bowers, Assistant Managing Editor, [email protected]
CIRCULATION
MideastRobert Reismann, Mideast Circulation [email protected]@stripes.comDSN (314)583-9111
EuropeKaren Lewis, Community Engagement [email protected]@stripes.com+49(0)631.3615.9090; DSN (314)583.9090
PacificMari Mori, [email protected] +81-3 6385.3171; DSN (315)227.7333
CONTACT US
Washingtontel: (+1)202.886.0003633 3rd St. NW, Suite 116, Washington, DC 20001-3050
Reader [email protected]
Additional contactsstripes.com/contactus
OMBUDSMAN
Ernie Gates
The Stars and Stripes ombudsman protects the free flowof news and information, reporting any attempts by the
military or other authorities to undermine the newspaper’sindependence. The ombudsman also responds to concerns
and questions from readers, and monitors coverage forfairness, accuracy, timeliness and balance. The ombudsmanwelcomes comments from readers, and can be contacted by
email at [email protected], or by phone at202.886.0003.
Stars and Stripes (USPS 0417900) is published week-days (except Dec. 25 and Jan. 1) for 50 cents Mondaythrough Thursday and for $1 on Friday by Pacific Stars andStripes, Unit 45002, APO AP 96301-5002. Periodicalspostage paid at San Francisco, CA, Postmaster: Sendaddress changes to Pacific Stars and Stripes, Unit 45002,APO AP 96301-5002. This newspaper is authorized by theDepartment of Defense for members of the military servicesoverseas. However, the contents of Stars and Stripes areunofficial, and are not to be considered as the official viewsof, or endorsed by, the U.S. government. As a DOD newspa-per, Stars and Stripes may be distributed through officialchannels and use appropriated funds for distribution toremote locations where overseas DOD personnel are located.
The appearance of advertising in this publication doesnot constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense orStars and Stripes of the products or services advertised.Products or services advertised shall be made available forpurchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color,religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physicalhandicap, political affiliation or any other nonmerit factor ofthe purchaser, user or patron.
© Stars and Stripes 2021
stripes.com
OPINION
WASHINGTON
After graduating from West Point
in 1971, Sen. Jack Reed, the
Rhode Island Democrat now in
the first year of his fifth term,
jumped out of airplanes for the 82nd Air-
borne. Today he is the most important per-
son concerning the nation’s increasingly im-
periled security. As chairman of the Armed
Services Committee, he must plan for the in-
creasing speed of change in military tech-
nologies, including cyber, and precise and
maneuverable hypersonic (speeds more
than Mach 5) weapons. These make para-
chutes, and even the planes that Reed jump-
ed from, seem as prehistoric as spears.
Today’s most expensive U.S. weapons
platform, the F-35 strike fighter, of which
the Defense Department currently plans to
purchase almost 2,500 in the next half-cen-
tury, was conceived, Reed says, in the 1990s.
It has a projected 66-year service life. Real-
ly? Granted, the B-52, which came into ser-
vice in 1955, is still flying, some with crews a
third of the age of their aircraft. But is this a
template for 21st-century defense planning,
given the velocity of change? What Reed re-
quires of his congressional colleagues, and
of military and defense industry planners —
particularly those who author projections
encompassing more than half a century — is
imagination. James Stavridis understands
this.
Aretired four-star admiral and former su-
preme allied commander at NATO, Stavri-
dis says he chose to make his just-released
warning as fiction — “2034: A Novel of the
Next World War,” co-written with Elliot
Ackerman — because today, as usual, the
challenge for policymakers is to imagine
how events can surprise and cascade. Eu-
rope’s leaders in 1914 could not imagine how
a pistol fired in Sarajevo could ignite four
years of civilization-wrecking bloodshed.
Americans in 1941 could not imagine a
stealthy attack on Pearl Harbor, or in 2001
how 19 terrorists could yank the nation into
several wars. So, Stavridis’ novel imagines
how a war begun and waged with cyberat-
tacks could shove a defeated United States
out of the western Pacific and of great-pow-
er status.
Reed must imagine configuring U.S.
forces for this world that Stavridis de-
scribes: In 2011, there were 7 billion people
and 7 billion devices connected to the inter-
net. Ten years later, he says, there are still
about 7 billion people but 40 billion connect-
ed devices. Imagine the U.S. vulnerability,
Stavridis says, to cyberattacks that “blind
the elephant.”
Writing in Foreign Affairs, Michèle Flour-
noy, a former undersecretary of defense for
policy, says Pentagon war games “reported-
ly show that current force plans would leave
the military unable to deter and defeat Chi-
nese aggression in the future.” She says,
“U.S. warfighting concepts can no longer re-
ly on attrition-based warfare” because “U.S.
forces are likely to be outnumbered and un-
der persistent attack in any conflict.” This is
so, she writes, because China and Russia
have developed “cyber, electronic, and ki-
netic weapons designed to disrupt the ability
of U.S. forces to deploy, navigate, communi-
cate, and strike, as well as layer upon layer of
defenses to shoot down U.S. aircraft and sink
U.S. ships before they can get within range
of their targets.”
In the 1950s and 1960s, Reed says, U.S.
spending on defense research and develop-
ment was a larger portion of GDP than to-
day, when systems are more complex and
more vulnerable to obsolescence. There are,
he says, possibilities for electronically dis-
guising the “signature” of aircraft carriers
and using quantum computing to locate
deeply submerged submarines. The first
phase of any conflict will involve, he says,
“cyber and space.” Hence, it will involve do-
mains and weapons hardly imagined when
Reed left West Point.
All this is expensive. Reed, who also has
degrees from Harvard’s law school and
John F. Kennedy School of Government, has
one of the Senate’s most liberal voting re-
cords. His party is spending lavishly on al-
most everything (President Joe Biden’s
2022 budget proposes increases for the Edu-
cation Department and Health and Human
Services of 41% and 23%, respectively) ex-
cept the military (1.6%). Perhaps Reed’s role
is as successor to Democratic Sen. Henry M.
Jackson, a liberal Cold Warrior.
Reed is noncommittal about Ukraine join-
ing NATO, and he is, if not sanguine about, at
least measured in his assessment of, Rus-
sian President Vladimir Putin’s menacing
behavior toward Ukraine. Reed interprets
this as Putin sending to the world the mess-
age that he must be reckoned with, and to his
restive nation the message that it matters be-
cause he does. Reed notes that there are U.S.
“tripwire” forces in the Baltics.
Reed will, however, not be startled if he is
surprised. “The unexpected,” he says, al-
most laconically, “occurs with great regu-
larity.” Imagine that.
Sen. Reed’s mission crucial to military, securityBY GEORGE F. WILL
Washington Post Writers Group
Republicans are busy crafting poli-
cies that would cement their new
identity as the United States’ work-
ing-class party. Sen. Tom Cotton’s
new Ivory Tower Tax Act is a great example of
this new thinking.
The Arkansas Republican’s idea is simple:
Tax the multibillion-dollar endowments of
our wealthiest colleges and use the money to
pay for apprenticeships. This addresses two
problems at once, income inequality and op-
portunity inequality. Cotton’s bill addresses
income inequality because universities such
as Harvard raise and earn billions of dollars
each year but pay virtually no taxes on their
accumulated wealth. At a time when income
inequality is a public issue, it’s only fair to
make all the rich — not just private-sector en-
trepreneurs — pay their fair share.
The second part of the bill, though, is what
makes it really valuable. The United States
spends billions of dollars subsidizing universi-
ty education through investments in public in-
stitutions, subsidized student loans, Pell
grants and a host of other programs. It spends
a tiny fraction of that on subsidizing postsec-
ondary training for the more than 60% of
Americans who do not get a four-year degree.
That’s not just unfair; it’s shameful.
These misguided priorities damage lives.
Kids leaving high school are often sucked into
four-year schools only to find that college life
isn’t what they want or need. In 2018, 17.5% of
all 25- to 34-year-olds were college dropouts
who also had not completed a vocational or as-
sociate’s degree. These young adults had an
average of more than $7,000 in student loan
debt as of 2017, yet they have little ability to pay
that back and accumulate money to start a
family. There are far better ways to help these
students launch their lives.
Cotton’s bill is a small step to making a level
playing field. Financing working apprentice-
ship programs will help attract kids at the out-
set to careers they are suited for. No student
debt, no wasted years lost at sea and at no add-
ed cost to the taxpayer. What’s not to like?
If anything, it’s too small. Why not tax multi-
billion-dollar foundation endowments, too?
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation alone
had nearly $50 billion in 2019, yet it pays only
1.4% of that amount in taxes each year. Merely
doubling that tax on foundations with endow-
ments of more than $2.5 billion would add bil-
lions more annually in funding for kids who
need on-the-job training now.
Those on the free-market, fundamentalist
right will object to this. Government funding
of apprenticeships inevitably means picking
winners and losers, they will say. Others might
contend this is a good idea, but one properly
handled at the state level. In the abstract, these
are worthy objections. But in the real world,
they always lead to an unpalatable dead end:
Government does nothing, public frustration
rises and the left steps in with the sort of one-
size-fits-all giveaways that characterize Pres-
ident Joe Biden’s domestic agenda.
Conservative populist ideas such as Cot-
ton’s address real needs and stave off socialist
“solutions.” They embrace the philosophy
that animated Abraham Lincoln’s Republican
Party — that the proper role of government is
to extend a hand to people striving to climb the
economic ladder and then get out of the way. In
the 1860s, that meant subsidizing farm settle-
ment through the Homestead Act and college
education through the Morrill Land-Grant
Act. Today, in a world profoundly shaped by
expectations created by Franklin D. Roose-
velt’s New Deal and its progeny, it means di-
rect federal government action to help extend
opportunity to all. That means reasonable tax-
es, low levels of regulation and discrete, limit-
ed and targeted programs to provide help to
those who need it. That’s not socialism; it’s
conservatism in action.
