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KABUL, Afghanistan — Sticky

bombs slapped onto cars trapped

in Kabul’s chaotic traffic are the

newest weapons terrorizing Af-

ghans in the increasingly lawless

nation, as Washington searches

for a responsible exit after dec-

ades of war.

The primitive devices, some-

times made in mechanics’ work-

shops for little money, are used by

militants, criminals or those try-

ing to settle personal scores. Over

the past year, one or more cars

have been exploding in Kabul al-

most every day and residents are

terrified.

The administration of President

Joe Biden has alternated between

coaxing and sharp words — even

offering a ready-made peace pro-

posal — to hurry the Taliban and

the Afghan government toward an

end to the conflict. In the Afghan

capital last weekend, U.S. Secreta-

ry of Defense Lloyd Austin said

America wanted a “responsible

end” to Afghanistan’s relentless

war. But in the meantime violence

is escalating and taking the occa-

sional new twist, such as the sticky

bombs.

Kabul, a city traumatized by

war, has been the scene of many

suicide bombings and shooting at-

tacks. But the heavy use of sticky

bombs is relatively new, said for-

mer interior minister Masoud An-

darabi. “What is new is that they

(attackers) have created a simple

model,” he said, noting that sticky

bombs are easy to make for about

$25 and easy to carry.

Some victims are targeted,

while others appear to have been

chosen at random, with the aim of

RAHMAT GUL/AP

Afghan security personnel remove a damaged vehicle after a bomb attack last month in Kabul, Afghanistan.

BY KATHY GANNON

Associated Press Sticky bombs latestweapon in country’s

arsenal of war

A twist in terror tactics

AFGHANISTAN

SEE TACTICS ON PAGE 5

WASHINGTON — President

Joe Biden signaled Thursday that

he will agree to leave some U.S.

forces in Afghanistan past a May 1

deadline for withdrawal, but said

he “can’t picture” U.S. troops still

on the job there next year.

Biden cited the logistical chal-

lenge of quickly removing U.S.

and allied forces this spring, but

indicated that he contemplated

only a short delay in ending the de-

ployment of American battlefield

forces after nearly two decades of

war.

“We will leave, but the question

is when we leave,” Biden said dur-

ing a news conference at the White

House.

Asked whether he expected

U.S. forces to still be there next

year, Biden replied, “I can’t pic-

ture that being the case.”

The administration had already

Biden signals short delayin withdrawal of forces

BY ANNE GEARAN

The Washington Post

SEE WITHDRAWAL ON PAGE 5

PAGE 2 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, March 27, 2021

BUSINESS/WEATHER

WASHINGTON — The CEOs of

tech giants Facebook, Twitter and

Google faced a grilling in Con-

gress Thursday as lawmakers

tried to draw them into acknowl-

edging their companies’ roles in

fueling the January insurrection

at the U.S. Capitol and rising CO-

VID-19 vaccine misinformation.

In a hearing by the House Ener-

gy and Commerce Committee,

lawmakers pounded Facebook

CEO Mark Zuckerberg; Sundar

Pichai, the CEO of Google, which

owns YouTube; and Twitter chief

Jack Dorsey over their content

policies, use of consumers’ data

and children’s media use.

There is increasing support in

Congress for legislation to rein in

Big Tech companies.

“The time for self-regulation is

over. It’s time we legislate to hold

you accountable,” said Rep. Frank

Pallone, D-N.J., the committee’s

chairman.

“We always feel some sense of

responsibility,” Pichai said. Zuck-

erberg used the word “nuanced”

several times to insist that the is-

sues can’t be boiled down. “Any

system can make mistakes” in

moderating harmful material, he

said.

The three CEOs staunchly de-

fended their companies’ efforts to

weed out the increasingly toxic

content posted and circulated on

services used by billions of people,

while noting their efforts to bal-

ance freedom of speech.

Lawmakers press Big Tech CEOs on responsibilityAssociated Press

Bahrain83/74

Baghdad65/5

Doha98/69

Kuwait City82/66

Riyadh99/70

Kandahar91/54

Kabul68/46

Djibouti86/73

SATURDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Mildenhall/Lakenheath

52/37

Ramstein51/35

Stuttgart50/41

Lajes,Azores61/57

Rota70/56

Morón77/50 Sigonella

63/41

Naples58/50

Aviano/Vicenza53/40

Pápa61/45

Souda Bay56/48

Brussels49/39

Zagan53/41

DrawskoPomorskie

50/41

SATURDAY IN EUROPE

Misawa54/39

Guam84/80

Tokyo57/46

Okinawa74/70

Sasebo62/58

Iwakuni58/53

Seoul50/46

Osan58/45

Busan62/53

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

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

SUNDAY IN THE PACIFIC

WEATHER OUTLOOK

TODAYIN STRIPES

American Roundup ...... 11Comics/Crossword .......17Health & Fitness ........ 15Movies ...................... 14Opinion ........................ 16Sports .................... 18-24Video Games ......... 12-13

Military rates

Euro costs (March 29) $1.15Dollar buys (March 29) 0.8270 British pound (March 29) $1.34Japanese yen (March 29) 106.00South Korean won (March 29) 1104.00

Commercial rates

Bahrain(Dinar) 0.3770 Britain (Pound) 0.7251Canada (Dollar) 1.2568China(Yuan) 6.5407 Denmark (Krone) 6.3104Egypt (Pound) 15.7048Euro 0.8486Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7695Hungary (Forint) 308.31 Israel (Shekel) 3.3326Japan (Yen) 109.81Kuwait(Dinar) 0.3023

Norway (Krone) 8.5894

Philippines (Peso) 48.49Poland (Zloty) 3.94Saudi Arab (Riyal) 3.7501 Singapore (Dollar) 1.3461So. Korea (Won) 1131.22Switzerland (Franc) 0.9407Thailand (Baht) 31.13Turkey (NewLira) 8.0173

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

EXCHANGE RATES

Saturday, March 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3

A fatal accident last summer in-

volving an assault amphibious vehi-

cle off the California coast was

caused by disregarding proper

maintenance, improper training

and a failure to evacuate personnel

in a timely manner, the Marine

Corps said Thursday.

Eight Marines and a Navy corps-

man from Bravo Company, Battal-

ion Landing Team 1/4 died after the

vessel sank on July 30. The Marines

at the time called it the deadliest

training accident in its history with

that vehicle.

Other contributing factors includ-

ed a lack of safety boats in the water,

waves that were higher than had

been anticipated and poor buoyancy

from personal flotation devices, ac-

cording to a Marine statement.

Col. Christopher Bronzi, com-

mander of the 15th Marine Expedi-

tionary Unit, was relieved Tuesday

“due to a loss of trust and confidence

in his ability to command” in con-

nection with the maritime disaster,

the Marine Corps announced earlier

this week.

The service said Thursday that

the commanding officer of Battalion

Landing Team 1/4, as well as the

commander of the battalion’s Bravo

Company, were relieved on Oct. 13.

Administrative or disciplinary ac-

tion had been taken against seven

other personnel “whose failures

contributed to the mishap,” the Ma-

rine Corps said.

None of those individuals were

identified in the statement.

Thirteen assault amphibious ve-

hicles were on the water moving

personnel from the USS Somerset,

an amphibious transport dock, to

San Clemente Island that morning,

the Marine Corps said in a brief nar-

rative of the sinking.

Mechanical failure on one of the

26-ton vehicles while it was still at

San Clemente Island forced some

personnel and vehicles to remain

while nine other vehicles started for

the ship. One of the vehicles began

taking on water in multiple spots. Its

transmission failed, and bilge

pumps could not pump at a proper

rate because of that failure, the Ma-

rine Corps said.

The vehicle commander gave the

distress signal as it began to sink, but

no safety boats were put in the water

in the roughly 20 minutes it took for

the first assault amphibious vehicle

from the group to arrive on the

scene.

The crew of the sinking vehicle

prepared to evacuate by opening the

top hatch as the rescue vessel pulled

alongside it. But the rescue vessel hit

the distressed vehicle with such

force that it turned it broadside, ex-

posing the open hatch to a large on-

coming wave.

Water entered the hatch and

swamped the troop compartment,

causing the vehicle to sink quickly

with people still on board.

After the sinking, Marine Corps

Commandant Gen. David Berger

suspended waterborne operations

for a review of equipment, proce-

dures and training.

Inspections on hulls of amphib-

ious vehicles were ordered to en-

sure watertightness, bilge pump

function and emergency lighting.

The Corps has also directed the

commanders of I Marine Expedi-

tionary Force in California and III

Marine Expeditionary Force on

Okinawa to review “all safety prac-

tices and procedures associated

with waterborne operations, ensure

commanders are directly respon-

sible for safety structure, and re-

quire general or flag officer notifica-

tion prior to use of [assault amphib-

ious vehicles] as safety boats.”

The MEFs have also been direct-

ed to improve training on emergen-

cy exiting of amphibious vehicles

and proper communication be-

tween two such vehicles coming

alongside each other.

Poor maintenance, training cited in AAV mishapBY WYATT OLSON

Stars and Stripes

olson.wyatt@stripes.com Twitter: @WyattWOlson

resent our division and our fam-

ilies in support of our nation’s al-

lies in the Pacific,” Miller said in a

statement.

About 28,500 American service

AUSTIN, Texas — Fort Bliss

will send about 3,700 soldiers to

South Korea as part of an ongoing

rotation of troops to defend the

peninsula, the Army announced

Thursday.

The 3rd Armored Brigade Com-

bat Team of the 1st Armored Divi-

sion at the west Texas base will re-

place the Fort Stewart, Ga.-based

1st Brigade Combat Team of the

3rd Infantry Division for the nine-

month deployment, which sup-

ports the U.S. commitment to

South Korea.

Nicknamed the “Bulldog Bri-

gade,” the unit will send the major-

ity of its soldiers and equipment

for the nine-month rotation in the

summer. The rotations began in

2015 when the Army deactivated

the permanently stationed unit

that had served near the border

with North Korea for five decades.

Troop rotations continued dur-

ing the coronavirus pandemic with

arriving troops undergoing a two-

week quarantine and testing pro-

cedure.

“The 3rd Armored Brigade

Combat Team will deploy this

summer to support the U.S. Indo-

Pacific Command,” Maj. Gen.

Sean Bernabe, commander of 1st

Armored Division, said in a state-

ment. “1st Armored Division

maintains ready forces capable of

deploying worldwide. The Bulldog

Brigade will provide a powerful

capability to the combatant com-

mander.”

The brigade, which will be the

10th unit to serve this rotation, is

led by Col. Jabari Miller and senior

enlisted adviser Command Sgt.

Maj. Derrick A. Braud.

“The Bulldog Brigade is led by

an exceptional team and will rep-

members are stationed in Korea as

protection against a possible inva-

sion from North Korea. The rival

nations remain technically at war

since the Korean War, which end-

ed in 1953 with an armistice in-

stead of a peace treaty.

Fort Bliss brigade todeploy this summerfor S. Korea rotation

BY ROSE L. THAYER

Stars and Stripes

Thayer.rose@stripes.com Twitter: @Rose_Lori

ALON HUMPHREY/U.S. Army

Soldiers with the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, conduct squad live­fireexercises at Fort Bliss, Texas, in 2019.

plete,” said John Kirby, the Pen-

tagon’s chief spokesman.

The approval came just a day

after the Pentagon announced

the request by HHS. The U.S.

border with Mexico has experi-

enced rising numbers in migra-

tion, including unaccompanied

children, since April due to vio-

lence, natural disasters, food in-

security, and poverty in Central

America, according to a Depart-

ment of Homeland Security

statement issued March 13.

Children who are found by

U.S. Border Patrol agents must

be transferred to HHS within 72

WASHINGTON — Fort Bliss

will have 5,000 beds available

for migrant children after the

west Texas base was approved to

temporarily house them, Presi-

dent Joe Biden announced

Thursday.

“So what we’re doing is we’re

providing for the space again to

be able to get these kids out of

the border patrol facilities which

no child — no one — should be in

any longer than 72 hours,” Biden

said during his first official news

conference at the White House.

The Pentagon on Wednesday

approved a request from De-

partment of Health and Human

Services to use Joint Base San

Antonio and Fort Bliss in El Paso

to temporarily house children

who were detained after cross-

ing the U.S.-Mexico border

alone.

“[The Department of De-

fense] will provide [Department

of Health and Human Services]

officials access to these locations

immediately to begin initial ac-

tions to prepare for receiving un-

accompanied migrant children

as soon as preparations are com-

hours, but more than 3,000 chil-

dren have been held for longer

and in unfit facilities, according

to recent news reports.

Biden said 1,000 children

would be taken out of border pa-

trol custody within the next

week and put into safer facili-

ties. He said he agreed the over-

crowded conditions in border

patrol facilities were not accept-

able for children and was why

the federal government was

working to make more beds

available at the military bases.

Kirby told reporters Wednes-

day at the Pentagon that the

HHS request for support at the

bases would last until the end of

the year. He would not say how

many children HHS expects to

house at each location.

Children sent to Joint Base

San Antonio will stay in a vacant

dormitory. Land at Fort Bliss

will be used to build temporary

housing facilities. The support is

“on a fully reimbursable basis”

and will “not negatively affect”

military operations or readiness,

according to the statement.

Fort Bliss to house up to 5K children as migration increases at borderBY BY CAITLIN M. KENNEY

Stars and Stripes

kenney.caitlin@stripes.com Twitter: @caitlinmkenney

MILITARY

PAGE 4 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, March 27, 2021

There are now fewer special operations

forces deployed around the globe than at

any point since the United States invaded

Afghanistan in 2001 following the 9/11 ter-

rorist attacks, the commander of U.S. spe-

cial operations said Thursday.

Some 5,000 U.S. special operators were

deployed in about 62 countries as of Thurs-

day, Army Gen. Richard Clarke, the SO-

COM commander, told the Senate Armed

Services Committee. The deployment total

represented about a 15% decrease in for-

ward special operations forces compared to

2020 levels, he said.

The decreasing deployment of special op-

erations forces is representative of several

recent changes. Among them is an attempt

to reduce the demand on special operators

following a culture review last year that

Clarke ordered to address high-profile dis-

cipline issues among his elite troops. The

smaller deployment numbers are also re-

flective of efforts by former President Do-

nald Trump to scale back U.S. military

forces in several countries.

Some of those Trump administration ac-

tions, including its decision after the 2020

election in November to remove nearly all

American troops from Somalia, are under

review by President Joe Biden’s national

security team, said Christopher Maier, the

acting assistant secretary of defense for

special operations and low-intensity con-

flict.

The United States had some 700 troops,

mostly special operators, deployed to Soma-

lia to aid local forces battling the al-Qaida-

aligned al-Shabab terrorist network that is

prominent there. While some of the troops

removed from Somalia were relocated to

Kenya or other nearby countries, some

were removed from Africa, a decision

Maier said the Pentagon is revisiting. He

did not indicate whether he expected addi-

tional special operations troops to return to

Somalia, but he said he believed there was

“significant downside” to the withdrawal.

Maier, who testified alongside Clarke on

Thursday, served as the Pentagon’s point

person under Trump in the fight against the

Islamic State terrorist group until he was

forced out of his job after the election in No-

vember. The Biden administration in Janu-

ary tapped him as the top civilian to oversee

special operations until it nominated a per-

manent person for the position.

There are likely fewer special operations

forces working in other locations now than

in recent years, including in Afghanistan

and Iraq, where Trump also ordered post-

election troop drawdowns. Neither Clarke

nor Maier said specifically how many spe-

cial operators remained in those countries

and the Pentagon did not immediately re-

turn a request Thursday for such data.

Clarke, however, said Afghanistan’s spe-

cial operations forces, which have long been

considered the nation’s most effective

troops against the Taliban and terrorist

groups such as ISIS and al-Qaida, still re-

quire U.S. special operations support. He

told senators that the capabilities that U.S.

special operators provide Afghan special

forces were “critical to their success”

against the Taliban when asked if Afghan

forces could hold off the insurgent group if

all American troops left the country.

The United States faces a May 1 deadline

to remove its forces from Afghanistan un-

der an agreement forged with the Taliban

by the Trump administration. However, top

U.S. officials, including Clarke on Thurs-

day, have said the Taliban have failed to live

up to their commitments in that February

2020 pact and have increased violent at-

tacks on Afghan forces since reaching it.

Biden has yet to say publicly whether he

will remove troops by May 1. He said last

week that it would be “tough” to meet it, and

he has previously advocated for keeping a

small counterterrorism force in Afghanis-

tan. On Thursday, however, Biden told re-

porters at the White House that he did not

envision U.S. troops in Afghanistan beyond

2021.

Despite the two-decade focus on counter-

terrorism operations largely in the Middle

East, Afghanistan and Africa, Clarke testi-

fied Thursday that SOCOM has increased

its focus on the Pentagon’s primary objec-

tive countering the growing power of strate-

gic competitors, namely China and Russia.

For special operations forces, some of

which primarily work to train partner-na-

tion militaries, the access and influence of-

ten works to counter Chinese and Russian

efforts to expand their own influence, the

general said.

Clarke used the example of the Philip-

pines, where continued U.S.-Filipino coun-

terterrorism work deters attempts by other

powerful nations to influence that country.

“With both access and placement in other

countries around the globe, counterterror-

ism can also equate to great-power competi-

tion,” he said. “In some place like in the Phi-

lippines, where we have access … helping

the Filipinos fight ISIS, it allows us also to be

involved in great-power competition there.”

Some 40% of deployed special operations

forces are focused now on great-power

competition, Maier said.

Meanwhile, he said, SOCOM leaders are

working to get special operators more time

at home stations, where they can be with

their families.

Some 90% of the SOCOM force is now

spending twice as much time at their home

station than deployed, which Maier charac-

terized as a major improvement within the

force.

The improvement in what is known as de-

ployment-to-dwell time comes among other

improvements that SOCOM leaders have

tried to instill since Clarke’s review of ethics

and culture in the community found, among

other issues, that special operators were fo-

cused too much on deployments and com-

bat missions “at the expense of the training

and development of our force.”

That review came after a series of high-

profile cases involving special operators, in-

cluding accusations of war crimes and sex-

ual assaults committed downrange. In one

case, Navy SEALs and Marine Raiders

were accused of killing a Green Beret in

Mali. Two of those SEALs and one Raider

have since pleaded guilty to manslaughter

charges in the 2017 death of Staff Sgt. Logan

Melgar. In exchange, they received prison

sentences ranging from one to 10 years. One

Marine Raider still awaits trial in the case

on charges that include murder.

Clarke’s review concluded the deploy-

ment-to-dwell ratio imbalance was one in a

series of factors that “set conditions for un-

acceptable conduct to occur due to a lack of

leadership, discipline, and accountability.”

He has since deployed smaller teams

overseas, he said Thursday, to allow special

operations leaders more time with their

units at home station to oversee training.

“The [deployed] leadership was not en-

gaged and present,” Clarke said. “At the end

of the day … it's about engaged leadership to

reduce the amount of incidents that SOF

was having.”

Special ops deployments decrease globallyBY COREY DICKSTEIN

Stars and Stripes

ANNA MONEYMAKER / AP

Special Operations Command Gen. Richard Clarke listens at a hearing on Capitol Hill,Thursday in Washington. 

dickstein.corey@stripes.com Twitter: @CDicksteinDC

MILITARY

WASHINGTON — The U.S.

Cyber Command conducted more

than two dozen operations aimed at

thwarting interference in last No-

vember’s presidential election, the

general who leads the Pentagon’s

cyber force said Thursday.

Gen. Paul Nakasone did not de-

scribe the nature of the operations

in testimony to the Senate Armed

Services Committee but said they

were designed “to get ahead of for-

eign threats before they interfered

with or influenced our elections in

2020.”

A U.S. intelligence assessment

released last week said that neither

Russia nor any other nation manip-

ulated votes or conducted cyberat-

tacks that affected the outcome of

the vote.

Nakasone’s appearance before

the committee came as the U.S.

deals with major cyber intrusions,

including a breach by elite Russian

hackers that exploited supply

chain vulnerabilities to break into

the networks of federal govern-

ment agencies and private compa-

nies.

Nakasone said in his prepared

remarks that Cyber Command and

the National Security Agency are

helping plan the Biden administra-

tion’s response to the SolarWinds

intrusion and that “policymakers

are considering a range of options,

including costs

that might be im-

posed by other

elements of our

government.”

Separately, the

U.S. is working

with the private

sector to respond

to a separate hack that exposed

tens of thousands of servers run-

ning Microsoft’s Exchange email

program to intrusion.

Asked by the committee chair-

man, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I.,

whether the intrusions represent-

ed a “new terrain,” Nakasone said

both the SolarWinds and Microsoft

hacks revealed “a scope, a scale, a

level of sophistication that we

hadn’t seen previously.”

“It is the clarion call for us to look

at this differently — how do we en-

sure we have as a nation both the

resiliency and the ability to act

against these type of adversaries,”

he said.

Nakasone said one challenge is

that foreign state hackers have tak-

en advantage of legal constraints

that prevent U.S. intelligence agen-

cies such as the NSA, whose sur-

veillance is focused abroad, from

monitoring domestic infrastruc-

ture for cyber threats. Hackers are

increasingly using U.S.-based vir-

tual private networks, or VPNs, to

evade detection by the U.S. govern-

ment.

As a result, he said, the problem

is not that intelligence agencies

can’t connect all the dots but rather

“we can’t see all of the dots.”

“We have an inability to see ev-

erything,” he added. “We as U.S.

Cyber Command or the National

Security Agency may see what is

occurring outside of the United

States, but when it comes into the

United States, our adversaries are

moving very quickly. They under-

stand the laws and the policies that

we have within our nation, and so

they’re utilizing our own infras-

tructure, our own internet service

providers, to create these intru-

sions.”

