VIDEO GAMES

Looking at 2021’s mostanticipated titlesPage 12

Volume 79 Edition 188A ©SS 2021 CONTINGENCY EDITION SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2021 Free to Deployed Areas

stripes.com

NFL

Steady Brady set to lead Bucsinto playoffsPage 24

WORLD

Kim vows toimprove ties withoutside world Page 10

Second Afghan pilot killed in as many weeks amid peace talks ›› Page 4

ORANGE, Calif. — The U.S.

topped 4,000 coronavirus deaths

in a single day for the first time,

breaking a record set just one

day earlier, with several Sun Belt

states driving the surge.

The tally from Johns Hopkins

University showed the nation

had 4,085 deaths Thursday, along

with nearly 275,000 new cases of

the virus — evidence that the cri-

sis is growing worse after family

gatherings and travel over the

holidays and the onset of winter,

which is forcing people indoors.

Overall, the scourge has left

more than 365,000 dead in the

U.S. and caused nearly 22 million

confirmed infections.

Cases and deaths are soaring

in California, Arizona, Texas and

Florida. Those four states had a

combined nearly 1,500 deaths

and 80,000 cases on Thursday.

Thursday ranks as one of the

deadliest days in U.S. history,

with the COVID-19 toll far out-

stripping the nearly 3,000 killed

on 9/11 and exceeding the com-

bined total of nearly 3,900 U.S.

lives lost on D-Day and at Pearl

Harbor.

Many hospitals in Los Angeles

and other hard-hit areas are

struggling to keep up and warned

they may need to ration lifesav-

ing care. Many nurses are caring

for more sick people than typi-

cally allowed under the law after

the state began issuing waivers

to the strict nurse-to-patient ra-

tios.

US records its highestsingle-daydeaths yet

Associated Press

SEE DEATHS ON PAGE 5

VIRUS OUTBREAK

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy

Pelosi said Friday she has spoken to the chair-

man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff about prevent-

ing an “unhinged” President Donald Trump

from ordering military actions including a pos-

sible nuclear strike in his final days and hours

at the White House.

Pelosi said in a statement to colleagues that

she spoke with Gen. Mark Milley “to discuss

available precautions for preventing an unsta-

ble president from initiating military hostili-

ties or accessing the launch codes” for nuclear

war. She said Milley assured her steps are in

place.

She said the situation of “this unhinged pres-

ident could not be more dangerous.”

Pelosi was meeting with the House Demo-

cratic caucus Friday to consider impeachment

proceedings against the president as soon as

next week after the deadly siege of the U.S.

Capitol by a pro-Trump mob that shocked the

nation and the world.

Top lawmakers are sounding alarms that

even though Trump is to leave office Jan. 20

when Democrat Joe Biden is sworn in, he could

do great damage on his way out. And if Trump

were to be impeached by the House and con-

victed by the Senate, he would be pre-

JACQUELYN MARTIN/AP

President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a rally Wednesday in Washington that culminated with the ransacking of the U.S. Capitol.

Impeached again?House Dems discussing swift vote; Pelosi urges DOD to prevent military action

Trump says he will notgo to Biden’s inaugurationPage 9

Associated Press

SEE ATTACK ON PAGE 7

BUSINESS/WEATHER

PAGE 2 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, January 9, 2021

Boeing will pay $2.5 billion to

settle a Justice Department inves-

tigation and admit that employees

misled regulators about the safety

of its 737 Max aircraft, which suf-

fered two deadly crashes shortly

after entering airline service.

The government and the compa-

ny said Thursday that the settle-

ment includes money for the crash

victims’ families, airline custom-

ers and a fine.

In Indonesia, the brother of two

victims of the first Max 8 crash,

Muhammad Rafi Ardian, 24, and

Rian Ariandi, 24, said he hoped the

case would be settled soon and that

there would be no more crashes.

The two were among 189 who

died on Oct. 29, 2018, when a Max

operated by Indonesia’s Lion Air

plunged into the Java Sea.

Prosecutors said Boeing em-

ployees gave misleading state-

ments and half-truths about safety

issues with the plane to the Federal

Aviation Administration, then

covered up their actions.

“Boeing’s employees chose the

path of profit over candor,” said

David Burns, acting assistant at-

torney general for the Justice De-

partment’s criminal division.

Boeing blamed two former pi-

lots who helped determine how

much training was needed for the

Max. CEO David Calhoun said

their conduct doesn’t reflect Boe-

ing employees as a whole or the

character of the company.

The charge of conspiracy to de-

fraud the U.S. will be dropped af-

ter three years if Boeing follows

the terms of the settlement.

Boeing to pay $2.5B to settle 737 Max caseAssociated Press

Bahrain68/65

Baghdad65/40

Doha70/55

Kuwait City63/49

Riyadh62/47

Kandahar48/17

Kabul38/23

Djibouti80/71

SATURDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Mildenhall/Lakenheath

33/28

Ramstein31/26

Stuttgart31/27

Lajes,Azores56/53

Rota52/46

Morón49/39 Sigonella

61/46

Naples49/45

Aviano/Vicenza36/25

Pápa34/27

Souda Bay66/58

Brussels35/32

Zagan32/29

DrawskoPomorskie 33/30

SATURDAY IN EUROPE

Misawa24/12

Guam86/78

Tokyo46/21

Okinawa55/50

Sasebo39/33

Iwakuni34/27

Seoul17/1

Osan15/1

Busan28/12

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

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

SUNDAY IN THE PACIFIC

WEATHER OUTLOOK

TODAYIN STRIPES

American Roundup ...... 11Comics/Crossword ...... 18Health & Fitness ..........16Movies .......................14Opinion ........................ 17Sports .................... 19-24Video Games........... 12-13

Military rates

Euro costs (Jan. 11) $1.20Dollar buys (Jan. 11) 0.7941British pound (Jan. 11) $1.33Japanese yen (Jan. 11) 101.00South Korean won (Jan. 11) 1069.00

Commercial rates

Bahrain(Dinar) 0.3770Britain (Pound) 1.3583Canada (Dollar) 1.2703China(Yuan) 6.4723Denmark (Krone) 6.0712Egypt (Pound) 15.6990Euro 0.8164Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7539Hungary (Forint) 293.51Israel (Shekel) 3.1824Japan (Yen) 103.89Kuwait(Dinar) 0.3036

Norway (Krone) 8.3999

Philippines (Peso) 48.10Poland (Zloty) 3.68 Saudi Arab (Riyal) 3.7515 Singapore (Dollar) 1.3236

So. Korea (Won) 1092.90Switzerlnd (Franc) 0.8848Thailand (Baht) 30.08Turkey (NewLira) 7.3542

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

INTEREST RATES

Prime rate 3.25Interest Rates Discount �rate 0.75Federal funds market rate  �0.093­month bill 0.0930­year bond 1.84

EXCHANGE RATES

Saturday, January 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3

MILITARY

AUSTIN, Texas — Five military

families filed a lawsuit against the

private companies that manage

housing at Joint Base San Antonio-

Randolph Air Force Base, making

it the second lawsuit in the past

two years to allege poor housing

conditions at the Texas base.

Each family signed a lease be-

tween 2016 and 2018 and was told

the home they were renting was

safe and had “no unresolved is-

sues,” according to the federal

lawsuit filed Dec. 29 in the West-

ern District of Texas against three

companies affiliated with Hunt

Military Communities. After mov-

ing in, the families learned the

homes had “long-standing main-

tenance issues.”

The houses exposed the fam-

ilies to dangers such as lead paint,

mold, roach infestations and sew-

age that led to health problems in-

cluding difficulty breathing, asth-

ma, bronchitis, serious allergic re-

actions, nosebleeds and gastroin-

testinal issues, according to the

lawsuit. When repairs were made,

the company only provided

“band-aid measures” that did not

solve root problems in the home.

The families on the suit are

James C. Hill Jr. and his wife, Kari

D. Hill, and their three children;

Michael English and his wife,

Elldwinia English, and their seven

children and one grandchild; Sean

Skillingstad and his wife, Ressia

Skillingstad, and their two chil-

dren; Rodolfo Castillo and his

wife, Latasha Castillo, and their

five minor children and minor ne-

phew; and Bradley Oliver and his

wife, Deborah Oliver, and two

children. The lawsuit did not in-

clude the ranks of the service

members involved.

“There is a common theme here

of reporting serious problems that

any landlord should know could

lead to health problems,” said Jen-

nifer Neal, an attorney with Watts

Guerra in San Antonio, who is rep-

resenting families on both Ran-

dolph lawsuits.

“An overwhelming number of

our clients have said, ‘We report-

ed mold, they came in, sprayed

bleach on it, painted over it and

called it a day.’ That’s simply not

how you remediate mold proper-

ly. It’s a pattern and practice of the

privatized military housing com-

panies. We have clients who were

on these bases over a span of many

years, so it’s clearly something

that’s been going on for a while.”

The lawsuit requests a trial by

jury to award compensation for

actual damages in the past and fu-

ture, economic damages, mental

anguish damages, reasonable and

necessary attorney fees and costs

of court, among other requests.

Many of the families also want

the suit to protect future military

families from experiencing these

same issues, Neal said.

A spokesperson for Hunt said in

a statement that the company

“takes these matters extremely

seriously and is focused on provid-

ing our residents with healthy and

comfortable homes.” The compa-

ny has introduced reforms and ini-

tiatives to improve living condi-

tions, including at Randolph Fam-

ily Housing, according to the

statement.

One initiative referred to as the

Humidity Project is designed to

assess units for excess moisture

and take corrective action when

necessary. The project includes

the 300 historic homes managed

by Hunt at Randolph.

“The work has produced posi-

tive results in reducing humidity

levels in the homes that have been

completed to date,” the statement

said. “We remain committed to

operating transparently and will

continue to work collaboratively

with the families we house, legis-

lators and other advocates to en-

sure that we are best serving our

military families’ housing needs

across our properties.”

This lawsuit joins at least eight

other cases that have been filed

against private companies con-

tracted by the military to provide

housing on stateside military

bases since a 2018 Reuters news

investigation exposed the danger-

ous conditions of some of base

housing. Other bases where law-

suits are pending include Fort

Hood, Texas; Fort Meade, Md.;

Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune,

N.C.; and MacDill Air Force Base,

Fla.

Though Congress has inter-

vened, creating a tenant bill of

rights and enacting other reforms

to improve oversight, the lawsuits

state that some of the issues plagu-

ing base housing continue to per-

sist.

Nine families filed the previous

lawsuit against Hunt for housing

at Randolph in October 2019 and

the two suits share many of the

same attorneys. The first lawsuit

is now in the discovery phase,

Neal said.

“The only way for us to vindi-

cate the rights of military families

harmed by substandard housing is

by showing these privatized com-

panies that there are many more

families behind those who are in

active litigation,” she said. “It’s

important the court system under-

stands the scope as well.”

Second lawsuit filed over housing conditions at Texas baseBY ROSE L. THAYER

Stars and Stripes

Thayer.rose@stripes.comTwitter: @Rose_Lori

The Marines preparing for In-

auguration Day ceremonies wore

black face masks, white gloves —

and an unusual combination of a

Vietnam-era field jacket in wood-

land camouflage with their khaki-

and-olive green service dress uni-

forms.

Photos of the uncommon en-

semble — made stranger by the

fact that the Corps transitioned to

digital camouflage nearly two

decades ago — drew a number of

“what are they wearing” com-

ments on social media.

“A sad day in Marine uniforms

when we look dumber than the Ar-

my,” Marine veteran Pete Lucier

wrote on Twitter.

It turns out the style is unique to

the historic Marine Barracks

Washington, home to the service’s

elite ceremonial units.

The jacket is a little more rug-

ged for practice sessions than the

formal uniform coats that Marines

wear in ceremonies. But it won’t

be seen at events on Jan. 20, when

Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th

President.

“The Field Jacket is primarily

worn to simulate the Dress Blue

jacket,” said Andre Bastian, a Ma-

rine veteran who spent five years

at the barracks, also known as 8th &

I. “It can only be worn with service

B and C (short and long sleeve)

and only during official barracks

practices.”

Barracks Marines use many

tricks and unusual modifications

to make their outfits look their

best for ceremonies at places like

Arlington National Cemetery and

high-profile events in the capital.

But the field jacket is supposed to

be worn as-issued, Bastian said.

Originally produced in olive

drab, the cold weather field coat

was added to the military invento-

ry in 1966 and became available in

the woodland pattern in 1982, ac-

cording to a 2007 study by David

C. Cole, a former curator at the

U.S. Army Center of Military His-

tory, Museum Division.

Designed for utility, and com-

monly known as the M65 field

jacket, it's also become something

of a style icon, available as a de-

signer knock-off for $500 from Po-

lo Ralph Lauren — about five

times what it costs from a military

surplus store online.

The field jacket’s rough similar-

ities to the blues coat allow a Ma-

rine to place the formal uniform’s

belt at the right height to practice

fixing and unfixing a bayonet to

his M1 Garand rifle, which is also a

throw-back.

“The move itself is tricky, and

requires precision and a little bit

of luck,” said Bastian, an infantry-

man who served at the barracks

from late 2014 to mid-2019. “If you

put your scabbard on your belt

line — you’d be practicing a few

inches off, and you’d get no-

where.”

It's also helpful for officers and

noncommissioned officers who

practice ceremonially drawing

and sheathing their swords.

“Yeah, it looks really weird

from the outside looking in,” Bas-

tian said. “But it’s quite practical!”

Marines drillfor inaugurationin unique style

BY CHAD GARLAND

Stars and Stripes

PHOTOS BY TANNER LAMBERT//U.S. Marine Corps

Marines with Marine Barracks Washington prepare in Washington on Tuesday for the upcomingpresidential inauguration. 

The Marines are wearing an unusual combination of a Vietnam­erafield jacket in woodland camouflage with their khaki­and­olive greenservice dress uniforms.

garland.chad@stripes.comTwitter: @chadgarland

PAGE 4 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, January 9, 2021

MILITARY

KABUL, Afghanistan — An Af-

ghan pilot was gunned down in a

Kabul street this week, the second

to die in an apparent targeted kill-

ing ahead of a second round of

peace talks between the Taliban

and government.

Gunmen on motorcycles killed

the pilot and a civilian Thursday in

western Kabul, said an Afghan de-

fense official who asked not to be

named because he was not autho-

rized to discuss the matter. Offi-

cials did not immediately release

the pilot's name.

Another pilot, Masood Atal,

died outside his house in the

southern city of Kandahar on Dec.

30. He was also gunned down by

assailants on motorcycles, said

Kandahar police spokesman Ja-

mal Nasar Barakzai.

None of the militant groups ac-

tive in Afghanistan, including the

Taliban and Islamic State, have

claimed responsibility for either

killing.

The U.S. has spent years train-

ing Afghan pilots and invested bil-

lions in the country’s air force.

The deaths of the two pilots

could weaken the government’s

air power, which is seen as crucial

to holding off the Taliban. The mil-

itants have stepped up attacks

throughout the country over the

last year — even as they have held

talks with the U.S. and, since Sep-

tember, with the government,

aimed at ending decades of war.

The intra-Afghan talks ad-

journed weeks after they started,

with little to show in the way of

progress and no letup in violence

against Afghans.

A second round is set to begin

Saturday, Taliban spokesman Mo-

hammad Naeem said this week on

Twitter. The talks were mandated

in the deal reached last February

between the U.S. and Taliban,

which also called for international

troops to be withdrawn from Af-

ghanistan by May this year. The

number of U.S. troops in Afghan-

istan is expected to drop to 2,500

by mid-January.

But as the talks grind on, mem-

bers of the security forces are be-

ing threatened and killed. Some

have fled the country or gone into

hiding.

Niloofar Rahmani, Afghanis-

tan’s first female fixed-wing avia-

tor, was granted asylum in the U.S.

in 2018 after receiving death

threats from the Taliban.

Mohammad Naiem Asadi, a hel-

icopter pilot reputed to have killed

more Taliban than anyone else in

the Afghan air force, went into

hiding last year after the Pentagon

reversed its decision to allow him

to move to the United States with

his family.

Asadi had received numerous

death threats from the Taliban

and was approved to come to the

U.S. in October, only to learn

weeks later that authorization had

been withdrawn.

At least 168 members of Af-

ghanistan’s security forces died in

targeted killings in 2020, a report

published on Jan. 2 by the New

York Times said. The U.S. has also

accused militant groups of the tar-

geted killings of scores of civilians

and called on all sides in the con-

flict to reduce violence.

“The Taliban’s campaign of un-

claimed attacks and targeted kill-

ings of government officials, civil

society leaders and journalists

must also cease for peace to suc-

ceed,” Col. Sonny Leggett, spokes-

man for U.S. Forces in Afghanis-

tan, said Monday on Twitter.

Afghan pilotsgunned downahead of talks

BY J.P. LAWRENCE

Stars and Stripes

Zubair Babakarhail contributed to this report.lawrence.jp@stripes.comTwitter: @jplawrence

TOKYO — The third wave of

coronavirus infections in Japan’s

capital city worsened Friday, as

the number of new cases there ex-

ceeded 2,000 individuals for a sec-

ond consecutive day.

The U.S. military in Japan as of

6 p.m. Friday reported 67 people

newly infected with the virus, the

majority of them at Yokosuka Na-

val Base, where a cluster emerged

in December. U.S. Forces Korea

reported a contractor at Yongsan

Garrison, Seoul, tested positive

Thursday, a news release said.

U.S. bases in the greater Tokyo

metro area imposed curfews and

new limits on travel and other ac-

tivities after Japan declared a

state of emergency Thursday in

the city and three surrounding

prefectures.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Gov-

ernment reported 2,392 people

tested positive for the virus Fri-

day, the second largest number so

far, according to public broadcast-

er NHK. Severely ill patients in

Tokyo number 129, also a record,

NHK reported. The metro govern-

ment on Thursday reported 2,447

people infected, its highest one-

day total.

The number of people testing

positive but waiting on treatment

or hospitalization is also growing,

partly because of a shortage of

hospital beds and treatment facil-

ities, according to NHK.

Yokosuka, the home, 35 miles

south of Tokyo, of the 7th Fleet, re-

ported 44 individuals had tested

positive for the coronavirus since

Tuesday, according to a Facebook

post. The naval base has 111 people

with the virus under observation.

Of the new cases, 14 fell ill with

symptoms of COVID-19, the coro-

navirus respiratory disease; 16

were discovered during contact

tracing; five tested positive during

medical screening; and five are

new arrivals to Japan, according

to the base. A base employee test-

ed positive during contact tracing.

Citing a growing cluster of un-

known origin, base commander

Capt. Rich Jarrett on Wednesday

imposed an 8 p.m.-5 a.m. curfew

for everyone associated with the

base, including families and civil-

ian employees, whether they live

on or off the installation.

Naval Air Facility Atsugi, 25

miles northwest of Yokosuka, re-

ported seven new patients Friday:

Two were tested upon their arriv-

al, three developed symptoms,

one tested positive while in quar-

antine and one was a close contact

of another infected individual,

base spokesman Sam Samuelson

said.

Atsugi commander Capt. Man-

ning Montagnet on Thursday or-

dered an 8 p.m.-5 a.m. curfew sim-

ilar to Yokosuka’s, which permits

duty travel.

Yokota Air Base, the headquar-

ters of U.S. Forces Japan in west-

ern Tokyo, reported 12 people

tested positive between Wednes-

day and Friday, according to a

Facebook post. Seven were in

quarantine after arriving from the

U.S.; four were also in quarantine

after contact with another infect-

ed individual; the one remaining

person “was identified and quar-

antined,” but the base provided no

further information.

Yokota’s commander, Col. An-

drew Campbell, on Friday put Yo-

kohama off-limits, along with cen-

tral Tokyo, to all base personnel

and prohibited dining in restau-

rants from 8 p.m-5 a.m. in Tokyo,

Chiba, Kanagawa, and Saitama

prefectures until Feb. 7. Takeout

or deliveries are permitted after 8

p.m.

U.S. Army Japan, headquar-

tered at Camp Zama, 26 miles

southwest of Tokyo, also imposed

new limits, including bans on pub-

lic transportation, travel beyond

93 miles of the base and “non-es-

sential,” off-base activity from 8

p.m.-5p.m., according to a Face-

book post.

Marine Corps Air Station Iwa-

kuni, 500 miles west of Tokyo, on

Friday reported four new corona-

virus cases, none of whom were in

quarantine when they tested posi-

tive, according to a Facebook post.

Commander Col. Lance Lewis

ordered the base locked down

overnight Thursday until 9 p.m.

Friday to “conduct aggressive

contact tracing” and stop the vi-

rus’s spread, according to the

base.

The base schools and Child De-

velopment Center were closed,

personnel were ordered to remain

at home unless involved in essen-

tial activities and shopping off-

base was curtailed, among other

measures.

Surge mounts in Tokyo; US bases impose curfewsBY JOSEPH DITZLER

Stars and Stripes

ditzler.joseph@stripes.comTwitter: @JosephDitzler

J.P. LAWRENCE/Stars and Stripes

Assassinations of Afghan pilots leave families like that of Mohammed Shah, killed in 2018, grieving andangry at a government they say did not protect their loved ones. 

AKIFUMI ISHIKAWA/Stars and Stripes

A store in Yokohama, Japan, displays signs encouraging customers totake measures to prevent a coronavirus infection on Wednesday. 

Saturday, January 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 5

tons of oxygen. And then you just see them

die. They just die.”

The outbreak has taken another turn for

the worse in Arizona, with the state now

leading the nation with the highest CO-

VID-19 diagnosis rate over the past week.

More than 132,000 people nationwide

are hospitalized with the virus.

In Los Angeles County’s Henry Mayo

New Hall in Valencia, nurse Nerissa Black

said the hospital is overwhelmed with pa-

tients, likening the situation to New York’s

at the beginning of the pandemic.

