HURSDAY Pentagon: US troops must get vaccines ASAP
Transcript of HURSDAY Pentagon: US troops must get vaccines ASAP
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Study links virus infection to suicidal thoughts in veterans ›› Page 3
WARSAW, Poland — Poland
ended its evacuations from Af-
ghanistan, but other European na-
tions vowed Wednesday to press
on for as long as possible as the
clock ticks down on a dramatic
airlift of people fleeing Taliban
rule ahead of a full American
withdrawal.
President Joe Biden said he is
sticking to his Aug. 31 deadline for
completing the U.S. pullout as the
Taliban insisted he must, ramping
up pressure on the already risky
operation to fly people out of Ka-
bul.
European allies pressed for
more time but lost the argument,
and as a practical matter they may
be forced to end their evacuations
before the last American troops
leave. Several countries haven’t
said yet when they plan to end
their operations, perhaps hoping
to avoid yet another fatal crush at
an airport, one of the last ways out
of the country.
The Taliban wrested back con-
trol of Afghanistan nearly 20 years
after they were ousted in a U.S.-
led invasion following the 9/11 at-SAMUEL RUIZ, U.S. MARINE CORPS/AP
A service member greets children during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Tuesday.
As clock onairlifts ticksdown, a riskyrace to finish
BY MONIKA SCISLOWSKA
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Military
troops must immediately begin to
get the COVID-19 vaccine, De-
fense Secretary Lloyd Austin said
in a memo Wednesday, ordering
service leaders to “impose ambi-
tious timelines for implementa-
tion.”
More than 800,000 service
members have yet to get their
shots, according to Pentagon data.
And now that the Pfizer vaccine
has received full approval from
the Food and Drug Administra-
tion, the Defense Department is
adding it to the list of required
shots troops must get as part of
their military service.
The memo, which was obtained
by The Associated Press, does not
dictate a specific timeline for com-
pleting the vaccinations. But it
says the military services will
have to report regularly on their
progress. A senior defense official
said that Austin has made it clear
to the services that he expects
them to move quickly, and that
this will be completed in weeks
not months.
“To defend this Nation, we need
a healthy and ready force,” Austin
said in the memo. “After careful
consultation with medical experts
and military leadership, and with
the support of the President, I
Pentagon: US troops must get vaccines ASAPBY LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press
SEE VACCINES ON PAGE 3
AFGHANISTAN
SEE AIRLIFTS ON PAGE 5
A small group of Boeing engi-
neers who perform key safety
tasks are raising concerns about
their ability to work free of pres-
sure from supervisors, and their
comments are prompting federal
regulators to take a broader look
into the company’s safety culture.
The employees are deputized to
approve safety assessments and
handle other jobs for the Federal
Aviation Administration, making
their independence from compa-
ny pressure critical.
According to an FAA letter, one
of the employees said, “I had to
have a sit down with a manager
and explain why I can’t approve
something.” The worker indicated
that the company shopped around
for another employee in the engi-
neering unit.
Another employee reported
consternation by managers when
engineers find fault in designs of
components because that can
cause delays in delivering air-
planes.
The FAA’s initial investigation
ran from May until July. An FAA
official described it in an Aug. 19
letter to Boeing’s leader of safety
and aircraft certification.
“We take these matters with the
utmost seriousness, and are con-
tinuously working to improve the
processes we have in place to en-
sure the independence” of em-
ployees who work on behalf of the
FAA, said Boeing spokeswoman
Jessica Kowal. She said those em-
ployees “must be accorded the
same respect and deference that is
shown” to FAA personnel.
Bahrain99/93
Baghdad112/79
Doha108/86
Kuwait City111/89
Riyadh107/84
Kandahar102/68
Kabul91/62
Djibouti99/85
THURSDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Mildenhall/Lakenheath
64/57
Ramstein63/43
Stuttgart60/52
Lajes,Azores71/68
Rota81/66
Morón95/68 Sigonella
93/66
Naples82/69
Aviano/Vicenza73/55
Pápa70/53
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Brussels64/57
Zagan59/56
DrawskoPomorskie
59/55
THURSDAY IN EUROPE
Misawa75/69
Guam84/81
Tokyo88/76
Okinawa83/80
Sasebo82/78
Iwakuni80/76
Seoul78/72
Osan77/70
Busan81/75
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 ...... 11Classified .................... 13Comics .........................16Crossword ................... 16Faces .......................... 18Opinion ........................ 14Sports ................... 20-24
BUSINESS/WEATHER
Military rates
Euro costs (Aug. 26) $1.15Dollar buys (Aug. 26) 0.8306British pound (Aug. 26) $1.34Japanese yen (Aug. 26) 107.00South Korean won (Aug. 26) 1,137.00
Commercial rates
Bahrain (Dinar) .3770Britain (Pound) 1.3711Canada (Dollar) 1.2626China (Yuan) 6.4781Denmark (Krone) 6.3302Egypt (Pound) 15.7018Euro .8513Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7848Hungary (Forint) 296.43Israel (Shekel) 3.2293Japan (Yen) 109.99Kuwait (Dinar) .3010
Norway (Krone) 8.8456
Philippines (Peso) 49.77Poland (Zloty) 3.89Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7505Singapore (Dollar) 1.3539
South Korea (Won) 1,168.22Switzerland (Franc) .9139Thailand (Baht) 32.82Turkey (New Lira) �8.3886
(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 0.0530year bond 1.91
EXCHANGE RATESUS checking Boeing’s handling of safety workersAssociated Press
PAGE 2 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, August 26, 2021
Thursday, August 26, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3
MILITARY
Veterans who have had CO-
VID-19 were more than twice as
likely to contemplate suicide dur-
ing the pandemic as those who
never had the illness, a study pub-
lished Wednesday found.
Overall, however, veterans
were less likely to have suicidal
thoughts during the pandemic
than they were before it, said the
study, which was published in JA-
MA Psychiatry.
The study was “one of the first
… to find an independent link be-
tween COVID-19 infection and su-
icidal ideation,” said lead author
Brandon Nichter, a Defense De-
partment clinical psychologist.
Suicidal thoughts after CO-
VID-19 infection could be driven
by physical issues, such as inflam-
mation of the brain or changes to
the body’s immune response,
which scientists believe may be
caused by the virus, the study said.
Social factors, including in-
creased feelings of isolation and
loneliness, or financial stress felt
during the pandemic could also be
factors.
Veterans whose primary health
care source was a Veterans Af-
fairs hospital were more likely to
say they had thought about sui-
cide.
Among the nearly 3,100 veter-
ans who took part in the study, the
prevalence of suicidal thoughts
fell from 10.6% prior to the pan-
demic to 7.8% 10 months into it,
bucking predictions that corona-
virus lockdowns and limits on
travel and gatherings could leave
veterans feeling lonelier and in-
crease suicidal behaviors among
them, the study said.
Veterans are considered a high-
risk group for loneliness and tend
to have more mental illness, such
as post traumatic stress disorder,
and previous suicide attempts
than other groups — all of which
increase suicidal thoughts.
The drop was seen mainly
among veterans ages 18 to 64, pos-
sibly because they are better at us-
ing “virtual technologies (e.g.,
FaceTime, Zoom) to solicit sup-
port during the pandemic,” said
one of the study’s authors, Dr.
Robert Pietrzak, director of the
main lab involved with the re-
search at the U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs’ National Center
for PTSD.
But even among veterans over
65, who “were already at high risk
for loneliness,” suicide ideation
declined during the pandemic, the
study said.
That could be because veterans’
lifetime exposure to trauma, in-
cluding in combat, is greater than
other groups’ and “may have
helped ‘inoculate’ them to be bet-
ter able to endure periods of pro-
longed stress,” Pietrzak said in an
email.
It may also be linked “to a ‘pull-
ing together’ phenomenon that
has previously been observed in
natural disasters and periods of
war,” he said. “Societies (tend to)
pull together during times of na-
tional crisis, which may have
helped to promote social connec-
tedness and mitigate risk of sui-
cide ideation during the pandem-
ic.”
The veterans surveyed may
have under-reported suicidal be-
havior because of the stigma at-
tached to it, the researchers
warned, adding that they want to
follow individuals with COVID-19
infection over time to study the
long-term impact of the illness on
suicidal ideation, depression and
PTSD in veterans.
Vet study ties virus,suicidalthoughts
BY KARIN ZEITVOGEL
Stars and Stripes
SAMUEL KEENAN/National Guard
Army veteran Skip speaks to his family with an iPad last year at Holyoke Soldiers Home in Holyoke, Mass.,where he was in isolation due to COVID19. Using technology to connect with others during isolation isthought to be one reason why suicidal thoughts among veterans fell during the pandemic, a study says.
[email protected]: @StripesZeit �
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Town
hall meetings to gain community
input on the renaming of Fort
Bragg will be announced in the
coming weeks.
Col. Scott Pence, the installa-
tion’s garrison commander, up-
dated the community on the proc-
ess during a meeting Wednesday
that was broadcast on the installa-
tion’s Facebook page.
Pence said other installations
with airborne units often use the
phrase “back at Bragg,” which he
said is synonymous with readin-
ess, dedication to the mission, a
sense of urgency and commitment
to excellence.
“This Fort Bragg name repre-
sents an emotional connection for
people, so we take that very seri-
ously,” Pence said.
In January, Congress passed
the National Defense Authoriza-
tion Act, which includes a provi-
sion mandating military installa-
tions named after Confederates to
be renamed.
Fort Bragg is one of those instal-
lations and is named after Confed-
erate general Braxton Bragg, who
historians say was a slave owner
who fought with subordinates and
lost battles.
Despite some Fayetteville resi-
dents saying they do not support
the name change and most com-
menters on the Facebook page
saying they don’t want to see it
change, Congress mandated the
name be changed by 2023.
The National Defense Autho-
rization Act states that a renaming
commission will research costs of
changing the names of the instal-
lations, while also seeking the in-
put of stakeholders and communi-
ties near the installations.
The renaming commission in-
cludes four appointments by the
secretary of defense, two appoint-
ed by chairs of the House and Sen-
ate Armed Services Committees,
and two appointed by ranking
members of the House and Senate
Armed Services Committees.
The commission is tasked with
developing procedures for renam-
ing assets named after members
of the Confederacy, along with
gathering input from local com-
munities and submitting a plan to
the House and Armed Services
Committee by October 2022.
Fort Bragg, Pence said, is home
to the 18th Airborne Corps, Joint
Special Operations Command,
U.S. Army Special Operations
Command and would be consid-
ered the fifth largest city in North
Carolina.
Fort Braggplans townhalls forname input
BY RACHAEL RILEY
The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer
have determined that mandatory
vaccination against coronavirus
disease ... is necessary to protect
the Force and defend the Ameri-
can people.”
Troops will be able to get their
Pfizer shots at their bases and
from their commands around the
world.
The Pentagon has said it has
enough vaccine supply to meet de-
mand.
Individual service members
may also go out and get any of the
other COVID vaccines on their
own.
Fulfilling the vaccine mandate,
however, may be a challenge for
National Guard forces who are
scattered around the country, and
gather just once a month for their
required drills.
According to the Pentagon,
there are more than 1.3 million
troops on active duty and close to
800,000 in the Guard and Reserve.
And, as of Aug. 18, more than 1 mil-
lion active-duty, Guard and Re-
serve service members were fully
vaccinated and nearly 245,000
more had received at least one
shot.
Senior military leaders have
consistently pressed their forces
to get vaccines through a wide
range of public pleas, and via so-
cial media and other campaigns.
But — as is true among the U.S.
population — many service mem-
bers have been reluctant.
Defense officials have said it’s
critical for troops to get the vac-
cine because they live and work
closely together and outbreaks
could hamper the U.S. military’s
ability to defend America.
Military officials have said they
don’t have specific numbers on
how many Guard troops are not
yet vaccinated, and the Pentagon
only provides a troop total that
lumps active-duty, Guard and Re-
serve into one statistic.
Hospitalizations and deaths are
increasing among the military.
Over the past month, the number
of service member deaths jumped
from 25 to 34 — by more than a
third.
“Our vaccination of the Force
will save lives,” said the Austin
memo.
Austin in the memo noted that
the new requirement will allow for
exemptions that are consistent
with the current policies for all the
other vaccines.
Permanent exemptions include
serious medical reactions to the
vaccine, immune deficiencies
such as HIV, and “evidence of ex-
isting immunity” by a serologic
antibody test or “documentation
of previous infection or natural in-
fection presumed.”
There also are administrative
exemptions, including one for re-
ligious reasons.
Religious exemptions are rare.
The Navy and the Marine Corps
said they have had no religious ex-
emption requests for other vac-
cines in recent years and the Air
Force said there were few.
The Army was not able to pro-
vide any data.
Briefing the news media on
Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman
John Kirby said commanders are
expected to carry out the vaccine
order with “skill and a measure of
compassion.”
Service members who object,
he said, will have the opportunity
to meet with medical personnel
and with their own leadership, to
ensure the troops understand the
risks to themselves and their
teammates if they don’t take the
vaccine.
Asked about specific puni-
shments for noncompliance, Kir-
by said commanders have a “wide
range of tools” to use.
“It’s a lawful order and we fully
anticipate that our troops are go-
ing to follow lawful orders,” he
added.
The Pentagon decision only ap-
plies to the Pfizer vaccine. Moder-
na has also applied to the FDA for
full approval of its vaccine. J&J
said it hopes to do so later this
year.
Vaccines: Pentagon says it has enough shots for troopsFROM PAGE 1
PAGE 4 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, August 26, 2021
TOKYO — A former Marine
scored three times and forced a
turnover in Team USA’s wheel-
chair rugby win Wednesday over
New Zealand in the opening game
of the Paralympics.
The game, on an indoor hard-
wood court at Yoyogi National Sta-
dium in the Japanese capital, be-
gan with a “haka” by the New
Zealanders, which had the same
passion as the challenge laid down
by their nation’s formidable All
Blacks rugby team.
Moments later, the arena rever-
berated with the sound of metal
striking metal as players launched
chairs at opponents like football li-
nemen, creating space for their
teammates to zoom toward the
goal line.
At times the action was so in-
tense that chairs tipped over, leav-
ing combatants from both teams
sprawled on the floor.
One of the U.S. players, Ray-
mond Hennagir, 35, of Deptford,
N.J., lost both legs and part of his
left hand after stepping on an im-
provised explosive device during
his second combat deployment
with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine
Regiment, near Fallujah, Iraq, in
2007.
The former corporal didn’t let
his injuries slow him down in his
Paralympic debut.
At one stage he ripped the ball
from an opposing player and
passed to a teammate, then zipped
downcourt and caught a return
pass before crossing into the end
zone for one of three goals he
scored in quick succession.
“Honestly, it felt good to go out
there and play really well and get a
turnover for the team and keep the
momentum going,” Hennagir said
after the game, which the U.S. won
63-35.
A wrestler, hockey and basket-
ball player in high school, Henna-
gir began playing wheelchair bas-
ketball during rehabilitation at
Walter Reed National Military
Medical Center in Maryland. He
later switched to wheelchair rug-
by.
The sport made famous by the
2005 documentary film “Murder-
ball” is a four-on-four contest
played out on a basketball court-
sized area. Players attempt to car-
ry, dribble and pass a volleyball
from their own goal line into the
opponent’s end zone.
The U.S.-New Zealand clash
had everything from big hits to
arcing passes and graceful
swerves by ball carriers evading
defenders.
Hennagir rates his speed and
good hands as his best assets on
the field. He compared the cama-
raderie and banter among the
wheelchair rugby players to what
he experienced in the Marines.
“We are pretty much a family,”
he said, before giving a shout out
to Marines supporting the team in
Japan.
“We are out here doing our
thing and hoping to bring that gold
back,” he said.
The team’s next pool match is
against Canada on Thursday fol-
lowed by Great Britain on Friday,
Hennagir said, adding that he
doesn’t take any opponent for
granted.
“Everybody has good players,”
he said, “and they all train hard.”
Marine vet shines in wheelchair rugby winBY SETH ROBSON
Stars and Stripes
[email protected] Twitter: @SethRobson1
AKIFUMI ISHIKAWA/Stars and Stripes
Former Marine Raymond Hennagir scored three times in Team USA’s wheelchair rugby win over NewZealand during their Tokyo Paralympics matchup Wednesday.
Wednesday. “We asked them not
to rush and proceed with dialogue
with the prefecture.”
Abureau spokesman declined to
comment when reached by phone
on Wednesday. The defense bu-
reau is leading construction ef-
forts.
A bureau representative at an
environmental monitoring com-
mittee meeting Aug. 10 said con-
struction would start at the N2 site
as soon as the coral could be suc-
cessfully moved, Okinawa Times
reported.
Plans for the site have been in
the making for decades; however,
construction didn’t begin until
2017. Okinawa leaders, including
Gov. Denny Tamaki, have tried to
use the courts and administrative
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa —
The Japanese government com-
pleted the relocation of 830 colo-
nies of endangered coral off the
coast of Okinawa this week and
plans to start construction on a new
portion of a contentious Marine
Corps airfield, according to local
media reports.
The coral is in Oura Bay, just off
Camp Schwab, where a runway is
being built to relocate Marine
Corps Air Station Futenma from
crowded Ginowan city.
The Japanese government fin-
ished transplanting coral Tuesday
from a small site in the construc-
tion zone known as N2, the Okina-
wa Times reported the following
day.
It now plans to start work this
week on a seawall to keep water
from the construction site. Once
completed, that section will make
it easier to offload landfill, thus
speeding up the project’s comple-
tion.
An Okinawa prefectural official
on Wednesday said the Okinawa
Defense Bureau, an arm of the Ja-
pan Defense Ministry, is not shar-
ing information about work at the
N2 site.
The defense bureau “didn’t in-
form us about the construction,” a
spokesman from Okinawa prefec-
ture’s Henoko Base Construction
Countermeasures Division told
Stars and Stripes by phone
challenges to block the work. So
far, they have only delayed the pro-
ject.
The Japanese government re-
quested fresh permits from Tama-
ki in April 2020 after it found a soft-
er than expected seabed at the site,
which requires further stabiliza-
tion. Tamaki has said he will refuse
the request.
The prefectural spokesman said
it would be “a waste” for the bu-
reau to start construction at the N2
site without those permits. The bu-
reau does not need permitting for
the site since the area does not
have a soft bottom, Okinawa Times
said, citing unnamed bureau offi-
cials.
In July, Tamaki was forced by
the country’s Supreme Court to ap-
prove the relocation of 40,000 colo-
nies of endangered coral from the
site. He asked the bureau for dia-
logue “instead of transplanting the
coral quickly,” along with other
conditions, Tamaki said at the
time.
