FACES MILITARY COLLEGE FOOTBALL Reasons to watch ......Stripes covers Dec. 24 and 25. Publication...

JENS BUETTNER/AP

Tessa Boulton, left, takes a swabtest from Michael Kruse,dressed as Santa Claus, at acoronavirus testing center at theHelios Clinic in Schwerin,Germany, on Monday.

Few holiday seasons around the

world will look normal this year.

All most people wanted for

Christmas after this year of pan-

demic uncertainty and chaos was

some cheer and togetherness. In-

stead many are heading into a sea-

son of isolation, grieving lost loved

ones, worried about their jobs or

confronting the fear of a new po-

tentially more contagious virus

variant.

In Iraq and Syria, troops will be

treated to Christmas turkey and

other treats, but the meals will be

take-out, said Col. Wayne Marotto,

a spokesman for U.S.-led Oper-

ation Inherent Resolve. The de-

ployed troops are continuing to

practice social distancing and

wear masks, he said.

In Germany, home to tens of

thousands of U.S. service mem-

bers and their families, coronavi-

More fear,less cheerCoronavirus changes Christmascelebrations all around the world

From staff and wire reports

ALYSA NANTAROJANAPORN/U.S. Army

Soldiers with 4-4 Attack Reconnaissance Battalion hold an “Organization Day” on Monday in Irbil, Iraq,where they enjoyed food, good company and Christmas cheer. Troops in Afghanistan and Iraq remainunder coronavirus prevention measures. Those who celebrated Thanksgiving for example, ate holidayto-go meals were ordered to remain socially distanced.

To our readers

This holiday edition of Stars andStripes covers Dec. 24 and 25. Publication will resume Dec. 26.

SEE FEAR ON PAGE 9

Volume 79 Edition 179 ©SS 2020 CONTINGENCY EDITION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020 Free to Deployed Areas

stripes.com

FACES

Finneas talksGrammys, doingnew Bond songPage 14

MILITARY

Marine helpsrescue child from car firePage 3

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Reasons to watch everygame in bowl seasonreduced by pandemicPage 24

Navy rejects China’s claim of chasing off USS John S. McCain ›› Page 5

WASHINGTON — President Donald

Trump on Tuesday pardoned four former

government contractors convicted in a

2007 massacre in Baghdad that left more

than a dozen Iraqi civilians dead and

caused an international uproar over the

use of private security guards in a war

zone.

Supporters of the former contractors at

Blackwater Worldwide had lobbied for the

pardons, arguing that the men had been ex-

cessively punished in an investigation and

prosecution they said was tainted. All four

were serving lengthy prison sentences.

“Paul Slough and his colleagues didn’t

deserve to spend one minute in prison,”

said Brian Heberlig, a lawyer for one of the

four pardoned defendants. “I am over-

whelmed with emotion at this fantastic

news.”

The pardons, issued in the final days of

Trump’s single term, reflect Trump’s ap-

parent willingness to give the benefit of the

doubt to American service members and

contractors when it comes to acts of vio-

lence in war zones against civilians. Last

Trump pardons Blackwater contractors in deadly Iraq shootingBY ERIC TUCKER

Associated Press

AP

From left: Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty,Nicholas Slatten and Paul Slough wereconvicted in a 2007 massacre that leftmore than a dozen Iraqi civilians dead. SEE CONTRACTORS ON PAGE 10

WASHINGTON — Stuffed into

the new emergency relief package

is a morsel that President Donald

Trump has long had on the buffet

of his economic wish list: restoring

full tax breaks for restaurant busi-

ness meals.

Experts say it’s scant immediate

help for an industry reeling from

the pandemic, while critics deride

it as an insensitive “three-Martini

lunch” giveaway to business.

The new $900 billion pandemic

relief package that Congress

cleared Monday night delivers

long-sought cash to businesses and

individuals, and resources to vac-

cinate a nation confronting a surge

in a virus that has killed more than

300,000 people.

The under-the-radar provision

in the bill restores the full deduc-

tions prized by business and lob-

byists for fine dining and schmooz-

ing. It could help at least the tonier

parts of the restaurant industry —

eventually, when the economy re-

covers from the pandemic’s dislo-

cation and depending on the

strength of the rebound and con-

sumer spending, experts say.

Americans for Tax Fairness

said the break “would mostly help

high-paid executives enjoying

three-martini lunches and the

fancy restaurants they frequent.

Neighborhood eateries and their

millions of laid-off workers ... will

get little or nothing.”

The full tax deductions for busi-

ness meals in restaurants or taken

out or delivered are temporary,

only for 2021 and 2022 — unless

extended by later legislation.

Business meal tax break causing stirAssociated Press

Bahrain70/64

Baghdad57/46

Doha73/55

Kuwait City65/57

Riyadh75/53

Kandahar50/26

Kabul40/26

Djibouti83/70

THURSDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Mildenhall/Lakenheath

42/39

Ramstein48/43

Stuttgart45/42

Lajes,Azores60/57

Rota59/44

Morón60/42 Sigonella

59/46

Naples57/53

Aviano/Vicenza43/39

Pápa44/41

Souda Bay62/54

Brussels46/43

Zagan46/43

DrawskoPomorskie 37/36

THURSDAY IN EUROPE

Misawa37/34

Guam84/81

Tokyo51/36

Okinawa67/64

Sasebo45/42

Iwakuni43/40

Seoul35/17

Osan36/24

Busan41/30

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

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

FRIDAY IN THE PACIFIC

WEATHER OUTLOOK

TODAYIN STRIPES

American Roundup ...... 12Comics .........................16Crossword ................... 16Faces .......................... 14Opinion ........................ 15Sports ................... 20-24

BUSINESS/WEATHER

Military rates

Euro costs (Dec. 24) $1.19Dollar buys (Dec. 24) 0.841British pound (Dec. 24) $1.32Japanese yen (Dec. 24) 101.00South Korean won (Dec. 24) 1,081.00

Commercial rates

Bahrain(Dinar) 0.3770Britain (Pound) 0.7388Canada (Dollar) 1.2857China(Yuan) 6.5386Denmark (Krone) 6.0929Egypt (Pound) 15.7354Euro 0.8191Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7529Hungary (Forint) 297.13Israel (Shekel) 3.2169Japan (Yen) 103.47Kuwait(Dinar) 0.3050

Norway (Krone) 8.6531

Philippines (Peso) 48.03Poland (Zloty) 3.69Saudi Arab (Riyal) 3.7527Singapore (Dollar) 1.3325

So. Korea (Won) 1,107.42Switzerlnd (Franc) 0.8879Thailand (Baht) 30.21Turkey (NewLira) 7.6350

(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 0.25Federal funds market rate 0.093month bill 0.930year bond 1.65

EXCHANGE RATES

PAGE 2 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, December 24, 2020

Thursday, December 24, 2020 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3

MILITARY

Gunnery Sgt. Kyle Wetter was

driving home from base earlier

this month when fire burst out un-

der the car in front of him, after it

ran over a gas can that had fallen

off a truck.

The Marine’s quick actions as

flames engulfed the vehicle would

help save the life of an 18-month-

old child on Dec. 7 in Fallbrook,

Calif., a town on the back side of

Camp Pendleton, north of San

Diego.

After the car’s driver, Anthony

Hurly, slammed on the brakes and

pulled over, Wetter did the same,

jumping out of his vehicle armed

with a fire extinguisher, a Marine

Corps statement said this week.

Both the driver and his wife

were out of the vehicle by the time

Wetter arrived, and he initially

thought everyone was safe, he said

in a video the service released

Tuesday. But his extinguisher

would be no match for the growing

blaze.

“At this point, there was vegeta-

tion that was also burning adja-

cent to the vehicle,” Capt. John

Choi, a spokesman for the North

County Fire Protection District,

center at Camp Pendleton, credit-

ed his infantry training with con-

ditioning him to quickly respond

to the situation.

“His actions embody honor,

courage, commitment,” Choi said.

“It took tremendous courage to go

into a burning vehicle to aid this

family and I truly believe if Gun-

nery Sgt. Wetter didn’t do his ac-

tions that day that we would have a

different outcome for this child

and the family.”

But Wetter doesn’t think he’s

special by any means, he said in

the video. “I was just the person

behind them that decided they

want to help someone else.”

Wetter is a new father of tri-

plets, San Diego’s KSWB Fox affil-

iate reported last week. He told

the local station that he hoped

someone would do the same for

his wife and children if they were

in a similar situation.

Still, his help for the Hurly fam-

ily will not soon be forgotten.

“I am forever grateful,” Hurly

was quoted saying in the Marine

Corps statement. “He came at a

time of need for my family.”

seat from its base and when Wet-

ter tried to unbuckle the seatbelt,

he had no luck.