She was assigned six patients but could

spend only about 10 minutes with each of

them per hour, including the time it takes

for her to change her protective gear.

“It’s very hard to decide which one

should I go see first: the patient who has

chest pain or the patient whose oxygen

level is dropping,” she said.

At St. Joseph Hospital south of Los An-

geles, nurses in the COVID-19 ward de-

scribed being overwhelmed as the deaths

mount.

“Just today we had two deaths on this

unit. And that’s pretty much the norm,”

said Caroline Brandenburger. “I usually

see one to two every shift. Super sad.” She

added: “They fight every day, and they

struggle to breathe every day even with

Deaths: Doctors struggling to handle huge surge in patientsFROM PAGE 1

VIRUS OUTBREAK

The desperately awaited vacci-

nation drive against the coronavi-

rus in the U.S. is running into re-

sistance from an unlikely quarter:

Surprising numbers of health care

workers who have seen firsthand

the death and misery inflicted by

COVID-19 are refusing shots.

It is happening in nursing

homes and, to a lesser degree, in

hospitals, with employees ex-

pressing what experts say are un-

founded fears of side effects from

vaccines that were developed at

record speed. More than three

weeks into the campaign, some

places are seeing as much as 80%

of the staff holding back.

“I don’t think anyone wants to

be a guinea pig,” said Dr. Stephen

Noble, a 42-year-old cardiothorac-

ic surgeon in Portland, Ore., who

is postponing getting vaccinated.

“At the end of the day, as a man of

science, I just want to see what the

data show. And give me the full da-

ta.”

Alarmed by the phenomenon,

some administrators have dan-

gled everything from free break-

fasts at Waffle House to a raffle for

a car to get employees to roll up

their sleeves. Some states have

threatened to let other people cut

ahead of health care workers in

the line for shots.

“It’s far too low. It’s alarmingly

low,” said Neil Pruitt, CEO of

PruittHealth, which runs about

100 long-term care homes in the

South, where fewer than 3 in 10

workers offered the vaccine so far

have accepted it.

Many medical facilities from

Florida to Washington state have

boasted of near-universal accept-

ance of the shots, and workers

have proudly plastered pictures of

themselves on social media re-

ceiving the vaccine. Elsewhere,

though, the drive has stumbled.

While the federal government

has released no data on how many

people offered the vaccines have

taken them, glimpses of resistance

have emerged around the country.

In Illinois, a big divide has

opened at state-run veterans

homes between residents and

staff. The discrepancy was worst

at the veterans home in Manteno,

where 90% of residents were vac-

cinated but only 18% of the staff

members.

In rural Ashland, Ala., about 90

of some 200 workers at Clay Coun-

ty Hospital have yet to agree to get

vaccinated, even with the place so

overrun with COVID-19 patients

that oxygen is running low and

beds have been added to the inten-

sive care unit, divided by plastic

sheeting.

The pushback comes amid the

most lethal phase in the outbreak

yet, with the death toll at more

than 350,000, and it could hinder

the government’s effort to vacci-

nate somewhere between 70% and

85% of the U.S. population to

achieve “herd immunity.”

Administrators and public

health officials have expressed

hope that more health workers

will opt to be vaccinated as they

see their colleagues take the shots

without problems.

Medical journals have publish-

ed extensive data on the vaccines,

and the Food and Drug Adminis-

tration has made its analysis pub-

lic. But misinformation about the

shots has spread wildly online, in-

cluding falsehoods that they cause

fertility problems.

There have been no signs of

widespread severe side effects

from the vaccines, and scientists

say the drugs have been rigorous-

ly tested on tens of thousands and

vetted by independent experts.

States have begun turning up

the pressure. South Carolina’s

governor gave health care work-

ers until Jan. 15 to get a shot or

“move to the back of the line.” Ge-

orgia’s top health official has al-

lowed some vaccines to be divert-

ed to other front-line workers, in-

cluding firefighters and police,

out of frustration with the slow up-

take.

“There’s vaccine available but

it’s literally sitting in freezers,”

said Public Health Commissioner

Dr. Kathleen Toomey. “That’s un-

acceptable. We have lives to

save.”

Health workersrefuse vaccine,causing delays

Associated Press

JAE C. HONG/AP

Medical workers wait in the holding area after getting the Pfizer­BioNTech COVID­19 vaccine at St. JosephHospital in Orange, Calif., on Thursday.

WASHINGTON — More than

7,000 Department of Veterans Af-

fairs patients had died of the coro-

navirus as of Thursday — equa-

ting to about 24 people killed each

day since the first veteran’s death

in March.

The VA reported 7,099 total

deaths Thursday and nearly

16,000 active coronavirus cases.

Only seven days into the new year,

January is already on pace to be

the agency’s deadliest month.

About 1,300 VA patients died of

the virus in December, and the

year ended with 6,500 dead VA pa-

tients. The department has re-

corded about 600 deaths in Janu-

ary with 24 days to go.

In addition, the VA has reported

13 employee deaths so far this

month, bringing the total employ-

ee deaths to 104. December was

previously the deadliest month for

employees, with 16 deaths.

Deaths and cases are increasing

at the same time the department is

working to vaccinate its health

care staff and most vulnerable pa-

tients. The VA had administered

146,000 vaccines as of this week,

including 132,000 health care

workers and 14,000 veterans. The

vaccines are being administered

at 195 VA sites across the country.

VA Secretary Robert Wilkie has

praised the pace of his agency’s ef-

forts to vaccinate employees and

veterans.

“This is a massive undertaking

that is happening at a rapid pace,”

Wilkie said in a statement.

Other officials, though, have ac-

knowledged that vaccine distribu-

tion has gotten off to a sluggish

start. About 2 million Americans

received their first dose of the cor-

onavirus vaccine by the end of

2020, falling far short of expecta-

tions that 20 million people would

be vaccinated by that time.

“We agree that number is lower

than what we hoped for,” Dr. Mon-

cef Slaoui, chief adviser to Oper-

ation Warp Speed, said Dec. 30.

“We know it should be better, and

we’re working to make it better.”

The VA is first vaccinating resi-

dents and staff of the agency’s

long-term community living cen-

ters, as well as spinal cord injury

centers. After that phase, the VA

will shift its focus to vaccinating

VA employees who treat coronavi-

rus patients.

Of the nearly 16,000 active coro-

navirus cases among VA patients

Thursday, the facilities reporting

the highest numbers were in Lo-

ma Linda and Long Beach, Cali-

fornia. The numbers reflect na-

tionwide trends showing multiple

days of record-setting coronavi-

rus deaths in those areas.

The VA’s data on cases and

deaths does not include all veter-

ans in the United States, nor does

it include the hundreds of deaths

that have occurred at 162 state-

run veterans’ homes.

Because of a bill signed into law

this week, the VA is required to

publicize coronavirus deaths and

cases at state-run veterans’ homes

for the first time by Feb. 4.

7,000 VA patients die of coronavirus since MarchBY NIKKI WENTLING

Stars and Stripes

Wentling.nikki@stripes.comTwitter: @nikkiwentling

PAGE 6 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, January 9, 2021

VIRUS OUTBREAK ROUNDUP

ALBANY, N.Y. — For months,

as they planned for a possible re-

surgence of the coronavirus, New

York’s leaders talked about how a

strict set of scientific metrics

would guide decisions about

whether to reimpose restrictions

and closures that helped tame the

virus in the spring.

But as COVID-19 has made its

expected comeback, several sta-

tistical thresholds that were once

supposed to trigger shutdowns

have been eased or abandoned.

The latest example came this

week, when Gov. Andrew Cuomo

made clear he had reversed

course on a plan to force schools to

switch to remote-learning in re-

gions where 9% or more of the

people who seek coronavirus tests

are found to have the virus.

Schools can officially stay open

in counties that cross that thresh-

old, if they launch testing pro-

grams and can show that the virus

is spreading at a lower rate among

students than in the general pop-

ulation, Cuomo said.

It’s a reversal from July, when

the governor’s advisory council of

educators, students, parents and

leaders of schools and unions set

the 9% metric. At the time, Cuomo

warned it would not be “intelli-

gent” to keep schools open if they

crossed that line.

Now, seven out of the state’s 10

regions have crossed that thresh-

old since late December, along

with over half of the state’s 62

counties.

School leaders are awaiting spe-

cifics on Cuomo’s latest announce-

ment, according to Lowry, who

questioned whether New York has

the capacity to launch new testing

programs across the state.

And unions representing teach-

ers and school staff have objected

to the change, saying the state is

endangering workers by keeping

schools open.

ArkansasLITTLE ROCK — The number

of coronavirus patients in Arkan-

sas' hospitals rose again to a new

record high Thursday as 25 more

people died from the virus.

The Department of Health said

the state's COVID-19 hospitaliza-

tions, which had dropped a day

earlier, rose by five to 1,326. The

total number of people dead from

COVID-19, the illness caused by

the virus, since the pandemic be-

gan now total 3,926.

The state's coronavirus cases

rose by 3,323 to 245,916.

Four percent of the state's 1,155

intensive care unit beds and near-

ly 22% of its 8,951 hospital beds are

available, according to the Health

Department. There are 427 CO-

VID-19 patients in ICUs around

the state.

Legislative leaders on Thurs-

day also released proposed rules

and safety procedures that they

and the secretary of state had

agreed upon for the 2021 session,

which is set to begin on Monday.

ArizonaWINDOW ROCK — Navajo Na-

tion health officials on Thursday

reported 257 new coronavirus

cases and six more deaths.

The latest figures increased the

tribe’s totals since the pandemic

began to 24,521 cases and 844

known deaths.

Health officials said more than

212,000 people have been tested

for COVID-19 on the reservation

and more than 12,600 have reco-

vered.

The number of infections is

thought to be far higher than re-

ported because many people have

not been tested, and studies sug-

gest people can be infected with

the virus without feeling sick.

On Monday, the Navajo Depart-

ment of Health identified 73 com-

munities with uncontrolled

spread of COVID-19 on the tribe’s

vast reservation that covers parts

of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

FloridaTALLAHASSEE — Florida

broke its record for the highest

single-day number of coronavirus

cases since the pandemic began,

tallying 19,816 new cases on

Thursday, while the state’s death

toll reached 22,400.

Statistics from the Florida De-

partment of Health on Thursday

showed the totals surpassed the

previous single-day record, which

was 17,783 cases on Wednesday.

Since the pandemic started in

March, about 1.4 million people in

Florida have contracted COVID.

As of 3 p.m. Thursday, 7,331 peo-

ple in the state were hospitalized

with the virus.

People are eager for vaccines,

and have swamped online regis-

tration sites in some counties.

Florida followed federal recom-

mendations in starting vaccina-

tions first for front-line medical

workers plus residents and staff of

nursing homes in mid-December.

So far, more than 329,000 peo-

ple, or about 1.5 percent of the

state's population, have received a

COVID vaccine in Florida.

IllinoisSPRINGFIELD — The number

of COVID-19 cases in Illinois has

topped one million, the Illinois De-

partment of Public Health an-

nounced Thursday

Public health officials an-

nounced the milestone as they re-

ported 8,757 confirmed and prob-

able coronavirus cases, including

177 deaths, bringing that total to

including 17,272.

A total of 1,008,045 COVID-19

infections have been diagnosed

across the state since March, the

fifth highest total in the nation.

More than 21 million cases have

been diagnosed nationwide.

“As this disease continues to

wreak havoc on our nation — with

the United States setting another

record for the most COVID-19

deaths in a day just yesterday — it

is critical that we take extra cau-

tion today and in the months

ahead to reduce the spread, bring

down hospitalization rates, and

save lives,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said

in a statement.

New JerseyTRENTON — Civil jury trials in

New Jersey will resume in a vir-

tual format next month on a limit-

ed basis, the state Supreme Court

announced Thursday.

Under the order signed by Chief

Justice Stuart Rabner, virtual civ-

il trials will be held in vicinages

covering Atlantic, Cape May,

Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem,

Monmouth, Passaic and Union

counties beginning on February 1.

During this first phase, trials

will proceed only if both parties

consent to the virtual format.

Virtual civil trials will be held

across the state beginning on April

5, with consent from the parties

not required. The trials will be re-

stricted at first to cases involving a

single defendant or plaintiff and a

limited number of witnesses, ac-

cording to the order.

Jury selection will be conducted

remotely, and the courts will pro-

vide computer tablets to jurors

who need them. Up to two addi-

tional alternate jurors will be se-

lected, beyond the number nor-

mally seated in an in-person trial,

in case empaneled jurors experi-

ence technical difficulties.

North CarolinaCHAPEL HILL — The flagship

school of North Carolina’s univer-

sity system announced Thursday

that it is delaying the start of in-

person undergraduate classes for

the spring semester, citing record

numbers for COVID-19 and hospi-

talizations.

The University of North Caroli-

na at Chapel Hill said in a state-

ment on its webpage that while

classes will begin on Jan. 19 as

scheduled, it is delaying the start

of in-person undergraduate class-

es for three weeks. Chancellor Ke-

vin Guskiewicz said only a limited

number of undergraduate courses

were planned for in-person in-

struction. He said start dates for

graduate and professional pro-

grams may vary and all programs

have the option of starting remote-

ly.

Students can return to campus

residence halls beginning Jan. 13

as planned, but students will have

the option to return or delay their

move-in date up until Feb. 7, the

day before classes are to begin. All

students will be in single-occu-

pancy rooms, and housing fees

will be prorated according to

when students choose to move in.

TexasAUSTIN — Texas reported its

first known case of a person infect-

ed with the new variant of the cor-

onavirus on Thursday, and health

officials announced they will send

most of the vaccine the state re-

ceives next week to large provid-

ers who can conduct large-scale

vaccinations.

Texas also set new state highs

with nearly 14,000 hospitalized

COVID-19 patients, and 393 newly

reported deaths.

Texas joins a handful of states

with at least one known case of the

new variant of the virus that caus-

es COVID-19. It was first identi-

fied in the United Kingdom and

appears to spread more easily

from person to person. But state

health officials say there is no evi-

dence it causes more severe dis-

ease, and say current vaccines are

expected to still be effective.

The infected person was identi-

fied as a Houston-area man who is

between 30 and 40-years old who

has no travel history.

PennsylvaniaPennsylvania schools should

consider a return to in-person in-

struction for elementary-age stu-

dents, state health and education

officials said Thursday, a change

from previous state guidance that

recommended online-only educa-

tion in areas where the coronavi-

rus is raging.

Since the beginning of the aca-

demic year, state officials have

urged virtual instruction in coun-

ties with a “substantial” level of

community transmission — a

number that rose rapidly as the vi-

rus surged this fall and winter. For

the past month, all 67 of Pennsyl-

vania’s counties have been

deemed to have a substantial level

of viral spread.

State officials now want schools

to consider bringing elementary

students back to the classroom,

saying that’s where they belong.

“We know that educators and

families recognize that students

benefit from being physically in

their classroom. Research has

taught us that this is especially

true for our youngest learners,”

Noe Ortega, acting secretary of

the state Department of Educa-

tion, said at an online news confer-

ence Thursday.

As infections climb,NY avoids closuresby shifting metrics

CURTIS COMPTON, ATLANTA (GA.) JOURNAL­CONSTITUTION/AP

School nurse Dorothy Burns gets a Moderna COVID­19 vaccination from a DeKalb County public healthworker at the DeKalb COVID­19 BrandsMart USA drive through testing site Thursday, in Doraville, Ga.

Associated Press

Saturday, January 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 7

NATION

The U.S. Capitol Police officer

who died after responding to riots

at the Capitol was a veteran who

served on two overseas tours be-

fore joining the police force, the

military said.

Officer Brian D. Sicknick died

Thursday after being injured on-

duty while “physically engaging

with protesters,” the Capitol Po-

lice said in a statement. Support-

ers of President Donald Trump

stormed the building Wednesday

as lawmakers

were tallying

votes to confirm

Democrat Joe

Biden had won

November's

election.

A rioter hit

Sicknick on the

head with a fire

extinguisher, said Alexandra Li-

mon, a correspondent for Nexstar

Media Group, in a Twitter post

citing an unnamed source.

Sicknick, who joined the force

in 2008 and served with its First

Responder Unit, returned to his

division office and collapsed, the

police said. He was taken to the

hospital and died the next day.

The National Guard confirmed

that Sicknick had served as a tra-

ditional drilling member of the

Air National Guard in his home

state of New Jersey. The 42-year-

old joined in 1997 and was honor-

ably discharged in 2003 at the

rank of staff sergeant.

“We are saddened by the loss of

one of our former New Jersey Na-

tional Guard Citizen-Airman,”

said Army Lt. Col. Barbara G.

Brown, a spokeswoman for the

New Jersey Guard.

He served as a fire team mem-

ber and leader at the 108th Securi-

ty Force Squadron, 108th Wing, at

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lake-

hurst, southeast of Trenton,

Brown said.

During his time in the Air

Guard, he deployed to Saudi Ara-

bia in 1999 as part of Operation

Southern Watch — the U.S.-led

mission to patrol no-fly zones in

Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War —

and Kyrgyzstan in 2003 in support

of the war in Afghanistan, she

said.

“Staff Sgt. Sicknick’s commit-

ment to service and [to] protect

his community, state, and nation

will never be forgotten,” Brown

said in an emailed statement.

“Our condolences and thoughts

are with his family, friends and

those who worked with him dur-

ing his law enforcement career.”

Fallen policeofficer wasAir Guardveteran

BY CHAD GARLAND

Stars and Stripes

Sicknick

garland.chad@stripes.comTwitter: @chadgarland

vented from running again for the

presidency in 2024 or ever hold-

ing public office again. Trump

would be only the president twice

impeached.

Conviction in the Republican

Senate at this late date would

seem unlikely. But it’s a measure

of his uncomfortable position that

there has been a noteworthy lack

of GOP statements attacking

Democrats’ calls for his removal.

The final days of Trump’s presi-

dency are spinning toward a

chaotic end as he holes up at the

White House, abandoned by

many aides, leading Republicans

and Cabinet members. He was

tweeting again after his Twitter

account was reinstated, reverting

to an aggressive statement that

his supporters must not be “disre-

spected” after he sent out a cal-

mer Thursday video decrying the

violence.

Calls are mounting for legal ac-

tion following the Capitol attack,

in which one protester was shot to

death by Capitol police and Capi-

tol police officer Brian Sicknick

died. Three other people died

from “medical emergencies” dur-

ing the demonstration.

Strong criticism of Trump, who

urged the protesters to march to

the Capitol, continued unabated.

“Every day that he remains in

office, he is a danger to the Repub-

lic,” said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-

Calif.

Schiff, who led Trump’s im-

peachment in 2019, said in a state-

ment that Trump “lit the fuse

which exploded on Wednesday at

the Capitol.”

Articles of impeachment are

expected to be introduced on

Monday, with a House vote as

soon as Wednesday, according to

a person familiar with the plan-

ning and granted anonymity to

discuss it.

Pelosi and Democratic Senate

leader Chuck Schumer have

called on Vice President Mike

Pence and the Cabinet to invoke

the 25th Amendment to force

Trump from office. It’s a process

for removing the president and in-

stalling the vice president to take

over.

But action by Pence or the Cabi-

net now appears unlikely, espe-

cially after two top officials, Edu-

cation Secretary Betsy DeVos and

Transportation Secretary Elaine

Chao suddenly resigned in the af-

termath of the violence at the Cap-

itol and would no longer be in the

Cabinet to make such a case.

Trump had encouraged loyal-

ists at a rally Wednesday at the

White House to march on the Cap-

itol where Congress was certify-

ing the Electoral College tally of

Biden’s election.

Pelosi discussed the prospect of

impeachment with her leadership

team Thursday night, hours after

announcing the House was willing

to act if Pence and other adminis-

tration officials did not invoke

Section 4 of the 25th Amendment

— the forceful removal of Trump

from power by his own Cabinet.

Rep. James Clyburn, the No. 3

House Democrat told CNN: “Ev-

eryone knows that this president

is deranged.” One leading Repub-

lican critic of Trump, Sen. Ben

Sasse of Nebraska, said he will

“definitely consider” impeach-

ment.

Schumer said he and Pelosi

tried to call Pence early Thursday

to discuss the 25th Amendment

option but were unable to connect

with him.

Most Democrats, and many Re-

publicans, put the blame squarely

on Trump after swarms of protes-

ters bearing Trump flags and

clothing broke into the Capitol

and caused destruction and evac-

uations.

Three Democrats on the House

Judiciary Committee began

Thursday to circulate articles of

impeachment. Reps. David Cicil-

line of Rhode Island, Jamie Ras-

kin of Maryland and Ted Lieu of

California wrote in the articles

that Trump “willfully made state-

ments that encouraged — and

foreseeably resulted in — immi-

nent lawless action at the Capi-

tol.”

The House impeached Trump

in 2019, but the Republican-led

Senate acquitted him in early

2020.

Pelosi said “a threshold was

crossed of such magnitude” that

Trump should not be allowed to

make any decisions.

During a news conference

Thursday, she challenged several

Cabinet members by name, in-

cluding Secretary of State Mike

Pompeo and Treasury Secretary

Steve Mnuchin.

“Do they stand by these ac-

tions?” Pelosi asked. “Are they

ready to say that for the next 13

days this dangerous man can do

further harm to our country?”

Pence has not publicly ad-

dressed the possibility of invoking

the 25th Amendment

Attack: Democrats push Pence to remove TrumpFROM PAGE 1

J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / AP

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D­Calif., holds a news conference on the day after violent protestersloyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, on Thursday. 

“Every day thathe remains inoffice, he is adanger to theRepublic.”

Rep. Adam Schiff

D-Calif.

PAGE 8 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, January 9, 2021

Thousands of National Guard

troops from surrounding states

will deploy to Washington, D.C.,

by the weekend to bolster defens-

es around the national capital af-

ter a mob of President Donald

Trump’s supporters on Wednes-

day forced their way into the U.S.