General says attacks by foreign hackers are ‘clarion call’Associated Press

Nakasone

Saturday, March 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 5

signaled that it would probably

miss the deadline set by the

Trump administration during his-

toric negotiations with the Taliban

insurgent group. The planned

withdrawal has been on hold while

the Biden administration examin-

ed terms of the 2020 agreement

and considered whether to fully

honor the deal.

“The answer is that it’s going to

be hard to meet the May 1 dead-

line, just in terms of tactical rea-

sons, it’s hard to get those troops

out,” Biden said in response to a

question about the deadline. “If

we leave, we’re going to do so in a

safe and orderly way,” and in

cooperation with allies that also

have forces in Afghanistan, Biden

said.

Biden did not address whether

he wants to replace the U.S. mil-

itary deployment with a small con-

tingent of counterterrorism forces

as has been recommended by

some military leaders. To do so

would violate the Taliban’s agree-

ment with the United States, but a

delay in withdrawing existing

forces could provide a window to

negotiate.

The Biden administration is

seeking a power-sharing deal be-

tween the Taliban and the elected

government in Kabul.

The Taliban has demanded the

withdrawal of all foreign forces

and warned of a “reaction” if Bi-

den does not fulfill the May 1

agreement.

About 2,500 U.S. troops remain

in Afghanistan, according to the

Pentagon, with several hundred

more deployed on a short-term ba-

sis.

At the height of the war in 2010,

the United States had more than

100,000 troops spread across the

country, many in combat daily.

More than 2,300 U.S. troops have

been killed in Afghanistan since

U.S. forces drove the Taliban from

power in a war launched after al-

Qaida’s September 2001 terrorist

attacks on the United States.

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash.,

chairman of the House Armed

Services Committee, said

Wednesday that the administra-

tion wanted to explore a new un-

derstanding with the insurgent

group that would allow the coun-

terterror force to stay. Smith also

said during a “Foreign Policy”

magazine forum that such an

agreement may be impossible.

As a presidential candidate, Bi-

den pledged to end America’s

longest war and wrote that it was

past time for U.S. forces to depart.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken

has said that the United States

would probably not start what be-

came the Afghan war if faced with

the same choices today, but he,

like other U.S. officials, has also

said that the country cannot be al-

lowed to again become a lawless

haven for terrorists.

Former President Donald

Trump came closer to ending the

war than his predecessors, argu-

ing that U.S. forces were being

used as little more than police offi-

cers and construction crews.

Biden appeared to criticize the

peace agreement Trump oversaw,

which was brokered over objec-

tions from the U.S.-backed gov-

ernment in Kabul, but not the un-

derlying decision to end the U.S.

military deployment.

“It is not my intention to stay

there for a long time. But the ques-

tion is how and on what circum-

stances do we meet that agree-

ment that was made by President

Trump to leave under a deal that

looks like it’s not being able to be

worked out to begin with,” Biden

said. “How’s that done? But we are

not staying a long time.”

Turkey announced last week

that it will host a peace summit in

April that was requested by the Bi-

den administration in an effort to

jump-start negotiations between

the Afghan government and the

Taliban.

The deal the Trump administra-

tion negotiated last year did not

require the Taliban to reach a

peace accord with the Afghan gov-

ernment first, angering the elect-

ed civilian government.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin

visited Afghanistan last weekend,

becoming the first senior Biden

administration official to do so.

Austin told reporters traveling

with him in Kabul that senior U.S.

officials want to see “a responsible

end to this conflict” and “a transi-

tion to something else” after near-

ly 20 years of war.

“There’s always going to be con-

cerns about things one way or the

other, but I think there is a lot of

energy focused on doing what is

necessary to bring about a respon-

sible end and a negotiated settle-

ment to the war,” Austin said Sun-

day.

Withdrawal: Taliban warns of ‘reaction’ if deadline not metFROM PAGE 1

terrorizing an entire population,

Andarabi said. One motive ap-

pears to be to undermine faith in

peace efforts among ordinary Af-

ghans, with the Taliban and the

government blaming each other

for the chaos.

The campaign has had an im-

pact, leaving motorists navigating

Kabul’s chaotic traffic wondering

if the nearby car might explode, or

whether a beggar weaving

through the traffic might be carry-

ing a sticky bomb.

Typically, sticky bombs consist

of explosives packed in a small

box, a magnet attached to the box

and a mobile phone. The bomb-

maker programs a number into

the phone number and dials it,

with the last digit setting off the

blast once he is clear of the target-

ed car.

Tactics vary, say security

forces. Occasionally, a small child

begging for money will be used to

distract the driver, while the bom-

ber sticks the small box under the

wheel well. A new ruse is to drop

the sticky bomb from inside a hole

cut near the gearshift of the at-

tacker’s vehicle as the target vehi-

cle approaches from behind.

When the target is over the small

bomb it is detonated.

There is no shortage of recruits

from the city’s poor, who make up

roughly two-thirds of Afghanis-

tan’s 35 million people. According

to the World Bank, 72% of Afghan-

istan’s 35 million people live on

roughly $1.90 a day and unem-

ployment is around 30%.

In January, a mechanic was ar-

rested in Kabul’s destitute Shah

Shaheed area, where ramshackle

shops line up tightly against each

other. Abdul Sami, 30, was ac-

cused of putting sticky bombs in-

side newly repaired vehicles.

Sami’s shop was one of more

than a dozen workshops and spare

parts shops on a rutted road in

Shah Shaheed. It’s now shuttered

and the tattered sign that once

welcomed customers has been re-

moved.

In 2015 the neighborhood was

blown apart by a powerful truck

bomb that killed 15 people and in-

jured nearly 150. Ruins from that

day still litter the local landscape.

Most of the mechanics in the ar-

ea knew Sami, who was accused

by security forces of putting sticky

bombs on random cars, not partic-

ularly targeting anyone. Like the

other mechanics, Sami was poor,

making around $6 on some days

and nothing on many other days,

said Massoud, a mechanic who

wanted to give only his first name

for fear of attracting the attention

of government security forces.

Since Sami’s arrest, police and

security personnel have hovered

in the area, interrogating mechan-

ics, watching them.

Massoud was reluctant to talk.

“We never knew he was in-

volved with sticky bombs, ” he

said. “We still don’t know if he was

doing it. The security officials

came and arrested him, we never

knew that he was doing anything

wrong.”

Sticky bombs have targeted

journalists, members of the judici-

ary and reformers from Afghanis-

tan’s nascent civil society. But An-

darabi, the former interior minis-

ter, said attacks have also been

random and unpredictable, de-

signed to terrorize and cast the

government as incompetent and

unable to protect its citizens.

Andarabi blamed the Taliban,

while the insurgent group pointed

the finger at the security forces,

claiming they use the bombings to

discredit the Taliban and sabotage

peace talks to stay in power.

The Islamic State group affil-

iate, fought by both the govern-

ment and the Taliban, has claimed

many of the attacks, particularly

those targeting journalists, the ju-

diciary and civil society.

A former intelligence chief said

mechanics are typically just

pawns in the network that plans

these attacks.

“They’re not ideologues. Some-

one like the mechanic is just poor,

maybe even threatened: ‘If you

don’t do this then your family will

be in danger.’ I think then anyone

would do it,” said Rahmatullah

Nabil, a former head of Afghanis-

tan’s intelligence, known as the

NDS.

Massoud, the mechanic, said he

worries with every new customer.

“Whenever a driver brings in his

vehicle for repairs I am afraid

there might be a sticky bomb

somewhere on the car,” he said.

He said he fears he could find him-

self in jail, accused of planting the

explosives.

Kabul taxi driver Dil Agha said

he’s afraid of children and pan-

handlers jostling among the cars

and tries to stay clear of govern-

ment vehicles, in case they are tar-

geted. Agha said he worries every

day on the job might be his last.

“We are afraid of everyone, the

street children and the beggars,

who might put the sticky bomb on

our cars, especially in a crowded

area,” he said.

Tactics: Sporadic attacksleave Afghans fearful; bothsides blamed for attacksFROM PAGE 1

RAHMAT GUL/AP

An Afghan mechanic repairs a car in front of the sealed and locked workshop of Abdul Sami, who wasarrested and accused of putting a sticky bomb inside the wheel well of a vehicle, in Kabul, Afghanistan, onMarch 14.

WAR ON TERRORISM

PAGE 6 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, March 27, 2021

MILITARY

KABUL, Afghanistan — More

than a dozen countries supporting

NATO’s Afghanistan mission re-

ceived years of free helicopter

rides at the U.S.’s expense, largely

because the military didn’t ask

them to pay back the costs, a re-

port released this week said.

The Pentagon spent $773 mil-

lion on helicopter rides for U.S.

and coalition personnel and

equipment in Afghanistan in the

three years starting September

2017, the Defense Department In-

spector General said in the March

22 report.

Part of that sum was meant to be

repaid by 17 wealthy coalition

partners, called the Pay-to-Play

group, but the U.S. never request-

ed reimbursement because it had

no agreement with them about

helicopter transportation, the re-

port said.

That means the U.S. military

never determined the per-person

cost of helicopter rides, and didn’t

track or receive information about

how many flights the coalition

partners had taken, making it im-

possible to bill them, the report

said.

It was unclear how much the er-

rors have cost the Pentagon, but

the report warned that the prob-

lem will persist unless U.S. per-

sonnel in Afghanistan can “obtain

flight usage data, determine the

rate per person, and establish an

agreement with Coalition part-

ners before services are provid-

ed.”

It confirmed that no orders

were initiated “for air transporta-

tion services for any of the 17 Pay-

to-Play coalition partners” during

the three-year period covered by

the inspector general's audit.

The Defense Department pro-

vides helicopters from outside

contractors to coalition partners

in Afghanistan under a system

called Acquisition and Cross-Ser-

vicing Agreements.

The agreements lay out the

broad terms and conditions under

which the U.S. provides or re-

ceives logistics support, supplies

and services to or from partner

countries, while supplementary

agreements specify the costs and

reimbursement methods for indi-

vidual services, such as helicopter

flights.

All 17 of the Pay-to-Play coali-

tion countries in Afghanistan had

agreements, but it appears that

the U.S. did not reach specific

agreements on rotary wing air

transportation with them.

The report faulted the Army

Central Logistics Directorate for

failing to adequately oversee the

ACSA program.

U.S. Forces-Afghanistan and

ARCENT agreed with the Inspec-

tor General’s recommendations,

written replies included in the re-

port show.

Iceland, a Pay-to-Play country,

has pulled out of Afghanistan

since the period covered in the re-

port, as have Croatia and Monte-

negro, among a group of about 20

countries whose transportation

costs are covered by the U.S. be-

cause, otherwise, they would not

be able to take part in NATO’s

Resolute Support mission.

US gave coalition partners free flights BY PHILLIP WALTER

WELLMAN

Stars and Stripes

wellman.phillip@stripes.comTwitter: @pwwellman

North Korea announced it fired

apair of guided missiles Thursday

— the nation’s first ballistic mis-

sile launches in a year. The move

prompted President Joe Biden to

warn of possible “responses.”

The test of a “newly-developed,

new type” of missile was an-

nounced Friday by Pyongyang’s

Korean Central News Agency. A

day earlier, South Korea, the Unit-

ed States and Japan confirmed the

launches, which officials said

were ballistic missiles.

“The newly-developed, new-

type tactical guided missiles are a

weapon system which improved

the weight of its warhead to 2.5

tons while using the core technol-

ogy of the already-developed

one,” KCNA reported.

The test-firings were the

North’s first major provocation

since Biden took office in January.

Some experts say North Korea

aimed to apply pressure on the Bi-

den administration to boost its lev-

erage in future talks.

“We’re consulting with our al-

lies and partners,” Biden told a

news conference Thursday. “And

there will be responses if they

choose to escalate. We will re-

spond accordingly. But I’m also

prepared for some form of diplo-

macy, but it has to be conditioned

upon the end result of denuclear-

ization.”

The United States has asked for

a meeting of the U.N. Security

Council committee that monitors

sanctions against North Korea,

and it’s set to take place Friday

morning behind closed doors.

The committee includes repre-

sentatives from all 15 nations on

the council. North Korea’s Acade-

my of Defense Science, which

conducted the launch, said it was

“very successful just as it had

been confidently predicted,” ac-

cording to KCNA.

The missiles “correctly hit the

target set in the 600-kilometre wa-

ters on the East Sea of Korea,” the

North Korean agency reported,

using the Korean name for waters

also known as the Sea of Japan.

“Through several times’ static

firing test of motor and test-firing,

we have confirmed the reliability

of the improved solid-fuel motor

and also reconfirmed the irregu-

lar orbit characteristics of the low-

altitude gliding and skipping flight

mode which has already been ap-

plied to other guided missiles,” the

academy said, according to

KCNA.

The launches come less than a

week after Pyongyang fired mul-

tiple short-range missiles in the

wake of a visit to Seoul by Secre-

tary of State Antony Blinken and

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

The tests are a violation of Unit-

ed Nations sanctions, which ban

the North from developing ballis-

tic missiles.

The administration of former

President Donald Trump had

turned a blind eye to “minor vio-

lations” of the sanctions, said for-

mer Air Force officer Ralph Cos-

sa, who now serves as president

emeritus of the Pacific Forum

think tank in Honolulu.

Cossa, in an email Friday, ques-

tioned how the Biden administra-

tion will respond.

Without a serious response,

North Korea will conduct longer-

range tests, he predicted. If there

is a serious response, Pyongyang

will use it as an excuse to conduct

further testing, eventually leading

to the launch of an intercontinen-

tal ballistic missile, Cossa said.

“Either way, more provocations

(annoying actions) are coming,”

he wrote. “Nonetheless, failure to

respond tells them they can get

away with such violations all the

time.”

Biden threatens ‘response’ ifN. Korea keeps testing missiles

AP

The North Korean government released this photo of a newlydeveloped tactical guided projectile Thursday.

BY SETH ROBSON

Stars and Stripes

The Associated Press and Stars and Stripesreporter Yoo Kyong Chang contributed to thisreport.

TOKYO — Coronavirus reap-

peared Friday at two U.S. bases

where it had faded away for sev-

eral days.

Meanwhile, the commander of

U.S. Forces Korea announced on

American Forces Network Radio

that nearly 12,000 doses of John-

son & Johnson’s one-shot CO-

VID-19 vaccine are expected to

arrive on the peninsula on March

31.

The U.S. military in Japan re-

ported nine new coronavirus

cases from the past week, but

commands in South Korea an-

nounced none as of 6 p.m. Friday.

Yokota Air Base, the headquar-

ters of U.S. Forces Japan in west-

ern Tokyo, announced Friday it

has one new patient with CO-

VID-19, the respiratory disease

caused by the coronavirus. That

person — Yokota’s only coronavi-

rus patient — tested positive this

week while in quarantine after ar-

riving from the United States, ac-

cording to the base.

Yokota went 10 days without re-

porting an infection. Its last re-

port, on March 16, said two people

contracted the virus.

Farther west, Marine Corps Air

Station Iwakuni, near Hiroshima,

said Friday that three people test-

ed positive after arriving in Japan

and immediately entering quar-

antine. The base reported one

new patient Thursday, also a new

arrival, but prior to that reported

nothing since March 12.

Yokosuka Naval Base, 35 miles

south of Tokyo, on Friday report-

ed five individuals tested positive

for the virus since Tuesday, ac-

cording to a Facebook post. One

person fell ill with COVID-19

symptoms and the remaining four

were discovered during contact

tracing. None were vaccinated,

according to Yokosuka.

The naval base, homeport of the

U.S. 7th Fleet, has seven patients

under observation. It last report-

ed one new case Tuesday.

In South Korea, the command-

er of U.S. Forces Korea told ser-

vice members the peninsula was

down to 900 doses of the Modern

COVID-19 vaccine, though plenty

more is on the way.

Army Gen. Robert Abrams,

speaking Friday on AFN Radio at

Camp Humphreys, said 11,900

doses of the one-shot vaccine

made by Johnson & Johnson

should arrive on March 31.

On April 5, the command will

begin vaccinating people ages 18-

64 who are at a high risk of catch-

ing COVID-19, he said. After that,

they’ll move on to the general

population, including family

members.

US bases in Japan see more cases; vaccine on way to S. KoreaBY JOSEPH DITZLER

Stars and Stripes

Stars and Stripes reporter Yoo Kyong Changcontributed to this report. ditzler.joseph@stripes.com Twitter: @JosephDitzler

Saturday, March 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 7

NATION

OHATCHEE, Ala. — Torna-

does and severe storms tore

through the Deep South, killing at

least five people as strong winds

splintered trees, wrecked homes

and downed power lines.

Multiple twisters sprang from a

“super cell” of storms that rolled

over western Georgia early Fri-

day after spawning as many as

eight tornadoes in Alabama on

Thursday, said John De Block, a

meteorologist with the National

Weather Service in Birmingham.

One large, dangerous tornado

moved through Newnan, destroy-

ing homes there and damaging

others in surrounding communi-

ties west of Atlanta, meteorolo-

gists said.

A day earlier, one tornado

formed in southwest Alabama and

carved up the ground for more

than an hour Thursday, traveling

roughly 100 miles and causing

heavy damage in the city of Cen-

treville, south of Tuscaloosa.

De Block said it dissipated in

Shelby County, where another

twister had already heavily dam-

aged homes and businesses and

devastated the landscape. The

county is home to suburban Bir-

mingham cities such as Pelham

and Helena and the unincorporat-

ed subdivision of Eagle Point — all

suffering heavy damage.

Still another of the eight sus-

pected tornadoes that hit the state

killed five people in Calhoun

County.

Coroner Pat Brown identified

them Friday to Al.com as Joe

Wayne Harris, 74, Barbara Har-

ris, 69, Ebonique Harris, 28; Emi-

ly Myra Wilborn, 72, and James

William Geno, 72.

One of the victims in the hard-

hit town of Ohatchee in eastern

Alabama, a small community of

about 1,170 people, was Dwight

Jennings’s neighbor. Geno went

by J.W. and had been a rodeo bull

rider in his youth. He could make

anything out of wood, and loved to

catfish, Jennings said. They had

planned to go fishing this week-

end; instead he spent hours

searching for Geno’s dog before

the animal was found alive.

Reports of tornado damage in

the Newnan area began coming in

shortly after midnight. One-

hundred-year-old trees were top-

pled and power lines downed.

Stephen Brown, fire chief in the

city of Newnan said during a tele-

vised morning news conference

that rescue teams were methodi-

cally checking every structure

and assessing the destruction.

They’ve found “heavy, heavy

damage” in parts of the city’s his-

toric district, he said.

The bad weather stretched

across the southern U.S., raising

concerns of thunderstorms and

flooding in parts of Tennessee,

Kentucky and the Carolinas.

Emergency responders hospital-

ized one person in Sumner Coun-

ty, Tennessee, and the Nashville

Fire Department posted photos on

Twitter showing large trees down,

damaged homes and streets

blocked by debris.

More than 150,000 people were

without power Friday in Ohio and

Pennsylvania after 50 mph wind

gusts ripped across the region.

Forecasters reported peak gusts

of 63 mph in Marysville, Ohio.

Some 23,000 customers remained

without electricity in Alabama, ac-

cording to poweroutage.us.

Some school districts from Ala-

bama to Ohio canceled or delayed

class Friday due to damage and

power outages.

Tornadoes ripacross South;at least 5 dead

Associated Press

BUTCH DILL/AP

A resident sifts through debris after a tornado touched down south of Birmingham, Ala., in the Eagle Pointcommunity damaging multiple homes Thursday.

Piles of debris remain after a tornado touched down killing severalpeople and damaging multiple homes, Thursday, in Ohatchee, Ala.

NEW YORK — The New York

Police Department will increase

outreach and patrols in Asian

communities, including the use of

undercover officers, amid a spike

in anti-Asian hate crimes, officials

said Thursday.

The department is sending un-

dercover officers to the city’s Chi-

natowns and other areas with sig-

nificant Asian populations in an

attempt to prevent and disrupt at-

tacks, Police Commissioner Der-

mot Shea said at a news confer-

ence.

The undercover officers are be-

ing trained and will be on patrol by

the end of the weekend, Chief of

Department Rodney Harrison

said. He described the comple-

ment as a “robust team” but de-

clined to give a specific number of

officers, all of whom are of Asian

descent.

In a warning to would-be attack-

ers, Shea said: “The next person

you target, whether it’s through

speech, menacing activity or any-

thing else, walking along a side-

walk or on a train platform, may

be a plainclothes New York City

police officer. So think twice.”

The NYPD is also adding two

detectives to its hate crimes task

force, holding community forums

in Asian neighborhoods, including

Flushing, Queens, and Sunset

Park, Brooklyn, and providing

businesses and residents with

posters and pamphlets printed in

Mandarin, Korean and other lan-

guages.

Shea announced Inspector

Tommy Ng as the new leader of the

department’s Asian Hate Crime

Task Force, replacing retiring

Deputy Inspector Stewart Loo.

The NYPD has tallied 26 anti-

Asian incidents this year, includ-

ing 12 assaults, compared with

eight stemming from misplaced

blame for the coronavirus pan-

demic at the same time last year,

according to Deputy Inspector

Jessica Corey, commanding offi-

cer of the department’s Hate

Crimes Task Force.

Among them: a 68-year-old man

punched on a subway train, a 37-

year-old woman assaulted as she

headed to an anti-Asian violence

protest in Manhattan, and a 54-

year-old woman hit in the face

with a metal pipe while walking

home.

Actor Olivia Munn drew atten-

tion to the issue in February,

tweeting about an assault on her

friend’s mother in Flushing.

Harrison said the Asian Hate

Crimes Task Force, staffed with

many officers and detectives of

Asian descent, was created to

make victims feel more comfort-

able so they would move forward

in the judicial process to hold per-

petrators accountable.

