page 3 page 8
TRANSCRIPT
Volume 80 Edition 135 ©SS 2021 CONTINGENCY EDITION FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2021 Free to Deployed Areas
stripes.com
MILITARY
Air Force, Space Forcestrength gets lowmarks in power report Page 3
MILITARY
Pentagon: US troopsin Syria attacked withdrones, indirect firePage 8
VIRUS OUTBREAK
Sports in US largely avaccine success story,but outliers still remainPage 24
Penalties for unvaccinated DOD civilian employees laid out ›› Page 9
For years, the aspiring spy had gone to re-
markable lengths to protect his identity and
evade detection.
With a cash-bought burner phone, he cre-
ated an anonymous email account that could send en-
crypted messages, according to the FBI, then waited
to use it.
To avoid suspicion at his job developing America’s
most advanced submarines, he allegedly sneaked out
sensitive documents for years, a few pages at time.
The Navy veteran’s work for the U.S. government
had taught him to spot the clues that betray insider
threats, and, according to an FBI affidavit, he would
later brag that “we made very sure not to display even
a single one.”
But now, after all that caution, the foreign officials
Jonathan Toebbe believed he was negotiating with
were pushing him to do the one thing he’d been avoid-
Staying below the surfaceSub engineer and would-be spy bragged of stealth – then revealed himself anyway
BY WILLIAM WAN AND IAN SHAPIRA
The Washington Post
SEE STEALTH ON PAGE 4
The FBI says Jonathan Toebbehelped develop nuclear subs —
like the USS John Warner —and attempted to sell theirsecrets to another nation.
JOHN WHALEN/U.S. Navy
INSIDER THREAT
The documents allegedly
smuggled out by aspiring spy
Jonathan Toebbe contained
schematic designs for the Navy’s
highly advanced Virginia-class
sub, which is equipped with a
nuclear reactor that can run for
33 years without refueling.
SOURCE: The Washington Post
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan —
Eight years after a surgeon Yoko-
ta Air Base in western Tokyo left a
laparotomy towel inside Angie
Perry’s abdomen, the Air Force
has offered to settle her medical
malpractice claim for $50,000.
Perry, a former Army spouse
now living in Vancouver, Wash.,
discovered the
towel and had it
removed five
years after her
cesarean section
at Yokota in
2013, according
to Perry and re-
cords she pro-
vided. She is
seeking $1 million in compensa-
tion.
“There is no doubt in my mind if
that towel wasn’t found, it
would’ve killed me,” she told Stars
and Stripes on Sept. 15. “I’d rather
not take anything than settle.”
Mistakes of this type are not un-
common in Defense Department
hospitals, although they have de-
clined since 2016, when DOD be-
gan tracking them in its annual
Tricare program report.
That year, the Pentagon identi-
fied 18 cases of objects left in pa-
tients by surgeons and 38 cases of
surgeons operating on the wrong
patient, performing the wrong
procedure or operating on the
wrong body part.
In 2020, DOD hospitals report-
ed 17 instances of a foreign object
being left inside a patient after
surgery, according to the annual
DOD report on its Tricare health-
care program. The report identi-
fied another 21 cases of the wrong
patient, the wrong procedure or
the wrong body part.
Ex-Armyspouse cansettle casefor $50K
BY ERICA EARL
Stars and Stripes
SEE SPOUSE ON PAGE 7
Perry
PAGE 2 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, October 22, 2021
BUSINESS/WEATHER
NEW YORK — Bitcoin stormed
above $66,000 for the first time on
Wednesday, riding a wave of ex-
citement about how the financial
establishment is increasingly ac-
cepting the digital currency’s rise.
One Bitcoin was valued at
$66,096, as of 4:15 p.m. Eastern
time, after earlier climbing as
high as $66,974.77. The digital
currency has roared back after
sinking below $30,000 during the
summer to top its prior record set
in April. That previous all-time
high was nearly $64,889, accord-
ing to CoinDesk.
The surge has come as more
businesses, professional investors
and even the government of El
Salvador buy into Bitcoin, further
broadening its base beyond its ini-
tial core of fanatics.
The latest converts came into
the world of crypto on Tuesday,
when the first exchange-traded
fund linked to Bitcoin found huge
interest from investors. Shares of
the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy
ETF changed hands 24.1 million
times in a resounding debut. It
was even busier on Wednesday,
with trading volume topping 29.4
million.
Cryptocurrencies are still very
far from winning over everyone,
though. Critics point to how
they’re still not widely used as
forms of payment. They also crit-
icize how much energy is used by
the crypto system, which can ulti-
mately mean higher bills for home
heating and other utilities amid a
global crunch, as well as more cli-
mate-changing emissions.
Bitcoin tops $66K, as crypto goes mainstreamAssociated Press
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53/41
Ramstein48/39
Stuttgart50/39
Lajes,Azores70/67
Rota68/58
Morón74/52 Sigonella
72/57
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Pápa56/48
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DrawskoPomorskie
45/41
FRIDAY IN EUROPE
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Tokyo61/45
Okinawa77/74
Sasebo67/58
Iwakuni64/58
Seoul60/40
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Busan64/54
The weather is provided by the American Forces Network Weather Center,
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SATURDAY IN THE PACIFIC
WEATHER OUTLOOK
TODAYIN STRIPES
American Roundup ...... 13Comics .........................16Crossword ................... 16Faces .......................... 14Opinion ........................ 15Sports .................... 17-24
Military rates
Euro costs (Oct. 22) $1.14Dollar buys (Oct. 22) 0.8372British pound (Oct. 22) $1.35Japanese yen (Oct. 22) 111.00South Korean won (Oct. 22) 1145.00
Commercial rates
Bahrain(Dinar) .3769Britain (Pound) 1.3815Canada (Dollar) 1.2318China(Yuan) 6.3963Denmark (Krone) 6.3891Egypt (Pound) 15.6988Euro .8587Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7756Hungary (Forint) 312.01Israel (Shekel) 3.2108Japan (Yen) 113.78Kuwait(Dinar) .3014
Norway (Krone) 8.3188
Philippines (Peso) 50.80Poland (Zloty) 3.95Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7506Singapore (Dollar) 1.3462
South Korea (Won) 1177.86Switzerland (Franc) .9175Thailand (Baht) 27.87Turkey (NewLira) 9.4610
(Military exchange rates are those availableto customers at military banking facilities in thecountry of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Ger-many, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., pur-chasing British pounds in Germany), check withyour local military banking facility. Commercialrates are interbank rates provided for referencewhen buying currency. All figures are foreigncurrencies to one dollar, except for the Britishpound, which is represented in dollars-to-pound, and the euro, which is dollars-to-euro.)
INTEREST RATES
Prime rate 3.25Interest Rates Discount rate 0.75Federal funds market rate 0.093-month bill 0.0530-year bond 2.11
EXCHANGE RATES
Friday, October 22, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3
The U.S. Air Force and the new-
ly established Space Force were
graded as “weak” in an annual as-
sessment of military power that
found both services to be under-
equipped to carry out the full
spectrum of their respective mis-
sions.
The assessments, contained in
the conservative Heritage Foun-
dation’s 2022 index on military
strength, examined the capability,
capacity and readiness of each
service and whether they would
be up to the task of fighting two
major conflicts simultaneously.
“These three areas of assess-
ment (capability, capacity and
readiness) are central to the over-
arching questions of whether the
U.S. has a sufficient quantity of ap-
propriately modern military pow-
er and whether military units are
able to conduct military oper-
ations on demand and effective-
ly,” the Washington-based think
tank said in a statement Wednes-
day.
The Heritage index rates the
services on a five-category scale
that ranges from “very strong” to
“very weak.” Heritage empha-
sized that the scores do not reflect
the U.S. military’s strength rela-
tive to other militaries.
“Rather, they are assessments
of the institutional, programmatic
and material health or viability of
America’s hard military power,”
Heritage said.
For the Air Force, the score of
“weak” was a downgrade from its
“marginal” rating in Heritage’s
assessment last year.
While the Air Force possesses
86% of the combat aircraft recom-
mended by the index, the mission
readiness and physical location of
the aircraft “would make it diffi-
cult for the Air Force to respond
rapidly to a crisis,” Heritage said.
Also, the need to pull aircraft
from all locations for a single ma-
jor fight would prevent them from
joining a simultaneous major bat-
tle elsewhere.
While Heritage said Air Force
modernization programs are
“generally healthy,” old planes
are being retired faster than they
are getting replaced. A pilot short-
age and reduced flying hours also
factored into the Air Force’s lower
score.
Meanwhile, the Space Force
was assessed by Heritage for the
first time and received poor
marks.
The service “does not have
enough assets to track and man-
age the explosive growth in com-
mercial and competitor-country
systems being placed into orbit,”
Heritage said in its 608-page re-
port.
Also, the force has outdated
equipment and lacks defensive
and offensive counter-space capa-
bilities, the report said.
There was no change in Heri-
tage’s assessment of the Army,
which was again graded as “mod-
erate” in strength. The Navy was
again graded as “marginal, trend-
ing toward weak” because it “des-
perately needs a larger fleet” to
meet its mission requirements.
The Marine Corps, meanwhile,
was bumped up from “moderate”
to “strong” due in part to its “ex-
traordinary efforts to modernize”
and its enhanced combat readin-
ess, Heritage said.
The Corps’ strides came at the
expense of building capacity, “but
better to have a combat-relevant
force, even if small, than a large
force that is ill-suited for war,” the
report said.
Air, Space forcesseen as ‘weak’in power report
BY JOHN VANDIVER
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @john_vandiver
at least in part, because of uncer-
tainty about the civilian job mar-
ket. Among those who chose to
leave the active-duty Army in fis-
cal 2021, more than 6,600 transi-
tioned to the National Guard or
Army Reserve, the Army report-
ed.
The National Guard also ex-
ceeded its end-strength goal with
337,525 soldiers, about 1,000 more
than required. The Army Reserve,
however, ended the fiscal year
with 184,358 soldiers, nearly 5,500
short of its own end-strength goal.
The service reaches its end-
strength goals most years. The
goals are set each year by Con-
gress in the annual National De-
fense Authorization Act, the must-
pass law that sets yearly Pentagon
spending and policy priorities.
The Army missed its goal in 2018,
falling short in its recruiting ef-
forts that year for the first time
since 2005.
More soldiers chose to stay in
the Army during fiscal 2021 than
service leaders expected, helping
them hit the service’s annual ac-
tive-duty end-strength goal man-
dated by Congress, the Army said
Wednesday.
The Army ended the fiscal year
on Sept. 30 with 486,490 active-du-
ty soldiers in its ranks, some 590
more troops than its end-strength
goal, Lt. Gen. Gary Brito, the Ar-
my’s personnel chief, said in a
statement. Overall, the Army —
including the National Guard and
Reserve — ended the fiscal year
with more than 1,008,000 soldiers
across all its components, the ser-
vice said.
Brito said a number of factors
went into reaching the active Ar-
my’s end-strength goal, including
creative recruiting and marketing
tactics during the ongoing corona-
virus pandemic and more than
1,800 soldiers unexpectedly
choosing to stay on active duty. He
said changes at initial entrance
training programs have also im-
pacted the Army’s attrition rate
among recruits in basic training
from nearly 11% in 2020 to about
5.5% in fiscal year 2021.
The Army on Wednesday did
not announce its final recruiting
numbers for the year. An Army
spokesperson did not immediately
respond to a request Wednesday
for those details.
“The Army is a learning organi-
zation that evolves constantly to
adapt to the changing environ-
ment, and that includes how we
fight for and retain talented sol-
diers,” Brito said. “The emphasis
from our leaders at all echelons to
meet the needs of our people and
care for our soldiers and our fam-
ilies has made the Army a compet-
itive organization for more people
— talented people — to join our
team.”
Pentagon officials have said for
the last year that more service
members were choosing to stay in
the military during the pandemic,
JASON ELMORE/U.S. Army
Soldiers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment and 52nd Brigade Engineer Battalion,2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, stand in a brigade formation at Fort Carson,Colo.
Army hits annual end-strength goalwith significant retention numbers
BY COREY DICKSTEIN
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @CDicksteinDC
Island, Md., is no stranger to 7th
Fleet or the Ronald Reagan. He
commanded the carrier from 2016
to 2018, and also served as an as-
sistant to the 7th Fleet command-
er aboard the Yokosuka-based
USS Blue Ridge.
After his time in Yokosuka,
Donnelly in 2019 assumed com-
mand of U.S. Naval Forces Korea.
A 1989 graduate of Villanova
University and the Naval War
College in 2002, Donnelly also has
extensive flight experience. He’s
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE,
Japan — The carrier strike group
organized around the USS Ronald
Reagan welcomed a familiar face
as its newest commander on
Thursday.
Rear Adm. Michael “Buzz”
Donnelly took leadership of Car-
rier Strike Group 5 and Task
Force 70, relieving Rear Adm.
Will Pennington during a ceremo-
ny at Benny Decker Theater on
the naval base south of Tokyo.
Task Force 70, which the Navy
describes as its “only permanent-
ly afloat task force,” consists of
thousands of sailors and a wide
variety of components, including
guided-missile cruisers, the air-
craft carrier USS Ronald Reagan
and its air wing of fighter squad-
rons, Helicopter Maritime Strike
Squadron 51 and a squadron of
specialized electronic warfare
aircraft.
Donnelly, originally from Kent
a veteran pilot with more than
3,000 flight hours and 990 carrier
landings in F-14 Tomcats and F/
A-18 Super Hornets.
“My thanks go out to Adm. Pen-
nington and his great leadership
of the task force,” Donnelly said
in a Navy news release Thursday.
“His stewardship has ensured
support to a free and open Indo-
Pacific, and it is a legacy I look
forward to continuing.”
Pennington, who assumed com-
mand of the task force in Novem-
ber, is slated to take over as depu-
ty commander of 10th Fleet, the
U.S. Fleet Cyber Command, at
Fort Meade, Md.
The ceremony comes just five
days after the Ronald Reagan re-
turned to its homeport in Yokosu-
ka after a 150-day deployment
that included support for U.S.
forces withdrawing from Afghan-
istan.
Former Reagan skipper returns to Japan to lead Navy task forceBY ALEX WILSON
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @AlexMNWilson
MILITARY
PAGE 4 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, October 22, 2021
MILITARY
ing: come out into the open.
At first, Toebbe — a nuclear en-
gineer and father of two who lives
in Annapolis, Md. — pushed back
in encrypted email exchanges de-
tailed in the affidavit. “Face to
face meetings are very risky for
me,” he wrote, “as I am sure you
understand.”
A month later, he protested
again: “I am sorry to be so stub-
born and untrusting, but I cannot
agree to go to a location of your
choosing.”
He’d already threatened to ap-
proach “other possible buyers” if
the country wasn’t interested, an
FBI agent testified at a court hear-
ing on Wednesday.
Eventually — after a series of
trust-building exchanges that in-
volved a secret signal at a Wash-
ington, D.C., building and a depos-
it of $10,000 in cryptocurrency —
Toebbe relented.
For almost a decade, Toebbe,
who held a top-secret security
clearance, had been part of the
multibillion-dollar effort to build
submarines that could remain
submerged and undetected for the
longest time possible.
The documents he allegedly
smuggled out contained schemat-
ic designs for one of the Navy’s
most advanced boats — the Vir-
ginia-class submarine — with a
nuclear reactor that could run for
33 years without refueling.
In this world, stealth was every-
thing. And yet, despite all that
technological sophistication, ev-
ery submarine becomes vulnera-
ble the second it surfaces.
On June 26, Toebbe, 42, drove to
West Virginia’s Shenandoah Val-
ley. Accompanying him was his
wife, Diana Toebbe, 45, a private-
school humanities teacher be-
loved by students and known
among friends for her intelligence
and liberal politics. They brought
with them a tiny data storage card
filled with secrets they allegedly
hoped to sell, wrapped in plastic
and hidden inside half a peanut
butter sandwich.
After years of staying sub-
merged, Toebbe and his wife were
surfacing. And unbeknown to
them, the FBI was watching their
every step.
When the U.S. government an-
nounced their arrest on espionage
charges last week, it filed a 23-
page affidavit in support of a crim-
inal complaint. Packed with tech-
nical notes, it also contained de-
tails as riveting as any spy novel.
There are sly exchanges and
red herrings. Traps are set, evad-
ed, then baited again.
But left unanswered in all the
plot twists: What drove a subur-
ban engineer and his schoolteach-
er wife to apparently try to sell se-
crets to a still-unidentified coun-
try?
Jonathan Toebbe’s spy story be-
gan on April 1, 2020, with a brown
envelope with four U.S. postage
stamps, according to the affidavit.
Toebbe allegedly sent the pack-
age anonymously, with a return
address in Pittsburgh, to an uni-
dentified foreign government. In-
side were sensitive U.S. Navy doc-
uments and instructions on how
the country — believed by many
national security experts to be a
U.S. ally — should reply using an
encrypted email service.
For almost nine months, the re-
ceiving country held on to the
package before it apparently
handed it over to the FBI on Dec.
20, 2020.
Six days later, an FBI agent —
posing as a foreign spy handler —
reached out to Toebbe at the anon-
ymous email address he provided.
Toebbe was cautious at first. In
his reply, he avoided any details
that might give away his identity,
simply calling himself “Alice,” a
common placeholder name in
cryptographic circles.
When the supposed foreign offi-
cial asked him to meet face-to-
face with a “trusted friend” —
someone with a “gift . . . to com-
pensate for your efforts” —
Toebbe knew better.
“I am uncomfortable with this
arrangement,” Jonathan wrote on
March 5, 2021, according to the af-
fidavit. “I propose exchanging
gifts electronically, for mutual
safety.”
He asked his new friend for
$100,000 in Monero, a cryptocur-
rency popular with cybercrimi-
nals that conceals the sender, re-
ceiver and even the amount ex-
changed.
“I understand this is a large re-
quest,” he said. “However, please
remember I am risking my life for
your benefit and I have taken the
first step. Please help me trust you
fully.”
In the five months that followed,
Toebbe and his handler engaged
in delicate negotiations. His
emails adopted a vulnerable tone
that laid bare his dilemma: his
need to remain hidden was pitted
against worries of offending his
new friends or losing their inter-
est.
The handler suggested using a
neutral location as a place for dead
drops: “When you visit the loca-
tion alone, you retrieve a gift and
leave behind the sample we re-
quest.”
But Toebbe did not want the for-
eign government picking the loca-
tion.
“I am concerned that using a
dead drop location your friend
prepares makes me very vulnera-
ble,” he wrote. “If other interested
parties are observing from the lo-
cation, I will be unable to detect
them... I am also concerned that a
physical gift would be very diffi-
cult to explain if I am questioned.”
But the handler kept insisting
that the foreign government select
the dead drop’s location. And
Toebbe kept resisting.
“I must consider the possibility
that I am communicating with an
adversary who has intercepted
my first message and is attempt-
ing to expose me,” he said. “Would
not such an adversary wish me to
go to a place of his choosing, know-
ing that an amateur will be unlike-
ly to detect his surveillance?”
So, Toebbe proposed that his
handlers fly a “signal flag” atop a
building their country controlled
in Washington over Memorial
Day weekend — to prove they
were who they claimed.
Yes, that can be arranged, his
handler replied.
On Monday, May 31 — after the
FBI coordinated with the country
to put the signal in place — Toebbe
wrote back elated. He’d seen the
signal and was finally willing to
surface.
“Now I am comfortable telling
you,” he said. “I am located near
Baltimore, Maryland. Please let
me know when you are ready to
proceed with our first exchange.”
On June 26, at 10:41 a.m., Jo-
nathan and Diana appeared at the
appointed location in Jefferson
County, W.Va. Earlier that month,
according to the affidavit, Toebbe
had been sent $10,000 in Monero
cryptocurrency.
FBI agents watching the site de-
scribed Diana standing three feet
from her husband, working as his
apparent lookout as he placed into
the dead drop the peanut butter
sandwich they’d brought contain-
ing a 16-gigabyte SD memory
card.
On the card, the FBI said, were
details on the nuclear reactor used
on one of the Navy’s most ad-
vanced U.S. submarines — a $3
billion ghost in the water, capable
of launching cruise missiles from
behind enemy lines.
Over the next four months, the
FBI agent posing as a spy handler
arranged for three more dead
drops — an SD card hidden inside
a sealed Band-Aid wrapper in
Pennsylvania, another concealed
in a chewing gum wrapper in east-
ern Virginia.
With each successful drop, Jo-
nathan’s emails grew more effu-
sive.
“You can not [imagine] my re-
lief at finding your letter just
where you told me to look!” he
wrote in one.
Asked if he was working alone,
Jonathan responded, in what the
FBI said was an apparent refer-
ence to Diana: “There is only one
other person I know is aware of
our special relationship, and I
trust that person absolutely.”
He dangled the possibility of
more than 11,000 pages of sensi-
tive documents to follow. For a
price of $5 million in cryptocur-
rency, he said, he would deliver it
all. But, he added, he was aware of
the risks.
“I have considered the possible
need to leave on short notice,” he
wrote. “Should that ever become
necessary, I will be forever grate-
ful for your help extracting me
and my family...I pray such a dras-
tic plan will never be needed....”
He’d also discussed with his
wife, at some point, the possibility
of fleeing the country, according
to court testimony Wednesday.
Using the phone app Signal, the
couple sent encrypted messages:
“We have passports and sav-
ings,” Jonathan wrote. “In a real
pinch we can leave quickly.”
“Let’s go sooner rather than lat-
er,” Diana replied.
“I really don’t want to go back to
making $50,000 a year, especially
in a country I don’t know the lan-
guage,” Jonathan responded.
“I don’t see how the two of us
wouldn’t be welcome,” she said.
On Saturday, Oct. 9, those plans
fell apart.
While in West Virginia making
their fourth and final drop, Jo-
nathan and Diana finally came
face to face with the handlers he
had been working with all along:
agents from the FBI, who prompt-
ly arrested them.
On Wednesday, Jonathan and
Diana entered a federal cour-
troom in West Virginia with
shackles around their wrists and
ankles.