Capitol, the Army’s top civilian

said Thursday.

Army Secretary Ryan McCar-

thy said more than 5,000 troops

from six states will join the 1,100

D.C. Nation Guard members al-

ready on duty in Washington to

man checkpoints around the city,

including positions around the

Capitol. McCarthy, in a phone call

Thursday with reporters, called

“horrible and shameful” the siege

one day earlier of the Capitol

Building by angry Trump back-

ers. Some attacked police, broke

into the Capitol and delayed a

vote by lawmakers to certify

President-elect Joe Biden’s victo-

ry.

National Guard troops from

Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey,

Delaware, Pennsylvania and New

York will deploy to D.C. in the

coming days, McCarthy said. The

Army secretary said they would

remain in the city, working 12-

hour shifts, for as many as 30

days, but at least through the Jan.

20 inauguration of Biden.

“We are singularly focused on

putting a plan in place to ensure

that we have the adequate level of

capability to support this next re-

ally extraordinary milestone of

the transfer of power on the 20th

of January,” McCarthy said.

“We’re keenly focused on that.”

In a statement Thursday, Act-

ing Defense Secretary Christoph-

er Miller condemned Wednes-

day’s assault on the Capitol and

committed to doing his part to en-

sure the peaceful transfer of pow-

er to Biden’s administration later

this month. He praised the Na-

tional Guard for helping secure

the Capitol on Wednesday night,

allowing Congress to complete its

early Thursday morning certifi-

cation of Biden’s victory.

“Our Republic may have been

disrupted yesterday, but the re-

solve of our legislators to conduct

the people’s business did not wav-

er,” Miller said. “Due to their ef-

forts, supported by local and fed-

eral law enforcement and the Na-

tional Guard, the attempts of

those who tried to stop our gov-

ernment from functioning

failed.”

The entire D.C. National Guard

was activated Wednesday amid

the riot. Some were deployed to

the Capitol in riot gear to help lo-

cal and federal law enforcement

secure the building. National

Guard troops deployed so far

have not been armed with fire-

arms or non-lethal weapons.

McCarthy said Thursday that

Pentagon officials were consider-

ing changes to “the rules for the

use of force,” which includes au-

thorizations to carry weapons. He

did not elaborate on potential

changes to those rules.

McCarthy defended the Na-

tional Guard’s response to the riot

Wednesday, after lawmakers and

others raised questions about how

the president’s supporters were

able to overrun security around

the building. The Army secretary

said the Pentagon had provided

all the Guard forces that D.C. offi-

cials had requested before

Wednesday. The troops’ response

once the melee began was com-

plicated by the need for D.C. or

Capitol Hill police officials to for-

mally request more troops or mis-

sion changes for Guard forces.

Top Pentagon officials then had to

approve those requests before

troops could be moved, he said.

Trump supporters successfully

delayed the congressional vote to

certify Biden’s win, breaking

through security and entering

both chambers of Congress, forc-

ing lawmakers to evacuate to se-

cured locations throughout Capi-

tol Hill. Ashli Babbitt — a 35-

year-old woman identified by

news reports as an avid Trump

supporter and Air Force veteran

— was shot to death by police dur-

ing the incident, law enforcement

officials said. Three other people

died of medical emergencies dur-

ing the incident, and more than 50

officers were injured, police said.

Congress reconvened after po-

lice secured the Capitol late

Wednesday.

McCarthy said more than 100

D.C. National Guard troops were

among those who helped secure

the Capitol grounds. They were

moved from traffic checkpoints

around Washington to the D.C.

National Guard Armory, where

they were outfitted with riot gear

and sent to Capitol Hill, he said.

“We were in position in less

than two hours to go and help sup-

port the clearing of the Capitol,”

McCarthy said. “Clearly the Capi-

tol was under duress and if you’re

under duress, minutes and sec-

onds count … I get it. But [Guard

troops] were moving hard and

fast.”

McCarthy said hundreds of

troops would remain stationed

around the Capitol Building

through at least Jan. 20. He told

reporters about 850 National

Guard troops would be stationed

on Capitol Hill by Thursday eve-

ning, where they had nearly com-

pleted positioning a 7-foot non-

scalable fence around the com-

plex.

On Monday, officials an-

nounced the Pentagon had ap-

proved the activation of about 340

D.C. National Guard troops to

help local law enforcement with

crowd and traffic control.

Miller said Wednesday that he

agreed to activate D.C.’s entire

Guard force after he and Army

Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman

of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had

separately spoken with Vice Pres-

ident Mike Pence, Senate Major-

ity Leader Mitch McConnell, R-

Ky., and House Speaker Nancy

Pelosi, D-Calif. Those top U.S. of-

ficials were at the Capitol when

the mob stormed the building.

“We are prepared to provide

additional support as necessary

and appropriate as requested by

local authorities,” Miller said in a

statement. “Our people are sworn

to defend the Constitution and our

democratic form of government,

and they will act accordingly.”

The out-of-state deployments

could grow larger in the coming

days or be scaled back, a defense

official said Thursday, calling the

situation “still very, very fluid.”

In a statement announcing he

would send 500 of his National

Guard troops to Washington, New

Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said the

forces were needed to “protect

our democracy and facilitate the

peaceful transition of power.”

“Our republic is built on the

principles of democracy, peace,

the right of the American people

to freely choose their leaders,”

Murphy said in a statement. “The

brave men and women of our Na-

tional Guard will be deployed in

order to preserve those sacred

principles.”

Thousands of Guard troops deploying to DCBY COREY DICKSTEIN

Stars and Stripes

JOHN MINCHILLO/AP

DC National Guard stand outside the Capitol on Wednesday after a day of rioting.

dickstein.corey@stripes.comTwitter: @CDicksteinDC

WASHINGTON — Three days

before supporters of President

Donald Trump rioted at the Capi-

tol, the Pentagon asked the U.S

Capitol Police if it needed Nation-

al Guard manpower. And as the

mob descended on the building

Wednesday, Justice Department

leaders reached out to offer up

FBI agents. The police turned

them down both times, according

to senior defense officials and two

people familiar with the matter.

Despite plenty of warnings of a

possible insurrection and ample

resources and time to prepare, the

Capitol Police planned only for a

free speech demonstration.

Still stinging from the uproar

over the violent response by law

enforcement to protests last June

near the White House, officials al-

so were intent on avoiding any ap-

pearance that the federal govern-

ment was deploying active duty or

National Guard troops against

Americans.

The result is the U.S. Capitol

was overrun Wednesday and offi-

cers in a law enforcement agency

with a large operating budget and

experience in high-security

events protecting lawmakers

were overwhelmed for the world

to see. Four protesters died, in-

cluding one shot inside the build-

ing. A Capitol Police officer died

Thursday after being injured in

the Wednesday melee.

The rioting and loss of control

has raised serious questions over

security at the Capitol for future

events. The actions of the day also

raise troubling concerns about the

treatment of mainly white Trump

supporters, who were allowed to

roam through the building for

hours, while Black and brown pro-

testers who demonstrated last

year over police brutality faced

more robust and aggressive polic-

ing.

“This was a failure of imagina-

tion, a failure of leadership,” said

Houston Police Chief Art Aceve-

do, whose department responded

to several large protests last year

following the death of George

Floyd. “The Capitol Police must

do better and I don’t see how we

can get around that.”

Acevedo said he has attended

events on the Capitol grounds to

honor slain police officers that had

higher fences and a stronger secu-

rity presence than what he saw on

video Wednesday.

Army Secretary Ryan McCar-

thy said that as the rioting was un-

derway, it became clear that the

Capitol Police were overrun. But

he said there was no contingency

planning done in advance for what

forces could do in case of a prob-

lem at the Capitol because De-

fense Department help was turn-

ed down. “They’ve got to ask us,

the request has to come to us,”

said McCarthy.

Capitol Police rejected offers of federal help to quell mobAssociated Press

NATION

Saturday, January 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 9

NATION

WASHINGTON — President

Donald Trump said Friday he

won’t attend President-elect Joe

Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20,

undercutting his message a day

earlier that he would work to en-

sure a “smooth, orderly and seam-

less transition of power” to his suc-

cessor.

Trump offered no clues for how

he would spend his final hours in of-

fice, and will be the first incumbent

president since Andrew Johnson to

skip his successor’s inauguration.

Traditionally, the incoming and

outgoing presidents ride to the U.S.

Capitol together for the ceremony,

as a symbol of the nation’s peaceful

transition.

Trump’s comments come two

days after a violent mob of his sup-

porters occupied the Capitol for

several hours as lawmakers were

tallying the electoral votes that cer-

tified Biden’s victory. Biden will

become president at noon on Jan.

20 regardless of Trump’s plans.

“To all of those who have asked, I

will not be going to the Inaugura-

tion on January 20th,” Trump

tweeted. The move had been wide-

ly expected, as Trump for months

falsely claimed victory in the elec-

tion and promulgated baseless

claims of voter fraud. His own ad-

ministration said the election had

been fairly run.

Vice President Mike Pence was

expected to attend the inaugura-

tion. Pence spokesman Devin Mal-

ley said “Vice President Pence and

the Second Lady have yet to make a

decision regarding their attend-

ance.”

Biden’s transition team had no

immediate comment on Trump’s

announcement. But Jen Psaki, the

president-elect’s incoming White

House press secretary, said last

month that whether Trump attend-

ed the inauguration was not top of

mind for Biden.

On Thursday, with 12 days left in

his term, Trump finally bent to re-

ality amid growing talk of trying to

force him out early, acknowledg-

ing he’ll peacefully leave after Con-

gress affirmed his defeat.

Trump led off a video from the

White House on Thursday by con-

demning the violence carried out in

his name a day earlier at the Capi-

tol. Then, for the first time on cam-

era, he admitted his presidency

would soon end — though he de-

clined to mention Biden by name or

explicitly state he had lost.

“A new administration will be in-

augurated on Jan. 20,” Trump said

in the video. “My focus now turns to

ensuring a smooth, orderly and

seamless transition of power. This

moment calls for healing and rec-

onciliation.”

By next morning, however,

Trump was back to his usual divi-

sion. Instead of offering condolenc-

es to the police officer who died

from injuries sustained during the

riot, Trump took to Twitter to com-

mend the “great American Patri-

ots” who’d voted for him.

“They will not be disrespected or

treated unfairly in any way, shape

or form!!!” he tweeted.

Thursday evening’s address

came at the end of a day when the

cornered president stayed out of

sight in the White House. Silenced

on some of his favorite internet

lines of communication, he

watched the resignations of several

top aides, including two Cabinet

secretaries.

And as officials sifted through

the aftermath of the pro-Trump

mob’s siege of the U.S. Capitol,

there was growing discussion of

impeaching him a second time or

invoking the 25th Amendment to

oust him from the Oval Office.

Democratic House Speaker

Nancy Pelosi declared that “the

president of the United States incit-

ed an armed insurrection against

America.” She called him “a very

dangerous person who should not

continue in office. This is urgent, an

emergency of the highest magni-

tude.”

Neither option to remove Trump

seemed likely, with little time left in

his term to draft the Cabinet mem-

bers needed to invoke the amend-

ment or to organize the hearings

and trial mandated for an impeach-

ment.

Fears of what a desperate presi-

dent could do in his final days

spread in the nation’s capital and

beyond, including speculation

Trump could incite more violence,

make rash appointments, issue ill-

conceived pardons — including for

himself and his family — or even

trigger a destabilizing internation-

al incident.

The president’s video Thursday

— which was released upon his re-

turn to Twitter after his account

was restored — was a complete re-

versal from the one he put out just

24 hours earlier in which he said to

the violent mob: “We love you.

You’re very special.” His refusal to

condemn the violence sparked a

firestorm of criticism and, in the

new video, he at last denounced the

demonstrators’ “lawlessness and

mayhem.”

Aides said the video was also

meant to slow the exodus of staffers

and ward off potential legal trouble

for Trump once he leaves office;

White House counsel Pat Cipollone

has repeatedly warned the presi-

dent that he could be deemed re-

sponsible for inciting Wednesday’s

violence.

Trump won’t attend inaugurationAssociated Press

WILMINGTON, Del. — Presi-

dent-elect Joe Biden is set to intro-

duce the governor of Rhode Island,

the mayor of Boston and a small-

business advocate from California

as the newest members of his eco-

nomic team.

Biden on Thursday announced

Gov. Gina Raimondo as his choice

to become commerce secretary,

Mayor Marty Walsh as his candi-

date for labor secretary and Isabel

Guzman as his pick to lead the

Small Business Administration.

One of Biden's top challenges af-

ter he takes office Jan. 20 will be to

nurse an economy reeling from the

coronavirus pandemic back to

health. He said the newest mem-

bers of his economic team will help

achieve that “by building an econo-

my where every American is in on

the deal.”

“They share my belief that the

middle class built this country and

that unions built the middle class,”

said Biden, who planned to intro-

duce Raimondo, Walsh, Guzman

and a fourth candidate at an event

Friday in Wilmington, Del.

With the picks, which require

Senate confirmation, Biden moved

astep closer to rounding out a Cabi-

net that he has pledged will be the

most diverse in history. He has yet

to name a candidate for CIA direc-

tor.

Raimondo, 49, is a former ven-

ture capitalist serving her second

term as governor after previously

serving as state treasurer. A Demo-

crat, she had been mentioned as a

possible candidate for Biden's

health secretary, but said last

month that she would stay in Rhode

Island and continue to focus on the

coronavirus pandemic.

As commerce secretary, Rai-

mondo would help set the Biden ad-

ministration's trade policy and pro-

mote U.S. opportunities for growth

domestically and overseas.

"Rhode Island may be small, but

our economy is mighty on the

strength of our small businesses

and innovative technologies," Rai-

mondo tweeted Thursday night.

She pledged that as commerce sec-

retary “I will harness that same

American ingenuity to create

good-paying union jobs and build

our economy back better than ever

before.”

The Biden administration’s

stance on international trade will

likely mark a significant shift away

from President Donald Trump’s

heavy-on-tariffs approach. Trump

slapped tariffs on Chinese steel and

other goods to punish Beijing for

what the administration said were

unfair currency practices and po-

tential national security threats.

Those moves

were largely op-

posed by U.S. al-

lies, including

Canada.

Biden opposes

Chinese tariffs

and has prom-

ised to improve

U.S. relation-

ships with countries around the

hemisphere and globe. But he

hasn’t indicated that undoing the

tariffs will be a

top priority. In-

stead Biden has

promised to

oversee an ag-

gressive “Buy

American” cam-

paign that would

use federal funds

to purchase $400

billion of U.S.-made goods and

spend another $300 billion on new

research and development from

domestic technology firms.

Walsh, 53, has been Boston's

mayor since 2014. When the Demo-

crat took the oath of office in 2018

for his second term, Biden presi-

ded over the inauguration. Walsh

was a state representative for more

than a decade before becoming

mayor. He also has a long history

with organized labor, formerly

serving as president of Laborers

Local 223 and heading the Boston

Building Trades — a union umbrel-

la organization.

The son of Irish immigrants,

Walsh grew up in Boston's work-

ing-class Dorchester neighbor-

hood. He survived a childhood bout

with cancer and has been open

about his early struggles with alco-

hol, using his history with addiction

to encourage people to get help.

Walsh on Thursday pledged as

labor secretary to work as hard for

working people and those trying to

move into the middle class "as you

do for your families and liveli-

hoods. You have my word.”

Guzman, director of California's

Office of the Small Business Advo-

cate in the California Governor’s

Office of Business and Economic

Development, has played a role in

the state’s economic recovery from

the COVID-19 pandemic. She is a

former senior adviser and deputy

chief of staff at the SBA, and was an

adviser at the first California-char-

tered, Latino-formed business

bank to form in Los Angeles in over

35 years.

Biden picksRaimondo, Walshfor Cabinet posts

BY DARLENE SUPERVILLE

Associated Press

Raimondo

Walsh

NEW YORK — A woman who

falsely accused a Black teenager of

stealing her phone and then tack-

led him at a New York City hotel

was arrested in her home state of

California.

Miya Ponsetto, 22, was jailed

Thursday in Ventura County, a

spokesperson for the sheriff's of-

fice there said. It wasn't immedi-

ately clear what charges she might

face.

The New York Police Depart-

ment flew detectives out to Califor-

nia earlier Thursday with a war-

rant for Ponsetto's arrest. The trip

followed days of intense media cov-

erage of the fracas at the hotel and

demands by the teen's family and

activists that she face criminal

charges.

Ponsetto's lawyer, Sharen Gha-

tan, said in an interview before the

arrest that her

client is “emo-

tionally unwell"

and remorseful

for her Dec. 26

conflict with 14-

year-old Keyon

Harrold Jr. at

Manhattan’s Ar-

lo Hotel.

The teen's father, jazz trumpeter

Keyon Harrold, recorded the con-

frontation and put the video online.

In his video, an agitated woman

is seen demanding the teen's

phone, claiming he stole it. A hotel

manager tries to intervene. Keyon

Harrold can be heard in the record-

ing telling the woman to leave his

son alone. Ghatan confirmed that

Ponsetto is the woman in the video.

Security video later released by

the NYPD shows Ponsetto franti-

cally grabbing at the teen as he

tried to get away from her through

the hotel’s front door. She’s seen

clutching him from behind before

both tumble to the ground.

Ponsetto's missing phone had

been left in an Uber and was re-

turned by the driver shortly after-

ward, Keyon Harrold has said.

Ventura County Sheriff's depu-

ties arrested Ponsetto after spot-

ting her driving near her home in

Piru, northwest of Los Angeles,

said department Capt. Eric Bus-

chow.

She drove two blocks before

stopping her vehicle, then refused

to get out of the car, Buschow said.

“She tried to slam the door on one

of the deputies and that’s when they

just reached in and forcibly re-

moved her,” he said, adding that

the sheriff's office would ask coun-

ty prosecutors to charge her with

resisting arrest.

Woman who accused Black teen ofstealing phone is arrested in Calif.

Associated Press

Ponsetto

PAGE 10 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, January 9, 2021

WORLD

SEOUL, South Korea — North

Korean leader Kim Jong Un

stressed the need to drastically

improve his nation’s ties with the

outside world as he addressed a

major political conference for the

third day.

State media said Kim also re-

viewed relations with rival South

Korea but didn’t explain what

steps he said he wanted to take.

Observers have expected Kim to

use the first congress of the rul-

ing Workers’ Party in five years

to send conciliatory gestures to-

ward Seoul and Washington as

he faces deepening economic

troubles at home.

In his speech on the third day

of the meeting Thursday, Kim

“declared the general orientation

and the policy stand of our party

for comprehensively expanding

and developing the external rela-

tions,” the Korean Central News

Agency said Friday.

Kim also examined relations

with South Korea “as required by

the prevailing situation and the

changed times,” KCNA said.

The congress is the party’s top

decision-making body that re-

views past projects, lays out new

priorities and reshuffles top offi-

cials. It was convened as Kim

struggles to overcome what he

calls “multiple crises” caused by

an economy battered by pandem-

ic-related border closings, a se-

ries of natural disasters and U.S.-

led economic sanctions.

In his opening-day speech,

Kim admitted his previous eco-

nomic plans had failed and

vowed to adopt a new five-year

development plan. On the second

day of the meeting, he said he

would bolster his country’s mil-

itary capability.

Kim, who inherited power up-

on his father Kim Jong Il’s death

in late 2011, turned 37 on Friday.

His birthday hasn’t yet been des-

ignated a national holiday like his

father’s and grandfather’s.

KCNA said the congress would

continue, suggesting it was hav-

ing a fourth-day session on Kim’s

birthday.

After a provocative run of

weapons tests in 2016-17 to ac-

quire the ability to strike the U.S.

mainland with nuclear weapons,

Kim abruptly launched high-

stakes nuclear diplomacy with

President Donald Trump, which

awarded him long-desired legiti-

macy on the world stage. He also

met Chinese, Russian, South Ko-

rean and other world leaders.

But as his diplomacy with Trump

stalled and the coronavirus

forced him to close his country’s

borders, Kim has been focusing

domestically to mitigate the eco-

nomic shocks from the pandem-

ic.

South Korea’s spy agency said

Kim is worrying about U.S. Pres-

ident-elect Joe Biden, who is to

take office on Jan. 20. Biden has

called Kim a “thug” and is un-

likely to hold any direct meetings

with him unless North Korea

takes serious steps toward denu-

clearization. The Kim-Trump di-

plomacy broke down during a

summit in Vietnam in early 2019

after Trump rejected Kim’s offer

to dismantle his main nuclear

complex, a limited disarmament

step, in return for broad sanc-

tions relief.

Some observers say North Ko-

rea is frustrated because the

South has failed to break away

from Washington and revive

stalled joint economic projects

held back by the U.S.-led sanc-

tions. They also speculate that

North Korea initially thought

South Korea would help it win

sanctions relief.

The observers say North Korea

may reach out to South Korea

first to promote a mood of recon-

ciliation before pushing for talks

with the Biden administration.

Kim pledges toboost ties withoutside world

BY HYUNG-JIN KIM

Associated Press

COPENHAGEN, Denmark —

The countries whose citizens were

killed when Iran accidentally shot

down a Ukrainian jetliner said

Friday they want Iran “to deliver

justice and make sure Iran makes

full reparations to the families of

the victims and affected coun-

tries.”

In a joint statement marking the

one-year anniversary of the Uk-

raine International Airlines Flight

752 crash, Ukraine, France, Cana-

da, Britain and Sweden said they

want Tehran “to provide a com-

plete and thorough explanation of

the events and decisions that led to

this appalling plane crash.”

Sweden earlier had said that

Iran had agreed to compensate

the families’ of the foreign victims.

The shootdown by the Iranian

Revolutionary Guard happened

the same night Iran launched a

ballistic missile attack targeting

U.S. soldiers in Iraq, its response

to the American drone strike that

killed Guard Gen. Qassem Solei-

mani in Baghdad on Jan. 3.