NYPD adding undercover patrolsto combat anti-Asian hate crimes

Associated Press

BOULDER, Colo. — About

2,000 people gathered for a vigil

honoring the 10 people killed in

the Colorado supermarket shoot-

ing Thursday night after attorneys

for the shooting suspect asked

during his first court appearance

that he receive a mental health

evaluation before the case against

him proceeds.

The memorial at Fairview High

School, a half-mile from the scene

of the shooting at a King Soopers

supermarket, emphasized re-

membrance and healing. The

crowd said aloud the names of

those slain this week in Boulder

after one resident read the names

of the eight people killed in a mass

shooting in Georgia just days ear-

lier.

Many held candles and roses

while locking arms or embracing

each other near the base of the

snow-covered Rocky Mountain

foothills. After a singer led the

crowd in “Amazing Grace,” Ni-

cole LiaBraaten, a local leader of

the gun-control group Moms De-

mand Action, asked people to

“take a healing breath.”

“Our hearts are broken, and our

festering wounds are split open

once again. And this time it’s for

the whole world to see,” said Lia-

braaten, whose group helped or-

ganize the vigil.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Ne-

guse, whose district includes

Boulder, told the crowd no words

could describe how he felt when

he heard about the shooting.

“Ten lives. Ten precious lives

lost too soon and remembered by

so many,” he said.

Neguse said he had spoken with

some of his colleagues about how

to curb gun violence. “It does not

have to be this way,” he said,

prompting cheers.

2K attend Boulder vigilfor supermarket victims

Associated Press

PAGE 8 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, March 27, 2021

NATION

WASHINGTON — President

Joe Biden at his first news con-

ference left the door open to

backing fundamental changes

in Senate procedure to muscle

key parts of his agenda like im-

migration and voting rights

past Republican opposition “if

there’s complete lockdown and

chaos.”

Even as his administration

navigates the COVID-19 pan-

demic and the resulting eco-

nomic damage, Biden is grap-

pling with how to deliver on a

host of big promises despite a

razor-thin Senate majority. He

teased that changes to Senate

rules that would allow bills to

pass with fewer votes may be

necessary for him to achieve

some of those goals.

“If there’s complete lock-

down and chaos, as a conse-

quence of the filibuster, then

we’re going to have to go be-

yond what I’m talking about,”

he said at the Thursday news

conference.

Despite strong poll numbers,

Biden faces headwinds in deliv-

ering on his ambitious legisla-

tive agenda. His party’s con-

gressional majorities are nar-

row, Republican opposition ap-

pears entrenched and not all

Democrats are aligned in re-

forming Senate rules on the fil-

ibuster.

Biden at first backed a mod-

ification — but not elimination

— of the arcane procedural tac-

tic. But he then suggested, at

least on certain issues, he

would go further, saying the fil-

ibuster — which requires 60

votes to pass legislation in the

Senate — was being “abused in

a gigantic way” by Republi-

cans.

“I want to get things done. I

want to get them done consis-

tent with what we promised the

American people,” said Biden,

who spent decades in the Sen-

ate. “I am going to say some-

thing outrageous: I have never

been particularly poor at calcu-

lating how to get things done in

the United States Senate.”

Senate Majority Leader

Chuck Schumer at his own

press conference Thursday de-

clined to lean too heavily into

filibuster changes, only saying

that “everything, everything is

on the table.”

And West Virginia Sen. Joe

Manchin, a moderate Democrat

whose vote is critical, said he

thought the rules were there to

make sure “the big guy doesn’t

pick on the little guy,” adding

that he was trying to protect

“basic civility.”

Biden’s own political future

came up at the press confer-

ence as well. The 78-year-old

president said for the first time

his “plan is to run for reelec-

tion, that is my expectation.”

But he made clear his focus was

on the here and now and not a

distant election.

“I am going to deal with all of

those problems,” he pledged.

One key item on the list: Re-

publican efforts to limit voting

rights, an effort the president

deemed “sick” and “un-Amer-

ican.” He argued that even GOP

voters believe actions that

make it harder for people to

cast ballots are “despicable” at-

tempts to undermine democra-

cy.

The president was repeatedly

pressed about the situation at

the U.S.-Mexico border, where

increasing numbers of young

migrants have overwhelmed

the government’s holding facil-

ities. Biden promised better

media access to the camps —

once his administration has a

better handle on things — as

well as improvements to the na-

tion’s immigration system and

U.S. help to improve conditions

in the migrants’ home coun-

tries.

“I can’t guarantee that we’re

going to solve everything, but I

can guarantee that we’re going

to make it better,” he said.

And in the aftermath of two

mass shootings in a week, Biden

was pressed on his plans for

new gun violence laws. He re-

sponded that legislating is “a

matter of timing” and then gave

a long-winded answer about his

infrastructure plan, which he

said will be his administration’s

next legislative priority.

He also acknowledged sever-

al vexing foreign policy prob-

lems that he faces immediately,

including growing concerns

about North Korea’s nuclear

program, a looming May 1

deadline to withdraw U.S.

troops from Afghanistan, and

China’s rising stature as an eco-

nomic competitor.

Biden teasesSenate changesto pass agenda

BY JONATHAN LEMIRE

AND ZEKE MILLER

Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas offi-

cials on Thursday raised the death

toll from February’s winter storm

and blackouts to at least 111 people

— nearly doubling the state’s ini-

tial tally following one of the worst

power outages in U.S. history.

The frigid weather also was

blamed for dozens of more deaths

across other Southern states in-

cluding Arkansas, Oklahoma, Ten-

nessee, Kentucky and Alabama.

The majority of the Texas deaths

are associated with hypothermia,

according to the Texas Depart-

ment of State Health Services. And

the dramatic number of new vic-

tims is still a potential undercount,

as officials continue investigating

deaths that happened around the

time the storm knocked out power

to more than 4 million customers in

Texas.

Many homes went without pow-

er or drinkable water for days after

subfreezing temperatures, failing

power plants and record demand

for heat pushed Texas’ electric

grid to the breaking point.

Texas officials earlier this

month put the initial tally of deaths

at 57 but warned it would increase.

The toll now officially exceeds that

of Hurricane Harvey in 2017,

which was blamed for 68 deaths in

Texas.

The list of victims from the Feb-

ruary snowstorm cut a wide swath

across the state of 30 million peo-

ple: Some fatalities were nearly as

far north as Oklahoma, while oth-

ers were close to the U.S.-Mexico

border. State officials said the

causes of “multiple deaths” includ-

ed motor vehicle accidents, carbon

monoxide poisoning, medical

equipment failures, exacerbation

of chronic illness, lack of home ox-

ygen, falls and fire.

The most confirmed deaths oc-

curred around Houston, where

Harris County officials have re-

ported at least 31 victims.

Among them was Gilbert Riv-

era, 60, who told relatives after the

power went out in his garage apart-

ment that he was cold but staying

bundled up. Rivera, who had

worked for about two decades as a

custodian, had a learning disability

but reveled in his independence

and chose to live on his own.

The autopsy determined the

cause of death was hypothermia,

which occurs when one’s body los-

es heat faster than it can produce it.

Rivera’s family is among dozens

who have filed lawsuits against

electricity providers and the

state’s embattled power grid, the

Electric Reliability Council of Tex-

as. The disaster led to a congres-

sional investigation and the ouster

of ERCOT CEO Bill Magness.

LM OTERO/AP

Ricki Mills looks out from her Dallas home Feb. 23 as she waits for a fire hydrant to be turned to getwater. Texas officials on Thursday raised the death toll from February's storm and blackouts to at least 111people — nearly doubling the state's initial tally following one of the worst power outages in U.S. history.

Texas death toll from stormin February surpasses 100

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Dominion

Voting Systems filed a $1.6 billion

defamation lawsuit against Fox

News on Friday, arguing the cable

news giant falsely claimed in an ef-

fort to boost faltering ratings that

the voting company had rigged the

2020 election.

The lawsuit is part of a growing

body of legal action filed by the vot-

ing company and other targets of

misleading, false and bizarre claims

spread by President Donald Trump

and his allies in the aftermath of

Trump’s election loss to Joe Biden.

Those claims helped spur on rioters

who stormed the U.S. Capitol on

Jan. 6 in a violent siege that left five

people dead, including a police offi-

cer. The siege led to Trump’s histor-

ic second impeachment.

Dominion argues that Fox News,

which amplified inaccurate asser-

tions that Dominion altered votes,

“sold a false story of election fraud

in order to serve its own commer-

cial purposes, severely injuring Do-

minion in the process,” according to

a copy of the lawsuit obtained by

The Associated Press.

“The truth matters. Lies have

consequences,” the lawsuit said.

“Fox sold a false story of election

fraud in order to serve its own com-

mercial purposes, severely injuring

Dominion in the process. If this case

does not rise to the level of defama-

tion by a broadcaster, then nothing

does.”

Even before Dominion’s lawsuit

on Friday, Fox News had already fil-

ed four motions to dismiss other le-

gal actions against its coverage.

“Fox News Media is proud of our

2020 election coverage, which

stands in the highest tradition of

American journalism, and we will

vigorously defend against this base-

less lawsuit in court,” it said in a

statement on Friday.

Dominion Voting sues Fox for$1.6B over 2020 election claims

Associated Press

Saturday, March 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 9

VIRUS OUTBREAK ROUNDUP

CHICAGO — His last job was

selling cars, but in his new gig,

working to turn the tide against a

pandemic, Herman Simmons

knows not to be too pushy or over-

bearing.

He’s one of more than 50 ou-

treach workers a Chicago hospital

has enlisted to promote vaccina-

tion against COVID-19 in hard-hit

Black and brown neighborhoods.

Their job is approaching strang-

ers at laundromats, grocery stores

and churches, handing out educa-

tional material and making vacci-

nation appointments for those

who are willing.

“I see myself as my brother’s

keeper. I don’t try to force them.

I’m persistent,’’ he said.

Top U.S. health officials say

they’re in a race to vaccinate as

many people as quickly as possi-

ble as COVID-19 variants spread,

mask and distancing rules are re-

laxed, and Americans crave a re-

turn to normalcy.

As part of these efforts, the Bi-

den administration announced

Thursday it will invest nearly $10

billion to expand vaccine access in

communities of color, rural areas,

low-income populations and other

underserved communities. Some

of the money will go to community

health centers. Funding comes

mostly from the American Rescue

Plan.

While the U.S. is vaccinating

roughly 2.5 million people daily

and nearly 1 in 3 adults have re-

ceived at least one shot, roughly

that many say they are skeptical

or won’t get vaccinated.

“There will be a hardcore that

never wants to be vaccinated and

we can’t do anything about that,’’

said Dr. Eric Toner, a senior

scholar at Johns Hopkins Center

for Health Security.

He said that number is unlikely

to prevent effective control of the

virus. To make sure it doesn’t, au-

thorities are working to change

minds and boost access in minor-

ity communities where skepti-

cism is among the hurdles to vac-

cination.

They’re showcasing Black lead-

ers getting shots, preaching vacci-

nation benefits at Sunday servic-

es, holding Zoom meetings where

experts dismantle the myths. Mi-

chigan is enlisting barbershops

and salons. Mobile clinics have

been set up to vaccinate Kentucky

racetrack workers and California

migrant workers.

CaliforniaSANTA ANA — After weeks of

sometimes confusing and frus-

trating restrictions, California is

throwing open its coronavirus

vaccine program to all adults as

the nation’s most populous state

counts on a long-awaited boost in

doses.

The move is seen as a crucial

step as the state cautiously reo-

pens an economy stifled for a year

by COVID-19 restrictions on busi-

nesses.

“There’s not just light at the end

of the tunnel; there’s bright light at

the end of the tunnel,” Gov. Gavin

Newsom said during a news con-

ference Thursday in Orange

County.

Newsom said the state would

start vaccinating anyone 50 and

over in a week and anyone 16 and

older on April 15.

Governors across the country

have expanded eligibility for the

vaccine as supplies have in-

creased.

President Joe Biden’s adminis-

tration wants all states to make ev-

ery adult eligible for the vaccine

by May 1.

New YorkALBANY — The impeachment

investigation into New York Gov.

Andrew Cuomo is expanding to

examine whether the governor

unlawfully used his office to pro-

vide his family members with spe-

cial access to scarce coronavirus

tests a year ago, a state lawmaker

said Thursday.

The office of Attorney General

Letitia James, Cuomo’s fellow

Democrat, issued a statement ear-

lier Thursday urging New York’s

Joint Commission on Public Eth-

ics to investigate the alleged pref-

erential testing after reports were

published in the Times Union of

Albany, The New York Times and

The Washington Post.

“The recent reports alleging

there was preferential treatment

given for COVID-19 testing are

troubling,” the statement read.

“While we do not have jurisdiction

to investigate this matter, it’s im-

perative that JCOPE look into it

immediately.”

A spokesperson for the ethics

commission, Walt McClure, said

the commission could not com-

ment “on anything that is or might

be an investigative matter.”

The impeachment investiga-

tion’s primary focus remains on

allegations of sexual harassment

against Cuomo, as well as reports

that his administration intention-

ally underreported virus deaths at

nursing homes and glazed over

bridge safety concerns, but the al-

leged preferential testing will be

explored, Assembly Judiciary

Committee Chair Chuck Lavine

told The Associated Press on

Thursday.

Members of Cuomo’s family in-

cluding his brother, CNN journal-

ist Chris Cuomo; his mother; and

at least one of his three sisters

were tested by top health depart-

ment officials, some of them sev-

eral times, according to the Times

Union of Albany.

MichiganLANSING — Michigan, which

not long ago had one of the coun-

try’s lowest COVID-19 infection

rates, is confronting an alarming

spike that some experts worry

could be a harbinger nationally.

In what public health author-

ities across the U.S. have been

warning for months might happen

around the country, the resur-

gence is being fueled by loosened

restrictions, a more infectious

variant and pandemic fatigue.

While vaccinations in Michigan

are helping to protect senior citi-

zens and other vulnerable people,

the upswing is driving up hospital-

izations among younger adults

and forcing a halt to in-person in-

struction at some schools.

“It’s a stark reminder that this

virus is still very real. It can come

roaring back if we drop our

guard,” said Democratic Gov.

Gretchen Whitmer, who does not

plan to tighten restrictions on in-

door dining, sports and other ac-

tivities that were eased in recent

months.

Michigan last year saw some of

the nation’s fiercest resistance to

lockdowns, including armed

demonstrations at the state Capi-

tol and an alleged right-wing plot

to kidnap the governor.

AlaskaJUNEAU — Alaska’s state

health department is floating the

idea of providing coronavirus vac-

cinations to travelers at the state’s

busiest airports with the summer

tourism and fishing seasons loom-

ing.

The department on Wednesday

released a request for information

to determine interest among po-

tential contractors to provide a

one-dose vaccine to interested

travelers in a secure section of the

airports in Anchorage, Juneau,

Fairbanks and Ketchikan.

Implementing strategies to re-

duce the spread of COVID-19

through Alaska communities is

critical with the levels of travel ac-

tivity expected between May and

October, the document said.

One of the vaccines available

for emergency use is a one-dose

shot, which the department says

its Division of Public Health in-

tends to use for such a program,

subject to availability.

Under emergency use autho-

rizations, people 18 or older can

receive the single-dose Johnson &

Johnson vaccine, according to the

U.S. Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention.

TexasMcALLEN — Texas Gov. Greg

Abbott said Thursday that he’s

hoping to increase the number of

Texans getting COVID-19 vac-

cines after seeing a drop in people

showing up for the shot.

“We’re beginning to see a de-

crease in demand for vaccina-

tions,” Abbott said at a news con-

ference Thursday in the border

city of McAllen. “We’re having

about half — or even less than half

— of the people who signed up for

a vaccine actually show up to get a

vaccine.”

He said that a state program

that is focusing on getting seniors

vaccinated is expanding from ru-

ral areas to more populated ones,

like Hidalgo County where McAl-

len is located.

Through the program, drive-

thru vaccine clinics are set up or

vaccines are given directly to

homebound seniors.

“Seniors who contract COVID

are the people who are most likely

to either be hospitalized or lose

their life because of COVID,” Ab-

bott said.

He said that the significant

number of seniors who are al-

ready vaccinated has led to an on-

going downward trend in the

number of hospitalized people in

the state.

“We will continue those good re-

sults if everyone will get in line

and get their COVID shots,” he

said.

On Thursday, the state reported

that 3,410 people were hospital-

ized. That number has been fall-

ing since soaring past 14,000 for a

couple of days in January.

On Monday, Texas expands its

COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to all

adults.

Abbott said Thursday that in or-

der to encourage those 80 and ol-

der who still aren’t vaccinated to

do so, they will be allowed to show

up anywhere shots are given and

get one, even without making an

appointment.

WashingtonOLYMPIA — Washington Gov.

Jay Inslee on Thursday reduced

the COVID-19 social distancing

requirements for K-12 classrooms

from 6 feet to 3 feet as more

schools in the state begin to open

up.

At a news conference Inslee

said the new guidance was consis-

tent with direction from federal

health authorities and that, for

now, schools had the option to

maintain the 6-foot rule.

And he said middle and high

school students who aren’t in iso-

lated “cohort” groups should still

be placed at 6 feet apart in places

where the number of people in-

fected is still above 200 per

100,000 population.

However the Democrat said by

this summer and fall no class-

rooms should still be at the more

stringent standard.

Inslee has for weeks been push-

ing to return students to the class-

room, saying remote learning

hasn’t worked for many children.

He had previously said all pub-

lic schools in Washington will be

required to offer students an in-

person learning option by April —

with school districts having to

meet an average of at least 30%

weekly in-class instruction by

April 19.

Vaccine effort gettinghelp to fight mistrust

JOHN LOCHER/AP

People play roulette while wearing masks, on the opening night of the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, onThursday, in Las Vegas. The casino opened on the former Hard Rock Hotel property.

Associated Press

PAGE 10 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, March 27, 2021

SUEZ, Egypt — Tugboats and a

specialized suction dredger

worked Friday to dislodge a giant

container ship that has been

stuck sideways in Egypt’s Suez

Canal for the past three days,

blocking a crucial waterway for

global shipping.

The Ever Given, a Panama-

flagged ship that carries cargo

between Asia and Europe, ran

aground in the narrow canal that

runs between Africa and the Si-

nai Peninsula. It got stuck in a

single-lane stretch of the canal,

about 3.7 miles north of the south-

ern entrance, near the city of

Suez.

The ship, owned by the Japa-

nese firm Shoei Kisen KK, has

blocked traffic in the canal, caus-

ing headaches for global trade.

Around 10% of world trade

flows through the canal, which is

particularly crucial for the trans-

port of oil. The closure also could

affect oil and gas shipments to

Europe from the Middle East.

At least 237 ships were waiting

for the Ever Given to be cleared,

including vessels near Port Said

on the Mediterranean Sea, Port

Suez on the Red Sea and those

already stuck on a lake mid-ca-

nal, said Leth Agencies, which

provides services for the canal.

Using data from Automatic

Identification System trackers on

ships at sea, data firm Refinitiv

shared analysis with the AP

showing that over 300 ships re-

mained en route to the waterway

over the next two weeks.

Some ships now may be chang-

ing course to avoid using the Suez

Canal. The liquid natural gas car-

rier Pan Americas changed

course in the mid-Atlantic, now

aiming south to go around the

southern tip of Africa, according

to satellite data Friday from Ma-

rineTraffic.com.

Internationally, many are get-

ting ready for the effect that the

shipping pause will have on sup-

ply chains that rely on precise de-

liveries of goods. Singapore’s

Minister of Transport Ong Ye

Kung said the country’s port

should expect disruptions.

“Should that happen, some

draw down on inventories will be-

come necessary,” he said in a

Facebook post.

Egypt races todislodge shipblocking canal

BY SAMY MAGDY

Associated Press

CNES2021, DISTRIBUTION AIRBUS DS/AP

The cargo ship MV Ever Given stuck in the Suez Canal near Suez,Egypt, on Thursday.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand

— Rob Costigan bought a rugged

farm in rural Australia three

years ago with the dream of build-

ing it into something he could

leave to his kids.

One year later, he was needing

to truck in water to battle an ex-

treme drought. Then Australia’s

deadly wildfires raged perilously

close in late 2019, forcing Costigan

to spend day after day stamping

out embers and running sprin-

klers on his roof to save his home,

in an eerie atmosphere he likens

to Armageddon.

Then last week, on the day his

daughter Eva was supposed to be

celebrating her 11th birthday,

came the floods. Thankfully, the

family had already left to stay at

his brother’s home.

The water roared through with

such force it lifted both Costigan’s

farmhouse and a second home

where his father-in-law lived

from their foundations, destroy-

ing both. The family is still picking

up toys and clothes strewn far and

wide — they even found their gas

barbecue bottle stuck in a tree.

“Just disbelief,” said Costigan,

40, a road maintenance worker

whose farm is in the Hollisdale

community about a five-hour

drive north of Sydney. “It feels

like the world’s against us. You

work your guts out and then to

have it all just washed away in the

blink of an eye.”

Australia has always been a

land of harsh weather, where

droughts and fires form part of the

nation’s psyche. But experts say

that global warming is likely mak-

ing recent weather events more

extreme. The raging wildfires

that burned through until early

last year killed at least 33 people

and destroyed more than 3,000

homes.

“These events are expected,”

said Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, a

climate scientist at the University

of New South Wales. “But climate

change has put them on steroids.”

She explained that, paradox-

ically, a warming atmosphere can

worsen both droughts and floods.

The extra heat can suck more

moisture from the ground during

droughts. But warmer air can also

hold more moisture, she said, so

that when it does rain, it pours.