“At that point is when I used my

pocket knife to cut the car seat belt

that was holding the baby seat into

the car,” he said. “I grabbed as

many belongings as I could from

the car for the family as I was go-

ing out of the vehicle.”

He then moved away from the

car, which he said was completely

engulfed in flames.

Wetter, an NCO in charge of the

formal marksmanship training

said in the video. “Gunnery Sgt.

Wetter came in and made contact

with the wife ... and she said, ‘My

baby’s in the back.’ ”

Wetter saw Hurly run to the

passenger side of the vehicle to try

to get the child out of the car seat,

so he jumped into the back seat to

assist. Hurly couldn’t dislodge the

Marine helps save toddler in Calif. car fireBY CHAD GARLAND

Stars and Stripes

BRIAN FERGUSON/From video

A vehicle burns after Marine Gunnery Sgt. Kyle Wetter helped rescuean 18monthold child from it in Fallbrook, Calif., on Dec. 7.

[email protected]: @chadgarland

ANDREW CORTEZ/U.S. Marine Corps

Wetter credited his infantrytraining with conditioning him toquickly respond to the situation.

• S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, December 24, 2020

WAR ON TERRORISM

KABUL, Afghanistan — Sepa-

rate bombing and shooting attacks

in Afghanistan's capital left at

least three people dead Wednes-

day, including the head of an inde-

pendent elections watchdog, offi-

cials said.

The attacks are the latest amid

relentless violence in the country

even as Taliban and Afghan gov-

ernment negotiators hold talks in

Qatar, trying to hammer out a

peace deal that could put an end to

decades of war.

Unknown gunmen shot and

killed Mohammad Yousuf Rash-

eed, executive director of the non-

governmental Free and Fair Elec-

tion Forum of Afghanistan, said

Ferdaws Faramarz, spokesman

for Kabul's police chief.

The attack took place during

Rasheed's morning commute to

FEFA's office in Kabul, he said.

Rasheed's driver later died in a

hospital from his wounds, Fara-

marz said.

Afghan President Ashraf Gha-

ni, the U.S.'s acting ambassador,

and many social media users con-

demned the attack on Rasheed.

Ghani in a statement said Rash-

eed had spent many years work-

ing to institutionalize democracy

and transparency in the electoral

process.

“By carrying out such attacks,

the enemies can not push back the

current Afghanistan, which has

achieved recent progress and

achievements with the tireless ef-

forts and sacrifices of the people,”

he said.

Ross Wilson, the U.S.'s ranking

diplomat in Afghanistan, tweeted

that Rasheed was a dedicated and

steadfast advocate for representa-

tive democracy in the country.

“He worked tirelessly for years

to ensure free and transparent

elections that engaged all Af-

ghans," he said. “His death is a loss

for his family, friends and nation.”

In a separate attack in the cap-

ital Wednesday, a police vehicle

was targeted by a sticky bomb in

the eastern part of the city. The

blast killed one police officer and

wounded two others, according to

Faramarz.

No one immediately claimed re-

sponsibility for either attack, but

Islamic State has claimed respon-

sibility for multiple attacks in Ka-

bul in recent months, including on

educational institutions that killed

50 people, most of them students.

ISIS took responsibility for an

attack in Kabul on Tuesday in

which a roadside bombing tore

through a vehicle killing five peo-

ple, three of them doctors on their

way to work at the city's main pen-

itentiary. Among the dead was Na-

zefa Ibrahimi, the acting health di-

rector of the prison. Another doc-

tor was in serious condition.

ISIS said it targeted prison ad-

ministrators in the attack. The vic-

tims' car did not appear to have

any markings on it that indicated

its passengers were medical

workers.

Violence in Afghanistan has

spiked even during Taliban and

Afghan government peace nego-

tiations, which began in Septem-

ber. The talks, after some recent

procedural progress, have been

suspended until early January

and there is speculation the re-

sumption could be further de-

layed.

At the same time, Taliban mil-

itants have waged bitter battles

against ISIS fighters, particularly

in eastern Afghanistan, while con-

tinuing their insurgency against

government forces and keeping

their promise not to attack U.S.

and NATO troops.

ISIS has also claimed respon-

sibility for last week's rocket at-

tacks targeting the major U.S.

base in Afghanistan. There were

no casualties in that assault, ac-

cording to NATO and provincial

officials.

Afghan official: Bomb, shooting attacks kill 3

RAHMAT GUL/AP

Villagers offer prayers over the coffin of Mohammad Yousuf Rasheed, executive director of thenongovernmental Free and Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan, during his funeral ceremony, in Kabul,Afghanistan, on Wednesday. Rasheed was killed by unknown gunmen in Ghazni province on Monday.

Associated Press

SALEM, Ore. — A man support-

ed Islamic State for years from a

Portland, Ore., suburb by helping

the extremists maintain an online

presence that encouraged attacks

and sought recruits, federal agents

and prosecutors said.

Hawazen Sameer Mothafar,

who was arrested in November

and whose trial is scheduled to be-

gin in January, produced and dis-

seminated propaganda and

recruiting material through social

media platforms, according to a

grand jury indictment.

Mothafar pleaded not guilty to

charges of providing material sup-

port to a designated terrorist orga-

nization and conspiring to provide

that support. Mark Ahlemeyer, his

federal public defender, declined

to comment.

The case underscores the

group's focus on an online pres-

ence, often referred to by experts

as a “digital caliphate." By late

2017, ISIS had lost most of the terri-

tory it seized in Iraq and Syria, and

its self-declared caliphate along

with it. The group continues to car-

ry out and inspire attacks.

Law enforcement's attempts to

take down ISIS's online presence

often resemble a game of whack-a-

mole. A year ago, European law en-

forcement officials removed ac-

counts and information linked to

the Amaq agency, which spreads

propaganda and news for the

group. But as recently as last

month, Amaq carried a statement

in which ISIS claimed responsibil-

ity for a shooting rampage in Vien-

na that killed four people.

“While the Islamic State has lost

swaths of territory, it has survived,

is conducting significant numbers

of attacks, and is leveraging the

digital caliphate to promote its nar-

rative,” Maxwell Markusen of the

Center for Strategic and Interna-

tional Studies wrote in November

2018.

Mothafar, who lived in the Por-

tland suburb of Troutdale, is ac-

cused of editing and producing

material al Anfal, a newspaper that

“advocates violent jihad” and re-

ceives its orders from ISIS's cen-

tral media office, known as Diwan,

the indictment says.

It also said Mothafar had been

working on behalf of the group

since at least early 2015.

Jordan Reimer, a counterterror-

ism expert with Rand Corp., said

the arrest does not seem to repre-

sent a major blow to the group, but

anyone helping create and spread

its propaganda plays an important

role.

“ISIS propaganda is a huge com-

ponent of what they do,” said

Reimer, a former intelligence ana-

lyst for the New York City Police

Department.

Reimer said it is rare for some-

one in the United States to be as

deeply and directly involved di-

rectly in ISIS online activities as

Mothafar is alleged to have been.

Around 40% of the 221 people

who have been charged in the U.S.

as of November with ISIS-related

crimes were accused of traveling

or attempting to travel abroad.

One-third were accused of plotting

domestic terror attacks, according

to George Washington Universi-

ty’s Program on Extremism.

“To be part of the actual formal

pro-ISIS or ISIS-affiliated publica-

tions, to be working on that in a for-

mal capacity in America is unique.

That I had not seen before,” Reim-

er said.

Mothafar is also accused in the

indictment of providing assist-

ance, including moderating pri-

vate chat rooms, to Al Dura’a al

Sunni, or Sunni Shield, a pro-ISIS

internet-based media organiza-

tion.

In 2016, he opened a Facebook

account for a senior ISIS official

who is currently in custody in Iraq,

the indictment says, adding that

Mothafar also distributed online

articles that described how to kill

and maim with a knife and that en-

couraged attacks.

Loren “Renn” Cannon, the FBI’s

special agent in charge of the Por-

tland division, said extremist

groups of all stripes are increas-

ingly using online tools to spread

their message of violence and in di-

rect actions by intimidation, hack-

ing and harassing people.

“The digital component is in-

credibly important these days,”

Cannon said. “I think it’s important

for people to understand that those

extremists that are advocating vio-

lence utilize the Internet and social

media — those are today’s tools to

try to get ideas across.”

He declined to comment about

the Mothafar case, though in an-

nouncing the arrest, he called

Mothafar “a leading figure in the

Islamic State’s media network.”

The trial is scheduled to start on

Jan. 5 in Portland. But Ahlemeyer

has asked the judge for a 90-day

postponement to further scruti-

nize the case.