In separate bail hearings, Jo-
nathan did not contest remaining
in jail until trial. But Diana’s law-
yer argued for her release.
Her lawyer asked the judge to
consider the couple’s two chil-
dren, maintaining that they need
their mother.
In response, the prosecutor
noted that during the final dead
drop earlier this month, the couple
left their youngest child home
alone in Maryland.
Jonathan didn’t bring his phone
and Diana turned hers to “air-
plane mode” in an apparent at-
tempt to avoid being tracked, the
prosecutor said.
If Diana was so concerned
about the children, the prosecutor
demanded, why did Diana and Jo-
nathan leave an 11-year-old with
no way to contact them?
Authorities found the child
alone when they searched the
Toebbe’s house the day of their ar-
rest. But they also found in the
couple’s bedroom items suggesti-
ng the family was prepared to flee:
$11,300 in cash — $100 bills wrap-
ped by rubber bands. Their chil-
dren’s passports. A ready-to-go
backpack with a computer and la-
tex gloves. And a crypto wallet — a
device used to store and maintain
cryptocurrency transactions.
The Toebbes have been
charged with conspiracy and com-
munication of sensitive govern-
ment records to a foreign nation. If
convicted, they could face life in
prison. Wednesday’s hearing end-
ed with the judge saying he need-
ed more time to decide whether
Diana should be released while
she and Jonathan fight their case.
In the meantime, their lives
have imploded.
On Diana’s Instagram, photos of
her children have been overrun by
strangers posting expletive-laden
condemnations of the entire fam-
ily.
“Say goodbye to the kids forev-
er,” reads one with a laughing
emoji.
“Traitor.”
“Hanging, firing squad, electric
chair...??”
Jonathan’s cousin, Mark
Slaughter, said those who know
the Toebbes are struggling to rec-
oncile the couple charged with es-
pionage with the couple they once
admired.
“People in the family are having
a hard time processing it,” said
Slaughter, who has served as a
Marine sergeant and Army cap-
tain. “There’s nothing here that
makes sense.”
Both sides are now deliberating
which relative could take them in
if Jonathan and Diana are impris-
oned for years or life, another rela-
tive said.
“I worry whether the kids will
ever be able to heal or move on
from this,” said one relative.
“Imagine what it’ll be like for
them to grow up with that Toebbe
name hanging over them. No mat-
ter what their parents may or may
not have done, those children are
innocent.”
Stealth: Husband, wife planned escape after trading dataFROM PAGE 1
WEST VIRGINIA REGIONAL JAIL AND CORRECTIONAL FACILITY AUTHORITY/AP
Federal prosecutors accuse Jonathan Toebbe and his wife, Diana, ofplotting to sell U.S. submarine secrets to a foreign government.
Friday, October 22, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 5
MILITARY
A new blueprint for defending
against Russia in Europe was ap-
proved by Defense Secretary
Lloyd Austin and his allied coun-
terparts Thursday after an open-
ing round of talks at NATO head-
quarters in Brussels.
“We are in the midst of a trans-
formation of NATO,” Secretary-
General Jens Stoltenberg said as
the two days of talks got under-
way. “Over the last years, we have
stepped up and refocused on our
collective defense.”
The defense ministers also
agreed on a new set of “capability
targets” for all allies, while en-
dorsing an “overarching plan for
the defense of the Euro-Atlantic
area,” Stoltenberg said.
The new strategy aims to make
sure allies have an operational
plan that accounts for all member-
nation territory and the range of
threats they face, from nuclear
and cyber to operations on land, at
sea and in the air.
The strategy, referred to as the
Concept for Deterrence and De-
fense in the Euro-Atlantic Area,
and its supporting plans center on
how to deal with threats from Rus-
sia as well as international terror-
ist groups. It also brings together
various national and regional mil-
itary plans under a single frame-
work.
But just as allies put the plan in-
to action, it may already be out of
date by not taking sufficient ac-
count of China, some analysts say.
“The evidence indicates China
isn’t some challenge of tomorrow
or threat that has yet to fully form;
even today, it is a clear and pre-
sent threat to allied security in Eu-
rope and beyond,” John R. Deni, a
U.S. Army War College professor
and European security expert,
wrote in an Atlantic Council essay
in June.
U.S. military officials in Europe
have been vocal about China’s ex-
panding influence on the Conti-
nent, where Beijing has invested
heavily in infrastructure and has
controlling interests in numerous
ports.
“In a worst-case scenario, Chi-
na could weaponize its ownership
or operation of infrastructure in
Europe to frustrate, limit, or pre-
vent U.S. or allied use,” Deni
wrote.
Allies are divided on how best to
deal with an increasingly assert-
ive Beijing, which NATO has
made more of a strategic focal
point in the past couple of years.
Germany and France have re-
frained from characterizing Chi-
na as an adversary, while the U.S.
has urged Europe to take a tough-
er stance.
For most allies in Europe, the
potential military threat posed by
Russia remains paramount, espe-
cially along NATO’s eastern flank.
Stoltenberg said NATO’s new
strategy ensures that the alliance
will have “the right forces in the
right place at the right time.”
NATO defense ministers OK Russia strategy BY JOHN VANDIVER
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @john_vandiver
The Army National Guard’s top
general said Wednesday that he
would not lobby to expand the size
of the increasingly busy force, but if
top Army officials proposed adding
new troops he “would accept that
mission immediately.”
“I don’t advocate for growing the
Army Guard because I’m part of the
Army team, and I understand the
budget constraints that we have in-
side the Army right now,” Lt. Gen.
Jon Jensen told an audience at the
Center for Strategic and Interna-
tional Studies, a Washington think
tank. “But, if [Army] Secretary
[Christine Wormuth] and Chief [of
Staff Gen. James McConville] felt
they needed some more capability
in the Reserve component, yes, I’d
accept that.”
The Army National Guard makes
up about two-thirds of the total Na-
tional Guard force, with more than
337,000 soldiers as of Sept. 30, ac-
cording to the Army. The rest of the
National Guard’s about 108,000
troops serve in the Air Force Na-
tional Guard. Jensen said Wednes-
day that he could envision growing
the Army Guard to about 350,000
troops in several years. He said the
added soldiers could help consider-
ing the incredible demand placed
on Guard troops during the last two
years.
Since March 2020, National
Guard troops have set records for
the number of missions that they
have been called to support — in-
cluding coronavirus-related mis-
sions, riot control during the sum-
mer 2020 demonstrations against
racism, border operations along the
southwest U.S., and relief efforts for
natural disasters including hurri-
canes and wildfires. Guard mem-
bers logged a record 8.4 million duty
days in 2020, and they set a record
that June with more than 120,000 on
duty across the world, including
supporting operations in combat
zones, officials said.
Given the unprecedented de-
mand for the National Guard, doz-
ens of lawmakers have called for
boosting the size of the Guard in
their home states and the overall
force size. Among those advocating
for a larger force were lawmakers
from the nation’s three most pop-
ulous states. In advocating earlier
this year to grow the Guard, the law-
makers in a bipartisan letter to De-
fense Secretary Lloyd Austin point-
ed to the increase in hurricanes in
Florida, flooding in Texas and wild-
fires in California, in addition to oth-
er operations in recent years to
which Guard forces have respon-
ded.
Army officials, including Jensen,
have acknowledged the pace of op-
erations for the National Guard
since March 2020 has been hard on
troops and their families and diffi-
cult for some employers who have
hired Guard members for civilian
jobs.
Army Guard leader isn’tpushing for more troops
BY COREY DICKSTEIN
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @CDicksteinDC
PAGE 6 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, October 22, 2021
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South
Korea — North Korea says its test
of a “new type” of submarine-
launched ballistic missile earlier
this week should be considered
“normal activities” for the coun-
try, and that it posed no threat to
the United States.
A spokesperson for North Ko-
rea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
reiterated that the launch was a de-
fensive measure, a claim the com-
munist regime frequently makes
to justify its nuclear and ballistic
missile tests, according to a state-
ment released Thursday by the
state-run Korean Central News
Agency.
The test “was part of the normal
activities for carrying out the me-
dium and long-term plan for the
development of defense science
and it did not pose any threat or
damage to the security of the
neighboring countries and the re-
gion,” the spokesperson said
through KCNA.
The statement added that “we
did not have the U.S. in mind nor
aimed at it” and that “there is no
need for the U.S. to worry or trou-
ble itself over the test-firing.”
South Korean military officials
assessed that a short-range ballis-
tic missile flew 279 miles at a maxi-
mum altitude of 37 miles at 10:17
a.m. Tuesday. The Japan Coast
Guard, however, said two missiles
were fired from North Korea’s
eastern coast.
The missile appeared to have
been launched from Sinpo, ac-
cording to South Korean military
officials, where a North Korean
shipyard is believed to be working
on a new ballistic missile subma-
rine. The North last conducted an
SLBM test from an underwater
platform in 2019, and claims it
fired a separate SLBM from an
outdated submarine in 2016.
Experts have widely remained
skeptical of North Korea’s claims
of self-defense, particularly with
the development of its SLBM pro-
gram. The missiles are typically
viewed as retaliatory, second-
strike weapons due to the difficul-
ty in detecting submarines prior to
a launch.
Sea-based missiles are “more
survivable and more difficult to
destroy through pre-emptive at-
tack than land-based systems,”
said Ankit Panda, a North Korea
analyst and Stanton senior fellow
at the Carnegie Endowment for In-
ternational Peace.
Pyongyang’s latest missile
launch is the fifth weapons test in
recent weeks. In September and so
far in October it has launched an
anti-aircraft missile, a ballistic
missile from a train, long-range
cruise missiles capable of reac-
hing Japan and a hypersonic short-
range missile.
The U.N. Security Council held a
closed-door meeting Wednesday
to discuss the most recent launch.
The U.S. and several other mem-
ber nations condemned the test,
calling it “the latest in a series of
reckless provocations.”
“These are unlawful activities,”
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda
Thomas-Greenfield said in a state-
ment. “They are in violation of
multiple Security Council resolu-
tions. And they are unacceptable.”
Thomas-Greenfield did not say
whether further sanctions were
being considered, but said “we just
need to be more serious about the
implementation” of existing sanc-
tions.
South Korean Foreign Minister
Chung Eui-yong during a parlia-
mentary briefing Wednesday ap-
peared to rebuff the notion of im-
posing additional sanctions, say-
ing that “sanctions relief” may be
taken into consideration to bring
North Korea to the negotiation ta-
ble.
N. Korea: Test is
‘normal activities’BY DAVID CHOI
Stars and Stripes
[email protected] Twitter: @choibboy
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan —
A Japanese macaque gained dual
status as a celebrity and a fugitive
over two days at this airlift hub in
western Tokyo.
Spotted Wednesday atop the
roof of the base dental clinic, the
monkey was soon a star of social
media as residents of Yokota’s
eastside housing area posted pho-
tos and videos of their macaque
sightings.
The monkey was seen and pho-
tographed along Yokota streets, in
trees and on buildings.
Several commenters singled
out the monkey as a likely but cir-
cumstantial suspect behind van-
dalized Halloween decorations
outside one family’s home.
By Thursday morning, the mon-
key business had subsided, ac-
cording to information attributed
to the base public affairs office
and posted on the Yokota Commu-
nity Facebook page. A local city
hall notified the 374th Civil Engi-
neer Squadron pest management
unit that the macaque, also known
as a snow monkey, had left base
property around 10 a.m.
The 374th Airlift Wing public
affairs office had provided no fur-
ther information on the sightings
by 6 p.m. Thursday in response to
a request from Stars and Stripes.
An annual, basewide readiness
exercise is underway at Yokota.
However, the base warned its
residents the monkey may return
and anyone who sees it should
contact the pest management unit.
“If the monkey is spotted,
please do not feed or approach the
monkey,” according to the post on
the Yokota Community page. “If
the wild animal feels threatened,
it may attack.”
The Japanese macaque is com-
mon in the forested areas in and
around Tokyo.
In September, Camp Zama, the
headquarters of U.S. Army Japan
in nearby Kanagawa prefecture,
issued an alert after base resi-
dents spotted a group of macaques
at Sagamihara Housing Area.
“This is not the first time that
wild monkeys have been spotted
on or near Camp Zama, but fortu-
nately we have not had any inci-
dents involving property damage
or injury in the past,” U.S. Army
Garrison Japan spokesman Tim-
othy Flack said at the time. “Our
communication with the commu-
nity is key to avoiding incidents.”
The monkeys seldom attack hu-
mans, according to JapanVisitor-
.com, but staring at them eye to
eye can provoke an aggressive re-
sponse, such as baring their teeth.
Further unwanted attention could
result in a bite. They travel in
troops, are active during the day
and sleep in trees at night.
Spotted atop the dental clinic at Yokota Air Base, Japan, on Wednesday, a monkey was soon a star ofsocial media as residents posted photos and videos of their macaque sightings.
Roaming monkey prompts warningsand social media following at Yokota
BY ERICA EARL
Stars and Stripes
[email protected] Twitter: @ThisEarlGirl
resents Japan’s Ministry of De-
fense.
The helicopter was capable of
flying back to MCAS Futenma but
a maintenance crew was dis-
patched in a separate helicopter
“out of an abundance of caution,”
Kunze said. A Super Stallion typ-
ically flies with a crew of four or
five.
Both helicopters left Aguni
around 11:10 a.m. Thursday, the
bureau spokesman said.
In response to the incident, the
bureau requested the Marines im-
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa —
No damage or injuries were re-
ported after a U.S. military heli-
copter made an emergency land-
ing Wednesday at a remote island
airport off the Okinawa coast, Ma-
rine Corps and Japanese officials
said.
A CH-53E Super Stallion from
Marine Corps Air Station Futen-
ma’s 1st Marine Aircraft Wing
made the “precautionary landing”
at Aguni Airport around 6:30 p.m.,
after an “issue requiring immedi-
ate attention was identified,” 1st
Marine Aircraft Wing spokesman
Maj. Ken Kunze wrote in an email
Thursday morning to Stars and
Stripes.
Three-square-mile Aguni Is-
land is 37 miles northwest of Naha
City.
“The CH-53 that landed at Agu-
ni Airport yesterday evening de-
parted Aguni this morning and re-
turned safely to Marine Corps Air
Station Futenma,” Kunze wrote.
“The flight crew demonstrated 1st
Marine Aircraft Wing’s steadfast
commitment to ensuring the safe-
ty of our aircrews, the community
and the airworthiness of all our
aircraft.”
The aircraft was operating as an
aerial refueler at the time, Kunze
said. The landing was “normal
and uneventful.”
An issue with the heavy-lift hel-
icopter’s flight control system
seemed to be the problem, accord-
ing to a spokesman from the Oki-
nawa Defense Bureau, which rep-
prove their safety management,
the spokesman said.
A spokesman for Okinawa pre-
fecture’s military base affairs di-
vision said it was collecting infor-
mation Thursday morning and
had no immediate response to the
incident.
Some government officials in
Japan customarily speak to the
media on the condition of anonym-
ity.
Marine helicopter makes ‘precautionary landing’ on Japanese islandBY MATTHEW M. BURKE
AND MARI HIGA
Stars and Stripes
[email protected] Twitter: @MatthewMBurke1
PACIFIC
Friday, October 22, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 7
MILITARY
Until recently, patients at the
receiving end of a military sur-
geon’s mistake had little recourse
to compensation.
A provision in the 2020 National
Defense Authorization Act, which
sets policy and spending priorities
for the Pentagon, ended the 70-
year ban on suing the DOD for
medical malpractice. In Decem-
ber 2019 then-President Donald
Trump signed the Richard Stays-
kal Military Medical Accountabil-
ity Act into law, allowing active-
duty members to file medical mal-
practice claims against the DOD.
The new law has a two-year
statute of limitations, however,
and does not allow service mem-
bers and their families to sue med-
ical facilities at bases overseas, al-
though they may file claims.
“Overseas patients may bring
administrative claims for mal-
practice against the DoD under
the Military Claims Act,” a Penta-
gon spokesperson, Maj. Charlie
Dietz, told Stars and Stripes via
email Oct. 5. “Congress would
need to change the law for patients
to bring lawsuits.”
‘A little frantic’Perry remembered her surgery
at Yokota as chaotic. The surgeon
assigned to her was fresh out of
training, according to the resume
of the physician, who no longer
works at the base.
“At one point, the surgeon
couldn’t stop the bleeding and
things got a little frantic in the sur-
gery room where the nurses were
pleading with the surgeon to let
them go ask another surgeon to
come and assist,” Perry said. “I
thought for certain I was going to
die right there.”
Nonetheless, Perry went home
with her new, healthy baby. But
she said she suffered a series of
chronic health problems until a
CT scan in 2018 discovered the
metal tag on the towel left in her
abdomen five years prior.
For three years, Perry said she
experienced pain that interfered
with her bonding with her child.
She felt as though her digestive
system had shut down, and be-
cause her bladder no longer func-
tioned properly, she wore diapers.
Despite 27 doctors’ appoint-
ments while living in Japan, Perry
said she never found the cause for
her agony.
“I was getting into fights with
my husband because he was so an-
gry and believed I turned into a
hypochondriac,” she said. “He
didn’t understand why I was ad-
dicted to going to the doctor … I
had never experienced pain like
this before.”
Five years, six gastrointestinal
specialists and several emergency
room visits later, a doctor in Wash-
ington state did a scan of Perry’s
abdomen and found the laparoto-
my towel. It was removed on Oct.
31, 2018, along with a part of her
small intestine, Perry said.
In July, the Yokota legal office
offered to settle Perry’s claim for
$50,000, according to a letter it
sent her.
“We do recognize that a laparo-
tomy pad was discovered to have
been retained in the abdomen,
which may have caused some
pain,” the letter states. “Although
abdominal pain is a symptom of a
retained laparotomy pad, pain is
subjective and by Oct. 22, 2013,
Ms. Perry had no abdominal
pain.”
Perry hired a medical malprac-
tice attorney in Texas in April
2019 to file a claim against Yokota.
She said she does not intend to ac-
cept the settlement offer from Yo-
kota and is now seeking different
representation.
“My bladder still doesn’t work,
there’s a lot of scar tissue, it
caused a huge wedge between my
husband and me,” she told Stars
and Stripes on Tuesday. “The
stress of knowing every single day
that something was wrong with
me, but I couldn’t get a doctor to
listen to me. It took away the first
five years where I should have
been enjoying the new baby, but I
was so weak that my health con-
sumed every waking moment. I
believe, after everything I have
been through, it is what I de-
serve.”
A spokesperson from Yokota
Air Base said the 374th Medical
Group and the base’s legal depart-
ment cannot speak about Perry’s
case.
“We cannot provide the details
on an individual’s specific case in
the interest of protecting personal
privacy or avoiding impact to a po-
tential ongoing investigation,”
Tech. Sgt. Taylor Workman told
Stars and Stripes via email Sept.
21.
‘So much pain’Perry’s wasn’t the only case of
her kind at Yokota.
Lamia Lahlou, a former Arabic
linguist for the Army, had a simi-
lar experience. After her C-sec-
tion from the same surgeon as
Perry at Yokota in September
2013, she started experiencing
chronic abdominal pain and di-
gestive issues. She said her doc-
tors told her it was part of the re-
covery process.
“I was in so much pain that I
thought maybe they put my orga-
ns in wrong,” she told Stars and
Stripes in a phone interview Sept.
20.
Lahlou said she was told by doc-
tors at Yokota that her pain was
only psychological, and she was
referred to the mental health clin-
ic.
“I felt like I was being told I was
crazy,” she said. “But I thought
that maybe they were right. I be-
lieved that doctors knew better.”
In the United States for Thanks-
giving that year, Lahlou called a
doctor because, she said, she felt
that she could no longer stand the
pain.
ACT scan revealed a mass of in-
fection along with cotton balls left
inside Lahlou’s abdomen from the
C-section. Doctors also found a 21-
cm abscess and leftover materi-
als.
She had five surgeries and part
of her bladder removed. She de-
cided to stay in the U.S. rather
than return with her husband to
Japan.
“This story for me is very per-
sonal, because what was meant to
be the arrival of my second baby
resulted in so much pain and suf-
fering and, at the end, my di-
vorce,” she said.
Lahlou started the process of fil-
ing a claim against the Yokota
medical group in 2014 but could
not find an attorney to take her
case, she said. She ultimately
dropped her claim.
Lahlou said she encourages
anyone who experiences a similar
situation to persist in finding an-
swers.
“If I didn’t fly back to the U.S.
and kept being seen at Yokota,
what could have resulted?” Lahlou
said. “I could have easily died, and
what would my parents have got-
ten? An ‘Oops, sorry?’ If you are in
pain, keep seeking answers. We
know our own bodies.”
Spouse: Doctor found towel in woman’s stomach years after C-section
ANGIE PERRY /
Former Army spouse Angie Perry said she experienced years of chronic pain after a laparotomy pad was left inside of her after a cesareansection at Yokota Air Base, Japan, in 2013.
[email protected] Twitter: @ThisEarlGirl
FROM PAGE 1
PAGE 8 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, October 22, 2021
WASHINGTON — U.S. troops in Syria
were targeted on Wednesday in a “deliber-
ate and coordinated attack” that appears to
have used both unmanned aircraft and in-
direct fire, U.S. military officials said.
The attack occurred on the Tanf base in
the southeastern part of the country, where
a group of about 200 Americans man a posi-
tion on a highway that runs from Damascus
to Baghdad.
The United States was not aware of any
killed or injured Americans on Wednesday
night, and was working with partner forces
to determine whether they suffered any ca-
sualties.
“We continue to maintain all appropriate
force protection measures to ensure the
safety and security of our forces,” the U.S.
statement said. “We maintain the inherent
right to self-defense and will respond at a
time and place of our choosing.”
The United States did not blame anyone
for the attack in its statement. For several
years, it has attempted a balancing act with
Iranian-backed militias along the Iraq-Sy-
ria border who want to drive the United
States out of both countries and launch peri-
odic attacks on U.S. positions.
