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BRITISH OPEN
Morikawa wins his 2nd major at age 24Page 22
FACES
This year’s modelof Costello classicwill be in SpanishPage 14
Volume 80 Edition 66 ©SS 2021 MONDAY, JULY 19, 2021 50¢/Free to Deployed Areas
stripes.com
MILITARY
Pentagon to enduse of ‘stepchild’on dependent IDsPage 5
Study: Shaving waivers especially hinder Black airmen’s careers ›› Page 4
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — The murals thatonce celebrated U.S. military units have been paintedover and the settings that memorialized the fallen arenow empty spaces.
Most of Bagram Airfield, the largest U.S. base in Af-ghanistan for much of the past 20 years, is a ghost town.
But in the days before coalition troops left on July 2,some of the last to leave scrambled to safeguard warmementos or make sure that what stayed behind wouldn’tbe left to whatever comes next in a country still at war.
J.P. LAWRENCE/Stars and Stripes
Murals on blast walls at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, were blank July 7 after being painted over prior to U.S. troops transferring the base toAfghan security forces. Efforts were made to remove visual evidence of U.S. presence and to “ensure consistency in appearance.”
Without a trace
Last Americans left at Bagram Airfieldrushed to secure mementos, ‘sanitize’facilities during final days for US troops
BY J.P. LAWRENCE
Stars and Stripes
Kimberley Culverhouse-Steadman
Airmen pose with the jersey of Pat Tillman — a former NFL playerwho joined the Army Rangers and was killed in Afghanistan — after a memorial run April 23 at Bagram Airfield. The USO center, oncenamed for Tillman, was the heart of the Bagram military community.
AFGHANISTAN
SEE TRACE ON PAGE 6
BERLIN— German Chancellor
Angela Merkel surveyed what she
called a “surreal, ghostly” scene in
a devastated village on Sunday,
pledging quick financial aid and a
redoubled political focus on curb-
ing climate change as the death
toll from floods in Western Europe
climbed above 180.
Merkel toured Schuld, a village
on a tight curve of the Ahr River in
western Germany where many
buildings were damaged or de-
stroyed by rapidly rising floodwa-
ters Wednesday night.
Although the mayor of Schuld
said no one was killed or injured
there, that wasn’t the case in many
other areas. The death toll in the
Ahrweiler area, where Schuld is
located, stood at 112. Authorities
said some people are still missing
and they fear the toll may still rise.
In neighboring North Rhine-
Westphalia state, Germany’s most
populous, 46 people were killed,
including four firefighters. Belgi-
um confirmed 27 deaths.
Merkel said she came away
from Schuld, still partly strewn
with rubble and mud in bright
sunshine, with “a real picture of, I
must say, the surreal, ghostly sit-
uation.”
“It is shocking — I would almost
say that the German language
barely has words for the devasta-
Merkel tours‘surreal’ scene,pledges aid,climate action
BY GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press
EUROPE FLOODING
RELATEDSurvivors ponder their futures afterimmense lossesPage 7
SEE ‘SURREAL’ ON PAGE 7
PAGE 2 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, July 19, 2021
BUSINESS/WEATHER
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —
U.S. Interior Secretary Deb
Haaland visited her home state
Saturday to celebrate what
marks the largest wilderness
land donation in the agency’s
history and another addition to
the nation’s landholdings as the
Biden administration aims to
conserve nearly one-third of
America’s lands and waters by
2030.
The 15-square-mile donation
from the Trust for Public Land
increases the size of the Sabino-
so Wilderness Area in north-
eastern New Mexico by nearly
50%. The property includes
rugged canyons, mesas covered
by pinon and juniper wood-
lands, pockets of ponderosa
pine trees and savannah-like
grasslands.
Haaland, who joined other of-
ficials at a remote site in San
Miguel County, acknowledged
that the area makes up part of
the ancestral homelands of the
Jicarilla Apache and northern
pueblos of New Mexico. She
said that, for generations, fam-
ilies have relied on the land for
sustenance and that it means a
lot to many people who visit the
area in search of peace and
quiet.
“We’re here today because
we recognize the importance of
preserving this special place,”
she said in prepared remarks,
adding: “We know that nature
is essential to the health, well-
being and prosperity of every
family and every community.”
NM wilderness area grows with large donationAssociated Press
Bahrain95/92
Baghdad115/82
Doha100/89
Kuwait City107/90
Riyadh102/84
Kandahar105/75
Kabul94/62
Djibouti99/84
MONDAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Mildenhall/Lakenheath
75/59
Ramstein75/60
Stuttgart76/59
Lajes,Azores71/68
Rota76/66
Morón94/68 Sigonella
86/73
Naples81/70
Aviano/Vicenza87/64
Pápa82/67
Souda Bay79/73
Brussels75/58
Zagan66/61
DrawskoPomorskie
66/58
MONDAY IN EUROPE
Misawa77/68
Guam84/81
Tokyo86/71
Okinawa84/81
Sasebo86/76
Iwakuni78/74
Seoul85/76
Osan86/75
Busan81/77
The weather is provided by the American Forces Network Weather Center,
2nd Weather Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.
TUESDAY IN THE PACIFIC
WEATHER OUTLOOK
TODAYIN STRIPES
American Roundup ...... 11Classified .................... 13Comics .........................16Crossword ................... 16Faces .......................... 14Opinion ........................ 15Sports .................... 18-24
Military rates
Euro costs (July 19) $1.15Dollar buys (July 19) 0.8255British pound (July 19) $1.35Japanese yen (July 19) 107.00South Korean won (July 19) 1,114.00
Commercial rates
Bahrain (Dinar) 0.3770Britain (Pound) 1.3768Canada (Dollar) 1.2606China (Yuan) 6.4792Denmark (Krone) 6.2985Egypt (Pound) 15.7050Euro 0.8468Hong Kong (Dollar) 7.7678Hungary (Forint) 304.41Israel (Shekel) 3.2893Japan (Yen) 110.08Kuwait (Dinar) 0.3008
Norway (Krone) 8.8517
Philippines (Peso) 50.35Poland (Zloty) 3.88Saudi Arabia (Riyal) 3.7508Singapore (Dollar) 1.3566
South Korea (Won) 1,142.20Switzerland (Franc) 0.9197Thailand (Baht) 32.80Turkey (New Lira) �8.5092
(Military exchange rates are those availableto customers at military banking facilities in thecountry of issuance for Japan, South Korea, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.For nonlocal currency exchange rates (i.e., purchasing British pounds in Germany), check withyour local military banking facility. Commercialrates are interbank rates provided for referencewhen buying currency. All figures are foreigncurrencies to one dollar, except for the Britishpound, which is represented in dollarstopound, and the euro, which is dollarstoeuro.)
INTEREST RATES
Prime rate 3.25Interest Rates Discount �rate 0.75Federal funds market rate �0.093month bill 0.0530year bond 1.93
EXCHANGE RATES
Monday, July 19, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3
PACIFIC
The Army is showing off its abil-
ity to quickly move defensive and
offensive missiles around the Pa-
cific amid threats to U.S. bases in
Japan.
The latest demonstration in-
volves the deployment of Patriot
missile defense launchers to Aus-
tralia for the biennial Talisman
Sabre exercise.
The exercise, involving 17,000
U.S., Australian, New Zealand, Ja-
panese, South Korean and British
troops, kicked off Wednesday and
included a Patriot battery down-
ing a pair of drone aircraft Friday
at Shoalwater Bay Training Area,
Queensland.
The Patriot’s debut Down Un-
der follows a series of similar ma-
neuvers this year.
The Army sent a Patriot battery
to Japan’s southern island of Ama-
mi and a High Mobility Artillery
Rocket System to the northern is-
land of Hokkaido during the an-
nual Orient Shield exercise, which
ran from June 24 to July 9.
Sixty-five soldiers from the 38th
Air Defense Artillery Brigade, out
of Sagami General Depot in Kana-
gawa prefecture near Tokyo, and
Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, are in
Australia for Talisman Sabre, said
Maj. Joel Sullivan, executive offi-
cer for 1st Battalion, 1st Air De-
fense Artillery Regiment, by
phone Thursday from Shoalwater
Bay.
The troops are operating a pair
of Patriot launchers, a radar, pow-
er plant, control station and bri-
gade and battalion command
posts that arrived in Australia by
commercial shipping from the
United States, he said.
The Patriot launchers shot
down a pair of Phoenix unmanned
aerial vehicles, Sullivan said.
On Friday officials posted pho-
tographs and video of the Patriot
engaging the drones.
A training objective is to dem-
onstrate the Army’s ability to
move around the region, said bri-
gade commander Col. Matt Dal-
ton, of Portland, Conn., who over-
sees air and missile defense units
in Japan, including Okinawa, and
on Guam.
“Next month we are moving an-
other [Patriot battery] from Oki-
nawa to Hawaii for another exer-
cise,” he said during a conference
call with Sullivan.
“We are trying to demonstrate
our ability to quickly move our
units around the Indo-Pacific to be
able to counter any threat that is
out there … our ability to move to
different locations quickly, set up
and establish defense of a partic-
ular asset.”
The threat of Chinese and North
Korean missiles is an ever-pre-
sent concern for U.S. command-
ers in the Far East. As recently as
2017, the North Koreans fired a
ballistic missile over northern Ja-
pan and tested an intercontinental
ballistic missile that experts be-
lieved to be capable of striking the
U.S. mainland.
The same year, Google Earth
images revealed that China,
which has a vast arsenal of mis-
siles, was firing them at targets
configured to look like U.S. bases
in Japan.
This week communist party of-
ficials in northwestern China post-
ed a video, shared on Twitter, that
threatened nuclear war against
Japan if the country attempts to
defend Taiwan from an invasion.
Japan and U.S. missile defense
is aimed at North Korea and not
capable of defeating or deterring
China’s overmatch in nuclear
strike capabilities, according to
Riki Ellison, founder of the Mis-
sile Defense Advocacy Alliance,
which lobbies for missile defense,
deployment and development.
“Japan has to rely on assured
deterrence from the U.S. which is
U.S. assured nuclear strike on
China if China attacks Japan,” he
said. “That is what Japan has re-
lied on since the end of World War
II.”
Meanwhile, Brisbane’s Cou-
rier-Mail newspaper reported
Tuesday that the Tianwangxing —
a Chinese naval intelligence ves-
sel — had been spotted inside Aus-
tralia’s exclusive economic zone
in the Coral Sea.
Australian Defence Minister
Peter Dutton, speaking at the
opening ceremony for Talisman
Sabre at Royal Australian Air
Force Base Amberley on Wednes-
day said it was “obvious” that the
ship was spying on the exercise.
The Army will next move its Pa-
triot battery north to practice de-
fending the task force at an undis-
closed location, Dalton said.
US: Pacific Patriot drillssend message to rivals
BY SETH ROBSON
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @SethRobson1
Australian Defence Force
A U.S. Army MIM104 Patriot surfacetoair missile is fired fromAustralia for the first time ever, Friday.
Guam is supporting two simul-
taneous U.S. military exercises by
hosting Air Force bombers and
Army soldiers, vehicles and weap-
ons over the coming weeks.
A group of B-52 bombers ar-
rived Wednesday on Guam from
Minot Air Force Base, N.D., to
support Pacific Air Force’s Bom-
ber Task Force, according to an
Air Force news release.
The bombers will also take part
in the Talisman Saber exercise,
which runs through the end of the
month, with the Australian De-
fense Force.
The Air Force did not disclose
the number of B-52s sent to Guam.
Four B-52 Stratofortress bombers
deployed there in April from
Barksdale Air Force Base, La.
Meanwhile, I Corps, based at
Joint Base Lewis-McChord in
Washington state, is leading the
Army’s Pacific Forager 21 exer-
cise from Guam.
The exercise, which runs
through Aug. 6, is designed “to test
and refine the Theater Army and
the Corps’ ability to deploy land-
power forces to the Pacific, exe-
cute command and control, and
effectively conduct multi-domain
operations throughout Oceania,”
according to an Army news re-
lease.
About 4,000 U.S. personnel are
directly participating in Forager,
the Army said.
Training scenarios include an
82nd Airborne operation; a bilat-
eral airborne operation with the
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
and 1st Special Forces Group; a
live-fire exercise with Apache at-
tack helicopters; and multi-do-
main operations involving the
transport over land, air and sea of
Strykers, the Avengers surface-
to-air missile system and High
Mobility Artillery Rocket Sys-
tems, the Army said.
“Forager 21 allows us to dynam-
ically employ forces to the Pacific
to practice our response to a full
range of security concerns in sup-
port of our regional alliances and
international agreements across
all domains, land, air, sea, space
and cyber,” Maj. Gen. Xavier
Brunson, commander of I Corps,
said in the news release.
The tiny U.S. territory of Guam,
which lies 4,000 miles west of Ha-
waii and 2,500 miles east of the
Philippines, is of growing strate-
gic importance to the American
military as it grapples with Chi-
na’s expansion in the region.
The island’s Andersen Air
Force Base routinely hosts de-
ploying bombers, which are used
to project U.S. air power through-
out the Indo-Pacific with an eye
toward China, Russia and North
Korea.
Naval Base Guam is the home-
port for four Navy submarines,
and the Coast Guard operates a
trio of the service’s new 154-foot
Sentinel-class fast-response cut-
ters from the island.
B-52 bombers, Army I Corps on Guam for dual exercisesBY WYATT OLSON
Stars and Stripes
RICHARD EBENSBERGER/U.S. Air Force
An Air Force B52H Stratofortress from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., arrives at Andersen Air Force Base,Guam, on Thursday.
[email protected]: @WyattWOlson
PAGE 4 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, July 19, 2021
MILITARY
Airmen who receive waivers
from the Air Force to grow beards
due to a skin condition that wors-
ens with shaving experience sig-
nificant delays in promotion com-
pared to their beardless counter-
parts, a new study found.
The delay in promotions affects
Black airmen disproportionately
because the condition, commonly
called razor bumps, is prevalent
among them, according to the
study published in the journal
Military Medicine on July 1.
The findings dovetail with an
Air Force review of racial dispar-
ities in the service released in De-
cember, which found inequality
in “certain promotion rates”
based on race but did not deter-
mine the cause.
The review was initiated in the
wake of protests and outcry over
the death of George Floyd in May
2020 at the hands of a Minneapo-
lis police officer.
The survey for the study on
shaving waivers and promotion
was done in November and De-
cember 2020 by eight research-
ers affiliated with the Depart-
ment of Dermatology, Uniformed
Services University in Bethesda,
Md., and other Air Force installa-
tions in Germany, Italy and the
United States.
“We hope that the findings of
this study shed light on this issue
by showing that the promotion
system is not necessarily inher-
ently racially biased, but instead
biased against the presence of fa-
cial hair which will likely always
affect the promotions of Blacks/
African-Americans dispropor-
tionately because of the relatively
higher need for shaving waivers
in this population,” the new study
concluded.
Don Christensen, a retired col-
onel and former Chief Prosecutor
of the Air Force, told Stars and
Stripes during a phone interview
Thursday that he was not sur-
prised by the study’s findings.
“I’ve definitely seen Black ser-
vice members who felt like they
were treated differently because
they needed to get a waiver,” said
Christensen, who is now presi-
dent of Protect our Defenders, an
advocacy group whose May 2020
report revealed that the Air Force
had long suppressed evidence of
racial disparities in the service’s
justice system.
“This is one of those cases
when — looking at the data — it’s
kind of hard to say that there isn’t
a racial aspect to it,” he said.
“Maybe that’s not the intent, but
the reality is that, disproportion-
ately, Black servicemembers
need the waiver, and the waiver
impacts promotion and opportu-
nities. It’s affecting the Black
community in a disproportionate
rate.”
The Air Force, like other ser-
vices, bans beards except for cer-
tain religious and medical excep-
tions. The service regards a
clean-shaven face as professional
looking and better able to accom-
modate the tight fit of a gas or ox-
ygen mask, should one ever be
needed.
Air Force health care provid-
ers issue “shaving profiles” for
airmen suffering from razor
bumps or other skin conditions
that allow more flexibility in
shaving.
Several previous studies had
found that airmen with shaving
waivers perceived delays in pro-
motion, but the new study ana-
lyzed data comparing a group re-
ceiving waivers with another that
did not.
The skin condition, formally
known as pseudofolliculitis bar-
bae, occurs when facial hair
tightly curls and grows back into
the skin. The skin becomes in-
flamed, with hardened bumps
arising around ingrown follicles.
Shaving traumatizes the
bumps, causing them to grow and
scar.
Men of any ethnicity can expe-
rience the condition, but it is pre-
dominately found among Blacks.
Researchers of the new study
based their findings on survey re-
sults from 9,339 airmen, among
which 8,200 had never had a
shaving waiver and 1,139 who had
been on a waiver for at least one
year of their career.
The majority of the waiver
group, 64.2%, were Black — even
though they represented just un-
der 13% of the 9,339 survey re-
spondents.
The non-waiver group was pre-
dominantly white at just over
76%.
The makeup of the two groups
also differed significantly by
rank, with the waiver group com-
posed of only 5.5% officers, while
the no-waiver group was roughly
28% officers.
“Shaving waivers were associ-
ated with a significantly longer
time to promotion compared to
the no-waiver group,” the study
said. “Cumulative time on a shav-
ing waiver was associated with a
progressively longer time to pro-
motion.”
Promotions for those in the
waiver group were delayed even-
ly across race and ethnicity, the
study said.
Airmen with shaving waivers
are “disenfranchised” in various
ways, the study said.
The Air Force’s Special Duty
Catalog Guide, for example, “spe-
cifically states that members on a
shaving waiver will not be al-
lowed into the Honor Guard,” the
study said.
The guide requires airmen to
maintain the “highest levels of
professionalism and personal ap-
pearance” for duties such as
recruiting, military training in-
structor and the Thunderbirds
flight demonstration team, the
study said.
“This has, anecdotally, been
used to exclude members with
shaving waivers from these
fields, all of which are high pro-
file and can lead to faster promo-
tion,” the study said.
Researchers also found a “sig-
nificantly larger rate of disciplin-
ary actions reported in the waiver
group” and recommended fur-
ther research to better under-
stand that association.