Interest in this renewed acceptance of the
old GOP orthodoxy is growing. Sen. Marco
Rubio, R-Fla., has been criticized by the high
priests of the supply-side religion for his pur-
portedly heretical notion of “common good
capitalism.” Rubio dares to say that American
bosses and investors have obligations to
American workers and that the free market
has to work for all who live here, not just the
few. Conservatives in ivory tower think tanks
may mock him, but on Wednesday, Rubio at-
tracted an overflow crowd at the regular meet-
ing of the Republican Study Committee. The
ice that has frozen Republican economic
thinking for decadesseems to be thawing.
Republicans should enthusiastically em-
brace Cotton’s bill. Even better, they should
enthusiastically embrace the way of thinking
that made it possible.
A political master class on university endowments BY HENRY OLSEN
Special to The Washington Post
Henry Olsen is a Washington Post columnist and a senior fellowat the Ethics and Public Policy Center.
PAGE 16 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, May 17, 2021
ACROSS 1 Bart’s sister
5 Doctrine
8 “Como —
usted?”
12 Burden
13 Prefix with natal
14 Numbered rds.
15 Both (Pref.)
16 “Stay with
Me” singer
18 Familiar feeling
20 :-)
21 Dweeb
23 French article
24 Virginia-born
golf legend
28 Harrow rival
31 Peyton’s brother
32 Ticked off
34 Sandy color
35 Rapper Kanye
37 Legendary “You
Send Me” singer
39 Cagers’ gp.
41 Guns the engine
42 Woodwind player
45 “The Talented
Mr. —”
49 “Spider-Man”
director
51 C&W artist
McEntire
52 Santa’s ride
53 Cauldron
54 Wax-coated
cheese
55 Broadcasts
56 “Mayday!”
57 Approving
cheers
DOWN 1 Washing
machine unit
2 “By the power
vested — ...”
3 Pt. of a sentence
4 Tibetans, e.g.
5 Prudential,
Travelers,
and others
6 Mermaid’s home
7 May honorees
8 Winter weasel
9 Heel type
10 Head, to Henri
11 Wan
17 Dallas sch.
19 Caesar’s “I
came”
22 Senegal’s
capital
24 Stitch
25 Pub pint
26 Incorrect term
27 Bad marks
29 Desk wood
30 Compass dir.
33 Early 7th-
century year
36 Sporty Fords
38 Fish-eating
hawk
40 Simile center
42 Greek mountain
43 Indonesian
island
44 Gratuities
46 Castor’s mother
47 Online
auction site
48 Orange veggies
50 Cattle call
Answer to Previous Puzzle
Eugene Sheffer CrosswordFra
zz
Dilbert
Pearls B
efo
re S
win
eN
on S
equitur
Candorv
ille
Carp
e D
iem
Beetle B
ailey
Biz
arr
o
PAGE 18 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, May 17, 2021
FACES
Imagine, if you will, a galaxy far, far
away where the one-name fashion won-
der Halston dresses Obi-Wan Kenobi in
something fabulous from the swinging
’70s.
Ewan McGregor can. Sort of.
McGregor is in the unique position of being
the sole person — on this planet anyway — who
might care, considering his dual roles as the Je-
di master and the flamboyant designer, the lat-
ter the subject of a new Netflix miniseries and
the former a Disney+ “Star Wars” installment
that has the Scottish actor on set in Los Angeles.
“It would be much more comfortable,” he
told The Associated Press during a recent inter-
view on Zoom. “It would all be in cashmere, you
know, none of that heavy blanket material
stuff.”
“Halston,” which dropped May 14, has al-
ready generated heat for McGregor and direc-
tor Daniel Minahan, both among the series’ ex-
ecutive producers with Ryan Murphy.
Halston’s niece, Lesley Frowick, and other
relatives bashed Minahan’s project last week as
“frankly, garbage” and “inaccurate,” having
seen nothing more than a trailer. Frowick, by
phone from California, said the family and the
Halston Archives were not consulted.
Minahan told AP he spoke to Halston’s broth-
er, Robert Frowick, in the ’90s while developing
the project. Robert Frowick died in 2007 and his
widow disputes the claim that her husband was
consulted.
“I think everyone’s entitled to their opinion.
This is not a documentary. It’s a dramatic se-
ries,” Minahan said. “And the people who knew
Halston and were around him who have seen it
have responded really well to it.”
In addition, award-winning “Pose” star Billy
Porter, a fashion lover supreme, has questioned
casting straight actors like McGregor in gay
roles, noting gay actors rarely have equal ac-
cess to straight parts.
“I felt that Ewan was the best person for the
job,” said Minahan, who is gay. “I just can’t
imagine anyone else doing it. He was my No. 1
choice.”
For his part, McGregor — rushing from in-
terview to interview to promote the series while
slinging his lightsaber once again — said word
that Frowick and another of Halston’s six nieces
were unhappy “makes me sad.”
“We were so meticulous,” he said. “Dan Mi-
nahan has been researching this, wanting to
make this for more than 20 years, so it’s a
shame.”
Halston was a Midwesterner who revolution-
ized his industry with comfortable deconstruct-
ed gowns, washable Ultraseude shirt dresses
and a minimalist, clean approach that redefined
American fashion starting in the 1960s. He was
known for making Jackie Kennedy’s blue inau-
gural pillbox hat (he started as a milliner) and
had a stable of beautiful muses and A-list
friends, including Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Min-
nelli (played by Krysta Rodriguez), Babe Paley,
Bianca Jagger and Andy Warhol.
By the disco era, Halston was a regular at Stu-
dio 54, later designing costumes for the famed
choreographer Martha Graham. His bright,
sensual clothes, Minnelli has said, were clothes
that danced with you.
Halston lost the use of his trademarked name
in a business deal that made him rich but left
him at the mercy of a series of corporate over-
seers. Born Roy Halston Frowick in Des
Moines, Iowa, he died in 1990 of AIDS-related
complications at age 57, having left behind his
New York world after his ouster from the com-
pany that bore his name. He fell into the em-
brace of family in Northern California, where
he died in a San Francisco hospital.
His decision to bring his aesthetic to the
masses included making clothes for J.C. Pen-
ney and cranking out an onslaught of goods: lug-
gage, carpet, uniforms for the Girl Scouts and
Braniff Airways — and an unforgettable first
scent that came in a teardrop bottle designed by
another member of his inner circle, Elsa Peret-
ti.
The series is full of Halston snorting cocaine,
Halston having sex with male hookers and call
boys, and Halston spending lavishly. He had a
penchant for decking out his mirrored Olympic
Tower atelier in fresh orchids and flying in din-
ners from top New York restaurants to the re-
treat he rented from Warhol in Montauk.
The biopic, based on the 1991 book “Simply
Halston” by Steven Gaines, also delves into his
own reinvention, from poor boy in Indiana (his
large family moved a lot) to elegant, black tur-
tleneck-clad workaholic with a short fuse.
McGregor, as part of his preparation, learned
to sew, whipping up botched baggy trousers
with one pocket on the inside and one on the out-
side. He also had tea with Minnelli, though he
promised to keep the details private.
McGregor, 50, may be back with the Force,
but he said he won’t soon forget Halston.
“I loved playing him so much,” he said. “I
don’t think there will be any Halston in Obi-
Wan, but there will be a little bit in me. I think he
saw beauty everywhere.”
NETFLIX/AP
Ewan McGregor, center, stars in “Halston,” about the fashion designer. The series debuted Friday on Netflix.
SUITING UP AS ANOTHER ICON
Ewan McGregor won’t soon forget his fashion turn as Halston BY LEANNE ITALIE
Associated Press
Netflix, AP
This combination of photos shows McGregorportraying fashion designer Halston, left, andthe designer himself in 1975.
Miranda Lambert and Maren
Morris are the leading nominees
for the 2021 CMT Music Awards,
celebrating the best in country
music videos.
CMT on May 13 announced the
nominees for their June 9 fan-vot-
ed awards show, where Morris
and Lambert each have two nomi-
nations in the top category of video
of the year, which has 14 conten-
ders.
They also are nominated for fe-
male video of the year and collab-
orative video of the year. Morris
shares two nominations with her
husband and fellow singer Ryan
Hurd, a first-time CMT nominee,
on their duet “Chasing After You.”
Lambert shares two of her nom-
inations with rocker Elle King, on
their rowdy drinking song “Drunk
(And I Don't Wanna Go Home.)”
Other leading nominees include
this year’s show hosts Kane
Brown and Kelsea Ballerini, with
three each.
Lambert
Morris, Lambert
lead CMT Music
Awards noms
Morris
Associated Press
Emily Blunt shot down rumors
that she and husband John Kra-
sinski will join the Marvel Cine-
matic Universe.
During an interview on Howard
Stern’s SiriusXM show, the Brit-
ish actress explained that the
“Fantastic Four”
reboot casting
rumors are just
speculative. She
also opened up
about how she
famously turned
down the oppor-
tunity to portray
Black Widow in
“Iron Man 2,” which Scarlett Jo-
hansson went on to adopt in the
blockbuster franchise.
Blunt made it clear that she
didn’t reject the part because she
thought it was beneath her.
“I love ‘Iron Man,’ I wanted to
work with Robert Downey Jr. It
would’ve been amazing,” she said
before opening up about her
thoughts on the superheroes be-
coming a box office staple.
When asked if she is tired of the
superhero genre, the “Mary Pop-
pins Returns” star admitted that
she believes “it’s been exhaust-
ed.”