In May, a drone strike targeted a CIA
hangar in Irbil, Iraq. No one was injured,
but the drone’s ability to evade tracking as it
closed in concerned U.S. officials, they later
said.
In June, the United States launched air-
strikes on both sides of the Iraq-Syria bor-
der in response to that incident and other
drone attacks.
A Pentagon spokesman, John Kirby, said
at the time that the strikes were defensive in
nature, and targeted locations used by the
Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-
Shuhada groups, which are both linked to
Iran.
In July, al Asad Air Base in western Iraq
was attacked by rockets, U.S. military offi-
cials said. No injuries were reported.
The United States initially deployed a siz-
able contingent of troops to Tanf in 2016 to
train Syrian fighters to counter the Islamic
State.
The Syrian and Russian governments op-
pose the U.S. presence, but the U.S. military
continues to partner there with a group
called Maghawir al-Thawra.
DOD: US troops in Syria drone attackBY DAN LAMOTHE
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — The Army
has begun hiring more agents and
support staff for its criminal in-
vestigations, as the new civilian
director works to correct wide-
spread failures that surfaced last
year after a string of murders and
other crimes at Fort Hood, Texas.
Gregory Ford, who took over as
head of the Army Criminal Inves-
tigation Command, or CID, about
a month ago, told reporters
Wednesday that he visited Fort
Hood last week. He said the hiring
process for more than 90 positions
has begun, and the Army is al-
ready getting a good response
from individuals interested in
joining CID.
A review late last year found
CID was understaffed and badly
organized, with too few experi-
enced investigators. The findings
came amid heightened scrutiny
after the death of Vanessa Guillén,
a soldier whose remains were
found about two months after she
was killed.
More than two dozen Fort Hood
soldiers died in 2020, including
homicides and suicides.
Guillén’s death and the other
cases prompted an independent
review, which found that CID in-
vestigators lacked the acumen to
identify key leads and “connect
the dots” in investigations.
It said they were victims of a
system that failed to train them
and often had them doing admin-
istrative tasks.
The Army earlier this year de-
cided to put a civilian in charge of
CID, which to date had been led by
a general officer. The decision
was in line with the review recom-
mendations in an effort to revamp
the command.
Ford said he is moving ahead
with Army plans to increase the
number of civilian agents so they
would make up about 60% of the
investigators, while military
agents make up the remainder.
In addition, he said, “I’ve been
taking a very hard look at our pol-
icy and the administrative burden
we place on our workforce and
have directed a further review to
eliminate the duplication of effort
and some of the unnecessary pol-
icy requirements that may exist.”
Fort Hood, Fort Bragg in North
Carolina and Fort Carson in Col-
orado are part of a pilot project
that will see some of the early
changes and staffing improve-
ments. Ford said the Army has al-
ready given agents the opportuni-
ty to move to the three bases.
He said a key goal is to ensure
timely and aggressive investiga-
tions that are approached “with a
sense of urgency” in the critical
early hours after crimes are re-
ported.
The level of interest in the job
openings, he said, has “surpassed
everybody’s expectations.” The
posts are a strong draw for indi-
viduals who may have been in the
military and left to go into law en-
forcement and are looking for a
way to return to service, said Ford.
He did not give details on the
cost of the changes, but said the
Army has been providing what is
necessary to begin the transfor-
mation. Officials have said fund-
ing will be provided over the next
five years.
The decision to replace a mili-
tary leader of CID with a civilian
mirrors a similar shift by the Navy
in 1992, in the aftermath of the
Tailhook scandal, when Navy and
Marine officers sexually assault-
ed dozens of women at a hotel in
Las Vegas.
As a result of sweeping condem-
nation of the Navy’s investigation
into the matter, leaders trans-
formed the military-led Naval In-
vestigative Service into the Naval
Criminal Investigative Service
and appointed a civilian director.
Army hiring morecriminal investigatorsto improve case work
BY LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press
NARASHINO COUNTRY
CLUB, Japan — Forty volunteers
from the U.S. military community
are mingling with the world’s top
professional golfers at only the
second PGA Tour event to be held
in Japan.
The first Zozo Championship,
which is held just outside Tokyo in
Chiba prefecture, was won by Ti-
ger Woods in 2019. Last year’s
event was moved to California due
to the coronavirus pandemic, but
78 of the world’s top golfers are
back in Japan for this year’s tour-
nament.
Working at the event, which be-
gan Thursday and runs through
Sunday, are U.S. military golfers
stationed at Yokota Air Base in
western Tokyo and Yokosuka Na-
val Base, Naval Air Facility Atsugi
and the U.S. Army’s Camp Zama
in nearby Kanagawa prefecture.
The volunteer scorekeepers,
shot-spotters and cart drivers also
provide English-language assist-
ance to tournament officials and
staff from U.S. broadcaster NBC.
Patrick Bowman, the profes-
sional at the Air Force’s Tama
Hills Golf Course in Tokyo, as-
sembled the volunteer cadre.
He and Jon Stillabower, oper-
ations manager at the Marine
Corps’ Taiyo Golf Course on Oki-
nawa, also volunteered during the
Tokyo Olympic golf tournaments
this summer at Kasumigaseki
Country Club in Saitama prefec-
ture.
At a get-together Wednesday
night near the tournament venue
in Chiba, Bowman told a group of
volunteers that included this Stars
and Stripes reporter to look for-
ward to a happy week and “all the
stories we have afterwards.”
Woods’ 2019 win in the event
made golf history.
It was his 82nd PGA Tour victo-
ry, tying the all-time record set by
Sam Snead.
One of the Zozo volunteers, Na-
vy Petty Officer 2nd Class Brett
Medford, 24, of Los Angeles,
watched Woods’ final round in
2019 while deployed on the air-
craft carrier USS Ronald Reagan
in the South China Sea.
Medford, a 9 handicapper at
NAF Atsugi Golf Club, and who
has hit golf balls off the Ronald Re-
agan’s deck with other sailors dur-
ing deployments, said he’s excited
to see Rickie Fowler, winner of the
2015 Players Championship.
“I like the swagger he brings to
the game,” Medford said.
This year’s Zozo field includes
Hideki Matsuyama, who became
the first Japanese player to win a
major golf tournament when he
won April’s Masters Tournament
in Augusta, Ga.
It also features two-time major
winner Collin Morikawa, who
placed first at July’s The Open
Championship in Sandwich, En-
gland, and compatriot Xander
Schauffele, who took gold for
Team USA at the Olympics.
SETH ROBSON/Stars and Stripes
The Open champion Collin Morikawa tees off at the Zozo Championship at Narashino Country Club in Chibaprefecture, Japan, on Thursday.
US military golf fans help outat PGA’s Zozo event in Japan
BY SETH ROBSON
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @SethRobson1
MILITARY
Friday, October 22, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 9
WASHINGTON — Defense De-
partment officials have laid out how
they will remove employees who
refuse to comply with the federal
government’s coronavirus vaccine
requirement, according to a Penta-
gon memo released Monday.
Defense Department civilian
employees who are not fully vacci-
nated against the coronavirus after
Nov. 22 without a pending or ap-
proved exemption request will be
fired. New employees must be fully
vaccinated by their start date for
work or Nov. 22, “whichever is lat-
er,” according to the memo.
The Pentagon does not consider a
person fully vaccinated until two
weeks after the last shot in the se-
ries, meaning the final day to meet
the deadline to receive the last in-
jection is Nov. 8. Two available vac-
cines — by Moderna and Pfizer —
require two shots. The Johnson &
Johnson vaccine is administered in
a single dose.
The order also applies to defense
contractors and civilian employees
who work remotely.
However, before a refusing em-
ployee is terminated, defense offi-
cials listed two “progressive en-
forcement actions” that employers
should take to convince personnel
to get vaccinated.
An employee should first receive
a “five-day period of counseling
and education,” according to the
memo. If the person still declines
the vaccine, they can be suspended
without pay for 14 days or less be-
fore they are “removed from feder-
al service for failing to follow a di-
rect order.”
Those who have approved reli-
gious or medical exemptions will be
required to regularly test for the
coronavirus, according to the me-
mo. Teleworking employees are
exempt from that requirement but
must submit proof of a negative cor-
onavirus test 72 hours before enter-
ing a Defense Department facility.
However, the Pentagon has yet to
release guidance on processing ex-
emption requests. That informa-
tion is forthcoming, but in the
meantime “DOD components
should take no actions on any ex-
emption requests received from
DOD employees,” according to the
memo.
“Exemptions will be granted in
limited circumstances and only
where legally required,” according
to the memo.
DOD announcesplan for civilianvaccine refusers
BY CAITLIN DOORNBOS
Stars and Stripes
[email protected] Twitter: @CaitlinDoornbos
TRISTAN B. LOTZ/U.S. Navy
Hospitalman Ethan Orshanski administers a coronavirus vaccine to Cynthia Miller at Navy MedicineReadiness and Training Unit Groton at Naval Submarine Base New London, Conn., in April.
ommendations for who should get
boosters and when.
The latest moves would expand
by tens of millions the number of
Americans eligible for boosters
and formally allow “mixing and
matching” of shots — making it
simpler to get another dose, espe-
cially for people who had a side ef-
fect from one brand but still want
the proven protection of vaccina-
tion.
Specifically, the FDA autho-
rized a third Moderna shot for se-
niors and others at high risk from
COVID-19 because of their health
problems, jobs or living conditions
— six months after their last shot.
One big change: Moderna’s boost-
WASHINGTON — U.S. regula-
tors on Wednesday signed off on
extending COVID-19 boosters to
Americans who got the Moderna
or Johnson & Johnson vaccine and
said anyone eligible for an extra
dose can get a brand different from
the one they received initially.
The Food and Drug Administra-
tion’s decisions mark a big step to-
ward expanding the U.S. booster
campaign, which began with extra
doses of the Pfizer vaccine last
month. But before more people roll
up their sleeves, the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
will consult an expert panel Thurs-
day before finalizing official rec-
er will be half the dose that’s used
for the first two shots, based on
company data showing that was
plenty to rev up immunity again.
For J&J’s single-shot vaccine,
the FDA said all U.S. recipients, no
matter their age, could get a sec-
ond dose at least two months fol-
lowing their initial vaccination.
The FDA rulings differ because
the vaccines are made differently,
with different dosing schedules —
and the J&J vaccine has consis-
tently shown a lower level of effec-
tiveness than either of the two-shot
Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
As for mixing and matching, the
FDA said it’s OK to use any brand
for the booster regardless of which
vaccination people got first. The in-
terchangeability of the shots is ex-
pected to speed the booster cam-
paign, particularly in nursing
homes and other institutional set-
tings where residents have re-
ceived different shots over time.
FDA officials said they wanted
to make the booster guidance as
flexible as possible, given that
many people don’t remember
which brand of vaccine they re-
ceived.
“Being able to interchange these
vaccines is a good thing — it’s like
what we do with flu vaccines,”
FDA’s Dr. Peter Marks told report-
ers Wednesday evening. “Most
people don’t know what brand of
flu vaccine they received.”
Still, he added that many people
will decide to get a booster from the
same company as their initial vac-
cination.
The agency’s mix-and-match
decision was based on preliminary
results from a government study of
different booster combinations
that showed an extra dose of any
type revs up levels of virus-fight-
ing antibodies. That study also
showed recipients of the single-
dose J&J vaccination had a far big-
ger response if they got a full-
strength Moderna booster or a
Pfizer booster rather than a second
J&J shot. The study didn’t test the
half-dose Moderna booster.
FDA OKs mixing vaccines; backs Moderna, J&J boostersAssociated Press
VIRUS OUTBREAK
date for health or religious rea-
sons. It was unknown Wednesday
how many exemptions had been
filed, but McDonough said the
number of requests for religious
exemptions was larger than those
who sought exemptions for the flu
vaccine last year.
McDonough said he might deny
some of those requests if faced
with a situation of “undue hard-
ship.” That might occur if there
aren’t enough vaccinated health
care workers to treat veterans, he
said.
VA officials are trying to deter-
WASHINGTON — The Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs has start-
ed disciplining employees who re-
fuse to comply with the agency’s
vaccine mandate, VA Secretary
Denis McDonough said Wednes-
day.
The VA was the first federal
agency to mandate that its employ-
ees be vaccinated against the coro-
navirus. There are 420,000 em-
ployees at the agency, and most
workers had until Oct. 8 to provide
proof of vaccination to their local
VA Occupational Health Office.
So far, about 70% of employees
have shared their vaccination sta-
tus with the VA. The department
didn’t provide data Wednesday
about how many employees had
been vaccinated. McDonough said
he would provide updates on those
numbers as they became availa-
ble.
The disciplinary process has be-
gun for those employees who are
refusing vaccines or who haven’t
shared their vaccination status, he
said. Undergoing counseling is the
first step in the process, followed
by several other
measures before
employees are
terminated if
they continue to
refuse vaccines.
“If they choose
not to do it, and
after our disci-
plinary process
continue not to do it, they’ll be
fired,” McDonough said. “It starts
with counseling and ends with sep-
aration.”
Employees were allowed to re-
quest exemptions from the man-
mine the locations and job duties of
employees who might refuse vac-
cines. The agency could use its au-
thority to move other VA employ-
ees to regions where hospitals and
clinics could become short-
staffed, McDonough said.
“We’re looking really hard at it,”
he said. “We’re trying to get a sense
as best we can where people might
be and what the nature of employ-
ment might be so we’re in a posi-
tion to do that.”
VA begins disciplinary process for employees refusing virus vaccinesBY NIKKI WENTLING
Stars and Stripes
[email protected] Twitter: @nikkiwentling
McDonough
PAGE 10 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, October 22, 2021
NATION
WASHINGTON — For the third
time this year, Senate Democrats
on Wednesday tried to pass
sweeping elections legislation that
they tout as a powerful counter-
weight to new voting restrictions
sweeping conservative-controlled
states.
Once again, Republicans
blocked them.
But amid the ongoing stale-
mate, there are signs that Demo-
crats are making headway in their
effort to create consensus around
changing Senate procedural
rules, a key step that could allow
them to muscle transformative
legislation through the narrowly
divided chamber.
Sen. Angus King, a Maine inde-
pendent who caucuses with Dem-
ocrats, recently eased his long-
standing opposition to changing
the filibuster rules, which create a
60-vote threshold for most legisla-
tion to pass.
“I’ve concluded that democracy
itself is more important than any
Senate rule,” said King, who ac-
knowledged that weakening the
filibuster would likely prove to be
a “double-edged sword” under a
Republican majority.
Democrats still face long odds
of passing their bill, now known as
the Freedom to Vote Act, which
Senate Minority Leader Mitch
McConnell, R-Ky., excoriated
Wednesday as a federal “election
takeover scheme.”
But the softening of King’s
stance on the filibuster amounts to
progress, if incremental, for Sen-
ate Democrats as they look to con-
vince others in their caucus to
support a rule change.
After the vote, Senate Majority
Leader Chuck Schumer invoked
the Reconstruction era following
the Civil War, hailing the North-
ern senators serving at that time
for “going it alone” when con-
fronted by “minority obstruc-
tion.”
“Members of this body now face
a choice,” said Schumer, D-N.Y.
“They can follow in the footsteps
of our patriotic predecessors in
this chamber. Or they can sit by as
the fabric of our democracy un-
ravels before our very eyes.”
The Democrats’ voting bill was
first introduced in March in the
wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
It quickly passed the House at a
time when Republican-controlled
legislatures — many inspired by
Donald Trump’s false claims of a
stolen 2020 election — were ad-
vancing restrictions in the name
of election security that will make
it harder to vote and could make
the administration of the elections
more subject to partisan interfe-
rence.
But initial optimism that the
measure would swiftly pass the
Senate dissipated after several
members of the Democratic cau-
cus, including King, Kyrsten Sine-
ma of Arizona and Joe Manchin of
West Virginia, among others,
made clear their reluctance to
change the filibuster rules.
Senate Republicans again block Democrats’ election billAssociated Press
LOS ANGELES — A Los An-
geles neighborhood just outside
the nation’s busiest port complex
has become a perpetual traffic
jam, with trucks hauling cargo
containers backed up day and
night as workers try to break
through an unprecedented back-
log of ships waiting to unload.
About 40% of all shipping con-
tainers entering the United States
come through the Los Angeles and
Long Beach ports. The logjam of
ships has interrupted the global
supply chain and last week
prompted the Biden administra-
tion to allow the port complex to
operate 24 hours a day to try to get
goods unloaded and out to con-
sumers.
Since then, residents of the Wil-
mington neighborhood just north
of the ports have complained that
trucks are backed up in the streets
at all hours. Meanwhile, cargo
companies running out of space to
store containers off-loaded from
ships are stacking them outside
overloaded warehouses and in
parking lots.
This week, a container slid off a
truck making a turn on a narrow
street, pancaking a parked car.
Nobody was hurt, but local offi-
cials said that with so many trucks
crammed into a small area, it was
an accident waiting to happen.
“This is becoming an issue of
safety,” said Jacob Haik, deputy
chief of staff for LA City Council-
man Joe Buscaino, who repre-
sents the working-class area. Haik
said the city would start issuing ci-
tations to firms that stack contain-
ers unsafely or whose trucks clog
streets.
As of Tuesday, there were 63
ships berthed at the two ports and
96 waiting to dock and unload, ac-
cording to the Marine Exchange
of Southern California that over-
sees port vessel traffic. On Mon-
day, the number of ships waiting
to enter the ports hit a record 100.
Wilmington resident Sonia Cer-
vantes said her driveway was
blocked by a truck as she tried to
leave for work at 6:30 a.m. Her
whole block is fed up with the traf-
fic, she said.
“It’s a bunch of neighbors that
are very upset because it’s a non-
stop situation,” Cervantes told
CBS LA.
Maria Arrieran, who owns the
UCTI Trucking Company along
with her husband, Frank, said she
sympathizes with the community,
but the truck traffic is a result of
limited container storage.
“It’s an ongoing problem. We’re
just trying to get these truckers in
and out,” she said Wednesday.
“I’m literally out on the streets di-
recting traffic.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom
on Wednesday issued an execu-
tive order that aims to ease the
backlog. He directed California
government agencies to look for
state-owned properties that could
temporarily store goods coming
into the ports. Newsom, a Demo-
crat, asked the state’s Department
of General Services to review po-
tential sites by Dec. 15.
He also ordered the Governor’s
Office of Business and Economic
Development to examine other
properties not owed by the state,
such as private or locally owned
parcels, that could also be used for
storage, though he didn’t give a
timeline for that review.
RINGO H.W. CHIU/AP
Cargo containers sit stacked at the Port of Los Angeles on Wednesday in San Pedro, Calif.
Cargo backlog creates trafficheadaches on sea and land
BY CHRISTOPHER WEBER
Associated Press
SCRANTON, Pa. — In an
abrupt change, the White House is
floating new plans to pay for parts
of President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion
social services and climate
change package, shelving a pro-
posed big increase in corporate
tax rates though also adding a new
billionaires’ tax on the investment
gains of the very richest Ameri-
cans.
The reversal Wednesday came
as Biden returned to his home-
town of Scranton, Pa., to highlight
the middle class values he says are
at the heart of the package that
Democrats are racing to finish. Bi-
den faces resistance from key
holdouts, including Sen. Kyrsten
Sinema, D-Ariz., who has not been
on board with her party’s plan to
undo Trump-era tax breaks to
help pay for it.
“This has been declared dead
on arrival from the moment I in-
troduced it, but I think we’re going
to surprise them, because I think
people are beginning to figure out
what’s at stake,” Biden said in a
speech at Scranton’s Electric City
Trolley Museum, his first visit
home since becoming president.
Negotiations between the White
House and Democratic leaders on
Capitol Hill are underway on
what’s now a scaled-back package
but would still be an unpreceden-
ted federal effort to expand social
services for millions and confront
the rising threat of climate
change. It’s coupled with a sepa-
rate $1 trillion bill to update roads
and bridges.
The newly proposed tax provi-
sions, though, are likely to sour
progressives and even some mod-
erate Democrats who have long
campaigned on undoing the 2017
GOP tax cuts that many believe
unduly reward the wealthy, cost-
ing the federal government untold
sums in lost revenue at a time of
gaping income inequality.
Administration officials spoke
with congressional leaders on the
tax alternatives, according to a
person familiar with the private
talks and granted anonymity to
discuss them. The changes may be
needed to win over Sinema, who
had objected to plans to raise the
rates on corporations and wealthy
individuals earning more than
$400,000 a year, said the person
and several others.
As it stands, the corporate tax
rate is 21%, and Democrats want
to lift it to 26.5% for companies
earning more than $5 million a
year. The top individual income
tax rate would rise from 37% to
39.6% for those earning more than
$400,000, or $450,000 for married
couples.
Under the changes being float-
ed, that 21% corporate rate would
stay the same.
The revisions, however,
wouldn’t be all positive for big
companies and the wealthy. The
White House is reviving the idea
of a minimum corporate tax rate,
similar to the 15% rate Biden had
proposed earlier this year. That’s
even for companies that say they
had no taxable income — a fre-
quent target of Biden who com-
plains that they pay “zero” in tax-
es.
And there could be a new billio-
naires’ tax, modeled on legislation
from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the
chairman of the Finance Commit-
tee, who has proposed taxing stock
gains of those with more than $1
billion in assets — fewer than
1,000 Americans.
White Housemulls new way topay for $2T plan
Associated Press
Friday, October 22, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 11
NATION
WASHINGTON — The number
of Americans applying for unem-
ployment benefits fell last week to
a new low point since the pandem-
ic erupted, evidence that layoffs
are declining as companies hold
onto workers.
Unemployment claims dropped
6,000 to 290,000 last week, the
third straight drop, the Labor De-
partment said Thursday. That’s
the fewest people to apply for ben-
efits since March 14, 2020, when
the pandemic intensified. Appli-
cations for jobless aid, which gen-
erally track the pace of layoffs,
have fallen steadily from about
900,000 in January.