Authorities decided not to jail

Mothafar, who has physical dis-

abilities and uses a wheelchair, be-

cause he is considered a low flight

risk, especially amid coronavirus

travel restrictions.

Ore. case reflects extremists’ need of online presenceAssociated Press “While the Islamic State has lost

swaths of territory, it has survived,is conducting significant numbers ofattacks, and is leveraging the digitalcaliphate to promote its narrative.”

Maxwell Markusen

Center for Strategic and International Studies


MILITARY

The U.S. Navy has knocked back a Chi-

nese claim that their forces chased a U.S.

warship from disputed waters in the South

China Sea.

China’s state-run Global Times newspa-

per reported Tuesday the nation’s naval

and aerial forces had “expelled” the guid-

ed-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain

that day from waters near the Spratly Is-

lands. The paper cited Senior Col. Tian Jun-

li, a spokesperson at the Chinese military’s

Southern Theater Command, as its source.

“The US action was a serious violation of

China’s sovereignty and security, and it

gravely disrupted peace and stability in the

South China Sea, which China is resolutely

against,” the paper reported, citing Tian.

The Navy on Wednesday described the

claim as false.

“USS John S. McCain was not ‘expelled’

from any nation’s territory,” 7th Fleet

spokesman Lt. Joe Keiley said in an email.

“USS John S. McCain conducted this [free-

dom of navigation operation] in accordance

with international law and then continued

on to conduct normal operations in interna-

tional waters.”

Six nations, including the Philippines,

China, Vietnam and Taiwan, assert sover-

eignty over all or part of the chain of more

than 100 small, uninhabited islands and

reefs rich with fishing grounds and poten-

tial oil and gas deposits.

Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and

China have created outposts or bases there,

according to the CIA World Factbook. Chi-

na, which claims authority over most of the

South China Sea, built bases capable of ac-

commodating fighter jets and other ad-

vanced weaponry.

The McCain’s operation near the islands

reflects the Navy’s commitment to uphold

freedom of navigation and lawful uses of the

sea as a principle, Keiley said. “The United

States will continue to fly, sail and operate

wherever international law allows, as USS

John S. McCain did here,” he said.

The Chinese claims about the warship

are the latest in a long string of Chinese ac-

tions to misrepresent lawful U.S. maritime

operations and assert excessive and illegiti-

mate maritime claims at the expense of

Southeast Asian neighbors in the South Chi-

na Sea, Keiley said.

The Chinese behavior stands in contrast

to the United States’ adherence to interna-

tional law andvision for a free and open In-

do-Pacific region, he said.

“All nations, large and small, should be

secure in their sovereignty, free from coer-

cion, and able to pursue economic growth

consistent with accepted international

rules and norms,” he said.

Navy rejects China’s US warship claimBY SETH ROBSON

Stars and Stripes

MARKUS CASTANEDA/U.S. Navy

Cmdr. Ryan T. Easterday, commander of the USS John S. McCain, scans the horizon inthe South China Sea from the pilot house Tuesday.

[email protected]: @SethRobson1

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa —

The Naval Criminal Investigative

Service is involved in the search

for a Navy civilian employee on

Okinawa who went missing last

week from a seaside tourist spot.

Japanese police believe the

man, an American in his 30s,

likely fell from the cliff at Cape

Zanpa and drowned in the sea, a

Kadena police station spokesman

said Tuesday. No suspicious

charges have appeared on the

man’s credit cards, the spokes-

man said.

The Navy declined to identify

the man or where he worked; Ja-

panese authorities said he is in

Japan under the status of forces

agreement that governs U.S. per-

sonnel affiliated with the U.S.

military.

He went missing from the site

on the island’s west coast some-

time before 6:20 p.m. Dec. 15,

when the Japan Coast Guard was

called, a coast guard spokesman

said last week.

The missing man’s car was

found in the parking lot and a

fishing pole and backpack were

discovered atop one of Zanpa’s

towering cliffs, the spokesman

said.

Kadena police and Nirai emer-

gency responders searched the

area where the man went mis-

sing, which is marked by jagged,

seaside cliffs, walking trails and a

100-foot-tall lighthouse, the police

spokesman said previously. The

Japan Coast Guard searched by

air and sea, their spokesman said.

The coast guard called off its

search Dec. 17, a Navy spokes-

man said Tuesday.

However, the Naval Criminal

Investigative Service is still on

the case. The Navy cited the ac-

tive investigation and the “cir-

cumstances of the disappear-

ance” in declining to name the

man.

“Each member of our team is

important to us, and we remain

hopeful our missing team mem-

ber will be found,” Navy spokes-

man Rob Helton wrote Tuesday

in an email to Stars and Stripes.

“We are not able to provide fur-

ther information at this time.”

Some government officials in

Japan customarily speak to the

media on condition of anonymity.

Disappearance of base worker from popular Okinawa tourist spot probedBY MATTHEW M. BURKE

AND AYA ICHIHASHI

Stars and Stripes

[email protected] Twitter: @MatthewMBurke1

A U.S. Army cannon has hit a

target 43.5 miles away, marking a

milestone in the push to develop

longer range artillery, the service

said.

Three M982A1 Excalibur weap-

ons were launched from its Ex-

tended Range Cannon Artillery,

during a test at the Army’s train-

ing area in Yuma, Ariz., Army Fu-

tures Command said in a state-

ment this week. The weapon hit its

target on the third attempt.

For the Army, extending the re-

ach of its cannons is a priority as it

seeks to counter advanced poten-

tial adversaries like Russia and

China. The service is looking to

develop systems that put Army

units out of the range of enemy

ground forces.

“I don’t think our adversaries

have the ability to hit a target on

the nose at 43 miles,” Brig. Gen.

John Rafferty, director of the Ar-

my’s Long-Range Precision Fires

Cross Functional Team, told De-

fense News following the Satur-

day test.

The ERCA cannon relies on a

M109A7 Paladin howitzer chassis

and uses a 58-caliber gun tube, as

opposed to the 39-caliber gun tube

found on other howitzers.

Design work on a final version

of the cannon could be finished in

2021, with hopes of fielding the

weapon by 2023, the Army said.

Service leaders have said long-

range precision fires from ground

forces are an important part of a

modernization effort to give

forces “a decisive advantage” in

future fights.

Army’s new cannon hits target 43.5 miles away in testBY JOHN VANDIVER

Stars and Stripes

The U.S. Army fired threeM982A1 Excalibur weaponsfrom its Extended RangeCannon Artillery prototype,with one round striking adirect hit a target at a rangeof 43.5 miles Saturday.

U.S. Army

[email protected]


MILITARY

TOKYO — U.S. military com-

mands in Japan reported 13 new

cases of coronavirus as of 6 p.m.

Wednesday, the eve of a four-day

federal holiday.

Japan reported 2,135 new cases

on Tuesday, the most recent data

available, according to the World

Health Organization.

In Tokyo, the metropolitan gov-

ernment reported that 748 people

tested positive Wednesday, the

second-highestdaily total thus far,

according to public broadcaster

NHK. The city reported its highest

one-day pandemic total, 821, on

Dec. 17, according to metro gov-

ernment data.

South Korea, like Japan experi-

encing a record-breaking surge in

new coronavirus patients, on

Tuesday reported 1,092 new pa-

tients and 17 deaths due to CO-

VID-19, the respiratory disease

caused by the virus.

In Japan, Misawa Air Base in

northeast Japan on Wednesday

reported that one person, a new

arrival to Japan, tested positive

for the virus and went immediate-

ly into quarantine. That person’s

roommate after arriving was also

quarantined as a precaution, ac-

cording to a base Facebook post.

The base has four patients under

observation.

Naval Air Facility Atsugi, 26

miles southwest of central Tokyo,

on Wednesday reported six new

coronavirus patients: one recent

arrival to Japan, one who con-

tracted the virus from another

person and six who fell ill and test-

ed positive, said base spokesman

Sam Samuelson. He did not have

the dates those patients were test-

ed available. Atsugi has 18 pa-

tients under observation, accord-

ing to its Facebook page on

Wednesday.

U.S. Army Japan, headquar-

tered southwest of central Tokyo

at Camp Zama, reported that one

individual tested positive on Mon-

day, according to a news release.

That patient had close contact

with another infected person, ac-

cording to the Army.

Sasebo Naval Base, on Kyushu,

discovered one new patient

Wednesday during a medical

screening, according to the base

Facebook page. The naval base is

monitoring 17 patients.

On Okinawa, Kadena Air Base

reported that four individuals

tested positive while still in quar-

antine after returning to Japan

from travel abroad, according to a

base Facebook post.