Blunt: Superherogenre ‘exhausted’
Blunt
From the New York Daily News
Monday, May 17, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 19
SCOREBOARD/SPORTS BRIEFS
PRO SOCCER
MLS
Eastern Conference
W L T Pts GF GA
New York City FC 2 1 2 8 10 4
Atlanta 2 1 2 8 6 4
Montreal 2 2 2 8 8 7
New England 2 1 2 8 6 6
Philadelphia 2 2 2 8 5 5
Nashville 1 0 4 7 6 4
New York 2 3 0 6 7 6
D.C. United 2 3 0 6 5 9
Orlando City 1 0 3 6 5 2
Columbus 1 1 2 5 3 3
Toronto FC 1 2 2 5 7 9
Inter Miami CF 1 2 2 5 5 7
Chicago 0 4 1 1 3 10
Cincinnati 0 2 1 1 2 10
Western Conference
W L T Pts GF GA
Seattle 4 0 1 13 11 2
LA Galaxy 4 1 0 12 10 8
Colorado 3 1 1 10 8 6
San Jose 3 3 0 9 10 8
Houston 2 2 2 8 7 8
Real Salt Lake 2 1 1 7 6 4
Vancouver 2 2 1 7 5 4
Sporting KC 2 2 1 7 6 7
Portland 2 3 0 6 6 8
Austin FC 2 3 0 6 5 7
Minnesota United 2 4 0 6 5 10
Los Angeles FC 1 1 2 5 5 4
FC Dallas 1 2 2 5 6 6
NOTE: Three points for victory, one pointfor tie.
Saturday’s games
Toronto FC 1, New York City FC 1, tieLA Galaxy 2, Austin FC 0Atlanta 1, Montreal 0Philadelphia 1, New York 0Minnesota 1, FC Dallas 0Colorado 3, Houston 1Nashville 0, Real Salt Lake 0, tiePortland 2, San Jose 0
Sunday’s games
Vancouver at Sporting Kansas CityMiami at CincinnatiColumbus at New EnglandOrlando City at D.C. UnitedLos Angeles FC at Seattle
Saturday, May 22
Cincinnati at MontrealLA Galaxy at PortlandMiami at ChicagoToronto FC at Orlando CityColumbus at New York City FCNew York at New EnglandReal Salt Lake at FC DallasVancouver at HoustonSporting Kansas City at San JoseColorado at Los Angeles FC
Sunday, May 23
Atlanta at SeattlePhiladelphia at D.C. UnitedAustin FC at Nashville
TENNIS
Italian Open
SaturdayAt Foro Italico
RomePurse: Euro 2,082,960
Surface: Red clayMen’s SinglesQuarterfinals
Lorenzo Sonego, Italy, def. Andrey Ru-blev (7), Russia, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Men’s SinglesSemifinals
Rafael Nadal (2), Spain, def. Reilly Opel-ka, United States, 6-4, 6-4.
Novak Djokovic (1), Serbia, def. LorenzoSonego, Italy, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2.
Women’s SinglesQuarterfinals
Iga Swiatek (15), Poland, def. Elina Svito-lina (5), Ukraine, 6-2, 7-5.
Women’s SinglesSemifinals
Karolina Pliskova (9), Czech Republic,def. Petra Martic, Croatia, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.
Iga Swiatek (15), Poland, def. CocoGauff, United States, 7-6 (3), 6-3.
Men’s DoublesSemifinals
Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic (2), Croa-tia, def. Michael Venus, New Zealand, andJohn Peers, Australia, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4).
Rajeev Ram, United States, and Joe Sa-lisbury (5), Britain, def. Matwe Middel-koop, Netherlands, and Marcelo Arevalo-Gonzalez, El Salvador, 6-4, 6-4.
Women’s DoublesQuarterfinals
Sharon Fichman, Canada, and GiulianaOlmos, Mexico, def. Veronika Kudermeto-va, Russia, and Coco Gauff, United States,1-6, 7-6 (6), 10-6.
Women’s DoublesSemifinals
Kristina Mladenovic, France, and Mar-keta Vondrousova, Czech Republic, def.Sara Errani, Italy, and Irina-Camelia Begu,Romania, 6-2, 6-3.
PRO BASKETBALL
WNBA
EASTERN CONFERENCEW L Pct GB
Chicago 1 0 1.000 —New York 1 0 1.000 —Connecticut 1 0 1.000 —Washington 0 1 .000 1Atlanta 0 1 .000 1Indiana 0 1 .000 1
WESTERN CONFERENCEW L Pct GB
Phoenix 1 0 1.000 —Dallas 1 0 1.000 —Seattle 1 0 1.000 —Las Vegas 0 1 .000 1Minnesota 0 1 .000 1Los Angeles 0 1 .000 1
Friday’s games
New York 90, Indiana 87Connecticut 78, Atlanta 67Phoenix 77, Minnesota 75Dallas 94, Los Angeles 71
Saturday’s games
Chicago 70, Washington 56Seattle 97, Las Vegas 83
Sunday’s games
New York at IndianaPhoenix at Connecticut
Monday’s games
No games scheduled.
Tuesday’s games
Minnesota at New YorkPhoenix at WashingtonLas Vegas at Seattle
DEALS
Saturday’s Transactions
BASEBALLMajor League Baseball
American LeagueBOSTON RED SOX — Placed RHP Garrett
Whitlock on the COVID-19 IL. Recalled RHPColten Brewer from Worcester (Triple-AEast). Sent CF Enrique Hernandez to Wor-cester for a rehab assignment.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX — Optioned RHPAlex McRae to Charlotte (Triple-A East).
KANSAS CITY ROYALS — Optioned RHPRonald Bolanos to Omaha (Triple-A East).
LOS ANGELES ANGELS — Acquired RHPHunter Strickland from Tampa Bay for aplayer to be named and cash considera-tions.
MINNESOTA TWINS — Placed OF JakeCave on the 60-day IL. Selected the con-tract of OF Rob Refsnyder from St. Paul(Triple-A East).
TAMPA BAY RAYS — Traded RHP HunterStrickland to Los Angeles Angels for cash.Activated 1B Ji-Man Choi from the 10-dayIL.
TEXAS RANGERS — Selected the con-tract of RHP Hunter Wood from RoundRock (Triple-A West). Optioned LHP WesBenjamin to Round Rock. Designated CJack Kruger for assignment.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS — Selected thecontract of LHP Nick Allgeyer from Buffalo(Triple-A East). Transferred RHP DavidPhelphs from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL.
National LeagueARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — Placed
RHP J.B. Bukauskas and C Carson Kelly(retroactive to May 14) on the 10-day IL.Recalled RHP Yoan Lopez from Reno (Tri-ple-A West). Selected the contracts of 2BDomingo Leyba and LHP Joe Mantiplyfrom Reno. Placed RHP Chris Devenski onthe 60-day IL.
ATLANTA BRAVES — Activated CF Guil-lermo Heredia from the 10-day IL. Op-tioned 2B Johan Camargo to Gwinnett (Tri-ple-A East).
CHICAGO CUBS — Activated OF Ian Happfrom the 10-day injured list. DesignatedINF Ildemaro Vargas for assignment.
COLORADO ROCKIES — Sent LHP KyleFreeland to Albuquerque (Triple-A West)on a rehab assignment. Recalled RHP An-tonio Santos from Albuquerque. OptionedLHP Lucas Gilbreath to Albuquerque.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS — Recalled RHPEdwin Uceta from Oklahoma City (Triple-AWest). Placed OF A.J. Pollock on the 10-dayIL.
MILWAUKEE BREWERS — Selected thecontract of LHP Hoby Milner from Nash-ville (Triple-A East). Optioned LHP EricLauer to Nashville.
NEW YORK METS — Selected the con-tract of INF Jake Hager from Syracuse (Tri-ple-A East). Optioned OF Khalil Lee to Syra-cuse. Designated RHP Trevor Hildenberg-er for assignment.
PITTSBURGH PIRATES — Recalled RHPKyle Keller from Indianapolis (Triple-AEast). Optioned RHP Miguel Yajure to Indi-anapolis. Sent 3B Hunter Owen outright toIndianapolis.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS — Recalled RHPJunior Fernandez from Memphis (Triple-AEast). Optioned RHP Johan Oviedo toMemphis.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS — Sent 2B Do-novan Solano to Sacramento (Triple-AWest ) for a rehab assignment.
BASKETBALLNational Basketball Association
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER — Signed GCharlie Brown Jr. to a rest-of-season con-tract.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS — Claimed G Da-Quan Jeffries off waivers from Houston.
FOOTBALLNational Football League
MINNESOTA VIKINGS — Signed RB KeneNwangwu to a rookie contract.
SOCCERNational Women’s Soccer League
WASHINGTON SPIRIT — Signed 2021 FTara McKeown to a two-year contractwith an option for the third year.
AUTO RACING
Drydene 200NASCARXfinity Series
SaturdayAt Dover International Speedway
Dover, Del.Lap length: 1.00 miles
(Start position in parentheses)1. (16) Austin Cindric, Ford, 200 laps, 51
points.2. (6) Josh Berry, Chevrolet, 200, 54.3. (2) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200, 53.4. (7) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 200, 48.5. (14) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 200, 38.6. (5) Harrison Burton, Toyota, 200, 44.7. (11) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 200, 34.8. (12) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 200, 31.9. (1) Daniel Hemric, Toyota, 200, 28.10. (19) Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, 200,
27.11. (13) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 200, 26.12. (8) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 200,
25.13. (10) Brett Moffitt, Chevrolet, 199, 24.14. (31) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, 199, 23.15. (3) Noah Gragson, Chevrolet, 199, 32.16. (15) Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, 199, 21.17. (20) Riley Herbst, Ford, 198, 21.18. (28) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet,
198, 19.19. (18) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 198, 18.20. (17) Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet,
198, 17.21. (24) BJ McLeod, Toyota, 198, 0.22. (32) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet,
198, 15.23. (27) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 197, 14.24. (26) Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 196, 0.25. (37) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 196,
12.26. (23) Ryan Vargas, Chevrolet, 195, 11.27. (39) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, 195, 10.28. (25) Colby Howard, Chevrolet, 194, 9.29. (36) Joe Graf Jr, Chevrolet, 193, 8.30. (22) Timmy Hill, Ford, 193, 0.31. (40) Gray Gaulding, Chevrolet, 192, 6.32. (30) John H. Nemechek, Toyota, 182, 0.33. (34) Jade Buford, Chevrolet, engine,
155, 4.34. (35) Kyle Sieg, Ford, accident, 83, 3.35. (4) Brandon Jones, Toyota, accident,
68, 8.36. (9) Zane Smith, Chevrolet, accident,
67, 0.37. (33) Jesse Little, Chevrolet, accident,
57, 1.38. (29) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, acci-
dent, 57, 1.39. (38) Matt Jaskol, Ford, accident, 56, 1.40. (21) David Starr, Toyota, overheating,
18, 1.
Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 94.999mph.
Time of Race: 2 hours, 6 minutes, 20 sec-onds.
Margin of Victory: 3.796 seconds.Caution Flags: 7 for 45 laps.Lead Changes: 9 among 6 drivers. Lap
Leaders: D.Hemric 0-1; J.Allgaier 2-48;B.McLeod 49; T.Martins 50-54; J.Allgaier55-74; J.Berry 75-91; J.Allgaier 92-113; J.Ber-ry 114-144; J.Allgaier 145-149; A.Cindric150-200
GMR Grand PrixIndyCar Series
SaturdayAt Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road
CourseIndianapolis.
Lap length: 2.439 miles(Start position in parentheses)
1. (7) Rinus Veekay, Dallara-Chevrolet,85 laps, Running.
2. (1) Romain Grosjean, Dallara-Honda,85, Running.
3. (4) Alex Palou, Dallara-Honda, 85, Run-ning.
4. (2) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Chevro-let, 85, Running.
5. (11) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 85,Running.
6. (10) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Chevro-let, 85, Running.
7. (14) Alexander Rossi, Dallara-Honda,85, Running.
8. (5) Scott McLaughlin, Dallara-Chevro-let, 85, Running.
9. (16) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 85,Running.
10. (15) Marcus Ericsson, Dallara-Honda,85, Running.
11. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Chevrolet,85, Running.
12. (19) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Hon-da, 85, Running.
13. (8) Colton Herta, Dallara-Honda, 85,Running.
14. (9) Ed Jones, Dallara-Honda, 85, Run-ning.
15. (18) Pato O’Ward, Dallara-Chevrolet,85, Running.
16. (17) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 85,Running.
17. (13) Felix Rosenqvist, Dallara-Chev-rolet, 85, Running.
18. (22) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Hon-da, 85, Running.
19. (20) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevrolet, 84, Running.
20. (24) Dalton Kellett, Dallara-Chevro-let, 84, Running.
21. (25) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dallara-Chevrolet, 84, Running.
22. (21) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Chevro-let, 84, Running.
23. (3) Jack Harvey, Dallara-Honda, 84,Running.
24. (23) Jimmie Johnson, Dallara-Honda,84, Running.
25. (6) Conor Daly, Dallara-Chevrolet, 50,Did not finish.
Race StatisticsAverage Speed of Race Winner: 116.096
mph.Time of Race: 01:47:08.5773.Margin of Victory: 4.9510 seconds.Cautions: 1 for 3 laps.
GOLF
AT&T Byron Nelson
PGA Tour �Saturday
At TPC Craig RanchMcKinney, Texas
Purse: $8.1 millionYardage: 7,468; Par: 72
Third RoundSam Burns 65-62-69—196 -20 K.H. Lee 65-65-67—197 -19 Charl Schwartzel 65-68-66—199 -17 Matt Kuchar 67-66-66—199 -17 Jordan Spieth 63-70-66—199 -17 Alex Noren 65-64-70—199 -17 Seamus Power 65-68-67—200 -16 Doc Redman 64-67-69—200 -16 Scott Stallings 67-71-63—201 -15 Harris English 70-68-63—201 -15 Rafa Cabrera Bello 64-71-66—201 -15 Bronson Burgoon 68-66-67—201 -15 Ben Martin 65-69-67—201 -15 Joseph Bramlett 64-70-67—201 -15 Adam Schenk 66-70-66—202 -14 Ryan Palmer 67-69-66—202 -14 Brandt Snedeker 66-68-68—202 -14 Jhonattan Vegas 65-72-66—203 -13 Scott Brown 66-71-66—203 -13 Daniel Berger 69-67-67—203 -13 Marc Leishman 66-69-68—203 -13 Roger Sloan 66-68-69—203 -13 Carlos Ortiz 67-66-70—203 -13 Wyndham Clark 66-68-69—203 -13 Troy Merritt 68-70-66—204 -12 Luke Donald 65-73-66—204 -12 Satoshi Kodaira 67-71-66—204 -12 Mark Hubbard 65-71-68—204 -12 Ryan Armour 70-66-68—204 -12 Sepp Straka 68-67-69—204 -12 Hank Lebioda 67-67-70—204 -12 Patton Kizzire 69-64-71—204 -12 J.J. Spaun 63-69-72—204 -12 Talor Gooch 69-69-67—205 -11 Brian Stuard 69-69-67—205 -11 Wesley Bryan 67-71-67—205 -11 Will Zalatoris 70-68-67—205 -11 Johnson Wagner 67-71-67—205 -11 Rob Oppenheim 68-69-68—205 -11 Jon Rahm 68-69-68—205 -11 Scottie Scheffler 67-70-68—205 -11 Lee Westwood 71-64-70—205 -11 Vincent Whaley 69-65-71—205 -11 Rory Sabbatini 67-71-68—206 -10 Hideki Matsuyama 68-70-68—206 -10 Patrick Rodgers 71-66-69—206 -10 Pat Perez 70-67-69—206 -10 Russell Knox 69-67-70—206 -10 Si Woo Kim 66-70-70—206 -10 Michael Kim 69-67-71—207 -9 Sean O'Hair 67-69-71—207 -9 Aaron Wise 64-72-71—207 -9 Charles Howell III 65-70-72—207 -9 Sebastián Muñoz 66-68-73—207 -9 Ted Potter, Jr. 66-68-73—207 -9 Keith Mitchell 67-71-70—208 -8 Mark Anderson 68-69-71—208 -8 Sung Kang 67-69-72—208 -8 Wes Roach 68-70-71—209 -7 Cameron Champ 72-66-71—209 -7 Dylan Meyer 66-72-71—209 -7 Martin Laird 72-66-71—209 -7 Luke List 68-69-72—209 -7 Bryson DeChambeau 69-68-72—209 -7 Michael Gligic 65-72-72—209 -7 Nelson Ledesma 68-68-73—209 -7 Bo Hoag 66-71-72—209 -7 Brice Garnett 68-69-73—210 -6 D.J. Trahan 69-69-73—211 -5 Michael Gellerman 67-71-73—211 -5 Austin Cook 68-68-75—211 -5 Cameron Percy 68-70-76—214 -2
Mitsubishi Electric Classic
Champions � TourSaturday
At TPC SugarloafDuluth, Ga.
Purse: $1.8 millionYardage: 7,179; Par: 72
Second RoundPaul Goydos 67-69—136 -8 Billy Andrade 69-68—137 -7 Dicky Pride 71-67—138 -6 Kirk Triplett 70-68—138 -6 Scott McCarron 70-68—138 -6 Miguel Angel Jiménez 70-68—138 -6 Stephen Ames 66-72—138 -6 Gene Sauers 68-70—138 -6 Robert Karlsson 70-69—139 -5 Kent Jones 72-68—140 -4 Doug Barron 70-70—140 -4 Jim Furyk 70-70—140 -4 Glen Day 73-68—141 -3 Brett Quigley 72-69—141 -3 Woody Austin 71-70—141 -3 Darren Clarke 72-69—141 -3 Kenny Perry 70-71—141 -3 Tom Gillis 73-69—142 -2 Tom Byrum 73-69—142 -2 Jerry Kelly 73-69—142 -2 Colin Montgomerie 73-69—142 -2 Tom Pernice Jr. 72-70—142 -2 Retief Goosen 74-69—143 -1 Bernhard Langer 73-70—143 -1 David Frost 72-71—143 -1 Ken Tanigawa 70-73—143 -1 Jerry Smith 73-72—145 +1 Thongchai Jaidee 73-72—145 +1
Basketball Hall names its2021 enshrinees
Ben Wallace, Jay Wright, Chris
Bosh and Chris Webber were
among the 16 names announced
Sunday as this year’s Naismith
Memorial Basketball Hall of
Fame enshrinement class, a group
that also includes Paul Pierce,
coaches Rick Adelman and Cotton
Fitzsimmons, and WNBA stars
Yolanda Griffith and Lauren
Jackson.
The class even includes some-
one who has been a Hall of Famer
for 46 years already: The 11-time
NBA champion Bill Russell, en-
shrined in 1975 as a player, has
been selected again as a coach.
Russell becomes the fifth Hall of
Famer who will be inducted as
both a player and a coach, joining
John Wooden, Lenny Wilkens, Bill
Sharman and Tommy Heinsohn.
Veteran slugger Pujols
signs with DodgersAlbert Pujols didn’t have to
travel far to find a new opportuni-
ty — released by the Angels, the
41-year-old slugger has reached a
deal up the freeway with the Los
Angeles Dodgers.
Pujols is expected to finalize the
agreement Monday. The oldest
player in the majors batted .198
this season with five homers and
12 RBIs for the Angels.
The three-time NL MVP is fifth
in major league history with 667
career homers and 13th with 3,253
hits.
Pujols left Anaheim hoping to
play every day for another team,
but that might be tough with the
World Series champions. The
Dodgers have veteran Max Mun-
cy as their regular first baseman
and also former NL MVP Cody
Bellinger, who’s been out with a
leg injury. The Dodgers have not
hit well against left-handed pitch-
ing and hope the righty-swinging
Pujols can provide some pop.