Unemployment claims are in-
creasingly returning to normal,
but many other aspects of the job
market haven’t yet done so. Hiring
has slowed in the past two months,
even as companies and other em-
ployers have posted a near-record
number of open jobs. Officials
such as Federal Reserve Chair Je-
rome Powell had hoped more peo-
ple would find work in September
as schools reopened, easing child
care constraints, and enhanced
unemployment aid ended nation-
wide.
Yet so far, that hasn’t happened.
Instead, some observers are start-
ing to consider whether some of
those who had jobs before the pan-
demic, and lost them, may have
permanently stopped looking for
work.
On Tuesday, Christopher Wall-
er, a member of the Federal Re-
serve’s Board of Governors, said
that 2 million of the 22 million jobs
lost to the pandemic may not re-
turn anytime soon because retire-
ments have accelerated so quickly
since COVID-19 hit.
The Labor Department’s report
Thursday also showed that the
number of people receiving job-
less aid continues to fall steadily.
In the week of Oct. 2, the latest da-
ta available, 3.3 million people re-
ceived unemployment benefits,
down from 3.6 million in the previ-
ous week.
A year ago, nearly 24 million
people were getting unemploy-
ment aid.
About 7 million people lost job-
less benefits in September after
two emergency programs, set up
in March 2020, expired. One of the
programs provided aid to gig
workers and the self-employed,
who traditionally are not eligible
to receive unemployment insur-
ance, and the second covered
workers who have been unem-
ployed for longer than six months.
And an extra $300 a week in feder-
al unemployment benefits ex-
pired nationwide Sept. 6.
US unemployment claims fall to 290,000Associated Press
NEW YORK — Nine months af-
ter being expelled from social
media for his role in inciting the
Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, former
President Donald Trump said
Wednesday he’s launching a new
media company with its own social
media platform.
Trump says his goal in launch-
ing the Trump Media & Technolo-
gy Group and its “Truth Social”
app is to create a rival to the Big
Tech companies that have shut
him out and denied him the mega-
phone that was paramount to his
national rise.
“We live in a world where the
Taliban has a huge presence on
Twitter, yet your favorite Ameri-
can President has been silenced,”
he said in a statement. “This is un-
acceptable.”
Conservative voices actually do
well on traditional social media.
On Wednesday, half of Facebook’s
10 top performing link posts were
from conservative media, com-
mentators or politicians, accord-
ing to a daily list compiled by a New
York Times technology columnist
and an internet studies professor
using Facebook’s own data.
Trump has spoken about
launching his own social media
site ever since he was barred from
Twitter and Facebook. An earlier
effort to launch a blog on his exist-
ing website was abandoned after
the page drew dismal views.
TMTG has not set its sights low.
In addition to the Truth Social app,
which is expected to soft-launch
next month with a nationwide rol-
lout early next year, the company
says it is planning a video-on-de-
mand service dubbed TMTG+
that will feature entertainment
programming, news and podcasts.
One slide in a TMTG presenta-
tion on its website includes a
graphic of TMTG’s potential com-
petitors, which range from Face-
book and Twitter to Netflix and
Disney+ to CNN. The same slide
suggests that over the long term
TMTG will also become a power in
cloud computing and payments
and suggests it will go head-to-
head with Amazon, Microsoft,
Google and Stripe.
TMTG also takes some jabs at
Trump’s previous favorite social
network. Slides accompanying the
Truth Social preorders listing in
Apple’s app store depict a social
network that strongly resembles
Twitter, right down to short mess-
ages and user handles preceded by
“@” signs.
Truth Social’s terms of service,
meanwhile, bar users from annoy-
ing any of the site’s employees and
from statements that “disparage,
tarnish, or otherwise harm, in our
opinion, us and/or the Site.” It was
not immediately clear who the
“us” in that statement refers to.
Trump announceslaunch of his veryown social media site
Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Po-
tential human remains were found
Wednesday in a Florida wilder-
ness area along with items be-
lieved to belong to Brian Laundrie,
whose girlfriend, Gabby Petito,
was found slain after he returned
home alone from their cross-coun-
try road trip, according to the FBI.
Michael McPherson, chief of
the Tampa FBI office, said at a
news conference that it will take
time to identify the remains,
which forensic teams were exam-
ining. McPherson said they were
found near a backpack and a note-
book linked to Laundrie.
“We are working diligently to
get those answers for you,”
McPherson said, adding that the
items and remains were found in a
swampy area that had previously
been underwater. “It’s likely the
team will be on site for several
days.”
Laundrie’s parents, Chris and
Roberta Laundrie, took part in the
search Wednesday with the FBI
and police from North Port, Fla.,
more than a month after Laundrie
was reported missing after head-
ing to the vast Carlton Reserve
park.
“After a brief search off a trail
that Brian frequented some arti-
cles belonging to Brian were
found,” Laundrie family attorney
Steven Bertolino said in a text to
The Associated Press.
The Sarasota County Medical
Examiner’s Office confirmed it
had been summoned to the re-
serve but would not comment fur-
ther.
Laundrie, 23, is a person of in-
terest in the killing of Petito, who
was reported missing Sept. 11 by
her parents while the couple was
on a cross-country trip out West.
FBI: Items linked to suspect in killing, potential human remains foundAssociated Press
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Cal-
if. — The Coast Guard received
multiple reports of a possible fuel
spill off the Southern California
coast earlier than previously dis-
closed and asked local author-
ities to investigate about 15 hours
before its own personnel con-
firmed a large oil slick, which
came from a leaking undersea
pipeline, records show.
The initial reports of a possible
spill north of the Huntington
Beach pier came into the Coast
Guard about 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 1,
according to an Orange County
Sheriff’s Department’s memo
provided Wednesday to The As-
sociated Press. The documents
said there were multiple similar
calls over a marine radio emer-
gency channel from boats leav-
ing the Huntington Beach air
show.
The department, which runs
the county’s harbor patrol, sent a
fireboat to search for the spill,
but the crew lost visibility as
darkness fell, according to the
memo obtained through the Cali-
fornia Public Records Act. The
spill wasn’t confirmed until
about 9 a.m. Saturday.
The Coast Guard did not imme-
diately comment on the docu-
ments, which raise more ques-
tions about the agency’s response
to a spill that forced the closure of
some of the region’s signature
beaches and harmed animal and
plant life.
EUGENE GARCIA/AP
Officials release birds after they were treated for oiling Wednesday in Huntington Beach, Calif.
Coast Guard had received earliernotice about California oil spill
Associated Press
PAGE 12 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, October 22, 2021
WORLD
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran on Thursday
kicked off an annual air force drill across
the country, a week after holding another
massive exercise in air defense, state TV re-
ported.
The report said attack and surveillance
drones, bombers and jet fighters will partic-
ipate in the drill, using heavy weapons in-
cluding laser-guided missiles.
Footage broadcast showed jet fighters
and bombers in flight and at takeoff, includ-
ing U.S.-made F4s and F5s, as well as the
Iranian-made Saegheh. Iran bought the
American fighters before Washington
banned such sales following the 1979 Islam-
ic Revolution. It also has Russian fighters in
service.
The broadcast also showed drones and
aerial refueling operations. It said 10 Ira-
nian military air bases will participate in
the maneuver. Iran reportedly has 12 air
bases.
It came a week after Iran held a two-day
annual air defense drill in the country’s
sprawling central desert, with both the ar-
my and the paramilitary Revolutionary
Guard taking part.
Iran regularly holds such drills and says
they assess the troops’ combat readiness
and demonstrate the nation’s military capa-
bilities.
Iran holds nationwide air force drill as its latest armed exerciseAssociated Press
PARIS — A powerful autumn
storm, named Aurore, blasted
parts of western Europe on Thurs-
day, knocking out power to a quar-
ter of a million French homes and
damaging buildings in at least four
countries.
Train services were disrupted
by uprooted trees littering tracks
in France, Germany and the Neth-
erlands and roofs were ripped off
many buildings, including at part
of the stadium used by the profes-
sional soccer club in the Belgian
port city of Antwerp.
A tornado early Thursday
caused damage in Schwentinen-
tal, a town near the German Baltic
Sea port city of Kiel. Fire service
official Kai Laessig told German
news agency dpa that it destroyed
greenhouses and brought down
trees, which hit cars, but no one
was injured. Several houses were
damaged.
Local media reported that four
people were injured in the Dutch
town of Barendrecht, on the south-
ern edge of Rotterdam, as strong
gusts ripped tiles off roofs and up-
rooted trees in a residential neigh-
borhood in the early hours of the
morning.
The storm also hit parts of south-
ern England with heavy rainfall
and strong winds.
The storm that started by hitting
the French region of Brittany’s At-
lantic Coast Wednesday afternoon
blew eastward through the night,
felling trees and collapsing roofs in
some areas, according to images
posted online. France’s national
weather service maintained storm
warnings Thursday in the coun-
try’s northeastern corner that bor-
ders Germany, Belgium and Lux-
embourg.
Wind speeds reached 109 mphin
the Normandy town of Fecamp,
according to the weather service.
Blown-down trees toppled pow-
er lines, and the Enedis utility said
250,000 homes were without elec-
tricity as of Thursday morning.
Train travel was disrupted in
Normandy and Champagne-Ar-
dennes region, as well as on some
commuter routes in the Paris re-
gion, according to the SNCF na-
tional rail authority.
The Dutch rail network was also
disrupted Thursday morning by
trees that had blown onto railroad
tracks.
Germany’s national railway op-
erator, Deutsche Bahn, suspended
all long-distance trains in North
Rhine-Westphalia state — the
country’s most populous, which
borders the Netherlands and Bel-
gium. The company said there
were cancellations and delays in
other parts of Germany as well.
Firefighters in the Belgian town
of Westerhoek, close to the Dutch
border, tweeted that they had been
called out dozens of times over-
night to deal with storm damage.
The storm hit northern Belgium
hard around Antwerp, snapping
countless trees, spilling scaffold-
ing onto the streets and blowing
some trucks off roads. It also tore
off part of the roof of Antwerp FC’s
stadium.
Germany’s national weather
service warned of gusts ranging up
to 65 mph in the north and north-
east of the country on Thursday,
and up to about 75 mph in moun-
tainous areas. But there were no
immediate reports of significant
damage.
Winds cause damage, disruptions in western EuropeAssociated Press
Friday, October 22, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 13
AMERICAN ROUNDUP
7 people rescued aftervehicle goes over cliff
WA ARLINGTON —
Search and rescue
and fire crews rescued seven peo-
ple after the vehicle they were in
went over a cliff on the road to the
Boulder River Trailhead, south-
east of Arlington, Snohomish
County.
Crews retrieved all seven peo-
ple from the vehicle, according to
the Snohomish County Sheriff’s
Office.
One person was critically in-
jured and airlifted to a hospital.
The others were also taken to hos-
pitals for treatment of injuries,
The Seattle Times reported.
Police, ranchers helpcatch roaming bull
AZ TUCSON — Tucson po-
lice responded to re-
ports of a bull roaming a neighbor-
hood near an elementary school
this week.
The animal somehow got loose
in the city's Rita Ranch communi-
ty, and police found it casually
grazing on some scrub grass
among the gravel along a home’s
front lawn.
Tucson police spokesman
Frank Magos said officers blocked
off the street with their SUVS until
ranchers arrived two hours later
to help corral the bull.
The bull was not harmed, and
there was no damage to any prop-
erty, Magos said.
University to buy solarpower from new facility
KY LOUISVILLE — The
University of Kentucky
will purchase 44% of the output of
a new 125-megawatt solar power
facility, through an agreement
with its electricity provider, Ken-
tucky Utilities Company, the uni-
versity said.
The McCracken County facility
is expected to be online in 2025.
The solar facility is expected to
provide roughly one-third of the
electricity consumed by the cam-
pus.
Four other organizations, in-
cluding the University of Louis-
ville, also plan to buy power from
the project.
Looted Van Gogh artworkto be auctioned
NY NEW YORK — A wa-
tercolor by Vincent van
Gogh that was seized by the Nazis
during World War II will be sold
next month at auction in New
York, where it is expected to fetch
$20 million or more, the auction
house Christie's announced.
Christie's is auctioning the 1888
work, “Wheatstacks,” after facili-
tating negotiations between the
Texas oilman's heirs who own it
now and the heirs of two Jewish
art collectors who owned it at dif-
ferent times before it was looted
by the Nazis.
It will be auctioned Nov. 11
along with other artworks from
the collection of Edwin L. Cox, a
Texas oilman who died last year at
age 99.
It was purchased in 1913 by in-
dustrialist Max Meirowsky, who
fled Germany for Amsterdam in
1938 fearing Nazi persecution. He
entrusted “Wheatstacks” to a Pa-
ris-based art dealer, who sold it to
Alexandrine de Rothschild, a
member of the renowned Jewish
banking family.
Rothschild fled to Switzerland
at the onset of World War II and
her art collection, including the
van Gogh watercolor, was confis-
cated by the Nazis during the Oc-
cupation.
Park warns againsttossing rocks down cliffs
WV GLEN JEAN — A na-
tional park in West
Virginia is telling visitors they
need to stop throwing rocks down
cliffs, saying it could kill climbers
and hikers below.
A Facebook post by the New
River Gorge National Park and
Preserve said a rock climber re-
cently reported to park rangers
that multiple people were throw-
ing big rocks from the cliffs at Dia-
mond Point on the Endless Wall
trail to climbing areas more than
100 feet below.
The park said signs instructing
people not to throw rocks due to
the climbers are posted at the Dia-
mond Point overlook and the rock
climbing access spur trails.
Grizzly bear confirmedin national forest
ID COEUR D'ALENE —
Wildlife managers in
northern Idaho are warning peo-
ple to be on the watch for grizzly
bears after one was recently re-
ported in the Coeur d'Alene Na-
tional Forest.
Idaho Fish and Game regional
wildlife biologist Barb McCall
Moore said in a statement that the
bear was confirmed northeast of
Magee, the Coeur d'Alene Press
reported.
Black bears are common
throughout northern Idaho but
grizzlies are rarer and most often
observed in the Cabinet and Sel-
kirk mountain ranges.
Grizzly bears are federally pro-
tected in North Idaho.
Police see bank robbersswitch getaway cars
NC CHARLOTTE —
Three men accused of
robbing a bank in North Carolina
had one flaw in their plans to elude
police, authorities said.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police
said in a news release shortly after
the men robbed a Bank of Amer-
ica branch, an officer saw them in
a car turning into a nearby neigh-
borhood and watched them trying
to switch getaway cars, according
to a news release.
According to police, officers
tried to stop the car but the driver
kept going and crashed on a dead
end street.
The suspects were captured
without incident after police said
they considered trying to escape
by running across Interstate 77.
Multiple charges, including
robbery with a dangerous weap-
on, were filed against Kendell
Charles Alexander, 57, and Derri-
us Fleming, 30, both of Baltimore,
and Steven McCory, 36.
Rewards offered for infoin alleged smuggling ring
FL MIAMI — The U.S. gov-
ernment is offering two
$1 million rewards for information
leading to the arrest of a 40-year-
old Pakistani man described as a
“prolific human smuggler,” and
for information leading to the fi-
nancial disruption of his smug-
gling network.
Abid Ali Khan is accused of
leading an operation that has prof-
ited from the trafficking of
migrants from the Middle East
and southwest Asia into the U.S.
without legal permission since
2015, U.S. Immigration and Cus-
toms Enforcement said in a news
release.
Investigators said Khan con-
spired with others in the network
to coordinate the international
travel, including false paperwork
for the migrants.
Khan was indicted in April on
federal charges including con-
spiracy, encouraging immigrants
to enter the U.S. illegally, and
bringing an immigrant into the
country without legal permission,
the news release said.
MATT HAMILTON, CHATTANOOGA (TENN.) TIMES FREE PRESS/AP
Gilbert Meier, 9, right, fires spray string at a classmate during the Lookout Mountain Elementary School's carnival on Lookout Mountain, inTenn. The school held their fall carnival at the Town Common park as a fundraiser for the school.
Stringing them along
THE CENSUS
26K The number of daffodil bulbs people have planted in Belfast,Maine, so far this year. Elisabeth Wolfe, who launched the
effort to eventually plant a million bulbs, said this is the fourth year people haveworked to plant the bulbs through the Belfast Daffodil Project. “When we finishthis year, we will have planted nearly 157,000 bulbs over the four years,”Wolfe told the Bangor Daily News.
From The Associated Press
PAGE 14 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, October 22, 2021
FACES
Charise Castro Smith, the first Latino
woman to co-direct a Walt Disney
Animation Studios movie, admits
that she has felt terrified at times.
But when the chance to work on “Encanto”
came around, she had no doubts.
“I said, ‘I have to do this. I have to,’” Castro
Smith said in an interview with The Associated
Press. She joined the project as a writer and
had never been in a directing role.
Castro Smith, who has a 3-year-old daugh-
ter, said “it means the world to me for little
brown kids everywhere to get to see them-
selves and to see themselves represented in a
positive way and feel seen.”
“Encanto,” which she co-directs with Jared
Bush and Byron Howard, is set in Colombia —
the land of magical realism — and follows Mi-
rabel Madrigal, a teenage girl dealing with the
frustration of being the only member of her
family without magical powers. It opens in
theaters Nov. 24.
Castro Smith and Bush also share writing
credits with Lin-Manuel Miranda, who creat-
ed original songs for the film. The cast, led by
Argentine American actor Stephanie Beatriz
(“Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “In The Heights”), in-
cludes Diane Guerrero, John Leguizamo, Wil-
mer Valderrama and Colombian Angie Cepe-
da.
“Encanto’‘ is undoubtedly a big step for Cas-
tro Smith, who started as a playwright and on-
ly had a few TV credits as an actor (small parts
in “The Good Wife,” “Body of Proof” and “Un-
forgettable”), writer (“Devious Maids,” “The
Exorcist”) and producer (“The Exorcist,”
“Sweetbitter”).
Her perspective as a woman raised in a Cu-
ban American family proved useful to the job.
“Charise was a godsend from the moment
she joined ‘Encanto’ and created a foundation
of heart, vulnerability and authenticity that
the entire film is built upon,” Bush said in an
email to the AP. “From day one, she wanted to
create a unique, flawed and utterly human
character in Mirabel that spoke to the experi-
ences of so many Latinas, while at the same
time being relatable to audiences around the
world.”
Initially brought on as a writer to collaborate
with Bush, Castro Smith was asked to be a co-
director after seven or eight months, she said.
“So it sort of happened organically and it’s
been amazing.”
She especially credits her bond with her Cu-
ban grandmother as a source of inspiration for
Abuela Alma, who is voiced in the film by Col-
ombian actor María Cecilia Botero.
“I just remember watching that (talk) show
‘Cristina’ with her a lot,” Castro Smith recalled
of her own abuela. “She encouraged me a lot.
She was an amazing woman. Actually, the play
I wrote most recently (‘El Huracán’, or ‘The
Hurricane’) is about her.”
Although Alma “is temperamentally really
really different than my grandmother was ...
that bond and that closeness I think was some-
thing that really informed me as I was writ-
ing,” she said.
Howard could see this, too.
“From the very beginning, Charise knew
who Encanto’s Abuela Alma needed to be, in-
side and out,” he wrote in an email to the AP.
“Charise’s writing showing Alma’s bravery
and struggle became the emotional heart of
the film, and I know that much of this intimate
connection with the character comes directly
from the strong women in her own family.”
“This unique talent of blending real-life
emotion with heightened, supernatural story-
telling comes naturally for Charise,” Howard
added. “She always writes with a sense of emo-
tional truth.”
Besides the opportunity of bringing to the
screen characters that children of color can re-
late to, Castro Smith said she was also drawn to
“Encanto’‘ by the idea of a protagonist that at
the beginning may not be able to accept herself
but learns to see and embrace her own value.
“I think is a powerful message that I wanted
to offer to everyone,” she said. “But particular-
ly the fact that this is a Latinx character, it was
just so personally important to me to put that
on the screen. It’s meant the world to me to
work on this because of that.”
In terms of representation, she feels hopeful
that “Encanto” and other upcoming projects
will pave the way for more productions led by
and focused on minorities.
“It’s so important just because what we see,
we kind of validate; what we see, we can em-
pathize with; what we see, we can sort of put
ourselves into the shoes of,” Castro Smith said.
“I think what I do as a storyteller and what we
all do as storytellers is kind of fundamental to
the fabric of society.”
A foundation of authenticityCharise Castro Smith brings Latin experience to Disney’s ‘Encanto’
BY SIGAL RATNER-ARIAS
Associated Press
WILLY SANJUAN/AP
Charise Castro Smith poses for a portrait on Sept. 9 in Los Angeles to promote her Disneyanimated film “Encanto.” The film, set in Colombia, follows a teenage girl dealing with thefrustration of being the only member of her family without magical powers.
rov. After a stint on the station,
they returned to Earth on Sunday
with another veteran Russian cos-
monaut, Oleg Novitskiy.
Peresild and Shipenko filmed
segments of a movie titled “Chal-
lenge,” in which a surgeon played
by Peresild rushes to the space
station to save a crew member
who needs an urgent operation in
orbit. Novitskiy, who flew the film
crew home, stars as the ailing cos-
monaut in the movie.
A Russian actor and a film di-
rector who spent 12 days in orbit
making the world’s first movie in
space said Tuesday they were so
thrilled with their experience on
the International Space Station
that they felt sorry to leave.
Actor Yulia Peresild and direc-
tor Klim Shipenko flew to the In-
ternational Space Station in a Rus-
sian Soyuz spacecraft together
with cosmonaut Anton Shkaple-
Speaking to reporters via video
link Tuesday, Peresild lamented
that a busy filming schedule left
little chance to enjoy the views.
“We realized only a day before
the departure that we didn’t spend
enough time looking out the win-
dows,” she said. “I had a mixed
feeling. On the one hand, it felt like
an eternity but on the other hand it
felt like we just arrived and imme-
diately need to return.”
Peresild and Shipenko said they
were feeling fine but still were
having some trouble adapting to
the pull of gravity.