Study: Shaving waivers hinder promotionsBY WYATT OLSON
Stars and Stripes
[email protected]: @WyattWOlson
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A
new commander returned to Oki-
nawa and took charge of America’s
largest combat air wing Friday dur-
ing a ceremony in sweltering heat
at Kadena Air Base.
Brig. Gen. David Eaglin took
command of the 18th Wing from
Brig. Gen. Joel Carey at a hangar
ceremony flanked by over 200 air-
men and two aircraft, including the
iconic F-15C Eagle.
Eaglin arrived from Osan Air
Base, South Korea, following a two-
year stint as deputy commander of
7th Air Force.
A native of West Memphis, Ark.,
Eaglin is an Air Force Academy
graduate. He previously served on
Okinawa from October 2009 to July
2013 as an instructor pilot and flight
examiner, according to his Air
Force biography.
“To the men and women of the
18th Wing, I personally watched
you from a short flight up north in
Korea for the last couple of years
and I’ve always been amazed at
your sense of pride and profession-
alism in everything that you do,
along with your willingness to adapt
to an ever-changing security envi-
ronment in the western Pacific and
northeast Asia,” he said.
“The mission here in the 18th
Wing and Okinawa is no simple task
and I know there’s no doubt many
challenges that lie ahead of us but
there’s no reason we can’t work
through those as a team.”
Turning to officers of the Japan
Air Self-Defense Force and other
Japanese dignitaries, Eaglin said
he looked forward to moving the re-
lationship between the U.S. and Ja-
pan forward.
The 18th Wing consists of 8,000
airmen and 81 combat-ready air-
craft that perform a variety of mis-
sions, including air superiority, ae-
rial refueling, airborne warning
and control and combat search and
rescue in support of U.S. interests,
the defense of Japan and peace and
stability throughout the Indo-Pacif-
ic, according to the wing website.
Eaglin will oversee over $6 bil-
lion in assets, including aircraft,
equipment and infrastructure.
Carey, a career F-15C pilot who
took command in July 2019, heads
to NATO Allied Air Command at
Ramstein Air Base. An 18th Wing
spokeswoman was unsure Friday
what his exact job would be once he
arrives in Germany.
During Carey’s two years, the
18th Wing performed a number of
“historic” intercepts of probing
bombers from potential adversar-
ies, which also put the wing on its
first alert posture in decades, said
Maj. Gen. Leonard Kosinski, 5th
Air Force deputy commander, dur-
ing the ceremony.
Carey was part of the command
team that set the U.S. military pol-
icy and response to the coronavirus
pandemic and synchronized it
across 12 installations for over
50,000 U.S. Forces Japan person-
nel, Kosinski said. He was also, as
wing commander, the typhoon and
cyclone condition of readiness au-
thority for the entire island of Oki-
nawa.
At Friday’s ceremony, Carey
thanked his subordinates and coun-
terparts and leveled praise on the
airmen and women who had been
under his command.
“Airmen of the 18th Wing, it’s
been an honor to serve with you and
I’ll miss you greatly,” he said.
Addressing Eaglin by his call
sign, Carey said: “Putty, you’re an
exceptionally talented leader and
officer and you’re absolutely ready
for this. I’m excited about the days
ahead. We’ll be cheering from
afar.”
Eaglin returns to lead18th Wing in Okinawa;Carey heads to NATO
BY MATTHEW M. BURKE
Stars and Stripes
NAOTO ANAZAWA/U.S. Air Force
Brig. Gen. David Eaglin, right, accepts command of the 18th Wing from 5th Air Force deputy commanderMaj. Gen. Leonard Kosinski at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, on Friday.
Monday, July 19, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 5
MILITARY
STUTTGART, Germany — The
F-35 Lightning II will remain cen-
tral to the Air Force’s fighter fleet
for years to come, the service’s top
officer said Friday, despite the
mechanical troubles and cost
overruns that have made the air-
craft the most expensive in histo-
ry.
“The F-35 is going to be the cor-
nerstone of our fighter fleet and it
will be for the foreseeable future,”
Gen. Charles Q. Brown told re-
porters after visiting with troops
at Spangdahlem Air Base in Ger-
many.
Though technical problems
have resulted in the F-35 falling
short on operational expectations,
Brown said he expects those is-
sues to be resolved.
“I’m very confident it will reach
our expectations,” Brown said,
adding that the Air Force is work-
ing with the defense industry to
get development and sustainment
costs for the aircraft under con-
trol.
Last week, the Government Ac-
countability Office issued a report
that said failure to control F-35
aircraft cost overruns should
force the Pentagon to scale back
its fleet of advanced warplanes if
new savings aren’t found.
The F-35 fighter has faced ris-
ing costs for years and efforts to
curtail expenses have fallen short,
the report said. About 400 F-35s
are in service across the military.
The Pentagon plans to procure
nearly 2,500 F-35s with an esti-
mated life cycle cost exceeding
$1.7 trillion.
The Air Force faces the greatest
challenge in cutting costs, accord-
ing to the GAO. It is purchasing
about 70% of the F-35s and must
slash what it spends on each plane
by 47%, or the readiness of its
squadrons could be “negatively
impacted,” it said.
Brown: F-35 remains key to Air Force fleetBY JOHN VANDIVER
Stars and Stripes
BRIAN FERGUSON/Stars and Stripes
An F35 Lightning II flies from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, in 2019. Though technical problems haveresulted in the plane falling short on operational expectations, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q.Brown Jr. said Thursday that he expects those issues to be resolved.
[email protected] Twitter: @john_vandiver
The new military dependent ID
cards issued to military spouses’
children from previous partners
will be changed to remove the des-
ignation of “stepchild,” the Penta-
gon said Friday after advocates
complained that the label was in-
sensitive.
The issue gained attention last
week after a Twitter user named
@justjsides posted a photo of a
new plastic “next generation” ID
card displaying “stepchild” in
bold to describe the dependent’s
relationship to their military spon-
sor.
“The Defense Manpower Data
Center has reviewed the concerns
raised and DMDC will modify the
ID Card System, so that the term
‘Step Child’ is replaced with the
word ‘Child,’” said Maj. Charlie
Dietz, a Defense Department
spokesman.
Dietz could not immediately say
when the change would happen.
For adopted children, the cards al-
ready state “child” in that field, he
said Friday in an emailed re-
sponse to a Stars and Stripes que-
ry.
Child and stepchild appeared in
a less conspicuous location on the
paper-based ID cards that are be-
ing phased out, abbreviated as CH
and SC. Dietz said three other cat-
egories were also used: foster
child (FC), ward (WARD) and
pre-adoptive child (PACH). Those
are also now spelled out on the re-
placement cards.
“The relationship field’s pri-
mary purpose is for benefits eligi-
bility,” Dietz said. “For example:
Foster children are not eligible for
Tricare. Step children are not eli-
gible for benefits if the parents di-
vorce.”
The terms are used in the De-
fense Enrollment Eligibility Re-
porting System, or DEERS, but
parents of many blended military
families don’t use them and
deemed their appearance on ID
cards as unnecessary and unin-
tentionally hurtful.
Shannon Taylor, a spouse of a
retired sailor, provided Stars and
Stripes with an email she sent to a
Navy regional family readiness of-
fice in early July to complain
about the new ID card after her
children got theirs.
“It was rather devastating to see
in bold letters on the front of the
card the designation of STEP-
CHILD,” she wrote. “It was ac-
tually the first thing my [14-year-
old son] stated when he looked at
the card. His dad has been his dad
since he was 3 years old and we
firmly believe that our family is a
unit, there is no step anything.
We’re all in.”
It was even more disappointing,
she said, given the challenges chil-
dren of military families face with
developing roots and long-term
connections because they move
frequently.
“Blended families experience
challenges within the familial unit
related to stepchildren feeling
equal in love and acceptance as bi-
ological children,” she wrote.
A Navy civilian responded to
tell Taylor he had raised the issue
with higher echelons, including
the office of the chief of naval op-
erations, and “they immediately
addressed the issue” by contact-
ing the office responsible for ID
card policy.
“We all regret that your son had
this experience, and I hope he un-
derstands that he is very much a
part of the Navy family,” wrote
Matt Straughan of the Command-
er, Navy Region Southeast family
readiness office.
The news of the change was
greeted with a celebratory “woo-
hoo” by Kristen Bates, an Army
wife based at Fort Bliss who origi-
nally shared the image of the ID
card online to a spouses’ page be-
fore it was posted to Twitter and
shared by dozens of accounts, in-
cluding several with wide audi-
ences.
She had complained about the
issue in an email to DMDC on July
13 and received a prompt reply
telling her the use of the term was
an oversight and wasn’t meant to
cause distress. It said officials
were looking into whether they
could fix it.
Bates saw DOD’s decision Fri-
day to rectify the issue as another
example of the kind of positive
change that spouses and military
family advocates can make when
they speak up, she said in a phone
call Friday.
But the self-described Air Force
brat said she is also familiar with
how long changes can take to im-
plement and is awaiting word on
when the changes will be made.
Military to remove‘stepchild’ designationfrom new ID cards
BY CHAD GARLAND
Stars and Stripes
The military will fix its new dependent identification cards to removethe relationship designation “stepchild,” the Pentagon said Thursdayafter military families and advocates complained.
[email protected]: @chadgarland
Destroyer returns homeafter first deployment
Hugs, kisses, cheers and seven
new babies greeted the officers
and crew of the USS Thomas
Hudner on Saturday as they re-
turned home to Naval Station
Mayport from the ship’s maiden
deployment.
The Thomas Hudner was the
first of a trio of Arleigh Burke-
class guided-missile destroyers
scheduled to arrive over three
days at the Navy base.
Shavon Echols drove from Ath-
ens, Ga., to welcome home her
daughter, Shatoya Echols, a culi-
nary specialist returning from her
third deployment since joining the
Navy in 2008.
Echols and her sister Yvette
Mathis held up a homemade
brightly colored banner reading
“Welcome Home We Missed You,
Shatoya!!!” that was decorated
with a hand-drawn house. The
sign was made by Mathis’ young
daughter who stayed up till 2 a.m.
to finish it, Echols said.
“The welcome homes never get
old,” Shavon Echols said.
It’s hard though, she said, not to
worry about her daughter and
shipmates.
“Especially this last time. It just
felt like we were almost at war a
lot,” she said. “It seemed like we
weren’t at peace with other coun-
tries and that just made me nerv-
ous.”
Sunday the USS Donald Cook is
scheduled to arrive. Mayport is
the warship’s new homeport.
Then the USS Winston S. Church-
ill is slated to arrive Monday.
From wire reports
PAGE 6 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, July 19, 2021
Many of the cavernous, empty
structures the U.S. vacated were
left open, but one, in particular,
remained locked during a recent
visit: a squat wooden lodge near
the base’s airport terminal, once
known as the USO Pat Tillman
center.
It’s where Rebecca Medeiros,
former USO country director in
Afghanistan, spent the last year
cataloging mementos.
“It’s important those things
came back to the U.S., instead of
being left behind in Bagram,
where we don’t know the future
of that location,” Medeiros said.
“We don’t know if those items
would be taken care of, or their
meaning would be understood.”
The USO center, named after
the former NFL player and Army
Ranger who died in Afghanistan,
hosted some 2 million troops,
contractors and civilians waiting
for flights over 16 years, allowing
them to watch movies, play video
games and connect to Wi-Fi.
The USO kept employees at
Bagram as long as possible, in
part to ensure that the mementos
soldiers left there could be
brought home, said Alan Reyes,
the organization’s chief operating
officer.
“We do our best to preserve ar-
tifacts of historical or symbolic
significance to us,” Reyes said.
The centerpiece was a framed
Tillman jersey, “which means a
lot to people,” Medeiros said.
Elsewhere around the spraw-
ling base, troops saved a memo-
rial to five soldiers and contrac-
tors killed at a 2016 suicide bomb-
ing. It’s in transit to Fort Hood,
Texas, where it will be rededicat-
ed, said Michael Garrett, spokes-
man for the 1st Cavalry Division
Sustainment Brigade.
A plaque for troops from the
Czech Republic has been taken to
Prague, where it will become
part of the Military History In-
stitute’s collection, said spokes-
woman Lt. Col. Vlastimila Cypri-
sová.
A steel beam from the World
Trade Center, donated to Bagram
as a memorial, became a concern
after no one could initially re-
member where it went. They
eventually learned it had been re-
located in 2015 to Fort Drum,
N.Y.
Much of the work done by sev-
eral people during the final
stretch was “sanitizing” Bagram.
“We pulled off stickers, signs
went down,” said Kimberly Cul-
verhouse-Steadman, who came to
Bagram in February to close the
USO and bring back its memen-
tos. “They just didn’t want any-
thing reminiscent of American
presence.”
This effort was to “ensure con-
sistency in appearance,” said Col.
Jennifer Spahn, spokeswoman
for U.S. Forces — Afghanistan, in
a statement Friday.
Some objected to painting over
the murals at Bagram, including
James Von Holland, a contractor
at Bagram who has photographed
hundreds of murals during his
time at U.S. bases in the Middle
East.
“I didn’t like it at all,” Von Hol-
land said. “It’s like going into the
Louvre and destroying the Mona
Lisa.”
Von Holland and some contrac-
tors at the base said they were
frustrated due to the pace of the
drawdown and what seemed like
endless, sometimes contradictory
orders. Several contractors and
civilians said they went on vaca-
tion and were surprised to find
they weren’t allowed to return.
All U.S. troops, contractors and
civilians were supposed to leave
Afghanistan by May 1, the dead-
line that the Trump administra-
tion agreed to with the Taliban
last year. But the Biden adminis-
tration moved that deadline back
to Sept. 11.
As May 1 neared, those on Ba-
gram were “on edge,” fearing the
Taliban would retaliate against
U.S. troops staying past the origi-
nal deadline, Culverhouse-Stead-
man said.
She recalled the days when Ba-
gram was bustling with thou-
sands of troops, contractors and
civilians.
Upon arriving in late February
this year, she was struck by the
emptiness. The base’s large main
post exchange had been reduced
to one row of goods, she said.
At one point during the draw-
down, a building housing U.S.
Special Forces burned down,
leaving 25 troops without shelter.
The USO sent bedding, pillows
and blankets, she said.
Cafeterias at Bagram began
closing in mid-June, leaving
many of the last Americans on
Bagram stuck with Meals Ready-
To-Eat.
Cookies, beef jerky and 700
pounds of instant ramen noodles
were sent to the remaining troops
who secured the base, the med-
ical staff, Air Force investigators,
and the personnel who handled
the shipping yard and customs.
Culverhouse-Steadman flew
out May 25 with two black suit-
cases — one with her personal ef-
fects, and the other with the Till-
man jersey and other keepsakes.
Right before boarding the
packed government-chartered
flight, she was told she’d have to
choose between the bags in order
to board.
She chose to leave her personal
effects behind. Fortunately, a
friend from the post office agreed
to mail her that suitcase.
Trace: US presence removed from Bagram baseFROM PAGE 1
Zubair Babakarkhail contributed to this report. [email protected]: @jplawrence3
PHOTOS BY J.P. LAWRENCE/Stars and Stripes
A box lies in the street at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, on July 7 after U.S. troops transferred control ofthe base to Afghan security forces.
JAMES VON HOLLAND
Above left: A memorialto honor five soldiersand contractors killed ata 2016 suicidebombing at BagramAirfield, Afghanistan,shown in an undatedphoto, is currently intransit to Fort Hood,Texas, Army officialssaid. Above: Troops, civiliansand contractors pulledoff stickers and anyother images related tomilitary units orAmerica prior to thetransfer of the base toAfghan security forcesJuly 2. Left: Afghan soldierssorted through trashleft at Bagram Airfield,Afghanistan, on July 7.
WAR ON TERRORISM
Monday, July 19, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 7
tion that has been wreaked,” she
said at a news conference in a
nearby town.
Merkel said authorities will
work to “set the world right again
in this beautiful region, step by
step,” and her Cabinet will ap-
prove an immediate and medium-
term financial aid program on
Wednesday.
Finance Minister Olaf Scholz
told the Bild am Sonntag newspa-
per that more than $354 million
will be needed. And he said offi-
cials must set up a longer-term re-
building program which, from ex-
perience with previous flooding,
will be in the billions.
“Thankfully, Germany is a
country that can manage this fi-
nancially,” said Merkel, who is
stepping down as chancellor fol-
lowing an election in September.
“Germany is a strong country and
we will stand up to this force of na-
ture in the short term — but also in
the medium and long term,
through policy that pays more re-
gard to nature and the climate
than we did in recent years. That
will be necessary, too.”
Climate scientists say the link
between extreme weather and
global warming is unmistakable
and the urgency to do something
about climate change undeniable.
Scientists can’t yet say for sure
whether climate change caused
the flooding, but they insist that it
certainly exacerbates the extreme
weather disasters on display
around the world.
“We must get faster in the battle
against climate change,” Merkel
said, pointing to policies already
set in motion by Germany and the
European Union to cut green-
house gas emissions. “And never-
theless, the second lesson is that
we must pay great attention to ad-
aptation” to climate change.
Investing in fighting climate
change is expensive, she said, but
failing to do so is even more costly.
“One flood isn’t the example of
climate change, but if we look at
the loss events of recent years,
decades, then they are simply
more frequent than they were pre-
viously — so we must make a great
effort,” Merkel said.
Although the rain has stopped in
the worst-affected areas of Ger-
many, Belgium and the Nether-
lands, storms and downpours
have persisted elsewhere in west-
ern and central Europe. There
was flooding Saturday night in the
German-Czech border area, in
Germany’s southeastern corner,
and over the border in Austria.
About 130 people were evacuat-
ed in Germany’s Berchtesgaden
area after the Ache River swelled.
At least one person was killed and
the rail line to Berchtesgaden was
closed.
The Berchtesgaden area is also
the home of the sliding track in
Koenigssee, the site of major in-
ternational bobsled, skeleton and
luge events for more than 50
years. Large segments of that
track were destroyed, as parts of
the concrete chute were turned in-
to rubble by the rushing water.
CHRISTOF STACHE/AP
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, front second right, gestures as she and the Governor of the Germanstate of RhinelandPalatinate, Malu Dreyer, front right, talk to a resident in Schuld, western Germany, onSunday during their visit in the floodravaged areas to survey the damage and meet survivors.