Some towns in New South

Wales have set 50- or 100-year re-

cords for rainfall over the past

week. The floods have killed two

men in separate incidents, both of

whom were trapped in their cars,

and have forced more than 20,000

people from their homes.

People are still dealing with the

plague of mice. Last year in east-

ern Australia, months of rain

doused wildfires and ended a

drought that had crippled the re-

gion for more than two years. That

led to bumper crops on many

farms, and an explosion in the

mouse population.

Pompy Singh, the manager of

the Spar supermarket in the town

of Gulargambone, said they start-

ed to notice the number of mice in-

creasing before Christmas. They

used to set one or two traps a day,

he said. They started buying

much larger traps and setting

many more of them until they had

20 set all the time.

Suddenly they were catching

100 or 200 mice each day. The crit-

ters began eating through every-

thing, getting into the lettuce, the

potato chips, the dog food, even

the tobacco. Singh said they start-

ed storing everything in refriger-

ators or sealed containers.

And Australia’s troubles may

not yet be done. Some experts

have been warning people to

check their shoes and clothes for

deadly spiders, as swarms of them

seek refuge from the floodwaters

by moving into residential homes.

RICK RYCROFT/AP

Dale Ward carries water­logged belongings out of her daughter's home after it was flooded in Windsor,northwest of Sydney, Australia, on Thursday.

Australians endure droughts,fires, floods and marauding mice

BY NICK PERRY

Associated Press

WORLD

BEIJING — China on Friday denounced

an agreement between the U.S. and Taiwa-

nese coast guards that underscores growing

ties between Washington and the self-gov-

erning island democracy.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua

Chunying said the pact violated U.S. com-

mitments to China and called on the U.S. to

“be cautious with its words and actions on

Taiwan-related issues.” Hua also attacked

support in Congress for a bill calling on Tai-

wan to be given status at the World Health

Organization. Taiwan’s seat at the U.N. was

handed to China in 1971.

“We urge the U.S. side to ... refrain from

sending any wrong signals to Taiwan inde-

pendence forces, and refrain from encou-

raging and inciting Taiwan to expand its so-

called international space,” Hua told re-

porters at a daily briefing.

The U.S. switched diplomatic relations

from Taiwan to China in 1979 but maintains

robust economic, political and military ties

with the island. Those have grown stronger

in recent years as China has upped its

threats to use its massive military to annex

the island of 24 million.

In a tweet Friday, Taiwan’s chief repre-

sentative in the U.S., Bi-khim Hsiao, said

the memorandum of understanding with

the U.S. was expected to bring closer coop-

eration in maritime safety, humanitarian

rescue, fisheries enforcement and protec-

tion of the marine environment.

The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of

East Asian and Pacific Affairs tweeted that,

“The U.S. could not be prouder to work

side-by-side with such a good friend as Tai-

wan to tackle the world’s challenges.”

China denounces US-Taiwan coast guard cooperation agreementAssociated Press

Saturday, March 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 11

AMERICAN ROUNDUP

Family finds dead snakeinside their clothes dryer

FL GROVELAND — After

their clothes dryer be-

gan blowing out a lot of lint, a Flor-

ida family called a repair man who

discovered a dead snake rather

than a jammed motor.

“I was like oh — that’s what

caused the motor to blow,” Alyson

Pring told Orlando television sta-

tion WKMG.

Repairman Darrell Cobble stop-

ped by to take a look at what was

causing the problem, the station

reported.

“He just stands up, and he walks

off. He’s like, ‘There’s a dead

snake in there,’ ” Pring said.

Cobble told the station that

while it’s not common, snakes can

find their way into dryers. He said

there is usually a grate that pre-

vents snakes and other animals

from entering the dryer. But

Pring’s central Florida home did

not have one.

They’ll be keeping an eye out

now, Alyson Pring said. “Could’ve

been much worse, but I’m glad it

was dead, done, fixed it up and

ready to go,” she said.

Man receives his finalpaycheck in pennies

GA ATLANTA — A Geor-

gia man said his former

employer owed him a pretty pen-

ny, $915 to be exact, after leaving

his job in November.

But Andreas Flaten said he was

shocked to see his final payment:

90,000 oil or grease covered pen-

nies, at the end of his driveway

earlier this month, news outlets re-

ported. Atop the pile was an enve-

lope with Flaten’s final paystub

and an explicit parting message.

“This is a childish thing to do,”

Flaten said.

Flaten said he left his job at

Peachtree City’s A OK Walker Au-

toworks in November. He said he

was owed the final check and had

difficulty getting it, even turning to

the Georgia Department of Labor

to receive help.

Police: Sitter abandonedpuppy in dumpster

NY BABYLON — A Long

Island man who was

supposed to be dog-sitting a puppy

was arrested for abandoning the

pooch in a dumpster, police said.

A woman found the 17-week-old

puppy in a dumster in Babylon on

March 15, Suffolk County police

said. She brought the pup to an ani-

mal hospital and called 911, they

said.

Officers investigated and deter-

mined that Thami Stafyleras, 44,

had left the dog in the dumpster,

police said. Stafyerleras, of Mineo-

la, was arrested on a charge of

abandoning an animal.

Police said Stafyleras had

agreed to care for the puppy while

the dog’s owner was away.

The puppy, a Pomsky named

Louie, is in good health and will be

returned to his owner, police said.

Pecan festival to return in 2021 with new name

SC FLORENCE — Orga-

nizers of Florence’s pe-

can festival say the event will re-

turn this year with a new name.

SC Pecan Festival will now be

known as the SC Pecan Music and

Food Festival, WPDE-TV report-

ed.

The festival is Florence’s long-

est-running event downtown.

Officials said the name change

comes after the festival was can-

celed in 2020 due to the COVID-19

pandemic.

The festival is set for the first

Saturday in November with CO-

VID-19 safety measures in place.

Minor ash emissionsreported from volcano

AK ANCHORAGE — Mi-

nor ash emissions were

reported from a remote Alaska

Peninsula volcano, as officials said

trace amounts of ash fall were pos-

sible in some area communities.

The Alaska Volcano Observato-

ry reported continued “low-level

eruptive activity” at Veniaminof

volcano, and the National Weather

Service said any ashfall near Per-

ryville, Chignik and Castle Cape

was expected to be of trace

amounts.

Perryville is 22 miles southeast

of the volcano, according to the ob-

servatory. Anchorage is about 485

miles northeast.

The observatory earlier this

month raised the alert level at the

volcano to “watch.” It said Tues-

day that minor ash emissions con-

tinued.

5 dogs found dead,dozens of others rescued

AZ TUCSON — About 45

dogs have been rescued

from a Tucson home where five

other canines were found dead, ac-

cording to authorities.

Pima County officials said the

animals were taken from the home

after a welfare check.

They said many of the dogs were

only in fair condition. Most of the

puppies were showing signs of up-

per respiratory infections and one

puppy had open wounds.

Authorities said the conditions

in the home were unsanitary with

an extreme buildup of waste.

They have talked to the woman

who owns the home, but her name

hasn’t been released.

The Pima Animal Care Center is

evaluating the animals. They will

not immediately be available for

adoption.

Proposal would allowoutdoor funeral pyres

ME AUGUSTA — The

Maine Legislature is

considering a proposal to create a

new option for sending off the

dead — a flaming funeral pyre.

Anyone who has watched

“Game of Thrones” or “The Phan-

tom Menace” has seen a fictional

funeral pyre, with bodies cremat-

ed outdoors on a flaming bed of

timber. It’s currently legal in only

two locations in the U.S. — both of

them in Colorado, the Sun Journal

reported.

A bill before the Legislature’s

Health and Human Services Com-

mittee would allow a nonprofit

that possesses at least 20 acres to

carry out open-air cremations and

to scatter the ashes on the proper-

ty.

A nonprofit called Good

Ground, Great Beyond hopes to

have outdoor funeral pyres on a

63-acre forested parcel in Dres-

den.

Man could face nearly200 sex assault charges

WI ROCHESTER — A man

in Racine County could

face nearly 200 charges of sexual-

ly assaulting an unconscious per-

son and other counts.

Sheriff’s officials are recom-

mending charges that also include

possessing child pornography, in-

vasion of privacy and representa-

tions depicting nudity.

The 46-year-old Rochester man

was arrested after the Racine

County Sheriff’s Office responded

to a complaint of a sexual assault

on Feb. 28. The woman told inves-

tigators she found numerous vid-

eos on a laptop of her being sexual-

ly assaulted by the man with

whom she was acquainted.

The woman said she had no rec-

ollection of the assaults and said

she believed she was drugged, the

Journal Times reported.

Authorities said that when they

examined the computer they

found the assaults reported by the

woman, an assault to an additional

adult victim, an assault of a juve-

nile and several videos of individu-

als showering or using the res-

troom.

The sheriff’s office says the in-

vestigation is ongoing and could

include additional charges from

out of state.

Missing woman foundtrapped in storm drain

FL DELRAY BEACH — A

South Florida woman

who had been reported missing

March 3 was rescued from a storm

drain after a passerby heard her

cries for help, fire rescue officials

said.

“She was lucky,” Delray Beach

Fire Rescue spokeswoman Dani

Moschella told the South Florida

SunSentinel. “I don’t know how

much longer she would have been

OK down there.”

She was yelling for help as rush

hour traffic passed by earlier this

week, Moschella said. So far offi-

cials don’t know how long the

woman, whose name hasn’t been

released, was in the storm drain.

“The idea that somebody might

be down there for any length of

time is disturbing,” she said. “It’s

dirty, dangerous, there’s snakes,

rats, garbage, dirt and leaves, any-

thing that’s on the street that wash-

es into a sewer, and it smells ter-

rible.”

GREG LEHMAN/AP

In Walla Walla, Wash., amateur juggler Todd Johnson found a quiet spot in a local park to practice his passion Wednesday.

Coordinated effort

From The Associated Press

PAGE 12 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, March 27, 2021

Historically,March is notexactly thebusiest time

for new video game re-leases (though welucked out last yearwhen Animal Crossingand Doom Eternal ar-rived just in time forthe pandemic to lockus all in). But as 2021trudges on, a lot of peo-ple are still looking forthings to do safely in-doors. So what can youplay?

If you’re looking forthings to keep you bu-sy, here are someworthwhile games thatcame out this year, aswell as some you mighthave missed as 2020wound down.

Immortals Fenyx RisingDo you like Greek mythology? Did you like The Legend of

Zelda: Breath of the Wild? Do you want to play a colorfulopen-world game in which you can fly and also hang out withHermes? Then have I got the game for you.

While it has some suggestive content and earns its T forTeen rating, you could also look at Immortals Fenyx Risingas a somewhat more family-friendly alternative to the mostrecent games in the Assassin’s Creed series. Sure, it’s gotsome off-color jokes, but at least it doesn’t have gory decap-itations.

Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, XboxSeries X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Online: ubisoft.com/en-us/game/immortals-fenyx-rising

Bravely Default IIIf you’re an old-school gamer that misses the roleplaying

games of the Super Nintendo era, Bravely Default II is likelyup your alley. It’s as if the Final Fantasy series went back toits ’90s gameplay roots but with a storybook-esque graphicaloverhaul that takes advantage of the more modern NintendoSwitch hardware.

Fair warning: The game does also have elements of anold-school RPG, so you’ll spend a lot of time walking backand forth in dungeons trying to get into fights with monstersjust so you can level up before facing off against a boss. Still,nostalgia is a powerful drug, so there are plenty of people(myself included) for whom that game play is weirdly relax-ing.

Don’t mind the “II” in the name, by the way. While it’s asequel (technically the third in a series — Square Enix is badat naming things), knowledge of the previous game(s) is notrequired.

Platform: Nintendo Switch Online: nintendo.com/games/detail/bravely-default-ii-

switch

Control: Ultimate EditionOne of my personal favorite games of 2019, Control, is

getting a new lease on life on the PlayStation 5 and XboxSeries X|S with improved graphics and frame rates thanks tothe power of the new consoles. This supernatural action

game is intentionally (and amazingly) weird, drawing on allthe intrigue of stories like “Twin Peaks” and “The X-Files”and pairing it with stellar shooting and some really fun para-normal powers.

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and via cloudstreaming on the Nintendo Switch. Previously available onPlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

Online: 505games.com/games/control-ultimate-edition

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2As a teen, the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games almost got

me into skateboarding. Almost. The problem, though (asidefrom my complete lack of balance and fear of injuring my-self), is that unlike in a video game, I can’t grind my waythrough an abandoned mall or through a secret lab at Ros-well.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 is, in many ways, an idealremake. It doesn’t just mimic the original gameplay with afresh coat of paint. It re-creates these classic games in the

505 Games

Control: Ultimate Edition contains the original version of the third­person supernatural action­adventure title, plus all subsequent expansions and modes.

BY BRITTON PEELE

The Dallas Morning News

ELECTRONIC

ESCAPESA year into the pandemic, digitaldistractions are still welcome. Here are some new and upcoming titles worth diving into.

SEE ESCAPES ON PAGE 13

Ubisoft

Immortals Fenyx Rising puts players on a quest to saveGreek gods and their home from a dark curse.

VIDEO GAMES

Saturday, March 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 13

VIDEO GAMES

Be wary when you chop down atree in Valheim. Fans havelearned this the hard way,running out of the way when

chopping down a large tree only to havethe trunk swing back — defying physics— and crush them.

If you’ve died this way, it’s not just theNorse gods who are laughing at yourmisfortune.

“We kind of hoped that the tree fallingon your head thing would be a thing thatmany got to experience because it waskind of intended to work like that,” saidHenrik Törnqvist, co-founder of IronGate Studios and designer on Valheim.“We find it pretty hilarious ourselves.”

Valheim, a Viking-themed survivalgame, has attracted frenzied attentionfrom content creators and players withmoments like these. The indie game,which was released as an early accesstitle on Feb. 2, commands a large audi-ence on the PC games storefront Steam,at one time logging just under half amillion concurrent players. Coming injust behind classic titles such as Play-erUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2,Valheim is the most popular indie gameon Steam, according to Steam Charts. Itspublisher Coffee Stain estimates it hassold more than five million copies, at$19.99 a copy.

“We’re still struggling to grasp exactlyhow big this can become,” said SebastianBadylak, Coffee Stain Publishing’s exec-utive producer.

The game is a potent combination ofMinecraft and Terraria-like explorationand building features and combat thatrecalls the Dark Souls games. The player

begins almost naked and in a field sur-rounded by rune stones. Collecting rocksand branches nets them resources tocraft their first tools, which are useful forcollecting food, crafting clothing andarmor and eventually constructing ahome. The world map is expansive, andas players venture further out, they facemore challenging enemies across a var-ied landscape.

The attention the game has garneredin the past month has left the five-personteam at Iron Gate Studio, based in Swe-den, “quite overwhelmed,” said Törnq-vist.

While supporting the game, Valheimdevelopers have had to work some week-ends and put in extra time. But the studiohas a no crunch policy, referring to apractice in the games industry that in-volves working extensive overtime tomake deadlines, according to Törnqvist.

Iron Gate is now hiring for anotherprogrammer, animator and a qualityassurance manager to “handle the floodof incoming bugs,” Törnqvist said. Butwhile Iron Gate is looking to expand, thedevelopers have said they don’t see anacquisition in their future.

“The main drawback of working at thebigger AAA studio is that it’s very easy

for individual employees to feel like justa cog in a bigger piece of machinery,”Törnqvist said. Having a small teammeans decisions get made quickly andfewer approvals are needed.

Valheim developers are planning fourmajor content updates this year. One willfocus on building, another will expand onexploration and combat, a third is fo-cused on ships and fourth update laterthis year will aim to complete the Mis-tlands, an unfinished biome in the game.

Valheim may be in for some balancing,too. The bow and arrow weapon is “prob-ably a bit overpowered right now,”Törnqvist said, adding, “it will probablyget nerfed in a later patch.”

He said that after the studio has dealtwith more serious bugs in the game, itwill shift to adding more content.

Ambitious fans have found ways tokeep busy in the game. A Reddit userposted his replica of the MillenniumFalcon in game, and another player re-created Sauron’s gloomy tower from theLord of the Rings franchise.

“After playing the game for probablyabout a couple hundred hours, I justdon’t understand how people can actual-ly come up with these things, let aloneexecute on those ideas,” said Badylak,executive producer at Coffee Stain.

Some fans even started a player-ver-sus-player tournament, toggling a fea-ture that allows you to damage otherplayers, and assembling teams to com-pete for three rounds.

“Valheim” is still mostly a player-versus-environment game, and the play-er-versus-player mode is just for “bash-[ing] your friends over the head,” but if itgrows more popular, the developers willconsider doing more with the mode, saidTörnqvist.

Coffee Stain Studios

The Viking­themed survival game Valheim is currently available only on PC and Steam, but it has already gained a legion of fans.

Valheim’s legend growsDeveloper reflects on bugs, updates and prospects of acquisition

BY SHANNON LIAO

The Washington Post

“We’re still strugglingto grasp exactly howbig this (game) canbecome.”

Sebastian Badylak

executive producer, Coffee Stain Publishing

way you remember them playing. Improve-ments made in later games have been retro-fitted (including the revert from THPS3),and pulling off tricks across iconic levelsfeels fantastic. All of the levels from the firsttwo games are present here, alongside adecent level creator and some fun onlinemultiplayer modes. Much of the memorablepop music soundtrack has made the transi-tion, too. Given the disappointing recenthistory of skateboarding video games, thefact that the developers stuck the landing onthis one feels somewhat miraculous.

Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One andPC. Coming soon to PlayStation 5, XboxSeries X|S and Nintendo Switch.

Online: Tonyhawkthegame.com

ValheimThis is the game all the cool kids on

Twitch are playing. Valheim is like if some-one took the survival elements of games likeRust and Ark and asked, “But what if therewere vikings?” You must hunt, fight andbuild your way through a randomly generat-ed world, either alone or with friends.

The game is currently only on PC and isunfinished (available in early access onSteam), but it’s found its way into a lot ofpeople’s hearts already. Also, it’s only $20and can be played online with up to 10 peo-ple, so there’s a lot to love on your way toRagnarok.

Platform: PC Online: valheimgame.com

Hyrule Warriors: Age of CalamityIt sounds like we may still be waiting a

while until we see the next great adventurein the Zelda series. The latest original gameto grace the Nintendo Switch doesn’t evenhave the name Zelda in the title, and forgood reason: It’s an action game in the veinof Dynasty Warriors in which you spendhours mowing down hundreds upon hun-dreds of enemies in a story that serves as asort of prequel to Breath of the Wild.

Still, it has enough of the right Zelda ele-ments in it to tickle the right parts of mybrain, and as I celebrate the series’ 35thanniversary this year, I’m willing to spendtime with just about any Hyrule-based ga-meplay I can get my hands on.

Platform: Nintendo Switch Online: zelda.com/hyrule-warriors

Escapes:Fantasy titlesever-popular

FROM PAGE 12

Activision

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 is a third­person skateboarding video game designedto mimic a classic arcade­style experience.

PAGE 14 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, March 27, 2021

MOVIES

Bob Odenkirk got a kick out of playing a punch-throw-

ing, weapon-wielding action hero.

Known for his decades of comedy and leading role

in the drama series “Better Call Saul,” the actor is

excited for the world to see him star as a suburban dad with a

suppressed set of skills in the new thriller “Nobody.”

“Most of the action stars, we’ve just seen them do so much

amazing stuff, and they sort of live in that genre,” Odenkirk told

the Daily News. “They stay there. You just don’t for a second

buy them as a regular person. By having me do this, I think the

audience [knows] what they’re coming to see, but they still go, ‘I

don’t know if this guy’s going to be able to win this fight.’”

Odenkirk, 58, portrays Hutch Mansell, a man with a myste-

rious backstory who left behind a career in combat to start a

family. He’s thrust back into action after a break-in at his home

taps into the pent-up frustration he’s feeling amid the monotony

of his new life.

The concept for the movie, now playing in select theaters,

came together after Odenkirk’s brother-in-law texted him about

an advertisement in China for “Better Call Saul,” the popular

spinoff of the crime drama “Breaking Bad” that stars Odenkirk

as lawyer Jimmy McGill.

The presence of that ad overseas inspired Odenkirk to consid-

er other projects that could reach people all around the world.

“I started thinking about my character in ‘Better Call Saul’

that people in other countries know me from,” Odenkirk said.

“They don’t know my comedy. They know ‘Breaking Bad’ and

‘Better Call Saul.’ That character is Jimmy McGill. He’s like a

striver who fails over and over and never quits, and is very

earnest in his drives and kind of puts his heart on his sleeve. I

thought, that’s basically an action character, except he doesn’t

fight, but otherwise all the other components are there.”

Derek Kolstad, creator of the “John Wick” movies, signed on

to write the script for “Nobody,” while Ilya Naishuller joined as

director.

Preparation for the role included rigorous training for Oden-

kirk, who learned how to do his own stunts and was coached on

how to use guns for the movie.

Odenkirk trained with celebrated stuntman Daniel Bernhardt

— a process that saw the actor begin by practicing the basic

moves and exercises “over and over and over,” he said.

“It was a long road, man,” Odenkirk recalled. “Look, I was a

comedy writer for 25 years. I started exercising when I was

around 30, just cardio. The core of this screen fighting is move-

ment from your hips, so I hadn’t really done any of that until I

started doing this training. It was a long road, man. It was em-

barrassing for most of it.”

Odenkirk won Emmys as a writer for “Saturday Night Live”

and “The Ben Stiller Show,” and has received nine nominations

as an actor and producer for “Better Call Saul.”

“Nobody” — which also stars Connie Nielsen, Christopher

Lloyd and RZA — allowed Odenkirk to challenge himself in

ways he never had before.

“No film as violent and bloody as this film was ever made

with more love,” Odenkirk said with a laugh. “I’m not kidding.