AKIFUMI ISHIKAWA/Stars and Stripes

Visitors to the Honmonji temple, Tokyo, wear masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus on Tuesday.

US military in Japan reports13 new cases on holiday eve

BY JOSEPH DITZLER

Stars and Stripes

[email protected]: @JosephDitzler

U.S. Forces Korea will start ad-

ministering the Moderna vaccine

against the coronavirus to frontline

health care workers and first re-

sponders “over the next few days,”

the USFK commander, Gen. Rob-

ert Abrams, announced Tuesday.

In a message on the USFK web-

site, Abrams said the command

would receive “additional ship-

ments of the vaccine to inoculate

all USFK-affiliated community

members as production and distri-

bution increases.”

He did not specify a timeline for

wider distribution of the vaccine.

“I ask that our community re-

mains patient and flexible as the

additional shipments arrive,”

Abrams wrote.

The Moderna vaccine, approved

Friday by the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration for emergency

use, must be taken voluntarily.

“I plan to take it when given the

opportunity,” Abrams said. “I ask

our USFK community to strongly

consider taking it as well. I want

you to make an informed decision

for you and your family regarding

the vaccine and ask that you con-

sult your primary care manager to

learn more about the benefits of re-

ceiving the vaccine.”

The jab may induce side effects,

according to a USFK vaccine fact

sheet, including aches, pain and

swelling around the injection site,

fatigue, headache and fever.

“This is normal and indicates

your body is creating antibodies to

protect you from COVID-19,” the

respiratory disease caused by the

coronavirus, according to USFK.

Even with a vaccine coming

soon, USFK reminded service

members, civilian employees and

family members to abide by re-

strictions after being inoculated.

Health protection measures,

USFK directives and South Ko-

rean national and local measures

still apply, according to USFK.

“History has proven that vac-

cines are a proven measure to bet-

ter protect you and others from vi-

ruses,” Abrams wrote. “(T)his is

another tool to protect the force,

community and strengthen our

‘Fight Tonight’ readiness posture.”

In Japan, the same vaccine is ex-

pected to arrive, destined for six

U.S. bases with medical treatment

facilities, “within the next 24-48

hours,” Chief Master Sgt. Rick

Winegardner Jr., senior enlisted

leader of U.S. Forces Japan, said on

American Forces Network Radio.

“We’ve got about 7,000, 8,000

doses that are coming over and

they’re all going to be focused on

our tier one kind-of folks, i.e., all the

folks that we have that support us,

working at our hospitals and our

medical clinics,” Winegardner

said.

USFK to offerfirst round ofvaccine in days

BY JOSEPH DITZLER

Stars and Stripes

[email protected]: @JosephDitzler

WASHINGTON — The Depart-

ment of Veterans Affairs does not

plan to change the name of one of

its hospitals that honors a Confed-

erate physician who suggested

castrating Black men accused of

sexual crimes.

Christina Noel, a VA spokeswo-

man, said the agency is not consid-

ering a name change for the Hun-

ter Holmes McGuire VA Medical

Center in Richmond, Va., which

honors the personal doctor to

Stonewall Jackson, one of the most

famous Confederate generals of

the Civil War.

The call to remove statues of

Confederates leaders or renaming

buildings that honor them gained

momentum during the summer

amid nationwide protests against

police brutality following the kill-

ing of George Floyd by Minneapo-

lis police. That movement spurred

Congress to pass a measure re-

naming military bases that honor

Confederates.

On Monday, the statue of Con-

federate Gen. Robert E. Lee inside

the U.S. Capitol was removed and

relocated to the Virginia Museum

of History and Culture.

VA Secretary Robert Wilkie,

however, said in a recent interview

that he hasn’t heard about any con-

cerns from veterans about facili-

ties named after Confederates. He

also said “the president has been

very clear on that” when asked

about efforts to rename facilities.

President Donald Trump has

been a staunch defender of pre-

serving Confederate statues and

their names on military bases,

most of which date back to the Jim

Crow-era of the early 1900s.

Trump has threatened, in part, to

veto the 2021 National Defense Au-

thorization Act because it includes

the measure to rename the bases.

Hunter Holmes McGuire was a

doctor in the Confederate army

who served in multiple major bat-

tles of the Civil War. McGuire am-

putated Jackson’s left arm and re-

moved a ball from his right hand af-

ter the general was wounded. Jack-

son died of pneumonia six days

later with McGuire at his side.

After the Civil War, McGuire

penned a journal with another doc-

tor about studying the alleged sex-

ual crimes of Black men that he be-

lieved were widespread. McGuire

wrote that castration should be the

punishment for the crimes.

McGuire also served as presi-

dent of the American Medical As-

sociation from 1893 to 1894. In ad-

dition to him being honored by VA,

there is a statue of him sitting at the

Virginia State Capitol.

“Black service members have

fought and died for our country

since well before the law treated

them as full citizens,” Common

Defense, a progressive veteran or-

ganization, said in a statement.

“It’s those veterans, not racist and

treasonous Confederates, who tru-

ly embodied the VA’s mission to

serve and care for our country’s ex-

service members — the naming of

our VA facilities should honor and

reflect that.”

Wilkie’s leadership of the VA has

been called into question in recent

weeks by some Democrats on Cap-

itol Hill and some veteran organi-

zations over his handling of a Navy

reservist’s claim that she was sex-

ually assaulted at a VA hospital.

Wilkie challenged the allegation as

a political attack against him and

attempted to smear the woman

who made the claim. Some law-

makers and veterans groups have

called on Wilkie to resign or Trump

to fire him.

“Secretary Wilkie’s dedication

to honoring a slavery-supporting

Confederate doctor by retaining

his name on a VA medical center is

shameful but unfortunately com-

pletely in keeping with his failed

leadership of the department,”

said Jeremy Butler, CEO of Iraq

and Afghanistan Veterans of

America.

McGuire’s ancestors wrote in

the Richmond Times-Dispatch in

August that they support the Con-

federate doctor’s name being

scrubbed from buildings, and that

his writings can’t be defended.

[email protected]: @StevenBeynon

VA says it has no plans to rename hospital that honors ConfederateBY STEVE BEYNON

Stars and Stripes


VIRUS OUTBREAK

WASHINGTON — Pfizer and

BioNTech will supply the United

States with an additional 100 mil-

lion doses of their COVID-19 vac-

cine under a second agreement.

The drugmakers said Wednes-

day that they expect to deliver all

the doses by July 31.

Pfizer already has a contract to

supply the government with 100

million doses of its vaccine,

which requires two doses per pa-

tient.

Under the nearly $2 billion

deal announced Wednesday, the

companies will deliver at least 70

million additional doses by June

30, with the remaining 30 million

to be delivered no later than July

31. The government also has the

option to acquire up to an addi-

tional 400 million doses.

Health and Human Services

Secretary Alex Azar said in a

statement that the latest deal can

give people confidence “that we

will have enough supply to vacci-

nate every American who wants

it by June 2021.”

Pfizer’s vaccine was the first to

gain authorization for emergency

use from the Food and Drug Ad-

ministration, and initial ship-

ments went to states last week. It

has now been joined by a vaccine

from Moderna, which was devel-

oped in closer cooperation with

scientists from the National Insti-

tutes of Health.

Moderna’s vaccine, which also

requires two doses, comes under

the umbrella of the government’s

own effort, which is called Oper-

ation Warp Speed. That public-

private endeavor was designed to

have millions of vaccine doses

ready and available to ship once a

shot received FDA approval.

The Associated Press previous-

ly reported that the U.S. govern-

ment was close to reaching a new

deal with Pfizer in exchange for

helping the pharmaceutical giant

gain better access to manufactur-

ing supplies.

A law dating back to the Ko-

rean War gives the government

authority to direct private com-

panies to produce critical goods

in times of national emergency.

Called the Defense Production

Act, it’s expected to be invoked to

help Pfizer secure some raw ma-

terials needed for its vaccine.

Pfizer already had a contract to

supply the government with 100

million doses of its vaccine under

Operation Warp Speed, but gov-

ernment officials have said it’s

more of an arms-length relation-

ship with the company and that

they don’t have as much visibility

into its operations.

The drugmaker will receive

nearly $2 billion for that deal as

well.

“With these 100 million addi-

tional doses, the United States

will be able to protect more indi-

viduals and hopefully end this

devastating pandemic more

quickly,” Pfizer CEO Albert

Bourla said in a prepared state-

ment. “We look forward to con-

tinuing our work with the U.S.

government and health care pro-

viders around the country.”