‘Surreal’: Merkel confident in Germany’sability to rebuild after devastating floodsFROM PAGE 1
EUROPE
PEPINSTER, Belgium — Paul
and Madeline Brasseur were at
home with their two sons in the
Belgian town of Pepinster when
the water “came all of a sudden”
late in the evening.
It “was like a tsunami,” the way
it entered the house and kept ris-
ing instead of retreating, said
Paul Brasseur, 42.
The family went upstairs and
kept seeking safety during the
night as the water climbed stead-
ily below them. They ended up on
the roof, watching.
“We started to see buildings
collapsing, people on the roof-
tops, buildings collapsing, falling
into the water,” Brasseur said.
Eventually, making their way
from rooftop to rooftop, they end-
ed up perched on one with 15 oth-
er people, waiting hours for help
to come. A boat arrived to rescue
the children, but it began taking
on water while a makeshift jetty
started to collapse. Brasseur held
his sons back.
“We held out, for those nine
hours,” said Brasseur, who has
lived in Pepinster since he was 10.
“Then it was citizens, the father of
my sons’ best friend who came ...
up over the rooftops and saved us,
too.”
More than 180 people in Belgi-
um and Germany didn’t survive
the massive flooding that crashed
through parts of Western Europe
on Wednesday and Thursday.
Thousands of those who did, like
the Brasseurs, found their homes
destroyed or badly battered.
As the floodwaters subsided,
attention turned to the gargan-
tuan task of repairing the damage
wrought by the storm-induced
deluges — and to the immense
losses faced by those in affected
areas.
In Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, in
western Germany, Andreas
Wachtveitel spent Saturday
clearing debris out of his apart-
ment building. The 39-year-old’s
home and office were submerged
and badly damaged, so he doesn’t
know what he’ll do next.
“This was the worst thing that’s
ever happened to me,” said
Wachtveitel, who was covered in
mud. “Thank God everybody in
our house is still alive, but it was
close.”
The sounds of the water rush-
ing into his building’s lower floors
and of nearby screaming haunt
him, he said.
“We heard screams from the
other side,” Wachtveitel said.
“There’s a clinic and the patients
were trapped.”
Franco Romanelli, who owns
the Pizzeria Roma in the same
town, stood in front of the restau-
rant that was his livelihood as
workers cleared ruined furni-
ture.
“It took such a long time to
build the restaurant to get it
where it is,” he said. “And now af-
ter the pandemic, this is cata-
strophic.
“We are not talking about a few
thousand euros” to repair the
damage, he said. “I made a rough
calculation; we are talking about
a few hundred thousand euros to
rebuild the place.”
Romanelli, originally from the
Abruzzo region of Italy, came to
Ahrweiler in 1979 when he was 15
years old. He said the extent of
the damage in his adopted home
is devastating.
“If I look at Ahrweiler now, I
could cry,” he said. “It’s my
home.”
In Belgium, Brasseur celebrat-
ed his 42nd birthday on Saturday.
The occasion may have turned
out nothing like the day he ex-
pected, but the important thing
was that his family was safe and
together, he said.
“My gift today,” Brasseur said,
his voice breaking, “is that my
family and all the friends who we
were with are still alive.”
Flood survivorsponder futureafter disaster
Associated Press
PAGE 8 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, July 19, 2021
VIRUS OUTBREAK
SEOUL, South Korea — South
Korea on Sunday sent military air-
craft to replace the entire 301-
member crew of a navy destroyer
on an anti-piracy mission off East
Africa after nearly 70 of them test-
ed positive for the coronavirus, of-
ficials said.
Two multi-role aerial tankers
are bringing the new crew and will
then take home 301 sailors aboard
the 4,400-ton-class destroyer
Munmu the Great, Joint Chiefs of
Staff and Health Ministry officials
said.
They said 68 sailors have so far
tested positive and the results of
tests for 200 crew are still pend-
ing.
Fifteen sailors have been hospi-
talized in an African country that
authorities did not name, while the
rest are on the destroyer. None of
the crew has been vaccinated for
COVID-19 as they left South Ko-
rea in early February, before the
start of the vaccination campaign,
a Joint Chiefs of Staff official said
requesting anonymity citing de-
partment rules.
The cause of infections hasn’t
been officially announced. But
military authorities suspect the vi-
rus might have spread when the
destroyer docked at a harbor in
the region to load goods in late
June.
The replacement crew of 150
navy personnel will arrive aboard
the aerial tankers and move to the
destroyer, which is anchored at
sea, to sail it back to South Korea
on a journey that takes about a
month, the Joint Chiefs of Staff of-
ficial said.
Health Ministry official Sohn
Youngrae told reporters that the
301 crew of the destroyer will be
sent to hospitals or quarantine fa-
cilities upon their return to South
Korea early this week. He said the
crew were all relatively in good
condition.
BULLIT MARQUEZ/AP
South Korean navy destroyer, the Munmu The Great, prepares to dock in 2019 Manila, Philippines. SouthKorea said Sunday it’ll send military transport aircraft to bring back hundreds of sailors aboard thedestroyer on an antipiracy mission after nearly 70 of them tested positive for coronavirus.
S. Korea sendsnew crew aftership’s outbreak
Associated Press
LONDON — British Prime Minister Bo-
ris Johnson will spend 10 days self-isolating
after contact with a confirmed coronavirus
case, his office said Sunday — reversing an
earlier announcement that he would not
have to quarantine.
Johnson’s 10 Downing St. office said Sun-
day that the prime minister and Treasury
chief Rishi Sunak were both alerted over-
night by England’s test-and-trace phone
app. He had a meeting on Friday with
Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who tested
positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. Javid,
who has been fully vaccinated, says he is ex-
periencing mild symptoms.
People who are notified through the app
are supposed to self-isolate, though it is not
a legal requirement. Contacts of positive
cases usually are advised to self-isolate for
10 days.
But Johnson’s office initially said the
prime minister and Sunak would instead
take a daily coronavirus test as part of an
alternative system being piloted in some
workplaces, including government offices.
That plan was reversed less than three
hours later after an outcry over apparent
special treatment for politicians. Downing
St. said Johnson would self-isolate at Che-
quers, the prime minister’s country resi-
dence, and “will not be taking part in the
testing pilot.” It said Sunak also would self-
isolate.
British prime minister to isolateafter contact with confirmed case
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Three of the Demo-
cratic state lawmakers who fled Texas to
stymie a Republican-backed effort to im-
pose broad new voting restrictions have
tested positive for COVID-19 and are
quarantined, the Texas House’s Demo-
cratic Caucus director said Saturday.
One lawmaker tested positive Friday
and the other two did so on Saturday, ac-
cording to caucus director Phillip Martin.
All three were fully vaccinated against
the disease, according to Martin, who de-
clined to release their names or condi-
tions to “respect the privacy of Members
and their personal health.”
More than 50 Texas lawmakers arrived
in Washington on Monday after leaving
their home state on a private charter
flight. They received criticism from Re-
publicans and others after a photo showed
them maskless on the plane, though feder-
al pandemic guidelines don’t require
masks to be worn on private aircraft.
Rep. Chris Turner, the caucus chair-
man, said in a statement that the caucus
was conferring with health experts in
Texas for additional guidance.
“This is a sober reminder that COVID is
still with us, and though vaccinations of-
fer tremendous protection, we still must
take necessary precautions,” Turner said.
COVID-19 infections in people who
have been fully vaccinated against the
disease — also referred to as “break-
through” infections — are rare, according
to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
3 Texas Democrats who fledelections bill vote get COVID
Associated Press
TEXARKANA, Ark. — Free lottery tick-
ets for those who get vaccinated had few
takers. Free hunting and fishing licenses
didn’t change many minds either. And this
being red-state Arkansas, mandatory vacci-
nations are off the table.
So Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson has
hit the road, meeting face-to-face with resi-
dents to try to overcome vaccine hesitancy
— in many cases, hostility — in Arkansas,
which has the highest rate of new COVID-19
cases in the U.S. but is near the very bottom
in dispensing shots.
He is meeting with residents like Harvey
Woods, who was among five dozen people
who gathered at a convention center ball-
room in Texarkana on Thursday night.
Most of the audience wasn’t masked, and
neither was Hutchinson, who has been vac-
cinated.
Woods, 67, introduced himself to Hutch-
inson as “anti-vax” and said that he thinks
there are too many questions about the ef-
fects of the vaccine and that he doesn’t be-
lieve the information from the federal gov-
ernment about them is reliable.
Hutchinson embarked on the statewide
tour as he took over as chairman of the Na-
tional Governors Association. In that role,
he has called combating vaccine resistance
a priority.
Hutchinson has few tools left at his dis-
posal after signing into law measures curb-
ing his own authority to respond to the pan-
demic. They include bans on public schools
and other government agencies mandating
masks or requiring vaccinations.
ANDREW DEMILLO/AP
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson shows a chart on vaccination rates at a town hall meetingJuly 12 in Batesville, Ark. Hutchinson has been holding town hall meetings around thestate aimed at encouraging more people to get vaccinated.
GOP governor’s vaccinationtour reveals depths of distrust
Associated Press
Monday, July 19, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 9
NATION
The West is facing a new and se-
rious fire threat as temperatures
heat up again and moisture from
the Southwest monsoon surges
northward, triggering thunder-
storms that unleash lightning but
little rain. The dry lightning pre-
sents a heightened risk of new
wildfire ignitions between Sunday
and Tuesday across a broad swath
of the West, stretching from the
California coast into northern
Montana.
The fire threat is emerging at
the same time a heat wave builds
over the northern Rockies and
southern Canada, where scores of
blazes are already active. The tin-
derbox conditions from the hot
and dry weather, combined with
possible dry lightning strikes
could result in a dangerous prolif-
eration in fire activity.
This is a “multiday, multi-re-
gion classic monsoon-burst igni-
tion event,” said Brent Wachter, a
fire meteorologist in Redding,
Calif., with the Predictive Servic-
es arm of the National Interagen-
cy Fire Center (NIFC).
Already, 70 large blazes are
burning across a dozen states, ac-
cording to NIFC. On Thursday, it
raised the national Preparedness
Level to 5, the highest, based on
the amount of wildfire activity and
need for firefighting resources.
Recent precipitation related to
the Southwest monsoon has eased
fire conditions in Arizona, New
Mexico and in southern Utah and
Nevada, but the fire risk remains
high in California, the Pacific
Northwest and the Northern
Rockies.
While monsoonal thunder-
storms are common in summer in
the West, especially in the moun-
tains, the level of flammability
across the landscape right now is
far above normal and breaking re-
cords in many areas. Relentless
heat, on top of severe drought, has
made fires much more likely to ig-
nite and spread rapidly.
Lightning on Sunday through
Tuesday will overlap with areas
that have seen repeated, record-
breaking heat waves in June and
July.
The Northern Rockies is in the
bull’s eye of this weekend’s heat
wave, with excessive heat warn-
ings and heat advisories in effect
for eastern two-thirds of Montana
and southern half of Idaho where
temperatures may be as many as
20 to 25 degrees above average. It
could now see a significant light-
ning event over extremely dry
vegetation. The threat may be
highest on Monday, when the Na-
tional Weather Service says the
fire danger is “critical” and fire
weather watches are in effect.
Coleen Haskell, a Predictive
Services fire meteorologist in Mis-
soula, Mont., said the pattern will
feature “high-based” thunder-
storms, with cloud bases 8,000 to
10,000 feet above ground level.
This setup usually means that any
rain produced will evaporate be-
fore it reaches the ground, result-
ing in strong outflow winds.
“During active southwest mon-
soon years, we typically get high-
based thunderstorms with a mix
of wet and dry storms,” she wrote
in an email. “Some of those igni-
tions can hold over several days
after the lightning strikes and then
fires become more active during
the next increase in wind.”
Meanwhile, red flag warnings
and fire weather watches, for high
fire danger, are in effect for much
of central and northern California
through Monday.
Dry lightning,new fire fearedamid heat wave
BY DIANA LEONARD
The Washington Post
NOAH BERGER/AP
A scorched car rests on a roadside as the Tamarack Fire burns in the Markleeville community of AlpineCounty, Calif., on Saturday.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Two people died
and multiple people were injured, some
critically, in four different early morning
shootings Saturday in Portland, Ore., a city
that has seen gun violence and associated
homicide rates soar in the past six months.
Mayor Ted Wheeler called the rash of
shootings a “pandemic” and said he would
push hard for more officers and resources
for the Portland Police Bureau, which has
lost 125 sworn officers in the past year and
faces news rounds of retiring officers in
coming months.
The city was roiled by protests against
police brutality and racial injustice for
months following the death of George
Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis who
died after a white officer held a knee to his
neck. In the wake of sustained protests and
calls to defund the police last summer, Por-
tland’s City Commission cut some funding
and disbanded the gun violence reduction
unit.
Since then, Chief Chuck Lovell has as-
sembled new teams aimed at curbing gun
violence and solving a rash of shootings
through both investigation and proactive
intervention before shootings happen.
Some residents, however, question if
that’s enough as the city marked its 50th
and 51st homicides Saturday. There have
been about 570 shooting incidents in Por-
tland so far this year — more than twice the
number recorded in the same time period
last year. Police have said that about half of
those shootings were gang-related.
Lovell said it was too early to call Satur-
day’s shooting gang-related.
“We’ve had many years of growth as a
city and a shrinking police force (and) you
can only go so long in that trend before you
hit a tipping point,” he said.
“If you go back to yesterday, we’ve had 11
shooting incidents resulting in 13 people in-
jured or killed — and that’s in a span of 38
hours. Not only is this shocking, all these
calls really tax resources.”
The first calls about the latest gun vio-
lence came in just after 2:10 a.m. Officers
responded to a pod of food trucks in a pop-
ular pedestrian area in downtown Portland
to find chaos. Seven people were injured,
including an 18-year-old woman who later
died at a hospital. The other six people are
expected to survive.
Lovell said there may be other victims
who left on their own. He called on anyone
who witnessed the incident or had cell
phone video or photos of the area before,
during and after the shooting to contact po-
lice. No arrests have been made.
“We all want to know what happened and
who did this and why, and I pledge that
more information will come out as soon as
possible. Investigators think there might
be more victims and witnesses who left the
scene, which is understandable given how
terrifying and hectic that scene was,” he
said.
A short time later, police in another part
of the city responded to reports of shots
fired and believe someone was injured, but
a police canine could not turn up any vic-
tims, he said.
About four hours later, there were two
more shootings. One man was killed and a
woman was critically injured and hospital-
ized, he said.
Oregon city sees 2 killed, 7hurt in separate shootings
BY GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press
MARK GRAVES, THE OREGONIAN/AP
Police investigate an overnight shootingSaturday, in Portland, Ore.
A chemical leak at a Houston-area water
park left dozens suffering from minor skin
irritation and respiratory issues Saturday,
authorities said.
Twenty-nine people were taken to local
hospitals following the incident at Six Flags
Hurricane Harbor Splashtown in Spring,
the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office
tweeted.
Thirty-nine others declined to be taken to
a hospital after undergoing decontamina-
tion procedures.
KPRC-TV reported that some of those
who became sick were children, including a
3-year-old who was hospitalized in stable
condition.
The chemicals involved included hypo-
chlorite solution and 35% sulfuric acid, offi-
cials said.
“The safety of our guests and team mem-
bers is always our highest priority and the
park was immediately cleared as we try to
determine a cause,” Hurricane Harbor
Splashtown spokesperson Rosie Shepard
said in a statement, according to news out-
lets.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the park
has been closed for the day.”
Authorities are investigating the cause of
the incident, which they said was contained
to one attraction at the park.
Dozens treated afterchemical leak atTexas water park
Associated Press
PAGE 10 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, July 19, 2021
NATION
ATLANTA — President Joe Bi-
den and Vice President Kamala
Harris on Saturday both marked
the one-year anniversary of U.S.
Rep. John Lewis’ death by urging
Congress to honor the legacy of
the civil rights icon by enacting
laws to protect voting rights.
Biden said he often reflects on
the last conversation he and his
wife, Jill, had with Lewis, days be-
fore the Georgia congressman
died.
“Instead of answering our con-
cerns for him, he asked us to re-
main focused on the unfinished
work — his life’s work — of heal-
ing and uniting this nation,” Biden
said in a statement.
The president said the unfin-
ished work includes “building an
economy that respects the dignity
of working people with good jobs
and good wages” and “ensuring
equal justice under law is real in
practice and not just a promise
etched in stone.”
“Perhaps most of all, it means
continuing the cause that John
was willing to give his life for: pro-
tecting the sacred right to vote,”
Biden said. “Not since the Civil
Rights Movement of the 1950s and
1960s have we seen such unrelent-
ing attacks on voting rights and
the integrity of our elections.”
Biden said the attacks include
the Jan. 6 insurrection and lies
about the 2020 election.
Lewis was a high-profile civil
rights activist before he won a Ge-
orgia congressional seat as a Dem-
ocrat in 1986. Harris said in her
own statement Saturday that he
was “an American hero.”
“Congressman Lewis fought
tirelessly for our country’s highest
ideals: freedom and justice for all,
and for the right of every Ameri-
can to make their voice heard at
the ballot box,” Harris said.
Lewis was 80 when he died
months after announcing he had
advanced pancreatic cancer. He
was the youngest and last survivor
of the Big Six civil rights activists,
a group led by the Rev. Martin
Luther King Jr. that had the great-
est impact on the movement.
In San Diego, senior U.S. law-
makers and members of Lewis’
family gathered Saturday for the
christening of a Navy ship named
after Lewis.
“This ship will be a beacon to
the world, reminding all who see it
of the persistence and courage of
John Lewis,” Speaker Nancy Pelo-
si, D-Ca., said at the christening of
the USNS John Lewis.
Lewis’ nephew, Marcus Tyner,
said the family was grateful for the
honor, but said “what would
please my uncle most” is if Con-
gress passed the voting rights bill
named after him.
In her statement Saturday, Har-
ris recalled crossing Alabama’s
Edmund Pettus Bridge with Le-
wis during a commemoration in
2020.
“The right to vote remains un-
der attack in states across our na-
tion,” Harris said. “And the best
way to honor Congressman Lewis’
legacy is to carry on the fight — by
passing the John Lewis Voting
Rights Advancement Act as well
as the For the People Act, and by
helping eligible voters no matter
where they live get registered and
vote, and have their vote counted.”