The plane was en route to the

Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. The vic-

tims included 57 Canadian citi-

zens as well as 11 Ukrainians, 17

people from Sweden, four Af-

ghans and four British citizens.

At first, Iran had denied its in-

volvement in the plane crash but

then announced that its military

had mistakenly and unintentional-

ly shot down the Ukrainian jetlin-

er.

The statement was signed by

ministers of Afghanistan, Canada,

Sweden, Ukraine and the U.K.

5 nations want Iran to deliver justice on downed plane Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates

— The United Arab Emirates an-

nounced on Friday that it would

reopen its borders and airspace to

Qatar after boycotting the tiny en-

ergy-rich country alongside its

Gulf allies since 2017.

The decision to restart com-

merce and travel would take ef-

fect on Saturday, Foreign Minis-

try official Khalid Abdullah Bel-

hou was quoted as saying by the

UAE’s state-run WAM news

agency.

The move comes after Saudi

Arabia declared a breakthrough

in settling the yearslong rift with

Qatar during the annual Gulf

summit this week, saying the

kingdom would restore diplomat-

ic ties and that its allies would fol-

low suit.

Saudi Arabia announced the re-

opening of its airspace and bor-

ders with Qatar earlier this week.

National carrier Qatar Airways

said it had started to reroute some

flights through Saudi airspace,

with the first flight cruising over

Saudi skies from Doha to Johan-

nesburg, South Africa on Thurs-

day night.

The president of the United Na-

tions’ civil aviation arm, Salvatore

Sciacchitano, welcomed the eas-

ing of Gulf airspace restrictions

on Thursday, saying the resolu-

tion would “help assure the im-

portant socio-economic benefits

of international air connectivity

can be better optimized.”

The UAE indicated on Friday

that its restoration of full diplo-

matic relations with Qatar would

take longer. Belhou said the fed-

eration of seven sheikhdoms is

continuing talks to “end all other

outstanding issues.” Opposition to

Qatar’s support for Islamist

groups like the Muslim Brother-

hood runs deeper in the UAE than

in Saudi Arabia, which is primar-

ily concerned with Qatar’s close

ties with regional foe Iran.

Bahrain and Egypt, which had

joined the UAE and Saudi Arabia

in isolating Doha, have yet to pub-

licly elaborate on their pledges to

ease the boycott signed this week

in the ancient Saudi desert site of

al-Ula.

The four Arab states severed

commercial and diplomatic ties

with Qatar in 2017, accusing the

country of cozying up to Iran and

financing extremist groups in the

region, charges that Doha denies.

This week’s breakthrough fol-

lowed a final push by the outgoing

Trump administration, which has

been seeking to end the dispute

that has troubled America’s for-

eign policy and defense strategy

in the region and hampered U.S.

attempts to further isolate Iran.

The boycott only pushed Qatar

closer to Iran, for instance by

forcing Qatar Airways to change

routes through Iranian skies.

Analysts estimate the move has

given the Islamic Republic hun-

dreds of millions of dollars in

overflight fees.

The reopening of Saudi and

Emirati airspace to Qatar is crit-

ical as the country prepares to

host the 2022 FIFA World Cup,

which is expected to draw over 1

million foreign soccer fans.

SAUDI ROYAL COURT / AP

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, right, welcomes Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim binHamad al­Thani upon his arrival to attend the Gulf Cooperation Council's 41st Summit in Al­Ula, SaudiArabia, on Tuesday.

Easing dispute, UAE announcesreopening of borders to Qatar

Associated Press

Saturday, January 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 11

AMERICAN ROUNDUP

Train cars derail afterhitting tree on tracks

OR OREGON CITY — A

Union Pacific train

carrying lumber derailed after

hitting a large tree that had fallen

on the tracks along Highway 99

between Canby and Oregon City,

authorities said.

The Clackamas County Sher-

iff’s Office said three locomotives

and 15 rail cars derailed at around

1:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The engineer of the train com-

plained of pain, KGW-TV

reported. No one else was injured.

None of the debris or rail cars

blocked the highway, which was

temporarily fully closed, KGW-

TV reported.

The Oregon Department of

Transportation said one south-

bound lane of Highway 99 near

South End Road would remain

closed for up to two days.

Elusive shrew spotted for 1st time in years

CA AVALON — A tiny

mouse-like animal has

been spotted on Santa Catalina Is-

land off Southern California for

the first time since 2004, showing

that the species is not extinct.

A Catalina Island Shrew was

spotted in a photograph taken by a

remote “camera trap” during a

major effort to detect the diminu-

tive animal early last year, the

Catalina Island Conservancy said

Wednesday.

“We have been looking for the

Catalina Island Shrew for years,”

said conservancy wildlife biolo-

gist Emily Hamblen said in a

statement. “I thought, and really

hoped, that they still existed some-

where on the Island.”

The Catalina Island Shrew was

listed as a species of special con-

cern by the California Depart-

ment of Fish and Wildlife in 1996.

An adult shrew is just 3.74 inch-

es long, including tail, and they

weigh about 0.14 ounce. Accord-

ing to the conservancy, shrews

have such a high metabolism they

can’t survive long without eating.

Bronze statue of minerbadly damaged in crash

MI HOUGHTON — An

iconic statue that cele-

brates the mining heritage of the

Upper Peninsula has been badly

damaged by a speeding car.

The bronze statue of a miner has

been near downtown Houghton

since 1980. The right foot and left

leg were broken off in the crash

Sunday night. The miner’s lunch

pail was found in the snow, The

Daily Mining Gazette reported.

Houghton is looking for some-

one to repair it, City Manager Eric

Waara said.

“This isn’t a piece of steel you

just start welding on. This is a

bronze piece of art,” Waara said.

The statue was created by the

late artist Elizabeth “Liz” Biesiot.

“He is an iconic part of the com-

munity, so we’re going to try to do

right by the original artist’s vision

and get that right. ... It’s going totake us a little time,” Waara said.

The driver in the crash wasn’tinjured.

Police: Airplane and partsstolen from airport

AZ COTTONWOOD — Po-lice are searching for

suspects after a plane was stolenfrom the Cottonwood Airport onNew Year’s Eve.

Police said the suspects brokeinto the airport just before mid-night on Dec. 31 by disabling andforcing the main gate open.

The suspects then stole a boxtrailer that had an airplane insideand also stole airplane parts.

Phoenix TV station ABC 15 re-ported that the total loss is esti-mated at up to $80,000.

Archaeological find haltsproposed road project

MA NORTHAMPTON —The discovery of Na-

tive American artifacts that ap-pear thousands of years old hasprompted Massachusetts officialsto pump the brakes on a plannedroad improvement project.

The state Office of Energy andEnvironmental Affairs said Tues-day that a traffic roundabout pro-posed in Northampton has beenpulled from the state’s Environ-mental Policy Act review withoutprejudice, the Republican news-paper of Springfield reported.

The agency said the state De-

partment of Transportation will

conduct public outreach in re-

sponse to an outpouring of com-

ments during the review process.

Energy officials say the transpor-

tation agency eventually intends

to re-submit its proposal.

The more than $3 million pro-

ject was slated to start last sum-

mer, but tens of thousands of peo-

ple signed a petition calling for the

site’s preservation.

Archaeologists hired by the

state to survey the site before con-

struction uncovered stone blades,

tools and other evidence of an an-

cient human settlement in 2019.

Man charged withthrowing explosive device

PA PITTSBURGH — Fed-

eral prosecutors in

western Pennsylvania say a man

is facing federal charges in con-

nection with an incendiary device

thrown from a moving vehicle into

a parked sport utility vehicle over

the weekend in Pittsburgh.

The U.S. attorney's office said

Charles Baker, 33, is charged with

illegal possession of an unregis-

tered destructive device and be-

ing a felon in possession of a de-

structive device. Prosecutors said

he was also charged as a felon in

possession of a firearm, the de-

vice, stemming from previous

burglary, trespass and drug con-

victions.

Police said the device was

thrown from a moving pickup

truck into the rear passenger area

of the parked SUV in the Lawren-

ceville neighborhood just after 9

p.m. Sunday. No injuries were re-

ported.

Man sentenced forthreatening ex-wife

FL TAMPA — An Indiana

man has been sentenced

to four years and 10 months in fed-

eral prison for threatening his ex-

wife over several years and mail-

ing a dead rat to her Florida home.

Romney Christopher Ellis, 57,

of Indianapolis, was sentenced

Tuesday in Tampa federal court,

according to court records. He

pleaded guilty in April to making

interstate threats and mailing in-

jurious articles.

According to a criminal com-

plaint, Ellis had engaged in a four-

year-long campaign of harass-

ment against his ex-wife, who

lives in Tampa, through text mess-

ages, photographs, videos and

mailings. He threatened to decap-

itate her and set her on fire, inves-

tigators said. He routinely made

racially and sexually charged

statements in the text messages,

including sending sexually expli-

cit images of himself. Ellis sent

text messages stating that he had

traveled from Indiana to Florida

to see his ex-wife. On one occa-

sion, Ellis mailed a package to the

victim’s home containing a dead

rat and black rose.

Postal inspectors executed a

search warrant at Ellis’ Indiana-

polis home in February. Prosecu-

tors said they recovered a hand-

written note containing the names

and addresses of his ex-wife, as

well as her family and friends.

Theme park to openduring winter months

VA RICHMOND — Busch

Gardens Williamsburg

is keeping its gates open during

the winter for the first time since it

opened 45 years ago, park officials

said.

The popular theme park is look-

ing at ways to rethink its oper-

ations during the coronavirus pan-

demic by hosting smaller limited

capacity special events, the Rich-

mond Times-Dispatch reported.

“We had to figure out how to op-

erate safely and how to operate

(economically) and still give our

members and guests something

that they love doing,” park spokes-

woman Cindy Sarko said.

The park said it will operate on

certain weekends in January,

February and March for three

new limited capacity events, in-

cluding Mardi Gras and St. Pa-

trick’s Day. The winter events will

be held on Fridays, Saturdays and

Sundays and will admit a maxi-

mum of 4,000 people each for each

of the slots on those days, the park

said. Busch Gardens held similar

limited capacity events last year.

DARYN SLOVER/AP

Jim Carmichael, of Poland, Maine, rides his fat bike along the East Ridge Trail on Wednesday at Range Pond State Park in Poland, Maine. Themath teacher at Auburn Middle School rides throughout the winter, often on his way home from work. 

Fat bike fun

From wire reports

PAGE 12 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, January 9, 2021

VIDEO GAMES

For its many miseries, 2020 deliveredsome extremely memorable videogames. And now, with the arrival ofthe PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X,

there’s more reason than usual to get excitedfor the offerings of the year ahead.

Here are the titles we’re most eagerly an-ticipating. While not all release dates havebeen confirmed, we’ve included games thatare supposed to arrive before Jan. 1, 2022.

Hitman 3

Available on: PC, PlayStation 5,

Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo

Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One,

Stadia

Recent games in the Hitman

franchise have taken a games-as-

service approach; they are sup-

ported and expanded upon long

after their initial release. IO

Interactive is continuing that

with the release of Hitman 3.

Coming Jan. 20, players who

already own Hitman 1 and Hit-

man 2 can import their maps into

the third game to continue from

where they left off, and can ex-

pect regular updates to the game

post-launch.

This assassination game puts

you in the shoes of Agent 47, a

cipher who plans out kills like a

series of puzzles in large loca-

tions ripe with opportunity. At its

best, the Hitman franchise offers

plenty of replay value: You can

hunt down foes with different

methods each time. The polished

and at times comedic gameplay

offers creative situations like

disguising yourself in a flamingo

suit at a racetrack or finishing off

a target by slapping them with a

dead fish. For Hitman 3, fans of

the series can expect new levels

and under-the-hood improve-

ments, like an engine that sup-

ports 300 active NPCs at once,

making locations feel busy and

lived in.

— Elise Favis

Halo Infinite

Available on: PC, Xbox Series

X/S, Xbox One

The expectations for this title

are high. Halo Infinite will lift

the Xbox again. Halo Infinite will

change online multiplayer. Halo

Infinite will rescue the series

from its yearslong lull. Halo

Infinite will, at least, be good.

The game was sent back into

incubation after a chilly, meme-

filled reception to a preview this

past summer. Now with the addi-

tion of Joseph Staten, the original

trilogy’s writer, as creative direc-

tor, Halo Infinite is getting all the

fixings it can to meet the above

expectations, and hopefully sur-

pass them.

It’s also expected to boost the

already-rich fortunes of the Xbox

Game Pass subscription service,

where it will be offered free. Pair

that with the ability to play the

game on the cloud via xCloud,

and it’s clear it’s in Microsoft’s

best interest to make Halo Infi-

nite the crown jewel of its entire

strategy. The game should be

social. It should be addicting. It

should feel like a whole other

world. At the very least, it should

be a good Halo title. It’s up to

Staten and the team at 343 Stu-

dios to recapture that old magic.

— Gene Park

Deathloop

Available on: PlayStation 5, PC

First-person action shooters

nowadays need something differ-

ent — different aesthetics, differ-

ent gameplay, different gim-

micks — to stand out in a genre

saturated by bland, same-y

games. Deathloop appears to

have all three. It takes place in a

deliciously campy world filled

with ’60s-styled music and spy

show splash screens.

You play as Colt, a hired gun

tasked with assassinating eight

targets before midnight. The

problem? You’re being hunted by

Julianna, an agent hired to kill

Colt before he hits his targets. If

you die, or fail to kill all eight

targets before midnight, the loop

repeats. The game is a Ground-

hog Day-like scenario where you

slowly learn things about the loop

and are doomed to repeat it until

you successfully kill all targets

without dying yourself.

If the concept isn’t enough to

get you excited, the competitive

aspect of the game should. Other

players can assume the role of

Julianna, and hunt Colt players

down before they kill their eight

targets. Add the fact that Arkane

Lyon and Bethesda, the devel-

opers of the Dishonored series,

are at the helm, and you’ve got a

game that can definitely break

the mundane first-person action

shooter mold.

— Jhaan Elker

The most anticipated games of 2021

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Horizon Forbidden West involves exploring a new frontier in a postapocalyptic world in an attempt to locate the source of a deadly infectious disease. 

New gaming platforms should make this year’s titles more exciting, immersive than everThe Washington Post

IO Interactive

Hitman 3 has lots of replay value. 

Microsoft

Halo Infinite developers hope to recapture the franchise’s magic. 

SEE TITLES ON PAGE 13

Saturday, January 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 13

VIIDEO GAMES

Far Cry 6Available on: PC, PlayStation 5,

Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4,

Xbox One, Stadia

I guess the question of whether

“will Giancarlo Esposito be

good” is out the window. He

always seems to knock perform-

ances out of the park. Really, it’s

the legacy of Far Cry that’s at

stake here. The first game revo-

lutionized the first-person shoo-

ter, while the third cemented

what’s now recognized as the

Ubisoft formula for open-world

games.

Will the sixth game finally

upend the tower-climbing, ban-

dit-camp-raiding, hunting loop

that the past three titles and most

Ubisoft games have adhered to?

Ubisoft has claimed it would

start reinventing some of its

series, so there’s some hope that

a true next-gen Far Cry might

finally push the developers into

new waters. It remains to be seen

whether developing for the last-

gen consoles might hold this title

back in the same way it did Cy-

berpunk 2077. But for the most

part, Ubisoft is pretty good at this

thing. Let’s see if they can be

better.

— Gene Park

God of War sequelAvailable on: PlayStation 5 (and

possibly PlayStation 4; Sony has

not confirmed whether it’s a

next-gen exclusive)

There’s no release date yet

(though Google says it’s 2021),

nor even a confirmed title, but

anticipation swirls given the

greatness of the game’s prede-

cessor. The 2018 installment of

the God of War franchise from

Santa Monica Studio injected

protagonist Kratos into Norse

mythology for a rumble with

some of the gods lower down the

divine pecking order from the

better-known Odin and Thor.

The beautifully rendered, in-

terdimensional, open-world ad-

venture game explored the rela-

tionship between Kratos and his

son, Atreus, as the latter realizes

that he too is a god — one with a

different name than the one his

father gave him.

The final scenes of the 2018

game appeared to set the stage

for what the upcoming Play-

Station exclusive will chronicle:

A mega-scrap with the God of

Thunder et al, possibly tied into

the events of Ragnarok, the leg-

endary war that doomed Odin

and a number of other Norse

deities. And given what Sony’s

studios have been able to in-

troduce via the haptics of the

DualSense, it’s exciting to won-

der what Kratos’ ax or the Blades

of Chaos could feel like with the

PS5’s controller.

— Mike Hume

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II

Available on: PC, Xbox Series

X/S

Announced at The Game

Awards 2019, this sequel to 2017's

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

astounded the audience with an

evocative trailer centering on

protagonist Senua. The first

game followed her harrowing

descent into hell, where she

aimed to save the soul of her

dead lover. The journey was

captivating even in its most un-

comfortable moments, and pro-

found in how it tackled mental

illness and psychosis, a condition

rarely portrayed in video games.

Far more than a simple hack-

and-slash action game, Hellblade

was praised by critics as a work

of art.

We don’t know much about the

sequel, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade

II, but we hope developer Ninja

Theory will go to the same

lengths and take the same care as

they did in its predecessor.

— Elise Favis

Resident Evil VillageAvailable on: PC, PlayStation 5,

Xbox Series X/S

Capcom has been on a creative

roll that started with the inspired,

first-person reinvention of Resi-

dent Evil VII. The revamped RE

Engine has powered some of best

games of recent years, including

Devil May Cry 5, Resident Evil 2

Remake and Monster Hunter

World. Capcom seems to realize

that the survival horror genre it

helped to invent has an eager

audience that isn’t done with

frights and zombies and invento-

ry management.

The Resident Evil series has a

weird history of becoming really

good, and then flubbing a sub-

sequent game by leaning a little

too hard into successful ideas.

Resident Evil 4 made way for a

goofier, more action-packed

series, while VII returns the

series to its roots. Village signals

the return of hero Chris Redfield,

so it seems Capcom is interested

in returning to the old lore of the

games. That could be good or bad

news, considering how nonsensi-

cal the entire story has been.

Still, Capcom has shown a lot of

growth in how it designs its hor-

ror setpieces. Both remakes of

the second and third sequel were

practically new titles altogether,

ones that recontextualized the

old games in fresh, exciting

ways. Village may yet discover

new ways to needle our anxiety.

— Gene Park

Horizon Forbidden WestAvailable on: PlayStation 5, Play-

Station 4

The Horizon series is a new

and exciting RPG IP that takes

place in a post-apocalyptic world

where humanity is forced to live

in tribes to survive in a world

overrun by advanced machines

(large robots in animal form).

You play as Aloy, a critically-

adored hunter voiced by Ashly

Burch who sets out on a journey

to discover more about her and

humanity’s past. Despite the

original game releasing right

when Legend of Zelda: Breath of

the Wild came out, Horizon Zero

Dawn more than held its own, in

encouraging players to explore

its rich, unique world.

Horizon Forbidden West con-

tinues Aloy’s story, and while

we’ve only seen one trailer so far,

we know that it involves explor-

ing a new frontier in an attempt

to locate the source of a deadly

infectious disease. Coincidental

timing aside, Forbidden West

looks to repeat the same magic

that captivated audiences the

first time around.

— Jhaan Elker

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition

Available on: PC, PlayStation 5,

Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4,

Xbox One

For a long time, a remaster of

the original Mass Effect trilogy

felt more like rumor than reality.

Reports suggested the project

was delayed from its targeted

May 2020 release, though the

game hadn’t even been an-

nounced yet. Finally, BioWare

confirmed late this year that the

studio is working on the project.

Modernized versions of the three

games will come in the spring,

returning fans to the Normandy

starship where they can travel to

different galaxies, fight off the

Reapers and Collectors and find

love among the stars.

Aside from its release window,

little is known about Mass Effect:

Legendary Edition. The collec-

tion will include all of the games’

downloadable content, faster

frame rates, 4K compatibility

and visual enhancements. Exact-

ly what tweaks are being made

beyond that are unknown.

— Elise Favis

Psychonauts 2Available on: PC, Xbox Series

X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One,

macOS and Linux

2005’s Psychonauts is a de-

lightfully weird game, where you

play as a young boy named Raz

with psychic abilities, who at-

tends a summer camp with other

children who wield similar pow-

ers. The platformer became a

cult hit, and more than 15 years

later, we’re seeing the contin-

uation of its story.

In Psychonauts 2, you once

again play as Raz, and the story

takes place shortly after the

events of the first game. Instead

of returning to summer camp,

Raz will join the “psychonauts,”

agents with full-fledged psychic

powers, at their headquarters,

where he must prove himself as

an intern.

In 2015, a successful crowd-

funded campaign on Fig to kick-

start the game’s development

raised $3.3 million, but the re-

lease window continued to shift

with every passing year. In 2019,

Microsoft acquired the developer

of the game, Double Fine. We’re

hoping 2021 will be the year

Psychonauts 2 gets out the door.

It’s been a long time coming.

— Elise Favis

Super Mario 3D World:

Bowser’s FuryAvailable on: Nintendo Switch

The best co-op game to come

out of Nintendo’s last generation

will finally be released from Wii

U purgatory. Super Mario 3D

World: Bowser’s Fury has up-

scaled textures and better per-

formance, and on top of that, it

will include brand new content,

including a new world. Not much

is known about the new content

other than a tantalizing shot of a

level featuring stormy weather

and a sphinx.

But the most exciting feature?

Online play. Super Mario 3D

World was already a great couch

party experience that took the

classic 2D Mario level structure

and applied it to 3D environ-

ments with 3D Mario games’

typically tight controls. It created

a quasi-competitive environment

where you take risks for a higher

personal score at the hilarious

cost of your teammates’ lives.

Taking this balance online is the

boost the original needed to be-

come a go-to party game.