The Japanese government
largely ignored his request and
started Aug. 6, one day after their
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries agreed to uphold the
court decision.
Completion of the runway is now
expected to take at least 10 more
years. Costs have ballooned from
$2.2 billion to at least $8.7 billion.
Japan starts work on new section of Marine Corps airfieldBY MATTHEW M. BURKE
AND MARI HIGA
Stars and Stripes
[email protected] Twitter: @[email protected] Twitter: @MariHiga21
PACIFIC
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Military
leaders overseeing U.S. Space Command
backed down from full-throated support of a
process that would move it from Colorado
Springs to Alabama, but said they’ll wait for
a pair of federal investigations to conclude
before they decide to reverse the decision.
Former President Donald Trump caused
controversy Friday when he told a syndicat-
ed radio show that he “single-handedly” de-
cided on Huntsville, Ala., as the command’s
future home, short-circuiting a nonpartisan
process at the Pentagon to make the basing
decision.
In Colorado Springs for the Space Sympo-
sium, which packed the Broadmoor this
week, new Air Force Secretary Frank Ken-
dall said he puts as much faith in that Trump
statement as he has in the panoply of his po-
litical pronouncements.
“President Trump has said many, many
things,” Kendall said in a news conference.
But Kendall — who is familiar with assets
in Colorado Springs and Alabama from his
more than 50 years of defense experience,
including as an Army officer, defense con-
tractor and in senior Pentagon posts — was
clearly not ready to close the door on the
Pikes Peak region as Space Command home.
“I think either one of them is certainly fea-
sible as the headquarters,” he said of Hunts-
ville and Colorado Springs.
Space Command made its own move-free
headlines.
Dickinson announced Tuesday that the
command, which leads all American mili-
tary missions in orbit, reached a startup
milestone of “initial operational capability.”
The announcement means the command,
which celebrates its second birthday since
its 2019 rebirth next week, can effectively
defend American interests in orbit while de-
terring rivals from attacking U.S. space as-
sets.
Dickinson said that Space Command,
headquartered at Peterson Space Force
Base, is “prepared to address threats from
competition to conflict in space, while also
protecting and defending our interests in
this vast and complex domain.”
The latest version of the command, which
was headquartered here in the Cold War
years but shuttered amid budget cuts in
2002, has now reached 900 troops, Dickinson
said.
US Space Command meets first capability milestone in Colorado SpringsThe Gazette (Colorado Springs)
Thursday, August 26, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 5
tacks, which al-Qaida orchestrat-
ed while being sheltered by the
group. Their return to power has
pushed many Afghans to flee,
fearing reprisals or a return to the
brutal rule they imposed when
they last ran the country.
Thousands of people are still
thought to be trying to leave, and
it’s not clear that all of them will be
able to before the end of the
month. But any decision by Biden
to stay longer could reignite fight-
ing between the Taliban and West-
ern troops running the airlift.
“Due to extreme tension on the
ground ... and the scheduled de-
parture of American forces, these
evacuations are a true race
against time,” French govern-
ment spokesman Gabriel Attal
said Wednesday. He said that his
country’s evacuation would likely
end “a few hours, maybe a few
days ahead” of the American de-
parture.
The Taliban said they would al-
low normal commercial air traffic
to resume when they assume con-
trol of the airport after Aug. 31, but
it’s unclear whether airlines
would be willing to fly into an air-
port controlled by the militants.
With the deadline looming,
Marcin Przydacz, a Polish deputy
foreign minister, said Wednesday
that Poland had evacuated its last
group after consulting with U.S.
and British officials.
“After a long analysis of reports
on the security situation, we can-
not risk the lives of our diplomats
and of our soldiers any longer,”
Przydacz said.
A number of troops will remain
briefly to wrap up operations,
Przydacz said. Poland has used
over a dozen planes to bring hun-
dreds of evacuees to Warsaw.
Some later traveled on to other
countries.
The Czech Republic declared
its own evacuation mission com-
plete last week, and Hungary said
it plans to end its operations soon.
The White House said Wednes-
day that around 19,000 people
were evacuated from Kabul over
the last 24 hours. It said the United
States has evacuated or facilitated
the evacuation of around 82,300
people since the Taliban takeover
in mid-August.
Pentagon spokesman John Kir-
by said the military will “continue
to evacuate needed populations all
the way to the end.” But he added
that there will have to be a balance
in the final days and hours, as the
5,400 troops in Kabul and critical
systems also need to be with-
drawn.
Kirby said more than 4,400
American citizens have been
evacuated thus far, an increase of
about 400 from Tuesday.
In Kabul itself, life has been
slow to return to normal, but many
people — especially women — are
staying inside, fearful of the Tali-
ban or the general instability.
Kabul Mayor Dawood Sultan-
zoy said many city workers have
yet to return to work, with the ab-
sence of experienced staff hinder-
ing normal operations. But he said
the city has begun to remove the
blast walls that became ubiqui-
tous in recent years as the Taliban
and other armed groups carried
out bombings and other attacks
against the Western-backed gov-
ernment.
The Taliban say the decades of
war are over and there will be no
revenge attacks on people who op-
posed them. But many Afghans
distrust the group, and there have
been reports of summary execu-
tions and other abuses in areas un-
der Taliban control. Many fear a
return to the Taliban’s hard-line
Islamic rule of the 1990s.
Chaos at the Kabul airport has
transfixed the world after the Tali-
ban captured most of Afghanistan
in a matter of days this month. Af-
ghans poured onto the tarmac last
week, and some clung to a U.S.
military transport plane as it took
off, later plunging to their deaths.
At least seven people died that
day, and another seven died Sun-
day in a panicked stampede.
Thousands have thronged the
airport in the days since, and the
U.S. and its allies have worked to
speed the evacuation, sometimes
flying people out before their pa-
perwork is fully processed and
bringing them to transit points. On
Wednesday, a group of 51 people
landed in Uganda, which became
the first African nation to serve as
a transit point.
European nations, including
American allies Germany and the
United Kingdom, had pressed for
a longer window to continue evac-
uations. Biden has stuck to the Au-
gust date, however, even after an
emergency online summit of the
Group of Seven nations.
That left European nations with
no choice but to abide by the dead-
line.
“That the overall deployment
literally stands and falls with the
stance of the militarily strongest
member of the alliance, the U.S.,
was always clear to us,” German
Chancellor Angela Merkel said in
a speech to parliament.
“We will continue the evacua-
tion operation for as long as pos-
sible,” she added, without specify-
ing when operations would end.
For now, the U.S. military coor-
dinates all air traffic in and out of
the Kabul airport. Taliban spokes-
man Suhail Shaheen tweeted that
“people with legal documents”
will be able to fly out of Kabul air-
port via commercial flights after
the August deadline.
On Wednesday, a stream of mil-
itary planes took off from the air-
field as evacuees lined up on the
tarmac. The desperate remained
outside, some standing knee-deep
in sewage and waving identity
documents at Western soldiers in
hopes of being allowed to go be-
yond the barbed wire fencing and
onto a flight out.
With the final withdrawal date
just under a week away, analyst
Patricia Lewis said the practical
deadline for the evacuations to
stop was “the next couple of days.”
“There’s a huge amount of stuff
that has to be done, including get-
ting all the people out who are do-
ing the job and all the equipment,”
said Lewis, who is the director of
the international security pro-
gram at Chatham House, an inter-
national think tank.
“All of the allies are highly de-
pendent on the U.S. for military
cover, particularly air cover,” Le-
wis said. “They can’t put their own
people at risk, so it really depends
on when the U.S. starts packing
up.”
Airlifts: Thousands of people still trying to leave country
SAMUEL RUIZ, U.S. MARINE CORPS/AP
A Marine with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit walks with a family during ongoing evacuations at HamidKarzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan on Tuesday.
FROM PAGE 1
AFGHANISTAN
U.S. agencies are rushing to
complete security vetting of thou-
sands of Afghanistan citizens who
are in line to be relocated to the
United States, as some lawmakers
raise alarms about the risk that
terrorists and criminals could slip
through.
The massive and chaotic evac-
uation effort from the airport in
Kabul means that thousands of
people are being put on planes be-
fore their background vetting is
complete. It includes many who
had already applied for special
immigrant visas after working
with U.S. soldiers and diplomats,
as well as others who didn’t.
U.S. agencies are doing security
screening while flights are in the
air and when refugees arrive at
temporary locations before being
transferred to the U.S., including
Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Italy,
Spain and Germany.
“Intelligence, law enforcement
and counterterrorism profession-
als are conducting screening and
security vetting for all SIV appli-
cants and other vulnerable Af-
ghans before they are allowed into
the United States,” the State De-
partment said in a statement Mon-
day. “We are surging resources to
evaluate each case and process
these as efficiently as possible to
protect homeland security.”
U.S. officials declined to say on
Monday how many, if any, Af-
ghans have been flagged for secu-
rity concerns in the vetting proc-
ess or denied entry to the U.S. On
the flip side, however, the Biden
administration is facing mounting
pressure from veterans and refu-
gee advocates to get as many Af-
ghans out of Kabul as quickly as
possible, saying they can be vetted
once they get to a safe location.
The State Department is getting
help at the Kabul airport from
members of the military. Outside
Afghanistan, the Department of
Homeland Security has deployed
personnel from Customs and Bor-
der Protection, Immigration and
Customs Enforcement and the
Transportation Security Adminis-
tration to Bahrain, Germany, Ku-
wait and Qatar to conduct process-
ing and vetting of Afghans, said
DHS spokesman Angelo Fernán-
dez Hernández.
The goal is to bring Afghans to
the U.S. “who have worked for and
on behalf of the United States and
other eligible vulnerable Afghans
in coordination with Department
of Defense and Department of
State,” Fernández Hernández
said in a statement.
Customs and border agents, for
example, are working alongside
the FBI and other agencies to con-
duct the vetting, which includes
biometric and biographic screen-
ing, the department said. U.S. Citi-
zenship and Immigration Services
also has dedicated resources, in-
cluding translation services, to ex-
pedite the processing of pending
petitions and applications by Af-
ghan nationals.
US races to vet refugees for security risksBY CHRIS STROHM
Bloomberg News
PAGE 6 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, August 26, 2021
The head of an animal rescue
clinic in Kabul that has helped
American troops bring home cats
and dogs from Afghanistan after
their deployments is racing to evac-
uate staff and hundreds of animals
by the end of the month.
Charlotte Maxwell-Jones, an
American who founded Kabul
Small Animal Rescue in 2018, was
recently told by the Taliban to leave
Afghanistan. But she doesn’t intend
to go until she’s secured the depar-
ture of about 125 people, including
her employees and their family
members, and as many as 250 ani-
mals, she said.
“We’re not going to leave them,”
Maxwell-Jones said in a phone in-
terview Tuesday.
She acknowledged that she has
little time left to organize the exit.
U.S. forces are scheduled to leave
Afghanistan by Aug. 31 and it’s un-
clear how many civilians will be
able to leave at the very end, when
U.S. and foreign forces fly them-
selves out.
The rescue has received some
$700,000 in donations over the past
week through online sites, grants
and smaller fundraisers. The mon-
ey is intended to pay for a chartered
flight or flights, but logistical chal-
lenges remain that make coordinat-
ing with the U.S. military and the
Taliban necessary.
The biggest hurdle is finding a
third country that will allow a plane
carrying animals to land. All the ani-
mals Kabul Small Animal Rescue is
trying to evacuate have paperwork
to enter the U.S., but all of its Afghan
staffers have applied for P1 visas,
which require applicants to be vet-
ted in a third country.
“We need a landing permit for
our animals,” Maxwell-Jones said
in an impassioned video message
posted on Twitter on Monday. “We
need a landing permit because I
think it’s going to continue to get
more difficult.”
The video was posted the same
day that a group of about a dozen Ta-
liban officials, including one hold-
ing a rocket-propelled grenade
launcher, showed up at Maxwell-
Jones’ Kabul residence and told her
to leave the country, she said.
“I’m not armed. They just came
into my house,” she said.
“They said NGOs would be al-
lowed to stay,” she added, referring
to a previous statement on the status
of nongovernmental organizations
by the group. “I think everybody be-
lieves that’s a lie.”
Maxwell-Jones told the Taliban
she was in the process of leaving
with her staff and needed more
time. Taliban guards have been sta-
tioned at her house since then and
the group has agreed to escort her
and the staff to the airport in the
coming days, she said.
Tens of thousands of Afghans
desperate to leave the country have
surrounded the Kabul airport since
the Taliban’s lightning takeover of
the city Aug. 15. The crowds make
entry difficult and pose another ob-
stacle to the rescue group’s evacua-
tion.
Yet another hurdle is getting per-
mission from the U.S. military to
land a chartered flight at the airport.
Maxwell-Jones said that when
she first called U.S. officials and told
them she wanted to evacuate ani-
mals, they dismissed her.
“Now people in the U.S. are get-
ting their senators and state [repre-
sentatives] to go through it for us, so
we’re getting a bit more traction,”
Maxwell-Jones said.
But as of Wednesday afternoon,
permission still hadn’t been granted
and time was running out.
Despite the chaotic scenes at Ka-
bul’s airport and fears that some
Americans and at-risk Afghans
may be left behind, President Joe
Biden has ruled out any extension of
the deadline, The Associated Press
reported Tuesday. The Taliban also
were adamant that the U.S. with-
draw by the deadline date at a press
conference Tuesday.
Even as they prepare to leave,
staffers at Kabul Small Animal Res-
cue have been collecting dogs and
cats left behind by others forced to
flee.
Maxwell-Jones founded the ani-
mal rescue group in 2018 as a side
project while working with the
Heart of Asia Society, a think tank
working toward sustainable peace
in the country.
Her organization rescues strays,
provides veterinary services and
helps ship animals abroad for adop-
tion.
Maxwell-Jones said in an April
interview that two-thirds of the dogs
she had shipped to the U.S. in the
previous week had been for service
members, who befriended the ani-
mals while deployed in the country.
Kabul Small Animal Rescue isn’t
the only organization trying to evac-
uate animals from Afghanistan
amid the Taliban takeover.
Nowzad, a Kabul shelter founded
by British former Marine Paul Far-
thing, has been campaigning to
have its employees, their families
and 200 dogs and cats brought out in
what has been dubbed “Operation
Ark.”
Some have criticized the oper-
ation for putting “pets before peo-
ple,” but Farthing has said the ani-
mals will travel in a hold where peo-
ple can’t go, meaning that the main
section of Nowzad’s privately fund-
ed plane will be able to carry more
people out of the country.
Maxwell-Jones responded to
similar criticisms about her organi-
zation's aim to help cats and dogs.
“I realize that it’s not everybody
else’s passion, but these are private
donations,” she said. “I think that
their lives matter, and I have put
blood, sweat and tears into this orga-
nization that’s specifically for sav-
ing animals. And I don’t intend to
stop now.”
American won’tleave withoutstaff, animals
BY PHILLIP WALTER
WELLMAN
Stars and Stripes
Kabul Small Animal Rescue
Charlotte MaxwellJones, founder of Kabul Small Animal Rescue, plays with rescued dogs in Kabul,Afghanistan, in 2019. MaxwellJones is trying to get the organization’s staff and up to 250 animalsevacuated from the country before the end of August.
[email protected] Twitter: @pwwellman
“I have put blood, sweat and tears intothis organization that’s specifically forsaving animals. And I don’t intend tostop now.”
Charlotte Maxwell-Jones
founder of Kabul Small Animal Rescue
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea —
Over 380 Afghans who supported South
Korea in Afghanistan before the Taliban
seized power are expected to arrive at an
airport outside Seoul on Thursday, ac-
cording to the Ministry of Foreign Af-
fairs.
The evacuees include locals who
worked at the South Korean Embassy in
Kabul, hospitals, vocational training cen-
ters and provincial reconstruction teams.
They are being flown out of Hamid Kar-
zai International Airport in Kabul aboard
three South Korean military airplanes,
Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
Choi Jongmoon said during a Wednesday
press conference.
Choi cited the country’s “moral respon-
sibility” to house the Afghans given the
“serious situations” many of them are un-
der. He added that the evacuees will be
entering the country not as refugees, “but
people who have done distinguished ser-
vice to South Korea.”
Some South Korean lawmakers recent-
ly said the country ought to act amid the
ongoing refugee crisis in Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan needs the help of neigh-
boring countries for getting immediate
humanitarian aid; however, unfortunate-
ly, Europe and many surrounding nations
are against accepting refugees from Af-
ghanistan,” Rep. Jang Hye-young of the
progressive Justice Party said in a Face-
book post Friday.
Jang added: “We need to actively seek a
role we can play in a direction, which is
solidarity and cooperation on a global lev-
el, instead of shifting all burdens of the
acceptance of refugees onto countries
surrounding Afghanistan.”
Over 3,900 South Korean troops served
in Afghanistan, according to a Defense
Ministry official who spoke to Stars and
Stripes on the customary condition of
anonymity Wednesday. One South Ko-
rean soldier died after a bomb attack in
2007.
Plans to temporarily relocate evacuees
to U.S. bases in South Korea and Japan
were scrapped due to logistical and geo-
graphical factors, according to a Reuters
report Tuesday.
South Korea airlifting hundreds of Afghans out of KabulBY DAVID CHOI
AND YOO KYONG CHANG
Stars and Stripes
[email protected] Twitter: @choibboy [email protected]
AFGHANISTAN
Thursday, August 26, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 7
WASHINGTON — House Re-
publicans and Democrats urged
President Joe Biden on Tuesday to
extend the deadline to withdraw
U.S. troops from Afghanistan in or-
der to evacuate all Americans and
Afghan allies.
Biden decided Tuesday to stick
with the Aug. 31 deadline to with-
draw U.S. military forces from the
country, citing the increasing rate of
evacuations and the security risks
now that Afghanistan is under Tali-
ban control. Biden relayed his deci-
sion Tuesday morning to the Group
of Seven, an intergovernmental fo-
rum that includes Canada, France,
Germany, Italy, the United King-
dom and Japan.
House Republicans blasted the
decision in a news conference Tues-
day and argued it wasn’t possible to
evacuate all Americans and Afghan
allies in the next week. They warned
people would be left behind.
“There’s no possible way that we
can get every American still in Af-
ghanistan out in the next seven
days,” said Rep. Kevin McCarthy,
R-Calif. “I want to be very clear with
him: Don’t pick the date, solve the
problem. Make sure every Ameri-
can is out, then that will be the day
we depart.”
McCarthy, the House minority
leader, attended a classified brief-
ing about Afghanistan on Tuesday.
He said the information relayed in
the briefing made him less confi-
dent about America’s effort to evac-
uate U.S. citizens and allies.