Democrats on Capitol Hill are
pushing for a sweeping federal
voting and elections bill that Sen-
ate Republicans have united to
block, saying they think it intrudes
on states’ ability to conduct elec-
tions. Most Republicans have also
dismissed a separate bill, the John
Lewis Voting Rights Advance-
ment Act, which would restore
sections of the Voting Rights Act
that were weakened by the Su-
preme Court.
Biden, Harris urge voting rights protections to honor John LewisAssociated Press
Military Sealift Command Pacific
The USNS John Lewis was christened Saturday during a ceremony atthe General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, Calif.
LAFAYETTE — Spectators
cheered Saturday as a stone statue
of a Confederate general was
hoisted by a crane and removed
from a pedestal where it stood for
99 years in front of a city hall in
south Louisiana.
The Advertiser posted video of
the work that happened a day after
United Daughters of the Confeder-
acy signed a settlement agreeing
to move the statue of Gen. Alfred
Mouton or let the city do so. A trial
had been scheduled for July 26.
“The Confederacy has surren-
dered,” attorney Jerome Moroux
told The Advocate. Moroux repre-
sented the city and 16 city resi-
dents who wanted the statue gone.
The murder of George Floyd by
Minneapolis police in 2020
prompted new calls across the
country to remove Confederate
statues, many of which had been
erected decades after the Civil
War, during the Jim Crow era,
when states imposed new segrega-
tion laws, and during the “Lost
Cause” movement, when histori-
ans and others inaccurately de-
picted the South’s rebellion as a
fight to defend states’ rights, not
slavery.
Mouton, whose full name was
Jean-Jacques-Alfred-Alexandre
Mouton, was a slave owner and son
of a former Louisiana governor.
He died leading a cavalry charge
in the Civil War Battle of Mans-
field.
“It’s been 99 years right now,
and that’s way too long for that to
have remained in place,” Fred
Prejean, president of Move the
Mindset, a group created to
pushed for the statue’s removal,
The Advertiser reported.
SCOTT CLAUSE, THE DAILY ADVERTISER/AP
Fred Prejean with attorney Jerome Moroux announce Friday the agreement to move the statue of Confederate Gen. Alfred Mouton from the front of city hall in Lafayette, La. The statue was moved Saturday.
Confederate statue removed fromLa. city hall after nearly a century
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President
Joe Biden said Saturday that the
Justice Department intends to ap-
peal a federal judge’s ruling
deeming illegal an Obama-era
program that has protected hun-
dreds of thousands of young immi-
grants from deportation, and he
renewed his calls for Congress to
create a permanent solution.
He said in a statement that Fri-
day’s decision was “deeply disap-
pointing,” and although the judg-
e’s order did not affect those al-
ready covered by the Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals pro-
gram, it “relegates hundreds of
thousands of young immigrants to
an uncertain future.”
The program has allowed thou-
sands of young people who were
brought illegally into the United
States as children, or overstayed
visas, to live, work and remain in
the country.
Many of the recipients, com-
monly known as “Dreamers,”
have now been in the U.S. for a
decade or longer.
But Texas and eight other states
sued to halt DACA, arguing that
President Barack Obama lacked
the power to create the program
because it circumvented Con-
gress. U.S. District Judge Andrew
Hanen in Houston agreed, and
while his ruling left the program
intact for existing recipients, it
barred the government from ap-
proving any new applications.
In his statement, Biden urged
Congress to move forward with
legislation to permanently protect
those covered by the program.
“Only Congress can ensure a
permanent solution by granting a
path to citizenship for Dreamers
that will provide the certainty and
stability that these young people
need and deserve,” the president
said.
“I have repeatedly called on
Congress to pass the American
Dream and Promise Act, and I
now renew that call with the great-
est urgency,” he continued. “It is
my fervent hope that through rec-
onciliation or other means, Con-
gress will finally provide security
to all Dreamers, who have lived
too long in fear.”
The House approved legislation
in March creating a pathway to-
ward citizenship for those impact-
ed, but the measure has stalled in
the Senate. Immigration advo-
cates hope to include a provision
in sweeping budget legislation
Democrats want to pass this year,
but it’s unclear whether that lan-
guage will survive.
Biden: Justice toappeal judge’sruling on DACA
Associated Press
Monday, July 19, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 11
AMERICAN ROUNDUPWoman accused ofposing as service member
NC GREENVILLE — A
Pennsylvania woman
was arrested in North Carolina af-
ter investigators said she posed as
a member of the military and
scammed a person out of more
than $7,000, a sheriff’s office said.
The Pitt County Sheriff’s Office
said in a news release that it re-
ceived a report that a resident met
a woman on an online dating site
who said she needed money to
ship her belongings home from
overseas. The unidentified victim
provided the woman with $7,500,
the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators determined the
woman was using a fake name and
identified her as a 63-year-old
from Greensburg, Pa. The woman
was charged with accessing a
computer to defraud or obtain
property, obtaining property by
false pretense and attempt to ob-
tain property by false pretense.
Struck by broken pole, 4first responders injured
GA VALDOSTA — A Ge-
orgia police officer and
three firefighters were injured af-
ter being struck by a broken pow-
er pole while responding to dam-
age from a thunderstorm, officials
said.
The first responders were in-
jured as they dealt with a downed
power line following the storm in
Valdosta, near the Georgia-Flor-
ida state line. Police were direct-
ing traffic around wires sagging in
the road when one of them caught
on a passing semi truck, Valdosta
Police Chief Leslie Manahan told
a news conference.
“A semi picked up one of the
wires and pulled it, and when they
pulled it, the power pole broke,
which caused the power pole to
break in half and shoot across the
road,” Manahan said.
The broken pole struck a Val-
dosta police officer and three fire-
fighters. One firefighter had to
have a leg amputated below the
knee, Valdosta Fire Chief Brian
Boutwell said.
Feds: Suspects used ‘callcenters’ to sell heroin
CA ORANGE — Two
Southern California
call centers that facilitated illegal
drug deliveries distributed at least
$2 million worth of heroin before a
federal grand jury indicted 19 peo-
ple in connection with the scheme,
authorities said.
The 13-count federal indictment
charges the defendants with of-
fenses tied to narcotics and money
laundering. They are expected to
be arraigned in federal court in
Santa Ana.
The suspects operated a heroin
ring between March 2017 and this
April in Orange County, author-
ities alleged, by obtaining the
drugs from suppliers in the U.S.
and Mexico. Drug mules brought
the heroin, sometimes concealed
in their bodies, to Southern Cali-
fornia.
Grounded riverboat freeafter more than a week
KY CADIZ — A riverboat
stuck in Lake Barkley
in Kentucky for more than a week
was freed, the U.S. Coast Guard
said.
The American Jazz, with 120
passengers and 54 crew members,
became stuck on a sandbar last
week while on a seven-night
cruise between Memphis and
Nashville, Tenn., according to its
operator, American Cruise Lines.
The passengers were moved off
the ship and taken to a Nashville
hotel. The boat was not damaged.
Report: Woman strips tohide evidence of shooting
LA GRETNA — A New Or-
leans woman accused of
shooting a man then stripping off
her bloodied clothes to hide the
evidence pleaded not guilty to
charges including second-degree
murder.
The Times-Picayune-The New
Orleans Advocate reported An-
thony Fefie, 27, of Harvey was
shot to death in Jefferson Parish.
The suspect is 19-year-old Tyria
Robinson.
Jefferson Parish authorities
said she was in the passenger seat
of the car Fefie was driving when
he was shot. The car swerved and
hit a brick fence before crashing
into a tree.
Investigators said Robinson
flagged down a motorist later and
claimed she had been kidnapped
and her clothes were ripped away
by men chasing her. Detectives
said witnesses contradicted her
story.
Fishermen save newbornhorse from drowning
NC COROLLA — Some
fishermen came to the
rescue of a newborn horse which
was in danger of drowning in a ca-
nal on North Carolina’s Outer
Banks.
The Corolla Wild Horse Fund
said on its Facebook page that the
foal, named Beatrice, was born
July 10.
Owen Carson of Asheville also
posted to Facebook that he and his
two fishing buddies saw the foal
struggling as its parents stood at
the edge of the canal. He said the
group circled back and he got out
of the boat and waded over to the
foal, guided her around a seawall
abutment and to the nearest boat
slip.
Carson said he carried the foal
to shallow water and coaxed her
back to her parents.
Car crash pushes potdispensary off foundation
MI HOLLAND TOWN-
SHIP — A marijuana
shop in western Michigan was
pushed off its foundation after a
Lexus sedan slammed into it.
A 26-year-old motorist failed to
negotiate an intersection in Hol-
land Township, left the roadway
and struck the building, according
to the Ottawa County sheriff’s of-
fice.
No one was inside the building
at the time of the crash and the
motorist was not injured.
Mayor charged afterhouse raid found guns
NY ROCHESTER— Roch-
ester Mayor Lovely
Warren faces criminal charges in-
cluding weapon possession and
child endangerment in connection
with a search of the home she
shares with her husband, the first
charges against her in connection
to the raid.
A grand jury indicted Warren
and her husband, Timothy Grani-
son, on a felony count of criminal
possession of a firearm, as well as
two misdemeanor counts of en-
dangering the welfare of a child,
Monroe County District Attorney
Sandra Doorley said in a state-
ment.
They were also charged with a
misdemeanor violation of the
Rochester city code for having un-
secured weapons.
Tropical fish rare to coastfound on beach
OR SEASIDE — A fish
rarely found on the
Oregon Coast washed up on Sun-
set Beach north of Seaside, The
Seaside Aquarium said.
A 3.5-foot, 100-pound opah was
reported to the aquarium, KGW
reported.
Aquarium officials said on so-
cial media that after seeing photos
of the fish, staff responded and re-
covered it.
The fish created quite the stir at
the Aquarium where folks were
encouraged to come take a look at
the “beautiful and odd looking
fish,” aquarium officials said on
social media.
The fish will be dissected by a
school group, officials said.
BEN GARVER, THE (PITTSFIELD, MASS.) BERKSHIRE EAGLE/AP
Artist Mike Carty paints a mural, called West Side Love, at a private residence in Pittsfield, Mass.
Spreading the message
THE CENSUS
18 The number of horses seized, along with dogs and cats, from afarm in Maine. Animal welfare officials began rounding up the
animals in the Springvale section of Sanford. “They haven’t been handled a lotin the past, so they are being difficult and they’re kind of scared. So we’re tryingto take it slow, ease them on to the trailers and get them out into a safe loca-tion,” Liam Hughes, of the Maine Animal Welfare Program, told WMTW-TV.Officials did not name the owners of the animals but said they were cooperat-ing.
From The Associated Press
PAGE 12 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, July 19, 2021
WORLD
HAVANA — Cuban officials
rallied tens of thousands of sup-
porters in the streets Saturday
—nearly a week after they were
stunned by the most widespread
protests in decades.
President Miguel Díaz-Ca-
nel— accompanied by 90-year-
old former President Raul Cas-
tro — appeared on the seafront
Malecon boulevard that had
seen some of the largest protests
against shortages and the politi-
cal system the previous week-
end.
He made an impassioned
speech blaming unrest on the
U.S. and its economic embargo,
“the blockade, aggression and
terror,” as a crowd waved Cu-
ban flags and those of the July 26
Movement that Fidel Castro led
during Cuba’s revolution.
“The enemy has returned to
throw all it has at destroying the
sacred unity and tranquility of
the citizens,” he said.
He ended without the tradi-
tional cry of “Homeland or
Death!” — a slogan mocked last
week by protesters shouting,
“Homeland and life!”
Havana has been returning to
normal in recent days, even if
mobile internet data service —
which authorities cut on Sunday
— remained limited.
“There is political and social
erosion ... There is a lot of dis-
gust, we must talk more, do
more things and things that
were done wrong should be rec-
tified,” said Abel Alba, a 50-
year-old civil engineer, speak-
ing Friday. “The president has
tried to smooth things over a bit”
but he waited “too long” to listen
to the demands of the people in
the streets.
The protests began Sunday
when thousands of Cubans
marched along the Malecon and
elsewhere to protest food and
medicine shortages, power out-
ages and some even calling for
political change. Smaller pro-
tests continued Monday and
Tuesday.
Díaz-Canel initially respon-
ded by pointing to U.S. economic
sanctions, the impact of the cor-
onavirus pandemic and a social
media campaign by Cuban
American groups. But he later
acknowledged some responsib-
ility by Cuba’s leaders.
With this in mind, Cuban Cab-
inet ministers announced a mix
of measures including permits
for travelers to import food and
medicine without limits and al-
lowing people to use their ration
books to obtain subsidized goods
outside their hometowns.
“The Cuban government has
just shown that it could have al-
lowed the entry of food and med-
icine without quantity limits or
tariffs all along but chose not to
do so for more than a year of the
pandemic,” wrote José Jasan
Nieves, director of the inde-
pendent digital newspaper, El
Toque. “People twisted their
arms.”
Cuba governmentrallies backersfollowing protests
ISMAEL FRANCISCO/AP
People on Saturday attended an event in Havana, Cuba, withthousands showing support for the Cuban revolution six days afterthe uprising of antigovernment protesters across the island.
Associated Press
NAIROBI, Kenya — A fuel tanker ex-
ploded in western Kenya while people
were siphoning fuel from it, killing 13 peo-
ple, police said Sunday.
Residents started siphoning fuel from
the tanker after it was involved in a crash
late Saturday with a trailer near the Ma-
langa Village in Siaya county, Gem sub-
county police commander Charles Chacha
said.
“The trailer which was ferrying 20 tons
of milk hit the fuel tanker which was head-
ing to Busia,” he said.
“The tanker hit the vehicle on the right
rear side. As a result of the impact, it over-
turned on the extreme left side of the road,”
he said.
He said that members of the public,
rushed to the crash scene to siphon fuel.
”Moments later, the fuel tanker burst in-
to flames," he said.
Despite warnings from authorities of the
dangers of siphoning after the deaths of
hundreds in previous incidents, many Ke-
nyans continue to do it because they are
pressed by poverty.
In 2009, at least 120 people were killed
after a huge crowd descended on an over-
turned gasoline tanker, which then blew
up. But poverty-stricken families say they
have little choice: spiraling food and fuel
prices mean many can't feed their children.
Kenya fuel tankerexplosion kills 13
Associated Press
Monday, July 19, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 13
WORLD
BANFORA, Burkina Faso —
Florent Coulibaly, a soldier in Bur-
kina Faso’s army, says he hasn’t
been sleeping well for the past few
months, as he is often roused at 3
a.m. to fight jihadi rebels.
Until recently, life was peaceful
in western Burkina Faso’s Comoe
province, but an increase in at-
tacks by extremist groups in the
country’s west has put the military
on edge.
“It tires us. It gives us a lot of
work. It scares us, too,” said Couli-
baly, 27. “We don’t know where
(the jihadis) are going to come
from. They see us, but we don’t see
them. They know us, but we don’t
know them.”
Over the past six months, his
battalion has doubled its patrols
from once a week to twice, but Cou-
libaly says the men are ill-
equipped, overworked and worry
the area could be overrun by jiha-
dis.
Burkina Faso is experiencing an
increase in extremist violence by
groups linked to al-Qaida and the
Islamic State group. Last month, at
least 11 police officers were killed
when their patrol was ambushed
in the north. The country also ex-
perienced its deadliest violence in
years when at least 132 civilians
were killed in an attack in its Sahel
region.
The jihadi rebels are also ex-
panding their reach within Burki-
na Faso. Extremist violence cen-
tered in the country’s north and
east has spread into the west and
southwest areas near Mali and Ivo-
ry Coast, bringing residents and
security forces in those areas to
brace for more conflict.
The move into western Burkina
Faso makes strategic sense for the
groups who can use it as a base to
extend their operations in West
Africa. The thick vegetation gives
them cover and the area can give
them territorial control over the
smuggling route between Gulf of
Guinea countries and Mali.
Attacks in three regions of Bur-
kina Faso’s south and southwest
quadrupled from four to 17 be-
tween 2018 and 2019, according to
the Armed Conflict Location and
Event Data Project. There were
nine attacks last year — a reduc-
tion that analysts attribute to in-
creased military operations as
well as the expansion of violence
across the border in neighboring
Ivory Coast.
In June, a soldier was killed in
northeastern Ivory Coast on the
border with Burkina Faso, and in
March there was an attack by 60
gunmen on two security outposts
in Ivory Coast, killing three people.
“This attack confirmed the in-
tention of armed groups to target
the north of coastal countries. This
is likely a new phase in the groups’
strategy to expand into these ar-
eas,” said Florent Geel, deputy di-
rector-general for Promediation,
an international organization fo-
cused on mediation.
During a trip in April to the
towns of Banfora and Gaoua in the
west and southwest, as well as one
village near the border with Ivory
Coast, local defense groups and se-
curity forces told The Associated
Press they didn’t have the man-
power to stem the violence and felt
like it was just a matter of time un-
til the area was inundated by jiha-
dis. Civilians also say they’ve start-
ed living in fear.
Last year, for the first time, jiha-
dis posted notes on classroom
doors warning students and teach-
ers to stay away, said a 35-year-old
primary teacher in a village in Co-
moe province who didn’t want to
be named for fear of his safety.
While his village hasn’t been at-
tacked, it has become militarized
with checkpoints stoking paranoia
among residents.
“The situation is deteriorating ..
In the past, you could leave (the vil-
lage) at midnight with your motor-
bike ... But today, you are not going
to take the risk ... When you’re
sleeping you’re on the lookout,
when you hear a strange noise you
startle, but before it wasn’t like
that,” he said.
Jihadis expand control to new Burkina Faso frontsBY SAM MEDNICK
Associated Press
SAM MEDNICK/AP
Children play on a water pump in an internally displaced camp inGaoa, Burkina Faso, in April.
PAGE 14 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, July 19, 2021
FACES
Jeff Bergman, shown July 12 in Los Angeles, saysmeeting voiceover maestro Mel Blanc as a college
student changed the trajectory of his life.
KEVIN WINTER, GETTY IMAGES/TNS
Jeff Bergman must have been feeling loony
when he showed up unannounced at Mel
Blanc’s hotel door.