Everyone contributed. If you go down that list of credits, every-

one is the best at what they do, and all still very excited to do

what they do.”

Universal Pictures photos

Bob Odenkirk plays a family man who snaps after burglars appear to have stolen a cat bracelet in “Nobody.”

Becoming ‘Nobody’‘Better Call Saul’ actor Bob Odenkirk shares his journey to becoming an action star

BY PETER SBLENDORIO

New York Daily News

Bob Odenkirk, left, and David Leitch confer with director IlyaNaishuller and producer Kelly McCormick on the set of“Nobody.” Odenkirk says he makes a refreshing addition to theaction genre because it’s truly unclear if he’s going to be able towin a fight, unlike other stars of similar movies.

“Most of the

action stars,

we’ve just seen

them do so much

amazing stuff ...

You just don’t ...

buy them as a

regular person.

By having me do

this, I think the

audience

[knows] what

they’re coming to

see, but they still

go, ‘I don’t know

if this guy’s going

to be able to win

this fight.’”Bob Odenkirk

Saturday, March 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 15

HEALTH & FITNESS

On a recent Thursday after-

noon, Rhianna Alvarado

struggled to don her protec-

tive gloves, which were too

big for her petite hands.

With her mom coaching her every

move, she edged close to her father and

gently removed the plastic tube from his

throat that allows him to breathe. She then

cautiously inserted a new one.

“What’s next?” asked her mom, Rocio

Alvarado, 43.

“I know, I know,” replied Rhianna, her

eyes constantly searching for her mom’s

approval.

Rhianna is only 13. When she finished

the delicate task of changing her father’s

tracheostomy tube, usually performed

only by adults, she went back into her

room to doodle on her sketch pad and play

with her cat.

Rhianna’s father, Brian Alvarado, is an

Iraq War veteran and neck and throat

cancer survivor.

Like most kids, Rhianna has been stuck

at her home in Long Beach, Calif., during

the COVID-19 pandemic and attends

school online. But unlike most other eighth

graders, Rhianna is a caregiver, tending to

her dad between her virtual classes.

Rhianna is among more than 3 million

children and teens who help an ill or dis-

abled family member, according to Care-

giving in the U.S. 2020, a national survey

published by the National Alliance for

Caregiving and AARP. The survey also

found that Hispanic and African Amer-

ican children are twice as likely to be

youth caregivers as non-Hispanic white

children.

Carol Levine, a senior fellow at the

United Hospital Fund, a nonprofit that

focuses on improving health care in New

York, said the COVID-19 pandemic, com-

bined with the worsening opioid epidemic,

has increased the number of youth care-

givers because more children are home-

bound and must care for ill or addicted

parents.

The pandemic has also made caregiving

harder for them, since many can no longer

escape to school during the day.

“In school they have their peers; they

have activities,” Levine said. “Because of

the contagion, they aren’t allowed to do

the things they might normally do, so of

course there is additional stress.”

Levine was an author of a national sur-

vey in 2005 that found there were about

400,000 youth caregivers between ages 8

and 11. The survey has not been updated,

she said, but that number has likely

grown.

Kaylin Jean-Louis was 10 when she

started helping to care for her grand-

mother and great-grandmother, who have

Alzheimer’s disease and live with Kaylin

and her mother in Tallahassee, Fla..

Now 15, Kaylin has assumed a larger

caregiving role. Every afternoon after her

online classes end, the high school sopho-

more gives the women their medicine, and

helps them use the bathroom, dress and

take showers.

“Sometimes they can act out and it can

be challenging,” she said. The hardest

thing, she said, is that her grandmother

can no longer remember Kaylin’s name.

COVID-19 has added another level of

stress to an already complex situation,

Kaylin said, because she can’t decompress

outside the house.

“Being around them so much, there has

been a little tension,” Kaylin acknowl-

edged. She uses art to cope.

“I like to paint,” she said. “I find it very

relaxing and calming.”

Kaylin’s mother, Priscilla Jean-Louis,

got COVID-19 last month and had to rely

on Kaylin to care for the elder women

while she recovered.

“She isn’t forced to do it, but she helps

me a great deal,” Priscilla said. “If there

are moments when I’m a little frustrated,

she may pick up on it and be like ‘Mom-

my, let me handle this.’”

Rhianna’s dad, Brian, 40, never smoked

and was healthy before joining the Marine

Corps. He believes he got sick from in-

haling smoke from burn pits during the

Iraq War.

He was diagnosed with squamous cell

carcinoma of the neck and throat in 2007.

He also has PTSD, as well as an inflamma-

tory disease that causes muscle weakness

and a rash, and hyperthyroidism from

chemotherapy and radiation.

Rhianna’s mom is Brian’s primary care-

giver, but Rhianna helps her change her

dad’s trach tube and feed him through a

feeding tube in his abdomen.

“I’m still learning how to do it,” Rhianna

said. “I get nervous, though.”

The two look after him on and off all

day.

“Our care for him doesn’t end,” Rocio

said.

Rhianna is quiet and reserved. She has

autism, struggles with communication and

has trouble sleeping. She has been talking

to a therapist once a week.

The trach has had the biggest impact on

Rhianna, because Brian doesn’t join them

for meals anymore.

“I feel sad that he can’t eat anything,”

she said.

Despite the growing number of youth

caregivers, they have little support.

“If you look at all state and national

caregiving programs and respite funding,

they all begin at the age of 18,” said Melin-

da Kavanaugh, an associate professor of

social work at the University of Wiscon-

sin-Milwaukee.

Kavanaugh is researching Alzheimer’s

and caregiving in Latino and African

American communities in Milwaukee.

“We had a number of kids who were

much more stressed out because they had

no outlet,” she said. “Now they’re sudden-

ly 24/7 care, and there was absolutely no

break.”

Adult and youth caregivers often suffer

from anxiety, depression and isolation, but

there is little data on how caregiving af-

fects young people over the long term,

Kavanaugh said.

Connie Siskowski, founder of the Amer-

ican Association of Caregiving Youth,

helped care for her grandfather as a child.

“I was not prepared,” she said. “It was

traumatic.”

Her Florida-based group connects

young caregivers and their families with

health care, education and community

resources. The goal is to identify problems

such as stress or isolation among the chil-

dren, and address them so they won’t

harm them as adults, Siskowski said.

But long-term care experts said caregiv-

ing can also enrich a young person’s life.

“It can help kids develop a sense of

responsibility, empathy and confidence,”

Levine said. “The problem comes when

their schoolwork, their friendships, their

lives as a child are so affected by caregiv-

ing that they can’t develop in those other

important ways.”

Caregiving between classesNumber of children who have become caregivers to ill or disabled family members has grown during pandemic

BY HEIDI DE MARCO

Kaiser Health News

HEIDI DE MARCO, KHN/TNS

Rocio Alvarado watches over daughter Rhianna, 13, to make sure she takes the correct steps to change her father’s trach tube, whichmust be done once a month. “I’ve been slowly teaching her for the past year,” Rocio said. 

3 million children and teenshelp an ill or disabled familymember. Hispanic andAfrican American childrenare also twice as likely tobe youth caregivers as non-Hispanic white children.

Caregiving in the U.S. 2020 national survey

PAGE 16 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, March 27, 2021

Max D. Lederer Jr., Publisher

Lt. Col. Marci Hoffman, Europe commander

Lt. Col. Richard McClintic, Pacific commander

EDITORIAL

Terry Leonard, Editorleonard.terry@stripes.com

Robert H. Reid, Senior Managing Editorreid.robert@stripes.com

Tina Croley, Managing Editor for Contentcroley.tina@stripes.com

Sean Moores, Managing Editor for Presentationmoores.sean@stripes.com

Joe Gromelski, Managing Editor for Digitalgromelski.joe@stripes.com

BUREAU STAFF

Europe/MideastErik Slavin, Europe & Mideast Bureau Chiefslavin.erik@stripes.com +49(0)631.3615.9350; DSN (314)583.9350

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WashingtonJoseph Cacchioli, Washington Bureau Chiefcacchioli.joseph@stripes.com (+1)(202)886-0033Brian Bowers, Assistant Managing Editor, Newsbowers.brian@stripes.com

CIRCULATION

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Ernie Gates

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stripes.com

OPINION

Seditious conspiracy. The term —

with its overtones of violent over-

throw of government — connotes

extreme gravity. It is one of the

least employed charges in the United States

criminal code. The Department of Justice

has brought a seditious conspiracy case just

twice in recent history. It won one of the

cases, but the most recent ended in a humil-

iating dismissal.

So it was arresting when the former head

of the government’s Jan. 6 investigation,

Michael Sherwin, told a “60 Minutes” inter-

viewer that he personally believed that “the

facts do support those charges” for some of

the Capitol attackers, and “as we go for-

ward, more facts will support that.”

Sherwin was appointed to lead the inves-

tigation by former Attorney General Wil-

liam Barr; he resigned on March 3, as Mer-

rick Garland took over the department.

Now it is Garland’s task to make the delicate

and consequential decisions about whether

seditious conspiracy fits the events of Jan.

6.

The statute and its predecessors have a

checkered, indeed infamous, history. The

Sedition Act of 1798 punished “false scan-

dalous and malicious writing” about the

president or Congress. A version passed

during World War II made it a crime to

teach the desirability of overthrowing the

government and led to the unconstitutional

harassment of American Communist Party

members. Those prosecutions survive now

as examples of a shameful suppression of

free speech.

The current statute, however, is not John

Adams’ or FDR’s sedition. It contains a

number of definitions for seditious conspir-

acy, including this: If two or more persons

“conspire … by force to hinder or delay the

execution of any law of the United States …

they shall be fined … or imprisoned … or

both.”

Those elements would appear to fit the

actions of the worst Jan. 6 offenders like a

glove. The point of storming the Capitol was

to hinder or delay Congress’ legal duty to

certify the election of Joe Biden to the presi-

dency.

But as close a fit as the words appear to

be, Garland and company have a number of

consequential issues to consider. To bring

the sedition charge and lose would be a

spectacular defeat in one of the most impor-

tant federal investigations in the history of

the Department of Justice.

One issue related to proving conspiracy

— there must be actual agreement among

the conspirators about their actions, though

case law has shown it needn’t be express or

explicit. It was a failure to prove conspiracy

that did in the government’s last sedition

case, in 2010. The judge wasn’t convinced

that radical Christian militia members in

Michigan had formed real plans to launch

attacks.

Actually launching an attack is another

element the department will take into ac-

count. The most egregious sedition prose-

cutions in U.S. history were brought against

speech alone, political agitators whose

plans never came to fruition. On Jan. 6, the

nation watched in real time as the Capitol

was breached, police officers attacked, the

House chamber evacuated. The mob

moved far beyond speech, a fact that should

eliminate concerns that a sedition charge is

unconstitutional.

Another crucial calculation Garland

must make: Would a sedition indictment,

with all its implications, constitute prosecu-

torial overreach? Is it unjust, and could it

run headlong into a skeptical judge or jury?

In 1993, the government successfully

prosecuted Omar Abdel Rahman with the

1993 World Trade Center bombing on sedi-

tious conspiracy charges. The evidence

showed the group planning to blow up the

United Nations, the George Washington

Bridge, and the Lincoln and Holland tun-

nels. They represented a massive threat to

the city and the nation, and Abdel Rahman

was sentenced to life in prison.

Does invading the Capitol and attempting

by force to shut down the workings of the

republic measure up? The seditious con-

spiracy statute can apply to different fac-

tual scenarios. The events of Jan. 6 fit, even

if the sentencing needn’t go as far as the

blind sheik’s.

After Sherwin’s “60 Minutes” interview

aired, the Justice Department quickly re-

ferred his comments to the Office of Profes-

sional Responsibility. As a former federal

prosecutor, I can attest to their impropriety;

investigations must remain confidential un-

til indictments are delivered.

Nonetheless, from all we’ve seen (and the

investigators know much more), Sherwin’s

assessment is probably correct. Some pro-

testers came to Washington in January to

peacefully express their support for a presi-

dent they thought had been robbed.

Some came disposed to fulfill Donald

Trump’s “it will be wild” prophecy. And

others no doubt were masterminds and ma-

rauders resolved from the start to impede

the lawful transfer of power by whatever

means necessary.

We should call such a group what they

are: seditionists. So should the Department

of Justice.

Capitol attack fits statute’s definition of seditionBY HARRY LITMAN

Special to the Los Angeles Times

Harry Litman is a former U.S. attorney and the host of thepodcast “Talking Feds.”

The most impressive revelation on

Thursday from President Joe Bi-

den’s first news conference was

that he has a plan and he intends

to stick with it. Biden steadfastly insisted

that the next priority on his list was the na-

tion’s infrastructure, despite shinier objects

like election reform or gun control.

“I want to get things done,” Biden said,

while stressing his belief in “the art of the

possible” and the importance of timing. He

made clear that despite recent events tug-

ging him in different directions, including

two mass shootings, the country’s infras-

tructure needs are up next. If Biden’s re-

solve holds throughout his presidency de-

spite strong pressure from others in his par-

ty, he’ll have more success than most.

Biden’s first priority was a massive

spending bill packaged as COVID-19 relief,

and on this he again revealed his style of

framing a challenge that wasn’t really the

challenge at all, and claiming to have over-

come it. Biden said people probably didn’t

think he could get it passed “without any

Republican votes,” but “pretty big deal, got

passed.” Actually, his challenge was to live

up to his promise to be a bipartisan presi-

dent and gain GOP support for his legisla-

tion. Passing bills on purely partisan votes

was something everyone thought he could

do, given the Democrats’ control of both

houses of Congress, but shouldn’t if he

could help it.

Never mind. Biden said he is a bipartisan

president. “I’ve not been able to unite the

Congress, but I’ve united the country, based

on the polling data,” he said. It was a good

line.

There was some news. He said he expects

to run for reelection, but grew understan-

dably annoyed at questions lingering on

2024. He spent a lot of time discussing Chi-

na, revealing a reassuring understanding

that its growing dominance in various are-

nas is worth his full attention, framing the

issue as a choice between “autocracy or de-

mocracy.”

He wants to pass the House’s election re-

form bill to counteract GOP efforts in the

states. He offered conflicting signals on the

filibuster.

He seemed somewhat obsessed with his

predecessor, invoking Donald Trump’s

name several times without really being

prompted. He contrasted his approach to

the southern border with Trump’s, but

didn’t explain why he abandoned Trump’s

policies before having a solid plan to re-

place them. He said a surge happens this

time every year, casting doubt on whether

there are more unaccompanied minors,

which most agree there certainly are.

As has been the case with Biden since he

announced his candidacy, there was much

focus going into Thursday on questions of

age and acuity. Since the beginning of the

2020 campaign, most fair observers ac-

knowledged that Biden is not the same Bi-

den that America watched for decades as a

senator andas vice president. He’s at least a

step slower, in many observable ways.

The COVID pandemic let Biden employ a

“basement strategy” during the campaign,

leading to questions of whether he could

have handled the rigors of traditional barn-

storming.

But in the early months of his presidency,

Biden has done little to reassure. His ap-

pearances are infrequent and brief. He of-

ten speaks in disjointed phrases. His recent

stumbles while climbing the steps of Air

Force One were painful to watch, and it was

something he should have been asked about

Thursday.

But overall, Biden was good. He called on

about 10 or 11 reporters and held forth for an

hour or so.

His habit of trailing off mid-thought is

probably more an indication of deciding not

to say something than of losing his train of

thought. At least, that’s the benefit of the

doubt we should give him for now.

If anything, Thursday’s long-anticipated

news conference was pretty dry and boring.

If he does it only once in a blue moon, that

will probably be just fine.

Biden’s news conference was boring. That’s fine.BY GARY ABERNATHY

Special to The Washington Post

Gary Abernathy, a contributing columnist for The WashingtonPost, is a freelance writer based in southwestern Ohio.

Saturday, March 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 17

ACROSS

1 Get bigger

5 Flag creator

9 “The Office”

character

12 Asta’s mistress

13 Flightless birds

14 Flamenco cheer

15 Cold War initials

16 Scruff

17 Opener at

Vegas?

18 “Scram!”

19 Inseparable

20 Ritzy

21 Calendar abbr.

23 “Norma —”

25 Retort

28 Wild parties

32 Troublesome car

33 Quartet doubled

34 Turned bad

36 Prepared

potatoes

37 Ruby or Sandra

38 “Guinness

Book” suffix

39 Madhouses

42 Kiev’s land

(Abbr.)

44 First person

48 iPhone download

49 Rights

advocacy org.

50 “Damn Yankees”

vamp

51 Standard

52 Sediment

53 Young foxes

54 Devious

55 “Got it”

56 Sports figure?

DOWN

1 Wildebeests

2 — Hashanah

3 Approximately

4 Heated

debate

5 “The Bathers”

painter

6 Muscat’s land

7 Excellent

8 Away from NNW

9 Casual shirt

10 Regrettably

11 Netting

20 Conflict-ending

negotiations

22 Soprano Fleming

24 Palliative plants

25 Gore and Pacino

26 Ultramodernist

27 Dallas sch.

29 Cardinal cap

letters

30 Golf prop

31 Norm (Abbr.)

35 Low cards

36 Read

39 Microwaves

40 Milky gem

41 Nashville venue

43 Swiss artist Paul

45 “Act now!”

46 Utah ski resort

47 Sail support

49 Will Smith biopic

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 • Saturday, March 27, 2021

SCOREBOARD

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Men’s NITAt Frisco, Texas

QuarterfinalsThursday, March 25

Mississippi State 68, Richmond 67 Colorado St. 65, NC State 61 Memphis 59, Boise St. 56 Louisiana Tech 72, W. Kentucky 65

SemifinalsSaturday, March 27

Colorado St. vs. Memphis Mississippi St. vs. Louisiana Tech

ChampionshipSunday, March 28

Semifinal winners

NCAA Men’s Division IITournament

SemifinalsAt Evansville, Ind.

Thursday, March 25West Texas A&M 87, Lincoln Memorial 86 NW Missouri St. 77, Flagler 46

ChampionshipAt Evansville, Ind.

Saturday, March 27West Texas A&M vs. NW Missouri St.

Women’s NITSemifinals

At Collierville, Tenn.Friday, March 26

Rice vs. DelawareMississippi vs. N. Iowa

ChampionshipSunday, March 28

Semifinal winners

NCAA Women’s Division IITournamentChampionship

Friday, March 26Drury vs. Lubbock Christian

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Saturday’s games

EAST

Bucknell at Lehigh (0-1), ppd.Delaware (2-0) at Rhode Island (2-0)Fordham at Holy Cross (1-0)New Hampshire (0-1) at Villanova (1-1),

ppd.Lafayette (1-0) at Fordham, ppd.Charleston Southern (0-1) at Monmouth

(NJ)Stony Brook (0-3) at Albany (NY) (1-2)Delaware St. (1-1) at Howard (0-1), ppd.Holy Cross (1-0) at Colgate (0-1), ppd.Lafayette (1-0) at Bucknell

SOUTH

San Diego (2-0) at Presbyterian (1-2)Incarnate Word (3-0) at Nicholls (3-1)Mercer (2-5) at Chattanooga (3-1)Drake (1-1) at Stetson (0-2)Morehead St. (1-2) at Davidson (2-1)W. Carolina (1-7) at ETSU (2-1)Samford (2-3) at The Citadel (0-8)James Madison (3-0) at William & Mary

(1-1)VMI (4-0) at Wofford (1-2)Kennesaw St. (3-0) at Gardner-Webb

(2-0), ppd.Elon (1-4) at Richmond (2-0)

MIDWEST

N. Iowa (2-3) at W. Illinois (0-4)North Dakota (4-1) at Youngstown St.

(1-4)N. Dakota St. (5-1) at South Dakota (1-3)Butler (0-2) at Valparaiso (1-1)S. Illinois (4-2) at Missouri St. (3-4)

SOUTHWEST

Northwestern St. (0-3) at Lamar (1-3)Northeastern State University at Tarle-

ton St. (4-2)Alabama St. (1-1) at Ark.-Pine Bluff (2-0)

FAR WEST

N. Arizona (1-1) at Weber St. (2-0)S. Utah (1-2) at Idaho (1-1)Idaho St. (1-2) at UC Davis (2-1)Cal Poly (0-2) at E. Washington (2-1)

Sunday’s games

EAST

Duquesne (3-0) at Bryant (2-1)Sacred Heart (2-1) at Wagner (0-2)

SOUTH

E. Illinois (1-3) at Murray St. (4-0)Austin Peay (2-5) at Jacksonville St. (7-1)UT Martin (2-2) at Tennessee St. (1-3)Prairie View (2-0) at Jackson St. (3-1),

ppd.

MIDWEST

Tennessee Tech (1-3) at SE Missouri(1-4)

COLLEGE HOCKEY

NCAA Division I TournamentBRIDGEPORT REGIONAL

At Bridgeport, Conn.First Round

Friday, March 26Wisconsin (20-9-1) vs. Bemidji St. (15-

9-3)UMass (16-5-4) vs. Lake Superior St. (19-

6-3)Championship

Saturday, March 27Wisconsin-Bemidji St. winner vs.

UMass-Lake Superior St. winnerFARGO REGIONAL

At Fargo, N.D.First Round

Friday, March 26Minn. Duluth (14-10-2) vs. Michigan (15-

10-1)North Dakota (21-5-1) vs. American In-

ternational (15-3-0)Championship

Saturday, March 27Minn. Duluth-Michigan winner vs. North

Dakota-AIC winnerALBANY REGIONAL

At Albany, N.Y.First Round

Saturday, March 27Boston College (17-5-1) vs. Notre Dame

(14-13-2)St. Cloud St. (17-10-0) vs. Boston U. (10-

4-1)Championship

Sunday, March 28Boston College-Notre Dame winner vs.