Some Democrats agreed. Rep.
Adam Schiff, D-Calif., chairman of
the House Intelligence Committee,
said after a classified briefing Mon-
day that it was “very unlikely” the
United States could evacuate all
Americans and allies by Aug. 31.
Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif.,
chairman of the House Committee
on Veterans’ Affairs, issued a state-
ment Tuesday encouraging Biden
to extend the deadline to allow more
time to help America’s wartime
partners to leave Afghanistan.
Some Afghanistan War veterans
are trying to assist their Afghan
friends obtain special immigrant vi-
sas in order to get out of the country,
Takano said.
“Despite great risks to them-
selves, our Afghan allies stepped up
to help us,” he said. “For those veter-
ans who want to help the allies who
supported them, we must ensure
they have time to do so.”
The White House said Tuesday,
however, that evacuation rates
were surpassing their daily goals. In
the past 24 hours, about 21,600 peo-
ple were evacuated from the coun-
try. The Department of Defense
said the pace of military flights out
of Kabul is one departure every 45
minutes.
In total, 76,000 people have been
evacuated since the end of July, the
White House said.
Some of Biden’s advisers also
want to withdraw by Aug. 31 out of
concern for the safety of American
troops who might be in danger if the
U.S. stays in the country past the
deadline that was agreed upon with
the Taliban. White House officials
said they speak with Taliban repre-
sentatives on a daily basis, and they
have said the deadline is firm.
ANDREW HARNIK/AP
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, RCalif., speaks at a news conference on the steps of the Capitolin Washington, D.C., on July 29.
House lawmakers call on White House to
extend deadline to withdraw US forcesBY NIKKI WENTLING
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @nikkiwentling
WASHINGTON — Two mem-
bers of Congress flew unan-
nounced into Kabul airport in the
middle of the chaotic evacuation,
stunning State Department and
U.S. military personnel who had to
divert resources to provide securi-
ty and information to the lawmak-
ers, U.S. officials said.
Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., and
Rep. Peter Meijer, R-Mich., flew in
and out on charter aircraft and
were on the ground at the Kabul
airport for several hours Tuesday.
That led officials to complain that
they could be taking seats that
would have otherwise gone to other
Americans or Afghans fleeing the
country, but the congressmen said
in a joint statement that they made
sure to leave on a flight with empty
seats.
“As Members of Congress, we
have a duty to provide oversight on
the executive branch,” the two said
in their statement. “We conducted
this visit in secret, speaking about it
only after our departure to mini-
mize the risk and disruption to the
people on the ground, and because
we were there to gather informa-
tion, not to grandstand.”
The two lawmakers are both mil-
itary veterans, with backgrounds in
the region. Moulton, a Marine who
has been outspoken critic of the
Iraq War, served multiple tours in
Iraq. Meijer was deployed as part
of the Army Reserves and later
worked in Afghanistan at a nongov-
ernmental organization providing
aid. Moulton serves on the House
Armed Services Committee and
Meijer is on the House Foreign Af-
fairs Committee.
Three officials familiar with the
flight said that State Department,
Defense Department and White
House officials were furious about
the incident because it was done
without coordination with diplo-
mats or military commanders di-
recting the evacuation.
The U.S. military found out about
the visit as the legislators’ aircraft
was inbound to Kabul, according to
the officials. The officials spoke on
condition of anonymity to discuss
ongoing military operations.
One senior U.S. official said the
administration saw the lawmakers’
visit as manifestly unhelpful and
several other officials said the visit
was viewed as a distraction for
troops and commanders at the air-
port who are waging a race against
time to evacuate thousands of
Americans, at-risk Afghans and
others as quickly as possible.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is-
sued a statement Tuesday evening
taking note of the desire of some
legislators to visit Afghanistan and
saying she was writing to “reiterate
that the Departments of Defense
and State have requested that
Members not travel to Afghanistan
and the region during this time of
danger. Ensuring the safe and
timely evacuation of individuals at
risk requires the full focus and at-
tention of the U.S. military and dip-
lomatic teams on the ground in Af-
ghanistan.”
US lawmakers’ tripto Kabul promptsfury from officials
BY LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press
AFGHANISTAN
PAGE 8 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, August 26, 2021
AFGHANISTAN
In a mountain valley north of Ka-
bul, the last remnants of Afghanis-
tan’s shattered security forces have
vowed to resist the Taliban in a re-
mote region that has defied con-
querors before. But any attempt to
reenact that history could end in
tragedy — or farce.
Nestled in the towering Hindu
Kush, the Panjshir Valley has a sin-
gle narrow entrance and is the last
region not under Taliban control fol-
lowing their stunning blitz across
Afghanistan. Local fighters held off
the Soviets in the 1980s and the Tali-
ban a decade later under the leader-
ship of Ahmad Shah Massoud, a
guerrilla fighter who attained near-
mythic status before he was killed in
asuicide bombing.
His 32-year-old foreign-educated
son, Ahmad Massoud, and several
top officials from the ousted West-
ern-backed government have gath-
ered in the valley. They include Vice
President Amrullah Saleh, who
claims to be the caretaker leader af-
ter President Ashraf Ghani fled the
country.
They have vowed to resist the Ta-
liban and are calling for Western aid
to help roll them back.
“I write from the Panjshir Valley
today, ready to follow in my father’s
footsteps, with mujahideen fighters
who are prepared to once again take
on the Taliban,” Massoud wrote in
an op-ed for The Washington Post.
“We have stores of ammunition and
arms that we have patiently collect-
ed since my father’s time, because
we knew this day might come.”
But experts say a successful re-
sistance is highly unlikely — and
could potentially aggravate Afghan-
istan’s already considerable prob-
lems.
While the Panjshir Valley re-
mains as impregnable as ever, it’s
unclear how long its residents can
hold out if the Taliban besiege the
area or attack it using the U.S.-sup-
plied armaments they have seized.
Western countries, stunned by the
collapse of a costly, two-decade at-
tempt at remaking Afghanistan, are
unlikely to invest in another proxy
war.
Ahmad Shah Massoud, nick-
named the “Lion of Panjshir,” was
one of the main leaders of the Af-
ghan mujahedeen, self-styled holy
warriors who defeated the Soviets in
1989. His Northern Alliance includ-
ed fellow Tajiks as well as fighters
from other ethnic groups, in keep-
ing with his vision of an independ-
ent, multiethnic Afghanistan under
amoderate form of Islamic rule.
But as the country slid into war in
the early 1990s, he found himself
battling rival warlords and eventu-
ally the Taliban, who seized power
in 1996. During their five-year rule,
his forces were confined to Panjshir
and other remote areas in north-
eastern Afghanistan.
Two days before the Sept. 11, 2001,
attacks, al-Qaida militants dis-
guised as Arab journalists who had
come to interview Massoud killed
the commander in a suicide bomb-
ing.
His forces remained intact, how-
ever, and partnered with the United
States when it invaded Afghanistan
weeks later, scattering al-Qaida,
which orchestrated the 9/11 attacks,
and driving the Taliban from power.
Along with other former warlords,
they went on to form the core of the
government and security forces
that the U.S. and its allies would
spend the next two decades arming
and training, at a cost of billions of
dollars.
Those forces, which from the be-
ginning were rife with corruption,
collapsed in a matter of days earlier
this month, as the Taliban captured
most of the country less than three
weeks before the U.S. was set to
withdraw its last troops.
The younger Massoud, who was
just 12 when his father was killed,
trained at the British military acad-
emy at Sandhurst and also earned a
master’s degree in international
politics from the City University of
London.
He has little, if any, combat expe-
rience. Sandy Gall, a veteran for-
eign correspondent who wrote “Af-
ghan Napoleon: The Life of Ahmad
Shah Massoud,” described his son
as “a very personable young man
with political ambitions.”
Massoud says he has been joined
by highly-trained Afghan special
forces and other soldiers “disgusted
by the surrender of their command-
ers,” but neither proved to be any
match for the Taliban elsewhere in
the country.
Torek Farhadi, an Afghan analyst
and former government adviser,
said the group poses little threat to
the Taliban, and he cast doubt on Sa-
leh’s claims that he could lead a re-
sistance, calling him a “social media
person.”
“If he was a real threat, he should
have stayed the day Ghani fled and
defended the palace. He was the
vice president and soldiers were un-
der his order,” said Farhadi.
Even the specter of such a stand-
off, he said, risks plunging the coun-
try into another period of violence
and turmoil, with dire consequenc-
es for ordinary Afghans.
The ousted leaders holed up in
Panjshir may end up joining the ne-
gotiations that the Taliban are hold-
ing with other former Afghan offi-
cials. The Taliban have said they
want an “inclusive, Islamic govern-
ment” but will hold off on forming
one until the U.S. completes its with-
drawal.
“We must use our weight with the
international community to get
guarantees from the Taliban for an
all-encompassing government that
includes women and non-Taliban,”
said Farhadi.
Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, a
senior Taliban official, said their
forces have surrounded Panjshir.
“We are doing our best to solve
the issue through negotiations, but if
they don’t accept the talks, we are
ready to fight,” he said.
In an interview with the Al-Arabi-
ya news network over the weekend,
Massoud said he would not surren-
der territory but could support a
broad-based government.
Aresident of Panjshir reached by
phone said Massoud had warned
people that the Taliban might attack
and said families could leave if they
wished. Those who stayed would
prefer a negotiated solution but are
loyal to Massoud and prepared to
fight if necessary, the man said on
condition of anonymity because of
security concerns.
“Panjshir people are used to this,”
he said.
Remote valley vows to resist TalibanAssociated Press
ANJA NIEDRINGHAUS/AP
A large poster of late guerrilla fighter Ahmad Shah Massoud is displayed next to a road leading intoAfghanistan’s Panjshir Valley in 2011.
Ezanullah, one of thousands of
young Taliban fighters from the
countryside who rode into Afghan-
istan’s capital over the weekend,
had never seen anything like it.
The paved streets of Kabul were
lined with towering apartment
blocks, glass office buildings and
shopping malls. The plush furni-
ture inside the Interior Ministry
was like “something I thought of in
a dream,” said the 22-year-old
fighter from the country’s moun-
tainous east.
He said he plans to ask his com-
mander if he can stay. “I don’t want
to leave,” he said.
The encounter highlights how
much Kabul and other Afghan ci-
ties have changed in the 20 years
since the Taliban, who mainly hail
from rugged rural areas, last ruled
the country. An entire generation of
Afghans has come of age under a
modernizing, Western-backed gov-
ernment flush with development
aid.
Many fear those gains will be re-
versed now that the Taliban are
back in power and the last U.S.
troops are on their way out.
Thousands have flocked to the
airport trying to flee, most of them
men unaccompanied by families.
Younger Afghans have no memory
of Taliban rule, but fear its return
will mean the loss of freedoms. The
militants imposed a harsh interpre-
tation of Islamic law from 1996 until
2001, when a U.S.-led invasion
drove them from power.
The Taliban, who largely hail
from Afghanistan’s conservative
countryside, have signaled moder-
ation in recent days — offering am-
nesty to those who fought them, in-
viting women to return to work and
pledging to restore normal life after
decades of war. But many Afghans,
particularly women, remain deeply
skeptical of the group’s intentions.
Ezanullah was surprised when
two women said hello to him on the
street.
“They said we were afraid of you
and thought you were horrible,” he
said. “But I told them you are like
my sisters, and we will let you go to
school and continue your education
and give you security.”
“Just look after your hijab,” he
added, referring to the Islamic
headscarf.
Whether or not the Taliban have
truly changed, the country they
now rule is light-years ahead of the
one they captured in 1996 after four
years of civil war following the So-
viet withdrawal and the 1992 col-
lapse of a pro-communist govern-
ment.
Then the city was in ruins, rav-
aged by warlords who would later
ally with the United States. Most Af-
ghans traveled Kabul’s rutted
roads by bicycle or in beat-up yel-
low taxis. There was only one com-
puter in the entire country, and it
belonged to Mullah Mohammed
Omar, the Taliban’s reclusive lead-
er, who did not know how to turn it
on.
Under Taliban rule, television
and music were forbidden. Women
were barred from attending school
or working outside the home, and
had to wear the all-encompassing
burqa whenever they appeared in
public.
Today, the country is home to
four mobile companies and several
satellite TV stations with female an-
chors, one of whom interviewed a
Taliban official Monday. The Tali-
ban fighters carry smartphones
and could be seen taking selfies as
they marveled at the capital they
had rolled into virtually unopposed
after 20 years of war.
Some things have gotten worse
since the Taliban were last in pow-
er.
The city has been in the grip of a
crime wave for years, one many
fear will get even worse after pris-
ons and government armories were
emptied during the Taliban’s ad-
vance. One of the few successes of
their harsh Islamic rule was the vir-
tual elimination of crime — sus-
pected thieves had their hands
chopped off; other criminals were
executed in public.
The Taliban have pledged to re-
store law and order, but that could
take time. The city’s population has
quintupled to 5 million over the last
two decades.
Taliban encounter Afghan cities remade in their absenceBY KATHY GANNON
Associated Press
Thursday, August 26, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 9
VIRUS OUTBREAK
TOKYO — Facing a nationwide
surge in new coronavirus cases
linked to the delta variant, the Japa-
nese government on Wednesday
added another eight prefectures to
the 13 already under a state of
emergency.
Eight prefectures were upgrad-
ed from quasi-emergency status to
a full emergency. They include
Hokkaido and Miyagi in the north,
Aichi and Gifu in central Japan,
and Hiroshima and Okayama in
the west.
“In order to protect the people’s
lives, the priority is to maintain the
health care system,” Prime Minis-
ter Yoshihide Suga said as he an-
nounced the emergency. “In order
to overcome this crisis led by the
delta strain, I seek further cooper-
ation from everyone.”
The government last week ex-
tended the state of emergency until
Sept. 12 and expanded the areas
covered to 13 prefectures from six
including Tokyo. With four new
prefectures added to a separate
“quasi-emergency” status, 33 of
Japan’s 47 prefectures are now un-
der some type of emergency mea-
sures.
Meanwhile, U.S. military bases
in Japan reported 55 new coronavi-
rus cases on Tuesday and Wednes-
day.
Twenty-seven of those cases are
people associated with the Marine
Corps on Okinawa, according to a
Facebook post Wednesday by Ma-
rine Corps Installations Pacific.
The Marines provided no further
information but have said its new
cases are not limited to service
members.
U.S. Army Japan discovered 11
new cases between Aug. 18 and
Wednesday, according to a news
release. One came up positive in an
airport test by Japanese officials.
Five had fallen ill with COVID-19
symptoms. Two were already in re-
stricted movement following their
recent arrival in Japan and three
were isolated as close contacts of
another infected individual.
In northeastern Japan, Misawa
Air Base identified 13 people with
COVID-19 between Aug. 17 and
Monday, according to a base news
release Tuesday. They include ful-
ly vaccinated and unvaccinated
people, though the base provided
no further details.
Misawa’s commander, Col.
Jesse Friedel, ordered a limit on
gatherings of 20 people or 50% of a
room’s capacity, whichever is less,
on or off the base. Masks are re-
quired for everyone in gatherings
of more than 20, with physical fit-
ness activity exempted. Takeout
dining only is permitted in nearby
Aomori city and Hachinohe.
Three people at Naval Air Facil-
ity Atsugi tested positive for CO-
VID-19 on Tuesday after falling ill,
according to a base news release. A
fourth turned up positive in an air-
port test after arriving in Japan.
The base has seven people under
observation.
In Tokyo, another 4,228 people
tested positive Wednesday, 1,158
fewer than a week prior and the
third consecutive day of new case
numbers trending downward, ac-
cording to NHK and metro govern-
ment data.
However, the number of serious-
ly ill people in the city rose to 277,
the highest yet during the pandem-
ic.
Tokyo and neighboring Kanaga-
wa prefecture — home to head-
quarters for U.S. Forces Japan,
U.S. Army Japan, 5th Air Force and
7th Fleet — are already under the
emergency declaration until Sept.
12. So are Okinawa, home to the III
Marine Expeditionary Force; Osa-
ka, the second-largest metro area
in Japan; and Kyoto.
Okinawa prefecture on Wednes-
day reported its highest one-day
new case total, 809, surpassing the
previous record set one week ago,
768, according to the prefectural
Department of Public Health and
Medical Care. The prefecture
claims the highest weekly infection
rate in Japan, 312.99 per 100,000
population, according to the de-
partment.
Ahead of the declaration expect-
ed Friday, Marine Corps Air Sta-
tion Iwakuni on Wednesday im-
posed a 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. off-base cur-
few in nearby Hiroshima prefec-
ture for anyone affiliated with the
installation. The curfew comes
with other new restrictions, ac-
cording to a post on the air station’s
Facebook page.
Once an emergency is declared
in Hiroshima, air station personnel
who live, work or attend school
there will be restricted to only es-
sential services outside their
homes.
Delta surge leads Japan towiden state of emergency
BY JOSEPH DITZLER
Stars and Stripes
AKIFUMI ISHIKAWA/Stars and Stripes
People stand for the U.S. national anthem Wednesday ahead of aParalympics wheelchair rugby match between the United States andNew Zealand at Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo.
Stars and Stripes reporters Mari Higa and Jo-nathan Snyder contributed to this [email protected]: @JosephDitzler
ATLANTA — A few weeks into
the new school year, growing
numbers of U.S. districts have
halted in-person learning or
switched to hybrid models be-
cause of rapidly mounting corona-
virus infections.
More than 80 school districts or
charter networks have closed or
delayed in-person classes for at
least one entire school in more
than a dozen states. Others have
sent home whole grade levels or
asked half their students to stay
home on hybrid schedules.
The setbacks in mostly small,
rural districts that were among
the first to return dampen hopes
for a sustained, widespread return
to classrooms after two years of
schooling disrupted by the pan-
demic.
In Georgia, where in-person
classes are on hold in more than 20
districts that started the school
year without mask requirements,
some superintendents say the vi-
rus appeared to be spreading in
schools before they sent students
home.
“We just couldn’t manage it
with that much staff out, having to
cover classes and the spread so
rapid,” said Eddie Morris, super-
intendent of the 1,050-student
Johnson County district in Geor-
gia. With 40% of students in quar-
antine or isolation, the district
shifted last week to online instruc-
tion until Sept. 13.
More than 1 of every 100 school-
aged children has tested positive
for COVID-19 in the past two
weeks in Georgia, according to
state health data published Fri-
day. Children age 5 to 17 are cur-
rently more likely to test positive
for COVID-19 than adults.
Around the country, some
schools are starting the year later
than planned. One district in
Western Oregon pushed back the
start of classes by a week after
several employees were exposed
to a positive teacher during train-
ing.