“We have to learn again how to
walk,” Peresild said, adding that
she still instinctively tries to at-
tach various items with Velcro to
prevent them from floating away.
Shipenko, who will continue the
shooting on Earth after filming the
movie’s space episodes, said the
film’s release date would be an-
nounced next year.
Russians return from filming movie in spaceAssociated Press
Mel Gibson is headed back to
his television roots for his next gig.
The Oscar winner has been
tapped to star in “The Continen-
tal,” described as the prequel to
Keanu Reeves’ blockbuster “John
Wick” film series.
Exploring the origin behind the
titular hotel for international as-
sassins from the “John Wick” uni-
verse, “The Continental” will be
presented as a three-night special-
event TV series produced for
Starz by Lionsgate Television, ac-
cording to Deadline.
Set 40 years before the events of
the film series, the project will
center on the young version of
Winston Scott, who is pulled back
into a world of his past and takes
on a harrowing attempt to seize
control of the property.
The Peekskill, N.Y., native
made his acting debut on the Aus-
tralian television drama series
“The Sullivans” from 1976-1983.
Superman drops
‘American way’ mottoSuperman is leaping forward
with a new motto.
The hero will no longer refer to
the “American way” in the DC
comic books, and will instead use
the phrase “Truth, Justice and a
Better Tomorrow.”
“Superman’s new motto of
‘Truth, Justice and a Better To-
morrow’ will better reflect the
global storylines that we are tell-
ing across DC and honor the char-
acter’s incredible legacy of over
80 years of building a better
world,” Jim Lee, publisher and
chief creative officer of DC Com-
ics, said in a statement Saturday.
“Superman has long been a
symbol of hope who inspires peo-
ple from around the world, and it
is that optimism and hope that
powers him forward with this new
mission statement.”
Celine Dion to postpone
Las Vegas residencyCeline Dion is postponing her
Las Vegas return to focus on her
health. The superstar singer will
not begin her latest concert resi-
dency on Nov. 5 as originally
planned due to recurring severe
muscle spasms, promoters said
Tuesday.
“I’m heartbroken by this,”
Dion, 53, said in a statement. “My
team and I have been working on
our new show for the past eight
months, and to not be able to open
this November saddens me be-
yond words.”
The announcement saw Dion,
53, cancel each of her concerts
scheduled at the Resorts World
Theatre between Nov. 5 and Nov.
20, as well as her shows slated for
Jan. 19 to Feb. 5.
‘John Wick’prequel to starMel Gibson
From wire reports
Friday, October 22, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 15
Max D. Lederer Jr., Publisher
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stripes.com
OPINION
How lean can we make the U.S. Ar-
my before it’s unable to do its job?
Army Secretary Christine
Wormuth recently declared her
service must “ruthlessly prioritize” its “trans-
formation” efforts.” To that end, she said, the
Army is “going to have to look hard at every-
thing we do and everything about how we do
it.”
That sounds reasonable … except when you
consider that, since 2018, the Army has al-
ready been painfully slicing billions from its
budget to preserve readiness, maintain a min-
imum size and fund critical modernization
programs.
If, as Wormuth suggests, further cuts are in
the offing, it could once more leave us with a
“hollow Army,” one unable to effectively re-
spond when the nation calls.
Three years ago, under pressure to
scrounge money, the Army began conducting
what they called “night court” reviews. Those
reviews went “program by program, activity
by activity” to make hard trade-offs to find
money. In 2018, the Army reallocated roughly
$25 billion to higher priority programs. The
Army has continued this practice each year
since.
Just last year, the Army released a list of 41
program terminations and 39 program reduc-
tions made to preserve the semblance of a
modernization program. The Army’s 2022
proposed budget reflected yet more cuts, in-
cluding reductions to precious unit training
funds, cuts to the prized Joint Lightweight
Tactical Vehicle program, and cuts to key hel-
icopter modernization programs.
This spring, Army Chief Gen. James
McConville candidly admitted the three years
of “grueling night court drills” have taken a
tremendous toll. “The first year we took the
low-lying fruit, and we got to the middle of the
tree [in year two],” he said. “[Now] we’re at
the top of the tree. There’s no more fruit in that
tree.”
Just to keep up with inflation and preserve a
semblance of readiness, the Army’s 2022 bud-
get needed to be $180 billion. Nevertheless, in
its first year, the Biden administration chose
to request only $173 billion — a $7 billion cut in
purchasing power. Wormuth’s remarks por-
tend even more cuts may be on the way.
In light of the China threat, some suggest
that the Navy and Air Force’s shares of the
Pentagon budget need to be increased at the
expense of the Army. Problem is, we’ve “been
there, done that.” Since 2008 when the Army
was bearing the costs of fights in Iraq and Af-
ghanistan, its budget has steadily declined. In
the 2022 budget request, the Army’s portion is
24.1%, compared to a Navy share of 29.5%.
Still others suggest the Army should shrink
in size, cutting people to save money. That
suggestion ignores the fact that the Army is al-
ready nearly as small as it has been in modern
history and that every Army leader in recent
times has cautioned against further reduc-
tions. The bipartisan commission charged to
review the 2018 National Defense Strategy
(which counted among its members the cur-
rent deputy secretary of defense and defense
comptroller) unanimously found “the United
States needs a larger force than it has today if it
is to meet the objectives of the strategy.”
Certainly, the Army must continue to look
inward and ensure that every dollar it spends
delivers meaningful combat capability. Fiscal
stewardship is essential to maintaining public
trust and to building the best Army possible.
The reality is that there is never going to be
enough money, even in a wealthy nation like
the United States, to fund every military re-
quirement, and tough decisions will always
need to be made.
But America can afford a strong national
defense. Even Congress — famous for strife
and parochialism — seems to understand the
critical need to fund the military. This year,
the House of Representatives soundly re-
buffed efforts to slash the defense budget. The
Senate Armed Services Committee did the
same. Indeed, Congress may wind up adding
roughly $25 billion to President Joe Biden’s
anemic defense budget request, something
that would greatly help deter potential con-
flict with adversaries such as Russia and Chi-
na.
Before the Army commences another
round of “ruthless prioritization,” it would do
well to take a look around the “neighborhood.”
China, Russia, Iran and North Korea all em-
barked on breakneck modernizations of their
military forces. The Army has not been keep-
ing pace. Once cut too far, it takes a long time to
regrow an effective Army. As a nation, we will
regret it if we allow our Army to wither.
How much further can the Army be cut?BY THOMAS SPOEHR
The Heritage Foundation
Thomas Spoehr, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general, is directorof The Heritage Foundation’s Center for National Defense.
When the Supreme Court rules in
the coming months on the Mis-
sissippi and Texas laws sub-
stantially restricting abortions,
it will do more than decide the future of its
1973 ruling legalizing a woman’s right to end
her pregnancy.
It will almost certainly plunge the long-sim-
mering issue into the midst of the 2022 mid-
term congressional and gubernatorial elec-
tions at a time both Democrats and Republi-
cans believe it could help them. One is likely to
be wrong. Or, perhaps, each will be right in
some places and wrong in others.
Ever since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision,
abortion rights has been a potent factor in
many national and state elections, and it’s an
issue in next month’s Virginia governor’s
race. But polls on which party benefits are as
complicated as those on the attitude of Amer-
icans toward the practice itself.
For example, 2020 television network elec-
tion exit polls showed a majority of voters fa-
vored keeping abortion generally legal. They
also showed the proportion regarding the is-
sue as an important factor in their vote was
roughly the same among supporters and op-
ponents of abortion rights, about three in five.
Still, Donald Trump’s 2016 promise to name
Supreme Court justices opposed to abortion
rights — and the fact that by 2020 he had done
so — likely helped to maintain his strong sup-
port from religious conservatives, including
those wary of his three marriages and other
aspects of his private life.
Current attitudes are similarly complicat-
ed. A recent Quinnipiac University Poll
showed Texans agreed by a 2-to-1 margin
with the court’s 1973 ruling legalizing abor-
tions, about the same degree of overall sup-
port as has been shown in most national polls.
But the same poll showed opinion evenly
split on the provision in the state’s new law
that makes abortions illegal when a fetal
heartbeat is detectable. That provision would
ban abortions after the first six weeks of preg-
nancy, rather than the 26 weeks currently al-
lowable under the Supreme Court decision.
At the same time, the survey showed strong
opposition among Texans to the new law’s
provisions allowing private citizens to sue
anyone they suspect may have facilitated an
illegal abortion and to the provision in the
abortion ban including any pregnancies re-
sulting from rape or incest.
It didn’t take long after the 1973 decision for
the issue to enter the political debate. Interest-
ingly, the first major figure to use it was a ris-
ing Republican senator named Bob Dole, fac-
ing a close 1974 reelection race in Kansas. In a
debate, Dole raised the fact that his Demo-
cratic opponent, a gynecologist and congress-
man named William Roy, had performed
abortions. It was seen as a major factor in
Dole’s narrow victory.
Though he mostly downplayed the issue in
later years, Dole took credit for it when seek-
ing the GOP’s 1996 presidential nomination,
telling the South Carolina Christian Coalition
that “when abortion first became a national is-
sue was at my reelection in 1974.”
Still, national Republicans were slow to em-
brace it. In 1976, then-President Gerald Ford
said the decision should be left to the states.
But in their 1980 takeover of the GOP in which
religious conservatives played a key role, Ro-
nald Reagan’s forces added planks to the Re-
publican platform that urged reversing Roe v.
Wade and appointing federal judges “at all
levels of the judiciary” who opposed abortion
rights. Ever since, it has been a prominent po-
litical issue in both national and state elec-
tions. And recent legislation makes it likely to
become an even greater factor in 2022.
The Supreme Court has agreed to consider
aMississippi law, which would ban most abor-
tions after 15 weeks. It also stepped into the
controversy surrounding the even more re-
strictive Texas law, allowing it to take effect
pending a ruling on its constitutionality,
though even some conservative legal experts
consider it unconstitutional unless the court is
ready to reverse the 1973 ruling.
In this circumstance, there are two great
uncertainties: how far the court will go in re-
stricting its 1973 ruling, assuming that is why
it took these cases. And which side will benefit
politically.
Democrats believe the issue will spur a
larger-than-usual turnout of suburban wom-
en that will help their candidates in next year’s
elections. Similarly, many Republicans be-
lieve it helped to elect Trump in 2016 — and
nearly reelected him in 2020 — by generating
an outpouring of religious conservatives.
Interestingly, weekly polls by The Econo-
mist and YouGov show that the proportion of
Democrats who consider abortion an ex-
tremely important issue has risen during
2021, while the proportion of Republicans has
dropped. That trend, along with the underly-
ing national support for maintaining most le-
gal abortions, suggests Democrats stand to
benefit the most if the court significantly re-
stricts its 1973 ruling.
Abortion will be a key issue for both parties in 2022BY CARL P. LEUBSDORF
The Dallas Morning News
Carl P. Leubsdorf is a former Washington bureau chief of TheDallas Morning News.
PAGE 16 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, October 22, 2021
ACROSS
1 Stretchy fabric
6 TV spots
9 Clean air org.
12 Greeted a bully
13 Salty expanse
14 Book spine abbr.
15 Shrimp variety
16 Fabric
18 Analyzed, as
a sentence
20 Perched on
21 Chi follower
23 Hearing thing
24 Big hit
25 Web addresses
27 Dark
29 Baking tin
31 Language
of Egypt
35 Sunday entree
37 Small plateau
38 Evil one
41 Proof letters
43 Sailor
44 Hibernia
45 Dresser
47 Package stamp
49 Mexican art-
ist Kahlo
52 Slithery fish
53 Actor Stephen
54 Had a bug
55 Hwys.
56 Piercing tool
57 Cardio-boxing
routine
DOWN
1 JFK’s veep
2 Thee
3 Gather
4 Ms. McEntire
5 Worship
6 Rearward
7 Monopoly card
8 Kenny G’s
instrument
9 Madonna role
10 Casual shirts
11 Hebrew letter
17 Large gong
19 Place for
sweaters?
21 Young seal
22 Lanka lead-in
24 Polite address
26 Mattress part
28 In a while
30 MSN rival
32 Enchant
33 Equi-
34 Urban carrier
36 Snitch
38 Postpone
39 Goofed
40 Test tubes
42 Make lean
45 Botched
46 Met melody
48 Playwright Levin
50 Cotillion celeb
51 Commotion
Answer to Previous Puzzle
Eugene Sheffer CrosswordFra
zz
Dilbert
Pearls B
efo
re S
win
eN
on S
equitur
Candorv
ille
Beetle B
ailey
Biz
arr
oCarp
e D
iem
Friday, October 22, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 17
TENNIS
Kremlin Cup
ThursdayAt Olympic Stadium
MoscowPurse: $697,125
Surface: Hardcourt indoorMen’s SinglesRound of 16
Pedro Martinez, Spain, def. Filip Kraji-novic (4), Serbia, 6-3, 6-4.
Women’s SinglesRound of 16
Anett Kontaveit (9), Estonia, def. AndreaPetkovic, Germany, 6-1, 6-4.
Maria Sakkari (3), Greece, def. Anna Ka-linskaya, Russia, 6-2, 1-0, ret.
SOCCER
MLS
Eastern Conference
W L T Pts GF GA
New England 21 4 6 69 62 38
Nashville 11 3 16 49 47 27
Philadelphia 12 8 10 46 42 32
Orlando City 12 8 10 46 43 42
Atlanta 11 9 10 43 40 34
CF Montréal 11 10 9 42 43 40
D.C. United 12 13 5 41 51 44
New York City FC 11 11 8 41 45 34
New York 11 11 7 40 35 30
Columbus 10 12 8 38 37 40
Inter Miami CF 10 15 5 35 28 47
Chicago 8 16 7 31 35 51
Toronto FC 6 17 7 25 34 59
Cincinnati 4 18 8 20 32 59
Western Conference
W L T Pts GF GA
Seattle 17 6 7 58 50 26
Sporting Kansas City 15 7 7 52 52 33
Colorado 14 6 10 52 43 32
Portland 14 12 4 46 48 49
LA Galaxy 13 11 6 45 44 46
Minnesota United 12 10 8 44 35 37
Vancouver 11 9 10 43 40 41
Real Salt Lake 12 11 6 42 48 45
Los Angeles FC 11 12 7 40 46 44
San Jose 9 12 9 36 40 47
Houston 6 13 12 30 35 49
FC Dallas 6 14 10 28 41 50
Austin FC 7 19 4 25 29 49
Note: Three points for victory, one pointfor tie.
Wednesday’s games
Chicago 4, Cincinnati 3 CF Montréal 1, Orlando City 1, tie New York City FC 1, Atlanta 1, tie New England 3, D.C. United 2 Miami 3, Toronto FC 0 Los Angeles FC 3, FC Dallas 2 Minnesota 3, Philadelphia 2 Columbus 1, Nashville 1, tie LA Galaxy 3, Houston 0 Seattle 1, Colorado 1, tie Vancouver 3, Portland 2 San Jose 4, Austin FC 0
Saturday’s games
Sporting Kansas City at Seattle New York at Columbus D.C. United at New York City FC Nashville at Philadelphia CF Montréal at Toronto FC Los Angeles FC at Minnesota Real Salt Lake at Chicago Cincinnati at Miami Portland at Colorado FC Dallas at LA Galaxy Vancouver at San Jose
Sunday’s games
Houston at Austin FC New England at Orlando City
NWSL
W L T Pts GF GA
x-Portland 13 6 4 43 33 17
x-OL Reign 12 8 3 39 34 24
x-Washington 10 7 6 36 28 26
Chicago 10 8 5 35 27 28
Gotham FC 8 5 8 32 26 18
Houston 9 9 5 32 31 30
North Carolina 9 9 5 32 28 23
Orlando 7 9 7 28 27 31
Louisville 5 12 5 20 19 38
Kansas City 3 13 6 15 14 32
Note: Three points for victory, one pointfor tie.
Friday’s game
Gotham FC at Kansas CityThursday, Oct, 28
Gotham FC at LouisvilleFriday, Oct. 29
Chicago at OrlandoOL Reign at Kansas City
Saturday, Oct. 30
North Carolina at PortlandSunday, Oct. 31
Louisville at Gotham FCHouston at Washington
NFL
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
East
W L T Pct PF PA
Buffalo 4 2 0 .667 203 98
New England 2 4 0 .333 125 127
N.Y. Jets 1 4 0 .200 67 121
Miami 1 5 0 .167 99 177
South
W L T Pct PF PA
Tennessee 4 2 0 .667 166 161
Indianapolis 2 4 0 .333 139 131
Houston 1 5 0 .167 92 172
Jacksonville 1 5 0 .167 116 172
North
W L T Pct PF PA
Baltimore 5 1 0 .833 170 123
Cincinnati 4 2 0 .667 148 111
Cleveland 3 3 0 .500 156 151
Pittsburgh 3 3 0 .500 117 132
West
W L T Pct PF PA
L.A. Chargers 4 2 0 .667 148 150
Las Vegas 4 2 0 .667 147 144
Denver 3 3 0 .500 126 110
Kansas City 3 3 0 .500 185 176
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
East
W L T Pct PF PA
Dallas 5 1 0 .833 205 146
Philadelphia 2 4 0 .333 137 152
Washington 2 4 0 .333 136 186
N.Y. Giants 1 5 0 .167 114 177
South
W L T Pct PF PA
Tampa Bay 5 1 0 .833 195 144
New Orleans 3 2 0 .600 127 91
Carolina 3 3 0 .500 143 121
Atlanta 2 3 0 .400 105 148
North
W L T Pct PF PA
Green Bay 5 1 0 .833 144 136
Chicago 3 3 0 .500 98 124
Minnesota 3 3 0 .500 147 137
Detroit 0 6 0 .000 109 172
West
W L T Pct PF PA
Arizona 6 0 0 1.000 194 109
L.A. Rams 5 1 0 .833 179 127
San Francisco 2 3 0 .400 117 119
Seattle 2 4 0 .333 140 149
Thursday’s game
Denver at Cleveland
Sunday’s games
Atlanta at Miami Carolina at N.Y. Giants Cincinnati at Baltimore Kansas City at Tennessee N.Y. Jets at New England Washington at Green Bay Detroit at L.A. Rams Philadelphia at Las Vegas Chicago at Tampa Bay Houston at Arizona Indianapolis at San Francisco Open: Buffalo, Jacksonville, L.A. Char-
gers, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Minnesota
Monday’s game
New Orleans at Seattle
Thursday, Oct. 28
Green Bay at Arizona
Sunday, Oct. 31
Carolina at Atlanta Cincinnati at N.Y. Jets L.A. Rams at Houston Miami at Buffalo Philadelphia at Detroit Pittsburgh at Cleveland San Francisco at Chicago Tennessee at Indianapolis Jacksonville at Seattle New England at L.A. Chargers Tampa Bay at New Orleans Washington at Denver Dallas at Minnesota Open: Baltimore, Las Vegas
Monday, Nov. 1
N.Y. Giants at Kansas City
NFL Injury ReportSUNDAY
ATLANTA FALCONS at MIAMI DOLPHINS— ATLANTA: DNP: OLB Dante Fowler Jr.(knee), S Jaylinn Hawkins (illness). LIMIT-ED: CB Avery Williams (hamstring). MIA-MI: LIMITED: QB Jacoby Brissett (hamstr-ing), RB Malcolm Brown (ribs), CB XavienHoward (shoulder/groin), G/T AustinJackson (shoulder), DT John Jenkins(knees), S Brandon Jones (ankle), CB By-ron Jones (achilles/groin), C Greg Mancz(groin), LB Jaelan Phillips (ankle), QB TuaTagovailoa (ribs), WR Preston Williams(Groin). FULL: LB Elandon Roberts (throat),TE Adam Shaheen (knee).
CAROLINA PANTHERS at NEW YORK GI-ANTS — CAROLINA: DNP: WR Alex Erickson(concussion), WR Terrance Marshall Jr.(concussion), FB Giovanni Ricci (concus-sion), LB Shaq Thompson (foot). LIMITED:LB Frankie Luvu (bicep). FULL: CB C.J. Hen-derson (shoulder). NEW YORK GIANTS:DNP: RB Saquon Barkley (ankle), WR Ken-ny Golladay (knee), LB Azeez Ojulari (NIR),WR John Ross (hamstring), TE KadenSmith (knee), WR Kadarius Toney (ankle).LIMITED: OL Ben Bredeson (hand), DL Dan-ny Shelton (pectoral), WR Darius Slayton(hamstring).
CHICAGO BEARS at TAMPA BAY BUCCA-NEERS — CHICAGO: DNP: TE Jimmy Gra-ham (not injury related - resting player),WR Jakeem Grant (ankle), DT Akiem Hicks(groin), LB Caleb Johnson (knee), LB KhalilMack (foot), WR Allen Robinson (ankle).LIMITED: S Tashaun Gipson (hip), TE J.P.Holtz (quadricep), WR Darnell Mooney(groin). FULL: CB Xavier Crawford (back),RB Khalil Herbert (shoulder). TAMPA BAY:DNP: WR Antonio Brown (ankle), LB La-vonte David (ankle), TE Rob Gronkowski(ribs), TE O.J. Howard (ankle), LB JasonPierre-Paul (shoulder, hand), CB RichardSherman (hamstring). FULL: RB GiovaniBernard (knee, chest), QB Tom Brady(right thumb), K Ryan Succop (back), S An-toine Winfield (concussion).
CINCINNATI BENGALS at BALTIMORERAVENS — CINCINNATI: DNP: CB Jalen Da-vis (ankle), C Trey Hopkins (knee), DT JoshTupou (knee). LIMITED: S Ricardo Allen(ankle), G Jackson Carman (NIR-restingplayer), HB Chris Evans (hamstring), LSClark Harris (knee), DE Trey Hendrickson(shoulder). FULL: QB Joe Burrow (throat),WR Mike Thomas (ankle). BALTIMORE:DNP: C Bradley Bozeman (back), OLB Jus-tin Houston (NIR-resting player), RB Lata-vius Murray (ankle), CB Jimmy Smith (NIR-resting player), T Alejandro Villanueva(knee), WR Sammy Watkins (thigh), CB Ta-von Young (knee). LIMITED: LB PatrickQueen (thigh).