VeeKay gets first career
win on Indy road courseRinus VeeKay continued Indy-
Car’s youth movement Saturday
by scoring his first career victory
with a win on the road course at In-
dianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Dutchman became the
third first-time winner through
five races this season, the most at
this point in the season since 2013.
Swiatek routs Pliskova
to win Italian OpenIf Iga Swiatek continues playing
like this, she might have no prob-
lem defending her French Open
title when the year’s second
Grand Slam starts in two weeks.
The 19-year-old Pole routed Ka-
rolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-0 with what
is known as a “double bagel” score
in an Italian Open final that lasted
just 46 minutes Sunday.
BRIEFLY
Associated Press
PAGE 20 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, May 17, 2021
MLB
BALTIMORE — Aaron Judge
homered for the third time in two
games, Domingo Germán had an-
other stellar outing at Camden
Yards and the New York Yankees
beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-2 on
Saturday night.
After hitting two home runs Fri-
day, Judge provided New York a
5-0 lead with a two-run shot in the
second. Six of Judge’s 11 homers
this season have come against the
Orioles.
“We had some good at-bats there
to kind of get us going,” Yankees
manager Aaron Boone said. “We
were able to throw a couple of
crooked numbers up there and
then able to add later was definite-
ly nice.”
Germán (3-2) allowed one run
and four hits with six strikeouts
and two walks in six innings. He
has won all four of his career starts
in Baltimore.
“It feels great to have that kind of
support behind you,” Germán said
through an interpreter. “When
that happens in the game, you want
to stay aggressive. You don’t want
to lower the intensity. You want to
go out there and execute pitches.
Tyler Wade had three hits while
batting ninth for New York, which
improved to 4-1 on its 10-game
road trip and has won 11 of its last
14 games overall.
Blue Jays 4, Phillies 0:Vladimir
Guerrero Jr. homered and five To-
ronto pitchers combined on a six-
hitter to beat visiting Philadelphia
in a game where Phillies star
Bryce Harper exited early with
right shoulder soreness.
Harper was replaced defensive-
ly in right field by Scott Kingery to
start the bottom of the fourth. Har-
per struck out in both of his at-bats.
The team said Harper is day to
day. Guerrero hit his 10th homer, a
first-inning solo shot off Aaron No-
la (3-3). The drive to right was
Guerrero’s sixth to the opposite
field.
Dodgers 7, Marlins 0: Trevor
Bauer threw seven shutout innings
and struck out 10, Max Muncy had
three hits and host Los Angeles
beat Miami for its fourth straight
victory.
The reigning NL Cy Young
Award winner improved to 4-2, al-
lowing only two hits and three
baserunners. He retired the last 11
hitters he faced.
Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager
is headed to the injured list after he
broke his right hand in the fifth in-
ning when he was hit in the right
hand by a pitch from Ross Detwil-
er.
Tigers 9, Cubs 8 (10): Harold
Castro hit an RBI single in the 10th
inning off Craig Kimbrel to lift De-
troit past visiting Chicago.
The Tigers rallied from deficits
of 2-0, 4-3, 7-6 and 8-7 to win a
back-and-forth game in which nei-
ther starting pitcher made it past
the third.
The final comeback by Detroit
came when it scored twice off Kim-
brel (0-2).
Nomar Mazara tied it with an
RBI single that scored the auto-
matic runner, and JaCoby Jones
ran for Mazara and stole second.
Then Castro — hitless in five previ-
ous at-bats Saturday with three
strikeouts — slapped a two-out sin-
gle to left. The throw home by Kris
Bryant was a bit off line and Jones
was easily safe.
Braves 6, Brewers 1: Ian An-
derson took a no-hit try into the
seventh inning, Freddie Freeman
hit a two-run homer and Atlanta
won at Milwaukee.
Anderson (3-1) cruised through
the first six innings, mixing a 96
mph fastball, an effective change-
up and an even slower curveball
that kept the Brewers guessing.
The 23-year-old right-hander
walked four and struck out four be-
fore Milwaukee ended Anderson’s
bid in the seventh.
Daniel Vogelbach blooped a
leadoff single to center and Pablo
Reyes followed with a double that
chased Anderson.
Royals 5, White Sox 1: Salvador
Perez hit a three-run homer for the
second straight day and Kansas
City handed Carlos Rodón his first
loss of the season with a victory at
Chicago. Whit Merrifield had two
hits and scored twice as the Royals
got to Rodón (5-1) for four runs in
the first three innings.
The left-hander allowed two
earned runs in 31 innings while
winning his first five starts of the
year, including a 3-0 victory at
Kansas City in his previous start on
May 7.
The big blow was Perez’s ninth
homer, an opposite-field drive on a
96-mph fastball up and out of the
zone in the third. The early run
support was more than enough for
Mike Minor (3-2), who pitched sev-
en innings of two-hit ball in his first
win since April 23. The left-hander
struck out seven and walked two.
Red Sox 9, Angels 0: Alex Ver-
dugo hit a solo homer in his first at-
bat on his 25th birthday, Xander
Bogaerts had a three-run shot and
Boston won at Los Angeles.
Rafael Devers added a solo shot,
Bobby Dalbec hit a two-run double
and Franchy Cordero drove in two
runs with two doubles for the Red
Sox. They won their third straight
and matched their season high by
climbing nine games over .500.
Padres 13, Cardinals 3: Austin
Nola homered, doubled and drove
in a career-high six runs, and Tom-
my Pham and rookie Kim Ha-se-
ong also connected off Adam
Wainwright to lead San Diego over
visiting St. Louis.
The Padres beat the Cardinals
for the second straight night in
their first matchup since San Die-
go eliminated St. Louis from the
playoffs last season.
Astros 6, Rangers 5: Carlos
Correa and Kyle Tucker each
homered to help Luis Garcia earn
his first career win as host Houston
held on to beat Texas for its fifth
straight victory.
Correa capped a four-run first
with a two-run homer to right as
the Astros got to Rangers starter
Dane Dunning (2-3). Alex Breg-
man also had a two-run single in
the inning.
Mariners 7, Indians 3: Mitch
Haniger hit his 12th home run, Jus-
tus Sheffield picked up a win
against the team that drafted him
and host Seattle beat Cleveland.
Dylan Moore added a three-run
homer in the fourth inning off Tris-
ton McKenzie to break open a close
game and give Sheffield (3-3) the
win in a showdown of former Indi-
ans first-round draft picks.
Twins 5, Athletics 4: Miguel Sa-
nó snapped a 19-game homerless
drought with a three-run homer in
the eighth inning and host Minne-
sota came back to beat Oakland.
Rays 12, Mets 5: Joey Wendle
had three doubles and a single,
keying two big innings that sent
host Tampa Bay past New York.
Reds 6, Rockies 5 (12): Nick Cas-
tellanos hit a tiebreaking double in
the 12th and Cincinnati kept up its
success in extra innings, winning
at Colorado.
Pirates 8, Giants 6: Jacob Stall-
ings hit a two-out, two-run homer
in the ninth inning and host Pitts-
burgh rallied past San Francisco.
Diamondbacks 11, Nationals 4:
Eduardo Escobar hit a three-run
homer, a two-run homer and tied a
career high with seven RBIs to
lead host Arizona past Washing-
ton.
Judge homers again, Yanks rout O’sHits third in two games;6 of his 11 homers havecome against the Orioles
Associated Press
TERRANCE WILLIAMS/AP
The Yankees’ Aaron Judge, right, celebrates with Gio Urshela after hitting a tworun home run off Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Jorge Lopez in New York’s 82 victory Saturday in Baltimore.
ROUNDUP
American League
East Division
W L Pct GB
Boston 25 16 .610 _
New York 22 17 .564 2
Toronto 21 17 .553 2½
Tampa Bay 22 19 .537 3
Baltimore 16 23 .410 8
Central Division
W L Pct GB
Chicago 23 15 .605 _
Cleveland 21 16 .568 1½
Kansas City 18 21 .462 5½
Detroit 14 25 .359 9½
Minnesota 13 24 .351 9½
West Division
W L Pct GB
Oakland 24 17 .585 _
Houston 23 17 .575 ½
Seattle 20 20 .500 3½
Texas 18 23 .439 6
Los Angeles 16 22 .421 6½
National LeagueEast Division
W L Pct GB
New York 18 15 .545 _
Philadelphia 21 19 .525 ½
Atlanta 19 20 .487 2
Miami 17 22 .436 4
Washington 15 20 .429 4
Central Division
W L Pct GB
St. Louis 23 17 .575 _
Milwaukee 20 20 .500 3
Cincinnati 18 19 .486 3½
Chicago 18 20 .474 4
Pittsburgh 17 22 .436 5½
West Division
W L Pct GB
San Francisco 23 16 .590 _
San Diego 23 17 .575 ½
Los Angeles 22 17 .564 1
Arizona 18 22 .450 5½
Colorado 15 25 .375 8½
Saturday’s games
Tampa Bay 12, N.Y. Mets 5Minnesota 5, Oakland 4Boston 9, L.A. Angels 0Detroit 9, Chicago Cubs 8, 10 inningsN.Y. Yankees 8, Baltimore 2Kansas City 5, Chicago White Sox 1Houston 6, Texas 5Toronto 4, Philadelphia 0Seattle 7, Cleveland 3Atlanta 5, Milwaukee 1Pittsburgh 8, San Francisco 6Arizona 11, Washington 4San Diego 13, St. Louis 3Cincinnati 6, Colorado 5, 12 inningsL.A. Dodgers 7, Miami 0
Sunday’s games
N.Y. Yankees at BaltimorePhiladelphia at TorontoChicago Cubs at DetroitL.A. Angels at BostonN.Y. Mets at Tampa BayKansas City at Chicago White SoxOakland at MinnesotaTexas at HoustonCleveland at SeattleSan Francisco at PittsburghAtlanta at MilwaukeeCincinnati at ColoradoMiami at L.A. DodgersWashington at ArizonaSt. Louis at San Diego
Monday’s games
Chicago White Sox (Keuchel 2-1) at Min-nesota (Happ 2-1)
N.Y. Yankees (Cole 5-1) at Texas (Lyles1-3)
Cleveland (Hentges 1-0) at L.A. Angels(TBD)
Detroit (Mize 2-3) at Seattle (Kikuchi 1-2)San Francisco (Webb 2-3) at Cincinnati
(Gray 0-2)N.Y. Mets (TBD) at Atlanta (Fried 1-1)Washington (Lester 0-1) at Chicago
Cubs (Alzolay 1-3)Arizona (Bumgarner 4-2) at L.A. Dodgers
(Buehler 1-0)Colorado (Gray 4-3) at San Diego (Dar-
vish 3-1)
Tuesday’s games
Tampa Bay at BaltimoreBoston at TorontoChicago White Sox at MinnesotaN.Y. Yankees at TexasMilwaukee at Kansas CityCleveland at L.A. AngelsHouston at OaklandDetroit at SeattleSan Francisco at CincinnatiMiami at PhiladelphiaN.Y. Mets at AtlantaWashington at Chicago CubsPittsburgh at St. LouisArizona at L.A. DodgersColorado at San Diego
Scoreboard
Monday, May 17, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 21
BALTIMORE — Rombauer left
Medina Spirit behind — and put
horse racing’s latest controversy on
the back burner.