Before the latest virus resur-
gence, hopes were high that
schools nationwide could ap-
proach normalcy, moving beyond
the stops and starts of remote
learning that interfered with some
parents’ jobs and impaired many
students’ academic performance.
Most epidemiologists say they
still believe that in-person school
can be conducted safely, and that
it’s important considering the aca-
demic, social and emotional dam-
age to students since the pandem-
ic slammed into American schools
in March 2020.
In some cases, experts say, the
reversals reflect a careless ap-
proach among districts that acted
as if the pandemic were basically
over.
“People should realize it’s not
over. It’s a real problem, a real
public health issue,” said Dr. Tina
Tan, a Northwestern University
medical professor who chairs the
American Academy of Pediatrics
Section on Infectious Diseases.
“You have to do everything to pre-
vent the spread of COVID in the
school.”
Tan and others say that means
not just masks in schools but a
push for vaccination, social dis-
tancing, ventilation and other pre-
cautions, providing multiple lay-
ers of protection.
The onslaught in Georgia is
driving changes in mask policies.
Weeks before school started, only
a handful of large districts cover-
ing fewer than a quarter of stu-
dents across the state were requir-
ing face coverings. Now, mask
mandates cover more than half of
students.
Outbreaks force some schools to close, switch to hybrid
ANDREW RUSH, PITTSBURGH POSTGAZETTE /AP
Students arrive masked Tuesday to Memorial Elementary School in Bethel Park, a suburb of Pittsburgh. Ina heated school board meeting Monday, the school district voted to require all students, staff and visitorsto wear masks inside the district’s schools.
Associated Press
PAGE 10 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, August 26, 2021
NATION
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — A California fire
that gutted hundreds of homes advanced toward Lake
Tahoe on Wednesday as thousands of firefighters
tried to box in the flames, and tourists who hoped to
boat or swim found themselves looking at thick yellow
haze instead of alpine scenery.
The Caldor Fire was less than 20 miles east of the
lake that straddles the California-Nevada state line.
The fire was eating its way through rugged timber-
lands and was “knocking on the door” of the Lake Ta-
hoe basin, California’s state fire chief Thom Porter
warned this week.
On Tuesday, ash rained down and tourists ducked
into cafes, outdoor gear shops and casinos on Lake Ta-
hoe Boulevard for a respite from the unhealthy air.
Inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, cocktail wait-
resses in fishnet stockings and leopard-print corsets
served customers playing slots and blackjack.
Sitting at a slot machine near a window looking out
at cars driving through the haze, Ramona Trejo said
she and her husband would stay for their 50th wed-
ding anniversary, as planned.
Trejo, who uses supplemental oxygen due to respi-
ratory problems, said her husband wanted to keep
gambling.
“I would want to go now,” she said.
South of Tahoe, Rick Nelson and his wife, Diane,
had planned to host a weekend wedding at Fallen Leaf
Lake, where his daughter and her fiancé had met. The
smoke, however, caused most of the community to
leave. The sun was an eerie blood orange and the
floats and boats in the lake were obscured by haze.
In the end, the Nelsons spent two days arranging to
have the wedding moved from the glacial lake several
hours southwest to the San Francisco Bay Area.
“Everybody’s trying to make accommodations for
the smoke. And I think it’s becoming a reality for us,
unfortunately,” Diane Nelson said. “I just think that
the smoke and the fires have gotten bigger, hotter and
faster-moving.”
Climate change has made the West warmer and
drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make
the weather more extreme and wildfires more de-
structive, according to scientists.
The Caldor fire had scorched more than 190 square
miles and destroyed at least 455 homes since Aug. 14
in the Sierra Nevada southwest of the lake. It was 11%
contained and threatened more than 17,000 structur-
es.
On its western side, the blaze continued to threaten
more than a dozen small communities and wineries.
On the eastern side, crews were bulldozing fire lines,
opening up narrow logging roads and clearing ridge-
tops in hopes of stopping its advance, fire officials
said.
More than 2,500 firefighters were on the line and
more resources were streaming in, fire officials said.
RICH PEDRONCELLI/AP
A golfer wears a face mask as he practices his putting at the smokeshrouded Lake Tahoe Golf Course inSouth Lake Tahoe, Calif., on Tuesday.
Crews struggle to stop wildfirebearing down on Lake Tahoe
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Su-
preme Court said the Biden admin-
istration likely violated federal law
in trying to end a Trump-era pro-
gram that forces people to wait in
Mexico while seeking asylum in
the United States.
With three liberal justices in dis-
sent, the high court Tuesday re-
fused to block a lower court ruling
ordering the administration to re-
instate the program informally
known as Remain in Mexico.
It’s not clear how many people
will be affected and how quickly.
Under the lower court ruling, the
administration must make a “good
faith effort” to restart the program.
There is also nothing preventing
the administration from trying
again to end the program, formally
called Migrant Protection Proto-
cols.
Afederal judge in Texas had pre-
viously ordered that the program
be reinstated last week. Both he
and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals refused the administra-
tion’s request to put the ruling on
hold.
Justice Samuel Alito ordered a
brief delay to allow the full court
time to consider the administra-
tion’s appeal to keep the ruling on
hold while the case continues to
make its way through the courts.
The 5th Circuit ordered expedit-
ed consideration of the administra-
tion’s appeal.
The court offered little explana-
tion for its action, although it cited
its opinion from last year rejecting
the Trump administration’s effort
to end another immigration pro-
gram, Deferred Action for Child-
hood Arrivals. In that case, the
court held that the decision to end
DACA was “arbitrary and capri-
cious,” in violation of federal law.
The administration has “failed to
show a likelihood of success on the
claim that the memorandum re-
scinding the Migrant Protection
Protocols was not arbitrary and ca-
pricious,” the court wrote Tuesday
in an unsigned order.
The three dissenting justices,
Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and
Sonia Sotomayor, did not write an
opinion expressing their views of
the case.
In a statement, the Department
of Homeland Security said it re-
grets that the high court declined to
issue a stay. The department said it
would continue to challenge the
district court’s order.
The American Civil Liberties
Union called on the administration
to present a fuller rationale for end-
ing Remain in Mexico that could
withstand court scrutiny.
“The government must take all
steps available to fully end this ille-
gal program, including by re-ter-
minating it with a fuller explana-
tion. What it must not do is use this
decision as cover for abandoning
its commitment to restore a fair
asylum system,” said Omar Jad-
wat, director of the ACLU’s immi-
grant rights project.
During Donald Trump’s presi-
dency, the policy required tens of
thousands of migrants seeking asy-
lum in the U.S. to turn back to Mex-
ico. It was meant to discourage asy-
lum seekers, but critics said it de-
nied people the legal right to seek
protection in the U.S. and forced
them to wait in dangerous Mexican
border cities.
The judge, U.S. District Judge
Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk in
Amarillo, Texas, ordered that the
program be reinstated in response
to a lawsuit filed by the states of
Texas and Missouri, whose gover-
nors have been seeking to reinstate
some of the hard-line anti-immi-
gration policies of the Trump ad-
ministration.
High court orders‘Remain in Mexico’policy reinstated
BY MARK SHERMAN
Associated Press
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. —
Prosecutors preparing for the first
prison sentence in an alleged plot
to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen
Whitmer are loudly signaling to
five other defendants that a key in-
sider has shared extraordinary de-
tails about the operation.
Ty Garbin cooperated within
weeks of being arrested, willingly
putting a “target on his back to be-
gin his own redemption,” the gov-
ernment said in a court filing.
Prosecutors
wanted U.S. Dis-
trict Judge Rob-
ert Jonker to take
it into considera-
tion Wednesday
when he sen-
tences Garbin
for conspiracy.
The government is recommend-
ing a nine-year prison term, a long
stretch but one that would be even
longer if he had not assisted inves-
tigators after being charged.
The FBI last October said it
broke up a scheme to kidnap the
Democratic governor by anti-gov-
ernment extremists who were up-
set over Whitmer’s coronavirus
restrictions. Six men were
charged in federal court, while
others were charged in state court
with aiding them.
Garbin, a 25-year-old airplane
mechanic, is the only federal de-
fendant to plead guilty; others are
awaiting trial.
“He filled in gaps in the govern-
ment’s knowledge by recounting
conversations and actions that did
not include any government in-
formant or ability to record,” As-
sistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler
said.
“Second, he confirmed that the
plot was real; not just ‘big talk be-
tween crackpots,’ as suggested by
co-defendants. Third, he dispelled
any suggestion that the conspir-
ators were entrapped by govern-
ment informants,” the prosecutor
said.
In his plea agreement, Garbin
said the six men trained at his
property near Luther, Mich., con-
structing a “shoot house” to resem-
ble Whitmer’s vacation home and
“assaulting it with firearms.”
A Tennessee-based group
called Parents for Peace, which
helps people move away from ex-
tremist movements, is asking the
judge for a “minimal” prison sen-
tence. They noted that Garbin’s
rocky childhood and other factors
contributed to his decisions.
1st sentencing in Mich. governor’s kidnapping plot to be handed downAssociated Press
Garbin
Thursday, August 26, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 11
AMERICAN ROUNDUP
Monsoon floods damageborder wall gates
AZ DOUGLAS — Several
metal flood gates in the
newly built section of the U.S.-
Mexico border wall in eastern-
most Arizona were ripped off their
hinges last week by flooding from
unusually heavy monsoon rains,
authorities say.
A spokesman for the Border Pa-
trol’s Tucson sector confirmed
Monday the gates were open last
week when water from the histor-
ic rainfall rushed through the
Douglas area near the San Ber-
nardino Wildlife Refuge in Co-
chise County. He said a Border
Patrol team is currently assessing
flood damage along the wall.
An official with Customs and
Border Protection said authorities
planned to repair the damage.
Tallest man in the US dies at age 38
MN ROCHESTER —
Igor Vovkovinskiy,
the tallest man in the United
States, has died in Minnesota. He
was 38.
His family said the Ukrainian-
born Vovkovinskiy died of heart
disease at the Mayo Clinic in
Rochester. His mother, Svetlana
Vovkovinska, an ICU nurse at
Mayo, initially posted about his
death on Facebook.
Vovkovinskiy came to the Mayo
Clinic in 1989 as a child seeking
treatment. A tumor pressing
against his pituitary gland caused
it to secrete abnormal levels of
growth hormone. He grew to be-
come the tallest man in the U.S. at
7 feet, 8.33 inches and ended up
staying in Rochester.
Jack Daniel’s age-statedwhiskey first in a century
TN LYNCHBURG — The
producers of Jack Da-
niel’s are offering the brand’s first
age-stated whiskey in more than a
century with the upcoming re-
lease of a 10-year-old Tennessee
whiskey.
Limited supplies will be availa-
ble starting next month. The prod-
uct will become an annual release
from the Jack Daniel Distillery in
Lynchburg.
The distillery used an aging
process to mature Jack Daniel’s
Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey in
oak barrels relocated throughout
the barrelhouse over the past dec-
ade.
Old No. 7 Jack Daniel’s ages, on
average, four to five years.
Jack Daniel’s is the flagship
brand of Louisville, Ky.-based
Brown-Forman Corp.
Passenger’s cellphonecatches fire after landing
WA SEATAC — A passen-
ger’s cellphone
caught fire after an Alaska Air-
lines flight landed at the Sea-Tac
International Airport, forcing the
crew to deploy evacuation slides
to get everyone on board to safety.
A spokesperson for Alaska Air-
lines said a passenger’s cellphone
on flight 751 from New Orleans to
Seattle caught on fire, KOMO-TV
reported. The aircraft crew used a
battery containment bag to extin-
guish the fire, the spokesperson
said.
Hazy conditions in the aircraft
cabin forced the crew to deploy
evacuation slides to get the guests
off the plane.
There were 128 passengers and
six crew members on board the
flight, according to the spokesper-
son.
Man who tried to swallowmemory cards sentenced
NC RALEIGH — A federal
judge handed down a
12-year prison sentence to a man
convicted on child pornography
charges after authorities say he
tried to swallow memory cards
containing pornographic images.
David Sierra Orozco, 31, a Mex-
ican national, was sentenced this
week, The News & Observer of
Raleigh reported. Orozco was con-
victed in March of possessing
child pornography. Orozco is a
resident of Georgia and an unlaw-
ful immigrant who will be deport-
ed at the end of his sentence, the
newspaper said.
Court records say sheriff’s dep-
uties in Harnett County stopped
Orozco in July 2017 after they say
he was driving erratically. While
being searched, officers found a
folded $100 bill.
When they unfolded it, memory
cards fell to the floor.
Testimony at a preliminary
hearing indicated Orozco grabbed
the memory cards and tried to eat
them.
He swallowed one and chewed
another that deputies were able to
retrieve, an agent said.
Three other cards were un-
scathed, and they contained mul-
tiple images and videos of child
pornography.
Police: Fire that burnedsculpture was arson
NM SANTA FE — Au-
thorities in Santa Fe
were searching for a suspect who
set fire to a sculpture over the
weekend.
Fire officials said someone de-
liberately committed arson
against a 21-foot tall sculpture out-
side of the Form & Concept gallery
downtown.
Police Chief Andrew Padilla
told the Santa Fe New Mexican in-
vestigators are reviewing surveil-
lance footage in hopes of identify-
ing a suspect.
Man arrested aftercrashing into 2 houses
SD SIOUX FALLS — A
Pierre man was arrest-
ed after he allegedly drove a truck
into two houses in Sioux Falls,
sending a homeowner to the hos-
pital.
The Argus Leader reported the
24-year-old man failed to navigate
a curb. He hit one house, then
crashed into a second. His truck
ended up in a bedroom. The 41-
year-old homeowner was sleeping
in the room and suffered a concus-
sion when he was hit by debris.
Jesse Peterson, the owner of the
first home that was struck, said
the impact sounded like an explo-
sion. He said he found the driver
unconscious. Nobody in his house
was hurt.
A police spokesman says the
driver could face charges of driv-
ing under the influence and vehic-
ular battery.
Man steals iCloud fileslooking for nude images
CA LOS ANGELES — A
Southern California
man broke into thousands of Ap-
ple iCloud accounts and collected
more than 620,000 private photos
and videos in an effort to steal im-
ages of nude young women, feder-
al authorities said.
Hao Kuo Chi, 40, of La Puente,
agreed to plead guilty to four felo-
nies, including conspiracy to gain
unauthorized access to a comput-
er, the Los Angeles Times report-
ed.
Chi admitted that he imperson-
ated Apple customer support staff
in emails that tricked unsuspect-
ing victims into providing him
with their Apple IDs and pass-
words, according to court records
cited by the Times.
He gained unauthorized access
to photos and videos of at least 306
victims across the U.S., most of
them young women, he acknowl-
edged in his plea agreement with
federal prosecutors in Tampa,
Fla.
He faces up to five years in pris-
on for each of the four crimes.
DON CAMPBELL, THE (ST. JOSEPH’S, MICH.) HERALDPALLADIUM/AP
Paddleboarders, kayakers and pleasure boats share the waters of Lake Michigan, off the shores of Silver Beach in St. Joseph, Mich., on Monday.
Lovely day on the lake
THE CENSUS
10K The amount in dollars a diner at a north Florida restaurant leftas a tip. The man, his wife and son had finished dinner at the
Wahoo Seafood Grill when he gathered the staff of 10 together to thank themfor their hard work before leaving them the tip to share. Shawn Shepherd, whoowns the restaurant, got a call from employees alerting him. His first thoughtwas to be suspicious. But the restaurant's point-of-sale system approved thetransaction.
From The Associated Press
PAGE 12 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, August 26, 2021
NATION
WASHINGTON — Striking a
deal with moderates, House Dem-
ocratic leaders have muscled
President Joe Biden’s multitril-
lion-dollar budget blueprint over a
key hurdle, ending a risky stand-
off and putting the party’s domes-
tic infrastructure agenda back on
track.
The 220-212 vote Tuesday was a
first move toward drafting Biden’s
$3.5 trillion rebuilding plan this
fall, and the narrow outcome, in
the face of unanimous Republican
opposition, signaled the power a
few voices have to alter the debate
and the challenges ahead still
threatening to upend the presi-
dent’s agenda.
From the White House, Biden
praised the outcome as “a step
closer to truly investing in the
American people.” He said at a
news conference that he had
called to congratulate House lead-
ers for the work.
Tensions had flared during a
turbulent 24 hours that brought
the House to a standstill as a band
of moderate lawmakers threat-
ened to withhold their votes for the
$3.5 trillion plan. They were de-
manding the House first approve
a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan
package of other public works
projects that’s already passed the
Senate.
Backed by the White House,
Speaker Nancy Pelosi huddled
privately with lawmakers and
leaders to engineer an offramp. In
brokering the compromise, Pelosi
committed to voting on the bipar-
tisan package no later than Sept.
27, an attempt to assure lawmak-
ers it won’t be left on the sidelines.
It’s also in keeping with with Pelo-
si’s insistence that the two bills
move together as a more complete
collection of Biden’s priorities. Pe-
losi has set a goal of passing both
by Oct. 1.
Pelosi told her colleagues be-
fore the vote that the legislation
would lead to a federal investment
on par with the New Deal and the
Great Society.
She brushed aside the delays.
“That’s just part of the legislative
process,” she said, according to an
aide granted anonymity to discuss
a closed-door caucus meeting.
“Not only are we building the
physical infrastructure of Ameri-
ca, we are building the human in-
frastructure of America,” Pelosi
said on the House floor.
Easing off the stalemate will
shelve, for now, the stark divisions
between moderate and progres-
sive lawmakers who make up the
Democrats’ so-slim House major-
ity. But as the drama spilled out
during what was supposed to be a
quick session as lawmakers re-
turned to work for a few days in
August, it showcased the party dif-
ferences that threaten to upend
Biden’s ambitious rebuilding
agenda.
With Republicans fully opposed
to the president’s big plans and ar-
guing that Congress should be fo-
cused instead on the crisis in Af-
ghanistan, the Democratic lead-
ers have just a few votes to spare.
That gives any band of lawmakers
leverage that can be used to make
or break a deal, as they are in posi-
tion to do in the weeks to come as
moderates and progressives draft
and vote on the broader $3.5 tril-
lion package.
“I think it’s important to those of
us who are moderate Democrats
to make sure that our voices are
heard,” said Rep. Jim Costa, D-
Calif., one of the negotiators.
Challenging their party’s most
powerful leaders, nine moderate
Democrats signed onto a letter
late last week raising their objec-
tions to pushing ahead with Bi-
den’s broader infrastructure pro-
posal without first considering the
smaller public works plan of road,
public transit and broadband
spending that has already passed
the Senate.