DETROIT LIONS at LOS ANGELES RAMS —DETROIT: DNP: RB Jason Cabinda (hip), TET.J. Hockenson (knee), DE Nicholas Wil-liams (knee). LIMITED: DE Michael Brock-ers (shoulder), LB Trey Flowers (knee), LBCharles Harris (hip, oblique), S Will Harris(rib), RB D’Andre Swift (groin). LOS AN-GELES RAMS: DNP: RB Sony Michel (shoul-der), OL Andrew Whitworth (NIR-restingplayer, OLB Terrell Lewis (NIR-restingplayer.
HOUSTON TEXANS at ARIZONA CARDI-NALS — HOUSTON: DNP: OL Justin Britt
(knee), DB Terrence Brooks (chest), WRBrandin Cooks (NIR), DL Jaleel Johnson(back), QB Deshaun Watson (NIR). LIMIT-ED: WR Chris Conley (neck). FULL: WR Dan-ny Amendola (thigh). ARIZONA: DNP: TKelvin Beachum (ribs), TE Darrell Daniels(hamstring), LB Kylie Fitts (concussion),LB Jordan Hicks (toe, ankle), WR DeAndreHopkins (not injury related - resting play-er), LB Devon Kennard (shoulder), DTRashard Lawrence (calf), G Justin Pugh(back). LIMITED: LB Zaven Collins (shoul-der), RB Chase Edmonds (shoulder), LBTanner Vallejo (hand). FULL: DT Leki Fotu(elbow), LB Dennis Gardeck (hand, elbow).
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS at SAN FRANCIS-CO 49ERS — INDIANAPOLIS: DNP: WR T.Y.Hilton (quadricep), LB Darius Leonard (an-kle, knee), DE Tyquan Lewis (elbow), DEKwity Paye (hamstring), T Braden Smith(foot, thumb), DE Kemoko Turay (groin),RB Jordan Wilkins (non-football illness),CB Rock Ya-Sin (ankle). LIMITED: S JulianBlackmon (Achilles), S Andrew Sendejo(concussion). SAN FRANCISCO: DNP DT Ja-von Kinlaw (knee), QB Trey Lance (knee), TTrent Williams (ankle/elbow). LIMITED:QB Jimmy Garoppolo (calf), LB MarcellHarris (thumb). FULL: CB K’Waun Williams(calf).
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS at TENNESSEE TI-TANS — KANSAS CITY: DNP: FB MichaelBurton (pectoral), TE Jody Fortson(achilles), WR Tyrek Hill (quadricep), LBAnthony Hitchens (tricep), OL Joe Thuney(hand). LIMITED: DT Chris Jones (hand), TETravis Kelce (neck), S Tyrann Mathieu(thumb/toe), DT Jarran Reed (back), CBChavarius Ward (quadricep), OL TreySmith (ankle). FULL: TE Blake Bell (back), TOrlando Brown (groin), CB Chris Lammons(shin), DT Khalen Saunders (ankle), CBL’Jarius Sneed (wrist). TENNESSEE: DNP:WR A.J. Brown (illness), K Randy Bullock(shoulder), DB Chris Jackson (ankle), WRJulio Jones (hamstring), T Taylor Lewan(concussion), RB Jeremy McNichols (an-kle), WR Chester Rogers (groin). LIMITED:FB Khari Blasingame (shoulder), LB MonryRice (groin), G Rodger Saffold III (shoul-der).
NEW YORK JETS at NEW ENGLAND PATRI-OTS — NEW YORK JETS: DNP: TE Tyler Kroft(back), LB C.J. Mosley (hamstring). LIMIT-ED: S Marcus Maye (ankle). FULL: S AdrianColbert (concussion), DT Nathan She-phard (knee), WR Jeff Smith (Concussion).NEW ENGLAND: DNP: DL Davon Godchaux(finger), LB Dant’a Hightower (elbow/an-kle), CB Jonathan Jones (shoulder), CBShaun Wade (concussion), DL DeatrichWise Jr. (knee). LIMITED: DL Christian Bar-more (shoulder), LB Ja’Whaun Bentley(ribs), RB Brandon Bolden (thigh), S KyleDugger (knee), K Nick Folk (left knee), LBBrandon King (thigh), G Shaq Mason (ab-domen), DB Jalen Mills (hamstring), DBAdrian Phillips (back), LB Josh Uche(shoulder), LB Kyle Van Noy (groin).
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES at LAS VEGASRAIDERS — PHILADELPHIA: DNP: S Antho-ny Harris (hands). LIMITED: DE Derek Bar-nett (foot), T Lane Johnson (not injury re-lated - resting player), C Jason Kelce (foot,not injury related - resting player), LS RickLovato (hamstring). LAS VEGAS: DNP: TENick Bowers (neck), DB Quinton Jefferson(NIR-personal), S Dallin Leavitt (qaudri-cep), TE Darren Waller (NIR-resting play-er). LIMITED: WR Bryan Edwards (hamstr-ing), DT Johnathan Hankins (hip), LB NickKwiatkoski (toe), T Kolton Miller (pecto-ral),WR Henry Ruggs III (knee). FULL: QBDerek Carr (finger), DE Maxx Crosby (hip),CB Brandon Facyson (hip), DE Carl Nassib(ribs), DE Yannick Ngakoue (knee), LB Den-zel Perryman (thumb), G John Simpson(elbow), DT Solomon Thomas (Wrist).
WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM atGREEN BAY PACKERS — WASHINGTON:DNP: T Samuel Cosmi (ankle), RB AntonioGibson (shin), T Charles Leno (not injuryrelated - resting player), WR Terry McLau-rin (hamstring), WR Curtis Samuel (groin),G Brandon Scherff (knee), TE Ricky Seals-Jones (quadricep), WR Cam Sims (hamstr-ing). LIMITED: DT Jonathan Allen (knee),WR Dyami Brown (knee), CB William Jack-son (knee). GREEN BAY: DNP: T Dennis Kel-ly (back), C Josh Myers (knee), S DarnellSavage (concussion), LB Preston Smith(oblique). LIMITED: CB Kevin King (shoul-der). FULL: WR Equanimeous St. Brown(shoulder).
PRO FOOTBALL
Wednesday’s TransactionsBASEBALL
Major League BaseballAmerican League
TORONTO BLUE JAYS — Reinstated RHPJoakim Soria from the COVID-19 RelatedInjured list. Designated RHP Jacob Barnesfor assignment.
National leagueARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — Named
Steve Mullins senior vice president of cor-porate partnerships, media and events.
ATLANTA BRAVES — Reassigned RHPHuascar Ynoa to the minor leagues. Acti-vated LHP Dylan Lee.
CHICAGO CUBS — Sent Cs Erick Castilloand Tyler Payne outright to Iowa (Triple-AEast).
MILWAUKEE BREWERS — Released hit-ting coach Andy Haines.
BASKETBALLNational Basketball Association
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS — Re-signed CJonas Valanciunas to a veteran extension.
FOOTBALLNational Football League
ARIZONA CARDINALS — Signed TE DavidWells to the practice squad.
BALTIMORE RAVENS — Designated TENick Boyle return from injured reserve.Signed C Adam Redmond to the practicesquad. Placed OT Brandon Knight on thedid not report list.
CINCINNATI BENGALS — Designated OTHakeen Adeniji return from injured re-serve to practice.
DALLAS COWBOYS — Signed RB NickRalston to the practice squad.
DENVER BRONCOS — Re-signed WR Da-vid Moore to the practice squad. SignedWR Tyrie Cleveland to the active roster.
DETROIT LIONS — Signed WR GeronimoAllison to the active roster. Designated DLDa’Shawn hand return from injured re-serve to practice.
HOUSTON TEXANS — Activated DL RossBlacklock from the reserve/COVID-19 list.Signed LB Connor Strachan to the practicesquad. Signed OL Jimmy Morrissey.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — Designated GQuentin Nelson and WR Dezmon Patmonreturn from injured reserve to practice.Signed CB Darqueze Dennard, S Josh Jonesand DT Chris Williams to the practicesquad. Signed DT Antwaun Woods.
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS — Signed OL D.J.Fluker and CB Desmond Trufant. Placed SRoderic Teamer on injured reserve.
LOS ANGELES RAMS — Signed DB GrantHaley and TE Jared Pinkney to the practicesquad.
NEW YORK GIANTS — Designated OLBElerson Smith and DB Aaron Robinson re-turn from injured reserve to practice.Signed DL Woodrow Hamilton to the prac-tice squad.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES — Signed TE Ri-chard Rodgers to the practice squad. Re-leased OT Casey Tucker from the practicesquad. Designated TE Tyree Jackson and SK’Von Wallace return from injured reserveto practice.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS — Claimed QB Ja-cob Eason off waivers from Baltimore.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS — Signed GJohn Molchon to the practice squad. Re-leased WR Travis Jonsen from the practicesquad.
TENNESSEE TITANS — Signed DB GregMabin and OL Bobby Hart. Designated OLDaniel Munyer and DL Larrell Murchisonreturn from injured reserve to practice.
WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM — Re-signed WR Kelvin Harmon to the practicesquad. Released K Dustin Hopkins. SignedK Chris Blewitt.
HOCKEYNational Hockey League
CALGARY FLAMES — Waived C GlennGawdin.
COLORADO AVALANCHE — Returned LWGabriel Landeskog from suspension.
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS — Recalled DGabriel Carlsson from Cleveland (AHL).
OTTAWA SENATORS — Assigned G FilipGustavsson to Belleville (AHL).
SEATTLE KRAKEN — Assigned G AntoineBibeau to Charlotte (AHL) from Allen(ECHL).
WINNIPEG JETS — Loaned C Cole Perfettito Manitoba (AHL).
DEALS
SCOREBOARD
Schedule
Friday’s games
EAST
Columbia (4-1) at Dartmouth (5-0) Middle Tennessee (2-4) at Uconn (1-7)
SOUTH
Memphis (4-3) at UCF (3-3)
FAR WEST
Colorado St. (3-3) at Utah St. (4-2) Washington (2-4) at Arizona (0-6)
Saturday’s games
EAST
Wake Forest (6-0) at Army (4-2) Cincinnati (6-0) at Navy (1-5) Illinois (2-5) at Penn St. (5-1) Bryant (4-3) at Wagner (0-6) Morehead St. (4-2) at Marist (3-2) Duquesne (4-1) at Sacred Heart (4-3) LIU Brooklyn (0-5) at CCSU (1-5) Penn (2-3) at Yale (2-3) Harvard (5-0) at Princeton (5-0) Maine (2-4) at Albany (NY) (0-6) Georgetown (1-4) at Bucknell (1-5) Brown (1-4) at Cornell (1-4) Norfolk St. (4-2) at Howard (2-4) Lehigh (0-6) at Fordham (4-3) NC Central (2-4) at Morgan St. (0-6)
SC State (2-4) at Delaware St. (3-3) James Madison (5-1) at Delaware (3-3) Richmond (2-4) at Stony Brook (2-5) Rhode Island (5-1) at Villanova (5-1) Clemson (4-2) at Pittsburgh (5-1) Colgate (2-5) vs. Holy Cross (4-2)
SOUTH
Umass (1-5) at Florida St. (2-4) Syracuse (3-4) at Virginia Tech (3-3) New Hampshire (3-3) at Elon (3-3) Incarnate Word (5-1) at McNeese St. (2-4)San Diego (3-4) at Presbyterian (2-4) Chattanooga (3-3) at Samford (3-3) Robert Morris (2-3) at Gardner-Webb (2-4)NC A&T (3-3) at Hampton (2-4) BCC (0-7) at Jackson St. (5-1) ETSU (6-1) at Furman (4-2) W. Carolina (0-6) at The Citadel (2-4) Texas State (2-4) at Georgia St. (2-4) Charleston Southern (2-3) at North Ala-
bama (1-6) SE Missouri (2-5) at UT Martin (5-1) Austin Peay (2-4) at Murray St. (3-3) LSU (4-3) at Mississippi (5-1) Towson (3-3) at William & Mary (4-2) Rice (2-4) at UAB (5-2) SE Louisiana (5-1) at Northwestern St. (1-5)Kennesaw St. (5-1) at Campbell (3-3) Florida A&M (4-2) at MVSU (2-4) Mississippi St. (3-3) at Vanderbilt (2-5) Boston College (4-2) at Louisville (3-3) Wofford (1-5) at Mercer (4-2)
UTSA (7-0) at Louisiana Tech (2-4) Prairie View (5-1) at Southern U. (3-3) Temple (3-3) at South Florida (1-5) W. Kentucky (2-4) at FIU (1-5) Tennessee (4-3) at Alabama (6-1) South Alabama (4-2) at La.-Monroe (3-3) Georgia Tech (3-3) at Virginia (5-2) NC State (5-1) at Miami (2-4)
MIDWEST
E. Michigan (4-3) at Bowling Green (2-5) N. Illinois (5-2) at Cent. Michigan (4-3) Northwestern (3-3) at Michigan (6-0) Oklahoma (7-0) at Kansas (1-5) Youngstown St. (2-3) at Indiana St. (3-4) Stetson (2-4) at Drake (2-5) Kent St. (3-4) at Ohio (1-6) Dayton (3-3) at Valparaiso (1-5) Davidson (4-1) at Butler (2-5) Illinois St. (2-4) at South Dakota (5-2) Wisconsin (3-3) at Purdue (4-2) Tennessee St. (3-3) at E. Illinois (1-6) W. Illinois (1-6) at North Dakota (2-4) N. Iowa (3-3) at S. Dakota St. (5-1) Oklahoma St. (6-0) at Iowa St. (4-2) Missouri St. (4-2) at N. Dakota St. (6-0) Miami (Ohio) (3-4) at Ball St. (4-3) Buffalo (3-4) at Akron (2-5) W. Michigan (5-2) at Toledo (3-4) Maryland (4-2) at Minnesota (4-2) Southern Cal (3-3) at Notre Dame (5-1) Ohio St. (5-1) at Indiana (2-4)
SOUTHWEST
Ark.-Pine Bluff (1-5) vs. Arkansas (4-3) atLittle Rock, Ark.
Kansas St. (3-3) at Texas Tech (5-2) Jacksonville St. (3-3) at Sam Houston St. (5-0)Liberty (5-2) at North Texas (1-5) East Carolina (3-3) at Houston (5-1) Midwestern St. (0-0) at Tarleton St. (3-3) Nicholls (2-4) at Houston Baptist (0-6) Cent. Arkansas (2-4) at Lamar (2-4) West Virginia (2-4) at TCU (3-3) South Carolina (4-3) at Texas A&M (5-2) Alcorn St. (4-2) at Texas Southern (2-4)
FAR WEST
Idaho St. (1-5) at Montana St. (6-1) BYU (5-2) at Washington St. (4-3) Oregon (5-1) at UCLA (5-2) New Mexico (2-5) at Wyoming (4-2) Colorado (2-4) at California (1-5) Weber St. (2-4) at E. Washington (7-0) Nevada (5-1) at Fresno St. (5-2) San Diego St. (6-0) at Air Force (6-1) Utah (4-2) at Oregon St. (4-2) Montana (4-2) at Idaho (2-4) N. Colorado (2-5) at S. Utah (1-6) UC Davis (6-1) at Cal Poly (1-5) N. Arizona (3-3) at Sacramento St. (4-2) Stephen F. Austin (3-3) at Dixie St. (0-6)
Sunday’s game
FAR WEST
New Mexico St. (1-6) at Hawaii (3-4).
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
PAGE 18 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, October 22, 2021
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
BOONE, N.C.— Chase Brice is
determined to make the most of
what is left of his roller-coaster col-
lege career. He took a big step for-
ward Wednesday night.
Brice threw for 347 yards and
two touchdowns, Chandler Staton
kicked a 24-yard field goal as time
expired and Appalachian State up-
set 14th-ranked Coastal Carolina
30-27 in front of a capacity crowd
of 31,061 at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
After spending three years at
Clemson mostly backing up Tre-
vor Lawrence and then going 2-9
last season as a starter at Duke,
Brice transferred to Appalachian
State looking for a new start and a
chance to win big football games.
“Right now I’m getting an op-
portunity to kind of flip the script
on certain things about me that get
talked about and written about,”
Brice said. “So that’s kind of my
goal.”
Malik Williams had a monster
game catching some well-placed
bombs from Brice, finishing with
10 catches for 206 yards and a
touchdown. Camerun Peoples ran
for two touchdowns and Corey Sut-
ton had 113 yards receiving and a
score for the Mountaineers (5-2,
2-1 Sun Belt). They have never lost
at home to the Chanticleers.
Appalachian State moved into
the driver’s seat in the conferenc-
e’s East division and the loss could
prevent Coastal Carolina (6-1, 2-1)
from reaching the championship
game.
“We’re in control of our own des-
tiny right now,” said Mountain-
ners coach Shawn Clark, whose
team bounced back from a 41-13
loss last week at Louisiana-La-
fayette. “I’m so proud of this team
and everyone involved in our orga-
nization.”
The Chanticleers came in ave-
raging 48.8 points, but the Coastal
Carolina was outgained 575 to 376
and the offense struggled to pro-
tect QB Grayson McCall in the sec-
ond half.
“Look how it’s flipped,” Chanti-
cleers coach Jamey Chadwell said.
“One loss and now we’re acting
like everything in the world is end-
ing. That’s sort of where we put
ourselves. Now that we have lost
and now we don’t think we’re in-
vincible, hopefully those little
things that get us, we’ll get them
corrected and move forward.”
Coastal had outscored its oppo-
nents by more than 33 points com-
ing in with only one close game — a
28-25 victory at Buffalo on Sept. 18
“This is no disrespect to Coastal
Carolina, but they have not played
four quarters all season long,”
Clark said. “And we have. We have
been battled tested. I do believe we
have played a tough schedule, a ve-
ry tough schedule.”
McCall threw for 291 yards and
one touchdown for the Chanti-
cleers, who had a 11-game Sun Belt
winning streak snapped.
When asked what he liked best
about Brice’s performance, Clark
laughed and said, “D, all of the
above.
“I thought he had great poise in
the pocket,” Clark said. “He had
great touch on the football and he
made good decisions when he
pulled the ball (and ran). We’re
glad he is on our football team.
He’s a true Mountaineer.”
Appalachian State’s defense
forced three Coastal Carolina
punts on their final three posses-
sions, the last of which set up Brice
and the offense with great field po-
sition at the Mountaineers 38.
From there, Brice went to Wil-
liams on consecutive throws of 19
and 16 yards to reach field goal
range.
Appalachian State was careful
not to score a touchdown in the
closing seconds to prevent the
Chanticleers from getting the ball
again with Peoples even going
down on a knee at the end of one
run instead of crossing the goal
line. The Mountaineers ran the
clock down to 3 seconds before Sta-
ton took the field for the winner.
“We felt that if we got them in a
game where they had to drop back
and pass, it’s in our favor a lot,”
said Appalachian State defensive
end Caleb Spurlin. “You got guys
on the edge that just go make
things happen. So I think getting
them in that position where you
knew they were going to have drop
back and pass the ball gave us an
edge up.”
MATT KELLEY/AP
Appalachian State running back Camerun Peoples breaks a tackle andruns for a touchdown during the second half of the team’s upset ofNo. 14ranked Coastal Carolina on Wednesday in Boone, N.C.
BY STEVE REED
Associated Press
Appalachian State upsets Coastal Carolina
Former Washington State foot-
ball coach Nick Rolovich’s termi-
nation for refusing to get a CO-
VID-19 vaccination was unlawful
and an attack on his Catholic faith,
his attorney said Wednesday.
Attorney Brian Fahling also said
in a statement that Rolovich in-
tends to take legal action and that
the litigation will detail what the
attorney called athletic director
Pat Chun’s “animus towards
Coach Rolovich’s sincerely held
religious beliefs” and his dishon-
esty at the expense of the former
coach.
Rolovich and four of his assist-
ants were fired Monday for not
complying with the governor’s
mandate that all state employees
be vaccinated against the corona-
virus. The attorney said Rolovich
was escorted by campus police to
his car and not allowed to speak to
the team or visit his office after his
dismissal.
Rolovich had requested a reli-
gious exemption but it was denied
Monday, the state’s vaccination
deadline.
“The institution also indicated
that even if the exemption had
been granted, no accommodation
would have been made,” Fahling
said in the statement.
University officials declined to
comment on the attorney’s state-
ment.
The statement didn’t specify Ro-
lovich’s religious grounds for
seeking an exemption and the
coach himself had declined to dis-
cuss details in recent weeks.
Pope Francis and the U.S. Con-
ference of Catholic Bishops have
stated that all COVID-19 vaccines
are morally acceptable and that
Catholics have a duty, responsibil-
ity or obligation to be vaccinated.
However, some Catholics still op-
pose vaccination.
Statewide, about 1,800 workers
have been fired, resigned or re-
tired because of the governor’s
mandate, state officials said. Ro-
lovich was the highest-paid state
employee in Washington at $3.2
million per year. He was fired for
cause and will not be paid the bal-
ance of his contract.
Rolovich was hired from Hawaii
two years ago, after Mike Leach
left for Mississippi State. He fin-
ished with a 5-6 record in Pullman.
He was replaced for the remain-
der of the season by Jake Dickert,
the Cougars’ defensive coordina-
tor who was elevated to acting
head coach.
Washington State (4-3) hosts
BYU (5-2) on Saturday.
Lawyer:Rolovichdismissal‘unlawful’BY NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
Associated Press
The American Athletic Conference is adding
UAB, Texas-San Antonio, Rice, North Texas,
Charlotte and Florida Atlantic to the league, re-
placing three schools that are leaving for the
Big 12 Conference and growing to 14 teams.
The AAC announced the additions Thurs-
day, a move that it hopes will stabilize the con-
ference in the short term and allow it to with-
stand future poaching of its members by
wealthier leagues.