The vaccine from Pfizer and

German pharmaceutical BioN-

Tech immediately raised hopes

of taming a pandemic that has

killed nearly 320,000 people in

the U.S. and hobbled much of the

national economy. Health care

workers and nursing home resi-

dents topped the list as local TV

stations across the country began

broadcasting scenes of the first

vaccinations. Some polls show

that skepticism about getting vac-

cinated may be easing.

After early failures with test-

ing, Trump administration offi-

cials are hoping to write a very

different ending with vaccines.

Operation Warp Speed has fi-

nanced the development, manu-

facture and distribution of mil-

lions of doses, with the goal of

providing a free vaccine to any

American who wants one.

Operation Warp Speed is on

track to have about 40 million

doses of vaccine by the end of

this month, of which about 20

million would be allocated for

first vaccinations. The distribu-

tion of those doses would span in-

to the first week of January. Both

the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines

require two shots to be fully ef-

fective.

The New York Times first re-

ported the new details of negotia-

tions between Pfizer and the

Trump administration.

NAM Y. HUH/AP

Prepared COVID19 PfizerBioNTech vaccine syringes are seen at Edward Hospital in Naperville, Ill.

Pfizer to provide US with100M more vaccine doses

BY RICARDO

ALONSO-ZALDIVAR

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The num-

ber of Americans seeking unem-

ployment benefits fell by 89,000

last week to a still-elevated

803,000, evidence that the job

market remains under stress

nine months after the coronavi-

rus outbreak sent the U.S. econo-

my into recession and caused

millions of layoffs.

The latest figure, released

Wednesday by the Labor Depart-

ment, shows that many employ-

ers are still cutting jobs as the

pandemic tightens business re-

strictions and leads many con-

sumers to stay home. Before the

virus struck, jobless claims typ-

ically numbered around 225,000

a week before shooting up to 6.9

million in early spring when the

virus — and efforts to contain it

— flattened the economy. The

pace of layoffs has since declined

but remains historically high in

the face of the resurgence of CO-

VID-19 cases.

“The fact that more than nine

months into the crisis, initial

claims are still running at such a

high level is, in absolute terms,

bad news,” Joshua Shapiro, chief

U.S. economist at the economic

consulting firm Maria Fiorini Ra-

mirez Inc., wrote in a research

note. “With the pandemic again

worsening, it is likely that claims

will remain quite elevated for

some time to come.”

The total number of people

who are receiving traditional

state unemployment benefits fell

to 5.3 million for the week that

ended Dec. 12 from a week earli-

er. That figure had peaked in

early May at nearly 23 million.

The steady decline since then

means that some unemployed

Americans are finding work and

no longer receiving aid. But it al-

so indicates that many of the un-

employed have used up their

state benefits, which typically ex-

pire after six months.

Millions more jobless Ameri-

cans are now collecting checks

under two federal programs that

were created in March to ease

the economic pain inflicted by

the pandemic. Those programs

had been set to expire the day

after Christmas. On Monday,

Congress agreed to extend them

as part of a $900 billion pandem-

ic rescue package.

On Tuesday night, though,

President Donald Trump sud-

denly raised doubts about that

aid and other federal money by

attacking Congress’ rescue pack-

age as inadequate and suggesting

that he might not sign it into law.

The supplemental federal job-

less benefit in Congress’ new

measure has been set at $300 a

week — only half the amount

provided in March — and will

expire in 11 weeks. A separate

benefits program for jobless peo-

ple who have exhausted their

regular state aid and another

benefits program for self-em-

ployed and gig workers will also

be extended only until early

spring, well before the economy

will likely have fully recovered.

A tentative economic recovery

from the springtime collapse has

been faltering in the face of a re-

surgence of COVID-19 cases: an

average of more than 200,000

confirmed cases a day, up from

fewer than 35,000 in early Sep-

tember. Hiring in November

slowed for a fifth straight month,

with employers adding the few-

est jobs since April. Nearly 10

million of the 22 million people

who lost jobs when the pandemic

hit in the spring are still unem-

ployed.

According to the data firm

Womply, closings are rising in

some hard-hit businesses. For

example, 42% of bars were

closed as of Dec. 16, up from 33%

at the start of November. Over

the same period, closures rose

from 25% to 29% at restaurants

and from 27% to 35% at salons

and other health and beauty

shops.

The number of jobless people

who are collecting aid from one

of the two federal extended-ben-

efit programs — the Pandemic

Unemployment Assistance pro-

gram, which offers coverage to

gig workers and others who don’t

qualify for traditional benefits —

rose by nearly 27,000 to 9.3 mil-

lion in the week that ended Dec.

5.

The number of people receiv-

ing aid under the second pro-

gram — the Pandemic Emergen-

cy Unemployment Compensation

program, which provides federal

jobless benefits to people who

have already exhausted their

state aid — fell by nearly 8,200 to

4.8 million.

All told, 20.4 million people are

now receiving some type of un-

employment benefits. (Figures

for the two pandemic-related

programs aren’t adjusted for sea-

sonal variations.)

US layoffs remainelevated as 803Kseek jobless aid

BY PAUL WISEMAN

Associated Press


VIRUS OUTBREAK

OPELIKA, Ala. — A Christmas

tree stands outside the intensive

care room where a man stricken

by COVID-19 lies unconscious, a

machine breathing for him. A few

feet away, a plastic snowman

adorns the door of another patient

whose face is barely visible be-

hind ventilator tubes.

The decorations are “a way to

let family members know that

we’re trying, and we love these

patients and we want them to feel

like it’s Christmas as much as we

can,” nurse Carla Fallin said,

standing just outside one of the

rooms at East Alabama Medical

Center.

While parades, shopping and

Christmas tree lightings go on

around them, nurses and doctors

who’ve spent agonizing months

caring for the ill are doing what

they can to get through the holi-

day season, which many fear will

only spread the disease and add to

the U.S. death toll that has sur-

passed 300,000.

The medical center about 60

miles northeast of Montgomery

faces a new influx of COVID-19

patients as the pandemic intensi-

fies. That means staff members

can hang decorations on patients’

doors in the ICU but cannot attend

after-work Christmas parties. A

cheerful Santa doll stands atop the

desk at a nursing station, but big

gatherings with relatives are out.

A nurse for five years, Fallin

said Christmas just doesn’t feel

right this year. She and her hus-

band did not take their two young

sons to local Christmas events

that drew hundreds of people,

many without masks. The decora-

tions in the ICU help lighten the

mental load a little, she said, if on-

ly until another patient nears

death.

The red-brick hospital is near

Auburn University in the old rail-

road town of Opelika, a city of

30,000 that decorated its street-

lights and overpasses with green

garlands and red ribbons for the

season. A huge Christmas tree

stands near downtown boutiques,

salons and restaurants where

hundreds of residents crowded to-

gether for a holiday program last

weekend.

East Alabama Medical Center

draws patients from a mostly ru-

ral region. Many people in the city

wear masks in compliance with a

state order, but fewer health pre-

cautions are visible in surround-

ing areas.

The area was an early hot spot

for the virus in the spring. Then

cases eased before a summertime

spike that health officials blamed

on backyard cookouts and lake

gatherings around July 4.

Just as in other places across

the country, a surge in infections

linked to Thanksgiving is now fill-

ing up beds at the hospital. With

vaccines not yet available to the

general public, hospital officials

dread what might happen in Janu-

ary after families board airplanes

for the holidays and spend hours

gathered around dinner tables or

Christmas trees.

Amid so much suffering and af-

ter so many tears, any ray of

brightness helps, even if it’s just a

candy cane sticker on a ICU win-

dow, said Dr. Meshia Wallace, a

pulmonary physician who works

in critical care.

“Families come in, and all

they’re getting for the most part is

bad news: ‘Your family member is

sick, they’ve moved down from

the seventh floor to the ICU,’ ” she

said. “A little bit of Christmas

cheer is not going to hurt. It can

only help.”

Wallace is skipping her usual

Christmas gathering of about 30

relatives and hopes to spend the

holiday with an aunt who might

drive over from Atlanta if neither

is symptomatic. Dr. Ricardo Mal-

donado, who leads the pandemic

response team at East Alabama,

knows exactly what he will do for

the holiday.

“Work,” Maldonado said after

visiting patients on a hospital floor

full of COVID-19 patients. “There

is so much work.”

The nonprofit hospital has had

to bring in nearly 60 traveling

nurses to shore up staffing that

has been depleted, yet requests to

take on additional COVID-19 pa-

tients still come in most days from

neighboring states, including Mis-

sissippi and Tennessee, said chief

executive Laura Grill.

Some workers have been sick-

ened by the virus, she said, and

others retired or quit. Many, she

said, are simply exhausted, both

physically and emotionally, and

the Christmas season isn’t making

things easier.

“I sat in a meeting two days ago

with the nurse manager of our

ICU and she just cried. She said,

‘We don’t know what else to do.