Progressives signaled early on
they wanted the Biden budget pri-
orities first before they agree to
the smaller Senate package, wor-
ried it would be an insufficient
down payment on his goals.
But the moderates want the op-
posite, insisting Congress quickly
send the smaller, bipartisan in-
frastructure measure they helped
shape with the senators to Biden
so he can sign it before the politi-
cal winds shift.
House OKs $3.5Tbudget blueprint
Associated Press
AMANDA ANDRADERHOADES / AP
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, DCalif., walks toward the House Chamber on Capitol Hill. The Houseapproved President Joe Biden’s budget blueprint Tuesday after striking a deal with moderates.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Capitol Police didn’t ade-
quately respond to frantic calls for help from officers
when they pressed panic buttons on their radios
seeking immediate backup as scores of pro-Trump
rioters beat officers with bats, poles and other weap-
ons, an inspector general’s report found.
The report obtained by The Associated Press of-
fered new details about the shortcomings by law en-
forcement during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capi-
tol.
The report found that most of the emergency acti-
vations from individual officers’ radios were never
simulcast on police radio, a standard protocol de-
signed to spread the word to other officers about
emergencies and crises. The on-duty watch com-
mander appears not to have been made aware of at
least some of the system activations, the report said.
Police officials in Washington are increasingly
concerned about a rally planned for Sept. 18 on feder-
al land next to the Capitol that organizers have said is
meant to demand “justice” for the hundreds of people
already charged in connection with January’s insur-
rection.
“Without the ability to connect with help or request
reinforcements during emergencies, officers are at
risk of facing dangerous or even deadly situations,”
the report said.
The July report focuses on deficiencies inside the
Capitol Police Command and Coordination Bureau,
which among other responsibilities prepares for spe-
cial events and manages the response to emergencies
at the Capitol complex. The inspector general de-
tailed what it said were outdated and vague policies
and procedures as well as problems in preparedness.
coordination and emergency planning.
A law enforcement official said because so many
officers were pressing their panic buttons, fellow of-
ficers couldn’t respond to all of the calls at once and
needed to prioritize their emergency responses. The
official spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to
discuss the report because it has not been publicly
released.
Even so, the inspector general report says, the
emergency system was not handled properly.
Report: Policeemergency systemmishandled Jan. 6
Associated Press
JOHN MINCHILLO / AP
Insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trumptry to break through a police barrier at the U.S.Capitol on Jan. 6. An inspector general’s reportsays U.S. Capitol Police did not properly respond toofficers’ use of an emergency notification system.
WASHINGTON — House
Democrats have passed legisla-
tion that would strengthen a land-
mark civil rights-era voting law
weakened by the Supreme Court
over the past decade, a step party
leaders tout as progress in their
quest to fight back against voting
restrictions advanced in Repub-
lican-led states.
The bill, which is part of a
broader Democratic effort to en-
act a sweeping overhaul of elec-
tions, was approved on a 219-212
vote, with no Republican support.
Its Tuesday passage was praised
by President Joe Biden, who said
it would protect a “sacred right”
and called on the Senate to “send
this important bill to my desk.”
But the measure faces dim pro-
spects in that chamber, where
Democrats do not have enough
votes to overcome opposition
from Senate Republicans, who
have rejected the bill as “unnec-
essary” and a Democratic “power
grab.”
That bottleneck puts Demo-
crats right back where they start-
ed with a slim chance of enacting
any voting legislation before the
2022 midterm elections, when
some in the party fear new GOP
laws will make it harder for many
Americans to vote.
The John Lewis Voting Rights
Advancement Act, named for the
late Georgia congressman who
made the issue a defining one of
his career, would restore voting
rights protections that have been
dismantled by the Supreme
Court. Under the proposal, the
Justice Department would again
police new changes to voting laws
in states that have racked up a
series of “violations," drawing
them into a mandatory review
process known as “preclea-
rance.”
The practice was first put in
place under the Voting Rights Act
of 1965. But it was struck down by
a conservative majority on the
Supreme Court in 2013, which
ruled the formula for determin-
ing which states needed their
laws reviewed was outdated and
unfairly punitive. The court did,
however, say that Congress could
come up with a new formula,
which is what the bill does.
House passes bill bolsteringcivil rights-era voting law
Associated Press
Thursday, August 26, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 13
HANOI — Vice President Kamala Har-
ris called on Vietnam to join the United
States in challenging China’s “bullying”
in the South China Sea, continuing her
sharp rhetoric against Beijing as she met
with Vietnamese leaders Wednesday.
“We need to find ways to pressure and
raise the pressure, frankly, on Beijing to
abide by the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea, and to challenge its
bullying and excessive maritime claims,”
she said in remarks at the opening of a
meeting with Vietnamese President
Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
Harris also expressed support for send-
ing an additional U.S. Coast Guard cutter
to Vietnam to help defend its security in-
terests in the disputed waterway, and
pledged that the U.S. would “maintain a
strong presence in the South China Sea”
to challenge China.
During remarks in Singapore on Tues-
day, Harris said Beijing’s actions to press
its territorial claims in the South China
Sea amount to “coercion” and “intimida-
tion.”
The vice president’s rebuke of China
comes in the middle of her weeklong tour
of Southeast Asia, a trip that brought her
to Singapore and Vietnam in a bid to
strengthen U.S. ties to the Indo-Pacific re-
gion to counter China’s growing military
and economic influence there.
In addition to her commitment to de-
fend the South China Sea against Beijing
advances, Harris unveiled an array of
new partnerships and support for Viet-
nam in areas including climate change,
trade and the coronavirus pandemic.
She announced that the U.S. will send 1
million additional doses of the Pfizer vac-
cine to Vietnam, bringing the total U.S.
vaccine donation to Vietnam to 6 million
doses.
The U.S. will also provide $23 million to
help Vietnam expand distribution and ac-
cess to vaccines, combat the pandemic
and prepare for future disease threats.
The Defense Department is delivering 77
freezers to store vaccines throughout the
country.
Harris urges Vietnam to join US in opposing China ‘bullying’Associated Press
WORLD
MANILA — Tough-talking Phi-
lippine President Rodrigo Duterte
has confirmed rumblings that he
will run next year for vice presi-
dent, in what critics say is an at-
tempt at an end-run around con-
stitutional term limits.
Duterte, who is notorious for his
vulgar rhetoric and crackdown on
illegal drugs, which has killed
thousands of mostly petty sus-
pects, said in comments broadcast
Wednesday that he will run for
vice president to
“continue the
crusade.”
“I will run for
vice president,”
he said. “I’m
worried about
the drugs, insur-
gency. Well,
number one is insurgency, then
criminality, drugs.”
The Philippines has been strug-
gling through the COVID-19 pan-
demic, with rising infections and
death rates and a slow vaccination
rollout, but Duterte’s popularity
ratings have remained high.
Polls suggest that running Du-
terte in tandem with his daughter,
Sara Duterte, currently the mayor
of Davao City, as the presidential
candidate would be a strong pair-
ing, said Manila-based political
analyst Richard Heydarian.
The idea of the two running to-
gether has been discussed since
2019, he said, though Duterte ad-
visers have reportedly said that he
has suggested he might not run for
vice president if his daughter de-
cides to announce a bid for presi-
dent.
“The campaign for Sara Du-
terte has more or less kicked off, it
seems, almost irrespective of
what Duterte’s position will be,”
Heydarian said. “A Duterte/Du-
terte tandem is increasingly look-
ing like the formidable team to
beat in the next year’s elections.”
Further muddying the waters,
however, Sara Duterte posted on
Facebook later Wednesday that
her father had told her he would
run for vice president with his for-
mer aide, Sen. Christopher
“Bong” Go running for president.
She did not address her own as-
pirations, but said her father and
Go should announce publicly that
they would run together if they
have made that decision.
“I respectfully advise them to
stop talking about me and make
me the reason for them running or
not running,” she wrote.
Duterte confirms he’ll run for Philippines’ VP next yearAssociated Press
Duterte
PAGE 14 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, August 26, 2021
Max D. Lederer Jr., Publisher
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stripes.com
OPINION
WASHINGTON
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, a
retired rear admiral, recently said
that during the long U.S. undertak-
ing in Afghanistan “the goals did
migrate over time.” Did the goals themselves
have agency — minds of their own? Why do so
many people, particularly in government, en-
gage in such gaseous talk? Because it envelops
in abstract, obfuscating vocabularies things
that are awkward to defend. And because we
are decades into the “leakage of reality” from
American life.
President Joe Biden says the Taliban is “go-
ing through sort of an existential crisis about
do they want to be recognized by the interna-
tional community as being a legitimate gov-
ernment.” Which is worse, if he means this, or
if he doesn’t? U.S. Ambassador to the United
Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield says “we
expect the Taliban to respect women’s rights”
and “to be respectful of humanitarian law.” No
sentient person expects anything of the sort.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken pro-
claims three musts: “Afghans and interna-
tional citizens” who wish to leave Afghanistan
“must” be allowed to. Roads, airports and bor-
der crossings “must remain open.” “Calm
must be maintained.” “Must,” lest nice people
frown? State Department spokesman Ned
Price is pleased that the U.N. Security Council
has asked the Taliban to create a government
that is “united, inclusive, and representative,
including with the full and meaningful partici-
pation of women.” If this were even remotely
possible, why were 20 years and $2 trillion de-
voted to resisting the Taliban?
Nonsense from high officials is nothing
new. Cyrus Vance, President Jimmy Carter’s
secretary of state, once said that the Soviet dic-
tator Leonid Brezhnev “shares our dreams
and aspirations.” But why does it seem that,
now more than ever, government officials
who have nothing sensible to say insist on
proving this?
The economist Arthur Pigou wrote that “en-
vironments … as well as people, have chil-
dren.” Today’s social environment is the child
of decades of no-longer-new communications
technologies. In an era of instant, inexpensive
and high-velocity dissemination of anyone’s
words, there is a Gresham’s law of rhetoric:
Bad drives out good. Hence the plague of
pompous garrulousness — of officials insult-
ing the public’s intelligence with bromides no
one believes.
Former Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-
N.Y., said that historian Edward Gibbon de-
tected a “leakage of reality” in the late Roman
empire. Moynihan often used this phrase to
denote Americans’ “seeming weakness at
grasping the probable consequences of what
we do or fail to do.” Often, however, it is worse
than a weakness: It is a calculated effort to
make blurry some realities concerning which
speaking clearly would be awkward. For ex-
ample, according to The Dispatch, Oregon has
just adopted “equitable graduation stan-
dards.” This anodyne verbiage means that
“students of color” can graduate from high
school without demonstrating high-school-
level proficiency in reading or writing, or
math. The Oregon Department of Education
urges teachers to read a handbook for “dis-
mantling racism in mathematics instruction.”
Today’s stunning leakage is of prestige
from government. Biden has exhorted con-
gressional progressives, who needed no en-
couragement, to force the most comprehen-
sive peacetime expansion of government in
U.S. history. The grandiosity has two dimen-
sions. One is government’s siphoning away of
a hitherto unimaginable portion of society’s
current and future fiscal resources. The other
is a radical revision of the nation’s civic vocab-
ulary by postulating, as in Oregon, that dispar-
ities in social outcomes are prima facie evi-
dence of the nation’s endemic viciousness.
Suddenly the Afghanistan tragedy has be-
come a powerful accelerant of the U.S. gov-
ernment’s prestige leakage, punctuating sev-
en months of government aggrandizement.
Has there ever been such a swift contraction
of a new president’s standing? Herbert Hoov-
er, whose many pre-presidential accomplish-
ments gave him momentum for the public’s
respect, was in his eighth month as president
when the stock market collapse presaged
what became, unnecessarily, a decade-long
Depression. It took, however, several years
before the gravity of the contraction became
apparent and the public’s confidence in Hoov-
er withered.
Perhaps few 2022 voters will cast ballots
with today’s scenes from Kabul’s airport on
their minds. But because of those mortifying
scenes, a significant number of voters might
have a more jaundiced view of government’s
extravagant 2021 pretentions regarding its
ability to rearrange the nation’s economy and
transform its moral premises. And perhaps
many will remember the government’s often
self-serving and disgraceful rhetoric about
Afghanistan.
Clement Attlee, Britain’s prime minister
from 1945 to 1951, once told Harold Laski,
chairman of Attlee’s Labour Party, that “a pe-
riod of silence on your part would be wel-
come.” Biden should say that to some of his
subordinates, and some of them would serve
him by saying it to him.
Gaseous obfuscation on Afghanistan isn’t helpingBY GEORGE F. WILL
Washington Post Writers Group
President Joe Biden is sticking to
the Aug. 31 deadline for removing
all U.S. troops from Afghanistan,
which means that time is rapidly
running out for those desperate to escape
Taliban rule. As news of Biden’s decision
broke on Tuesday, hundreds of young wom-
en with a special U.S. affiliation were in hid-
ing across Kabul, waiting for news regard-
ing when, or if, their chance at evacuation
will come.
They are students at the American Uni-
versity of Afghanistan — though by now
they have destroyed documents that identi-
fy them as such for fear of discovery by the
Taliban. Among all those people that U.S.
officials label “vulnerable Afghans,” these
AUAF women are some of the most endan-
gered, according to sources familiar with
their current situation. The Taliban have
been violently mistreating women at check-
points and, sometimes, circulating after
dark in captured U.S. night-vision goggles,
marking houses of suspected opponents
with spray paint. Also, the Taliban on Tues-
day repeated their demand that the United
States stop encouraging Afghans to exit.
Thus, the sources declined to provide more
detail on who, and where, the students are.
What is clear, though, is that any U.S. res-
cue operation that leaves behind these stu-
dents — and, indeed, their male colleagues
— will cap what is already an American de-
feat in Afghanistan with an especially poi-
gnant disgrace.
Then-first lady Laura Bush presided over
the opening of AUAF in 2006. Developed
with $100 million in U.S. aid, it grew into Af-
ghanistan’s only independent, private, not
for profit, nonsectarian, coeducational in-
stitution of higher education. It epitomized
the U.S. effort to equip future Afghan lead-
ers, men and women, with skills beneficial
to their country’s development.
Those who studied and taught law, engi-
neering, computer science and other sub-
jects there, as well as the support staff, put
their faith in the United States — both its os-
tensible power and its professed principles.
The Taliban targeted the AUAF accord-
ingly. On Aug. 24, 2016 — five years ago
Tuesday — terrorists wielding guns and ex-
plosives carried out a 10-hour raid on the
campus. The attackers killed 15 people, in-
cluding seven students. Earlier that same
month, two of the school’s English instruc-
tors, one each from the United States and
Australia, had been taken hostage; their re-
lease, in exchange for senior Taliban lead-
ers, did not come until 2019.
The AUAF rebuilt from the 2016 disaster
and reopened on March 27, 2017. About a
week ago, Taliban fighters occupied it, un-
opposed. The entire campus — blast-proof
walls, classrooms, laboratories, manicured
green quad — fell into their hands.
Understandably, and fortunately, given
the history, the university community had
already fled. As Victoria Fontan, the institu-
tion’s French-born vice president of aca-
demic affairs, told FranceInfo, a Paris-
based radio network, officials scrapped the
school’s website and “burned the universi-
ty’s servers [and] all the documents we
were able to take before leaving, such as the
lists of professors, students.” Fontan, who is
now in France, told of her own harrowing
escape. Her country’s embassy refused her
request to grant her students asylum.
That was on Aug. 15. Since then, of the
1,200-person AUAF community — local
staff, faculty and students, 45% of the last
group being women — perhaps 50 have
been able to get out, according to Leslie
Schweitzer, president of Friends of the
American University of Afghanistan, a U.S.
nonprofit. What the remaining AUAF com-
munity and other potential evacuees in Ka-
bul most need now, according to Kelley De-
Conciliis, a U.S.-based exfiltration security
expert, is for “the U.S. military to clear a
gate entrance [to the Kabul airport] without
Taliban stationed there, to allow safe pas-
sage.” How that could happen now that the
Taliban has announced a blockade on Af-
ghans moving to the airport is unclear.
The United States is treating itself to po-
litical arguments over what went wrong in
Afghanistan. AUAF’s story reminds us that
there were bright spots, and that, in any
case, real people — flesh-and-blood human
beings — staked their lives on this country’s
promises. We dare not betray them now.
The US must not leave Kabul without these studentsBY CHARLES LANE
The Washington Post
Charles Lane is a Washington Post editorial writer specializingin economic and fiscal policy, and a weekly columnist.
PAGE 16 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, August 26, 2021
ACROSS
1 Rip
5 Gun the engine
8 Whirled
12 French 101 verb
13 Brit. record label
14 Wine (Pref.)
15 Greek vowels
16 Anonymous Jane
17 — of honor
18 California
beach city
20 Kicks off
22 Moment
23 Crunchy
sandwich
24 Bygone days
27 Weakened
32 College URL
ender
33 Modern, to Mann
34 Shoe width
35 Stop signal
38 Prison room
39 100%
40 Your
42 Chronicles
45 Coarse
49 Appear
50 Pitch
52 Region
53 “Qué —?”
54 Rushmore face
55 Linguist
Chomsky
56 Fr. holy women
57 “Awesome!”
58 Probability
DOWN
1 Abound
2 Jazzy James
3 Asia’s — Sea
4 Defy
5 Marking down
6 Comic Philips
7 Competes
8 Mogadishu
resident
9 Partridge’s place
10 Squad
11 Agrees silently
19 Exist
21 TV sched-
ule abbr.
24 Part of MPH
25 Citric beverage
26 Khartoum
residents
28 “Not impressed”
29 Busied one-
self casually
30 Sushi fish
31 Tierra — Fuego
36 Andean animals
37 Under the
weather
38 He loved Roxane
41 “That’s a laugh!”
42 Nile vipers
43 Tidy
44 Luminary
46 Walked (on)
47 Top dog
48 Thanksgiving
veggies
51 Lawyers’ gp.
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
PAGE 18 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, August 26, 2021
FACES
The Doobie Brothers are celebrat-
ing their 50th anniversary in their
51st year, heading out tenuously
on a delayed tour and hoping they
can keep taking it to the streets and letting
audiences listen to the music as cancella-
tions abound around them.
2020 ought to have been a banner year for
the band, with an anniversary tour that unit-
ed its two eras — the original Tom John-
ston-led version of the early 1970s, and the
more R&B Michael McDonald-led version
of the late 1970s — and an invite to the Rock
& Roll Hall of Fame that many fans felt was
decades overdue.
“We had everything going and it got
dumped on by the pandemic, which kind of
sucked,” Johnston told The Associated
Press in an interview at the group’s re-
hearsal space as they prepared for the tour.