The conference said when exactly the new
members join is still to be determined.
“This is a strategic expansion that accom-
plishes a number of goals as we take the con-
ference into its second decade. We are adding
excellent institutions that are established in
major cities and have invested in competing at
the highest level,” AAC Commissioner Mike
Aresco said in a statement.
The American, formerly the Big East, has
been a feeder conference from Power Five
leagues for nearly two decades. Most recently,
the Big 12 announced the additions of AAC
powers Cincinnati, Houston and Central Flor-
ida to replace Southeastern Conference-bound
Oklahoma and Texas.
The Sooners and Longhorns have said they
will join the SEC in 2025, but a quicker depar-
ture is possible.
The Big 12 has said it is targeting 2023 for the
arrival of its new members, which also in-
cludes BYU.
The AAC’s move strips Conference USA of
six schools, leaving that league both searching
for new members and trying to fend off other
poachers. The Sun Belt has said it is interested
in expanding beyond its current 10 football
members and some of C-USA’s remaining
eight schools would be geographic fits.
The American was born in 2013 from the
downfall of Big East football, rebuilding
around mostly C-USA schools. The AAC
emerged as the strongest of the so-called
Group of Five conferences when it comes to
football during the College Football Playoff
era. Five times in seven season, the American
has earned the New Year’s Six bowl spot that
goes to the highest ranked G5 conference
champion.
But four of those championships were won
by the schools now heading to the Big 12.
The AAC targeted schools located in big
media markets and fertile recruiting territory,
hoping that with better exposure and more rev-
enue, they could develop into the next UCF.
The six new schools will join AAC holdovers
East Carolina, Memphis, Navy (football only),
South Florida, SMU, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa
and Wichita State (which does not compete in
football). The additions will give the American
four members in Texas. The league office re-
cently relocated to the Dallas area after being
headquartered in Providence, R.I.
The AAC is at the front end of a 10-year deal
with ESPN that will pay the conference’s
schools between $7 million and $8 million per
year over the length of the contract. It is un-
clear whether the value of the deal will be im-
pacted by the change in membership, but the
contract makes the conference the wealthiest
in college football outside the Power Five.
DAVID J. PHILLIP/AP
The American Athletic Conference is going toadd six schools hoping it can remain as thestrongest among the Group of Five.
AAC rebuilding, growingwith six C-USA schools
BY RALPH D. RUSSO
Associated Press
Friday, October 22, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 19
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
There is no defensive rev-
olution in college foot-
ball this season.
Just at Georgia.
The dominant defense of the
top-ranked Bulldogs has been one
of the biggest storylines in the first
half of a season that has been high-
lighted by upsets and unpredict-
ability. Simply, 2021 has been all
sorts of fun after the pandemic-al-
tered season in 2020.
Through seven weeks, 47
ranked teams have lost and more
than half of them have lost to un-
ranked teams. Those 25 victories
by unranked teams puts this sea-
son on pace to become the fourth
since the poll expanded to 25
teams in 1989 to have at least 50
victories by unranked teams over
ranked teams, according to re-
search by The Athletic.
Every team that made the pre-
vious College Football Playoff
(Alabama, Ohio State, Notre
Dame and Clemson) had lost by
the end of Week 6, the earliest
that’s happened in the CFP era.
Clemson lost twice in September
and fell out of the rankings for the
first time in seven years.
The Bulldogs meanwhile, are
rolling along behind that defense.
Georgia is allowing 3.55 yards
per play, which would be the few-
est for a full season since Alabama
in 2011 (3.32). Bulldogs coach Kir-
by Smart was the defensive coor-
dinator for the Crimson Tide back
then. Georgia is allowing 6.6
points per game, which would be
the lowest since Oklahoma in 1986
(6.6).
This doesn’t appear to be trend
outside of Athens.
Nationally, FBS teams are ave-
raging 28.9 points per game, right
in line with the last decade. Of-
fenses are averaging 5.81 yards
per play. That’s up a bit from last
season (5.78) but a tick below 2019
(5.83, which was just shy of a re-
cord set in 2016).
The secret to the Bulldogs’ suc-
cess?
“I love the way they compete
game in and game out,” Smart
said of his defense on ESPN’s
“College GameDay” last Satur-
day. “They love to play the game.
They love each other.”
Defensive tackle Jordan Davis,
a 6-foot-6, 340-pound wrecking
ball, and linebacker Nakobe Dean
are the most notable stars. Both
were voted to the AP midseason
All-America team.
Time to hand out some more
midseason awards and take a peak
at what might lie ahead.
Most surprising team (tie)Both Big Ten Michigan teams
won only two games during an ab-
breviated 2020 season. At Michi-
gan, coach Jim Harbaugh put
himself on the hot seat by taking a
pay cut. At Michigan State, sec-
ond-year coach Mel Tucker
looked to have a lengthy rebuild
ahead.
The No. 6 Wolverines and No. 9
Spartans enter the second half of
the season a combined 13-0.
Thing are about to get real in the
Big Ten East. Michigan, Michigan
State, No. 6 Ohio State and No. 7
Penn State will start a round-robin
on Oct. 30. Disappointing endings
could be ahead for all, but the win-
ner of Michigan-Michigan State
looks well positioned to finish no
worse than 9-3.
Honorable mentions: Baylor,
Kentucky, Pitt, UTSA, Wake For-
est.
Most disappointing teamListen, it’s not Mack Brown’s
fault North Carolina was a presea-
son top-10 team.
“My expectation is to win every
game, so three times we’ve met it
and three times we haven’t,”
Brown said after the Tar Heels’
loss to Florida State earlier this
month. “The national media ex-
pectation, the expectation for us to
be a top 10 team, were wrong. So I
guess we should all be critical of
the media for picking us that
high.”
Brown has a point. Hyping a
team that went 8-4 last season and
had to replace two NFL running
backs was a stretch. But North
Carolina (4-3) has already lost
three games to mediocre Atlantic
Coast Conference teams, which
makes the Tar Heels a mediocre
ACC team. Even the most cautious
UNC fans did not see that coming.
Dishonorable mentions: Clem-
son, Florida, Texas, Wisconsin,
Washington.
Coach of the first half Luke Fickell, Cincinnati: Ex-
pectations were sky high and one
slip up is all that it would have tak-
en for the Bearcats’ hopes of a
dream season to vanish.
Fickell has done a nice job of
getting his team to embrace the
big goals while focusing on the
small ones. The defense has not
missed a step after losing coordi-
nator Marcus Freeman to Notre
Dame. Getting quarterback coach
Gino Guidugli more involved in
the play calling seems to have giv-
en the offense a boost.
Fickell’s stock continues to rise.
Honorable mentions: Mike
Gundy, Oklahoma State; Kirby
Smart, Georgia; Mel Tucker, Mi-
chigan State.
Halfway HeismanThe race appears to be wide
open and, as usual, big games
down the stretch of the season are
likely to swing the voting one way
or the other.
That creates an advantage for
teams in the mix for the playoff
and their quarterbacks. That po-
tentially sets up well for Ohio
State’s C.J. Stroud and Alabama’s
Bryce Young.
At the midway point, here’s an
unconventional Heisman five:
Jordan Davis, DT, Georgia.
Best player on the best unit of the
best team.
Drake London, WR, USC.A rea-
son to watch the Trojans.
Kenny Pickett, QB, Pittsburgh.
In the season of the super senior,
he has been the best.
Tyler Linderbaum, C, Iowa.
The best offensive lineman in the
country.
Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas.The
best running back in the country.
Biggest upsetTexas A&M 41, Alabama 38:
The Aggies are good and were
playing at home, but they scored
almost as many points against the
Crimson Tide as they had in their
three previous games against
Power Five competition com-
bined.
They also snapped Alabama’s
100-game winning streak against
unranked opponents and a 106-
game winning streak by No. 1
teams against unranked teams
that dated to 2008.
Plus, A&M coach Jimbo Fisher
became the first former Nick Sa-
ban assistant to beat the master in
25 tries.
Honorable mentions: Purdue
over No. 2 Iowa; Stanford over No.
3 Oregon; Louisiana-Monroe over
33-point favorite Liberty; North
Carolina State over Clemson.
Crystal ballPredicting this season hasn’t
gone too well. Wisconsin in the
CFP? DJ Uiagalelei for Heisman?
On the other hand, Georgia win-
ning the national title looks pretty
good. Let’s give this one more try:
Orange Bowl semifinal —Geor-
gia vs. Cincinnati.
Cotton Bowl semifinal — Ohio
State vs. Oklahoma.
Rose Bowl — Penn State vs.
Oregon.
Sugar Bowl — Alabama vs. Io-
wa State.
Peach Bowl —- Clemson vs.
Kentucky.
Fiesta Bowl —- Texas A&M vs.
Michigan.
National championship — Ge-
orgia vs. Ohio State.
Champion — Georgia.
Dawgs’ defense proves exception to the rule
BUTCH DILL/AP
Kentucky quarterback Will Levis is sacked by Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter (88) and linebacker Quay Walker during the first half of agame Oct. 16 in Athens, Ga. Georgia is allowing only 3.55 yards per play, tops among FBS schools.
No. 1 Georgia hasbeen a rock amidhigh scores, upsets
BY RALPH D. RUSSO
Associated Press
MIDSEASON ANALYSIS
PAGE 20 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, October 22, 2021
NHL/VIRUS OUTBREAK
held out, with varying degrees of
outspoken skepticism. On Mon-
day, the NHL suspended San Jos-
e’s Evander Kane 21 games for
submitting a fake vaccination
card and Washington State Uni-
versity fired football coach Nick
Rolovich for failing to comply with
a state government vaccine man-
date, providing two more remind-
ers of the impact the coronavirus
is still having on professional and
college sports.
They’re in the shrinking minor-
ity.
Major League Baseball, in the
middle of its postseason, reports
87.4% of players and key staff are
fully vaccinated. The NFL
through six weeks of its season is
at 94%, with 133 active players
who have not had at least one dose.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver
said Monday his league is at 96%
with the chance for that number to
tick up. Bettman noted last week
the NHL had only four unvacci-
nated players out of more than 700
— well over 99% fully vaccinated.
“If given grades, those are A-
pluses,” said former women’s bas-
ketball player Iciss Tillis, who is
now a labor and employment at-
torney at the law firm Hall Estill.
“It’s been really interesting to
watch the transition over the past
year and a half go from extreme
skepticism to, I guess, people be-
ing able to see friends and family
go ahead and get the vaccine first
and sort of see how they react to it.
I think that’s playing a huge role in
this shift that we’re seeing to-
wards people pretty much just
giving in and just going ahead and
taking the vaccine.”
None of those leagues has a full
mandate, but all imposed rules
treating differently players who
are fully vaccinated. In addition,
some cities and states put further
requirements on players and
coaches, especially those at state
universities such as Rolovich.
Daily coronavirus testing, mask
wearing and restrictions on move-
ment made more players choose
to be vaccinated — as did the
threat of losing pay.
The NBA’s Brooklyn Nets begin
the season without Irving, who
cannot play or practice at home
because of a New York City vac-
cine mandate. The team told him
he couldn’t play — even in road
games — until his status changes.
Irving and other unvaccinated
players around pro sports don’t
get paid for the games they miss.
“For athletes in particular, their
livelihood is based on their ability
to compete,” said Dr. Wendy King
of the University of Pittsburgh,
who took part in a research project
on vaccine hesitancy earlier this
year. “Even if they thought, ‘Oh,
I’m pretty healthy and I wouldn’t
get that bad of a case,’ it would still
heavily impact their ability to go to
work, to play in a game. It could af-
fect their entire team — not just
them — so they might feel like
they’re letting other people down
if they don’t do everything they
can to prevent the disease.”
Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos of
Johns Hopkins University said job
security and the threat of losing
pay likely led to such a high vac-
cine uptake among athletes. “I
think that’s a powerful thing,” he
said.
It convinced some to get jabbed.
Golden State Warriors forward
Andrew Wiggins — who faced a
potential absence similar to Irv-
ing’s because of a local mandate —
decided to get a COVID-19 vac-
cine to be eligible to play. The
NHL’s agreement to go to the
Olympics requires all participants
to be fully vaccinated, which could
lead New Jersey Devils goalten-
der Mackenzie Blackwood to
change his mind, as well.
Leagues have still endured CO-
VID-19 cases involving fully vac-
cinated players, coaches and staff.
Deep in baseball’s playoffs, the At-
lanta Braves opened the NL
Championship Series without
Jorge Soler, who tested positive,
and the NHL’s Pittsburgh Pen-
guins started the season without
winger Jake Guentzel.
Isolated absences are expected,
Bettman said, because of the high-
ly contagious delta variant.
“We’ve got to maintain our vigi-
lance and be serious,” Bettman
said. “I’m really proud of our play-
ers. All of our officials are vacci-
nated. All of our personnel who
come near our players are vacci-
nated, and that’s what we’ve got to
do. But we can’t let up. It’s a fact of
life and it’s not just us. It’s what the
world is still living with.”
One of hockey’s biggest stars,
Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon,
missed the first two games of the
season after testing positive with a
breakthrough case. Coach Jared
Bednar hopes a combination of
the entire team being vaccinated
and many having already con-
tracted COVID-19 allows the Ava-
lanche and the league in general to
stay on track this season.
MacKinnon was back on the ice
Tuesday, thankful for his vaccina-
tion status and ready to play again.
“Nobody got sick, no teammates
got sick, so that’s lucky,” he said.
“Didn’t feel anything, so the vac-
cine must work.”
Jab: Few unvaccinated players leftFROM PAGE 24
TONY AVELAR/AP
The San Jose Sharks’ Evander Kane was suspended 21 games forsubmitting a fake vaccination card. The NHL boasts a vaccination rateof more than 99%, with four unvaccinated players out of over 700.
“Nobody got sick, no teammates gotsick, so that’s lucky. Didn’t feelanything, so the vaccine must work.”
Nathan MacKinnon
Colorado Avalanche center, who missed the first two games of the season
after testing positive with a breakthrough case of COVID-19
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Florida 3 3 0 0 6 14 6
Buffalo 3 3 0 0 6 12 4
Detroit 3 2 0 1 5 13 9
Toronto 4 2 1 1 5 8 7
Ottawa 3 2 1 0 4 7 7
Tampa Bay 4 2 2 0 4 12 17
Boston 2 1 1 0 2 6 7
Montreal 4 0 4 0 0 3 15
Metropolitan Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Pittsburgh 4 2 0 2 6 16 11
Philadelphia 3 2 0 1 5 16 9
Washington 3 2 0 1 5 12 6
N.Y. Rangers 4 2 1 1 5 8 10
Carolina 2 2 0 0 4 9 5
New Jersey 2 2 0 0 4 8 5
Columbus 3 2 1 0 4 11 7
N.Y. Islanders 3 1 2 0 2 8 12
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
St. Louis 3 3 0 0 6 15 8
Minnesota 3 3 0 0 6 11 8
Dallas 4 2 2 0 4 8 9
Nashville 3 1 2 0 2 7 8
Colorado 3 1 2 0 2 10 13
Winnipeg 3 0 2 1 1 9 14
Arizona 3 0 2 1 1 7 17
Chicago 4 0 3 1 1 8 17
Pacific Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Edmonton 3 3 0 0 6 14 9
San Jose 2 2 0 0 4 9 3
Anaheim 4 2 2 0 4 13 11
Vancouver 4 1 2 1 3 10 15
Seattle 5 1 3 1 3 11 19
Los Angeles 3 1 2 0 2 9 7
Vegas 3 1 2 0 2 7 12
Calgary 2 0 1 1 1 4 8
Tuesday’s games
Buffalo 5, Vancouver 2 San Jose 5, Montreal 0 Dallas 2, Pittsburgh 1, SO Florida 4, Tampa Bay 1 Washington 6, Colorado 3 New Jersey 4, Seattle 2 Detroit 4, Columbus 1 Nashville 2, Los Angeles 1 N.Y. Islanders 4, Chicago 1 Minnesota 6, Winnipeg 5, OT Edmonton 6, Anaheim 5
Wednesday’s games
Philadelphia 6, Boston 3 St. Louis 3, Vegas 1
Thursday’s games
Carolina at Montreal Colorado at Florida N.Y. Islanders at Columbus San Jose at Ottawa Washington at New Jersey Calgary at Detroit Anaheim at Winnipeg N.Y. Rangers at Nashville Vancouver at Chicago Edmonton at Arizona
Friday’s games
San Jose at Toronto Boston at Buffalo Los Angeles at Dallas Edmonton at Vegas
Saturday’s games
Calgary at Washington N.Y. Rangers at Ottawa Anaheim at Minnesota Buffalo at New Jersey Carolina at Columbus Colorado at Tampa Bay Detroit at Montreal Florida at Philadelphia Nashville at Winnipeg Toronto at Pittsburgh Los Angeles at St. Louis N.Y. Islanders at Arizona Vancouver at Seattle
NHL scoreboard
PHILADELPHIA — Cam At-
kinson scored two goals, including
the go-ahead score that sent him
tumbling into the boards, in the
Philadelphia Flyers’ 6-3 victory
over the Boston Bruins on
Wednesday night.
The Flyers have won two
straight since dropping the season
opener and a revamped roster has
paid early dividends. Atkinson,
acquired in a deal with Columbus,
had the crowd going wild on his
hustle-and-tumble goal only 58
seconds into the third for a 4-3
lead. Joel Farabee picked off a
pass from Mike Reilly and fed to
his right to a streaking Atkinson.
Atkinson got tripped up and slid
back first into the boards.
Travis Konecny beat Jeremy
Swayman from the slot to make it
5-3 and had the crowd chanting
“Let’s Go Flyers!” Sean Couturier
knocked in an empty-netter, mak-
ing it the second straight game
that Philadelphia scored six goals.
Farabee, Scott Laughton also
scored for the Flyers
Karson Kuhlman, Taylor Hall
and Brad Marchand scored for
Boston.
Blues 3, Golden Knights 1:Vla-
dimir Tarasenko broke a tie mid-
way through the third period in St.
Louis’ victory over host Vegas.
Jordan Binnington made 42
saves, and Brandon Saad and Ivan
Barbashev added goals for the
Blues. St. Louis won all three
games on its season-opening trip.
On the tiebreaking goal, Alex
Pietrangelo turned the puck over
in the neutral zone with a blind
pass, giving the Blues a 3-on-0
rush. Taking a pass from Brayden
Schenn, Jordan Kyrou fed Tara-
senko for a one-timer past Robin
Lehner with 10:11 to play.
MATT SLOCUM/AP
The Flyers’ Cam Atkinson reactsafter scoring during the thirdperiod Wednesday against theBoston Bruins in Philadelphia.
Atkinsonlifts Flyerspast Bruins
Associated Press
ROUNDUP
DAVID BECKER/AP
Blues winger VladimirTarasenko, left, vies with GoldenKnights defenseman SheaTheodore for the puck.
Friday, October 22, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 21
NBA
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
W L Pct GB
New York 1 01.000 —
Philadelphia 1 01.000 —
Boston 0 1 .000 1
Toronto 0 1 .000 1
Brooklyn 0 1 .000 1
Southeast Division
W L Pct GB
Washington 1 01.000 —
Charlotte 1 01.000 —
Atlanta 0 0 .000 ½
Miami 0 0 .000 ½
Orlando 0 1 .000 1
Central Division
W L Pct GB
Chicago 1 01.000 —
Milwaukee 1 01.000 —
Indiana 0 1 .000 1
Detroit 0 1 .000 1
Cleveland 0 1 .000 1
Western Conference
Southwest Division
W L Pct GB
San Antonio 1 01.000 —
Memphis 1 01.000 —
Dallas 0 0 .000 ½
Houston 0 1 .000 1
New Orleans 0 1 .000 1
Northwest Division
W L Pct GB
Utah 1 01.000 —
Minnesota 1 01.000 —
Denver 1 01.000 —
Portland 0 1 .000 1
Oklahoma City 0 1 .000 1
Pacific Division
W L Pct GB
Golden State 1 01.000 —
Sacramento 1 01.000 —
L.A. Clippers 0 0 .000 ½
L.A. Lakers 0 1 .000 1
Phoenix 0 1 .000 1
Tuesday’s games
Milwaukee 127, Brooklyn 104Golden State 121, L.A. Lakers 114
Wednesday’s games
Chicago 94, Detroit 88Charlotte 123, Indiana 122Washington 98, Toronto 83Philadelphia 117, New Orleans 97Memphis 132, Cleveland 121Minnesota 124, Houston 106New York 138, Boston 134, 2OTSan Antonio 123, Orlando 97Utah 107, Oklahoma City 86Denver 110, Phoenix 98Sacramento 124, Portland 121
Thursday’s games
Dallas at AtlantaMilwaukee at MiamiL.A. Clippers at Golden State
Friday’s games
Charlotte at ClevelandIndiana at WashingtonNew York at OrlandoBrooklyn at PhiladelphiaToronto at BostonNew Orleans at ChicagoOklahoma City at HoustonSan Antonio at DenverPhoenix at L.A. LakersUtah at Sacramento
Scoreboard
Scoring leaders
G FG FT PTS AVG
James, LAL 1 13 3 34 34.0
Davis, LAL 1 15 2 33 33.0
Antetokounmpo, MIL 1 12 7 32 32.0
Durant, BKN 1 13 3 32 32.0
Curry, GS 1 5 9 21 21.0
Mills, BKN 1 7 0 21 21.0
Connaughton, MIL 1 8 0 20 20.0
Harden, BKN 1 6 4 20 20.0
Middleton, MIL 1 8 3 20 20.0
Poole, GS 1 8 0 20 20.0
Bjelica, GS 1 6 2 15 15.0
Lee, GS 1 4 6 15 15.0
Nwora, MIL 1 6 0 15 15.0
Claxton, BKN 1 6 0 12 12.0
Holiday, MIL 1 5 0 12 12.0
Iguodala, GS 1 4 2 12 12.0
Wiggins, GS 1 5 0 12 12.0
Allen, MIL 1 3 1 10 10.0
Anthony, LAL 1 3 1 9 9.0
Harris, BKN 1 3 0 9 9.0
NEW YORK — The New York
Knicks never could contain Jaylen
Brown and on the last play of regu-
lation completely lost track of
Marcus Smart.