Little-known Rombauer sprung
an 11-1 upset to win the Preakness
on Saturday, passing Bob Baffert’s
Kentucky Derby winner to end a
potential Triple Crown bid that
would have carried a giant asterisk.
Medina Spirit finished third and
will not go on to the Belmont with a
Triple Crown on the line and a po-
tential Derby disqualification hang-
ing over the sport.
“A little disappointed, but we’ll
go on from here,” said assistant
trainer Jimmy Barnes, who sad-
dled the horses in Baffert’s ab-
sence.
Baffert was not present at Pimli-
co Race Course, opting to stay away
because of the controversy sur-
rounding Medina Spirit, who tested
positive for the steroid betametha-
sone in post-Derby testing. He said
in a spotlight-stealing statement
hours before the race: “Today is not
about Bob Baffert. Instead it is
about Medina Spirit and all of the
other equine athletes in our tre-
mendous sport.”
All the focus nonetheless was on
2-1 favorite Medina Spirit, Baffert
and his other Preakness runner,
Concert Tour, who went off at 4-1.
Medina Spirit was passed for the
first time in his career by Rom-
bauer, who won by 3½ lengths over
second-place Midnight Bourbon.
“I had to come out running to get
my position,” said Medina Spirit
jockey John Velazquez, who fell to 0
for 11 in the Preakness. “I knew that
he was going to be pressed today. I
was hoping that he wouldn’t overdo
it, and we did.”
Concert Tour was a disappoint-
ing ninth in a 10-horse field.
“I am at a loss for words,” said
Concert Tour jockey Mike Smith,
who left Midnight Bourbon after
the Derby to ride Baffert’s other
Preakness horse. “He just wasn’t
going anywhere.”
Maryland racing officials re-
quired Concert Tour and Medina
Spirit to undergo additional testing
and monitoring as conditions to run
in the Preakness. Those three
rounds of tests came back Friday,
clearing them to race. None of the
other horses were subject to that
level of scrutiny, which came out of
the situation at Churchill Downs
and Baffert’s four other medication
violations over the past 13 months
with other horses.
That was set aside for at least the
1:53.62 it took for Rombauer to
complete the 1 3/16-mile race, pay-
ing $26.50 to win, $10 to place and
$5.20 to show.
“He broke as expected and I
thought he put enough pressure on
Medina Spirit to make it a horse
race and then he ended up second,”
Midnight Bourbon trainer Steve
Asmussen said. “He showed up.
He’s improving. And he’s not there
yet, all at the same time.”
Midnight Bourbon was sixth in
the Kentucky Derby behind Medi-
na Spirit, whose victory still hangs
in the balance with a second test yet
to be analyzed. It’s unclear how
long that will take.
Trainer Michael McCarthy won
a Triple Crown race for the first
time and captured the Preakness
before Hall of Famer Todd Pletch-
er, for whom he worked as an as-
sistant before opening his own
barn. Pletcher gave McCarthy a
bear hug after the race.
Rombauer is owned by John and
Diane Fradkin, a far cry from Medi-
na Spirit’s Zedan Racing Stables
and other horse racing conglomer-
ates. He won for the third time in
seven starts.
McCarthy choked back tears
while talking about everyone in-
volved with Rombauer.
“Means a lot to be here, partici-
pate on a day like this,” he said.
“Happy for the Fradkins. Just goes
to show you that small players in
the game can be successful, as
well.”
Rombauer busted the bias of
horses hugging the rail on the dirt at
Pimlico Race Course all day, going
past Midnight Bourbon and Medi-
na Spirit down the stretch.
Jockey Flavien Prat won the
Preakness two years after being
elevated to the Derby winner
aboard Country House when Maxi-
mum Security was disqualified.
“Of course it’s a lot different
when you cross the wire first: You
get that feeling,” Prat said. “It’s a lot
of joy.”
With the usual joy replaced by
chatter about Baffert and medica-
tion violations, the Preakness was
run in front of a limited capacity of
10,000 fans, a fraction of the crowd
of 100,000-plus that typically packs
Pimlico on the third Saturday in
May. Masks were still required be-
cause of city and track protocols.
WILL NEWTON /AP
Flavien Prat atop Rombauer, left, wins the 146th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, Saturday, inBaltimore. Rombauer went off at 111. Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit was third.
Rombauer pulls an upset,Baffert’s Medina Spirit 3rd
BY STEPHEN WHYNO
Associated Press
PREAKNESS/MMA
HOUSTON — Charles Oliveira
claimed the UFC lightweight title
Saturday night, stopping Michael
Chandler with a barrage of punches
early in the second round at UFC
262.
Oliveira (31-8) earned his ninth
consecutive victory in dramatic
fashion, finishing Chandler (22-6)
with a series of precise strikes to
claim the belt vacated by Khabib
Nurmagomedov’s retirement.
After both fighters traded big
shots in a back-and-forth opening
round, Oliveira abruptly dropped
Chandler with a left hook in the
opening seconds of the second
round. The Brazilian veteran pur-
sued Chandler around the perime-
ter of the cage before dropping
Chandler again with a left hook and
finishing with punches on the
ground just 19 seconds into the
round.
“I told you I was going to knock
him out, and I came and knocked
him out,” Oliveira said through a
translator. “I’m proving to everybo-
dy I’m the lion of lions.”
Oliveira appeared to be in serious
trouble in the first round from
Chandler’s relentless attacks, but
he recovered and then finished in
spectacular fashion. Oliveira, who
has stopped eight of his nine oppo-
nents during his winning streak, ran
across the mat and hurdled the cage
to celebrate his first title belt after 11
years in the UFC and his record 17th
UFC finish.
“Michael, you’re a great cham-
pion,” said Oliveira, who already
held the UFC record with 14 victo-
ries by submission. “But today is my
day.”
Oliveira is the UFC’s first new un-
disputed lightweight champion in
more than three years. Nurmago-
medov held the belt from April 2018
until this year, when UFC President
Dana White accepted the unbeaten
Russian star’s decision to retire in
the prime of his career late last year.
A mid-career renaissance led Ol-
iveira to a title fight, while Chandler
got his shot only eight months after
signing with the UFC following a
decade in Bellator, where he won
the 155-pound title three times.
Chandler’s UFC debut was an im-
pressive stoppage of Dan Hooker in
January, and the promotion fast-
tracked him to a title shot.
Oliveira showed off his ever-im-
proving striking game alongside his
already formidable jiu-jitsu skills in
a career-capping performance. Ol-
iveira joined the UFC as a 20-year-
old prospect and went through sev-
eral down stretches when the pro-
motion appeared to overmatch him
against veteran opposition, but the
now-31-year-old lightweight has
added formidable striking to his
skills as arguably the top submis-
sion artist in the promotion.
The UFC packed the Toyota Cen-
ter for its second pay-per-view
event in front of a full crowd since
the onset of the coronavirus pan-
demic.