“We did the virtual induction into the Rock
& Roll Hall of Fame; that was pretty much
it. Then it was a year of every day’s Thurs-
day and nothing ever changes. It was pretty
much a lost year.”
They’re trying to make up for it with the
tour that finally launched Sunday in Des
Moines, Iowa, and runs through late Octo-
ber, with previously scrapped dates re-
booked for summer 2022.
The tour, which comes as a new album
drops in October, includes two founders,
Johnston and the group’s most constant
member, Patrick Simmons, who began
playing for mostly bikers in dive bars and
rugged roadhouses near their hometown of
San Jose, Calif., in 1970.
They were forced to sit out the 50th anni-
versary of those first shows, but plenty of
landmarks remain. Their self-titled debut
album was released 50 years ago this year.
Their breakthrough, “Toulouse Street,”
with the hits “Listen to the Music” and “Je-
sus Is Just Alright,” will have its 50th in
2022.
The tour comes as many other big-venue
acts, including Garth Brooks, BTS, Nine
Inch Nails and Stevie Nicks, have either
canceled dates or entire tours as the delta
variant of the coronavirus threatens the re-
sumption of public entertainment around
the country.
“It’s a crapshoot, really, whether we’ll
make it to the end of this or not, but I hope
we do,” McDonald said. “The main thing I
think is if we start to see that anything that
we’re doing has a potential of being a super-
spreader. I don’t think any of us are worried
so much about getting sick ourselves. We’re
all vaccinated. But if we test positive, that
means all the people in our workplace are
being exposed.”
McDonald, 69, is the group’s most famous
name and face, but he’s happy to humbly as-
sume a supporting role. Johnston’s guitar-
based era of the Doobie Brothers, with
songs like “Black Water” and “Long Train
Runnin’,” define the band for him. His more
keyboard-centric version, with hits includ-
ing “What a Fool Believes” and “Takin’ It to
the Streets,” is the variant.
“Those are the guys whose music people
will always think of as the Doobie Broth-
ers,” McDonald said. “I think most people
kind of consider me a phase of Brothers.”
Embracing his supplemental role, McDo-
nald will play mandolin and accordion at
these concerts along with his usual key-
boards. The hits he wrote will certainly be
in the set list, but he’s more than happy to
sing backup on songs penned by Johnston
and Simmons.
“I’ve always found it easier to sing other
people’s music than my own,” McDonald
said. “For some reason, the songs I’ve writ-
ten aren’t really that singer-friendly.”
The band includes guitarist-since-1979
John McFee, making for a lineup not seen in
25 years. Despite dozens of shifting mem-
bers through the decades, they remain,
Johnston says, a “tight-knit little family.”
“I have to say, everybody is really putting
in all effort,” he said. “I’m proud to be part
of it.”
The vibe in the rehearsal studio and on
the road is neither fraught with rivalry nor
overly professional.
“It’s really more like just old friends,”
McDonald said. “It’s been that way for quite
a while.”
And they’ll deal with it if they have to can-
cel. Rolling with it has been their specialty
from the start.
“Nothing is planned. It just happens,”
Johnston said. “It’s always been that way.
And it’ll always be that way. I like that.”
CHRIS PIZZELLO, INVISION/AP
Members of the Doobie Brothers — from left, Tom Johnston, John McFee, Michael McDonald and Pat Simmons — pose for a portraitat Show Biz Studios in Los Angeles on Aug. 17. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers, back on tour, have an album coming out this fall.
Taking it minute by minuteReturning to the road, Doobie Brothers try to keep long train running
BY ANDREW DALTON
Associated Press
“It’s a crapshoot,really, whether we’llmake it to the end ofthis or not, but I hopewe do.”
Michael McDonald
Doobie Brothers singer/multi-instrumentalist
Charlie Watts, the self-effacing and un-
shakeable Rolling Stones drummer who
helped anchor one of rock’s greatest
rhythm sections and used his “day job” to
support his enduring love of jazz, has died,
according to his publicist. He was 80.
Bernard Doherty said Tuesday that
Watts “passed away peacefully in a London
hospital earlier today surrounded by his
family.”
“Charlie was a cherished husband, father
and grandfather and also as a member of
The Rolling Stones, one of the greatest
drummers of his generation,” Doherty said.
Watts had announced he would not tour
with the Stones in 2021 because of an unde-
fined health issue.
The quiet, elegantly dressed Watts was
often ranked with Keith Moon, Ginger Bak-
er and a handful of others as a premier rock
drummer, respected worldwide for his
muscular, swinging style as the Stones rose
from their scruffy beginnings to interna-
tional superstardom. He joined the band
early in 1963 and remained for almost 60
years, ranked just behind Mick Jagger and
Keith Richards as the group’s longest last-
ing and most essential member.
Watts stayed on, and largely held himself
apart, through the drug abuse, creative
clashes and ego wars that helped kill found-
ing member Brian Jones, drove bassist Bill
Wyman and Jones’ replacement Mick Tay-
lor to quit and otherwise made being in the
Stones the most exhausting of jobs.
A classic Stones song like “Brown Sugar”
and “Start Me Up” often began with a hard
guitar riff from Richards, with Watts fol-
lowing closely behind, and Wyman, as the
bassist liked to say, “fattening the sound.”
Watts’ speed, power and time keeping were
never better showcased than during the
concert documentary “Shine a Light,”
when director Martin Scorsese filmed
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash” from where he
drummed toward the back of the stage.
Watts didn’t care for flashy solos or atten-
tion of any kind, but with Wyman and Ri-
chards forged some of rock’s deepest
grooves on “Honky Tonk Women,” “Brown
Sugar” and other songs. The drummer
adapted well to everything from the disco of
“Miss You” to the jazzy “Can’t You Hear Me
Knocking” and the dreamy ballad “Moon-
light Mile.”
The Stones began, Watts said, “as white
blokes from England playing Black Amer-
ican music,” but quickly evolved their own
distinctive sound. Watts was a jazz drum-
mer in his early years and never lost his af-
finity for the music he first loved, returning
to it during the long breaks between Stones
tours.
Stones drummer
Watts dies at 80Associated Press
AP
Charlie Watts, who died Tuesday, was oneof rock’s most respected drummers.
PAGE 20 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, August 26, 2021
SCOREBOARD
PRO FOOTBALL
NFL Preseason
Sunday’s games
Cleveland 17, N.Y. Giants 13San Francisco 15, L.A. Chargers 10
Monday’s games
New Orleans 23, Jacksonville 21
Friday’s games
Indianapolis at DetroitPhiladelphia at N.Y. JetsPittsburgh at CarolinaMinnesota at Kansas City
Saturday’s games
Green Bay at BuffaloBaltimore at WashingtonChicago at TennesseeArizona at New OrleansTampa Bay at HoustonL.A. Rams at DenverL.A. Chargers at Seattle
Sunday, Aug. 29
Jacksonville at DallasLas Vegas at San FranciscoMiami at CincinnatiNew England at N.Y. GiantsCleveland at Atlanta
PRO BASKETBALL
WNBA
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W L Pct GB
x-Connecticut 18 6 .750 —
Chicago 12 12 .500 6
New York 11 14 .440 7½
Washington 9 14 .391 8½
Atlanta 6 18 .250 12
Indiana 5 18 .217 12½
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W L Pct GB
Las Vegas 17 7 .708 —
x-Seattle 18 8 .692 —
Minnesota 15 9 .625 2
Phoenix 13 10 .565 3½
Dallas 10 14 .417 7
Los Angeles 10 14 .417 7
Monday’s games
No games scheduled.
Tuesday’s games
Connecticut 76, Las Vegas 62Chicago 86, Atlanta 79Washington 78, Los Angeles 68Minnesota 76, Seattle 70
Wednesday’s games
Phoenix at New York
Thursday’s games
Dallas at WashingtonLas Vegas at AtlantaLos Angeles at Connecticut
Friday’s games
Phoenix at New YorkChicago at Seattle
Tuesday’s TransactionsBASEBALL
Major League BaseballMLB — Suspended Arizona LHP Caleb
Smith 10 games and fined an undisclosedamount for possessing a foreign sub-stance on his glove in an August 18thgame against Philadelphia.
American LeagueBALTIMORE ORIOLES — Recalled INF Kel-
vin Gutierrez from Norfolk (Triple-A East).Optioned RHP Konner Wade to Norfolk(Triple-A East).
BOSTON RED SOX — Recalled RHP Tan-ner Houck from Worcester (Triple-A East).Optioned OF Jarren Duran to Worcester.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX — Reinstated INF/OF Leury Garcia from the 10-day IL. Op-tioned RHP Ryan Burr to Charlotte (Tri-ple-A East).
CLEVELAND INDIANS — Sent 1B BobbyBradley and CF Harold Ramirez to LakeCounty (High-A Central) on rehab assign-ments.
DETROIT TIGERS — Sent C Eric Haase toToledo (Triple-A East) on a rehab assign-ment. Reinstated OF Akil Baddoo from the10-day IL. Designated RHP Drew Hutchin-son for assignment.
HOUSTON ASTROS — Sent RHP Jose Ur-quidy to Sugar Land (Triple-A West) on arehab assignment. Recalled RHP BryanAbreau from Sugar Land. Reinstated RFKyle Tucker from the 10-day IL. Placed RHPPedro Baez on the 10-day IL, retroactive toAug. 22. Placed LF Chas McCormick on the10-day IL.
MINNESOTA TWINS — Sent RHP RandyDobnak to St. Paul (Triple-A East) on a re-hab assignment.
NEW YORK YANKEES — Transferred RHPCorey Kluber’s rehab assignment to Som-erset (Double-A Northeast).
SEATTLE MARINERS — Sent RHP RobertDugger outright to Tacoma (Triple-AWest).
TAMPA BAY RAYS — Reinstated DH Nel-son Cruz from the 10-day IL. Placed 1B Ji-Man Choi on the 10-day IL, retroactive toAugust 23. Sent RHP David Hess outright toDurham (Triple-A East).
TEXAS RANGERS — Recalled CF LeodyTaveras from Round Rock (Triple-A West).Selected the contracts of 1B Curtis Terryand 3B Ryan Dorow from Round Rock andagreed to terms on a major league con-tracts. Placed C Jonah Heim on the 10-dayIL.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS — Sent RHP JulianMerryweather to Florida Complex League(FCL) on a rehab assignment. Sent C Dan-ny Jansen to Buffalo (Triple-A East) on arehab assignment.
National LeagueATLANTA BRAVES — Reinstated C Travis
d’Amaud from the paternity list. OptionedC William Contreras to Gwinnett (Triple-AEast).
CINCINNATI REDS — Reinstated RHP Te-jay Antone from the 10-day IL. DesignatedLHP Sean Doolittle and RHP Michael Felizfor assignment. Agreed to terms with freeagent LHP Tommy Milone on a minorleague contract.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS — ReinstatedLHP Julio Urias from the 10-day IL. Desig-nated RHP Neftali Feliz for assignment.
MIAMI MARLINS — Agreed to terms withRHP Cody Carroll on a minor league con-tract. Sent RHP Zach Pop to Jupiter (Low-ASoutheast) on a rehab assignment.
MILWAUKEE BREWERS — Placed INFEduardo Escobar on the 10-day IL, retroac-tive to August 23. Recalled INF/OF PabloReyes from Nashville (Triple-A East).
NEW YORK METS — Sent RHP Jordan Ya-mamoto to St. Lucie (Low-A Southeast) ona rehab assignment. Reinstated INF Fran-cisco Lindor from the 10-day IL. OptionedINF Travis Blankenhorn to Syracuse (Tri-ple-A East).
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES — Named BryanMinniti and Scott Proefrock consultantsfor the 2022 season. Designated OF JorgeBonifacio for assignment. Reinstated SSFreddy Galvis from the 10-day IL. Rein-stated RHP Sam Coonrod from the 60-dayIL. Optioned RHP Enyel De Los Santos toLehigh Valley (Triple-A East). Sent LHP
Jose Alvarado and RHP Seranthony Dom-inguez to Lehigh Valley on rehab assign-ments. Agreed to terms with free agentRHP Taylor Guerrieri on a minor leaguecontract. Sent LF Matt Joyce to Clearwater(Low-A Southeast) on a rehab assign-ment.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS — Optioned LFAustin Dean to Memphis (Triple-A East).Reinstated CF Dylan Carlson from the 10-day IL. Agreed to terms with C Yadier Moli-na on a one-year contract for 2022.
SAN DIEGO PADRES — Recalled RHP Da-niel Camarena from El Paso (Triple-AWest). Optioned RHP Miguel Diaz to El Pa-so.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS — Placed RHPKevin Gausman on the 10-day IL. Rein-stated INF Evan Longoria from the 10-dayIL.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS — Sent RHPSteven Fuentes to Wilmington (High-AEast) on a rehab assignment. Recalled LHPSam clay and RHP Patrick Murphy fromRochester (Triple-A East). Optioned RHPGabe Klobosits to Rochester. DesignatedRHP Jefry Rodriguez for assignment. An-nounced RHP Javy Guerra cleared outrightwaivers and declared free agency in lieuof accepting assignment to Rochester.
BASKETBALLNational Basketball Association
BOSTON CELTICS — Re-signed C RobertWilliams III to a rookie scale extension.
CHARLOTTE HORNETS — Re-signed GTerry Rozier to a veteran extension.
INDIANA PACERS — Signed G DeJon Jar-reau to a two-way contract. Waived C Ami-da Brimah.
FOOTBALLNational Football League
ARIZONA CARDINALS — Placed DL JackCrawford on IR. Released OL BrandenBowen and DL David Parry. Waived LB Ja-mell Garcia-Williams with an injury desig-nation.
ATLANTA FALCONS — Signed QB JoshRosen. Released OL Willie Wright, WR Aus-tin Trammell, RB Javian Hawkins, DT OliveSagapolu and OLB Shareef Miller. PlacedQB A.J. McCarron on IR. Waived WR J’MonMoore from IR with a settlement.
BALTIMORE RAVENS — Waived QB KenjiBahar.
BUFFALO BILLS — Released LB TyrellAdams, OL Tyler Gauthier, TE Bug Howard,WR Lance Lenoir and S Tariq Thompson.Claimed DT Joey Ivie and WR Rico Gaffordoff waivers. Placed DT Cole Beasley, WRGabriel Davis, DT Star Lotulelei on the CO-VID-19 list. Placed WR Duke Williams on IR.
CAROLINA PANTHERS — Released DEKendall Donnerson and DT Caraun Reid.Waived WR Krishawn Hogan, G MarquelHarrell and DT Walter Palmore.
CINCINNATI BENGALS — Placed DB Don-nie Lewis on IR.
CHICAGO BEARS — Waived OLs BadaraTraore Dareuan Parker and RB C.J. Mara-ble. Placed DL Mike Pennel and S JordanLucas on IR.
CLEVELAND BROWNS — Waived CB Rob-ert Jackson. Released K Cody Parkey fromIR with a settlement. Placed OT Alex Tay-lor on IR.
DALLAS COWBOYS — Waived K LirimHajrullahu.
DENVER BRONCOS — Released LB JoshWatson. Waived WR Branden Mack.Placed RB Adrian Killins on IR.
DETROIT LIONS — Released WR DariusJennings. Waived NT P.J. Johnson, RB Ja-von Leake, LB Robert McCray and QB Jor-dan Ta’amu.
GREEN BAY PACKERS — Placed S WillRedmond on IR. Traded CB Ka’dar Hollmanto Houston in exchange for a 2022 sev-enth-round draft pick. Released DL JoshAvery and LB Kamal Martin.
HOUSTON TEXANS — Waived DT Au-zoyah Alufohai and C Drake Jackson.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — Waived TE NoahTogiai with an injury designation. WaivedK Eddy Pineiro. Waived TE Noah Togiaiwith an injury designation. Placed LB SkaiMoore on IR.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS — Placed RBTravis Etienne on IR. Waived OL DerwinGray, CB Jameson Houston and DT KennyRandall.
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS — Placed LB DarronLee on IR. Waived WR Marcell Ateman andDT Darius Stills.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS — Activated SNasir Adderley from the COVID-19 list. Re-leased LS Ryan Langan, WR Austin Proehl,TE Matt Seybert and OT Kyle Spalding. Re-leased LB Damon Lloyd and DL ChrisOkoye with an injury designation.
LOS ANGELES RAMS — Activated P CoreyBojorquez from the COVID-19 list. WaivedTE Kyle Markway. Placed RB Raymond onIR.
MIAMI DOLPHINS — Released OL Jer-maine Eluemunor and WR Isaiah Ford.Placed WR Lynn Bowden Jr on IR. WaivedWR Robert Foster with an injury designa-tion.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS — Placed DT Jor-dan Scott on IR.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS — Claimed TEKahale Warring off of waivers from Hous-ton. Placed OL Marcus Martin on IR.Waived WR Devin Ross, OL R.J. Prince, LSBrian Khoury, LB Cassh Maluia and S MalikGant.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS — Placed CBBrian Poole, DT Jalen Dalton and OT EthanGreenridge on IR. Released P Nolan Coo-ney. Waived LB Marcus Willoughby withan injury designation.
NEW YORK GIANTS — Waived DB MontreHartage and Cole Hikutini with an injurydesignation. Placed TE Rysen John and CBQuincy Wilson on IR. Released LS CarsonTinker.
NEW YORK JETS — Placed DL Vinny Curryon the reserve/non-football injury list.Waived WRs Manasseh Bailey and JoshMalone, LB Edmond Robinson and OL Tris-ten Hoge. Placed DB Corey Ballentine onIR.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES — Waived DE JoeOstman with an injury designation.Waived WR Hakeem Butler and C HarryCrider. Waived OT Casey Tucker from IRwith a settlement.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS — Waived DB An-toine Brooks with an injury designation.Released OL Aviante Collins, WR TylerSimmons RB Pete Guerriero and LB CalvinBundage.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS — Released S To-ny Jefferson from IR with a settlement.Placed LB Mychal Kendricks on IR. Re-leased DL Shilique Calhoun and CB B.W.Webb. Waived WR River Cracraft and OLCorbin Kaufusi.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS — Released CBPierre Desir. Acquired CB John Reid fromHouston for a conditional 2023 seventh-round pick. Re-signed TE Luke Willson.Waived DE Alex Tchangam. Activated RBTravis Homer from the physically unableto perform (PUP) list.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS — Placed KRyan Succop on the COVID-19 list. WaivedOL Chidi Okeke with an injury designation.
TENNESSEE TITANS — Waived DB KevinPeterson. Placed LB Nick Dzubnar and RBJeremy McNichols on reserve/COVID-19list. Placed OT Paul Adams, K TuckerMcCann and G Ross Reynolds on IR.
WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM — Re-leased CB Jordan Brown, T Rick Leonard,LB Justin Phillips, DT Justus Reed and C JonToth.
HOCKEYNational Hockey League
NASHVILLE PREDATORS — Extended itsaffiliation agreement with Florida (ECHL).
NEW YORK RANGERS — Named GordMurphy, Mike Kelly and Jim Midgley as-sistant coaches. Named Steve Smith as-sistant coach for Hartford (AHL).
SOCCERMajor League Soccer
MINNESOTA UNITED FC — Loaned F AzielJackson to North Carolina FC (USL LeagueOne).
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION — Trans-ferred F Tajon Buchanan to Club Bragge ofthe Belgian First Division A for an undis-closed amount at the end of the 2021 sea-son.
COLLEGEBELMONT — Named Scott Corley vice
president, director of athletics.TENNESSEE TECH — Named Andrew
Steele assistant men’s basketball coach.
DEALS
PRO SOCCER
MLS
Eastern Conference
W L T Pts GF GA
New England 15 3 4 49 44 26
Orlando City 9 4 7 34 30 24
Philadelphia 8 5 8 32 27 20
Nashville 7 2 11 32 32 20
NYCFC 9 6 4 31 34 19
CF Montréal 7 7 7 28 27 26
D.C. United 8 10 3 27 32 31
Atlanta 6 6 9 27 25 26
Columbus 6 9 6 24 22 27
New York 6 9 4 22 23 24
Inter Miami CF 6 9 4 22 21 31
Chicago 5 11 5 20 23 33
Cincinnati 3 8 8 17 19 34
Toronto FC 3 12 6 15 25 44
Western Conference
W L T Pts GF GA
Seattle 12 3 6 42 35 17
Sporting KC 11 4 6 39 36 21
Colorado 11 4 4 37 29 19
LA Galaxy 11 8 2 35 32 32
Minnesota 7 6 7 28 22 23
Real Salt Lake 7 7 6 27 30 23
San Jose 6 7 8 26 24 29
Portland 7 10 3 24 27 39
LAFC 6 9 5 23 25 28
Vancouver 5 7 8 23 23 30
FC Dallas 5 9 7 22 25 30
Austin FC 5 11 4 19 17 24
Houston 3 8 10 19 23 32
Note: Three points for victory, one pointfor tie.
Friday’s games
Cincinnati at Columbus Toronto FC at CF Montréal Miami at Orlando City
Saturday’s games
Nashville at Atlanta Chicago at New York LA Galaxy at Los Angeles FC New England at New York City FC Philadelphia at D.C. United Colorado at Sporting Kansas City Minnesota at Houston
Sunday’s games
FC Dallas at Austin FC Real Salt Lake at Vancouver Portland at Seattle
NWSL
W L T Pts GF GA
Portland 9 3 2 29 21 8
North Carolina 8 4 3 27 22 9
Washington 6 5 4 22 19 18
Reign FC 7 7 1 22 20 17
Gotham FC 5 3 6 21 16 12
Orlando 5 5 6 21 19 19
Chicago 6 7 3 21 16 22
Houston 5 6 3 18 17 20
Louisville 4 6 4 16 12 20
Kansas City 1 10 4 7 7 24
Note: Three points for victory, one pointfor tie.
Wednesday’s games
Louisville at Kansas CityGotham FC at Portland
Saturday’s games
Kansas City at Chicago
Sunday’s games
North Carolina at Washington Orlando at Gotham FCLouisville at HoustonPortland at Reign FC
Wednesday, Sept. 1
Reign FC at Houston
Winston-Salem Open
TuesdayAt Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, N.C.Purse: $717,955
Surface: Hardcourt outdoorMen’s SinglesRound of 32
Benoit Paire (12), France, def. Gilles Si-mon, France, 6-3, 6-3.
Pierre-Hugues Herbert, France, def. Fe-derico Coria, Argentina, 6-4, 6-2.
Pablo Carreno Busta (1), Spain, def.Kwon Soon Woo, South Korea, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
Jan-Lennard Struff (9), Germany, def.Gianluca Mager, Italy, 6-2, 6-2.
Emil Ruusuvuori, Finland, def. AlexanderBublik (5), Kazakhstan, 6-2, 7-6 (5).
Marton Fucsovics (4), Hungary, def. Yo-suke Watanuki, Japan, 7-5, 6-1.
Ilya Ivashka, Belarus, def. Marin Cilic (6),Croatia, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.
Mikael Ymer, Sweden, def. Albert Ra-mos-Vinolas (11), Spain, 6-3, 6-1.
Daniel Evans (3), Britain, def. LucasPouille, France, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Marcos Giron, United States, def. Feder-ico Delbonis (10), Argentina, 6-3, 6-4.
Max Purcell, Australia, def. JordanThompson, Australia, 7-5, 6-4.
Frances Tiafoe (13), United States, def.Andy Murray, Britain, 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Thiago Monteiro, Brazil, def. EduardoNava, United States, 7-5, 6-1.
Carlos Alcaraz (15), Spain, def. AlexeiPopyrin, Australia, 6-7 (9), 6-1, 7-6 (1).
Men’s DoublesRound of 16
Matwe Middelkoop, Netherlands, andMarcelo Arevalo-Gonzalez, El Salvador,def. Andrey Golubev, Kazakhstan, and An-dreas Mies, Germany, 6-2, 5-7, 11-9.
Ivan Dodig, Croatia, and Austin Krajicek,United States, def. Nicholas Monroe andJackson Withrow, United States, 7-6 (4),6-4.
Chicago Women’s OpenTuesday
At XS Tennis VillageChicago
Purse: $235,238Surface: Hardcourt outdoor
Women’s SinglesRound of 16
Varvara Gracheva, Russia, def. Ana Bog-dan, Romania, 7-5, 3-1, ret.
Marta Kostyuk (8), Ukraine, def. Kaia Ka-nepi, Estonia, 6-2, 6-3.
Kristina Mladenovic (7), France, def.Francoise Abanda, Canada, 6-3, 6-2.
Women’s DoublesRound of 16
Nicole Melichar, United States, andDemi Schuurs (1), Netherlands, def. Kait-
lyn Christian, United States, and Nao Hibi-no, Japan, 6-2, 7-6 (5).
Alicja Rosolska, Poland, and Eri Hozumi,Japan, def. Eden Silva, Britain, and QuinnGleason, United States, 6-3, 6-2.
Tereza Martincova and Marketa Von-drousova, Czech Republic, def. Marta Kos-tyuk, Ukraine, and Clara Tauson, Denmark,7-6 (3), 6-3.
Cleveland Championships
TuesdayAt Flats West Bank
ClevelandPurse: $235,238
Surface: Hardcourt outdoorWomen’s Singles
Round of 16Magda Linette (6), Poland, def. Linda
Fruhvirtova, Czech Republic, 7-6 (2), 6-4. Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Belarus, def. Na-
dia Podoroska (5), Argentina, 6-7 (7), 6-4,6-4.
Daria Kasatkina (1), Russia, def. CatyMcNally, United States, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Irina-Camelia Begu, Romania, def. Polo-na Hercog, Slovenia, 7-6 (5), 7-5.
Women’s DoublesRound of 16
Ulrikke Eikeri, Norway, and CatherineHarrison, United States, def. Tara Moore,Britain, and Emina Bektas, United States,6-3, 5-7, 10-7.
TENNIS
YOUTH BASEBALL
Little League World SeriesAt Williamsport, Pa.
HANK AARON
WEST A, Honolulu, Hawaii; MIDWEST A,Hastings, Neb.; GREAT LAKES A, Taylor,Mich.; NORTHWEST A, Sammamish,Wash.; NEW ENGLAND B, Manchester,Conn.; MID-ATLANTIC B, Toms River, N.J.;SOUTHEAST B, Palm City, Fla.; SOUTH-WEST B, Abilene, Texas
TOM SEAVER
SOUTHEAST A, Nolensville, Tenn.; NEWENGLAND A, Hooksett, N.H.; MID-ATLAN-TIC A, Oaks, Pa.; SOUTHWEST A, Lafayette,La.; GREAT LAKES B, Hamilton, Ohio; WESTB, Torrance, Calif.; NORTHWEST B, LakeOswego, Ore.; MIDWEST B, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Double Elimination
Thursday, Aug. 19
Game 1: Hawaii 9, Connecticut 1Game 2: Ohio 1, Tennessee 0Game 3: Nebraska 5, New Jersey 2Game 4: California 10, New Hampshire 2
Friday, Aug. 20
Game 5: Oregon 8, Pennsylvania 2Game 6: Michigan 8, Florida 0Game 7: South Dakota 2, Louisiana 0Game 8: Texas 6, Washington 0
Saturday, Aug. 21
Game 9: New Hampshire 4, Tennessee 1Game 10: New Jersey 11, Connecticut 4Game 11: Washington 1, Florida 0Game 12: Louisiana 5, Pennsylvania 3
Sunday’s games
Game 13: California 9, Ohio 0Game 14: Hawaii 11, Nebraska 3
Monday’s games
Game 15: Michigan 6, Texas 5Game 16: South Dakota 3, Oregon 0Game 19: Ohio 8, Louisiana 2Game 20: Nebraska 3, Washington 2
Tuesday’s games
Game 17: Texas 2, New Jersey 1Game 18: New Hampshire 14, Oregon 6
Wednesday’s games
Game 21: New Hampshire vs. OhioGame 22: Nebraska vs. TexasGame 23: California vs. South DakotaGame 24: Michigan vs. Hawaii
Thursday’s games
Game 25: Game 24 loser vs. Game 22 win-ner
Game 26: Game 23 loser vs. Game 21 win-ner
Saturday’s games
Tom Seaver Championship
Game 27: Game 23 winner vs. Game 26winner, Noon
Hank Aaron Championship
Game 28: Game 24 winner vs. Game 25winner
Sunday, Aug. 29
Third Place
Game 29: Game 27 loser vs. Game 28 los-er
Championship
Game 30: Game 27 winner vs. Game 28winner
Thursday, August 26, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 21
MLB
Scoreboard
ATLANTA — Wandy Peralta re
tired Freddie Freeman with the
bases loaded for the final out, and
the New York Yankees held off the
Atlanta Braves 54 Tuesday night to
extend their longest winning streak
in 36 years to 11 games.
DJ LeMahieu’s tworun homer in
the fifth inning gave New York the
lead. Giancarlo Stanton and
Roughned Odor also went deep for
the Yankees.
New York closer Aroldis Chap
man, trying to preserve the lead,
gave up two hits and two walks in
the ninth. Chapman’s basesloaded
walk to Jorge Soler cut the margin
to one, and manager Aaron Boone
pulled Chapman for Peralta.
The Yankees remained four
games behind firstplace Tampa
Bay in the AL East.
The 11game winning streak is
New York’s longest since Aug. 31 to
Sept. 10, 1985.
Charlie Morton (125) allowed
four runs and six hits in five innings.
He had nine strikeouts.
Clay Holmes (20), the third of six
Yankees relievers, earned the win.
Dodgers 5, Padres 2:AJ Pollock
hit a tworun single and robbed
Manny Machado of a tworun
homer to lead visiting Los Angeles
past sinking San Diego in a series
opener between NL West rivals
headed in opposite directions.
Will Smith homered for the
Dodgers and Julio Urías (143) al
lowed one hit over five scoreless in
nings in his return from the injured
list to match Chicago Cubs right
hander Kyle Hendricks for most
wins in the majors.
Los Angeles has won 10 of 11. The
Padres have lost 10 of 12.
Urías, who missed his previous
turn with a bruised left calf, held
San Diego hitless until Eric Hosm
er doubled with one out in the fifth.
Giants 8, Mets 0: Brandon Belt
hit two of visiting San Francisco’s
four home runs to push his career
best total to 19 and rookie Sammy
Long pitched into the sixth inning in
a win over slumping New York.
LaMonte Wade Jr. and Mike
Yastrzemski also connected in the
first four innings as the Giants
jumped to a 70 advantage against
rookie Tylor Megill (13).
San Francisco catcher Buster
Posey was removed with left knee
discomfort in the fifth.
Belt ended a 2for30 skid with
two homers and a single in his first
three plate appearances and added
an RBI infield single in the eighth
for his seasonhigh fourth hit. Long
(21) tossed threehit ball over 51⁄�3
innings, striking out four and walk
ing one.
Red Sox 11, Twins 9: Hunter
Renfroe homered twice, the second
during a fiverun fifth inning that
gave host Boston a sixrun advan
tage as it defeated lastplace Min
nesota.
Alex Verdugo had three hits, and
Renfroe drove in five runs with his
14th career multihomer game. Ki
ké Hernández added a tworun
homer.
Jorge Polanco hit a tworun
homer for the Twins and Josh Do
naldson added a solo shot in the
ninth.
Brewers 7, Reds 3: Omar Nar
váez hit a tiebreaking double in a
fourrun seventh inning, Kolten
Wong added a tworun homer in the
eighth and host Milwaukee rallied
past Cincinnati.
Brewers shortstop Willy Adames
exited early with a leg injury, but
firstplace Milwaukee hit a trio of
sacrifice flies to win the opener of a
threegame series between the top
two teams in the NL Central.
Hunter Strickland (31) pitched a
scoreless inning in relief of starter
Corbin Burnes to help the Brewers
win for the 11th time in 14 games.
Josh Hader earned his 27th save in
28 chances.
Astros 4, Royals 0: Luis Garcia
pitched into the seventh inning and
two relievers completed a fourhit
ter as host Houston blanked Kansas
City.
Garcia (106) struck out seven
and scattered four hits across 62⁄�3
sharp innings. Ryne Stanek got the
next four outs before Kendall Gra
veman worked a perfect ninth.
Carlos Correa had two hits and
two RBIs to help the Astros snap a
twogame skid.
Rays 3, Phillies 1: Nelson Cruz
returned from the COVID19 list,
played first base for the first time in
his career and hit a tiebreaking two
run double in the eighth inning as
visiting Tampa Bay beat Philadel
phia.
The 41yearold Cruz, the Rays’
designated hitter who had never
played first, handled all his chances
cleanly in his first action anywhere
on defense since he played right
field for Seattle in 2018. He singled
in the first and sixth innings before
his big hit in the eighth, a line drive
off Archie Bradley (72) that scored
Brett Phillips and Randy Arozare
na.
JT Chargois (20) struck out the
only batter he faced to end the sev
enth, and Andrew Kittredge
worked the last two innings for his
third save.
Rangers 7, Indians 3: Nathaniel
Lowe was 5for5 with a threerun
homer in the first inning, and visit
ing Texas beat Cleveland after add
ing another player to the COVID19
list.
Lowe homered in the first, sin
gled in the third, seventh and ninth,
and doubled in the fifth. DJ Peters
also hit a threerun homer in the
ninth and drove in four runs.
Nationals 5, Marlins 1:Tres Bar
rera had three hits, including a
homer, and visiting Washington
sent Miami to its eighth straight
loss.
Yadiel Hernádez singled and tri
pled, while Ryan Zimmerman also
went deep for the Nationals.
Angels 14, Orioles 8: Baltimore
staggered to its 19th consecutive
loss, allowing 19 hits and falling be
hind visiting Los Angeles by 11 runs
early.
The Orioles’ streak is the major
leagues’ longest skid since Kansas
City dropped 19 straight in 2005.
White Sox 5, Blue Jays 2: Dylan
Cease pitched seven effective in
nings, José Abreu hit a threerun
homer and Chicago won at Toronto
to stop a threegame slide.
Cease (106) retired his first 11
batters, fanning six, before Vladi
mir Guerrero Jr. lined a single to
right in the fourth. Cease allowed
one run and four hits. Liam Hen
driks earned his 29th save in 35
chances.
Tigers 4, Cardinals 3: Miguel
Cabrera and Robbie Grossman hit
backtoback home runs to lead De
troit to an interleague victory at St.
Louis.
Two days after hitting his 500th
homer, Cabrera connected on No.
501. At 423 feet, it was his second
longest home run this season.
Pirates 4, Diamondbacks 2: JT
Brubaker pitched five scoreless in
nings for his first win in nearly
three months, and host Pittsburgh
beat Arizona.
Brubaker (513) allowed four hits
with six strikeouts, stranding five
runners in scoring position. Since
last winning May 29, Brubaker
went 09 with a 7.08 ERA in 12
starts. Chris Stratton picked up his
second save.
Mariners 5, Athletics 1: Luis
Torrens hit a tiebreaking tworun
single, Chris Flexen pitched into
the seventh inning and Seattle
swept a twogame series at Oak
land.
The A’s managed three straight
singles in the first against Flexen
(115), who struck out five over 62⁄�3
innings. He allowed six hits and
walked one.
Yankees push win streak to 11New York hits three HRs,
holds off Atlanta 5-4
Associated Press
JOHN BAZEMORE/AP
New York Yankees second baseman Rougned Odor, right, celebrates with Aaron Judge after hitting a solohome run in the seventh inning of the Yankees’ 54 win over the Atlanta Braves Tuesday in Atlanta.
ROUNDUP
American League
East Division
W L Pct GB
Tampa Bay 78 48 .619 _
New York 74 52 .587 4
Boston 72 55 .567 6½
Toronto 65 59 .524 12
Baltimore 38 86 .306 39
Central Division
W L Pct GB
Chicago 73 54 .575 _
Cleveland 61 62 .496 10
Detroit 61 66 .480 12
Kansas City 56 69 .448 16
Minnesota 54 71 .432 18
West Division
W L Pct GB
Houston 74 52 .587 _
Oakland 70 57 .551 4½
Seattle 69 58 .543 5½
Los Angeles 63 64 .496 11½
Texas 44 81 .352 29½
National LeagueEast Division
W L Pct GB
Atlanta 68 58 .540 _
Philadelphia 63 62 .504 4½
New York 61 64 .488 6½
Washington 54 70 .435 13
Miami 51 75 .405 17
Central Division
W L Pct GB
Milwaukee 77 49 .611 _
Cincinnati 69 58 .543 8½
St. Louis 63 61 .508 13
Chicago 55 72 .433 22½
Pittsburgh 46 80 .365 31
West Division
W L Pct GB
San Francisco 81 44 .648 _
Los Angeles 79 47 .627 2½
San Diego 68 59 .535 14
Colorado 57 68 .456 24
Arizona 42 85 .331 40
Tuesday’s games
Seattle 5, Oakland 1Tampa Bay 3, Philadelphia 1Chicago White Sox 5, Toronto 2Texas 7, Cleveland 3L.A. Angels 14, Baltimore 8N.Y. Yankees 5, Atlanta 4Detroit 4, St. Louis 3Boston 11, Minnesota 9Houston 4, Kansas City 0Pittsburgh 4, Arizona 2San Francisco 8, N.Y. Mets 0Washington 5, Miami 1Milwaukee 7, Cincinnati 4L.A. Dodgers 5, San Diego 2Colorado at Chicago Cubs, ppd.