— Jhaan Elker

Five Nights at Freddy’s:Security Breach

Available on: PC, PlayStation 5,

PlayStation 4

Indie developer Scott Caw-

thon’s Five Nights at Freddy’s

franchise has become one of

YouTube’s biggest gaming hits.

In the series, you need to survive

rampaging animatronics seem-

ingly possessed by the spirits of

dead children that once inhabited

a Chuck E. Cheese-like pizzeria.

Five Nights at Freddy’s was

never about graphical fidelity,

and it only recently ventured into

true 3D space with the VR game

Help Wanted. But that didn’t stop

it from featuring in Sony’s offi-

cial stream alongside AAA giants

like Final Fantasy XVI, Call of

Duty and Spider-Man: Miles

Morales — a high mark of vali-

dation for an indie developer.

Not much is confirmed about

the story or gameplay other that

it involves an ’80s mall envi-

ronment ripped straight out of

something like TV’s “Stranger

Things,” and hiding from a new

antagonist in a bunny suit called

Vanny.

It will be interesting to see

where this series goes, graphi-

cally and gameplay-wise, with its

new PlayStation cred.

— Jhaan Elker

Cyber ShadowAvailable on: PC, Nintendo

Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Dripping with 8-bit nostalgia,

action platformer Cyber Shadow

is evocative of NES classics like

Ninja Gaiden Batman. You play

as a ninja who navigates through

the futuristic ruins of a world

called Mekacity to rescue the

rest of his clan.

The game is drop-dead gor-

geous, with big sprites, snappy

animations and massive, over-

the-top bosses. Developed by

one-man studio Mechanical

Head and published by the mak-

ers of indie darling Shovel

Knight, the game looks to contin-

ue the recent trend of excellent

retro-style titles like The Mess-

enger and Bloodstained: Curse of

the Moon.

— Joe Moore

Titles: Technical advances expectedFROM PAGE 12

Nintendo

Super Mario 3D World: Bowser’s Fury adds online play to the game.

EA

Mass Effect: Legendary Editionwill contain all of the threegames’ downloadable content.

PAGE 14 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, January 9, 2021

MOVIES

interest and, she hopes, the sweetheart to redeem his

gender. But the quest for vengeance doesn’t stop at the

gender divide, as Cassie also targets women she consid-

ers complicit in the crime against Nina — including one

portrayed by Connie Britton.

Rather than choosing one villain, Mulligan says, the

film is “much more about our general approach to this

kind of stuff as a society and a reaction to what we’ve

grown up with.”

“Women have played a part in that,” she continues.

“We’ve all bought tickets and laughed at comedies that

have made this stuff seem really trivial and funny for so

long.”

Cassie’s own actions aren’t immune to criticism, Fen-

nell says, which is where Mulligan’s strengths as a per-

former come in. Beneath all the glitter, “Promising Young

Woman” is a portrait of grief, of a woman whose revenge

plot has gone from noble to “miserable.” Cassie has spent

years hanging onto a ghost, continuing to torment herself

almost as much as she does the men.

Fennell and Mulligan chatted about their childhood

best friends to build out a backstory for Cassie and Nina,

who never appears in the film. The actress declines to

expand on the imagined story, noting that the mystery is

“why film is so interesting — what you don’t see or hear is

almost as important as what you do.” Nina’s physical

absence is just as deliberate; she is a constant presence in

Cassie’s mind.

“What [Cassie] does is an addiction,” Fennell says.

“She stays on this road that is miserable and lonely and

cold and dangerous. But there’s this other one, which

It had to be Carey Mulligan.

Writer-director Emerald Fennell had just seen

her in “Wildlife,” Paul Dano’s directorial debut

about a woman trapped in an empty marriage in

1960s Montana. The performance sparked the same sense

of awe Fennell felt after “An Education,” the 1960s com-

ing-of-age drama for which Mulligan, 35, earned an Oscar

nomination a decade ago. Steve McQueen and the Coen

brothers directed her in between, a span of her career

that also included an acclaimed supporting turn in the

art-house thriller “Drive.”

The English actress’ roles were diverse, but her inimi-

table screen presence threaded them together. She has a

certain quality to her, Fennell said in an interview with

The Washington Post. No matter how quiet the character,

you don’t mess with her. So when the time came for Fen-

nell, also 35, to cast the lead in her own feature debut —

“Promising Young Woman,” whose protagonist seeks to

avenge her lifelong best friend’s sexual assault — she

knew Mulligan could strike the right tone.

“There’s something so exciting about someone who

only does the stuff they want to do, and it’s a treat to see

them,” Fennell says. “She’s so interesting, Carey. ... I just

had a feeling that she would be incredible, and honestly,

the fact that she said yes, I was blown away.”

At first, “Promising Young Woman” may seem a sur-

prising choice for Mulligan. Perhaps it’s the candy-col-

ored aesthetic and blaring pop music, a stark contrast

with the sober hues and tone of, say, “Inside Llewyn Da-

vis.” People often think of her as a period actress these

days, Fennell says — nodding to the streak of films that

also includes “Suffragette” and “Mudbound” — but she

hasn’t always existed in that space.

You could argue that Fennell’s film is deceptively bub-

ble gum, a layer of sugar coating its sour core, a taste we

more often associate with gut-wrenching work. But that’s

just the point, according to Fennell: Who’s to say all the

girly stuff isn’t serious, too?

“Nobody suspects the person with the multicolored

manicure to scratch their eyes out,” she adds.

Fennell subverts genre conventions — par for the

course with the director, who helmed the second season

of BBC America’s “Killing Eve” — while Mulligan’s char-

acter, Cassie, surprises those around her. Her projected

femininity allows her to hide in plain sight. Having drop-

ped out of medical school, Cassie spends her days as a

barista and, at night, swings by bars, trolling for self-

proclaimed “nice guys” — the same sort who assaulted

her friend, Nina. She pretends to be blackout drunk, and

the men offer to take her home, only to try to take ad-

vantage of the nearly unconscious woman they just met.

Then, when they least expect it, Cassie snaps back into an

alert state.

Mulligan’s decision to play Cassie came down to “just

feeling like I wanted to do it,” she said in a separate in-

terview. She recalls getting continually “wrong-footed”

by the script, drawn into its humor and romance before it

turned dark “within half a page.” The shoot lasted just

over 20 days, during which Mulligan threw herself into

Cassie’s fury (but not to the extent that she took the char-

acter home with her, she adds, beyond the Barbie-esque

nails and blonde hair extensions).

“It’s a similar reason to why the Coen brothers thought

it was so funny to cast me in ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ as a

sort of enraged woman,” Mulligan says. “I suppose people

can get to know you from a certain performance, and it

can be hard to break out of that sometimes.”

Fennell set out to defy expectations with her supporting

cast as well, selecting beloved figures to play the secretly

skeevy men. Former teen heartthrob Adam Brody (“The

O.C.”) appears at the very start, with “New Girl” favorite

Max Greenfield popping in later on. Comedian Bo Burn-

ham plays Cassie’s former classmate, Ryan, her love

every single other person is saying, ‘Look, it’s rainbows

and sunshine and love,’ and all of that fluff. We all, as an

audience, want her to choose that path, too. It’s about

showing how hard her journey is.”

Mulligan was daunted at first and admits that she won-

dered whether Fennell — an actress herself, most recog-

nizable to American audiences as Camilla Parker Bowles

in “The Crown” — ought to play Cassie instead. Mulligan

tends to call cut on herself mid-take, a habit she says

Dano helped curb on “Wildlife” by encouraging her to

channel her self-doubt into the character’s state of mind.

She returned to this advice for a scene in “Promising

Young Woman” in which Cassie runs into Ryan mid-

scheme, faking drunkenness outside a bar with her arm

around another man. She straightens up immediately, her

usual confidence traded for deep shame. Mulligan was

having one of those nights when “just everything feels

wrong,” she says. But then she realized that’s exactly

what Cassie felt.

“In film, a lot of the opportunities that have come my

way have been much more in a sort of serious, domestic

space,” Mulligan says. “I’ve become really interested in

the last couple of years in these kinds of characters ...

where women are allowed to be flawed and troubled by

things and behave in ways we don’t necessarily agree

with, even. But we still root for that person.”

Mulligan takes a dark turn‘Promising Young Woman’ aligns with actress’ desire to defy expectations

BY SONIA RAO

The Washington Post

Focus Features

Carey Mulligan stars as Cassie in “Promising Young Woman,” by filmmaker Emerald Fennell. 

“I’ve become really interestedin the last couple of years inthese kinds of characters ...where women are allowed tobe flawed and troubled bythings and behave in wayswe don’t necessarily agreewith, even. But we still rootfor that person.”

Carey Mulligan

FOCUS FEATURES/AP

Cassie, played by Mulligan, seeks to avenge her bestfriend’s assault in “Promising Young Woman.”

Saturday, January 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 15

BOOKS

We’re all anxious to leave 2020 in the dust. But

before barreling onward, take one last look

back to survey your favorite reads. They

might inspire which titles you pick up in

2021. Here are 14 books, from a variety of genres, to con-

sider based on recent favorites.

If you enjoyed “Little Disasters,” by Sarah

Vaughan, read “The Push,” by Ashley Audrain (Jan. 5):

What happens when a mother doesn’t love her daughter?

Audrain’s debut is a tense, chilling dip into the dark side

of motherhood, narrated by Blythe, whose own upbring-

ing raises the question: Can one inherit an inability to

parent? “The Push” is uncomfortable and provocative.

If you enjoyed “Think Like a Monk,” by Jay Shetty,

read “Think Again,” by Adam Grant (Feb. 2): If there

hasn’t been enough room in your brain to give your own

thoughts any thought, we hear you. But Grant, an orga-

nizational psychologist, coaches readers on how to better

understand their unexamined — and unchallenged —

beliefs. “Think Again” delivers smart advice on unlearn-

ing assumptions and opening ourselves up to curiosity

and humility.

If you enjoyed “The Particulars of Peter,” by Kelly

Conaboy, read “When Harry Met Minnie,” by Martha

Teichner (Feb. 2): In 2016, CBS News correspondent

Teichner and her bull terrier, Minnie, were introduced to

a woman dying of liver cancer. The woman wanted to

ensure that her own bull terrier, Harry, would have a

good home when she was no longer around. The sweet —

if wrenching — memoir is an ode to our dearest four-

legged friends, and the people they lead us to.

If you enjoyed “Agent Sonya: Moscow’s Most

Daring Wartime Spy,” by Ben Macintyre, read “The

Princess Spy,” by Larry Loftis (Feb. 9): In 1943, Aline

Griffith, an American fashion model, was recruited by the

Office of Strategic Services to hunt for Nazi supporters

among Spain’s social elite. While there, she met and mar-

ried a Spanish aristocrat, making her the Countess of

Romanones. Loftis, a historian who’s written two previous

nonfiction spy thrillers, delivers a rich, deeply researched

account of Griffith’s espionage escapades.

If you enjoyed “Transcendent Kingdom,” by Yaa

Gyasi, read “Of Women and Salt,” by Gabriela Garcia

(March 30): This family saga centers on five generations

of strong Latinas: Maria, one of the only women to work

at a Cuban cigar factory in the 1800s; Carmen, an im-

migrant who’s found success in the United States; Jea-

nette, who’s addicted to drugs and abusive men; and

Gloria, who’s taken into custody by ICE, leaving her

young daughter behind. Their stories are a mesmerizing

patchwork of determination, courage and survival.

If you enjoyed “Joy at Work,” by Marie Kondo and

Scott Sonenshein, read “Laundry Love,” by Patric

Richardson (March 30): Richardson loves doing laundry

— yes, laundry. He’s made a fulfilling career out of it,

running Laundry Camp at the Mall of America to teach

others his techniques. In “Laundry Love,” he shares his

favorite tips and hacks for sorting your laundry, figuring

out which settings to use for the best results — and

changing your relationship with the often dry task. Add it

to your laundry, ah, reading list for spring.

If you enjoyed “All Adults Here,” by Emma Straub,

read “Early Morning Riser,” by Katherine Heiny (April

13): When you enter a relationship with a man who has

had relations with, well, half the town, things will prob-

ably get weird. Jane, the star of Heiny’s offbeat and funny

new novel, falls for Duncan — who comes with an over-

size load of small-town baggage. The story, which spans

17 years, sparkles with Heiny’s trademark witticisms and

cutting observations.

If you enjoyed “The Searcher,” by Tana French,

read “What Comes After,” by JoAnne Tompkins (April

13): Two neighboring families in the remote Pacific

Northwest are reeling over the deaths of their teenage

sons when a pregnant girl with a secret emerges from the

woods. As she becomes entangled in both families’ lives,

they’re forced to reckon with their shared histories.

“What Comes After” is a mystery — and a gritty med-

itation on loss and redemption, drenched in stillness and

grief.

If you enjoyed “Sex and Vanity,” by Kevin Kwan,

read “Dial A for Aunties,” by Jesse Q. Sutanto (April 27):

When Meddelin Chan accidentally kills her blind date,

her mother — naturally — calls in the “meddling Asian

aunties” to dispose of the body. Despite good intentions,

they problematically ship the body to the over-the-top,

very important island wedding Meddy’s company is plan-

ning. Netflix has signed on to adapt the delightful rom-

com.

If you enjoyed “I Hold a Wolf by the Ears,” by Laura

van den Berg, read “The Rock Eaters,” by Brenda

Peynado (May 11): Peynado’s curious story collection

blends science fiction and fantasy, drizzled with magical

realism: levitating children who eat rocks to stay tethered

to the ground; oblations performed to cattle-like angels;

lost limbs that correspond to lost rights. It’s a genre-bend-

ing sociopolitical commentary with prose that shines.

If you enjoyed “Big Summer,” by Jennifer Weiner,

read “Malibu Rising,” by Taylor Jenkins Reid (May 25):

It’s 1983 in Malibu, and the famous Riva siblings are

hosting their annual end-of-summer party — a legendary

affair. By morning, the house is in flames, a blaze fueled

by smoldering secrets and long-simmering drama. Reid

has once again crafted a fast-paced, engaging novel that

smoothly transports readers between decades and story

lines.

If you enjoyed “When No One Is Watching,” by

Alyssa Cole, read “The Other Black Girl,” by Zakiya

Dalila Harris (June 1): Hulu has already snagged the

rights to Harris’ bold debut, about a young editorial as-

sistant who’s the only Black employee at a New York

publishing company — until another woman arrives.

Their budding friendship turns sinister as ominous notes

hint at bad intentions. It’s a thrilling, edgier “Devil Wears

Prada” that explores privilege and racism.

If you enjoyed “You Should See Me in a Crown,” by

Leah Johnson, read “Blackout,” by Dhonielle Clayton,

Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley

Woodfolk and Nicola Yoon (June 22): Talk about star

power: Six YA powerhouses teamed up for this epic cele-

bration of Black joy. As New York is blanketed in heat-

wave-rendered darkness, six young couples are forced to

confront their feelings. The story, which plays out over a

single day, is a love letter to New York and teen romance.

If you enjoyed “The Night Watchman,” by Louise

Erdrich, read “Brothers on Three,” by Abe Streep (Sept.

6): In 2018, Streep wrote a piece for the New York Times

Magazine about the Arlee Warriors, a high school basket-

ball team on Montana’s Flathead Indian Reservation. It

inspired “Brothers on Three,” in which Streep follows the

Warriors — and their community — as they forge their

way on the court and into adulthood. It’s a rich, expansive

portrait of modern Indigenous life, set amid a suicide

crisis.

What to read in 2021Your favorite read of 2020 could inspire picking up one of these new titles

BY ANGELA HAUPT

Special to The Washington Post

Ernest Cline’s 2011 debut novel, “Ready

Player One,” a kind of Willy Wonka-meets-

“Tron” adventure story, validated the dig-

ital diversions of gamers and 1980s enthusi-

asts alike with its arcade in-jokes and allu-

sions to John Hughes movies.

With the release of “Ready Player Two,”

the Austin, Texas-based author tweaks the

expectations of his own brand of nostalgic

escapism with an Easter egg of ambivalence

regarding the addictive nature of the very

internet-based obsessions that initially

inspired him.

“Well, yeah, you know, I am 10 years

older than when I wrote the first book, and

20 years older than when I started the first

book,” Cline says. “I’ve matured, and my

life has changed a lot.”

Cline, who is married to poet Cristin

O’Keefe Aptowicz and has two daughters,

says he actually has a love/hate relationship

with the internet and its corresponding

technology.

Regarding the

warnings of too

much social

media and

screen time

that seem sewn

into his sequel,

Cline says: “I

try to show the

good side and

the bad side of

technology, but

this one is

definitely more

of a cautionary tale.”

In “Ready Player Two,” our hero Wade

Watts, who has gone from living the life of

a poor gamer to winning control of the

virtual reality system OASIS, finds out

about a technology called ONI that has

been kept from the public. This sup-

pressed technology enables users to expe-

rience OASIS with all five senses, to re-

cord and even upload real-life experi-

ences.

ONI is a highly addictive, potentially

brain-damaging simulation that will

change the world forever.

“That’s the end point in the evolution of

video games and virtual reality,” Cline

says. “When it becomes indistinguishable

from reality. Then it becomes like you

can’t tell the difference or feel the differ-

ence or smell or hear the difference. Then

it would feel the same as reality and be-

come highly addictive — especially since

it would be a reality that you could have

control over.”

Cline, who admits that his own addiction

to games in his 20s inspired his first novel,

is not sure how he would take to the kind of

virtual reality temptations he details in his

new book.

“I am glad that technology does not exist

yet so I don’t have to find out,” he says,

adding: “Once this technology becomes a

mind-altering substance, then it, too, will

have to be regulated like a narcotic.”

If Cline is ambivalent about the tech-

nology he writes about, he is also unsettled

about how the more dystopian aspects of his

first novel (such as reality TV stars entering

politics and the havoc caused by a world-

wide pandemic) have become real.

“It was strange to see so much of the story

come true just in nine years,” Cline says. “I

set it 25 years in the future when it was

published. A lot of it, especially the virtual

reality aspects of it, came true. And a lot of

its dystopian elements ... you know, some of

them where I was being playful or suggesti-

ng that reality TV stars would be elected to

public office … that was something that I

just threw in there that I was not thinking

would come true, much less in less than a

decade.”

Regarding the uncanny way elements of

the “Ready Player One” universe have lined

up with the real world, Cline says: “I worry

sometimes that the only thing you need to be

prescient is to be pessimistic.”

‘Ready Player Two’ blurs lines between video games, realityBY ROBERTO ONTIVEROS

The Dallas Morning News

Ballantine

Malibu Rising; Think Again; The Other Black Girl 

PAGE 16 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, January 9, 2021

Marco Kaltofen was 11 when he

noticed his first white hairs.

As his hair grew whiter, his

middle-school friends started

calling him “the professor.” By his

mid-30s, it was completely white, as it had

been for three of his grandparents. His

parents went white in their 40s, “so I had

no chance of avoiding this,” Kaltofen says.

Now 61, he is a civil engineer who lives in

Boston. He wears his white hair in a pony-

tail.

“White hair is part of my identity, and I

am completely at peace with it,” he says.

Then there is Joe Rees, 75, a retired

customs attache who lives in Washington.

He is balding, but the hair that remains —

on the sides and in the back — is the same

dark brown it always has been. He jokingly

attributes this to “clean living and a pure

heart,” although, like Kaltofen, it probably

is genetic. His mother’s black hair didn’t

start to go gray until she was in her 70s, and

was “50/50” when she died at 88, he says.

Still, “I’d rather be gray than bald,” he

says. “That way, I wouldn’t have to worry

about wearing a hat all the time.”

To be sure, Rees and Kaltofen are excep-

tions, since most people start graying in

their 50s and 60s. Nevertheless, their expe-

riences are among the many mysteries of

gray, white or silver-looking hair that sci-

entists are exploring to learn more about

aging. They want to know why some people

turn gray early and others late — or not at

all — and what this might signal about their

health. They also want to understand the

factors that hasten graying, and even

whether gray hair is reversible — which

could be a boon to those allergic to hair dye,

or who hate spending money to keep the

gray away.

Most important, studying gray hair could

point to new approaches in promoting

healthier aging, says Candace Kerr, health

scientist administrator in the National

Institute on Aging’s Division of Aging Biol-

ogy.

“While graying is one of the markers of

aging — aging is the ultimate risk factor for

why hair goes gray — it highlights the need

for better understanding of the mecha-

nisms that drive aging and age-related

diseases,” she says. “To be able to target

these pathways will be critically important

for our aging population to live longer and

happier lives.”

Hair that looks gray, white or silver

actually is colorless. Hair color comes from

melanin, a pigment produced by cells in

the hair follicles. Over time, these cells

suffer damage and become depleted, losing

their ability to make melanin. This results

in new hair without pigment — meaning,

no color.

People use “gray,” “white” and “silver”

interchangeably to describe hair that is

turning or has turned. Its appearance —

whether it looks, gray, white or silver —

depends on how much natural color, or

pigment, remains, experts say. Hair that

has lost all its color typically appears white.

Studies have identified a number of

factors that also may speed up gray hair,

including smoking, diet, stress and genet-

ics.

“Our hair color depends on a set of spe-

cialized stem cells called melanocyte stem

cells, and every time a new hair grows,

these melanocyte stem cells have to divide

in two and make a new melanocyte, [or]

pigment cells,” explains Melissa Harris,

assistant professor of biology at the Uni-

versity of Alabama at Birmingham. “These

pigment cells stay in the base of your hair

and their job is to produce pigment. These

melanocytes reach out skinny arms, called

dendritic processes, that shuttle the pig-

ment to the hair shaft as it grows. So if all

your melanocyte stem cells disappear, so

do your melanocytes and so does your hair

pigment. Thus — gray hair.”