St. Cloud St.-Boston U. winnerLOVELAND REGIONAL

At Loveland, Colo.First Round

Saturday, March 27Minnesota St. (20-4-1) vs. Quinnipiac

(17-7-4)Minnesota (23-6-0) vs. Omaha (14-10-1)

ChampionshipSunday, March 28

Minnesota St.-Quinnipiac winner vs.Minnesota-Omaha winner

FROZEN FOURAt Pittsburgh

National SemifinalsThursday, April 8

Fargo Regional Champion vs. BridgeportRegional Champion

Albany Regional Champion vs. LovelandRegional Champion

National ChampionshipSaturday, April 10

Semifinal winners

Spring training

Thursday’s games

Atlanta 5, Tampa Bay 2Kansas City 10, Arizona 1Chicago White Sox 9, Cincinnati 4Oakland 8, Seattle 5Colorado 6, L.A. Angels 5Baltimore 10, Pittsburgh 9Minnesota 7, Boston 4Philadelphia 13, N.Y. Yankees 12Houston 3, St. Louis 0Miami 7, Washington 3Detroit 3, Toronto 3L.A. Dodgers 5, Chicago Cubs 2San Diego 11, Texas 10Milwaukee 2, San Francisco 2

Friday’s games

Detroit vs. Pittsburgh at Bradenton, Fla.Boston vs. Tampa Bay at Port Charlotte,

Fla.Colorado vs. Cleveland at Goodyear,

Ariz.San Francisco vs. Chicago Cubs at Mesa,

Ariz.Chicago White Sox vs. Milwaukee at

PhoenixCincinnati vs. Arizona at Scottsdale,

Ariz.Atlanta vs. Minnesota at Fort Myers, Fla.Miami vs. Houston at West Palm Beach,

Fla.Washington vs. N.Y. Mets at Port St. Lu-

cie, Fla.Baltimore vs. N.Y. Yankees at Tampa,

Fla.Philadelphia vs. Toronto at Dunedin, Fla.Kansas City vs. Texas at Surprise, Ariz.Oakland vs. L.A. Dodgers at Glendale,

Ariz.Seattle vs. San Diego at Peoria, Ariz.

Saturday’s games

Tampa Bay vs. Minnesota at Fort Myers,Fla.

Toronto vs. N.Y. Yankees at Tampa, Fla.

Boston vs. Pittsburgh at Bradenton, Fla.Philadelphia vs. Detroit at Lakeland, Fla.Houston vs. N.Y. Mets at Port St. Lucie,

Fla.Cleveland vs. L.A. Dodgers at Glendale,

Ariz.San Diego vs. L.A. Angels at Tempe, Ariz.Milwaukee vs. Kansas City at Surprise,

Ariz.Texas vs. Oakland at Mesa, Ariz.Chicago White Sox vs. Colorado at

Scottsdale, Ariz.Baltimore vs. Atlanta at North Port, Fla.Miami vs. St. Louis at Jupiter, Fla.Chicago Cubs vs. Cincinnati at

Goodyear, Ariz.San Francisco vs. Seattle at Peoria, Ariz.

Sunday’s games

Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore at Sarasota,Fla.

Minnesota vs. Boston at Fort Myers, Fla.Atlanta vs. Tampa Bay at Port Charlotte,

Fla.N.Y. Yankees vs. Philadelphia at Clear-

water, Fla.St. Louis vs. Washington at West Palm

Beach, Fla.N.Y. Mets vs. Miami at Jupiter, Fla.Detroit vs. Toronto at Dunedin, Fla.Chicago Cubs vs. Texas at Surprise, Ariz.Cincinnati vs. Milwaukee at PhoenixSan Diego vs. Cleveland at Goodyear,

Ariz.Oakland vs. San Francisco at Scottsdale,

Ariz.Arizona vs. Chicago White Sox at Glen-

dale, Ariz.Kansas City vs. Colorado at Scottsdale,

Ariz.L.A. Dodgers vs. L.A. Angels at Anaheim,

Calif.

MLB calendarMarch 27 �— Last day to offer a retention

bonus to an eligible player attendingspring training with a minor league con-tract.

PRO BASEBALL

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS — Re-signed DLAdam Gotsis.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS — Traded a sixth-round pick to the Cardinals for C MasonCole.

NEW  ENGLAND  PATRIOTS — Re-signedRB James White as unrestricted freeagent. Signed FB Jakob Johnson.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS — Signed TE NickVannett.

NEW YORK GIANTS — Signed G Zach Ful-ton.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES — Re-signed LBAlex Singleton.

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS — Signed LB KyleFackrell.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS — Re-signed OT Ce-dric Ogbuehi.

TAMPA  BAY  BUCCANEERS  — Signed TDonovan Smith to a contract extension.Re-signed K Ryan Succop and OT JoshWells.

HOCKEYNational Hockey League

BOSTON BRUINS — Recalled C Jack Stud-nicka, D Steven Kampfer and D Jack Ahcanfrom minor league taxi squad.

BUFFALO  SABRES — Recalled LW C.J.Smith and RW Steven Fogerty from minorleague taxi squad.

CAROLINA  HURRICANES — Recalled DJake Bean from minor league taxi squad.

CHICAGO  BLACKHAWKS — Recalled DWyatt Kalynuk from the minor league taxisquad.

COLORADO AVALANCHE — Recalled RWLogan O’Conner from the minor leaguetaxi squad.

DALLAS STARS — Recalled Cs Joel L Es-perance, Rhett Gardner, Justin Dowlingand RW Nick Caamano from the minorleague taxi squad.

FLORIDA PANTHERS — Recalled C EetuLoustarinen from the minor league taxisquad.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS — Signed F AarneTalvitie to a two-year entry level contractstarting with the 2021-2022 season. Re-called RW Nicholas Merkley from minorleague taxi squad.

NEW  YORK  ISLANDERS — Recalled RWOliver Wahlstrom from minor league taxisquad.

NEW  YORK  RANGERS — Recalled RWKaapo Kakko from minor league taxisquad.

PHILADELPHIA  FLYERS — RecalledLWSamuel Morin from minor league taxisquad.

OTTAWA SENATORS — Recalled D Bray-don Coburn from minor league taxi squad.

ST. LOUIS BLUES — Recalled D Jake Wal-man andC Dakota Joshua from the minorleague taxi squad.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING — Recalled DsLuke Schenn and Andreas Borgman fromthe minor league taxi squad. Designated DAlexander Barabanov for assignment tothe taxi squad.

TORONTO  MAPLE  LEAFS — Recalled GMichael Hutchinson, D Kristians Rubinsand LW Alex Galchenyuk from minorleague taxi squad. Designated RW Alexan-der Barabanov a

National Women’s Hockey LeagueNWHL — Named Kelsey Koelzer advisor

to the commissioner on diversity, equityand inclusion.<<

SOCCERMajor League Soccer

D.C. UNITED — Acquired F Nigel Rober-tha on a permanent transfer from PFC Lev-ski Sofia using Targeted Allocation Money(TAM)and signed him to a three-year con-tract with an option in 2024.

LA GALAXY II — Signed MF Miguel Ava-los.

National Women’s Soccer LeagueORLANDO PRIDE — Signed D Ally Haran

to a one-year contract.

Thursday’s transactionsBASEBALL

Major League BaseballAmerican League

BALTIMORE  ORIOLES — Selected thecontract of RHP Matt Harvey from Norfolk(Triple-A East) and agreed to terms on aone-year contract. Released LHP Wade Le-Blanc from a minor league contract.

DETROIT TIGERS — Optioned INF IsaacParedes and C Jake Rogers to Toledo (Tri-ple-A East).

HOUSTON  ASTROS — Announced RHPSteve Cishek has requested and beengranted his release from the Astros and isnow a free agent.Optioned INF TaylorJones to Sugar Land (Triple-A East).

MINNESOTA TWINS — Optioned LHP Le-wis Thorpe to alternate training site. Reas-signed LHP Andrew Albers, RHPs Luke Far-rell, Ian Hamilton, Juan Minaya and GlennSparkman and C David Banuelos to minorleague camp.

TEXAS RANGERS — Optioned LHP Joe Pa-lumbo to Round Rock (Triple-A West). Op-tioned LHP Kolby Allard to alternate train-ing site.

National LeagueATLANTA  BRAVES — Agreed to terms

with LHP Mitch Horacek to a minor leaguecontract. Optioned RHP Jacob Webb andOF Guillermo Heredia to alternate trainingsite.

LOS ANGELES — Selected the contract ofRHP Jimmy Nelson from Oklahoma City(Triple-A West). Transferred RHP TommyKahnle to the 60-day IL. Optioned INF Shel-don Neuse to minor league camp.

SAN  FRANCISCO  GIANTS — OptionedLHP Sam Selman and INF Jason Vosler toSacramento (Triple-A West).

NEW YORK METS — Released RHP Tom-my Hunter from a minor league contract.

WASHINGTON  NATIONALS — OptionedRHPs Dakota Bacus and Ryne Harper toRochester (Triple-A East).

BASKETBALLNational Basketball Association

CHICAGO BULLS — Acquired C Nikola Vu-cevic and F Al-Farouq Aminu from Orlandoin exchange for C Wendell Carter Jr., F OttoPorter Jr, and two first-round picks withcertain lottery position protections.

INDIANA PACERS — Waived G Jalen Lec-que.

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS — Acquired GNorman Powell from Toronto in exchangefor Gs Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood.

SAN  ANTONIO  SPURS  — Waived C La-Marcus Aldridge.

WASHINGTON  WIZARDS  — Acquired CDaniel Gafford and F/G Chandler Hutchi-son from the Chicago in a three-way tradethat sends F Troy Brown Jr. to Chicago andC Moe Wagner to Boston.

FOOTBALLNational Football League

ARIZONA CARDINALS — Agreed to termswith CB Malcolm Butler to a one-year con-tract. Traded OL Mason Cole to Minnesotain exchange for a sixth-round pick in the2021 NFL Draft. Signed OL Matt Gono re-stricted free agent tender. Agreed toterms with TE Darrell Daniels and S Char-les Washington to one-year contracts.

ATLANTA  FALCONS — Signed RB MikeDavis to a two-year contract and LB Barke-vious Mingo and DB Fabian Moreau to one-year contracts.

BUFFALO BILLS — Signed RB Matt Breidato a one-yeare contract.

CHICAGO  BEARS — Re-signed DBDeAndre Houston-Carson to a one-yearcontract.

DALLAS  COWBOYS — Signed S JayronKearse.

DETROIT LIONS — Signed WR Kalif Ray-mond.

DEALSTENNIS

Miami OpenThursday

At Tennis Center at Crandon ParkMiami

Purse: $3,343,785Surface: Hardcourt outdoor

Men’s SinglesRound of 128

Thanasi Kokkinakis, Australia, def. Shin-taro Mochizuki, Japan, 6-3, 6-3.

Mikhail Kukushkin, Kazakhstan, def.Jack Draper, Britain, 7-5, ret.

Bjorn Fratangelo, United States, def. Fer-nando Verdasco, Spain, 6-4, 6-4.

Ilya Ivashka, Belarus, def. Kwon SoonWoo, South Korea, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3).

Denis Kudla, United States, def. JeremyChardy, France, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Jordan Thompson, Australia, def. Feder-ico Delbonis, Argentina, 7-6 (6), 6-4.

Yasutaka Uchiyama, Japan, def. Salva-tore Caruso, Italy, 6-3, 6-4.

Marin Cilic, Croatia, def. Federico Coria,Argentina, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

Miomir Kecmanovic, Serbia, def. LiamBroady, Britain, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-1.

Damir Dzumhur, Bosnia-Herzegovina,def. Kevin Anderson, South Africa, 7-6 (6),7-5.

Tennys Sandgren, United States, def. Pe-dro Martinez, Spain, 6-4, 2-0, ret.

Daniel Elahi Galan, Colombia, def. Thia-go Seyboth Wild, Brazil, 6-3, 6-4.

Sebastian Korda, United States, def. Ra-du Albot, Moldova, 6-3, 6-0.

Lorenzo Musetti, Italy, def. MichaelMmoh, United States, 6-4, 6-4.

Aljaz Bedene, Slovenia, def. ThomasFabbiano, Italy, 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-3.

Joao Sousa, Portugal, def. ChristopherO’Connell, Australia, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (8), 7-5.

Women’s SinglesRound of 64

Victoria Azarenka (14), Belarus, def.Laura Siegemund, Germany, walkover.

Ekaterina Alexandrova (30), Russia, def.Nadia Podoroska, Argentina, 6-0, 6-4.

Ana Konjuh, Croatia, def. Madison Keys(18), United States, 6-4, 6-2.

Belinda Bencic (11), Switzerland, def.Zarina Diyas, Kazakhstan, 6-2, 6-1.

Elina Svitolina (5), Ukraine, def. ShelbyRogers, United States, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Johanna Konta (17), Britain, def. MagdaLinette, Poland, 6-4, 7-5.

Angelique Kerber (24), Germany, def.Renata Zarazua, Mexico, 6-0, 6-0.

Jelena Ostapenko, Latvia, def. KirstenFlipkens, Belgium, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.

Iga Swiatek (15), Poland, def. BarboraKrejcikova, Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-2.

Marketa Vondrousova (19), Czech Re-public, def. Wang Qiang, China, 6-4, 6-4.

Veronika Kudermetova (32), Russia, def.Danielle Collins, United States, 6-3, 6-2.

Ashleigh Barty (1), Australia, def. Kristi-na Kucova, Slovakia, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.

Aryna Sabalenka (7), Belarus, def. Tsve-tana Pironkova, Bulgaria, 0-6, 6-3, 7-6 (9).

Simona Halep (3), Romania, def. Car-oline Garcia, France, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0.

Petra Kvitova (9), Czech Republic, def.Alize Cornet, France, 6-0, 6-4.

Anastasija Sevastova, Latvia, def. CocoGauff (31), United States, 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.

AP SPORTLIGHT

March 27

1939 — Oregon beats Ohio State 46-33 inthe NCAA’s first national basketball tour-nament.

1942 — Joe Louis knocks out Abe Simonin the sixth round at Madison Square Gar-den to retain his world heavyweight title.

1945 — Oklahoma A&M beats New YorkUniversity 49-45 for the NCAA basketballchampionship.

1951 — Bill Spivey scores 22 points tolead Kentucky to a 68-58 win over KansasState for the NCAA basketball title.

2011 — Jamie Skeen scores 26 points asVirginia Commonwealth delivers the big-gest upset of the NCAA tournament, a 71-61 win over No. 1 seed Kansas in the South-west Regional final.

GOLF

Dell Match PlayThursday

At Austin Country ClubAustin, Texas

Purse: $10.5 millionYardage:; 7,108; Par:; 71

Patrick Cantlay (10), United States, def.Carlos Ortiz (42), Mexico, 1 up.

Brian Harman (54, United States, def.Hideki Matsuyama (23), Japan, 1 up.

Patrick Reed (7), United States, def.Christiaan Bezuidenhout (33), South Afri-ca, 2 and 1.

Joaquin Niemann (26), Chile, halved withBubba Watson (55), United States.

Matt Fitzpatrick 15), England, def. CoreyConners (37), Canada,; 5 and; 4.

Matthew Wolff (20), United States,halved with Jordan Spieth (49), UnitedStates.

Kevin Kisner (34), United States, def. Jus-tin Thomas (2), United States, 2 and 1.

Matt Kuchar (52), United States, def.Louis Oosthuizen (22), South Africa, 1 up.

Tony Finau (12), United States, halvedwith Will Zalatoris (40), United States.

Dylan Frittelli (64), South Africa, def. Ja-son Kokrak (29), United States,; 3 and 2.

Bryson DeChambeau (5), United States,def. Si Woo Kim (45), South Korea, 2 and 1.

Tommy Fleetwood (21), England, def.Antoine Rozner (58), France,; 4 and; 3.

Bernd Wiesberger (43), Austria, def. Vik-tor Hovland (13), Norway,; 4 and 2.

Abraham Ancer (27), Mexico, def. KevinStreelman (53), United States, 2 and 1.

Max Homa (35), United States, def. CollinMorikawa (4), United States, 2 and 1.

J.T. Poston (63), United States, def. BillyHorschel (32), United States,; 4 and 2.

Mackenzie Hughes (48), Canada, def.Webb Simpson (9), United States,; 4 and; 3.

Paul Casey (17), England, def. TalorGooch (59), United States,; 3 and 2.

Sergio Garcia (39), Spain, def. TyrrellHatton (8), England,; 3 and 2.

Lee Westwood (18), England, def. MattWallace (51), England,; 5 and; 3.

Marc Leishman (36), Australia, def.Sungjae Im (16), South Korea, 2 and 1.

Russell Henley (50), United States, def.Victor Perez (31), France,; 4 and; 3.

Dustin Johnson (1), United States,halved with Bob MacIntyre (41), Scotland.

Adam Long (61), United States, def. Ke-vin Na (28), United States, 2 and 1.

Rory McIlroy (11), Northern Ireland, def.Lanto Griffin (46), United States,; 4 and; 3.

Ian Poulter (60), England, def. CameronSmith (25), Australia, vs. Ian Poulter (60),England, 1 up.

Xander Schauffele (6), United States,def. Jason Day (44), Australia, 2 and 1.

Scottie Scheffler (30), United States,halved with Andy Sullivan (57), England.

Brendon Todd (47), United States, def.Daniel Berger (14), United States, 2 and 1.

Erik van Rooyen (62), South Africa, def.Harris English (19), United States, 2 and 1.

Jon Rahm (3), Spain, def. Shane Lowry(38), Ireland, 2 up.

Ryan Palmer (24), United States, def. Se-bastian Munoz (56), Colombia, 2 and 1.

Corales Puntacana ResortChampionship

PGA TourThursday

At Corales Golf CoursePunta Cana, Dominican Republic

Purse: $3 millionYardage: 7,670; Par: 72

First RoundStephan Jaeger 31-35—66 -6Joel Dahmen 34-33—67 -5 Andrew Yun 32-35—67 -5 Nate Lashley 31-37—68 -4Adam Schenk 33-35—68 -4Justin Suh 33-35—68 -4Sam Ryder 33-35—68 -4Rafael Campos 35-33—68 -4Mark Anderson 35-33—68 -4Charley Hoffman 35-34—69 -3Tyler Duncan 33-36—69 -3Padraig Harrington 32-37—69 -3Fabián Gómez 31-38—69 -3Thomas Pieters 32-37—69 -3Fabrizio Zanotti 35-34—69 -3Joseph Bramlett 35-34—69 -3Jonathan Byrd 33-36—69 -3Sebastian Cappelen 34-35—69 -3

Kia ClassicLPGA TourThursday

At Aviara Golf ClubCarlsbad, Calif.

Purse: $1.8 millionYardage: 6,558; Par: 72

First RoundInbee Park 34-32—66 -6Hyo Joo Kim 33-34—67 -5Sophia Popov 34-34—68 -4In Gee Chun 34-34—68 -4Stephanie Meadow 33-35—68 -4Mel Reid 35-33—68 -4Amy Yang 33-36—69 -3Mina Harigae 36-33—69 -3Kristen Gillman 34-36—70 -2Jasmine Suwannapura 33-37—70 -2Danielle Kang 34-36—70 -2Azahara Munoz 34-36—70 -2Christina Kim 36-34—70 -2Nicole Broch Larsen 36-34—70 -2Celine Boutier 35-35—70 -2Ashleigh Buhai 32-38—70 -2Eun-Hee Ji 35-36—71 -1Brittany Lincicome 33-38—71 -1Anna Nordqvist 35-36—71 -1Bronte Law 34-37—71 -1

Saturday, March 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 19

SPORTS BRIEFS/NHL

White Sox slugger

Jiménez out 5-6 monthsChicago White Sox slugger Eloy

Jiménez is expected to be side-

lined for five to six months after

rupturing his left pectoral tendon

trying to make a play in the out-

field during an exhibition game.

Jiménez needs surgery to re-

pair the injury, putting his season

in jeopardy. General manager

Rick Hahn said the team will

know more when he begins the re-

hab process.

Even before the diagnosis, the

injury immediately led to another

round of questions about whether

Jiménez might be better suited for

designated hitter than left field —

where he has gotten hurt a couple

times since his big league debut in

2019.

MLB stadiums pass 1M

vaccination shots given More than 1 million COVID-19

vaccination shots have been dis-

pensed at Major League Baseball

stadiums, with the Oakland Coli-

seum and Marlins Park among the

sites planning to continue operat-

ing after opening day.

The 11 ballparks that converted

to mass vaccination centers in the

offseason combined to pass a mil-

lion total shots this week, MLB

said Friday.

The regular season starts

Thursday.

Dodger Stadium, Yankee Stadi-

um, Citi Field and PNC Park will

keep providing doses after open-

ing day, while Minute Maid Park

and Petco Park are not planning

that. The Colorado Rockies are

still working to see if Coors Field

will continue to be used.

Fenway Park and Globe Life

Field also were employed to ad-

minister doses.

Saints’ Lattimore

arrested in ClevelandCLEVELAND — Marshon Lat-

timore, a cornerback with the New

Orleans Saints, has been arrested

in Cleveland on weapons charges,

police said.

Lattimore, a Cleveland native,

was a passenger in a car pulled

over Thursday night for “multiple

traffic violations,” said Sgt. Jen-

nifer Ciaccia, a spokesperson for

the Cleveland Police Department.

Lattimore possessed a loaded

Glock handgun that was reported

stolen in the city of Euclid in sub-

urban Cleveland, Ciaccia said. He

was also charged with failing to in-

form an officer he was carrying a

concealed weapon.

It wasn’t known Friday if Latti-

more had an attorney to speak for

him. Messages left for his agent

and for officials with the Saints

were not immediately returned.