We can look at this patient and

know that they are not going to get

better,’” Grill said.

Marilynn Waldon has felt the

strain.

The veteran nurse oversees CO-

VID-19 patients on a floor that has

been decorated for Christmas

with strings of white lights and

stockings. Waldon had planned to

retire this month but with the holi-

days approaching, she prayed and

changed her mind.

“I talked to God about it, and he

said, ‘You’re not a quitter. No.

These patients got to be taken

care of, and that’s why you went to

nursing school. So you need to

stay there, do what you can do, un-

til we get over this crisis that

we’re in,’ ” Waldon said.

Christmas in theICU: Decorations,lights, many tears

Associated Press

PHOTOS BY JULIE BENNETT/AP

The nurse's station is decorated for Christmas in the intensive care unit at East Alabama Medical Center onDec. 10 in Opelika, Ala. Doctors and nurses caring for COVID19 patients are doing what they can to getthrough the holidays while neighbors and friends indulge in Christmas parades and tree lightings.

PPE and signs denoting the patient's status hang on each door next inthe seventh floor COVID19 unit at East Alabama Medical Center.

Nurse Carla Fallin talks about her job treating COVID19 patients inEast Alabama Medical Center's intensive care unit. COVID19 patientsoccupy most of the beds in ICU in addition to the noncritical patientson the seventh floor.


rus infections and deaths remained low in

the early months of the pandemic compared

to neighboring countries. However, new

daily cases have risen from an average of

about 2,000 per day at the beginning of Octo-

ber to about 25,000 per day over the past

week. Germany has responded with an in-

creasingly restrictive lockdown that has

shuttered nonessential businesses and lim-

its most gatherings to five adults.

Residents of London and surrounding ar-

eas can’t see people outside their house-

holds. Peruvians won’t be allowed to drive

their cars over Christmas and New Year to

discourage visits even with nearby family

and friends. South Africans won’t be able to

go to the beach on Christmas Eve, Christmas

Day or New Year’s Day.

People the world over are facing wrench-

ing decisions — to see isolated elderly rela-

tives despite the risk or to miss one of the po-

tentially few Christmases left in the hopes of

spending the holiday together next year.

The United States has not issued nation-

wide travel restrictions, leaving that deci-

sion to state governments, but a federal

agency is advising people to stay home.

Michelle Dallaire, 50, an attorney in Idle-

wild, Mich., said this would be her first

Christmas away from her father, who lives

in northern Virginia. They’ve always gotten

together with family for the holidays but de-

cided it wasn’t worth the risk this year.

“It’s sad, but better than never seeing him

again,” said Dallaire, who has health issues

that also make her particularly vulnerable

to the virus.

In Brazil, which has the world’s second-

highest virus death toll after the U.S., Fran-

cisco Paulo made a similar decision to skip a

visit to his elderly mother in Sao Jose do Bel-

monte, in Pernambuco state. The 53-year-

old doorman will work the holiday instead at

a building in Sao Paulo.

“Now I’m hoping to drive there (to Per-

nambuco) in May, and crossing my fingers

that she’ll be vaccinated by then,” Paulo

said. “It isn’t a happy Christmas, but at least

I’m healthy and so are all the people I love.”

The virus has been blamed for more than

1.7 million deaths worldwide, and many are

still grieving — or worried about loved ones

in hospitals or nursing homes as the virus

surges anew. But some who have survived

sickness — and everything else that 2020

has thrown at them — are looking to rejoice.

Many people head into the holidays facing

financial uncertainty after lockdowns to

slow the spread of the virus have decimated

economies.

Matteo Zega, a 25-year-old Italian chef

who has worked in Michelin-starred restau-

rants, lost a job offer in France when bars

and restaurants there were ordered to re-

main closed until mid-January. He’s hoping

to start an internship in Copenhagen — as

long as restrictions don’t scupper that plan,

too.

“It makes me stressed,” Zega said. “But at

the end of the day, I wouldn’t complain when

there are so many people suffering or dying.

You can lose many things: jobs, money. But

I’m here, I’m healthy.”

In recent weeks, many countries tight-

ened restrictions in the hopes of bringing the

spread of the virus under control so that the

rules could be relaxed for Christmas. But

that has not worked in many places.

In Italy, which has Europe’s highest con-

firmed death toll and where many have fall-

en into poverty following lockdowns, the

government has imposed even more restric-

tions.

Newspapers in Italy are running color-

coded graphics that resemble children’s

board games to help people keep track of the

rules aimed at limiting new infections over

the holidays. Travel between regions is

banned for 16 days, and a curfew begins at 10

p.m.

From Dec. 24-27, “red” rules kick in, clos-

ing all shops except food stores, pharmacies

and hairdressers — since looking one’s best

is essential in Italy. Two people can visit the

home of another family member and bring

children younger than 14 with them. Restau-

rants and cafes can’t serve customers, al-

though takeout and home delivery are al-

lowed.

From Dec. 28-30, Italians segue into “or-

ange” rules, when nonessential shops can

re-open, although dining out is still banned.

Things turn red again for Dec. 31-Jan. 3, or-

ange for Jan. 4, then red again on Jan. 5-6 for

the national holiday on Epiphany.

The four nations of the U.K. — England,

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland —

have all ditched their original Christmas re-

laxation plans. Hopes that a vaccine could

stop the spread were high just weeks ago

when Britain was the first country to roll out

a rigorously tested shot, but now an aura of

dread hangs over the holiday as daily new

infections soar.

James Wren, who works in Hong Kong’s

finance industry, was downbeat after his

change of plans. He was initially going to fly

home to Ireland — but the rapidly changing

travel and quarantine policies, coupled with

the uncertainty in the coronavirus situation

both in Hong Kong and abroad, led him to

cancel.

“This is my first time ever not being with

my family for Christmas, even though I have

lived outside of Ireland for many years, so it

was an extremely upsetting decision to

make,” he said.

South Korea is clamping down on private

social gatherings of five or more people and

closing tourist spots from Christmas Eve

through at least Jan. 3.

National parks and coastal tourist sites,

where thousands travel to watch the sun rise

on the new year, will close. So will churches

and skiing, sledding and skating venues.

Restaurants could face fines of up to 3 mil-

lion won ($2,700) if they serve groups of five

or more.

While many countries tightened restric-

tions, Lebanon, with the largest percentage

of Christians in the Mideast, was actually

easing them despite rapidly growing cases.

It made that decision to boost an ailing econ-

omy and alleviate despair exacerbated by a

devastating port explosion in Beirut in Au-

gust.

But even that provided no relief to some.

“It will be a disaster after the holidays,”

said Diala Fares, 52. “People are acting like

everything is normal, and our government

doesn’t care.”

Amid all the gloom, at least some children

can rest assured that Santa Claus is still

coming to town.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infection

disease specialist, said during a CNN special

program with Sesame Street characters that

he had been to the North Pole and vaccinat-

ed the man himself.

“He is good to go,” Fauci said.

Fear: People face tough decisions about holiday travelsFROM PAGE 1

GREGORIO BORGIA / AP

People crowd Via del Corso shopping street Wednesday ahead of a national lockdown due to start Dec. 24 in Rome. Italians areeasing into a holiday season full of restrictions. Starting Christmas Eve, travel beyond city or town borders will be blocked, with someallowance for very limited personal visits in the same region.

TED S. WARREN / AP

Santa, portrayed by Dan Kemmis, laughs as he talks to Kristin Laidre on Dec. 8 while hesits inside a protective bubble in Seattle's Greenwood neighborhood. All most peoplewanted for Christmas after this year of pandemic was some cheer and togetherness.Instead, many people are heading into a season of isolation.

“It isn’t a happy Christmas, but at least I’mhealthy and so are all the people I love.”

Francisco Paulo

Sao Paulo, Brazil

VIRUS OUTBREAK


November, he pardoned a former

Green Beret who was set to stand

trial next year in the killing of a

suspected Afghan bombmaker

and a former Army lieutenant

convicted of murder for ordering

his men to fire upon three Af-

ghans.

The Blackwater case has taken

a complicated path since the kill-

ings at Baghdad’s Nisoor Square

in September 2007, when the men,

former veterans working as con-

tractors for the State Department,

opened fire at the crowded traffic

circle.

Prosecutors asserted the heavi-

ly armed Blackwater convoy

launched an unprovoked attack

using sniper fire, machine guns

and grenade launchers. Defense

lawyers argued their clients re-

turned fire after being ambushed

by Iraqi insurgents.

They were convicted in 2014 af-

ter a monthslong trial in Washing-

ton’s federal court, and each man

defiantly asserted his innocence

at a sentencing hearing the follow-

ing year.