Because stem cells directly influence

hair color, studying gray hair can provide

insights about why stem cells age and ulti-

mately fail, offering important clues about

the workings of other stem cells in the body

— for example, those found in muscles,

bones and organs. In turn, these ultimately

could point to whether gray hair could be a

marker for disease, or the opposite, a long-

er life. Previous studies have not shown a

relationship between life span and gray

hair, including whether late onset of gray

hair predicts longevity. Some research,

however, indicates that gray or white hair

can be a sign of early heart disease, regard-

less of age.

A 2018 mouse study by “Team Hair-Us”

(Harris’ nickname for her lab colleagues)

found a connection between MITF (mi-

crophthalmia), a transcription factor (a

protein involved in gene expression) im-

portant in managing pigment production,

and the innate immune system, suggesting

that some people’s hair may turn gray in

response to serious illness or chronic

stress. They discovered a relationship

between genes involved in hair color and

those that trigger an immune response to a

viral infection, suggesting this interaction

could increase the chances of developing

gray hair.

“MITF, in a sense, shields melanocyte

stem cells from our own immune system,”

she says. “Normally our immune system

protects our bodies from infection. But for

melanocyte stem cells, too much immune

response is bad for their health, and this

leads to their loss and to gray hair. Why

melanocyte stem cells are so sensitive to

our own natural means for protection, we

still don’t know.”

“There is still much to learn about what

regulates these stem cells and what may

contribute to their loss,” says Ya-Chieh

Hsu, associate professor of stem cell and

regenerative biology at Harvard Universi-

ty and principal faculty member of the

Harvard Stem Cell Institute.

Among other things, Hsu studies the

effect of stress on graying. Most of us are

familiar with those “before-and-after”

photographs of U.S. presidents — most

recently Barack Obama — showing a strik-

ing increase in gray hair during their

terms, even in relatively young presidents.

It’s known as the “Marie Antoinette Syn-

drome,” after the 18th-century French

queen whose hair allegedly turned white

overnight before she went to the guillotine

and her death at age 38 during the French

Revolution.

“With the aging process, we gradually

lose melanocyte stem cells one by one over

a very long period of time,” Hsu says.

“What we found in our research was that

the stress can accelerate that process.”

Hsu and her colleagues found that stress

stimulates the same nerves that trigger the

“fight-or-flight’’ response, which in turn

causes permanent damage to the pigment-

producing cells in hair follicles. The fight

or flight response “is thought to be a good

thing in stressful situations because it can

drive us and other organisms to respond to

danger rapidly,” Hsu says. This activation

“causes a spike in the neurotransmitter

norepinephrine.”

But norepinephrine also tells melan-

ocyte stem cells to pump up their activity

and proliferate, “and too much norepine-

phrine, in this case triggered by stress,

causes the melanocyte stem cells to burst

into so much activity it leads to rapid deple-

tion of the stem cell reservoir,” she says. “If

all the stem cells are depleted, no more

pigment-producing cells can be produced

anymore, and the hair turns gray.”

Other stress hormones — ACTH (adre-

nocorticotropic hormone) for example —

can cause melanocyte stem cells to migrate

away from the hair follicle before they can

produce the melanocytes needed for hair

and skin color, according to research.

“Such hormones are known to increase

in the body after stress, and may have the

potential to promote the loss of these cells,

regardless of age,” says study author May-

umi Ito, associate professor in the depart-

ments of cell biology and dermatology at

the New York University Grossman School

of Medicine.

Ito also found that certain cell-signaling

proteins called endothelins (substances

known to constrict blood vessels and raise

blood pressure) bind to melanocyte stem

cells and, in doing so, keep them healthy.

Interrupting the process causes cell loss

and early graying in mice. They are study-

ing whether the same happens in human

hair follicles, hoping to find ways to pre-

serve or regenerate the key stem cells that

give hair its color.

All of this raises the intriguing possibility

that scientists could discover ways to pre-

vent or reverse gray hair.

“Team Hair-Us” recently published a

paper describing a topical drug combina-

tion that increased melanocyte stem cells

in gray mice, ridding them of their gray

and restoring their original fur color —

perhaps for good. Because the treatment —

originally developed to regrow hair —

replenished pigment-producing stem cells,

the effects could be long-lasting, Harris

says.

“We didn’t keep the mice forever, so we

don’t know,” says Harris, who plans more

studies. “This has made us very interested

in whether gray hair really is permanent,

and if we can do something about it. We

really want to know — and so does every-

one else we talk to — is whether and when

we can bring this to humans.”

Scientists investigatingwhy some go gray sooner,and if it can be reversed

BY MARLENE CIMONS

Special to The Washington Post

HEALTH & FITNESS

KATRINA GOLDSAITO/For The Washington Post

Marco Kaltofen, 61, says he first started noticing white hairs at 11. His hair wascompletely white by the time he reached his 30s like that of three of his grandparents.

Getting to the root of gray hair

Hair color comes from melanin, a pigment producedby cells in the hair follicles. Over time, these cellssuffer damage and become depleted, losing theirability to make melanin. This results in new hairwithout pigment — meaning, no color.

Saturday, January 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 17

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stripes.com

OPINION

Inever thought I would see Americans

attack their own institutions of gov-

ernment in the manner or scale Presi-

dent Donald Trump's supporters did

at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday afternoon.

Ialso never thought that, in addition to being

frightening and disturbing, a seditious in-

surrection incited by the president of the

United States could look so utterly pathetic.

There is no contradiction between ac-

knowledging the danger of what happened

and recognizing that the people posing that

danger made fools of themselves. In fact, it's

essential to do so. Trump's supporters

should not be allowed to memorialize this

disgraceful day as a bold, noble revolt and

the people who participated in this mob as

committed patriots or daring commandos.

Part of stigmatizing what happened and

standing up to it should be turning the rioters

into laughingstocks.

Take one photo in wide circulation, of a

man walking off with a lectern with the seal

of the speaker of the House attached to it.

He's dressed like a suburban dad, in Asics

sneakers, unremarkable jeans, a gray wool

coat — and a Trump knitted hat. And yet, in

the middle of a brazen theft that also hap-

pens to be a gesture of profound disrespect to

the institutions of government, he's grinning

widely and waving to the camera.

Yes, it's an image of impunity. This is the

expression and behavior of a person who be-

lieves that when his president tweets "when

the looting starts, the shooting starts," that

threat applies only to other people.

But it's also an image of a punch-drunk idi-

ot. There's no grandeur in mugging like a

high school student on senior prank day

while stealing a completely useless object.

Given the way law enforcement appears to

have collapsed in the face of the rioters, this

theft isn't even a daring heist; it's a goofy,

childish act.

Then there's the fellow who broke into

Nancy Pelosi's office and was photographed

first with his feet on a desk and later with a

piece of mail he pilfered from the speaker.

His hyped-up Facebook postings before

Wednesday only make his behavior more ri-

diculous: Only a coward makes a lot of noise

about being prepared to die violently, then

tries to turn making off with an envelope into

an act of hyper-macho heroism, complete

with bare-chested posing.

Yes, the mob included a masked man

wearing a Punisher badge — a visual that's

become an endorsement of vigilante justice,

including, disturbingly, among police offi-

cers — and carrying plastic ties as if prepar-

ing for a hostage-taking. Yes, rioters broke

windows, took down American flags and pa-

raded Confederate ones. It is reasonable to

be afraid of violence. It is right to be sickened

that a woman was shot and killed and four

other people died because of this nonsense.

But the day's resonant news photos also in-

cluded Trump supporters wandering

through the halls of the Capitol with their

phones out like gawking tourists, and rioters

playing out their fantasies of being action

stars. These are not serious political actors.

They are not commandos. All of them come

across as silly fantasists.

Even ostensibly-menacing graffiti like a

scrawled "Murder the Media" on a Capitol

building door or "WE WILL NOT BACK

DOWN," written in red ink on a file folder left

in Pelosi's office, shrinks down to size the

longer one looks at it. These are the hasty im-

provisations of people who find themselves

in the radical equivalent of the dog who

caught the car: They had no plan, they have

no message, and they don't even have the

penmanship or flair to produce striking im-

ages.

And Trump's speech inciting the attempt-

ed putsch? It was dangerously effective, if

less coherent than Bluto Blutarsky's rallying

cry at the end of "Animal House." Like the en-

tirety of his presidency, Trump's behavior

was as embarrassing as it was horrifying.

The attack on the Capitol that followed

was the same kind of "futile and stupid ges-

ture" that followed Bluto's call to arms. The

foolishness of the day in no way diminishes

the horror of what happened. Instead, it

magnifies it. That the Capitol was attacked

because the president of the United States is

too deluded and selfish to acknowledge real-

ity, and because his remaining supporters

have enthusiastically enlisted in his self-de-

ception, is a monstrous thing.

History should remember Jan. 6 for what

it was: both shameful and dumb. It may not

be grand. But it's the only way to truly ex-

plain what happened in Washington, and to

try our best to make sure this particular idio-

cy never happens again.

A pathetic, horrifying insurrection BY ALYSSA ROSENBERG

The Washington Post

Alyssa Rosenberg writes about the intersection of culture andpolitics for The Washington Post's Opinions section.

WASHINGTON

The storming of the U.S. Capitol of-

fers a reminder that the most dev-

astating attacks often aren't the

ones that take us by surprise but

those we see coming and don't take adequate

steps to avoid.

Officials who planned for Wednesday's

pro-Trump rallies knew the "protesters"

(that mild term seems laughable now) would

march on the Capitol. They knew some of the

extremists might try to break through the pe-

rimeter. But they decided to trust the assur-

ances of the Capitol Police that they could

control the situation.

The reassuring words I heard from senior

officials are haunting: "I can see no situation

where the cops can't handle it," one told me,

after describing the possibility of an assault

on the Capitol. That's agonizing to replay.

This disaster didn't sneak up on the Defense

and Justice departments and the mayor's of-

fice; they saw it approaching. But they

thought the 6,000 to 8,000 law enforcement

officers available were adequate to handle

the problem.

Now that looks like a wrong call. Law en-

forcement did indeed get the situation under

control by Wednesday night, with limited

bloodshed. But that was only after the Capitol

had been invaded and ransacked, members

of Congress terrorized, four people died, and

the most precious symbol of American de-

mocracy desecrated.

Some mistakes are obvious: The FBI un-

derestimated the number of protesters, pre-

dicting a maximum of 20,000, which turned

out to be less than half the number who

showed up. The Capitol Police didn't stand

their ground at the perimeter or at the Capi-

tol itself. The mayor was slow to request addi-

tional troops from the D.C. National Guard.

The acting attorney general was similarly

tardy in ordering elite FBI units into the Cap-

itol. And the Pentagon brass worried more

about avoiding politicization of the military

than about stopping an insurrection.

In a seeming acknowledgment of the inad-

equate response, Capitol Police Chief Steven

Sund announced Thursday night that he was

resigning. But as we look for who to blame in

this catastrophe, let's focus on the real cul-

prits: President Donald Trump, who incited

the rioters and urged them toward the Capi-

tol; the 13 Republican senators and 138

House members who challenged President-

elect Joe Biden's victory and egged on the in-

surgents; and the smug, self-appointed patri-

ots who trashed the people's house. Trump

should face legal action for fomenting this

riot. The members who risked the lives of

their colleagues by encouraging the fanatics

should be censured. The insurgents who ran-

sacked the Capitol should be arrested and

prosecuted.

D.C.'s Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser

and Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the

Joint Chiefs of Staff, both tried to avert a mili-

tarization of the response to protests, similar

to what happened in D.C. and many other ci-

ties during the racial justice protests that fol-

lowed George Floyd's death. Wanting to

avoid overreaction, they probably underre-

acted. That carried costs, but also benefits.

A "net assessment" of the Capitol siege (to

use the term beloved by Pentagon strate-

gists) is that Trump's ragtag army of sedition

has lost big. Their narrative of victimization

has turned upside down; their claims of elec-

tion fraud have been demonstrated to be

false. Biden's election has been certified, and

leading Republicans such as Vice President

Mike Pence and Senate Majority Leader

Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have finally bro-

ken from Trump.

More force is coming to avoid any repeat in

the run-up to Biden's inauguration: The Pen-

tagon, working with the mayor's office, is mo-

bilizing more than 6,000 additional National

Guard troops, calling on nearby states. Jus-

tice Department officials have pledged to

colleagues that they will arrest those who

vandalized the Capitol. The active-duty mil-

itary hasn't been deployed and shouldn't be

needed.

Thinking about Wednesday's events, it's

useful to indulge in what Harvard professor

Ernest May liked to call "Applied History."

What if the situation had turned out differ-

ently — and force had been used more ag-

gressively, as in past efforts to deal with civil

strife. The 1989 Tiananmen Square mas-

sacre is an extreme example. The Trump an-

archists don't deserve comparison with the

brave Chinese pro-democracy activists. But

they wanted similar images of a brutal gov-

ernment crackdown, even martyrdom, that

could have energized their movement for

years.

Trump's fanatical followers didn't get their

wish. Instead, they got what they deserved —

public revulsion and failure.

What went wrong with protection of the CapitolBY DAVID IGNATIUS

Washington Post Writers Group

PAGE 18 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, January 9, 2021

ACROSS

1 Impose

4 Zilch

8 Mama — Elliot

12 Fire sign?

13 Slanted type

(Abbr.)

14 Queue after Q

15 PBS funder

16 Young cow

17 Wine label

datum

18 Newspaper

section

21 Frazier foe

22 Allow

23 Once and again

26 Conditions

27 Plead

30 Part of Q.E.D.

31 Bake sale org.

32 Pop choice

33 Novelist Rand

34 Soon-to-be grads

35 “Yippee!”

36 Moo — pork

37 Ecol. watchdog

38 In agreement

45 TV explorer

46 Read quickly

47 Cotillion celeb

48 Let fall

49 “Would — to

you?”

50 Narc’s org.

51 Fill fully

52 “— Lang Syne”

53 Blue hue

DOWN

1 Glazier’s sheet

2 Secondhand

3 Popular Asian

cuisine

4 Kidman of

“The Hours”

5 Arcade pioneer

6 Painter Salvador

7 Farm crop

8 Burial chamber

9 Cruising

10 Male deer

11 Foolproof

19 Diplomacy

20 French article

23 Afternoon social

24 Sardonic

25 Author Fleming

26 “— a Wonderful

Life”

27 Short do

28 “Xanadu” band

29 The “G” of

LGBTQ

31 Former German

kingdom

32 Bloke

34 “Thar — blows!”

35 Unlocked

36 Form

37 Cybermessages

38 Probability

39 Director Ephron

40 Jog

41 Rights

advocacy org.

42 Tosses in

43 Nerd’s kin

44 Online

auction site

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

Saturday, January 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 19

SCOREBOARD/COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Men’s Top 25 FaredThursday

No. 1 Gonzaga (11-0) beat BYU 86-69.Next: at Portland, Sunday.

No. 2 Baylor (10-0) did not play. Next: atTCU, Saturday.

No. 3 Villanova (8-1) did not play. Next: atUConn, Friday, Jan. 15.

No. 4 Texas (9-1) did not play. Next: atNo. 14 West Virginia, Saturday.

No. 5 Iowa (10-2) beat Maryland 89-67.Next: vs. Minnestota, Monday.

No. 6 Kansas (9-2) did not play. Next: vs.Oklahoma, Saturday.

No. 7 Creighton (9-2) did not play. Next:vs. St. John’s, Saturday.

No. 8 Wisconsin (10-2) beat Indiana 80-73. Next: at Michigan, Tuesday.

No. 9 Tennessee (8-1) did not play. Next:at Texas A&M, Saturday.

No. 10 Michigan (10-0) did not play. Next:at Penn St., Saturday.

No. 11 Houston (9-1) did not play. Next:vs. Tulane, Saturday.

No. 12 Illinois (9-3) beat Northwestern81-56. Next: vs. Maryland, Sunday.

No. 13 Missouri (7-2) did not play. Next:vs. LSU, Saturday.

No. 14 West Virginia (9-3) did not play.Next: vs. No. 4 Texas, Saturday.

No. 15 Rutgers (7-3) did not play. Next:Ohio St., Saturday.

No. 16 Minnesota (10-3) did not play.Next: vs. No. 5 Iowa, Sunday.

No. 17 Oregon (8-2) lost to Colorado 79-72. Next: at Utah, Saturday.

No. 18 Texas Tech (9-3) did not play.Next: at Iowa St., Saturday.

No. 19 Clemson (9-1) did not play. Next:at North Carolina, Saturday.

No. 19 Virginia Tech (8-2) did not play.Next: vs. Notre Dame, Sunday.

No. 21 Duke (4-2) did not play. Next: vs.Wake Forest, Saturday.

No. 22 Virginia (6-2) did not play. Next: atBoston College, Saturday.

No. 23 Michigan St.(8-3) did not play.Next: vs Purdue, Friday.

No. 23 Saint Louis (7-1) did not play.Next: vs. Davidson, Friday, Jan. 15.

No. 25 Florida St. (5-2) did not play. Next:at Pittsburgh, Saturday.

Thursday’s men’s scores

EAST

Bryant 93, CCSU 68Iowa 89, Maryland 67LIU 78, St. Francis (Pa.) 75Merrimack 97, Sacred Heart 90, OTNortheastern 81, Hofstra 78, OTSt. Francis (NY) 70, Mount St. Mary’s 55

SOUTH

Belmont 77, SE Missouri 66E. Kentucky 69, Jacksonville St. 66, OTMorehead St. 57, Tennessee Tech 54Tennessee St. 74, UT Martin 62

MIDWEST

E. Illinois 74, Murray St. 68Illinois 81, Northwestern 56Wisconsin 80, Indiana 73, 2OT

SOUTHWEST

Cincinnati 76, SMU 69

FAR WEST

Colorado 79, Oregon 72Colorado St. 74, UNLV 71Gonzaga 86, BYU 69Idaho St. 73, N. Arizona 69Montana St. 79, N. Colorado 67S. Utah 85, Idaho 80San Diego St. 65, Nevada 60San Francisco 88, Portland 64Southern Cal 87, Arizona 73Stanford 91, Washington 75Texas Rio Grande Valley 96, St. Mary’s

(Texas) 67UCLA 81, Arizona St. 75Washington St. 71, California 60

Women’s Top 25 faredThursday

No. 1 Stanford (9-0) did not play. Next: vs.No. 11 Oregon, Friday.

No. 2 Louisville (9-0) beat Virginia Tech71-67. Next: at Florida St., Sunday.

No. 3 NC State (10-0) did not play. Next:vs. Virginia, Thursday, Dec. 14.

No. 3 UConn (6-0) did not play. Next: atvs. Providence, Saturday.

No. 5 South Carolina (7-1) did not play.Next: at No. 10 Kentucky, Sunday.

No. 6 Baylor (8-1) did not play. Next: atKansas, Wednesday.

No. 7 Arizona (8-1) did not play. Next: vs.Oregon St., Friday, Dec. 15.

No. 8 Texas A&M (11-0) beat No. 10 Ken-tucky 77-60. Next: at No. 13 Arkansas, Sun-day.

No. 9 UCLA (6-2) did not play. Next: vs.Colorado, Friday.

No. 10 Kentucky (9-2) lost to No. 8 TexasA&M 77-60. Next: vs. South Carolina, Sun-day.

No. 11 Oregon (8-1) did not play. Next: atNo. 1 Stanford, Friday.

No. 12 Maryland (8-1) beat No. 23 Michi-gan St. 93-87. Next: vs. Purdue, Sunday.

No. 13 Arkansas (10-3) lost to Tennessee88-73. Next: No. 8 Texas A&M , Sunday.

No. 14 Mississippi St. (7-2) beat Florida68-56. Next: vs. Mississippi, Sunday.

No. 15 Michigan (8-0) beat Nebraska 64-62. Next: vs. Illinois , Sunday.

No. 16 Ohio St. (6-0) beat Illinois 78-55.Next: vs. Rutgers, Sunday.

No. 17 Texas (8-1) did not play. Next: atWest Virginia, Saturday.

No. 18 South Florida (8-1) did not play.Next: vs. Houston, Saturday.

No. 19 Indiana (6-3) beat Penn St. 85-64.Next: vs. Wisconsin, Sunday.

No. 20 DePaul (6-3) did not play. Next: vs.St. John’s, Wednesday.

No. 21 Gonzaga (9-2) did not play. Next:vs. Portland, Saturday.

No. 22 Northwestern (5-2) did not play.Next: vs. Iowa, Saturday.

No. 23 Michigan St. (8-1) lost to No. 12Maryland 93-87. Next: vs. Nebraska, Sun-day.

No. 24 Syracuse (5-1) did not play. Next:at Georgia Tech, Thursday, Dec. 14.

No. 25 Missouri St. (4-2) did not play.Next: vs. Bradley, Sunday.

Thursday’s women’s scores

EAST

Boston College 64, Notre Dame 61Hofstra 68, Northeastern 57Indiana 85, Penn St. 64Mount Saint Mary 76, St. Francis Brook-

lyn 68Providence 62, Butler 50St. Francis (Pa.) 76, LIU 72Wagner 67, Sacred Heart 62

SOUTH

Alabama 67, LSU 59Georgia Tech 67, Clemson 55Jacksonville St. 74, E. Kentucky 60Louisville 71, Virginia Tech 67Mississippi 62, Auburn 58Mississippi St. 68, Florida 56Morehead St. 65, Tennessee Tech 62Tennessee 88, Arkansas 73UT Martin 80, Tennessee St. 39Wake Forest 63, Miami 60

MIDWEST

Austin Peay 73, SIU-Edwardsville 54Drake 74, Evansville 50Illinois St. 74, Indiana St. 60Maryland 93, Michigan St. 87Michigan 64, Nebraska 62Murray St. 76, E. Illinois 68Ohio St. 78, Illinois 55Valparaiso 63, N. Iowa 56

SOUTHWEST

Texas A&M 77, Kentucky 60

FAR WEST

BYU 71, Loyola Marymount 57E. Washington 78, Weber St. 57Idaho St. 70, N. Arizona 66Montana St. 54, N. Colorado 46Pacific 83, San Francisco 63Portland St. 66, Sacramento St. 64, OTSan Diego St. 59, Nevada 43Santa Clara 77, Saint Mary’s (Cal) 59UNLV 80, Colorado St. 76

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

DEALS

Thursday’s transactionsBASEBALL

Major League BaseballAmerican League

HOUSTON ASTROS — Agreed to termswith RHP Ryne Stanek on a one-year con-tract.