It was late March 1981, and Bergman was a
University of Pittsburgh junior with dreams of becom-
ing a professional voice-over artist. So when he found
out Blanc, the original voice of Bugs Bunny and many
other “Looney Tunes” characters, was performing on
campus, he jumped at the opportunity to attend.
He somehow found out where Blanc was staying and
“something compelled me” to knock on his door at 10
p.m. A voice that sounded vaguely like Barney Rubble
from “The Flintstones” (whom Blanc also voiced)
came from behind the door and Blanc came out in his
bathrobe. After Bergman explained he was a fan who
had just seen his lecture, Blanc asked, “Are you Jewish
or Italian?” Bergman said he was Jewish, and that was
enough for Blanc to invite him in for a chat.
“That really was a watershed moment for me,”
Bergman said. “That changed the whole trajectory of
my life, that one 45-minute meeting with him.”
Blanc died on July 10, 1989, which happened to be
Bergman’s 29th birthday. Three weeks later, Bergman
auditioned for CBS’ “Tiny Toon Adventures” and, af-
ter securing that gig, took over the role of Bugs Bunny
from Blanc. He’s been Bugs’ primary vocal actor ever
since and voices that wascally wabbit, Yosemite Sam,
Sylvester the cat, Fred Flintstone and Yogi Bear in
“Space Jam: A New Legacy,” out now in theaters and
streaming on HBO Max.
“When it became apparent two years ago that it was
going to happen, I was so excited,” Bergman said of the
sequel to 1996’s “Space Jam.” “I was like the horse that
wanted to race. ... When I found out I would be Bugs, I
was speechless. If you hang in there long enough and
be persistent, good things will happen for you.”
The 61-year-old Philadelphia native cut his voice-
acting chops at Pitt, where he earned a degree in
speech and rhetorical communication. After nixing
the idea of going into stage acting, Bergman got in-
volved with Pitt’s radio station and landed internships
at KQV and WDVE. While at WDVE, someone over-
heard him recording voices and said, “You should be
performing!” Soon Bergman was writing and record-
ing commercial spots for WDVE.
As a kid, Bergman was always “excited by anything
I saw that was animated.” He remembers watching
Saturday morning cartoons and being blown away
when Bugs Bunny popped up in a Kool-Aid ad.
After years of rumors followed by a lengthy
casting process, Bergman got word in March
2020 that he would be playing Bugs in the
“Space Jam” sequel. He met with director
Malcolm D. Lee, but then the COVID-19 pan-
demic shut down in-person production and
required everyone to “put our technical big-
boy pants on,” as Bergman put it. He esti-
mated that 95% of his vocals were recorded
remotely.
Bergman recently got to see a
screening of “Space Jam: A New
Legacy,” his first time in a movie
theater since February 2020.
He said his “head almost ex-
ploded” watching the transi-
tions from 2D animation to 3D
basketball action that included at
least one representative from just
about every intellectual property
owned by Warner Bros. Any trepida-
tion he felt about fans of the original
embracing this new “Space Jam” im-
mediately evaporated.
He was most impressed by star Le-
Bron James, who he said “really gets
into it” as an actor.
“This is a story about a father and a
son,” he said. “There is a real element
of empowerment and knowing you have
to stand in your own power and own this and be pas-
sionate about what you want to do.”
Down the rabbit holeCollege encounter leads Bergman to Bugs Bunny, ‘Space Jam’ sequel
BY JOSHUA AXELROD
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Elvis Costello is re-releasing his
classic “This Year’s Model” al-
bum — but this year’s version
erases his vocals and replaces him
with Spanish-language singers.
A video of Juanes performing
“Pump It Up” was released July
15, preceding the full version of
“Spanish Model” due to come out
on Sept. 10.
Producer Sebastian Krys kept,
and remixed, the original instru-
mental tracks recorded by Costel-
lo and his backing band, the At-
tractions. Besides Juanes, other
vocalists include Fito Paez, Luis
Fonsi, Sebastian Yatra and Jesse
& Joy.
Originally released in 1978,
“This Year’s Model” was Costel-
lo’s second album and first with
the Attractions. With its furious
sound and blistering pace, Costel-
lo described it as an album about
control and “desire and how that
relates to love, fashion and the
male gaze towards women.”
“I don’t think there’s anything
that somebody in another lan-
guage would not have encoun-
tered,” he said.
He said in a news release that he
was inspired by television pro-
ducer David Simon’s request that
he record his song “This Year’s
Girl” as a duet with singer Natalie
Bergman for his show “The
Deuce.” He said he had a dream
where he heard “This Year’s Mod-
el” sung in Spanish.
Juanes had just worked with
Krys on his latest album, “Ori-
gen.” He told The Associated
Press that he could hear Costello’s
breathing in the mix used for his
vocals.
“The video is very particular,
too,” Juanes said, “because it’s an
animation over the original. I
mean, it’s the original video, but
with my face. It’s a bit crazy, but
it’s really cool. The same body of
Elvis dancing to the song, but with
my face.”
“Spanish Model” includes ver-
sions of “Mentira” (Lip Service)
sung by Pablo Lopez, “La Chica de
Hoy” (This Year’s Girl) by Cami
and “Tu Eres Para Mi” (You Be-
long to Me) by Fonsi.
Costello has teased the concept
of bilingual releases recently, with
Iggy Pop singing a French version
of Costello’s song “No Flag.”
“Part of the fun of this project is
its unexpected nature,” Costello
said. “Although, I think people in
my audience that have been pay-
ing attention are pretty much used
to surprises by now.”
Pump it up! Costello prepsSpanish ‘This Year’s Model’
BY DAVID BAUDER
Associated Press
Juanes Costello
Biz Markie, a hip-hop staple
known for his beatboxing prow-
ess, turntable mastery and the
1989 classic “Just a Friend,” has
died. He was 57.
Markie’s rep-
resentative, Jen-
ni Izumi, said the
rapper-DJ died
peacefully Fri-
day with his wife
by his side. The
cause of death
has not been re-
leased.
“We are grateful for the many
calls and prayers of support that
we have received during this diffi-
cult time,” Izumi said in a state-
ment. “Biz created a legacy of art-
istry that will forever be celebrat-
ed by his industry peers and his
beloved fans whose lives he was
able to touch through music, span-
ning over 35 years. He leaves be-
hind a wife, many family mem-
bers and close friends who will
miss his vibrant personality, con-
stant jokes and frequent banter.”
Markie, who birth name was
Marcel Theo Hall, became known
within the rap genre realm as the
self-proclaimed “Clown Prince of
Hip-Hop” for his lighthearted lyr-
ics and humorous nature.
The New York native’s music
career began in 1985 as a beatbox-
er of the Juice Crew, a rap collec-
tive he helped Big Daddy Kane
join. Three years later, he re-
leased his debut album “Goin’
Off.”
Markie broke into mainstream
music with his platinum-selling
song “Just a Friend,” the lead sin-
gle on his sophomore album “The
Biz Never Sleeps.” The friend-
zone anthem cracked Rolling
Stone’s top 100 pop songs and
made VH1’s list of 100 greatest
hip-hop songs of all time.
Biz Markie, known for rapclassic ‘Just a Friend,’ dies
Associated Press
Markie
Monday, July 19, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 15
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stripes.com
OPINION
It’s a simple, utopian idea. If we give
everyone a monthly check, we can
eliminate poverty and do away with
the inefficiencies of our cumbersome
and flawed welfare state. Minneapolis is the
latest city to give a “universal basic in-
come” a try. It’s offering $500 a month for 18
months to 150 of its low-income residents
with no work or spending restrictions.
But others worry it’s not so simple. A uni-
versal basic income would be expensive,
and what if it discourages people to work,
which could inadvertently increase in-
equality and lead to social instability? A new
paper suggests the skeptics may be right:
UBI may cause more harm than good for a
very high cost.
Testing UBI is not easy. What makes UBI
universal and basic is that everyone gets the
money, and the flow of cash is predictable
and long-lasting. UBI advocates point to a
few experiments that show giving people
checks doesn’t cause them to work less.
But the Minneapolis experiment and oth-
er studies aren’t truly UBI because they’re
short term; the payments only last a year or
two. And that impermanence fundamental-
ly changes how people will respond. Most
financial and work decisions are based on
the outlook for lifetime income, not a few
dozen months of extra cash.
How the payments are structured is also
important. Another widely cited study looks
at income paid each year from the Alaska
Permanent Fund. The economists estimate
the payments haven’t caused Alaskans to
decrease work, and may even encourage
beneficiaries to do more part-time work.
But the permanent fund isn’t true UBI ei-
ther because payments are based on the
state’s oil revenues and thus vary signifi-
cantly year to year. So the permanent-fund
payments actually increase Alaskans’ in-
come risk, which is the opposite of what
UBI is supposed to do.
A new study from the National Bureau of
Economic Research takes a different ap-
proach to evaluating UBI. The economists
reviewed lottery winners over a five-year
period. Lottery winners are a good test for
UBI because lottery winnings are large
enough that the income they generate can
be life-changing. The economists estimate
the average winnings are equivalent to an
extra $7,800 a year, similar to UBI propos-
als. Lottery winners are also chosen at ran-
dom, which makes for a good experiment.
Contrary to unlocking creativity, motiva-
tion and entrepreneurship, the economists
estimate lottery winners are unlikely to
start a successful business. They also esti-
mate that winners worked less and were
more likely to change jobs to one paying a
lower wage. The economists also observed
many winners moved soon after the lottery,
usually to a more rural area. But few moved
to a higher-quality neighborhood, in terms
of college attainment of neighbors, average
income and other metrics that are a proxy
for opportunities available to them or their
children. There was one positive effect: Lot-
tery winners are more likely to marry and
less prone to divorce.
You may think living in the country and
working less isn’t so bad. Working a lower-
paid job can sometimes offer other benefits,
like flexibility and time with your children.
But there are costs. Working less at a less-
demanding job often means you forgo
learning new skills and wage increases.
This may not be a big deal for people in mid-
dle age. But it can leave young people who
are still establishing their careers and ac-
quiring skills much worse off. Most wage in-
creases occur in your 20s and 30s, and if you
miss out on those years, odds are you won’t
catch up.
Our current welfare system is imperfect.
But the fact that it makes payments contin-
gent on earnings, age or even having a child
is a better alternative. First of all, it’s much
cheaper because you don’t have to give
money to the many people who don’t need it.
Second, guaranteed money is worth much
more than income that only pays off some of
the time.
One issue with the recent lottery study is
that it only tracks winners for several years.
Many lottery winners think the windfall
will set them up for life, but they end up fil-
ing for bankruptcy and are then prone to de-
pression and bad health. But this demon-
strates the challenges of implementing
UBI. Once it’s offered, it’s very difficult to
take it away, and doing so can leave people
worse off than they started.
Universal income not worth the costBY ALLISON SCHRAGER
Bloomberg Opinion
Allison Schrager is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and a seniorfellow at the Manhattan Institute. �
Icame to the United States about a dec-
ade ago from Cuba, where I was a
pro-democracy student activist. With
a few of my friends, I organized small
gatherings and collected signatures to sub-
mit to the government. But my efforts at-
tracted the notice of the secret police, and I
eventually moved to Florida as a political
refugee.
So it has filled me with hope to see the re-
cent demonstrations in Cuba, which would
have been unthinkable while I was an orga-
nizer there. That hundreds of people are
publicly demanding reforms shows how the
regime has weakened and the people sense
a historic opportunity for change.
Much has been made about recent food
shortages on the island and the lack of ac-
cess to coronavirus vaccines. Certainly,
that is fueling some of the current anger.
But focusing on those factors ignores the
longer arc of change in Cuba. Disillusion-
ment has grown about the communist ideol-
ogy, not only among Cubans of my gener-
ation, but also older Cubans who believed in
the revolution 60 years ago.
The older generation sacrificed freedoms
to achieve a communist utopia, but their ef-
forts ended in misery. For instance, Cubans
were promised a world-class health care
system, but the result six decades later is
dirty hospitals, a lack of medicine and a lack
of doctors as Cuban doctors are sent abroad
for the state’s profit and propaganda.
The most significant recent change is
communications technology. Cellphone us-
age, the internet and social media have en-
abled Cubans to network and communicate.
During the last uprising in 1994, known as
the Maleconazo, the regime easily isolated
and cracked down on the demonstrations
by cutting off the few phone landlines. That
prevented most Cubans from learning
about the demonstrations until after they
were over. This time, footage from sponta-
neous demonstrations in two towns far
away from each other were shared on social
media, allowing the rest of the country to
learn about them immediately.
In contrast with previous demonstra-
tions, these demonstrations have spread be-
yond their small enclaves and have been
made up of tens of thousands of Cubans, de-
spite harsh repression tactics including ar-
bitrary arrests and disappearances.
The technology has helped give rise to a
robust civil society. Cubans have seen com-
munities crop up around religion, LGBT is-
sues, politics, entrepreneurship and even
video games. These associations, harmless
in a normal society where people freely
pursue common interests, are considered a
threat to the communists’ power in Cuba.
A growing social media movement of in-
fluencers is also challenging the Communi-
st Party’s monopoly on public discourse.
While the Cuba Communist Party’s flagship
show, “Mesa Redonda,” has since 2009 had
more than 4 million views and 32,000 sub-
scribers on YouTube, the “Cubanos por el
Mundos” channel, which provides inde-
pendent news and entertainment, has
racked up more than 38 million views and
142,000 subscribers since 2013.
Even if this uprising is crushed, I feel
sure these events are the beginning of the
end of communist rule in Cuba, because
people realize they can demand their free-
doms. Even if the regime is able to retain
power, it will be forced to make economic
reforms and possibly allow more political
freedoms. Despite the strong repression,
my contacts in Cuba are telling me people
are still going to the demonstrations. They
are afraid, but they believe this is the end of
the dictatorship. They just want to have the
support of the free world.
The United States can take a leadership
role in supporting the demonstrations by
applying further sanctions and other mea-
sures if the regime resorts to violence to re-
press the demonstrations. More immedi-
ately, the Biden administration should
make clear to the Cuban regime that pro-
voking an exodus, like the 1980 Mariel boat-
lift or the 1994 rafter crisis, will be consid-
ered a hostile action and dealt with by put-
ting all options on the table, including mil-
itary intervention.
Many Cuban Americans like me did not
vote for President Joe Biden, but we hope
he rejects domestic radicals, including the
democratic socialists, and fights against our
foreign communist enemies. Biden has
claimed he has “taken on the Castros and
Putins of the world. I let them know: It stops
here. It stops with me.” He also recently
called communism a “failed system.” This
is the time to act. The Biden administra-
tion’s message to the Cuban regime should
echo the Cuban people’s “Se acabo!” It is
over.
Cuban protests a sign regime is weakeningBY YURI PEREZ
Special To The Washington Post
Yuri Perez is manager of Latin American programs at theVictims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
PAGE 16 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, July 19, 2021
ACROSS
1 Chicago mayor
Lightfoot
5 Ozone, for one
8 Fluffy scarves
12 Inactive
14 Oft-tattooed
limbs
15 Fan of boxers
and labs
16 Tragic king
17 Tram load
18 Chief monks
20 Stable worker
23 Hawaiian city
24 Disarray
25 Soldiers’ IDs
28 Erie Canal mule
29 Future juniors
30 Rowing tool
32 Easy gait
34 Theater section
35 Check
36 Copenhagen
residents
37 Swivels
40 Have lunch
41 Rights org.
42 Place of disfavor
47 Pants part
48 Examined
49 Turner and
Danson
50 Longing
51 “— Misbehavin’ ”
DOWN
1 “Acid”
2 Oklahoma tribe
3 Joplin tune
4 Domed homes
5 Donated
6 Chemical suffix
7 Linear
8 Spanish explorer
9 Crunchy cookie
10 Latin 101 word
11 Former polit.
divisions
13 Par
19 Diner orders
20 Baseball execs
21 Peruse
22 Capital on a fjord
23 Biker’s invitation
25 “Que Sera,
Sera” singer
26 Hoodlum
27 Wise one
29 Undo a dele
31 Scale members
33 Does a tiling job
34 Janet Jackson’s
sister
36 Wonka’s creator
37 Bygone days
38 Frozen drink
brand
39 — the Impaler
40 Actor Richard
43 Undivided
44 Submachine gun
45 Capitol VIP
46 N.J. summer hrs.
Answer to Previous Puzzle
Eugene Sheffer CrosswordFra
zz
Dilbert
Pearls B
efo
re S
win
eN
on S
equitur
Candorv
ille
Carp
e D
iem
Beetle B
ailey
Biz
arr
o
PAGE 18 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, July 19, 2021
SCOREBOARD/NHL
PRO SOCCER
MLS
EASTERN CONFERENCE
W L T Pts GF GA
New England 8 3 3 27 23 18
Philadelphia 6 3 5 23 18 13
Orlando City 6 3 4 22 21 13
CF Montréal 6 3 4 22 19 15
Nashville 5 1 7 22 21 14
Columbus 5 3 5 20 15 12
NYC FC 5 5 2 17 20 15
New York 5 5 2 17 17 15
D.C. United 5 7 1 16 18 16
Atlanta 2 4 7 13 13 16
Cincinnati 3 6 3 12 16 25
Chicago 3 8 2 11 14 23
Toronto FC 2 8 3 9 17 30
Inter Miami CF 2 7 2 8 9 17
WESTERN CONFERENCE
W L T Pts GF GA
Seattle 8 0 5 29 23 8
Sporting KC 8 3 2 26 24 15
LA Galaxy 8 5 0 24 21 20
Colorado 6 3 3 21 19 13
LAFC 6 4 3 21 17 13
Portland 5 6 1 16 15 19
Real Salt Lake 4 4 4 16 19 14
Minn. United 4 5 3 15 12 16
Houston 3 4 6 15 16 19
Austin FC 3 6 4 13 10 14
San Jose 3 7 3 12 15 23
Vancouver 3 7 3 12 14 23
FC Dallas 2 6 5 11 14 21
Note: Three points for victory, one pointfor tie.