Oliveira stopsChandler, claimslightweight title
Associated Press
PAGE 22 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, May 17, 2021
NHL
East Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
yPittsburgh 56 37 16 3 77 196 156
x-Washington 56 36 15 5 77 191 163
xBoston 56 33 16 7 73 168 136
x-N.Y. Islanders 56 32 17 7 71 156 128
N.Y. Rangers 56 27 23 6 60 177 157
Philadelphia 56 25 23 8 58 163 201
New Jersey 56 19 30 7 45 145 194
Buffalo 56 15 34 7 37 138 199
Central Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
yCarolina 56 36 12 8 80 179 136
xFlorida 56 37 14 5 79 189 153
xTampa Bay 56 36 17 3 75 181 147
xNashville 56 31 23 2 64 156 154
Dallas 56 23 19 14 60 158 154
Chicago 56 24 25 7 55 161 186
Detroit 56 19 27 10 48 127 171
Columbus 56 18 26 12 48 137 187
West Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
zColorado 56 39 13 4 82 197 133
xVegas 56 40 14 2 82 191 124
xMinnesota 56 35 16 5 75 181 160
xSt. Louis 56 27 20 9 63 169 170
Arizona 56 24 26 6 54 153 176
Los Angeles 56 21 28 7 49 143 170
San Jose 56 21 28 7 49 151 199
Anaheim 56 17 30 9 43 126 179
North Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
yToronto 56 35 14 7 77 187 148
xEdmonton 56 35 19 2 72 183 154
xWinnipeg 56 30 23 3 63 170 154
xMontreal 56 24 21 11 59 159 168
Calgary 53 24 26 3 51 142 150
Ottawa 56 23 28 5 51 157 190
Vancouver 53 22 28 3 47 140 174
z clinched top seedy clinched divisionx clinched playoff spot
Saturday’s game
Vancouver 4, Edmonton 1Sunday’s game
Calgary at Vancouver
PlayoffsFIRST ROUND
(Best-of-7; x-if necessary)Carolina vs. Nashville
Monday: �at CarolinaWednesday: �at CarolinaFriday: �at NashvilleSunday, May 23: �at Nashvillex-Tuesday, May 25: �at Carolinax-Thursday, May 27: �at Nashvillex-Saturday, May 29: �at Carolina
Florida vs. Tampa Bay
Sunday: at FloridaTuesday: at FloridaThursday: �at Tampa BaySaturday, May 22: �at Tampa Bayx-Monday, May 24: at Floridax-Wednesday, May 26: �at Tampa Bayx-Friday, May 28: at Florida
Washington 1, Boston 0
Saturday: Washington 3, Boston 2, OTMonday: �at WashingtonWednesday: �at BostonFriday: �at Bostonx-Sunday, May 23: �at Washingtonx-Tuesday, May 25: �at Bostonx-Thursday, May 27: �at Washington
Pittsburgh vs. N.Y. Islanders
Sunday: at PittsburghTuesday: at PittsburghThursday: �at N.Y. IslandersSaturday, May 22: �at N.Y. Islandersx-Monday, May 24: at Pittsburghx-Wednesday, May 26: �at N.Y. Islandersx-Friday, May 28: at Pittsburgh
Toronto vs. Montreal
Thursday: at TorontoSaturday, May 22: �at TorontoMonday, May 24: �at MontrealTuesday, May 25: �at Montrealx-Thursday, May 27: �at Torontox-Saturday, May 29: �at Montrealx-Monday, May 31: �at Toronto
Edmonton vs. Winnipeg
Wednesday: �at EdmontonFriday: �at EdmontonSunday, May 23: �at WinnipegMonday, May 24: �at Winnipegx-Wednesday, May 26: �at Edmontonx-Friday, May 28: �at Winnipegx-Sunday, May 30: �at Edmonton
Vegas vs. Minnesota
Sunday: �at VegasTuesday: �at VegasThursday: �at MinnesotaSaturday, May 22: �at Minnesotax-Monday, May 24: �at Vegasx-Wednesday, May 26: �at Minnesotax-Friday, May 28: �at Vegas
Colorado vs. St. Louis
Monday: at ColoradoWednesday: at ColoradoFriday: �at St. LouisSunday, May 23: �at St. Louisx-Tuesday, May 25: at Coloradox-Thursday, May 27: �at St. Louisx-Saturday, May 29: at Colorado
Scoreboard
rookie records in just 55 games. His scoring
pace for a normal 82-game schedule would
have threatened the all-time franchise record,
shared by Marian Gaborik (2007-08) and Eric
Staal (2017-18) with 42 goals each, but these
milestones aren’t exactly front of mind for him.
Asked on a recent video conference call
about his preference of his two nicknames
making the rounds — Kirill The Thrill or Dol-
lar Bill Kirill, which teammates solidified with
custom T-shirts — Kaprizov naturally de-
murred.
“I don’t like to give myself compliments. I
don’t like to think of myself as an outlier,” Ka-
prizov said, through a translator. “It was a
team effort, and at the end of the day that’s real-
ly all it’s about and all I focus on.”
Kaprizov has given the Wild their first play-
er with true take-over-a-game potential since
Gaborik’s departure 12 years ago. He’ll be a big
help on their quest to win a playoff series for
the first time since 2015, the same year their
floppy-haired, easy-smiling left wing was
drafted.
“Every time he gets the puck, you can feel it
in the arena,” said center Joel Eriksson Ek, the
Wild’s third-leading scorer. “It’s amazing the
things he does. He’s just creating all the time.”
He’s not overly deferential, ranking second
on the team in shots behind Kevin Fiala. The
5-foot-9, 200-pound Kaprizov is also not so de-
fined by the finesse of skating and stickhand-
ling that he won’t pursue and protect the puck
with muscle and grit.
“You should see him with his shirt off. He’s
pretty chiseled,” linemate Ryan Hartman said.
“He’s strong and he can definitely stand up for
himself, but ideally we’d like to be doing that
for him.”
The Golden Knights went after Kaprizov on
May 5, their most recent matchup, when Nico-
las Hague hit him from behind in the first peri-
od.
While the rest of the Wild stormed to Kapri-
zov’s defense in the ensuing shoving match,
Zach Whitecloud charged him and wound up
with a bloody nose after being wrestled to the
ice. Kaprizov clearly didn’t need the help. He
scored two goals in the third period of that
overtime loss.
“That’s one of the things that I love about
him,” Guerin said. “Can you play your best
game when you’re taking a lot of abuse? He
can.”
The Wild, then led by general manager
Chuck Fletcher, were able to nab Kaprizov in
the fifth round in 2015 because of the common
uncertainty of Russian prospects coming to the
NHL in light of the KHL’s prominence there.
Hailing from a village outside of the industri-
al city of Novokuznetsk, more than 2,000 miles
from Moscow, Kaprizov didn’t expect to be
drafted, finding out via text message as he
readied for bed. He honored his commitment
to the KHL but promised the Wild he’d come
when he was finished, and Guerin made a trip
to Russia a few months after getting the job in
2019 to further the relationship. He left with no
doubt Kaprizov could handle the transition.
“He’s really sparked our team,” Guerin said.
“He’s an electrifying player.”
Thrill: Rookie Kirill has been breakout star for WildFROM PAGE 24
STACY BENGS/AP
Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov, whohad 27 goals this season, is a favorite to winthe Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year.
WASHINGTON — T.J. Oshie’s
goal song, John Denver’s “Take
Me Home, Country Roads,”
echoed through Capital One Arena
and its 25% capacity crowd. It turn-
ed out the credit technically be-
longed elsewhere, but Capitals
fans were in no mood to nitpick.
Nic Dowd’s deflection of Oshie'
shot from the blue line found the
back of the net 4:41 into overtime,
giving his team a 3-2 victory over
the Boston Bruins on Saturday
night in Game 1 of the first-round
playoff series.
Washington weathered the loss
of starting goaltender Vitek Vane-
cek to a lower-body injury early on,
with backup Craig Anderson mak-
ing 21 saves and allowing only a
power-play goal.
As four Capitals players entered
the offensive zone, Tom Wilson
shuttled a pass back to Oshie, who
blasted a one-timer on net. Dowd
extended his stick for the deflec-
tion, and soon the puck trickled
through Tuukka Rask's leg pads
and over the line.
“I think you just got to read the
play,” Dowd said. “You have the
opportunity to join the rush, you
join the rush and, you know, you
make a play and we were fortunate
enough to do that.”
Achallenge initiated by the NHL
Situation Room investigated
whether Washington entered the
zone on-side, but the video sup-
ported the call on the ice.
Tom Wilson and Brenden Dillon
also scored for the Capitals. Daniel
Sprong and Anthony Mantha,
making their playoff debuts, each
had an assist.
Jake DeBrusk and Nick Ritchie
scored for Boston, and Tuukka
Rask made 29 saves.
“I don’t think we let other teams
win, to be honest with you,” De-
Brusk said. “I think give them
credit, they made a good play to
win in overtime and they played a
solid game. It was a tight game, for
us and for them, and I thought that
there were some scoring chances
either way.”
Oshie steps up as center: Nor-
mally a right wing, Oshie played
out of position as Washington’s
third-line center, with Evgeny
Kuznetsov out due to COVID-19
protocols. The lineup decision paid
off as he cashed in with two assists.
Oshie returned from a lower-
body injury he sustained May 8
that caused him to miss the Caps’
regular-season finale. He left the
bench briefly during the first peri-
od before returning to the game.
Familiar face: Washington de-
fenseman Zdeno Chara faced the
Bruins in a playoff game for the
first time after spending 14 years
as Boston’s captain. Chara fin-
ished with one shot and three hits.
Up next: The Capitals host
Game 2 on Monday before the
teams head to Boston for Games 3
and 4 on Wednesday and Friday.
ALEX BRANDON/AP
The Capitals celebrate after Nic Dowd deflected T.J. Oshie’s shot in for the gamewinning goal duringovertime of Game 1 of their firstround playoff series against the Boston Bruins in Washington.
Caps beat Bruins in OT of Game 1BY ADAM ZIELONKA
Associated Press
Monday, May 17, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 23
NBA
INDIANAPOLIS — LeBron
James returned from a six-game
absence to score 24 points, Anthony
Davis had 28 and the Los Angeles
Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers 122-
115 on Saturday.
The Lakers can take the No. 6
seed if they win at New Orleans on
Sunday and Portland loses to Den-
ver that day. If the Lakers finish No.
7, they will be in the play-in tourna-
ment against the No. 8 seed.
James played 28 minutes, hitting
11 of 22 shots, after sitting out trying
to recover from high ankle sprain.
He had eight assists and seven re-
bounds.
Davis, who missed the previous
game because of a tight left thigh, al-
so had 10 rebounds.
Suns 140, Spurs 103: Devin
Booker had 27 points and Phoenix
won at San Antonio to maintain its
hope of earning the top spot in the
NBA and Western Conference.
The Suns moved within a game of
Utah for first in the West. The Jazz
conclude their season Sunday in
Sacramento while Phoenix closes a
two-game series in San Antonio.
The Suns swept the season series
against Utah.
Keldon Johnson had 18 points to
lead the Spurs, who previously
clinched 10th in the West and will
face either Memphis or Golden
State on the road Wednesday.