Wednesday’s games
Detroit at St. LouisKansas City at HoustonL.A. Angels at BaltimoreTampa Bay at PhiladelphiaChicago White Sox at TorontoMinnesota at BostonTexas at ClevelandColorado at Chicago Cubs, 2Arizona at PittsburghSan Francisco at N.Y. MetsWashington at MiamiCincinnati at MilwaukeeL.A. Dodgers at San Diego
Thursday’s games
L.A. Angels (Quintana 0-3) at Baltimore(Akin 0-8)
Chicago White Sox (TBD) at Toronto(Ryu 12-6)
Minnesota (Gant 4-7) at Boston (Sale 2-0)Texas (Lyles 6-10) at Cleveland (TBD)N.Y. Yankees (Taillon 8-4) at Oakland
(Kaprielian 7-4)Kansas City (Keller 8-12) at Seattle (Ki-
kuchi 7-7)Cincinnati (Gray 5-6) at Milwaukee (An-
derson 4-7)Arizona (Gallen 1-7) at Philadelphia
(Moore 2-3)St. Louis (Mikolas 0-1) at Pittsburgh (Peters 0-1)San Francisco (Wood 10-4) at N.Y. Mets
(Carrasco 0-2)Washington (Corbin 7-12) at Miami (Her-
nandez 0-1)L.A. Dodgers (Scherzer 11-4) at San Die-
go (TBD)Friday’s games
Tampa Bay at BaltimoreBoston at ClevelandToronto at DetroitHouston at TexasChicago Cubs at Chicago White SoxMilwaukee at MinnesotaSan Diego at L.A. AngelsN.Y. Yankees at OaklandKansas City at SeattleArizona at PhiladelphiaSt. Louis at PittsburghCincinnati at MiamiWashington at N.Y. MetsSan Francisco at AtlantaColorado at L.A. Dodgers
PAGE 22 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, August 26, 2021
NFL/SPORTS BRIEFS
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Los Angeles Rams
are getting some much-needed help in the backfield.
The Rams announced Wednesday that they ac-
quired running back Sony Michel from the Patriots
for undisclosed 2022 draft picks.
Michel, who was drafted in the first round in 2018,
brings some relief to a Rams offense that was running
low on healthy running back options with the regular
season fast approaching.
Darrell Henderson left practice Monday with a
sprained thumb. The Rams won’t have two of last
season’s top three running backs this fall after Cam
Akers’ season-ending Achilles tendon injury and
Malcolm Brown’s departure for Miami. They also
won’t have emerging talent Raymond Calais, who
was waived with an injury designation Monday after
breaking his foot in their preseason game against Las
Vegas.
That left only undrafted second-year pro Xavier
Jones, rookie seventh-round pick Jake Funk and roo-
kie Otis Anderson as the remaining options to sup-
port quarterback Matt Stafford.
Michel entered the preseason at a pivotal point of
his injury-plagued career.
The Patriots declined to pick up his fifth-year op-
tion in May, clearing the way from him to become a
free agent at the conclusion of the season.
During his rookie campaign, he fought through the
lingering effects of the left knee injury he suffered as
a senior at Georgia. He appeared in eight games and
rushed for 931 yards and six touchdowns, averaging
4.7 yards per carry.
He appeared in 14 games in 2019 but saw his pro-
duction tail off. He ran for 912 yards and seven TDs
while his yards per carry average fell to 3.7.
That average rose to 5.7 last season before a qua-
driceps injury sidelined him for six games. The 26-
year-old also spent a week on the COVID-19 list.
His contract status left him entering training camp
fighting for a roster spot this season in New England.
Damien Harris was productive in 2020, his second
season, and got most of the snaps. The Patriots draft-
ed former Oklahoma running back Rhamondre Ste-
venson in the fourth round in April, and he joined a
depth chart that also includes veteran James White,
Brandon Bolden and J.J. Taylor.
CHRIS SZAGOLA/AP
Sony Michel runs with the ball during the Patriots’preseason game against the Eagles last Thursday.The Los Angeles Rams traded for Michel, who wasa firstround pick by New England in 2018.
Rams bolsterbackfield byadding Michel
BY KYLE HIGHTOWER
Associated Press
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Travis
Etienne was supposed to be a game-
changer for the Jacksonville Jag-
uars this season.
He might not have had the same
impact as rookie quarterback Tre-
vor Lawrence, but Clemson’s other
offensive star and the Atlantic Coast
Conference’s all-time leading rush-
er looked like he would be a promi-
nent figure — maybe even the go-to
guy — in coach Urban Meyer’s of-
fense.
Matchup nightmare? Versatile
weapon? Big-play threat? Etienne
was expected to provide all those
and more after Jacksonville chose
him with the 25th overall pick in
April’s NFL draft.
Now, though, Meyer and the Jag-
uars will have to wait a year to see
what Etienne can do in the NFL.
The team placed the running back
on injured reserve Tuesday, one
day after he suffered a Lisfranc in-
jury to his left foot.
Tests revealed the extent of the
injury Tuesday. He is expected to
have surgery as soon as possible. He
may have been able to return late in
the year, but the Jaguars opted to
take a cautious approach and give
him plenty of time to recover before
the 2022 season.
Since Etienne landed on IR be-
fore 53-man rosters get set next
Tuesday, he can not return this sea-
son.
Losing Etienne is a significant
setback for the Jaguars, who
planned to use him to create mis-
matches as a receiver in the slot and
as a change-of-pace back.
Etienne tallied 4,952 yards in four
seasons at Clemson. He also set
ACC records for rushing touch-
downs (70), total touchdowns (78)
and points scored (468), and the
Jaguars were counting on him to
have similar success as a rookie.
He was essentially uncoverable
out of the backfield in training camp
and one of Lawrence’s favorite tar-
gets near the goal line.
Etienne also had been part of a
three-back rushing attack for Jack-
sonville, sharing carries with start-
er James Robinson and Carlos
Hyde. But Etienne has more speed
and elusiveness and would have
played a major role.
Replacing Etienne won’t be easy,
if even possible. Jacksonville has no
one on its roster with his skillset.
He’s the latest in a long list of first-
round picks by the Jaguars to have
varying issues in Year 1. Receiver
Justin Blackmon was arrested in
2012. Defensive end Dante Fowler
blew out a knee in rookie camp in
2015. Running back Leonard Four-
nette struggled to pick up the of-
fense in 2017. And cornerback CJ
Henderson missed half of the 2020
season with injuries.
Jags RB Etienne out for seasonBY MARK LONG
Associated Press
DERICK HINGLE /AP
Jaguars running back TravisEtienne suffered a Lisfranc injuryon Monday, and the rookie willmiss the entire regular season.
Serena Williams added herself
to the list of big-name withdrawals
from the U.S. Open on Wednes-
day, pulling out of the year’s last
Grand Slam tournament because
of a torn hamstring.
Williams hasn’t competed since
injuring her right leg in the first
set of her first-round match at
Wimbledon in late June.
The American, who turns 40
next month, announced her deci-
sion to sit out the U.S. Open via a
social media post. She joins Roger
Federer and Rafael Nadal in sit-
ting out the competition in Flush-
ing Meadows, where play begins
next Monday, raising questions
about what the future of tennis
might look like without them. The
draw for the tournament is Thurs-
day.
This will be the first major tour-
nament since 1997 without Wil-
liams, Federer or Nadal in the sin-
gles brackets. Williams made her
Grand Slam debut at the 1998 Aus-
tralian Open; Federer made his
the following year; Nadal in 2003.
Williams has won 23 Grand
Slam singles titles, a record in the
professional era. Only one player
in tennis history owns more, Mar-
garet Court with 24.
Federer, Nadal and Novak Djo-
kovic share the men’s record of 20.
“After careful consideration
and following the advice of my
doctors and medical team, I have
decided to withdraw from the US
Open to allow my body to heal
completely from a torn hamstr-
ing,” Williams wrote in Wednes-
day’s post.
Her note ended with: “I’ll see
you soon.”
NFL limits locker roomsto vaccinated personnel
The NFL has mandated that on-
ly fully vaccinated personnel, with
amaximum of 50 people, will have
access to locker rooms while play-
ers are present on game days.
In a memo sent to the 32 teams
and obtained by The Associated
Press, the policy becomes effec-
tive immediately. The personnel
covered by the policy includes
coaches, athletic trainers, equip-
ment staffers, one general manag-
er, one team security representa-
tive, three club communications
media workers and one clubhouse
support staffer.
Players are not required to be
vaccinated against COVID-19, but
the NFL has reported that more
than 90% of them are.
Astros’ Bregman back
after 2 months on ILHOUSTON — Houston Astros
third baseman Alex Bregman was
activated from the disabled list
Wednesday after missing more
than two months with a strained
left quadriceps.
Bregman was playing third and
batting sixth in the lineup on
Wednesday as the Astros wrapped
up a series against the Kansas City
Royals after splitting the first two
games.
The 27-year-old hasn’t played
since he was injured running to
first base on June 16. Bregman
went on two separate rehabilita-
tion assignments at Triple-A Sug-
ar Land to prepare for his return.
Bregman, the runner-up for AL
MVP in 2019, is batting .275 with
seven homers and 34 RBIs in 59
games this season.
KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH/AP
Serena Williams dropped out of the U.S. Open on Wednesday. Shejoins Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in sitting out the tournament.
Serena pulls outof U.S. Open, citeshamstring injury
Associated Press
BRIEFLY
Thursday, August 26, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 23
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Tennessee hasn’t finished a sea-
son ranked higher than 22nd since
2007, yet there still figures to be a
heavy Volunteer flavor to the
playoff picture this year.
Or to put it more accurately, an
ex-Volunteer flavor.
While the transfer portal was
particularly active during the
most recent offseason, no team
lost more star power than Tennes-
see, which fired coach Jeremy
Pruitt in January when school of-
ficials said an internal investiga-
tion found serious NCAA viola-
tions.
Three teams ranked in the top
10 of The Associated Press Top 25
landed notable former Volun-
teers.
No. 1 Alabama landed ex-Ten-
nessee linebacker Henry To’o
To’o. Running back Ty Chandler
transferred from Tennessee to No.
10 North Carolina.
But the Voluteers’ presence is
most notable at No. 2 Oklahoma.
The Sooners have three former
Vols in running back Eric Gray,
defensive back Key Lawrence and
offensive tackle Wanya Morris.
“Definitely for me as a running
back, the history of the ‘RBU,’ so
many great running backs came
through here, the history of the of-
fense at Oklahoma, just the OU
program in general, I was defi-
nitely attracted to it from day
one,” Gray said. “Once I got to the
transfer portal, I kind of knew Ok-
lahoma was the school I wanted to
go to.”
There are a number of transfers
who should make an impact this
season and it’s no surprise this list
features a couple of former Ten-
nessee players:
Notre Dame QB Jack Coan
(Wisconsin): Coan already has
been named the starting quarter-
back for No. 9 Notre Dame’s Sept.
5 season opener at Florida State.
Coan made 18 starts for Wisconsin
from 2018-19, but he injured his
right foot before the 2020 season
and never played for the Badgers
again with Graham Mertz taking
over the job. Coan completed
69.6% of his passes for 2,727 yards
with 18 touchdowns and five inter-
ceptions in 2019 while helping
Wisconsin reach the Big Ten
championship game and Rose
Bowl. Coan will get a chance to
face his former team Sept. 25,
when the Fighting Irish face No. 12
Wisconsin at Chicago’s Soldier
Field.
Oklahoma RB Eric Gray (Ten-
nessee): Gray rushed for 772
yards and also caught 30 passes
for 254 yards in nine games last
season. He rushed for 539 yards as
a freshman in 2019. He closed the
2019 season by rushing for 246
yards against Vanderbilt and
gaining 120 all-purpose yards and
scoring the winning touchdown
against Indiana in the Gator Bowl.
He was named the most valuable
player of the Gator Bowl. Gray
should form a quality running
back tandem with Oklahoma’s
Kennedy Brooks, who rushed for
more than 1,000 yards in back-to-
back years in 2018 and 2019 before
opting out of the 2020 season.
Kentucky QB Will Levis (Penn
State): Levis will be the starting
quarterback for Kentucky’s Sept.
4 season opener with Louisiana-
Monroe. Levis appeared in 15
games for Penn State and went 61-
for-102 for 644 yards with three
touchdowns and two intercep-
tions. Kentucky might not be the
only SEC East team handing its
starting quarterback job to some-
one who arrived by transfer this
offseason. Tennessee’s quarter-
back competition includes Michi-
gan transfer Joe Milton and Vir-
ginia Tech transfer Hendon Hook-
er, as well as Harrison Bailey.
Florida State QB McKenzie
Milton (UCF): Milton is a two-
time American Athletic Confer-
ence offensive player of the year
who finished eighth in the Heis-
man Trophy balloting in 2017 and
sixth in 2018, but he suffered liga-
ment, nerve and artery damage to
his knee in November 2018 and
hasn’t played in a game since. Mil-
ton, who won his last 24 starts at
UCF, now is attempting a come-
back with Florida State and com-
peting with Jordan Travis for the
right to open the season as the
Seminoles’ starting quarterback.
Georgia DB Tykee Smith (West
Virginia): Smith was a third-team
Associated Press All-America se-
lection for West Virginia last sea-
son. He had 61 tackles — eight for
loss — and two interceptions in 10
games. Smith also had 53 tackles
and two interceptions as a fresh-
man in 2019. Smith will be part of a
Georgia secondary that also in-
cludes Clemson transfer Derion
Kendrick.
Alabama LB Henry To’o To’o
(Tennessee): To’o To’o was a two-
year starter at Tennessee who re-
corded a team-high 76 tackles last
season. He also had 10 tackles for
loss. He had 72 tackles as a fresh-
man in 2019. Alabama coach Nick
Saban says To’o To’o has benefit-
ed from his familiarity with the
system after playing at Tennessee
for Pruitt, a former Alabama de-
fensive coordinator.
Finding VolunteersEx-Tennessee players among notable transfers boosting teams eyeing playoffs
VASHA HUNT/AP
Linebacker Henry To’o To’o runs through drills during practice inTuscaloosa, Ala. To’o To’o was twoyear starter at Tennessee beforetransferring to the No. 1ranked Tide.
BY STEVE MEGARGEE
Associated Press
SUE OGROCKI/AP
Running back Eric Gray is one ofthree players who transferred toOklahoma from Tennessee, giving the No. 2 Sooners even morefirepower.
“We’re down to 19 periods,”
Keeler said. “I give them a half-
time after like the 11th or 12th peri-
od every day where they literally
just go over and hydrate.”
Keeler sent his team home after
the championship win and didn’t
have them return until June 28,
when the community finally hon-
ored them with a parade.
When the Bearkats resumed
practice Aug. 4, just 80 days had
passed since they beat South Da-
kota State 23-21 for the title on a
pass with 16 seconds to play. With
the season opener set for Sept. 2,
that is 108 days between games for
the Bearkats. Between the 2018
and 2019 seasons, the last time
things were normal, Sam Houston
had 286 days between games.
By the time this regular season
ends, assuming it goes on as
scheduled, Sam Houston will have
played 20 games in 2021 — with
the potential for postseason games
a very real possibility.
Sam Houston is one of many
programs that have banned, or se-
verely limited, tackling in prac-
tice, but not every highly regarded
program follows suit.
“Football is a collision sport,”
James Madison coach Curt Cig-
netti said, “... and you still have to
develop the toughness, the mind-
set of your team in camp. So, we’ve
had a physical camp. Everybody
wanted a physical camp.”
The Dukes, who played eight
games in the spring, make conces-
sions elsewhere, beating the heat
by practicing in the morning, and
gradually dialing things back in
practice as the season wears on,
Cignetti said.
Down the road at VMI, the Key-
dets are coming off their first win-
ning season in 40 years. Coach
Scott Wachenheim wants to keep
the momentum going, but not at
the risk of wearing his players out.
“We’re well under the NCAA
minimums for the amount of times
that we’re going to have contact on
the field and the amount of time
we’re on the field,” he said. “We
just feel we’ve got to keep our
team healthy.”
His players, though, have been
eager to get back to work, hoping
to build off what they accom-
plished in going 6-2 last season be-
fore losing in the playoffs at James
Madison. The playoff berth was
the first in school history.
“Everything’s fresh in your
mind. You’re just still in kind of
game shape because a lot of the
guys were here in the summer,”
said linebacker Stone Snyder, the
Southern Conference defensive
player of the year.
Jakob Herres, the Keydets’ All-
American wide receiver, agreed.
He played on a team that went 1-10
when he was a freshman and 5-7
as a sophomore.
“I think once we all got that little
taste of what winning was like, we
didn’t want to let it go back to what
it was,” Herres said this week.
“The spring spring season was
definitely tough on the body, you
know, starting in the cold and ev-
erything like that, practicing out-
side,” he said, “... but I really only
took about a week’s break and
kind of just got right back to it.”
The FCS season begins Satur-
day. Sam Houston is the presea-
son No. 1, followed by James Ma-
dison, South Dakota State, North
Dakota State and Delaware in the
top five.
FROM PAGE 24
DANIEL LIN/AP
James Madison coach Curt Cignetti, whose team played eight gamesin the spring, said the Dukes had a physical camp, but he plans to dialback the intensity of practices as this season wears on.
Rest: FCS ‘offseason’lasted a short 80 days
K.C. Keeler didn’t ask his Sam Houston players to stick
around long after they won the school’s first national
championship last May, capping a long and draining sea-
son — physically and emotionally — because of the pan-
demic.
He’s also not asking them to stick around as long at practice this year.
Throughout the Championship Subdivision, coaches are making con-
cessions this fall to acknowledge that the quick turnaround from last
spring is hard.
Practices that typically had 24 sessions in the Huntsville, Texas heat?
Sam Houston State wide receiver Jequez Ezzard (12) has a passbroken up by South Dakota State cornerback Don Gardner during theFCS championship on May 16 in Frisco, Texas. Sam Houston willbegin its defense of its first FCS title three months after winning it.
MICHAEL AINSWORTH/AP
Rest for the wearyWith short turnaround between seasons, FCS programs adjust practice regimens
BY HANK KURZ JR.
Associated Press
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
SEE REST ON PAGE 23
PAGE 24 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Thursday, August 26, 2021
SPORTS
Rams add RB Michel to hurting backfield ›› NFL, Page 22
Volunteer forceEx-Tennessee players expected to
make impact ›› College football, Page 23