“I feel utterly betrayed by the

same government I served honor-

ably,” Slough told the court in a

hearing packed by nearly 100

friends and relatives of the

guards.

Slough and two others, Evan

Liberty and Dustin Heard, were

sentenced to 30 years in prison,

though after a federal appeals

court ordered them to be re-sen-

tenced, they were each given sub-

stantially shorter punishments. A

fourth, Nicholas Slatten, whom

prosecutors blamed for igniting

the firefight, was sentenced to life

in prison.

A federal appeals court later

overturned Slatten’s first-degree

murder conviction, but the Justice

Department tried him again and

secured another life sentence last

year.

Heard’s lawyer, David Scher-

tler, said they were “thrilled and

grateful” for the pardon. “We have

always believed in Dustin’s inno-

cence and have never given up the

fight to vindicate him. He served

his country honorably and, finally

today, he has his well-deserved

freedom.”

A lawyer for Liberty, Bill Cof-

field, said, “These are four inno-

cent guys and it is completely jus-

tified.”

The American Civil Liberties

Union decried the pardons. Hina

Shamsi, the director of the organi-

zation’s national security project,

said in a statement that the shoot-

ings caused “devastation in Iraq,

shame and horror in the United

States, and a worldwide scandal.

President Trump insults the

memory of the Iraqi victims and

further degrades his office with

this action.”

The trial was held years after a

first indictment against the men

was dismissed when a judge ruled

that the Justice Department had

withheld evidence from a grand

jury and violated the guards’ con-

stitutional rights. The dismissal

outraged many Iraqis, who said it

showed Americans considered

themselves above the law.

Joe Biden, speaking in Baghdad

in 2010 as the vice president, ex-

pressed his “personal regret” for

the shootings in declaring that the

U.S. would appeal the court deci-

sion. The Justice Department lat-

er revived the case.

Blackwater contractors were

notorious in Baghdad at the time

and frequently accused of firing

shots at the slightest pretext, in-

cluding to clear their way in traf-

fic. The shooting in the traffic cir-

cle stood out for the number killed,

but was far from an isolated event

in Iraq at the time.

Contractors: 4 were serving lenghty sentencesFROM PAGE 1

NATION

WASHINGTON — President

Donald Trump has pardoned 15

people, including a pair of con-

gressional Republicans who were

strong and early supporters, a

2016 campaign official ensnared

in the Russia probe and former

government contractors convict-

ed in a 2007 massacre in Baghdad.

Trump’s actions in his final

weeks in office show a president

who is wielding his executive

power to reward loyalists and oth-

ers who he believes have been

wronged by a legal system he sees

as biased against him and his al-

lies. On Tuesday, Trump issued

the pardons — not an unusual act

for an outgoing president — even

as he refused to publicly acknowl-

edge his election loss to Democrat

Joe Biden, who will be sworn in on

Jan. 20.

Trump is likely to issue more

pardons before then. He and his

allies have discussed a range of

other possibilities, including

members of Trump’s family and

his personal attorney Rudy Giu-

liani.

Those pardoned on Tuesday in-

cluded former Republican Reps.

Duncan Hunter of California and

Chris Collins of New York, two of

the earliest GOP lawmakers to

back Trump’s 2016 presidential

campaign. Trump also commuted

the sentences of five people, in-

cluding former Rep. Steve Stock-

man of Texas.

Collins, the first member of

Congress to endorse Trump to be

president, was sentenced to two

years and two months in federal

prison after admitting he helped

his son and others dodge $800,000

in stock market losses when he

learned that a drug trial by a small

pharmaceutical company had

failed.

Hunter was sentenced to 11

months in prison after pleading

guilty to stealing campaign funds

and spending the money on every-

thing from outings with friends to

his daughter’s birthday party.

White House press secretary

Kayleigh McEnany said the par-

dons for Hunter and Collins were

granted after “the request of many

members of Congress.” She noted

that Hunter served the nation in

the U.S. Marines and saw combat

in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Trump also

announced par-

dons for two peo-

ple entangled in

special counsel

Robert Muell-

er’s Russia in-

vestigation. One

was for 2016

campaign adviser George Papa-

dopoulos, who pleaded guilty to ly-

ing to the FBI about a conversa-

tion in which he learned that Rus-

sia had dirt on Trump’s Demo-

cratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

The president also pardoned Alex

van der Zwaan, a Dutch lawyer

who was sentenced to 30 days in

prison for lying to investigators

during the Mueller probe.

Van der Zwaan and Papadopou-

los are the third and fourth Russia

investigation defendants granted

clemency. By pardoning them,

Trump once again took aim at

Mueller’s inquiry and advanced a

broader effort to undo the results

of an investigation that yielded

criminal charges against a half-

dozen associates.

The pardons drew criticism

from top Democrats. Rep. Adam

Schiff, D-Calif., the chairman of

the House Permanent Select

Committee on Intelligence, said

the president was abusing his

power.

Trump pardons 15 peopleand commutes 5 sentences

Associated Press

Collins Hunter Papadopoulos

WASHINGTON— President

Donald Trump has threatened to

torpedo Congress’ massive CO-

VID-19 relief and year-end pack-

age, upending a hard-fought com-

promise in the midst of a raging

pandemic and deep economic un-

certainty by demanding changes

fellow Republicans have op-

posed.

Trump assailed the bipartisan

$900 billion bill and broader gov-

ernment funding package in a

video he tweeted out Tuesday

night and suggested he may not

sign the legislation. That revives

threats of a federal government

shutdown. He called on lawmak-

ers to increase direct payments

for most Americans from $600 to

$2,000 for individuals and $4,000

for couples.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

urged Trump in a Wednesday

tweet to “sign the bill to keep gov-

ernment open!”

Pelosi wrote in a letter to col-

leagues “the entire country

knows that it is urgent for the

President to sign this bill.”

The final text of the more than

5,000-page bill was still being

prepared by Congress and was

not expected to be sent to the

White House for Trump’s signa-

ture before Thursday or Friday,

an aide said.

Following Trump’s threat, Pe-

losi all but dared his Republican

allies in Congress to meet the de-

mand for far higher direct pay-

ments. She said she would offer

the proposal for a vote on Thurs-

day. But it would be offered un-

der a procedure that allows just

one lawmaker to block a vote and

during a so-called pro forma ses-

sion, with few lawmakers expect-

ed to attend.

Republicans complain Trump’s

proposal costs too much, but have

not said if they will block it.

Railing against a range of pro-

visions in the broader year-end

funding package, including for

foreign aid, Trump in his video

message told lawmakers to “get

rid of the wasteful and unneces-

sary items from this legislation

and to send me a suitable bill.”

Trump did not specifically vow

to veto the bill, and there may be

enough support for the legislation

in Congress to override him if he

does. But if Trump were to upend

the sprawling legislation, the con-

sequences would be severe, in-

cluding no federal aid to strug-

gling Americans and small busi-

nesses, and no additional re-

sources to help with vaccine

distribution. In addition, because

lawmakers linked the pandemic

relief bill to an overarching fund-

ing measure, the government

would shut down on Dec. 29.

The relief package was part of a

hard-fought compromise bill that

includes $1.4 trillion to fund gov-

ernment agencies through Sep-

tember and contains other end-

of-session priorities such as mon-

ey for cash-starved transit sys-

tems, an increase in food stamp

benefits and about $4 billion to

help other nations provide a CO-

VID-19 vaccine for their people.

Lawmakers spent months in a

stalemate over pandemic relief

funds, even as COVID-19 cases

soared across the country. Demo-

crats had pushed for higher pay-

ments to Americans, but compro-

mised with Republicans to allow

a deal to proceed.

“At last, the President has

agreed to $2,000. Democrats are

ready to bring this to the Floor

this week by unanimous consent.

Let’s do it!,” Pelosi said in an ear-

lier tweet.

Republicans have been reluc-

tant to spend more on pandemic

relief and only agreed to the big

year-end package as time dwin-

dled for a final deal. And Sen.

Chuck Schumer, the Senate Dem-

ocratic leader, said that “Trump

needs to sign the bill to help peo-

ple and keep the government

open,” and Congress would step

up for more aid after.

Trump’s call for changes to the

legislation will test his sway with

a Republican Party he has held

tight control of throughout his

presidency.

RINGO H.W. CHIU/AP

An "Open" sign is displayed outside a restaurant along the CoastHighway 101 in Encinitas, Calif., amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump threatens COVIDrelief, Pelosi urges action

Associated Press


NATION

WASHINGTON — The Justice

Department announced new

charges Monday against a Libyan

bombmaker in the 1988 explosion

of Pan Am Flight 103 over Locker-

bie, Scotland, an attack that killed

259 people in the air and 11 on the

ground.