NEW YORK YANKEES — Acquired OFGreg Allen from San Diego in exchange forLHP James Reeves.

National LeagueMILWAUKEE BREWERS — Agreed to

terms with INF/OF Pablo Reyes on a minorleague contract.

NEW YORK METS — Acquired INF Fran-cisco Lindor and RHP Carlos Carrascofrom Cleveland in a trade for INFs AmedRosario and Andres Gimenez along withtwo minor league players, RHP Josh Wolfand OF Isaiah Greene.

FOOTBALLNational Football League

CLEVELAND BROWNS — Activated S An-drew Sendejo from the reserve/COVID-19list. Placed S Ronnie Harrison Jr. on the re-serve/COVID-19 list. Placed LB MontrelMeander on the practice squad/COVID-19list.

DALLAS COWBOYS — Released OT Jor-dan Miller from the practice squad.

GREEN BAY PACKERS — Declined to acti-vate RB Patrick Taylor from reserve/NFI .

HOUSTON TEXANS — Released C GregMancz from the practice squad.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS — Signed P DustinColquitt to the practice squad.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS — ActivatedWR Keenan Allen, TE Hunter Henry and SDerwin James from the reserve/COVID-19list.

LOS ANGELES RAMS — Activated LT An-drew Whitworth from injured reserve.Waived LB Natrez Patrick.

MIAMI DOLPHINS — Announced DLcoach Marion Hobby has mutually left theteam. Signed WR Kirk Merrit to a reserve/futures contract.

NEW YORK GIANTS — Announced S An-toine Bethea retirement. Waived RB De-vonta Freeman from injured reserve. Acti-vated WR Davis Sills from the reserve/CO-VID-19 list and signed him to a renegotiat-ed contract.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES — Announcedthat defensive coordinator Jim Schwartzwill be leaving the team.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS — Activated TEEric Ebron and OLB Cassius Marsh fromthe reserve/COVID-19 list.

TENNESSEE TITANS — Activated K Ste-phen Gostkowski from the reserve/CO-VID-19 list. Placed G Aaron Brewer on thereserve/COVID-19 list.

HOCKEYNational Hockey League

NASHVILLE PREDATORS — Announced apartnership with the Carolina Hurricanesto use the Chicago Wolves (AHL) for 2021-22 player development due to the Milwau-kee Admirals not playing the 2021-22 sea-son. Announced loan of F Egor Afanasyevto CSKA Moscow (KHL).

NEW JERSEY DEVILS — Signed D Sami Va-tanen to a one-year contract.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING — AnnouncedDave Randorf to be play-by-play announ-cer for 2021 season.

SOCCERMajor League Soccer

COLUMBUS CREW FC — Signed MF KevinMollino.

INTER MIAMI CF — Announced managerDiego Alonso mutually agreed to leaveclub.

NASHVILLE SC — Agreed to terms withgeneral manager Mike Jacobs to a con-tract extension through the 2023 season.

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION SC—Signed D A.J. DeLaGarza and MF Emma-nuel Biateng.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY SC — Re-signedMF Roger Espinoza to a new 2021 contract.

National Women’s Soccer LeagueORLANDO PRIDE — Signed D Toni Press-

ley to a one-year 2021 contract with an op-tion for an additional year.

COLLEGENCAA — Named Mike Bobinski to the Di-

vision 1 Men’s Basketball Committee.AUSTIN PEAY STATE UNIVERSITY —

Named Shane Tucker assistant footballcoach for the tight ends.

PRO FOOTBALL

NFL playoffs

Wild-card PlayoffSaturday’s games

Indianapolis at Buffalo Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Tampa Bay at Washington

Sunday, Jan. 10Baltimore at Tennessee Chicago at New Orleans Cleveland at Pittsburgh

Divisional PlayoffsSaturday, Jan. 16 and Sunday, Jan. 17

Lowest seed remaining at Green Bay Lowest seed remaining at Kansas City TBD vs. TBD TBD vs. TBD

Conference Championships Sunday, Jan. 24

AFCTBD NFCTBD

Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 7 At Tampa, Fla.

TBD

Sentry Tournament of ChampionsPGA TourThursday

Kapalua, Maui, HawaiiPurse: $6.7 million

Yardage: 7,596; Par: 73First Round

Harris English 32-33—65 -8

Justin Thomas 31-34—065 -8

Robert Streb 32-35—67 -6

Sergio Garcia 34-33—67 -6

Nick Taylor 34-33—67 -6

Ryan Palmer 34-33—67 -6

Sungjae Im 35-32—67 -6

Patrick Reed 33-34—67 -6

Adam Scott 34-34—68 -5

Patrick Cantlay 34-34—68 -5

Brendon Todd 33-35—68 -5

Martin Laird 35-34—69 -4

Carlos Ortiz 34-35—69 -4

Richy Werenski 35-34—69 -4

Marc Leishman 34-35—69 -4

Joaquin Niemann 34-35—69 -4

Bryson DeChambeau 34-35—69 -4

Viktor Hovland 36-33—69 -4

Daniel Berger 33-36—69 -4

Collin Morikawa 35-34—69 -4

Xander Schauffele 34-35—69 -4

Brian Gay 35-35—70 -3

Andrew Landry 34-36—70 -3

Kevin Kisner 35-35—70 -3

Cameron Smith 35-35—70 -3

Abraham Ancer 35-35—70 -3

Webb Simpson 35-35—70 -3

Scottie Scheffler 36-34—70 -3

Jon Rahm 35-35—70 -3

Stewart Cink 34-37—71 -2

Jason Kokrak 37-34—71 -2

Billy Horschel 35-36—71 -2

Kevin Na 35-36—71 -2

Cameron Champ 33-38—71 -2

Lanto Griffin 38-33—71 -2

Dustin Johnson 34-37—71 -2

Hudson Swafford 36-37—73 E

Michael Thompson 38-35—73 E

Hideki Matsuyama 37-36—73 E

Mackenzie Hughes 35-38—73 E

Tony Finau 35-39—74 +1

Sebastián Muñoz 37-38—75 +2

GOLF

SPOKANE, Wash. — Corey

Kispert scored 23 points as top-

ranked Gonzaga beat rival BYU

86-69 on Thursday in a hastily

scheduled game after both teams

lost their original opponents to

COVID-19 issues.

Jalen Suggs added 16 points for

the Bulldogs, while Drew Timme

and Andrew Nembhard scored 12

each. Gonzaga (11-0, 2-0 West

Coast Conference) won its 45th

consecutive home game, the long-

est streak in the nation.

Matt Haarms and Caleb Lohner

each scored 13 points for the Cou-

gars (9-3, 0-1), who had not played

since Dec. 23 after a pair of WCC

games were postponed because of

COVID-19. BYU was hurt by poor

shooting most of the game.

The Bulldogs were supposed to

play Santa Clara on Thursday and

the Cougars were scheduled to

play Pacific. But both those teams

had to drop out because of CO-

VID-19 protocols, so Gonzaga and

BYU decided to play each other a

month early.

No. 5 Iowa 89, Maryland 67:

Luka Garza scored 17 of his 24

points in the decisive first half,

and the visiting Hawkeyes roared

back from an early deficit by

keeping the Terrapins scoreless

for nearly eight minutes.

Garza made nine of his 14 field

goal attempts, including 2 of 4

from beyond the arc.

Jordan Bohannon chipped in

with 18 points for Iowa (10-2, 4-1

Big Ten).

Aaron Wiggins scored 17 for

Maryland (6-6, 1-5), and Donta

Scott added 13.

No. 8 Wisconsin 80, Indiana 73

(2OT): D’Mitrik Trice scored 21

points and Tyler Wahl made con-

secutive three-pointers in the sec-

ond overtime to lead the Badgers

past the visiting Hoosiers.

Wahl finished with a career-

high 12 points as Wisconsin (10-2,

4-1 Big Ten) won for the seventh

time in its last eight games. Nate

Reuvers added 14 points and Mi-

cah Potter had 10.

The Hoosiers’ Trayce Jackson-

Davis scored 23 points on 10-of-16

shooting. Aljami Durham added

15, Jerome Hunter had 12 and Rob

Phinisee 10 for Indiana (7-5, 2-3).

No. 12 Illinois 81, Northwest­

ern 56: Kofi Cockburn scored 13

of his 18 points in the second half

and the visiting Fighting Illini beat

the Wildcats.

Cockburn also had 12 rebounds

in his eighth double-double of the

season, asserting himself in the

middle after Illinois (9-3, 5-1 Big

Ten) got off to a rough start. Ayo

Dosunmu added 15 points, and

Trent Frazier and Adam Miller

each scored 14.

The Illini trailed by as many as

16 before completely overwhelm-

ing Northwestern (6-4, 3-3) in

their fourth straight win.

Colorado 79, No. 17 Oregon

72: McKinley Wright IV reco-

vered from a scary fall to score 21

points, including a game-sealing

scoop layup with 27 seconds left,

and the host Buffaloes held off the

Ducks.

Grad transfer Jeriah Horne

added 17 points for Colorado (8-3,

2-2 Pac-12), which improved to

10-0 against Oregon (8-2, 3-1) all-

time in Boulder.

YOUNG KWAK/AP

Gonzaga guard Martynas Arlauskas, right, dribbles the ball as forwardPavel Zakharov, left, a sets a screen against BYU guard SpencerJohnson during the Bulldogs’ 86­69 win Thursday in Spokane, Wash.

Kispert, Suggslead top-rankedGonzaga past BYU

Associated Press

TOP 25 ROUNDUP

PAGE 20 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, January 9, 2021

NBA/SPORTS BRIEFS

LOS ANGELES — LaMarcus

Aldridge scored a season-high 28

points and the San Antonio Spurs

beat the NBA champion Los An-

geles Lakers 118-109 on Thursday.

“He scored for us and he

worked hard on D,” said Spurs

coach Gregg Popovich about Al-

dridge. :You know, he’s guarding

Anthony Davis out there. That’s a

pretty tough job. So he played a re-

ally good all around game."

Two nights after topping the

Clippers to snap a four-game los-

ing streak, San Antonio picked up

another win at Staples Center.

Demar DeRozan added 19

points and eight assists for the

Spurs, who were 16 of 35 on three-

pointers after making 20 from be-

yond the arc against the Clippers.

LeBron James scored 27 points

and Anthony Davis added 23

points and 10 rebounds for the

Lakers, who had their four-game

winning streak snapped.

San Antonio scored the first

nine points and never trailed.

Mavericks 124, Nuggets 117

(OT): Luka Doncic came within

one rebound of his second straight

triple-double, finishing with 38

points and 13 assists to lead Dallas

to a win at Denver in overtime.

Doncic sat out Sunday’s loss to

Chicago and responded with his

first triple-double of the season

against Houston on Monday. He

followed that up with a season

high in points.

Nikola Jokic scored 20 of his 38

points after halftime and grabbed

11 rebounds for the Nuggets. Ja-

mal Murray added 21 points and

nine assists.

Josh Richardson scored 14

points, including five straight in

overtime to give the Mavericks

the lead for good.

Jokic capped a 17-point fourth

quarter with an 18-foot jumper at

the horn to send the game to over-

time.

Nets 122, 76ers 109: Joe Har-

ris had a season-best 28 points and

host Brooklyn, playing without

Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant,

beat NBA-leading Philadelphia.

Without their two superstars in

uniform — blue uniforms, a

throwback to 30 years ago in New

Jersey — the Nets jumped out

quickly and had a double-digit

lead for much of the second half

while winning their second

straight, both without Durant.

Caris LeVert had 22 points, 10

assists and seven rebounds, and

Jarrett Allen added 15 points and

11 boards for the Nets.

Irving was ruled out Thursday

afternoon for personal reasons.

The Nets already knew they’d be

without Durant for a second con-

secutive game because of the

NBA’s health and safety protocols.

Joel Embiid started slowly be-

fore finishing with 20 points and 12

rebounds for the Sixers (7-2), who

beat Washington on Wednesday.

Ben Simmons was limited to 11

points.

Trail  Blazers  135,  Timber­

wolves 117: Damian Lillard had

39 points, including seven three-

pointers, and host Portland hand-

ed Minnesota its sixth straight

loss.

CJ McCollum added 20 points

for the Trail Blazers, who led by 33

in the second half. Jusuf Nurkic

had 17 points and seven rebounds

before Portland rested its starters

in the fourth quarter.

D’Angelo Russell and Anthony

Edwards each scored 26 points for

the Timberwolves (2-6), who con-

tinue to struggle without Karl-An-

thony Towns as he recovers from a

dislocated left wrist. He’s missed

six games, coinciding with Minne-

sota’s losing streak.

Cavaliers  94,  Grizzlies  90:

Andre Drummond had 22 points

and 15 rebounds, and Larry Nance

Jr. added 18 points on 7-for-7

shooting from the field to lead Cle-

veland to a win in Memphis.

Cedi Osman scored 16 points as

the Cavaliers snapped a two-game

skid. JaVale McGee added 13

points.

Cleveland was minus leading

scorer Collin Sexton, who sat out

with a left ankle sprain. Jonas Va-

lanciunas led the Grizzlies with 17

points and 10 rebounds.

ASHLEY LANDIS/AP

San Antonio Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge, left, shoots against Los Angeles Lakers forward KyleKuzma during the Spurs' 118­109 win in Los Angeles. Aldridge scored a season­high 28 points.

Spurs stop Lakers’ 4-gamerun, win 2nd straight in LA

Associated Press

ROUNDUP

28Points for Joe Harris, a season-high, inthe Brooklyn Nets' 122-109 win overthe Philadelphia 76ers. New Jersey'stop two scorers, Kevin Durant andKyrie Irving, did not play for Brooklyn.

Source: Associated Press

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

W L Pct GB

Philadelphia 7 2 .778 —

Boston 6 3 .667 1

New York 5 3 .625 1½

Brooklyn 5 4 .556 2

Toronto 1 6 .143 5

Southeast Division

W L Pct GB

Orlando 6 2 .750 —

Atlanta 4 4 .500 2

Miami 3 4 .429 2½

Charlotte 3 5 .375 3

Washington 2 6 .250 4

Central Division

W L Pct GB

Indiana 6 2 .750 —

Milwaukee 5 3 .625 1

Cleveland 5 4 .556 1½

Chicago 4 5 .444 2½

Detroit 1 7 .125 5

Western Conference

Southwest Division

W L Pct GB

New Orleans 4 4 .500 —

Dallas 4 4 .500 —

San Antonio 4 4 .500 —

Houston 2 4 .333 1

Memphis 2 6 .250 2

Northwest Division

W L Pct GB

Utah 4 4 .500 —

Portland 4 4 .500 —

Oklahoma City 3 4 .429 ½

Denver 3 5 .375 1

Minnesota 2 6 .250 2

Pacific Division

W L Pct GB

Phoenix 6 2 .750 —

L.A. Clippers 6 3 .667 ½

L.A. Lakers 6 3 .667 ½

Golden State 4 4 .500 2

Sacramento 4 4 .500 2

Thursday’s games

Brooklyn 122, Philadelphia 109Cleveland 94, Memphis 90Portland 135, Minnesota 117San Antonio 118, L.A. Lakers 109Dallas 124, Denver 117, OT

Friday’s games

Phoenix at DetroitCharlotte at New OrleansOklahoma City at New YorkWashington at BostonBrooklyn at MemphisOrlando at HoustonUtah at MilwaukeeChicago at L.A. LakersL.A. Clippers at Golden StateToronto at Sacramento

Saturday’s games

Denver at PhiladelphiaAtlanta at CharlotteMiami at WashingtonPhoenix at IndianaCleveland at MilwaukeeSan Antonio at MinnesotaOrlando at DallasPortland at Sacramento

Sunday’s games

Utah at DetroitChicago at L.A. ClippersDenver at New YorkOklahoma City at BrooklynL.A. Lakers at HoustonMiami at BostonSan Antonio at MinnesotaToronto at Golden State

NBA scoreboard

NBA LeadersThrough Jan. 7

Scoring

G FG FT PTS AVG

Beal, WAS 8 93 70 274 34.3

Curry, GS 8 74 57 237 29.6

Harden, HOU 5 42 44 147 29.4

Doncic, DAL 7 66 51 193 27.6

Lillard, POR 8 68 52 221 27.6

Irving, BKN 7 71 22 190 27.1

McCollum, POR 8 76 24 214 26.8

Rebounds

G OFF DEF TOT AVG

Drummond, CLE 9 36 92 128 14.2

Capela, ATL 6 24 55 79 13.2

Gobert, UTA 8 25 79 104 13.0

Randle, NY 8 16 80 96 12.0

Embiid, PHI 8 14 80 94 11.8

Jokic, DEN 8 23 70 93 11.6 Associated Press

Hall of Fame manager

Lasorda dies at 93Tommy Lasorda, the fiery Hall

of Fame manager who guided the

Los Angeles Dodgers to two

World Series titles and later be-

came an ambassador for the sport

he loved during his 71 years with

the franchise, has died. He was

93.

The Dodgers said Friday that

he had a heart attack at his home

in Fullerton, California. Resusci-

tation attempts were made en

route to a hospital, where he was

pronounced dead shortly before

11 p.m. Thursday.

Lasorda had a history of heart

problems, including a heart at-

tack in 1996 that ended his man-

agerial career.

He spent the last 14 years with

the Dodgers as special adviser to

the chairman.

Donald, Kelce unanimous

AP All-Pro Team choicesDynamic defensive star Aaron

Donald and unstoppable tight end

Travis Kelce are unanimous

choices Friday for The Associated

Press NFL All-Pro Team.

Donald and Kelce swept the

votes from a nationwide panel of

50 media members who regularly

cover the league. It is the sixth

All-Pro selection for Donald, who

has helped the Los Angeles Rams

to the top-ranked defense in the

NFL, and the third for Kansas

City’s record-setting Kelce.

Joining Donald and Kelce are

15 players returning to the squad,

and 14 newcomers. Seattle line-

backer Bobby Wagner also makes

his sixth squad.

In other NFL news:

For the third straight day,

the Cleveland Browns can’t get in

their facility to practice as CO-

VID-19 testing continues. The

team has not been able to practice

this week leading to its playoff

game Sunday night in Pittsburgh.

The Browns were awaiting final

test results and permission from

the NFL to practice Friday.

The league maintains the game

will be played as scheduled.

The Atlanta Falcons have in-

terviewed a pair of offensive coor-

dinators, Nathaniel Hackett of the

Green Bay Packers and Joe Bra-

dy of the Carolina Panthers, for

their head coaching job.

Olympic silver medalist

Manyonga faces banOlympic long jump silver medal-

ist Luvo Manyonga was provision-

ally suspended in a doping case on

Friday and could be banned from

this year’s Tokyo Games.

The Athletics Integrity Unit

said it sent Manyonga a “notice of

charge” in the case, which is

based on suspected breaches of

whereabouts rules.

BRIEFLY

Saturday, January 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 21

NHL

TAMPA, Fla.

Winning Stanley Cup

championships in

consecutive seasons

is rare. The Tampa

Bay Lightning are confident they

can do it.

Even without leading scorer

Nikita Kucherov, who’ll miss the

year after undergoing hip sur-

gery.

The Lightning are that talented

with a highly skilled offense fea-

turing captain Steven Stamkos,

Brayden Point, Tyler Johnson,

Ondrej Palat, Yanni Gourde and

Alex Killorn, as well as an experi-

enced, playoff-tested defense an-

chored by Vezina Trophy finalist

Andrei Vasilevskiy and Conn

Smythe Trophy winner Victor

Hedman.

Equally important, general

manager Julian BriseBois said, is

the champs entered training camp

with the type of attitude required

to give themselves a chance to be-

come just the fourth team in near-

ly 30 years to win back-to-back

NHL titles.

“It’s not going to be easy. It

wasn’t going to be easy even with

Kuch in the lineup, and now it’s

more of a challenge,” BriseBois

said. “The mindset of the players

as a whole, the hunger and how ex-

cited they are to get a chance to

chase another Cup and go back to

back ... I’ve just been really struck

by how positive everyone’s mind-

set is.”

The Pittsburgh Penguins were

the last club to hoist the Cup in

consecutive seasons, winning in

2016 and 2017.

The only other teams to accom-

plish the feat in the past 30 years

were the 1990-91 and 1991-92 Pen-

guins, and the 1996-97 and 1997-98

Detroit Red Wings coached by

Scotty Bowman.

Bowman, a Hall of Famer who

won a record nine Stanley Cups as

a head coach, was also behind the

bench with the 91-92 Penguins fol-

lowing the death of Bob Johnson.

He believes it’s more difficult to

win back-to-back titles in today’s

game.

During a 15-season stretch from

1973-74 through 1987-88, Phila-

delphia won consecutive titles,

Montreal and the New York Islan-

ders each won four in a row, and

Edmonton won back-to-back

championships on two different

occasions.

“I think it’s more of the fact that

teams are more fairly equal,” said

Bowman, now a senior advisor

with the Chicago Blackhawks.

“Just a certain player or a certain

injury, something could throw you

off in the next season. How hungry

are they?”

Forward Pat Maroon joined the

Lightning last year after winning

the Cup with St. Louis the previous

season. He believes Tampa Bay

has all the components necessary

to reign again.

“I’m very confident. We’ve got

all the pieces. We’ve got the goal-

tending. We’ve got the defense-

men. We have the offensive pow-

er,” Maroon said.