Saturday’s games
New England 1, Atlanta 0Miami at New York ppd.CF Montréal 5, Cincinnati 4Philadelphia 2, D.C. United 1Columbus 2, New York City FC 1Orlando City 1, Toronto FC 1, tieNashville 5, Chicago 1San Jose 1, Colorado 1, tieVancouver 2, LA Galaxy 1Portland 1, FC Dallas 0Los Angeles FC 2, Real Salt Lake 1
Sunday’s game
Seattle at Minnesota
Tuesday’s game
Houston at Vancouver
Wednesday’s games
Nashville at Columbus New York at Toronto FC CF Montréal at New York City FC New England at Miami Atlanta at Cincinnati D.C. United at Chicago San Jose at Sporting Kansas City FC Dallas at Colorado LA Galaxy at Real Salt Lake Los Angeles FC at Portland
Thursday’s games
Philadelphia at Orlando City Seattle at Austin FC
Saturday, July 24
Columbus at Atlanta Portland at Minnesota Toronto FC at Chicago Cincinnati at Nashville LA Galaxy at FC Dallas Colorado at Real Salt Lake Houston at San Jose Vancouver at Los Angeles FC
Sunday, July 25
CF Montréal at New England Orlando City at New York City FC Philadelphia at Miami New York at D.C. United Sporting Kansas City at Seattle
NWSL
W L T Pts GF GA
Portland 5 3 1 16 14 6
North Carolina 5 4 1 16 15 8
Houston 5 4 1 16 13 11
Orlando 4 2 4 16 13 11
Washington 4 2 3 15 10 8
Chicago 4 4 2 14 8 14
Gotham FC 3 1 4 13 7 3
Louisville 3 4 2 11 7 13
Reign FC 3 5 1 10 7 10
Kansas City 0 7 3 3 5 15
Note: Three points for victory, one pointfor tie.
Saturday’s games
Houston 2, North Carolina 1
Sunday’s games
Gotham FC at Washington Reign FC at Chicago Orlando at Portland
Friday, July 23
North Carolina at Kansas City
Saturday, July 24
Portland at HoustonReign FC at Orlando
Sunday, July 25
Washington at LouisvilleChicago at Gotham FC
Saturday's transactionsBaseball
Major League BaseballAmerican League
BALTIMORE ORIOLES — Agreed to termswith OF Colton Cowser on a minor leaguecontract. Reinstated RHP Jorge Lopezfrom the bereavement list.
BOSTON RED SOX — Acquired RHP VictorSantos from the Philadelphia Phillies,completing the January 18 trade for INFC.J. Chatham and assigned him to Por-tland (Double-A Northeast).
CHICAGO WHITE SOX — Agreed to termswith RHP Lance Lynn on a two-year con-tract for 2022-23.
DETROIT TIGERS — Recalled LHP MiguelDel Pozo from Toledo (Triple-A East) toserve as the 27th man for today's double-header. Recalled RHP Alex Lange and CFVictor Reyes from Toledo. Placed RHP JoseUrena and SS Niko Goodrum (retractive toJuly 15) on the 10-day IL.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS — Agreed toterms with LHP Frank Mozzicato on a mi-nor league contract. Designated RHP An-thony Swarzak for assignment. Rein-stated RHP Wade Davis from the 10-day IL.
MINNESOTA TWINS — Placed RHP DerekLaw on the 10-day IL, retroactive to July 14.Placed LHP Danny Coulombe on the pater-nity list. Transferred LHP Devin Smeltzerand RHP Randy Dobnak to the 60-day IL.Recalled RHP Beau Burrows from St. Paul(Triple-A East). Selected the contract ofRHP Juan Minaya from St. Paul and agreedto terms on a major league contract.
NEW YORK YANKEES — Agreed to termsSS Andrew Velazquez on a minor leaguecontract.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS — Reinstated OFMark Canha from the 10-day IL. OptionedOF Skye Bolt to Las Vegas (Triple-A West).
SEATTLE MARINERS — Returned RHPWill Vest (Rule 5 Draft) to Detroit afterclearing waivers.
TAMPA BAY RAYS — Sent RHP ChrisArcher to Durham (Triple-A East) on a re-hab assignment.
TEXAS RANGERS — Reinstated 1B/C SamHuff from the 60-day IL and optioned himto Frisco (Double-A Central) on a rehab as-signment. Designated RHP Tyler Phillipsfor assignment.
National LeagueARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS — Reinstated
RHP Zac Gallen from the 10-day IL.ATLANTA BRAVES — Designated C Jo-
nathan Lucroy for assignment.CHICAGO CUBS — Sent RHP Rowan Wick
to South Bend (High-A Central) on a rehabassignment. Sent 2B David Bote to Iowa(Triple-A East) on a rehab assignment.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS — Sent SS CoreySeager and RHP Edwin Uceta to ACL Dodg-ers (AL) on a rehab assignment.
MIAMI MARLINS — Placed RHP Pablo Lo-pez on the 10-day IL, retroactive to July 14.Reinstated RHP John Curtiss from the 10-day IL. Optioned RHP Jordan Holloway toJacksonville (Triple-A East). Agreed toterms with RHP Cody Mincey on a minorleague contract.
MILWAUKEE BREWERS — Sent RHP Dy-lan File to Wisconsin (High-A Central) on arehab assignment. Recalled LHP AngelPerdomo from Nashville (Triple-A East).Placed RHP Devin Williams on the 10-dayIL.
NEW YORK METS — Placed SS FranciscoLindor on the 10-day IL. Recalled 2B TravisBlankenhorn from Syracuse (Triple-AEast).
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES — ReinstatedRHP Connor Brogdon from the 10-day IL.Optioned RHP Mauricio Llovera to LehighValley (Triple-A East). Agreed to termswith RHP Andrew Painter on a minorleague contract.
PITTSBURGH PIRATES — Reinstated RFGregory Polanco from the 10-day IL. Op-tioned 3B Rodolfo Castro to Indianapolis(Triple-A East). Sent LHP Steven to Indi-anapolis on a rehab assignment.
SAN DIEGO PADRES — Reinstated LHPsBlake Snell and Drew Pomeranz from the10-day IL. Optioned RHP James Norwoodto El Paso (Triple-A West).
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS — Sent RHP Aa-ron Sanchez to Sacramento (Triple-AWest) on a rehab assignment.
HOCKEYNational Hockey League
ARIZONA COYOTES — Acquired G JosefKorenar and a 2022 second-round draftpick from San Jose in exchange for G AdinHill and a 2022 seventh round draft pick.Acquired F Andrew Ladd, a 2021 second-round draft pick, a conditional 2022 sec-ond-round draft pick and a conditional2023 third-round draft pick from the NewYork Islanders.
DALLAS STARS — Signed D Miro Heiska-nen to an eight-year contract extension,which will run through the 2028-29 season.
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS — Acquired DRyan Ellis from Nashville in exchange for DPhilippe Myers and F Nolan Patrick.
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING — Signed D Fre-drik Claesson to a one-year, two-way con-tract. Acquired a 2022 seventh-round draftpick from the New York Rangers in ex-change for F Barclay Goodrow.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS — Signed G Jo-seph Woll to a one-year, two-way exten-sion contract. Acquired F Jared McCannfrom Pittsburgh in exchange for F Filip Hal-lander and a 2023 seventh-round draftpick.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS — Acquired F Ja-son Dickinson from Dallas in exchange fora 2021 third-round draft pick.
VEGAS KNIGHTS — Acquired F Nolan Pa-trick from Nashville in exchange for F CodyGlass. Acquired F Brett Howden from theNew York Rangers in exchange for D NickDeSimone and a 2022 fourth-round draftpick.
DEALS
Hall of Fame Open
SaturdayAt International Tennis Hall of Fame
Newport, R.I.Purse: $466,870Surface: Grass
(seedings in parentheses):Men’s Singles
Semifinals
Kevin Anderson (8), South Africa, def.Alexander Bublik (1), Kazakhstan, 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-5.
Jenson Brooksby, United States, def. Jor-dan Thompson (7), Australia, 6-3, 7-6 (3).
Men’s DoublesSemifinals
Vasek Pospisil, Canada, and Austin Kraj-icek, United States, def. Joao Sousa, Portu-gal, and Jordan Thompson, Australia,walkover.
Jack Sock and William Blumberg, UnitedStates, def. Jonathan Erlich, Israel, andSantiago Gonzalez (2), Mexico, 7-6 (0), 6-3.
Hungarian Grand PrixSaturday
At Europe Tennis CenterBudapest, Hungary
Purse: $235,238Surface: Red clay
(seedings in parentheses):Women's Singles
Semifinals
Yulia Putintseva (1), Kazakhstan, def.Dalma Galfi, Hungary, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
Women's DoublesSemifinalsMihaela Buzarnescu, Romania, and Fan-
ny Stollar, Hungary, def. Sara Errani, Italy,and Irina Bara, Romania, walkover.
Women's DoublesChampionship
Mihaela Buzarnescu, Romania, and Fan-ny Stollar, Hungary, def. Tamara Kor-patsch, Germany, and Aliona Bolsova Za-doinov, Spain, 6-4, 6-4.
Swedish OpenSaturday
At Bastad Tennis StadiumBastad, SwedenPurse: $419,470
Surface: Red clayMen's Singles
Semifinals
Federico Coria, Argentina, def. YannickHanfmann, Germany, 6-2, 6-1.
Casper Ruud (1), Norway, def. RobertoCarballes Baena, Spain, 6-1, 6-4.
Men's DoublesSemifinals
Andre Begemann, Germany, and AlbanoOlivetti, France, def. Marco Cecchinato,Italy, and Roberto Carballes Baena, Spain,walkover.
David Pel and Sander Arends, Nether-lands, def. Pablo Cuevas, Uruguay, andFabrice Martin (3), France, 2-6, 7-5, 10-7.
TENNIS
Tour de FranceSaturday
20th StageA 30.8-km (19.1-mile) ride from Libourne
to Saint-Emilion1. Wout Van Aert, Belgium, Jumbo-Vis-
ma, 35m 53s.2. Kasper Asgreen, Denmark, Deceu-
ninck-QuickStep, 21s behind.3. Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark, Jumbo-
Visma, 32s behind.4. Stefan Küng, Switzerland, Groupama-
FDJ, 38s behind.5. Stefan Bissegger, Switzerland, EF Edu-
cation-Nippo, 44s behind.6. Mattia Cattaneo, Italy, Deceuninck-
QuickStep, 49s behind.7. Mikkel Bjerg, Denmark, UAE Team
Emirates, 52s behind.8. Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia, UAE Team
Emirates, 57s behind.9. Magnus Cort, Denmark, EF Education-
Nippo, 1m 00s behind.10. Dylan van Baarle, Netherlands, Ineos
Grenadiers, 1m 21s behind.Also
11. Brandon McNulty, United States, UAETeam Emirates, 1m 35s behind.
24. Neilson Powless, United States, EFEducation-Nippo, 2m 16s behind.
Overall Standings1. Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia, UAE Team
Emirates, 80h 16m 59s.2. Jonas Vingegaard, Denmark, Jumbo-
Visma, 5m 20s behind.3. Richard Carapaz, Ecuador, Ineos Gre-
nadiers, 7m 03s behind.4. Ben O'Connor, Australia, AG2R Citroën
Team, 10m 02s behind.5. Wilco Kelderman, Netherlands, Bora-
Hansgrohe, 10m 13s behind.6. Enric Mas Nicolau, Spain, Movistar
Team, 11m 43s behind.7. Alexey Lutsenko, Kazakhstan, Asta-
na-Premier Tech, 12m 23s behind.8. Guillaume Martin, France, Cofidis, 15m
33s behind.9. Pello Bilbao Lopez De Armentia, Spain,
Bahrain Victorious, 16m 04s behind.10. Rigoberto Uran, Colombia, EF Educa-
tion-Nippo, 18m 34s behind.Also
33. Sepp Kuss, United States, Jumbo-Vis-ma, 1h 50m 04s behind.
44. Neilson Powless, United States, EFEducation-Nippo, 2h 13m 33s behind.
71. Brandon McNulty, United States, UAETeam Emirates, 2h 50m 53s behind.
131. Sean Bennett, United States, Qhube-ka-NextHash, 4h 07m 42s behind.
CYCLING
SEATTLE — The memory and
feeling is still fresh a few years
later for Kelly McCrimmon, and
he’s sure it will be for Ron Fran-
cis, too.
It’s very surreal, McCrimmon
recalled, to have the entire NHL
hit pause and wait for your deci-
sions that will influence the rest
of the league’s landscape. It hap-
pened four years ago for
McCrimmon and the Vegas
Golden Knights ahead of their
expansion draft.
And it’s about to happen for
Francis and the Seattle Kraken.
“When you finally get the list,
the hockey world stands still
waiting for you. That’s a really
different feeling,” said McCrim-
mon, the current Vegas general
manager and assistant GM to
George McPhee four years ago.
“It’ll never happen again in their
careers. It never happened again
in our careers. But when you get
that list, everyone is waiting for
you. There’s no one making a
trade, there’s no one having dis-
cussions. The hockey world is
going through Seattle for that pe-
riod of time after those lists are
submitted. That’s a unique once-
in-a-lifetime feeling.”
The NHL pause arrived Satur-
day after a busy day of league-
wide deals that helped teams so-
lidify rosters and make decisions
on what players would exposed
to Seattle ahead of next Wednes-
day’s expansion draft.
Teams submitted their pro-
tected player lists to the league
Saturday, and those who are pro-
tected — or more importantly
left unprotected — will be re-
leased early Sunday. From
there, it will be a three-day
whirlwind of decisions, phone
calls and likely some deals on the
side that will eventually make up
the Kraken roster that gets an-
nounced.
“This has been a long jour-
ney,” Francis said Saturday.
“Our people have worked ex-
tremely hard in some tough sit-
uations, with COVID and having
to watch certain things on video
versus live. Finally getting to
watch some stuff live. The intro-
duction of a taxi squad changed
things dramatically ... and ulti-
mately it challenges us a little bit
more of what we’re doing. But
our guys have worked extremely
hard to get to this point and I
think everybody’s just excited
that tomorrow morning we’re
going to get these lists, and in
three days we’re gonna an-
nounce it.”
Francis, who was hired two
years ago Sunday as the first GM
of the Kraken, said his staff has
gone through hundreds of mock
drafts over the past 18 months
building toward the decisions
that will be made this week. Seat-
tle has certain minimums it must
meet in the expansion draft, in-
cluding selecting at least 20 play-
ers who are under contract for
next season and have salaries to-
taling at least $48 million.
Ultimately, those 80 or so
hours between the release of the
protected lists Sunday morning
and the announcement of Seat-
tle’s roster on Wednesday night
will show how well other general
managers learned from what Ve-
gas accomplished four years ago
and how well Francis and his
staff were able to counter.
“Teams knew we were coming
and they’ve had four years to
prepare,” Francis said.
TED S. WARREN/AP
Visitors view the ice and seating areas of Climate Pledge Arena duringa media tour of the facility Monday in Seattle.
Kraken anxiouslyawait player listsbefore expansion
BY TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
Monday, July 19, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 19
American League
East Division
W L Pct GB
Boston 56 37 .602 _
Tampa Bay 54 38 .587 1½
Toronto 46 42 .523 7½
New York 47 44 .516 8
Baltimore 29 62 .319 26
Central Division
W L Pct GB
Chicago 55 36 .604 _
Cleveland 46 43 .517 8
Detroit 42 51 .452 14
Minnesota 39 52 .429 16
Kansas City 37 54 .407 18
West Division
W L Pct GB
Houston 56 37 .602 _
Oakland 53 41 .564 3½
Seattle 49 44 .527 7
Los Angeles 46 45 .505 9
Texas 35 56 .385 20
National League
East Division
W L Pct GB
New York 47 42 .528 _
Philadelphia 45 45 .500 2½
Atlanta 45 46 .495 3
Washington 42 48 .467 5½
Miami 40 51 .440 8
Central Division
W L Pct GB
Milwaukee 55 39 .585 _
Cincinnati 48 44 .522 6
Chicago 46 46 .500 8
St. Louis 45 47 .489 9
Pittsburgh 36 56 .391 18
West Division
W L Pct GB
San Francisco 58 33 .637 _
Los Angeles 58 35 .624 1
San Diego 54 40 .574 5½
Colorado 40 53 .430 19
Arizona 26 68 .277 33½
Saturday’s games
Detroit 1, Minnesota 0, 1st game; Detroit5, Minnesota 4, 8 innings, 2nd game
Cleveland 3, Oakland 2Atlanta 9, Tampa Bay 0N.Y. Yankees 3, Boston 1, 6 inningsChicago White Sox 10, Houston 1Baltimore 8, Kansas City 4L.A. Angels 9, Seattle 4Texas at Toronto, ppd.Chicago Cubs 4, Arizona 2St. Louis 3, San Francisco 1Pittsburgh 9, N.Y. Mets 7L.A. Dodgers 9, Colorado 2Milwaukee 7, Cincinnati 4, 11 inningsMiami at Philadelphia, susSan Diego at Washington, sus.
Sunday’s games
Texas at Toronto, 2Minnesota at DetroitTampa Bay at AtlantaBaltimore at Kansas CityHouston at Chicago White SoxCleveland at OaklandSeattle at L.A. AngelsBoston at N.Y. YankeesMiami at Philadelphia, 2N.Y. Mets at PittsburghSan Diego at Washington, 2Milwaukee at CincinnatiSan Francisco at St. LouisL.A. Dodgers at ColoradoChicago Cubs at Arizona
Monday’s games
Minnesota (TBD, TBD) at Chicago WhiteSox (Lynn 9-3, TBD), 2
Boston (Pivetta 7-4) at Toronto (Strip-ling 3-5)
Baltimore (Watkins 1-0) at Tampa Bay(TBD),
Texas (Gibson 6-1) at Detroit (TBD)Cleveland (Mejía 1-4) at Houston (Garcia
6-5)L.A. Angels (Ohtani 4-1) at Oakland
(TBD)Miami (Rogers 7-6) at Washington (TBD)N.Y. Mets (TBD) at Cincinnati (Gutierrez
4-3)San Diego (Darvish 7-3) at Atlanta (TBD)Chicago Cubs (TBD) at St. Louis (TBD)Pittsburgh (De Jong 1-3) at Arizona
(Smith 2-6)San Francisco (TBD) at L.A. Dodgers
(TBD)Tuesday's games
L.A. Angels at OaklandPhiladelphia at N.Y. YankeesBoston at TorontoBaltimore at Tampa BayTexas at DetroitCleveland at HoustonKansas City at MilwaukeeMinnesota at Chicago White SoxSeattle at ColoradoMiami at WashingtonN.Y. Mets at CincinnatiSan Diego at AtlantaChicago Cubs at St. LouisPittsburgh at ArizonaSan Francisco at L.A. Dodgers
Scoreboard
MLB
WASHINGTON — The game
between the San Diego Padres and
Washington was suspended in the
sixth inning Saturday night after a
shooting outside Nationals Park
that caused echoes of gunfire in
side the stadium and prompted
fans to scramble for safety in the
dugout.