Nets 105, Bulls 91:Kyrie Irving
scored 22 points while playing with
Kevin Durant and James Harden
for the first time in three months,
leading host Brooklyn past Chicago.
The eighth appearance of the sea-
son for the Nets’ Big Three wasn’t
particularly pretty, as they fell
quickly into a 12-0 hole. But they
had some sharp stretches and won
their fourth straight, improving to
6-2 with their three All-Stars in the
same game.
Durant shot just 4-for-17, but fin-
ished with 12 points, nine rebounds
and six assists. Harden had seven
assists, five points and five re-
bounds while playing 25 minutes in
his second game back from a
hamstring injury.
Bucks 122, Heat 108: Khris
Middleton and Bryn Forbes each
scored 21 points to help host Mil-
waukee beat Miami in a potential
first-round playoff series preview.
Jrue Holiday added 20 points and
10 assists for the Bucks. Kendrick
Nunn had a season-high 31 points
for the Heat, who were without
leading scorer Jimmy Butler be-
cause of lower back tightness.
Milwaukee is third and Miami
sixth in the Eastern Conference
standings, which would have them
meeting in the first round of the
playoffs. But neither team is locked
into that position heading into the fi-
nal day of the regular season.
Knicks 118, Hornets 109 (OT):
Julius Randle had 33 points, 13 as-
sists and 10 rebounds and led an
overtime surge that sent host New
York past Charlotte.
The Knicks improved to 40-31
and moved into a tie with the idle At-
lanta Hawks for the fourth spot in
the Eastern Conference playoff
race.
Celtics 124, Timberwolves 108:
Jayson Tatum had 26 points and 11
rebounds to help Boston roll at Min-
nesota.
Evan Fournier added 18 points
and was 5-for-8 from three-point
range.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the
Timberwolves with 24 points and 14
rebounds.
LeBron returns, Lakers beat PacersAssociated Press
DOUG MCSCHOOLER / AP
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James had 24 points in his first game back after a sixgame absence,as the Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers 122115 Saturday in Indianapolis.
ROUNDUP
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Vanessa Bryant
took Michael Jordan’s hand and walked
down from the stage, a familiar chant break-
ing out throughout the arena as she made her
way back to her seat.
“Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!” the crowd shouted.
With that, he was — officially, finally — a
member of the Naismith Memorial Basket-
ball Hall of Fame.
Kobe Bryant is in the Hall now, along with
contemporaries Tim Duncan and Kevin
Garnett, headliners of a group of nine who
got their delayed and long-awaited en-
shrinement on Saturday night, more than a
year after being announced as the Hall’s
Class of 2020.
“Right now, I’m sure he’s laughing in
heaven, because I’m about to praise him in
public,” Vanessa Bryant said.
And she did, her purple dress matching
the traditional Los Angeles Lakers color,
capping the night by giving the speech that
her husband was not here to deliver.
“There will never be anyone like Kobe,”
Vanessa Bryant said. “Kobe was one of a
kind. He was special. He was humble — off
the court — but bigger than life.”
Bryant, Duncan and Garnett were joined
in the class by three-time NCAA champion
coach Kim Mulkey, two-time NBA cham-
pion coach Rudy Tomjanovich, four-time
Olympic gold medalist Tamika Catchings,
three-time Final Four coach Eddie Sutton,
1,000-game winner Barbara Stevens and
longtime FIBA secretary general Patrick
Baumann.
“I appreciate you,” Garnett said to Dun-
can from the stage. “It’s an honor to go into
the hall with you, bro. You and Kob.”
Duncan stayed true to who he is: modest
and humble, on a day where his Spurs coach,
Gregg Popovich, missed a game to see his
enshrinement.
“This is the most nervous I’ve ever been in
my life,” Duncan said as he began his
speech. “Been through finals, Game 7’s, this
is officially the most nervous I’ve ever been
in my life. I’ve been pacing in my room all
day, so let’s see what we get.”
‘It’s an honor’: Hall class of ’20 enshrined
KATHY WILLENS/AP
Tim Duncan, left, smiles with presenterDavid Robinson after being enshrined withthe 2020 Basketball Hall of Fame classSaturday in Uncasville, Conn.
Bryant, Duncan, Garnett, Mulkey,Tomjanovich, Catchings, Sutton,Stevens, Baumann have their day
BY TIM REYNOLDS
Associated Press
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
W L Pct GB
z-Philadelphia 48 23 .676 —
x-Brooklyn 47 24 .662 1
x-New York 40 31 .563 8
Boston 36 35 .507 12
Toronto 27 44 .380 21
Southeast Division
W L Pct GB
y-Atlanta 40 31 .563 —
x-Miami 39 32 .549 1
Charlotte 33 38 .465 7
Washington 33 38 .465 7
Orlando 21 50 .296 19
Central Division
W L Pct GB
y-Milwaukee 46 25 .648 —
Indiana 33 38 .465 13
Chicago 30 41 .423 16
Cleveland 22 49 .310 24
Detroit 20 51 .282 26
Western Conference
Southwest Division
W L Pct GB
y-Dallas 42 29 .592 —
Memphis 38 33 .535 4
San Antonio 33 38 .465 9
New Orleans 31 40 .437 11
Houston 17 54 .239 25
Northwest Division
W L Pct GB
y-Utah 51 20 .718 —
x-Denver 47 24 .662 4
Portland 41 30 .577 10
Minnesota 22 49 .310 29
Oklahoma City 21 50 .296 30
Pacific Division
W L Pct GB
y-Phoenix 50 21 .704 —
x-L.A. Clippers 47 24 .662 3
L.A. Lakers 41 30 .577 9
Golden State 38 33 .535 12
Sacramento 31 40 .437 19
z-clinched top seed in conferencey-won divisionx-clinched playoff spot
Saturday’s games
Brooklyn 105, Chicago 91 New York 118, Charlotte 109, OT L.A. Lakers 122, Indiana 115 Phoenix 140, San Antonio 103 Boston 124, Minnesota 108 Milwaukee 122, Miami 108
Sunday’s games
Boston at New York Charlotte at Washington Indiana at Toronto Phoenix at San Antonio Memphis at Golden State Cleveland at Brooklyn Houston at Atlanta Orlando at Philadelphia Miami at Detroit Dallas at Minnesota Denver at Portland L.A. Clippers at Oklahoma City L.A. Lakers at New Orleans Milwaukee at Chicago Utah at Sacramento
Monday’s games
No games scheduled.
Leaders
Through Saturday
Scoring
G FG FT PTS AVG
Curry, GS 62 642 357 1969 31.8
Beal, WAS 59 662 402 1853 31.4
Lillard, POR 66 595 446 1906 28.9
Embiid, PHI 51 461 471 1451 28.5
Antetokounmpo, MIL 61 626 398 1717 28.1
Rebounds
GOFFDEF TOT AVG
Capela, ATL 63 297 606 903 14.3
Gobert, UTA 70 236 708 944 13.5
Valanciunas, MEM 61 247 513 760 12.5
Sabonis, IND 61 147 579 726 11.9
Assists
G AST AVG
Westbrook, WAS 64 753 11.8
Young, ATL 62 585 9.4
Green, GS 62 549 8.9
Paul, PHO 70 622 8.9
Scoreboard
PAGE 24 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, May 17, 2021
SPORTSTriple Crown derailed
Rombauer wins Preakness; Derby winnerMedina Spirit finishes 3rd ›› Horse racing, Page 21
Oliveira stops Chandler for lightweight title ›› MMA, Page 21
ST. PAUL, Minn.
Wary of all kinds of pressure on Ki-
rill Kaprizov and resolute in their
team-first culture, the Minnesota
Wild tried to keep a lid on the fan-
fare enveloping his arrival in the NHL.
“I was nervous about the incredible expecta-
tions, because our fan base has waited five years
for this kid, and he’s had such success,” said gen-
eral manager Bill Guerin, nodding to Kaprizov’s
game-winner that gave Russia the 2018 Olympic
gold medal and back-to-back seasons leading
the Kontinental Hockey League in goals.
One game in, all bets were off.
Kaprizov intercepted a pass on Jan. 14 in Los
Angeles, bolted toward the net on a breakaway,
used a slick right-left move to try to deke goalie
Jonathan Quick and managed to knock in the
puck off his left skate for the overtime winner in
the opener.
“I said to myself, ‘OK, I’m done here,’’ Guerin
said, chuckling.
The 24-year-old Kaprizov is getting the oppor-
tunity to show his skills on a bigger stage as the
Wild match up against Vegas in the playoffs,
with Game 2 set for Tuesday. He finished the
regular season with 27 goals, the eighth-most in
the league. He led all NHL rookies with 51 points
and in several other categories.
Though he has competition from Dallas’ Jason
Robertson, Kaprizov has been the consensus
Calder Trophy favorite since that auspicious de-
but against the Kings. He’d be one of the oldest
winners since a 1990 rule change required can-
didates to be under 26 on Sept. 15 of their rookie
season.
“We’ve definitely seen areas of improvement
away from the puck, but his skill set, his aware-
ness offensively, is as good as it gets,” coach
Dean Evason said.
Kaprizov set numerous single-season Wild
24yearold Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov finished the regular season with 27 goals, the eighthmost in the league, while leading all NHL rookies with 51 points.After waiting five years for Kaprizov to leave Russia for the NHL, the Wild’s floppyhaired, easysmiling rookie has more than met the extraordinary expectations that surrounded his debut season.
RICK SCUTERI/AP
Kirillthe thrillRecord-setting Wild rookie getting chance to showcase skills on postseason stage
BY DAVE CAMPBELL
Associated Press
SEE THRILL ON PAGE 22
NHL PLAYOFFS
INSIDE
Dowd lifts
Caps past
Bruins in
overtime
of Game 1Page 22