Another hurdle

To repeat as champions, the

Lightning once again will have

overcome challenges presented

by the pandemic.

“It’s going to be extremely

tough, but we’re going to have to

rely on ourselves and ultimately

other teams, too,’’ said Stamkos,

who appears to be healthy again

after missing the end to the regu-

lar season and all but one game of

the playoffs because of a core

muscle injury.

“The rules are in place. Every-

thing has gone smooth so far. But

we’ve seen what can happen in the

NFL, MLB and the NBA in terms

of one guy kind of breaking the

rules and other guys have to quar-

antine or not be able to play,”

Stamkos added.

When the team won its only oth-

er Stanley Cup title in 2004, Tam-

pa Bay didn’t get a chance to de-

fend the following year because

labor strife forced cancellation of

the 2004-05 season.

CHRIS O'MEARA/AP

Mikhail Sergachev is part of Tampa Bay’s playoff­tested defense. The Stanley Cup champion Lightningre­signed Sergachev to a three­year, $14.4 million contract in the offseason. 

Lightning embrace taskof defending Stanley Cup

BY FRED GOODALL

Associated Press 4The Tampa Bay Lightning are seekingto become only the fourth team in thepast 30 years to repeat as Stanley Cupchampion. The Pittsburgh Penguinsare the last team to do so, in 2016and 2017. The Penguins also wonback-to-back titles in 1990-91 and1991-92 and the The Detroit RedWings repeated as champs in 1996-97 and 1997-98.

Source: Associated Press

KINGMAN, Alberta — Larry

Asp grew up playing shinny, an in-

formal type of hockey, outside in

this tiny rural town he calls home

again after 40 years away. Since

returning, he also holds the keys to

the outdoor “Rink of Dreams” that

gives the 90 local residents the

chance to skate outside during the

keen Canadian winters.

Out here on the prairie an hour’s

drive southeast of Edmonton, the

ice in the former “Lutefisk Capital

of Alberta” doesn’t seem to freeze

as long as it used to, not like when

Asp was a kid. He unlocked the

doors to the rink, which in late

September was simply dirt after a

summer of hosting barrel racing

and other equestrian events, and

gazed into the wind-swept dis-

tance.

“We’re kind of at the mercy of

the elements,” said Asp, a retired

member of the Kingman Recre-

ation Association board. “In the

springtime because of the (rink’s)

white boards and the sun, it starts

melting back from the boards

pretty quickly. You’d be really

lucky if you got four months out of

it.”

After a warm fall, the rink was

back to being a rink again by mid-

December and the skating — and

the hockey — had begun. Two

hours to the southwest in the Town

of Sylvan Lake, the skating sur-

face on the 544-acre namesake

body of water opened Dec. 19 this

year for activities that last until

the melting begins, usually in mid-

March.

Pond hockey has been a tradi-

tion for generations in places like

Kingman and Sylvan Lake, across

Canada, parts of the U.S. and cold

environments around the world.

Yet winter sports are, as Asp

notes, at the mercy of the ele-

ments.

Experts say climate change is

making for shorter, freezing win-

ters and poses a threat to the very

existence of the outdoor stick and

puck games at the root of hockey.

“The climate is warming, we

are having more variability, there

is less ice coverage overall,” said

Michelle Rutty, assistant profes-

sor of faculty of environment at

the University of Waterloo in On-

tario. “It is conceivable that we

will continue to see sort of a short-

er season, so pond hockey is abso-

lutely at risk. There’s no denying

that.”

The Winter Classic, an annual

headline event on New Year’s Day

for the National Hockey League,

was put off this year because of the

pandemic. No fond memories of-

fered by players recalling how

they laced up their skates outside,

no fans bundled up in large, open-

air stadiums to watch their teams

play through whatever Mother

Nature had to offer.

A generation from now, profes-

sional players might not even have

those childhood memories.

“Everything has changed so

much that they all have access to

arenas,” said Craig Berube, the

Stanley Cup-winning coach in St.

Louis who grew up in tiny Cala-

hoo, less than two hours from

Kingman. “Everybody’s got an

arena in their town. They’re not

going on ponds and playing hock-

ey anymore.”

Where they still can play out-

doors, they do. Indoor arenas

sprung up everywhere in the

1960s and ‘70s, but Canada still

has an estimated 5,000 outdoor

hockey rinks, according to the In-

ternational Ice Hockey Federa-

tion.

Neither Hockey Canada nor the

Canadian Parks and Recreation

Association keep data on the num-

ber of youth or adult players out-

doors, though it’s an obvious and

beloved part of the country’s fab-

ric. Kingman, like scores of other

communities, has Friday night

skating parties that serve as a

gathering event. A frozen corner

of the 16-mile Sylvan Lake fea-

tures two hockey surfaces, a place

for casual skating and sometimes

even a track to get up in speed.

“This is the quintessential Can-

adian experience out there,” said

Joanne Bjornson, who has worked

for the Town of Sylvan Lake for

eight years. “Every community

has an outdoor rink to skate on or

to play a little stick and puck on.”

TOWN OF SYLVAN LAKE, ALBERTA/AP

Town residents play hockey on 544­acre Sylvan Lake, Alberta.Experts predict fewer freezing days and less ice coverage in thewinter over the next several decades, suggesting it will become morechallenging to maintain hockey rinks on ponds.

Hockey traditionsskating on thin ice

BY STEPHEN WHYNO

Associated Press

PAGE 22 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, January 9, 2021

NFL

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The

Bills have such a wealth of depth

at receiver, Stefon Diggs found

himself playing the role of traffic

controller for quarterback Josh

Allen last weekend.

With Diggs double-covered

running a route to the left of the

end zone, he pointed to the other

side, where Isaiah McKenzie was

wide-open for a 14-yard touch-

down catch in Buffalo’s season-

ending 56-26 romp over the Mia-

mi Dolphins.

“It’s not like Josh needs me to

point at him to tell him where to

throw the ball. I’m pretty sure he

saw it,” Diggs said with a chuckle

on Wednesday. “But it’s just a

natural reaction when you see a

guy open like, ‘Hey, hey.’ ”

It’s been that way for a pass-

happy offense for much of the

season in which the Bills set a sin-

gle-season franchise record with

501 points and matched the NFL

single-season record with 13 play-

ers scoring a TD receiving, in-

cluding one by Allen.

That depth could come in

handy Saturday when the AFC

East champions (13-3) host their

first playoff game in 24 years by

facing the seventh-seeded Indi-

anapolis Colts (11-5).

Injuries are suddenly catching

up to Buffalo, with slot receiver

Cole Beasley in jeopardy of mis-

sing his second consecutive game

with a knee injury, while Diggs

(oblique) and McKenzie (ankle)

are also nicked up.

Diggs, who did not practice

Wednesday, said he’s fine. Coach

Sean McDermott did not provide

updates on McKenzie or Beasley,

who has not practiced since get-

ting hurt in a 38-9 win at New En-

gland on Dec. 28.

Though missing Beasley would

be a concern, after he finished

second on the team with 82 catch-

es and 967 yards, both career

highs, it’s somewhat mitigated by

how Allen has spread the ball to

whomever is on the field.

In a season Diggs became the

team’s first player to lead the

NFL in catches (127) and yards

receiving (1,535), the Bills had

others making significant contri-

butions.

Rookie Gabriel Davis ranked

second on the team with seven

touchdowns, followed by McKen-

zie, who scored five times on just

30 catches.

And don’t forget John Brown. A

year after leading Buffalo with 72

catches for 1,060 yards, the out-

side speedster has been limited to

just nine games because of ankle

and knee injuries and a stint on

the reserve-COVID-19 list.

On Sunday, Brown returned af-

ter missing five games to show

he’s ready to reestablish his pres-

ence with four catches for 72

yards and a touchdown in just one

half of work.

“That was something I needed

to be able to test the water and get

a good feeling and get my own

confidence back up,” Brown said

of making his first catch, a 7-yar-

der over the middle, on the Bills’

second snap from scrimmage.

Colts coach Frank Reich is fully

aware of the challenges Buffalo

presents his defense, which has

been better against the run than

the pass this season.

“They are hot, and they de-

serve the respect that we are giv-

ing them,” said Reich, a former

NFL quarterback who spent nine

seasons with the Bills, where he

served as Hall of Famer Jim Kel-

ly’s backup.

“But I also know, every team,

no matter how good they are, us

included, you can disrupt every

offense,” he added, by noting the

Kelly-led Bills had their let-

downs, too. “They are a very good

team, just like the teams we were,

but we weren’t flawless. Nobody’s

flawless.”

PHOTOS BY ADRIAN KRAUS / AP

Above: Buffalo Bills wide receiver John Brown (15) celebrates his touchdown with wide receiver StefonDiggs (14) in a 56­26 defeat of the Miami Dolphins on Jan. 3. Below: Bills wide receiver Isaiah McKenziehauls in a touchdown catch against the Dolphins.

Bills’ wealth of depth atreceiver makes foes pay

BY JOHN WAWROW

Associated Press

RENTON, Wash. — Patience

can be difficult when at times ear-

lier this season racking up yards

and scoring points came so easily

for Russell Wilson and the Seattle

Seahawks.

But no team has tested Wilson’s

patience during his careermore

than the Los Angeles Rams. Or

has thrown the Seahawks quar-

terback for more sacks or given

him more headaches.

In other words, don’t expect

easy yards or easy points for Seat-

tle on Saturday when the Sea-

hawks host the Rams in the NFC

playoffs.

“I mean, they do everything

well,” Wilson said.

Just two weeks ago, the Sea-

hawks struggled through a 20-9

victory over Los Angeles. After an

ugly first half, Seattle got a couple

of big plays early in the second

half and pieced together just

enough offense to clinch the NFC

West title.

Wilson threw for 225 yards and

a touchdown and ran for another

in that victory. But he was also

sacked five times after being

sacked six times when the teams

met in November, a Seattle loss.

Throughout his career, no team

has troubled Wilson like the

Rams. He’s 8-10 against them, the

only team he has a losing record

against. His passer rating of 94.5

against Los Angeles — while still

excellent comparatively — is the

second-lowest of any team he’s

faced more than four times.

He’s also been sacked 72 times

in 18 games by the Rams, an aver-

age of four per game.

“They’ve got a great defensive

line. They’ve got really good line-

backers that can run side by side.

The DBs can really play,” Wilson

said. “They’re coached extremely

well. It’s going to be a great

matchup.”

The big plays, the easy touch-

downs that defined the first half of

the season for the Seahawks and

put Wilson in the MVP conversa-

tion have mostly dried up over the

final month of the year. Seattle’s

offense hasn’t been as much ex-

plosive as it’s been just efficient

enough. After topping 30 points in

seven of the first eight games, the

Seahawks have done that just

once during the second half of the

season.

“The thing I think that we’re

pleased with is the last couple of

weeks, going up against some

good defenses, it took us a little

while to get started, but we made

some adjustments, we did some

things,” Seattle offensive coordi-

nator Brian Schottenheimer said.

“There was never any panic, our

guys were poised. They knew that

we would sort through the is-

sues.”

In his last six games, Wilson

topped 250 yards passing only

once, a mark he achieved in seven

of the first eight games to start the

season. But during that six-game

stretch, Wilson threw only three

interceptions.

It might be boring and at times

infuriating for fans. But it’s how

Seattle views its best chances for

success, especially with a defense

playing markedly better.

“We’re going to mix our game,

do the things that we like doing,

and see if we can find a way to get

enough points to win the game.

Whatever it is, it is,” Seattle coach

Pete Carroll said.

ELAINE THOMPSON / AP

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) tries to fend off asack by Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald (99).

Wilson knows theproblems, headachesRams can present

BY TIM BOOTH

Associated Press 8-10Russell Wilson’s career record againstthe Rams, the only team he has alosing record against. His passer ratingof 94.5 against the team is his sec-ond-lowest against any team he hasfaced four or more times.

Source: Associated Press

Saturday, January 9, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 23

MLB /NFL

he’s been able to do this season

without benefit of a normal offsea-

son or preseason to prepare for his

transition to a new team.

With a franchise-record 40

touchdown passes, he joined Aa-

ron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Peyton

Manning and Dan Marino as the

only quarterbacks to throw at

least 40 in multiple seasons. His

mark also tied Russell Wilson for

the second most in the league this

year behind’s Rodgers’ 48.

“When he first signed, I said,

‘OK, we’ll be a 40 (touchdown) and

10 (interception) team,’” Arians

said. “I was expecting practice, I

was expecting OTAs and those

things. What he’s done with none

of that — especially this last half of

the season — is incredible.”

Brady enters the playoffs com-

ing off throwing for 1,067 yards

and 10 touchdowns over the last

eight quarters that he played.

He rallied the Bucs from dou-

ble-digit deficits to win four times

this season and has thrown for at

least two TDs in seven consecu-

tive games.

“As a player, he really hasn’t

changed,” Gronkowski, the quar-

terback’s favorite target in New

England, said. “From the second I

first met him, he’s been all-in —

all-in with practices, all-in at

meetings, all-in trying to get better

every single day.”

In some ways, Brady has ex-

ceeded Arians’ expectations.

“His leadership is beyond any-

thing I’ve ever seen. Peyton Man-

ning is the only thing close,” said

Arians, who’s worked with Man-

ning, Ben Roethlisberger, Carson

Palmer and Andrew Luck while

establishing a reputation as a

quarterback whisperer.

“It’s a never-ending thing with

him, the perfectionist, to get ev-

erything right in practice,” Arians

added. “Also, his calmness on the

sideline in games when we’re not

winning, saying ‘We’re going to

win.’ Those type of things. You put

those in a bottle and you make a

bunch of money.”

It hasn’t been all rosy, though.

While the Bucs went 10-0

against teams that failed to make

the playoffs, they were 1-5 against

opponents that earned berths.

Brady had 10 touchdown passes

and nine interceptions in the loss-

es.

When Arians, who doesn’t sug-

arcoat his assessment of quarter-

backs, spoke publicly about Bra-

dy’s early inconsistency many

wondered if there was a rift devel-

oping between player and coach.

A four-game winning streak to

end the regular season put that no-

tion to rest.

“I feel like we have a great rela-

tionship. From the moment I got

here, we’ve just had great dia-

logue and I certainly appreciate

all the insight he gives me and the

way he coaches and leads,” Brady

said.

“It’s very open, honest dialogue

about how we think, certainly how

I can be most effective,” Brady

added. “Any questions he has, we

always have a great, open line of

communication. I really enjoy my

time getting to know him, and I

have great admiration for him as a

coach, as a man, as what he is off

the field and how he commands

and leads the team.”

Arians said there was never a

problem.

“The chemistry really started in

our first meeting. We first started

talking offensive football and then

the Tampa Bay Bucs. His excite-

ment level and my excitement lev-

el just kept growing and is still

growing,” Arians said.

“We’re still learning each and

every week the little things, the

game plans and situational foot-

ball that we talk out,” the coach

added. “The collaboration has

been awesome and like I’ve said,

it’s our job to keep him healthy,

keep him upright and let him do

his thing.”

Helm: Brady back inpostseason with BucsFROM PAGE 24

LON HORWEDEL/AP

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady sits on the benchduring a game against the Lions, Dec. 26, in Detroit. 

CLEVELAND — The Indians

drafted and developed Francisco

Lindor, who blossomed into an

All-Star shortstop and one of base-

ball's best all-around players.

Cleveland chased a World Se-

ries title with him.

They'll now do it without Lindor.

Knowing they could never meet

his price, the Indians dealt the

four-time All-Star and pitcher

Carlos Carrasco to the New York

Mets, who have a new owner will-

ing to spend at baseball's highest

levels in order to get his franchise

back on top.

The cash-strapped Indians sent

Lindor and Carrasco to the Mets

on Thursday for young infielders

Andrés Giménez and Amed Rosa-

rio, and two minor league pro-

spects: right-hander Josh Wolf

and outfielder Isaiah Greene. It's a

move Cleveland hopes can keep it

competitive and capable of ending

baseball’s longest title drought.

The Indians knew this day was

coming. That didn't make it any

easier.

“They’re special people in addi-

tion to special players,” said Chris

Antonetti, the team's president of

baseball operations, adding he

cried when informing the players

they were New York bound.

"Trades like this are really, really

hard to make. But at the same

time, we feel it’s the right thing to

do for us.

“Hopefully this will be — as

painful as it is right now — a trade

that positions us to be successful

moving forward.”

Dealing Lindor, who is eligible

for free agency after the 2021 sea-

son, will cut roughly $30 million

off the Indians' payroll and allow

them to rebuild.

For the Mets, the acquisition is

another sign owner Steve Cohen

means business.

"They did not come cheaply,”

Mets president Sandy Alderson

said of Lindor and Carrasco.

“What we’re trying to do is create

a new reality rather than deal with

perception."

A billionaire hedge fund man-

ager, Cohen bought the team on

Nov. 6 from the Wilpon and Katz

families and pledged to increase

spending. One of his next big-tick-

et items figures to be trying to sign

Lindor to a long-term contract,

something the Indians couldn't do.

Lindor, who will be playing in a

far different spotlight than he ex-

perienced in Cleveland, impacts

the game with his bat, glove and

legs. A two-time Gold Glove win-

ner, he's a career .285 hitter and

averaged 29 homers, 86 RBIs and

21 steals in his six major league

seasons — all with the Indians,

who drafted him in 2011.

He's been the face of the Indi-

ans' franchise, with an infectious

smile and joy for playing that has

made him one of Cleveland's most

popular athletes. But he's gone

now, leaving the Indians without

their best player and fans grum-

bling about owner Paul Dolan.

Cleveland had run out of op-

tions. Lindor has turned down nu-

merous long-term contract offers

from the Indians, betting on him-

self and knowing he could get

more money from a major-market

team in free agency.

It may seem unfair, but Anto-

netti has long acknowledged the

Indians don't have money to throw

around.

“What we have to do is deal with

the reality of what the system is,”

he said. “In this case, we had a top

pick, got a really good player, he

developed into a star, we made

multiple attempts to try to sign

him. That didn’t happen and now

he’s transitioned to another orga-

nization. That’s just the reality of

the professional baseball land-

scape right now.”

Carrasco is one of the game's

best comeback stories, overcom-

ing leukemia to become one of the

AL's steadiest starters. The 33-

year-old righty has an 88-73 ca-

reer record with a 3.73 ERA.

Beyond his stats, Carrasco was

a team leader. But with an abun-

dance of young pitchers, including

Cy Young Award winner Shane

Bieber, the Indians were in posi-

tion to move a player of Carrasco's

caliber to fill more holes.

Carrasco can be replaced. Find-

ing someone to fill Lindor's shoes

will be much tougher.

The 25-year-old Rosario is a

good start. He was New York's pri-

mary shortstop the past three-plus

seasons, though he struggled at

the plate last year and lost playing

time to Giménez.

Big deal: Indians trade starLindor, Carrasco to Mets

BY TOM WITHERS

Associated Press

DAVID DERMER/AP

The Cleveland Indians have agreed to trade four­time All­Star shortstop Francisco Lindor, pictured, andpitcher Carlos Carrasco to the New York Mets. 

PAGE 24 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, January 9, 2021

SPORTSDodgers’ legend lost

Hall of Fame manager Lasorda diesof heart attack at 93 ›› Page 20

Mets acquire All-Star Lindor, Carrasco from Indians ›› MLB, Page 23

TAMPA, Fla.

New team, same ole Tom Brady.

The six-time Super Bowl champion

who left New England for sunny Florida

is in the playoffs for a NFL-record 18th

time in 21 years, and eager to build on an

ever-expanding legacy in his first postseason appear-

ance with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Bill Belichick and the Patriots are home watching fol-

lowing a historic two-decade run with the 43-year-old

quarterback, who’s now pumping vitality into a fran-

chise with the worst all-time winning percentage in the

four major professional sports.

Brady led New England to the Super Bowl nine times

in 20 seasons, appearing in 41 playoff games and win-

ning 30 — both records.

The Bucs, who will end a 13-year postseason drought

when they face Washington in a NFC wild-card game

Saturday night, have played 15 playoff games in the

club’s 45-season history.

“Anytime you make the playoffs, it’s a good feeling,

and it’s a good opportunity to be playing this weekend, a

privilege for any of us,” Brady said Wednesday.

“We’re a team that’s made a bunch of improvements

over the course of the year, and we have to be at our

best. That’s what this part of the season is all about,” the

three-time league MVP added. “The regular season is

what it is. You realize you put it in the books, but we’re

here to win playoff games.”

Brady left New England in free agency, signing a

two-year, $50 million contract with the Bucs, who’ve

surrounded him with an All-Star cast of playmakers

that includes receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and

Antonio Brown, tight end Rob Gronkowski and running

backs Ronald Jones and Leonard Fournette.

An improved defense has helped Brady continue to

defy Father Time, too.

“It’s amazing because when you’re out there watch-

ing him in practice, you’re like, ‘This guy looks like he’s

30, maybe 33 at most,’ ” coach Bruce Arians said.

“It’s just amazing watching him and the way he

works so hard at taking care of himself. That’s not easy

at 43, taking a few shots — hopefully not too many —

and moving on. ... He really is a freak of nature in that

regard.”

It’s never been Brady’s style to call attention to his

accomplishments, so he lets his play speak for what

Steady hand at the helm

Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady led the NewEngland Patriots to the Super Bowl nine times in20 seasons, appearing in 41 playoff games andwinning 30 — both records. With Brady at thehelm, the Buccaneers will end a 13­yearpostseason drought when they face Washingtonin a NFC wild­card game Saturday night.

DANNY KARNIK/AP

In first season with Bucs, four-time Super Bowl MVP QB Brady has Tampa Bay in championship hunt

BY FRED GOODALL

Associated Press

NFL PLAYOFFS

SEE HELM ON PAGE 23

“His leadership is beyondanything I’ve ever seen.”

Bruce Arians

Buccaneers head coach, on quarterback Tom Brady