More mistakes than they’d like,
but not enough to ruin their season
opener.
“At the end of the day, we found
a way to win a game,” Julius Ran-
dle said.
Randle scored 35 points, Evan
Fournier made the go-ahead
three-pointer in the second over-
time and added 32 against his for-
mer team, and the Knicks outlast-
ed Brown and the Boston Celtics
138-134 on Wednesday night.
Brown scored a career-high 46
points after overcoming CO-
VID-19, playing 46 minutes after
spending most of the last 10 days
in quarantine.
“My breathing felt irregular but
fine for the most part,” Brown
said. “Toward the end, I could feel
my heart beating through my
chest.
“It would have been better if we
got a win,” he added.
The Celtics almost did.
Jayson Tatum had the biggest
basket of his awful opener with a
three-point play that gave Boston
a 134-133 lead with 1:05 remain-
ing. Fournier then hit his fourth
three-pointer of the overtimes
with 56 seconds to go and Derrick
Rose finished it off with a basket
with 22 seconds to play as New
York finally put away a game it
seemed to have won much earlier.
“It was crazy,” Fournier said.
The Celtics put together a push
late in regulation of their first
game under coach Ime Udoka and
Smart tied it with a three-pointer
at the buzzer.
RJ Barrett scored all of his 19
points after halftime and Obi Top-
pin added a career-best 14 for the
Knicks. Kemba Walker had 10
points and eight rebounds against
his previous team.
Tatum had 20 points and 11 re-
bounds, but was 7-for-30 from the
field, including 2-for-15 from
three-point range.
Knicks withstand Brown’s 46New York wins in two
overtimes over Boston
BY BRIAN MAHONEY
Associated Press
FRANK FRANKLIN II/AP
Boston’s Marcus Smart, right, defends New York’s Julius Randle during the Knicks’ 138134 doubleovertime win Wednesday in New York. Randle led the Knicks with 35 points.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — LaMelo
Ball scored 31 points, hitting seven
three-pointers, and the Charlotte
Hornets used a 24-0 third-period
run to battle back and beat the In-
diana Pacers 123-122 on Wednes-
day.
The Pacers led 122-121 on Tor-
rey Craig’s foul shots with 12.7 left.
P.J. Washington made two free
throws with 4.6 seconds left before
Domantas Sabonis missed from 11
feet to seal the Hornets’ victory.
Ball scored 12 points in the
third-period run and finished with
nine rebounds and seven assists.
Gordon Hayward scored 27 points
for Charlotte, which got 14 each
from newcomers Kelly Oubre Jr.
and Ish Smith.
Sabonis scored 33 points, Mal-
colm Brogdon had 28, and Chris
Duarte chipped in with 27 for In-
diana. The Pacers had a 21-point
lead early in the second half.
76ers 117, Pelicans 97: Joel
Embiid had 22 points and 12 re-
bounds, Furkan Korkmaz hit four
three-pointers in the fourth quar-
ter to also score 22 points, and Phi-
ladelphia pulled away to win at
New Orleans.
A subplot of the season opener
for both teams involved who
wasn’t playing. The Pelicans were
without star power forward Zion
Williamson, who is recovering
from surgery to repair his broken
foot. The Sixers were missing dis-
gruntled forward Ben Simmons,
who was suspended one game for
conduct detrimental to the team.
Brandon Ingram had 25 points
for New Orleans, Nickeil Alexan-
der-Walker, a season-opening
starter at guard in his third sea-
son, scored 23 points.
Nuggets 110, Suns 98: Reign-
ing NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had 27
points and 13 rebounds, leading
Denver to a win at Phoenix.
The 26-year-old Jokic earned
his first MVP award last season af-
ter averaging 26.4 points, 10.8 re-
bounds and 8.3 assists per game.
The Serbian was up to his old
tricks Wednesday, scoring on a
crafty variety of hook shots, three-
pointers and flat-footed jumpers.
He was 13 of 22 from the field.
Bulls 94, Pistons 88: Zach La-
Vine scored 15 of his 34 points in
the third quarter, leading the Chi-
cago to a win at Detroit.
The Pistons’ Jerami Grant was
off on an 11-foot baseline jumper
with 50 seconds left, missing a
chance to tie it. The Bulls sealed
the victory by making free throws.
Grizzlies 122, Cavaliers 121:
Ja Morant had 37 points and six
assists, De’Anthony Melton added
20 points and host Memphis
pulled away in the fourth quarter
to beat Cleveland.
Morant and Melton combined
for 14 points down the stretch as
the Cavaliers pulled within a point
on a couple of occasions but could
never overtake the Grizzlies. Des-
mond Bane added 22 points for
Memphis.
Wizards 98, Raptors 83:
Bradley Beal scored 23 points,
Montrezl Harrell had 22 in his
Wizards debut and Washington
spoiled Toronto’s homecoming.
Kyle Kuzma had 11 points and
15 rebounds for the Wizards.
Timberwolves 124, Rockets
106:Anthony Edwards energized
the first full-size home crowd of
his nascent career with 29 points
in 31 minutes in Minnesota’s victo-
ry over Houston.
Kings 124, Trail Blazers 121:
Harrison Barnes scored 36 points,
De’Aaron Fox added 27 and visit-
ing Sacramento spoiled Portland’s
opener under new coach Chaun-
cey Billups.
Jazz 107, Thunder 86: Rudy
Gobert had 16 points and 21 re-
bounds to lead host Utah past Ok-
lahoma City.
Spurs 123, Magic 97: Devin
Vassell scored 19 points, Lonnie
Walker added 17 and San Antonio
continued its success on opening
night by dominating Orlando.
Ball game: LaMelo has 31, Hornets edge Pacers
JACOB KUPFERMAN/AP
Charlotte guard LaMelo Ball had31 points, including seventhreepointers, in a 123122 winWednesday over Indiana.
Associated Press
ROUNDUP
PAGE 22 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, October 22, 2021
NFL
CINCINNATI — On fourth-and-
short just inside the Lions’ 40 yard
line, Cincinnati quarterback Joe
Burrow rolled right and dumped a
short pass to Joe Mixon out of the
backfield.
As Mixon raced down the side-
line, he picked up a wingman in
rookie receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
Detroit safety Will Harris closed in
for the stop, but Chase slammed
into him at the 15-yard line and
then, for good measure, put the
stumbling defender on the ground
with another shove. Mixon
stepped over Harris on his way to
the end zone.
The block — Chase called it his
best one ever — was another high-
light moment for the rookie from
LSU who couldn’t seem to hold on
to a pass in the preseason, but has
since played his way into the con-
versation for Offensive Rookie of
the Year.
“That’s a more exciting play for
me than Ja’Marr catching a go-
route vs. Pittsburgh for a touch-
down,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor
said of the block that helped put the
team up 17-0 in the third quarter of
Sunday’s 34-11 rout of Detroit.
“(The touchdown) was a great
moment, but helping a teammate
achieve a great play is, as a coach,
what you love to see,” Taylor said.
“People congratulating him as
much as they were congratulating
Mixon after the play, that’s great to
see as a coach.”
Chase and Burrow have rekin-
dled the chemistry that carried
them to a national championship
as LSU teammates in 2019.
The fifth overall pick in the 2021
draft — he sat out in 2020 — Chase
has again become Burrow’s favor-
ite playmaker, leading Cincinnati
with 553 receiving yards and five
touchdowns. He’s in the top 10 in
the league in yards per catch (20.5)
and yards per game (92.2).
His five catches of least 40 yards
are the most in the NFL.
The 21-year-old had four catch-
es on Sunday for a team-leading 97
yards. A 34-yard grab on third
down near the end of the first half
set up Evan McPherson’s field
goal, and a 53-yarder at the end of
the third quarter led to a score that
put the Bengals up 27-0.
“Ja’Marr just keeps being that
spark for us,” Burrow said. “When
we have a guy like that, and when
you have the connection we have,
(they) can’t fall asleep on defense
when you have that guy.”
It wasn’t lost on anybody on the
Cincinnati sideline that the Lions
huge offensive lineman, Penei Se-
well — a player many thought
would be taken by the Bengals in-
stead of Chase as the first draft
pick — struggled last week to con-
tain Cincinnati defensive end Trey
Hendrickson.
After the game, it was Chase’s
block that was being replayed on
the TV highlight shows and social
media.
“I keep telling everybody, that
was his touchdown, it wasn’t
mine,” said Mixon, who invoked
the name of Hall of Famer Jerry
Rice in describing Chase’s versa-
tility.
“There’s a lot made of these re-
ceivers because of their talent and
big-play production,” Taylor said.
“Their catches, their dances and
all that stuff. But they’re selfless.
They care about their team-
mates.”
All part of the job.
“Details,” Chase said. “That’s
what NFL games come down to —
small details. If I can do it all, that
just opens it up for everyone.”
The Bengals (4-2) travel to Balti-
more for a key game against the
AFC North-leading Ravens (5-1)
on Sunday.
Block shows versatilityof Bengals WR Chase
BY MITCH STACE
Associated Press
PAUL SANCYA/AP
Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, center, leads the way for Joe MIxon, right, with a block on Lionssafety Will Harris. Mixon scored on the play on Sunday in Detroit.
Cincinnati Bengals (4-2)at Baltimore Ravens (5-1)
AFN-Sports7 p.m. Sunday CET2 a.m. Monday JKT
DUANE BURLESON/AP
Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chaseruns after a catch against Detroitlast week. Chase leads Cincinnatiwith 553 receiving yards.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — What
Justin Fields learns by battling
teams with Hall of Fame-caliber
quarterbacks takes on less signif-
icance than what he learns guiding
the Chicago Bears offense against
NFL defenses.
Sometimes, though, they can be
one and the same.
For the second straight week,
Fields squares off against an oppo-
nent with a quarterback destined
for the Pro Football Hall of Fame
in Tom Brady, after the Bears roo-
kie passer learned a valuable les-
son facing Green Bay’s defense
last week when Aaron Rodgers
and the Packers pulled out a 24-14
win at Soldier Field.
The lesson learned was NFL
success stems from repeating
good plays and not just producing
one on occasion.
“That’s one big difference I’m
starting to find out is you’ve got to
put drives together rather than
just have a good play here, have a
good play there,” Fields said. “I
mean, because if you have a bad
play in college, it’s easy to get that
yardage you just lost the next play.
Where in the NFL, it’s not as easy.
“So just putting good plays to-
gether back to back and just creat-
ing more drives that create more
momentum and just get us more in
a rhythm.”
Fields put together a series of
strong plays twice last week and
Chicago coach Matt Nagy saw it as
a sign of real progress.
One was on the first Bears pos-
session when Fields completed
two passes and then Marquise
Goodwin drew a defensive pass in-
terference penalty at the Green
Bay 1-yard line.
“When you can play quarter-
back and play on time and in
rhythm you see good things hap-
pen and that was awesome, those
three plays right there,” Nagy said.
The other series was a fourth-
quarter TD drive when Fields im-
provised a few times.
“There is an ability of him right
now,” Nagy said. “I think what
we’re doing is we’re finding some
throws that we see he does well
within the offense. So what we
want to do is be able to do more of
those.
“On top of that, his decision-
making in general has been pretty
good, and that’s growing. Once he
keeps getting that better and bet-
ter, the athletic stuff of making
plays and making throws is gonna
come.”
The Bears have won two of the
four starts by the former Ohio
State standout and another game
when he played more than a half in
place of the injured Andy Dalton.
The defeats and sacks he has
taken have also taught him some-
thing.
“You just have to not necessarily
accept the fact, but we’re not in the
Big Ten where Ohio State is most
likely more talented than the other
teams you play,” Fields said. “It’s
the NFL now. It’s a longer season
so you just have to bounce back —
you get knocked down you just
have to keep coming back.
“As long as we do that we will be
good and we will continue to
grow.”
Tampa Bay’s defense is No. 1
against the run and forces passing
attacks into pressure-packed sit-
uations.
Fields saw Rodgers handle a dif-
ficult situation against a strong
Chicago defense last week, and
learned from it. What he learned is
exactly what he sees from Brady
on film, and what he has noticed in
his own play.
“I think you can just take away
how (veterans) operate their
drives and how they operate a
game,” Fields said. “I think that’s
one thing I took away from last
week is just, like I said before, the
drives that you have to put togeth-
er to consistently score.
“You have to put together a lot of
plays on a good drive to score. It
just can’t be two, three good plays
on a drive.”
NAM Y. HUH/AP
Bears quarterback Justin Fields passes against the Packers on Oct.17 in Chicago. Fields has played against some of the league’s best.
Fields learning fromfacing league’s best
BY GENE CHAMBERLAIN
Associated PressChicago Bears (3-3) at
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-1)AFN-Sports
10:25 p.m. Sunday CET5:25 a.m. Monday JKT
Friday, October 22, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 23
MLB PLAYOFFS
PlayoffsLEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
(Best-of-seven)x-if necessary
American LeagueHouston 3, Boston 2
Houston 5, Boston 4Boston 9, Houston 5Boston 12, Houston 3Houston 9, Boston 2 Wednesday: Houston 9, Boston 1Friday: Boston (Eovaldi 11-9) at Houston
(TBD)AFN-Sports, 2 a.m. Saturday CET; 9a.m. Saturday JKT
x-Saturday: at Houston
National LeagueAtlanta 3, Los Angeles 1
Atlanta 3, Los Angeles 2Atlanta 5, Los Angeles 4Los Angeles 6, Atlanta 5Wednesday: Atlanta 9, Los Angeles 2Thursday: at Los Angelesx-Saturday: at Atlantax-Sunday: at Atlanta
ScoreboardBOSTON — Framber Valdez
lost his perfect game in the fifth in-
ning and then bounced the next
pitch off the batter’s leg.
Astros manager Dusty Baker
headed for the mound.
“It was surprising more than
anything,” Valdez said, noting that
a visit from the manager usually
means his night is over. “The first
thing I did was look back to the
bullpen to see if anyone was out
there. I saw nobody was there.
“He just came out and told me ...
‘You know what you’re doing out
here, so just breathe,’ ” Valdez
said. “He gave me the confidence
to get out of the inning.”
And much more than that.
Perfect through four, the Hous-
ton left-hander took a two-hit shut-
out into the seventh and became
the first pitcher this postseason to
complete eight innings, leading
the Astros over Boston 9-1 on
Wednesday for a 3-2 lead in the AL
Championship Series.
Yordan Alvarez had three hits
and three RBIs for Houston,
which could clinch a second trip to
the World Series in three years
with a victory at home on Friday
night.
The Red Sox need a win to force
a deciding seventh game on Satur-
day.
“We came back to Boston exact-
ly where we wanted to be: We
were 1-1,” Red Sox starter Chris
Sale said. “Not in a good spot going
back to Houston. There’s no deny-
ing that, but this team has won two
games in the playoffs back-to-
back before, and we think we can
do it again.”
One day after the Astros scored
seven runs to break a ninth-inning
tie, they hung another crooked
number on the Fenway Park
scoreboard, chasing Sale while
scoring five runs in the sixth. Al-
varez, who homered in the second
and singled in the fourth, had a
two-run double to break things
open.
That was plenty for Valdez, who
extended the staff’s shutout streak
to 14 straight innings before Ra-
fael Devers homered with one out
in the seventh — one of just three
Boston hits.
Valdez departed after retiring
the Red Sox in order in the eighth
— completing three full turns
through the Boston lineup, a dra-
matic break from the prevailing
baseball wisdom.
“It makes me feel great” to show
that starters can still have that
kind of impact on a game, Baker
said.
“Today, it was in the hands of
Framber,” he said. “This was in
this hands of Framber, and, really,
in the hands of Alvarez.”
In all, Valdez gave up one run on
three hits, one walk and a hit bat-
ter, striking out five. He was also
the first opposing pitcher to last
eight innings in a postseason start
at Fenway since Cleveland’s
Charles Nagy went eight in the
1998 Division Series.
Ryne Stanek pitched a perfect
ninth while the rest of Houston’s
relievers rested. Astros starters
had not lasted three innings all se-
ries, pitching to a 18.90 ERA in the
first four games and giving up 10
homers — including a record
three grand slams.
Valdez retired the first 12 bat-
ters on Wednesday — eight on
grounders, four on strikeouts.
Devers singled to lead off the fifth,
then Valdez bounced the next
pitch off J.D. Martinez’s leg.
Houston escaped when Hunter
Renfroe grounded into a double
play and Alex Verdugo bounced
out to first.
Astros’ Valdez throws 8,tops Red Sox for 3-2 lead
BY JIMMY GOLEN
Associated Press
CHARLES KRUPA/AP
Astros starter Framber Valdez celebrates after Houston’s win over the Red Sox in Game 5 of ALCS onWednesday in Boston. Valdez is the first pitcher this postseason to complete eight innings.
LOS ANGELES — Behind the
red-hot bat of Eddie Rosario, the At-
lanta Braves are one win away from
their first World Series appearance
since 1999.
All they need to do is put away the
defending champion Los Angeles
Dodgers.
Easier said than done.
After all, the Braves were in ex-
actly the same position last year and
failed to finish the job.
Rosario homered twice in his sec-
ond four-hit game of the series and
six Atlanta pitchers combined on a
four-hitter, giving the Braves a 9-2
victory Wednesday for a command-
ing 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven
playoff.
Game 5 is Thursday in Los An-
geles. Last year, the Dodgers also
trailed 0-2 and 1-3 against Atlanta in
the NLCS before roaring back to win
three straight games at a neutral site
in Arlington, Texas.
“As we saw last year, winning a
game is hard, especially a veteran
team like this that we’re playing,”
Braves manager Brian Snitker said.
“But I feel good about our club just
from what we experienced last year
and where these guys are.”
Adam Duvall and Freddie Free-
man also homered for Atlanta,
which bounced right back from
blowing a late lead in an agonizing
loss Tuesday to end their 10-game
skid at Dodger Stadium.
“I feel like everyone has really
hunkered down and dug their heels
in and everyone is really focused,”
Rosario said through a translator.
“That’s something that I’m really
proud to be a part of.”
Rosario became the first player to
have two four-hit games in a League
Championship Series. He drove in
four runs and scored three while
continuing his torrid postseason hit-
ting, finishing a double short of the
cycle. He homered in the second in-
ning, tripled in the third, singled in
the fifth and clocked a three-run
homer in the ninth.
“As soon as I hit that first home
run I just thought to myself, ‘Wow, I
feel amazing right now,’ ” Rosario
said, “so I kind of just carried that
confidence into my other at-bats go-
ing forward.”
Rosario hit for the cycle last
month against San Francisco,
achieving the feat on just five total
pitches.
“I’ve been using that bat that I hit
for the cycle with and it has not dis-
appointed. I had that double re-
maining and I’m like, ‘Man, this bat
has not let me down yet,’ ” he said.
“As soon as I hit that second one out,
I go, `Oh well, there goes the dou-
ble.’ ”
Los Angeles will need to jump-
start its offense to have a shot at an-
other NLCS comeback. Its first five
hitters — Mookie Betts, Corey Seag-
er, NL batting champion Trea Turn-
er, Will Smith and Gavin Lux —
were a combined 0-for-17 in Game
4.
The team, which had won 18 of 19
at home going back to the regular
season, has won six consecutive
postseason elimination games dat-
ing to last year.
“I feel good about it,” manager
Dave Roberts said. “We have a very
resilient team, a very tough team,
and it’s not going to get much tough-
er than facing Max Fried in an elim-
ination game, but we’ve done it be-
fore.”
Rosario was acquired from Cle-
veland on July 30 as the Braves re-
made their depleted outfield before
the trade deadline.
What a find he’s been.
The left fielder has hit safely in ev-
ery game this postseason, piling up
14 hits in 30 at-bats (.467) — includ-
ing a walk-off single in Game 2
against the Dodgers.
Rosario is 10-for-17 (.588) with
two homers and six RBIs in the
NLCS.
“He’s been looking so good at the
plate, hitting balls hard,” Freeman
said.
Atlanta’s four homers tied a post-
season franchise record.
CURTIS COMPTON/AP
Atlanta’s Eddie Rosario reacts to his threerun homer in the ninth offDodgers pitcher Tony Gonsolin Wednesday in Game 4 of the NLCS.
Braves blast four
HRs for 3-1 leadBY BETH HARRIS
Associated Press
PAGE 24 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, October 22, 2021
SPORTS
Braves take 3-1 series lead; Astros up 3-2 on BoSox ›› MLB playoffs, Page 23
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman let out a
faint cough and assured those seated at least 6
feet away that it was allergies, not COVID-19.
He had tested negative for the coronavirus
three times in the previous week.
It allowed the fully vaccinated 69-year-old the opportuni-
ty to underscore the message that the virus is still part of the
NHL and other professional sports leagues 19 months into
the pandemic.
“It’s no joke,” Bettman said. “We’re still dealing with CO-
VID, although not in the same ways.”
U.S. sports have successfully forced more athletes and
staff to get vaccinated than many other industries, in part
because the threat of losing pay is so severe. Yet, the out-
liers have and will continue to get more attention and gener-
ate outrage from fans who want to see stars play.
Basketball’s Kyrie Irving and Bradley Beal, football’s
Kirk Cousins, Cole Beasley and Chase Young, baseball’s
Chris Sale and hockey’s Tyler Bertuzzi have all
Leading with the jabUS sports more successful vaccinating athletes andstaff than many other industries, but outliers remain
BY STEPHEN WHYNO
Associated Press
SEE JAB ON PAGE 20
Top: Timontre Graham, 21, a defensive lineman at Jackson State University receives his COVID19vaccination on July 27. Right: Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving is among the final 4% of unvaccinatedNBA players. Irving cannot play or practice at home because of a New York City vaccine mandate, and isaway from the team until his status changes. Unvaccinated players don’t get paid for the time they miss.
AP photos
VIRUS OUTBREAK
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