The driver and two other pas-

sengers were also arrested on

weapons charges.

Associated Press

BRIEFLY

East Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

N.Y. Islanders 34 22 8 4 48 102 76

Washington 32 21 7 4 46 110 95

Pittsburgh 34 21 11 2 44 109 90

Boston 29 16 8 5 37 80 70

N.Y. Rangers 32 15 13 4 34 102 85

Philadelphia 32 15 13 4 34 100 119

New Jersey 31 12 15 4 28 78 97

Buffalo 32 6 22 4 16 66 115

Central Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Tampa Bay 33 24 7 2 50 120 78

Carolina 32 22 7 3 47 108 81

Florida 33 20 9 4 44 107 94

Chicago 34 16 13 5 37 101 108

Columbus 34 13 13 8 34 89 110

Nashville 34 16 17 1 33 86 104

Dallas 30 11 11 8 30 85 80

Detroit 34 10 20 4 24 72 113

West Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Vegas 31 22 8 1 45 101 72

Colorado 32 21 8 3 45 111 72

Minnesota 32 21 10 1 43 94 78

St. Louis 33 16 12 5 37 97 106

Arizona 33 14 14 5 33 83 101

Los Angeles 32 13 13 6 32 91 90

San Jose 31 13 14 4 30 89 106

Anaheim 34 9 19 6 24 74 115

North Division

GP W L OT Pts GF GA

Toronto 33 21 10 2 44 110 85

Winnipeg 33 20 11 2 42 109 92

Edmonton 34 21 13 0 42 116 97

Montreal 31 14 8 9 37 100 87

Vancouver 37 16 18 3 35 100 120

Calgary 34 15 16 3 33 89 102

Ottawa 36 12 20 4 28 94 135

Wednesday’s games

Ottawa 3, Calgary 1 Minnesota 3, Anaheim 2 Pittsburgh 5, Buffalo 2 Winnipeg 5, Vancouver 1 San Jose 4, Los Angeles 2 Edmonton at Montreal, ppd.

Thursday’s games

Pittsburgh 4, Buffalo 0 Washington 4, New Jersey 3 Carolina 4, Columbus 3, OT N.Y. Rangers 8, Philadelphia 3 N.Y. Islanders 4, Boston 3, OT Toronto 3, Ottawa 2, OT Chicago 3, Florida 0 Minnesota 2, St. Louis 0 Nashville 7, Detroit 1 Dallas 4, Tampa Bay 3 Colorado 5, Vegas 1

Friday’s games

Edmonton at Montreal, ppd.New Jersey at Washington Anaheim at St. Louis San Jose at Arizona Winnipeg at Calgary

Saturday’s games

Buffalo at Boston N.Y. Rangers at Philadelphia Columbus at Detroit Vegas at Colorado Edmonton at Toronto N.Y. Islanders at Pittsburgh Tampa Bay at Carolina Florida at Dallas Nashville at Chicago San Jose at Arizona Winnipeg at Calgary

Sunday’s games

N.Y. Rangers at Washington Columbus at Detroit Anaheim at St. Louis New Jersey at Boston Florida at Dallas Ottawa at Montreal, ppd.Nashville at Chicago

Scoring leaders

Through Thursday

GP G A PTS

Connor McDavid, EDM 34 21 39 60

Leon Draisaitl, EDM 34 18 32 50

Patrick Kane, CHI 33 12 32 44

Mitchell Marner, TOR 32 12 28 40

Mark Scheifele, WPG 33 13 26 39

Mark Stone, LV 29 12 26 38

Mikko Rantanen, COL 31 19 19 38

Anze Kopitar, LA 32 8 29 37

Aleksander Barkov, FLA 31 13 24 37

Jonathan Huberdeau, FLA 32 11 25 36

Auston Matthews, TOR 29 21 15 36

Nathan MacKinnon, COL 27 10 25 35

Brad Marchand, BOS 28 12 22 34

Nicklas Backstrom, WSH 31 12 22 34

Sidney Crosby, PIT 32 13 21 34

NHL scoreboard

PITTSBURGH — Kevyn

Adams is tasked with trying to sift

through the rubble of the Buffalo

Sabres’ lost season.

An up-close look on Thursday

night when the team’s general

manager was forced to serve as

head coach after interim Don Gra-

nato and assistant Matt Ellis were

placed in the NHL’s COVID-19

protocol a few hours before the

opening faceoff provided a

glimpse of just how far the Sabres

have to go.

Jared McCann scored a pair of

power-play goals, Casey DeSmith

made 36 saves and the Pittsburgh

Penguins extended Buffalo’s win-

less streak to 16 straight with a 4-0

victory on Thursday night.

“It’s terrible to lose in any way,”

Adams said. “Ice level, press box

level. Player, coach. ... You want

better. What I said to the guys after

the game is we’re all in it. We’re in

it together.”

If Adams wants to search for a

positive, there’s this: His team’s

skid is the longest in the NHL since

Pittsburgh went through an 0-17-1

stretch from Jan. 13 to Feb. 22,

2004.

That was about 17 months before

the Penguins landed Sidney Cros-

by in the 2005 draft. Pittsburgh has

spent most of the last 16 years as

one of the NHL’s elite teams — look

no further than the three Stanley

Cup banners hanging from the raf-

ters at PPG Paints Arena as proof

— with Crosby continuing to play

at a level few can match.

The superstar dished out three

assists against the Sabres to be-

come the eighth-fastest player in

league history to score 1,300 ca-

reer points. Crosby reached the

milestone with the secondary

helper on Jake Guentzel’s goal in

the final minute.

Crosby called it “nice” while

adding “it’s a sign I’ve been play-

ing for a pretty long time, too.”

Rookie Radim Zohorna picked

up a goal on his first shot in the

NHL as Pittsburgh swept a pair

from the NHL’s worst team with

relative ease, a welcome develop-

ment with forwards Evgeni Mal-

kin, Brandon Tanev, Kasperi Ka-

panen and Jason Zucker out with

injury.

Rangers 8, Flyers 3:Mika Ziba-

nejad had three goals and three as-

sists for the second straight game

against host Philadelphia and

Adam Fox had five assists for New

York.

Islanders 4, Bruins 3 (OT): An-

thony Beauvillier scored 21 sec-

onds into overtime and visiting

New York overcame a two-goal

deficit to beat Boston in the first

major league sporting event in the

city with fans in attendance since

the pandemic shutdown.

Acrowd of 2,191 — 12% of capac-

ity — was at the TD Garden to see

the Bruins return from a weeklong

pause after five players went into

the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.

Predators 7, Red Wings 1:Roc-

co Grimaldi scored four goals to tie

Eric Nystrom’s team record and

lead host Nashville past Detroit.

Avalanche 5, Golden Knights 1:

Cale Makar and Gabriel Landes-

kog each had a goal and an assist in

a four-goal, second-period flurry

and host Colorado won to pull even

with Vegas with 45 points atop the

West Division.

Capitals 4, Devils 3: Evgeny

Kuznetsov scored twice, Alex

Ovechkin kept his hot streak going

with the 721st goal and host Wash-

ington beat New Jersey for its

eighth victory in nine games.

Stars  4,  Lightning  3:  Roope

Hintz scored on a breakaway with

1:21 left and host Dallas beat Tam-

pa Bay for the first time in five

games this season.

Maple Leafs 3, Senators 2 (OT):

Justin Holl scored at 4:42 of over-

time to lift visiting Toronto past Ot-

tawa.

Hurricanes 4, Blue Jackets 3

(OT):Sebastian Aho scored 1:26 in-

to overtime to give visiting Caroli-

na a split of the four-game series

with Columbus.

Blackhawks 3, Panthers 0:Ke-

vin Lankinen made 41 saves in his

second career shutout and host

Chicago beat short-handed Flor-

ida.

Wild 2, Blues 0: Kirill Kaprizov

scored to pad his NHL rookie

leads, Cam Talbot made 37 saves

for his second shutout of the season

and Minnesota beat St. Louis to

stretch its franchise-record home

winning streak to 11 games.

NHL ROUNDUP

Penguins hand Sabres16th consecutive loss

KEITH SRAKOCIC/AP

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Casey DeSmith, left, stops the puck asthe Buffalo Sabres’ Eric Staal looks for a rebound during the firstperiod of Thursday's game in Pittsburgh. 

Associated Press

PAGE 20 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, March 27, 2021

NBA

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

W L Pct GB

Philadelphia 32 13 .711 —

Brooklyn 30 15 .667 2

New York 23 22 .511 9

Boston 21 23 .477 10½

Toronto 18 26 .409 13½

Southeast Division

W L Pct GB

Charlotte 22 21 .512 —

Atlanta 22 22 .500 ½

Miami 22 23 .489 1

Washington 15 28 .349 7

Orlando 15 29 .341 7½

Central Division

W L Pct GB

Milwaukee 29 14 .674 —

Indiana 20 23 .465 9

Chicago 19 24 .442 10

Cleveland 17 27 .386 12½

Detroit 12 31 .279 17

Western Conference

Southwest Division

W L Pct GB

Dallas 23 19 .548 —

San Antonio 22 20 .524 1

Memphis 21 20 .512 1½

New Orleans 19 24 .442 4½

Houston 12 31 .279 11½

Northwest Division

W L Pct GB

Utah 32 11 .744 —

Denver 26 18 .591 6½

Portland 26 18 .591 6½

Oklahoma City 19 25 .432 13½

Minnesota 10 34 .227 22½

Pacific Division

W L Pct GB

Phoenix 29 14 .674 —

L.A. Clippers 30 16 .652 ½

L.A. Lakers 28 17 .622 2

Golden State 22 23 .489 8

Sacramento 20 25 .444 10

Wednesday’s games

Indiana 116, Detroit 111 Toronto 135, Denver 111 Milwaukee 121, Boston 119 Memphis 116, Oklahoma City 107 Cleveland 103, Chicago 94 Orlando 112, Phoenix 111 Dallas 128, Minnesota 108 Charlotte 122, Houston 97 L.A. Clippers 134, San Antonio 101 Utah 118, Brooklyn 88 Sacramento 110, Atlanta 108

Thursday’s games

Portland 125, Miami 122 New York 106, Washington 102 L.A. Clippers 98, San Antonio 85 Sacramento 141, Golden State 119 Philadelphia 109, L.A. Lakers 101

Friday’s games

Brooklyn at Detroit Boston at Milwaukee Phoenix at Toronto Denver at New Orleans Houston at Minnesota Miami at Charlotte Portland at Orlando Indiana at Dallas Memphis at Utah Atlanta at Golden State Cleveland at L.A. Lakers

Saturday’s games

Detroit at Washington Houston at Minnesota New York at Milwaukee Chicago at San Antonio Boston at Oklahoma City Dallas at New Orleans Memphis at Utah Cleveland at Sacramento Philadelphia at L.A. Clippers

Sunday’s games

Phoenix at Charlotte Portland at Toronto Atlanta at Denver Orlando at L.A. Lakers

Leaders

THROUGH MARCH 25

Scoring

G FG FT PTS AVG

Beal, WAS 40 443 294 1267 31.7

Lillard, POR 43 397 313 1288 30.0

Embiid, PHI 31 293 304 928 29.9

Scoreboard

Kyle Lowry wound up staying with Toronto

after all. Victor Oladipo is finally in Miami, a

destination he’s eyed in the past. And Rajon

Rondo is headed back to Los Angeles, though

not with the team he helped win the NBA title

last season.

The trade deadline has come and gone. And

now, playoff pushes can really begin.

Miami, Denver, the Clippers, Portland, Dal-

las, Boston and Atlanta were likely among the

teams feeling convinced that they improved

on deadline day after a flurry of moves Thurs-

day, though the best player — at least this sea-

son — might have been landed by the Chicago

Bulls. They got All-Star forward Nikola Vucev-

ic from Orlando, a move that ushered in the

start of a big-time rebuild by the Magic.

“Anytime you trade a player like Nikola, it is

a tough decision to make,” Magic President

Jeff Weltman said.

Vucevic is the only player from this season’s

All-Star Game to be traded at the deadline. It

was a steep price; Vucevic and Al-Farouq

Aminu went to the Bulls for Otto Porter, Wen-

dell Carter Jr. and two future first-round se-

lections.

“Usually, you don’t get too many chances at

All-Star-level players,” Bulls executive vice

president Artras Karnišovas said. “And we

were fortunate to get it done.”

The Magic traded three of their four leading

scorers; in addition to the Vucevic move, Evan

Fournier was sent to Boston and Aaron Gor-

don is headed to Denver. Acquiring Gordon

was part of a bold day for the Nuggets, who also

got JaVale McGee — part of three of the last

four NBA championship teams, two with Gold-

en State and last year with the Lakers —

through a trade with Cleveland.

And Toronto made one move of significance,

sending Norman Powell to the Portland Trail

Blazers for Rodney Hood and Gary Trent Jr.

But Lowry — a free-agent-to-be and consid-

ered perhaps the biggest prize on this year’s

trade market — did not get traded, the Raptors

apparently unable to find enough assets to

their liking.

Miami was a major pursuer for Lowry, and

now simply may try to add him again as a free

agent later this year. But the reigning Eastern

Conference champions pivoted in time to add

Oladipo — a two-time All-Star, a 21-point-per-

game scorer this season and someone only

three years removed from All-NBA status —

from Houston, in exchange for Kelly Olynyk,

Avery Bradley and a pick swap in 2022.

“The actual day, there’s usually a lot more

hype and then a lot less action than what is spec-

ulated,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “That

was probably true this year as well.”

The Clippers — who sought point guard help

for weeks — got it in Rondo, who was part of the

Los Angeles Lakers’ run to the title last season

and now returns to L.A. The Clippers gave up

Lou Williams in that deal with Atlanta, sending

him back to his home state where he spent two

seasons from 2012 through 2014.

Another veteran joined a Western Confer-

ence contender when New Orleans sent JJ Red-

ick to the Mavericks, along with Nicolo Melli for

Wes Iwundu, James Johnson and a second-

round pick in this summer’s draft. Redick satis-

fies Dallas’ want for more shooting and pro-

vides a veteran voice to help younger players —

just as JJ Barea did for Dallas in past seasons.

The Heat made another deal prior to the Ola-

dipo one being struck, landing Nemanja Bjelica

from Sacramento for little-used forwards

Maurice Harkless and Chris Silva.

The deadline passed without moves getting

made for San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge and

Cleveland’s Andre Drummond, a pair of veter-

an post players who have not been on the court

for their current — and soon to be former —

clubs in several weeks, after decisions were

made in both cases for the sides to move on ami-

cably. Aldridge’s buyout was finalized Thurs-

day afternoon and the Cavaliers were working

toward one with Drummond; those moves will

make them free to sign with the club of their

choosing.

Late movement as trade deadline passesBY TIM REYNOLDS

Associated Press

TROY TAORMINA/AP

The Houston Rockets dealt guard VictorOladipo to the Heat just ahead of the tradedeadline on Thursday, sending the two­timeAll­Star only three years removed fromAll­NBA status to Miami for Kelly Olynyk,Avery Bradley and a 2022 pick swap.

NEW YORK — Alec Burks

scored 15 of his 27 points in the

fourth quarter and the New York

Knicks beat the Washington Wiz-

ards 106-102 on Thursday night to

sweep the two-game set.

RJ Barrett added 24 points, 10

rebounds and five assists for the

Knicks. Immanuel Quickley had

16 points.

Two days after being in control

throughout in a 131-113 victory, the

Knicks trailed by 17 midway

through the third quarter and nev-

er led until the fourth.

They won by outscoring the

Wizards 39-24 in the final period,

with Barrett making a three-

pointer and then a tying three-

point play with 4:45 to play. Quick-

ley followed with a three-pointer

and Julius Randle capped an 11-0

run that put New York ahead 96-91

with 2:54 remaining.

76ers 109, Lakers 101: Danny

Green hit eight three-pointers and

scored 28 points against his for-

mer team and visiting Philadel-

phia weathered Los Angeles’ late

rally for its fourth straight victory.

The Eastern Conference-lead-

ing Sixershave won 10 of 11 overall

and seven of eight without injured

All-Star Joel Embiid.

Trail Blazers 125, Heat 122:

Damian Lillard made three free

throws with a second remaining

for the final margin, and Portland

survived a wild finish to beat

short-handed host Miami.

Lillard was fouled by Miami’s

Trevor Ariza on a three-point at-

tempt, which the Heat argued to

no avail. Miami didn’t have a time-

out remaining and never got a des-

peration tying shot off, after its in-

bounds pass was deflected away.

Clippers 98, Spurs 85: Reggie

Jackson scored 28 points, Paul Ge-

orge had 24 points and 13 re-

bounds and short-handed Los An-

geles beat San Antonio on the road

for its fourth straight victory.

Kings  141,  Warriors  119:

De’Aaron Fox had a career-best

44 points and host Sacramento

beat Golden State.

FRANK FRANKLIN II/AP

The Knicks’ Taj Gibson (67) reacts after a dunk next to Washington Wizards’ Robin Lopez (15) during thesecond half of Thursday’s game in New York. The Knicks won 106­102.

Knicks beatWiz, sweep2-game set

Associated Press

ROUNDUP

Saturday, March 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 21

AUTO RACING/GOLF

AUSTIN, Texas — Bob MacIn-

tyre grew up playing the rough-

and-tumble Scottish sport of shin-

ty, and he had more than enough

fight to give Dustin Johnson all he

could handle Thursday in the Dell

Technologies Match Play.

Johnson had to rally late with an

eagle and a clutch birdie to send

the match to the final hole, where

both players missed birdie chanc-

es and settled for a tie.

Neither the world’s No. 1 player

nor the 24-year-old from the tiny

town of Oban were sure what to

make of it.

“It was a tough match,” John-

son said. “Ended up making a re-

ally good halve, and definitely

pleased with it.”

MacIntyre, who trailed for most

of the front nine at Austin Country

Club and led for most of the back

nine, walked away with a mixture

of satisfaction and disappoint-

ment.

Ultimately, both remained in

position to advance out of their

group to the weekend knockout

stage.

“Obviously, I was dying to win

that match,” MacIntyre said. “I

was in such a great position to do

it. But he threw everything at me,

and I can be proud of finishing

there all square. Inside I’m a little

disappointed not to win. But once

we walk away from here and drive

back to the house, it’s going to be,

‘You know what? I can compete

with these best guys on the plan-

et.’”

Some of the best on the planet

were eliminated on the second

day of round-robin group play.

Justin Thomas, the No. 2 seed,

fell behind big on the front nine

for the second straight day and

couldn’t catch up. Thomas made a

strong rally against defending

champion Kevin Kisner before

losing on the 17th hole.

Tyrrell Hatton delivered more

highlights — not so much with a

shot, but the artful tossing of a

club and the sarcastic clapping of

his hands — in losing to Sergio

Garcia. The Spaniard, whose

American home is in Austin, won

his second match and thus elimi-

nated Hatton, the No. 8 seed.

Other top seeds in the 16 groups

who have no chance to move on

were PGA champion Collin Mori-

kawa (4), Tony Finau (12) and Vik-

tor Hovland of Norway (13). In all,

18 players had matches Friday

with nothing on the line.

Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer al-

so square off Friday after both

went to 2-0 in their group. Rahm

had a harder time than he imag-

ined with British Open champion

Shane Lowry, who was 3 down

with three holes to play when the

Irishman went birdie-birdie to

send it to the 18th, and then

showed off those great hands with

apitch from under a tree to 12 feet.

In other matches:

■ Patrick Cantlay played an-

other superb round and still had to

go the distance, this time making

seven birdies in a 1-up victory

over Carlos Ortiz. Cantlay is the

equivalent of 15-under par

through 36 holes.

■ Dylan Frittelli, the South

African who hit the winning shot

for Texas when the Longhorns

won the NCAA title in 2012, has re-

quired only 29 holes to win both

his matches.

■ Ian Poulter had a 3-up lead

with three to play when he was

forced to the 18th hole by Cam-

eron Smith, who stuffed his ap-

proach into 6 feet. No matter.

Poulter delivered a 15-foot birdie

putt to win a second straight

match. Rory McIlroy won easily,

but now needs Poulter to lose Fri-

day to have any chance of advanc-

ing.

MacIntyre battlesJohnson to a drawduring Match Play

DAVID J. PHILLIP/AP

Dustin Johnson shakes hands with Scotland's Robert MacIntyre, right,after tying their match on the 18th hole Thursday in Austin, Texas. 

BY DOUG FERGUSON

Associated Press

Don’t wear white to Bristol Mo-

tor Speedway this weekend. Pack

a pair of goggles and be prepared

to get really dirty.

Bristol has trucked 23,000 cubic

yards of dirt into its famed bullr-

ing to host NASCAR's first Cup Se-

ries race on literal earth since

1970. This wild experiment was

pushed by broadcast partner Fox

at the same time NASCAR was

looking to diversify its uninspiring

schedule.

Speedway Motorsports said it

was game — elbowing out Tony

Stewart and his well-established

Eldora Speedway dirt track in

Ohio — and offered up “The Last

Great Coliseum” for Sunday's ad-

venture.

Once one of the toughest tickets

in all sports with a 55-race sellout

streak from 1982 through 2010,

Bristol lost some of its luster when

its spring race date bounced all

over the NASCAR calendar. Fans

grew tired of expensive local hotel

rates and unpredictable weather

— it snowed during the 2006 race

weekend — but a dirt race gives

Bristol a chance to re-establish it-

self as a bucket list event.

The buzz hasn't stopped since

the race was announced last year,

and Bristol, which hosted the

World of Outlaws on dirt in 2000

and 2001, began the enormous

project.