The shooting, an exchange of
gunfire between people in two
cars, left three people injured, ac
cording to Ashan Benedict, the
Metropolitan Police Department’s
executive assistant police chief.
One of the people who was shot
was a woman who was attending
the game and who was struck
while she was outside the stadium,
he said. Her injuries weren’t con
sidered lifethreatening.
Two people who were in one of
the cars later walked into a local
hospital with gunshot wounds and
were being questioned by investi
gators, Benedict said, and the ex
tent of their injuries wasn’t imme
diately clear. Investigators were
still trying to locate the second ve
hicle involved in the shooting.
The gunshots caused panic
among fans inside the stadium,
some of whom ducked for cover,
hiding underneath tables and be
hind seats as announcers warned
people to stay inside the park.
The Padres had just taken the
field for the bottom of the sixth
when several loud pops were
heard from the left field side of the
ballpark.
Fans sitting in left field quickly
began leaving through the center
field gate. A short time later, fans
along the first base side began
briskly leaving their seats.
Some fans crowded into the Pa
dres’ dugout on the third base side
for cover, while sirens could be
heard from outside the park.
The Padres led 84 when the
game was halted. It will be re
sumed Sunday afternoon, fol
lowed by the regularly scheduled
game.
Yankees 3, Red Sox 1 (6): Ger
rit Cole (104) struck out 11 and
host New York beat Boston in a
game called after six innings be
cause of heavy rain.
Gary Sánchez and Gleyber
Torres hit backtoback homers in
the sixth off Hirokazu Sawamura
(41) as the Yankees beat the rival
Red Sox for the first time in eight
meetings this year.
Cubs 4, Diamondbacks 2:Will
son Contreras capped a threerun
ninth inning with a tworun
homer, sending visiting Chicago
past Arizona.
Chicago was down 21 before it
rallied with two out in the ninth.
Rafael Ortega doubled and scored
on Robinson Chirinos’ pinchhit
single off Joakim Soria (14). Con
treras then hit a drive to left for his
14th homer.
Dodgers 9, Rockies 2: Max
Muncy had two home runs and
four hits, Mookie Betts had a
homer among his four extrabase
hits before leaving with a hip prob
lem and visiting Los Angeles won
its fourth straight.
Walker Buehler (101) pitched
seven strong innings to reach dou
ble digits in wins. He set down the
last 13 batters he faced after yield
ing a double with two outs to Ryan
McMahon in the bottom of the
third.
Angels 9, Mariners 4: David
Fletcher extended the second
longest hitting streak in Angels
history to 26 games with three dou
bles and five RBIs, and Taylor
Ward homered and drove in three
runs in host Los Angeles’ victory
over Seattle.
Alex Cobb (73) yielded five hits
over 6 2⁄�3 innings. Jack Mayfield
and Taylor Ward (three hits) also
homered for the Angels.
Tigers 15, Twins 04: Miguel
Cabrera’s bloop single scored Jo
nathan Schoop from first base, and
host Detroit beat Minnesota for a
doubleheader sweep.
The second game was tied at 3
after seven innings, and the Twins
went in front when pinchrunner
Nick Gordon scored on a wild pitch
by Joe Jiménez (31) in the eighth.
But the Tigers rallied in the bot
tom half. Schoop hit a tying RBI
single off Taylor Rogers (24). Af
ter Robbie Grossman struck out,
Cabrera dropped a hit into shallow
center as Schoop raced around the
bases.
Detroit kicked off the double
header with a victory. Grossman
hit a leadoff homer, and four pitch
ers combined on a twohitter.
White Sox 10, Astros 1: Lucas
Giolito pitched a threehitter, José
Abreu launched a threerun
homer and host Chicago beat
Houston in a matchup of AL divi
sion leaders.
Tim Anderson (three hits), Zack
Collins and rookies Gavin Sheets
and Jake Burger also went deep as
the White Sox broke out against
the Astros. Giolito (86) struck out
eight and walked none while
throwing 107 pitches in his fifth ca
reer complete game.
Pirates 9, Mets 7: Jacob Stall
ings’ grand slam in the bottom of
the ninth inning off closer Edwin
Díaz rallied host Pittsburgh over
stunned New York.
Trailing 60, the Pirates scored
all their runs in the final two in
nings — five in the eighth and four
in the ninth. Stallings got his sixth
career gameending RBI.
Indians 3, Athletics 2: Franmil
Reyes hit his 15th home run into a
luxury suite in center field, and
visiting Cleveland beat Oakland
for its fourth win in five games
Cal Quantrill (22) threw five ef
fective innings to win his second
consecutive start, finishing with
five strikeouts and allowing one
run. James Karinchak pitched the
ninth for his 10th save.
Braves 9, Rays 0:Joc Pederson
hit a tworun homer in his first
start with host Atlanta, Max Fried
had a tworun double among three
hits while throwing seven dom
inant innings and the Braves shut
out Tampa Bay.
Fried (75) did not allow a base
runner to reach second. The left
hander gave up four hits with one
walk and had seven strikeouts.
Brewers 7, Reds 4 (11): Chris
tian Yelich doubled home the go
ahead run in the 11th inning and
visiting Milwaukee beat Cincinna
ti to widen its lead in the NL Cen
tral.
The Reds loaded the bases in the
bottom of the 11th, but with an
empty bench, manager David Bell
sent pitcher Wade Miley up to
pinch hit for reliever Ryan Hen
drix. He grounded out to second to
end the game.
Cardinals 3, Giants 1: Kwang
Hyun Kim tossed six shutout in
nings, Tyler O’Neill and Paul
Goldschmidt homered and host St.
Louis snapped San Francisco’s
fivegame winning streak.
Kim (55) has not allowed a run
over his last 21 innings, covering
three starts. The South Korean
born lefthander was pitching in
front of his wife and two children
for the first time in the United
States.
Orioles 8, Royals 4: Ryan
Mountcastle and Ramón Urias
each had two RBIs, and visiting
Baltimore ended a fivegame los
ing streak by beating Kansas City.
The Orioles got six consecutive
hits in a fiverun third inning as
they chased starter Brady Singer
and opened a 70 lead.
Marlins 2, Phillies 2 (Suspend
ed): The game between visiting
Miami and Philadelphia was sus
pended due to rain with no outs in
the top of the 10th inning. The
game will resume on Sunday, fol
lowed by the regularly scheduled
series finale.
The Phillies appeared headed to
their ninth win in 13 games before
the Marlins tied it with a pair of
runs in the ninth off Ranger Suá
rez, who blew his first save in his
fourth chance since being elevat
ed to the closer role.
ROUNDUP
Shooting outside park halts Nats game
JOHN MCDONNELL, THE WASHINGTON POST/AP
Fans jump into a camera well after hearing gunfire from outside the stadium during a game between theSan Diego Padres and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., on Saturday.
Associated Press
PAGE 20 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, July 19, 2021
OLYMPICS
April Ross was 24 years old when she
first started playing beach volleyball, the
sport that would eventually send her to four
Olympics.
At that age, Sarah Sponcil is already
headed to the Summer Games.
Sponcil and her 25-year-old partner, Kel-
ly Claes, are the first generation to come up
through an NCAA beach volleyball pro-
gram that didn’t exist until 2012 — long af-
ter Ross graduated from Southern Califor-
nia. They are the youngest U.S. beach team
ever to qualify for the Olympics.
“This kind of shows what having college
beach volleyball can do,” Claes said in a re-
cent interview as she prepared for the To-
kyo Olympics. “There’s just so many more
opportunities for women to play. I think it’s
incredible, and I think the sport is only go-
ing to get better and better in the States.”
And just in time.
One of two traditional powers in beach
volleyball, joining with Brazil to win 20 of
the first 30 medals after the sport joined the
Olympic program in 1996, the United States
has been losing ground of late. Europeans
claimed four of the six men’s podium spots
in London and Rio de Janeiro; Germans
Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst won
gold in 2016.
Where the U.S. has been competitive, it is
skewing old: Ross, now 39, and Kerri Walsh
Jennings, now 42, were the only U.S. team
to medal in Rio — the Americans’ worst
haul since 2000. Tokyo will be the fourth
Summer Games for both Jake Gibb, who at
45 is the oldest Olympic volleyball player
(beach or indoor) ever, and Phil Dalhauss-
er, who is 41.
Walsh Jennings, who won three gold
medals with Misty May-Treanor, will miss
the Olympics for the first time since 1996
after being edged out by Claes and Sponcil
in the second-to-last week of qualifying.
(Ross is teamed with 31-year-old Alix Kli-
neman.)
“For a long time, the U.S. was Kerri and
Misty. All the other countries caught up and
passed us,” Claes said. “This is the U.S.’s
big push to get back on top, and I think it’s
our time to lead the charge in this new era.”
Invented in the Roaring ’20s at a Parisian
nudist colony and popularized on coastlines
from California to Copacabana, beach vol-
leyball first joined the Olympic program in
Atlanta. Early stars like Karch Kiraly and
Walsh Jennings tended to be transplants
from the indoor game.
That changed in 2012, when the NCAA
added beach volleyball as an “emerging
sport for women,” encouraging schools to
field varsity teams; three years later, it was
granted full championship status. There
are now 64 Division I teams recognized by
the NCAA, many of them in traditional
spots like California and Florida but others
spread along the Gulf Coast and some in
landlocked volleyball hotbeds like Nebras-
ka.
With college as an option — and, as im-
portantly, receiving a scholarship to play —
athletes are no longer just migrating to the
beach after their indoor careers are over.
And it shows.
“You can just see their style of play is a lot
different than some of us who have been
around for a lot longer,” Ross said.
“They’ve really pushed the sport to a higher
level and it’s just going to keep becoming
tougher and tougher to play.”
Claes, who grew up playing beach volley-
ball, won back-to-back NCAA titles at USC.
Sponcil began indoors at Loyola Mary-
mount before transferring to the beach
team at UCLA, where she also earned two
titles.
Tina Graudina, who was a member of the
Trojans’ 2021 championship team, will
compete in Tokyo for Latvia.
“We all saw it coming,” said Dain Blan-
ton, who won the beach gold medal in Syd-
ney and now coaches the USC team. “When
this movement took place, 2012, to get colle-
giate beach volleyball started on the wom-
en’s side, you just knew it was going to be
this grassroots movement to produce all
this talent.”
Blanton, who grew up less than two miles
from the Pacific Ocean in Laguna Beach,
Calif., knew the beach was in his future. But
indoor was his only opportunity for a col-
lege scholarship; he was an All-American
at Pepperdine, where he led the Waves to
the 1992 NCAA title. (There is still no NCAA
beach volleyball program for men.)
Although the sports overlap on equip-
ment and some rules, the six-person indoor
version relies more on power and leaping
than the two-person beach game. Starting
earlier on the sand, Blanton said, has given
players like Claes and Sponcil a head start
on the techniques and strategy specific to
their discipline.
They also have earlier access to coaching
and training they need.
“A lot of beach players, you roll the balls
out and do your thing. Whereas now, in col-
lege, you have this basis of training — you
learn how to practice, travel,” he said. “It
translates, and you can learn the game
quickly.”
For Claes and Sponcil, that meant hitting
the Olympic qualifying tour with experi-
ence from already playing in big tourna-
ments in their teens and 20s. Sponcil said
she watched a recent NCAA beach cham-
pionship and “it was amazing to see how the
sport has grown.”
“There’s so many great athletes coming
out of college these days,” she said.
And she is among them.
“It’s crazy, because we just have so many
years in front of us,” she said. “To be so
young, we’re going to have so much experi-
ence under our belts. And it’s going to help
us down the road.”
For new generation, pathwas through NCAA beach
MPU DINANI, ASSOCIATION OF VOLLEYBALL PROFESSIONALS/AP
Kelly Claes, left, and Sarah Sponcil during a match at the AVP Champions Cup in LongBeach, Calif., last summer. They're part of the first generation of college beachvolleyball players to reach the Olympics.
BY JIMMY GOLEN
Associated Press
TOKYO — Two South African
soccer players have become the
first athletes inside the Olympic
Village to test positive for CO-
VID-19, with the Tokyo Games
opening on Friday.
An official with the South Afri-
can soccer team also tested posi-
tive, as did a fourth member of
South Africa’s contingent, the
head coach of the rugby sevens
team. The rugby team was in a
pre-Games training camp in an-
other Japanese city.
Organizers confirmed the posi-
tive tests for the two athletes in the
Olympic Village in Tokyo on Sun-
day, but didn’t identify them other
than to say they were non-Japa-
nese.
The South African Olympic
committee later confirmed the
three COVID-19 cases in its soccer
delegation at the village — two
players and a video analyst. All
three were now in isolation at the
Tokyo 2020 isolation facility, the
South African Olympic committee
said. The players were defender
Thabiso Monyane and midfielder
Kamohelo Mahlatsi.
The rest of the South Africa soc-
cer squad had tested negative for
the virus twice and was “following
closely all the recommendations
of the local health authorities,” the
South African Olympic committee
said.
South Africa is due to play Ja-
pan in its first game of the men’s
soccer competition on Thursday
at Tokyo Stadium.
South African rugby sevens
coach Neil Powell tested positive
on Saturday and is in an isolation
facility in the southern city of Ka-
goshima, where the team is pre-
paring for the Olympics. Powell
will have to stay in isolation for 14
days and will miss the rugby sev-
ens competition, South Africa’s
national rugby body said.
Powell had been vaccinated
against COVID-19 with the one-
shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine in
South Africa on May 24, team
spokesman JJ Harmse told The
Associated Press.
South African Olympic and soc-
cer officials didn’t immediately
confirm whether the two soccer
players and official who tested
positive had been vaccinated.
South Africa’s Olympic commit-
tee said in May, however, that it
would offer all its Olympic ath-
letes going to Tokyo the J&J vac-
cine.
Tokyo Olympic organizers also
said Sunday that another athlete
had tested positive, but this person
was not residing in the Olympic
Village. This athlete was also iden-
tified as “non-Japanese.”
Also on Sunday, the first Inter-
national Olympic Committee
member was reported as positive.
He recorded a positive test on Sat-
urday upon entering a Tokyo air-
port.
The International Olympic
Committee confirmed the test and
identified him as Ryu Seung-min
of South Korea. He won an Olym-
pic gold medal in table tennis in
the 2004 Olympics.
He was reportedly being held in
isolation. Reports said he was
asymptomatic.
IOC President Thomas Bach
said last week there was “zero”
risk of athletes in the village pass-
ing on the virus to Japanese or oth-
er residents of the village.
1st positive virus tests for athletes in Olympic VillageAssociated Press
Monday, July 19, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 21
OLYMPICS
On the one hand, skateboarder Nyjah
Huston is the quintessential counterculture
sports star with a story even the best mar-
keting team could not make up: He spent
different parts of his childhood cut off from
society, living off the land, perfecting his
trade in a family-owned indoor skateboard
park.
On the other, Huston is as typical a main-
stream pitchman as can be: Already teem-
ing with an air of rebellious authenticity, he
is debuting a potentially disruptive skate-
board brand that figures only to increase
visibility for an ever-growing business built
around his own personality.
Either way, Huston is ready for the
Olympics, and the Olympics think they’re
ready for him.
As skateboarding makes its Olympic de-
but, part of that industry’s quest to get
younger and edgier, this 26-year-old gold
medal favorite might very well be the most
interesting athlete that the average fan,
steeped in the history of legacy sports such
as track, gymnastics and swimming, has
never heard of heading into the Tokyo
Games.
And where some in a sport that has lin-
gered comfortably for decades in the shad-
ows of the mainstream might be reluctant
to move into the gargantuan maw of the
Olympics, Huston is more than glad to latch
onto this monster. After all, he chose this
summer to launch his own brand, Disorder
Skateboards — the sort of move he briefly
toyed with back when he was 14 and one he
could’ve made with a snap of his fingers at
any time between then and now.
“It was always something that I feel like I
needed to be patient on and I would know
when it was the right time,” Huston said. “I
want to actually have ownership of compa-
nies and a company of my own and this is
the perfect way to do it with skateboards,
and it was also the perfect timing of getting
them out right before the Olympics.”
Huston’s first foray into becoming a front
man for his own brand came as a teenager,
after moving back to California following a
short time living in Puerto Rico. The move
to the island was part of his parents’ plan to
unplug from mainstream society. They
lived on a farm and grew their own food. It
was a far cry from Northern California,
where the family had leased a 15,000-
square-foot skatepark where Nyjah and his
three brothers and sister would practice.
Huston was a skateboarding prodigy,
buoyed by early appearances, and wins, at
the X Games and other big events. His fa-
ther, Adeyemi, managed his career and did
everything, from filming Nyjah’s skating
and editing the footage to driving the family
motorhome from event to event. Asked how
they subsisted during the years in Puerto
Rico, Huston’s mother, Kelle, said “skate-
boarding and weed — quite a combo,” in a
2014 interview with Jenkem Magazine.
“We purposely separated ourselves from
society and lived as a mini-cult.”
All of it was fine, or so it seemed, for Ny-
jah. But in his gut, he knew skateboarders
did not get rich and famous by basing them-
selves out of Puerto Rico. And he never
loved his first venture into creating his own
skateboard brand.
“I started thinking about things more at
13 and 14. I just wanted some normal spon-
sors and I wanted to live in Cali,” he said in
an in-depth 2018 interview on The Nine
Club with Chris Roberts podcast.
Huston’s mom split from his dad — “As
our children got older, I started to feel that
the strict restrictions of our lifestyle were
holding them back from progressing in
life,” Kelle said — and moved the kids back
to California.