The charges were revealed on

the 32nd anniversary of the bomb-

ing and in the final news confer-

ence of Attorney General William

Barr’s tenure, underscoring his

personal attachment to a case that

unfolded during his first stint at the

Justice Department. He had an-

nounced an earlier set of charges

against two other Libyan intelli-

gence officials in his capacity as

acting attorney general nearly 30

years ago, vowing that the investi-

gation would continue. Though

Barr had not appeared at a press

conference in months, he led this

one two days before his departure

as a career bookend.

In presenting new charges, the

Justice Department is revisiting a

case that deepened the chasm be-

tween the United States and Libya,

laid bare the threat of international

terrorism more than a decade be-

fore the Sept. 11 attacks and pro-

duced global investigations and

punishing sanctions.

The case against the alleged

bombmaker, Abu Agela Mas’ud

Kheir Al-Marimi, is more theoreti-

cal than practical for now since Ma-

sud is not in U.S. custody and it is

unclear if he ever will be, or if the

evidence will be sufficient for con-

viction. But it nonetheless repre-

sents one of the more consequen-

tial counterterrorism announce-

ments from the Trump administra-

tion Justice Department.

“At long last, this man responsib-

le for killing Americans and many

others will be subject to justice for

his crimes,” Barr said.

Abreakthrough in the investiga-

tion came when U.S. officials in

2017 received a copy of an inter-

view that Masud, a longtime explo-

sives expert for Libya’s intelli-

gence service, had given to Libyan

law enforcement in 2012 after be-

ing taken into custody following the

collapse of the regime of the coun-

try’s leader, Col. Moammar Gad-

hafi.

In that interview, U.S. officials

said, Masud admitted building the

bomb in the Pan Am attack and

working with two other conspir-

ators to carry it out. He also said the

operation was ordered by Libyan

intelligence and that Gadhafi

thanked him and other members of

the team after the attack, according

to an FBI affidavit filed in the case.

While Masud is now the third Li-

byan intelligence official charged

in the U.S. in connection with the

Lockerbie bombing, he would be

the first to stand trial in an Ameri-

can courtroom.

Masud remains in custody in Li-

bya, but Barr said the U.S. and Scot-

land would use “every feasible and

appropriate means” to bring him to

trial.

MARTIN CLEAVER/AP

Wrecked houses and a deep gash in the ground in the village of Lockerbie, Scotland, are shown after thebombing of the Pan Am 103 in the village of Lockerbie, Scotland.

US charges bombmaker in1988 Pan Am flight explosion

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Justice

Department sued Walmart on

Tuesday, accusing it of fueling the

nation’s opioid crisis by pressur-

ing its pharmacies to fill even po-

tentially suspicious prescriptions

for the powerful painkillers.

The civil complaint filed points

to the role Walmart’s pharmacies

may have played in the crisis by

filling opioid prescriptions and

Walmart’s own responsibility for

the allegedly illegal distribution of

controlled substances to the phar-

macies at the height of the opioid

crisis. Walmart operates more

than 5,000 pharmacies in its stores

around the country.

The Justice Department alleges

that Walmart violated federal law

by selling thousands of prescrip-

tions for controlled substances

that its pharmacists “knew were

invalid,” said Jeffrey Clark, the

acting assistant attorney general

in charge of the Justice Depart-

ment’s civil division.

Federal law required Walmart

to spot suspicious orders for con-

trolled substances and report

those to the Drug Enforcement

Administration, but prosecutors

chargethe company didn’t do that.

“Walmart knew that its distri-

bution centers were using an inad-

equate system for detecting and

reporting suspicious orders,” said

Jason Dunn, the U.S. attorney in

Colorado. “For years, Walmart re-

ported virtually no suspicious or-

ders at all. In other words, Wal-

mart’s pharmacies ordered

opioids in a way that went essen-

tially unmonitored and unregulat-

ed.”

The 160-page suit alleges that

Walmart made it difficult for its

pharmacists to follow the rules,

putting “enormous pressure” on

them to fill a high volume of pre-

scriptions as fast as possible,

while at the same time denying

them the authority to categorical-

ly refuse to fill prescriptions is-

sued by prescribers the pharma-

cists knew were continually issu-

ing invalid invalid prescriptions.

The suit highlighted alleged

problems in Walmart’s compli-

ance department, which oversaw

the dispensing nationwide of con-

trolled substance prescriptions. In

particular, even after Walmart

pharmacists informed the compli-

ance unit about “pill-mill” pre-

scribers whose practices raised

egregious red flags, Walmart al-

legedly continued to fill invalid

prescriptions issued by those pre-

scribers, according to the suit. The

suit said that only later did Wal-

mart allow pharmacists to do

blanket refusals for these suspect

practices.

Walmart fought back in an

emailed statement to The Associ-

ated Press, saying that the Justice

Department’s investigation is

“tainted by historical ethics viola-

tions.” It said the “lawsuit invents

a legal theory that unlawfully

forces pharmacists to come be-

tween patients and their doctors,

and is riddled with factual inaccu-

racies and cherry-picked docu-

ments taken out of context.”

Walmart noted it always empo-

wered its pharmacists to refuse to

fill problematic opioids prescrip-

tions, and said they refused to fill

hundreds of thousands of such

prescriptions. Walmart also noted

that it sent the Drug Enforcement

Administration tens of thousands

of investigative leads, and it

blocked thousands of questiona-

ble doctors from having their

opioid prescriptions filled at its

pharmacies.

In a corporate blog post publish-

ed late Tuesday, Walmart argued

that many health regulators, med-

ical groups, doctors and patients

criticize the company for going too

far in refusing to fill opioid pre-

scriptions. Some even say Wal-

mart is improperly interfering in

the doctor-patient relationship,

the company said.

Feds sue Walmartover opioid crisis

Associated Press

FLINT, Mich. — The Flint City

Council on Tuesday signed off on

its portion of a $641 million settle-

ment with residents of the poor,

majority-Black city who were ex-

posed to lead-tainted water.

The city’s insurer would kick in

$20 million as part of a sweeping

deal to settle lawsuits against

Flint, the state of Michigan and

other parties. Facing a Dec. 31

deadline, the council approved its

stake after an hourslong meeting

that raised concerns about wheth-

er residents were getting short-

changed, MLive.com reported.

“It’s something. It’s better than

nothing,” council President Kate

Fields said, adding that she hopes

a judge looks at a second resolu-

tion approved by the council that

questions the claims process and

the state’s share of the agree-

ment.

Most of the money — $600 mil-

lion — is coming from the state of

Michigan. Regulators in then-

Gov. Rick Snyder’s administra-

tion allowed Flint to use water

from the Flint River in 2014-15

without treating it to reduce cor-

rosion. Lead in old pipes broke off

and flowed through people’s taps.

The disaster made Flint a na-

tionwide symbol of governmental

mismanagement, with residents

of the city of nearly 100,000 lining

up for bottled water and parents

fearing that their children had

suffered permanent harm. The

crisis was highlighted by some as

an example of environmental in-

justice and racism.

Experts have blamed the water

for an outbreak of Legionnaires’

disease, which led to at least 12

deaths in the Flint area.

Before the council meeting,

lawyers involved in the settle-

ment appeared Monday before a

federal judge in Ann Arbor who is

overseeing the litigation. U.S. Dis-

trict Judge Judith Levy said pre-

liminary approval could come in

January, though she also pledged

to hear from residents.

Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley

was in favor of the city’s partici-

pation in the settlement, warning

that the city could face major fi-

nancial stress if it stayed on the

sidelines and defended itself

against lawsuits.

Separately, state Attorney Gen-

eral Dana Nessel told reporters

Tuesday that prosecutors in her

office were close to wrapping up a

renewed criminal investigation of

the Flint water crisis.

“It should be understood I have

not put any pressure on this team

to do anything ... They should do

what they (feel) they are ethically

obligated to do,” Nessel said.

Flint joins $641M deal to settle lawsuits over lead in waterAssociated Press


AMERICAN ROUNDUP

Man dressed as Santarescued from power lines

CA RIO LINDA — Santafound himself a littlemore tied up than usual this time

of year.

A Northern California man im-

personating Santa Claus and fly-

ing on a powered parachute was

rescued after he became entan-

gled in power lines, authorities

said.

The incident happened shortly

after the man took off near a

school in Rio Linda to deliver

FACES MILITARY COLLEGE FOOTBALL Reasons to watch ......Stripes covers Dec. 24 and 25. Publication...

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Transcript of FACES MILITARY COLLEGE FOOTBALL Reasons to watch ......Stripes covers Dec. 24 and 25. Publication...