Steve Swift, the senior vice pres-

ident of operations and develop-

ment at Speedway Motorsports,

traveled to 18 different dirt sites in

a 150-mile radius to find the per-

fect native, red Tennessee clay for

the job. Swift said he sent the sam-

ples to “a gentleman out in Califor-

nia by the nickname of Dr. Dirt”

for analysis.

Ed Davis, a scientist/farmer/

dirt racing enthusiast at S&E Or-

ganic Farms in Bakersfield, Calif.,

whittled the samples down to

three for this weekend's race.

A layer of sawdust was spread

over the 0.533-mile concrete oval

and then 2,300 truckloads of dirt

were dumped on the track. The

next layer is soil from the Outlaws

races two decades ago, followed

by dirt from a campground near

the track and a final top layer from

nearby Bluff City.

The track is done and Bristol

successfully hosted late model

racing all last week as a tune-up

for the event. The Bristol Dirt Na-

tionals drew a handful of current

Cup drivers who wanted to get a

look at the surface and they in-

cluded Kyle Larson, one of the

winningest dirt racers in the coun-

try.

Larson was pleasantly sur-

prised by the track because a

weekend of racing at The Dirt

Track at Charlotte, another

Speedway Motorsports property,

last November was a dusty disas-

ter.

“I get to race on a lot of different

track surfaces and dirt and the or-

ange clay is always hit or miss. It's

either good, or it's really bad,” Lar-

son said. "How Charlotte was last

year, I think a lot of people were

worried. But Bristol, the car I

raced last week, once they let the

track get slick and start getting

dark and black, it really widened

the groove out and the pace slowed

down and the racing got really

good.

“If they continue to let the track

get slick, I think it will be a really

good race this weekend.”

That's easy for Larson to say be-

cause of his extensive dirt racing

background, and same for Chris-

topher Bell and a handful of oth-

ers. But the experience level va-

ries greatly throughout the Cup

field from professionals to drivers

who have never raced on dirt at all.

Seven full-time Cup drivers

have entered Saturday night's

Truck Series race for extra track

time. Kevin Harvick. who last

raced a truck in 2015, is one of

them.

“I would never decide to put dirt

on any racetrack, ever," Harvick

said. "It’s not something I grew up

doing, nor something that I’ve en-

joyed when I’ve done it along the

way.

“But I can tell you it’s probably

the single best event that we will

do this year just because of the fact

that it’s so different, so far outside

the box, and I think the anticipa-

tion leading up to it has been a lot

of fun for all of us.”

Three ringers have entered the

Cup race because of their experi-

ence on dirt. Stewart Friesen, a

Truck Series regular, will make

his Cup debut alongside new-

comers Chris Windom, the USAC

champion, and sprint car driver

Shane Golobic.

DAVID CRIGGER/AP

Bristol Motor Speedway has transformed the half­mile concrete track into a dirt track for NASCAR's firstCup race on a dirt track since 1970 on Sunday. 

NASCAR playing in dirtfor first time since 1970

BY JENNA FRYER

Associated Press DID YOU KNOW?

Seven full-time Cup drivers have

entered Saturday night's Truck

Series race for extra track time.

Kevin Harvick. who last raced a

truck in 2015, is one of them.

SOURCE: Associated Press

PAGE 22 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, March 27, 2021

NCAA TOURNAMENT

dicted for years: A once-yawning

talent gap between haves and

have-nots has narrowed to noth-

ing.

The difference in a top-50 kid

headed to Duke or Kentucky and

an unranked kid heading to Loyola

might have felt like night and day

15 years ago. Now, the difference

is negligible — if it exists at all.

“There’s just more good play-

ers,” Loyola Chicago coach Porter

Moser explained. “Thirty years

ago when I got into this in Texas, to

now, you look at it — there’s so

many five-star players. But it’s

across the board. Kids are getting

better. They’re doing more im-

provement.”

That sheer volume of talent on

high school and AAU teams is

why a kid like Williamson, who

had every big-name school in his

gym to watch Okafor during his

freshman year, could still get

overlooked by just about every-

body.

By the time he was a senior,

Williamson had few scholarship

offers and ultimately chose to join

a team now led by All-American

forward Cameron Krutwig, a

three-star prospect out of high

school in suburban Chicago

whose only other offers were

from Northern Illinois and Amer-

ican.

Backcourt mate Braden Norris

began his career at Oakland be-

fore he arrived on Chicago’s north

side. Marquise Kennedy is per-

haps the most coveted prospect

Loyola has landed in years, but

even he picked the Ramblers over

offers from the likes of Bradley,

Hofstra and Northeastern.

The bluebloods of college bas-

ketball weren’t beating down the

doors for any of them.

Not that it bothers them these

days. Kentucky and Duke didn’t

even make the NCAA Tourna-

ment. Kansas and Illinois were

sent packing the opening week-

end. And the Ramblers, the guys

who ousted the top-seeded Illini,

moved on to face Oregon State on

Saturday.

“The end of the day,” William-

son said, “the respect that teams

give us before we play, that

doesn’t really concern us. We’re

only focused on winning games

and continuing this big run that

we’ve been having.”

Oregon State can relate. The

Beavers’ classes have ranked out-

side the top 50 nationally each of

the past two years, according to

recruiting site Rivals.com. Yet

they ran roughshod through the

Pac-12 tourney to earn an NCAA

invite, then beat Tennessee and

Oklahoma State to reach their first

Sweet 16 since 1982.

One of their leaders, sophomore

guard Jarod Lucas, chose to play

for the Beavers over Nevada and

Fresno State.

“I think at the end of the day it’s

all about, there’s a bigger plan for

all of us,” he said. “Not a lot of us

had the best looks or the high-ma-

jors, other blue bloods, but we all

had one coach, one university that

believed in you. All of us at Oregon

State have one coach that believed

in us.”

Recruiting rankings are heavily

subjective, of course. Prospects

grow and develop in college, some

more than others, and it’s nearly

impossible to identify intrinsic

qualities such as pride and work

ethic that portend a future star.

Yet rankings do illustrate how

evenly spread talent is across col-

lege basketball these days.

Five of the top 12 schools in Ri-

vals.com’s final recruiting rank-

ings for 2020 failed to make this

year’s tourney, and the top four

from the previous year failed to

make it, too. That includes Ken-

tucky, which had the No. 1 class

last spring but went 9-16 this sea-

son, and Memphis, which was No.

1 in 2019 but had its bubble burst

on Selection Sunday.

Meanwhile, nine of the 16 teams

remaining had recruiting classes

last season that landed outside of

the top 25. Loyola, Creighton, Sy-

racuse and UCLA haven’t had a

top-40 class the past three sea-

sons. Oral Roberts, the second No.

15 seed to ever reach this point in

the tournament, hasn’t had a class

that ranked in the top 100.

The Golden Eagles are a prime

example of unearthing over-

looked and underappreciated tal-

ent. There isn’t a team in the coun-

try that wouldn’t love to have high-

scoring guard Max Abmas or tal-

ented forward Kevin Obanor, who

led Oral Roberts to wins over Ohio

State and Florida and have their

sights set on Arkansas this week-

end.

Obanor played at North Caroli-

na prep school power Mount Zion

Christian Academy, which pro-

duced the likes of NBA stars Tracy

McGrady and Amar’e Stoude-

mire. Its campus is less than 5

miles from Cameron Indoor Stadi-

um, yet Duke never came calling.

Twenty miles the other direction

is North Carolina State, which on-

ly showed mild interest.

Think the Blue Devils and Wolf-

pack would like to be playing bas-

ketball this weekend?

“We put our shoes on just like

they put their shoes on,” said Oba-

nor, who had 30 points against the

Buckeyes and 28 against the Ga-

tors. “We don’t look at, ‘OK, they

are ranked No. 2 or they have

higher standards so they are bet-

ter than us.’ We come out with the

mentality that, ‘You feel like

you’re better than us? Just prove

it.’ ”

Gap: Talent far moreabundant than in pastFROM PAGE 24

East RegionalAt IndianapolisSecond Round

Monday, March 22Michigan 86, LSU 78Florida St. 71 Colorado 53UCLA 67, Abilene Christian 47Alabama 96, Maryland 77

Regional SemifinalsSunday, March 28

Michigan vs. Florida St.Alabama vs. UCLA

Regional ChampionshipMonday, March 29

Semifinal winners

South RegionalAt IndianapolisSecond Round

Sunday, March 21Baylor 76, Wisconsin 63Villanova 84, North Texas 61Arkansas 68, Texas Tech 66Oral Roberts 81, Florida 78

Regional SemifinalsSaturday, March 27

Baylor vs. VillanovaArkansas vs. Oral Roberts

Regional ChampionshipMonday, March 29

Semifinal winners

Midwest RegionalAt IndianapolsSecond Round

Sunday, March 21

Loyola Chicago 71, Illinois 58Oregon St. 80, Oklahoma St. 70Syracuse 75, West Virginia 72Houston 63, Rutgers 60

Regional SemifinalsSaturday, March 27

Loyola Chicago vs. Oregon St.Houston vs. Syracuse

Regional ChampionshipMonday, March 29

Semifinal winners

West RegionalAt IndianapolisSecond Round

Monday, March 22Gonzaga 87, Oklahoma 71Creighton 72, Ohio 58Southern Cal 85, Kansas 51Oregon 95, Iowa 80

Regional SemifinalsSunday, March 28

Gonzaga vs. CreightonSouthern Cal vs. Oregon

Regional ChampionshipMonday, March 29

Semifinal winners

Final FourAt Indianapolis

National SemifinalsSaturday, April 3

TBDNational Championship

Monday, April 5Semifinal winners

Scoreboard

INDIANAPOLIS — The Sweet

16 stars you know.

Kispert, Mobley, Zegarowski,

Butler, Buddy Buckets — they’ve

all been on national TV or talked

about enough that even casual col-

lege basketball fans know their

names.

This is about those guys you

might not know, players from

smaller schools or who otherwise

don’t get the same attention as the

prime timers.

They’re just as good, just as im-

portant to their teams — maybe

more so — and are part of what has

made this the maddest of Marches

so far.

Max Abmas, Oral Roberts: His

last name is pronounced ACE’-

miss, which is ironic because he

rarely does. The 6-foot-1 sopho-

more was lightly recruited out of

Jesuit High School in Dallas and

now all the power programs have

to be wondering how they missed

out on him.

Abmas led the nation in scoring

at 24.5 points per game and didn’t

care who he was going up against,

scoring 33 against Oklahoma

State, 28 against Wichita State.

His range conjures up images of

from-the-logo-shooters like Steph

Curry and Damian Lillard, and

he’s a dead-eye, shooting 41%

from the arc.

Cameron Krutwig, Loyola Chi­

cago: The wispy mustache can’t

hide the fact that we’ve seen the

Ramblers’ fun-loving big man be-

fore.

The 6-foot-9 senior from Algon-

quin, Ill., was a central figure in

Loyola Chicago’s Cinderella turn

at the 2018 Final Four. Now he’s

back and there’s no looking away

when he’s on the floor, for reasons

far beyond the Krustache.

Krutwig was the first center in

15 years to be named Missouri

Valley Conference player of the

year after averaging 15.0 points,

6.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per

game.

Quentin Grimes, Houston: His

name may sound familiar. Grimes

was one of the top recruits out of

The Woodlands, Texas, in 2017

and had his pick of blue-blood pro-

grams. The 6-foot-5 guard ended

up at Kansas, where he started 36

games as a freshman.

Grimes entered his name in the

NBA Draft after the season, but

decided to return to school. Prob-

lem was, Jayhawks coach Bill Self,

assuming Grimes would remain

in the draft, had already filled his

scholarship.

The one-and-done in Lawrence

worked out well for him and the

Cougars.

Thriving in Kelvin Sampson’s

free-flowing system, Grimes has

the Cougars drumming up memo-

ries of the Phi Slama Jama days at

Houston. He leads the Cougars

with 18.1 points and has them on

the cusp of their first Elite Eight

appearance since 1984.

His half-brother, Tyler Myers,

plays for the NHL’s Winnipeg

Jets, so his family is obviously ooz-

ing with athletic ability.

JOSH JURGENS/AP

Oral Roberts guard Max Abmas shot 41% from deep on his way to a nation­best 24.5 points per game.

Lesser-known stars about to

leave mark on the Sweet 16BY JOHN MARSHALL

Associated Press

Saturday, March 27, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 23

NCAA WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT

Alamo RegionAt San AntonioSecond Round

Tuesday, March 23Stanford 73, Oklahoma St. 62

Wednesday, March 24Missouri St. 64, Wright St. 39Oregon 57, Georgia 50Louisville 62, Northwestern 53

Regional SemifinalsSunday, March 28

Stanford vs. Missouri St.Louisville vs. Oregon

Regional ChampionshipMonday, March 29

Semifinal winners

Hemisfair RegionAt San AntonioSecond Round

Tuesday, March 23South Carolina 59, Oregon St. 42Georgia Tech 73, West Virginia 56

Wednesday, March 24Texas 71, UCLA 62Maryland 100, Alabama 64

Regional SemifinalsSunday, March 28

South Carolina vs. Georgia TechMaryland vs. Texas

Regional ChampionshipMonday, March 29

Semifinal winners

River Walk RegionAt San AntonioSecond Round

Tuesday, March 23Michigan 70, Tennessee 55UConn 83, Syracuse 47Iowa 86, Kentucky 72Baylor 90, Virginia Tech 48

Regional SemifinalsSaturday, March 27

UConn vs. IowaBaylor vs. Michigan

Regional ChampionshipMonday, March 29

Semifinal winners

Mercado RegionAt San AntonioSecond Round

Tuesday, March 23NC State 79, South Florida 67

Wednesday, March 24Indiana 70, Belmont 48Arizona 52, BYU 46Texas A&M 84, Iowa St. 82, OT

Regional SemifinalsSaturday, March 27

NC State vs. IndianaTexas A&M vs. Arizona

Regional ChampionshipMonday, March 29

Semifinal winners

Final FourAt San Antonio

National SemifinalsFriday, April 2

TBDNational Championship

Sunday, April 4Semifinal winners

Scoreboard

Post players are having a big impact on the

women’s NCAA Tournament.

Teams that have reached the Sweet 16 teams

are getting major contributions from their

“Bigs.”

The impressive list includes:

■ Aliyah Boston. The South Carolina All-

American has had 39 points and 25 rebounds in

her first two career NCAA games as the Game-

cocks reached the round of 16 for a seventh

straight year.

■ Sedona Prince. Oregon’s 6-foot-7 Prince be-

came the center of attention on sports shows with

adunk during warmups before the Ducks’ rallied

for a second-round win against Georgia to reach

the regional semifinals for a fourth consecutive

season.

■ Olivia Nelson-Ododa. At 6-5, the UConn

Huskie has 39 points through two games. UConn

is in the Sweet 16 for a 27th consecutive season.

There will plenty of length on the court this

weekend; 13 of the teams start at least one player

6-3 or taller.

“I’ll be watching that,” said Debbie Antonelli,

college basketball analyst and broadcaster.

Boston, one of the Gamecocks’ talented sopho-

mores, has been a steadying influence as her

team dealt with high expectations after their suc-

cess a season ago. South Carolina spent the last 10

weeks of the 2020 season at No. 1 and won their

final 26 straight games before COVID-19 ended

what seemed to be a deep tournament run.

During the offseason, Boston worked on im-

proving her fitness and technique under the bas-

ket. The results were an All-American season in

which she averaged a double-double.

“The energy that she puts into a game and the

preparation, and the duration of the 40 minutes

that’s being played is unmatched by any player

on the collegiate level,” South Carolina coach

Dawn Staley said. “Take that to the bank on both

sides of the basketball.”

Boston and South Carolina, the top seed in the

Hemisfair Region, will play Sunday against No. 5

seed Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets ad-

vanced in part due to 6-4 Lorela Cubaj, who has

35 points and 22 rebounds combined in the Yel-

low Jackets’ two tournament wins.

Oregon’s Prince has been a focal point both on

and off the court this tournament. The Texas

transfer who hadn’t played in two seasons be-

cause of a broken right leg in 2018, has gradually

worked her way into the lineup. She’s third on the

team at 10.7 points a game.

She also started the calls for equal treatment

between the men’s and women’s tournament

with her video on social media showing the dis-

parity between the weight and workout facilities

at the two events. Spoiler alert — the men’s tour-

nament throughout Indiana had the more lavish

setup.

“I hope they see women’s basketball is not bor-

ing. It’s fun. It’s exciting,” she said earlier this

week. “It’s different than men’s basketball, but in

an amazing way. We play hard and with our

hearts and there’s so many fundamentals.

“It’s such a different game, so we wanted to

show that we’re fun to watch.”

Prince and the sixth-seeded Ducks will play

No. 2 seed Louisville in the Alamo Region on Sun-

day.

The buzz when top-seed UConn plays No. 5

seed Iowa is the high-profile matchup between

heralded freshmen Paige Bueckers for the

Huskies and Caitlin Clark for the Hawkeyes. But

there will be plenty of action closer to the basket,

too, with UConn’s Nelson-Ododa and Iowa’s 6-3

Monika Czinano, who is averaging 18.5 points

and seven rebounds in the tournament.

Post players having big impactBY PETE IACOBELLI

Associated Press

SAM CRAFT/AP

South Carolina forward Aliyah Boston has had 39 points and 25 rebounds in her first twoNCAA Tournament games, helping the Gamecocks reach the Sweet 16. 

SAN ANTONIO — The women’s NCAA

Tournament regional semifinals field is set

with many familiar faces like UConn, Baylor,

Stanford and South Carolina. There’s also

some fresh ones, including Michigan and

Arizona.

The Sweet 16 will tip off Saturday with a

much anticipated matchup between UConn

and Iowa. The schools are led by heralded

freshmen Paige Bueckers and Caitlyn Clark.

Geno Auriemma, who will be coaching the

Huskies for the first time in the tournament

after being sidelined with COVID-19 the first

two rounds, couldn’t remember a time when

there was so much hype around two fresh-

men.

“It’s been a while since you have two kids

that have had this kind of an impact, both on

their teams and on the game itself nationally.

To have one is kind of cool. To have two and to

be so alike in so many ways?” Auriemma

said. “And yet, unfortunately, they’re going

to be put in a situation where it’s like a big

football game, where they say it’s (Tom) Bra-

dy versus Aaron Rogers. It couldn’t be fur-

ther from the truth.

wanted to do something that has never been

done before and I’m thankful to coach a

group of them.”

Some other things to know about this

Sweet 16 field:

She said it “More and more people are noticing, more

and more people are watching. I think a lot of

people will tune in and watch this game and

that’s exactly what you want for women’s col-

lege basketball.” — Caitlyn Clark, Iowa.

Crowd noise For the first time in the tournament the

NCAAs will allow the public to attend games.

That will be limited to 17% of the Alamo-

dome’s capacity per game — which is rough-

ly 4,800 tickets.

“We’re in Texas, so, I feel like we’re going

to have a lot of fans,” Baylor forward NaLys-

sa Smith said. “People’s families finally start

to get to come and everybody’s friends and

everybody that weren’t on the ticket list, they

finally get to come and watch the game. So,

it’s about to be very exciting.”

The first couple of rounds only allowed

each participant up to six tickets.

“It’s two really, really young kids, really

good players that do a lot for their teams.”

Clark has led Iowa back to the Sweet 16.

The Hawkeyes are one of a record four Big

Ten teams in the regional semifinals with.

Michigan, Indiana and Maryland joining

them.

Wolverines coach Kim Barnes Arico is

happy to have her team in the regional semi-

finals for the first time as opposed to Connec-

ticut, which is making its 27th consecutive

appearance in the round of 16.

“Things have changed. You could go

somewhere else and you could have the op-

portunity right away to make an impact and

create something that’s never been done be-

fore,” she said. “Those kids are different.

They are special in their own right and they

Familiar faces joined by new ones in Sweet 16BY DOUG FEINBERG

Associated Press INSIDE THE NUMBERS

For the first time since 2013 three No. 6 seeds

advanced to the Sweet 16 with Michigan,

Oregon and Texas all reaching the regional

semifinals. At the other of the spectrum, for the

third straight tournament all the No. 1 and No.

2 seeds reached the Sweet 16.

SOURCE: Associated Press

MICHAEL CONROY/AP

Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemmawill be back on the bench after missing thefirst two rounds with COVID­19.

PAGE 24 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Saturday, March 27, 2021

SPORTSAt the deadline

Teams make moves in preparationfor playoff push ›› NBA, Page 20

NASCAR set for first dirt track Cup race since 1970 ›› Auto racing, Page 21

INDIANAPOLIS

One by one, the college basketball

coaches had filed into the swelter-

ing gym on the campus of Whitney

Young Magnet High School,

dressed in their polos and wind-

breakers and sporting their school

logos, all craning their necks to get a

glimpse of one of the best prep prospects to

come out of Chicago in years.

It was impossible to miss the 6-foot-11 frame

of Jahlil Okafor, casually throwing down those

dunks in the warmup line.

It was much easier to miss freshman team-

mate Lucas Williamson.

A few years later, Okafor has gone from

can’t-miss prospect to one-and-done star at

Duke to the riches of the NBA, while William-

son has become one of the darlings of the

NCAA Tournament. The slender guard with

the big game has become the do-everything

star for Loyola Chicago, which is once again

making an inspired run through March.

The fact that Williamson ended up at Loyola

Chicago, and Loyola Chicago is in the Sweet

16, is evidence of what some coaches have pre-

Narrowing the gapMarch Madness shows once-yawning talent disparity in college hoops has all but disappeared

BY DAVE SKRETTA

Associated Press

SEE GAP ON PAGE 22

NCAA TOURNAMENT

Pictured, from left: Oregon State’sJarod Lucas, Loyola Chicago’sLucas Williamson andOral Roberts’ Kevin Obanor.

AP photos