Nyjah reconnected with his Element ska-
teboard brand and started winning awards
for videos and finding other new sponsors.
He has been estranged from his dad ever
since the move back to California. It’s not a
story he runs from. It is, in fact, part of the
biography that he himself submitted to
NBC for a Q&A on its Olympic website.
“He taught me how to be a skateboarder
in the right way,” Huston said in a recent
interview with The Associated Press. “He
knew there was more to life than just skate-
boarding. He pushed me. It wasn’t always
easy when I was a kid to skate big-ass rails
that scared ... me. He helped make me a
strong person. There are no hard feelings
there.”
Predictably, Huston’s move back to Cali-
fornia did wonders not only for his sponsor-
ships but for the competitive part of his ca-
reer, as well. He has won 12 X Games titles
and four world championships. He is worth,
depending on the source, somewhere be-
tween $10 million and $15 million. He is not
Tony Hawk, the most famous person in the
sport and maybe the only one, to this point,
to truly break into the mainstream.
But Hawk never won an Olympic gold
medal, and now those are at stake for a
sport that has never shied from competition
but has always prided itself on having
grown up on the streets and defined itself
through its clothes, its gear and its edgy life-
style.
“The big guys have to be here” at the
competitions, said one of pro skateboard-
ing’s pioneers, Mike Vallely, at a recent
Dew Tour stop in Iowa. “There’s no middle
class in skateboarding. These people are
getting paid real money by real companies
to exist in this space. There are a few ‘life-
style’ guys still out there, but that’s a
shrinking part of the culture as far as being
a professional and getting paid.”
Huston doesn’t hide from that. And no-
body in the current crop of pro skateboar-
ders has tapped into the connection be-
tween lifestyle and competition better than
this athlete-marketing genius who now
lives in Laguna Beach. Last month, he sold
out his first run of about 1,000 skateboards
in a matter of hours. He has deals with Nike,
Monster Energy and other brands. All that
will still be there no matter what happens in
the men’s street contest on July 25, where
Huston is a favorite to win skateboarding’s
first-ever Olympic gold medal but hardly
the only contender.
And though his life will go on — quite suc-
cessfully, in fact — whether he comes home
with a gold or not, make no mistake: Win-
ning has gone a long way toward building
both the brand and the person.
“I love competing,” Huston said. “I take it
really seriously. You’re not going to see me
out there having too much fun. You’re going
to see me battling with these guys in the fi-
nal. That gives me lots of joy.”
Huston brings unique brand to Tokyo
CHARLIE NEIBERGALL/AP
Nyjah Huston competes during an Olympic qualifying skateboard event at Lauridsen Skatepark on May 23 in Des Moines, Iowa.
BY EDDIE PELLS
Associated Press
CHARLIE NEIBERGALL/AP
Where some skateboarders might bereluctant to move into the realm of theOlympics, Huston is more than glad tolatch on onto this monster. Tokyo mightbe the place where people outside thesport finally get a glimpse of one of themost interesting athletes around.
PAGE 22 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, July 19, 2021
BRITISH OPEN/SPORTS BRIEFS
SANDWICH, England— Col-
lin Morikawa won the British
Open on his links debut and be-
came the first player to capture
two different majors at the first
attempt.
The 24-year-old American
closed with a bogey-free, 4-un-
der 66 Sunday for a two-shot vic-
tory over Jordan Spieth to follow
up his victory at last year’s PGA
Championship on debut, just 11
months ago.
This time he did it in front of a
crowd, with 32,000 spectators at
Royal St. George’s on a day of
immaculate weather to witness a
Californian making a historic
start to his career in the majors.
Morikawa is the first player
since Bobby Jones in 1926 to win
two majors in eight or fewer
starts, and his total of 15-under
265 was a 72-hole record score at
the Sandwich links.
He made three straight birdies
from the seventh hole to over-
take Louis Oosthuizen, who was
seeking a wire-to-wire win and a
second claret jug, and then made
key par saves at Nos. 10 and 15,
pumping his first after both. A
birdie putt up and over a ridge on
the 14th green gave him a two-
stroke advantage he never lost.
By making par at the last fol-
lowing a tension-free walk to ap-
plause — and then a standing
ovation — down the 18th fairway,
Morikawa didn’t drop a shot in
his final 31 holes on a course that
has confounded many of the
world’s greatest players because
of its quirky bounces and undu-
lating fairways.
All the more remarkable was
this was his first links test.
Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open
champion and runner up at the
last two majors, had another
near miss in a career full of
them. He never recovered from
losing his lead — for the first
time since the 12th hole on Fri-
day — after making bogey by hit-
ting from one bunker to another
at the par-5 seventh hole, and
shot 71.
He tied for third place with
Jon Rahm (66).
Morikawa winssecond majoron first try
PETER MORRISON/AP
Collin Morikawa celebrates on the 18th green after winning the British Open at Royal St George’s golfcourse Sandwich, England, on Sunday. It is Morikawa’s second major championship.
American is bogey-free on final 31 holesto overcome Oosthuizen, hold off Spieth
BY STEVE DOUGLAS
Associated Press
PARIS — Tadej Pogacar won the Tour de
France for a second straight year after a
mostly ceremonial final stage to the
Champs-Elysees on Sunday in cycling’s big-
gest race.
The Slovenian rider with UAE Team
Emirates successfully defended his huge
lead of 5 minutes, 20 seconds over second-
place Jonas Vingegaard.
The 22-year-old Pogacar won his first title
last September when he became the Tour’s
youngest champion in 116 years. He is now
the youngest double winner of the race.
Wout van Aert won the 21st stage in a mass
sprint. That prevented Mark Cavendish
from beating Belgian great Eddy Merckx’s
record of 34 stage wins which the British
sprinter equaled earlier in the race.
The mostly flat 108-kilometer (67-mile)
leg began in Chatou just outside Paris and
concluded with eight laps up and down the
famed avenue.
Richard Carapaz finished third overall,
7:03 off the pace.
Pogacar and his teammates rode at the
front of the pack together as they reached
the Champs-Elysees, and the Slovenia
champion raised his fist in the air in celebra-
tion.
Pogacar’s gesture acted as a signal for
those fighting for a prestigious stage win as
the first accelerations took place. But the at-
tackers’ efforts did not pay off and the stage
ended in a mass sprint.
Cavendish, who consoled himself with the
best sprinter’s green jersey, banged his han-
dlebar in frustration after van Aert edged
Jasper Philipsen to the line. Cavendish was
third.
Stars sign Heiskanen for 8 yearsFRISCO, Texas — Miro Heiskanen signed
a $67.6 million, eight-year contract with the
Dallas Stars on Saturday, a monster deal that
puts him among the highest-paid defense-
men in the NHL.
The Stars also traded forward Jason Dick-
inson to Vancouver for a 2021 third-round
pick before rosters had to be set for the Seat-
tle expansion draft. The move was designed
to keep the club from losing the 26-year-old
to the Kraken for nothing.
Mets place deGrom on ILPITTSBURGH — The New York Mets
will place right-handed pitcher Jacob de-
Grom on the 10-day injured list with right
forearm tightness, manager Luis Rojas an-
nounced on Sunday.
The Mets ace first experienced the tight-
ness before the All-Star Game and deter-
mined on Friday that he would be unable to
make his scheduled start on Sunday. Taijuan
Walker will replace him against Pittsburgh.
DeGrom underwent an MRI on Friday
that confirmed the issue is in his forearm
and that there is no structural damage to his
elbow. Rojas said the injury is not related to
the forearm flexor injury that deGrom had
earlier this season.
In other MLB news:
■ Henry Davis didn’t mess around nego-
tiating with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Davis
practically sprinted to the bargaining table
to get something done, signing with Pitts-
burgh on Sunday just a week after baseball
Commissioner Rob Manfred called his
name.
Davis agreed to a signing bonus of $6.5
million, nearly $2 million below the slot val-
ue of $8.4 million. The deal frees Pittsburgh
up to spend money on some of its other 20
picks as the team stockpiles talent as part of
a top-to-bottom reset under general manag-
er Ben Cherington.
■ Lance Lynn is enjoying his first season
on the South Side of Chicago, and the White
Sox feel the same way. So they solidified
their relationship on Saturday, announcing a
$38 million, two-year contract for the All-
Star right-hander covering 2022-23.
Lynn is 9-3 with an AL-best 1.99 ERA in 16
starts. He was acquired in a December trade
with the Rangers for right-hander Dane
Dunning and lefty Avery Weems.
BRIEFLY
Pogacar wins second straight Tour de FranceAssociated Press
Monday, July 19, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 23
now coming off some roster re-
vamping following the virus-relat-
ed withdrawal of Bradley Beal
and an injury-related withdrawal
by Kevin Love. Keldon Johnson
and JaVale McGee take their
place.
It looks like the U.S. absolutely
will need Holiday, Middleton and
Booker if it’s going to get the job
done in Tokyo. And there’s a very
real chance that the Americans
will have no more than one prac-
tice with their entire Olympic
team together before they open
their quest for a fourth consecu-
tive gold medal next Sunday in To-
kyo against France.
It was never going to be easy for
the U.S.; having almost no time as
a team together before things get
real in Tokyo will only make it that
much tougher.
“I have watched the games,”
Popovich said a few days ago
when asked if he’s watching the
NBA Finals while on USA Basket-
ball duty in Las Vegas. “I have to
admit that I watch three guys
more than I watched the teams. I
just can’t help myself. I keep
watching them, I keep hoping that
they stay healthy. And then, we all
think about what would be the best
way to include them and blend
them into the group. There’s no
formula for that.”
He didn’t say which three guys.
He didn’t have to. It’s obvious.
USA Basketball knew it was
rolling the dice by choosing play-
ers that had a shot of going to the
NBA Finals, but had no choice giv-
en the timeframe. They ended up
with three and it could have been
more; the Americans took a run at
getting Phoenix’s Chris Paul to
commit to Tokyo, but he ultimate-
ly decided not to play on the team.
The plane carrying the Olympic
team — some of it, anyway — to
Tokyo leaves Las Vegas on Mon-
day morning. Middleton, Holiday
and Booker won’t be on that flight;
they’ll be at their real jobs.
Popovich can’t be thrilled about
that part, of course. But he must
have been downright giddy with
how his Olympic trio did Saturday
night, particularly at crunch time.
Middleton — who has picked
the perfect time to play the series
of his life — made a stepback three
to put Milwaukee up eight with
2:23 remaining. Booker answered
on the next possession to get the
Suns within six, then a three-
pointer with 1:24 left to cut the
lead to 120-117. And when Phoenix
was within one, it was Holiday
who stripped Booker and then
found Giannis Antetokounmpo for
an alley-oop dunk with 13.5 sec-
onds remaining.
Popovich has deep ties with Bu-
denholzer and Phoenix coach
Monty Williams. He’ll be thrilled
for whichever coach wins this se-
ries and heartbroken for the one
that loses. But it’s a safe bet that he
might be pulling for the Bucks on
Tuesday night to end this series —
and therefore get the Olympians
to the Olympics as quickly as pos-
sible.
“I think it’s going to be a little bit
by the seat of the pants because
there’s no formula to go by,” Pop-
ovich said. “It depends how the
team is doing and the condition of
the players here, what we think we
need. Our first game is France so
we’ll look in terms of what fits
might work best, but it’s not going
to be like they’re going to come
and sit for a week and get ready.
They’re going to have to come in
and play.”
Even a successful coach like
Popovich isn’t sure how this will
work. But if Holiday, Middleton
and Booker bring this form to To-
kyo, the struggling Americans
could be just fine.
Punch: US will have little time as team before Games beginFROM PAGE 24
NBA FINALS
PHOENIX — Jrue Holiday
seized his chance to give the Mil-
waukee Bucks the lead in the NBA
Finals.
Took it right out of Devin Book-
er’s hands, actually.
Holiday’s steal and alley-oop
pass to Giannis Antetokounmpo
for a dunk sealed a wild Game 5
and gave the Bucks a 123-119 vic-
tory over the Phoenix Suns on Sat-
urday night.
“It’s who he is,” teammate Pat
Connaughton said. “He’s a win-
ner.”
For the first time in 50 years, the
Bucks have a chance to be win-
ners, too.
Antetokounmpo had 32 points,
nine rebounds and six assists.
Khris Middleton added 29 points,
and Holiday had 27 points and 13
assists.
The Bucks fought their way out
of an early 16-point hole by flirting
with the best-shooting night in
NBA Finals history, but then won
it by making a huge defensive play
for the second consecutive game.
They can win their first title
since 1971 on Tuesday night in
Milwaukee.
“Obviously we know what the
deal is. It’s one game away from
being the NBA champ,” said Ante-
tokounmpo, whose postgame
press conference was delayed be-
cause he was dehydrated.
Booker had 40 points, his sec-
ond straight 40-plus-point game.
But with the Suns rallying and
down one with 16 seconds left, he
drove into the middle and Holiday
wrestled the ball out of his hands.
“I was just trying to score the
ball, he was behind me,” Booker
said. “I turned and he was right
there.”
Antetokounmpo sprinted down
the court to his right and Holiday
— rather than pulling the ball out
to run the clock down — fired a
perfect lob pass that the Greek
Freak slammed down while Chris
Paul fouled him to make it 122-119.
“Giannis took off and he was
calling for the ball,” Holiday said.
“At that point, I just threw it as
high as I could and only where
Giannis could go get it,”
Antetokounmpo missed the free
throw, but the Bucks grabbed the
rebound and Middleton made one
free throw for the final point of the
night.
Before the defensive stand, Mil-
waukee’s offense was the story.
The Bucks made 32 of 45 shots in
the middle two quarters, outscor-
ing the Suns 79-53 during that
stretch.
Milwaukee became the first
road team to win in the series and
with one more victory will com-
plete its second 2-0 comeback in
this postseason — along with the
fifth in NBA Finals history.
Game 5 winners of a tied series
have won the series 21 of 29 times
in the NBA Finals.
“We’ve got to win one game to
put them back on the plane. That’s
it,” Suns coach Monty Williams
said. “And you have to have that
determination that you’re willing
to do whatever it takes to put them
back on the plane.”
Paul had 21 points and 11 assists,
and Deandre Ayton finished with
20 points and 10 rebounds. But the
Suns missed a chance to move
within a victory of their first
championship and will need a vic-
tory at Fiserv Forum to bring the
series back to the desert for Game
7 on Thursday night.
“We knew this wasn’t going to
be easy. We didn’t expect it to be.
It’s hard,” Paul said. “Coach said it
all year long, everything we want
is on the other side of hard and it
don’t get no harder than this.”
Milwaukee was at 62.1% shoot-
ing after three quarters, threaten-
ing to challenge Orlando’s 62.5%
mark against the Lakers in Game
3of the 2009 Finals. Holiday’s bas-
ket had the Bucks in good shape at
108-94 with about 9 minutes re-
maining, but the Suns put together
a push in the final minutes.
Down 10 with just under 3½
minutes left, the Suns got a three
from Booker and a basket by Paul
to cut it to 120-119 with 56 seconds
to play. Holiday missed a jumper,
but that didn’t matter once the de-
fensive ace of the Bucks backcourt
took it back from Booker.
Bucks edge Suns in Game 5, take 3-2 leadBY BRIAN MAHONEY
Associated Press
ROSS D. FRANKLIN/AP
Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo dunks over Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul during the secondhalf of Game 5 on Saturday in Phoenix. Antetokounmpo scored 32 points as the Bucks won 123119.
(Bestofseven)xif necessary
Milwaukee �3, Phoenix 2Phoenix 118, Milwaukee 105Phoenix 118, Milwaukee 108Milwaukee 120, Phoenix 100Milwaukee 109, Phoenix 103Saturday: Milwaukee 123, Phoenix 119Tuesday: at Milwaukee, AFN-Sports, 3
a.m. Wednesday CET; 10 a.m. WednesdayJKT
xThursday: at Phoenix, AFN-Sports, 3a.m. Friday CET; 10 a.m. Friday JKT
Scoreboard
The happiest basketball coach in the world right
now should be Milwaukee’s Mike Budenhol-
zer, since he’s one win away from the NBA title.
The second-happiest should be USA Basket-
ball’s Gregg Popovich.
Consider what Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton and Devin
Booker did in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday night:
They combined for 96 points, all scoring between 27 and 40.
They were in top form, which was great news for USA Bas-
ketball.
Game 6 of the Finals is Tuesday in Milwaukee, when the
Bucks can win their first title in 50 years. Game 7, if neces-
sary, is Thursday in Phoenix. When the series is over Holi-
day, Middleton and Booker will trade their green, white and
orange uniforms for red, white and blue at the Tokyo Olym-
pics. They all say they’re going to honor the commitment to
play, even though the Finals will have just ended and then a
flight halfway around the world awaits.
The Americans have not exactly been a high-oc-
tane steamrolling machine in their Tokyo tune-ups,
with a 1-2 record in three exhibitions in Las Vegas and
MATT YORK/AP
Bucks forward Khris Middleton scored 29 pointsSaturday night as Milwaukee took a 32 lead over thePhoenix Suns in the NBA Finals on Saturday night.
MARK J. REBILAS, POOL/AP
Suns guard Devin Booker scored 40 points Saturdaynight after scoring 42 in Phoenix's Game 4 loss. Bookeris averaging 30 points a game in the Finals.
More punch for PopBY TIM REYNOLDS
Associated Press
ANALYSIS
U.S. coach Gregg Popovich surely could use the servicesof Middleton, Booker and Holiday as soon as thier seriesends, which could be Tuesday. Team USA lost two ofthree exhibition games in Las Vegas and had to replaceBradley Beal and Kevin Love on the roster.
DAVID BECKER / AP
ROSS D. FRANKLIN/AP
Jrue Holiday had 27 points and 13 assists in Milwaukee's123119 victory Saturday night. His last assist was analleyoop to Giannis Antetokounmpo that sealed the win.
PAGE 24 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Monday, July 19, 2021
SPORTSChampion golfer of the year
Morikawa 1st to win 2 different majorson initial attempt ›› British Open, Page 22
Nats game halted after shooting outside park ›› Page 19
US Olympic coach has to love play of NBA Finals trioRELATED
Bucks one victory away fromfirst championship in 50 yearsPage 23
SEE PUNCH ON PAGE 23